#long time. Justified posting this response?

[grayve-mistake]

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO AVOID BEING THIS PERSON (AND OTHER RED FLAGS)

Communicate openly and honestly when you have an issue with someone. Don't talk behind their backs, don't bottle it up until it festers and explodes, just ask about what's bothering you. Good friends will hear you out (and yeah, you might disagree on some things. That's normal too. Have a conversation anyway!)

Don't jump to conclusions or accusations about their character while emotions are high. Doing this will make the situation more hostile and creates unnecessary tension and mistrust.

("I disagree with what you said/I feel uncomfortable, is there a way to avoid this in the future?/let's talk about it", not "what you posted is weird and I think you have a problem". People don't like feeling antagonized and will be more willing to listen if you don't!)

Communicate about your personal needs. It's ok to have boundaries and triggers and things you'd rather not hear about. It's not ok to expect other people to read your mind or be able to remember something you said once 3 1/2 years ago at the bottom of a long thread with 2 likes on it.

Write trigger lists in your group chats! Talk directly to the people you're close to about it! If someone is otherwise harmless but does/has something triggering or upsetting to you specifically, it's ok to just not interact with them personally. It doesn't have to be a callout, you can just block people, actually.

If it's someone you know in-person and the trigger is still present, then it might be time to have a one-on-one discussion with them about it and see what compromises you both can make for a more comfortable atmosphere.

TALK BIG ISSUES OUT PRIVATELY. The really important shit that could lead to a fracture in the relationship should only be discussed in an environment where you both feel safe and like you can have a say. Dogpiling will get you nowhere and makes the person you should WANT to actually ADDRESS the issue in a responsible way suddenly feel cornered and threatened, and will likely cause them to double down. No one's immune to this.

"Callouts" should be an absolute last resort AFTER you've privately discussed the issue and only if it's continuous and causing a serious amount of harm to multiple people. Avoid callout posts whenever possible. Try to leave personal issues out of the public eye when you can.

Try to hold yourself to the same standards you hold other people. If you wouldn't be able to accommodate someone in the ways you're asking everyone else to accommodate you, that might be entitlement! Work on it, try to remember that you're imperfect too and that's normal. If you feel comfortable calling out other people for all kinds of things but can't handle any constructive criticism of your own, it might be time to rethink some things about your approach. It's hard, it'll never not be hard, but try to listen when people try to start a conversation with you about an issue THEY'RE having, too. You aren't always in the right! People fuck up all the time! Talk about your own perspectives and where you're coming from and try to reach a point of understanding with eachother to resolve the problem.

Finally, and maybe most importantly:

This goes for both sides of the issue! Friend group feels toxic or unwelcoming? Unaccomodating? Tense? You can just leave!

It doesn't have to require long callout posts and twitter essays. If an environment seems like it's promoting unhealthy or problematic behaviors you're always allowed to just get outta there! You don't gotta justify yourself! Sometimes you just gotta trust your gut and step away. You can't always control what other people do but you can control your own actions in response, and that's important.

(These are all just based on my personal experience with these kinds of issues as someone who spends a little too much time online and has seen a lot over the years, so if you have any more input feel free to add it in the notes!)

anyway in the hopes that i can save just one person from living the horror of my 20s: if you have a friend that seems a little too invested in callouts i hope you can get out of there safely

[todayisafridaynight]

To Be Abnormal for a second Every Frame A Painting If Jo Is In It right... an exquisite top pick... his attitude and body language are So Cunty when he's in control of a situation... he's just very fun to watch and the Context that the cap is part such a sequence and what comes before and after elevates it...

Plus the lighting and color grading in the office is very suited to Jo's design with the purple and pink undertones, and the general framing/negative space/value distribution in that particular shot is Just Good; the blinds also make for a nice backdrop and the way he casts this really soft shadow behind him does a lot to make him subtly stand out from the background... ALSO I love the detail of the blinds being Kind Of Fucked Up In Places like he put his hands on them with a little too much force at some point and [being dragged away to be institutionalized]

BUT YEAH NO I DELETED THE POST BUT I DEFINITELY. HAD SOME THOUGHTS. AS YOU CAN SEE.

It's not JUST that it's A Disservice To Mr. Tsutsumi it's that... as I was sort of talking about at the stream with young [i.e. eighties] Jo although I didn't elaborate... this and some other decisions age him so much. Like, when Tsutsumi was actually around that age, he looked like this. A Baby.

And I just think... NOT having that wide-eyed innocence isn't as fitting. It's like buying into Jo's Belief that he's all-grown-up when really he's still got the mentality and coping mechanisms of a child at fifteen and hangs onto a great deal of it well into adulthood... I think it was important to give him a face people'd instantly want to protect to place visual emphasis on the enormity of everything going on in Jo's monologue.

Would also apply to what you were talking about in the MineDai-AraSawa comparison ask, how Arakawa might feel extra-concerned for him because he's younger [I can't say much because my age gap with most of my friends is big anyway, but I frequently see my friends in their mid-twenties or later feel that way with their friends in their early-twenties]

Like it's THERE I just want it to be there visually... in a visual medium... in the ONLY visual medium where de-aging someone with 100% accuracy would be possible... is that so much to ask...

HIS CUNTINESS YEAH that's the way to put it (❁´◡`❁) tbf i color corrected the scene Just A Little since the cap i had was just Weirdly Dark BUT the colors ARE still there.... his suit and overall character does just Pop against how white/grey everything is around him

AND YEAYEA THE FACT HIS BLINDS ARE A LITTLE BENT IN SOME PLACES it's a tiny detail but it's one of my favorite things i noticed- i didnt think it was worth mentioning but im glad you noticed it too (╯▽╰ )

BUT BEHIND THE LORE REASONS™️ TO NERF TTM'S LIPS YEAH lowkey that's how ive forever chosen to interpret jo's flashbacks and why he seems so much older in them (Alongside with arakawa sounding older than he reasonably should at that point BUT ig you can make a case of The Yakuza Aging Someone idk not the main point). i think rgg just knew that if they kept ttm's natural lips i wasn't going to take sawashiro seriously for any longer than five seconds before being wholeheartedly distracted.. (￣人￣)

[skipppppy]

Only Gravity Falls fans with media literacy interact with this post pls ok ok ok so do you think some of Ford’s resentment towards Stanley was in part because he felt like he had to “protect” him from Filbrick as the golden child? Like can you imagine if everytime you got mad at your brother, no matter how justified, your dad would verbally abuse him at best and kick him out of the house at worst? How much that fear would weigh on a kid? He loves Stanley, of course he does, and OBVIOUSLY Stanley isn’t the one at fault, he’s a victim, but what is a little boy supposed to do when he’s stuck being “the good twin” and any strike against his brother, no matter how small, could result in him getting hurt? How much anger did he bottle up? How many times did he force himself to turn the other cheek just to keep him safe? How horrible that night must have been, when everything he’d spent his entire life trying to prevent ended up happening anyway? How his dreams were crushed, a promising future was snatched from him, and the one time he actually lets himself get angry about it his brother is permanently disowned? Imagine how he must have felt looking down from that window. How angry at himself he must have been. How ashamed. Man I’d close the curtains too. Torn in half between feeling responsible for the suffering of someone you care so much about and feeling rage at them for being the reason you had to stifle yourself for so long. He probably let himself believe Filbrick’s words just to bring himself comfort. Anyway I love nuance I love analysis I love when characters are flawed in ways that aren’t excused but are still tragic and understandable I love critical thinking

[mariasont]

privacy, interrupted

waking up next to spencer on vacation is the perfect morning, until rossi walks in without knocking

pairing: spencer reid r x shy!reader warnings: fem!reader, post prison spencer, reference to sexy time the night before, reader is naked, kissing, established relationship, fluff prompt: here wc: 0.8k

You sense him stirring beside you, all cautious and considerate, like he’s navigating some delicate truce neither of you signed but both seem bound to uphold. Your limbs protest with sleepiness, practically begging you to ignore it, but your brain has other ideas, wide awake simply because it’s him. 

Your subconscious has apparently decreed that Spencer Reid isn’t permitted to be awake alone without your awkward, fumbling company.

And, honestly, you can’t bear the thought of him quietly awake, probably counting obscure facts or memorizing solitude, so, inevitably, your internal clock (diligently trained, very Spencer-oriented) kicks in every morning like some sort of lovesick, overly attached alarm.

Your eyes blink sluggishly open, and yeah, you’re already mentally cursing about the loss of precious sleep.

That is, until Spencer comes into view, giving you a sleepy-soft smile as soon as he sees that your awake that somehow justifies this sappy morning ritual you’ve cultivated.

“Hey there, beautiful girl,” Spencer murmurs, warm enough to render you mushy.

You manage exactly one very brave, extremely fleeting glance into his eyes — long enough for you to panic at just how intense his adoring gaze feels — before you promptly conclude that the only dignified response is burying your burning face straight into his chest.

“Morning,” you mumble, barely audible, and okay, sure, it's a weak greeting, but you're pretty sure he knows that your social capabilities are severely limited before coffee.

“How’d you sleep?”

His fingers leisurely map trails along your stomach, occasionally dipping lower, grazing along your thigh. Your breath stalls at his touch, instantly bringing you face-to-face with the very naked reality (literally) of your current state, and you're vividly aware of why you slept better than you have in years.

You squirm against him awkwardly, deeply thankful your mortification is safely concealed in the crook of his neck. You’re fairly certain there’s no scenario — no alternate timeline or parallel universe — where you’d confess out loud just how blissfully Spencer can apparently knock you out.

“Fine,” you mumble evasively.

Spencer’s fingers move to cup your chin, lifting your face until you’re forced to meet a pair of amused eyes. 

“Just fine?” He eyes you skeptically. “You were snoring pretty loudly for someone who slept just fine.”

You splutter out a laugh, embarrassed and giggling all at once, shoving lightly at his shoulder. 

“Spencer!” you squeak indignantly. “I absolutely, categorically, undeniably do not snore. Take it back right now.”

“Oh, I’m afraid the science disagrees,” he begins casually, hands running absentminded passes over your side as he explains. “Almost everyone snores at least occasionally. It happens when your throat muscles relax during deep sleep. It’s completely normal.” He pauses. “Some might even say cute.”

He punctuates his little speech with a tap on your nose, grinning when you wrinkle it at him. 

“Spencer’s, that’s —” you begin to argue, reader to counter his science, when he suddenly silences you with a kiss, stealing your voice mid-protest.

You try valiantly (well, sort of) to keep arguing, words stubbornly squeezing out between soft kisses that blur your logic.

“I’m serious —” kiss “— you don’t get to —” kiss “— to win arguments —” kiss “— like this,” you mumble, dissolving into breathless laughter as he continues, smugly aware he’s already won.

You’re giggling into yet another stolen kiss when a brisk knock at the door startles you apart, no time to process before Rossi strolls into the room.

“Hey, kid, we’re making coffee downstairs if you —” Rossi stops midsentence.

You barely have a second to manage a yelp before Spencer moves quickly, positioning himself like a very protective, and slightly panicked, human shield in an attempt to salvage your rapidly disappearing dignity.

“Oh my god, Rossi,” you groan from your makeshift hiding spot behind Spencer’s shoulder.

Rossi lets out a thoroughly entertained chuckle, clearly relishing in your horror. He doesn’t immediately move to leave, instead pausing in the doorway.

“Well, it appears you’re both quite awake already,” he remarks, mouth curving into a smirk. “But just in case you decide to join civilization at some point, I’ll put another pot on. Take your time.”

Spencer clears his throat awkwardly. “Thanks, Rossi,” he deadpans. “Maybe next time knock and actually wait for an answer?”

Rossi grins shamelessly, lifting his hands in exaggerated innocence as he backs toward the hallway.

“I’ll consider it, right after you two consider hanging a do-not-disturb sign.”

The second Rossi shuts the door, you collapse against Spencer, sighing miserably, “That’s it. Vacation over. Social life destroyed. We’re never leaving this room again until the end of time, or at least until everyone forgets what just happened — which, spoiler alert, they won’t.”

“End of time feels a little excessive,” he teases gently, nudging your jaw with his nose. “But if it means I get to spend a few more uninterrupted days with you, I might just let you have your way.”

You roll your eyes internally, half-heartedly pretending to be annoyed at Spencer’s ridiculously charming response. Honestly, it doesn't make sense how easily he dismantles your panic with one sentence and that stupidly cute smile. 

Still, your pride demands at least some resistance, even if your heart is enthusiastically voting yes to the bed-hibernation plan. So, fine — maybe hiding here forever (or at least for a couple days) wouldn’t be the absolute worst way to spend your vacation.

Actually, scratch that — it might just be your ideal outcome.

join me at the beach for my 1 year/4k event!

day 2 extras

💌 click here to check in → confirm your room (and crush)

maria's spring break getaway masterlist

[svt-luna]

𝜗℘ THEY DON’T KNOW ABOUT US

❛ 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 '𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘴. 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 '𝘦𝘮, 𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭. 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪-𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦-𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪 𝘣𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴. 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱-𝘢𝘭𝘭-𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪'𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺— 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘴. ❜

timeline: 2024

synopsis: When their five-year secret relationship is exposed, Luna and Jeonghan navigate the chaos of public scrutiny, media frenzy, and agency interference— only to prove that no one really knows them except the people who truly matter.

wc: 12.4k

warnings: angst, angst, angst, cursing, crying, anxiety, detailed description of panic attack, arguments, Dispatch’s bitchass, established relationship, hate comments, haters with no lives whatsoever, slut shaming, detailed description of hate comments, media, mentions of enlistment, Bae Jiyeon and Yoon Jeonghan are about to end lives, ends with fluff, they are so in love it hurts

bringing back the angst with a sprinkle of fluff for you, my lovelies 🤭 this will focus on JeongNa’s last date before Han’s enlistment and then being exposed + their reactions. btw, i pissed myself off writing this 😀 anyway! enjoy, my loves 💕

i have posted the articles confirming their relationship a few months ago, so go check them out if you haven’t already— 240924: AllKpop Article & 240925: Soompi Article + fan reaction tweets— AllKpop & Soompi Article Reaction + Luna’s ig post response— 240925: Blue

also, this— “what if I roll the stone away? they're gonna crucify me anyway. what if the way you hold me is actually what's holy? if long suffering propriety is what they want from me, they don't know how you've haunted me so stunningly. i choose you and me… religiously.” (try to find the reference in the story 🤭)

╰ ౨ৎ LUNA-VERSE MASTERLIST ╰ ౨ৎ writings masterlist

They don’t know about us.

That’s what Luna and Jeonghan thought when they first started their relationship.

