#part of the exo obsession series

[radioactive-metal]

CASINOOOOOO FICCCCCCCCCC (pt.1)

ITS HEREEEEEEEEEE

good morning and merry Christmas my fellow obsessed fans of this lovely wee series we have here, I grant to youse, as a Christmas present, the first Half (or so) of the casino fic. It’s got insanity, it’s got scheming, and it’s got a buggerton of innuendo. What more could you want?

so anyways, wherever you are in the world, with family or friends or perhaps by yourself, have a merry Christmas, Ido’nai, Hanukkah, Sanguinalia, or whatever you choose to celebrate. That’s enough rambling in my part. Enjoy gang.

Authors notes: in this the AU emerald city fiasco happens before semperternity. And the Zero is waiting somewhere else. So the squad is flush with cash but still without direction. This will be fun.

Tyler:

“What do you mean it’s missing a piece?” Cat looked about ready to murder someone, most likely Aurora. I laid a hand on her shoulder, very much ready to stop her acting on her fury.

“I can feel it. It’s broken. Look at the eye on this compared to the drawing.” Aurora pointed at the trigger sitting on top of the console to the picture of the sigil she had unconsciously scrawled. She was right. It was missing the gem in its eye.

Finian leant back against the bridge bulkhead, exo whining as he did so “good news gang! I have a cousin who just so happens to deal in missing parts of random artifacts from an ancient race of aliens.”

“Really?” The question slipped out before I could stop it. Finian looked at me like at me like I had just asked why we couldn’t open a window in the longbow, “No golden boy. Did the GIA give you concussion or am I losing my touch?”

“I would bet that ty lost more braincells from my punch then you ever had numbnuts.” Cat ground out. Finian raised his eyebrows “Nice one dirtgirl, I’ll have to add that to my collection.” 

Zila sat, sucking on a lick of hair for a moment, tapping furiously at her uniglass. “I have found the missing piece. Its location was detailed in the data left in the safe deposit box.”

Every person on the bridge whirled around to look at her. “Unfortunately, it is in the vault of La Casio Royale, in Neomonoco. However, currently, the Time to the Line race is on in the system, so it will be slightly easier to sneak in.”

I drummed my fingers on the armrest of my chair. “I feel like there’s something missing here”

Finian rubbed his temples, “yeah golden boy, there is. If you thought biatchiis security was bad, the Vaults de la Royale makes his look like a play pretend cash register.”

Scarlett:

On one hand, I had always wanted to see the time to the line race, preferably from a luxury yacht, waited on by a small army of very handsome men all named christoff. But in the other: we now had to pull off a heist that made that whole business on semperternity look like taking candy from a baby. The entire vault was open to vacuum, with electrified walls, laser sensors, shelves that weighed each lockbox sensitive to .00003 grams.

But on the other other hand: I got to put on my best outfit and lie, gamble, and drink my way through la Casio Royale, the best establishment in the galaxy for the sins of greed and gluttony.

Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me getting my squad mates up to par.

Once we had landed our (heavily disguised) longbow, we made our way to an incredibly expensive apartment complex. Zila had a set of keys and guided us to a door labeled 312. We stepped in and were all floored by the opulence. Oak paneling lined the walls. Onyx tiling led the way to the central living area, with a colossal window and balcony overlooking the ocean of the planet. The legion clearly hadn’t skimped out when building this place. I still couldn’t wrap my head around how they had laid all of this out. The box, the camouflage unit on the longbow, this apartment. It was as if they knew what was going to happen before it did.

There were 6 doors leading off the main corridor. Each one was inscribed with a different sigil. One had seven lines, the next had a stylized double A, after that was two hoops. Then on the other side of the hall was another four, with a beetle, a handbag, a gold bar, and a phoenix.

I took a wild guess, and opened the door with a handbag on it. Inside I found a lavishly decorated room, all velvet carpet and silk sheets. The largest bed I had ever seen sat in the middle, and directly across from the door to the room was a massive ornate closet. I gently stepped over to it, and found it was full to the brim with an incredible selection of clothes. Worksuits hung next to ball gowns, and everything in between.

There was two doors, I opened the first one and found a bathroom filled with enough marble to have depleted a small quarry. High end toiletries were arraigned next to glass sinks. I then check the other door, and found myself in a small corridor, with another door on the other end. I closed the door behind me and opened the next one.

I found myself transported to trask. A low ceiling studded with stalactites. Gently glowing blue vines grew on the walls, and floating in the center, quite possibly the best part of the room, was one Finian De Karen De Seel.

Aurora:

I opened the door with the old logo of Ad Astra, and I found myself in my childhood bedroom. It was the exact same. From the crappy old wooden bedframe to the books laid about the place. On the bedside table was a note.

Aurora:

We are so sorry that this is what you have to do. You should have been welcomed into this new time, not forced to run. 

Please consider this to be some very small apology,

Aurora Legion command

Admiral Adams and Greater Clan Battle Leader De Stoy

Below the message a small chip was taped. I plugged it into Magellan and saw it was a video. I pressed play and saw Callie, though much older, mid thirties at least, carrying a toddler. “Look the the camera kiddo! Say hello to your auntie Auri! Can you say hello little Jie?”

The toddler seem more focused on its mother bracelets.

“Hi Auri. I know you won’t ever see this, but I like to keep you updated. Even though you’re gone. This is Jie-lin. She’s 2 years old now. I hope you’re safe wherever you are. I love you”

I couldn’t keep it together. I broke down. These past few days coupled with this just broke me. I started bawling. Ugly, broken sobs that scratched at my throat as they came up.

I stared at that final frame of Callie. So grown up, so much older than me. I wondered what had happened. To mom, to dad, to the family after I left. Did mom go back to school? Did Callie ever go and see Hong Kong like she always wanted? What happened to dad?

I was stirred from my thoughts by one of the doors to my room creaking open. What would have once led to the kitchen now opened up into a plain grey corridor, currently occupied by the galaxies greatest Legolas lookalike.

We locked eyes for a moment. I saw that wall behind his eyes crumble for just a moment. I saw concern, but it could have well been pity.

“What…” my voice, scratchy and raw, caught in my throat “what do you want?”

Those damned purple eyes flicked away from me. And over the rest of the room, almost drinking it in. He stepped past the doorway, closing the door behind him without a south, and dropped noiselessly into a position with his legs crossed under him.

