#might come back to this prompt if I find out more info bc there's so much to explore 🙈

[azu1as]

Hi, Tin! I love your writing and I have a prompt for you, if you are interested) what if Tang family is too afraid of Tang Bo leaving permanently and eloping with Cheong Myeong? So they initiate marriage negotiations with Mount Hua. It can be angst (CM is socially isolated and insecure about his position) or romantic comedy (awkward situations and protective Cheong Mun), up to you). Thank you in advance!

It was a well-established fact that the Dark Saint of the Tang Family was one of their generation's best.

So it came as no surprise when an influx of marriage proposals flooded their family's estate—because rumors started flying around that the Dark Saint was in search of a partner.

The Dark Saint held a reputation for being cold and ruthless. To cultivators and martial artists, he was someone they feared making into an enemy due to his sheer battle prowess and poisonous abilities. To normal civilians, he was a genius who wielded the Tang Family's techniques with cool precision and intent; to them, he was just another mysterious cultivator that they would only ever know of through gossip and stories.

However, in recent years, something shifted. His reputation among common folk was slowly altered. It started off with a supposed battle between him and the Plum Blossom Sword Saint which turned into a sudden and unexpected friendship.

Whereas in the past the Dark Saint would only go around Sichuan and closeby villages, he was now found going around different major cities and unknown ones.

He was often in the company of Mount Hua's Plum Blossom Sword Saint, who worked with him side-by-side to eradicate groups from the Demonic Cult and the occasional bandits and thieves.

For supposed Taoists, the two visited different establishments to drink alcohol and talk cheerily. It was during one of these moments that the first rumor began its spark.

"Ahhhh," The Plum Blossom Sword Saint groans in satisfaction. "That sure hits the spot!"

The Dark Saint chuckles as he tosses back his own drink. "If only I could enjoy everyday like this. Alcohol really is the best."

"What would your future wife think?" The Plum Blossom Sword Saint jokingly and dramatically shakes his head in disappointment. "To have a husband who loves alcohol more than his own wife...!"

The Dark Saint wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. "Trust me, I would make sure that my wife knows full-well just how much I love them."

The two of them share a silent, private conversation with just their eyes alone, that none of the other restaurant's customers could decipher, before they leave a generous tip and went on their way.

It snowballs from there.

All of a sudden gossip went around about the Dark Saint's interest in finding a wife. And so several people came to the same conclusion.

The reason why the Dark Saint is travelling around more than usual is because he's looking for a prospective wife.

Clearly, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint was there to provide moral support. How truly admirable and strong their brotherhood must be!

On the other hand, the head of the Tang Family was fully aware of their Dark Saint's single-minded interest in Mount Hua's Chung Myung.

Seeing all the stacks of letters that ranged from proposing strategic alliances and general marriage offers brought the current head of the Tang Family to a very different conclusion.

Tang Bo was trying to slowly draw himself away from their family by leaving their estate. He might be on the hunt, jumping from village to village, trying to create a dowry befitting for the hand of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint and scouting out all the best locations to settle down in.

It really wouldn't be too surprising of an idea if one day a letter turns up from the man with an intent of permanently moving to Mount Hua or some backwater village.

The Tang Family head shakes the thought of losing one of their best and genius members to one of the Ten Great Sects. If he wanted to maintain their family's reputation, he'll need to strike the first move.

And so he begins to pen a decisive letter to the Sect Leader of Mount Hua.

%%%

Chung Mun's hands tremble as reads the letter sent to him by the Tang Family.

'Who did they think they were?' He would have bit out if he had any less self-restraint. The paper crumples in his grip and he receives a questioning glance from Chung Myung who was sprawled eating mooncakes on the opposite side of his desk.

"What's got you so worked up?" The subject of the letter askswithout a care.

Chung Mun takes a deep breath. "The Tang Family wishes for you to transfer into their estate."

He refuses to say out loud the marriage proposal that came along with this request. His Chung Myung was too young! The man might be a sixty years old, but that round face, cheeks carelessly bulging with mooncakes with crumbs littered on his chin, screamed too young for marriage!

"Oh." Chung Myung nods in understanding.

Chung Mun is glad that Chung Myung agrees that this was nonsensical. To think, they thought that Chung Myung would even leave Mount Hua for—

"After the war is over, Tang Bo and I were planning to be roommates and travel the world a bit."

—?????

"Roommates?" Chung Mun's voices comes out slightly strangled.

"Yup. It's going to be great."

"No."

"'No'?"

Chung Mun tries to run through his previous conversations with Tang Bo. He knew that the man was capable of being underhanded, but he was also well-aware that Tang Bo respected him enough to not blind-side him with something like this. Especially since it concerned Chung Myung.

...

...Oh no.

"Fuck." Chung Mun says, full of feeling as he recalls Tang Bo off-handedly asking permission to live together with Chung Myung in the future.

"...Sect Leader?"

Chung Mun had thought that was a joke! He thought Tang Bo wasn't being serious! They were talking with alcohol in their systems!

The alarmed look that crosses Chung Myung's face informed Chung Mun that the way he felt his blood drain from his face was a visible, physical reaction.

"He asked for your hand in marriage." Chung Mun says faintly. "I said yes."

Chung Myung blinked at him. "Yeah? He told me?"

Okay. Tang Bo, to his credit, hasn't been leaving Chung Myung in the dark at least.

If Chung Myung knows and isn't reacting violently that means that he isn't completely against this. Even if Chung Mun was, he had to reorganize his priorties.

And his number one would be to make sure Chung Myung was happy.

((And to make sure that the Tang Family doesn't think they can step on Chung Mun and pull his little brother away.))

"I'll have to recheck the sect's budget and my own savings to make sure we have enough for the wedding preparations..." Chung Mun mutters as he begins drafting a response to the Tang Family with what he thought were better marriage agreement conditions.

But then, a flash of dread causes Chung Mun to pause writing and leave a dark ink blot on the paper. He suspected, but he really wishes that he was wrong—!

"Huh?" Chung Myung gives Chung Mun a confused look. "We already got married though?"

[system-of-a-feather]

don’t really know how to phrase this tbh, but do you have any advice for improving “awareness” (in quotes bc it’s close to what I mean, but brain is too foggy to figure out a more specific word/phrase)??

I’m the primary host for us, and I really struggle to recognize a) when others are in or near the front with me, b) when another part is exerting passive influence, and c) who other parts (especially in/near the front) are. everything asides from full possessive switches always feels very blurry and I have a hard time distinguishing myself from the other parts. I think this is in part due to the way that our DID hides itself and our amnesia (by giving me partial/vague memories and making it feel like I was the one active in them) but it makes recalling things very confusing (and pretty distressing if I realize that I wasn’t in the front for as long as I thought I was), especially when we’ve had non-possessive switches and/or co-con and/or passive influence.

so far, the others are helping me practice recognizing co-consciousness and passive influence by giving me a “nudge” at which point I’m supposed to try to identify who is in/near the front with me. but it’s still a big struggle and it’s been really frustrating, so I’m looking for suggestions on improving that skill, hopefully to a point where I don’t need to be promoted to realize that I’m not alone in the front.

and you’re a blog that we generally trust for info, so do you have any pointers?? (or do you know of anyone else who might be able to help??)

(~ @wondering-phenomenon)

I am assuming you mean "prompted" not promoted XD

I will be honest, our system is considerably "overt" and we have primarily possessive switches (even when we co-con / co-front) and so this realm of things is one aspect we don't have too huge experience with compared to systems that have it as their main form of switches. I'm not 100% sure what kind of switches they tend to have but I know they've talked on similar issues, so I'm gonna @l0st-identity to see if they want to / have anything to say on this / have any other blogs to redirect towards.

With that said, a lot of my experience with this comes from within our subsystem which deals with more non-possessive switches and a lot more confusion of parts (and parts assuming themselves to be other parts), which while different, is a similar frame work from MY experience that I'm using to suggest some things that might help.

One thing that has helped me in identifying me VS not me when parts are similar is to change perspective a bit. Rather than trying to be aware of when "I am not me", try to be more conscientious of when you ARE you - and by that, I mean answering the question of what situations and traits and behaviors make you feel the most you. You can approach this in a "what makes me who I am, how would I describe myself" manner if that's easier (which it tends to be for white and western (/neutral) cultures - if so then its a good place to start, the question is hard to answer so meet yourself where you are) but I think its best done by focusing on just how you feel when operating in the world and learning the general resting state / vibe that "you" settle in. I personally find labels and attaching descriptive labels to an identity tends to be limited in the long run, but thats more so a philosophical ideal preference on my end.

The better you know who YOU are as a part, the easier it is to tell when something isn't quite right. Sometimes if you are struggling in figuring this out, if you have a close person around you who you trust, you can also ask them for feed back and to keep an eye out to help point out things that might be different between parts and/or prompt you to just check in with yourself.

Additionally, its less long term helpful and maybe not hte most productive to long term healing in terms of DID but it can be helpful in the getting through the early stages of DID, which is to just think of things that you know you are ABSOLUTELY not, things you do not at all see yourself doing, and locating the oddities and incongruence between how you see yourself and some of your behaviors in the past to kind of see if there are any odd trends that stick out. It might results in an increase of tension between parts and alter differentiation, but in my experience, to get through the stabilization phase, alter differentiation and some level of tension pulling tends to be part of the process.

Additionally, you can also ask if other parts in the system that are more familiar / better at identifying this could write down some notes and pointers as to how they can tell next time they are out.

Your own parts are often some of your best teachers in my experience.

I had another in mind but I forgot it (honestly probably a few others XD I'm getting tired fight me /lh /j)

Also its kinda silly, but a thing I just do regularly throughout the day as a system that tends to usually have a pretty high co-fronting / co-conning ability is that sometimes I just internally call out and just wait to see if I hear back from anyone.

At this point when it comes to driving (I'm honestly easily stressed by driving due to OCD and dissociation, but at this point basically everyone elsei n the system is fine driving or enjoys it) I call out just about everytime "OK whose gonna drive" and see who speaks back.

Not always will parts respond, especially earlier in recovery and healing and communication work, but its always worth a try in my experience

OH I REMEMBERED IT

It sounds kinda silly as well, but if you notice something feeling off, sometimes I find myself "zoned out" and then as I hear whatever part is in the front wondering if they are me, I click back in and go "WAIT A MINUTE IM ME" and I don't really know if theres any advice I could give REGARDING that but it is a relevant point that might have something to it XD

Oh and in the end of it, per my usual motto, when it comes down to DID, try not to stress too much about figuring things out. Unless people are getting hurt or drastic issues are coming out in the lost time / time you aren't fronting, its not something that needs to be blown up and awareness will general build with time. It's not something you need to focus too much on to be able to slowly develop. As long as you intend to reach out and connect and try to be aware, that should be more than enough to keep you on a good track to increasing awareness as it is. Being kind to yourself and lowering your stress levels to the best of your ability can help a lot in lessening confusing symptoms cause ironically being stressed out makes you dissociated which makes both you and your symptoms more confused / confusing.

[nehswritesstuffs]

Intro Post, GO!

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph--I last did one of these in 2018... fucking...

Info under the cut, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Hi! My name is Nehs and I write stuffs. I’m a trained screenwriter and hope to one day break into that, but I also know that since it’s a lot of work and luck I might as well enjoy myself along the way. I’ve been writing fan fiction since about 1998 and sharing online since 2004, so when I say I’ve been writing fic for most of my life, I mean it. More recently I’ve been very active in the Doctor Who/Whouffaldi fandom and back in One Piece. These things are more alike than one would think. My life force feeds off of weird, rare, and otherwise less-popular ships as well as alternate universe settings.

Aside from being here I’m also on fanfiction.net and Archive of Our Own. In the past nine years I’ve put out about 1.78mil words on AO3. My totals on FFN (which begin in high school (beware weird/lower quality work earlier on) and are skewed due to author’s notes and review replies bc i’ve been on the site for so long) are at ~2.38mil. Not everything from here is on my FFN or AO3 and not everything on FFN is on AO3 and vice versa. I do tend to crosspost a lot of my work, however, so when one site is down, there’s usually a good place to find my stuff otherwise if you were in the middle of something!

(No, seriously, my FFN hits took off during the latest mass-AO3 outage and it was mainly for stuff that was crossposted, so don’t be afraid to come on over!)

Uhh... big things I’m known for...

The Time That We Love Best: slice of life Whouffaldi AU set from WWII-1960; a hundred chapters of a relationship and lots of period-related plot; there are prompt fills to add to the story

The Thick of UNIT: crossover involving Doctor Who and The Thick of It, prominently showcasing the crackship of Kate Stewart/Malcolm Tucker; contains many OCs, canon cameos from both shows, weird shit, and current events; lots of offshoots and even has spawned fic of the fic

The March of Kasterborous and Gallifrey: pseudo-fantasy/nobility Whouffaldi AU that starts with an arranged marriage and morphs into a loving relationship and the building of a dynasty; consists of In Want of An Heir, Stars in A Sky of Blood and Blue, a prompt fill fic, and an AU of the AU that’s a remix of the first fic

Getting the Hang of Things: my attempt at a close-as-possible-to-canon Whouffaldi AU where they raise kids

a bunch of different fantasy-related Whouffaldi AUs, incorporating things such as selkies, werewolves, vampires, a How to Train Your Dragon setting, and more

Father Like Son, Mother Like Daughter, Parent Like Child: a One Piece Bellazón AU where Cora-san and Bell-mère raise their six kids in the East Blue, they’re all better adjusted, and proceed to make it everyone’s problem

little seagull, little seagull, where shall you go?: a One Piece AU where the Heart Pirates find a kid during the timeskip and Law completes the circle and becomes her Cora-san; is pretty much becoming a pick-your-own adventure story as I write varying branches to the plot

Love, Loss, and Finding One’s Self on the High Seas; I wanted to write Sanji/Pudding that gave her agency and made things less creepy; there’s lots of other ships too and it’s just weird af trust me

Other than that I am generally friendly and willing to interact with people. Drop me a line anytime, about fic or fandom or anything else, even if you think it’s negative. My personal blog is escapaldi. I enjoy hearing from readers (I’m one of those people that stalk reblogs for fun tags) and anything is better than nothing. There’s always room for improvement in a writer’s craft, so if you catch something then please let me know. Anon is on and if you prefer to confer in private just say so. Another thing to note is that I tend to reblog fanart for things I’ve written,things I find neat/important, and any other projects I may be in at the moment. If you got a problem with that, then I’m not really sure what to tell you. *shrugs* Oh, and yeah, don’t feed my fics to an AI for any reason whatsoever or I’ll astral-project myself to your computer and no one will enjoy themselves. :D

[cynthplop]

Hhmm, if you like talking about your Robin and Tardif, pls don't hold back! What do they like about each other? What do they dislike in one another? What is their dynamic, which roles get filled by who? Will they stick together? Are there any crisises or huge arguments between the two? Maybe I'm negative, buut I personally find the abundance of pure love/sympathy-at-first-sight-till-the-grave scenario representations a bit frustrating and unrealistic as in real life that's a minority, right?

