#i wrote this while i was watching the episode yesterday

[meringuejellyfish]

editing in videos is such a huge thing for me like super hyper editing can work for some people and is really funny at times but a lot of the time i prefer more calm editing that will not give me a headache. its quite simple. really. super minimal editing can make me lose interest sometimes and super hyper fast editing can make me lose interest sometimes. quite simple. anyway my actual point is i do appreciate good editing styles and choices a lot and it is a little funny that some people have to make up the fact that they arent very interesting and their videos dont have much substance by talking super fast and popping up 1 million sound effects and images on screen. relax a little. unless youre actually good at it then i'll laugh and be entertained by your tricks.

[joshujihan23]

Don’t be suspicious

☆ pairing: ot13!seventeen x 14th member!reader

☆ synopsis: in another episode of bad clue, the members were trying to draw suspicions on each other, unknowingly causing a major plot twist..

☆ disclaimer: using the plot of bad clue I, with a few changes..

author’s note: is it just me or jeonghan looks exceptionally hot in this episode..

————————————————————————

scanning over the dead body of the suspect, the members were trying to figure out if there was any evidence that could surround the limp body of Mr. Park. the melted wax candle on his face, even though it’s just a dummy, sent chills to your spine when you saw it for the first time.

however, while everyone was fascinating over the dead body, just at the corner of the office, you and jeonghan were picking out some documents that could possibly help with finding the murderer. he was flipping through article after article, scanning in every detail. you were about to help jeonghan with the articles, when he noticed the bandage on your right hand and wrist.

“What happened to you? Is it for the show or is it real?” he asked, with a lingering tone of concern.

“I burnt myself while cooking yesterday, pretty stupid, right?” you chuckled.

that statement made jeonghan laugh slightly, as he went back to scanning the stained documents again.

“The death of Yoon Jeongmin… Mr Park planned this out..” jeonghan mumbled under his breath, but loud enough of you to hear.

“Did you know about all of this?” You asked.

“Of course, she’s my mother after all.”

And that’s when it all went dark.

you held onto jeonghan’s arm tightly, still feeling frightened by the sudden shutters of the lights even though the game has already went on for a few rounds.

“Do you trust me in this?” You asked, as the last flicker of light disappeared.

“I do, that’s why I’m letting you follow me in my findings.”

————————————————————————

“Min y/n, you’re being very suspicious now.” hoshi mentioned, crossing his legs while sitting on the couch. you crossed your arms, scoffing at his sentence, playing it cool.

“Me? Suspicious? I was just an ex-employee of this company, what would I do to him? Besides you are the one that wrote all those articles, why shouldn’t we suspect you for knowing this much?”

you felt an arm wrapped around your shoulders, the familiar scent indicating that it was jeonghan.

“It can’t be her, she’s way too innocent to play something so vicious. It is so obvious when she is the mafia. But when she followed me, it’s almost as if she doesn’t even know anything.” jeonghan said in defence.

“You know who is suspicious? Park Mingyu.” minghao mentioned.

all your heads turned to mingyu, who was sitting in front of everyone. all of you exchanged one last glance, as the room became dim again.

round after round, it was finally down to the last two.

you and jeonghan.

“And I thought the both of us were a team, but Min y/n, am I standing here with a murderer?” jeonghan said in a serious tone, a smirk plastered on his face.

“I trusted you, I thought you were leading everyone in the correct direction, and I thought we sealed the deal when it was left with us and Minghao oppa. God Jeonghan oppa, you betrayed me big time.” You said in a cool but serious tone, your hands clenching onto the side of the table, staring into his eyes.

“You’re really the mafia, you’ve improved so much, you even deceived me. My partner-in-crime has became a master at this.” jeonghan spoke with a chuckle, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek.

“I told you, you’re the murderer here, it’s the revenge, isn’t it?”

and for the final round, the room went dim again.

with the death room erupted with loud gasps and applause.

on the screen, you sat at the chair where jeonghan is sitting, playing with the rope that was used to tie mingyu in one of the previous rounds.

“At last, after many rounds of tireless waiting, I have rose as the winner.”

you stared into the camera, the one that you knew that all the members were watching from.

“And all of you were missing one crucial information..”

you held up your right hand and wrist, unraveling the supposed ‘bandage’ you told jeonghan about. upon the reveal of what’s beneath, it sent the members in another uproar.

melted wax, well fake melted wax, from staining Mr. Park’s face with the red residue.

————————————————————————

“YAHH Y/N-AH, YOU DECEIVED ALL OF US.” dk yelled at the top of his voice when you arrived at the death room. hoshi pushed you lightly, feeling so disappointed for almost getting his guess correct.

“Yahh you’re so smart! Getting Jeonghan hyung’s trust and then tricking all of us including him.” dino mentioned, patting your back proudly.

“Our maknae did so well! Good job, you’ve improved so much!” joshua smiled with a grin.

you were surrounded by the members, with them praising and cheering for you for winning the game, but at the corner of your eye, you see jeonghan standing there, sipping on his coffee. when everyone started to walk away, he finally stood up and walked towards you. he leaned over, whispering into your ear.

“i’m sure i’ll get my revenge.”

[yllwjktscult]

Mornings- Lottie Matthews x reader

!!disclaimer- english is NOT my native language so there for sure will be grammar mistakes!!

felt really sad after latest episode esp seeing lottie so sad, so here i come with a cute silly thing to cheer the mood up (mainly my own bye bye)

!!not platonic!! (my first and maybe last not platonic post about yjs, idk we will see im testing the waters. Last time i wrote smth like that was a decade ago when camren was still a thing✋🏻😔)

WC: 1,3k

TW: none, maybe too cute ✋🏻😭

╚══ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══╝

You woke up earlier today. Usually its Lottie who wakes you up with kisses all over your face until you open your beautiful eyes for her, but today, you woke up sooner than her and even tho you wanted to wake her up the same way she does, you wanted her to rest.

Yesterday they had a game and she was so tired after celebrating their win. Poor girl got little too wasted and damn it was hell to drag her ass into her bed, all she wanted was to cuddle and hold you. But eventually you made her change clothes and cuddle you to sleep. And damn god her grip on you was tight before she dozed off with slight snores.

With a chuckles at the memory, you throw the duvet off yourself and quietly leaving the sleeping beauty in her room.

You have been here way too many times, at Matthews place, and at this point you memorised it inch by inch, that even if you were blind you could find your way around here without an issue.

You greeted their maid who asked you if you wanted something. With a polite smile on your face you declined and told her to just enjoy the morning and rest, that you want to make pancakes yourself. After little convincing, the maid just smiled at you and let you do your thing as she went to drink her coffee with the other one.

You prepared your pancake paste and just enjoying the morning, you made sure to make even for the maids.

They liked you and you liked them, you were always so kind to them and whenever you were there, they talked with you and you got so caught up with chatting with them, that Lottie had to literally steal you away from them sometimes, either grabbing you by the crook of your shirt or you hand.

You were soo deep in your thoughts as you flipped your 6 pancake that you didnt notice that tall ass gremlin sneaking quietly behind you. She sneaked her hands over your waist and putting her head on your shoulder "You left me" she mumbled into the crook of your neck and kissing it gently. You turned around to face her, her hands still around you. Your heart melted at the sigh of her. Her fluffy hair, her still sleepy beautiful brown puppy eyes staring at you with adoration and love and the slight pout on her face.

With a chuckle you kissed her cheek and said "Morning Lottie" completely forgetting the pancake in the pan as you stared at her, pouting at you cutely "Morning my love" she answers you while a sweet smile creeps on her lips, the pout leaving her face completely after you kissed her cheek. You both just stare at eachtoher, smiling like idiots in love, because oh well you both were so deeply in love with eachtoher and both of you are idiots, a big ones.

You leaned in and pecks her lips softly. A hum of approval leaves Lotties lips as she closed her eyes savouring the sweet gesture "Im still mad you left" she says with a frowny pout. You giggled at that, oh god you were so in love with her it was disgusting.

Natalie gagged every. single. time you two were lovely dovey in front of the team. Not that she was disgusted by it, it was a reflex. Natalie usually started laughing after she gagged just like you two and the rest of the team. Tai and Van were like proud parents. Jackie and Shauna smiling wishing they had the guts to tell eachtoher how they feel and Misty was watching the both of you with adoration.

You two were so utterly in love it was nauseous.

"You gotta be more convincing for me to forgive you" said Lottie and you smiled, knowing exactly where this is going. So you leaned closer to her face, kissing her all over her beautiful face. Her cheeks, her forehead, her jaw, her temples, everywhere but her lips. She started giggling at the display of affection and love. Her pouty-sulky expression completely melting at your gesture "Oh god i love you so much" she says between giggles as she holds your cheek "i love you too" you said with a huge smile on your face.

You will never get tired of hearing those words from her nor tired of telling her. She leans in, capturing your lips in a sweet innocent kiss, or so you thought.

That giant ass gremlin whos your girlfriend had other plans. She lifted you like you weight nothing on the countertop, standing in between your legs as she kisses you slowly. Her hands that were on your waist are now resting on your hips. You gasped and giggled at that, not expecting that, but well after all, you should. You should know she would do this.

You smiled into the kiss and your hands that were on her shoulders slowly traveled in her hair and on her cheek, bringing her face closer to deepen the kiss. Her tongue slightly brushing over your lower lip. And as expected, you parted your lips a little. The kiss was slow and sweet, making your heart skip a beat as her tongue brushed over yours and you both moaned at the sensation as the kiss deepened and your stomach fills with butterflies with that one specific flip that made you feel glad she lifted you on the counter to sit, because if you were standing your knees would buckle and get all wobbly.

You both were so lost in the sensual, slow kiss full of love, both consumed by eachtoher souls that you ABSOLUTELY forgot about the now burnt pancake in the pan.

That was until you smelled it.

You opened your eyes with realisation, putting your hands from where they were into Lotties chest, pushing her slightly away. She whined at the loss of contact.

You smacked her shoulder lightly as you jumped from the counter top, grabbing the pan and flipping now the burn as hell pancake into a plate "You are forbidden in the kitchen next time im cooking, you are distracting me way too much" you shot her a glare with a pout. What a terrible day, the perfect pancake ruined because your girlfriend was sulky that you left her to sleep.

Lottie giggled and hugged you once again from behind as you held the pan "Im not sorry at all" she kissed your cheek and then nuzzled her head in your neck, savouring your scent that brings so much comfort to her and the one she loved so much (she would never admit it to you, but she bought the same perfume you use and sprays it on her clothes when you two cant be together, or when she misses you, or when shes just feeling soft.. so basically almost all the time).

"I know you are not" you say playfully and hands her a plate with few pancakes and hands it to her "now eat it snd let me finish it"

With a chuckle she kissed your cheek again and grabs it from you. Sitting on a chair nesr a table and eating it, all while she stares at you, working in a kitchen. Making pancakes looking so carefree and so domesticated.