“Strong and silent then. Ok Legolas.” I mumbled, reaching around for something to throw at him. I grabbed my pillow, and acting on instinct from something I’d done a million times before, chucked it. He caught it out of mid air without a flinch. He raised a single, immaculate silver eyebrow at me.

“Stop doing that you son of a biscuit!”

“Stop what?”

“Being so irritating and rude and annoying and cute - er.. uh…”

Both his eyebrows jumped up to his forehead and I saw the faintest glimmer of what could be hope in his eyes. 

Tyler:

Everyone else filtered off to their rooms, leaving one door unopened. As I opened the door I found a nice,  it not ostentatious bedroom. Nicer than my room at the academy, but not what I would have expected from such a fancy apartment. Honestly I preferred it. I was never truly at home in fancy places, even when my dad traveled for the senate and took me and scar with me. It was always too much.

There were three other doors than the one I had just entered. The first was open to a bathroom, the second was a glass balcony door, that had a stunning view of the ocean.

The third door was closed, and had no obvious labels or indications of its purpose. I stepped over to it, and opened it only to find myself with scarcely four centimetres away from Cat. She looked up at me, and for just a moment I was there again, on shore leave, scotch in our veins and together. I staggered backwards, overwhelmed by that closeness with her. My ace, my closest friend, my confidante.

“Come now Ty, I’m not that scary”

“No-no god no of course not Cat no. You just…. Scared me.”

“Heh. And I never broke any academy regs. You’re fooling nobody Tyler.”

She lifted a hand, and with it a bottle of Terran scotch.

“We’ve made enough bad decisions in the past few days to fill a lifetime. What’s one more?”

And honestly? I couldn’t argue with that.

“So do you want to shout at me first or can we skip to the fun part?”

The now setting sun glowed a gorgeous golden orange through the light, catching in her dark hair and lighting up her face, now covered in a smile.

“Are you having a laugh? Nah. You’re going to sit your ass in the seat over there, and we are going to talk this out while I partake in this fine bottle of scotch that was left in my room. After that? We’ll see.”

By the time she had finished shouting at me, the sun was gone. In its stead was twin moons, visibly moving across the sky. We were sitting out on the balcony. She had a glass with a triple shot of scotch, I had some mineral water.

“Ya know Ty? I honestly considered the GIA’s offer on semperternity.”

“Is that the booze talking or you?”

“Are you having a laugh? I’m as sober as a funeral. This stuff” she shook the glass “is about as weak as nuns piss.”

“I figured. On both counts I mean. At risk of sounding uncomfortably cliche, I had faith that even though you wanted the offer, you would still back me.”

“God I hate when you read me like a book.”

“What can I say? I know you too well.”

A glint in her eyes made me realize what I had just done.

“Oh really now Ty? Are you sure? Cause I think there might be a few things you don’t know.”

And with that, I was dragged back through the door and onto the bed.

Cat Brannock 1, Tyler Jones 0

Zila:

There was a large amount of data stored on several storage wafers in my room. Each one contained briefings, plans, and other such information. Most was time locked to future dates, but I located one unlocked folder. Within was two subfolders, labeled ‘Orders’ and ‘Blue Prints’

The orders folder contain a briefing document with a security clearance I did not recognize. It was inaccessible, presumably corrupted, as it was date locked several hundred years in the past, and yet could not be opened.

The Blue prints folder was much more fruitful. Within was pages upon pages of plans, analysis, and photos of the vault we had to crack into. 

Along with data was a note, one of several I had found so far. This one read “trust the hawk”. I piled it with the other notes, some had been helpful, pointing me to guide my team mates in the correct direction. Others were much more cryptic, many mentioning hawks, crystals, and the ancient myth of Ouroboros. 

More to consider.

I wonder if it is wrong to manipulate my teammates.

I am still not feeling nothing

Finian

I spent most of the evening after Scarlett left fixing up my exosuit. The fact the legion splurged for terrestrial anti grav made feel warm and fuzzy inside. Or maybe that was talking to Scar. Who knows?

After an extremely long and deep sleep in zero G, I woke at would be 8:30 station time. Later than normal but not ridiculously so. With a sigh and some grumbling I donned my exo once again and turned off the Zero G. All of those pains and aches I thought had gone? They came right back. Turns out there’s only so much one nights sleep can do.

I opened the door and wandered out to the common area of the apartment, to find Zila sitting at the counter, obsessing over some file in her uniglass, and Kal out on the balcony doing some sort of meditation.

“Third awake isn’t bad… where’s our high and mighty squad leader?”

“Sleeping with legionnaire Brannock.”

I did a double take at that “asleep? Or…. The other thing?”

Zila didn’t respond.

“Maker… really? My goodness he’s actually human? I thought they assembled him at the overachiever factory.”

“There is no such factory.”

“Don’t change Zila. I need someone to tell me these things”

With that I wandered over to the refrigerator to see what we had. I found it stocked better than I could have hoped. It even had my favorite kind of breakfast burrito.

“Wow, they really did think of everything.”

Zila made a small noise, then hurriedly typed something on her uni.

At that, as if on cue, Scarlett walked round the corner. Far from her usual put-togetherness, she looked bedraggled, hair frizzy and makeup smeared. Even then though, as she caught my eye and winked, I felt like my stomach was full of butterflies.

“Morning Zila”

No response, Zila being a conversationalist ad always.

“And good morning fin”

The gentle smile, the way she said my name… it felt like someone had released another crate of butterflies in my stomach (why do they keep dumping them there? Do I look like a bug enclosure?)

“M-Morning Scar”

She walked over, brushed my hand (for just a little too long to be accidental) to hit a button on the coffee maker. I personally couldn’t stand the stuff, but Scarlett seemed to guzzle it like air.

“Any plans for the day?”

“You know, the usual, being the most handsome member of the squad.”

“The usual indeed. You can multitask while doing that I presume? I have a shopping list and need a spare set of hands getting it all. We can get lunch and such. I know a guy here.”

There was quite a few things to unpack there. First was her agreeing with me? The most handsome? Maker that let off a third… flock? Collection? Swarm? Of butterflies. The second… was she was asking me to go out with her. To go shopping and get lunch. Me. ME. The only reason she would pick me for that is if-

Great maker in the heavens. Scarlett Jones was asking me out on a date.

Tyler

The sunlight streaming through my window gently brought me back from the sandman. I stirred and moved my arm to my eye, only for it to hit something warm, and vaguely soft and-

Oh yeah. Last night. The memories flashed though my head like a dying star. I cracked an eye open, and saw her there, next to me, still dead to the world.