Yea I really do like talking about them :'''') been thinking of commissioning someone to draw them for me as of late bc school's really shredding me a new one it's not cute 😭😭😭😭😭😭 it makes me really happy to know that there's interest in them that's not just me, they're my everything my sugar candy apples :'D You'll have to pardon me if my descriptive skill is not entirely up to par today, been doing homework all day and now I'm gettin reddy for beddy. Join me, dear traveller, in the read more..... (again, minor DD2 spoilies)

Now what they like in one another: abridged, Robin really loves how Tardif makes him feel very human. He likes that Tardif comes from and to him represents a normal, human world he never got to experience; life and joy and flowers and fields, marketplaces and inns, travelling by river. To Robin, Tardif is proof that a normal (as normal as it gets with DD but bear with me) life is possible and that it's not out of his reach.

Tardif likes that Robin notices the beauty in everything about the world that a lifetime of looking out for himself has blinded him to. And despite everything he's gone through, Robin is still annoyingly hopeful, patient, kind, everything that he didn't know was possible in a man anymore, no less nobility. He hated it all at first, hated it violently, but against his better judgement it grew on him :)

This kiiiinda ties in with what they dislike about one another, but I think one of the more major crises that happens between them is that Tardif repeatedly does NOT let Robin engage in any sort of violence once they start to develop feelings for one another, a reckless act of way too much protectiveness on Tardif's end. Basically the moment he notices he's catching feelings he doesn't really know how to reel it all back in after spilling. This prompts Robin to get really angry at him, obvs, because he feels like he's being treated like a child or fragile glass, a feeling which he despises. They figure it out eventually tho, lol. Tardif also hates how self-sacrificial Robin can be, regularly martyring himself because he thinks he deserves it for the crimes of his family. Tardif doesn't hate ROBIN for it, but he hates that he feels that way and that someone ultimately undeserving of suffering has to go through that when so many others who actually do deserve it live cushy lives.

In regards to them sticking together, that was the plan. Tardif promising to take Robin away from the Hamlet once everything is over and setting up a bakery somewhere nice... something he doesn't know if he can truly do after everything, but something he wants to try for the sake of someone else, for once, as he's long learned that Robin is the only exception to all of his lifelong rules. But, as per DD2, that may not have worked out, and I'm still waiting on some info before getting to work on that ;) a tragic divorce arc (literally, bc they got Actually Married in DD1) where "Robin has ulterior motives of tracking down his husband during the apocalypse" might be in the works, tho 👀

I can't lie and say I'm Not a fan of pure love kind of scenarios, I'm a romantic at heart and I like to see all sorts of different types of relationships play out. But you're right, for my dark dungeon, I like to see some drama more >:) These two can get a little bit codependent and fucked up, and be so very selfish and possessive, but that's what makes it juicy hehe

[cassyapper]

i wish to hear more about part 5 avdol 👀

OMG I WOULD LOVE TO THANK U FOR GIVING ME AN EXCUSE TO KIND PERSON

i genuinely think avdol would become a good mentor figure for everyone in the buccigang, including and not limited to bruno and abbacchio. giorno and him are probably closest tho,,,but i also do like the idea of fugo and avdol being close cause i like to think fugo reminds avdol of himself when he was younger (this is more headcanony than canon stuff tho)

as for actual plot stuff and how avdol would affect it;;;;;; due to avdol’s competence, no one dies <3 sorry araki but nara bruno and abbacchio are alive now. I'm still trying to work out the details regarding how he could prevent bruno’s death tho. maybe bruno will still have to die but I'm thinking about it

ALSO bc of avdol’s influence i think fugo would hum and haw over if he should go with the bucci gang some more. i dont think he actually will tag along completely, BUT he doesnt just leave he just does some sniffing around from the inside. they’ll meet up again later rather than fugo tagging along from the beginning. like fugo is like “yall r crazy. let me do sum research and ill get back to you” and maybe fugo finds polnareff that way (lmfao could u imagine. pol gets kakyoin flashbacks)

lots of kakyoin flashbacks actually. this would really be a bone breaker if this is an au where kakyoin is still dead

ANYWAY. since I'm still not sure abt the details of avdol’s impact on the PLOT, lemme get into character dynamics

giorno: big mentor figure, probably steals some (a lot) of bruno’s thunder in this regard. giorno just rlly respects him and avdol acknowledges giorno is a very hardworking kiddo (which giorno appreciates). i imagine he grows very fond of him throughout the events of va. idk if it would ever cross the line of mentor-protegee to father-son but regardless they're rlly close and giorno values his opinions a lot when he becomes the don even tho avdol says he doesnt wanna be involved in mafia business (and he doesnt but he cares more about the well being of his kids ie the buccigang than staying away from organized crime)

fugo: fugo is like a crazy thrashing dog that is going insane and yet never turns to nip at its owner who is holding it back (in this case that is avdol). yea i imagine avdol and fugo have a good relationship Eventually but it takes fugo some time understandably to accept/warm up to it cause of his issues with authority figures and how they've done him dirty before. avdol is nothing if not a patient man tho and i imagine fugo eventually comes to rlly trust him which is why he decides to squirrel around to get buccigang some info on the inside of the gang rather than disembark completely

narancia: nara would be as hostile as he can be at first i feel like cause he might think avdol is trying to replace bruno but once he learns avdol is a) not in the gang and will never be in the gang he’s not trying to take anyone’s position and b) sees BRUNO warm up 2 avdol, he accepts him very fast. it’s like a switch flipped it’s v sudden and intense change in demeanor. avdol is kinda surprised but like he’ll take it. avdol thinks nara is very funny and he helps him out w schooling when fugo is gone. avdol also listens to nara’s music w him and gives him recommendations which narancia is SUPER HAPPY ABT cause no one was willing to talk music with him before (indulge him and let HIM talk abt it yes, but never respond in turn and have a conversation before). nara loves avdol and avdol loves him in return. fun family (:

mista: hmm i cant see mista and avdol being suuuper close?? at least not at first but they def get along. but when avdol gets comfortable enough w the buccigang to do his funky fun smartass stuff sometimes (like how he was during the judgement fight) mista and him get a LOT closer. mista thinks avdol is the funniest man on the planet and they can have good talks. avdol is a good person to think out loud with which i think mista kinda needs. also I'm sure avdol is enamored with the sex pistols. not many stands can even talk yet these lil guys have outright personalities of their own. avdol joins mista during feeding time just cause he’s rlly intrigued by these lil guys. mista was a little weirded out at first but since warming up to avdol he doesnt mind (:

trish: HIS DAUGHTER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! he’s got the age, he’s got the kindness, he’s got the patience, he’s got the respect, HE!!!!!! IS. HER DAD NOW. avdol might've laid the sympathy on a little too thick when they first met so trish might not have liked him much at first, but he notices she’s rlly stressed out and talks her thro it/lets her speak her mind which is rlly nice. trish hasn't ever had anyone prompt her to lose her shit before helping her to piece back together again but tis nice. when trish is supposed to be dropped off with diavolo, she actually hugs avdol (: also when trish awakens spice girls u BET avdol is rooting her on and helping her get more comfortable w her stand. avdol is thinks spice girls is rlly fuckin cool and combined w spice girls and avdol’s guidance, trish actually gets rlly handy at using her stand. pls imagine magician’s red and spice girls just chilling. thanks. anyway if avdol were to legally adopt ANYONE in the buccigang it would be trish. trish lives w him after va

abbacchio: i don't think avdol and abbacchio would be besties but bruno trusts him and narancia likes him so i think abbacchio wouldn't hate him despite them first meeting bc of giorno lolol. so like they're civil but i cant imagine their interactions getting warmer until after avdol tags along when they split up from the gang. abbacchio is like “why tf r u even still here” and avdol is like “YOURE the oldest here and ur only 21 u need an actual adult. no but i just wanna watch over the kids and make sure they're safe” abbacchio respects that. also avdol encouraging trish to train w spice girls is why trish is able to keep abbacchio from getting a fist through the torso (she makes him rubbery as spice girls can do so he can withstand the punch king crimson gives him) and he's kinda grateful bc of that to both abbacchio And trish. uhh yeah. lol. also avdol has good taste in wine which abbacchio can respect

bruno: FINALLY the man himself. for a long time he is just politely friendly towards avdol cause idk if bruno would know how to deal w someone who would be more likely to be a mentor to Him rather than vice versa but as avdol and him spend more time together and watch over the kiddos and abbacchio together they get more comfortable. idk if they’d ever get close close but bruno can rely on avdol and he does during the final fight. when they come out victorious bruno kinda promises him he’ll always have a home in italy if he needs anywhere to rest it’d be sweet (: avdol in turn would say if ur ever in egypt just ask around and u’ll find me

anyway uhhhhh yeah. i hope u enjoyed reading all this fjkdnjc;n i just think. avdol is very loveable and very cool and he would've added a lot to part 5 in my opinion,,,,

[seijch]

ANNOUNCEMENT: NOT A HELLO, BUT NOT A GOODBYE EITHER

omg hi ... im like . ashamed to come back after saying brief hiatus in october and then disappearing off the face of the earth til FEBRUARY but under the cut i will be explaining myself and the following, if youre interested (and a tl;dr at the very bottom if you don’t wanna scroll thru this obnoxiously long post):

the reason(s) i was gone for so long

what i was doing during that time (its just a personal account yall can scroll past this idrc)

the status of those um . halloween requests

the future of this account

i. so . Hiatus .

i know. i know . i probably mentioned it when i made the announcement post, but my mental health likes to go on one of those rides. yknow the ones where you go like up rlly fast then down maybe and then up then DOWN .... its like that. i needed a break and every time i wanted to come back or thought about it, something would happen and i would get stuck in my own head.

a big reason for getting stuck in my head was (and i hate to admit this ... i hate to admit that i have Insecurities On The Internet) my feelings of inadequacy regarding my writing. i love to plot fics, i love concepts and characters and making little headcanons but i dont ... know if i love writing rn. and i thought for the longest time that like . whatever ill just push thru it its fine ill be fine but it kinda wasnt lmao you can kinda see it in my halloween reqs and what become of them when i get to that but i began to feel like nothing i had put out or would put out would hold up prose wise (and normally i dont feel like this im much more “idc its my life im living it” but thats not a rant for tumblr LMAO). i still feel like that -- like im better as a reader than a writer. but . You Know :-)

tl;dr: mental state go brrrrr

ii. anywhere here’s wonderwall

when i left, i was in a steadily decreasing mental and emotional state, made worse by a situation at work that really was a case of petty jealousy on my end and rlly isnt very consequential now despite how much pain and resentment it gave me when it Was a problem so i wont get into it. the tl;dr of november and december was me using work as an crutch and distraction -- i know my job, i do it well, it helped me not think about my responsibilities and obligations and inadequacies. of course, as the holiday season grew busier n busier i was scheduled so often that i moved 88 or so miles (according to my apple watch, which i ONLY wear at work since im never anywhere else outside my house) and fell into a cycle of showering n sleeping at my house before going back the next day. (theres definitely something to be said abt capitalism and “grind culture” here but once again its not the time or place snsjkdfds)

at the turn of the new year, i happened to remember a birthday card i hadnt filed away for safekeeping from a friend of mine that id been horribly out of touch with til that point. i started crying because i realized how out of touch id been in general up until that point. the month of january was great for me: i was focused, happy, and in a much better place than i had been before. the end of it brought me down focus wise and im hoping that enough time away from my distractions will refocus me bc i ... need it LMAO and though ive burned out from that level of productivity and gotten distracted again im ... trying to stay positive which i think is the most i can do 😁👍🏼

media wise, i got real into stardew valley (but burned out bc i played it extensively as a way to wind down after work), the pokemon platinum romhack renegade platinum (still havent finished it bc of school n i played it w the intent to see if i could nuzlocke it ... bitch its so hard but its so fun bc of it), briefly assassins creed: odyssey (im one of those ppl who completes an entire region before i move to the next so you can tell i burned out of that one + wouldnt have the time to properly devote to it even if i didnt), got back into genshin impact after pulling for xiao (after not touching it for like . months), and danganronpa. yes . danganronpa 😐 i Know. i stopped playing it after the second trial of the first game bc i was so hurt by the outcome and picked it up in late january only to get sucked in (thank god i had the foresight to buy the second and third games during the steam winter sale). rn im at the start of chapter 4 if anyone wants to come in my asks and um . talk to me abt danganronpa

tl;dr: I’m Into Danganronpa Now

iii. you realize halloween was three months ago right

i mentioned this in the first section, but i love to plot things. every request is plotted or at least has a solid foundation. i had fun detailing what concept i wanted to go with considering what i was given, and there were some bangers i might touch up in the future. but heres whats going to happen to the requests themselves:

there are two finished requests. one will be posted tomorrow and the other will be touched up (just bc i finished it doesnt mean its good 🧍‍♂️) and scheduled for next saturday. as for the ones i never got around to ...

i will not be finishing those requests. i hate to be That Person, but i feel like we all expected this 🧍‍♂️ what i will do is post all of my notes for each request in batches -- requests that have an @ to go with them will be mentioned in the post proper, but anon asks will be pictured. (there are some asks that came from blogs who are now deactivated but i wrote down all the prompts and remember most of those askers so ill cross that bridge when i get there) there will most likely be an excerpt or two simply bc i think i mightve written a few plot points or interactions in the form of bullet points. i rlly am sorry about doing this but i remember looking at my notion doc with all the prompts and feeling ... like i wasnt measuring up n it wasnt just to myself or to some intangible concept of “other” id constructed but it was instead to those who requested n actually WANTED to see and hear and read my writing and i ...... im gonna admit thats another big reason i avoided this site.

regardless, youll definitely get what i have (and likely more than just my bullet points and illegible handwriting).

tl;dr: im sorry. what i have in terms of plot, concept, and interaction for every request will be posted, but i cant say ill ever complete them and mean it.