Lottie heart jumped in her chest, the thought of waking everyday with you by her side, making food in a kitchen and living together making her so happy. And she cant wait for more mornings like that in a future. With you. In your own house you both live in, happy and together.

After that you told the maids that you are sorry for the burn smell and how Lottie distracted you, they laughed at that, knowing how Lottie is.

They appreciated you made some for them. Their hearts swelling at the thought you see them as humans too and not just maids, workers or as a property.

You and Lottie told them your goodbyes as Lottie, once again, had to drag your ass with her. Wanting you all for herself.

You spend the whole day cuddling in her bed, watching silly movies. Kissing and talking.

It was perfect saturday for both of you.

╚══ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══╝

[thebroccolination]

THE EXPERTLY LAYERED WRITING IN THAMEPO'S FIRST EPISODE

My dudes.

The last time I was this jazzed about a series from the very first episode, I was watching Be My Favorite, which went on to become my favorite Thai series. Some of that was because of Krist's talent and charisma as Kawi, some of it was the chemistry between Krist and Gawin, some was the music, some was the production value overall, but most of it was the writing.

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE WRITING IN THAMEPO.

While I was watching the premiere of ThamePo yesterday, I messaged @hallowpen to rave about the script. "It has stakes!" I wrote. "A time limit! Character arcs!" Then they asked me who the director was, and when I told them it's Mui (Aticha Tanthanawigrai), they essentially said, "That makes sense."

Because Mui isn't only a director—she's primarily a scriptwriter.

And she definitely seems to know what she's doing.

The first episode has to do so much right to hook an audience and create a solid foundation for subsequent episodes.

It has to introduce the protagonist in their normal circumstances, then quickly endear them to the audience, establish what they want, show the obstacle(s) in their way, and give people a reason to keep watching. Do this while avoiding the traps of info-dumping or weighing down the narrative with too many characters at once. You have to build just enough of a structure to pique curiosity, but not so much that people can guess where the story is going.

ThamePo did all of that, and beautifully.

In the first scene, Po is interviewing for a creative job so he can return to his passion after spending three years helping Earn, his ex-boyfriend, achieve his goals. This interview shows us that Po is earnest and honest to a fault, which is helpful for endearing him to the audience, but a well-written scene is usually doing more than one thing. At the end of his short interview, the interviewers tell Po that his reason for taking a break was off-putting, and they advise him not to be quite so truthful in the future.

I'm curious if Po learning how to use his natural earnestness effectively will be part of his character arc. Because later in the episode, Po decides to embrace a mild level of dishonesty to get the job with ONER. He reluctantly agrees to give them a resume that his friend edited to sound more flattering, and in his interview, he…embellishes the truth.

This is the first time we see a flashback to the one time Po went to a MARS event to take photos for his friend, and it's fairly unremarkable on the surface. Just a quick shot of him in the crowd—one of many—and then a shot of him editing the footage at home.

No sign that this is setting up some fantastic layering in the script.

Now, before I go on, I just want to say that, y'know, stakes and character arcs and obstacles and time limits are all extremely basic facets of a story. The reason I'm excited that ThamePo has them is because a lot of the queer Thai series I've seen throughout the past five years…haven't had them. Especially in the onslaught of hundreds of BL and GL series produced in the past two years, the vast majority of them just seem to have been slapped together. A rough first draft kicked onto a smoking conveyer belt bleeding text and plot points.

But Be My Favorite is as good as it is in part because Waa campaigned for more time to work on the script. And ThamePo was apparently in the works for five years before Mui found the cast she wanted.

Good stories take time to create, so I'm glad that there are a small number of series actually getting that time.

Okay, so!

Let's talk layering.

Thame's first words to Po are, "Are you a sasaeng?"

For the uninitiated, sasaeng fans are an ever-growing concern in celebrity spaces, and given how much leeway GMMTV has given to sasaeng behavior in the past, I'm surprised and glad to see them allowing them to be a negative plot point.*

*Truthfully, I don't think you can tell an authentic story about modern-day celebrities without at least mentioning the horrific effects that sasaeng culture have on them.

Later, we find out that Thame saw Po at the fan meeting, and Thame gives Po the options of quitting on his own or being fired after Thame exposes the footage he's found.

So now we've seen this fan meeting twice: once from Po's perspective as a job he did for a friend, and now from Thame's perspective noticing some guy in the crowd.

We're incrementally getting more information as it becomes relevant.

And then, finally, after Po convinces Thame that he isn't a sasaeng or even a fan, Thame reveals the part that matters most to the story going forward:

The reason he remembered Po is because, in a crowd of people screaming to get his attention for their own sake, Po was the only one trying to help someone else. And I think that's another hint at Po's character arc: Earn took advantage of his earnestness and his selflessness and hurt him deeply, but he shouldn't have to give up that gentle side of himself to be happy.

This third layer shows us the most important detail of this moment and why the episode keeps coming back to it: this brief memory meant something to Thame.

I think the reason Thame was so aggressive to Po in the office when they met for the first time wasn't just that Thame suspected Po was a sasaeng.

Look at Thame's face in that last screencap: it touched his heart to see someone he assumed was a fan helping a younger, smaller fan. In a cut-throat industry where fame is mercurial, the public is vicious, the media poisonous, and fans fickle, little moments of genuine humanity and kindness must be priceless to the celebrities at the center of it all.

So, from Thame's perspective, recognizing that same "fan" at his workplace? Thinking that fan was intentionally filming a vulnerable moment between him and the CEO? It probably spoiled that precious memory. Maybe even introduced the possibility that Po just used an innocent child that day to manipulate Thame's emotions.

How little does Thame have in his life? We don't know yet, but maybe little moments like that are all that's propping him up anymore.

And we can garner all of this from the gradual layering of one scene.

That one fleeting moment from their shared past shapes everything for Thame and Po going forward. For Po, he was doing a favor for a friend and added an offhand gesture to a child. But for Thame, it was a ray of sincerity in a dangerously murky world he seems to feel strangled by.

One of my favorite directing and character choices in this episode is that Thame is soft-spoken in both anger and vulnerability. He's so tightly controlled at all times because of his public-facing job, and he's in such a low place emotionally, but he hasn't lost his kindness, either. Once he knows Po isn't a threat to him or his fellow members, Thame compliments the work Po's done, and he asks Po to continue his documentary work.

Thame isn't Earn. Po projects that onto him and quickly learns he's wrong.

(I really hope earnestness ends up being one of the main motifs in this series, because it suits both characters so well, and the world they're both in now makes living earnestly extremely challenging.)

All in all, the first episode exceeded my high expectations. I loved the teaser, I loved the trailer, and I'm delighted with the first episode. I hope the rest of the series lives up to this level of quality, but I'm not worried.

Judging by the writing, I think this series is in good hands. <3

[azullumi]

premise — you know those beach arc in a 12-episode shoujo anime? make it with the ip3o !!

characters — aventurine, topaz, and ratio

tags — established relationship, fluff, not proofread, 0.6k words ; headcanons

note — just something quick which i wrote in the beach yesterday before my phone wanted to become a fish and dived into the ocean !! probably not that accurate to their character but hey i just wanted to have fun

AVENTURINE who will write your name in the sand, only to have it being washed away by the ocean’s wave the moment he shows it to you. The dejected look on his face as he watches his effort being flattened and smoothened into sand will just make you want to kiss him (he’s just so kissable no matter what he does).

AVENTURINE who will stay up all night listening to the waves and watching stars with you. He’ll set up a small tent for the both of you to stay in as you wait for the sun to set and the sky to cast its dark blanket to reveal the stars that are waiting to be seen. It’s such a pretty sight, something that you will forever engrave in your mind, but he’s there spending most of his time looking at you before the stars; he ended up missing the shooting star that passed by.

AVENTURINE who will collect pretty seashells with you. He’ll look out for them while he’s on his own and will choose the ones he thinks you’ll love—seemingly seeking your approval, he’ll show the shell to you with expectation drawn in each breath. He adores the look on your face when you get so excited over something small and simple.

TOPAZ who will build play in the sand and build sandcastles with you, along with Numby who’ll watch by the sidelines like a curious cat to their busy owner. You two, in collaboration, would either end up with the tallest and most majestic sandcastle ever made or the most horrendous piece ever seen by mankind—there’s no in between. Bonus points if it also gets washed away by the wave.

TOPAZ who will drag you anywhere and everything. She will take you to several and various locations whether it be a hidden spot with a nice view which she found while she was out walking (she’ll steal a kiss from you once knowing that there’s nobody around) or to areas that are bustling with activities that the both of you can participate in.

TOPAZ who’s probably the most active person you’ll see at the beach. One minute she’s playing volleyball, the next she’s out making kites fly, then the next you’ll see her, she’s setting up the bonfire for later night or either talking with the locals. Best believe that she’ll spend her evening just by your side, leaning against your form in silence as she tries to recover her energy—which would probably just lead to her falling asleep beside you.

DR. RATIO who will most likely spend his time sunbathing or staying away from the water—he wouldn’t want his book to get wet, would he? Although he brings his book during his baths, the ocean is quite unpredictable compared to the still waters of his bathtub. Sometimes, the tide would come in slow and gentle like a mother’s lullaby but it would be followed by a body-slapping wave that would drag you away from the shore.

DR. RATIO who will wake you up early just for the sunrise because he learned that the view would be a lovely sight—also, because he thinks you might like it. He’ll gently guide you through the sand as you force your eyes open, drowsiness still in your gaze and the way you slowly walk to not stumble in your steps; he’ll hold your hand the whole time and you’ll watch the sunrise with him in silence of the cold morning.

DR. RATIO who will look after you and watch you always. He wouldn’t let the opportunity to say something (scold you or tell you off) pass by, however. Most likely would pull something like, “You’re cold, aren’t you? If so, that’s your own problem.” then would proceed to place a jacket or towel over your shoulder.

© azullumi — do not plagiarize, copy, repost, nor translate any of my works.

[whereserpentswalk]

The reason why that joss whedon/mcu style "he's right behind me" humor is so unpleasant is because it's written with contempt for the worldbuilding most of the time.

Basically a lot of that quippy joss whedon style humor is written by people who are uncomfortable with the concept of genre fiction, but who are writing it any way, so they basically end up having their characters voice their opinion on the setting. Something like the "a cannibal named Hannibal isn't that a little on the nose" from that what if other movies were written by joss whedon meme doesn't work, not just because it's humor in an otherwise serious thing (tons of serious movies have comic relief) but because it's a comment someone would only make if they're reacting to the the name as if it's something written, and not like it's a real name they encountered.

