#if be abt 25 if it ended in 3 years

[beeapocalypse]

getting haunted by a guy who has existed in my head for less than a week

[marciliedonato]

One thing about packages delivered through DHL is they love to be late....

[kurishiri]

are there any official ages or age ranges for the ikemen villains characters? 🤔

expect updates and edits!

helloo anon! i dont think official ages have been posted, but they have dropped some info so we could make some guesses or ballpark ages. jus be aware as a disclaimer, i’m ballparking in the dark for some more than others, so don’t take my word as the be all, end all. there r probably others with more accurate ideas abt ages. but that said, i’ll try to provide as much explanation as i can under the cut bc spoilers-

ellis: 24

kate: at least 24, maybe around 25-26

ring, nica: 25-27 (?)

liam: 26

jude: 26-29

william: 28

elbie: 29-30

alfons: 30-31

harrison: likely 27-30, but could in all technicality be anywhere from 20-31

roger: 32, as the median

darius: ??? likely a bit older than the twins but the possibility of being the same age or younger than them isnt completely off the table either

victor: ??? but probably the oldest one in crown

explanations under the cut

ellis is the youngest member of crown. he was 12 when he ran away from home, and that was 12 years ago. hence, that would make him 24

kate calls ellis with the —kun honorific in japanese as he is her k��hai (junior), so kate is older than 24. but as ellis is the only one she uses this honorific with in crown, she may be the 2nd or 3rd youngest

liam was 9 when he set fire on his house and lost his parents, and it was mentioned his dad was supposed to be dead 17 years ago, hence making liam 26

if ellis is 24, then roger is probably around 32— we know bc alec, the previous bearer for the curse of the thorns, died when he was 8 or 9 at the oldest. in roger’s rt its implied that one is born with a curse and is first activated from an event, and no two ppl can have the same curse simultaneously, so ellis was born (and received the curse of the thorns) after alec died. so we know from there that roger could be around 8, 9 years older than ellis

it was mentioned roger is slightly older than alfons, though there is not a solid concrete number as to by how many years, but it’s around 2 to 3 years difference

jude is definitely older than ellis, though presumably not by many years. and although this is an if event, in his dark if, kate mentions that jude is a boy around her age. if we give some leeway into that and assuming that part also applies to canon, then he would probably be around 26, if kate is around 26. it is also mentioned when oswald, the doctor who saved jude, was talking about jude’s past, he was talking about a time around 20 years ago, and kate thinks to herself he couldn’t have been older than 10. this puts a cap at jude being 29 in present time.

elbies mom took her own life when he was 6, and that’s around when the doctor started examining his dad. if alfons was still on the streets at 7 years old (implied in rogers past records), he was taken in by the doctor after he was 7. it would make alfons a little older than elbie, but its unknown by how long, but not too many years

i feel in general, alfons age is a bit wishy washy considering we dont even know his “true birthday” .. he jus picked a date (specifically the day he met elbie!) and was like “ye thats my bday now 🙂‍↕️”

will was 14 when he formed crown with victor (it’s unknown how old victor was), and 14 years have since passed. this would make will 28

heavily corrected: harrison’s dad was killed when he was 17, and that happened when william and victor were the only two members of crown. so it could have happened when crown was just founded 14 years ago, making harry possibly 31. and elbie and al were probably the first ones to join crown, for sure at least 3, 4 years ago. that would set the actual age range to 20-31. but he is likely at least 27, considering kate doesn’t use —kun with him, if we assume she’s around 26

now the twins and darius r probably like the most wishy washy guesses out of all of them. for one there’s just not much info abt them out bc theyre v new chars. buut there is some tinie clues.

there is a scene in rogers rt where he asks nica if they met before, and nica replies that he forgot. now it is just as likely that nika is lying here (as its implied he has a good memory), maybe bc he doesnt want to talk abt it or it may also be for ring, but if he is truthful then its probably the case that it was from a time when he was too young to really remember anything, which would probably make him somewhat considerably younger than roger

on rings end, during the “don’t look at anyone but me” event, ring basically asks kate to not be so formal and feels weirded out she uses —san with him (.. as she does with nearly everyone else, with exception of ellis, i think liam, and for one time only, alfons). maybe a part of it is like its in his char to not like formalities, but on the other hand, he never asks alfons to drop —san or use a different honorific with him the same way he did with kate, in the crown vs vogel event. so it may be a reasonable assumption to make that ring may be similar in age to kate .. or at least, more similar in age to kate than he is with alfons. so i ballparked them around 25-27

darius is kind of a mystery— we do know that he has, in some way, saved the twins in the past (presumably from experimentation), so the twins r indebted to him. its probably reasonable to think he is older than the twins .. probably in his 30s even?

that said, seeing as he is of a noble upbringing, as he mentioned this in one of his bond stories where hes like “ik how table manners work bc its been taught to me but i jus choose not to apply them” or smth along those lines. so he could be capable of “saving the twins” even when younger than them or the same age as them if that makes sense

ty to friends @.natimiles, @.valkyyriia, @.candiedcoffeedrops, @.drachonia, @.memoria-99, @.romromi, @.groovylita, @.shatcey, @.dark-frosted-heart who have helped with this! also if anyone else has any more info to drop — or correct — feel free to lmk! i will be sure to credit :>

[s4wdvator]

a friend of a friend — sam winchester

SUMMARY: Sam went to a Halloween party because of his best friend, and when he found himself bored and wanting to leave, his friend finally decided to introduce him a friend.

PAIRING: Stanford!Sam Winchester x fem!reader

WORDS COUNT: 2.2K

WARNINGS: smut, y/n used two times *i guess*, gentle sam, oral sex (f! receiving), p in v, kisses, sam playing breasts, sam embarrassed, sassy reader lmaojejejej

a/n: I literally think I nailed it this time HHEHEJE, I literally loved writing this. I love Stanford! Sam. I think I should write something with him lol. Have a good read!!

sam winchester | masterlist | more abt me!

English is not my first language, I apologize if there is any mistake <3 (maybe I interchange 'he' and 'she' too much. I'm so sorry)

This fic will have sexual content. MDNI

Sam was not a party guy, especially those of Halloween - which reminded him of his reality- He didn't have many friends in his childhood or adolescence, he never managed to stay long enough in a school to have real friends or even a girl. But then when he managed to cut ties with his father and won a scholarship at Stanford University, he felt free for the first time.

In just a few days at the University, a blonde girl named Jessica soon befriended Sam, and with this new friendship with Jess, he became invited to events, outings and parties of Jessica's most popular friends.

Now, Sam is stuck at a Halloween party in some dorm. He has a plastic cup with any drink he found and drank, he was really already under the influence of alcohol but not necessarily drunk. He looked around the old couch he was sitting on, where just staring at the place he was in, made him sigh, because all he wanted was to be in his dorm, quiet and just studying, nothing very difficult to have, if Jessica hadn't begged.

It had been almost half an hour since he was there, doing nothing, just trying to finish the drink from his glass. When he really couldn't finish, he just left it next to a fainted guy on the couch. He got up, looking for Jessica, just to say goodbye to his friend, he was determined to leave there. As he walked, he murmured several "I'm sorry" to the lowest people he ended up bumping into. When he finally found Jess, she was in the kitchen talking to some girl who was with her back to him, where he just saw the back costume, which was from Alice in Wonderland.

"Sam!" Jess said excitedly as she faced her friend.

"Hey..." Sam said in a simple and slightly embarrassed way for being close to a presence he doesn't know.

"I'm glad you're here," Jessica said, throwing the typical mischievous look and smiling, "Well, this one is y/n!" The blonde said smiling and excited, she was definitely drunk.

Jess had definitely already talked about this friend of hers, y/n, like, Jessica had been trying to get this girl for him for almost a month.

"Well, I'll let you talk. I'm going to go after a refill," Jess said getting up and smiling at the two friends and soon leaving the kitchen.

"Hey...I'm Sam. Jess she had already said...a lot about you" He said putting his hands on the back of his neck and scratching, in a shame.

You can't help but smile, he was definitely cute and clearly under this outfit—that you couldn't identify what his fantasy was—he had a muscular chest and trunk, maybe nothing really exaggerated. It was crazy how, you hadn't even spoken to him properly and you already imagined him shirtless.

"Well... Hi Sam" You said excitedly, while smiling. You didn't know if it was already alcohol taking over your mind or you were just really happy.

You and Sam were talking for long minutes, you found out that his major here at Stanford was right, he is 21 years old, he has one more brother, Dean, 25 years old, his mother died in a kind of fire or something, and he and his father fought. His life was chaos, definitely. But apparently he loved you and loved the fact that you were studying psychology here at Stanford, since he didn't say a word to talk about. Everything he said, he found a way to return to the subject due to the fact that you are a future psychologist. He also praised you too much, this guy is a real gentleman.

With a few more minutes of conversation, the party started to get music and more colorful led's which caused you to no longer be able to talk so clearly when listening to each other.

"Do you want to go to my dorm?" You finally had the courage to ask him, of course, with a slight hesitation and fear of what the answer would be and if it would be some kind of rejection.

"Of course" He smiled more sympathetically at you.

When you had already gone to your dorm, you started talking to him normally, and clearly he listened to you attentively but couldn't stop paying attention to your lips, how they moved, how you sometimes licked him or bit him like a kind of craze of yours, or how your sweet voice came out of your throat.

"Do you want to sit down?" You asked him, pointing to his bed, while you took off your black high-heeled boot and sat on your bed.

"Yeah...I mean, of course," he said more embarrassedly, causing slight laughter coming from you and soon he sat next to her, but he didn't expect to be so close to the points of her thighs that were involved in her black trawler, touching his long legs.

"So, what kind of music do you like? I mean, it's 2004, you have to have something good about music" You joked while looking into his eyes, which you thought were brown but in fact, surprisingly, they were green.

"Well... I hear these classic things more. Metallic, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC..." He began to say, and that made you make a surprise face and face him.

"Really? No Usher? Justin Timberlake? I don't know" She laughed, clearly surprised that he just listened to classic rock.

"Whet? No, I mean, don't get me wrong, they're great. But I grew up listening to this kind of music and...well, doing things with my father and I didn't have much time to get to know pop culture, jazz and etc.," he said smiling, while staring at you in an enchanted way.

"Get it. But it's okay, I'll show you" You smiled staring at him, and he let out a loose laugh.

"You're funny" He smiled and stared at you for a few seconds, analyzing her blurred Alice's makeup. The way your hair was more or less messy. The way his lips called him and seemed more kissable than before. And before he could really think about what to say to her, he kissed her, not knowing if he would receive a slap in the face, a push or a curse coming from him. Surprisingly, you responded to the kiss more in the mood than him, while his hands went to his face, theirs were already holding his waist firmly, which seemed nothing compared to his big hands.

He carefully guided you to his lap, while the kiss was getting longer and longer, you could feel his hands touching every inch of you, now, with the kiss slightly intensifying, his hands were now caressing his thighs, sometimes some of his fingers entering inside the holes of her black line trawler, which honestly, for him is quite sexy.

His hands traveled to the buttons of the dress, which were located on his back, while he worked on unbuttoning his blue and white Alice dress. His hands were taking off his dark blue denim jacket.