iv. so what now?

well i mean . im not entirely sure how sold i am on haikyuu in the content creation department (as a creator n to a lesser extent, as a consumer). as mentioned previously, its no longer my primary focus. it doesnt mean im not into haikyuu anymore; i have a lot of love for those boys but i cant rlly say im even caught up w recent fandom activity and also havent even finished s4 pt2 LMAO thats on my to do list

and despite all that, i still want to share my plots n concepts and snippets and maybe even fics. it wont happen anytime soon. it might not even happen. but i mean . its better than me saying i wont write ever again shjdkfs but either way ill probably use this blog as a personal blog w the occasional ask game for dialogue prompts (those are always so fun i love making up aus to fit like . the most mundane prompts)

as for my works (past and any potential future), ive opened an ao3 acc here n ill be editing n possibly expanding on my old works to post there. tumblr, to me, is The x reader hub, but i figure more x reader fics on ao3 is never a bad thing.

ill be deleting/posting drafted posts to the queue since they were all meant to be queued anyway as well as (sorry again 🧍‍♂️) deleting or answering asks in the inbox. (moots if you get a notif from me saying i rbed your post from months ago ... mind your business) im very hard to get ahold of and its ... a problem. expect an overhaul of the nav n shit to reflect my new direction n also because i feel like i cant tell if my passion for carrd is shared by the majority HSDKLFS maybe its better to read my info in a normal post ykwim .......

and of course . if youve read all this n decided im no longer worth the follow, i sure as hell cant stop you. thank you for wanting to, at some point, hear what i have to say -- it means more than you think.

tl;dr: writing will be edited and reposted to ao3, this blog will be a personal blog with a hint of writing (sometimes)

the tl;dr to end all tl;drs:

im back! i wont be as active as i used to due to a lessened interest in haikyuu in general, but i have an ao3 acc now where all my past work will be edited, possibly expanded, and reposted. any future work will also find itself there. my halloween requests will be posted in batches as incomplete concepts, plots, and snippets of scenes; i wont be promising to finish any of them.

there are still fic concepts im attached to and want to finish, but i cant promise any more writing on my end. this blog will be a personal blog with maybe writing, not a writing blog with my personal thoughts all over it.

regardless if you stick around or not, its been crazy sexy cool (equal emphasis) being on haikyuu tumblr even tho i wasnt around for long ... even tho its not my main focus anymore, im still excited to see what the future might hold 🤝

love, ari 💌

[dreamsafterhours]

college boyfriend!markhyuk au series: III (donghyuk's pathway)

a universe in which roommates!markhyuk meet each other's s/o in class

markhyuk are roommates, my/n and dy/n are roommates, mark and dy/n take classes together and so do donghyuk and my/n — how will their fates intertwine?

genre: fluff pairings: mark+my/n (fem), donghyuk+dy/n (fem), platonic!mark+dy/n, platonic!donghyuk+my/n format: dotpoint AU universe: non idol, college bf warning: some swearing

masterlist

or click here to meet your soulmate, eng lit!mark!

II ⇤ | III | ⇥ IV

III: 별빛이 내린다 샤라랄라랄라라 (2+2=4)

the meeting of two souls: donghyuk & dy/n

welcome! back and to the next part

in which things actually happen! yay

so. up until this point

it’s been quite obvious i hope

that this is the one where The Soulmates Meet™

and this one right here is the one where donghyuk meets his future wifenew best (not) friend

dammit this is a set plot with SET relationships

yeah

major spoilers for future parts but hey :) y’all know it i know it let’s just.

let’s get to it!!

that day you accidentally sleep in after a late night and walk into your lecture looking pretty trashier than you would normally a few weeks into the first sem and you’re already tired it’s okay bby aww

and mark suggests skipping the next lecture and going for coffee instead

you’re like ok lmfao free coffee for me yay thanks marcus i owe you one

and to make up for the lecture he suggests he join you and your roommate with his own roommate in the library later that day to study the material you’d missed out on

so you’re like sweet study group hell yeah and apparently his roommate is also in biomed like your roommate? hey they might get along pretty well it’d be nice to have roommates in the same faculty hey

little do you know you little cutie you uwu

mark takes you to a cafe to buy you your favourite drink and a croissant bc you skipped breakfast again and he cares about his friends ok plus he was eyeing that donut next to the savoury menu in the glass cabinet and he would have felt bad if he got something to eat and you didn’t

you sit down, sipping your drink at the window seats and wishing your fatigue away

laughing with mark about what you slept so late for

my/n had been ranting about her love life again or perhaps lack thereof,,

don’t worry tho

after you’d gotten her to sleep, you’d gotten major feels for an essay question that you’d been tasked with due in a week but you hadn’t touched it until last night

staring at the prompt for at least half an hour trying to get your head around it and wondering what the hell you’d write about

but like they say

starting is half of it

so when you start spinning your words and getting into the writing mood

you accidentally wrote an entire draft without realising

albeit being full of loose ends and points you need to refine, etc., it was a decent body of work that you’d tackle for a few more nights before turning in

a skeleton, you’d called it

“a skeleton?”

“yeah. next thing i need to do is.. flesh it out”

“.. literally”

cue mark’s small pause

/inhale/

/MANIACAL LAUGHTER/

you know how mark’s laugh is very how do i put this into words hm dictated

you can HEAR each HA and they’re separate syllables yet sometimes they can vary in tone and length right it’s usually the more consistent HAs before he kinda loses it and starts throwing himself around

it was that laugh

honestly man finds everything funny his laughing threshold seems so low

and no matter how unfunny you are he WILL laugh at anything you say

and you’ve been doing it a lot lately

you could say literally any random thing and he’d already be ready to laugh (see Figure 1.1)

Figure 1.1

you: /snort/

mark, already giggling: “what”

you, still sniggering: /touches his elbow/ “arm knee”

mark: /inhale/ gotta live and breathe that oxygen

mark: HAHAHAHAhahAhaHAHAhahAhHa (decrescendo.. cRESCENDO)

^ that but looped, with intermittent slaps to your arm

anyways you never fail to make him fall out of his chair in laughter

but enough of that. dy/n is donghyuk’s y/n for a REASON ahEM

so after you finish up your breakfast at the cafe you go back to your dorm to take a power nap and recharge before your library session you were going to stay awake but mark forces you to take a nap and you’re like bro you just fed me caffeine now you want me to sleep??

then he tells you he ordered your drink decaf

you turn to him real slow

“.. you sick traitor. how dare you besmirch my name so. you scorn my forefathers and our dependence on the holy bean’s juices. betrayal runs rampant in your soul and mine stands at the mercy of your choices, them informed by the devil himself”

mark: /shrug/ “placebo effect yeet. hey, it worked for a bit. now you should really go home and get your sleep”

and he drags you back to your dorm and waves you off before going to his next class

you’re lowkey grateful for it tho when you take a shower and collapse onto your bed, falling asleep in what you think could be half the time you usually take

dreaming about losing your airpods and mark yelling at you to be more careful and then you two fighting bc you’d just lost your $300 bean sprouts but you could have sworn he took them

then police sirens went off out of nowhere and both of you were being arrested for assault and thievery

why you were the one being arrested, you had no idea but it’s a dream nothing follows the guidelines of hard reality anyway

just as you’re about to be handcuffed, you think to yourself, nope. i have a library session to attend. ain’t nobody got time for this shit

and you just

wake up

but the sirens are still continuing?? so you’re like ? is my building surrounded

they’ve come for me

even though you haven’t exactly broken any laws or have you

and you realise it was the alarm you’d set in time to get ready for your library session

so you grab your stuff and leave for the library, double checking with your roommate over text to make sure she was on her way

her lab class was taking longer than usual so she tells you she’ll be 10 or so minutes late

so you tell her you’ll be saving a seat for her and call mark to let him know you’re on your way to the library

“oh i’m already here lol. alright, i’m waiting for you outside”

and sure enough, you see him leaning on the wall of the entrance, eyes on his phone

you consider calling out to him but before you actually do, he glances up and spots you walking over tf do you have psychic spatial awareness mark

smiles and takes his corded earphones out

“you seriously need to upgrade those”

“they work fine”

“nop i’m getting you airpods for your birthday”

“dUdE thEy’RE tOo ExPEnSiVe. nO dUDE NoO”

“nOP. i’m GOING to buy you EXPENSIVE BEAN SPROUTS for your LIFE DEBUT ANNIVERSARY and you CAN’T STOP ME”

at this point i should just put /MANIACAL LAUGHTER/ and you should know what laugh i’m referring to

/MARK LEE’S MANIACAL LAUGHTER/

/MLML/ for short

nvm it’s fine it’s kinda fun to type /MANIACAL LAUGHTER/

literally mark laughs in bolded italics i’m just sad i can’t underline it on tumblr unless it’s a link lmfao

n e ways

i digress

you shush him because you’re about to walk into the library

“qUIET DOWN marcus” turn that sh down for quiet new dawn

the library is almost full for the day but after a minute or two scouring the building you find an empty four seater in the middle of nowhere it’s CRAZY you can NEVER find a MIRACLE like this life couldn’t get better

i’m sorry

you speed walk to claim it even though there was no one else in your vicinity to threaten your territory

mark laughs at you trying to get to the table as fast as you could without all out running

getting out your things, you send a photo of your seat to your roommate and tell mark to send it to his roommate as well so they know where to find you

you start watching the lecture online while taking notes and since you’re not in the lecture theatre you can talk more audibly with mark not that you don’t talk in the actual lecture too,,

maybe you do text a lot,,, during class

mark usually says things like “.. implications of what now?? interpretation of huh?” to which you reply “i want cheese when i get home”

and he has to stifle his laughter while you keep your straight face and continue writing your notes he admires this ability ngl

and so while you’re watching it on your computer

you can say things like “fuck. i want pickles”

and mark will /throw himself back/ and cackle and probably say some shit like “DIDN’T YOU HATE PICKLES??” between his giggles

and you’re like “yeah. fuck pickles but like. fuck. pickles”

he almost falls off his chair at this point

but when he balances himself again he spots someone down the corridor and wave them over

“oii! over here dude”

you turn to glance at them to expect his roommate, but you see your own roommate talking to someone and wave her over as well

“heYY my/n”

you see the other person turn to your roommate and tell her something, , then she says something back

which is apparently shocking to them, because he glances over at mark and then at you

and then he looks again when your roommate points straight at you

to which you’re like ?? hi? y u look me

and then they both start laughing

you wonder if they were laughing at you or smth until mark’s like “tf is that idiot doing”

and u look at him like ? what idiot

“that idiot. the idiot roommate i told u about. the one who called u a homewrecker”

and you’re like

wait

[info clog]

wait

[error]

“wait”

“what”

“that’s your roommate?” u point at the boy next to my/n, who r both still laughing at something going all “wOW r u KIDDING” he has a loud voice

and mark’s like “? yeah”

and you go

“.. the girl next to him is my roommate”

mark: “wait what”

that’s what she said

at that point they’ve made their way over to the table, still trying to hold in their laughter

you start to introduce your roommate to mark, who’s still confused by the situation

you: “mark, this is my/n, my/n this is mark”

my/n: “nice to see you again mark”

you: “wait. again?”

mark: “yeah we’ve met. hi my/n”

you: “what”

mark: “yeah”

my/n: “yeah”

his roommate: “yeah”

you:

you: “i feeling like i’m missing something here”

turns out

surprise surprise

that one friend that my/n had made in her biology class was mark’s roommate oh my god they were roommates

whose name, you are told, is lee donghyuk

magical moment

us watching: heh 🤤

u can’t help but do a lil body scan from head to toe bc he a fine piece of cake we all know that

honey skin, oversized white t shirt, black pants, sneakers and lighter brown hair that looks fluffy the type of fluffy that makes u wanna touch it

yes he’s good looking. yes

yaaaaas

then mark tells him your name

“she’s the one i said reminded me of you”

“r u talking abt me behind my back marcus??”

donghyuk laughs and holds out a hand for you to shake

“what kinda coincidence is this?? i adopt your roommate, you’re dealing with mine”

“oh you’re gonna have to get in line to adopt her, i’m her legal guardian, sorry donghyuk”

to which he goes

“lmfao then we’ll both be her parents”

“k but i’ll keep her on the weekends. you see her on the weekdays”

then he wipes his smile off his face and he’s like “who said we’re split”

mark and my/n are doing the /MANIACAL LAUGHTER/ at this point

mark: “so ,, seriously what are the chances”

you: “this quartet,, it’s fate guys it’s fate there’s no way about it”

yes it is. yes. it is

even that four seater table was free because of fate

donghyuk: “this calls for drinks later. we all free? no 9am classes tmr?”

my/n: “we have a physics prac at 8:30 dingus”

donghyuk: “ah shit”

you barely got any notes for that lecture for at least an hour because you end up talking altogether throughout the session but once you remember you’re in a library to study you request a ceasefire and agree to study for a bit which,, you gotta admit ,, isn’t really productive because you’re so excited to meet someone new

but the best part about the day was when you notice how many times mark is glancing at your roommate while she’s reviewing her notes, completely oblivious

donghyuk complains that he’s hungry after another hour or two and you suggest you all have dinner together

donghyuk leans back in his chair in a stretch, his jumper lifting up a little over his jeans and showing a bit of his belly “ah i’m craving chinese”

you perk up, “mE TOO”

so you all go to your favourite chinese place just outside campus where you find out that mark and my/n have the same taste and so do you and donghyuk

he points and u and goes “oH?”

“jjAMPPONG? U TOO?”