It's terrible writing, but it's not about tone like how most people think, it's about characterization. Good character writing tends to rely on thinking about who the character is and what they'd do in the situation they're in. This type of humor does the exact opposite, it ignores crucial elements of who a character is so they can say something that the writer wants desperately to be said.

To use a more concrete example, there's an exchange in Firefly, a series joss whedon wrote before his worst writing quirks infected all of Hollywood like a locust plague. The exchange surrounds the characters reacting to one of the characters being revealed to have gained psychic powers via lobotomy. One character says skeptically "psychic powers, what kind of scifi nonsense is this" and another character replies "we live on a spaceship."

Now, this exchange has bothered me since I was a child. Spaceships are a normal thing in the firefly universe, every single character has lived their entire life with them being mundane vehicles, while psychic powers have just been revealed to be a thing to the audience. There's no reason why it would make sense for any character to see those two things as equivalent. The only people who that line makes sense to are the writers. It's like a perfectly constructed attack on suspension of disbelief, actively making fun of an audience who gets invested in the characters and their lives.

And the worst part about it, is that if it was just the first line, (the, "what type of scifi nonsense is this") without the reply, (the, "We live in a spaceship"). It would have worked better, both as a joke and as a peice of character writing.

It would have worked better as a joke without the reply, because it would have been actually subtle about the irony of a character in a spaceship complaining about something in his life seeming too scifi. The reply is basically just explaining the joke. It would have worked better as a worldbuilding line. Because what's weird for characters in a setting vs what's normal for them is a really hard thing to get across, and the first line gets it across pretty elegantly. And then the reply takes that elegant peice of writing and completely destroys it because of the writers insecurities about writing a story that takes place in space.

Anyway. Joss whedon is a badish writer and his worst tendencies should not have become Hollywood standard. All of this came from me re-watching old episodes of adventure time yesterday and wondering why the humor works there and why other media's humor doesn't work.

[jungkoode]

死 KKANGPAE | #03 死

† breakfast and training †

"His eyes are the kind of dark that makes you forget there was ever light in the world. And you hate that you're starting to notice details about him."

next | index

⚔ chapter details ⚔

word count: 5.4k

rating: mature

content: training violence, weapons, strong language, sexual tension

☠ author's note ☠

HELLO MY FELLOW SLEEP-DEPRIVED CREATURES. Welcome back to another episode of "Kiki makes questionable life choices and writes fanfiction instead of sleeping"!

Can we talk about how I wrote like three different versions of the gun scene before my perfectionist brain was satisfied? And by satisfied I mean "fine whatever just post it I guess." Don't @ me about gun accuracy, I play Call of Duty sometimes that's research enough (ㆆᴗㆆ)

Also yes, I am absolutely living for the whole "oh no they're training together" trope. Sue me. Or don't, I'm broke. All I have is caffeine and the ability to make my characters suffer. Speaking of which - Jeon in combat mode? chef's kiss My boy is out there being all professional and grumpy while Y/N is just trying her best not to get shot. We love that for them.

PSA: The whole "Cookie" thing was totally self-indulgent and I regret nothing. V is here to cause chaos and honestly? Goals.

Special shoutout to my cat who watched me write this at 3 AM and judged me silently. You're the best beta reader a girl could ask for, even if your only feedback is knocking my coffee over.

See you next Tuesday, you beautiful disasters! Remember: sleep is for the weak and fanfiction is for life.

crawls back into writing cave while mainlining espresso

Kiki

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tumblr/twitter: @jungkoode

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎

Mornings in the castle hit different. Through your window, the sky's doing that thing where it can't decide if it's still night or already dawn—all soft blues mixing with hints of gold. Everything's quiet, like the world's holding its breath.

Then your alarm goes off.

"Why did we agree to this again?" Yunjin whines from her bed, fumbling to shut up the annoying buzz. Her pink hair is a mess, splayed across her pillow like cotton candy gone wrong.

"Croissants," you remind her, stretching until your joints pop. "Fresh, buttery, heavenly croissants."

"Not hungry." She burrows deeper into her blanket cocoon. "Too early for hunger. Too early for existing."

You swing your legs off the bed, bare feet hitting the cold floor. "What happened to yesterday's 'new me, new goals' speech?"

"That was yesterday's Yunjin. Today's Yunjin chooses sleep."

With a snort, you pad over to her bed. It's literally two steps away—your shared room is cozy like that, with just enough space for two singles and matching bedside tables. You give her shoulder a gentle shake.

"And what's tomorrow's Yunjin gonna think about that?"

"Tomorrow's Yunjin's problem," she mumbles, death-gripping her blanket. Smart girl. She knows your next move would've been stealing it.

"Then it's tomorrow's me problem too!" You can't help but laugh, and it finally gets her to peek one eye open.

She lets out the longest, most dramatic sigh. "Fine. Fine. You win."

Your shared laughter is soft, comfortable. It's weird how quickly Yunjin became your person here. Maybe because she's as new to this as you are—no pressure to measure up to badasses like Chaewon or keep your guard up around intimidating figures like V and Jeon.

She joined two months before you did. For her, it meant saying goodbye to having her own room, but she says it was worth the trade-off. Girl's a mess when it comes to sleep schedules, but she keeps your shared space spotless and her determination is s̶c̶a̶r̶y̶ impressive. Like, you've seen her practice seduction techniques until 3 AM, and now here she is, dragging herself up at dawn for... well, croissants and self-improvement.

There's something genuinely good about Yunjin. She's always there—to help, to listen, to just be. Five months in and everyone in Seduction already adores her. Yeah, she's clumsy as hell during physical training, but her mind is sharp. Nothing gets past her—it's like she's got a built-in lie detector.

After yesterday morning's... incident, you're extra grateful for her company.

You both grab your digital cards from your bedside tables—can't go anywhere in this place without them. They're basically your whole identity here, determining which doors open for you and which stay firmly shut.

The castle corridors feel endless this early. Most members are probably still sleeping or doing whatever gang members do at dawn. Your footsteps echo softly as you and Yunjin make your way to the cafeteria, keeping the conversation light.

"Have you had breakfast here before?" you ask, watching her stifle another yawn.

"Once." She nods, her pink ponytail bouncing. "Got up at 10 though. Wasn't worth sacrificing sleep for."

You can't help but smile. "Early breakfast hits different. You'll see."

When you reach the cafeteria, Yunjin taps her digital card against the scanner. The light blinks green, and suddenly your nose is filled with the heavenly smell of fresh pastries. Inside, only a handful of early birds are scattered around the massive space. Makes sense—most people here prefer their beds at this hour.

Your eyes do their usual sweep of the room, casual and practiced. But then something pulls at you, like a magnet finding true north. Your gaze locks with dark, piercing ones.

Jeon.

"Oh, that's Jeon, right?" Yunjin's voice cuts through your thoughts. "Guess he likes mornings too."

You nod, still watching him from the safety of the doorway. Something about the distance makes you feel almost safe. He's got that thing about him—that unmistakable aura of authority that even 6 AM can't dim.

"Damn," Yunjin says after a beat, blunt as ever. "He's hot."

"Let's get food," you mutter, rolling your eyes and heading for the pastry section.

You and Yunjin load up your plates with a bit of everything, especially those famous croissants. Finding a quiet corner, you settle in to enjoy both the food and each other's company, pointedly not thinking about piercing dark eyes or brooding corners.

You try to look casual as your eyes drift back to Jeon for the hundredth time.

He's sitting there, both hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee like it's his lifeline to sanity this early in the morning. The sight of those tattooed fingers curled around plain white ceramic does something to your brain that you'd rather not examine too closely.

"You know, I heard something interesting about him." Yunjin's voice makes you jump. S̶h̶i̶t̶ Great, she caught you staring.

"Oh?" You tilt your head, hoping your voice sounds more curious than guilty.

Yunjin leans in conspiratorially, her pink hair falling forward as she drops her voice to barely above a whisper. It's kind of unnecessary given how far away Jeon is, but there's something about him that makes everyone speak in hushed tones.

"Apparently, he's got this whole... ritual thing going on. Every single morning, without fail, he makes sure he's the first one to get fresh coffee. Like, the first cup from a fresh pot."

Your eyes track back to that cup held between ink-covered fingers. Now that she mentions it, you've never seen him drink anything else in the mornings. The way he's savoring it, eyes closed and expression almost peaceful, makes you think Yunjin might be onto something.

"Every day? He's literally the first one here?" The mental image of Jeon lurking outside the cafeteria doors, waiting for them to unlock, is both hilarious and weirdly endearing.

"From what I've heard. Maybe it's a power move?" Yunjin suggests with a soft laugh. "You know, asserting dominance through caffeine consumption."

The idea of someone as intimidating as Jeon—co-leader of the Assassination Division, member of the Council of 9, literal professional killer—climbing the ranks of one of South Korea's most dangerous gangs just to secure his morning coffee makes something bubble up in your chest.. You have to bite your lip to keep from laughing too loud.

"Imagine that being his master plan all along," you snort. "Join gang, become assassination chief, get first dibs on coffee."

You both dissolve into quiet giggles, but the moment shatters when something shifts in the air. It's like thorny vines suddenly wrapping around your lungs, making it hard to breathe. You don't need to look to know who it is.

"Mind if I join the fun?" V's voice slides over your skin like honey laced with poison, playful but with that edge that makes your hair stand on end.

His arms drape over your shoulders without warning, caging you and Yunjin in what should be a friendly gesture but feels more like being trapped. Your muscles tense automatically. There's something about V that keeps you perpetually on edge—like admiring a rose only to remember it's got thorns that could draw blood.

Yunjin manages a wobbly smile, but you can tell she's as unsettled as you are by his sudden appearance. "We were just... talking about coffee."

"Coffee?" V drawls the word like it personally offends him. He pulls back, throwing his arms behind his head in that carelessly graceful way of his, but stays close enough that you can smell cinnamon. "Boring. Now, this new training program? That's something worth discussing."

His eyes glint with mischief, reminding you of a cat playing with its food. "I'm keen to see what you girls bring to the table. Should be... intriguing, don't you think?"

The way he says it makes your skin crawl. There's nothing overtly threatening about his words, but the undercurrent is clear—the Assassination Division isn't known for playing nice, and V seems to view the upcoming cross-training as his personal playground.

"I'm sure it will be enlightening," you say carefully.

V's energy is infectious, but not in a good way. More like a disease you're trying not to catch.

He chuckles, and those thorny vines around your lungs squeeze tighter. "Oh, I'm sure it will be. And don't worry, yours truly will be there to add a little spice to the mix. Can't let things get too dull, can we?"

Before you can respond, his attention snaps to something—or someone—across the cafeteria. With a dismissive wave that somehow manages to feel both elegant and insulting, he strides off as suddenly as he appeared.

You exchange looks with Yunjin, both of you sagging with relief once he's gone. She looks as drained as you feel, like V's presence alone sucked all the energy from the room.

