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kyri45 · 2 months ago

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✨ShadowPeach Bio Parents Bio AU Q&A! 12/09✨

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the Shadowpeach Bio Parents AU! If you submitted your ask anonimously, then you’ll have to check the whole post if it’s answered here, if it’s not, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

@snsp6 I really hope that this won’t change MK’s view on his bio dads :( Anonimo Hello! Wanted to ask or more so I am wondering, will MK start seeing Wukong differently after finding out he literally killed Mac and even after seeing their past and how close they were, dam the trauma, anyhoo I love your art and the Shadowpeach bio parent au! Keep up the great work! >:D

Oh it will. (In a good way? a Bad? that's for me to know and for you to wait a week to know)

@hopefulbelievertimemachine Imagine if MK found someone who recently found out that they were a demon and he comforts them cuz he had a similar experience.

Oh that would be sooo wholesome!!! It's one of my fav trope when there's another character who go throught the same exact thing as another character and the two of them bond over this.

@zammy357 Hello, hope your day/night is going well. I wanted to ask since me and a friend like your bio parents blog and wanted to know if we can use it for an arc? Our blog is called @amnesia-wukong-au. We wanted to ask before we started doing it.

Hi!! Yeah sure as long you tag me and the masterpost of the shadowpeach au

Anonimo Wait what is a glamour (in context of Sun Wukong and Macaque)

A glamour is a magic spell that changes/cover your appearance. Like in the show macaque should technically have 6 ears. for animation purposi I guess they are not drawing all of them, but we say he uses a glamour also for covering his scarred eye.

@clueless-simp ha chiesto: What if PIF, BDK, Sun Wukong, and Macaque (and most definitely Mei) did a "parent trap" tactic to get MK and Red Son together? Setting things up, getting them alone together, pretending they are all busy, and the only option is for them to spend time together under the sunset XD XD XD

Oh no that would end bad. like-comically bad.

@honeylavender27 ha chiesto: Imagine red realizing mk doesn't know about court napping and just invites him over one day. Red son: so I'm sure your wondering why I invited you here.. Mk: yeah it's kinda weird you didn't want Mei to come. Is everything ok? Red: perfect actually, I'll explain everything just enter here first please. Mk: oh ok -walks into the prepared courtnapping room and gets locked in-.....uh red? Redson: consider yourself courtnapped...

Ahah poor MK. I think they would make a disastrous courtnapping that would be the equivalent of the phrase "task failed succesfully"

@artgurusauce ha chiesto: ARGGGHHHH, they're SO CUTE! I love your bioparent AU so much! Altho I am wondering: When MK turns back to normal would he retain some subconscious paternal attachment to our ol boys here? Maybe he even calls Macaque "Mom" without realizing it...

@blazerratbluefire-blog ha chiesto: Plot twist of the century for the oblivious monkey men. MK remembers ~everything~ when he was a cub! I'm not sure if that is what is planned, but! It would be really funny! Especially if he just calls Macaque 'Mama' all casual and just walks away. While Macaque EXP. has crashed and is rebooting. Gosh, that would be so cute! I absolutely love your artwork, by the way! It is so adorable!

Can't answer yet. He does NOT have memories, but he will remember ONE thing...

@daniellemarvel4 Hi, fist off I love your work and can't wait to see what you do next! I was wondering who is more protective of MK when it comes to Red Son? Whether that would be Pigsy, Wukong, Macaque, or even Tang (mabye Mei but I don't think she could stay serious long enough). Also, can we see what Sandy's doing?

mmmmmm---- I think Wukong. Freenoodle is pretty chill with the DBK family after everything that happened. Mac is also quite alright since he was always in good relationship with them. I would say Wukong would just want to be sure his kid doesn't get hurt by the fire in any way

Anonimo I've been squealing, grinning, and kicking my feet going through the Shadowpeach Bio parents AU. Baby MK has been SO CUTE and fun. I wonder if he's going to remember or be embarrassed about it. Another part of me hopes that river is still in play so Sun & Mac can fall in and suddenly MK and everyone has 2 chaotic super-powered Baby Monkeys to take care off 😭 😭 😭

Anonimo ha chiesto: I almost cried they are sooo cute. I hope that we get more sweet family content. Loving the comic thanks for making it 💕💕💕💕

Anonimo ha chiesto: I don’t want the cure to work ! Or could it be like that: MK is such a powerful being that the Dosis Pif gave them, just wasn’t strong enough. Instead it only aged MK up a bit so now he is a small kid or a teenager but not a grown ass money man again. I am not ready to leave the monkey family stuff behind 🥺

unfortunately the river has been close untile further notice. (dw this wont be the end)

@cutvdo ha chiesto: Mei bribing Red Son with baby MK pictures

@luciferapollyon ha chiesto: I hope Mei, Red Son, Macaque and Wukong all got pics before they turned MK back

Anonimo ha chiesto: DHJSJDJDH LIL BABY BEAN! I wonder if Wukong and Macaque took any pics of lil MK while he was smol baby? She would keep them and use them as blackmail. (affectionately)

Anonimo ha chiesto: Your shadowpeach bio parent au is just perfect!! Thankyou for feeding the fandom with the nectar of the gods!!! Especially the one where mac slips into the bed after wukong waits all night. Like Mac would wake up in the morning and see him fast asleep and think of Peng asking 'is there anything Wukong could do that would break his hold over you?' and just seeing him at his most vulnerable right now he's like 'no, not when he always gives me a reason to stay.'

MY HEART

@queen-of-purple-roses Wait if MK is experiencing Macaque’s memories then does that mean that Macaque can experience MK’s? Are they able to dive into each other’s minds?

So the thing is that MK is hearing the past from both POVs. Macaque by definition can hear ANYTHING so yeah he could definitely experience MKs memories. But the thing is-does he want to? I headcanon that his future-present-past hearing abilities are something he only used a couple of times, and because what he heard from them was so traumatic, he decided to NOT use them again (like wukong laser eyes)

@sillygothpartykid ha chiesto: I know everyone is asking you to make the gay monkeys kiss but I actually like how you are developing their relationship. You letting them work through their problems and feeling first giving us that sweet, sweet slow burn! Love your art btw!❤️❤️❤️

awwww ty!!!! yes pls slow burn for life.

@kraytherandomchick ha chiesto: Hey, love your ShadowPeach AU! (Started rereading it after crying from the season 5 finale hehe :'D) But there's always something that's kinda stuck in my head, if MK's no longer immortal, would Macaque or Wukong get sad at the thought of getting older and forced keep going without him?

So- *sigh* technically, we don't really know MK immortality status. it's a grey area for now. Because on one side, he's a stone monkey, who, by nature like Wukong, can perfectly age and grow like a normal monkey. On the other hand, he's technically died already, and by the time he was created by Nuwa, both his biological fathers were already immortal (Wukong bc yes, Macaque because he's a demon, and he can die from wounds and illness, but can't age)

So to answer: we don't know yet what's with him. we will see (I promise that)

@lmk4ever ha chiesto: I LOVE THE SHADOW PEACH BIO PARENT AU SO MUCH!! Mk boi is so lucky to have a artist like you and fathers like them. I want to ask, will shadowpeach ever get into a fight out of anger in front of Mk? Or did they moved on from that phase?

If they will fight it will be more of like- the 2 dads grounding MK. If they need to fight they learned that they need to go on another mountain to do it so they don't bother their child

Anonimo ha chiesto: Will we get a traffic light trio ship?

Probably not, but I'm all for dragonfruit/spicynoodle and having MK and Mei NOT dating each other at the same time.

@yuk1yun ha chiesto: If lmk season 6 isn't like your au, then I don't want to watch it

BRUH THAT'S THE NICEST THING I HEARD ALL WEEK

@conniescialla ha chiesto: HIIII!! ok scusa l'italiano ma letteralmente trovare artisti italiani ispira sempre quel momento patriottico alla YES ONE OF US MUAHHAHAH Scherzi a parte, il comic Shadowpeach bio parents Au è meraviglioso, si approva soprattutto l'hurt/comfort ;p

Tanti kudos!!<3

AAAAHHH CHE BELLO UN ALTR* ITALIAN*!!!!!

Anonimo ha chiesto: I really wanna see jelous wukong!!!!!! I dunno maybe some random demon trying to flirt with emo monkie or something and wukong is like oh hell no!! He is mine!! I think it would be so cute

he would become incredibly possessive and start hissing and growling like a tiger. NOBODY TOUCHES MY SOFT PILLOW

Anonimo ha chiesto: I think it would be so cute if Wukong would take care of sick Macaque! It would show Macaque that Wukong changed and is no longer like he was before. I wonder if Macaque got sick, would MK help or would Macaque be too stubborn to let anyone know.

I know everyone says Wukong is this great sage with incredible abilities in every field (and he is) but I would like to imagine that, since he needs to do these thing for Macaque specifically, he's so stressed over the fact he needs to do them perfectly that he fucks up lmao.

Like, he would try his best to take care of him and almost burn the kitchen in the meantime, while Macaque was only hoping the two of them could just stay more in bed cuddling each other

Anonimo ha chiesto: im just imagining Mac getting anxious becouse he cannot find baby MK and Wukong is there to calm him down

@shadowpeachera ha chiesto: Heyy I absolutely love your shadowpeach bio au, the drawings, the text its perfect! Did Mk every run off or get into trouble now that he’s a cub or even play games with Wukong and Macaque like hide and seek? That would be really cute. I can imagine them playing hide and seek while Mk discovers he can make shadow portals, meanwhile his parents are stressing and scared as they have no idea where he is.

i think both of them would freak out.

WAIT I HAVE THE PIC I HAVE THE PIC

I'VE BEEN SAVING THIS PIC SINCE 2017

@nyx-daughterofchaos98 ha chiesto: Hi! For LMK, I watched a nature documentary on Monkeys the other day and a lot of monkeys correct each others behavior by doing something called “Disciplinary Nips” or “Discipline Bites” (This isn’t a sexual ask I promise) I think it would be absolutely hilarious, if Macaque and Wukong are napping together, and for whatever reason, Wukong keeps moving around, unable to get comfortable. And in his sleep-riddled state, Macaque gets annoyed and bites him. 🤣 Like; I’M TRYING TO SLEEP! KNOCK IT OFF! 🤣🤣🤣 And when Wukong does stop moving, Macaque does actually fall asleep. Even better is if Macaque wakes up and has absolutely No Idea he bit Wukong because he was half asleep at the time. Or he thinks it was a dream and ensue the shenanigans when he realizes it wasn’t.

OMG THAT'S SO CUTE AND SILLY AAHHHH!!! EVEN BETTER: what if they do this without noticing BEFORE they are like-actually romantically back together, and someone sees the mark bites AND THEY START TO ASSUME CERTAIN THINGS BRUH.

@tabs-tabi-tabby Can Macaque help with MK’s clones? Or would that be Wukong’s area?

MK can't make the same clones macaque has. He can control a little bit his own shadow, and use that as a clone. so as long as it's his own shadow, it's more Mac area, if it's his own hair clone then it's Wukong's

@startdustmonkie ha chiesto: Does Mk and or Wukong know about Savage and Rumble? (If so how did they find out about them?) — (also: do Savage and Rumble see Mama macaque as a parent?)

@mushrum-soup ha chiesto: Hi just wanted to say I absolutely adore your shadow peach au it's literally the highlight of my week 💖I was wondering tho are rumble and savage just shadow clones in your au or similar to their Lego counterparts :O?

Yes they know about them. No they aren't his kids let's say. My own personal headcanon for the Au (or the show in general) is that they are both Macaque shadow, like- clones with a little bit of personality just like MK clones represent specific parts of his personality. He has 2 of them because he lived 2 lives, one before and one after he was brought back to life.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Just read the latest Shadowpeach bio kid comic, and i cant help but giggle a bit at how MK’s chirp woke Wukong and Macaque up lmao just the “and they snoozing- OH SHIT BABY CHIRPING WHATS WRONG-“

HE IS BABYYYY

@hellobur ha chiesto: Did you base when mk was reaching fr macaque after he was walking away because mk called him mama after this or was it a funny coincidence (mk also doe the pose but I can't find it lol)

Also I absolutely love this story and your art your work is incredible! ^^

Omg LMAO NO I DIDN’T BUT NOW IT’S 100% MORE FUNNY

@dragonaboni-blog ha chiesto: Hi! First off, I love your art and your Shadowpeach AU, it's the reason I'm reactivating my own Tumblr account lol One of my favorite tropes in this story is "A gets sick and B takes care of him" so I'm wondering… What would that trope be like in the AU? What would the monkey trio be like when they got sick? Do any of them sleep through their illness? Or are any of them extremely dramatic like "These will be my last words…"? CoughcoughWUKONGCoughcough

Aaahh I’ve seen a lot of asks asking this one but honestly I don t know If I’ll ever draw that trope. Maybe bc Wukong should technically have canonically too much knowledge about general illness to be worried about normal daily life illness. If it was something more life-threating. Maybe yes, but I still have to cook.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Counterpoint: wukong can't handle spicy foods because he has no impulse control and his monkee brain wants him to only eat fruit and peaches

Ouch. Yes that seems about accurate for him lmao

Anonimo ha chiesto: About the lmk bio au.... we have seen that MK can manipulate certain parts of his body in the 72 transformations... so..... Wukong and Macaque could technically have children.

I’ll be 100% honest I have no idea if stone monkeys are…fertile?

Anonimo Hey there! I am in love with your art. LMK is something that came into my life recently and damn I love it so much! Love your AU, and I can't wait to see more of it. Funnily, since the baby MK incident I imagine this later on becoming a somewhat spark of many funny arguments later on. What I mean is I see baby MK has a favorite parent (*cough-cough* MacCRACK *cough-cough*) [Sorry with the name joke, couldn't help myself]. XD. And I imagine Wukong be a bit jealous at times and go 'Anything you can do I can do better XD' Also see lovely Redson have a thing for MK, and then I imagine him ask his parents about advice on pursuing his crush. "So who is the lucky girl?" "Well, you already know him-" *Spits out water* "You got yourself a husband?" "What, no I haven't yet-!"

Aww I don't think MK would have a favourite but definitely there are times where he wants one parent more than the other (play time with Wukong, nap time with Mamacaque)

Anonimo ha chiesto: Yknow what they say… like father like son! In the sense that they’re all gay /j

Oh yeah absolutely it's genetic/j

@wolfasketch ha chiesto: Mac being on the sunny side and Wuwu being in the shadows

I know I'm looking into it too much but- AHHH!!!

That was unintentional but HOLY SIT U R RIGHT

Anonimo ha chiesto: Poor Red Boy never got to see baby MK! Imagine him just staring at the adorableness that is baby MK and being like 'I hope our future children look just like you OH MY GODS YOU'RE ADORABLE'. Baby MK: :3

Their child will literally be Kai from Ninjago so I guess THEY ARE RIGHT HE WILL BE

Anonimo ha chiesto: And then MK will wake up back to normal, confused, but proud that he managed to get them even closer?

100% yes

@drowning-in-webnovel-chapters ha chiesto: I can't imagine how the monkey dads are gonna try to go back to sleep after that, oof. Also Wukong definitely knows all that from when he used to help Macaque through visions, right?

Yup! He does indeed!

Anonimo ha chiesto: I’m guessing MK is getting a mini version of Macaque’s “can hear the past/present/future” thingy, did he managed to hear it accidentally or was he trying to learn more about his powers/Shadowpeach’s past ?

Yes, he was just wondering since last time that he found the sleeping cuddling with him, what exactly happened for them to rift away. Guess curiosity killed the cat

@aurabooboo ha chiesto: So. I'm rewatching season 5, right? I noticed that they almost had a yelling match with MK right in the middle. Would Wukong apologize to him for that?

These 3 have so much to talk about… i wont draw everything, but they definitely apologised offscreen.

@elianaroselight ha chiesto: It is quite telling how Wukong immediately knew what to do to help calm MK, but also, Macaque coming in with the perspective of having gone through it himself. The need for them to remain close by and wait until Mk is asleep before trying to leave. This means Mac has been through exactly what he is telling them not to do and knows the pain, sorrow and trauma that comes from feeling abandoned like this. They may be facing their past hurting their own kid through proxy and try to help him fight against the trauma. Luckily they have good people to help when they themselves can't. *looks at Freenoodles*

Yup! Their response is exactly related to what they do to calm the other!

@thenerdycupcake ha chiesto: So, does MK’s gold vision combine with his hearing sometimes so that he sees some of what he’s hearing from the past?

Oooohhh i guess he does! So he can literally see and hear the past!

@frogsfandoms ha chiesto: Omg why can I see after MK wakes up he thinks that it isn’t the past he’s hearing and that it actually just happened. Rushing to see if Wukong and Macaque are hurt and or trying to stop them from fighting 😭😭😭

Oohhh our baby still doesn’t want to believe it actually happened :(

Anonimo ha chiesto: Adult MK: OH MY GOD A SPIDER *desperate scared monkey noises* Baby MK: what's this? A 5 starts meal? *Tries to chomp said spider* He's gonna be sooo disgusted when someone tells him he tried to eat one fkdkdlfmfl

Oh poor MK. He’ll be teased about this for the rest of his days.

@sailera ha chiesto: Hello I have question about you Shadowpeach bio dads au- How would Pigsy react that his only employee turned to a baby? And hadn’t answered his phone in few days? Also love your art!! And your ISAT comic got me again interested in playing Sky ✨

Mk only became a baby for like- 20 hours. Mei told him that he stayed at FFM because he was ‘tired after training’. As of now Pigsy didn!t found out

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That's all for this week! Thank you a lot for all the asks!

#shadowpeach bio parents au #ask box #kyri45

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okiedokrie · 4 months ago

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Meet Me In Amsterdam

Summary: "Minghao finds himself under a mentorship program from one of the most brilliant artist in the contemporary circle, where he meets Y/N and bond with their journey through art, overcoming traumas, and hopeless romanticism of the life and love around them. But all things come to an end at some point, the mentorship program ends, and they both go back to their lives. But they do meet again to finish what they started; 'if there is a next time, meet me in Amsterdam.'"

Characters/Pairing: Artist!Minghao x Artist!Fem!Reader

Genre: smut, some angst, fluff

AU/Trope Info: Non-idol AU!, idiots to lovers

Word Count: 10.8k

Warnings: Religious themes, implication of past sexual assault, homophobia mention, some cursing, food mentions, smut warnings under the cut

Rating: 18+

A/N: this is for the @svthub 2024 world tour collab! Thanks to @whipped-for-kpop-fics and @hobeemin for beta-reading!