“the ONLY DISH EVER”

mark and my/n: jjajang is fine : )

you and donghyuk: “JJAMPPONG IS SUPERIOR”

give him a bro five with the shoulder bump and everything

the boys walk you and my/n back to your dorm afterwards

donghyuk and my/n end up walking in a pair and mark walks alongside you

mark mentions how it’d be fun if you made a group chat together

you: “do it”

“i don’t have your roommate’s number tho”

you’re smiling wickedly at his reaction “?? ASK HER FOR IT”

“dude what?? no u make one and i’ll add donghyuk to it”

“bRO JUST ASK”

“wHAT NO U DO IT THEN”

so u go

bet

and you call out the two biomed kids walking in front of you

“hey donghyuk! give me your number i’ll make a group chat”

“sure lol” and you open up a new contact to let him type his number into your phone

he saves his name as hot boi hyuk ✌🏻

which you just leave bc you’re busy making the group chat

mark is still astounded that you asked donghyuk for his number so easily

you: hi hello good day

my/n 🌸: yeetus meetus

hot boi hyuk ✌🏻: bow before me

you: here before me lie the beginnings of a new era

you: one born from blood and stone

my/n 🌸: tf is she saying

hot boi hyuk ✌🏻: idk but lets go with it

you: together we rise from the rubble and sort through the debris

hot boi hyuk ✌🏻: yas queen

my/n 🌸: i hate this gc already

you: and we WILL REBUILD THIS EMPIRE

read by marcus the fool 🤡 at 8:21 pm

safe to say you stay up for a good while talking on that group chat while mark just sits idle,,

you honestly don’t know if he’s consciously reading or not maybe he just left his phone on the chat

and thus our quartet is complete,,

and they all lived

happily ever after

but this isn’t the ending tho is it

wink wonk /waggles eyebrows/

this is but the epilogue to the prologue

that doesn’t make sense but n e ways

our quartet has not yet become two pairings

y’all just don’t know what the future has in store for you :)

click here to meet your soulmate, eng lit!mark!

II ⇤ | III | ⇥ IV

taglist: @lavellanfriendliness​ 

shoot me an ask if you’d like to be tagged in future parts!

[apharine]

Sightseeing

Chapter 2

Pairing:  Siane x Nanu

Fandom: Pokemon

Rating:  T

Read on AO3

Chapter 1

My writing commission info!

Summary:   Siane hadn't meant to wind up in Alola, under Nanu's care, while she recovered from a mysterious illness that left her prone to weakness and collapsing. But now that she's here and getting stronger, she wants to see more of Ula'ula than just the rainy skies and the Po Town wall by Nanu's police station. And who could be better suited to give her a tour than the Kahuna of the island himself?

Notes:  Siane is the wonderful HybridDragoness’ OC and she is amazing!  This fic is a commission for Hybrid and I’m honestly so honored to have been able to write for Siane and Nanu bc I love them so much!  Hybrid is a really talented artist and you can find her art of Siane here!  You can also find Hybrid on Twitter and AO3 under the same handle as on Tumblr!

                                        _____________________

“That was brilliant,” Siane declares, hopping off the Charizard’s saddle.  “Thank you so much!  You were amazing!  And the saddle really was helpful,” Siane adds, hopping around to give the Charizard a gentle pet on the snout.

“Here,” Nanu says, fishing some Poke Beans out of his pocket.  “You can give him a couple as thanks.  Not too many, though,” he adds, handing them over to Siane.  Truthfully, his heart had been hammering out of his chest the entire time Siane had been flying on Charizard’s back.  The fear that something might go wrong and she might lose her grip, or pass out and fall, had been forefront in his mind the entire time, and he’d urged Honchkrow to fly as close to Charizard as possible.  As if he could catch her if something went wrong, he thinks to himself, then pushes the morbid thought aside.  Siane’s okay, and that’s what matters.

“Thank you so much,” Siane says, holding her hand out flat with the Pokebeans on top of it.  The Charizard nibbles them up, then taps her with its nose affectionately.  “Have a good rest of your workday, okay?”

“Char,” the Ride Pager Pokemon agrees, then turns to take off to go to its next job.

“That was the first time I’ve flown in…I don’t know how long,” Siane says, turning around to grin at Nanu.  Her hair is a little wild from the wind and altitude, but she looks absolutely radiant.  If that’s how passionate one little flight could make her, Nanu thinks it’s no surprise that she decided to specialize in Flying type Pokemon.  “It felt amazing.”  Still smiling, Siane turns to take in the cityscape around her.  “So, this is Malie City, huh?”  She muses, drifting towards one of the great gates that mark the start of the main street.

“The one and only,” Nanu says, a little swell of pride bubbling up in his chest.

“The architecture is really cool here,” Siane agrees, touching the cool stone of the gate.

“Glad you think so, girl,” Nanu says, taking a couple steps closer to her.  Was it just his imagination, or had she been a little wobbly on that step just then?

“You said this city’s on the ocean?”  Siane prompts, a curious look on her face as she looks around.

“Yeah.  You’ll have to make it down the main street a ways,” Nanu says, eyeing her appraisingly.  The look flares something up in Siane, though, and she sucks in a deep breath, puffing her chest out a little.

“That’s not gonna be a problem,” she says confidently.  Nanu chuckles.

“Glad to hear it.  Let me give you the tour along the way, then.  There’s a lot to see in the city,” Nanu says, taking a tentative step down the road.  To his relief, Siane follows and lingers close to him as she walks.

Nanu points out some of the major shops and landmarks as the two of them walk by, including the glittering Malie Library and, in the distance, the Kantonian Gym.

“It’s lovely,” Siane breathes, taking in the structure.

“Hey, my favorite restaurant is actually coming up soon.  They specialize in really high-end sushi…that sound like the sort of thing you might like?”  Nanu asks, quirking one eyebrow in Siane’s direction.

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Siane agrees.  “I can pay for my half.”

To her surprise, Nanu waves her off quickly.

“Don’t worry about that, Siane,” he grumbles.

“It’s really fine,” she insists.  Nanu frowns for a moment, then slows his pace until he’s paused in his tracks entirely.  Siane stops beside him; she thinks she’s doing a good job of concealing the confusion on her face, but Nanu can see through her facade easily.

“This place…isn’t cheap,” he says carefully.  “I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I wasn’t okay with paying your half.”

“What do you mean by not cheap?”  Siane asks pointedly.

“I mean…it’s probably the most expensive restaurant in the region.  They don’t usually do takeout, but Sensei knows me pretty well by now, so I figure they might make an exception for me,” Nanu says with a shrug, trying to play it cool.  It doesn’t work particularly well, though, and he watches as nearly every emotion in the book passes over Siane’s face.  The most expensive restaurant in the region…by the looks of some of these amazingly dazzling buildings, Siane figures that probably means that a single meal cost more than an entire year of groceries for herself typically would.

“I - I don’t usually…do expensive things.  It - things weren’t like that for me over in Aedis,” Siane finally says.  Nanu waits for her to elaborate, but when she doesn’t continue, he finally speaks up.

“Well - we don’t have to eat there, if it makes you uncomfortable,” he concedes.  “But if you did want to try something really nice for once…I’d be happy to treat you.”  Even he’s a little surprised by how much he allows his voice to soften as he says the words, and he watches Siane’s eyes widen a little - whether at his tone or the offer, or both, he can’t tell for certain.

“Um, well,” Siane stammers, clearly thinking a mile a minute.  “Maybe…just once?”

Nanu smiles and nods and begins to walk again, checking over his shoulder to make sure that Siane is coming along as well.  She’s staying close - good.

“You wanna stop and grab our food before or after seeing the ocean around Ula’ula?”  Nanu asks, though he’s pretty sure he already knows what the answer will be.

“Ocean first,” Siane beams, and Nanu feels his smile grow just a little more.

 ***

 “It’s so warm,” Siane sighs, sitting at the end of a pier and dipping her toes in the water.

“Everything’s warm here, girl,” Nanu says, though his words have no real edge to them.  

“It’s nice.  I really like it here,” Siane admits, one foot kicking up a small splash.  The water droplets sparkle in the sun as they fall.  She watches them, then raises her eyes to the distant horizon where seat met sky.  Nanu watches her, noticing the way the brilliance of the ocean reflects in her eyes.  “Everything is so…peaceful here.  It’s, um.  It’s nice.”

Nanu feels his eyebrows crease; he doesn’t know everything that’s happened in Aedis, but from what he’s able to piece together, Siane’s struggled with conflict nearly her whole life.  The thought that a single day out, with no cares in the world imminent on her shoulders, could mean so much to her tugs at Nanu’s heartstrings, and he puts his arm around her shoulders in much the same way he would comfort Acerola.  Except, somehow, it doesn’t feel entirely like comforting little Ace - but Nanu pushes that thought out of his mind for now.

“It is nice, here,” Nanu agrees.  Siane turns those eyes of hers on him, and he adds quickly, “I’m glad you enjoy it.”  Then, he pulls his arm away and moves away just a little, clearing his throat.  “As you know, I work extremely hard to keep Alola as peaceful as it is,” he says with a wry smirk; his words have the intended effect, and Siane dissolves into unabashed laughter.

“Yes,” she says between laughs.  “Your duties just have you running all over the island, trying to fight crime and dangerous monsters twenty-four-seven.  And you get absolutely no naps.”

Nanu feels his smirk falter a little, because there was a time where he was running all over the island, and fighting Ultra Beasts, and trying to be the best Interpol officer he could be.

And what did it get him?  What did it get her, besides chewed up by Guzzlord, never to be seen again?

“Yeah,” Nanu says faintly, turning away from Siane to look out at the ocean.  “No naps.”  He hears the tremble in his own voice, and hates it.

Siane notices - of course she does, she’s not stupid, Nanu thinks to himself - and scoots a little closer to him once more, putting her hand on his nearest shoulder.  She leans into him just the slightest bit, and somehow the contact feels grounding for Nanu.  The two of them watch the ocean in silence, and though Nanu waits for her to ask what’s wrong, she stays quiet.

Within a few minutes, the world around him begins to feel a little more real again, the echoes of the past fading in his mind.  Siane is still peaceful and silent beside him, still grounding him with her touch, and he wonders how many other people she’s seen like this, back in Aedis.  How many people has she provided her silent support to?

“Let me know when you want to go get sushi,” Nanu says instead.

 Within an hour, they’re heading into the Malie Gardens, little brown bags of sushi in hand.  Sensei had complained about how undignified the brown bags were, but had ultimately capitulated to one of his top customer’s request for inconspicuous takeout.

“Oh, wow,” Siane breathes, pushing a big fern aside so she can get a better view of the lush land in front of her.  “It’s gorgeous here.”  She doesn’t wait for a response, instead pushing forward and approaching the enormous golden-plated bridge that greets the Garden’s visitors.  Nanu hastens behind her, both brown baggies cradled in one arm so he can steady her with his free hand if he needs to.

Not that he’s needed to so far today.  But better safe than sorry, right?

“Is this real gold?”  Siane asks, rubbing the banister of the golden bridge.

“Gold plated,” Nanu shrugs, hovering close by.  “It’s supposed to be a sister bridge to one just like it in the Kanto region.”

“It’s lovely,” Siane says, already on her way across it, running her hand over the smooth banister as she goes.  

Suddenly a thunderous noise draws both of their attention, followed by a quick flash of feathers and a multi-colored beak.

“What was that?”  Siane asks, already enrapt.  Another flash of feathers ensues as the Pokemon circles back around; on its second pass, Nanu is able to identify it.

“That’s a Toucannon,” Nanu says.  “You know all the Pikipek you’ve seen?  This is their final evolution.”

To his horror, Siane actually sets off at a jog after it.  She’d just nearly fallen in the shower literally yesterday, and she was trying to jog today?!

“Its beak looks brilliant,” she gushes.  “I need to get a better look at it.”

The Toucannon in question has roosted on a low hanging branch, and eyes Siane carefully as her footfalls carry her across the bridge.  Nanu’s already running at nearly full bore, desperate to catch up to her - and to stop her from approaching a particularly strong, angry bird capable of spitting seeds strong enough to break boulders.

Fortunately, Siane stops well in advance of the Pokemon, and Nanu watches, fascinated, as her conservation training seems to kick in.

“Look - it’s got a bunch of Pikipek on the trees behind it.  It’s likely trying to protect its family,” she says in hushed tones.  “They’re all drilling into that tree, see?  There’s probably lots of bug Pokemon inside, because it looks like pretty dead wood.  They must not have any issue finding food, because that Toucannon’s beak is in excellent condition.”

“What’s a beak got to do with it?”  Nanu asks, not seeing the correlation.

“A healthy, shiny, smooth beak means it’s eating a healthy and variegated diet.  Birds that don’t eat well can have all sorts of issues with their beak.  And do you see how glossy its feathers are?”  She’s enraptured, but respectful.  And, Nanu notes, she’s breathing hard, clearly more winded from her little jog than she’d like to admit.  “It’s getting lots of essential fatty acids.  Super important for feather health.  You’ve got a pretty healthy ecosystem here, Kahuna,” she adds, finally turning away from the Toucannon and affixing a brilliant smile on Nanu.

His heart skips a beat.

“Well.  Glad to hear your professional assessment,” Nanu says, though he smiles a little back at her, and he actually means the words as he says them.  “Now come on, Siane.  Let’s go find a place to sit.  You’re tiring me out, running me all ragged like this.”

“I’m tiring you out?”  Siane says with a laugh, raising her eyebrows.  “Come on, Kahuna, you’re a fit man.  Don’t pretend this is anything much for you.”

Nanu’s heart does another flip at this.

She thinks he’s fit?

“I’m old,” he says, as much for himself - as a reminder of the one, key difference between them - as for her.  “Now let’s go.”

Siane’s smile falters a little, but she falls into step beside him readily.

“You’re not that old,” she pushes.

“Right,” Nanu snorts.  “That’s why all my hair is gray.  Because I’m not that old.”

“Gray hair looks handsome on you,” she says nonchalantly.  “And besides, I bet you’re just the sort of person that started graying early.”  When Nanu doesn’t respond, her lips curl into a smile.  “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Do you want to eat by the water?”  Nanu deflects.  It doesn’t work, though; Siane’s smile only grows.  She knows she’s right.

“Sure,” she agrees.

 ***

 Sushi by the waters of the Malie Gardens is an altogether peaceful affair.  Nanu can see why that little tea shop submitted a zoning request to set up shop right in the middle of the Gardens; tea would be perfect right about now.

“How’s your food?”  Nanu asks, turning to Siane.  The sun is brilliant on her hair, which flutters just the slightest bit in the breeze.

“It’s…insanely good.  This is absolutely the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”  She’s been taking really tiny bites of her food, as if to make it last as long as possible.  She’s probably eaten only half as much as Nanu has at this point.  “I - I didn’t even really know food could be this good.  I’ve had good food before!  But…”  She bites her lip and looks out at the water, and to Nanu’s surprise, little tears spring into her eyes.

If he thought she’d pulled on his heartstrings earlier, he has no words to describe how gut-wrenching it is to see this young woman start to cry.

“Hey, hey,” he says, quickly scooting closer to her.  “Hey.  Don’t cry, Siane.  Don’t cry.”  He reaches out to her just as she turns to fold into him, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world to do.  And if he’s honest with himself, holding her to his shoulder does feel natural, somehow.  As if they had been made to support each other, to comfort each other.