"Well, that was... something," Yunjin says, and you could write a whole essay about everything packed into that single word. Her pink hair is still slightly disheveled from where V's dramatic entrance messed it up.

"That's one way to put it." You try to shake off the phantom feeling of thorny vines around your lungs. V's presence leaves you feeling like you've been through some kind of emotional washing machine—tumbled around and wrung out.

"But oh my god." Yunjin's whole face suddenly lights up like she's remembered something amazing. The whiplash from her mood shift almost gives you vertigo.

"What?" You ask, though part of you already knows where this is going. Yunjin might be shy and perceptive, but she's also a total simp when it comes to pretty faces.

"He is SO handsome?" Her voice rises with genuine awe. "Everyone kept saying he looks like a prince, but I thought they were exaggerating. They were not."

You raise an eyebrow, wondering if you were even in the same conversation just now. Sure, V's gorgeous—that's kind of his whole thing. The dangerous beauty, the dripping poison. But after feeling his aura wrap around you like a boa constrictor, 'handsome' isn't exactly the first word that comes to mind.

"Did you miss the whole creepy vibe?" You keep your voice low, even though V's long gone. Some habits die hard in this place. "He talked about the training program like he's planning to turn it into his personal episode of Squid Game. With popcorn."

"Yeah, but like..." Yunjin waves her hand dismissively, "have you seen his face? Those cheekbones? That jawline?"

"The way he's probably plotting our deaths as we speak?" You counter, but you can't help the smile tugging at your lips. Trust Yunjin to focus on the aesthetics while completely ignoring the red flags. It's kind of adorable, in a concerning way.

"Doesn't change the fact that he's eye candy," she says with zero shame, stabbing her fork into her breakfast. "Like, premium, expensive, imported chocolate level of eye candy."

"True," you admit, finally taking a proper bite of your croissant.

And it is true—V's got that whole ethereal beauty thing going on, like a masterpiece painting that happens to be slightly cursed. The kind of face that belongs in museums but also probably comes alive at night to terrorize security guards.

But even as you acknowledge V's obvious appeal, your eyes betray you, drifting back to that other corner of the cafeteria. Back to dark eyes and hurricanes.

Back to Jeon.

It's not like you mean to look.

It just... happens.

Like your gaze has some kind of magnetic programming that keeps pulling it in his direction.

Which is s̶t̶u̶p̶i̶d̶ inconvenient because the last thing you need is to get caught staring at one of the most dangerous men in Kkangpae while you've got croissant crumbs on your face.

The rest of your morning slips by without V popping up again to make your skin crawl. You try to focus on getting ready for what's coming, but your mind keeps drifting to the upcoming training.

Working with Jeon and V's division? Yeah, that's not anxiety-inducing at all.

When you step onto the training field outside the castle, the change of scenery hits different. After being cooped up in the gang's concrete maze, the open space and towering trees feel almost surreal. The cold morning air bites at your lungs—a wake-up call you didn't ask for but probably need.

Today's not just another training day. It's your first cross-training with the Assassination Division, and the tension in the air is so thick you could cut it with one of V's knives.

Your stomach does this weird flip-flop thing as you walk towards the gathering crowd. Working with Jeon after... that incident? Not exactly on your bucket list. The memory of your last encounter sits heavy in your chest, making each step feel like you're walking through mud.

The Assassination Division is already there when you arrive, looking like they stepped out of some action movie poster. Some look ready to murder, others look ready for a nap. But it's Jeon who catches your eye—impossible not to, really. It's like the air itself is swirling around him like a storm about to break.

He's got that look on his face—you know the one. All business, no bullshit, could probably kill you with his pinky finger.

No sign of V though.

Makes sense, when you think about it. Those two aren't exactly besties—more like two wolves forced to share the same territory. Their whole approach to killing is different as night and day.

Jeon's all about precision. Clean shots, minimal mess, maximum efficiency. He's the type to plan every detail, calculate every variable. Need someone taken out from two buildings away without anyone even knowing what happened? That's his specialty. The human equivalent of a surgical strike.

V though? He's chaos incarnate. Gets up close and personal with his kills, leaves a message written in blood if he feels like it. He's the guy you call when you want someone dead and don't care how messy it gets. Planning? Fuck planning—V works on pure instinct and improvisation.

The crowd goes quiet as Jeon steps forward. The atmosphere shifts, less like a raging storm now and more like the heavy air before thunder breaks. When he speaks, his voice does that thing where it demands attention without actually raising in volume. And despite everything—despite knowing better—you find yourself leaning in slightly to catch every word.

"Your state of mind is everything in this line of work," he says, dark eyes scanning the crowd like he's reading everyone's potential in real time. "A calm, collected mind can mean the difference between life and death."

The task he lays out seems simple enough: shoot the cardboard target, hit the center, don't mess it up. But as you watch others take their turns, that knot in your stomach keeps getting tighter.

The gun feels wrong in your hand. Not that you haven't held one before—basic training covers that—but this is different. This is him watching, and somehow that makes your palms extra sweaty.

Then your turn's up.

Walking to the mark feels like crossing a minefield, every step measured and tense. Your heart's going so hard you can barely hear anything else.

Focus. You need to focus.

But Jeon's standing right there, making the air thick and hard to breathe. Your finger hovers over the trigger, but doubt creeps in like poison.

The target blurs in and out. You can feel Jeon watching, that heavy gaze picking apart every flaw in your stance. The pressure builds in your chest until you're sure something's gonna snap.

Just a bit longer. You need to be absolutely sure before taking the shot.

It's not like Seduction gets much practice with actual weapons—your arsenal usually involves batting eyelashes and strategic flirting, not bullets and gunpowder. So it's no wonder the gun starts slipping through your sweaty fingers.

You tighten your grip. A surge of determination hits you like a shot of adrenaline. Come on. It's just cardboard. You've handled way worse situations than this. You can do this.

Your finger starts to squeeze the trigger—

BANG.

That... wasn't your gun.

You flinch, turning toward the sound before you can stop yourself. Through the corner of your eye, you catch smoke curling from Jeon's pistol.

He's standing there looking bored, arm extended like this is just another one of his daily mornings. The gun fits his hand like it was molded for him, an extension of his body rather than a weapon.

When your eyes snap to the target, there it is—perfect shot, dead center, because of course it is.

A̶s̶s̶h̶o̶l̶e̶ Show-off.

You lower your gun, lips pressed tight. His gaze sits heavy on your shoulders, hurricane pressure bearing down until you want to scream. His face gives nothing away, but those dark eyes say plenty—and none of it's good.

"If you're not quick enough, you'll get killed." His voice cuts like ice. "Let that be a reminder for everyone else."

The words hit like a slap. Heat rushes to your face—anger, embarrassment, frustration, all mixing together into something that makes you want to either punch something or crawl into a hole. Preferably punch him, but you're very aware of everyone watching this little show he's putting on.

Both divisions are staring, and you've never felt more like a fish in a very small, very exposed bowl.

Your eyes meet Jeon's, and suddenly breathing gets hard. His stare hits different—those dark eyes boring into yours like he's trying to read your soul, pupils blown wide in a way that makes your stomach do weird flips.

That silver lip ring catches the light when his mouth twists into something s̶e̶x̶y̶ condescending. He opens his mouth—probably to tear into you some more—but then—

BANG.

Everyone drops like puppets with cut strings. Pure instinct.

It's instant chaos. Voices rise into a crescendo of shouts and commands, bodies moving with practiced urgency.

It's kind of beautiful, in a messed-up way—how quickly personal beef gets shelved when shit hits the fan. One minute Jeon's looking at you like you're dirt on his boot, next second he's barking orders to keep everyone safe.

Your heart's in your throat as you scan the crowd for a flash of pink hair.

Yunjin.

But Yunjin's nowhere.

The sea of faces blurs together—no Kazuha, no Eunchae, not even Sakura. Even Chaewon's vanished, which is weird because she's usually got this sixth sense about danger.

Another shot cracks through the air. Your fingers tighten around your gun until your knuckles go white. Your eyes keep drifting to the treeline, where shadows dance between patches of dark green.

A calm, collected mind can mean the difference between life and death.

His words echo in your head, which is ironic considering how not calm you feel right now.

Fuck it.

You're moving before you can second-guess yourself, legs carrying you toward the forest. Maybe it's stupid, but you need space to think. To be calm, like he said.

Plus, the trees might give you cover—an advantage you desperately need right now.

The forest swallows you up. Sunlight filters through leaves overhead, painting everything in shifting patterns of light and shadow. Every step crunches on dead leaves, making you wince. So much for stealth.

V wouldn't be happy.

The chaos from the training ground fades the deeper you go, replaced by normal forest sounds—birds chattering overhead, small animals rustling in the bushes. It's almost peaceful, if you ignore the whole possible death situation.

You spot it then—a ridge overlooking the training ground, hidden behind thick bushes. Perfect vantage point, if you can reach it. The climb makes your muscles burn, but you manage. Up here, you force yourself to breathe slow and steady, trying to quiet your racing heart. Your fingers trace the gun's cold metal like a lifeline.

Your back hits the tree with a thud. The bark scrapes against your spine through your shirt, but you barely notice. Every nerve in your body is focused on that rustling sound behind you.

Footsteps.

Your breath catches. They're quiet—too quiet to be some random person stumbling through the woods.

No, these are the steps of someone who knows how to move silently. Someone trained.

Adrenaline floods your system as you press yourself flatter against the tree. Your fingers tighten around the gun until your knuckles go white. Through a gap in the leaves, you try to catch a glimpse of whoever's approaching, but the foliage is too thick.

Friend or foe?

The question pounds in your head with each careful footstep drawing closer. Your mind races, too many possibilities—it could be an enemy, could be another member searching the area.

Could be death or salvation walking your way.

The steps are almost upon you now. Your breathing goes shallow, controlled. You might be exposed up here, but they don't know that. Surprise is your only advantage right now.

Shoot or strike?

The dilemma tears at you. A gunshot would alert everyone to your location. And if it turns out to be an ally... F̶u̶c̶k̶ No. Hand-to-hand is safer. Quieter. Less explaining to do if you're wrong.

Your muscles coil tight as a spring. When the footsteps are close enough, you launch yourself from behind the tree in one fluid motion, aiming to take them down hard and fast.

Instead, you slam into what feels like a brick wall.

Oh.

It's Jeon.

His reflexes are insane—before you can even process who he is, he's already moving. The air sweeps around you as he twists, disarming you with embarrassing ease. Your gun hits the ground with a clatter that seems to echo through the whole forest.

Recognition hits you both at the same moment. That flicker of shock in his eyes quickly turns to his usual look of disdain, because of course it does.

Then—a misstep.

Your ankle rolls, sending white-hot pain shooting up your leg. You stumble, sucking in a sharp breath. His grip on you loosens just slightly, and something that might be concern flashes across his face before his usual cold mask slips back into place.