Smut Warnings: oral (f receiving), sex in a church, unprotected sex, implied creampie

The air in Minghao's studio is dizzying. A broken exhaust and paint fumes don't really mix, and his open windows could only do so much. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Touching grass may solve his problem, but he doesn't feel like dealing with the morning dew on the grass.

He quickly closed his windows before packing all his belongings in his commuting bag, opting to rush to a recent exhibit that opened. Minghao knew very little about the artist, but a change of scenery might help quell his throbbing headache.

Minghao took this opportunity to space out during the commute to the gallery, popping on his headphones and trying to ignore the touchy couples in the train car with him. He wonders what it'll feel like to find his person like them; Minghao only craves the warmth of another's arms.

He wonders what it'll feel like to fall for someone, to be comfortable with vulnerability and the trusting bond between two lovers. Ever the hopeless romantic, he'd love to love and be loved.

He snapped out of his thoughts when the intercom buzzed to life, announcing the arrival at Minghao’s stop. Adjusting the strap of his messenger bag, he pushed his way through the busy crowd to head out of the station. The walk to the gallery was calm and relatively quiet. This part of the city mostly had walking paths rather than roads, so it was really only bustling with people and the occasional bicycle.

Arriving at the gallery, the pieces were gorgeous, as expected. This artist was well known in the contemporary circle, so it's no surprise that the gallery is almost busier than the outside. Minghao felt drawn to one piece in particular, the warm tones, swirling and melting into one another, blending into a flame-like flow; it was stationary yet moving.

He hears a chuckle behind him, only to see an older man, about mid-forties, smiling at him. “I see you enjoy this piece; you have great taste. What's your name, boy?”

Minghao is a little flustered, but he introduces himself nonetheless. The man before him introduced himself as the artist and noticed Minghao's paint-stained hands before asking if he was an artist himself. Minghao confirmed the older man’s speculations, offering to show some of his work as photos on his phone. The older man was impressed by Minghao’s talent and potential, and he then mentioned that he had an apprenticeship program open, but it was in Amsterdam.

Minghao agreed a little too enthusiastically, seeing as this man quite literally defined an era of art in a way nobody else has.

It was only a few weeks after that interaction, but Minghao found himself on a flight to Amsterdam.

Taking in the city's air, Minghao feels a sense of dread washing over him, and the hustle and bustle of a new city scares him a bit. Being alone in a foreign land wasn't why his nerves were all over the place; no, it was the fact that he felt this opportunity wasn't meant to be his.

Sure, his mentor got the opportunity to see his work before he accepted the offer, but still, he feels this mentorship program would've been more suited to someone more fitting.

Nonetheless, Minghao is here now. And he swears he'll make the most of the time he spends here.

Taking one of the many old trains out of the airport, the rumbling train rails helped ground him a little; the sound was new and familiar at the same time. He thought back to his small studio back home, wondering how well it'd hold up in the year he'd be gone.

Minghao is snapped out of his daydreams when the train arrives at his station. He lugs his luggage to what will be his living quarters for the rest of his time here. Wiping his palms over his sweats, he finally takes the time to haul his bags over the stairs to the small apartment that was provided to him. His mentor mentioned that he has a roommate, another artist in the program, so he doesn't let his stuff get too comfortable in the main room.

Instead, he randomly picks one of the rooms, hoping his roommate doesn't mind. If they did, it's not as if he's opposed to switching.

He hums a simple melody while setting his bags to the side, still catching up to the jetlag and too tired to put anything away. He inspects the room, noting that it is a little dusty. He has to settle his sheets and wipe everything down before he can get too comfortable.

He thinks that heading out for brunch is a good idea, guessing that his roommate would most likely want to get situated in peace. He gets his wallet and phone and heads out to find somewhere to eat.

The streets weren't too busy. It was midday and the middle of the week, and most likely, people were still at their jobs. Still, they were full of people to the point that Minghao felt the pressure of needing to always be on the move. He constantly tried to go with the flow of the crowds while trying to find an establishment he could eat at, preferably something to quell his growing homesickness.

He stumbles across what seems to be a small business with very familiar-looking signs. Bingo! It's a Chinese restaurant! He thanks whatever force managed to lead him here before he enters the restaurant. The distinct smell of the classic spice mix calms his nerves, and his posture relaxes significantly.

The man at the counter doesn't look up from his paper, pointing at a booth near the back where Minghao could set his stuff before ordering. The curt behavior of the man doesn't phase him; in fact, it comforts him. He sets his bag down before standing at the counter, reading over the signs that were both in Mandarin and English. He starts ordering his food in Mandarin, finally getting the man at the counter to notice him. He nods in understanding, taking his order diligently before yelling his order at the cook at the back.

He pays, nods at the man again, and gets situated at his table. Getting comfortable with the smell of the food cooking and the chatter of the people around him. He fiddles with his phone a little, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram to see what his friends are up to. Mingyu got another modeling gig, Jungkook with his new single, and Dokyeom got to play Orpheus in Hadestown.

Soon enough, he doesn't realize how much time has passed, only noticing that his food was ready when the waitress hurriedly slides his food onto the table and takes his table number. Mumbling thanks, which he believes she ignores, Minghao starts to eat his food.

This is so good, actually; I need to post this to my story.

Minghao took a picture of his food. The digital camera shutter almost distracted him from the sound of someone bumping into the table next to him.

“Oh! Sorry, sorry!” A feminine voice said, frantically apologizing to the patron at said table, holding her hip. She desperately tried to wipe up anything that was spilled, apologizing profusely. Minghao got up from his table and offered to help her, wiping up the mess with her like the gentleman he was. Once the table was free from any spills, she apologized again to the person at the table and Minghao for troubling him.

“It’s fine; accidents happen all the time. Just be more mindful next time.” He says calmly, returning to his booth before a smaller hand grabs his arm.

“Uh, I can't find a place to sit. Would you mind sharing a table with me?” she asked shyly but politely. Minghao shakes his head no. Offering her a polite smile as they walk back to their now shared table, she leaves her items in his care before going to order her food.

Minghao finally gets to enjoy the food he ordered. The decadent aroma was mouth-watering, and most importantly, it reminded him of home. It helps warm him up, literally and figuratively. He chews slowly, savoring the flavors of his food as usual. He'd always been a slow eater, slow enough for the lady he shares a table with to get her food and finish eating with him.

They both get up from their table with a curt nod of acknowledgment. Thinking this would be the last time they'd ever interact, Minghao didn't bother introducing himself. And neither does she.

Yet, Minghao can't seem to shake the feeling of disappointment once he leaves her.

Minghao finally arrives at his apartment, ready to settle down after a long day of exploring the city and taking photos of places that inspire him. He closes the door, running a hand through his hair to look around the living room.

He nearly dropped his camera when he saw the girl from the restaurant staring back at him, and he almost dropped the tray of paints from the shock.

“What are you doing here?!” She asked, surprised and on alert. Minghao could only guess what emotions she was going through at that moment. A random man she met once is suddenly in her apartment. Oh dear.

Minghao starts to feel panic settle into him, too. Both of them look like deer in headlights, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Oh- uh- fuck, I live here!” Minghao says frantically, holding both his hands up in a show of innocence, showing his copy of the keys to their apartment.

Her posture immediately relaxed a little, “Oh uh, so, you're my roommate? I'm Y/n, by the way.” She says, still a little weary of him. He doesn't blame her; he did come in unannounced.

“It's nice to meet you again, I mean. I'm Minghao. Let's try to get along for this mentorship program, yeah?” He says, scratching the back of his head. “I'm gonna go head to bed; I'm exhausted from all the traveling, so uh, yeah.”

Minghao hoped his exit wasn't too awkward. Maybe it was, but he was too tired to deal with the intricacies of small talk. He changed his sheets quickly, throwing the old sheets into the wash before doing his nightly routine. He crashed into his new, cool sheets and drifted off into dreamland.

It was the next morning, and the warmth of the sunlight was seeping in through the cracks between the curtains. He blinks away the sleep from his eyes, rubbing his face into his palms. He sits up and shakes his head to fight off the rest of his fatigue. He was always a morning person, but the jetlag is making it a bit too difficult for him to uphold that.

His morning routine was simple: shower, get dressed, make-up and hair, breakfast, and out. He rarely breaks from this simple pattern, which consistently makes life easier for him. So it came as a surprise to him that he didn't have to make breakfast this time since his roommate kindly left a portion for him.

He thinks this is such a nice gesture to leave for the guy who scared her half to death yesterday. Maybe this was a sort of peace offering to make getting along easier? Either way, he won't complain—it's just another thing to make his life a little easier.

His roommate is nowhere to be seen, most likely already on his way to the studio to meet their mentor. So Minghao also leaves the apartment, making sure to lock the door on his way out. He pops his headphones on, listening to his favorite commute playlist with a lightness in his step, his messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

The train ride to the studio was calm; the morning train was much less busy than the afternoon one he took when he arrived, so he got the opportunity to sit down and enjoy the book he recently got. It was a story about two soulmates finding each other in the middle of a city that was new to both of them; he thinks that maybe he's starting to lean into the hopeless romantic stereotype that his friends would always compare him to, which, he could never beat the allegations.

His mind drifts to his art, and he describes how the romanticization of life became a heavy inspiration for his work. Minghao loves the strokes of color on the canvas as much as he loves life, and his passion for existence weaves itself between the fibers of his canvas.

After being snapped out of his daydreams by the conductor, he feels a sense of deja vu; he finds himself in his head constantly these days. He is always such a dreamer.

The doors of the train open with a mechanical hiss, old rails squeaking under the friction. He thinks the train still needs to go through the desperately needed maintenance. Same train, same. He thought to himself, stuffing his book back into his back with a huff.

Minghao takes in the scenery around him; this part of the city is much less busy than where his apartment was, so he could finally appreciate the city's beauty without the pressure of constantly having to be on the move.

His mentor's building comes into view. It is an older building; the exterior has long since been weathered, but history still makes it gorgeous. He noticed that buildings, most of them having yet to be touched since they were first built, added a charm to an otherwise monotonous city.

He pushes in the door, noting that his only option for getting to the studio is a set of ancient, creaky wooden steps. Minghao is lightheaded from looking at the flight of stairs, so he doesn't bother counting how many floors he has to climb just to get to his mentor.

I have to climb this every day. I don't need to bother with leg day here. He thought to himself, already making the long trek up the stairs.

It wasn’t that long—about 5 minutes of walking time—but it felt like an eternity to him. Walking was no issue; walking upstairs? Torture. The first treadmill was a step design, so it may not be an exaggeration.

Minghao finally reaches the top of the stairwell, pausing to catch his breath in an attempt to look presentable to his mentor and possibly his roommate. He stands by the door for a while, mentally preparing himself for the first day of the program. He arrives earlier than the agreed-upon time, so he's not in a rush to make his presence known.

He takes his water bottle out of his bag, puts cool water in it, and helps his poor self finally calm down from his mini workout. He curses whoever designed this stairwell. A five-story building should have an elevator, and arguing that it doesn't need one feels like a hate crime.

He stops himself before arguing with fictitious architects, who are probably long gone, about how old the building looks. Anyway, he finally has a hand on the doorknob to the studio; taking a deep breath one last time, he twists the knob and pushes the door open, the old wood creaking in protest from the force of him opening it. He cringes internally, the squeak passing straight through his skull, making him want to grind his teeth in annoyance.

Still, he doesn’t show his disdain for this geriatric building on his face since his mentor and roommate both whip their heads around to see him at the doorway. Suddenly, having two sets of eyes on you doesn't help the nerves.

He offers a polite smile, successfully fighting his grimace with a more pleasant expression. Both his mentor and roommate smile back. He noticed his mentor was a lot more relaxed than when he first met him, which makes sense. He is where he's most comfortable—in his very own studio.

Minghao feels the same about his tiny studio back home. He steps further into the bright studio, closing the door behind him. The studio's top floor and many large windows bring loads of natural light, making it feel more comfortable and inviting. Couple that with the fact that it's in a relatively quiet part of the city, and he feels as if his mentor really put thought into every detail of his permanent studio.

Minghao wonders when he will be able to get the studio of his dreams in his art career, but for now, he admires the studio. His mentor greets him and urges him to explore and get acquainted with the space. Since he'll be spending most of his time here in Amsterdam. Minghao nods, dropping his bag on the cubbies near the door and carefully walking around the studio, avoiding the items and canvases scattered around the floor. His mentor seemed to have an organized chaos mindset, seemingly not bothered by the mess or the health hazard tripping on any of these might cause.

He finds it amusing how much of his mentor he finds out about just from looking around his workspace. He has a husband, married young, it seems. He has twin girls, who he can only assume are grown now. He used to have a dog, a poodle named ‘Cloud’ despite being a black poodle. He made prints of older paintings before sending them off to an auction for fundraisers. He remembers those fundraisers very fondly, it seems.

Minghao also finds the bathroom and takes note of its location for future use; he’s definitely going to use that. He joins his mentor and roommate by the window, then takes the time to drink their morning coffee and watch the birds. His mentor offers him coffee, but Minghao asks if he has tea. His mentor confirms that he does and points toward his pantry, which is just a wooden cubby that he appropriated to be a pantry after he got tired of getting his snacks off the floor, sighting back pains.

Minghao calmly prepares his tea, passively listening to the conversation between his mentor and roommate. They seem to get along well. Maybe his mentor has some fondness for her because she reminds him of his daughters. He could only guess, though.

Minghao finishes making his tea and finally joins them by the window. “Are you guys birdwatching?” he asks, joining in the conversation.

“Yes! Mr. Jones was talking about how his youngest loved visiting his studio just to view the birds.” His roommate answers, his mentor confirming it. Though he does mention that she doesn’t visit as often—after all, she has a family of her own now—when she visits, she brings his grandchildren with her, which makes the old man happy.

He adopted his twin girls pretty early in life, seeing them as inspiration for most of his work. The way his mentor talks about his family and life with so much pride makes Minghao think about his future. He wonders if he’ll ever be as proud of his life as his mentor is, but considering he’ll be learning everything this man can offer, he’s pretty confident about that, at least.

After finishing their morning drinks, his mentor started his first assignment for them, one of many he’d assign throughout the program. His mentor was a patient and calm man. His instruction and tips for injecting emotion into your piece were very cohesive; it was almost like he got it down to a science. His enthusiasm and passion for his work were truly remarkable, and getting to witness it and learn from him felt surreal.

Minghao feels proud of having the opportunity to have him as a mentor. At the end of the day, instead of feeling exhausted, he's excited to learn more from him tomorrow.

You and Minghao are heading home together after a long day with your mentor, walking silently through the streets; you think that maybe he just doesn't like you, seeing how he practically jumps at every accidental graze of your hands with each other.

You don't really blame him either; your first impression wasn't exactly the greatest, seeing as someone cussed you out in the middle of a Chinese restaurant. That impression was a strong one, but unfortunately, not a good one.

Minghao and you shuffle into the same train car, getting pressed together as a consequence of rush hour. You try not to think about what your roommate, who is basically still a stranger to you, feels like. He's warm, and you can definitely feel that he is in shape. You definitely try not to think about how tall he is or how handsome he is.

He's so polite, too, and very gentlemanly. He's always conscious of his movement and language around you, protecting you from being squeezed in this tiny train car without him even noticing. It was basically second nature to him.

Oh, you're never going to survive with this man for a year; you're definitely not going to stay sane with him living with you. Your mind starts reeling, cursing whatever deity thought it was funny to send over a walking wet dream of a roommate to your sex-deprived self.

You'd hope Minghao doesn't notice how you fought for your life, trying to have decent thoughts. You felt extremely guilty for thinking of him as such, he's just minding his business, and you're acting like some horny teenager. You hope you don't offend him with how much you flinch in every interaction with him.

The last thing you'd want is for him to think he was the problem.

Luckily for you, Minghao always seemed to be in his head most of the time, mindlessly picking at the stitching of his shirt and spacing out, it seems. At least you don't have to worry about him secretly being a mind-reader. The chances are low, but they're never zero.

You also take this as an opportunity to start spacing out, looking out the window to watch the buildings and trees pass by quickly, enjoying the golden glow of the setting sun over the city. This scene makes you feel bittersweet, as if another day has passed.

You wanted nothing more than to crash in your bed and sleep until the next morning, but for now, in the middle of this train car, you had to be vigilant of your surroundings. Not just because you're a newbie to this place but because you absolutely cannot get so distracted that you start to lean into your roommate like some deranged weirdo subconsciously.

The train conductor announcing your stop seemed to snap both you and Minghao out of your daydreams. “Could I hold onto you? I don't wanna get swept up in this crowd,” you asked politely, unable to meet his eyes.

“Uh, sure, hold on.” He said, adjusting his messenger bag so it doesn't block your reach of his arm.

Minghao navigates the flowing crowd with a form of familiarity. It surprised you how well he managed to adjust to the movement of such a busy city. Then again, he could have already come from a much busier city than Amsterdam. Still, you need to learn more about him to make assumptions.

Minghao weaves the two of you through the crowds and out of the station, successfully reaching fresh air once you make it to a calmer sidewalk that was already near your apartment. You wanted to ask him so many questions. You realistically had a little over a year to do so, yet you know how quickly a year actually goes by, so you wanted to work quickly, but not too quickly, that you scare the poor man away.

Arriving at your apartment, Minghao fishes his keys out of his pocket to unlock the door, opens it, and gestures for you to enter first. You say a small ‘thank you’ before entering, taking your shoes off at the entrance and hanging up your coat.

Minghao follows you after you hear the door click behind you. The shuffling of his items as they are hung indicates that he is settling down for the day.

“Hey, Minghao?” You start, wanting to lead a conversation to eliminate the awkwardness between you and your roommate; he hums, fully turning his body to you as if to signal that he is listening. “I just wanted to know what you thought of Mr. Jones. You know, not as a mentor, but as a person.” You asked, thinking it was a safe place to start getting to know him.

He thinks about it momentarily, “I can't say right now; I've only ever known him as a leading force in the contemporary circle, but other than that? Not much. Judging from his relationship with his daughters, he seems like a good father and good husband, as he still spoke about his husband fondly and was pleasant to be around. But other than that, I don't know.” He shrugged, “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I don't know,” You answer truthfully, “I like him a lot; he reminds me of my dad somewhat, you know, except maybe less of a religious nut.” You joke, gauging to see Minghao's reaction to it; luckily for you, Minghao finds it funny. Offering a restrained pfft- at your quip.

“Yeah, I get that; my dad was the same too. But I like him a lot less than Mr. Jones.” He said through laughter, running his hands through his hair. “I'll go take a shower; see you around, Y/n.”