She let out a slight moan when his hands slid to her thighs and then entered inside her dress, and when she touched her waist to be able to take off her dress. And once your dress came out of your body, and you were only in your bra and panties. He let out a sigh, admiring, before holding you firmly by the hips and kissing your neck next to the collarbone and he stared down, seeing the contour of your breasts and let out a sigh and smiled, you are beautiful from his point of view.

He carefully took you and left it underneath, he kept kissing your body and carefully, their hands went to the back of your bra and unbuttoned the buttons of the bra. When the bra got loose on his shoulders, he took it off and stared at his breasts—which seemed too perfect from his point of view—and then, he began to kiss his left breast while his big hands circled the shape of his right breast, he sucked his nipple and you let out a slight moan and put your hands on his hair, when he finished the service and attention to his breasts, he began to kiss his stomach until he reached his panties, he stared at you, as if he had asked for a kind of permission and you just nodded your head, already desperate for the The idea of his touch in your intimate area.

He carefully left a kiss against his panties and hit his clitoris right—which was already swollen with so much desire, along with how soaked you were—he put his hands on the straps of his panties and pulled down and smiled when he saw your naked pussy, just for him.

He sighed against his intimacy, causing a slight pleasure in his body.

Sam gently opened your legs better and then began to kiss his thighs, slow and wet kisses, until he reached his pussy. He started with kisses on the clitoris before moving forward and using his tongue two more times and then starting to work more with his tongue at his entrance, but his pointed and beautiful nose kept pressing his clitoris with each advance with his tongue at his entrance. Causing moans in the dorm.

While he did it slowly, trying to make it last as long as possible. His hands were on his hair, pulling, picking up, caressing, while his hips arched against his mouth.

When he started to accelerate more with his tongue, you moaned feeling that maybe you couldn't take that much.

"Sam..." You tried to warn that it wouldn't last that long.

He smiled, understanding the message of despair in his speech and accelerated more, when you saw it, you had come into his mouth, and he was eating his pussy for a few more 30 minutes and finally, took off his shirt and concentrated on his lips, while his hands caressed his chest—which was exactly as you imagined, muscular but hot and not at all exaggerated—his hands began to unbutton his pants and then take off and soon get into boxers.

You pulled him closer, and felt how big he really was, you couldn't tell if it scared you or excited you, maybe both.

So, he got rid of his boxers, and you were seeing his cock for the first time, it was thick, big and it was very hard, which made you unintentionally but genuinely smile.

You tried to touch, giving the intention that you also wanted to do oral, but he denied it, saying:

"I'm a gentleman. What kind of guy would I be having a blowjob on the first night with you? Sorry princess, next time" He smiled at you, making you laugh that he was such a gentleman.

"Fine" You smiled.

Then, the head of his cock pressed against his clitoris and rubbed lightly.

"Sam..." You let out a weak moan for the provocation coming from him.

He laughed, murmuring a 'sorry' before his cock rubbed his pussy and then the head of his cock began to enter his entrance.

'Oh my God' you thought.

So, he tried to advance another part of his big father and then his hands squeezing his broad shoulders while he looked at you with concern.

"M'Okay...it's just bigger than I expected" She laughed and so did he and sighed relieved.

When he began to move slowly and carefully, the entire length of his penis entered you and you could no longer hold the moans. He was being so careful, and loving with you that he surprised you.

While he stocked up strong but gently, despite reaching the cervix of her uterus, it is being one of the most pleasurable experiences of his life. His hands held his hips, to get more momentum. His others were now on his back, scratching, but nothing to the point of hurting him on purpose.

You smiled when you were getting closer and closer to reaching your climax. So, as if it were a way to try to get there faster, his hands that were on his back went to his ass, trying to force him to go deeper and he laughed.

"Calm down sassy girl" He whispered and smiled at her.

You let out a laugh, before you felt the climax approaching and he smiled when her walls began to squeeze his cock, understanding that she was very close.

"You can let go, babe" She whispered in her ear and kissed her jaw. The nickname caused chills all over your body and without thinking, you came surprisingly next to him. You let out a moan and sighed.

"God..." You whispered and he laid his face on your neck, still with his cock inside you "You better not have made me pregnant" she whispered jokingly, and he laughed, realizing that they had had had unprotected sex, which would be worrying, if you did not take care of yourself and were taking contraceptives.

"It's okay, I hope" he smiled and kissed you again, before taking his penis out of you and lying next to you and hugging you and you hugging him back as you felt him cover him and you with the blanket of your bed. And so, you ended up sleeping, feeling Sam caress your hair.

[romeavebrainrot]

MCD REWRITE - APH

I did a character sheet for Aphmau(Aph) in my MCD rewrite!! I hope i can do them for all of the major characters but uni is a thing..

also here are some other stuff i didnt write under the cut! cuz i didnt have space or forgot

As you can tell by the quote marks, Aph isn't her real name

She has a strange fear of pet beds, something about a "meowki"...

She's 22 by the start of the story. By the end of S1, she's 25 (yes im making S1 2~3 years long)

in my rewrite there are no labels since ppl love whoever / however they want, but an irl equivalent for her preferences would be demi + bi. emphasis on demi

another flaw she has is being careless/clumsy; she frequently bumps into fenceposts/walls and her boat is barely holding on. her scars/bruises/etc heal very quickly tho

she also gets sidetracked a lot which has its pros and cons

her "magicks" only affect a small radius at first (around arm's reach), but gradually grow larger through a series of events. by the end of S1 it covers the entirety of Phoenix Drop

she knows nothing abt dating "rules" until donna and kiki give her a crash course but she somehow succeeds in both wingmanning and pulling EVERY SINGLE TIME .its just natural talent

[chimivx]

gimme gimme gimme 3 -> mingi x fem!reader -> nice for what

wc: 8.4k warnings: 18+, sexual content and alcohol consumption in every part, infidelity themes... if i missed anything please let me know! posted: 1/19/25 12:22 pm est.

masterlist ~ <- previous part - next part ->

“I’m deadass, look at this,” Yuna said from the end of the blue sofa, extending her wrist over Aurora’s lap. Mouth popping open, no words to be spoken, Aurora takes her hand and lifts it higher, bringing the diamonds closer to her face.

“How much was it?” Aurora mumbled, glancing at Yuna and her natural chocolate waves flowing down her back. “Did he tell you? I guess he didn’t, right? That’s not a thing.” Shouts flooded out of the doorway of the gameroom, all of the boys but one holed up in there, crinkling cans and busting each other's asses over the simplest of losses.

Yuna shook her head blinking her round eyes toward both of you, though you weren’t paying attention. “He didn’t, but Ryujin and I tried to look it up, ‘cause it’s an Olivietta, and it must be custom or something, because we can’t find it anywhere, but all of Olivietta’s shit like this is like five thousand dollars.” 

Aurora’s jaw dropped further than before, her entire being in shock. “You’re lying,” she whispered, her voice still audible over the music playing. Yuna, proud as ever, smiled and shook her head. Your best friend whirled herself around to look at you, Yuna’s hand still in hers, but you were focused on your phone, typing away, a mile a minute. “Are you seeing this, Tor? Jongho bought her this.” You hummed in response, not lifting your eyes from your screen. “For an end of year gift.”

“It’s so pretty,” you muttered, hitting send on a message, missing the way your friends' faces fell before they turned back to speak to one another.

“What have you guys been doing, you’ve got three days on us now, how’s the beach?” Yuna’s smile met her eyes, her and Aurora sitting backward on the couch, falling into a conversation that seemed to exclude you. 

It didn’t matter, you were busy.

For three days this number hasn’t left you alone. The messages came in at random, at random times, there wasn’t a strategy to the way this person moved making it increasingly impossible to figure out who they could be, where they could be, and what their motive was. For three days you’ve ignored Jongseob, whether it be at the beach while him and his friends hung out with yours, sat close by, drank with them- You ignored him.

He did very little to get your attention much to your surprise, he didn’t act like he did if he were within the walls of ATZ. You did have more freedom around the frat, around your own sorority, without Mingi, that is. Oftentimes Jongseob nagged you when he wasn’t around, and ultimately while lying on a beach beside him, he didn’t have the means to get under your skin. At least not while your boyfriend lounged next you, knowing that little leech would swoop in if he left you alone.

But, that could be why he’s texting you like this. Secretively. So he could talk to you around the boyfriend, like one of his messages had said.

If it was him. The person wouldn’t give it up.

[you]: but you still won’t give me a name.

You’ve gotten sneaky. The day after the notification settings were changed, you added a name to the contact, one that would go unnoticed by Mingi if he were to glance over while you were texting. It would protect you from anyone questioning actually, you felt like a proper genius.

[ITZ]: its more fun this way

[ITZ]: wyd right now

[you]: sitting around with my girls. 

[ITZ]: oooooh. which girls

[ITZ]: told them abt me yet?

[you]: why the fuck would i tell anyone about you???

“Hwa!” 

Both Yuna and Aurora cheered aloud, their voices echoing up into the stretch of a ceiling pulling you away from your screen. He was tipping sideways, Seonghwa was, with a bottle in his hand. Baggy jeans hung low on his hips and the cropped t-shirt he wore exposed a strip of golden skin above the Calvin Klein strap around his waist. Drunk, eyes glazed over, a silly smile on his perfectly full lips, your friends gushed over him to make him blush, and he did.

Cheeks going pink, he squatted down in front of the table in the center of the couches, wobbling as he did, and he poured liquor into stray shot glasses littering the wooden table top. His hair laid naturally over his head, messy, wavy, longer than ever. Dragging his slender, knobby fingers through it, as if to flash you all a delicious look of his face, he gave you all a lazy smile. 

“How are the games?” Yuna asked, animating her voice to make him laugh. She leaned forward over her lap, and Seonghwa beamed.

Slapping his hands to the table, he said, “So much fun.”

She tossed her hair around as she spoke. “Enjoy them,” she grinned.

“Thank you,” Seonghwa’s cheeks grew squishy as his smile deepened.

“No, Hwa,” Aurora cooed, holding up one of the shot glasses, “Thank you.”

The three of them took their shots together, Seonghwa and Aurora watching one another as they did. He stood after smacking the glass onto the table and left her with a wink, Yuna gasping the moment he was out of earshot. 

She jumped in her place, grabbing onto Aurora any way she could. “You know what I constantly think about?”

You leaned forward and grabbed the glass Seonghwa poured for you.

Aurora groaned with a grin, tipping her head backward, letting Yuna shake her around. “Please, don’t.”

“Actually, it’s what I think about whenever I see you two interact,” she said, lowering her voice, bringing her nose close to Aurora’s cheek. Your best friend gave her a look. “You guys lowkey have chemistry, Ror.”

You pressed the glass to your lips and took your shot.

“It’ll never happen again,” Aurora widened her eyes, “We’ve said it. We’re friends. Besides, I'm with Wooyoung.” 

Sliding the empty glass onto the table, you reached for another that Seonghwa had filled. All the glasses on the table got filled actually, the boy was entirely too drunk he couldn’t put together who was sitting around here and who wasn’t. 

“With Wooyoung,” you mumbled with a smirk, knocking the shot back. That was awfully rich. Words such as those hadn’t been spoken… ever. Placing the glass down you glanced to your right and found them both looking at you, their eyes unreadable. 

Yuna slid her hand over Aurora’s, taking her attention back. “Where’s Soul?” she asked with a tilt of her head, nonchalant, calm, collected. Like she didn’t know.