Her hair was mussed, what little makeup she had smudged around. I shifted under the covers and gasped from the pain. Looks like I might have voided the warranty on the old fun factory.

The noise woke her up. With a grumble and yawn, she opened her eyes. Her voice was soft and scratchy, but no surprises there. Thank the maker the walls are thick.

“Morning Ty. What’s the big idea with all the noise?”

“The boys…. Poor fellas seem to have taken a beating”

“Wonder who could have done such a thing?”

With that, she shifted closer to me and closed

her eyes again.

Should I have done this? Probably no.

Was it a bad choice? Most likely.

Do I regret it? Let’s see.

I looked over at the clock at the side of the bed, 6:50.  Later then I would normally wake up. I should probably get up.

However: this bed was comfy, and most importantly, there was a woman I loved next to me, and that was too much of a problem for the little bit of me that wanted to get up could overcome, and so I drifted back off to dream land, listening to Cats breath.

Kal:

I awoke at 5 AM ship time. My father had instilled this into me with his fists. I always woke at 5 now, no matter when or where I slept. I still have the scars, the last reminders of the wounds he inflicted, and the care my mother gave me. The universe truly was cruel. Making me the son of that wretched being, and taking my mother from me because of his fit of rage.

I went out to the balcony, to meditate as my mother showed me. It helped clear my head, and to tamp down the enemy within. I cleared my mind and reached out. My powers were weak, insignificant compared to all but the weakest of waywalkers, and yet i could still feel my comrades, ever so faintly. Tyler’s golden light, lighting him up like a beacon in the dark. Scarlett, glowing ruby red, casting a warm and welcoming glow around her. And Aurora. By all the souls of Syldra, Aurora.

She was like a star. Glowing with the purest white light, too strong to even look at. All I could see was her outline, and that void blue core of her being. 

I was no stranger to being pulled in two different directions. The teachings of my father versus those of my mother. The enemy within versus me. But this one was different. One could fill the galaxy with words and it would not come close. If all the blood vessels were laid out to end to end, and each cell had the word love engraved on it, it would not equal one billionth of a second of the pull. It was nearly impossible to resist, myriad works of art had been created about it over the millennia. None came close to describing it. I opened my eyes from my meditation, and looked out over the glistening sea, utterly stunning by all accounts. It was bland and boring compared to Aurora. And yet, I was denied such a thing. I could not. Alas, she was human. I don’t know if she could even reciprocate these feelings.

That was until yesterday. Like a man clutching to a cliff edge, I hung on to those words. Was there hope? Did she mean those words? Those feelings flying off her like a star going supernova? 

I did not have many of my mother gifts, but even I could feel the emotions of one as powerful as her.

And she felt something for me.

The smallest ember of emotion, which may catch.

And so hope remained.

And so despite everything, I had reason to smile.

Scarlett

I was 3/4ths of the way through my coffee when Tyler trudged in. Not walked, not marched, trudged. I have seen him do such a thing exactly twice in my entire life. The day after dad died, and the morning he got back from shore leave after graduation. Given that no one we know died, and the incredibly visible and large hickey on his neck… I’d say that my brother was engaging in…. Fraternization. 

I’m impressed honestly. I had a bet with myself that he wouldn’t last through the 2nd night on the longbow, now it’s been a whole week! Impressive.

As Tyler rounds the corner, I notice his odd gait, swinging his leg out and forward, rather than straight ahead in proper marching style. 

Fraternization indeed.

He stops at the counter, grabs one of the stools, and gingerly sits down. We lock eyes for just a moment and have an instant of perfect, non verbal twin to twin communication.

‘Really?’

‘Not a word’

The silence was broke by a sharp sniff through is nose, a long sigh and him shifting. 

“Right then. Anything of note to report?”

“Negative sir” came Finians reply

“Nope” 

“I have something sir” Zila had stopped tapping on her uniglass

“Well? The suspense is killing me legionnaire Madran, what is it?”

“Testy this more I see sir” Finian said, seeing if he couldn’t get a rise of his commander

“I have located blueprints and relevant construction information for the vault. I send them in a data package over our squad communications link, along with my personal analysis on viable points of entry.”

“Didn’t get much sleep then I take it Legionaire?”

“No more than you sir”

I choked on my coffee. Finian did a spit take and Tyler looked utterly bewildered.

“First: what I was or wasn’t doing last night is between me and the maker. Second: did you just make a joke?”

“No. I stated a fact. I got 4 hours and thirty two minutes of sleep last night, while by my estimation you got between four and three quarters and five hours of sleep.”

Finians pale skin was now flushed a pale shade of pink from him trying to hold in his laughter, meanwhile I was laughing around the coffee stuck in my throat and Tyler looked even more bewildered. The kind of bewildered that makes a deer in headlights look like a professor of psychology.

“I-uh- Well anyways, if you could pull up the data on the table hologram so we can prepare a briefing legionnaire.”

“Yes sir”

Aurora

I woke up with puffy eyes and a throat that felt like it has seen the wrong side of an industrial sandblaster. Turns out: crying yourself to sleep is awful. I can’t believe Hollywood lied to me. It’s almost like it’s full of paid actors.

I had to peel myself from my bed, I sign I had slept far deeper than normal. I opened the closet, and found that it was stocked with clothes exactly to my size and liking. I picked out a nice outfit and walked to what I could only assume was the kitchen, where I heard the gentle murmur of voices. I rounded to find everyone else in the squad all chatting amounts themselves, with coffee and, of all people, Cat, manning, as my mother would call it, the cooker. Tyler looked up, and gave me a kind smile.

“Well then, that’s everyone. I’ll start the briefing now if no one has any objections.” He paused “Ok good.” He tapped a button in the centre of the table. It lit up revealing blueprints, for what looked like a very over the top bank vault.

“This, ladies and gentlemen, is our target. The most fortified, secure, and impenetrable bank vault ever designed. Within, is contained the last part of the trigger, a 32 karat chunk of Eshvaren crystal.”

Scar leaned forward. “So an easy jaunt into a bank vault to steal a gem. What’s the problem?”

“Finian?”

The Beretreskan nodded

“If you remember Biattchis office, with the security system that would wake a carreer criminal screaming? This one would make them hand themselves in to the police and collapse into a jibbering, insane mess. Laser sensors and hair wire triggers, weighted boxes and hard vacuum. Silent penetration is nearly impossible”

Kal spoke up “so how do we intended to get in quietly?”