But such a thought was preposterous.  Wasn’t it?

She doesn’t break down into outright tears, but the arm wrapped around her shoulders still feels the way she takes a few deep, shuddering breaths.

“I’m sorry,” she says.  “Everything here is just…so different than back home.  It’s not bad,” she adds quickly, mumbling against his shoulder a little.  “It’s actually really great here.  And somehow, that hurts worse than if it had been just as bad here as back home.  I don’t know if that makes sense,” Siane trails off.

“It does,” Nanu says, grimacing.  “Believe me.  It does, Siane.”  He doesn’t know what to say about the fact that, for all he cares, she doesn’t have to go back.  She could stay with him for the rest of the year, if that’s what she wanted.  Maybe longer.  But she talks about Aedis like she needs to get strong to go back there, so he tries a different tack entirely.  “You’ve been through a lot recently.  Things must be hard for you.  I hope you know…I’m here for you, however I can be.”

Siane pulls away at this, but doesn’t go far.  Her face stays close to his, and she manages a small smile for him.  Then, to his surprise, she cups his cheek in one hand.

“I do know, Nanu.  You’ve been nothing but incredibly kind to me,” she says, her voice low and a little shaky but somehow, so intimate.  Nanu feels his jaw drop open, and he wonders for a moment if she’s going to kiss him.

“I - I’d hardly describe myself as incredibly kind,” Nanu stutters.  He can’t even remember the last time he’d stuttered.

“Well, I would,” Siane says, and presses a small kiss to his cheek before pulling away.  “So thank you.”

Nanu swallows hard, his hand drifting up to touch at the imprint her kiss had left on his skin.

“Yeah.  You’re welcome,” he mumbles, and goes back to eating his sushi, too.

He has a lot to think about.

[dogcopter]

Rose Ghost Theory (Comprehensive)

This is the wrapped up version of various Rose theories. You don't have to believe me. Just getting it all out there before Future ends next month. We'll see what happens. I think it's gonna be an awesome plot twist if this is all true. 

TL;DR Rose gave up her physical form, but her soul has been astral projecting and watching over Steven, primarily in the body of Lion and others along the way. This is also why he sees visions of her memories.** There may be more to this than I've identified, but this part is nearly certain. Show gets exponentially more emotional upon rewatch when you see her everywhere.

Meta It all comes back to Rose. This is going to be the last, most recent worst decision that when he learns the truth will send him over the edge of his crisis of avoiding his feelings about her. (And send the fandom over the edge too, lol.) Because her absence shaped his whole life and she was there all along and could have been there. He will be rightfully angry, but I also think she will be able to help him, and like with all of her bad choices maybe he will understand why she did so even if he doesn't forgive her. It will also be her character development opportunity, to finally change.

Whose body will Rose Quartz inhabit

She is most of the magical NPCs that aid Steven in his journey. She is Lion, the Tiny Floating Whale and realistic Rose in Rose's Room, Dream Dogcopter, Baby Melon and the melon dogs, the source of Steven's Pink Diamond visions, Pink Steven, "Shy Rose" and probably Cactus Steven too.

Abilities in use

All these powers are established by Steven, Rose is using them as well.

Steven has gone into dreams like Kiki's, where he changed the dream imagery. In Steven's Dream, after Steven wants to learn more about Pink Diamond, he sees her fallen palanquin in his dream and is crying. This was Rose communicating to him.

He spoke to Lapis while she was fused. In Jungle Moon, Stevonnie has a Pink Diamond memory dream that shows them the passcode to Yellow's moon base so they can call Lars. Rose again.

He took over the bodies of Lars and Watermelon Steven. Rose uses Lion's body and the melons with the same ability. Note: Lion himself is just a normal lion who Rose revived, his backstory remains intact. But most of the time when we see him around Steven it's Rose in disguise using his body.

Steven astral projecting in Reunited Steven enters an astral projection dimension where the others can't see him. They can hear him if he touches them. Rose may be present at times when not pictured.

Appearances

Rose's Room The Tiny Floating Whale has Rose's voice actor. Steven has never heard his mother's voice. He hears it later in the VHS tape but not at this time.

Storm in the Room In that scene when a more realistic Rose speaks to Steven, she refuses to listen to what he says unlike the room and reassures him instead. This is Rose stepping in to change the vision because Steven is spiraling.

Dream Dogcopter In Lion 3: Straight to Video, Dogcopter tells Steven to hold his breath before Steven wakes up in Lion's mane. In Chille Tid, Dogcopter shows Steven where to go while dreaming to find the real Lapis (inside of Malachite) after he exhausts himself looking for Malachite and has a nightmare about her.

Watermelons

Baby Melon winks at Steven and runs back after being stolen by Onion. When the melons fight each other, Baby Melon hits Steven and sacrifices himself. The other melons are enraged at that action. The melons don't tolerate a threat to Steven, so why would an ordinary one hit him even in this situation?

Melon Dog 1 brings Steven to offer himself (the watermelon he's possessing. F) as a sacrifice to show him where Malachite is during the arc where the Gems are looking for Malachite, much like Dogcopter led Steven to mindscape Lapis. She also knows what the Cluster is.

Melon Dog 2 tries to distract Steven from getting off the island when he's trapped in Pink Diamond's cell on Homeworld and astral projecting home for help. She tries to entertain him with escapism.

Lion I have a whole tag for this and analysis of all of Lion’s appearances if you need more info on this. Condensed version: Lion shows Steven the mane when he wants to know more about his mom, and shows him the landfill when he wants to know more about the truth of why he was born. He knows an unusual number of secrets for the pet of Rose Quartz, a notoriously secretive and impulsive gem who left Greg and the Gems without instruction or any plan to raise Steven and kept secrets even from Pearl, who knew her secret identity. He appears to know more about Pearl and the Diamonds than he should. He ditches Spinel at the Sadie Killer concert after glaring at her all day.

Can't Go Back When Steven and Lion go to the moon to find Lapis, Lapis and Steven talk about her feelings of watching everyone from afar and being lonely. She's afraid to return

Steven: So why didn't you just come back? Lapis: I want to. But I just can't. Not after the way I left. What would Peridot say? What if the Diamonds show up? What if something bad happens? Steven: Well, what if something good happens?

but Steven reassures her it could work out.

Lapis: Maybe I'm tired of running away. Maybe I'd rather be with everyone and be in danger than be safe and alone. Steven: They'd be glad to have you back. Lapis: I don't know. If I went back now, there's no way things could go back to how they were. Steven: Yeah, but that's alright. Things would just be different.

Steven then has a dream explaining how Pink Diamond tried to convince the other Diamonds to leave Earth alone and was refused. He also sees Pearl with her sword, prompting him to talk to Pearl. This finally reveals Rose's secret of being Pink Diamond to him. (Lion brought him to Pink Diamond's ship when he showed Steven the landfill and Nora VHS a full season earlier.)

Diamond Days & Change Your Mind

Steven has stress dreams about Pink Diamond's memories. I think in this case it's possible Rose is with him "in spirit" and being home is triggering flashbacks. When Steven goes back to her bedroom he dreams about playing with Volleyball before Pink hurt her or lost her. When in the cell she used to be trapped in, Steven wakes up in a memory of being punished there. In the case of other visions I think they were typically intentional from her, given the plot relevance, but these might be unintentional nightmares. Unfortunately, Steven is stuck with them too.

She's Gone

(People tend to hate this idea and refuse to entertain it, but I believe) Pink Steven was also Rose. When his gem was removed she reformed in it, choosing Steven's appearance because the gem belongs to him now. She was focused on getting the gem back to Steven to save him and had rage at White. Her protecting Steven despite seemingly afraid of White and telling White Diamond directly that Pink Diamond is GONE is major character development for her. Steven is not two independent bodies if split up, he is himself, a human boy who has a gem.

Shy Rose Finally, the Rose who looks just like Rose Quartz in Rose Buds. She's actually Rose. She acts like Lion and she picks up on Steven's distress more than any other character has so far - it's because she knows him best and has seen/heard the most build up of things affecting his mental health in Future.

People hate this idea too. Idk what to say. It's true. If I'm right then Rose Quartz blatantly came back in episode 4 wearing her own face and we as the audience collectively missed it. If I’m wrong I have a fanfiction AU idea to tell you about next month.

Cactus Steven - in this case I also like Cactus Steven as his own cactus, bc the mirror metaphor works so well, but given all the other examples I have my suspicions about him. If she *is* the cactus too then: Cactus Steven is happy to be an ear for Steven to listen to, but concerned for him when he's upset. Cactus Steven tries to talk to him and tries to get him to talk to the gems.

TL;DR long text picture of Rose Quartz character arc speculation below. You can skip this theory wise as it's just guessing at the story.

One possible version of this story: During the war on Earth, Rose had already planned to give up her physical form. She somehow specifically designed the Rose Quartz gem that she now inhabits to have similar features to the fantasy Rose that Pearl originally created. (For one thing none of the other RQs shown have curly hair) With Pearl's help, she faked Pink Diamond's shattering and assumed her new identity with a permanent reformation.

After things died down without Pink Diamond and the Diamonds left Earth alone, she would switch to the new gemstone and live as a Rose Quartz with Pearl, giving up her power forever and leaving behind her abusive family to become a new person. As we all know, things went very differently.

Eventually (her origins with Garnet and Pearl as shown) Rose meets Amethyst, an unusually “blank slate” gem who learns and grows who’s also similar to herself in many ways. Then, Greg Universe, who *wants* to know the real her behind the persona, and who also tells her that being in love is torture. (Pearl is in love with her.) She becomes fascinated with humans, especially the way they change and grow, and decides to have a child. The events of SU occur. Rose doesn't tell Steven she's here because she thinks everyone's better off without her and she only makes things worse, and the evidence of things getting better and her bad choices and mistakes being revealed seems to support that. When he tries to get Lion to play the role Steven wants, she refuses, because that's what went wrong last time. Just like she stopped raging after hurting Volleyball.

Now that Steven's actions have led to peace among Gems and the other Rose Quartzes were unbubbled, Rose had the opportunity to finally take her own physical form. Having given up her physical form in the meantime and needed a new one, she will now have her own body to return to. Now she knows how badly Steven is messed up about her, kind of like the Gems coming to terms with how he's grown up in Snow Day. Now that she's hurt Steven she's going to change her behavior again, like after hurting Volleyball, and after hurting Pearl, and finally just tell the truth at the end of Steven Universe Future.

This resolves the question of Steven's Rose stuff entirely. Steven isn't Rose, he's himself. He's not receiving her memories from some weird magic repressed gem data, it was because she was using astral projection powers both intentionally and unintentionally. His gem doesn't have its own consciousness that splits in two, he's both human and gem.

The big twist is that they *can* both exist, and *anyone* can change, including god damn motherfucking Rose Quartz. Like everyone else in the show, after seeing her through everyone else's eyes, in the end she's just a person - a flawed, weird individual who has made mistakes and hurt others. Steven doesn't have to forgive her or even like her, but they can finally know each other as themselves, the core theme of the show. It's a hopeful ending to a hopeful show that ties off both character arcs. Thanks for reading, love you, can't wait to see the finale.

[kaibacxrps]

@iixiplaytimeisoverixii​ has sent: 🐶 ☠️ 📝 💘 😊

munday no-no and yes-yes list  [Accepting]

Send  🐶 for a role play related pet peeve.

// This has happened to me a few times now for a few days now, and I’ve already had to block people because of it.

But here is a reminder to reblog prompts from the source or a meme archive blog, and not straight out of me (unless you have sent something back). I have a tolerance when it comes to my mutuals, and I will message them to ask them to stop it if they have done it often. However, I have 0 tolerance from non-mutuals.

Because unlike what people may think, it’s very easy to tell when you are being used as nothing more than a memes archive blog. It’s rude and it messes up with my notifications, it just takes 3 seconds to go to the source.

Send ☠️ for something  that will result in a instant unfollow from you

// I know that the elections for you Americans is approaching, and this subject is likely going to find it’s way onto my dash. I won’t tell anyone how they should run their blogs, and I have already blacklisted a ton of terms to clean my dash across all my blogs.

But uh yeah, posting untagged posts about politics and that sort of stuff will drive me away. Regardless of your position and takes on it, I want to remind you guys I’m not really from USA so don’t even bother try to start shit up. I just really have NO interest in seeing it, I’ll check on the news elsewhere, TYVM.

Send 📝 for a rule you think is important when it comes to role playing 

// I feel like it is nice to specify your writing preference, as in: if you tend to only write short stuff, or paragraphs, novella, etc.

This might not be that obvious at first, but if you follow/stick to people who more or less falls in line with what/the way you are used to writing then the chances of you and the other person not meshing well together become increasingly lower!

I’m speaking from experience! I have been doing this, and it has improved my overall experience a whole lot!

Send 💘 for your policy on shipping with your muse(s)

//I feel like I’ve made myself pretty clear in the rules page? But it never hurts to remind it!

The ships I straight up refuse to write: Noah/Seto, Mokuba/Seto, Jou/Seto and TK Bakura/Set

In regards to the Atem/Set ship (bc it is a big one), I’m not opposed to shipping/plotting them (ppl are welcomed to come plot this with me, no problem at all)! But everything will be written over on discord due to it’s taboo (incestuous) nature.

Both Kaiba and Set are multishipping, everything takes place in their own separate universe;

Important info that ppl should be aware of about them:

Kaiba is unable to bond/connect and fall in love with anyone, this will not change. No matter the plot/story/development our muses take, it’s 100% fine and welcoming if your muse ends up developing feelings for him. But be aware, I will not change this very important detail about him;

Unless your muse is from Set’s time period (AE) and is in the afterlife, shipping with him is quite difficult. His stay in the modern world is a brief one, and once he is gone there is nothing that can bring him back from it.

Send 😊 for likable quality for a role play mun to have

// Be patient - I’m thankful for everyone who have stuck around, despite me not getting back to messages/etc. I just completely forget about them, even though the notification is right there and I just hhhhhhhhh.

This isn’t me excusing myself, this is 100% my own dumbass and it is extremely disrespectful to you guys. All I can ask for is for patience, and know that you haven’t done anything to me- it’s just that there are times where I only feel like I’m capable of handling a select few interactions/messages. And I completely forget to check on the messages--

[franeridart]

Are you done with drawing akane?