“Ah,” Aurora sighed, “He’s upstairs, in his room. He needed a minute, he’ll be back down though, he was excited you guys were coming.”

Soul went up to his bedroom when you all came back from the beach. He and Aurora spent a lot of time sitting on the sand, many feet away from the group, whispering to one another. They weren’t whispering, they were talking, but it felt like whispering, like they were keeping something a secret. Wooyoung didn’t care, just like he didn’t care that first beach day, letting the two of them spend that kind of time together.

The twenty year old went up to his room, and he didn’t come back.

“Is he okay?” Yuna flipped her brows over.

“Totally, sometimes he just-”

“Then let’s go get him,” you said, pushing yourself off of the couch. Aurora let go of Yuna and turned toward you, both of her hands planting to the cushions beneath her as she looked up at you with worry in her eyes.

“No, he’ll come back when-”

“If you go get him certainly he’ll come down, right?” you questioned, throwing a hand toward Aurora. Shifting your eyes over to Yuna, she reacted as every other being had when you shoved them in the middle of this situation. Unmoving. She watched you with a discomfort bleeding onto her perfect complexion. 

“I mean, yeah,” Aurora breathed. “But, he’ll come down when he’s ready, Tor, leave him alone.”

You propped a hand on your hip. “I don’t understand.”

Her brows screwed up above her eyes, squishing into the center of her forehead. “Tori, he literally said he wanted to sleep. It’s been four days of us going, going, going- let him rest. What don’t you understand?”

Amidst her words you tipped your head backward and groaned. “The babying, the way you treat him,” you shook your hands about to emphasize what she’d just said to you, “I mean, we all see it.”

She froze. For a few seconds, her face wiped of all feeling, her body straightened out, and she didn’t move an inch. Then, she looked at Yuna, only turning her head to find her staring down at her lap, her nimble fingers twisting the bracelet around on her wrist. When she looked back up at you her eyes felt like daggers.

She grit her teeth. “I can’t believe you right now.”

Leaping from the couch, barely catching herself on her feet as she fumbled over Yuna without a care if she bumped into her or not, she stormed off, straight into the gameroom where the guys were still shouting, laughing, and having fun. In minutes you knew she’d be shouting, laughing, and having fun, too. 

Flopping back down on the cushions, you exchanged a look with Yuna and rolled your eyes. She scooted closer to you.

“I’m not supposed to know anything, am I?” she asked.

Letting your eyes shift down to the gorgeous bracelet she wore around her dainty wrist, you took a breath. “No,” you grumbled.

She studied you. Her lashes fluttered as she took you in, and grabbed onto your hand. “Come on,” she said, tugging you off the couch. Pulling you out of the living room and into the kitchen. Passing by the doorway to the game room, the noise amplifying, you caught a glimpse of Aurora beneath Wooyoung’s arm, her head on his shoulder.

Yuna posted you up at the island counter and slid shot glasses toward you, four of them.

“What are we doing?” you asked, watching her search for a bottle she was happy with.

“What we’d do at ATZ to forget about shit,” she smiled as she spun around, vodka in hand.

“More shots,” you said, and she gleamed, screwing the top off the liquor. Moving back to your side, wanting to crawl under your arm in true Yuna fashion, the stage five clinger, she filled all of the glasses.

“Duh,” she said in response to you, then lifted a glass for you to take. “Here.”

It burned, but it went down easily. Just as the second one did.

“Hell yeah!” Yuna cheered, filling the glasses up again. “You know, I was thinking about Isla.”

Sliding your phone out of your pocket, you shot her a look. “What? Why? I was thinking about her the other day, too.”

Taking a shot, Yuna shrugged, popping her brows. “Just how things happen for a reason, I guess.”

Laying your phone on the counter you swiped open to your messages and found one waiting for you. You took a shot and opened the thread. “You mean her not being here, don’t you.” Picking up the second glass at the same time she did, you looked at one another, paused a second, then clinked them together. 

“It wouldn’t be good,” Yuna muttered, taking the shot as fast as she could, making a face as it burned through her. 

The thought of her not coming, not being here with everyone else almost hurt as much as thinking about Mingi being here without Yunho. Though Isla not being here was a good thing, and much better for her, it was another major difference, another point on the list telling you what’s changed, and what is not the same.

“She belongs where she is,” Yuna said, refilling the glasses again. Waiting for you to pick one up, to clink them together again, she whispered, “Everything happens for a reason.” Flashing you a smile, her words echoed in your ears. Even as she turned away from you to take her last shot, it took you a couple seconds to follow suit, to let the liquor push you further into a state you weren’t sure you should be in at the moment.

Blurry, wobbly, lighter, like you could start laughing and never stop.

Before you know it, whether it’d been ten minutes or an hour, you weren’t sure, you and Yuna ventured into the gameroom with the rest of the party. Just as gone as you, you and Yuna attempted the pool sticks, missing every single hit that Mingi or Jongho tried to school you on. Laughter rang in the room, hanging in the air above everyone, even Wooyoung and Aurora who’d taken up space together on a leather chair in one of the corners lost in one another. The only time they’d come up for air or give attention to anyone else is if their name was thrown out with a sarcastic insult, or a comment made by someone else just as drunk.

Jongho let his hands live on Yuna’s waist all night, the two still within those months of ooey gooey goodness, testing waters, figuring each other out. They seemed to be going about it the right way, unlike the pair in the corner, a traditionalness about them. No one expected anything less from Jongho, that’s why his bracelet didn’t come as much of a surprise to you. The boy was classy, he went about relationships with a purpose, playing the long game that wasn’t much of a game at all.

Soul came back at some point, you didn’t even realize his blonde head was in the room until you brushed by him to get to Mingi’s side. The boy stood by Seonghwa, following his lead, shadowing him, asking him questions, letting him tell him what to do when it came to the game. He gave you a sideways smile as you passed him, one you tried your hardest to return. 

“Hi,” Mingi said to you as you bumped into his shoulder. Looking down at you through his glasses, a thin rimmed pair you adored, he settled his smile and watched you wrap yourself around his arm. “Thought you forgot I was here. Having fun with Yuna?”

“You thought I forgot you were here?” you asked, raising a brow. Stepping back from him, one hand holding onto his bicep, you looked him up and down and scoffed. His shirt quite literally stuck to him, everything beneath it entirely visible. Tucked into his jeans that laid low on his hips, his form was on display, for you, for everyone else. The slight arch in his back as he stood, the broad stretch of his wide shoulders, how could you not want to drink up every bit of him?

Mingi tipped his chin backward. “Tori,” he said with every care in the world, with caution. 

“Mingi,” you sang back, closing the space between your bodies, letting one of your hands sweep over his torso. Shaking his head his smirk grew as you whined. “Why? It’s been three days.” He was content watching you. You pulled at his shirt, you tried to kiss his jaw but had to settle for his collarbone, you threw yourself against him. “Please?” He blinked, and you groaned. “Please, please, please.”

“I dunno,” he said. “Have you kept your promise?”

“I did,” you said, hushed and rushed, keeping your eyes locked on his that grew darker by the second. “I really did.”

“You’re so drunk,” he mumbled.

You tapped a hand to his chest, your brows furrowing. “So are you.”

He cracked a laugh. “I am.”

“Then let’s go,” you whined, bouncing on your knees. “Please, I miss you, I need you.”

Something washed over him. It looked like shock, yet excitement, but ultimately looked like complete shock.

“You do?” he asked, and you rolled your eyes.

“Of course I do, Mingi, I haven’t had you in three days, I miss you,” you whispered.

The magic words apparently. In no time, with his hands on you, he ushered you out of the room, bid his friends goodnight, hurried you up two flights of stairs and nudged you into your bedroom so he could close the door behind you. His hands slid around your neck in an instant, his large frame pushing you backward towards the bed, stopping just before you could fall onto it. Rising to your tiptoes you brushed your lips over his before parting them for a kiss, one so deep you could feel it in your chest.

He seemed to take his time, reveling in this moment, one you haven’t shared in a period of time too long for either of you. He’d withheld it, kept it from you, it’s not like you didn’t try, how could you not when you crawled into bed beside him every night? Lips working against your own, his tongue slipping between them gently, ever so slightly, like he’d scare you away, he took his hands down your body, over your hips, letting a soft groan spill into your mouth. 

“You’re so hot,” he whispered, undressing you faster than he let himself kiss you. Designer pants to the floor, he unhooked the half corset top you struggled to get into and threw it behind him, taking his hands to your shoulders to push you backward onto the mattress.

Falling over top of you his lips took to your neck, one of his hands hooking beneath your jaw to keep it lifted for him to mark your skin as he pleased. With a whine you pulled your knees back, wrapping your legs around his waist, somehow wiggling your hands between your bodies to work at his jeans, pushing them off of him with your feet. Teeth pressing into your neck, he reached a hand backward to grab onto his form fitting shirt, but you were quick to snatch his wrist away. Pulling back to look down at you and smirk, eyes glassy and hooded, you smirked up at him.

“Shirt and glasses,” you said breathlessly, “Stay on.”

“Mm,” he hummed, brushing his lips over your skin, taking his teeth to your earlobe, giving it a harsh tug to make you squirm. “You like them, huh?”

“Yes,” you sighed, sliding your arms around his back, fingers gripping onto the fabric of his shirt, pulling it tighter around his chest. “So sexy.”

“You want me when you’re drinking,” he whispered, trailing kisses down your jaw to your chin. Slipping a hand down your body, his fingers dancing over your belly, making you giggle, he slipped only his middle finger between your legs, teasing your clit before he pushed it into you. He smiled while you gasped. “So sensitive, baby, you need me that bad?” He pulled out his finger and watched as disappointment clouded over you. “You little slut. What, you can’t wait this long?” He pushed two of his fingers into you and relished in how you sang for him, how tight you squeezed him.

“Move,” you managed to choke out, eyes squeezed shut, head thrown backward into the sheets. Wiggling your hips for any friction, Mingi let out a single laugh and lowered his body weight over top of you.

“Sit fucking still, Torilynn,” he spat. Shifting over top of you, his other hand moving back to your neck, fingers gripping the sides, he pushed down and smiled as you whined. “Listen for once, and do as you’re fucking told.”

Heat coursed through you, rushed through your veins. You were trapped beneath him, and for the first time in a long time, you couldn’t think about anything else. You couldn’t move, couldn’t even try to move, and it brought you right to the edge. Mingi hadn’t even moved his fingers, hadn’t teased you anymore, and you clenched around him like he’s had you up here for hours.

Panting, chest heaving, you looked up at him and his glare through his frames, one mixed with frustration, pleasure, and all the more satisfied. Jaw clenched, he studied you, brows pointed, angry eyes focused. Scissoring his fingers within you, feeling you tremble, watching your face screw up and your moans grow louder, he pumped into you twice, brushed his thumb over your clit at the same time, and just as he felt the muscles in your stomach tighten, he stopped.

He stopped.

He pushed himself off of the bed and staggered backward a few times, dragging a hand through his hair, pushing it off of his dewey forehead. Sitting up to your elbows in disbelief, eyes wide, you took him in and shook your head, catching your breath. He was hard, he wanted you, he needed you, but he stopped.

“Wh- What?” you stammered. There weren’t any words you could throw together to make any sense. “Mingi,” you whispered, “I was gonna…”

Eyes dragging down your body, your spread legs, he palmed himself and tilted his head. Looking up at you, he narrowed his eyes and asked, “You sure you were about to?”