Finian giggled like a kid on Christmas morning. “Kal…. Who said anything about quiet?”

Tyler tapped the button on the table again.

“We will be organized into 3 groups of two, with Zila running support here.” He gestured at a point on the holographic map, indicating the apartment “Legionnaires De Seel and Jones task is to create a distraction. I don’t care if it’s a riot, a brawl, anything. We just need all eyes away from the vault. Legionnaire Gilwraith and Aurora will be our backup in case we have unwanted guests. Finally, me and legionnaire Brannock will be infiltrating the facility, opening the vault, and retrieving the target. Any questions?”

“How do we intends to breach the vault?”

Tyler’s eyes glimmered. “Are you familiar with shaped charges?”

[End of part 1. Teehee]

[byuntrash101]

exo masterlist

disclaimer: everything is smut, mdni. everything is idol x fem!reader

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[naomicindy]

‘The Dual Nature of Online Fandom: Why It’s the Best and Worst Place to Be’

By: naomicindy

If you’ve ever been in an online fandom, you already know: it’s a wild ride. One moment, you’re laughing over memes and bonding with strangers who feel like instant besties, and the next, you’re dodging heated debates that make you question humanity. Fandoms are so much more than just liking a celebrity, show, or game—they’re full-on communities. But let’s be real: they’re not perfect. Online fandoms have this dual personality thing going on, and it’s fascinating. They’re uplifting and creative but also sometimes toxic and stressful. 

First off, fandoms are all about connection. There’s something magical about realising other people are just as obsessed with your favorite K-pop group, anime, or book series as you are. According to Team MindPeers (2023), humans have an inherent desire to belong, and fandoms meet this need uniquely. You know that feeling when you meet people who love the same stuff as you? That’s what fandoms are all about—they make you feel like you’re part of something bigger. Whether it’s a band, a movie, or a video game, it’s not just a hobby anymore; it’s part of who you are. You connect over inside jokes, favorite characters, and all the feels. It’s like finding your own little family online, where everyone just gets it. Like, when you find your fandom, it’s like shouting into the void, “Does anyone else feel this way?!” and the void shouts back, “YES, WE DO!” Fandoms can make you feel so seen. You can be from completely different parts of the world, but the shared love for something creates this instant bond (Lee & Tak, 2019). I mean, where else would you find someone who gets why you cried for two days straight over a fictional character’s death? 

One of the coolest things about joining a fandom is seeing just how creative people can get. Fandoms are full of artists—whether it’s fanfiction, fan art, cosplays, remixes, or edits. Sometimes, the fan-made stuff is so amazing it feels like it could rival the original. It’s a space where creativity runs wild, and you get to share a side of yourself you might usually hide. The best part? No one judges—they cheer you on and push you to dream even bigger.

But then… there’s the dark side. Drama within fandoms is nearly unavoidable. It might feel as if everyone is banding together around a common interest one moment and then ripping each other apart over most random things in the next second. In K-pop fandoms, peace is a rare commodity, especially when rivalries flare up between fans of different groups. One memorable instance (for me) was the 2015 clash between EXO-Ls (EXO fans) and VIPs (BIGBANG fans) (Koreaboo, 2018). What began as a friendly competition took a sharp turn when EXO’s Love Me Right and BIGBANG’s Loser went head-to-head on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. Allegations of bias and cheating erupted, with fans accusing Mnet of favoring one group over the other. Mnet later clarified that unauthorized access had affected vote tallies:

“The page was closed, but someone gained access through some kind of negative method. Because of this, voting reopened, causing confusion. Only the tallied data up to 9 PM was reflected in the final scores.” -- Mnet

Despite their statement, tensions continued to grow, making this one of the most talked-about fandom "wars" of its time. The argument lasted until one EXO fan uploaded a video of herself burning a photo of BIGBANG's Taeyang while EXO's "Mama" played in the background. Other EXO-Ls were startled by the tweet and condemned her actions.

And if you think these battles only happen between different fandoms, here’s something even more surprising—and a bit terrifying. Fights can break out within the same fandom, often fueled by differing opinions, biases, or intense loyalty to certain members. Let’s talk about gatekeeping for a second. You’d think fandoms would be super welcoming—“Yay, more people love this thing I love!”—but nope. Some fans decide they’re the “real fans” and anyone who doesn’t meet their standards is a fake. Didn’t stream the album 100 times in one day? You might get side-eyed. Didn’t buy the latest album? Fake fans. It’s exhausting and honestly kind of sad. Like, why can’t we all just vibe?

Online fandoms are a strange combination of wonderful and chaotic, but that's what makes them so fascinating. They're about more than simply enjoying a performance, music, or game; they're about how we connect as humans in the digital age. Sure, there is drama, but there is also a lot of creativity, happiness, and community.

At the end of the day, fandoms remind us of one thing: we're all simply seeking something to bond over. And, whether it's by sharing fan art, arguing ideas, or organising a charity drive, fandoms demonstrate the greatest (and occasionally worst) aspects of what it means to belong.

Koreaboo. (2018, December 20). 6 biggest fanwars in K-pop history that we’re thankful are in the past. https://www.koreaboo.com/lists/kpop-history-remember-biggest-fanwars/  Lee, S. H., & Tak, J. Y. (2019, October). (PDF) fandom, social media, and identity work: The emergence of virtual community through the pronoun “we.” Research Gate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336860809_Fandom_social_media_and_identity_work_The_emergence_of_virtual_community_through_the_pronoun_we  Team MindPeers. (2023, August 3). Behind the screens: Unraveling the psychology behind fandoms. Blog. https://blog.mindpeers.co/behind-the-screens-unraveling-the-psychology-behind-fandoms#:~:text=Engaging%20with%20a%20fandom%20provides,interests%20and%20share%20their%20enthusiasm. 

[yeolsaintlaurent]

Yeolsaintlaurent's Blog Guidelines

About -

I am an EXO fan fiction writer and write exclusively for EXO. All of my works are exo member x fem reader. I would love to write for other gender/ gender identities, but I need time to research and improve my knowledge on how to write accordingly so as to make my work authentic

I am very very excited to be a part of the EXO fanfic writer community here on tumblr

I absolutely love the craft of writing, and am very proud of my work. I also see this blog as my way of honing my skills.