"You okay?" His voice is gruff, like the words are being dragged out of him against his will.

"Just perfect," you snap back, because fuck his concern when your ankle feels like it's on fire and your pride hurts even worse.

He just stands there, staring at you with those dark eyes that see too much.

"What the hell were you thinking?" A pause, one eyebrow lifting. "You have a gun, don't you?"

You almost laugh. Because of course. If you'd shot at him, he'd be lecturing you about trigger discipline. Attack hand-to-hand, and suddenly you're an idiot for not using your weapon.

You seriously can't win with this man.

"Well, good thing I didn't use it on you then." The words come out lighter than you feel, dancing between playful and pissed. "And what are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be back there playing commander?"

"That's what deputies are for." The casual way he says it makes your teeth grind. "Besides, I dispatched a team to check the gunfire. Just my luck, running into you instead."

"Pleasure's all mine, chief." You load the title with all the sarcasm you can muster.

"And you?" His dark eyes study you like you're a particularly puzzling target he can't quite line up. "Any reason you're out here instead of following orders?"

"Didn't get any orders to follow." You cross your arms, ignoring how his presence makes your skin prickle. "And that ridge over there?" You jab a finger toward the overlook. "Perfect vantage point. I was trying to be strategic before you showed up."

He actually grimaces at that, like your logic physically pains him. But before he can open his mouth to deliver what's surely another lecture, you add:

"Just my luck, running into you instead."

The words—his own words turned back on him—hit their mark. His eyebrow twitches just slightly, and satisfaction blooms warm in your chest.

Score one for you.

But before you can inwardly celebrate, he grimaces. He actually grimaces before he opens his stupid mouth again.

"That?" His voice drips with condescension. "You think that's prime real estate for observation?" The asshole holds back a laughter. "Alright." He says, and you ponder the merits of hitting him with a rock.

But then he begins walking, and you trail after him, partly because s̶c̶r̶e̶w̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ he's wrong and partly because... well, where else are you gonna go?

"Remind me again—which one of us specializes in persuasion and observation?" You can't keep the annoyance from your voice. His arrogance is starting to give you a headache.

"And which one of us is known for sniping?" He tilts his head just enough for you to catch the silver flash of his eyebrow piercing. "You think I don't know a thing or two about picking vantage points?"

"Just because you can shoot from far away doesn't mean you know the best places to shoot from." The words come out sharper than intended. "What works for a sniper might not work for surveillance. They're different skill sets."

"How so?" He doesn't even bother looking back now. "A lookout's a lookout, smartass."

Your hands find your hips. "You know what? Ask me that again when you sit in on our cross-training. Might learn something useful."

"Learn from an ensign?" His tilt is mocking. "No—learn from you?" He lets out a low chuckle that makes your teeth grind. "Pretty sure it works the other way around."

"Forgot about Flower?" You can't help the snark in your voice. "She's a chief too, and I'm sure she'd love to put you in your place."

The exhale he lets out is so exaggerated it has to be for dramatic effect. "You're insufferable."

"Feeling's mutual, chief."

You trail behind Jeon through the darkness, trying to ignore how his mere presence makes the night air feel electric against your skin. The silence wraps around you both, broken only by your footsteps until—

A rustle in the underbrush.

Before you can react, his hand clamps around your wrist. No warning, no words—just the firm press of tattooed fingers against your pulse point as he yanks you behind a massive rock. You crash against him, bodies colliding in a mess of limbs and s̶h̶i̶t̶ startled breath.

You open your mouth to tell him exactly what you think about being manhandled, but his finger presses against his lips. Shut up. His eyes scan the darkness beyond your hiding spot, focused and lethal.

And suddenly you're way too aware of him.

The moonlight paints him in silver and shadow, highlighting things you've never noticed before. Like how his eyebrow piercing catches the light—two tiny beads of silver that draw attention to the way his brow furrows in concentration. Or how that lip ring glints when his mouth sets in that stern line you know too well.

There's a scar on his left cheek—barely there, really. Just a whisper of a mark that makes you wonder what story it tells. Your eyes drift lower, catching on the small mole decorating the left side of his neck. It's such a delicate detail on someone who radiates danger, like finding a flower growing through concrete.

But it's his eyes that f̶u̶c̶k̶ y̶o̶u̶ u̶p̶ catch you off guard. Dark and deep, framed by stupidly long lashes that flutter when he blinks. They're beautiful in a way that makes your chest tight—and isn't that just f̶u̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ fantastic? You didn't need to know that about him.

This close, you can see the tiny lines at the corners of those eyes. They speak of sleepless nights and heavy choices, of burdens carried too long alone. Watching him like this—he feels different now, less like a storm trying to drown you and more like standing in summer rain.

The realization hits like a punch to the gut: you're seeing Jeon. Not the cold-as-ice division chief or the intimidating Council member. Just... him. Human.

Complex.

His fingers are still wrapped around your wrist like an iron band. If anything, his grip's gotten tighter, and you're caught between wanting to yank free and being weirdly aware of how warm his hand is against your skin in the cool night air. It's hard to tell if you're feeling trapped or protected.

The footsteps draw closer—deliberate, confident. Not someone trying to hide.

You watch a muscle tick in Jeon's jaw, the kind of tiny detail you wouldn't normally notice if you weren't pressed so close to him. It's fascinating, in an annoying way, how he can look so calm while radiating such intense energy.

His eyes flick to yours for just a second, but it feels loaded with... something. Like you're suddenly partners in this mess, whether you like it or not. It's more communication than you've had in all your previous conversations combined.

The rustling gets louder. You hold your breath. Jeon's gone statue-still beside you, but you can feel the coiled tension in him. His dark eyes snap to a spot in the trees, then back to you with unnerving intensity.

"Shoot there."

You stare at him like he's lost his mind. "What?"

"There." His voice is barely a whisper, rough with urgency. He jerks his chin toward whatever he's seeing that you're apparently missing.

"You want me to shoot a tree branch?" The skepticism in your whisper could cut glass. "Seriously?"

"Just do what you're told." The words rumble out of him like distant thunder, crackling with impatience.

You give Jeon a look, but arguing isn't an option right now.

The gun feels heavy as you line up the shot. Your finger finds the trigger, and for a split second, everything goes quiet. The bang echoes through the trees, making your ears ring. You watch as the bullet hits exactly where Jeon wanted—that innocent-looking branch that apparently wasn't so innocent after all.

A net explodes from the darkness like some kind of ninja trap, shooting toward the approaching figure. But whoever it is moves like water—fluid, impossible, beautiful in a terrifying way. The net hits empty ground with a sad little flutter while your brain tries to process what just happened.

Beside you, Jeon goes still. If you weren't pressed so close, you might have missed that tiny hitch in his breath—the only sign that this wasn't part of his plan. His eyes narrow just slightly, that crack in his perfect mask making your stomach do weird flips.

He pushes you back against the rock, putting himself between you and whatever's coming. The stone digs into your spine, cold and rough through your clothes.

Then everything happens at once.

A shadow vaults over your hiding spot, moving with deadly grace. Gunshots crack through the night, and suddenly Jeon's shoving you down, his body covering yours. The world spins into a blur of motion and sound, your pulse drumming so loud you can barely think.

When reality settles back into focus, you watch the figure reach for their mask. Your fingers tighten on your gun, waiting to see what kind of threat managed to dodge one of Jeon's traps.

The mask comes off.

Oh for fuck's sake.

V's grinning like the cat that got the cream. "Paintball night!" he announces with way too much glee for someone who just scared the shit out of you.

Relief and irritation war in your chest. Of course it's V. Who else would turn a simple training exercise into their personal dramatic performance?

You watch Jeon's shoulders drop, but the annoyance is written all over his face. His jaw's so tight you can practically hear all the curses he's not saying.

Always the professional, even when he's irritated.

V's eyes dances with delight as he watches Jeon simmer. "Don't look at me like that, Kookie," he coos, lips curling into that signature smirk that makes you want to take a step back.

Cookie?

You blink, trying to process that nickname. Looking at Jeon—all dark clothes, silver piercings, and intimidating tattoos—the last thing that comes to mind is anything remotely cute or sweet. The mental image of him buying cookies from some terrified boy scouts makes you bite back a laugh.

Now that's a story you'd pay to hear.

Jeon's eyebrow shoots up in that way that somehow manages to say f̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ more effectively than actual words. His tongue pushes against the inside of his cheek, jaw working like he's physically holding back whatever he wants to say. He's irritated.

"I'll give you some advantage," V sighs dramatically, thorny vines wrapping around your lungs even from this distance. "No fun beating you when you're unarmed." The words drip with amusement, like this whole thing is his favorite game. "See ya."

With one last unsettling grin, he melts into the darkness. Because of course he does. Dramatic asshole.

You're still sprawled on the ground, processing what just happened. Leave it to V to turn a regular night into some twisted paintball training session. The man's idea of "improving stealth skills" is giving everyone heart attacks.

Beside you, Jeon's muscles finally uncoil from their battle-ready stance. He looms over you, and you can't tell if the expression on his face is more annoyed or relieved.

"You gonna get up or what?" The words come out gruff, but there's something else there. Something that might be concern if you squint.

Then his hand appears in front of your face. You stare at it for a second, surprised. It's weirdly bare compared to his tattooed arms, and you hesitate before taking it. His grip is firm but careful as he helps you up.

The whole night feels surreal —one weird training session bleeding into another. You glance at Jeon as he stretches, working out the tension in his shoulders.

The mystery of "Cookie" tugs at your curiosity, but one look at his face tells you now's not the time to ask.

Some mysteries are probably better left unsolved.

next | index

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© jungkoode 2025 no reposts, translations, or adaptations

[zeciex]

I'm taking a step back from writing.

I'm really sorry to those who have been excited for this new season--for the pregnancy reveal, for the rebuilding of Daenera/Aemond's relationship, for the smut, for dad!Aemond, for everything.

But I've recieved quite a few comments on AO3 accusing me of using AI in my writing. There was a reddit thread about it, and while it was vague, it was very, very obviously about A Vow of Blood. (They mentioned the length of the fic being almost 1 million words, and my posting schedule.)

And so, I write this to defend myself.

October 2, 2022, episode 7 of HOTD came out and I was immediately drawn by Aemond's character. I watched it when I was on home leave from the ship I was working on. I spent the next 4 weeks plotting the story and coming up with what I wanted to write when I got home. In those 2 weeks I was home again, I wrote and wrote, and then I went out for 4 weeks again.

My work contract ended in January 2023, and from then on, I wrote every single day. I wrote 130 or so pages before even figuring out HOW to write Daenera as a character and after the 130 pages, I decided to scrap most of it and start over.