Your body stripped itself of its heat, your blood running ice cold. He could read it all over your face no matter if you tried to hide it from him or not. He knew what you did.

He knew you faked it.

That’s why it’s taken him three days to accept you.

“Mingi,” you breathed, sitting up. He snickered to himself and stepped toward you. “Babe, I just-”

His hands took to your shoulders again. Cutting you off with no time to explain yourself, he spread your knees with his own and held you like he did before, one hand beneath your jaw, the other between your legs. 

“Shut up, Tori,” he growled, and pushed into you without warning, the stretch equally delicious as it was uncomfortable. He gave you little time to adjust, but your body knew him, even as he pistoled into you, having to hold you down because he pushed you away with every thrust. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on with you,” he seethed behind his teeth, pressing his nose to your cheek. Clinging to him, useless beneath him, all you could do was thank god there was still music playing downstairs. “Don’t you ever fucking lie to me again.”

It happened twice.

And you both knew it happened twice because he pulled out every trick, every stunt to ensure you weren’t lying, or pretending. 

He kept you on your back, his eyes locked in on yours, not stopping until you were shaking, legs trembling, body tensing, nearly screaming for him. After the first, seeing stars, you weren’t quite sure he’d be able to pull out another, but oh, sweet Jesus, did he surprise you.

You couldn’t shower on your own, couldn’t stand without his help, that’s just how much he wrecked you. Even now, laying over the white blankets neatly made like they weren’t thrown to the floor last night, you were sore, you could still feel him folding you in half. 

He wandered the bedroom, back and forth from suitcases to drawers to the bathroom. The smell of his cologne hung in the air, a comfort to you and your subconscious, though unanswered questions sat between the two of you, taunting you, nagging you. With his hair styled backward off of his face, he opted for contacts tonight instead of his glasses, all of his sharp, striking features on display. Dark denim baggy jeans and a loose fitted button down hung off of his frame and little golden accessories accented his wrists, his lobes, his neck.

Stunning, you wanted to tell him, but he hadn’t spoken a word to you since he helped you shower last night.

Everyone would be meeting at a bar tonight, the rest of your friends arriving shortly, more people to deal with. To slip up around. Cheers was supposed to be fun, it had a pretty good reputation, and they were the only ones on that street that didn’t kick anybody out, no matter what went down.

“You should get dressed,” Mingi muttered, breaking the silence. Sitting up to your elbows you gave him a look and he met it for only a second. “What are you thinking about?” 

“You.” A sigh fell out of you without meaning to. 

Straightening up his mess, pushing drawers shut, folding clothes he tried on but decided not to wear, his face was stone cold. “What, did I fix you last night?”

Sitting up completely, your hips roaring with soreness, you pouted after he shot you a glare. “Mingi,” you whispered, face softening.

“Did I do something right finally?” he asked, slipping into a pair of custom sneakers Vernon gifted to him when he got his first brand deal. “You’ve got, like, brand new buttons to push or something, Tori?”

Moving on the bed, closer to the edge toward him, you shook your head. “Mingi, listen, I-”

“Nah,” he said definitively, looking at you. Adjusting the sleeves of his shirt, he pulled his lips together. “You don’t have to explain yourself, Tor. Don’t need you to try to prove other things you’ve been faking with me.”

“Mingi,” you said for the third time, moving onto your knees, barely matching his height, but he didn’t wait around to hear what you had to say. If you had anything to say. He had known since you’d done it, and he didn’t say anything about it. Worse, you didn’t say anything about it. And now, you didn’t even have the chance to.

Falling backward, landing on the duvet with a humph, you reached for your phone and swiped it open. Retreating to your messages, you took a breath, hesitating your thumb over the green app, then decided to bite the bullet and just do it.

[you]: you’re a guy right?

[ITZ]: texting me first now what a surprise

[you]: answer the question.

[ITZ]: yes i’m a guy

[you]: can i ask you something guy related

[ITZ]: sure

[you]: before i do… will you tell me who you are

[ITZ]: still can’t figure it out?

[you]: ugh whatever.

[ITZ]: whts going on? trouble in paradise?

[you]: i guess so.

[ITZ]: ask me.

[you]: have you ever had a girl fake it before?

[ITZ]: fake it? as in like an orgasm?

[you]: yeah…

[ITZ]: that would make me feel like utter dog shit, tori.

[you]: of course it would

[ITZ]: tori, are you faking it with the boyfriend?

[you]: you don’t need to know that.

[ITZ]: tell me :)

[you]: once. recently.

[ITZ]: did he suck or what

[ITZ]: what was it

[you]: no, he didn’t. he’s always good i just…

[you]: it was me. i didn’t feel right

[ITZ]: you didn’t want to have sex with him that night? did you feel pressured to do so?

[you]: omg no, never, it’s not like that

[ITZ]: okay good.

[ITZ]: wdym u didnt feel right

[you]: i don’t know but i wanna figure it out

[ITZ]: what else bothers you?

[you]: everything.

[ITZ]: yeah i can sense that.

Sighing, sucking in a deep breath, letting it out within another sigh, you waited patiently for him to say anything else. Gulping, you started typing, and you couldn’t stop.

[you]: i just wish she could be here with yunho. i know she’s happy now, and i know yunho sucks, but we had it so good for so long. everything has changed and everybody was able to move on, but i can’t. i don’t want to. ryujin and yeosang have left, isla’s gone, i have a big ass job to do, half of these motherfuckers destroyed aurora, but also destroyed me. i was on the outside of it all, and does anyone care that i was blindsided too????!

Minutes pass. Long, ticking minutes.

And then, a reply. One that sends a glimmer through your chest.

[ITZ]: i care, tori. that’s not fair to you.

[ITZ]: you can tell me more, to get it off your chest.

There was nothing left to say. At least for now.

Locking your phone you tossed it aside and sat up, eyeing your suitcases. Feeling oddly lighter, like spewing out those words got rid of them within your brain, you leapt to your feet and got yourself ready to party at Cheers.

“Isla landed!” Ryujin shouted over the music and people chatter, crashing in between you and Yuna where you sat at the bar. Showing off her phone screen and the messages from her best friend, a selfie was sent from across the country, both Isla and Vernon in hoodies and sunglasses throwing up a middle finger for the camera. “She’s good, no one worry.”

Laughing with Yuna, watching Ryujin tap away at her screen to send a message back, she opened the camera and threw an arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer. Yuna laid her head over her shoulder, all three of your heads fitting in the frame. Pouting your lips, Ryujin winked, and Yuna smiled.

“You were the only one worried, Ryujin,” Yuna said, watching her send the picture. The eldest of you all shot her a glare, one that didn’t pack much of a punch.

“You need another drink,” she sneered sarcastically, stepping up onto the ledge beneath the bar to lean over it. Waving the bartender down, she ordered three drinks and jumped onto her feet. “When that comes, find me.” And her and her shaggy hair was gone in a flash, disappearing into the crowd packing the dance floor. 

Air hot and sweaty, the energy in the place riled everyone up the moment the door was pulled open. Walking here, the six of you, Jongho and Yuna were already waiting inside, the crowds growing tenfold after your first round of drinks, and it only seemed to grow as the night wore on. Ryujin and her girlfriend, Jeongyeon, showed face after an hour, the two of them staying in a hotel nearby. Showing up half drunk, Ryujin squeezed you all like she hadn’t seen you a few days ago, Jeongyeon, sober, watching over her from behind where she wobbled off to.

“Is she okay?” Yuna asked you, turning back to the bar after she vanished.

With a frown, you shook your head. “She misses Isla. Her last semester was hell for her.”

“Seems like it was hell for a lot of us,” Yuna said. Gaping at her and her side eye, you fell into a groan and rolled your head backward. “Tori, you already know what I’m going to say, ‘cause I know Ror has already tried.” The bartender slid drinks in front of you. Grabbing onto it you sucked it down, half listening to Yuna. “She tells me you’re worrying her.”

“Who?” you snapped, eyebrows plummeting above your fresh lashes.

Yuna rolled her eyes. “Aurora,” she breathed.

“I’m worrying her,” you laughed, “Hysterical. She can come say that to my face, why is she talking to you about me?”

“Because you aren’t talking to her about you.” The way she looked at you made you feel funny. “She doesn’t know what to do.”

Tilting your head after a gulp of your drink, you twirled on the stool toward the dance floor and propped an elbow up on the bar. “Seems no one does.”

Yuna scoffed. “See, and then you say shit like that, like you don’t have anyone looking out for you.”

“Who is?” you said, glaring at her. 

Her glossed lips popped open. “We’re all trying, Tori.”

Laughing, you sipped from your glass. “Funny, doesn’t feel like it.”

The song on the speakers swiftly changed into one that’s been blared within the walls of the fraternity, and possibly many others, half of the dance floor threw their hands in the air with a shout. People of all ages filled the space, but your generation reigned majority.

Yuna stared you down, giving you time and the chance to backtrack on what you’ve said, because even you know it isn’t true. They’ve all tried, it’s you.

“I’m gonna go dance and give this to Rio,” she said with all of the patience in the world. Jumping from the stool, adjusting her mini skirt, she tried to smile at you, reaching for the glass on the bar behind you. “We’ll listen to you. You know we will. No matter what it is. She will listen to you. After what they put her through, put us through… Don’t do this.”

She walked off, her and her beautiful waves and stretch of toned legs accented by her chunky platform sandals. 

Damn, where’d she get those.

You’d ask her later when she wasn’t pissed at you, maybe after she’s forgotten what she just said to you.

Sipping your fruity drink you let your gaze fall on the crowd, kids like you dancing too close to one another, drinking the night away, singing along to the music. That should be you. It could be you. Everyone had a dance partner though, and you knew yours was in a corner with his friends somewhere. Last time you saw him he was wedged between Seonghwa and Wooyoung, the three of them waiting for Yeosang to step in the building.

Your phone buzzed in the baby purse slung over your shoulder, enough room in there for the block, a tube of lipgloss, and your credit card. Digging it out reluctantly, the song changed and another roar rolled throughout the room making you smile. Just as you tapped on your screen, your eyes locked with another’s, he and his friends shoved into a booth on the other side of the room, the three of them with a few others who were new to ATZ last year.

He simply watched you, eyes not prying.

You opened the message.

[ITZ]: having fun?

Looking up at Jongseob, only after meeting his eyes for the second time did his smile grow. You spun around to face the bar.

[you]: so it’s you then. you’re here. you know i’m here. it’s you.

[ITZ]: figured it out?

[ITZ]: come get me then

That electricity shot through you. The excited one, the one that felt like it shouldn’t do this, but ultimately needed to do this. Slipping your phone back into your bag, you swapped it for the gloss and laid it on thick. Zipping your purse shut, you stepped off the stool and started across the floor, pushing through people, throwing your perfectly flipped hair over your shoulder. His gaze followed you the entire time, soft eyes locked on yours, dropping lower to admire the curve of your hips and how the dress you wore hugged you in all the right places.

You wore it to entice your boyfriend, but, this would do.

Warm blonde hair and smooth honey colored skin smiled up at you, moving over on the bench to make some room for you to sit. Heart pounding in your chest, you could smell him, the right amount of musk mixed with anxiety. Normally you’d be putting him in his place, telling him off, yelling at him to leave you alone. In the halls of ATZ, in dark corners of that house, you’d done it many times, as had Mingi, and eventually Jongseob did leave you alone.