This might have been obvious with how little I’ve been posting lately, but actually I’m not done drawing anything. I just can’t manage finishing stuff, as of late. Very sorry about that m(._.)m

Anon said:I don’t wanna push you or pressure you in any way, because I don’t know how your personal life is going, but I have to ask: are you going to continue the Akane story? I kinda miss her, and her growing to love Kiri. (I’m a sucker for single parent and child slowly wanting the new member on their family)

I wouldn’t really call it a story, more like a concept I have doodled stuff for? But yeah I like the bean, as soon as I can manage getting out of this slump I might just go and doodle more of her~

Anon said:hECk I just found out you’re also into two other animes I like! But your art is great and keep it up!

I dunno which anime you’re referring to but !!!!!! nice to know you like them too !!!!!!!!!! and thank you so so much for the compliment! (oT^T)o

Anon said:Hello! I love you and your art!! Was also wondering if you’ve seen Bungo Stray Dogs?

Thank you!! And only the first season back when it aired~

Anon said:It’s funny, I used to be iffy on kamijirou but you and your art has put me completely on the kamijirou team it’s so cute and has a awkward tsundre/sweet dumbass duality that I love!!

Thank you!!! It’s so nice to know I can manage portraying the good in the ship enough to make people change their minds about them!!!!

Anon said:OH MY GOD those fucking smiles killed me, they are so beautiful!! So full of joy!! Agh my heart, thank you

Anon said:THOSE SMILEEEESSSSS!!!! SO BEAUTIFUL!!❤

THANK YOU!!!!!!

Anon said:Could you draw Mina running on a treadmill while connected to a heart monitor and Kaminari checking her vitals?

I’m currently not doing commissions nor taking requests so, no, but also… why?

Anon said:Something that could anger our sunshine boi??? Hmmmm *strokes imaginary beard* How about he protec his man?? Someone tries to hit on his grumpy boi and goes way too far,,,,,, to the point that Kiri must do what it takes to defend both their honor and relationship! A noble act,,,, and in character because Kiri is known to rush into action when Blasty is in trouble….. (this wasn’t really an ask, I just wanted to share that :))

Anon said:Someone suggested mega angry Kiri and you asked for what would prompt him and I thought blackmail towards Baku would make him pretty mad bc it’s unmanly and it would really hurt him to know that his (boy)friend was being manipulated. Idk maybe he finds out by the person asking him to help use some info against Baku bc he is so close to him but then he just snaps and realizes that THAT’S why he’s been off or really distant or something like that. Idk, sorry, it’s just a thought. Btw I❤️u & ur art

I see where you’re coming with both of those and I can’t say I don’t see Kiri getting angry in a situation of the like! But the original prompt was about Kiri being angry and Baku stopping him, and I really can’t say I see Baku stopping him in either situation ?? I’m pretty sure he’d fight alongside him, actually haha

[lina-exe]

Undercover [Part 1]

Spy!reader x mafia boss!Yoongi

Prompt/Summary: When the CIA sends you to go undercover to infiltrate South Korea’s infamous mafia group, Bangtan Sonyeondan, you expect the mission to be quick and easy. But as you develop relationships and walls come down, things begin to get a little tricky.

WC: 2.5K+

Warnings: dorky/witty humor, foul language

A/n: F/N—fake name and 99% of the time everyone will be speaking Korean (since it’s set in Seoul) but it’s written in English bc idk Korean very well so,,, I hope that’s okay!

☆

When you landed, Seoul was bustling and happening. It was the beginning of summer, and everyone was wearing shorts, dresses, t-shirts or tank tops. Kids were running around or skating on the sidewalk, the trees and flowers were in full bloom, it was quite beautiful. Yet...there was an ominous aura around the citizens. Odds were that most of the people around you were in debt to Bangtan and were required to keep a specific demeanor in public.

You quickly made your way to a taxi and got in, telling the driver your destination in Korean. He glanced at you through his rearview mirror and you could tell he was smirking by the way his eyebrows were raised and his eyes were twinkling. He knew you weren’t from Korea, he knew that you weren’t there on business, so he deduced you were a tourist...traveling all by herself. Oh, how wrong he was.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing here in Seoul? Not enough men in America?” He asked in his native tongue.

“Just looking around. I’m interested in investing in a property here, just a little vacation home,” you answered while looking out of the car window. You had filled in some gaps and rearranged parts of your persona to better fit your purpose in Korea.

“Oh? It’s a tight market right now, you may have some trouble finding anything,” he told you.

“Well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out. If I don’t, I’ll look somewhere else. Busan, Daegu maybe,” you shrugged. The driver didn’t say anything else for the rest of the ride. He knew something, you could tell.

When you arrived at your hotel, you rapidly checked in and took your bags up to your room. You settled in and got your files situated so you could begin your plan.

You took a quick shower then began getting dressed in a modest yet flattering outfit. Just enough to get some glances from passersby. Then you put on some makeup, fixed up your hair and packed a small handgun just in case. After you put on your boots, you headed out to your primary location for intel.

A club, one of the many that Bangtan supposedly owned, but the boss controlled this one. He oversaw the influx and outflux of the weapons, drugs and other services they offered. You didn’t know who the boss was, nobody did. Nobody wanted to say his name in fear that he’d hear and come for them. All there was to know about him was that he was lethal.

You were attempting to continue your ruse and go to this club to find if anyone knew of properties up for sale. If you ran into a member of Bangtan, you intended to flirt with them, and get them to want to take you out again, and again, and again until you were close enough to the group. Hopefully, they’d be interested in a foreigner. It was vital that they catch your drift otherwise you’d have to come up with another plan on the fly.

As you arrived, you approached the bouncer, who held a clipboard in his hands, checking to see if people’s names appeared on his list. You ignored the massive line to his right and began speaking to him in Korean.

“My name is F/N. I’m a VIP,” you told him matter-of-factly. He gave you a once-over and looked down at his list before nodding and letting you in. You mentally thanked your friend who hacked his list and added your name before he printed it out.

As you walked into the club, the music was booming, the bass boosted so you could feel it in your chest. You looked around, trying to find any possible suspects that might be in Bangtan.

You didn’t intend to look like a lost puppy, but from where he stood, that’s exactly what you looked like.

Min Yoongi, otherwise known as Agust D, sat in what could qualify as his throne on the second level of the club surrounded by women and a security detail. When he looked down at the main floor and spotted you, he immediately perked up. After wandering around for a bit, you headed toward the bar to order a drink. He was surprised; what was a foreigner doing in his club? Though he wasn’t complaining. You were pretty easy on the eyes, striking yet soft and unassuming at the same time. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you.

Yoongi got up, shaking off the women who were throwing themselves at him and leaned on the railing to get a better look. He ignored the whines and groans of the women he left as he kept his eyes trained on you.

From your place at the bar, you felt that you were being watched but didn’t want to give any indication that you knew so you kept acting lost and in awe. As you received your drink, you turned to your left but found yourself standing face to face with a tall man with a charming smile. You hoped he was linked to Bangtan, but the only way to find out was to play the game, so that’s what you did.

On the other hand, Yoongi wasn’t liking the scene in front of him. He wanted you, anyone else wasn’t going to fly. He kept a careful watch on the two of you as you conversed.

“Hi,” you returned his smile.

“Hi,” he winked. “What’s a pretty foreigner like you doing here?”

“Oh you know...I’m just looking for some property to purchase for a vacation home or something,” you waved your hand dismissively as you took a sip of your drink.

“Oh yeah? Well I hope you find something, I’d like to see more of you here,” he grinned. Smooth.

“Do you know someone I can talk to maybe? I’m sure a nice guy like you has connections,” you looked up at him through your lashes. He nervously chuckled as he looked around and looked back at you.

“Maybe if I got your number I could send you some information,” he suggested. Smooth again. Fortunately, you were always two steps ahead.

“Please, we both know why you want my number. I’m not some booty call. Give me one good reason why I should give you my number aside from getting that real estate info,” you crossed your arms and smirked. At that moment, the song changed to more of an intimate song, the kind where you’d grind or twerk on someone.

The man grabbed your hand and dragged you onto the dance floor, holding your hips against his own as you began swaying to the song.

“You’re gonna need a dance partner right? Feel free to call me up whenever,” he said in your ear. You had to admit that you loved to dance, you just didn’t get to do it very often what with your job and everything. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to let loose a bit. You told yourself that you were still playing the game, just in a different way.

Meanwhile, Yoongi angrily crushed the glass in his hand out of sheer strength. He wanted that scum off of you and dead.

“Boss...Kai is here,” one of Yoongi’s men told him from behind him. It was then that Yoongi realized that Kai was the man you were dancing with on the dance floor. How hadn’t he noticed it earlier? He turned and furrowed his eyebrows in disgust.

“Get rid of him, Jungkook. Take Taehyung and Jimin with you,” he ordered before turning back to the dance floor.

“What about the girl?” Jungkook asked. Yoongi’s expression softened when he looked at you. He didn’t want you to get hurt in the process of Kai’s apprehension.

“Make sure she doesn’t get hurt,” is all he said and with a wave of his hand, he dismissed Jungkook. He turned to Namjoon, who was one of the men standing next to his throne.

“Namjoon, get these women out of here,” he said. Namjoon immediately did as he was told, ushering the small group of women away from Yoongi’s area. They complained, wanting to stay but Namjoon insisted they leave at once.

Yoongi stared at you and Kai as Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin approached the two of you. If you were harmed, Yoongi was going to let all hell loose.

You were oblivious as Kai’s hands rested on your hips and you swayed back and forth to the beat of the music. And all of a sudden, his hands were gone. You stopped dancing as you looked around for Kai, finding three men manhandling him, trying to keep him under control. They were all yelling, but nobody paid much attention since the music was louder. You knitted your eyebrows together in shock as you watched the three men drag Kai off in the sea of bodies.

“Hey! Wait! Let him go!” You screamed as you tried to follow the men. You needed Kai; he was your only lead to Bangtan. Wait a second...what if the men who took were apart of Bangtan? Now you really needed to follow him.

Yoongi watched you only for a few moments before finally taking action, leaving his reserved spot and bounding down the stairs to meet you. Unfortunately, the maknae of his group intercepted him before he could make his move. They were holding a struggling Kai, unsure of what Yoongi specifically wanted to do with him.

“Boss, do you want to take care of him yourself or do you want us to do it?” Jungkook asked. Yoongi scowled. He stared Kai dead in his eyes as Tae’s large hand covered his mouth.

“I don’t want to see your face in here...ever again...or you’re dead. If I see you talking to her, looking at her, breathing in her direction...you’re dead. Do not mistake this for mercy, this is a threat, understood?” Yoongi lowered his voice as he positioned his face in front of Kai’s. Kai nodded his head twice slowly as he returned Yoongi’s glare. Yoongi stood up again to face his maknae.

“Get him out of my sight, I have important matters to attend to,” Yoongi hissed. Jungkook, Jimin, Taehyung dragged him away from Yoongi to the nearest exit. Yoongi scoffed as he turned, shaking his head as he fixed his sleeve cuff.

As you looked around through the crowd for Kai and the suspicious men, you crashed into a body. You bounced back, but it seemed as if the body stayed in place. You held your hurt arm as you stumbled backward a bit, pissed off that the person wasn’t watching where they were going (even though you weren’t either).

“Watch where you’re stepping...man…!” your angry tone faded as you looked up at the stranger. Woah.

You were at a loss of words as you stood before the beautiful stranger, just staring into his dark eyes. His equally surprised stare transformed into a smirk within seconds as he crossed his arms.

“Didn’t anyone tell you that staring is rude?” he asked you. That snapped you out of your reverie and you remembered why you were there.

“I’m sorry, I was caught off guard,” you brushed your dress off and looked down.

“By…?” he asked. You were quick on your feet to answer his question.

“Your clothes. They’re very stylish, they look expensive and aesthetically pleasing,” you didn’t miss a beat as you provided a bullshit response. The mysterious man chuckled, knowing why you were really staring, but he wasn’t going to expose you yet.

“I’m sorry for crashing into you, I should’ve been paying more attention,” he apologized. You nodded with a small smile.

“It’s okay. No worries. I actually--”

“You’re not from around here, are you?” he cut you off.

“You could say that,” you replied.

“While your Korean is outstanding for an American, it’s clear that you look a little...lost,” the man said to you, almost condescendingly. A look of slight offense crossed your features, but you brushed it off. He was distracting you from your mission; you needed to find those men who took Kai.

“Thanks, I guess. Look, it was nice talking to you, but I’m looking for someone, so if you could excuse me…” you trailed off and attempted to maneuver around the stranger, tired of your conversation already. The stranger grabbed your wrist before you could get too far, causing you to whip around to face him. He had an almost sinister look in his eyes, his dark locks falling over his forehead causing shadows to dance across his sharp features and now, you were intrigued. Who was this man? Maybe he knew about Bangtan, or...maybe he didn’t. All this speculating was making your head spin and you began to feel a bit sick.

“Who are you looking for?” he asked you.

“Just...a person. It was nice to meet you, sir, but I really should get going,” you said, yanking your wrist from his hold and leaving him to stand alone in his spot. Yoongi watched as you vanished within the crowd. He wanted to go after you, he wanted to so badly, but he couldn’t risk you finding out his identity, his business, just yet. He met you, yes, but it was time to just watch you from a distance for now. If he ran into you outside of the club, he would try to further the relationship. You were his now, and if anyone tried to claim you, they would be digging their grave.

At the same time, you burst through the exit at the back of the club, spinning around to search for the group of men from minutes ago. Instead, you found nothing but a dumpster and an alley that led to the street. They were gone. You cursed under your breath, frustrated that you lost an important lead. Then the memory of the enigmatic man hit you and you turned to the door. Maybe he could help you.

You tugged on the door handle, but it didn’t budge.

“No, no, no!” you cried as you repeatedly tried to open the door again. Locked. Of course. You groaned and ran a hand through your hair.

At that point, you decided to call it a night and go back to your hotel. You were exhausted beyond relief, and your body was still adjusting to the time difference. If you were still in America, you’d be sleeping.

When you finally got back to your hotel, you tore your clubbing clothes off and flopped onto your bed. This wasn’t going to be as easy as you thought.

As you prepared for sleep, you tried to think of a plan for the next day, but your brain wasn’t having it. All you could think about was the dark-eyed man from the club. You never got his name. Something about him sent shivers down your spine and you didn’t like it.

Yet as you crawled into your bed and fell into unconsciousness, the image of the dark-eyed man was the last thing you saw behind your eyelids.

☆

[zephyrises]

SHIPPING INFO MEME

Answer the following for your muse so people know how shipping works on your blog.