I had nothing else to do and this was my hyperfixation. I wasn't sure if it was going to last so I kept the first 40+ chapters to myself as I wrote until the 21st of April 2023 where I posted the first chapter.

I then decided I could post twice a week for the simple reason that I had 40+ chapters locked and loaded. And before posting, I went through it, plotted it into my audio program so it read my writing aloud to me to listen for mistakes.

And in the meantime while posting, I of course wrote new chapters. Then, when the chapters finally ran out, the schedule changed to once every two weeks. I did everything I could to keep it--literally putting my life on hold just to ensure that I could post a new chapter every Friday.

This was my hobby, this was my hyperfixation (literally, I'm autistic), this was what I spent my time doing as I recovered from burnout due to grueling work as a sailor. I stressed about it. I had breakdowns over having to skip a Friday because I hadn't been able to write anything for a week.

The reason the story is as long as it is, is because I spent literal hours every day writing. Most days I can reach somewhere between 1500-2500k words. If I'm lucky, I can write more.

I am very aware that my writing is very, VERY detailed--too detailed, even. It's a flaw of mine. I want to set the scene, I want to get all the details that I have in my brain and I want you to see it. Is it too much? Yes. I'm also awfully aware of my progression as a writer, how earlier chapters are written and how the newest ones are written. I'm aware of how I've changed some of the style/started using way tooo many em-dashes, recklessly and hubris-ly (not a word, I'm aware). I know I throw them around. I know I could properly use the good ol' comma, but I like them.

As to the spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, I can say with 100% confidence that it's not some grand scheme that I've thought out to avoid AI detection--I literally didn't catch the mistake when I went through the chapter. I re-read one of my chapters yesterday and found a spelling mistake that I immediately corrected.

I've used grammarly for spell checking/grammar mistakes since English isn't my first language and Danish has a different structure that I often times keep through my English writing. That is the extent of it.

So, here I am, writing this. And I am beyond devastated--to the point of it making me physically ill. I have not used AI in the creation of A Vow of Blood. I have not used AI for plot-points. I have not used AI for character creations. I have not used AI for analyzes. I have not used AI for prompts. I have not used AI to write any chapters for me. I have not used AI in the development of this story.

I have used these sites for this story; Thesaurus ASOIAF Wiki Travel distances in ASOIAF This map A search of ice and fire This for badly translated High Valyrian This from the maker of High Valyrian

And I have used google and various of wiki pages on plants, poisons and whatever else I might need.

Here's some of the few pictures I've taken of my setup throughout those years:

I have like... way too many notebooks for my own good with frivolous details, character sheets, quickly scribbled quotes and inspiration for the story. I didn't expect that I should have taken more pictures.

As I stated previously, this has pulled the rug out from under me. I thought I'd be happily writing until the new season comes out and beyond that. I hoped to finish S2 of the story by the time S3 would come around--though I am terrible at planning this because the story has a habit of taking a life on its own, so it was not likely lol. But this... I don't want to feel anxious about posting a new chapter. I have this pit in my stomach at the thought of even writing now. The one thing that has sustained me through this, the reason I'm still at it, is the lovely commenters. I am beyond grateful for the friends I've made, and I really do hope I'll find my way back to writing. I hope I can finish this story. But the thought of posting at the moment is just.... it brings me so much dread.

I'm going on a hiatus, I'm taking some time for myself. Maybe now I can finally finish my room.

[hoshiumi78]

~Ninjago Dragons Rising Spoilers Below~

First off, can I just begin with how great this season was in general?! Seriously man, it was amazing. The details, storylines, backgrounds, character growths, and everything was just fantastic! The animation --- oh my gosh, don't even get me started on that! Especially with the way the animation peaked in that final episode?!!?!? Like excuse me?! Why didn't you tell me to grab the popcorn?! That was AWESOME~ I was not expecting that.

I would like to start with mentioning Sora and Arin's backstory. I absolutely love that we as the viewers finally got to see their backstory and how they met. It made this whole Dragons Rising series so much more entertaining, and I'm really beginning to love both of their characters now that information is being shared regarding them. I also really enjoyed that in the backstory it proved that Arin and Sora have a more "brother & sister" like relationship than romantic. I know that most viewers have always perceived them as more "siblings" and platonic, but I enjoyed that the show solidified that and showed their friendship with one another before they came on screen more in depth. Next, can we just take a moment to get all excited over MORRO COMING BACK!?!?!?!? LIKE MY MAN IS BACK OH MY GOODNESS --- RAHHHHHHHHH- Anyways, *coughs* , my guy Morro is back, and honestly he's better than ever. :DD I love that they we finally got to see what he's like outside of being a villain, and it has made me love his character so much more than I already did. The ending did make me sad though. I'm not sure what to think about that. I hope that we can see him later on, but I'm assuming that he's now fully dead? Or at least he's no longer in a "physical form" and just his "soul form" I guess it would be called? (From my understanding of the explanation regarding death in the Ninjago universe this season.) Either way, I hope they do bring him back in some way. I kind of want to see how it would go if the ninja ever ran into him. I especially would like to see Lloyd and Morro meeting each other once again. Like how would that conversation go? Would it even be good? Or would there be past emotion brought in? Maybe a bit of both? However, it was a long time, and both Lloyd and Morro matured since then, so it may be much more chill than what it once would have been... Anyways, just some thoughts I wanted to throw in here. I also really liked Kai and Nya's sibling "bickering" and teasing this season. I know that they do it every season, but I particularly enjoyed this one. I like that the writers show that no matter how old you get, siblings --- and I personally would say brother and sisters especially --- never get out of the "teasing" stage... It goes on forever, haha. I would also like to add in LLOYD DYING?!?!? (For like 5 minutes, but still-) OH MY GOSH THAT WAS LITERALLY ONE OF THE WORST FIVE MINUTES OF MY LIFE WHILE WATCHING THIS SERIES- (And I've been watching it for years now.) I knew that he had to have not fully died because I hadn't seen anything about it online yesterday, but I also wasn't sure while watching it today if a lot of people had fully finished it because people are busy... (and I also was trying to avoid spoilers at all costs), so it was a completely nerve-wracking scene to me as an avid Lloyd Lover, haha. But seriously, when Lloyd said something along the lines, "That had to be one of the weirdest experiences in my life." LET ME TELL YOU- watching Lloyd die for 5 minutes and lowkey freaking out over it was NOT on my 2025 bingo card- (˃̣̣̥ᴖ˂̣̣̥) Anywho, I'm so glad he's alive and well, thank goodness, I can go on with my life peacefully... for now. (ᵕ—ᴗ—) Finally, I absolutely loved how the writers wrote Jay for this season. Honestly, one of the main reasons I've been so interested in DR is because of how they've been writing Jay, and this season was definitely PEAK writing for him. I absolutely loved how he progressively showed up in the background throughout the season, and he finally made his way back to the ninja team. I know that his memories may still be wacked up, but I just know they will come back. Trust. ( ◡̀ ᴗ ◡́)و The only thing about Jay's character that I didn't like is his hair choice. 💀 Luckily, it can be fixed.

Well, there's my Ninjago rant. I'm so excited for Part 2, and I can't wait to see what happens. I'm so glad Tumblr exists so I can put all my thoughts here XD

[ci0zi0]

Screw it. TAKE MY RAMBLING!!!!!!

The more I think about it, Lightbulb being Taco's second pick makes alot of sense

For starters, Lightbulb is easily trusting.

She's a lover, who appreciates alot of things. (In a stream or comment??.. it was said LB eats things to show she cares for said things. She eats things she loves. Sticks uh.. included??.. shes so silly)

Seeing how she reacted to Taco in episode 15, she wouldn't really have any malice towards her.

She's overall chill, no bad vibes as she lights up the game. Taco would've used this to sway her to team up, but also used more than that.

Knowing how Taco watches everything in the game, she probably picked up LB could get depressive internally but not show it on the outside. That could be something that picks at LB a bit that Taco uses to her own advantage.

Speaking of advantages, Lightbulb n Microphone have something in common.

They both have a special trait/ability unique to them.

Microphone has her voice/gain. Lightbulb has electric abilities.

Taco couldve got Lightbulb to progress through the show not through manipulation, but through jokes and strategies she used during season 1.

Wildness. Chaos.

But at the same time, a technique on using Lightbulb's power to sabotage when needed.

LB is like how Taco mentioned in II2EP15. Similiar to how her role acted.

Taco put up a front to be silly. Taco can make LB put up a front to be more serious.

Theyre reversals. Opposites, literally.

If Soap wasn't eliminated, she would've been the "angel" while Taco was the "devil" for Microphone.

In a Lightbulb scenario, I can see Lightbulb having Paintbrush being the "devil" and Taco being the "angel"

Cuz Painty can get really sour in attitude easily, not accepting her chaos. Taco does accept the chaos for her own gain.

But Lightbulb might realize her mistake in the end how much Paintbrush actually meant to her, and how LB misinterpreted Taco's "helpfulness"

I wrote this at 2 am at night yesterday/today, but I'm still thinking of this concept. It's so interesting.

[iovestuck]

feeling a bit shy ☆ 박종성

staring. boyfriend!park jongseong & girlfriend!female oc

wc. 1.3k | genre. fluff, established relationship, romance, soft, etc. | warnings. start of monthly, cramps, bf buying pads, lots of cute moments, kissing, make-out scene if you squint closely, etc.

iovestuck's notes. thank you for reading my one-shot! It's my second one-shot for this account. It took a while since I was not in the mood to write anything for the past month and such. It's something cute and sweet since it's also my monthly. I hope you enjoy it!

masterlist.

Ara was sitting in her living room while her boyfriend was making dinner. She was on her phone, minding her own business when suddenly she felt a gush of something. Quickly, she stood up from the couch and speed walked to the bathroom.

Closing the door behind before locking it, she quickly pulled down her pants as she sat down in the toilet and saw a puddle of red on her undergarment. She quickly went to her basket and took out a new undergarment. Then she searched for a pad but couldn't find any. Realizing she forgot to buy some yesterday after cleaning the apartment.

Ara groaned in frustration, “Why did I forget?” Sitting in the toilet for a while before she sighed. She dared to call her boyfriend. “Ara, are you okay?” He answered right away. She took a deep breath before answering, “Jay, could you do a favor?” He hummed in response. “Sorry, if this is embarrassing, but could you go to the store and buy some…pads?”

“Of course, love, thin or thick?” He asked. “The thick ones and buy two bags of them, please.” She heard him walking to the front door. “Alright, anything else?” He asked as he put on his shoes and grabbed his car keys. “No, that will be it.” They said their goodbyes before ending the call.

Ara flushed the toilet before pondering over the thoughts and the embarrassment. She couldn't move or do anything since she didn't have any more pads. She wrote in her reminder to buy thin pads as soon as she noticed they were running out, too. Then she heard a knock on the bathroom door. “Love, I have the pads!” Jongseong shouted from the outside.