It was long overdue— the tension, the lingering glances that lasted a beat too long, the unspoken words hanging in the air, waiting to be acknowledged. The drama of it all, the drunken confessions, the rejection, the stolen moments that meant more than they let on— it had been building for so long that when it finally happened, it felt inevitable.

Natural.

Like breathing.

So, when they finally crossed that line, when Jeonghan kissed her for the first time and Luna didn’t pull away, when their hands found each other’s in the dark and refused to let go— it was everything they had imagined and more.

And naturally, they fell into the honeymoon phase.

A world of their own, untouched by anyone else.

It wasn’t that they didn’t trust their members or their families— it was just that, for once, they wanted something that was only theirs.

Something that didn’t have to be shared, explained, or justified.

It was thrilling, this secret, knowing that when the cameras turned off and the doors closed, they were no longer just Jeonghan and Luna, best friends, members of the same team— they were them.

Something more, something sacred.

For months, they relished in the privacy of their love. Whispered conversations at odd hours, secret smiles across crowded rooms, hands brushing under tables where no one could see.

And they were so careful.

At least, until their parents found out.

It had only been a few months, but it turned out keeping a secret from their parents was a whole different game. Their families had always been close— closer than the other members’ families— and as it turned out, parents knew their children.

Maybe it was the way Jeonghan’s mother caught him checking his phone with a smile too soft to be casual, or how Luna’s father noticed her humming love songs under her breath, looking far too dreamy. Maybe it was the way they unconsciously gravitated toward each other during family gatherings, how they were never too far apart, how their conversations had an ease that went beyond simple friendship.

They didn’t say anything outright at first. But the knowing looks, the teasing comments, the gentle nudges— it was all calculated.

Until one day, both Jeonghan and Luna were cornered separately and gently interrogated.

They could have lied.

They could have denied it.

But parents knew.

So with a sigh, they admitted it.

And with that, their secret was no longer theirs alone.

That’s how their parents found out about their relationship.

They don’t know about us.

That’s what Jeonghan and Luna thought as they sat back, watching their members, keeping their secret from them for just a little while longer.

It wasn’t that they didn’t trust them. It wasn’t that they were afraid of what they would think.

It was just that they weren’t ready.

The longer they kept it to themselves, the longer they could preserve the magic of it being just theirs.

One whole year.

That was how long they managed to keep it hidden from their members.

An entire year of stolen moments and careful maneuvering, of sneaking off after practice and pretending they were just best friends in front of the others.

An entire year of their own little world, untouched.

And it worked.

Until it didn’t.

They were so careful.

But one night, they got too comfortable.

It was late, they were alone— at least, that’s what they thought. The practice room was empty, the lights dimmed, and they were tired, bodies pressed close, lips moving together like they had all the time in the world.

And then the door opened.

And twelve pairs of eyes stared.

And that was that.

That’s how the rest of the members found out about their relationship.

They don’t know about us.

That’s what Luna and Jeonghan thought as they continued their relationship for five more years, keeping it a secret from everyone else— everyone except their families and their members.

Calculated. Careful. Strategic.

They made sure of it.

But secrecy didn’t mean distance.

They never shied away from expressing their feelings in public or on camera.

The glances, the praises, the little touches that meant everything— they were obvious.

Too obvious.

But that was the trick, wasn’t it? To make it so obvious that no one actually believed it.

Best friends.

Soulmates.

That’s what the fans and the public called them.

Because it was unrealistic, right? That they would actually be together?

And that was the goal.

Until one night, both Jeonghan and Luna let their guard down too early.

And suddenly, they weren’t just best friends anymore.

They were a headline.

It started two days ago.

Two days.

That was all the time they had left before Jeonghan was set to enlist.

Luna and Jeonghan had always known this moment was inevitable. The topic of his enlistment had lingered between them for years, a shadow they had learned to live with, a reality they had come to accept. It wasn’t something they could ignore, not when time kept moving forward, not when Jeonghan’s departure was written in stone long before they had even fallen in love.

They had talked about it thoroughly, the weight of it heavy but never unbearable. There had been tears— mostly on Luna’s part, silent and bittersweet— but in the end, they made peace with it.

Jeonghan wasn’t leaving forever.

He wasn’t even leaving for long.

Because of his previous elbow and ankle injuries, he wasn’t serving in active duty. Instead, he would be doing alternative military service, social work that allowed him to return home every night.

The only time he would truly be away from her was during his initial two weeks of basic training.

And then, he’d be back.

Back to her, back to them, back to everything they had built together.

To them, that was more than enough.

But even with that knowledge, even with the comfort of knowing he would come home to her every night, time felt more precious than ever.

In the months leading up to his enlistment, Jeonghan and Luna had become inseparable— even more so than usual, and that was saying something.

The members noticed it immediately, but none of them said anything. They let them be, let them cling to each other as if time would slow down if they just held on tight enough.

And after Berlin— after the night he slipped a ring onto her finger, after she whispered yes into his kiss— Jeonghan’s attachment to Luna only intensified.

They had always been touchy, always drawn to each other like gravity itself pulled them together.

But after getting engaged, it was different.

Jeonghan barely let her out of his sight. If he wasn’t holding her hand, he had an arm around her waist. If she wasn’t sitting beside him, he’d pull her onto his lap. If they weren’t in the same room, he’d be texting or calling her, asking when she’d be back.

And Luna was no better.

She soaked up every second with him like she was trying to memorize the way he fit into her life, the way he felt pressed against her side, the way he murmured her name like it was the only word that mattered.

Whenever they could, they went on dates— lazy mornings spent wrapped up in each other, quiet evenings cooking together, late-night drives through the city, shopping trips where Jeonghan insisted on buying her everything she even glanced at.

Every moment mattered.

Which was how they found themselves here— two days before Jeonghan was set to enlist— wandering through a quiet park hand in hand, long past midnight, with only the streetlights and the faint rustling of leaves as their company.

The closer the day got, the more desperate they became.

For more time. For more memories. For each other.

So when Jeonghan had asked her, “Wanna go for a walk with me?” there had been no hesitation. No questions.

She had just nodded, slipping her hand into his.

And their desperation for more time made them reckless.

They hadn’t bothered with hats or face masks, hadn’t hidden behind sunglasses or scarves. There was no disguise, no attempt to shield themselves from the world.

They walked through the park as they were— hand in hand, smiles soft, laughter echoing in the quiet night.

Their fans had seen them like this before, after all.

“Friendly dates,” the internet called them.

Best friends, soulmates, nothing more, nothing less.

Holding hands, hugging, clinging to each other like their lives depended on it— none of it was new.

This wouldn’t be any different from the rest.

Right?

Wrong.

They very were wrong.

They had thought this night would be like all the others. Another quiet moment stolen from the rest of the world, tucked away in the familiarity of each other. Another walk under the moonlight, just the two of them, wrapped up in the comfort of knowing that no matter what happened, no matter where life took them, they would always find their way back to each other.

But they were wrong.

The park was empty, the air crisp with the lingering chill of fall. The only sounds were the rustling of leaves in the breeze, the distant hum of the city beyond the trees, and the soft rhythm of their footsteps against the pavement.

Luna and Jeonghan walked hand in hand, their fingers intertwined, swaying their arms gently up and down like children playing as they strolled without a destination.

It was peaceful. It was quiet. It was them.

“Remember the first time we did this?” Luna mused, her voice just above a whisper, as if she was afraid speaking too loudly would break the moment.

Jeonghan hummed, tilting his head slightly in thought. “Which one? We do this a lot.”

Luna rolled her eyes, nudging him playfully. “The very first time. Back when we weren’t even dating yet.”

A lazy grin tugged at his lips as the memory resurfaced. “Ah… that one. You mean the time we got caught in the rain, and you whined about your shoes getting soaked the whole way back?”

“I was wearing suede boots, Han,” she huffed, but there was no real annoyance behind her words.

He chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. And I was the one who gave you my hoodie so you wouldn’t complain the whole night.”

“You offered it to me,” she corrected.

“Because you wouldn’t stop pouting.”

She let out a small scoff but didn’t argue further, instead squeezing his hand in silent amusement.

They walked in silence for a while, the rhythm of their footsteps in sync, their hands warm against the night air. It was moments like these— simple, unhurried, effortless— that made it hard to believe time was slipping through their fingers.

Luna exhaled softly, glancing up at the sky. “It’s funny,” she murmured.

Jeonghan glanced at her. “What is?”

“How… nothing really changes, but at the same time, everything does.”

He hummed again, as if considering her words. “That’s life, isn’t it?”

She nodded slowly. “It just… doesn’t feel real sometimes. That we’ve been together this long. That we’ve managed to keep it ours for this long.”

Jeonghan smiled, bringing their joined hands up to press a lingering kiss to the back of hers. “It’s real.”

Luna turned to him, her gaze soft, her eyes tracing the familiar lines of his face. “I know,” she whispered.

There was another stretch of silence, comfortable and full, before Jeonghan sighed, nudging her toward a bench nestled under the soft glow of a streetlamp. “Come here,” he murmured, tugging her down beside him.

Luna went willingly, shifting so she could wrap her arms around his torso, pressing herself against his side. Jeonghan draped his arm over her shoulders with practiced ease, his fingers slipping into her hair as he gently guided her head onto his shoulder.

She let out a quiet sigh as he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.

For a while, they just sat there, wrapped up in each other, listening to the distant sounds of the city beyond their little world.

“I’m gonna miss this,” Luna admitted after a moment.

Jeonghan’s hold on her tightened slightly. “I’ll still be here, my moon.”

She closed her eyes. “I know. But it’ll be different.”

“It won’t be forever.”

Luna let out a breath of laughter. “I hate that you’re always right.”

Jeonghan chuckled, pressing another kiss into her hair. “You love that I’m always right.”

She tilted her head up to glance at him, lips curling in a small smirk. “Debatable.”

He rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. Instead, he rested his chin atop her head, his fingers lazily playing with the ends of her hair.

After a beat, he spoke again, voice softer this time. “I’m gonna miss this, too.”

Luna swallowed. “Yeah?”

He hummed. “You. Us. Coming home and seeing you there. Falling asleep next to you.” He paused. “Waking up next to you.”

Luna bit her lip, tightening her hold on him.

Jeonghan sighed. “I don’t want you to feel sad while I’m gone.”

“I won’t.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Promise me?”

She turned her head just enough to press a small kiss against his collarbone. “I promise.”

Jeonghan exhaled slowly, his grip on her never loosening, as if he was afraid that if he did, she would slip away.

Luna closed her eyes, willing the sting behind her eyelids to fade before the tears could fall.

She promised herself she wouldn’t cry. She promised him she wouldn’t be sad. She didn’t want Jeonghan to see her cry, not when he had enough on his plate already, not when this was inevitable— something they both knew was coming for years now.

It’s only four weeks.

It’s only four weeks.

It’s only four weeks.

She repeated it in her head like a mantra, as if saying it enough times would make it feel true, would make the ache in her chest subside.

Four weeks of basic training, then he would be back, working an office job, coming home to her every night. It was nothing compared to what others had to endure, nothing compared to what it could have been.

And yet…

Four weeks.

They had never been apart for that long.

Not once.

Not ever.

Since the moment they met as teenagers, since the day Jeonghan waltzed into her life with that lazy smile and sharp wit, since the first time she rolled her eyes at him only for him to make her laugh a second later, they had never spent more than a few days apart.

Even when schedules were hectic, even when they were on different sides of the world, they always found a way back to each other— calls, texts, midnight flights, anything to close the distance.

But this time, there was no way around it.

This time, it was real.

Jeonghan, ever attuned to her, read her silence as easily as he read his own thoughts. Without a word, he lifted their joined hands, brushing his lips against the back of hers, pressing a lingering kiss there before turning his attention to her fingers, kissing each one, soft and slow, as if he was trying to soothe away the thoughts swirling in her head.

Luna sniffled, blinking up at him, and Jeonghan smiled, his usual playful lilt slipping back into his voice as he spoke.

“You know,” he mused, pressing one last kiss to her knuckle, “this is starting to feel like one of those tragic romance dramas you love watching.”

Luna scoffed, but the sound was weak, breathless. “Oh, shut up.”

“I’m serious.” He grinned, eyes glinting with mischief. “You, the heartbroken heroine, left behind as her lover bravely marches off to his destiny.” He placed a hand on his chest, feigning sorrow. “You’ll wait for me, won’t you, my baby?”

She rolled her eyes, shoving him lightly. “You’re so dramatic.”

Jeonghan gasped, placing a hand over his heart. “Me? Dramatic?”

“Yes, you.”

“Jiyeonie, sweetheart, my moon, my pretty angel, my baby,” he drawled, shaking his head. “I wish I could say I’m offended, but honestly, I’m just proud of you for finally learning how to lie.”

She let out a small, breathy laugh, the tightness in her chest easing just a little.

Jeonghan beamed, clearly pleased with himself. “There it is. That’s the smile I love.”

Luna exhaled, shaking her head as she leaned into him, her voice softer this time. “You really can’t let me have my moment for a second, can you?”

“Nope.” Jeonghan tilted his head, pressing a quick kiss to her temple. “Not when I know you’ll overthink yourself into a spiral the second I let you.”

Luna pursed her lips, knowing he was right but refusing to admit it. “I just…” She sighed, her fingers curling slightly against his chest. “I don’t want to miss you.”

Jeonghan’s gaze softened. “I know, baby.”

“It’s stupid,” she muttered. “Four weeks isn’t even that long.”

“It’s not stupid,” he said gently. “You’re allowed to miss me.”

She huffed. “You want me to miss you.”

Jeonghan smirked. “Well, yeah. A little ego boost never hurt anyone.”

Luna rolled her eyes again, but this time, she smiled. “Unbelievable.”

He squeezed her waist, bringing her closer. “Come on, it’s not that bad. Think about it this way: two weeks without me means two weeks of extra sleep. No one to steal the blankets, no one to wake you up in the middle of the night just because I’m bored—”

“You say that like it’s a good thing,” she interrupted.

Jeonghan grinned, his thumb tracing slow circles against her hip. “Admit it. You love when I wake you up.”

Luna scoffed. “I love my sleep more.”

He gasped, placing a hand over his chest again. “Wow. So heartless.”

She bit her lip, trying to hold back her smile. “I’m just being honest.”

Jeonghan narrowed his eyes playfully. “Fine. Then I take back all those times I made you breakfast in bed.”

Luna arched a brow. “Breakfast? You mean the half-burnt toast and instant coffee?”

“Handcrafted with love, love of my life,” he corrected.

She laughed, shaking her head. “If that’s what you call ‘handcrafted,’ I think I’ll survive two weeks without it.”

Jeonghan let out an exaggerated sigh. “My own fiancée… betraying me like this.”