And with that, he disappears into his en-suite.

You celebrate the tiny progress you made with your roommate, and you get to exchange words with him that aren't just common pleasantries. This motivates you to fan the spark of this new friendship, and maybe more, if you play your cards right.

It's too early to say you liked him, but he is objectively very attractive. So you can't really blame yourself for ogling at him. Respectfully, of course.

You also prepare for your night routine, opting to go through your entire skincare routine for the first time in forever after showering. You put on your best pajamas and tuck yourself into bed, dreaming of the day your hot roommate sees you how you want him to.

Kidding, not really.

Minghao has yet to learn what he's doing.

He'd been staring blankly at his canvas for what seemed like a solid 20 minutes, these inner thoughts fighting for dominance and splattering their metaphorical blood all over the pristine canvas.

He wanted to paint something so badly, but alas, getting struck with a severe art block on the second day of his mentorship felt like a sick joke from fate. His mentor watches over their shoulders, monitoring their progress. He seemed to notice Minghao's growing frustration from being stuck, “I think you should take a break, son. You should enjoy some tea by the window and clear your mind to make room for new ideas.” he said gently with a hand on Minghao’s shoulder.

Minghao agrees with him, finally setting his brush down to make his tea as usual before getting comfortable on one of the chairs by the window. He watches the trees sway in the wind, the birds playing on a random rooftop, and the clouds drifting slowly. All of these help calm his racing mind, which is preoccupied with so many things to think about that he doesn't have room to think about new ideas.

Minghao has a nasty habit of overthinking and holding onto ideas that no longer serve him a purpose. He thinks back to the first time he did this, the day he decided to become an artist. He's always known that he wanted to be an artist. He was eight at the time, telling his parents about his dreams for the future.

Unfortunately, they disapproved of such plans. The first thought Minghao ever held onto was, “You need to aspire to get a real job, not just some useless skill that will leave you with no money.”

The second thought Minghao held onto happened at around the age of 17, just before graduating high school. He decided not to go to college, seeing that he still held out hope that he could become a great artist one day. He wanted to prioritize honing his skills, and his parents, once again, didn't approve of that.

That was the first time he ever felt fear from his parents. Before, he was only met with stern lecturing and maybe being grounded, but he never saw his dad that angry before or ever since. Since that day, Minghao has held onto the following: “If you're going to choose to throw your life away, then so be it. Just don't come crawling back here when you end up on the streets!”

Minghao doesn't want to recall the last thought he held onto; the memory is still fresh and feels like a weapon being used against him. He wished it didn't turn out that way, but it did. And there's nothing he could do to change the facts.

Minghao savors the flavors of his tea before finally trying his best to get rid of all those thoughts he holds onto. He's far away from his parents, far away from the people who could hurt him, and far away from the past.

He finally stops overthinking as soon as he sets his cup down, wiping off his palms on his pants before joining his roommate and mentor again. His head was finally free of any troubles he might've had. But he knows he's never truly free, only temporarily setting it aside to focus on his current goals.

He feels a sense of pride while he is painting this time. Strokes of vibrant color dance across the weaving of the canvas, and his brush glides smoothly and freely across it, finding a path of its own, making its mark like it was always meant to do.

In a way, it was freeing to paint without the pressure of making it look ‘good’, Minghao only had to focus on laying a color down the way it wanted to lay, and this show of emotion sparked a flame of determination in Minghao that he thought he lost so long ago.

Minghao finally sees the colors for what they are again, and in a way, he starts falling in love with creating again. His joy is evident on his face, and the controlled strokes slowly turn into free ones with every passing moment.

He looks away from his canvas once to look at you, and he smiles the biggest smile you've ever seen on him. And you realize his smile is contagious, absolutely stunning in a way you've never felt before.

That smile was detrimental to your poor little heart, your small crush on him only worsening. You think it's a bit unfair that the universe had to dangle such a gorgeous specimen in front of you. You didn't even have an idea if he was single or not. He could have a wife and kids back home and you'd be none the wiser.

Still, you enjoy his company while you can. After all, it's not like you applied for this mentorship just to mingle. You were here to learn under a great artist, and to gain the experiences necessary to advance your career and skill.

Having a hot roommate is a nice touch, though.

“Hey Minghao?” You ask from the living room, looking up from your book to look at him in your tiny kitchen.

“Yeah?” He replied, not looking up from the stove. It was the weekend, and Minghao offered to make dinner as you’ve been making breakfast for the past few days.

“Are you in a relationship? If you don’t mind me asking.” You asked, the question has been bugging you for a while now, ever since you realized your tiny crush. You’d feel incredibly guilty if he was in a relationship and you tried shooting your shot with him.

“No. But why do you ask?” He said simply, focusing more of his attention to not burning the food. Stir-frying the noodles with familiarity.

“Nothing, I just thought about it.” You paused, “We’re friends, right?” You finished with a question, thinking that maybe your line of questioning might be too much for someone who doesn’t even consider you more than a roommate.

“Of course. I like your company, I don’t have a reason to try and alienate you.” He said, now with more focus on you as he turned the fire of the stove down. Plating your food in one of the plates your apartment came with.

“Cool. We’re cool.” You said a little awkwardly, thinking that maybe your questioning was a bit too on the nose. Even if he wasn’t a mind-reader, he’ll surely be able to tell that you’re interested in him just from your weird line of questioning in recent days. Surely Minghao isn’t dense.

Minghao called you over to your dining room table, saying that dinner was already served. You rise from your comfortable position on the couch, making your way over to the tiny table in the space between the living room and kitchen.

“I hope you like the food, it's something I always used to make in college. It was one of the few luxuries I could afford, but it’s still very delicious,” he said, serving you a portion before taking some for himself.

“Thank you for making dinner. This looks amazing, I’m honored to try it.” You said, taking in the sight of the food that Minghao made with care. Minghao feels a sense of pride from your praise, sure, he’s not the best cook, but he’s definitely proud of the progress he made in recent years.

Cooking was one of the first skills Minghao had to learn when he got kicked out of his parents’ place. Having focused all his energy on studying before, he only really had the time to learn how to take care of himself once he was on his own.

Watching you eat his food enthusiastically made Minghao unexpectedly happy. Sharing something he was proud of is often how he tries to get close to people, the little piece of vulnerability made him feel closer to them, like offering a piece of himself to them.

To you, this may have felt like a simple dinner, a meal between two friends in the comfort of their own home. But to Minghao, this was him accepting you into his space. Finally being comfortable enough to associate you to a dish he holds almost sacred.

The days easily turned into weeks, weeks into months, and before you knew it, it's already six months into your mentorship program. The days began to blur into each other, the most interesting thing that happened in the six months was your budding relationship with your roommate, whom you found out to be as much of a hopeless romantic as you are.

Your weekdays were spent at the studio, diligently working under your mentor and improving your art. While your weekdays were spent unwinding and spending time with your new friend. Minghao's taste in movies doesn't differ much from yours, opting to watch romantic movies with happy endings.

It was during one of these movie nights that Minghao asked you a question, “Do you believe in true love? ‘The one’, so to speak. Someone that is a perfect fit for you as you are to them.”

You think about this question for a bit, “Yeah, I do. It's a little silly to ask for perfection, but if someone is perfect to you, I think that's pretty plausible. Though, I do think true love is more of a choice than just aimlessly searching for them, you know?” You answered carefully, eyes still glued to the tv screen.

“I see,” Minghao started, “do you have an idea what your ‘one’ might be like?” He asked, this time a little more determined to get a more pointed answer from you.

“Not necessarily, but I already have a feeling that I know them already.” You said, relaxing and leaning back onto the couch, “Or, at least I hope I do. And I hope they see me like that too.” You sighed, wishful thinking taking over you again.

Over time, your little crush on Minghao had grown into a genuine romantic interest, especially since learning that he was single a few weeks ago, you started to see him in a different light. Almost as if the confirmation of his availability gave your subconscious the green light to start thirsting over him like a horny teenager.

It also didn’t help that he got comfortable enough to walk around the house shirtless, or worse, with just a towel loosely around his hips, sitting low as he’s fresh out of the shower. This put you in a loop, almost all thoughts being occupied by him in a sick and twisted way.

Some days, you convince yourself that Minghao does this on purpose, trying to kill you in the reflection of the light from his sweet, wet abs.

“Y/n?” He said, breathless. With a whiny tone in his naturally airy voice.

“Hao? You’re back from your run?” You ask from the kitchen. Trying not to think about how delicious his voice sounded.

“Yeah, I picked up some bread on the way back. Thought it’s go well with the soup you’re making.” He replied as he placed a paper bag of fresh bread on the counter. You turn away from the stove to check out the selection he brought back.

“Hm, you got good taste. I didn’t expect any less.” You say with a proud smile, Minghao’s chest fills with a sense of pride as well. It was always validating to hear from someone else that they trusted your judgment.

The two of you had the day off today, your mentor visiting his daughters somewhere on the other side of the country. Giving the two of you free reign to settle chores that you haven’t been keeping up with.

Minghao offers to help you set the table, but you tell him to take a shower first. Letting that sweat dry on him might make him sick. Or worse, sticky.

He laughs that off, “Oh please, I think you’d want that.” He said suggestively.

That was a new development too. Minghao is getting bolder with his jokes. His jokes were always tasteful, never trying to push your boundaries. But sometimes you wish he did, just so you’d have the excuse to tell him how much you wanted him.

But for now, with Minghao not showing any interest in acting upon his suggestive jokes, you swallow down the urge to jump his bones. For now, at least.

Your mentor returned from his family visit the next day, with an assignment for both of you.

Sitting in the studio as usual, your mentor explains what your assignment entails, and how it’ll most likely span the rest of your time here in Amsterdam. He took it upon himself to assign it as a final project for the two of you, finishing this would finish their apprenticeship.

“A local cathedral reached out to me looking for my services. They wanted a mural painted for the interior because it started to look a little too clean after renovations. I think this would be a good opportunity for the two of you to show me what you’ve learned. I give you half a year to finish it, and then, you’ll be done with your mentorship.” He said, voice wispy like a proud father recalling the time when his children were just small, not looking at them, all grown up, he can’t help but tear up.

You and Minghao look at each other, unable to fathom this amazing opportunity that has presented itself to you. You and Minghao eagerly accept the offer, excitedly heading out to check out the said church so you two can plan out what to do for the mural.

The people attending the church are already briefed on the situation, happily showing you around their shiny new church, happy to find new artists to commission for this project. You and Minghao take photos of the interior, wanting to plan around the implements and fixtures, to give everything a cohesive look.

You and Minghao do this for hours walking around the city to look for inspiration along the way, taking in all the sights you didn’t have the chance to take in before. The city was filled with inspiration, ideas flowed out the both of you like a river, and it was so easy to find passion for this project. With a giant canvas and free reign to paint whatever, you and Minghao felt like kids at a candy store.

But suddenly, the sky started to grumble, clouds darkening in a tell-tale way. You hadn’t anticipated the rain, so you both scramble to find shelter as the rain starts to pour. Taking shelter under the awning of an abandoned shop, you both watch as the rain pools and puddles around you. You turn to Minghao, he was a little damp but relatively dry, water dripping from his hair, soaking into his clothes. His mouth was slightly parted from panting, the unexpected run knocked the wind out of both of you.

At that moment, Minghao looked delectable.

“Hao?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I kiss you?”

He only smiles at your question, leaning down to softly press his lips to yours. He had an arm around your waist to pull you closer to him, pressing his body to yours. You can feel the warmth of his skin radiating under his clothes, warming you up from the chill of the rain.

You felt a little light-headed, not just from the lack of air, but because you didn’t expect a random blurt of your desire would lead to Minghao kissing you breathlessly. Not that you’re complaining, not at all, in fact, this made you want him more, softly moaning against his lips before pulling away, remembering that you’re in public.

“Oh, wow, um.” You start, heads still spinning from the dizzying kiss Minghao had pulled you into.

He just laughed his signature laugh, joy coursing through his veins. How could he not be happy? An amazing opportunity to advance his career, getting to spend the day in the city with someone he cares deeply for, and getting to kiss her in the rain? Oh, he’s weak in the knees.

This day was perfect, you were perfect. Minghao couldn’t ask for anything more.

You and Minghao started the mural for the cathedral, buzzing with excitement for your first big project, as well as your budding romantic relationship with him. The two of you work on opposite ends of the mural, working to meet each other halfway, and taking the time to get the details down before moving on to the next section.

In a way, this was reminiscent of how you and Minghao are taking the steps to make this relationship work. Though unlikely that you’d meet like this, you still did, and you’d like to believe it was fate. Both of you agreed not to put a label on it just yet, just enjoying each other's company, and exploring the possibilities of this new romance.

You sneak glances at him every so often, his face scrunched in concentration, focusing on perfecting the sections of the mural he assigned himself to. And sometimes, when he looks back at you, his face instantly relaxes and glows. You love how expressive his face is, almost as if you could tell what he was thinking about at any point. It comforts you how open he is, knowing that he looks at you with genuine affection and adoration. It's fun, it's freeing to feel this way about someone who feels just as strongly.

The two of you worked on the mural until lunch when the two of you decided to take a short break, “Maybe I’ll take this opportunity to take you out on a proper date.” He said cheekily, offering his arm for you to hold.

“Oh, that’d be great. We keep passing by this one restaurant that I’ve been dying to try.” It was an open-concept place, clean and modern but it didn't give off “steak dinner” vibes, it just seemed like a nice sit-down place to have lunch or brunch, if you’re of the local housewife type.

Asking the waitress at the front for a table for two, the two of you were promptly seated at a table facing the street, offering the both of you the menu. Apparently, the menu changes seasonally, this time they offered a variety of vegan dishes, which intrigued you. You never realized vegetables could be cooked in so many different ways.

Your food was served, and the conversation between you and Minghao flowed like free orange juice refills. You both enjoy your lunch, more than you usually do, you don’t know if the food was actually good, or if the company just made it better, but either way, you don’t think you could enjoy a meal without Minghao anymore.

He’s just so charming, kind, and funny. So, so funny. The tables around you started to look at you two funny for all the giggles coming from your table specifically. The restaurant being open-air doesn’t even help to dampen the sounds of your joy, even the hustle and bustle of the street fade to the background with him. It’s just you, and Minghao, and the delicious veggies the two of you decided to have for lunch.

Lunch was over before you realized it. Minghao flags down the waitress, asking for the bill and paying for it himself, much to your protests. Yet, those fall on deaf ears as he winks at you. Offering his arm for you to take again before walking back to the cathedral to continue working on your mural.

The two of you continue to act like love-struck fools, much to the church staff’s chagrin, but it's not like either of you cared, you enjoy his company, and you, his. You haven’t brought up the kiss from before, but you wanted to, mainly to ask him for another one.

Minghao really wasn’t the type for much skinship, but it’s not as if he’s opposed to it. If you asked, he’d comply. He’s willing to do many things for you, or with you. Minghao thinks it’s too early to call it love, definitely, but it’s really really close to it.

He adores you to no end, no words could describe how much you became an important part of his life in just a few short months. And getting to work with you on this? He almost couldn’t believe it.

Growing up, he always thought love like this only happened in movies or books. But he’s living it right now. He’s living in Europe, doing what he loves the most, and finding an unexpected light in his life. Maybe life does have things worth worrying about.

Still, ever present in Minghao’s thoughts, is the sinking feeling of anxiety. It’s ugly, rearing its head whenever it can. The last time he felt this strongly about something, it nearly broke him. Minghap always felt too hard, nothing is ever ‘just’ happy or ‘just’ sad for him. His loyalty and devotion is both a blessing and a curse.

And yet, he still believes in love.

He’s a hopeless romantic, even if it’s scary, even if it’ll hurt, he still holds onto hope that he could get away with it. Making a religion of your lips, worshiping the false god that is your adoration for each other.

It’s ironic to think like that in the middle of a cathedral he thinks, yet, he’s not guilty, not after what the church has done to him, to his once level-headed father.

It was another day of working on the mural, this time, you and Minghao worked until the late hours of the night, until all the church staff bid both of you goodnight, leaving you two to work in the dim light of the chandelier.

“Hey, have I ever told you that this is the first time I went inside a church since I was seventeen?” Minghao started, concentrating on his section of the mural, painting the rosy cheeks of a cherub.

“Huh? No, you haven’t. Why did you stop going to church? If you don’t mind me asking.” You said, a little startled from being broken out of your concentration.

“It’s simple really, my values didn’t align with the church anymore. And, I may have been in love with a man at the time.” He joked, chuckling at the end of his sentence as if he was reminiscing about something humorous.

You nod, “You know, I haven’t been in a church for about as long.” you say, setting your brush down to continue speaking, taking a short break to avoid cramping your hand. “I didn’t like how I was basically brainwashed all my life to devote my time and soul to the church, I didn’t feel a connection to religion anymore, not after what my group told me after what that priest did to me.”

Minghao’s expression softened, shoulders dropping with his grip on the brush relaxing. “That’s terrible, I’m sorry that happened to you.” He said, also resting his brush. He walked towards you, offering a hand to help you get off the floor. You take his hand, muttering thanks, and you follow him to the back of the church, in the pews nearest to the altar.

“You know, sometimes I feel as if some unknown force led us to meet each other.” Minghao started, “Think about it, how is it that we’re the only two people in the mentorship program, and how have we managed to fit together so perfectly? I think,” Minghao pauses to lick his lips, “if it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have felt this way about them.”

“I know that confession was a little misplaced, especially after what you just told me. But I just wanted to give you context for my offer,” He said, taking your hand, the warmth of his palm radiating to yours, warming it up, “I want to give your power back to you, I like you a lot, too much really. Ever since that first day, you made me breakfast. And I’d do anything to take that pain away from you.”

“Minghao…” You said, “I like you a lot too. I’m flattered by your confession, and so moved by your offer. But I can’t seem to figure out what your offer is supposed to mean.”

“You were attacked at a church, violently, as if your body wasn’t yours for a time. I want to override those memories with ours, make it your choice. To have an outlet for your anger.”

You openly gape at him, not believing his offer. He wanted to…?

“Minghao, I want you.”

It felt cathartic to say that, especially in a place you’d never think to say that. It was satisfying as if a weight had been lifted from you, the burden of memory weighing on your chest being removed, like the first time you could breathe freely again.

Mingahao gently cups your cheek, stroking the flushed skin with the pad of his thumb, slowly turning your head to face him, his lips hovering over yours, “I want you too.” He said before locking lips with you.