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER?:

vanven. w/o a shred of doubt. they have crazy potential and intrigue and i’m So Weak for rivals/enemies to lovers pairs in all regards.

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO WRITE WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING?

so my Modus Operandi(tm) is that i’m usually willing to write almost anything, but there’s a disclaimer, and that disclaimer is: you really need to be down to play and plot for the long haul bc development and build up matters So much to me.

this isn’t to say that i need every little thing played out frame by frame! filling in gaps with ooc discussion is beyond fine and encouraged! but the development definitely needs to be present and explored to some capacity.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

it honestly depends. in this particular case, seeing as ven is ~16-17 in the predominant verses that i write him, i’d probably say like.... more than one year if they’re younger, more than two years if they’re older??

for a hypothetical verse in which he was 18+, i might be less picky so long as the gap doesn’t go beyond ~5 years and there are no power imbalances at play, but this leniency would never extend to adult characters who he already knew AS adults when he was a child.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

not extremely selective, but selective enough in that there needs to be good chemistry between my character and the other character(s) in question! everyone has different spins on their portrayals and all, and sometimes they just don’t mesh as well as you think they will when you start roleplaying.

i'm really big on good ooc chemistry too. like..... if you wouldn’t want me leaving a bunch of mushy thoughts or analyses about our pair in your dms @ a weird hour, it might not be the best idea to ship w/ me. ghhggh.

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED N-S-F-W?

uhhhhh ig the best way to phrase it is that anything that could be interpreted as steamy within the situation in question is already n-s-f-w in my eyes.

i.e. if someone else’s character were to, say, innocently kiss the back of my character’s neck just bc they’re cuddling and their lips happen to be there and it didn’t go further than that, that would be fine. neck kissing Can be steamy, but in that particular case, it’s not. if there’s a deliberate intent of going further or it turns into biting, or something, then that’s definitely n-s-f-w and way too much for this particular blog seeing as the character i’m playing as is a minor.

WHO ARE OTHER CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?

vanitas aside, sora and naminé are the biggies!

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?:

not necessarily! but even if i’ve already expressed interest myself, you have to do something to express interest too, whether it be in the way of a direct comment you make ooc, the nature of an inbox prompt you send in or something indisputable that your character says / thinks / does within one of our roleplays. bc otherwise i’ll never push it further than a crush on my character’s part.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP?

a heck of a lot, but i also really love platonic relationships!! a healthy dose of both is the ideal for me. not to mention the fact that i think a strong platonic relationship is a necessary foundation for anything meaningfully romantic, so the latter always needs to come before the former regardless.

speaking of having a healthy dose of both.... this blog hasn’t seen Enough romantic action in comparison to platonic action, so if you’re ever interested and you think we’ve got a good thing going, you know where to find me. 👀

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?:

saying i’m obsessed might be a little much, but i’m a Huge romantic at heart so i definitely love a fleshed out romantic pair!

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?

absolutely!! i love exploring lots of different kinds of relationships and romantic relationships are no different. i’d kinda be limiting myself if i made ven exclusive.

WHAT IS/ARE YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP(S) IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?:

we can just go w/ kh for this one bc i’m into more media than i have the energy to list. aside from vanven, i love soroku, xinami, rokuxi, sorikai and kailette!

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?:

literally Any Way?? shout @ me in my dms or on discord?? send me an impromptu ic ask w/ romantic implications?? add me on neopets?? kick my ass?? if you like our interactions enough to want to pair our characters romantically then odds are i’m having a blast with them myself and would love to!!

another fun thing about the way that i tend to roleplay is that even if pairing our characters in a romantic way never occurred to me out of the gates, it might end up happening by accident if we interact enough. dshgfh.

Tagged by: @nortfromthepast i know i say this all the time but thank you for always tagging me in these Good Memes!! i appreciate you sm. Tagging: as usual, gonna go with my my recent notifs! @weasels-muses @midnightpapllion @rxcusant @flammadecorde @pacpu @thorstyr and YOU! the person reading this! (p.s. feel free to ignore this if you don’t feel like it or have already done it bc i can see it’s been floating around!)

[perfcell]

Do you have any tips or pieces of advice for someone who's looking to start up an rp blog for a character? I have plenty of experience roleplaying, but none of it is with tumblr.

//OH sure sure !! 

lets get the technical stuff out first, make the account for your new blog in advance, before you prepare anything else because tumblr has this anti-bots security system in place which doesnt allow new blog’s posts to show up in the tags (and tags such as #indie rp, #anime rp, #insert show here rp are pretty important in getting ur blog out there). you’ll also have to follow some people, get followed back by at least one, reblog+like some posts before your stuff starts showing up in the tags

of course u can disregard the whole promotion thing and just follow people and wait for them to follow you back, but if u want new people to find you without you actively looking for them, its good to drop something in the rp tag. but again, you dont have to do any of this.

ALSO IM PUTTING THE REST UNDER READ MORE BC IT GOT LENGTHY:

so heres stuff you can prepare (or not, its totally up to you !!)

icons - a relict of dreamwidth era , not necessary but i find that they add some zest to the interactions so personally, im a fan. usually 100px x 100px u can make them fancy or not, your choice. just get some basic facial expressions (but again, you dont NEED them)

themes - some rpers pay a lot of attention to blog themes, i used to be like that but tbh rn i dont think anything beats a nice basic theme w/ a readable font. hit up theme hunter and snag a theme u like !!! OR DON’T, thats totally up to you !!! 

also you can set your blog to dash only in the blog’s settings which means u dont have to bother w/ a theme !! its a popular thing in rpc nowadays !!!

oh and just a hint – id avoid using somebody’s art for icons or elements of theme… i mean sure u can credit them but hardly anybody looks at credits so idk id just avoid it altogether cuz the artists dont like that and theyre absolutely right. i used to use peoples art for icons and i had some artists reach out to me and ask that i dont do that and tbh now i cringe at my past-self for not seeing that its soo disrespectful of the artists

what to put on blog: 

about page - its a page where rpers put some basic information about the character they write as. it can be super important if youre writing as an OC (not many people will follow an OC if they dont know anything about them tbh) !!! if youre writing a canon character u can just resort to filling out a basic dossier (like listing their name, age, whatever… YOU CAN USE THIS and fill out what u like). or you know, do whatever. on cell, i just wrote a piece of Something and linked his wikipedia page lol. do what you feel like, its just a thing in rp community. 

rules page - slightly more important. this is where you set boundaries and introduce yourself ooc. after introductions ur expected to tell people what’s NOT ok by you, for example, you say that godmodding is not ok (godmodding is when people write in their own responses what ur character is doing), maybe shipping is not ok by you, maybe u dont want to write smut ever etc. you put all of that there and any additional info you feel the need to add (for example, asking people to tag certain triggers etc). try to browse other peoples rules pages to get the feel 

verses page - some blogs have a lot of specific verses like idk, an AU in which ur character is evil etc. this is a page where u can put them and add descriptions, UP TO YOU. i find that its less important than about or rules page, focus on those 2 first, especially the rules page bc its what people usually check out first before writing with u!! add verses later !!!

how to start an rp blog: 

OK so lets say you’re prepared and ready to write. i usually post a promo to announce my Arrival to the rp market. take a look at what’s in the indie rp tag for example, just to give you an idea what ppl post there. it used to be REQUIRED to post like… a graphic advertising ur blog but tbh these days u can just drop a text post (preferably with ur icon so that people know which character u write) and you say smth like ‘HELLO, a new (character here) RP blog here!!! like/reblog if youre interested in writing with me!!’ (ofc write whats natural to you, just introduce ur blog in whatever way u feel like it– OR DONT, YOU DONT HAVE TO DO THIS)

BEFORE POSTING A PROMO MAKE SURE YOUR POSTS SHOW UP IN TAGS FIRST. YOU MIGHT HAVE TO FOLLOW SOME PEOPLE FIRST (refer to this) – where to find those rp blogs?? refer to tags below.

what to tag your promo with: remember that only 5 first tags will show up in the search results. so pick some good tags, i think the most important tag is #(show/movie/books name) rp. heres my promo, u can check the tags i used there and come up with your own accordingly. and also browse these tags to find people to follow, like idk, lets say u wanna rp sb from naruto, then u hit up #naruto rp and just scroll and follow ! also avoid using swear words or nsfw words in ur promo bc tumblr will censor it lol

but remember YOU DONT HAVE TO POST A PROMO, THIS IS ENTIRELY UP TO YOU !!!!!

how to start WRITING on an rp blog:

ok so youve gathered some followers, now what. i usually just post a starter call! this is a post that people who want to write with you will like and you in turn will start a thread with them (doesnt have to be IMMEDIATELY, take ur time). you can also reblog rp memes which are like writing prompts people send to you (but i dont recommend starting ur rp blog w/ a memes barrage, people usually want to get to know your blog a little bit more before they send you a prompt). 

you can also wait for other people to post starter calls and then you like them (but check their rules first !!! for example, most people have a rule about being mutuals only, which means they will write you something only if youre following each other back), which also works. 

AND THATS HOW IT GOES !!! you are now writing on an rp blog. remember to take it easy and do what feels natural !!! browse some other rp blogs to get Inspired (but dont just lift things, stealing is a big no-no in the community). do what you feel comfortable with, if you dont want to make icons then dont! you’ll always find somebody who’ll write with you without icons (we just rly like them lol). be patient with others and yourself, read peoples rules, be nice, dont reblog an rp meme without sending a prompt to the person youre reblogging from (thats called reblog karma, if you dont wanna send a prompt then rb from the source), put yourself out there and UHH have fun !

[firebirdsdaughter]

Let’s…

… Overanalyse the preview images for the next episode of Ryusoulger!

Below the cut, bc spoilers and long postness.

Everyone! Onward!

Okay, so. Excluding the above image, I think this is our earliest scene, of the images:

Everyone looks very pretty, and Banba shows off the power to still look amazing even though he’s in the middle of talking. XD I say this seems like the earliest bc a) they’re all still standing, and we know that the poison is contagious. Also, they’re in the same area they were at the end of the previous episode––though time may have passed, bc someone turned the lights on. Most likely, this is them discussing the situation, and Banba might be talking about the Minusaur. It occurs to me that this situation has to be incredibly painful for Banba––the summary states that they figure out they need a tissue/blood sample from the monster in order to create an antidote. Which they can’t get. Bc Banba destroyed it. So, though honestly it’s in no way his fault bc none of them had anyway to know, Banba technically destroyed the only way of saving his brother. That’s gotta be killing him. However, this is the only one that I can give a guess to what it’s timeline is. The others are less clear, aside from generally grouping them together. So from here on out, timeline is a bit wonky. ^^ The summary implies that Asuna and Banba get infected first, and several of the preview images show Kou and Melto together like this one:

Leading me to believe that that is the order (also don’t they look so cute?). I don’t know if Banba and Asuna just drop almost immediately at the beginning of the ep––it did kind of look like Asuna did, at least, but she’s still standing in the above photo, so who knows. I does also say Tankjoh is running around in the city, so I think the boys are transforming here either to fight him––or maybe they did find the Minusaur again? Kou looks rather miffed. And, I mean, if Asuna, at least, has been infected at this point, his friend and someone he wants to be friends w/ are dying of poison. And it’s infectious. Anyway, it seems like Kou and Melto will be doing the leg work. Like I said, I don’t know where these images fall exactly in the timeline, but I think these two:

Go together. It looks like they’re in the same location. I presume the first one leads to the next one, and this appears to be Kou and Melto finally being effected by the poison as well. I would guess this happens after that picture of them w/ their Souls, bc they don’t have the ‘poison makeup’ on in that shot. There are also more shots of Kou transformed, including this one:

Which is also hard to place, given that we’re assuming Banba is one of the first two to be infected––it’s impossible to tell if this is Banba trying to fight despite being poisoned, or if he was fighting and then started getting effected (like it seems Melto was, above), or if he hasn’t been effected yet at all. The same goes for Kou. Notably, they’re in a different place than Kou and Melto were. Kou  appears to be very concerned, though––and has dropped his sword to… Check on him? Unclear. There’s also the fact that it seems the poison effects their ability to maintain their transformations (again, my suspicions about the above). It’s entirely possible that Banba is just that stubborn, as well as Kou––alternatively, it could be that this is before either of them start being effected. Aside from the summary, we do know Banba gets infected, bc we see a shot of him w/ the poison makeup in the trailer––a shot I suspect is part of this scene:

Weird angles aside. XD I think this mainly bc that shot is also coupled w/ Banba’s ‘I will not let you die’ line in the trailer, which I am presuming is referring to Touwa. Unsurprisingly, Banba is still willing to go to extremes in desperation to save his brother, but it looks like Touwa is awake enough to intervene and prompt an emotional scene, I’m sure. I’m thinking this is happening while Kou and Melto are out searching for the Minusaur. Perhaps this scene is what prompts Banba to go out and try to fight too, leading to the scene of him and Kou above. Or maybe he just came back from that? Either way, there’s no way to know. I’m inclined to think it’s the former, bc I don’t see Banba sitting around and waiting while his his brother is dying. Which would therefore mean that the above is him trying to fight despite dying of poison, and that’s what Kou is upset about. There’s a shot of giant Tankjoh and things being on fire, but that’s not very interesting, we all saw that in the preview. One thing that did interest me is this:

… Okay. Doesn’t this look weirdly dark? I swear it’s usually brighter in the cockpit, and that it didn’t look this dark in the preview, either. Someone mentioned that it might be bc he’s trying to pilot while poisoned, and it’s effecting Tyramigo and Kishiryu Oh, which seems possible, since I’m pretty sure that’s happened in Sentai before. Either way. Weirdly dark, right? There is, however, one other set of photos I think we can presume the timeline placement of:

Obviously, this occurs near the end of the episode. Everyone is back on their feet, and they’re transforming together. And looking right beautiful while they do it. ^^ Not much to say about this, other than they’re all going to do the ‘five swords of justice’ speech and I am going to cry like a baby. XD Of course, this obviously leads to…

5 Knights! XD

I am excited for this episode. I love ‘race against the clock w/ lives on the line’ sort of plots, and I’m excited for the team to come together. ^^ I am also hoping that maybe we’ll finally get some proper hints or at least a little more concrete info about the brothers’ pasts, especially what happened to Banba. I’m not expecting them to give us all the details about the ‘betrayal’ thing just yet, and I actually don’t want them too, but I’d love maybe some brief flashbacks and clearer hints. Something like a vague flash of images or something. I’m not formally placing a bet on who betrayed him, bc there are too many options w/ what little we know, but I am rather hoping that they’re Gaisorg/Gaisoulg or the armour’s new wearer/user. I’m really loving this series, and I’m excited for it to continue. ^^

Bonus:

Some very serious and very pretty Kou, featuring serious Melto, who is unfortunately looking away from the camera. DX ^^

[ctl-yuejie]

Cat Got Your Tongue (read on ao3)

TayNew Part 2 of Cat!New (Part 1) twitter prompt by @.taynewstuff:

au where new is a creature that turns from human to cat form, he’s lost on the streets when tay finds him and takes him home inside his hoodie bc it’s freezing outside, next thing tay knows there’s a whole man sleeping on his sofa where he left the cat the night before.