Luna grinned, shifting so she could press a soft kiss against his jaw. “You’ll live.”

He hummed, his hold on her tightening ever so slightly. “Yeah, but I’d rather live with you.”

Luna’s breath hitched, the weight of his words sinking in. She pulled back just enough to meet his gaze, her fingers brushing against his cheek.

“Then come home soon,” she whispered.

Jeonghan smiled, leaning in to kiss her— soft, slow, lingering. “I will, for you.”

Luna lifted her head, her gaze locking onto Jeonghan’s as the corners of her lips twitched in amusement.

“Yeah?” she murmured, her voice teasing yet quiet, barely more than a breath between them.

Jeonghan’s lips curled into a smirk, his own voice dropping into a whisper. “Yeah.”

Her eyes flickered between his, studying the depth of his stare, the way he was looking at her— like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.

“Really?” she teased, her nose barely brushing against his as she tilted her head slightly.

“Really,” Jeonghan confirmed, his smirk widening as he rubbed the tip of his nose against hers, the gentle eskimo kiss making Luna giggle softly, her eyes fluttering shut for a moment at the affection.

Jeonghan stilled, watching her— memorizing her.

The way her nose scrunched just slightly as she giggled, the way her lips curved, the way her laughter melted into a small, content sigh.

He wanted to keep this moment, trap it in time so he could play it back again and again.

Then, with a quiet exhale, he leaned in.

The first kiss was barely a brush of lips, a fleeting peck— a soft introduction, like the whisper of a promise.

Then another.

And another.

Each peck slow and deliberate, as if they had all the time in the world.

But they didn’t.

That realization hit Jeonghan all at once, settling deep in his chest like a weight. They didn’t have all the time in the world. They barely had two days.

And just like that, his patience slipped away.

Jeonghan deepened the kiss, his lips pressing more firmly against hers, his hand coming up to cup her jaw, thumb stroking against her cheek as he tilted her head back slightly. Luna let him, exhaling softly through her nose as she melted against him, her fingers curling into the fabric of his hoodie.

The movement of their lips was slow but intentional, like they were savoring the feeling— like they were trying to etch the sensation into memory.

Jeonghan took his time, kissing her deeply, his lips warm and soft against hers, a quiet hum vibrating in his throat as he felt Luna respond, matching his movements with ease, with familiarity, with the same silent understanding that had always existed between them.

And then, like a dam breaking, the kiss shifted.

Luna felt the moment Jeonghan’s restraint wavered, felt the way his fingers gripped her just a bit tighter, the way his lips moved with more urgency, the way his breath hitched between kisses. The change was subtle at first, a slow descent into something deeper, something desperate— until suddenly, there was no space between them, no hesitation.

His other hand found her waist, pulling her closer, and Luna let out a quiet, breathy sound as she tilted her head further, allowing him to take full control. Jeonghan took advantage of it immediately, his lips parting against hers as his fingers traced down the side of her neck, slow and deliberate, leaving a trail of warmth in their wake.

She tasted like peppermint and something unmistakably sweet— something unmistakably Luna, a taste he could never quite describe but knew he would never forget. He sighed into her mouth, taking his time to memorize it, to let it brand itself into his senses.

Luna kissed him back just as fervently, her hands slipping up to tangle in his hair, nails grazing against his scalp as she pulled him impossibly closer. The sensation sent a shiver down Jeonghan’s spine, his fingers twitching against her waist before gripping just a little tighter.

Time didn’t exist.

Nothing else existed.

It was just them.

Kissing like the world was going to take it all away.

And maybe, in a way, it was.

The desperation grew, their lips moving in perfect sync, breath mingling between soft sighs and quiet hums, until suddenly—

Jeonghan pulled away.

Luna barely processed it before she was chasing after him, lips parting as she tried to close the distance again, refusing to let the moment slip away so soon.

A deep chuckle rumbled in Jeonghan’s throat, the sound low and knowing as he indulged her immediately, meeting her halfway as he captured her lips again, softer this time— less desperate, more lingering.

A few more kisses followed, slow and sweet, until finally, they both pulled away for real, their foreheads resting together as their breaths intermingled.

Neither spoke for a moment, simply basking in the warmth of each other, the quiet hum of the night around them.

Then, finally, Jeonghan smiled, breathless and dazed.

“Damn,” he murmured, voice low and teasing, “I was going to say something, but now I’ve completely forgotten what it was.”

Luna exhaled a soft laugh, her fingers still playing with the strands of his hair as she whispered, “Was it important?”

Jeonghan hummed, pretending to think for a moment before smirking. “Not as important as this.”

Luna grinned, rolling her eyes. “Cheesy.”

“Admit it, Nana-ya,” he murmured, pressing another kiss— just a light peck this time— against her lips. “You love it.”

She sighed dramatically. “Unfortunately.”

Jeonghan chuckled, wrapping his arms around her as he nuzzled his nose against hers once more. “Good. Because I’m not planning on stopping anytime soon.”

Jeonghan breathed out, his gaze locked onto hers, filled with nothing but warmth and devotion. “I love you, my pretty moon,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, yet carrying the weight of every moment they had shared.

Luna’s lips curled into a soft smile as she reached up to cradle his face, her thumb tracing gentle circles against his skin. “I love you too,” she whispered back, her words laced with the same tenderness that had always existed between them.

The night stretched on, the moon casting a soft, silver glow over the park, illuminating the quiet sanctuary where Jeonghan and Luna sat curled up together on the weathered wooden bench.

The world around them had long faded into the background, leaving just the two of them in their own little bubble, a space where time seemed to slow and everything outside of them ceased to exist.

Jeonghan’s arms remained lazily draped around her, fingers tracing mindless patterns along her shoulder, while Luna tucked herself into his side, her head resting against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. It was a sound she knew by heart, one that had always comforted her— always reminded her that he was there.

Neither of them spoke for a while, but words weren’t necessary. They had spent years learning each other’s silences, understanding the weight of every quiet moment, every sigh, every unspoken thought. And tonight, their silence spoke volumes.

Jeonghan shifted slightly, tilting his head to press another kiss against the crown of her head before resting his chin there. His fingers slipped down to intertwine with hers again, gently squeezing as if to remind her— I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.

Luna squeezed back.

This moment belonged to them.

Just them.

No cameras. No flashing lights. No prying eyes. No one to tell them who they should be, how they should act, how they should dress, how they should live.

For years, they had mastered the art of existing under the radar, moving like shadows through a world that wasn’t meant to see them. They had found ways to love each other without letting the world know— soft touches hidden in plain sight, whispered words in stolen moments, glances that spoke louder than words ever could.

And tonight, in the quiet embrace of the night, under the glow of the moon and the distant hum of the city, they allowed themselves to be just Jeonghan and Luna.

No masks. No pretense. Just them.

But they had been wrong.

So wrong.

Because hidden in the shadows, from a distance neither of them had noticed, they were not alone.

A group of men— silent, calculated, and patient— had trailed after them, staying just far enough behind to remain undetected.

They had seen everything.

They had seen Jeonghan and Luna enter the park, had watched as they walked hand in hand without a second thought, without disguises, without the usual caution that kept them safe.

And then, when the two lovers had sunk into their moment of unguarded intimacy, the men had done their job.

Professional cameras, long-range lenses, and the precision of years of experience had ensured that everything— every single detail— was captured.

Every touch.

Every smile.

Every lingering gaze.

Every kiss.

Every single breath.

Every single moment that had once belonged to Jeonghan and Luna alone— stolen.

Framed within lenses meant for the world to see.

Click.

Click.

Click.

The shutters had been relentless, capturing their love in high definition, freezing each second of their private moment into something that would soon be dissected, analyzed, and spread across every screen, every headline, every social media feed.

And just like that…

Their little bubble— the one that had protected them for five long years— popped.

The world would come flooding in.

And it did… they came flooding in.

The morning light barely seeped through the curtains, casting a soft glow over the bedroom. The world outside was already stirring, but inside, Jeonghan and Luna remained blissfully unaware, wrapped up in the warmth of each other.

Luna was curled against him, her body pressed to his side, head resting on his chest, where the steady rise and fall of his breathing lulled her deeper into sleep. Jeonghan had one arm around her, his fingers absentmindedly splayed across her back, while the other rested atop the blanket that loosely covered them.

Everything was still.

Everything was quiet.

Until it wasn’t.

The noise started subtly— just a single vibration at first.

Then another.

And another.

And another.

Until it became a relentless series of buzzes, chimes, and notification dings that broke the peaceful silence.

Jeonghan stirred, his brows furrowing in annoyance, but Luna, the heavy sleeper that she was, barely moved.

Then came the ringing.

One call after another, overlapping, insistent— unrelenting.

Jeonghan was a light sleeper, and there was no way he could ignore it. His lashes fluttered, and with a groggy sigh, he opened his eyes, blinking against the dim light as his mind tried to catch up with reality.

His body reacted before his mind did. One hand instinctively lifted, covering Luna’s ear to shield her from the noise, while the other moved to gently press her closer, ensuring she stayed undisturbed. She shifted slightly, her fingers curling against his chest, but she remained fast asleep, completely oblivious to the chaos happening just beyond their broken little bubble.

Jeonghan exhaled through his nose, his annoyance growing as the buzzing persisted.

It was incessant.

His phone.

Luna’s phone.

Neither had stopped since he woke up.

That alone was enough to make his stomach twist uncomfortably.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

And whatever it was— it involved them.

His gaze flickered to the bedside table, where both of their phones vibrated aggressively against the wood, lighting up with call after call, message after message. He could see the names flashing across the screen— the members, their managers, their parents. Even social media notifications were piling up at an alarming rate.

The air in the room suddenly felt heavier.

Jeonghan’s fingers clenched around the sheets for a moment before he carefully untangled himself from Luna. She barely stirred, only making a small noise of protest before settling back into sleep.

His gut told him he wasn’t going to like whatever he was about to find out.

Reaching for his phone, he barely had time to register the dozens of texts and missed calls before another one came through.

His manager.

With a steadying breath, he accepted the call.

“Hyung.”

A sharp breath of relief was heard on the other end. “Jeonghan— finally.” His manager’s voice sounded tense, urgent. “I’ve been trying to reach you both for the past hour. We’re still trying to get ahold of Jiyeon.”

Jeonghan’s gaze flickered down to the woman sleeping peacefully beside him. His chest tightened. “She’s here,” he murmured, his voice quieter, more careful, as if saying it too loud would shatter the last few moments of peace they had left. His eyes traced her features— so serene, so unaware of the storm that was waiting for them outside this room.

His manager let out another breath, but the tension in his voice didn’t waver. “Good. That’s… good.”

Jeonghan frowned. “Hyung, what’s going on?”

There was a pause.

A moment too long, too hesitant.

“Jeonghan-ah,” his manager said, voice lowering as if bracing for impact. “You need to be ready for this… the two of you. It’s bad.”

Jeonghan’s patience finally snapped.

“What’s bad?” he demanded, voice sharpening as a cold unease settled in his stomach.

Another beat of silence.

Then—

“Dispatch uploaded pictures of you and Jiyeon at the park last night.”

Jeonghan stilled.

His body didn’t move, but his arms instinctively tightened around Luna, holding her just a little closer, a little more protectively.

The words rang in his ears, but his mind had already begun working, piecing things together faster than his emotions could catch up.

They had been followed.

They had been watched.

Grown men had lurked in the shadows, cameras in tow, capturing everything.

Every smile. Every touch. Every kiss.

A scalding heat simmered beneath his skin— not of panic, but of anger.

He knew this was bound to happen eventually.

They had been careful for years, but all it took was one mistake, one moment of carelessness, one night of wanting to just be them— and now their relationship was no longer their own.

For years, they had carved out a love story in the quiet, only for it to be stolen in the loudest way possible.

But more than anything, more than the invasion, more than the knowledge that the entire world was probably tearing through their privacy at this very moment—

It was Luna he cared about most.

This wasn’t just about him.

Jeonghan knows he could handle the attention. He could handle the questions, the scrutiny, the headlines. He had prepared for this moment for years.

But Luna…

She had spent five years keeping their love safe. She had built walls around it, protected it with every ounce of her being.

They weren’t hiding— they were protecting.

They had been selfish with this one thing, this one love, because it was the only thing that was truly theirs. But now, even that was gone.

And now, without warning, those walls had been torn down.

At the end of the day, the final decision wouldn’t be his to make.

It would be hers.

And whatever she chose— however she wanted to handle this— Jeonghan would stand beside her, just like he always had.

Jeonghan barely heard a word his manager was saying. His phone was pressed to his ear, but his attention was elsewhere— fixed on the woman sleeping beside him, the only thing in this moment that mattered.

“Jeonghan-ah, are you listening?” His manager’s voice was tense, barely masking the urgency underneath. “The higher-ups need to talk to the both of you. We’re setting up a meeting as soon as possible. They’re already drafting statements, they’re asking for a confirmation— but they won’t release anything until they speak with you and Jiyeon first.”

Jeonghan swallowed, his jaw tensing.

Statements.

Confirmations.

Damage control.

It was always about control with them.

But right now, all he cared about was her.

His fingers brushed lightly over Luna’s shoulder as she slept, his touch featherlight, as if he could somehow keep her safe in this moment— keep her in the warmth of sleep where reality couldn’t reach her yet.

Stay asleep just a little longer, please.

Jeonghan hoped she was dreaming of something beautiful, something so breathtaking that reality would pale in comparison. Maybe she was dreaming of the ocean, the soft lull of waves against the shore. Maybe she was dreaming of the stars, endless and vast, untouched by the world below.

Because when she woke up, that dream would be gone.

Jeonghan exhaled shakily. He knew how much this would hurt her. He knew how hard she had worked to build her walls— to make herself untouchable, unshaken. It had taken years for her to perfect that mask, to craft a shield strong enough to survive in this industry.

And now, just like that, those walls were about to crumble.

He shifted slightly, lowering his head to press a kiss against her forehead.

I don’t want you to hurt.

His arms tightened around her just a fraction, his heart aching at the thought of what she was about to wake up to.

For the first time in a long time, Jeonghan almost started praying.

Then Luna stirred.

It started small— just a soft sigh, her body shifting slightly against his. But then her brows knitted together, her fingers twitching against his chest as the incessant buzzing and chiming of her own phone finally started to break through her sleep.

She rubbed her eyes sluggishly, grogginess still thick in her voice.

“What?”

Jeonghan barely had time to compose himself before she blinked up at him, confusion evident in her tired gaze.

She could hear it now.

The constant ringing, the dings, the vibrations.

Her brows furrowed deeper as she slowly turned toward her phone. Jeonghan knew the moment she became fully awake— her gaze sharpening just slightly as she reached out, fingers brushing against her phone’s screen.