Your hands immediately find their place at the back of his neck, fingers threading to the soft ends of his hair, pressing him closer to you, the warmth of his body radiating through his clothes. Your skin felt hot, like desire was just boiling under your skin, blooming on the surface as a flush of red. Minghao crowds you, kissing you with want, with need. He kissed you, letting his hands do what his lips wanted to, his faith turning into despair. The tragedy of not having a taste of your skin yet, swirls in his gut, manifesting in desperation. He kissed you with urgency, as if this was the only chance to have you like this, his greed taking over his thoughts as it filled his mind with images of you in the most depraved positions, your usually clean image tainted with evidence of his lust.

After all, Minghao is just a man, a man who now finds religion in your lips.

He reluctantly parts from you, surprising you with his strength but lifting you suddenly, walking the short way to the altar. His plans dawn on you as soon as you feel the cool marble under you, eyes rolling to the back of your head as you lock your lips with his again, moaning pathetically and the feeling of his palms snaking their way under your shirt, squeezing and kneading the flesh, taking handfuls of it as he needed it.

He parts from your lips with a whine, panting for air like just running a marathon. He only parts from you for a second, only for his mouth to connect with your jaw, placing open-mouthed kisses on it. Goosebumps litter your skin, his simple touch leaves you shivering in a way you didn’t think was possible. Your legs part and Minghao takes his place between them, now sucking and biting marks into your skin, maroon blooms all over your collarbones, as you pull him impossibly close, bodies flush together perfectly as if it was always meant to be.

You paw at his jacket, wanting to feel him without the barriers of fabric between the two of you. He frantically shrugged his jacket off, and pulled his shirt over his head without being prompted, using his weight to press you down into the marble altar. Takes his time to unbutton your shirt, kissing the skin with every button he undoes.

Warmth ripples under your skin like drops hitting the surface of a still body, each kiss sending a spark of heat directly to your core. Simple, but powerful. The way Minghao delicately worships your skin made a sense of serenity wash over you like a wave, crashing over your restless state.

Minghao rises to meet your lips, again, swallowing the sound of your moans, nipping at your lips. His hard cock presses into your core through his pants, layers of fabric between the places where you needed each other the most. Desperation turns into slight relief from the pressure of your bodies pressing together.

He takes his time to strip you of your effects, taking time to peel it off of you with care. This is the first time he's seen you in such a compromising position, yet you don't feel pressured or nervous at all. The way he looks at you, it's as if you hung the stars in the sky one by one, just for you to take them in your eyes, a galaxy of secrets waiting to be uncovered; and you're willing to let him explore.

Minghao falls to his knees, fingers pressing into the flesh of your thighs. He presses kisses on your kneecap, slowly inching his way to your core, lips brushing against your skin, making you shiver. You watch as his head of hair reaches the apex of your thighs, placing a kiss on your pelvis, right above where you need him.

He looks up at you briefly, eyes locking with yours as if asking for permission to just dive right in. You nod, giving him the silent permission to do so. He smiles, his eyes fluttering shut as his mouth connects with your core, lips wrapping around your throbbing clit.

Your back arches from the marble, hands frantically searching for his head, threading your fingers through his hair to get a grip on anything. The way the wet muscle that was his tongue guided the swirl of hot desire in your stomach made you dizzy, his eyes shut tightly, and small whimpers left his lips, making you feel the vibrations.

He ate you like a starved man, “Oh, fuck, please-! Keep going!” The frantic pace of his mouth and tongue got more desperate with your praise, your encouragement made him press his face closer to your core, his jose bumping your clit, making him breathe in deep, taking in your scent.

His eyes flutter open at the smell, eyes rolling to the back of his head, and a pathetic, high-pitched whine leaves his lips. His tongue pressed against the spongey spot in your walls, immediately this sends a shiver down your spine, your moans turning into desperate whines, grinding on his mouth.

And Minghao just stops to take it, exaggerating his moans to help you over the edge.

A knot starts to form in your core, only a mixture of pleas of his name leaves your lips as you topple over the edge, reaching your high. Your orgasm was blinding, a hot, white pleasure ripped through you, your body shaking from the impact of such a powerful climax.

Minghao groans as he savors the flavor of your release, drinking it like a sacred Ambrosia. He delicately licks at your folds, careful not to bump into your sensitive clit.

After being satisfied with cleaning you up, Minghao starts to unbuckle his belt, his pants hanging low on his hips. He finally takes his cock out of his boxer briefs, the tip is red and bulbous, angry and leaking. His mouth parts with a moan, licking his plump lips, finally getting the friction he so desperately wanted.

He gets on top of you, his warmth radiating off of him in waves. He brings a hand up to brush your hair away from your face, soaking up every detail, committing the look in your eyes to memory. He looks at you with adoration, eyes clouded with lust yet still shines with the respect he has for you as a person.

In his eyes you were perfect, especially with that fucked-out look on your face, panting and shaking under him.

He kisses you again, this time with less desperation. You could taste yourself on his lips, highlighting your desire for more. He finally guides his cock to your entrance, the tip of it bumping into your clit, a gasp falling from your lips.

You look up at Minghao, a halo of many colors forming around his head, the cross-shaped stained glass behind him glowing brightly in the full moonlight. If it wasn't for the depraved things he's done to you, you'd think that he looked angelic.

Finally, he slowly pushed his cock into you, a shaky breath leaving his lips, taking every ounce of self-control to not start frantically thrusting into you, letting you take the time to adjust to his size. Minghao was bigger than you thought he'd be, the sheer size of his cock stretching you deliciously.

He pressed your foreheads together, your breathing synchronized. You open your hand on his chest, pressing your palm over his heart, you can feel the steady beating of it, and you can feel him breathe with you. The silence only amplified the feeling of being connected, a kind of vulnerability that you’ve never felt with anyone else before.

You savor his warmth, his closeness to you, before asking him to move. He nods wordlessly, not trusting his voice at the moment. He was buried to the hilt, but he slowly started to pull back until only his head stayed inside you, only to push back in, a wet, lewd squelch of your juices mixing with his echo and rung in your ears.

He started to pick up his pace, intertwining your hands together to gain leverage. “Fuck, you feel so good babe, so warm. So perfect for me.” He said lowly, mind emptying all thoughts except for the feeling of you around him. He can't get enough of you, your image infecting his mind, making a home in every crevice.

Both of you were very vocal about how good it felt, pleasure rising to a pressure that made both of you light-headed, your grip on his hand tightening with every pointed thrust to the spot where you needed him the most.

His lips meet your neck again, more maroon marks blooming over your skin, marking you with evidence of him. He separated from the skin with a wet pop, his nose brushing against your cheek, his hair tickling the skin, “Please, I need you to cum around my cock. Don't make me beg for it, please, oh- please-” he whimpered in your ear, breathless from the force he was using.

He turns to kiss you again, both of you swallowing each other's whines and moans as your desperation grows stronger.

Soon, the coil in your stomach starts to tighten again, you can't hear much over the ringing in your ears, but you do hear the wet slapping of skin together, and the ragged breathing coming from the man above you. You barely registered your own orgasm, you felt like you weren't in your body, like your soul was floating in the space where you felt neither pain nor pleasure.

Tears ran down your face, your body shaking like a leaf. Minghao watched as your juices squirted out of you, coating his cock and legs with your release. This violently sends him into his own orgasm, barely catching himself with the altar as the force of it knocks the wind out of him, his knees shaking, barely able to hold his weight up.

He almost collapsed into you with how much his body couldn't handle the sensations, his hips never ceasing even with both of your oversensitivity.

He finally stops, both of you winded from the intensity of your sex. He kisses you with finality that night, right at the altar with the light of the cross over you.

It's been months since you and Minghao started the mural, and also started hooking up. The first time you slept with him was certainly not the last. You were sure you desecrated every inch of this sacred space, as well as every corner of your shared apartment.

But, all good things come to an end.

Today was the day you finally added the finishing touches to the mural, marking the end of your program, and the end of your time in Amsterdam.

Your mentor was pleased with how it turned out, he was proud of how far the both of you have gotten in your skills. And decided to throw a party in his studio to celebrate the completion of your final project.

You and Minghao skirt around the idea of what will happen next after the program ends, enjoying the company of your mentor and the few friends you've made in Amsterdam.

It was after the party that things finally started to feel grim, each item you packed into your suitcase felt like heavy weights or a nail in the coffin of your relationship with Minghao.

You couldn't fathom going back to reality, back to your lonely apartment without the anticipation of waking up and making breakfast for him.

You realized too late that you loved him.

“What happens to us now?” His question surprised you, you didn't think he was thinking about this as hard as you were.

“Well, we go back to where we came from. Go on with our lives, I guess.” You reply, too cowardly to admit what you truly felt, as it'll only hurt more.

“That's it?” He asked incredulously, “You don't want to even try to make this work?” His tone wasn't one of anger or disappointment, Minghao had always been an expressive person, but this was something worse. Hurt.

“Minghao I-” You start, but he cuts you off,

“Well, you know what? Okay. It's okay- just… if there's ever a next time. Meet me in Amsterdam. Please, at least, try for me?”

You nod, your breathing becoming shaky as tears begin to well in your eyes. You hug him tightly, almost as if it'll be the last time you ever see him.

But no, there will be a next time. No matter how long it'll take.

You let the tears fall when the plane finally took off.

It's been several years since your time in Amsterdam, your experience there marked you in more ways than one.

Your art career found success after the mural you worked on with him received critical acclaim. Opening galleries and exhibits all around the world, people enjoy the art you made greatly.

You find yourself in the place where it all started, Amsterdam.

“So, there really is a next time, huh?” You said, your voice was calmer than you expected it to be, especially with being overcome with such intense emotions.

Minghao smiles at you, wordlessly coming in to hug you.

“I'm not letting you go, not this time.”

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starlost-mochi-x · 19 days ago

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hwang hyunjin - skz fluff headcanons

pairing: hwang hyunjin x reader

summary: hyunjin headcanons

genre: fluff, idol! au, comfort, general fluff headcanons, get you a man like hyune

a/n: divider from @aewinse (or not) rightful owner of this cute divider, please don't be mad at me i'm just a lil thing

masterlist

we all know how perceptive hyunjin is

super emotionally aware

not that the other members of skz aren't, it's just that hyunjin seems to sense your emotions the best

i stand by the opinion that he's actually the most sensitive member of skz

anyway

he can always tell when something is off

and he isn't usually upfront about it

like when you come home upset about something, or something bad happens, hyunjin doesn't shove himself in your face

instead, he just quietly stays by your side and offers you little things like hugs or tissues

and unless you ask him for space he's staying right by your side

sometimes he closes his eyes really tight and tries to take the pain away for you

crying

he also brings kkami with him and sits him down next to you because he knows stroking the soft, warm fur helps keep you grounded

just know that whenever you're upset, hyunjin will be right there with gentle words of reassurance and lots of affection to give if you want it

also always has pocket tissues and a bottle of water in every room of the house so if you do end up upset, he doesn't have to leave you

speaking of leaving

hyunjin is always dragging you out of the house on little dates

we all know this man is a hopeless romantic so of course you expected this when you started dating him

usually it's art gallery dates

sometimes it can also be things like visiting pop-up stores

or just random restaurants that look interesting

once hyunjin dragged you to a slightly suspicious pop up food stall

needless to say, you both ended up at the jeongchan dorm for two weeks because of food poisoning

on the bright side you did get to be around him nonstop for a whole fortnight

neither of you complained

jeongin did tho

"chan-hyung, y/n just threw up on my hoodie!"

lmao

hyunjin is also the type of guy to invite you over to his very often

changbin is usually at the gym so you both get quiet time to yourselves

you both have a watch list

most of the time it's cuddling and watching the dramas and movies

snuggling in bed with lots of snacks and warmth

at this point you and hyune both have designated blankets to use when movie nights happen

they usually end up on the floor tho bc you both just tangle yourselves in each other's arms

oh well

forget about the blankets

if it's warm, it works

hyunjin also likes to keep physical contact with you

if you're working, he'll sit beside you and quietly draw in his sketchbook

or on your forearms

as long as it doesn't disturb you, but you don't really mind bc his drawings and doodles are cute

if you wear jewelry, he'll be fiddling with it

or your hair

and he loves your hair so much !!

always messing around with it, suggesting different looks and styles

as someone who dyes their hair a lot, hyunjin knows a surprising amount about the whole process

you could suggest a colour and he'd tell you the whole process

gesturing and making cute faces and holding up strands of his own hair to demonstrate

as much as you love him, you don't really want him to cut or style or colour it for you

sorry hyunjin

he likes it when you try and style his hair tho

whenever you're out, you look for little cute hair accessories and ties you think he might like

then when he gets home

he sits between your legs while holding a mirror, and you clip hairpins and tie elastics into every section of his locks

he loves it

the feeling of your hands against his scalp is so relaxing to him

multiple times he's fallen asleep like that

with his hair full of ridiculous accessories

this makes for a lot of cute photos

hyunjin is pretty much the fashionista in the relationship so he's always down for things like new makeup looks or nail designs

if you're a makeup artist, stylist, or nail tech, even better

if you're not, that's okay too !!

he loves watching your little focused face as you draw clumsy designs on his nails, style jewelry against his skin, and draw on him

he thinks it's like you making your mark on him

so wherever he goes, he always has a little piece of you by his side, whether it's a cute ring you bought for him, a silly drawing on his forearm, or a slightly mismatched outfit

the rest of the members tease him relentlessly but he doesn't care 70

he just likes the feeling of you being comfortable enough around him to share your ideas through styling

he'll also do the same for you, wanting to pick your outfits, especially for the bigger events where you're also invited, like award shows

or versace runway events where you're his plus one

you have a closet at your place which is full of stunning, custom made items hyunjin got for you, designed by donatella versace herself

but even though they're expensive, hyunjin expects nothing in return, only wanting you to look and feel beautiful and stunning

he'll also show his love by buying the both of you matching items

it's a little tradition between the both of you

you both now have matching phone cases, rings, necklaces, bracelets, hairpins, and a variety of other items

to outsiders, you and hyunjin and hopelessly in love

and they're right

usually you guys go out with matching outfits too

because it's whimsical and romantic and you both believe that it showcases your love to outsiders, and bonus, if either of you gets lost, you know exactly what colour shirt to look for in the crowd

needless to say, you're always the matching couple on the block <3

a/n: hyune for the win !

#hyunjin skz #skz scenarios #skz #starlost mochi fics #skz fluff #stray kids fanfic #skz x reader #starlost mochi #stray kids #hyunjin stray kids #stray kids hyunjin #skz hyunjin #hwang hyunjin #skz stay #hyunjin scenarios #hyunjin x reader #hwang hyunjin fanfiction #hyunjin fluff

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ruruumin · 3 months ago

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blisters on the wall

₊˚ ᗢ college au! alhaitham x gn! reader.

⤷ when the noise gets too much, he reaches out to catch you.

it was rather common for the average college student to be stressed. it just came with the job, some would say. for every class, you must maintain perfect attendance. every hand raised must be accompanied by irrefutable fact. all while paperwork flood the hall as seasons pass. desks become messier by the day. loose pens and coffee cups left abandoned. liquid having dried into a crude crescent.

from corner to corner, wall to wall, there will always be a new bundle of words waiting to be solved. a new equation. a new theory. a new thesis. a new idea. the world is filled with mysteries that you must uncover and reveal. and it can't be anyone else. not the adults or elders in your life, it must be you. it had always been you.

you forced a smile as your professor raised your hand, presenting your essay in front of the class. sounds of awe echo alongside joyous claps. but your cheeks were beginning to hurt. with teeth clenched so tightly, you thought your gums might split.

you must uphold this standard. if not for yourself, then for your parents, friends, peers, and instructors. eyes will always be on you when the spotlight follows. the weight of the world's future comes down to you. change must be produced. sacrifices must be made. with blood, sweat, and tears, you rip through the fabric of this earth, desperately reaching for answers that could prove you worthy. searching endlessly through space to deliver what you think the people need.

you have a test next week. one that you estimate will take a four days to fully prepare. a paper is also due this friday, cutting your time to study short. your thesis is right around the corner. you're so close to breaking through and showing it to your advisor. your club was depending on you to manage the event organization. you had friends to take care of and spend time with. family to attend to and see. dreams to fantasize. and all this work, you don't know what to do. where to start. where to go. what will you do when everything is done?

where is the end?

in the corner of your eye, you failed to see a familiar, silvered-haired student slowly clapping. unimpressed by the fake smile that you've taped across your face.

he reads you so easily. he knows you like the back of his hand. he knows the bad habit you have of biting the tips of your fingers, the uneven surface having dragged across his skin with a hiss. he knows when you're stressed, you become quieter and distant. replying less and less to his messages, he knows this all too well.

he has always seen you, even if you've never looked back at him. it was like that since you were children. only a few months older than him, he trails behind you in every park. you were one step ahead of him. sports, science, math, english, art. everything.

you were his light.

and yet, he can see you flickering on and off. the radiant brilliance you've always surrounded yourself was beginning to fade in front of his eyes. you were dancing between uneven ships, struggling to keep afloat in this never-ending storm.

when he places a cup of coffee beside you, will you see his support? when he lets you lean your head against his shoulder, will you see the authentic smile he gives as he brushes your hair? when he lets you study at his apartment because you were locked out of your building, will you understand how much he cares?

when your friends approach you, dragging you through the busy mall to buy you new clothes, will you see how much you mean to them? or must you be so blind that you cannot see how brightly everything is when you're here?

how much longer will it take for you to see, what you were doing is enough?

standing in front of your club, you stare in shock as each person raises their voice. shouting over one over the other. arguing over simple plans, something you were in charge of. they were pushing and shoving. screaming insults that they can never take back.

and you try to pull them apart. trying not to lose your voice as theirs grow louder. the buzzing in your ears is an explosive firework that is going off. and your heart was pounding at the forefront of your chest. you could feel it bouncing off of your ribcage and into the back of your throat.

things were going horribly wrong. it was just a plan you pitched in your half asleep state and now everything is plummeting downhill. oh, how you wish you could turn back time and rewrite those words. maybe they wouldn't fight anymore. instead, because of your careless mistake, your desperation to finish your papers, you failed to foresee this.

you feel tears threaten to break your happy facade. oh god, everything is your fault, isn't it? they're fighting because of you.

getting off the floor, you run through the halls. shoving through crowds to search for the familiar pathway to your home. clutching your ears in the hopes of deafening the noise, you pray that someone could take you away from this hell you've created for yourself.

it's all your fault.

if you had more time,

if you were better,

it wouldn't be your fault.

in the blur of tears, you see your friend's face.