I start of a fic as a one-shot but somehow it almost always ends up as a series (I get inspired and feel compelled to flesh out the characters, the places, have multiple character arcs, etc)

Tumblr works on reblogs. So please reblog my work to support me and show me you like what you are reading. It will motivate me to churn out content regularly

I write and post on my PC. So if you are reading on your mobile, which you most probably are, the formatting may get fucked up (I know it's a pain in the ass)

My works will contain -

I mostly write fiction that includes dark themes. I will absolutely include warnings and tags before each piece.

Mental health themes

Real world problems such as corruption, climate change, war, abuse, ptsd etc. I write about them to bring awareness as well as the fact that I like incorporating realness in my fics. I do not sugarcoat issues.

That said, not all my fics will be like that. I do enjoy writing fluff, romance, and pieces that would warm your heart and/or cause butterflies in your stomach. <3

NSFW DOs : smut(duh), rough sex, group sex/ gang bangs, ddlg, obsession, stalker, degradation, cnc, mild sadism, cum play, yandere, unprotected sex, consensual somnophilia, knife play, gun play, dom-sub

Definitely not -

Member death or suicide

member x member or member x other idols

NSFW NOTs : Non-con, Scat play, age regression to minor, bestiality, gore, vore, incest, pedophilia, rape, stealthing, abo, hybrids

And that should wrap it up. Thank you so so much for taking the time to go through this post, my loves xx

♡、。・:*:·゜`*。·:*:·゜`♡、。・:*:·゜`*。·:*:·゜`♡、。・:*:· `*。゜・:*:·゜`*。·:*:·゜

[theclearblue]

Have you ever had hard time to enter a fandom that is your whole world in your childhood? So I first watch One Piece when I was 6 about 20 years ago, and I really love it (have the tshirt, shoes, manga, etc). And I followed it until I finished high school. But then I suddenly lose interest. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it, just don't want to enter to that fandom again. My anime/manga moots now, don't even know that I used to love One Piece.

What do you think is wrong with me? I still watch the new movie if it came out in the cinema and I don't mind to know the update or spoiler of the story, I just don't want to watch the series or read the manga again. I'm weird, right?

I found your blog because of your JJK posts (now I'm into JJK and have at least 4 ships that I really love) also from you I know that Law got turned to a woman (like really)...

And if you aks me, I have ships (mostly mlm and wlw) from any fandom of manga and anime that I consume, except if those series are from my childhood. Like, I can't seem to ship Zoro and Sanji or any other character from OP because in my mind they are all platonic. But you gave me anime/manga that have a little bit bromance, and I'll ship them of course.

After talk it out, I must look really strange to you right? Sorry for this silly ask. Thanks for your blog, I love them. Also, thank you for your anime/manga recs. As BokuAka shipper that last ask of yours really made me happy that they are at least canon-ish....

I don't really think this is weird at all because this happened to me with a different fandom lol. It wasn't a show, but from ages 11-18/19 I was OBSESSED with kpop. I bought the albums and the merch when I could, my original tumblr blog was an Exo blog with about 900ish followers, it was all I listened to for years. And then one day I just stopped. I certainly was sick of kpop fans but nothing major happened for me to lose interest, I just kind of moved on. It happens. And while I still listen to some kpop, it's all the old stuff that I used to like, I don't go and venture out for new music or interact with any fandom with it now. It's the exact same situation you described I think, I don't hate it! But I have zero interest to rejoin the fandom because I do have issues with it and any kind of interaction is just for me at this point. (The next part is about One Piece specifically so I'm gonna put a cut here cause I wrote a lot lmao)

In regards to One Piece specifically, I think I understand where you're coming from. One, it seems like a lot of fans have lost interest at some point (usually between Fishman Island-Dressrosa, or maybe even up to WCI) and some pick it back up, and some don't. And I get that! I think I came into it at the perfect time where even if there is an arc I don't like as much, I always had Wano and Egghead to look forward to, and the end is now in sight. And reading week to week is always going to be a different experience than blitzing through the series like I did. Fortunately Egghead is amazing week to week, this is some of Oda's best work, but if I had to read week to week during, say, Punk Hazard or Dressrosa, yeah I would have complaints and most likely lose interest lmao. I don't know if this was your experience, but you definitely aren't the only one to have lost interest.

The fandom...yeah I have issues lol, particularly with fans from the West. I went to Japan this summer (before starting One Piece) and looking back it stood out to me that One Piece is EVERYWHERE and it's something that everyone loves regardless of age and gender. There were One Piece themed stores I went into where old ladies and middle aged men and little girls were all clearly invested in this series, and from what I've heard the consensus in Japan is that this series is enjoyed by families. I bring that up because the conversation around One Piece is OVERWHELMINGLY dominated by cishet men, usually in their mid 20s to mid 30s, and it shows. I think it is starting to shift to where there's more diversity in the fandom (or at least seen diversity) but man does it have a long way to go. I'm not impressed by how the fandom has reacted to trans characters, in particular Yamato, a trans male character in Wano where you have people still to this day scream about how he is a woman and will die on that hill. I think the whitewashing should of started being a conversation ten years ago instead of the last year or two. I think the issue of sexism within One Piece is complex, and it's not afforded the nuance it deserves from either side. I've stated multiple times I'm not a fan of powerscaling, but oh god is it terrible here, where it has somehow become prioritized for so many fans, even if it doesn't make sense from a narrative or character perspective. And maybe it's an overall media literacy problem, and I really don't mean to come off as a snob here because I certainly don't pick up on everything, but it's insane how many fans do not pick up on the core themes of the series, and just like it for...the fights. All of this to say, I have frustration as well with this fandom.

With the shipping, just always remember that they are ultimately headcanons, and you never have to agree with a headcanon to enjoy something, even if the headcanon is popular. One Piece can be tricky because I very much understand the desire to view things strictly as platonic, and in fact in canon this is what I want, I don't want any of my ships to be confirmed lmao. Where I get hung up a little bit though is that I think multiple characters in the series are queer coded, whether intentional or not. Of course there are the intentional ones like Iva and Bon Clay and Kiku, but I do genuinely believe a lot of the strawhats are queer coded as well, in particular Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, and Franky. I would be happy to expand on that more in another ask if you would like. But with these characters being queer coded, or at the very least they can be read that way, shipping seems like a natural progression for many fans, even if there is no romantic subtext to speak of. So all in all, I totally understand why shipping is a no go for you with One Piece, but this is my general thought process as I do ship some characters in the series.