“What’s happening?” she murmured, blinking away the last remnants of sleep.

Jeonghan said nothing. He simply watched her, his face carefully neutral, but there was something unreadable in his expression.

Luna frowned, her fingers curling around her phone. “What is—”

She didn’t get to finish.

Before she could unlock the screen, Jeonghan moved.

Faster than he even realized, his hand shot out, gently but firmly stopping her from opening it.

Luna froze, staring at him in shock.

The only sound between them now was the relentless dinging of notifications.

Her heart stuttered.

Something was wrong.

Dread curled inside her chest like a slow-burning poison.

Her grip on her phone tightened as her breathing grew shallower. She could see it in Jeonghan’s eyes now— that quiet grief, that heavy sadness, the way he wasn’t trying to stop her because he wanted to hide something from her, but because he wanted to protect her.

Her pulse pounded in her ears.

“No.” Luna shook her head, shoving down the sickening fear clawing up her throat.

With trembling fingers, she unlocked her phone.

“No. No. No.”

She scrolled through the messages— dozens of them. Her parents. Her members. Even some industry friends. Their messages all carried the same weight of concern, asking if she was okay, asking if she had seen it yet.

That was the easy part.

What came next made her stomach turn.

Her manager’s worried text was at the top of her notifications, followed by a single link.

Luna hesitated, her breath catching in her throat.

She clicked it.

Jeonghan could only watch her, his chest tight, his fingers clenching into the sheets. He had already seen it. He had already felt the weight of it. But Luna…

Luna was seeing it for the first time.

Her eyes widened as she took in the headlines.

BREAKING: SEVENTEEN's Luna and Jeonghan reportedly spotted on a not-so-friendly date

EXCLUSIVE: SEVENTEEN’s Jeonghan and Luna spotted on a late-night date— Secret Relationship EXPOSED!

Caught red-handed: SEVENTEEN’s Jeonghan and Luna’s romantic rendezvous under the moonlight

Dispatch’s new couple revealed— SEVENTEEN’s Jeonghan and Luna caught on camera!

Then the pictures.

From the moment Jeonghan’s car pulled into the park.

To the way he had reached for her hand.

To the way he had kissed her temple under the streetlights.

To the way they sat together, lost in their own little world.

To the way they shared a passionate kiss, wrapped in each others’ arms.

Frame after frame.

Everything was there.

Luna felt like she was going to be sick.

Luna remembers how there was a time when she had wanted the whole world to know.

When she was younger, when their love was still something new and untouched, she had dreamed of showing Jeonghan off— of holding his hand in public without fear, of gushing about him openly.

But reality had hit them fast.

She had watched idols get scrutinized, torn apart for daring to love. She had seen careers ruined, reputations destroyed, relationships ended, and lives violated.

She had learned quickly that the only way to protect what they had— was to keep it a secret.

Her vision blurred.

Her hands started to shake, her fingers clammy as they gripped her phone too tightly. Her chin wobbled, her breath coming in short, uneven gasps.

Her heart pounded erratically in her chest, constricting, tightening—

She was dizzy.

Nauseous.

Her fingers scrolled too fast, eyes scanning the comments that were already piling up.

> She’s so selfish. She ruined Jeonghan’s image.

> She doesn’t deserve him.

> Typical. The only girl in SEVENTEEN and she’s screwing a member.

> PR stunt.

> Didn’t we predict this almost ten years ago? She’s fucking a member. Maybe even more of them tbh.

> Jeonghan could do so much better.

> Well, what’s new? She’s a slut, we’ve established that.

> They should kick her out of the group.

> That’s all she’s good for anyway, a PR stunt.

She barely even registered the words.

She had stopped caring about hate years ago.

She had built up a thick skin, had learned to survive in an industry that never wanted her in the first place.

But this—

People picking apart their love, something she had spent years protecting—

This brought her back to when she was seventeen, sobbing into her pillow over the first wave of hate she had ever received.

Her lungs burned.

She couldn’t breathe.

Her phone slipped from her hands, falling onto the bed.

As if the universe was playing a sick joke on her, the video autoplayed.

“We’ve caught them.”

A man’s voice, snickering behind the camera.

Luna whimpered.

Her hands flew to her ears, shaking violently as a sob tore from her lips.

Immediately, Jeonghan grabbed her phone, locking it, before gathering her into his arms.

“Jiyeon-ah,” he murmured, his voice low, soothing, as he rocked her gently. “It’s okay. It’s okay, baby. You’re okay, I’ve got you.”

She gasped, trying to breathe, but her chest was too tight, her panic spiraling too fast.

“Breathe,” Jeonghan whispered, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Slow, deep breaths. Just follow me, okay? In—” he inhaled deeply, holding her closer, “—and out.”

She trembled violently against him, her face buried in his neck.

“Why would they do that?” she choked out, her voice small, broken.

Jeonghan closed his eyes, his heart breaking.

“I don’t know, baby,” he whispered. “I don’t know.”

But he would do anything to make it stop.

Luna’s breaths came in short, sharp gasps, her entire body trembling in Jeonghan’s arms. She clung to him, her fingers fisting the fabric of his shirt as if she could anchor herself to him, as if she could disappear into the warmth of his embrace and escape the reality that was crashing down around her.

“C-can’t breathe, Han.” Her voice was a broken whisper, barely pushing past her sobs. She burrowed deeper into his neck, her tears hot against his skin.

Jeonghan tightened his arms around her, his hand moving up to cradle the back of her head. “Yes, you can,” he murmured softly. “You can, Nana-ya. Just follow my breathing, okay? You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

But she was spiraling too fast, her body shaking harder against his.

“Everything’s ruined,” she choked out, gasping against his collarbone. “It’s out there. We’re out there. There’s nothing we can do—”

“Hey,” Jeonghan said firmly, yet still gentle, pulling back slightly. He cupped her face, his thumbs immediately brushing away the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. “Look at me, Jiyeon-ah.”

She resisted, trying to bury herself back into him, but he didn’t let her. He held her face in his hands, tilting her chin up so she had no choice but to meet his gaze.

“Breathe with me,” he said again, softer this time. “Slow and deep, just like this.” He exaggerated his inhale, his chest rising steadily, before exhaling slowly. “Just like that, my moon. You can do it.”

She tried. She really did. But her breaths kept hitching, her body kept trembling, and her mind wouldn’t stop racing.

“It’s us,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “It’s so clearly us. The pictures— there’s no denying it, no pretending, no trying to spin it another way. It’s just… there.”

Jeonghan’s jaw clenched, but he kept his touch gentle, kept his voice steady. “I know.”

“And the people—” her breath shuddered, her fingers curling into his wrists as he held her face. “They’re already crucifying me, Han. It’s not even about the rumors or the speculation anymore. They know it’s real. They know we’re real. And they’re tearing me apart for it.”

A fresh sob broke through her, her hands shaking as they clutched at his wrists.

“I don’t care what they say about me,” she whispered, her voice laced with exhaustion, with anger, with hurt. “I haven’t cared in so fucking long. I learned how to ignore them. I had to. I had to. But this— this is different.”

Jeonghan brushed his thumb under her eye, wiping away a tear before it could fall. “How is it different, love?” he asked softly, his patience unwavering.

“Because they don’t know us.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, her chest rising and falling in uneven breaths. “They don’t know us, but they think they do. They think they know our story, our love, our choices. They think they have the right to tear us apart when they don’t even understand who we are.”

Jeonghan exhaled slowly, his heart aching at her words. He let her spill everything, let her pour out all her frustrations, all her pain, as he held her close.

Her sobs quieted just slightly, but her hands still trembled in his grasp. He tilted her face up again, pressing his forehead to hers.

“You’re right. They don’t know about us, Jiyeonie,” he murmured, his voice full of quiet conviction. “They think they do, but they don’t. They don’t know what we’ve been through. They don’t know the nights we spent whispering in the dark, promising each other that we would make this work no matter what. They don’t know the sacrifices we’ve made just to keep this love safe. They don’t know the way I look at you when no one’s watching. They don’t know the way you hold my hand under the table when the world feels too loud.”

Luna’s breath hitched, a fresh wave of tears filling her eyes.

“They don’t know us,” Jeonghan repeated, his voice steady, unwavering. “And they never will. Not in the way we do. Not in the way that matters.”

She swallowed hard, her lips quivering as he continued to wipe away her tears.

“I don’t want them to ruin this,” she admitted in a broken whisper. “I don’t want them to take this away from us.”

Jeonghan shook his head slowly, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “They can’t. They don’t have that power. The only people who get to decide what happens to us— is us. You hear me?”

Luna’s breath shuddered, but she nodded, her fingers finally loosening their desperate grip. Jeonghan kissed her cheek, then her temple, then the tip of her nose, grounding her with every touch.

“You’re safe,” he whispered against her skin. “We’re safe.”

Luna let out a shaky breath, her hands still trembling as she gripped Jeonghan’s wrists. Her mind was spinning, overwhelmed with thoughts that she couldn’t contain. Even though her breathing had steadied slightly under Jeonghan’s soothing touch, the weight of everything was still crushing her chest.

“It’s not fair,” she whispered, voice raw from crying. “Why do we have to go through this? Why does it always have to be this way? Why can’t we just… exist without people tearing us apart? Is that too much to ask?

Jeonghan’s thumbs continued their slow, comforting strokes against her skin, his eyes never leaving hers. He didn’t rush her, didn’t tell her to stop. He let her speak, let her pour out the frustration that had been building inside her for years.

“I knew this would happen,” she admitted, voice thick with emotion. “I knew that if they ever found out, they’d twist everything, rip us apart like we’re just some story for them to consume.” She let out a bitter laugh, one that held no humor. “And the worst part? They don’t even see us as real people… we’re entertainment. We’re just characters to them— characters in a drama they get to judge, gossip about, and decide the ending for.”

Jeonghan’s grip on her tightened slightly, grounding her, reminding her that he was here, that they were real.

“They don’t know how hard we fought for this,” Luna continued, her voice rising with frustration. “They don’t know how many nights we stayed up, whispering about the future, trying to convince ourselves that love was worth the risk. They don’t know how many times we almost gave up because we were scared— because we knew the world wouldn’t be kind to us if they ever found out.”

Jeonghan swallowed hard, his chest aching at the pain in her words.

“They don’t know about the nights I cried because I hated hiding,” Luna whispered, her eyes filling with fresh tears. “How I wanted to tell the world, to scream it from the rooftops that I love you. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t because I knew what would happen. And now that it’s happening, it’s so much worse than I imagined.”

Jeonghan exhaled slowly, his fingers gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know,” he murmured, his voice filled with understanding. “I know, baby.”

Luna shook her head, her chest rising and falling unevenly. “And the comments— God, the comments.” Her fingers clenched into fists against his chest. “They think they know us. They think they have the right to judge us. To call me names, to call you names, to pick apart every little detail about us as if we owe them an explanation. As if our love is something they get to approve of.”

Jeonghan’s expression darkened for a moment, but he quickly masked it, choosing to focus on her instead. He gently tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. “They don’t matter, Nana-ya.”

She let out a broken laugh, shaking her head. “That’s easy to say when you’re not the one being called a fucking slu—”

“They. Don’t. Matter.” Jeonghan repeated, firmer this time. His voice wasn’t harsh, but it was resolute, unshakable. He held her gaze, his thumbs brushing away the tears staining her cheeks. “Not the strangers. Not the trolls. Not the ones who think they know us just because they see a few pictures online. They don’t know anything, Jiyeon. And they never will.”

Her breath caught in her throat, her lips parting slightly.

Jeonghan’s expression softened, his fingers caressing the curve of her jaw. “You know what does matter?” he asked quietly.

She swallowed, blinking up at him.

“You.” He leaned in, pressing the gentlest kiss to her forehead before whispering against her skin. “Me. Us.”

Luna’s chin wobbled as another wave of emotion hit her.

“Our members,” Jeonghan continued, his voice steady, reassuring. “Our friends. Our families. The people who have stood by us, who know us— not as idols, not as gossip, but as real people. The ones who love us and support us, no matter what.” He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes, his gaze unwavering. “And our fans, Nana-ya. The ones who truly care about us, not just as performers, but as human beings. The ones who love us because we’re real, not in spite of it.”

Luna inhaled shakily, his words settling deep within her.

“At the end of the day,” Jeonghan said softly, his fingers tracing slow circles against her skin, “they are the only ones who matter. Not the ones who hide behind screens, not the ones who think they have a say in our lives. They don’t know us.” His voice dropped to barely a whisper. “And they never will and that’s okay because— they don’t matter.”

Luna let out a shaky breath, her fingers loosening their grip. The storm inside her was still raging, but Jeonghan’s words were like an anchor, pulling her back to solid ground.

She looked at him— really looked at him. At the warmth in his eyes, the quiet strength in his presence, the unwavering love he held for her in every touch, every word.

And suddenly, the noise of the outside world didn’t feel so loud anymore.

Luna’s breath hitched, her fingers curled weakly into Jeonghan’s hoodie as she whispered, her voice barely above the sound of their breathing, “I’m going to miss you a little more when the world is being too harsh, Jeongie.”

Her chin wobbled, a single tear slipping past her lashes, tracing a slow, sorrowful path down her cheek. The sight of it melted Jeonghan’s heart in the most painful way. He wanted to wipe away every ounce of sadness, every ounce of fear that she felt— but the reality of it all was that he couldn’t.

Because tomorrow, he had to leave.

Four weeks.

Four weeks of basic training.

Four weeks away from her.

Four weeks where she would have to deal with the aftermath of their relationship being exposed without him by her side.

The thought nearly crushed him. He didn’t want to leave her like this, not now. But he had no choice.

Jeonghan sighed, his hand moving to gently comb through her hair, pushing it away from her tear-streaked face. He gave her a small, knowing smile, trying to ease the tension in her chest, trying to ground her the way he always did.

“You know what you should do when the world is being stupid and I’m not there?” he asked, his voice laced with fondness.

Luna blinked up at him, sniffling, waiting for his answer like it was something sacred.

“You face it headfirst— like you always do,” Jeonghan said simply, his fingers threading through her hair with delicate care. “Like the time you fought off that ridiculous rumor about you paying people to be a part of the group.”

Luna let out a weak, teary scoff, but he saw the way her lips twitched slightly.

“Or the time a fan tried to convince everyone that you secretly hated Seungcheol, and you shut that down with one Weverse live where you spent the whole time telling stories about him and listing the things you love about him in the most adorably aggressive way possible.”

A small huff left her nose.

Jeonghan smirked, tilting his head. “Or how about the time a rookie idol said something shady about you in an interview, and when you an I ran into her backstage, you walked straight up to her, smiled, and said, ‘I heard you have something to say to me. Say it to my face.’”