"alhaitham!"

you crash into him with a heavy sob as he wraps his arms around you tightly, catching you a mere seconds before your knees buckled. squeezing you close to his heart, he holds his hands over your ears. his name is like a breath of fresh air, your head creeping out from the waves that drown you.

the world goes quiet.

for once in his life, he pleads for you to ignore the flushed pink color of ears and see how much you mean to him. move past these papers and see him. hear him when he tells you that you're enough. feel the warmth in his skin so you know the way he burns for you.

⤷ notes; mainly a vent/comfort post. it feels way more unpolished and raw but i think it sort of matches the overall tone.

#₊˚ ᗢ rurumin #₊˚ ᗢ alhaitham #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #alhaitham x reader #alhaitham

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frodo-with-glasses · 2 months ago

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Where have you been?

Uhhh, France?

(That’s a Hamilton reference, btw. I have never been to France.)

So! Another Hobbit Day is upon us. On this day last year, I’d promised you all that we would take another trek through LotR, with all new drawings and poems and fanfics. I fully expected to be finished with Book One by now, at least halfway through FotR. What actually happened is that the blog struggled through the first five and a half chapters of the book before suddenly going radio silent.

So what happened?

Well, as you might expect, real life happened. I won't go into the details here—since it has nothing to do with LotR—but I can explain in DMs if anyone is interested.

Basically, a change in my family led to a reexamination of what I thought I knew about my family, which led to a reexamination of what I thought I knew about myself, which kicked off an intense period of self-improvement.

Over the course of this past year, I began to unpack my family's abuse; I learned about boundaries; I started to unlearn my old people-pleasing tendencies; I reconnected relationships that were broken, reevaluated ones that were in the wrong place, and cut off ones that weren't good for me. I discovered there was a little kid in my head who's been waiting years and years for an adult to love her, and to take her needs seriously, and I finally have the chance to be that adult. And I'm happy to say that I've come to a place where I feel safer in my own head than I have ever been.

Probably very little of that is going to show through on this blog. It's all inward stuff; foundational stuff. But one thing that might affect you guys is that I left my (dreadfully overstimulating and stressful) part-time job, and I'm now working full time somewhere else. As much as I love what I do for a living now, working 40 hours a week does mean that I am become Boring Adult who does not have as much time for interneting. With my current schedule, there is no way I'd be able to sustain the intense schedule of "must post one drawing a day" that I had in the early days of this blog; and I don't expect myself to.

But! I would like to—slowly—get this train rolling again.

I find it hilariously apropos that the last piece of art I posted on this blog was of Frodo suddenly disappearing. From Merry's perspective, he completely vanished without explanation or warning. From your perspective, so did I.

But I find myself here again, on another September 22nd, and once again I'm beginning to feel that pull; that pull to read, and draw, and create, and share, and laugh with all of you. Life has calmed down enough for me that I once again have the mental space to think about pursuing my hobbies. There are so many things I want to do—so much to do with the time that is given to me. And I want this blog to be on that list.

My current goal is to post some new book art every other day. If that's too much, I'll adjust it. But if I find my groove and really get into it, who knows? We might return to your regularly scheduled Daily Dose of Frodo-With-Glasses. We shall have to see.

Anyway. If you've read this far, thank you! If you've stuck with this blog since the early days, thank you. And if you are one of that lovely core Fellowship that has had my back and prayed for me all along, I cannot thank you enough.

This past year has been an absolute ride. Not as difficult as a trek to Mordor, maybe, but not easy either. But no matter where I walked, I knew I didn't have to take the journey alone.

Anyway! Enough sappiness. Happy Hobbit Day! I'm excited to see what the next year has in store for us. 💚

#lady glasses speaks #long post #my writing #featuring:#frodo baggins #lord of the rings #lotr #my art #fig tree au

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colormepurplex2 · 9 months ago

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Now I'm Yours | Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

↳ Alpha!Jungkook x Omega!f.Reader ⤜ A/B/O, Established Relationship/Mates ⤜ Rating: MA 🔞 ⤜ WC: 7,314 ⚠️ Vulgar language, semi-hate sex, fingering, knotting, creampie, discussion of violent acts, drinking

A/N: Read Make You Mine, the first installment of this series, here!

Next Chapter⇾ ◅ Back to story masterlist

If you thought Jungkook would have become Prince Charming after claiming you as his mate during your designation celebration, you were quite wrong—and perhaps a bit disappointed.

You moved to his pack lands a week ago, much to the disgruntlement of your old pack leader, Roland. It was the last thing he wanted for you; even if the Jeons agreed to adjust the boundary lines to where they were supposed to be, the centuries-long feud between the two packs was still a very sore subject.

You groan, blinking blearily at the weak morning light filtering in around the thick curtains over the windows across from the bed. At this point, it’s a bodily habit for one of your hands to swipe across the space beside you, seeking information, despite the hum in your chest having already confirmed it. The other side of the bed is cold, devoid of your mate, his scent so faint in the room you know he never even laid in the bed last night.

It irritates you that he doesn't communicate or consider your well-being. You wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he doesn’t experience the same discomfort that you do being apart from him so often and for such long periods. It’s the only explanation for why he can so easily leave you.

The intimate moments you shared well into the wee hours of the morning at your celebration seem like just a figment of your imagination, a figment your mind designed to taunt you. If it wasn’t for the giant rock residing on your lefthand ring finger, you might think it was a dream. But the teardrop-shaped amethyst surrounded by chips of starlight opal, reminiscent of the gown you wore the night of your designation celebration, is a constant reminder that this is, in fact, very real.

It’s not just the ring, which you came to learn is a family heirloom—the same ring his father gave his mother when they bonded—but also the ever-constant tug that you feel in the center of your chest, like a wildfire that refuses to be smothered. It’s accompanied by a hum right under your breastbone that only lessens when you can put your eyes on Jungkook, which is harder than it probably should be. He’s constantly gone, blaming his absence on being pack alpha.

So, you’ve spent most of your days since moving to the Jeon pack land with his mother. She’s a wild contrast, every inch the demure omega you met the night of your celebration while simultaneously intimidating the hell out of you. All it takes is one look from her, and you feel stripped bare, your soul hers for the reading. It doesn’t help when you periodically catch Jungkook’s father looming in the shadows as if he’s worried you might bring harm to his mate.

It’s expected of you, now that you’re to be the Jeon pack omega—Jungkook’s mate and intended Luna—to learn the art of mending and lead the healers' circle. In Roland’s pack, you stayed as far from the healer’s quarters and clinic as possible, suited more for field work and strategic planning of pack land agriculture. The idea of setting broken bones and tending to wounds is not your idea of a great time; far too delicate of work. Yet, in the Jeon pack, the responsibility for pack health falls on the pack omega—which is what you are now.

You grumble, shoving back the blankets and stretching your aching muscles. It’s not hard work, per se, learning medicine. That’s not why your body thrums with a dull throb of tightness. It’s the hours you spend pacing and waiting for Jungkook to come home. You hate it, staying up all hours of the night to the point your body grieves sleep and comfort alike; it’s just not something that can be helped, damn him.

The rumbling hiss of the shower turning on in the attached bath draws your attention. “Fucker,” you mumble under your breath, beelining straight for the closed door. “What the…fuck…is…your problem?” your question trails off, the words slowed by the sheer shock of what you find when you fling open the door.

Muscles. So many muscles. Thick, tattooed fingers wrapped around a straining, water-slick knot. The scent wafting through the steam is overwhelming. It stops you in your tracks. Whatever tirade was filling your head fades. It’s been weeks since you’ve seen Jungkook’s body not hidden behind leather and denim—since you’ve been able to get a lungful of his fresh, tantalizing scent. Saliva instantly pools under your tongue.

“The only—” he pauses to moan “—problem I see is you standing there smelling like that,” the last words are bitten out around a throaty growl. The slick sound of his fist sliding up and down his cock is loud in the silence that follows his statement, being heard clearly over the pelting of the water hitting tiles. “Get your ass in here or get out.”

After weeks of barely-there-glances and absence, he truly expects you to just hop in the shower with him? He can shove that offer up his ass. But, for some reason, your body can’t seem to get on that reasonably sound page with your brain.

Your shorts and tank top hit the floor before you can stop your hands. A low rumble vibrates in your chest as you advance on the shower, fully intent on making Jungkook beg for it. Your omega snarls, making your whole body shudder as she bats against your inner cage, demanding attention from her mate.

Jungkook’s eyes narrow on you, his lips curling into a silent snarl of his own. Your body instantly responds, arousal throbbing between your thighs. As soon as you swing open the shower door, he’s wrapping his arms around you and hauling you inside. The kiss of hot water is nothing compared to the heat from his skin sliding against yours.

All thought and pretense of making him beg vanish with the first press of his lips to yours. Even if you want to resist, the omega within you won’t let you; she’s far too consumed with reclaiming her mate.

“You’re an asshole,” you manage to gasp between nipping bites and kisses.

“And you’re mine,” he snaps back, fisting a hand in your hair to angle your chin up so he can nuzzle into your neck. You preen under his words and attention, your omega cooing in supplication.

Jungkook drives his hips against yours, pressing you against a water-slick wall. His teeth graze the sensitive skin that covers your scent gland. Your body shortcircuits at the contact, a flood of panic sobering you quickly.

You shove your hands into his hair and wrench his head away from your neck. “Fuck you. How dare you ignore me for weeks and then expect me to—ahmm,” your rant turns into a moan when Jungkook slides a hand between your bodies and pushes two thick fingers between your thighs. His middle and ring finger slide along either side of your clit, pinching the sensitive bundle and making you forget how mad you are once again.

“I’ve been busy,” he punctuates each word with a thrust of his fingers into your pussy. The thick, creamy scent of your slick perfumes the air. You turn to putty in his arms, moaning and grinding on his fingers, trying to seek more.

Vitriol sits on the tip of your tongue, waiting to be unleashed on him, but all your anger bleeds away when he hooks his hands under your ass and hauls you up, cock nudging eagerly at your entrance.

He fills you in one swift thrust, the intrusion a sweet relief kissed with pain as your body adjusts to the swell of his cock. “Fuck,” you moan and wrap your arms around Jungkook’s neck to help him move your body over his, wet tendrils of your slick already dripping to the shower floor. You cross your ankles, feet sitting at the small of his back, securing you against his hard physique.

“I can’t stop thinking about the way your body squeezes my knot and the smell of your greedy cunt full of my cum. I can’t fucking focus,” he snarls, hips battering against yours, “it’s driving me insane. I can barely concentrate on what I need to do—important business that you’re ruining!”

His words lash through you, bringing your anger to the surface once more. ��Maybe if you gave me more than a fleeting moment of your time, you wouldn’t be suffering,” you mock sweetly, nails scratching down the back of his neck as you force yourself onto his cock harder and faster.

The bulge of his knot teases at your opening with every downward stroke. All it would take is a particularly good bounce to fit it within your body. Taking the reigns, forcing a shift of control, you tighten your grip on him and drag yourself down his cock with renewed intent.

Jungkook lets loose a string of curses mixed with strangled sounds you’ve never heard him make. “Oh, gods!” He sags forward, pinning your body against the wall with his full weight. You can feel his legs trembling as he unleashes a torrent of warmth within your walls. His cock pulses, sending jolts of pleasure fluttering through you.

Weeks of pent-up emotion come flooding out in a cascade of slick and full-body shudders. Spots of light dance behind your tightly shut lids, and a wave of dizziness sweeps through, making everything fuzzy as time seems to stand still. “Jungkook,” you sob his name in a fervent whisper, your body wringing itself ragged around his throbbing knot.

As your walls clamp around him, he cries out again, the words a half-coherent jumble, but there’s no mistaking the fervent, “I’m sorry.”

He turns, being careful not to let you shift too much, to lean against the wall, and then slowly slides down until he’s sitting with you in his lap. The water from the shower pelts down, hitting your shoulders and cascading down your back.

“Say it again,” you encourage, mumbling against his chest. Jungkook wraps his arms around you and lets his head fall back to rest against the tiles, his eyes sliding shut.

His response rumbles under your ear. “Say what?”

“Don’t be an ass, you know what.”

“I’m sorry,” he sighs, a heavy exhale whispering over the top of your head.

“Are you going to explain where you’ve been, why you’ve been away so much? Is this a whole ‘distance makes the heart grown fonder’ thing because I call bullshit.”

You’re almost sure he’s going to ignore your question, the way silence hangs heavy in the air of the shower. Finally, he says, “The Bartons. They’ve been causing trouble for the Parks again.”

You push away from his chest, leaning back to look him in the eye. The new angle reminds your body that Jungkook is still knot deep, your walls automatically flexing around the thickness, making him sigh for a different reason. If you were in a different mood, you’re confident you could make him cum again just by pulsing your muscles around him. But, for once, he’s actually giving you answers…something you’ve been seeking for weeks now.

Jungkook eases you off his cock; his knot is deflated enough that it doesn’t pain you when he does so. You settle beside him in the shower, taking him fully in for the first time. There are dark circles under his eyes and the beginnings of a bruise coloring his jaw. He’s clearly been in some sort of altercation.

“What’s going on? Is that where this came from?” you ask, brushing your thumb over the bruising on his chin.

Grabbing a cloth from the nook filled with your special omega soaps and oils, Jungkook gently pries your legs further apart. “Our union sparked something within the packs. Alpha Park extended a peace treaty to Alpha Barton with the idea that if our clans could finally come to peace after centuries of feud, then they could, too. It was rejected, and maybe a few fists were thrown,” he explains, absently cleaning up the mess between your thighs.

You can picture it now, the austere-looking Barton alpha sneering at any prospective idea of peace brought forward by the more subdued Alpha Park. It’s no wonder Jungkook has been gone so much.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Frustration heats your words, reminding you of the time you’ve spent alone, waiting and wondering.

His tired eyes meet yours. “I don’t know.” Muscled and tattooed shoulders rise and fall with his response. “Would you believe me if I told you I’ve been scared to come home? Scared of” —he drops the rag and gestures vaguely between your body and his— “this?”

You’re not sure if that should make you feel better or worse. Jungkook acknowledges what’s between you two while admitting he’s been purposefully avoiding you because of it.

“What’s there to be scared of?” you ask, voice barely above a whisper. It’s not like the connection between the two of you can be broken; it’s not like he can just ignore you forever.

Jungkook scoffs. “You know what they want from us, right?”

“They?” you ask, confused.

“They, everyone. They are all expecting us to bond.”

You laugh lightly. “Well, yeah, of course they do. That’s what we’ll have to do eventually anyway. You’re scared of a little bite?”

“Not eventually, no. They want it now.”

That makes you pause. You knew there was no stopping the inevitable mate claiming that could come, the bite to solidify you as Jungkook’s Luna…but you thought that wouldn’t come for years yet. It’s customary for a mated pair to wait until they’re ready to bear children and take over—take over the pack—but Jungkook is already the leader of his pack. You’re unsure why you didn’t piece that together sooner; you feel like a fool.

You shake your head. “That’s our decision, isn’t it? If we’re not ready to bond, then we’re not ready.”

“Try telling that to my dying father,” Jungkook mumbles under his breath, but you still catch the confession clearly.

“Your father is dying?”

Jungkook grunts in response. “Just another piece on my already full plate.”

Everything from the last week comes crashing down on you. The way his father would linger in the shadows and doorways, leaning heavily on his silver-tipped cane, and the force at which his mother was drilling information into you.

“You could have told me all of this. It would have made the last week…” you trail off, not wanting to confess to him just how terrible the last week has been in his absence.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. You know now. But, I guess while we’re on the subject of sharing information, I should also add that Demetrius challenged Hyunsoo to a pack duel when he rejected the treaty.”

Your mouth opens, but no words form. There haven’t been duels held between packs in at least the last two hundred years. It’s absurd. Demetrius would not have challenged Hyunsoo unless he could guarantee his win because to duel and lose, well…there’s a reason duels stopped being a thing.

“Rejected treaty or not, surely Park said no?” Hyunsoo Park might be a soft, well-mannered Alpha, but he’s no fool.

“How could he?” Jungkook asks, pushing up from the floor and stepping under the direct spray of the shower. The water has gone cold, drawing a groan from Jungkook before he grabs a bar of soap, vigorously scrubs his body, rinses, and turns it off. “That’s as good as a personal slight against Hyunsoo’s designation.”

You slowly stand, retrieving two towels from the heated rack. “Barton is either a fool or has a trick up his sleeve. There’s no way this is actually happening, right? Two pack Alpha’s fighting…it’s ridiculous and archaic.”

Jungkook takes the towel you offer him and pats his face and chest before wrapping it around his waist and stepping out of the shower. “The pack Alphas aren’t going to be the ones fighting," he says.

“But…that—then who?”

The pain and anger evident in Jungkook’s eyes as he turns to meet your gaze gives you a clear idea about the answer to your question before he even opens his mouth. “Raiden and…Jimin.”

“That’s…we can’t let that happen. We have to call a council, demand the elders put a stop to this nonsense.”

“Don’t you think that was my first step? I called them the moment I heard. They said it was a petty feud between families, nothing new and nothing worth their time to unravel centuries of tradition over. The duel will happen in a few days time.”

You scoff, dragging your towel around your body as you follow him out of the shower. “There are small feuds, and then there’s whatever the fuck this is! They can’t just idly sit by while Raiden faces Jimin in a duel. They do understand what that means, right? A fight to submission…an alpha submitting to another alpha?! They’d let the hierarchy of one of the original families face potential ruin all because they don’t want to stand up and do something about it?”

Jungkook shakes his head, his shoulders tense as he grabs his toothbrush and begins to brush his teeth. “You’re not saying anything I don’t already know,” he mumbles around the foaming paste.

“Well, what are we going to do now?”

Spitting in the sink, Jungkook meets your eyes through the mirror before him. “We? We are not doing anything right now. I’m leaving again for the Park lands tonight. I’ll have you and my parents follow me before the day comes.”

“Like fuck you are! You’re not leaving me here again, even if it’s just for a few days,” you say, glaring at him.

In one smooth motion, Jungkook turns on his heel and crowds into your space, his chest bumping into yours. It takes tremendous effort not to immediately trace your hands over the warm expanse of flesh. “You will do as I say, Omega.” The command bites into your will, bending it to his, completely erasing any semblance of desire that was flaring.

“I hate you,” you manage to seethe around the thick knot in your throat that’s slowly strangling your defiance.

Jungkook pats your cheek, a shit-eating grin curling his lips. “You’re cute when you’re angry. The fight you have inside of you is exactly what I need in a Luna. When all of this is over, we will solidify the bond and fulfill our duty to the pack...whether we like it or not.”