TLDR anon is that I don't think you're strange at all, we gain and lose interest in things all of the time, and your concerns with the fandom and the series as a whole are valid I think, I've thought about a lot of the same stuff you have listed here even though I am a big fan.

[intothemysticfic]

I'm so excited!

I've got the next 3 parts of the NCT 127: Evolution of Love Series written all I have to do is edit, find GIFS and post them. All three should be out by the end of the week!

I wanna thank everyone that participated in the poll I posted. Seeing as Reaction/Scenarios won that will be my main focus moving forward. But don't worry if you voted for one of the other options I'll be adding a few other pieces to the mix! (Also, to the person who voted for other please message me - I'd love to know what your ideas are!)

There's only one question left...

[breeze-of-sunlight]

(This is not a brick, it's a wall, oopsie 🫣)

Hey there Ju ! 💛

🎅 Anon again ! Thanks for you answer, coincidentally, you have the same nickname as my little sister XD No problem about having no introduction, I don't have one either, just a few words at the very top about me so no worries !

Don't worry, we'll get used to it and we won't reveal our identity before it's time I'm sure !

1000 words is okay enough I think, depending on wordbuilding I might actually make more. I do have focus issues because of ADHD, but considering I have just finished my master's thesis and it's a 100 pages long, I think it'll be okay 😂 I am always extremely impressed with people who write long fics : I recently finished Exodus and Phoenix (both by author unniebee on AO3, respectively 115k and 230k) and it baffles me how passionate one must be to write something so long and good, and make it completely free. But it's also the beauty of fanfiction ! As comparison, the master's thesis that took me 1.5 years to write is only 33k like what the hell 😭 No matter what format or length it ends up being, I'll do my utmost best with it I promise !

Oh yeah KDrama is not for everyone, and to be honest it takes a long time getting used to the ambiance and the tropes there are, but when you finally get it, you become obsessed. They usually take about 2 to 3 episodes to become interesting, but I like that most of them are only 16 episodes and no additional seasons ! No 15 seasons series in South Korea, no no no everything is about efficiency 😂 I also really appreciate that it allows actors to take on a lot of different types of roles (Kyungsoo really got that part !).

I think in your case it would be best to start with either short series or movies ! Not all dramas below fullfil that criteria, but allow me to make a few suggestions ? I think those can be pretty much be considered objectively good, I really enjoyed them !

Thriller : Flower of Evil (with romance !) and The Frog (with Chanyeol as secondary character).

War : 71 Into the Fire, or Swing Kids (both movies, second one with Kyungsoo who's easily the best actor in EXO) !

Family : Under the Queen's Umbrella (this one is historical, hit me in the guts, didn't expect to like it so much !) and The Good Bad Mother (this one too !).

Law : Extraordinary Attorney Woo (this one is very special to me, as I have the same disability as the main character) and Bad Prosecutor (with Kyungsoo as main, here he incarnates a kind of Jack Sparrow-ish character and he's hilarious !)

Romance : Unforgettable (also a movie with Kyungsoo as main, he's just the one that acts the most !), Youth of May and The Atypical Family.

Bonus : Missing Crown Prince because it's not just one category (romance/historical/political) but Suho is the main and though he's not a natural actor, I thought he improved tremendously in this one compared to the others he did.

Most of those are a bit angsty so careful if you can't really take it ! I personally am pretty much decensitized by now but I know it's not the case for everybody XD But they're just the ones I've enjoyed the most ! I also really loved The Moon and No More Bets to be very honest. The Moon reminded me a lot of The Martian with Matt Damon that was one of my favourite movies when I was a teen, but like a dramatic version of it XD

Answer to your question : I'm super down for any mythology/magic/fantasy, it's actually one of my all time favourites ! I love mythology in general, especially Greek mythology and fantastic creatures (vampires, werewolves, ghosts, warlocks and witches, but also merpeople and faes and others !). I think I mentioned it in my form though, if you also mentioned it, it might have been why we were paired together :D

My turn : what genre(s) are you comfortable with and which ones are you not comfortable with ? If it's romance, I usually always include an OC or a Reader character as people call it now (I'm only 25 but I've been reading fanfic for close to 15 years and "reader" did not exist when I started LMAO, people actually invented original characters can you believe it ?! 😂). I don't usually write memberXmember even though I do read it, but I can surely make an exception if that's what you like, there will be no problems :D

The main thing I'm searching for here is the themes that you might consider a warning, as I do not want to dive into something that you might find triggering (I'm not sensitive at all so I don't find anything triggering, and this lack of sensibility is exactly why I'm asking XD).

I'm not sure if you're aware, but Luhan got married a couple years ago ! I'm so so glad you have Chen as a bias, not a lot of people have him as bias and even fewer people accept to write for him, especially romances. I personally do not consider that producing a work of fiction depicting a fictional version of a real person to be a lack of respect, so I won't hesitate to write something for him. You can request pretty much anything, including smut if you are old enough (18+).

I am pretty much OT9 by now, I have some people I identify with most but all in all I love everybody pretty much equally. I still have to check out most of Xiumin's work though. The members I have the tendency to check out the most these days are Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, followed by Chen and Baekhyun, and then all the rest but it always changes LMAO ! Not so long ago I was most into Kai and Suho and Sehun and Yixing 🤣

Take your time to answer, I've written a dissertation,

Sincerely,

🎅 Anon !

Hi there Santa! :]

I'm hiding the rest of my answer under the cut - I hope you don't mind, haha ^^

First of all: I'm sorry for taking a while to respond. There's just a lot happening right now (stressful situation at work, my club organizing a bout day, you name it) and I wanted to make sure I have enough time to go over your answer without any pressing matters breathing down my neck-

What a funny coincidence that your sister and I share a nickname! :D But yeah, I just never bothered to set an introduction up (and update it accordingly) except for the one on the kpop-specific blog I share with my friends ^^' And even that one is outdated af-

If it really doesn't bother you, that would be great actually! 🖤 And don't worry about length or format - you having fun while writing is the most important thing :)

Damn, congrats on finishing your master's thesis! That's so impressive and must've cost you a lot of nerves. What's your field? I stopped after my bachelor and just called it a day - couldn't even tell you how long that doc was anymore ^^' I hope you've used LaTeX for formatting your thesis? Working on the it with Word would've driven me nuts.