Luna rolled her eyes at the memory, but the corner of her lips twitched ever so slightly.

Jeonghan gave her a pointed look, his fingers tracing slow, comforting circles on her back. “That’s the Bae Jiyeon I know. The one who doesn’t take shit from anyone. The one who walks into a room and owns it. The one who protects the members like they’re her own blood. The one who, despite everything, still stands tall.”

Luna swallowed hard, the lump in her throat growing larger.

His expression softened. “I need you to be strong for me, baby,” he murmured, resting his forehead lightly against hers. “And that should be easy, because you’re the strongest person I know.”

Luna shut her eyes tightly as his words washed over her, but more tears escaped anyway.

“You have to be strong,” Jeonghan continued, brushing his thumb against her cheek, catching another stray tear. “Because we need to face the consequences together. No hiding. No running away.”

She exhaled shakily, nodding against him.

Jeonghan suddenly pulled back slightly, a knowing look in his eyes. “Remember when that girl confronted you at that fan sign a couple years ago? The one who actually had the nerve to say all that nonsense to your face?”

Luna blinked at him, confused for a moment before the memory came flooding back.

Jeonghan smirked. “Remember what you told her? I want you to repeat it.”

Luna stared at him, her lips parting slightly. She let out a soft, watery laugh before she whispered, her voice laced with that sharpness she always carried when she needed it:

“You don’t have to like me. I don’t wake up everyday to impress you.”

Jeonghan chuckled, warmth spreading through his chest at the familiar fire that flickered in her eyes, however faint it was in this moment. He cupped her cheek, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead.

“There she is,” he murmured, smiling against her skin. “That’s the Luna I know. She may be a little tired right now, and that’s okay. But I know she’s in there.”

Luna’s eyes glistened even more, her lips pressing together as she swallowed thickly.

She looked at him— at the way he saw her, truly saw her, even when she felt like she was broken beyond repair.

And suddenly, all she could do was whisper, “I love you.”

She exhaled shakily, her voice so fragile yet so full of depth. “So much. It hurts.”

Luna felt everything at once— the weight of the world on her shoulders, the chaos waiting for her outside, the relentless storm she would have to fight through.

But in the middle of it all, in him, she found solace.

Jeonghan was her anchor.

Jeonghan was her safe place.

He was the only person in the world who could make her feel loved when she felt unlovable.

The only person who could make her feel beautiful when the world tried to tear her apart.

The only person who could make her feel important, confident, strong— when she felt like crumbling.

And she knew— without hesitation, without a single doubt in her heart— that if she had to choose, she would always choose him.

She would choose herself and Jeonghan religiously.

Every single time.

Jeonghan smiled, his eyes soft, his thumb grazing over her lips as if memorizing the shape of them. He let out a small chuckle before murmuring, “You really love me, huh?”

Luna let out a breathy laugh, shaking her head as fresh tears slipped down her cheeks. “So much that it hurts, Jeongie.”

Jeonghan hummed, pressing another soft, lingering kiss to her forehead. Then, with a teasing smirk, he whispered, “Well, good. Because I love you too and you’re stuck with me forever.”

The sharp ring of the doorbell cut through the stillness of the room, making both Luna and Jeonghan freeze. Their eyes met instantly, tension thick in the air. For a moment, neither of them moved, waiting, as if the sound itself would just disappear if they ignored it. But it rang again, more insistent this time.

Jeonghan exhaled, pressing a quick, reassuring kiss to Luna’s lips before slipping out of bed. “I’ll go see who it is,” he murmured before making his way to the door.

Luna remained in place, momentarily stuck in the aftermath of their conversation. Her chest still felt heavy, her mind a mess of thoughts that she didn’t have time to organize. With a slow inhale, she wiped the dried tears from her face, ran her hands through her hair a few times, and straightened her posture.

She needed to lock in. She needed to be composed.

After another breath, she got up and followed her fiancé.

She had been expecting the members. It would’ve made sense for them to barge in, bombarding her and Jeonghan with reassurances and attempts to cheer them up. But the distinct lack of chatter, of familiar voices, made it clear that wasn’t the case.

Instead, standing just inside the doorway were her manager and Jeonghan’s manager, their expressions grim.

“Jiyeonie…” Luna’s manager said as soon as she saw her, voice soft, filled with concern. Before Luna could react, the older woman moved toward her, pulling her into a warm yet heavy embrace. She rubbed Luna’s back in a way that was meant to be comforting, but all it did was confirm the severity of the situation.

Over her manager’s shoulder, Luna’s eyes immediately sought out Jeonghan’s. His lips were pressed together, gaze already on his own manager, waiting for an explanation.

“They’re here for the confirmation statement,” Jeonghan finally said, voice comforting.

Luna pulled away, her back straightening as she moved to Jeonghan’s side. He reached for her hand instinctively, fingers curling around hers as they sat down on the couch. Their managers followed suit, settling across from them.

Luna’s manager cleared her throat. “We were supposed to have this conversation at HYBE,” she began, her tone professional yet careful, as if she were treading on thin ice. “The higher-ups wanted to meet with both of you directly to discuss the… situation.”

Jeonghan’s manager nodded, picking up where she left off. “But we convinced them that we should be the ones to talk to you first. There’s a lot to consider here, and we need to discuss the best course of action for both of you— damage control, the confirmation statement, and what comes after.”

Jeonghan and Luna remained quiet, listening.

They understood how these things worked. Rumors came and went, scandals emerged and were buried. They had dealt with their fair share of baseless gossip over the years, ones they had easily denied.

But this…

There was no denying this.

The pictures were clear as day.

The damage that needed to be controlled was far greater.

Their managers continued, taking turns explaining the various approaches they could take. It was all methodical, calculated. The company’s priority was preserving their images, maintaining stability. And the best way to do that, according to them, was through a quiet confirmation— an acknowledgment of their relationship without fueling further chaos.

But then came the part that made Luna’s jaw clench.

“…After the initial confirmation, we wait a few months,” her manager explained carefully. “Then, when the time is right, we announce that you’ve decided to part ways, that you’ve chosen to remain friends instead. You’ll still be together, of course, just… privately. It’s the best way to—”

Luna’s patience snapped.

“Tell them we’re engaged.”

The bite in her tone was unmistakable, sharp and unwavering. Jeonghan smirked at the sound of it, glancing down at his feet, but he didn’t interfere. He simply let her speak, watching as she took full control of the room.

Both managers blinked, clearly caught off guard.

“What?” Jeonghan’s manager said, confusion laced in his voice.

Luna lifted her chin. “Tell them we’re engaged.”

Her manager hesitated, brows furrowing. “Jiyeon-ah, we need to minimize the—”

“Don’t make me repeat again what I just said,” Luna cut her off, voice cold, eyes sharp.

The room fell into silence.

Luna exhaled through her nose, leaning forward slightly. “You’re going to release an official statement confirming that Jeonghan and I are together. Not just dating— engaged. We’ve been in a relationship for five years. Since July of 2019. And we’ve been engaged since September 8th of this year— a few weeks ago.

Her manager opened her mouth, likely to protest, but Luna didn’t give her the chance.

“We’ve spent the last few days together as much as possible before Jeonghan enlists tomorrow, and we deserve to have that respected. I don’t care what loopholes you’re supposed to follow. I don’t care what narrative the company thinks is best. I don’t care about damage control. This is our relationship, and it is not a scandal.”

The authority in her voice made both managers shift uncomfortably, but neither of them dared to interrupt her.

Luna continued, unwavering. “You can also tell them that they should mind their own fucking business and leave us the fuck alone— but I understand that I’m not allowed to say certain things, so instead, you can add how we hope that people will respect our privacy. We hope that those who have supported us for years will continue to do so. And if they don’t?” She tilted her head slightly. “That’s their problem. Not ours.”

Her fingers tightened around Jeonghan’s.

She leaned back against the couch, her expression unreadable. “I want that official statement out as soon as possible. It’s not difficult— you’ve done this plenty of times before. It’s just a few paragraphs.”

Her eyes darkened, her tone dropping a degree colder. “If I don’t see that statement in the next five hours, I’ll post it myself.”

The silence that followed Luna’s final words was thick and suffocating. Their managers exchanged a look, hesitant, as if weighing their options, but there was no winning against Luna in this state.

Then, Jeonghan exhaled sharply, breaking the silence with a lazy smirk. He leaned back against the couch, tilting his head slightly as he regarded their managers with a look that was equal parts amused and unimpressed.

“You know,” he mused, voice slow, deliberate, “we could always just do a live broadcast instead.”

Both managers’ eyes widened in pure horror.

Jeonghan’s smirk deepened. “Go on Weverse, say a few words straight to the fans. No edits, no filtering. Just us, raw and real, telling them exactly how it is. I’m sure they’d appreciate the honesty.” He let the thought linger in the air before adding, “I mean, if that statement doesn’t come out within the next few hours, I might get bored enough to do it myself.”

The underlying threat was not lost on anyone.

Jeonghan’s manager was the first to sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fine,” he relented, voice tight. “We’ll make sure the statement is out as soon as possible.”

Luna’s manager nodded, though she still looked slightly shell-shocked. “Yes. We’ll take care of it immediately.”

With that, they stood, clearly eager to leave before Jeonghan or Luna threw any more surprises at them.

“We’ll keep you updated,” Jeonghan’s manager assured as he made his way toward the door.

Luna’s manager hesitated for a second before giving Luna one last look, softer this time. “Take care, Jiyeonie.”

Luna nodded, her expression unreadable. “You too.”

And just like that, they were gone.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind them, Jeonghan wasted no time. He turned to Luna, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, pressing his forehead to hers. Then, with a gentle tilt of her chin, he captured her lips in a slow, deep kiss.

There was nothing rushed about it, nothing urgent. Just warmth, reassurance, and the unspoken promise that no matter what came next, they were in this together. His lips moved against hers with practiced ease, coaxing her into the moment, his hands resting firmly on her waist. Luna sighed into the kiss, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt, holding him close as if anchoring herself.

When they finally pulled away, Jeonghan rested his forehead against hers, his thumbs stroking slow circles against her sides.

“I’m proud of you,” he murmured, voice low but filled with nothing but sincerity.

Luna’s lips curled into the softest of smiles as she looked up at him. “I’m proud of us.”

Jeonghan hummed, pressing another quick kiss to the corner of her mouth. “I love you, my pretty moon.”

“I love you more.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Impossible.”

For a few moments, they simply stood there, wrapped up in each other, the weight of the day finally beginning to settle.

But then, as expected, Jeonghan was the first to break the moment.

With a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, he tilted his head, eyes glinting mischievously. “You know,” he drawled, “you were really hot earlier.”

Luna blinked at him before scoffing. “Seriously?”

He grinned. “I’m just saying, watching you shut them down like that? Very sexy. Very hot.”

Luna rolled her eyes, but the faint blush dusting her cheeks betrayed her. “You’re ridiculous.”

Jeonghan shrugged. “And yet, you love me.”

“Unfortunately.”

He gasped dramatically. “Unfortunately?”

Luna laughed, and for the first time that day, it felt light. Jeonghan’s grin widened at the sound.

“You know what would be even hotter?” he mused, tone casual but the glint in his eyes anything but.

Luna narrowed her eyes at him. “What?”

Jeonghan leaned in slightly. “Those photos I took of you a couple of days ago,” he started, voice taking on that familiar teasing lilt. “The ones where you were wearing that denim outfit.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “And?”

Jeonghan let out a wistful sigh, as if recalling something truly magnificent. “You just looked so good, baby. The fit, the lighting, the way the denim hugged you just right— honestly, it was art. Pure art.”

Luna giggled, shaking her head. “And what exactly is your point?”

His smirk turned downright devious. “It would be even hotter if you posted those pictures right now, like nothing happened.”

Luna stilled, staring at him for a few seconds, before her lips slowly curved into a smirk of her own. “It would be hotter if I posted it the second after they publish the confirmation statement.”

Jeonghan’s grin was instant. “This is why I love you.”

Before Luna could react, he grabbed her hand, dragging her back toward their room. “Come on,” he said, practically giddy, “let’s get your phone.”

Once inside, Luna sat on the bed, scrolling through her camera roll as Jeonghan wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, gently swaying them from side to side. He rested his chin on her shoulder, watching as she selected the best pictures of herself in the denim outfit.

“What caption should I write?” Luna asked, glancing at him.

Jeonghan stared at the blue denim for a moment before smirking. “‘Something blue.’”

Luna burst out laughing, the sound breaking through the tension that had loomed over them all day. She shook her head at him, but she was already typing the caption.

It was simple, subtle, but so obviously implying their engagement.

And as if the universe itself approved, both of their phones vibrated at the same time.

A notification.

The confirmation statement had been posted.

Luna smirked.

And with zero hesitation, she hit post.

Within seconds, her Instagram was flooded. She giggled as she scrolled through the comments.

> NOT HER JUST POSTING THIS LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED OMG I LOVE HER!

> girl just got exposed and she said “ok but here’s me looking hot”

> mother is mothering and she does not care

> she wins. she actually wins life.

> yoon jeonghan i know you’re somewhere smiling like an idiot rn

And then, as expected, their group chat with the members exploded— as if it wasn’t already.

kwanie: Bae Jiyeon! I hate you. I actually hate you. I was drinking water when I saw your post.

woo: no because why are you so unhinged, our Jiyeonie 😆

shi-shi: CONGRATS BUT ALSO MA’AM PLEASE??

gyu-gyu: this is why you and hyung deserve each other.

hansolie: Respect.

joshie: You really said “scandal? What scandal?” and dropped a thirst trap 😎

Junnie: Queen behavior. Iconic. Trendsetter.

Jihoonie: You’ve always had a talent for choosing violence at the best moments.

Cheollie: Honestly, I’m just mad I didn’t predict this.

kyeomie: CONGRATS BUT ALSO BAE JIYEON PLEASE?? SOME OF US WERE TRYING TO EAT BREAKFAST AND NOW I’M CHOKING ON MY FOOD.

hao-hao: You really just broke the entire internet, huh? I hope you two know that.

channie: Not you breaking the internet and then logging on like “anyway here’s me looking hot.” I’m scared of you, Noona 😀

Luna giggled as she read through the messages, shaking her head in amusement before typing her response.

Luna: Glad to know you all appreciate my art.

A beat passed before another message popped up.

kwanie: Yeah, yeah. But also, for real… congratulations, you two. We’re happy for you 🥹

Cheollie: We love you both, so don’t stress too much, okay?