🌙🌙🌙

Jungkook

Leaving you standing in the bathroom, Jungkook disappears into the closet to get dressed. Being honest with you should make him feel lighter, yet the weight of his responsibility feels even heavier now. Not only is Jungkook trying to help out his friend, someone he sees as a brother, but now he has as much as guaranteed he will be sinking his teeth into your neck in the very near future—whether either of you like it or not. Those last words linger in the back of his mind because he knows very well he won’t go near you if you don’t want him to.

It’s not like Jungkook doesn’t want to, and he knows you want to be with him—it’s not like that. The timing is just poor. Typically, mated pairs get years together before they have to bond, not weeks. However, the handful of weeks since your designation celebration might as well not even count, considering Jungkook has been acting like a pup with its tail between its legs. He’s been a fool for avoiding you so adamantly; it’s not doing either of you any favors.

Yet, here he goes, running off again. He pulls on boxers, jeans, and a long-sleeved black shirt before shrugging his worn leather jacket on. You’re standing by the bed, dressed in a fresh pair of cream-colored sweats, arms crossed and brow furrowed. Jungkook can feel the disapproval rolling off of you in waves. His alpha huffs his own annoyance.

If it wasn’t for the immense ache and the woeful misery of the beast beneath his skin, he might have continued to avoid you for another week or two. As it is, he can feel it yearning to wipe that look off your face and get lost in the sheets with you for a week instead.

“Let me come with you.”

“Absolutely not. Not yet.”

The last thing he’s going to do is put you in the middle of it all. His mother would wring his neck if anything happened to you, even inadvertently. She’s been harping on him since the day you moved in that he needs to take care of you because an omega of your stature and promise is valuable beyond measure.

“This isn’t your fight alone, Jungkook. This is my pack, now, too. I deserve the chance to help wherever I can.”

That’s the crux of it, too, it seems. Because this is your pack now, and you do deserve the chance to help. The Parks and Jeons might be separate communities within the hierarchy, but they’re as close as family. He just can’t stand the thought of you somehow getting caught in the crosshairs between Raiden and Jimin. He’s tempted to bar you from attending the duel altogether, but he knows even he doesn’t hold that much power.

“You’re right. This isn’t my fight alone. It is technically Jimin’s fight, and I will just be there to support and help him prepare for it.”

You throw up your hands, eyes snapping up to the ceiling as you groan in frustration. “You’re a real asshole, you know that?”

Jungkook can’t help the small smile that suffuses his face. You’re so fiery, and that’s easily the single most attractive thing a woman can be to him. “I know. How about a compromise? I promise to text or call more while I’m gone?”

That softens your resolve. Your hands land on your hips, and you give him a skeptical look, one eyebrow hooking upward. “So, you’ll actually answer your phone this time?”

“Promise,” Jungkook calls over his shoulder as he jogs out of the room and down the hall to the front door. He shoves his feet into his black riding boots and turns to grab the door handle. The sudden searing ache in his chest has him jerking to a halt, fingers slipping from the cool bronze knob.

He grumbles under his breath but marches back down the hallway and into the bedroom. Your lips turn down in a frown, clearly confused by his actions. “Forget something?” you ask.

“Actually, I did,” he mutters before cupping a hand along the side of your neck, thumb dangerously close to brushing over your scent gland and planting his mouth firmly over yours.

The reaction is instantaneous. You melt against him and open to his demanding tongue. It’s only for a moment, just a taste to make his alpha shut up. Jungkook will never admit that it’s just as much for him, though, too. As soon as the first moan escapes your chest, he pulls back, gives you one last peck on the forehead, and promptly turns to leave again.

“Fucking dick,” he hears you grouse behind him as he escapes down the hallway.

Thankfully, there is no sudden pain that stops him this time. Jungkook is on his bike and halfway to Jimin’s house before he feels that familiar ache creep back into his chest, sitting right over his heart, alternating between snarling and whimpering. Not much longer, just another week, he tells himself…just another week, and you’ll be having more than just his hand on your throat.

“Hey, asshole!” Jimin greets fondly, his tone full of mirth, as soon as the engine is cut and Jungkook swings his leg over the back of his bike.

“Who are you calling an asshole?” Jungkook asks, unamused by his friend’s teasing tone.

Jimin, bleached blond hair pushed back, exposing his forehead, claps Jungkook on the back and says, “You. Because I can smell her on you, and you’re an asshole for coming back so soon and leaving her behind. I just know she’s not happy with you. You’re an asshole for the whole fuck and run thing, giving us alphas a bad name.”

Jungkook presses his lips into a thin line. He can’t argue with that. But still, Jimin wouldn’t know anything about what he’s going through…the pressures of what’s expected of Jungkook. Jimin might be an alpha like Jungkook, but he hasn’t taken over for his pack yet, nor has he found his true mate. Besides, if it weren’t for Jimin needing his support, he would have stayed…or so Jungkook tells himself.

“I left to come to support you, and this is the thanks I get,” Jungkook deadpans. “Now who’s the asshole?”

Jimin throws his hands up, walking backward in front of Jungkook as they head toward Jimin’s front door, his bare feet whispering over the grass of the front lawn. “That doesn’t completely make you not an asshole. But, thank you. You should have at least brought her with you or something, though. I prepared the guest room with all the omega necessities and everything.”

Not wanting to continue with this conversation, Jungkook changes the subject, “Have you heard any more from the Bartons or the council?”

That sobers Jimin up quickly. He turns on his heel, shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and falls into step beside Jungkook.

“Nope. Demetrius is still holding to his challenge.”

“And the council?” Jungkook asks, not letting himself hope they’ve grown some sense in the last few hours.

Jimin shrugs and then uses his shoulder to push through the front door that he left ajar. “Same as before. They say it’s the Barton’s right to challenge us. It might be ancient and ridiculous, but the tenets haven’t been changed in nearly five hundred years. Duels are completely within anyone’s rights.”

It’s on the tip of Jungkook’s tongue to spout off that he should challenge Raiden for even considering challenging Jimin, but this whole situation has been so delicate to navigate. Jungkook doesn’t want to undermine Jimin in any way, and challenging Raiden himself might come off as a declaration that Jungkook doesn’t think Jimin is a strong enough alpha to beat Raiden in the first place.

Which is so far from the truth. Jungkook is fully confident that Jimin will be victorious. His friend is ferocious, an expert in many forms of martial arts, and has nearly as commanding of an alpha voice as Jungkook. But that in and of itself makes this whole thing far more complicated. Because everyone knows of Jimin’s abilities, why would anyone challenge him if they know they can’t win? Unless they plan to do something dirty—cheat their way to victory. You were right in your thinking about that.

Jungkook just doesn’t want Jimin to get hurt because Raiden wants to fight dirty. If the elders discover Raiden cheated, it might ruin Raiden’s chance of being the Barton pack alpha, but that would just make way for his younger brother, Kiel, to step into that role. And Kiel is far more of a dangerous alpha than Raiden. The possibilities are endless, and Jungkook hates all the uncertainty.

“So you’re really going through with this?” Jungkook asks, dropping down into a low-slung chair in Jimin’s open-concept living room.

Jimin’s back is to Jungkook as he fishes two beers from the fridge, the kitchen island the only thing separating the two spaces. “Don’t have much of a choice, it seems,” he confirms, offering a dark amber bottle to Jungkook before settling on the floor in front of the fireplace. “We can’t reject Demetrius’ challenge, and there is no way I’m letting Dad face Raiden himself.” Jimin stretches out, using a hand to prop himself up as he extends his toes toward the small fire burning in the hearth.

Jungkook watches his friend. Jimin still holds much of the boyish charm he had in his youth. The bleached strands of his hair look like gold in the soft firelight. He’s only wearing jeans and a grey t-shirt, his feet bare and toes flexing in the warmth coming from the fire. Jimin brings his beer up and takes a sip—the brown glass looks molten in the flickering light. Jungkook watches as a line forms between Jimin’s dark brows, a solemn look stealing over his friend’s face.

Thinking to change the subject and mood to something a bit lighter all at once, Jungkook shoots a group text off before asking, “In the mood for some steaks and games?”

That earns him an appreciative smile from Jimin. Jungkook might not be able to challenge Raiden nor take over Jimin’s fight, but he can do everything in his power to ensure his friend knows he has the full support of Jungkook and their other friends behind him. An hour later, the other five of their friend group are gathered, a bottle of whiskey is being passed around, and steaks are sizzling away on the grill.

“Where’s your girl at, Jungkook?” Namjoon asks before sinking a solid ball into a corner pocket. This earns a sigh from Hoseok, who is standing on the other side of the pool table, softly thumping the rubber end of his cue on the floor as he waits to take his next turn.

Jungkook looks up from where he’s tending the steaks on the grill on the back patio, meeting Namjoon’s gaze through the open sliding glass door into the lounge. “At home.”

“Trouble in paradise?” Yoongi asks from his seat at the outdoor bar, where he’s chopping up vegetables for a salad to go with the steaks.

Taehyung comes up beside Jungkook, peeking over his shoulder at the sizzling slabs of meat. “I can’t imagine leaving behind a sweet piece of ass to come hang out with a bunch of dicks,” he comments, earning a swat from Jungkook that has him laughing and running to the other side of the deck and launching himself into the pool.

“You guys don’t understand,” Jungkook grumbles.

Seokjin swats the top of the water, splashing Taehyung once he surfaces, before climbing out of the pool and grabbing a towel, wrapping it around his hips. “So enlighten us, Kook.”

“My parents—the whole pack, really—are insisting I bond with her immediately. And, I know that that shouldn’t be a big deal, considering I’m the pack alpha. But I shouldn’t be pack alpha for another five years at least, so it’s making my experience a little different than most. I just thought once I found my Luna, I’d have more time to get to know her—fall in love with her—before putting my bite on her. Shit, guys, it feels too soon, and it’s got me all fucked up in here,” he says, using the handle of the tongs to tap the side of his head. “I can’t be around her for more than five minutes without popping a knot. I feel like I’m a gods damned pup all over again. I should be enjoying my time drowning in slick instead of worrying about a bond.”

“What’s so wrong with that?” Jimin asks, sounding genuinely curious. He’s been laughing and smiling the whole time, but there is an underlying tightness that Jungkook can see behind Jimin’s eyes. “Why is a bond so scary? You can still get to know her even after that.”

Jungkook purses his lips, flipping the steaks before stepping back and meeting his friend's eyes. “I guess it just feels…like we don’t get a choice in it? I mean, I know with our designations and the mating draw, we don’t get to choose who, but most people get to choose when. I want her to want me because I’m me, not because of my alpha.”

“And you’re doing a bang-up job of that by being here with us instead of with her,” Hoseok says, giving Jungkook a disapproving eyebrow raise.

“I have too much going on right now to be—”

Jimin holds up a hand, stopping Jungkook from continuing. “You don’t get to use my situation as an excuse. I already told you I had prepared for you to be bringing her with you.” That earns approving nods for Jimin from everyone else and unimpressed looks for Jungkook.

“Fuck,” Jungkook whispers to himself, pulling the steaks off the grill and plopping them onto a plate, knowing once again that his friends are right about how he’s acting—which is like a complete and utter asshole.

For a mated alpha, it seems he has shit instincts when it comes to his omega. He makes a vow to himself to start being better. As soon as everything with the Bartons blows over, he’s going to change how he treats you and win you over in true mate fashion before he puts his canines anywhere near your neck.

🌙🌙🌙

Jungkook keeps his promise, sending you a few generic text messages and even video calling you later that same night. You spent your day sequestered away with his mom, memorizing different herbs and their medicinal properties.

The next day, you realize that as much as you might not have cared to learn about these things initially, you find yourself surprised by how much you enjoy them. Perhaps it helps when she brings out a box of dried herbs labeled ‘Omega’, but it’s also a nice distraction from worrying about what’s going on with Jungkook; you haven’t heard from him at all today.

“And this?” Jungkook’s mom asks, tapping her finger on a vacuumed sealed baggy of dark green sprigs.

You examine the small spindles of green needles and cross-reference the book in your lap. “Fennel. Used for treating spasms.”

“Good, and this?” Her finger moves to a clear glass jar full of dried white and yellow flowers.

“Chamomile.” You smile, not even having to check the book to see if you’re right. Your own mother keeps a garden of chamomile and mint. She told you once that she started growing it for Mari, your old pack alpha’s late Luna, before she got sick.

Jungkook’s mom picks up the jar and twists off the lid, holding it out for you to smell it. “It’s one of my favorite scents,” she sighs happily. For once, her stony exterior breaks a bit to show you the warmth underneath.

“Reminds me of home,” you say before you can think better of it.

That deteriorates whatever ground you feel like you had made in that instant. “This is your home now,” she says, pointedly looking at the ring on your finger that once sat on hers before she pops the lid back on the jar and replaces it in the box. “You’ve not yet bonded with my son. Why?”

The abrupt change in subject and the lancing question have you opening your mouth just to snap it shut again. “Excuse me?”

Her shoulders heave up and down with a long, drawn-out sigh. She gives you a withering look like you’re a child to whom she is about to have to explain something very simple. “You both know what is needed of you. Yet your neck still doesn’t bear his mark. There is nothing to show for the combined strength of the pack. People are starting to talk.”

You swallow past the bile in your throat. Are you supposed to care if people are talking? It feels like a half-assed effort, but the only thing you can think to say to her unreadable face is, “Jungkook has been gone, helping with the Parks.”

“Yes. Yes, so he has,” she mutters, her eyes narrowing and dropping to the box still open on the floor between the two of you. “He is far too ambitious for his own good. He should be focused here instead of trying to play referee for a bunch of chest-pounding alpha fools.”

It is so surprising that she would make such a blunt and crass statement, that it takes you a moment to realize there is another presence in the room. A deep throat clears, drawing both of your attention and snapping you out of your shock.

“I think what my sweet wife is trying to say is that Jungkook has responsibilities here that should outweigh those of other packs, even if those packs are our friends and allies.” Jungkook’s dad limps in, his silver-tipped cane thumping loudly on the hardwood floor. You can’t help but let your eyes flick over his burly form, looking for any sign that death is knocking on his door, as Jungkook let slip earlier.

Jungkook’s mom sniffs, giving you an indignant look that turns to heart-melting adoration as her gaze drifts to her husband. What little fire had flared moments ago within her is smothered by the bond to her alpha, making her once again a demure omega.

Watching that, witnessing it happen so clearly, has your own reservations and doubts bubbling up all over again concerning your impending bond with their alpha son. You don’t want to become someone’s doormat. Not that you see his mom as being a doormat for his father, but there’s just something so…unnerving about someone else being able to control you with just the sound of their voice that frightens you. The fact he can do that even without the bite doesn’t seem to make a difference.

Your phone buzzing in your pocket pulls you out of your thoughts. Checking it, you see it’s a call from Jungkook. “Speaking of,” you say, holding up your phone so they can see his name displayed across the screen.

“Tell him to come home,” his father says, giving you a curt nod of dismissal. You just give him a tight-lipped smile as you stand to leave.

“Hi,” you say in a hushed tone as you slip out of the room. Your lessons take place in the small community clinic; the room you were just in is one where supplies are kept. It’s doubled as your classroom for the last few weeks.

“Hey.” Jungkook sounds weary, his voice ladened with exhaustion.

“Is everything okay?” You continue down the hallway until you hit the backdoor. It swings open on silent hinges as you leave, angling yourself toward the house at the top of the hill—Jungkook’s home, and now yours, you suppose.

There is a long pause, during which all you hear is Jungkook’s soft breathing. “It could be better,” he finally replies.

“Is there anything I can do?” It’s an automatic response, to want to please him and make his life better; you love and hate it.

“No,” his reply whistles through the phone, carried on a sigh. “I should have brought you with me. I’m sorry, I keep fucking up, it seems.” Before you can formulate any sort of response to that, he continues, “The duel is happening tomorrow. I’ve already talked to my brother. He is going to drive you and our parents up first thing in the morning.”

“Wait, what? Tomorrow?” You mentally shuffle through the sporadic text messages he’s sent you the last day, trying to remember if he mentioned anything about the time frame.

You make it up the driveway and to the front door, but take a seat in one of the patio chairs instead of going inside. Jungkook shifts around and you can hear the distinct rub of fabric over the phone speaker before a soft grunt and exhale. “Sorry, I had to sit up before I ended up passing out on you. We stayed up too late last night.” He clears his throat. “I would have told you sooner, but after the others left last night, Jimin and I got called in by the council.”

“Did they change their minds?” you ask, trying to grab onto even the tiniest flicker of hope.

Jungkook mutters something that you can’t hear before speaking more clearly, “I wish. The stubborn old fools are more concerned with what an ancient book written five hundred years ago says than with what should actually be done.” He laughs; it’s a biting and humorless sound. “You should have seen the looks on their faces when I suggested writing a new set of tenets. The alpha stick is so far up their asses that they can’t see just how utterly ridiculous this whole farce is.”

“There is no way Demetrius isn’t going to try and pull something. None of this makes sense. Sure, the Parks and Bartons have beef, but for it to so suddenly come to this?”

“I know.” The frustration in Jungkook’s voice makes your omega mewl in concern. It’s been relatively quiet today, just a silent, observing presence until now. “All we can do is be there and keep our eyes and ears open for any possible nefarious bullshit they have planned. I’ve already got all the guys, and even Daehyun keyed in on the whole situation.”

You don’t even have to ask who ‘the guys’ are. Once Jungkook came into your life, so, too, came six other alphas that are closer to Jungkook than even his beta older brother, Junghyun. You’re less familiar with Lee Daehyun, Jimin’s personal trainer, but still are aware of who he is. He was the beta you bumped into the night of your designation celebration when you were on the prowl to locate what you eventually figured out was the scent of your mate—Jungkook.

“With that many eyes, surely they won’t try anything,” you lament, but even you can’t convince yourself.

Jungkook yawns; you can hear the inhalation and heavy exhalation. “I can only hope they’re not that stupid, but it wouldn’t be the first time Demetrius has tried to pull a stunt to get ahead.”

The whole situation still stinks of foolery. You tell Jungkook as much, “I still don’t like it. Is Jimin okay with what happens when he wins? Or what if they do try something, but by the time we realize it, it’s too late? What happens if…what if Jimin—” You can’t even bring yourself to say it out loud. Either way, Jimin is going to have an irreparable dark spot on his tender soul; you just know it, he’s far too sweet of a guy for this shit.

Everyone knows what happens to an alpha that is forced to submit to another alpha—they break. It’s happened only a handful of times outside of duels, primarily by accident and when there is a lot of liquor and anger involved. One alpha pisses off another, and the stronger of the two forces the other to submit, using the voice designated explicitly for their mate. It does something to an alpha; it causes their internal wires to cross, and they become a shell of who they once were. And the alpha that did the breaking? Well, they’re never quite the same, either.