I'm also wondering how people can just push out novel-length fanfics in their free time?? 😭😭 I always jump from one wip to the next and finish next to nothing. Even though comparing them to your thesis might be a bit too hard on yourself: fanfic authors don't have to find a source for every second sentence ^^'

The sad thing about fanfiction is, that they barely seem to be getting interactions anymore. That must be so disheartening after the authors put so many hours into those fics... :C

Yeah, I just sometimes feel like I don't get the themes in Kdramas. I tried watching Korean Odyssey because I liked the premise, but the execution just did not vibe with me at all. That's okay, tho. Different media for different people!

It's also nice that dramas are just allowed to rest after they've told their story! I feel like a lot of western media gets milked dry until everyone forgot it's initial values and it doesn't make enough money anymore. Which kinda ruins a lot of good franchises.

Thank you for taking so much time to recommend me stuff! I've written all of your suggestions (including the fanfics from earlier in the message) down and will check them out as soon as I have the mental capacity for it! ^^ Starting with short series is definitely a good call.

Without researching any of them further yet, Under the Queen's Umbrella is kinda luring me in, haha! And the law-themed ones also sound very interesting. I don't have anything against angsty media either :) Although I do prefer happy endings ^^'

Oooh, is The Moon scifi? I'm in a little space-mood since last week. My friend and I just went to a replay (idk if this the right term for it in English, sorry!) of Interstellar at our favorite cinema yesterday :) I've never seen it before, but WOW is it a stunning movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd absolutely recommend it. Although, you probably have already seen it if you liked The Martian so much as a teen :]

Heck yeah, set all sails to fantasy island, then!! I also love anything fantastical, magical. I think that's the general direction I would like to steer the gift towards :3 Though, I haven't mentioned fantasy on my application iirc. It was a very christmas-y prompt.

Mhm, I don't think I would like to go into a romantic direction. I was thinking of diving more into a urban fantasy setting? With a good amount of bromance for sure, but nothing beyond that. I'm not entirely sure about the plot or anything, I just like the premise of these fantastical creatures having to deal with our modern world, hehe.

I'm very in love with EXO's power and werewolf themes, tho. And I'm always a big fan of witches and fairies. Maybe we can find a starting point there?

Yeah, I also remember the good old days of fleshing out your self-insert character for fanfiction that would never end up being written down, oof! Idk if it's just me, but ff in general feels a lot less personal than back then? (Or maybe I'm just becoming old, fuck)

Oh, in case of topics to stay away from: it'd be great if you could stay clear of describing veins (huägh) or doing harm to eyes. That's just a little disgusting to me ^^' Besides that I can't really think of anything besides the generally triggering stuff (self-harm, sexual-assault or anything of the like). I'd like this to be something that can be enjoyed by the other secret-santa-Eris, too. Just to be clear, I don't mind darker themes or battles as long as the story still focuses on the boys and the fantasy :)

Oh yeah, I saw Luhan got married! :) Good for him, honestly. They all deserve someone to be with 🖤 Yeah, I feel like generally Kai and Baekyhun get biased the most and on tumblr it's Chanyeol (especially Chanyeol) and Suho ^^' More Chen for me, hah! (Actually, I got both versions of the Obsession album. Can you believe how happy I was when I pulled a exo-chen and x-exo-suho :D Getting them both was lucky enough, but getting them both in my preferred styles for them that comeback? No clue how I managed to pull that off!)

I can understand why people won't write romances for idols who are openly in a relationship anymore, though. I mean, sure, we can never know if idols are dating - and most of them probably are - but it kinda feels different if the dude has two little kids, yk ^^' Still, I'm also getting your point and it's not like he'll ever find these fics. But as said I'm not looking for any romance anyway ^^' (I'm 22, btw, so don't worry abt me being a minor)

Chen as the main character would definitely be something I'd like reading! Like you said, he's not the most likely to get written about ^^'

Oh wow, sounds like you don't got a fixed bias at all! That's cool, I think that's pretty rare in kpop fandoms :)

I gotta admit that I'm very behind when it comes to checking out the guys' solo works. I just feel like my interests pull me in so many directions that I don't have enough hours in a day to keep pace with everything. That's hopefully something you can relate to, right? ^^' And I - very honestly - miss their group work. I just like how their voices work together. And while I think it's great that they get to release the music genres they want to do, I just never was all that excited about ballads. (Which seems to be both Chen's and Suho's go-to *sigh*) But as long as they're happy, I'm glad. They've worked hard to get to this point of releasing what they want to.

Oof, it's late-ish here, time for bed! I hope I've created more answers than questions for you, dear Santa. Hope to read you soon! (But take your time of course!)

xoxo,

Ju

[yukiakaren]

Kpop title track ranking: EXO

In this series I’ll be ranking kpop groups/soloists title tracks based on my taste.

Oh EXO, EXO, EXO. I've had a journey with them for sure. The baby kpop-lover me had real hard time getting over their popularity and for the longest time just refused to give them a real chance. Then came Hurt and the walls that I've build started slowly but surely crumble. Fast forward to this day and I'm the biggest advocate for a long list of their amazing b-sides. So, I've come a long way with EXO but let's see how the title tracks go (and I'm just listing the Korean ones).

Lucky One - The unrivaled number one for me. It just caught my ear right from the start and I haven't changed my mind since.

Sing For You - This one really hit me in the feels here. Not one I'd actively go for most of the time but I can only put it high on the list out of respect for it.

Miracles in December - Odd one to rank as it is clearly a seasonal song but here we go. I have to say it's absolutely gorgeous. Definitely one of my most played seasonal kpop songs during Christmas time.

Universe - It's gorgeous. It carries so much emotional weight.

Mama - EXO got their fair share of the SM's emo phase (see. e.g. Super Junior's Don't Don). Mama is a throwback and a memorable debut for sure. It's also the type of dramatic song that I do go for and actually surprisingly often do. So I just had to reward that

Love Shot - It's popular for a reason, right? So catchy and so easy to listen to. What's not to like?

Call Me Baby - It just works, so who am I to deny it?

Love Me Right - It just works, so who am I to deny it? part 2

Obsession - Cool dark concept goodness. What's not to like? part 3

Monster - Welp I had never clearly read the lyrics before, as I had no idea how freaky they are. Anyway, it's undoubtedly memorable one. Also, I will forever be salty for this overshadowing Lucky One as they were a double title and Monster was the more popular one.

Overdose - I have this vague memory of my friend showing me this one when it was released. As the preamble probably indicates I wasn't sold on it then. But now, surely a great one.

Don't Fight The Feeling - Originally I didn't like it as much as I do now. It's a fun one that works!