Luna felt Jeonghan’s arms tighten around her just slightly, as if he had read the messages over her shoulder. And though neither of them said anything in that moment, they didn’t need to. The people who truly knew them, who truly mattered, were here. Supporting them.

And that was enough.

Luna smiled, shaking her head as she typed out her responses. And Jeonghan, watching her with nothing but pure fondness in his eyes, felt something settle deep in his chest.

She was smiling again.

Despite everything, despite the chaos, she had powered through another hurdle thrown her way just like she always does.

That’s the thing about darkness— it makes the moon shine even brighter.

Everyone knew that.

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[etz-ashashiyot]

Hi, I saw your post about Jewish indigeneity and as a non-Jewish, non-indigenous person, have a genuine question that I hope you will take in good faith. At what point of conflict and violence do we say that being indigenous to a region does not actually confer land rights? I understand that having land stolen is a travesty and a part of genocide, and I don't mean to be dismissive. But at some level of conflict and violence, is it not healthier for individals to learn to love the place they are at, the people around them, and the new culture they can build together? I think there are ways to do that which are not assimilationist. And I think the ongoing suffering in war cannot be justified by mere land claims. I am presenting this to you hoping you can help me understand your view better, especially if you disagree with me. What am I missing? Thank you for considering my questions.

I'm gonna be honest: the fact that this is coming from a blank blog makes me far less likely to want to answer it, especially because I haven't been on tumblr as much lately and thus don't know if this is a copypasta ask.

Who are you? Have you read my pinned post? Have you read the many, many sources in it?

I am going to give you extremely truncated answers, but understand that you have a lot of reading to do that is not possible to summarize in an answer to a tumblr ask. (Edit: this got a lot longer than I expected, but I stand by my words that these are truncated, incomplete answers. You need to read several books to actually develop a reasonable understanding of this.)

At what point of conflict and violence do we say that being indigenous to a region does not actually confer land rights?

Never. What you are asking here conflates two separate concerns: (1) the rights of an indigenous group to the land they are indigenous to, and (2) the ethical responsibilities said indigenous group has towards other human beings, in particular those who also live on that land. People don't lose their indegeneity and thus their ties to the land by being bad people. "Indigenous" is not an indicator of moral purity or uprightness. It means that they have deep cultural, historical, and (often) religious roots in a particular land that cannot be severed without totally destroying the group as such.

Eretz Yisrael will always be the homeland of the Jewish people regardless of whether we have control over it or not, whether we have a sovereign nation there or not, whether we are permitted to live there or even visit there or not. All of our religious and cultural practices tie back to eretz Yisrael, even ones that have been adapted to the diaspora. Religiously observant Jews pray facing Jerusalem three times a day, our liturgy is infused with references to the land, the Temple in Jerusalem, the redemption (of the people to the land) and/or specific attributes of the land. Our sacred texts occur in and make constant reference to the land and our observance of the mitzvot and how that relates to the land. (A ton of the religious laws we are given are land-based because it developed as an agricultural religion, and a huge number of the rest are related to the Temple in Jerusalem.) We have three pilgrimage festivals that pre- forced diaspora, all Jews would make back to Jerusalem to make specific sacrifices. We still observe these festivals in ways adapted to the diaspora, but you need to understand that the essential condition of diasporic Jewry is one of constant longing to return to the land. We observe these things today to keep the knowledge alive so that someday, future generations of Jews can use that knowledge in eretz Yisrael. Jews are of that land and can never be severed from it without becoming something entirely different.

Now. Does that give us a right to act with total impunity? Absolutely not. We still have moral obligations to our fellow human beings that we have to observe no matter what. That is true of all peoples everywhere, indigenous or not.

But the idea that you can "punish" an indigenous group by severing their roots is to say that total cultural annihilation is a valid punishment ever, which is genocidal rhetoric.

I understand that having land stolen is a travesty and a part of genocide, and I don't mean to be dismissive.

You answered your own question here, don't you see? Reread what you wrote here, as many times as you need to, until you get it.

But at some level of conflict and violence, is it not healthier for individals to learn to love the place they are at, the people around them, and the new culture they can build together?

You need to read some Jewish history.

If you are asking this question about Israel, and in particular the Israel / Palestine conflict, you need to read more Jewish history.

"....to learn to love the place they are at" Jews in the diaspora tried this. Please read this list.

"...the people around them" Do you think that Jews were expelled, pogrommed, and genocided multiple times across numerous locations because we didn't "love the people around us" enough? For real? Read about the Kielce Pogrom and get back to me on that.

"...the new culture they can build together" Ah. I see. Yes this is the thing:

We don't fucking need a new culture. We have been fighting to practice the culture we already have in peace for thousands of years.

I think there are ways to do that which are not assimilationist.

Well. You're wrong. You are one in a long long long long long long long long long long long line of gentiles who think that "Jews can just..." and (1) you're wrong; read what the Nazis did to ethnic Jews who converted to Christianity, the history of "new Christians"/conversos/etc. but also even if that were guaranteed to work (2) why should we have to change our culture instead of other people not trying to kill us for it?

And I think the ongoing suffering in war cannot be justified by mere land claims.

This war is not about land claims though; not really. Hamas wants every Jew dead. That is why they started this war. They have promised a new October 7th every day until the whole land is entirely judenfrei. Of course there are reasonable Palestinians with legitimate policy objectives, but that's not who's driving this war, and the ones in Gaza who speak up about it tend to get abducted or have their families disappeared and are tortured until they escape, die, or are silenced.

Are there legitimate things to be discussed about Israel's approach in this war and/or in general? Sure. But this isn't "mere land claims." This is about the safety, lives, and self-determination of half the global Jewish population, the vast majority of whom are only there in the first place because they themselves or their parents/grandparents/great-grandparents fled (or were forcibly relocated) there as refugees of genocide. Israel is the only remaining place in the world for certain smaller Jewish sub-ethnicities. If Israel is destroyed, so much will be lost. And, we will be back to being subjects of the whims of hostile foreign powers who have proven again and again that they will just periodically expel or murder lots of us when it is politically useful for them to do so.

That is what is at stake for us.

The fact that you think that our connection to the land is "mere land claims" and not an existential part of our identity says volumes by itself, but the fact that you don't know what is actually at stake for us says even more. It tells me that you have a lot of reading to do.

What am I missing?

Empathy. History. Context.

Read People Love Dead Jews - I think it will help you understand more of these issues. There are other helpful sources in my pinned post too.

[gibbearish]

alrighty im doing my best to reply relatively nicely because while your response is so deeply fucking condescending and rude that I would be justified in immediately blocking you just for being an asshole, it's also clearly coming from a place of misdirected frustration over your husband's job struggles so im trying to give you the benefit of the doubt

nowhere did i say that i expect internet employees to work for free to serve Me Specifically or that they "don't deserve to pay their bills", that is something you projected onto this. yes, i do believe the internet should be free, AND i believe the employees should be able to live, and i think a system that makes that impossible is indeed fucked up and am allowed to express a desire to want a better one. you said "you can bemoan capitalism but it is the structure we currently reside in" as a cop out but like. yeah, it is the system we currently reside in, and i do think that sucks ass so yeah i am gonna complain about it, that's what this post is, it's me bemoaning capitalism. i'm sorry that in your brain that translated to "the other victims of capitalism don't matter to me as long as i get out on top" but once again that is your projection, not what i said.

and yeah, you're right, even if it's not what i was doing the revolution doesn't start by demanding free labor of others. you know what else doesn't start the revolution though? saying anyone who is frustrated with the way things work now is inherently selfish and infuriatingly self centered just for wanting things to be free. when you say "yes capitalism is bad but theres nothing we can do about it so don't complain about the way things are" you are the crab trying to pull me back into the bucket, you said i "want to be the rich capitalist myself" but of the two of us, only one of us is arguing to keep around the whole "everything must cost money" thing here and it sure isn't me lol

like overall i think the lens youre looking at this post through is "this is my husband's job, it's what he's paid for, therefore anyone saying they want it to be free is saying he shouldn't be paid, and therefore they are advocating for money to be taken directly from us so that they can live it up like kings" which is an understandable pov but takes a LOT of leaps. now to be fair i didnt actually include an asterisk on the post saying i aggressively support UBI and even further think the entire concept of money and paying for ANYTHING should be destroyed so that employees wouldnt HAVE to work at all, but i also think autofilling that nonexistent asterisk with "by the way i don't think anything else about the world should change, just that internet employees should work for free to serve me personally:)" is a big stretch. and to be fair i think at some point you realized thats what i was saying which is why you added in all the "you can be mad but its The Way Things Are soooo" caveats, the system sucking is such an obvious answer that in order for me to still be the villain trying to personally steal your husband's money, you have to preemptively cut it off. which is even funnier considering in the post you say "What do you mean free? For whom?" and then continue as if i had responded "for me and me alone, let the peasants be crushed beneath my heel on my way to ad free youtube" without stopping to think i might just maybe possibly mayhaps have meant free for everyone. so to be perfectly clear:

- i think the internet should be free for everyone

- i think housing should be free for everyone

- i think food should be free for everyone

- i think money should not exist at all

- i think capitalism is evil

- i think no one should have to work to survive and want all work to be voluntary

and finally:

- i think your husband should like. join a union or get a better job so that you're not so stressed about it that you take a random post very personally and proceed to be excessively rude and condescending to the poster while completely misunderstanding the point they were making.

what's interesting abt all this too is despite all the excuses you make for capitalism here, that's really where this anger should be directed. me making a silly one paragraph tumblr dot com post is not the cause of your husbands shitty pay or shitty hours or shitty work conditions, capitalism is. but as you said we can't really /do/ anything about capitalism individually so it's much easier to want to direct your anger at something different, and "blogger who said a thing that sounds kind of like 'your husband shouldnt be paid while everyone else still is' if you squint really hard" is as good a target as any so i do get it to a certain degree. again, SUPER couldve done without the intense condescension about how fucking dumb and selfish do i have to be to dare to want free stuff, but i can at least see how you got from point A to point B

anyways. tldr no i do not think society should be divided into "the rich people with free everything" and "the unpaid peons who suffer and die to make the rich ppls stuff free" nor is that what i said, and "that's just the way capitalism is" is not the bulletproof shutdown you seem to think it is. i know that's just the way capitalism is, that's why i want it to change. i think that's a reasonable desire even if i personally can't just snap my fingers and fix it, and trying to shut down arguments for ways things could be better with "but thats not how things work right now" is actively detrimental to progress because it's saying we should just lay down and accept the current circumstances rather than making a fuss. you can do that if you want, however you cannot demand other people do the same (see what i did there)

love when ppl defend the aggressive monetization of the internet with "what, do you just expect it to be free and them not make a profit???" like. yeah that would be really nice actually i would love that:)! thanks for asking

[communistkenobi]

I was looking for a book recently on an online storefront and was recommended a book written by a physicist about the history of humanity. this was a popular press book that was not intended to be read by other academics, but it reminded me of this niche genre of books, with experts from the physical sciences writing about human behaviour or history or what have you. Could you imagine coming across the inverse? A popular press book that purported to explain physics written by a historian?

There is some deep imbalance in how public perceptions of “general intelligence” seem to work - those in STEM are generally recognised for their competence, expertise, and intellectual acumen, and this recognition can be generalised, that at some level a demonstration of your expertise of eg astrophysics is a demonstration of your abilities of investigation writ large, that you have figured out some central underlying element of science that allows for basically limitless intellectual extension to any field or subject. A physicist can write a book about human history and be taken seriously by the general public on the assumption that physics is more difficult to understand than history, so any lower domain of investigation is open to them. The reverse is often not extended to a lot of the social sciences, particularly the theoretically-heavy social sciences; theory is just making bullshit up at the end of the day, it has no real practical application because any questions about the philosophy of thought or knowledge - how did we come to know what we know and under what conditions do we know these things - is just the indulgent wankery of people who can’t find a real job.

And of course it would be silly to insist that because you have read Hegel, an infamously difficult thinker, you know how to interpret the lab print-outs of electrochemists - I don’t want this goofy concept of general intelligence to be applied everywhere, I want it to go away entirely, but its current uneven applications across scientific fields indicates a broader problem with public conceptions of expertise and knowledge.

This probably has something to do with anti-communism on some level - social science is not generally regarded as “real science” (in no small part because social science is often the field of bureaucrats, and while animosity towards bureaucrats is deeply sympathetic, I suspect the reasons for this animosity are not themselves scientifically grounded), that while there is a public understanding of “objective facts” that exist prior and external to human interpretation, the politics of knowledge are hegemonically oriented around liberalism, to such an extent that any critique of the assumptions of knowledge are viewed as a dogmatic denial of reality done for the purposes of political infiltration and brainwashing. And I don’t feel totally unqualified to say this, given that this is basically the de facto response from students encountering Marxism for the first time in university. “Marx is too dogmatic” may as well be inscribed above the doors to lecture halls. Hell, Jordan Peterson made a nice little public career for himself railing against “post-modern neo-Marxism,” a phrase so nonsensical that the fact he was not immediately and permanently laughed out of the public arena for saying it is an indictment of how politically illiterate we are as a society!

And the infuriating thing is that a lot of social science scholarship (not just from the US but especially from the US) is complete horseshit, just pure evil garbage motivated solely by a desire to justify the fact that we do really need to keep killing tens of thousands of people a year to keep this whole party going. Every sociologist who calls themselves a “methodological individualist” is contributing to the long-standing tradition of eugenics scholarship but is too craven and vain to admit to this. If you had to describe the sum-total of the social scientific scholarly output of the west in a word, it would be ‘mysticism.’ Because it is the case that anti-colonial, anti-imperial, and anti-capitalist investigations of the political-economic conditions of the world have produced social scientific knowledge on par with the discovery of the atom, but it is not treated as such. “It is right to rebel” is not just a moral claim about violence but a scientific summary of human history.

But I think it is precisely this reactionary state of affairs that makes people devalue the social sciences as an actual site of legitimate investigation, that understanding the historical trajectory of ideas or the political conditions of life are valuable pursuits for any just society. Because social science deals with the social world, the political conditions under which the social world is investigated and understood are themselves bound up in questions of political and economic power. But this equally extends to the physical sciences - I know at least in environmental sciences, there is an ever-growing reckoning with climate change as an imminent threat to all life on earth, and environmental scientists cannot avoid talking about the political conditions of our planet even if all they want to do is study a river. Genocide is measurable in soil samples taken in the American continent. The separation of the environmental from the social is itself a historically contingent arrangement of knowledge.