But it was evident he still didn’t give a fuck.

“Well,” you said, breathlessly, “Here I am.”

Sitting backward, head resting on the cushion behind him, his smile grew. “Here you are,” he repeated, his voice deep, gravelly, so unique, one that took you by surprise each time you heard it. “Didn’t think I’d ever get to sit next to you again, Tori.” The way his gaze traveled about your face, it warmed your cheeks, you were lucky it was too dim for him to notice. “What brings you over here?”

Glancing at Jiung and Intak, both boys looking out at the dance floor but so obviously listening in, you smiled at Jongseob. You were playing the secret game.

“How long have you been here?” you asked.

“As long as you,” he nodded once, keeping his chin tipped up in the same way Mingi would. Cocky. An attempt to seem bigger than he was, older. “Having a good time?”

“Totes,” you said, narrowing your eyes. “Where are you guys staying?”

“A few houses down from you, actually,” he said, his lips settling into a smirk.

“Interesting,” you said just above a whisper. Jongseob bobbed his head, his eyes dropping lower for a few seconds. You’re reminded of the M necklace you’ve been wearing. “We’ll have to have you guys come by one of these nights, how long are you staying?”

“As long as we want, my parents own the house,” he said, popping his tongue out his lips to wet them. He didn’t miss how you watched. “We’d love to party. Our boy has VIP access, we’re very curious.”

Soul.

“Mm, he does, doesn’t he,” you said, tone going flat as you glanced down to the table and the boys across from you still acting as if they weren’t paying attention. Jongseob reached a hand underneath the table, his fingers grazing your knee for a moment, forcing your focus back over to him.

“That bothers you,” he said, brows lowering over his golden brown eyes. You kept your faces to yourself. “If you want, we’ll take him back,” he shrugged. “He’s spent summers at this house with us before, it’s not like it’s a big deal. If he’s bothering you, just tell him. He’ll disappear before you know he’s gone.”

It was that easy. Just literally say the words, and the weird, annoying thing between your best friend and Soul, gone.

“Won’t that upset him?” you asked, voice going quiet. “If I say that to him, that seems kind of mean.”

Jongseob twisted his brows, then he laughed. “It’s not that deep, Tori, he’s infiltrating your vacation.”

You looked at your lap, at Jongseobs hand on the cushion of the booth, inches from your thigh. “I dunno, Aurora gets worried about him.” Intak’s head turned at the mention of her name. “She like… watches over him, or something, I don’t know, I don’t get it.”

He shared a look with his friends, his smile growing into one that stirred your stomach. “How adorable,” he sighed, facing you, “Funny how Soul was the one to get in there, right? After what he did? It’s like she’s got Stockholm Syndrome or something.”

That was a funny way to think about it.

For all of them.

Even more funny how she could drop Yunho in a second, someone who didn’t have the in, but someone who tried to look out for her. Sure, he hurt her in other ways, but he didn’t want to ruin her life. Wooyoung, Soul, hell, even Seonghwa… She held the three of them as close as she could, in the obvious, most Aurora way possible.

Was she even happy about that?

Was she doing this on purpose?

Or, was he fucking with you.

“What do you want with me, Jongseob?” you asked. Jiung broke his neck to look at you, him and Intak in utmost shock.

The twenty year old lowered his brows, but his smile refused to fade away. “Heavy question, Tori.”

“Answer it,” you said through grit teeth. He deflected like the messages earlier in the day.

“Honestly, or in a way that your boyfriend wouldn’t want to kill me if he overheard?”

Clenching your jaw, you twisted to face him, and said, “Honestly.”

“I want you everywhere,” he said without hesitation. Looking you up and down, he huffed. “Naked, preferably. I’d make a mess out of you, and I want that lip gloss leftover on my dick when I’m finished with you.” He never broke eye contact, but he didn’t miss the way you pressed your legs together. “You think I haven’t ever thought about how you’d look bent over every surface in every room I’ve seen you in?” The way his eyes narrowed, the way he stifled his laughter, it spurred you on. He leaned into you, inches between your bodies. “You think I’ve never heard what you sound like when he’s fucking you? I live in that house with him, Tori.”

Gulping, you took a breath to ease your racing heart, but nothing would calm it.

“I like this game,” he said, smug as ever. “We’ve never played this before. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” you whispered. “I think I need another drink.” 

Sliding from the booth, he gave you a wink before you ventured back over to the bar, posting up beside a being that appeared to stretch taller than your boyfriend. Bumping into his shoulder on accident, you adjusted your purse and shot him a smile, just as he gave one to you. Focusing back on the bar, both of you, at once you snapped your necks to gawk at one another.

“Tori.”

“Yunho.” Scrambling for something to say after ordering another drink from the woman behind the bar, you shook your head and asked, “What are you doing here?”

He looked everywhere but directly at you. “Uh, I’m with Yeosang and Keni, we, uh, just got here. Like, ten minutes ago.”

“Right,” you said, glancing around for the other two, Yeosang and his girlfriend, but they must’ve been in the corner with everyone else. Somewhere Yunho was most definitely not welcome. Just standing next to him felt wrong, even if it happened by accident. “Uh, how have you been?” you asked, unsure of how to continue on talking to him. This bartender was taking her sweet, sweet time.

“I’ve been alright,” he said with a shrug of his broad shoulders, but his tone told you he has not been alright. “You?” he asked, hitting with the subtlest of side eyes.

You answered him reluctantly. “I’ve… been alright.”

He laughed, you couldn’t hear it, but you could see it in his shoulders. “You too, huh?”

“What do you mean?” Looking up at him, he looked back, his dusty colored hair overgrown over his eyes, his ears. Grabbing the beer from in front of him, the bartender having slid his and yours down at the same time, he sipped it and shrugged.

“Doesn’t feel good, does it?”

You sipped your drink, feeling your stomach lurch.

Yunho sighed, sitting down on a stool, shrinking down to your height. “Makes you feel like… utter dog shit,” he mumbled, giving you a glance before he drank from his beer.

Utter dog shit.

that would make me feel like utter dog shit, tori.

Looking over your shoulder to Jongseob and his friends, not one of them paid any attention to you, they talked amongst themselves, shoved over the table like a bunch of high schoolers keeping a secret. Without thinking, you sat down next to him. In the tipsy blurriness it was easy to forget things for the time being, like you could rewind the months, go back to when he was still one of your best friends and he hadn’t broken your sister's heart. 

There never was a proper goodbye with Yunho, proper closure. A part of you didn’t need it, your loyalty was to Aurora, to Mingi, and Yunho had hurt them both. As one of your friends, he hurt you too. After that night though, when Aurora spilled it all to him, and Mina dished shit back, the respect you held for this adorable human being had been sucked out of you.

“I never got to say anything to you,” you said gently, making him look at you, his eyes on alert. “You were a real jackass, you know that?”

He sighed. “Yes, I know that. I have to live with that.”

“She loved you.”

He shook his head, letting it hang. “I loved her.”

“No, you didn’t,” you snapped.

He whipped his head toward you. “Yes, I did. Don’t tell me how I felt. I know what I did was fucked, but that didn’t mean I didn’t love her.”

Sipping your drink, you rolled your shoulders backward to try to sit taller than him. “How’s Mina?”

The laugh he cracked told you plenty. “There’s no Mina.”

“No?”

“No,” he sneered, cringing. “Do you know how bad I regret letting it get that far? There never should’ve been a Mina, I should’ve been honest with Rory from the start, but I know you know how hard that is to do.”

“How hard what is, Yo?” you asked, voice hushed.

“Please, Tor, you’re dating my best friend,” he said. “You and I were friends for a long time, too. You learn about people. You and I, we’re the same, we don’t speak, and then things go to shit.”

“Like, if you say something, they won’t get it. Or, they’ll take it and run with it, turning it into something it never was.”

Yunho shrugged. “Not really, but also… yes.” He tapped his glass with a single finger. “Rory, she was getting over Wooyoung, if I said anything back then, I’d be the jackass, and she wouldn’t be about it. I’d ruin whatever we had before it even started.”

“Weren’t you involved with Mina then?”

He pursed his lips and shook his head. “No, Rory had me first.”

“Damn,” you breathed, and he gave you a look.

“Damn,” he repeated, smiling with you. He looked down at his beer, took a breath, then blinked over at you. “How’s Mingi?”

Those words falling from his lips drove a knife straight into your heart. 

Starting with a hesitance, you barely got two words out before something flashed in his eyes. “He’s, uh… He’s good. We’re good.”

He tilted his head. “Is he,” he muttered, looking at you like he knew something. “That’s good,” he tried to smile, grabbing onto his beer, taking a swig.

You could tell him how Mingi and Wooyoung have grown closer, how the four of you were turning into a proper foursome- if you’d ever allow it. You could tell him that Mingi says Wooyoung is a good friend, that the two talk more than they ever have, that they share things with one another, things that Mingi and Yunho would share with each other. You could rub it in, that his spot was being filled, that he was being replaced with each passing second, but you couldn’t.

Because you knew at the end of the day, no matter who’s shit went where, that Mingi would choose Yunho.

He could come back to him after months, years, asking him to hide a fucking body, and Mingi would, without question. 

“I know things have gone wrong,” Yunho said, nodding. “I know I’ve done things that are so messed up.” He turned to face you, his knees nearly bumping into your own. “But, I still care, Tori.” Your blood ran cold, like it had the night before. “What we all had, it’s not just something I can forget, or pretend like it didn’t happen.”

Sucking in a deep breath, you turned to face the bar and resisted the urge to ask him if he was the one you were texting, which sounded absolutely ridiculous when you said it to yourself. You had his goddamn number, why would it be him?

“How long have you been here?” you asked, sipping your now empty drink. “In Haos?”

“We came down right after you guys,” he said, and you froze. “Me, Yeosang and Keni. San and Hongjoong are staying with us, but they won’t be here till tomorrow. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised you didn’t know that?” You shook your head. “Right, who would wanna keep tabs on me anymore,” he muttered with a laugh.

“Tori?”

The voice from behind you sent a chill down your spine, and you know it happened to the boy beside you as well. Spinning around in time with him, both wide eyed and nervous, you faced Aurora who couldn’t bring herself to even look at Yunho. She stood before you in strappy sandals and a dress that almost matched the one you wore.

“Ror,” you forced from your lips, giving Yunho one last glance before you abandoned him at the bar. The look on his face as he stared at her pained you. Taking your hands to her shoulders you walked her backwards onto the dance floor, hoping to get lost in the midst of the crowd to explain yourself before she caught Wooyoung’s ear.

“Why were you talking to him?” she asked you, pulling her hands over her middle.

Digging your fingers into her shoulders, you shook your head fast. “I found him by total accident, Aurora, I didn’t mean to end up there.”

“You could’ve walked away,” she said. She was the face of patience, no emotion other than calm coming out of her.

“I know,” you breathed, taking your hands down her arms. “I just… had to get my Yunho closure.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you need Yunho closure? No one else has Yunho closure.”

“I guess… I dunno,” you said, fumbling over your words, “Maybe it wasn’t closure, I just… I could’ve walked away.” 

“That was weird,” she said.

Dropping your hands, taking all but a step backward, you questioned, “But, was it?”