“Thank you, Jay. The door is open,” she said as she quickly moved her pants up so she wouldn't be too exposed. He opened the door and handed her the plastic bag. She shyly took it. He smiled before closing the door behind him. Ara then changed into a new undergarment and a pad. Wash her hands before organizing the pads into the basket.

Then, she walked out of the bathroom. Taking a deep breath before walking into the kitchen. In the kitchen, she spotted Jongseong making something. She took a seat on the island stool and rested her head on the counter. Her boyfriend turned around, and a soft smile appeared across his face. He settled the cup next to her before ruffling her hair. “You okay?” She hummed in response. “Cramps are coming.”

“Drink the hot chocolate I made for you.” She hummed in response before sitting back up and taking the cup into her hands. She sipped the hot chocolate as she watched her boyfriend go to heat the heating pad. “I don't deserve you,” she muttered while sipping in the cup. He looked at her. “No, I don't deserve you.”

She shook her before putting down the cup and the rest of her head on her arms. Jongseong smiled as he ruffled her hair. “I am almost done with cooking. After we eat, then we can cuddle or do whatever you want.” Ara hummed in response. He went to finish cooking dinner.

Once they finished eating, Ara helped a bit before her cramps got worse. Now, she was curled up in the warm blanket on the couch. She was watching the second episode of Love Next Door. Jongseong walked to the couch after finishing cleaning up. “Do you want me to warm up the heat pad again?” He asked as he put down some snacks and hot chocolate on the coffee table.

“If you want,” she answered as she took the heat pad from her lower stomach and handed it to him. He went to warm up the heat pad again. Once he came back, he gave her the heat pad, and she quickly put it back in place without any thoughts. Jongseong took a cup of hot chocolate before sitting down next to her.

“Here.” He handed it to her. She was about to take the cup, but her cramps hurt so badly that she messaged the lower part of her stomach again. Jongseong stood up again and went to the kitchen. Then he came back with a straw. He blew in the hot chocolate so it wouldn't be hot when drinking from the straw. He sat back down, holding the straw and the cup as he put the straw near her lips.

Ara took some sips as a smile grew on her face. “It's delicious.” He put down the cup back on the coffee table before pulling her into his arms. “That's good, I made it extra sweet for you.” He gave a kiss on the lips. The kiss was passionate and gentle.

As he pulled away, he licked his lips. “Oh, it's very delicious.” Ara blushed and quickly hid herself inside the blanket. Jongseong laughed before pulling her even closer. “You're so cute.” She shook her head inside the blanket. “No, I'm not.”

“Come out of the blanket. You are going to suffocate yourself.” She shook her head again. “I'm good here.” He shook his head and pushed the blanket down to see her face. “Hey—before she could say anything. He kissed her again and put something in her mouth. She swallowed the thing in her mouth before asking, “What was that?”

“Something sweet,” he replied. She pouted, “I want to have a taste of it, but I swallowed it before I could.”

“Do you want more?” She quickly nodded. He leaned towards the coffee table and took a jolly rancher before opening it. He then leaned back. “Open your mouth.” She opened her mouth without any hesitation and he put it in her mouth. “How do you know I love Jolly Ranchers?”

“Your mom told me a while back. She said that you whined about wanting it, but it is always out of stock and such.” Ara nodded. “Oh, this is cherry flavored, want some?” He shook his head. “Well, that's too bad, but I wouldn't let you—” He kissed her again before pulling back moments later. “Oh, it is cherry.” She quickly turned away, blushing even more. “You are getting bold these days,” she muttered. He laughed before pulling her into his chest.

“I guess I am comfortable with you nowadays,” He whispered to her ear while resting his chin on her shoulders. She blushed even harder. “Y…You need to stop being this bold.” She could feel her heart skipping beats. “What if I don't want to,” he whispered to her ear. She quickly moved away and looked at the television. “Oh my goodness, I missed the whole episode!” She whined. Jongseong laughed. “We can watch it again.” He grabbed the remote and went back to the beginning of the episode.

Ara moved away from Jongseong. He looked at her with his eyebrows slightly raised and paused the episode. “Why are you moving away from me?” She glared at him. “You are being too bold right now.” He grinned before slowly moving closer to her. She moved farther and farther until she hit a dead end. She cursed when she looked behind her. “You are now stuck,” he smirked as he trapped her.

She was blushing like crazy. “I—” He raised his eyebrows. “Lost with words, hm, love?” Before kissing her lips again this time more passionately, longer, but still gentle. Slowly breaking the kiss, he put his forehead on hers. “You are so cute.” She was still in shock from what just happened. “Love, are you still shocked?” He pecked her lips over and over to somehow bring her back to the present. Soon, she quickly breaks from her thoughts. “You are crazy.”

Jongseong laughed a bit before pecking his lips. “I am crazy, but only crazy in love.” They stayed like this for another couple of hours before one of them broke it. “Let's watch your kdrama?” She just gave him a couple of nods. He stood up and rearranged the couch to make it longer. Then he carried Ara to the longer part of the couch. They curled up together as they watched the kdrama.

taglist: none

© 2024-2025 — all rights reserved to user iovestuck, please do not steal, plagiarise, or translate any of my works without prior permission from me !

[marisainchina]

It's me... I am part of the problem.

I have read so many posts from people who are very negative about Chenford this season, and I won't pretend that I have been 100% happy. It has been weird that there haven't been clear "small doses". But I enjoyed them trying to work together and try to be professional when that has never really been a strong suit for them.

But yesterday, I read someone's post where they wrote that anyone who wants Chenford to get back together or hook up in the 7x06 episode is the FUCKING PROBLEM. So, guys, I am so the fucking problem. I don't want them to get all the way back together- that would feel rushed and be a disservice to us for not getting more to soothe our little broken hearts.

Episode 6x06 took my breath away, and I couldn't rewatch it for months. That is saying something because I am super busy with full time work and graduate school, I pretty much just repeatedly rewatch different episodes. It helps me feel less anxious. If you know, you know.

But I am so so so down for messy Chenford! They have fantastic chemistry and clearly had a great sex life. It would not be crazy to me if they were to "back-slide" and hook up. Is that the logical and best choice? Of course not. But I am not watching a drama show for everyone to be on their best behavior and making logical choices all the time. Bring on the mess.

I also haven't understood all of the hate I have read about the fact that Lucy and Tim did have a good sex life. I have read people say that their relationship was only focused on Tim being sexually gratified. Ummm, hello, he took a desk job before they ever slept together. He was already all the way in.

I am not sure how much I liked the "gratitude was repaid while dating" if it was meant to refer to sex. I don't think that is what Lucy meant, but I am okay with it if it is. Tim is hot, Lucy is hot they both enjoyed their physical relationship. When I was married (I'm a widow), my husband struggled with ED, so I basically had a sexless marriage. I will never, never do that again! I need a relationship that has physical intimacy as much as any man does, so go on, Lucy, get yours, too!

This is all my opinion, so feel free to think/feel differently. I read all of these opinions, so I also wanted to share mine. To me, it is not misogynistic for them to flirt and banter with implied references to their sex life. I would rather see a woman owning and being empowered in her sexuality rather than to just assume that she is fulfilling the needs of her man.

Bring on the messy! - My wish for 7x06 is based on the synopsis, promo, and episode stills that Tim and Lucy have that assignment together. Something happens to bring feelings up, which is why I think Lucy wears his necklace. Tim and Genny talk before or after this, and he invites her to go with him; I pray she questions his thinking and pushes him to start making better choices. Tim and Lucy end up in that room together (Is it a hotel? Or is it Tim's new house?) Then, I would love to see some of their chemistry explode on them. I'm cool with kissing or a full hook-up either way. Then they can have to deal with the aftermath in the other 11 episodes left in the season.

[wilhelmina1233]

I am back.

I wanna explain why I just suddenly crashed a yesterday...

It has been on my mind, In September, when my friend started uploading their OC here, I saw that many people commented on their post, Many people seemed like they actually cared. I didn't mind it much, I was happy they were getting SUPPORT. Then after a while, the more they posted, the more comments on their posts got. People interacted with them, talked with them, complimented them. After a while I started comparing my introduction card and theirs, 10 uncommented reblogs, 60 likes, 0 comments. No comments. No comments. No one supported me or complimented, just liked. I tried to ignore it and told myself I will get comments if I post more. So I continued. And then my other friend came to join the community, somehow, they still got comments and support. And another new creator came, and people commented on their posts too, talking about the character's lore. Watching all of these happen to others while my comments always stay on 0 made me feel so... disappointed, like, am I not doing much? It made me think that my comments are turned off and I checked it DAILY. I only ever got comments during hard situations, or when I gifted people, never on my work. I got my FIRST comment on my work on the MoonMan animation, I was so happy. I tell you. To me, comments make me motivated, It's like support to me. Thats why when I firstly posted Muri, I didn't post for another month. I didn't get any comments on her. I thought people didn't like her.

-now, IM SUPER GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOU!!!! yall are amazing, I have mentioned it many times about how much I love you all. Im super grateful for everyone and everything. Don't think wrongly, but sometimes Envy gets the best of me. And I'm shocked to say this. The thing that happened the day I crashed was an episode.

-In September I was overthinking, and then suddenly Sweetswirlybread came out of no where and then the situation continued and continued to the point a picture of me was EXPOSED here and even my private blog and fake accusations and all the distress and emotions I was feeling stacked up and caused a big episode on me that lasted longer than expected. My episodes usually last a few hours or a day, but this time it lasted for a whole week. When I am during episodes I can't tyep properly, which is probably why the way I spoke in my last post was not that understandable. After I made that post I cried the whole day, not even because of the situation, just because of how hard the episode hit me. Remembering all the distress and suddenly getting told to delete all my accounts and that people are tracking me down angered me.

-I completely crashed out in my last post, I was angry at everyone and also at myself, I was disappointed in everyone and felt strong emotions. And I am sorry for putting pressure on everyone, I am sorry letting my episode go through so easily, usually, I'm not on my phone during episodes. But I seriously felt so dark at the moment. Right now, I look at my last post, and even I don't understand the words I wrote.

-I am NOT forcing you all to comment on my posts, no!! If you don't want to talk in my posts then sure, I'm okay with it. It's okay if you're too busy, or embarrassed, or just in general don't talk in people's posts. I'm not asking you for anything, If you guys won't comment on my post it won't cause me another episode, so don't worry about that too. I know It's not only hard for me, but It's hard for everyone. I am happy you all support me in your own ways, you're all amazing. I love you all. I really do, I'm sorry for making you think otherwise.

I know you guys support me, It was hard for me to see it through so much envy I was feeling. Plus the whole drama crashed me so much distress so I was so confused and disappointed to the point I completely crashed.