But this is infuriating to even complain about because I don’t want to sound like an entitled academic or ego-bruised professional. I have no desire to start a faculty war with the STEM fields. I feel secure in my own expertise. I do not want anyone to “recognise my greatness” I am just profoundly lonely in this whole affair. and it just so happens that we exist in terribly anti-intellectual conditions for the most cruel and ugly reasons possible, and so we (me, I) have to suffer seeing books on sale claiming to give a general account of human history written by a physicist

[tobesolnelyx]

I’ve been lurking and reading all your frat boy yjs posts! Especially after a long day of js life in general, may I request reader dating frat boy Jackie but is having an affair with frat boy Shauna who’s Jackie’s bsf behind Jackie’s back, basically reader being jeff 😂 - 🥄

NSFW - MDNI

You feel bad about it—really bad.

And good. Because, deep down, you should.

Nothing justifies cheating. And even though you’d love to say that the first time was an accident, that you were drunk and hadn’t planned it at all… you couldn’t. Because it wasn’t just a coincidence that you showed up at Shauna’s bedroom door at the frat house that day. Sure, you could say it was because you’d just had a fight with Jackie, that you were feeling awful. But seriously, that still didn’t explain what happened afterward.

You shouldn’t have gone to vent about your relationship problems to your girlfriend’s best friend. You didn’t even know if Shauna would take your side.

Well.

Fights with Jackie were always about stupid things. It was never anything serious. You’d even say your relationship was healthy. Happy, even. Jackie was amazing. Loving and caring. She took you on regular dates, you went to her games. Jackie practically couldn’t keep her hands off you, and most girls would kill to have her all to themselves. It was hard not to have a crush on the Yellowjackets’ captain.

You weren’t even sure why it got to you so much. Maybe it had just been a rough week, not much had gone your way, and on top of that, you fought with Jackie and had no one to talk to. And Shauna, as always, was there.

She and Jackie were friends, though you were pretty sure that friendship was a bit one-sided, but Shauna always hovered around your orbit. Watching. Sometimes her gaze lingered on you a little too long.

Honestly, you should’ve noticed earlier that Shauna wanted something from you. All those smiles she gave you in the hallway or at the frat house. How she’d drive you back to the dorm when Jackie was too drunk to do it, and you had an exam the next day. Or how she’d make you coffee early in the morning when you were the only two awake at the frat house. Shauna always sat just a little too close. That subtlety threw you off. You’d never have guessed someone with her reputation could be subtle.

You melted the moment her hands touched your body.

“What happened?” she murmured, getting up from the bed and coming closer. Her warm hands landed on your shoulders. A gesture that was supposed to be friendly. She smelled like the vape she’d hit a few minutes ago and laundry detergent.

“We had a fight,” you whispered, eyes downcast. Tears ran down your cheeks, dripping to the floor. Jackie had walked out of the house just fifteen minutes earlier, saying she needed some air. And your legs had carried you straight to Shauna’s bedroom.

She hummed in response, her thumbs drawing circles on your shoulders, and eventually she pulled you close. Your head rested on her chest, her arms wrapped around you. She rested her chin on your head and sighed heavily. Words she shouldn’t say to her best friend’s girlfriend sat on the tip of her tongue.

She didn’t even ask what the fight was about. Shauna already had her opinion of Jackie, that she wasn’t the girl you needed.

So Shauna took her chance. You felt awful, she was undeniably attractive, and you were already in her arms, quietly crying. For Shauna, it was the perfect opportunity.

So, word by word, it ended with her nuzzling your hair and murmuring that Jackie didn’t deserve you, and that she’d never treat you like that (you both knew that was complete bullshit).

Anyway, you felt bad enough that you didn’t even flinch when her lips landed on your forehead. Then on your cheek. And finally, she tilted your head and pressed an almost tender kiss to your lips.

You kissed her back without thinking. Breathed into her mouth. Her hands slid dangerously close to your ass, and the tears stopped. All that remained was a pounding heart and your tongue instinctively slipping between her lips. Your hands almost reached for her shoulders...

But then Shauna let out a low hum and you pulled back like you’d been burned.

"We can't..." you started, your cheeks burning with embarrassment at yourself, and from the crying. You shook your head, nearly stumbling as you started to back away. Panic spread across your face, and Shauna knew she had to act before you slipped away from her. She might not get another chance.

She grabbed your wrist, and with lightning speed her other hand slammed the door shut behind you and locked it.

Startled, you looked from her to the door. You swallowed hard and opened your mouth to say something, but then her body pressed you against the door behind you.

You stared at her, wide eyed. Shauna was breathing heavily, now gripping your wrists tightly. For a moment, she looked at you like even she hadn’t expected such a sudden reaction from herself.

“She doesn’t have to know,” she rasped. Her hands cupped your face as she leaned in closer. Now her breath warmed your lips. “Just this once.”

She begged. And you didn’t say no.

And before you could process what was happening, her lips were on yours.

Her fingers slid under Jackie’s T-shirt and gripped your waist. She kissed you hard, frantically, so much that you could barely keep up.

Jackie had never kissed you like that. Jackie was always gentle, warm. She laughed softly after your make out sessions, telling you how beautiful you were.

Shauna was fast but precise. In under a minute, her hands were everywhere - touching, squeezing, massaging.

You had never felt so desired.

You ended up lifted up, pressed hard against the door with Shauna touching, kissing and biting you. Your hand fell to her belt, undoing it as swiftly as you could. Your breath was already ragged, and her hips were grinding before you got the chance to properly pull her semi-hard cock out of her jeans.

"Shit, shit, shit..." She breathed out, trying not to alarm any other frats in the house. The last thing she needed, was being caught by someone while fucking you. She pushed your skirt and panties aside to position her cock against your entrance.

She fucked you fast and hard that night, whining your name in your neck. Sweat clinging to her forehead. "Jackie doesn't deserve that..." she said, biting back a moan, when pushed her throbbing cock balls deep, and then bottomed out. Only to slam it again deep inside you. You needed put so much effort to not just cry out. "God, you're so tight, does she even... oh god... fucks you?"

Since then, it became a habit.

You told yourself it was just that one, single time. You’d both forget about it and everything would go back to normal. You’d pretend that absolutely nothing had happened.

After the second time, you told yourself the same thing.

After Shauna drove you home again and you ended up on her lap, riding her dick, her lips pressed hard to your neck.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” she gasped, her thumbs pressing into your red nipples. She couldn't pull away from them. “You’re so... you should be mine," she gasped, when you bounced on her dick.

"Shut up," you moaned breathlessly, hiding face in her neck, while she guided your movements.

The third time, in the locker room after the game, when Shauna took you from behind, you convinced yourself the guilt was too much and that this would definitely be the end. This time. Only to end up on your knees in front of her in a random bathroom at a party, her hand tangled in your hair while you were sucking her off. She came hard in your throat. Later that night you were making out with your girlfriend.

Every time, you told both her and yourself the same thing. That it wouldn’t happen again. That you couldn’t do this to Jackie.

And every time, you ended up in Shauna’s arms again, as she pressed soft kisses to your shoulder after giving you the best orgasm.

Jackie didn’t seem to suspect much. Shauna was tempted to leave hickeys on your body, but she knew that if Jackie found out, neither of you would have an easy time for the rest of the college year.

Every time Jackie panted, punding inside you and babbling about how perfect you are, you closed your eyes and thought only of Shauna. You were ashamed to admit it, but god, the thought of her dick was the only thing that could make you cum with Jackie.

[shaysplanet]

HEAR YE! HEAR YE! A PSA!

the reason i find race changing wrong goes beyond just “poc don’t like it”. though that alone is reason enough, because my voice as a woman of color does matter. our voices matter. we’re not optional background noise in your moral debate. we’re the people whose experiences you’re trying to appropriate.

but let’s go deeper. race changing is wrong because you don’t live in a vacuum. none of us do. every action you take is a reaction to the society that shaped you. and that society has race in it. it has white supremacy in it. it has colonization in its bones. and when you craft a dr, you don’t suddenly escape that mindset. you carry that frame of reference with you—whether you’re conscious of it or not.

my brilliant taurus twin said it best in this tiktok: we all have a frame of reference, and that’s what we operate from. it’s why we can agree that killing is wrong in this reality, and so the vast majority of us don’t go around murdering people in our DRs “just because we can”. even if we know that somewhere out there in the multiverse, killing might be morally neutral. we don’t use that logic to justify violence in our DRs, so why do race changers use it to justify becoming black or brown?

if racism doesn’t exist in your DR—great! it’s been long eradicated in all of mine. but you still brought yourself there. this version of you. the one raised in a world where race impacts safety, freedom, and dignity. so when you choose to “change races”, what you’re really doing is sidestepping the pain of our lived experiences while cherry-picking our features for your fantasy. and you may say “no, no it’s not like that”—but it is. you just refuse to open your eyes to it. and no, it doesn’t matter that “it doesn’t impact us here”. because you coming online promoting it does. your choices are not insular. your beliefs impact this community. and spewing around your poison will get somebody burned.

so when shifters of color tell you, “please don’t wear my skin. please don’t romanticize an identity you’ve never had to survive,” and you respond with, “fuck off infinite realities exist!” or “but this poc doesn’t mind,” you’re not just being dismissive.

you’re being racist.

because what you’re saying is “my desire outweighs your dignity”. you’re saying, “i don’t care what you’ve lived through—as long as I get to feel special”. and if “anything is possible” why is harm the first thing you choose?

listen when i tell you this—you don’t get to shift out of responsibility. you don’t get to silence voices you’ve never taken the time to listen to.

because if you truly believed in the infinite nature of reality, and not just fulfilling your own fantasies, you’d have imagined a version of yourself who knew better by now.

original post

[rainbowbutterfrosting]

Anyway, I've broken down the video into more easily digestible clumps under the cut. Time stamps and me yelling at him included.

0:42 "There's been a lot of different clashing labels and opinions about me on the internet over the past year; the loudest of which (on both sides of the fence) have been quite unhealthy, stemming from accusations made about me from just over a year ago."

Really crazy how he says "accusations" like he didn't confirm it on Twitter when it initially happened.

It's also interesting how he says "unhealthy," it's almost like he's calling the people saying it unhealthy, rather than his own actions.

0:53 "I'm not here to drop any bombshells- I don't want to reopen any old discussions. I responded to the situation in February of last year and I still stand by everything I said in that statement."

So we've gone from "accusations" to standing by his own statement. Ah okay.

1:05 "I understand it was misinterpreted by some people, probably due to my wording."

Oh okay. "Accusations" -> standing by his own statement -> OTHER people misinterpreted (well then why couldn't he make a follow up post of some kind?)

1:09 "I know some people are still looking for clarity- especially nowadays, where personal transparency is more common amongst content creators than it's ever been before.

Don't be shy, just say you were held accountable!

Also why is he saying "more common" "than it's ever been before" like that sldfkjs. It sounds like he's talking about a disease rather than being a decent human being.

1:17 "However, this clarity (the clarity I've offered to my close friends and my family) would mean publicly sharing deeply personal parts of my private life and my relationships with the internet. I've never been comfortable doing that and I don't believe that should be the cost of being understood."

You'd almost imagine that after about a year and a half of being radio silent, that he might've been comfortable at this point? But yeah no worries, Wilbur, because you don't need to post publicly!!! You don't need to have a platform!!

But gosh, he's so concerned about the audience having clarity. I'm 1:30 into the 6 minute video, I sure do hope the majority of the video isn't promotion. (Subtle foreshadowing)

But anyway, back to the video

1:32 "All I can say is that the labels that have been attributed to me by social media are not true, and I don't accept them."

Don't be shy, explain which labels. Say them.

1:39 "I don't believe in this expectation that content creators should use their platforms to attack and defend."

I love how he's using "attack and defend" to better portray himself as a wounded victim, rather than DIRECTLY hurting people to make them victims.

It's also funny how he's implying that he naturally deserves the right to be a content creator, and thus he shouldn't have to justify any of his actions ever, even if they were (by definition) harmful to others.

1:46 "I definitely don't think [attacking and defending on social media is] how serious accusations should be handled."

Well no, you don't believe in handling serious "accusations" in general. Don't be shy, mention any details about what happened. Imply a LITTLE bit about what you're referring to.

It's interesting how he's using the word "accusation" to escape any responsibility. It's like he's trying to gaslight people into thinking it never happened/was all a lie??

1:50 "I felt this way for a really long time now, having seen other content creators go through similar situations."

Don't be shy, mention what other content creators or kinds of situations. Are you referring to ones that were able to prove that it was a lie? Or are you referring to ones that took advantage of vulnerable people and didn't respect their boundaries, then expected complete respect on their platform?

I also enjoy another use of "situation." Maybe he got tired of saying "accusation" 10 trillion times, but the word has the exact same meaning lmaoo.

And btw, in case anyone thinks I'm being too sensitive about the literal meanings of words he's saying, I think he knows full well what kind of language he's using. In case anyone forgot, he really enjoyed writing/things having deep, philosophical meanings (him writing that dsmp fanfic, his fake crash outs, general monologues, etc.) So in my opinion, it's incredibly unlikely he's using these words by accident.

1:55 "I know it's not a perspective that's going to satisfy everyone, but it's one I can get behind, and I hope that makes sense to you."

No yeah, it makes sense. You're using this as a justification of your own actions so you don't view yourself in the wrong!!

Also "I hope that makes sense to you" sounds really... pathetic. More subtle victim card imo. He gets to sound innocent if people don't get it.

2:01 "None of this is me trying to dig up or dwell on the past here."

Nono, this isn't about "dwelling on the past." This is about acknowledging the actions he decided to take that ended up with people being hurt.

This feels like explaining basic morality to a toddler.

2:04 "I would just feel very strange if I carried on without at least acknowledging the past year."

Nah, I think it's common knowledge that people would be ???!!!! to coming back after 2 years of no uploads and very limited communication (RIGHT after the Shelby situation happened).

He just wants to point to the video and be like, "Look, I handled it there!!" Where he only calls the abuse a "situation" or "accusation" which links back to his Twitter where he's vague and "misinterpreted."

2:10 "All I can do now is move forward, and I hope you enjoy what I've been working on-"

Not gonna put any more. He's promoting Lovejoy and his channels for the most part.

He won't do much Minecraft anymore.

And small correction to my meme, he did say sorry once!! Oh um- it was about not playing Minecraft, not a serious apology or anything like that :)

[rooniearts]

Metal Wins Asks 1: Initial Reactions

YALL TORE ME APARRRTTTT IN THE ASKBOX LOL THANK YOU FOR ALL THE RESPONSES!!! I'm glad to see that the AU has been well received despite it all! :'D I already have enough asks about it (TWENTY SEVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!) to justify a longpost, so here goes!