“What does that mean?” she asked, confusion washing over her. The way she looked at you, the same way Yuna looked at you earlier, like they didn’t know you. 

Pressing your hands to your cheeks, you clenched your jaw and shook your head. “I don’t know… Aurora, I don’t… I don’t know.” 

She moved around as tipsy dancers bumped into her back. Holding out a hand, she gripped one of your wrists. “That’s okay,” she said. “Should we go talk to Mingi?”

Mingi.

“No,” you answered fast, making her brows raise. “I mean, not yet,” you corrected, “I’ll talk to him later, can we just dance, Tor and Ror, come on.” Tugging at her hands, trying to spin her around, you got nothing but half a smile from her.

“I don’t… No,” she said, shaking her head, pulling her hands away from you. “I need a minute after… After that,” she mumbled, gesturing toward the bar, toward Yunho, where you were just sitting with him. “I’ll tell Ryujin you wanna dance, she’ll come out here, so will Seonghwa.”

She left you in the middle of the dance floor, weaving herself through the crowd to get back to your friends, probably doing shots in the corner, talking about who knows what. In your purse, your phone went off.

Pressing your lips together, ignoring the lump in your throat, you opened up the message and felt a tear slide down your cheek.

[ITZ]: do what feels right, pretty girl

read it on ao3 | talk to me | my masterlist

you do not have permission to copy or translate my works without my consent.

[katakosmos]

i need to get back to my evan rosier era so i’m going to the source (u). can i hear u yap abt evanreg

IT'S TIME TO MAKE A TIMELINE

april 19, 1960 (france): the rosier twins are born

november 3, 1960 (england): sirius is born

june 25, 1961 (england): last but not least, regulus is born

summer of 1974 (england): sirius and regulus meet evan for the first time. he was sent by his parents to walburga because, at 14, he was absolutely disobedient and out of control. walburga puts him back in line. evan particularly bonds with regulus, and from that summer they start writing letters to each other every month

1977: regulus joins the death eaters

1978: evan graduates beauxbatons. he leaves france and arrives in london, where he joins the death eaters too

1979: regulus graduates hogwarts (with barty, who joins the death eaters at the end of the year). regulus dies. RIP

1980: barty and evan get freaaaky (they fuck one time and a half)

1981: evan dies and barty is sent to azkaban

ok basically, with the greatest seriousness, the key to evanreg for me is how PATHETIC evan is. nothing different from usual, okay, but the thing is that next to regulus he becomes another person. with pandora, he's wicked; with barty, crazy; but with reg he's hesitant. maybe it's a combination of the fact that regulus is younger than him, smaller, and that he always seems to be on the verge of breaking in half, but evan is afraid to even touch him. he thinks that if he breathes next to him, regulus might fly away.

what he feels is a mixture of fear and admiration: evan thinks that regulus is one of the most interesting and intelligent people he knows. and he just watches him from afar because he's happy that way. they have exchanged hundreds of letters, yet when evan sits down next to regulus for the first time in years, he starts hyperventilating. regulus touches his arm and smiles, and evan is floating.

it's not even sexual desire, it's just the most horrifyingly pathetic form of affection evan could ever experience. imagine the scary and monstrous evan rosier who goes towards regulus and hesitantly asks him to teach him a spell. and while regulus speaks, he bites his thumbnail and looks at him with two (one) big eyes, all shy and scared LMAO. and regulus truly thinks that he's like this with everyone.

[snowqueen]

(remaking my old post abt this to format it better and add more games and release dates, lol)

games turning 25 years old this year (original releases):

resident evil – code veronica (february 3rd, 2000)

the sims (february 4th, 2000)

fear effect (february 24th, 2000)

never 7: the end of infinity (march 23rd, 2000)

the legend of zelda: majora's mask (april 27th, 2000)

jet set radio (june 29th, 2000)

final fantasy ix (july 7th, 2000)

guilty gear x (july 19th, 2000)

dragon quest vii (august 26th, 2000)

dino crisis 2 (september 13th, 2000)

escape from monkey island (november 6th, 2000)

crash bash (november 7th, 2000)

banjo-tooie (november 20th, 2000)

american mcgee's alice (december 5th, 2000)

games turning 20 years old this year (original releases):

resident evil 4 (january 11th, 2005)

devil may cry 3 (february 17th, 2005)

god of war (march 22nd, 2005)

psychonauts (april 19th, 2005)

haunting ground (april 21st, 2005)

nintendogs (april 21st, 2005)

pathologic (june 9th, 2005)

club penguin (october 24th, 2005)

guitar hero (november 8th, 2005)

animal crossing: wild world (november 23rd, 2005)

kingdom hearts 2 (december 22nd, 2005)

games turning 15 years old this year (original releases):

kingdom hearts: birth by sleep (january 9th, 2010)

mass effect 2 (january 26th, 2010)

bioshock 2 (february 9th, 2010)

heavy rain (february 18th, 2010)

alan wake (may 14th, 2010)

red dead redemption (may 18th, 2010)

pokemon black & white (september 18th, 2010)

fallout new vegas (october 19th, 2010)

epic mickey (november 25th, 2010)

danganronpa: trigger happy havoc (november 25th, 2010)

games turning 10 years old this year (original releases):

huniepop (january 19th, 2015)

life is strange (january 30th, 2015)

five nights at freddy’s 3 (march 2nd, 2015)

style savvy: fashion forward (april 16th, 2015)

the witcher 3 (may 19th, 2015)

persona 4: dancing all night (june 25th, 2015)

fire emblem fates (june 25th, 2015)

five nights at freddy’s 4 (july 23rd, 2015)

animal crossing: happy home designer (july 30th, 2015)

until dawn (august 25th, 2015)

fran bow (august 27th, 2015)

super mario maker (september 10th, 2015)

we know the devil (september 12th, 2015)

undertale (september 15th, 2015)

soma (september 22nd, 2015)

hylics (october 2nd, 2015)

fallout 4 (november 10th, 2015)

[spacelazarwolf]

how are people getting upset over 3-4 year age gaps in literal adults?? half of our parents have bigger age gaps than that...

my theory is that ppl still don’t see ppl in their 20’s as adults, whether that’s from infantilization or ppl in their 20’s not wanting to take on adult responsibility so they fall back on “i’m still basically a kid!!!!!!!!! i can’t be held responsible for my own life and actions!!!!!!!!!!” so they end up thinking that, bc the number is the same, a 12 yr old dating a 17 yr old is the exact same dynamic as a 25 yr old dating a 30 yr old. bc they refuse to have any nuance or think abt things for more than like 5 seconds. also some ppl are just weirdos in general who find a new thing to have Moral Panic about every week.

[stellarwaffles]

Ooooo you wanna talk about your ocs you wanna talk about them so bad ooooooo

Sorry for taking 381 days to answer ummmmm hi I want to talk about Ari

I don't think I've really posted about Ari on tumblr so I'll include basic info

Ari uses she/it/him pronoun and is a lesbian. She is a lion lava monster + is 6ft tall

Ari Sunfall is the oldest of the Sunfall siblings (Ari, Ziva, Leo, Daniel, Cherry*, Talya, Dasi)

When Ari was 13 her parents had to go be at war they weren't allowed to stay at home + raise their kids anymore so as the oldest Ari had to take care of her siblings

If you've ever heard Surface Pressure from Encanto that's the only song on my Ari playlist

Anyway um when Ari was 16 she got a girlfriend yaaaaaaay they were t4t :3

they dated for an amount of months before Ari's gf broke up w her bc taking care of 5 siblings was clearly stressful for Ari + gf was worried dealing w that and also a relationship was too much for Ari. Ummm she had good intentions but this made Ari put more effort into hiding when she's stressed

When Ari was 18 she had to be in the army </3 fuck Monstrox we all hate that guy

Ari got to see his parents for the first time in 5 years so that was nice

Ari also got a girlfriend while in the army! When Ari was 20 she dated Kirsten. They dated for an amount of months

:3

Kirsten broke up w Ari </3

:3

so um ye when the lava monsters got trapped in the Book of Monsters Ari was also trapped. Bc she's a lava monster

S1 nexo knight Ari is one of the background lava monsters

At some point in s1 the lava monsters attack a town called Kneadton + during the attack Ari gets distracted by the smell of freshly baked bread and goes into the bakery where Feather works

Feather is Rather Frightened and as a panic response. Acts friendly + normal as if Ari was a regular customer instead of part of the army attacking the town

Ari is thown off by Feather acting friendly + instead of stealing or destroying anything like she's supposed to he politely pays for a box of cookies

Feather + Ari are friends now. You can't escape being friends with Feather

At the end of s2! When Monstrox is trying to possess Clay or whatever + the knights save him + there's like an explosion or smth + they think Monstrox is dead fr fr. The explosion throws Ari into the rocky wall + she gets a bad injury

But um hey good news the lava monsters all want nothing to do with Monstrox + go build a town so they can chill + just live their lives

Ari takes a while to recover from his injury + has to get used to sometimes relying on others instead of always being the one people can rely on

Ari also has a back brace now. I haven't done enough research to say much about this

Once Ari is doing well enough to get a job she starts working at a bar in Burningham. He works a late shift + so she sleeps in late in the morning

This is around s3 btw + also Ari is 23

At some point Eva is adventuring around, as one does, and accidentally finds Burningham. She wanders around town perceiving + goes into the bar + this is how she meets Ari!! Yay!!

Eva is big gay for Ari. Eva + Ari become friends yay yay friendship

Ari starts getting feelings for Eva but she's in denial about it. They're just friends! Ari totally doesn't wanna kiss Eva or anything!

Teehee time for s5 (Ari is 24/25 now. I'm less sure on the ages here bc s5 + s6 were never made)

So um there's the apocalypse going on. Fun! (It's not fun)

I haven't brained much abt what exactly happens around Burningham during the apocalypse I'll be honest so some of this might change idk. I've mostly just rotated the angst in my mind

Burningham got swarmed by cyberbugs + people had to either try and fight them off or run away

The Sunfalls have safely escaped a bunch of cyberbugs + are in the woods. They're worried about Talya bc none of them have been able to contact it at all, but the rest of them are all safe and accounted for at least

Ari faintly hears something deeper in the woods + goes to investigate. A smart decision, surely. You should always go alone to investigate voices you hear in the woods

Ari finds Eva sitting by a tree calling for help. Eva says she was injured while running from cyberbugs + she needs help just come closer walk forward come just a bit closer please

Something seems off to Ari, and rightfully so bc this is a trap. Eva is infected

A bunch of cyberbugs were hiding around the nearby trees. Eva + the cyberbugs attack Ari and Eva tries to convince Ari to be evil being infected is great actually she's totally not being forced to say this

Ari doesn't want to fight Eva so she's trying to fight defensively. At one point in the fight Ari takes Eva's scythe from her hands and without thinking impales Eva, killing her

Ari stares at Eva's body for a moment, realizing what she just did, before running away (the cyberbugs are still there. They chase after her)

So you know how I mentioned Ari likes Eva but is in denial. Yeah so sometimes you realize things at very inconvenient times. Sometimes you're processing that you just killed the person you're in love with and wait a minute in love? Oh fuck

Ari doesn't really have time to focus on that or on grief bc she's gotta focus on making sure him + its family survive the apocalypse

Daniel gets separated from the rest of the family for a bit which has all of them worried but this isn't about him so don't worry about it

After the apocalypse ends the Sunfalls go back to Burningham + Ziva is sent to pick up Talya from school. Ari finally has time to process the everything + breaks down crying

*shoutout to anyone that remembered I put an asterisk next to Cherry's name! She was not part of the family before this point

Ziva returns w Talya + Cherry, Talya says Cherry is part of their family now. Everyone immediately assumes that means Cherry's parents are dead. Everyone also immediately accepts Cherry into the family. New sibling!