Jungkook is so quiet that you begin to think he might have hung up on you, but eventually, he states, “Jimin will always be my brother, no matter what happens.”

That’s how the conversation ends. Jungkook offers a brief goodbye, saying he needs to get some sleep before he actually passes out on you, and assures you he’ll be waiting for you when you arrive in the morning.

You sit on the patio for a while longer, watching as the sun slowly sinks below the horizon, the phone still clutched in your hand. Shortly after Jungkook hung up, Junghyun texted to confirm what time to meet him in the garage.

Yet, you can’t bring yourself to head inside just yet. It’s not until the fireflies are winking through the balmy air and the moon is full and heavy overhead that you make your way inside and succumb to your own emotional exhaustion.

Next Chapter⇾ ◅ Back to story masterlist

#bts #bts fanfic #bts jungkook #bts angst #bts smut #bts non idol au #bts abo #jungkook abo #alpha jungkook #omega reader #abo smut #bts knotting #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #bts enemies to lovers #alpha jungkook x omega reader #jungkook smut #bangtanwhq #btscreaturescoven

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arcane-vagabond · 3 months ago

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Hey there...

You got a second? Come chat with me.

After talking with a couple of other creators on here and seeing the reaction to a couple of my other posts, I thought it might be a good idea to chat about engagement and what that means, specifically here on Tumblr.

Engagement is the life blood of fandom. It is what keeps people enthusiastic, happy, and, well....engaged! I think there have been some misconceptions about what exactly it is content creators (fanfic writers, moodboard makers, gif makers, fan art makers, etc.) mean when they say they want meaningful engagement.

Meaningful is the operative word here. Yes, likes and reblogs do count as engagement with your favorite creators, but do they count as meaningful?

Imagine with me for a second that you are competing in a sporting event....lets say track and field. You've been preparing for this event for a while now, putting your all into it so that you can do your best. The time comes and your event goes really well!! Afterwards, you go to mingle with the crowds, your friends, your families, except...no one says a word to you. Sure, they give you thumbs up and applause, but nothing else.

You're starting to feel a little self conscious now. You thought you did really well, but no one is saying anything? So you ask them how they thought you did. Several of them just smile at you and nod their heads, giving you another thumbs up, and one of your friends even says "you did good!"

"Well, what did you all think about...?" You ask. Again, no one says anything. You look over and several other teammates are having the same thing happen to them. One or two have people gushing about their performance, and it's well deserved! They worked really hard, and they did amazing in their event! But you did too...right? You're not so sure now, and now you're starting to second guess yourself. Should you even be doing this at all? People gave you thumbs up and applause, but....

A few weeks later, you're not as engaged with track and field anymore. In fact, you've all but quit at this point, running in your free time, but you're not doing it competitively for others to see. You still enjoy the act, but you don't want to subject others to seeing you do it if they don't want to. One day, a friend comes up to you and says "You were so good at track and field! Why did you stop??"

"I didn't think anyone liked seeing me do it, so I stopped," you explain. Your friend looks at you confused.

"We all did?" They say. "We gave you thumbs up and applause. Why would you think we didn't like your events?"

"Because you never said you did. You never put forth the effort to tell me, so how was I supposed to know?" You reply.

Now, given reactions to other posts like this, I'm sure some of you are going to call me condescending or patronizing. I'm not trying to be. I'm trying to show you all why meaningful engagement is so vital to fandom experiences. Your favorite creators WILL stop creating if you don't talk to them about their work. They'll keep doing what they love, but eventually they will stop sharing it with you. You'll never know how your favorite fic ends. You'll never see your favorite characters in that style exactly again. You'll get fewer and fewer gifs.

Likes are okay, and reblogs are important for getting more eyes on your favorite things, but talking to your writers and engaging with them in the different events, their content, or fun things they try to do for you all is so important.

I joked, but the whole "ten likes and five comments for the next update" used to be a very real thing in fandom spaces. Your favorite content creators do not want to be on here constantly begging you all to talk to them. We are human beings who want to speak with other human beings, we don't want to be treated like mindless content machines for you all. Days of work go in to what we create, and a single sentence of "I really liked when X character said this! I can't wait to see what they'll do when Y happens!" on a fic takes you ten seconds. And I guarantee that the author will absolutely bombard you with their excitement to talk about their story. You're never bothering someone when you talk about their work. They share it because they WANT to talk to you about it.

Don't want to show your face? That's totally fine! That's what the anonymous feature is ACTUALLY for. Show love through anonymous messages if you don't want people to know it's you!

Show your favorite creators some more love. It's so easy.

#liz speaks #liz lectures #long post #let's talk meaningful engagement #feel free to add on to this if you have something to add!

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marvel-ous-m · 1 year ago

Text

Eddie Munson’s Guide for How to Adopt a Jock in Four Easy Steps (5/5)

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four

AO3 Link

A.N.: I’m actually kind of emotional posting this! It’s the first multi-chapter fic I’ve uploaded for ST and y’all have been so lovely this week. I hope you enjoy this 2,776 word ending (damn) to this fic that I’ve SO enjoyed writing and sharing.

I want to give a very special shoutout to my best friend @lamoabss for being my beta for this chapter and also just being an all-around wonderful person. Please give them a follow, they’re so insanely talented and we’re planning to do some collabs over the summer!

Okay, onto the last chapter!

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The first part of Step Three is easy enough- with all of Hellfire onboard, Eddie just needs to figure out the basics of Steve Harrington: likes, dislikes, allergies, school schedule, etc. All the things that high school students share with each other in the cafeteria over lunch or between class periods. So, Eddie makes like glue and sticks to Steve’s side. For the classes they share, Eddie moves to sit in the desk next to Steve- which is, sadly, pretty easy- no one is keen to sit next to the fallen king, probably out of some dumbass fear that they would catch whatever social pariah-ness that Steve had suddenly taken on. They trade notes during the classes that Steve zones out during- which, Eddie makes a mental note, are English and Math. (The other class they share together is Chemistry, and Steve can barely take his focus from whatever their science teacher is talking about to say ‘hi’ to Eddie when he comes into class five minutes late, which he does on a fairly regular basis. Eddie also files that information away for later).

By some unexplainable miracle, for the classes that Eddie doesn’t share with Steve, some member of Hellfire can fill in that space. Jeff takes Spanish 2 with Steve, Gareth has woodshop, and Grant has art and P.E.. Eddie employs them to run reconnaissance as they work together to make sure that Steve never has to sit alone in a class, and they begin to compile information through their various efforts.

Steve can draw pretty well, but he only uses pens to sketch. He loves art class and sits at the front to see the board better, so he probably needs glasses. He talked to the P.E. teacher last week and now all he does during class is sit in her office and file papers, I think she’s making him sit out for a few weeks because she thinks he has a concussion. Based on his behavior, he probably does. -Grant.

Steve hates woodshop. He sits in the back of the class and doesn’t pay attention, and if the professor catches him and makes him actually do work, he gets this look in his eye and panics a little. He does this thing with his right hand where he clenches it a couple times until he can breathe better. He won’t go near a hammer. I don’t really understand it. -Gareth.

Steve sucks at Spanish. He said something to me the other day about the letters not making sense. With the way he squints at his paper and the way he writes… I’m going out on a limb here, but he might be dyslexic? -Jeff.

Steve doesn’t pay attention in Math but he has an A, so he’s actually freakishly good with numbers. He doesn’t pay attention in English for the opposite reason, I think Jeff’s onto something. He loves Chemistry but he doesn’t have the best grade in that class. I think he pays attention because he wants to do a better job. He’s well rested on Monday and Friday morning, but Tuesday, Wednesday, and especially Thursday he looks like he’s about to fall over all day. I catch him nodding off in Math those days, and, maybe coincidentally, his shoes are really muddy on the mornings when he comes in tired. -Eddie.

With the new information, the boys get to work. Gareth makes himself Steve’s woodshop partner, doing the majority of the building and letting Steve relax for the most part, having him only do whatever wood staining that needs to be done. Grant shares some of his sketches with Steve in class to try and make him more confident about his art skills, which works surprisingly well. Grant also brings up his dyscalculia seamlessly over lunch one day and answers whatever questions Steve has. Jeff gives Steve his Spanish notes and asks to study together on Thursday nights. Steve turns him down- apparently Thursday nights he actually babysits Dustin so that Dustin’s mom, Claudia, can go to a Bingo thing with her friends, but Steve offers up Fridays after class in the library, which becomes a new tradition for them.

Eddie can’t offer much in the way of English notes (why read Shakespeare when there are hundreds of Sci-Fi and Fantasy books out in the world?) but he does make time to talk with Steve about English during lunch on Tuesdays. They go to the library instead of sitting in the cafeteria with the rest of Hellfire, and they work their way through whatever assigned reading their teacher gives them. Steve’s pretty tired, but not as tired as he is on Wednesdays or Thursdays, so it works, and they both find themselves actually understanding the subject matter for once. As for math- well, Eddie has Steve answer whatever questions he has rather than the other way around, but that seems to help Steve’s confidence about his math skills- which really are quite impressive. Eddie also finds himself as Steve’s lab partner for every Chem project. It’s a little bit chaotic- turns out that Steve understands Chemistry to a certain extent, but prefers to mess around more than actually learn something- which, yeah, dangerous, but also fun… very fun. (Eddie especially likes to play with the Bunsen burner- call him a pyromaniac- but his antics always pull a laugh from Steve, a bright sound that makes Eddie’s heart sing, so he keeps at it despite many, many reprimands from their Chem teacher).

The winter months turn to Spring, and Steve begins to bloom at the same pace as the flowers and trees around town. He contributes to conversations at lunch, plans to hang out with the guys when he has spare time, attends their band practices and cheers them on- hell, by March he even agrees to play a character in Eddie’s newest campaign. Eddie makes him a Paladin, which he claims fits Steve the best out of everything he could think of. Steve loves the character and picks up on what it’s like to actually play the game rather than strategize pretty quickly- unsurprisingly, Steve loves it.

The Hellfire boys seem to take Steve’s blooming personality in stride- Jeff goes over to Steve’s to bake chocolate chip cookies one-on-one, which they bring to the next campaign. He and Grant bond over art, swapping sketches and gifting each other art supplies. Every time Steve receives something, his eyes get this look- and every time that Eddie witnesses it, he’s reminded of why they brought Steve into their small-but-mighty crew, and is extremely grateful that Steve is acclimating so well. Steve and Gareth are fast friends, which takes all of them by surprise. Apparently, Steve gave Gareth some hairstyling tips, and that was that.

Steve’s personality isn’t the only thing that’s changing come Spring. Eddie finds himself staring at Steve’s mouth much more frequently. In fact, he can count a number of times where he could swear that Steve was doing the same to him. They laugh at each other's jokes more frequently, share stolen moments by Steve’s locker in between classes where they speak in hushed voices about whatever comes to mind. It’s… nothing that Eddie’s ever experienced before. At the same time, Eddie can’t imagine life without these moments with Steve, and while Jeff’s cautionary words are still at the forefront of his mind, he can feel himself falling harder, and it’s slowly reaching a worrisome point-of-no-return.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it’s June. Steve passes all of his classes with the help of Hellfire, Eddie fails English and P.E. again (which he unfortunately expected- another year in this hell doesn’t sound all that appealing, but he figures that he can at least hang out with the guys for another year, and with Jeff in Senior English maybe he’ll actually pass). The four of them attend Steve’s graduation, where they meet some of the middle schoolers that Steve had spoken so highly about over the last few months. They all sit together and cheer as loud as they can when Steve walks across the stage and gets his diploma, even earning a few hushed whispers from surrounding parents to sit down and be quiet. Steve’s parents were nowhere to be found, but when everyone caught up with Steve after the ceremony to congratulate him, it was clear that he didn’t mind- in that moment, he had everyone that he cared about surrounding him.

Hellfire presented Steve with a club T-Shirt as a graduation gift, which he took with a wide smile on his face and that same look in his eye. Eddie took a moment to mentally pat himself on the back- Step Three: Get Steve Fully Integrated Into Hellfire, complete. (Yeah, he fell harder for Steve, but he kept that to himself and got Steve through the rest of the school year while also giving him a new group of friends- and, theoretically, Steve was none the wiser about Eddie’s feelings. All in all- not bad, Munson. Not bad.)

The kids had to leave pretty quickly after congratulating Steve- something about getting Dustin packed for summer camp and Claudia having been the one to drive all of them to graduation- but not without Dustin and his friends making Eddie promise to let them into Hellfire when September came around, while simultaneously gawking about him letting someone like Steve into the group. (Their bright personalities and excitement about Hellfire helped Eddie feel a bit more optimistic about the year ahead- who knew, maybe ‘86 would be his year).

Once the crowd dispersed, the rest of the boys of Hellfire also going their separate ways to get a start on summer plans, Eddie invited Steve over to the trailer to share a joint and spend the night. Wayne was pulling a 24 hour shift, and Eddie figured Steve needed an opportunity to let loose before starting work at the new ice cream shop, a job Steve was dreading. (Although, Eddie was secretly pretty excited about Steve’s new job, given the embarrassing uniform that Steve had described).

Steve took Eddie up on his offer, which is how they ended up splayed next to each other on Eddie’s bed, legs tangled together and giggling through the soft haze that came with working through some of Eddie’s stash. One thing led to another, and, at Steve’s quiet, embarrassed request, they tried out ‘shotgunning’, which turned into a very heated makeout session.

The development was entirely unexpected, but, as was later revealed during a conversation at sunrise, mutually very welcomed. So maybe Step Three wasn’t entirely completed in accordance with Jeff’s warning, but whatever. This was good- actually, scratch that, this was perfect. Best-of-all-possible-scenarios, win-win situation. They started dating- keeping it secret, only sharing it with the other members of Hellfire, and then only because Jeff clocked it within three minutes of one of their summer D&D sessions starting. They were all very supportive (save for a warning glare from Jeff that Eddie was on the receiving end of), and for about a month, Steve was the happiest that Eddie had ever seen. And yeah, Eddie was the happiest he’d been in a long time, too. Sue him, Steve was a great boyfriend- and was fucking perfect in the bedroom. (12/10 stars, give the man an award, kinda perfect. And that sailor suit? Goddamn…) Eddie didn’t know how he got so lucky, but he was going to do everything in his power to keep this gift from the universe in prime condition.

June turned to July, and Eddie’s understanding of the world as he knew it completely changed come Independence Day. Eddie was woken up by a phone call in the middle of the night from Steve, who, sounding beyond exhausted, asked for a ride home for him and his coworker Robin. Eddie arrived at the scene and was shocked by the sheer magnitude of what he had unknowingly stumbled upon. There were at least five times as many emergency response vehicles than Hawkins had, the newly-constructed mall was actively burning to the ground, there was a huge crowd outside a long yellow barrier of police tape, and a few faces Eddie recognized beyond the police tape: specifically Steve’s middle schoolers, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, and-

There was Steve, holding a blanket around his shoulders, sitting in the back of an ambulance next to his coworker Robin, who Eddie knew from theater, band, and the handful of times he came in to visit Steve at work. Eddie ducked under the police tape without much fanfare and made his way over to the ambulance, pulling Steve into a hug the second he was within arms length.

They left pretty soon after that, Steve quietly explaining that he had told Robin about their relationship after vomiting their brains out in the movie theater bathroom. Which- Eddie wasn’t really sure how to unpack all of that, but that wasn’t exactly important at the moment. He drove Steve and Robin to Steve’s house, and, at their request, Eddie laid in Steve’s parent’s California King bed with the two of them. After a few hours of all of them trying to sleep but coming up unsuccessful, Steve finally started speaking. Once he started, he couldn’t stop, and an explanation of the hidden dark side of Hawkins came spewing out.

It was dawn by the time Steve finished recounting everything, and Eddie believed him without question. He trusts Steve intrinsically, he knows Steve would never lie about something like this- something so life-altering and burdensome. Besides, Steve’s story matched events that Eddie could place: Will going ‘missing’, followed by Barbara Holland, then Will magically re-appearing around the same time that Steve had his falling out with Hagan and came back to school with a beat-up face from Jonathan Byers. Steve walking the tracks with Dustin as he’d explained all those months ago in November took on a new meaning- they were searching for a monster from an alternate dimension that Dustin had accidentally let loose. The clenching motion Steve made and his aversion to woodshop suddenly made sense, too. In the middle of recounting the events of early November 1984, Steve left his parents room and returned with a wooden bat filled with nails that fit perfectly in Steve’s hand- he explained with an embarrassed flush on his cheeks that it kept him grounded, that he couldn’t sleep without it- that sometimes, when he was anxious, he felt himself reaching for the thing- but if he was relaxed, the idea of holding something even vaguely similar made him sick to his stomach.

Steve then moved on to describe the sleepless nights, how he made himself patrol Hawkins from sundown to sunup on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, often trudging through the forest with his bat, ready to kill the next ‘big bad’ that came from the dimension existing under their feet.

Robin contributed what she could when Steve reached the events at Starcourt. After hours of talking in hushed whispers under the covers of Mr. and Mrs. Harrington’s bed, the three of them passed out, too exhausted to keep their eyes open.

The next few weeks were hard, but the three of them got through the nightmares together. Before Eddie knew it, the school year was starting, Robin and Steve were inseparable, working together at Family Video (because the two could barely spend a minute apart), and July 4th, 1985 felt like a distant thing.

As the months passed, Eddie and Steve’s relationship only became stronger, and in March of 1986, when Eddie watches Chrissy Cunningham be killed by seemingly supernatural forces, he knows who to call.

With a proactive start on things, they kill Vecna on the first try. No one dies- really, the worst that happens is a couple of scratches here and there. They live.

They love.

One day far in the future, as Eddie watches his husband play with their daughter, he thinks back to that November day in 1984, and sends a quiet thank you to his younger self. That Eddie in the library may have had no idea the long-lasting effects that his plan would’ve had on his life, but Eddie couldn’t be more thankful. Steve was nothing like the ‘lost sheep’ Eddie had initially assessed him to be- he had grown so much, found himself, accepted himself. He was Steve. Eddie’s Steve. He was his own, beautiful, intelligent, kind, sometimes-awkward (yet adorably so), person.

Secret, Unplanned Step Four: Make Steve Harrington Fall in Love with Me (While I Fall Irresistibly in Love With Him), complete.