I wanna say that I am sorry for worrying anyone, or if I put pressure on people, or if you think that I hate you. I am deeply sorry for it, and I felt very bad the day after. I really am sorry. I want to show how much I actually do appreciate you all.

I love you all, I'm sorry for getting mad so suddenly. If you still have any questions about what I meant in some sentences in my last post I can tell you in a more understanding way.

I had to cut my break short cus I felt deeply saddened by how I crashed out on everyone. And i wanna say I am sorry.

[brainrotbabe24]

Idk about this idea but I’ve been thinking about like- reader who’s similar quicksilver from the X-men. Like super fast, fast metabolism, ADHD to the max. Basically just the dwarves dealing with reader constant yapping and need for sweets.

Hi! Thank you for the request!

Okay, so you get a two-in-one, lol! I went a little crazy with this one and interpreted it into two scenarios.

The company reacting to the reader's ADHD craziness

How the company would react to the reader having superpowers

I also wrote a scenario yesterday about the company finding out the reader has ADHD. That felt like a prequel to this ask...it will be linked below

Thank you for such a fun idea. I hope it's okay I wrote it like this and not one scenario!💖🎉

The company reacting to reader's ADHD craziness

Balin: Just watches from afar and laughs at your shenanigans. Loves the energy you give the group, always keeping them on their toes!

Dwalin: Loves you, but every so often he needs quiet lol

Óin: Oin would send you on wild errands! He found out the hard way that boring adventures get you distracted…so the crazier, the better. 

“Y/N, I asked for rosemary, and you literally came back with a bag of potatoes and a bloody nose. What did you do????”

Glóin: He just lets you do your thing. "Y/N will run out of steam at some point." Tired dad vibes…

Bifur: Bifur would gift you fidget toys! I bet he would take the time to make them for you too! How sweet 🥺

Bofur: Jam sessions/singing constantly! Due to your ADHD, you guys would switch up the genre quite a bit. It would be a total production, too!

Bombur:  Would be down to go on crazy little side quests with you! You usually take him on the quests Oin gives you. Y'all would be like Merry and Pippin in LOTR

Ori: He would try to get you interested in hobbies to help keep you focused…like knitting. It doesn’t work, but you’ll still sit with him while he knits because he can keep up with your conversations and constant changing of topics.

Side note: I could not find a GIF of this exact topic...so imagine the reader is Homer and Ori is Marge trying to keep up with the conversation. Bart and Lisa are the rest of the company, lol 😂😂

Dori: Dori would be a helicopter mom! He would be scared you would get hurt, and worried other people in the company would influence your recklessness. You would basically be absorbed into their little family, lol!

Nori: Nori would team up with you to do some wild shit. He is the bad influence Dori is scared about

Thorin: Tired. Realized at this point that half the company has ADHD. Y'all ain't getting to Erebor any time soon.

Fíli: I think he would enjoy the late-night chat session! He would make sure to sleep next to you during the adventure because at least twice a night, you would wake him up and ask him random questions.

Kíli: He has ADHD, too. So, the fact that both of you have it makes me feel like Kili would see that as a deep connection—like soulmate material! I wouldn't put it past him to propose…

Bilbo: Would make you a cute little journal to write down your to-do's!

Gandalf: Gandalf would be a provoker like Nori. Imagine everyone is calming down for the night, you are all tired out, and then out of nowhere, you hear him whisper, “Psst Y/N ask Kili why he can’t grow a beard.” or “psst Y/N I heard Thorin wanted to hear about your super specific hyper fixation that takes hours to explain…(like one piece lol with all its episodes 😭).”

-----------

How the company reacts to reader having superpowers

Balin: He can’t keep up. You are too fast, and it hurts his brain. He does appreciate the hard work you put in when there is an orc ambush. 

Dwalin: He loves it! He thinks you are a strong, courageous badass. He is happy you are on their side. Will cheer you on in battle!

Óin: Tries to figure out how you do it … isn't convinced fully. Is it magic? Are you eating something?

Glóin: He blames the food or candy you were eating. He does not believe you have powers… that's all nonsense. 

Bifur: Couldn't care! Like Dwalin, he is just thankful you are on their side. 

Bofur: Comes up with nicknames/superhero names for you - a true fanboy, lol!

Bombur and Ori: Would think it’s magic!

Dori: Would make sure you got enough rest.

Nori: Tries to convince you to use your skills for evil, like stealing or cheating at games...maybe not evil but definitely his gain lol

Thorin: He's super excited! He wants to use your skills to help reclaim Erebor and constantly asks you to do recon.

Fíli: He's excited like his uncle, but he would want to train with you so he can keep up, lol. 

Kíli: Kili would want to compete! “Come on, y/n, let's see who's faster! I know I’ll beat you.” Maybe he is a little jealous that his uncle likes you and trusts you to do recon and other cool stuff.

Bilbo: He would think you also had a “special” ring and get paranoid. He would also ask you a lot of questions to see if you know about his ring. 

Gandalf: Suspicious! He doesn't believe you are from this universe. It leaves more questions than answers.

--------

Link to the ADHD one I was talking about above:

[irisbleufic]

Of all the bullshit I never expected to be back on with the same intensity of October through December of 2000, Beetlejuice was not it. But I finally got to see the musical yesterday, and the part of me that has adored all 94 episodes of the animated series from the moment I started watching them on ABC Saturday mornings in 1989 just fucking flared—this fond, awful tightness in my chest. It’s the first TV show I ever imprinted on; it’s been with me since childhood. Surreal.

About 4 years into watching the cartoon, I finally saw the live-action movie that the cartoon was based on. I hated it, because it was so malevolent and empty compared to the incredible world-building characters in the animated series. Serious shout-outs to Stephen Ouimette and Alyson Court for all that stunning, hilarious, and often moving voicework.

Now, okay, I need to go back to 2000 again to make this all make sense. I’d watched the show from 1989 until whenever the 4th season ended. It wasn’t until I was in my first semester of college, newly transplanted to New England, that I found a couple folks within my program who had loved the show growing up, too. I ordered all of the episodes on VHS. It was difficult to track them all down in 2000, and it was expensive. But I pulled it off, and we had Friday night watch parties for weeks over the month of October. But that is not where this ends.

I was in the process of winding down the writing I’d been doing on Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow for the entirety of my senior year of high school. Suddenly, I’m in college and watching this fucking cartoon and thinking, there is so much heart in this. How the fuck is there so much heart. I haven’t seen two characters this wholesome codependent in, well, ever. I went looking for forums and mailing lists devoted to the cartoon. I found a mailing list. There were a handful of artists drawing amazing fancomics on there, and they were like, what do you do? Oh. I write. And they were like: do you understand how desperately some of us have wanted fic, but just can’t find it?

That is the wrong thing to say to me when I’m on a downward spiral of realizing I’m not going to escape a fandom without getting myself into a project so long that it’s all I’ll be doing for fucking months on end. If you’re one of the people who knew me back then, you know what I did for those four months in the fall/winter of 2000. I wrote a novel. Sure, I came close to failing a couple of classes, but it was the first time I understood exactly what I was capable of building as a fanwriter. Maybe even as a real writer.

“Time Will Tell” was hosted on a friend’s Angelfire site for a handful of years. People found it via LiveJournal, too, because I linked it there. I put it on AO3 somewhere circa 2012 and took it down again in 2017 because I didn’t feel there was enough interest in it, and also, my 19-year-old editorial foibles and typos were aspects I wanted to amend in it.

The musical took more inspiration from the cartoon than the film. I’m stunned and grateful for that. I found the “Time Will Tell” file buried pretty deep in my Gmail folders. I’ve been reading it since the drive home last night. I just can’t believe there’s now enough of a fandom for me to consider finally polishing it and getting it back online. It’s one of my two oldest surviving pieces of writing.

Anyway, sorry for the Gotham fic delays that I’d been trying to get a handle on. Now that the semester’s over, I feel that getting this thing I wrote twenty-three years ago back to the light of day is the best use of my time for a couple weeks.

If you’re one of the people who read “Time Will Tell” back in the day, thank you. I don’t know how many people out there still remember it beyond maybe ten or so friends I’m still in contact with all these years later. I’m sorry it disappeared for a while.

[study-with-aura]

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

I am so happy to have piano lessons started again! I don't know whether you have noticed or not, but playing the piano is relaxing for me, hence why I practice so much. I'll never play as well as Julien, he's a natural while I have to work at it more, but as long as I enjoy playing, I will keep doing so.

Ballet starts officially on Wednesday, but we had a winter warm-up class tonight for the advanced levels. There was one yesterday too, but I only registered for this one. It's always nice seeing my dance friends and sharing class with younger as well as more advanced students.

I really should get an extra hour of piano in tonight, but I also want to catch up on my gaming, since I'm not too sure when I'll be able to get back on. Possibly on Saturday. My sub will be out soon, and I'm not sure if I'll renew it at this point. I have a lot going on, and I won't be able to play as much as I would like to for the cost of the sub. My guild already knows that I will probably take a break until I'm done with schoolwork in May. I will be even more behind than I already am at that point. It's okay. My studies and extracurriculars are more important to me right now, and I can still chat with the guild on our Discord server since that's also where we are doing our group Bible study together. I'm excited about it! It's the whole Bible in one year and in chronological order of events. It will be fascinating!

Tasks Completed:

Algebra 2 - Reviewed exponent rules + learned about natural base e + learned to simplify natural base expressions + learned to evaluate natural base expressions

American Literature - Copied vocabulary terms + read about the affluent but alienated 1950's + read about Arthur Miller + read about Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller + read about themes and symbols in the play + watched a summary of Miller's play The Crucible + read about McCarthyism + read about organizing a strong argument

Spanish 3 - Reviewed colors vocabulary + listened to a commercial in Spanish + wrote three sentences in Spanish that described what I was wearing

Bible 2 - Read 2 Chronicles 30

Early American History - Read about the election of Madison + read a biography on James Madison + read about the Star-Spangled Banner (song + flag) + answered questions on the reading

Earth Science with Lab - Watched a short documentary about the Earth, Moons, and stars

Art Appreciation - Read "What is art?" + read about aesthetic perception + read "Perceiving Subtle Qualities" + completed activity + found a painting that used the same hue and copied the name/artist down for reference

Khan Academy - Completed Algebra 2 Unit 8: Lesson 2

Duolingo - Studied for approximately 15 minutes (Spanish + French + Chinese) + completed daily quests

Piano - Piano lesson + practiced for two hours

Reading - Read pages 3-37 of Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou

Chores - Laundry

Activities of the Day:

Personal Bible Study (1 Timothy 6)

Group Bible Study + Devotional (Job 14-16) + Weekly Discussion

Ballet Winter Warm-Up Class (1.5 hours)

1 hour gaming

1 episode of Forest of Piano on Netflix

Journal/Mindfulness