After idk a few days Ari goes back into the woods to get Eva + take her to a mechanic. Ari is worried sick that she did irreparable damage, but is hoping Eva will be fine

Ari is not very good w tech + things of the sort, she doesn't understand all this new tech that's been invented in the past 100 years. Squirebots weren't a thing back when he was growing up, so she doesn't know anything about squirebot anatomy. Ari has no clue if she killed Eva permanently or if Eva can be repaired

Eva is repaired yay yippee yay she doesn't have any permanent damage, her brain's all fine, etc etc

After checking approximately 1 million times that Eva is in fact alright + no longer injured, Ari apologies for killing her + Eva assures Ari it's ok she doesn't even remember it honestly so truely it's chill dw. Everything from when she was infected is kinda foggy, actually. She doesn't remember much of being infected

Anyway moving on Ari also confesses to being in love w Eva yay yippee yay they can kiss now I love when girlfriends

A few weeks after the apocalypse has ended!! Ok so remember Kirsten? There's something I didn't mention. Before she broke up w Ari she got pregnant, but neither of them knew

So as I said a few weeks after the apocalypse ended- Kirsten + her girlfriend (she has a girlfriend btw) go on a date at a bar. Which just so happens to be where Ari works. Wait I forgot to say Kirsten's girlfriend is Ari's first ex

Ye so Kirsten tells Ari she's got something important to tell her but like if it can wait til later that'd be nice bc she's on a date rn. So she gets Ari's phone number + address

Kirsten shows up to the Sunfall house the next day w her + Ari's daughter, Sunny

Ari didn't know what to expect when Kirsten said she had something important to tell her, but she certainly had not been expecting a kid

Sunny is 4 btw Ari was 21 when Sunny was born

Kirsten wants Ari to take full custody of Sunny she didn't want to be a mom she wanted Ari to take care of Sunny from the start, she just didn't know how to contact Ari. Phones were invented after they broke up

Umm I made up Sunny recently so I'm still working on this lore but at some point Eva calls Ari a milf

Misc info!! Yay!!

Ari is a nickname for Arson, the name Arson has been passed down in the family for generations Ari is Arson V (Arson the fifth) (Sunny is also a nickname for Arson, Sunny is Arson VI)

I mentioned this when Eva died but Ari isn't good w phones or tech or anything like that she's kinda a boomer L L L skill issue

Ari spent so much of his life focusing on taking care of her family and being personally responsible for everyone's safety that she never. Got any hobbies (on this topic Ari + Talya have parallels. Talya stole the bad mentality and the lack of hobbies + some other stuff)

At some point Eva gets Ari into hiking! This idea brought to you by the bestie Milkisvibin803

At some point when they're dating, Eva finds out Ari wants to be more feminine but doesn't know what exactly to do about that. So Eva takes her dress shopping to see if maybe that'll help (it does) :)

[streamdotpng]

Okok, putting my thoughts here real quick so we have SOME form of legibility on the time line. Everything here is canon, if stated otherwise, ignore that

Streamer Enid au info:

Wenclair are 23-25 smth and they married at 18 right out Nevermore.

Enid or known as Endespair streams horror games to get over her queasiness over gore faster. She's known for being a simp for Wednesday Addams, proudly proclaiming that she is her wife. No one believes her and think she's a stan

She also has some experience being a stunt double and occasional minor actor known by word of mouth as Sin Addams.

Wednesday Addams is an author, director, actor, executive director-basically she's a badass idk what to tell you. Essentially, she's been traveling all over the place and working since she hit 19.

Bc of this, wenclair have been in a ldr bc the have been way too dependent on each other for so long and enid wanted to make sure they could grow as people first before going together.

She also is coming home to Enid the moment she finished writing her final book for a decade or so 'Lycoan Curse' bc she's finally done with projecting/processing all her trauma onto her books.

Wednesday Addams has written a total of six books. First five are known as the Viper series with Viper de la muerte being the Mc and told in first person.

First three is abt Wednesday's life pre Nevermore and the other 3 is the remaining 3 years in Nevermore.

Viper: Hyden truths is literally abt what happened with Tyler in season 1 but glossing over the love triangle. It introduces new characters, like the stunted werewolf roommate Helios

(Enid insisted in the pun in the title.. Also fun fact, if u just say the hel part of helios, it almost sounds like the command 'heel')

Viper: Snake in the grass is abt the stalker teased in the end of Hyden truths. More of Helios' werewolfness/instincts are shown and they grow closer. Viper learns to be more open and Helios showcases more of her culture to Viper. The stalker has made the two more sneakier, making sure to keep close and going through multiple pranks where the two nearly get severely harmed.

(it was around here that people started shipping imperial gold, not really expecting the underlying tension of two roommates taking care of each other's injuries and the intimacy of such actions)

Lunar Ecplise: Lycoan Curse is the first book that skipped the single POV streak Wednesday had. This time, it features a new perspective Helios' and it became a hit. This one was a rather girthy asf book, considering that it was written as either a standalone or a continuation of the Viper series.

It's also the movie/show? Idk tbh, it's still being decided. Its the book being adapted to a film/show that Enid and Wednesday star in.

Nevermore is known as Eden in the book. Despite it's rather heavenly name, it still looks edgy like Nevermore. it's more of an eden for outcasts yknow

Anyways that's it for now, ty for listening

[starlightkun]

2024 tumblr wrapped

i was (sort of) tagged by @suhnandmoon (ilysm sunny you're literally so sweet im so honored that pur autre vie and the strawbsunday anthology were some of your favorite fics of 2024). i wrote so many fics that i'm really proud of, tried out new genres, and just had so, so much fun writing in 2024 (so much so that i wrote like 150k more than i did in 2023...)

2024 fic stats

number of works posted: 25 ! (i counted sequels that had different titles to the original fic as separate and multi-parts that were just part 1, 2, etc. as one work) fics in progress: 2 (oh my god who am i?? i only have two official wips wth) total words written: 392.3k in 2024 (that's actually so crazy omfg... i think i need to go outside actually)

top 5 fics (by notes)

1. that hot (sungchan x reader, meet-ugly/forced proximity trope) 2. tongue-tied (model!jeno x journalist!reader, revised sleepless cinderella route for a former member that was deleted) 3. filler episodes (punk drummer!sungchan x normie!reader, band au, the beginning of the venue:hell au) 4. out of left field (baseball player!jisung x rich kid!reader, brother's best friend au/college au, holiday themed) (yall omg that was posted a week before the end of the year?) 5. tourist trapped (sungchan x reader, getting stuck on a ferris wheel, secret relationship)

fun fact, half of my top ten most popular fics in 2024 were sungchan fics

most recent fic

out of left field (baseball player!jisung x rich kid!reader, brother's best friend au/college au, holiday themed)

longest fic

frankenstein complex BY FAR at almost 68k words lmao

favorite fic i wrote

god this is SO HARD, i played around in so many new genres and with a lot of different dynamics and just put out SO MANY fics i adore... if i had to pick ONE, it really has to be frankenstein complex. even tho it didn't get nearly the notes that my other fics do, i did it for the arts not the charts and the people who did read it left THE MOST AMAZING FEEDBACK EVER AND WERE SO INTERACTIVE AND INVESTED it rlly has been... dare i say... a cult classic. sci-fi is my favorite genre to read in my own free time and it was so much fun to finally take a crack at writing it this year (twice)

goal for 2025

keep having fun!!! like i felt absolutely zero pressure or stress while writing this year, it truly was my favorite hobby, and i really want to keep that groove in 2025. ngl, i wouldn't mind my word count going down IF it means that i'm like going out doing things and hanging out with friends and stuff 😅 like this year was incredible from a creative standpoint, but also between work and this, i spent a lot of time inside on a computer...

fave fics books i read this year

sooo i don't really read fic anymore blasphemous i know, but i will rec my favorite books that i read this year:

the complete robot - isaac asimov

this isn't actually all of asimov's robot short stories, but it's most of them. some of his lore was direct inspiration for frankenstein complex. i like this particular compilation not only bc it has all of my favorite short stories, but i think the introduction at the beginning is worth reading as well. asimov discusses the difference between Robot-as-Menace and Robot-as-Pathos stories and i think abt it all the time. my favorite short stories in here are robbie(!!), light verse(!), true love, satisfaction guaranteed(!), feminine intuition, reason, and the bicentennial man(!)

mouthful of birds - samanta schweblin (translated by megan mcdowell)

this is another short story compilation with several focusing on women and various, insidious ways that they're oppressed under the patriarchy (also, the author is argentine, and the characters/setting are clearly meant to be in south america as well), but it's all shown and represented through a surrealist, borderline horror lens at some points. like, don't read this one if you're looking for a light, easy read. there's some body horror and odd, dark imagery, but it's also so, so good. my favorites are mouthful of birds(!!), headlights, the merman(!!), heads against concrete, a great effort, the heavy suitcase of benavides(!)

being mortal - atul gawande

this is a nonfiction book about how we approach mortality, dying, end of life care, and death in the west. the author is a doctor and provides a lot of great insight both professionally and personally. despite the topic, i found it actually be a very optimistic and inspiring read if you can handle open and honest conversation and depictions of grief and mourning

don't really have anyone to tag and it's also super late to be doing this! but if anyone sees this and wants to do it go for it and tag me, i'd love to see it and also make new writer moots <33

[gumbootillustrations]

day 18 - headcanon

i had too many so no drawing today. instead, i offer a list.

bogan laurance. or, more specifically, bogan meteli. like cmonnn u Cannot tell me that meteli (esp old meteli) is just a standin for small-town new zealand/australia. anyway, they all have aussie/nz accents. laurs is the most obvious bc i think its funny. @shadowqnights @abxolotl this one goes out for you guys <3

on that note, ru'aun's environment is basically new zealand's. especially the sacred forest - it has major nz bush vibes. like.

cmon u Cannot tell me that these were taken in the sacred forest of ru'aun.

anyway. travis gets kept up at night by kiwi screaming at each other (seriously. take a listen.)

also, tu'la is inspired by the roman empire. ill probs elaborate on this in the future.

necromancer cadenza! i've spoken abt this before here if u want to see a bit more :3

irene's cathedral/dimension/whatever is less cathedral and more eldritch labyrinth. specifically, i envision it to be a lot like the theatre of domination from honkai impact 3rd.

garroth gardens in his free time! it's how he grows all the flowers for his flower crowns.

meif'wa are werecats; they can 'tuck in' their ears and tails like werewolves can (but it's generally super uncomfortable, no matter the species), and have a sort of hybrid cat-human form that they can also shift into.

melissa is the first ultima - i sort of got into it in this post, but essentially after mel comes back to find falconclaw destroyed and her siblings, aaron and lilly, dead (to the best of her knowledge - aaron is still alive, however), she strikes a deal with a goat-eyed being to bring them back, but because the fine print was specifically worded to fuck her over, her soul ends up getting fused with the wolf that she sacrifices for the ritual and she gets ultima'd.