3.1 k

Almost a month has past before they see each other again.

It’s the grand opening night of the Iconsiam shopping mall and Tay pushes through the crowd that has gathered in front of the big central stage. The owners didn’t shy away from expenses, having invited several k-pop stars to headline the event. Now he knows why Alice told him to arrive early. Having to fight for a good spot against squealing teenagers will take its time. The girl standing next to him seems to get dragged down by the weight of her photography equipment, some of it looking so professional that Tay almost feels inadequate for bringing only one of his cameras. At least the silliness of it all already promises great entertainment.

With polite bows but determined steps he makes his way through the crowd opting for a spot closer to the speaker’s desk. Satisfied with the view he has of the stage Tay turns around to see if Alice has already arrived at the venue. Luckily everyone around him is much shorter, but neither Alice nor her manager are to be seen. Although... Far in the back a familiar head stands out to him from the crowd. With a shake of his head New tries to bring his bangs in order, using his fingers to push some unruly strands of hair to one side. Tay sends him a smile, but he knows it’s in vain. They’re too far apart, New not looking into his direction and he himself unable to move without giving up his spot. They had exchanged numbers that day, but after they had parted they’d only messaged each other once to set up a date for New to return the clothes he borrowed.

However they both had been busy and the exchange never happened. Additionally to being swamped with work Tay thought that it was only appropriate to give New the time and space to figure out his situation so he didn't press on with the matter. In the end they had gone a month now without talking.

Before he realises it New’s head vanishes into the crowd. Tay dejectedly turns around and decides to take some practice shots of the stage. If he’s lucky, New might stick around long enough for them to meet after the event.

The opening itself is grand to say the least, Alice routinely leading through the evening announcing one star after the other. After the last concert is over everyone pours into the surrounding stores and soon the space around the stage is completely cleared out. Taking a look around Tay is searching for what must have been New but none of the faces around him look familiar. A sudden thought comes to his mind. He lowers his gaze and takes another look around. Looks like New hasn't turned into a cat again. At least not tonight.

A hand on his shoulder startles him and he turns around do be greeted by the blinding smile of Alice. A group of elderly men waiting in the distance, most likely to guide her to the after party. "Will you join me?", she asks and without waiting for an answer pulls him over and introduces him to what must be the sponsors of the event. Tay politely introduces himself. His "just a photographer" earns him a playful slap, Alice correcting him immediately. "His name is quite well-known in the business, although his work focuses on landscapes." More people join and soon Tay is surrounded by investors, celebrities and politicians who all can't leave the chance out to be seen. The after-show itself is quite tasteful despite the grandeur and he finds himself enjoying the evening, taking the chance to network and connect with old work colleagues. He politely turns down a glass of champagne and the waitress moves out of the way when another distinguished man joins his group. Tay wais to the elderly man who turns out to be a professor of his alma mater. Despite having graduated from a different department, they're quite quickly engaged in exchanging the latest news on Chulalongkorn. After all the business talk the conversation is like a breath of fresh air. The camera around his neck piques the man's interest. It turns out that his department does research on food engineering, 'more of an art than a science' the professor says and he's quite eager to see the pictures Tay took during the event. Humming in satisfaction he offers Tay to hire him next time. "We do cooperate with food companies to not only enhance the products themselves but also to make them more aesthetically pleasing. Art is a science but science is also an art. For the aesthetic aspects we need a professional eye." Tay nods politely. The elderly man gives him an understanding look. "You said your focus was on landscapes, but I quite like your style and your friend told me you do different orders as well. One of my doctorates is focused on sweets and looking for someone to take pictures. If you don't mind I'd like to share your info with him." Tay smiles. "Sure. It is true that I have my professional scope, but it's always fun to branch out. Make hay as the sun shines*." The professor gives him a pleased nod, patting his breast pocket where he put his business card holder with Tay's contact information.

"Professor!", a baritone voice calls out and Tay's ears tingle at the sound. Turning around he sees New, dressed in a simple suit wai-ing respectfully to his professor and in turn towards the other people in their group. Tay has to suppress a laugh at the expression New makes when he finally lifts his head after the last bow to find himself looking at Tay. New's eyes widen and he seems lost for words, nevertheless pleased to see Tay.

The professor however seems to be adamant to finish his conversation with Tay first, beckoning New to join the other men and to make new contacts. Tay doesn't really listen to the rest of what the professor is saying, eyes flitting to New, who seems very awkward and clumsy at making small-talk, the conversations around him slowly but surely quieting down. One after the other the group disperses, leaving New no choice but to half-dejectedly stand on his own, not sure whether it is okay to interrupt Tay and his professor. Their eyes meet, New immediately looking down, evading him. "I was about to set you two up but now that you're here you can ask him for his number yourself." The professor encouragingly waves at New to step closer. "He's a photographer.", he explains, says his goodbyes to Tay and vanishes into the crowd. New visibly relaxes.

"I thought he was about to set us up." New sighs. "What are you doing here and how did you get to know my professor?" "I'm here to take pictures for a friend. The professor is someone I just met. I had no idea he was your doctorate supervisor?" "You just met him?" Tay raises his eye-brows. "You seemed to be quite chummy." "Maybe you're just not good with small-talk." Tay isn't sure whether their relationship is at a stage where he's allowed to tease New. New sighs again. "He said that you're in need of a photographer?" "Ah, that's what he meant with setting us up. Yes, I do. But I can always ask someone else." Tay feels dejected even when he knows it probably wasn't meant that strongly. "My thesis is on the nutritional issues of consuming fats and sugars. My work is to present general strategies for substituting fats and sugars in baked products. For my paper I need pictures of finished products." "I could...unless...", Tay doesn't know why he isn't able to just offer his service. Or why he feels like he wants to do this job despite it being out of his scope, making him most likely not the best candidate. Instead he opts for a question. "Do you know many photographers?" "I'm not really close with any, but I model as a part-time job so I could definitely ask around." New's eyes look unsure. As if he caught himself boasting and is now embarrassed. Why would he feel embarrassed in front of him? New is quite tall. Maybe not runway tall, but Tay could definitely see him as a model. In his mind he thinks about what angles New would look best from and what light would compliment his skin the most. Maybe he models for swim-wear. Tay fidgets with the strap of his camera. "Is that the reason you do your research on healthy sweets? So you can eat them even when modelling?" Half-curios, half-teasingly. "Not really. I work-out enough to compensate for all the calories. I'm more interested in the health-aspects." New finds it surprisingly easy to talk to Tay. "I'm quite the expert on healthy foods." "Then do you want to try some of my cake some time?" "Not much of a sweets person." Now it's New's turn to feel rejected. "But, I'd try some." Tay quickly adds. "It must be nice to do your research on such a fulfilling subject." New laughs at his bad wordplay. Tay is pretty sure by now that he’d likes to hang out more with New. "I like the math's aspect of it. But I'm not sure if I want to work in that area. The cake is a plus though." New smiles at him, eyes vanishing and Tay can feel his heart beating against his chest.

"Then you should try some of the cake that's making the rounds right now!" Alice hollers, joining their conversations. She seems to be quite tipsy. Tay introduces them and after getting nagged to send her the pictures of tonight's event first thing in the morning she curiously eyes New. "We're getting cake", she yells back before pulling New with her. When Tay catches up New is sitting at a big round table surrounded by several people their age, plate full of different small pieces of patisseries. He's happily munching on one of the pieces but Tay can see that he's slightly uncomfortable being surrounded by the group of unknown showbiz people. Before he can head-over to save him someone grabs his arm. Looks like all drama and theatre graduates have joined the event and soon Tay gets swamped by old school-friends, everyone excitedly discussing their newest works and throwing fits over pictures Tay still owes them. One look over his shoulder and he can see that New has vanished.

The Chula crowd moves on to the next table and Tay exhaustedly sits down on the chair New has left vacant. "He'll be back." Alice encourages him, but New remains nowhere to be seen.

Tay is about to get up and leave, angry at himself for leaving New alone and losing him when a small cat jumps into his lap. After recovering from the initial shock, he nudges the cat’s head reprovingly. "I’ll put a collar on you, so you don't run away next time." Cat New has amazing instincts when it comes to finding Tay’s weak spots and it head-butts his neck in retaliation. “Don't touch my neck.”, Tay hisses, but he carefully cradles the cat in his arms, making sure that they’re not getting too much attention and starts to look for New's clothes. New’s small paws tap his hands on occasion to steer him in the right direction and finally he can make out New’s suit, his shoes, and a clutch underneath a group of bushes. Luckily the light is dimmed and no one pays attention to the photographer with a cat and a suit in his arms. Tay, guided by New, takes them both back to the garage. Fishing the keys out of the pocket of New’s pants he places cat New on the back seat, arranging his clothes around him. Not knowing what to do he opens the passenger door, sits down and goes through the pictures he has shot, hoping that New will turn back soon. Tay is sorting the pictures in his head, thinking about how to edit them later on when human New puts his chin on his shoulder. Tay jumps at the contact and New laughs.

It seems like the time has come to broach the subject. “Are you okay?” New puts his chin back on Tay’s shoulder, looking at the pictures on the display in Tay’s lap while he talks. “Hmmm. I don’t turn that often into a cat anymore, most of the time it’s after I’ve taken a nap. Recently I’ve even been able to turn back into a human at will.” The puffs of his breath tingle against Tay’s neck with each word that leave his lips. Tay finds himself unable to concentrate on much of what New is saying. “I still have no idea why I turn at all.” New leans back after a long sigh escapes him which sends Tay into overdrive. “Can I drive you back?”, New asks while stuffing his shirt back into his slacks. Tay hums in affirmation, still trying to calm himself down. After fixing his outfit New gets into the driver’s seat and starts the engine. The air from the air-conditioner is on full blast and Tay gets a face full of stale air into his face. He knows he must have looked funny when New tries hard not to smile. Going into a giggling fit about his own stupidity he finally calms his heart down. They decide to head for Chidlom first to fetch Tay’s clothes from New’s apartment. Tay relaxes against the backrest, glancing at New on occasion who seems to be immersed into driving. "Do you know who sang at the opening? The American? She has a great voice." Tay tries to remember the name. The car comes to a halt in front of a red light. "You mean Alecia Key's? She's really famous." New looks back at him and their eyes meet. Without saying anything they just sit like that. Tay feels like he’s losing ground, staring into New’s round, dark eyes. A car honking behind them alerts them to the light turning green and Tay turns his head to look out of the window. "Well, her music was nice." New reaches for the stereo, blindly entering the letters and a song from today’s evening fills the car. They spend the drive singing her songs, Tay not quite confident in his voice humming under his breath. New seems to have forgotten all awkwardness between them, singing louder with each song. His voice is low and a warm feeling spreads through Tay’s chest.

New’s apartment looks like a mess. Tay wades through convenience store bags filled with trash and piles of clothes before settling on the only empty spot on the sofa. New doesn’t seem to be embarrassed at all, making his way to the bathroom to retrieve Tay’s clothes. It doesn’t take long, but when he comes back Tay’s head has lolled against his chest and he’s fast asleep.

“Tay, Tay...�� New shakes him softly by the shoulders. Tay’s scrunches his face when he fights to open his eyes. The clock on the wall tells him that it’s already way past midnight. He has been up and working for most of the day, his energy finally seeming to have run out. “I’ll get a cap.” He yawns. “I’ll drive you.” Tay shakes his head, both to get rid of the sleepiness and to stop New from grabbing his car keys again. “You’d have to drive back and forth and it’s already late.” Instead of standing up he remains seated on the edge of the sofa in a daze. He’s not fully awake and despite the messiness New’s apartment makes him feel at ease and oh so tired. “You can sleep here, if you want to.” New’s voice sounds unsure. Tay tries to lift his head to see if the look on New’s face is sincere, but he can already feel his eyelids getting heavier and it takes up all his energy to stay awake. He nods and turns to lie down on the sofa. His head collides painfully with a pile of books. Newwiee laughs at his misery, pulling him back up again and guiding him to his bedroom.

The room feels much warmer than the living room. Not caring about anything in his sleepy stupor Tay strips down to his underwear and faceplants onto one side of the bed. The sheets smell nice and a satisfied grin forms on his face. Tay is about to drift off when the bed dips on the other side, New carefully lying down. Tay cracks one eye open but in the darkness he can only make out the general outline of New’s body. However the puffs of air on his forehead make it clear that New must lie down facing him. “New?” New grumbles in response, feeling quite sleepy. It gets silent in the room. Just the short puffs of air against his skin. New’s minty breath is tantalizing. Tay reaches out with one hand, fumbling in the dark until he reaches New’s chin, carefully framing his face with his hand. It might be the sleepiness. Or the fuzzy feeling that still lingers after unexpectedly seeing New in the crowd today. Whatever it is, for a moment it sweeps away all his restraint. Tay’s thumb draws slow circles on New’s cheek. Head devoid of any rational thought and his nose full of New’s scent he stretches his neck, their noses bumping into each other before he softly kisses New’s lips. Tay draws back and waits, hand still holding onto New’s face. In the distance he can hear the minute hand of the clock moving to the next line. Then there’s a hand on his back, pulling him closer and New’s lips on his. He breathes in a mouth full of mint, his lungs hurting as New insists on not breaking their kiss. It’s chaste but expectant and Tay slowly moves his lips against New’s savouring the sweet taste. New whines when Tay breaks away so he places a few soft kisses to the corner of New’s mouth before he lets his head sink right next to New’s into the cushion. Before he can register that New’s breathing has evened out Tay has already drifted off to sleep.

Tay wakes up to a cat sleeping on his face and effectively blocking his airway. He jolts up, the fluffy white ball getting flung to the lower end of the bed. “New!!”

*(น้ำขึ้นให้รีบตัก) - When the water rises, hurry to get some