Any trigger warnings that pertain to the Metal Wins AU are gonna apply here in the discussion, just so you're warned. You can find the warning under my pinned post

@railway323

IM SORRAYYYYYYY,,,, IT HAD TO HAPPENNNNN,,,,

@zezodacol

yeahh,,,, yeahhhh,,,....,..,

@akaneenaka33

Unfortunately, it's gonna have to be cruel and unusual punishment for now :') This AU works differently from my other ones in the sense that this one has a bit of a running story to it, so I can't tell you much without spoiling things.

The basic premise is that this incident happens and everyone has to navigate how they cope with it, Metal included. Some find their way through, while others continue to spiral downwards to rock bottom.

MY BABY BOYYY!!!!!!!!! MY LITTE GUYYYYY!!!!! AUUGHHHHH

@niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian

The true answer is that I just thought Metal looked really cool whenever I put blood on him and then it just kinda went downhill from there </3

So. Metal killed him and brought him there to mess with Sonic. That's about the lore I can give you about it for now unfortunately, except for the few other bits and pieces throughout the rest of this post :')

@sanicdetails

YOU KNOW WHAT. Good point. All crimes have been forgiven <3

@sparkyboi

NEVERRRR!!!! IF SEGA CAN KILL TAILS THEN SO CAN I!!!!!!!

BWUH,,,, Tails nation please don't publicly execute me I would be so very sad

@disgruntled-rat

YAYYY thank goodness...... I may rejoin my people..............

@thatbirdguyy

Unfortunately for our little guy, it is by decree of the author that he Must suffer. It is simply inevitable for any Tails enthusiast to put him through the wringer </3

ALSO YO?? I love your art and au sm! :D I'm so glad you find mine interesting too!! <3

@thecustomcosplayed

HE DID NOTHING WRONGGG THATS THE WORST PART,,, MY POOR LIL GUY DOESN'T DESERVE THISSSS

Ohohhhh yess ! I too love me a good whump au or two

Oh, he was long gone before Metal even showed up with him :( There was nothing they could've done

@cheeseburgerhelper

See, Metal wanted an efficient kill, but the problem is that Tails isn't about to go down without a fight. That's why he got so brutal, and also why he's sporting some scuffs and dents.

@humble-introvert0808

LMAOOO NOO MY GIRL AMY 😭 I do really enjoy this response to seeing me kill off my blorbo baby boy being "ooohh do mine next!! do mine next!!" bcus it's so so real

I prob won't do anything like that anytime soon, but rest assured that Amy's a MAJOR player in this AU and gets to be sad asf a LOT <3

@anactualfuckingnerd

Well. Yes. But I get the feeling that it's not what the most of y'all are looking for rn because Metal does, in fact, NOT get obliterated immediately :'D

Sonic WISHES he could've pulverized Metal on the spot, but no, he lost the fight and Metal got away. Sure, he was mad, but more angry =/= better at fighting

The next part (which I'm currently working on!) will go over this, but basically it was a fit of jealous rage. A "if I can't have this, then you can't either" type of thing.

But you're right. The real Sonic would NEVER have done that. Metal's realization of this fact is the basis that sets off his character arc and exploring that is what half of this AU is all about :]

(I use any pronouns for my version of Metal! I tend to mostly use he/him before character growth, and mostly they/them and she/her after, but y'all can use whatever)

YEAH they are fighting an uphill battle for that redemption arc after this one :') They fucked up BADDDDDD and they KNOW it.

LMAOOASDFGH,,, It's definitely a slow climb for her :'D All will be revealed in due time!

HELP NOOOO NOT THE BLAME SHIFTIIINGGG!!!! HES THE BLAME SHIFTER!!!!!!

I think he might have, like, a twinge of resentment towards him about it, but on some level he does understand that Silver had no earthly chance of knowing even if he is from the future. That, and Silver's like one of the only people who are willing to go along with his murder death revenge quest, so he can't afford to piss him off lol

Even still, I'm sure it comes out as snide remarks once in a while though :')

@i-only-created-this-to-read

The Tornado is fine! It's probably just sitting in Tails' hangar, collecting dust. No one can bear looking at it right now.

And oof. That's actually hard to say! I don't think I can accurately place it in a specific game timeline, unfortunately. But I can say that Sage isn't here nor has she been created yet (as much as I love her </3 but my co-auther hasn't played Frontiers) Eggman will behave much like he does in IDW, if that gives you a good reference point.

Eggman is very much alive, and we will see him! But no, he's NOT happy about any of this. We'll see this explored later, but yes, he absolutely sees Metal as a liability now that he's gone and painted such a HUGE target on their backs. And also little mad that he acted autonomously and took away a potential asset/victory from him.

From what I've heard, he needs either the real or fake set of Chaos Emeralds to do that....??? And right now he has neither, so no, unfortunately not :') He's never once allowed near any of the emeralds, because his friends know he's crashing out and will hurt himself and others if he goes super/dark. They spend the whole time playing Emerald Hot Potato to keep them from him lol

Sonic absolutely drops his whole being the better person shtick IMMEDIATLY though, at least regarding Metal. He's gone too far, and now there's no more second chances for him. As far as Sonic's concerned, Metal is to be destroyed on sight.

YES! Or, at least, Shadow tries. He tries to reach out, and he tries to help him cope, but Sonic just isn't open to it. He's not in a headspace to be able to receive any advice at all.

@i-only-created-this-to-read

Honestly, I like to think Amy probably came crying to him and told him about it pretty much immediately, and that he becomes one of the biggest comforts to her during all of this. He seems like he'd be a great listener and give some top tier advice <3

@anactualfuckingnerd

LMAOOOO yeahh,,.,,, Valid reaction

[orionhelluvaranting]

Like creator, like character

Isn't that interesting how every bloody time someone tries to call Stolass' out this frigging owl finds a way to justify himself or shift the blame?

"I would feel bad if I hurt you but we both know I didn't do that!"

"Cheating implies there was a betrayal..."

"I don't look down on you!"

"I didn't leave you, I would never, that wasn't my choice!"

And do you know who does the exact same thing?

Vivziepop by herself! 🌟

"You disapprove me for sexualizing the rapist and preferring to sell merch with him rather than with his victim? C'mon, guys, Val isn't real! He's Karen from 'Mean Girls'! Fiction is an escape!.. You're just pissy your faves didn't get merch!"

"I liked the post calling my haters 'subhumans'? Well, people are just 'exhausted of being attacked for liking a show'. My fans harass critics? It sucks, but my fans are 'scared to talk about liking the show due to the harassment'. So you're no any better!"

"You've found a plothole XYZ, inconsistency in the story, lame jokes or any other flaws of my shows? No, my writing is smart and logical, bc I said so! Learn to read between the lines!"

"You think I have favoritism toward certain characters? No way! Stolass and Blitz are BOTH in the wrong, I'm gonna show this! Millie isn't ignored by the narrative, actually I'm so excited for you to know about her more! Loona doesn't speak a half of the season because... it was easier on the budget. HB has steered more towards a male-led stories. It's intended this way. You're just misunderstand my genius thought process."

"That's not my problem", "I care about SA victims," "Grow up!" etc.

And I'm not even talking about the justifying/problematic tweets she simply liked 💫

This woman always has an excuse. For everything. Just like Stolass does. Honestly I'd rather not speculate about Stolass being Viv's self-insert (as other critics said long before) but that kind of behavior only confirms such statements. It's like they both live by this quote:

Say whatever you want but for me this is the main proof that Stolass will NEVER take responsibility for his own actions. Because it's seems like Vivienne has no clue how to do this either. She doesn't think she could ever be wrong. So she uses the same mentality for Stolass since he's her beloved pet.

And which one of Viv's excuses is your personal favorite? Mine is "We didn't ask anyone to redesign these characters, it's a choice". Sounds like "They should've seen that coming! It's their own fault they're harassed! What did they even expect?" for me. Just fucking brilliant! 😤💢

PS/ I haven't been monitoring Vivziepop closely enough all the time and maybe I don't see the whole picture, so please correct me if I'm wrong here but... I can't remember a single time this woman admitted her wrongness or apologized sincerely. Ever. I mean, if there's at least one case of Viv making amends or smth it would be nice, even if it prolly won't fix everything.

[utilitycaster]

@disastergenius re your tags about how additionally, Keyleth is permitted (somewhat misdirected) anger against the Raven Queen for 30 years for something that was ultimately far more complex/Vax's choice, but Orym isn't permitted, to be perfectly frank, 3-4 months of anger given that he didn't find out it was specifically the Vanguard who attacked until after Campaign 3 had begun - yeah! The difference is incredibly stark and it becomes obvious the issue is entirely "well I think that killing Orym's family was a justified action on the way to the Noble Pursuit of Killing the Gods, so he should obviously get over his inconvenient feeling, whereas Keyleth's feelings are debatably compatible, so I'll let that slide."

The argument for Ludinus is often that he just wants to be understood and I think it comes from a place of really worryingly failing to understand that if you kill someone's husband they won't listen, because those people are like "but my Noble Pursuit?" and can't or won't comprehend that many people (I'd even say most) might write you off entirely on the basis of your actions alone, and will not care about your thought process. I also think that Orym represents a population and a question that Bells Hells do not adequately engage with/explore throughout the narrative - it's not just that he brings up the possibility that the overall process of killing the gods could lead to immense harm to the population of Exandria and that he doesn't want to pursue something without knowing, he did lose people as collateral to this goal and doesn't want that visited upon others. And he mostly gets ignored for his attempt to think beyond himself.

The thing is, I think it is true that Ludinus wants to be understood - you could even, if you wanted to really get into the sympathetic interpretation, argue this is a function of how in the immediate aftermath of his loss there probably wasn't anyone to sit with him and help him process or even specifically grieve alongside him. But a consistency in his characterization is how throughout his entire life, he constantly pushed people away and isolated himself and thought himself better, and it's only now, when he knows his time is almost up, that he bothers to say "man I wish the people I looked down on and treated as expendable tools understood me." like idk you could have tried this 500 years earlier and maybe Molaesmyr would still stand. It's a classic villain trope, and a good one - they try to get some kind of connection with the heroes because they have no one else left to connect with - but it's a classic villain trope in that it underlines how empty this person has made their own life.

And what's interesting to me is that it's also very valid (I'd even say objectively correct) interpretation to argue Ludinus's family was also innocent collateral in the service of a goal much larger than them. I don't dispute the idea that Ludinus and Orym are parallels - in fact I think it's incredibly true! And that's the issue: Orym's response within a mere few months of knowledge and less than a decade of mourning is infinitely more mature, wise, and kinder than Ludinus's millennium-long murder tantrum, and what's more, Ludinus created him. Ludinus not only visited his exact pain on someone else (for reasons, I might add, that veer into "this was unnecessarily murderous and cruel" re the anti-resurrection poison, which literally is one of the Great Dropped Threads/Plot Holes of C3 but that's another post) but the person he harmed responded with a grace Ludinus never once possessed, and nothing stings more to a self-pitying egotist than looking into a mirror and seeing someone do better in every possible way.

[jinhsisstuff]

Not too long ago I made a post about a rape and incest gojo fic writer. Today I received this dm, you can ignore this post if you wanna read some gojo fics but I js wanna embarrass and call out some sh1theads

No, you writing or enjoying rape, non-con, etc. fics is not gonna help you "cope" it only creates more fetishism for porn-rotted freaks. If you geniunly need help, there are much better ways to cope. Your trauma becomes someone else's addiction.

No, you cannot say that "its only fiction" when you romantasize dark themes like incest. "Well people write about murder all the time!" Murder can be justified in certain situations, like killing your rapist. Rape will never be justified in any way, shape or form

No, you're not "cool" or whatever delusional thought you got in your mind for liking this kind of stuff. What would your mother or father think of you when they see you spreading shit like that? These fics only create more problems, can't you see that? People admit they have porn addiction and hit rock bottom. I'm sorry if my post sounds weird as english is not my first language

Stay safe out there yall, be sure to block and report creators who fetishizes shit like that as well as their little supporters. To the SA victims - you matter , you are loved and it was definitely not your fault no matter what anyone says. Much love 🩷

Here is a response from the author of the "Dark theme" fic writer

[ekingston]

Hi; I don't know if you're still following the word-stream stuff, but the app is back online on the app store as "booktok - books and podcasts". The reviews marking it as having AI scraped data are still on the page itself, even though the name has changed, and duckduckgo still directs to their page if you look up "word-stream audiobooks"-- although if I don't know how long that will last. The website is seemingly gone, but the app still presumably has access to all the stolen works in the database.

Best regards, -someone else whose fics were stolen

yup

word-stream is back

it just calls itself—in an obvious attempt to profit from the TikTok upheaval—BookTok, now. and it’s not just the app, either: the whole website is back online, same as it was just before Cliff Weitzman took it down.

(in case you missed it, here are the original story & the update.)

fortunately (so far) the fanfiction category hasn't been re-added, but if you go to the store page for the app you can see that it’s still using 'fan-created universes' as advertising.

Weitzman didn't register the app under his own name this time, but through something called 'Oak Prime Inc'. hilariously, however, the email address listed in BookTok's privacy policy still refers to word-stream.com, so if Cliff was trying to scrub the connection between Speechify and his BookTok app, he didn't do a very thorough job.

here's the thing (and i'm about to put this up in a separate, more easily digestible post): if you take a look at the terms & conditions of Cliff's other platform, Speechify, it claims a truly comprehensive license to use the works uploaded to that platform in any way Cliff sees fit, including publishing and monetizing it elsewhere. and i keep seeing posts on Reddit and Bluesky from both readers and writers, happily using the Speechify app to read fanfic, advanced reader copies and their own yet-to-be-published work to them.

this is a BAD IDEA. Cliff has already proven that he will take work authored by others without their permission and redistribute it wholesale if he thinks it might make him money.

Cliff is the financial beneficiary of both Speechify and word-stream/booktokapp. it seems pretty obvious to me that he's trying to claim, via Speechify's terms & conditions, that every work uploaded to Speechify is his to do with whatever he pleases, which naturally includes moving them to this other platform so he can charge people for two subscriptions instead of just the one.

thank you so much for keeping an eye on this, anon, and for reaching out!! like i said, another post will go up today about the above, but i'm going to ask you all to help ensure that my posts & my name aren't the only ones giving voice to this message. when i tried to approach people about this issue on social media, often the—completely justified!—response was 'why should I take your word for it?' and Wikipedia only allowed the mention of Weitzman's copyright infringement to remain on his page when 'The Endless Appetite for Fanfiction' was listed as a source.

it can't just be me. DON’T take my word for it. do your own research (i would love to be proven wrong about this!), talk to your friends, engage with posts on social media similar to the ones i mentioned above (those are just some examples, don’t pile on to the OPs!) and make sure people know what they're jeopardizing. help me protect authors from money-grubbing shitheads like this one.