also, lilly is now aaron and mel's younger sister. she's a ghost.

juror relics! i hate hate Hate how the jurors never get fleshed out in canon, so i gave them a bit more backstory in ashes, ashes. their powers originally came from smaller, less powerful relics that xavier carved off of his own, but after they get lost, they become figureheads for a long time until about 20-25 years prior to the start of ashes, ashes. there's a bit more on this in my day 20 post, pinky promise.

the generals of the shadow lord's army are called "death knells", and although they lead their own units/squadrons/whatever, their primary purpose is to oppose the divine warriors; including the shadow lord (who opposes irene), there are only ever seven death knells at one time. an example of a death knell is gene, who is intended to oppose kul'zak.

zianna is a witch, although, for most of her life, her abilities were passed off as her having prophetic magicks; these 'magicks' are why she was married off to garte, as the ro'meave line wanted to introduce these magicks into the family. unfortunately, the heir, garroth, didn't inherit his mother's abilities, but her two other children, zane/zuwellyn and vylad, did.

nicole is a half elf from her mum's side; her mum is matilda's sister, making her and levin first cousins. this is based on matilda lowkey looking really similar to nicole. idk i just think its fun.

garte sells out o'khasis to tu'la for more power during s2, thus transferring the jury of nine into the control of the king. it's a whole mess, and in the process, he essentially scapegoats zianna by faking his death.

however, this does make zianna lord of o'khasis. we love a girlboss.

the relics have different effects on their wielders; for example, esmund's relic makes its wielders a lot more physically dense, meaning that they'll sink into softer surfaces like sand and mud. xavier's relic turns its wielders hair red.

consequently, zane has red roots. he dyes his hair black (its natural colour) to hide them.

katelyn has the moniker of "the dragon of o'khasis". the phoenix drop gang mostly assumes that it's because she's ruthless on the battlefield... until she decides that the best course of action is to breathe fire at an opponent uncle iroh-style.

katelyn is also Stupidly superstitious. like. she fully believes in the sweater curse and will Refuse to walk under a ladder even if theres no other available path.

mys!nicole gets forever potioned. this has Consequences for the home gang during the events of s5-s6.

speaking of mys!nicole, her and dante are queerplatonic coparents to dmitri. they had him when they were in uni after a brief fling. he's the street's baby.

anyway i think thats abt it. lmk if u have any questions :3

(ps two days until day 20)

[kurishiri]

I see you have a lot of cards there and may I ask how many resources we need to have all the +99 cards? I suppose it depends on the events and the suitor, or am I wrong? Hehe I just want to know and try to get it 😅

hi there, anon! i feel that, no matter which suitor, it still does cost quite a bit to +99 a card. they're practically designed to be "locked" behind a paywall :,> but there are some that are more easily obtainable than others, as there r different methods to obtain them! which i'll go more into detail abt them and amount of resources for +99ing a card below the cut.

method #1: sending hearts in collection events...many, many times

this is the most "expensive" way, so to speak. in collection events, the featured ★4 is first given either at 280 times sent, if you send all 280 times within the first 80 hours of the event, or at ~560 times sent within the duration of the entire event. from there, you receive a dupe for every 20 times sent.

now, assuming you do get the ecb (280 times in 80 hours), you will get it to +1 at 560 times. so that leaves 98 x 20 = 1,960 more times needed. so that makes 560 + 1,960 = 2,520 times sent by the end of the event to fully uncap the card to +99. if you don't make the ecb, then you need an extra dupe, so 2,520 + 20 = 2,540 times.

assuming you only utilize one of the 3x lucky times (escort or story in en server), and all numbers are rounded up to the nearest whole number...

that would be a total of 2,540 / 6 = 424 cocktails x 150 gems = 63,600 gems for escorts

for stories, each run-through will yield 25 x 15 = 375 for reading through each of the 25 chapters; 10 x 6 = 60 for completing all the intimacy checks and avatar missions; and an additional 15 for completing the entire story. so that would make 375 + 60 + 15 = 450 times. so, 2,540 / 450 = 6 times. each run through needs 125 tickets, so 125 x 6 = 750 tickets x 100 gems = 75,000 gems.

it would cost less if you had other resources saved up already for the event, utilized other lucky times, parked your stories, etc. etc.

that said! some events - namely the 2024 halloween event in jp (ecb: william, nica) and jude's route release event and past records (ecb: jude) - have a system where they feature not one, but two ★4 featured cards. in which case, you get alternating dupes every 10 times sent. essentially, by sending 2,520 / 2,540 times, you can get 2 ★4 cards to +99!

method #2: ranking top 100 for a suitor in certain collection events

this is only applicable to some events, such as the aforementioned halloween 2024 collection event that ran in jp, the next wedding event coming to en, and some past records (elbie/al; ellis/jude).

now how many resources this takes is pretty much dependent on which suitor you're going for. the more popular the suitor, the more resources you will need to expend (bc the pool would be larger for more popular suitors, so naturally numbers and borders will be higher).

if you wanna play it safe to rank in a suitor's top 100 and have a relatively stress-free ranking experience, i would probably dedicate an average of 650 hearts. but if you're going for jude or ellis in either server, it might be better to get close to 700. on the other hand, if you're going for liam, you probably don't need 650...probably 500 may be enough.

...that said, don't take my word for it.

method #3: grinding in birthday parties

so bday parties r those events that r coming out in en next year for ikevil. they also feature a ★4 card which you can stack to +99 in the duration of the event, but it's not as expensive as uncapping them via collection events.

on the other hand, cards from birthday parties do have a slightly lower bp. in jp, an average fully-uncapped collection event card will have 2,295 bp. meanwhile, a bday party card, fully uncapped, is 2,145 bp. these cards r cgs for their stories, and as such, they r treated at the same level as a cg card you can obtain by reading a suitor's ending in their main story.

how many resources this takes is dependent on how strong your deck is for a character (and maybe how high your attire bp is). if you have a strong deck, you don't need to expend as much, but on the other hand, if you don't own many good cards for said suitor, you may need to expend more resources. i'm not exactly sure how many points exactly are needed to fully uncap this card, just that every 1000 points after reaching level 45, you receive a card dupe.

i heard around 150,000 points is enough to fully uncap the card. it does sound like a lot, but with a strong deck, each time you "escort" can yield quite a bit of points!

[alectothinker]

end of year asks for u: 1, 13, aand 25 bc i also love to hear abt ur ocs🩷

1. Song of the year?

EUSEXUAAAA or drums of death tbh. Or striptease (unreleased). honestly im just obsessed w anything fka twigs makes akshsk . IF i had to pick one it would be drums of death tho 🫶

13. How was your birthday this year?

straight up dont remember what i did?? Was probably ok tho lol 🎂

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

YES....my god like a couple. Ok i guess im debuting orpheus here. under the cut:

- my guy has shitty ptsd nightmares + sleep paralysis All The Time. it is pissing him off and making life very shit in general.

- sleep paralysis demons offer him a job at a shop in sleep paralysis demon world. if he takes night shifts there (while his body sleeps) he never has to dream again

- ofc he takes it. And then he fucks all the demons while he's there. Yay

- genderfuckery and monsterfuckery ensues. orpheus fractionally gains power to shift his own body through proximity.

- cue situationship with at least 3 dif demons, 1 of which he thinks is another normal guy (but isn't) (ooooo)

(this isnt inspired by my own shit with sleep paralysis at all...... ) (/j)

> re the name orpheus: all the humans that work in sleep world are assigned a name from myth that denotes status. humans are named after mortal characters, and demons after deities (putting them above humans). no real relation to the orpheus/eurydice myth here but he Does get into some spicy shit with "Helios".

send me some end of year asks!

[dandadananalysis]

Cursed House Arc pt.1.1/? (review delayed)

Part 1: Episode 11/Chapter 28-30

Part 2: Episode 12/Chapter 31-33 (a bit of chapter 34)

Part ?... (season 2)

Some confessions to make: Sorry guys for the delay of the review of episode 11, because I'm having the most intense exam of my life, and it will happen again for the next 5 years :"))) So glad that the 3 most "cruel" subjects of my 1st module is done, 3/5 is completed, 2 more to go: Philosophy & English for specific purposes (doctor stuffs)

Now let's get back on track!

Now starting off with the episode, we were introduced with Enjoji Jin (a.k.a Jiji), Momo's crush/osana najimi (childhood friend)

And Okarun kept praising (silently) the young man for his phisque (hahah :0 well that's expected from someone who belittles himself too much, be more confident of yourself!!!) even though he now sees him as a rival bf (you see nothing here!)

And someone who is pretty much, an ideal boyfriend, turned out to be like this:

Gosh this man :'))))

His speech:

The reaction:

And he gets flirt with the rizz :))))

Especially with complimenting Seiko-obachan :)

Wait i'm a bit confused: when do we use obaasan and when obaachan? or even obasan, obachan???

Because I thought, obaachan is for granny, obaasan is for aunt

Jiji called Seiko as obachan -> Auntie, but the Vietnamese sub translation is "Bà" -> Granny, so when I checked the manga, it is actually Auntie! (Dì)

So is the Vietnamese translation wrong??? The VN sub is making the manga readers confusing, lah!

Anyone please help me with this :"))

(actually at around this part, I really want to analyse and get into the details, because someone on Fb post a very good small detail, but I guess I will save it for later...)

Jiji just get into the house without Momo's agree :))) So yeh, ofc she's confused, lah

Momo's crazy "NO!!!" dance, and Seiko's part :3

I love Aira's overthinking ideas

And she left immediately. Well bye bye, oyasumi nasai~

Wait, this is what we've been waiting for: be quiet pls :)))

She's staring at him, for whole freaking 25 seconds

Where's my "See you tommorow!"? Ofc Okarun confused <:)

Oka here it is!

I noticed that whenever Okarun is shy and confused, he keeps holding onto his glasses :3

Here's a closer view, he did blush and flustered Awww

Pls watch it by yourself pls!!!! This is PRICELESSSS (from Jiji)

(3:54-4:01)

His heart is not comfortable, at all. I get it man, poor Okarun...

Okay, and now it's currently 10:07 PM, and I'm hungry :")))

Hamburg beef with miso soup and pickled radish, I'm starving (my tummy is rumbling :")))

And Seiko-obaachan keeps giving him more food the more he praised her beauty

And now, Momo & Jiji's past

Okay why is this part starts to get scary???

And because of the "thing", no wonder why his parents are getting "not okay"

And the rest of the story, y'know already: 3/5 exorcisms he asked commited /ˈsuː.ɪ.saɪd/ or /ˈsuː.ə.saɪd/

The photos are censored in Youtube, but if you watch other resources, you can see how they "did" that

(This blog is family-friendly, I won't add any pictures relating to any sensitive elements)

I love them so much :)))) Granny moments~

(There's another detail I wanna discuss abt how Jiji talks to Momo that I found very interesting, but we will save it for later...)

Momo forgave his mistake for making fun of her... and that is cute <3

And now she has to face a bigger challenge: helping Jiji, solve the mystery, and she will get her uniforms :)))

Well now he knows :)))

Obachan (auntie) -> Baachan (Grandma)

(but we reach 30 images max) So we will end this post for now

Dang, first time it gets this long...

Probably I love this episode too much :)))

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

And this is the first part of part 1

I will continue for part 1.2 (after the OP)