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Tag List: @ellietheasexylibrarian @cuips-not-cute @melodymeddler @i-have-three-feelings @sc00ps-ahoy @singmeyoursimpsong @patchworkgargoyle @spectrum-spectre @devondespresso @thesuninyaface @obsessivlyme @angeldreamsoffanfic @carlyv @nburkhardt @inspirationorinsanity @rebelspykatie @my2amgaythoughts @lavenderagenda @just-a-tiny-void @mamafaithful @breadboi66 @beholdingloser @randomfandomcontent @oftirnanog @yellowdevilkitten @steves-strapcollection @keep-er-steddie @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @bisexualdisastersworld @jinxjinn @copingmechanizm @blackpanzy @failedstarsandgoldenclouds @evix-syne666 @crisisinverted17 @satan-is-obsessed @shrimply-a-menace @anaibis @trashcanniballecter @thoughtfulbreadpolice @awholedamnmesstbh @chaoticvictorianspirit @jcmadgirl @satan-is-obsessed @tommyvelvet @sleepdeprivedflower @fruitmix @carvingsnowdogs @annabanannabeth @rhyswritesreadsandcries @a-little-unsteddie @goodolefashionedloverboi @escapingthereality @aellafreya @lololol-1234

#stranger things #stranger things fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #my writing #1984 steddie meeting au my beloved #steddie fic #pre s4 #pre s4 meeting #s2 rewrite #steve harrington needs a hug #hurt/comfort

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amerricanartwork · 11 months ago

Note

I saw your lilypad art post, and I got curious: why do you enjoy lilypad? it's not a common RW ship, so I'd be interesting to hear what about it you enjoy!

Hear me out, guys... I must explain myself before I get onto the Lilypad essay.

I made that original comment because, at the time, I wanted to just get the aforementioned headcanons out as soon as possible. Understand, my reluctance wasn't because I didn't want to talk about Lilypad, but rather the exact opposite: I had so many feelings about it, yet had put so little effort into expressing them in a coherent, presentable format that I just knew it'd distract me for the next week or two if I let it rent too much space in my conscious thoughts. But now that little comment has left me with several people asking me to share those thoughts, and, both thankfully and unfortunately, I simply can't resist indulging in thoughts about the characters I love—!

Keep in mind, I haven’t finished Saint campaign yet, and even then I’ve found like less than half the broadcasts in Spearmaster campaign yet, so there’s likely some extra canon info I may be missing that could add to or change some of what I say here. I also apologize if some of what I write here seems really out-of-character. I try not to let my passion for my little headcanons and scenarios make me disregard the canon, but even so, I might slip and think up some weird things occasionally. Nonetheless, I feel like I’ve got enough of the picture to start confidently enjoying this ship, so I’ll talk about it anyway!

As always, feel free to add to these ideas if you can! Without further delay, enjoy this 3381-word essay, with a few initial headcanons sprinkled in, on why I adore Lilypad!

Oh, and just in case, if you couldn’t already tell, major Hunter campaign spoilers below.

Quetzalli on Loving Lilypad

I’m gonna start this out with a preface: I can generally find the appeal in a lot of different ships and the art other fans make for them, but for me to ship something enough to actively draw it and make my own headcanons about it and such (outside of, perhaps, gifts for other people), it usually has to contain a variety of “ship tropes” that I personally fancy. Many of my most-favorite ship tropes tend to be the ones that aren’t just cute, but that carry narrative significance and seem poetic in some way, usually because they can facilitate character arcs in the involved characters. The more of these a ship has, or the more ship tropes I can portray it with without it seeming too out-of-character, and the more I like those specific tropes, the better. This principle is a major reason why I’ve gravitated towards Artimand as my main slugcat ship, but for now, I’m going to focus on which of these I see in Lilypad — in canon content, other fan-portrayals, and my personal headcanons — that, as opposed to other iterator ships, has currently won me over.

I’m gonna describe the main general things I like seeing in this ship. Some of them are more due to fandom portrayals than what’s in the canon, but they all play a big role in my current love for Lilypad.

Synergy

I’ll begin with how I really appreciate just how much synergy Looks to the Moon and No Significant Harassment are shown to have, at least in fan content! I always like seeing pairings where the characters aren’t just romantic, but also work really well together as a team or even just as friends. After all, just because the characters may be romantically in love doesn’t mean they must only show it in explicitly romantic ways. To me, Lilypad strikes me as a relationship where Sig and Moon would make an amazing team in many aspects of their lives, whether it's collaborating on projects, sharing their interests, or trying to maintain order in the rest of their group. And their compliment is just really sweet to me, though I’ll get to that later.

A Shoulder to Lean On/The Lady

One of my favorite ship tropes is “character with a lot of weight on their shoulder who finally gets to lift it off and be ‘normal’ for once when around the other”. I’ve always found it sweet when characters like this, especially ones who are normally very selfless, finally get a chance to indulge and enjoy themselves for once! And once again, this is another thing I imagine in Artimand too, and you could project this onto Trafficlights given Suns’s implied high status, but I think it works especially with Lilypad, given Moon’s role as group senior means she objectively has a lot to manage all the time with no permanent escape from it. Even beyond the whole Five Pebbles rot drama, Moon probably had a lot on her plate just in terms of maintaining order between the rest of the group and setting a good example to the younger generations, especially as the group expanded over time, not to mention trying to find the solution herself. Combine this with how I picture her to be the kind of person who cares a lot about her image as a “proper” and “dignified” leader, and someone who often sacrifices her own desires to promote the group’s welfare, I just find it really soft for her to have someone to lean on, metaphorically (and in a worm-off-the-string scenario, literally), and who better to go to than her best teammate, who knows the power of a good laugh and will stop at nothing to have fun with those he loves? Not to mention, since I headcanon Sig as slightly younger than Moon (2nd gen, specifically), I just find it rather cute in an ironic sense that the older, more serious Moon is soft around the younger, far more chaotic Sig, especially as Moon would go through the realization that she actually kinda likes this little troublemaker!

This also comes back to something I mentioned in the tags of that beepsnort post, which is that one of my other favorite ship tropes is “guy who loves/is good at making people laugh x girl who has a REALLY weird/embarrassing laugh”, and that just works so well with Lilypad! It’s admittedly a very headcanon-based thing for me, but given how I’ve already explained my perception of Moon as very proper and serious, I imagine one of the best ways Sig takes the weight off her shoulders is by being the only person who can consistently make her laugh so hard! And with the beepsnort headcanon it’s even cuter, because of course Moon would be super embarrassed every time she even so much as gives a half-chuckle at one of his jokes, because Sig is relentless when it comes to getting the giggles out of her, and he won’t stop until she’s rolling and shaking on the floor of her chamber, her beepy-snorts filling the room! My GODDD I love this trope so much, and for beings who are inherently such workaholics, I think getting to genuinely relax and have fun for a bit, once she gets over the initial shock and embarrassment, would be something Moon would really come to value.

Inverses Attract/The Tramp

I’ve mentioned it in my last Artimand headcanons post, but one of my absolute all-time favorite ship tropes is the classic “opposites attract”, although I prefer the name “inverses attract”. As I like to portray it, the trope not only involves characters who are opposites personality-wise, but those being opposites of the same core aspect, and ultimately helping balance each other out by offering the other half of the equation to each other (hence the name “inverses”). The trope I just wrote about above is how Sig helps Moon to relax and have fun, but as I try to do with all ships, how does it work the other way too? Well, I really like to imagine Sig learning to be more openly serious and dedicated! Don’t get me wrong, Sig is a hard worker (it’s pretty much the nature of all iterators), but given he seems to pretty strongly reject the quest for the Triple Affirmative, I imagine the next problem would be in him finding a new purpose to strive for. And what better new purpose than in standing by and protecting the group senior he thinks he just might wanna be more than friends with?

It already works because Moon, of course, would work to keep Sig in check and make sure he doesn’t go too overboard with his shenanigans. But just imagine how inspired he’d grow over time seeing Moon work so hard to keep the group together and keep them striving for their purpose, even if he doesn’t agree with it. I imagine it’s why Sig’s methods are still rather controlled rather than purely chaotic, and there’s a reason to his rebellion. Thanks to Moon, rather than slaving away at a seemingly impossible solution until his mind collapses with his structure, he’ll use his talents to, at the very least, keep the local group together as long as possible, because even if they’ll all be gone one day, that doesn’t mean they have to go alone!

It’s why I’m also labeling these two tropes together as “the Lady and the Tramp”, yet another ship dynamic that gets me every time! It’s a specific instance of “inverses attract” where the noble, proper lady finds a taste of freedom and courage from the dangerously charming tramp, who from her finds a new sense of purpose and honor! And in my opinion, Lilypad is most definitely the best opportunity for this dynamic among Rain World ships!

The Fated Couple

Slow-burn couples seem to be pretty popular in many fandoms, but what about a really slow-burn? There’s something just so romantic to me about the idea that Moon and Sig, from the moment they met, have always just clicked so perfectly, and have been by each other’s side so constantly ever since, to the point it seems practically inevitable to everyone (except them of course) that they’ll eventually get together romantically. Of course, there are two main roadblocks to their romance being 1.) their whole objective and purpose for being created is kind-of fundamentally opposed to strong attachments like love (I mean, if Karma 3 is Companionship, wouldn’t romantic love be considered the worst example of that?), and 2.) even if they did reject this purpose, being massive immovable structures with the only humanoid part stuck deep inside a box, a budding romance seemingly couldn’t really go anywhere anyway. In fact, because of these roadblocks much of my Lilypad imaginings take place in the ever-popular “worm-off-the-string” scenario, especially since the next couple of reasons for why I like the ship play a lot into the themes I like to incorporate in this story concept.

However, these issues towards such a romance are also what make it so sweet in the end! Just think of Moon, alone in her chamber, beginning to worry about how she’s actually kinda sorta, maybe, hypothetically, possibly, just a little bit starting to like the carefree and charismatic Gen 2 in the local group as even more than just a work partner and a dear friend, but oh no, that’s indulging in a Karmic Sin, and as group senior she can’t just throw away their purpose like that and set such a bad example to the rest! What’s she gonna do?? And then on the other side, Sig puzzling in his chamber, pining so hard for the group senior yet seemingly unable to confess, because, even disregarding Karma 3 and the fact that giant immobile calculators aren’t about to be snuggling any time soon, why would someone as perfect and powerful as her want someone like him, so dismissive of their core purpose and unorthodox in his methods? Is there even a point in having these feelings at all, when they might very well end up simply fading to dust along with the rest of his structure?

Maybe, they both think, it’d be better to just keep these feelings to themselves and quietly love from a distance. That is, until…

Moon’s Collapse and the Slag Reset Keys

The fourth reason is, of course, the most steeped in canon. It goes back a bit to the “shoulder to lean on” concept, but even aside from that, there is something just so romantic about this on both sides.

Firstly, from Moon’s perspective. There’s no doubt that the collapse must have been very traumatic for Looks to the Moon physically, but I like to think about just how much it’d affect her emotionally, too. I mean, being so painfully destroyed by your own brother, with seemingly nothing that can be done to stop it and no one to help you? And then consider how lonely it must have been in her final moments. The only comfort she does get is from Spearmaster’s visit, and even then she sends him off to go deliver her final words, which has still got to be really depressing. And finally, think about how betrayed she must have felt, trying so hard throughout her operation to help her citizens and the local group and be kind to everyone, only to have it be repaid like this, forced to collapse in on herself, being buried under her own body, unfathomable pain all around, and with not a soul to help her.

So then, think about just how shocking and heartwarming (literally, if you think about it) it must be when that lovable Gen 2, always so playful and carefree normally, is the one to give her a second chance and being her back when all hope seems lost, and using such a unique delivery method no less! I mean COME ON, Sig literally brought her back to life, how could one NOT fall in love with someone who did that for them? It links back to the “shoulder to lean on” idea, in that, for once, someone finally looked out for Moon and gave back to her for all the kindness she gave to the world. Think about this as the moment she truly realizes she’s in love with No Significant Harassment, and how tragic it’d be knowing now, it’s too late to say it. But, even so, if he’s willing to go this far to make sure she’s okay, then maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance her love at least wasn’t alone.

Now, my thoughts about this from No Significant Harassment’s side (which also kinda turned into a mini NSH appreciation paragraph that links back to the earlier Inverses Attract and Lady and the Tramp segment), I think it’s very poetic to see him going out of his way to take his messenger concept, originally used for no more than a trivial prank and at most a very experimental and unfinished alternative communication method, and turning it into a noble last-ditch effort to rescue the one he loves. It doesn’t just clearly show how much he cares for Moon that he worked to save her when no one else did (and if that’s because the odds of being able to do anything seemed very low to the rest of them, that makes it even more sweet) I think it shows off a lot of Sig’s character beyond just being a jokester. Like, I’d seen this kind of personality for Sig in the fandom content before, but this action and the other broadcasts are what first made me truly realize not just that it is based in canon, but that, more importantly he’s not just stupid or unfocused, he’s rebellious. He doesn’t joke around because he just doesn’t care, it’s because he’s independent, he’s got other places he wants to go and plans that don’t fit into what most of his peers are used to. He makes light of the world because he sees what others don’t, and it’s honestly pretty frickin’ funny how blind others can be most of the time (case-in-point: him making a slugcat from a messenger, which no one else thought to do because those creatures seemed too “dull” and “primitive” to ever be capable of such a thing). So think about how significant it must be when he’s openly taking something seriously. This is where that dynamic of the Tramp, and how Sig would benefit from this relationship is really highlighted. I just adore it when the easygoing, carefree character finally finds purpose in their lover, and springs into serious action like they never were before! And it makes sense too given what I said about them not getting together before: seeing Moon collapse would show him directly that even beings as durable as iterators don’t last forever, so if he’s got these feelings for Moon, he’s got to make a move while there’s still a chance! And what better way to show his love than to bring her back when all hope seems lost? Which brings me to the final aspects I’ll talk about here, first of which is…

True Love’s Kiss

Yes, you read that right. The real reason I love the slag reset keys as a plot element so much is not just because it shows Sig’s secret strength of character, not just because it finally gives reward to Moon’s kindness, but because it is a real fairytale come true!

I know this sounds crazy and probably totally unrelated to Rain World, but think about it! You guys have probably seen Snow White and Sleeping Beauty before, or at least one of the two? Isn’t the whole trope that the beautiful princess, fairest maiden in the land, gets cursed through some means or another to die (or in Aurora’s case, fall into an indefinite sleep), which is only undone when the strong and brave prince, riding upon his noble steed, awakens the princess by giving her true love’s kiss? I already love both those movies on their own for various other reasons, but after my description, is this starting to sound familiar in another way?

I mean, with everything I’ve said about Moon in this post so far, there’s no doubt you could perceive her as the “fair princess”, who through unfortunate circumstances is put to a premature and indefinite death. And there’s no doubt Sig fills the role of the brave prince by working to save her with the slag reset keys, which in this metaphor are undoubtedly the “true love’s kiss” that ultimately conquers all, always longed for, and finally delivered! And hey, given Hunter is the one to carry the keys to Moon, a small yet courageous beast who stops at nothing to meet his goals, Sig even has his own “noble steed”! And even if Hunter is technically the one to actually deliver the green neuron, and the death the “princess” succumbs to wasn’t out of genuine malice towards her, I think the sentiment is still there and the parallel is close enough!

But yes, as strange as it may sound, the fairytale parallel is the main reason Lilypad resonates with me so much! Those classic fairytale-esque romance tropes and that poetic storytelling found in Disney’s first feature-length animated films has always been dear to my heart, and is even more so now that I’m older and can truly appreciate the beauty of them. So now, even in my fandom experiences, ships that win my appreciation over all others are often those that manage to embody those classic romance tropes and themes as best as possible, and frankly, even Artimand loses ever-so-slightly to Lilypad in this regard! Or, as I also enjoy calling them, “Lifeline”, for reasons that are probably obvious now.

And it’s even better when you consider…

Some Things Never Change

Another trope I’ve recently begun to love is the idea that some phenomena in the world never truly disappear, but simply manifest in different ways, sometimes unexpected ones. And given the whole Triple Affirmative quest and the Ancients’ mass ascension philosophy, this idea is something I especially love seeing in Rain World content. Even the canon events show this idea, but think about how wonderfully it would work with Lilypad beyond just the slag reset keys, especially taking up that “worm off the string” iterator AU concept some have explored in this fandom already.

Just think about how sweet it would be when Moon and Sig, operating primarily through their puppets now, get to finally hug and kiss and be with each other so directly now! Think of the way Sig would speak to Moon about how, even after her collapse, she's still somehow beautiful as ever, and Moon returning with how even all the trouble the group has faced hasn't put a dent in his charm! And it's even sweeter when you consider it’s against everything their creators stood for! Think of Moon, after everything she’s been through and how much she’s probably changed at this point, now willing to give some of these “worldly attachments” a chance, because you can never truly get rid of them, but she knows better than anyone that you won’t be around to experience them forever, so why not enjoy it while you’ve got the chance? And it’d make sense too, not just for her own benefit, but for Pebbles and the rest of the group’s sake too! She’s always strove to set a good example for them, and since their original quest has left them with nothing but pain and trauma, why not show them that maybe all these attachments aren’t so bad after all?

I just think it’d be really interesting to see Moon joining Sig in that rejection of the Triple Affirmative, and what better way to do that than by finally embracing that love they’ve felt for each other for so long? Because love never truly dies, it just appears in new people. And maybe they don’t have to spend their whole lives as grand iterators, the vast infinitely-advanced mechanical deities who embody perfection in almost every way. Maybe, even just for a bit, they can just be people, falling in love just as their creators did all over again!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

And with that, I think I’m FINALLY done here. HOLY COW, this is easily my longest post yet, and I hope it doesn’t disappoint! Part of the reason it took so long was because I was trying to find the perfect way to express all these ideas without it just spilling out onto the page in some weird half-coherent mess. But eventually I just said “ah screw it, let’s just ramble about this ship and see where it goes!” and my god, did it go far! And I still managed to somewhat organize it, so yay!

But aside from that, thank you SO MUCH to everyone who asked for my thoughts on Lilypad, and everyone who made it to the bottom of this essay! I’ve never really gotten a chance to openly ramble about one of my favorite ships to the rest of the fandom like this, so seeing that some fans, even if it’s ultimately not a huge amount, actually wanted me to do it was such a welcome surprise!

I hope you all enjoyed the drawings and the art! I’ll be around in case someone wants me to write another ship essay or something! And who knows, it’s likely I’ll find more reasons I like Lilypad as time goes on and I see more fan-content and find the rest of those broadcasts! But at least this was a starting point!

Expect more LIlypad content to come in the future, but until now, thanks again for the opportunity!

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