Tempo - It's a fun up-tempo one that gets me going. The squeaky noise sample just jumps at me bit too much these days.

Growl - It's good one for sure, got ton of hype for a reason.

Wolf - What can I say here. It's crazy, right? Concept taken very literally, but I can't deny that the instrumentals and the vocals just work. Probably not, however, one to show to someone as their introduction to kpop or older kpop, you just might lose a potential fan.

Cream Soda - A terrible first impression and I was just really disappointed with it. However, now I had fun with it so it doesn't deserve the bottom spot that I thought it would get. The more you know.

Lotto - I was about to forget this one, upsy. That instrumental break near the end of the song is quite obnoxious as are some of the vocal effects as well.

Ko Ko Bop - I absolutely despised the instrumental in the chorus when this was released, I'm not gonna lie. I did learn to live with it at some point but yeah overall not one I'd go for too often. Mostly just because of that noisy chorus.

Power - For some reason Power just went right past me. Sure, it's cheerful and up-tempo but it just doesn't stick with me at all.

For Life - One that I have listened to possibly once or twice before. It's as pretty as expected but as I don't have a personal connection with this one I can't put it above others.

And the b-sides. This one is actually tough as I don't want to list all the once on my EXO playlist but also picking just a handful seems too little. So, my solution is another ranking! Here goes my top 10 EXO b-sides (no explanation, would probably be different if you asked me tomorrow xD).

Hurt

Gravity

Been Through

Forever

Trauma

Sweet Lies

Heart Attack

Cinderella

Artificial Love

What U Do?

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO EXO COSMIA, RED. 🌑

ꕥ  — OOC INFORMATION;

name / alias: Jan age: 27 pronouns: he/him ooc contact: bloomood @ tumblr other characters in xc: cloud strife

ꕥ  — IC INFORMATION;

name: Red age: 27  pronouns: she/they series: transistor canon point: post-game, right before she sees the country. app triggers: suicide (also marked in background section before mentioned)

personality: Emotion and reason, logic and raw feeling, these two spheres often clash in Red’s mind. She has the heart of an artist, free-spirited and creative. Her talent let her deliver songs that could sway and grip the hearts of her listeners, get them to feel and see things through her own voice. 

But, while that artistic and emotionally driven spirit exists and flourishes in Red’s soul, there’s also the side of the meticulous and careful planner. This second side came to light when she was called to action. When her lover was slain, her voice taken, and the city around her steadily devoured by The Process, Red went to work in an effort to fight back against overwhelming odds. In combat, Red analyzes the situation, plans out her moves, and executes them with efficiency. 

And when these two spheres work in tandem, you get Red. She wanted to stop The Process and find a way to get her voice back, she wanted to work with her lover who was now trapped in the weapon she wielded to get revenge. And she had the wits, cunning, and determination to ride right back into that danger-infested city instead of turning tail. She wanted to fight, and win.

  something your muse struggles with: obsessive in her pursuits. your muse’s greatest strength: the depths of her love. 

  background: The city of Cloudbank was a futuristic and ever-changing metropolis. The citizens were in full control of how the city looked and functioned day after day. There were terminals stationed in every corner of the city, and through these terminals the citizens were able to make decisions on the regularly petitioned polls that would shape the city for that day. For example, one morning the people of the city would be pinged if they wanted to vote on the color of the sky today. Whether they wanted it to be blue, sea-green, a soft orange, etc. The majority vote would set the tone. 

In this ever-changing city, Red managed to be a unique and driving force all on her own. She was intelligent, enrolled and studying in Traverson Hall. This prestigious academy was well-known for producing the best civic planners in Cloudbank, but Red decided to spend her time while enrolled developing the arts program. She was the first to take on two nontraditional disciplines, and her creative talents quickly skyrocketed her to the top percentile of contemporary performing artists in the city. 

Whenever she was questioned on her motives and drive, the big why, she would say that her work spoke for itself. But, her intent was never to stir controversy or cause an uproar, she just wanted to share her art and voice with the people. 

Though it wasn’t her intention, Red’s voice was making all sorts of change in Cloudbank. 

And the type of change she had, got the attention of a very wealthy group of individuals. Four people, known as the Camerata. 

The Camerata had a hit list. They were targeting influential people throughout Cloudbank and storing their Trace inside of a device and weapon called the Transistor. The Camerata’s intentions were good, to give the people what they didn’t know they wanted. But, their means of going about it would lead to the downfall of the city.

On the night that Red should’ve been assassinated, her bodyguard and lover intervened. A wrench in the Camerata’s meticulously thought out plan, though even that plan was thwarted by one of their members’ infatuation with Red herself. He died in her stead, and with the Transistor, his voice and consciousness was now stored. A part of Red was stored away too, stolen, her voice. With that weapon pried free of his body, they set to work.

They later learn of a hostile presence called The Process. The workers behind the scenes to facilitate all the change in the city. The Transistor was the thing that controlled it, and now with that lost, the Process was devouring the city and its inhabitants. 

One by one, the Camerata members fell. Sybil, corrupted by the Process, put down by Red herself. Asher and Grant Kendrell, pinned by The Process, took their own lives before Red could find them. 

The last member of the Camerata, Royce, sought out Red in the end and put on a united front. He didn’t want the Process to win either, and told Red that the way to stop it was to return the Transistor to the Cradle. He leads Red to his laboratory, where Red’s lover assures her that this is why they came here. This was the right thing to do, to stop the Process and save Cloudbank. 

Red plunges the Transistor into the Cradle, and learns that one little detail that Royce left out. 

Both Red and Royce were transported into the Transistor. Both of them were armed with that sword, and Royce tells Red that only one of them could make it out of the Transistor to repaint and rebuild the city. Red defeats Royce, and is transported back outside.. The city is a completely blank canvas now. And Red wields the brush. She sings, or hums rather, still missing her voice, but still enough to begin rebuilding parts of the city. The Transistor is happy for her, eager to see the masterpiece she can create for the evacuees of Cloudbank to return to. 

[[SUICIDE CONTENT WARNING!]]

But, Red decides to return to that spot at the beginning of her journey. The spot where she tore her long dress, broke her heels, and pulled the Transistor out of her love’s body to go on this quest. She recreates his corpse from the blocky, white emptiness. And then she sits beside him.

The voice within the Transistor cries out, pleading for Red to stop. But, she’s determined. She wanted to see him again, face-to-face, and she’d give up all the power in the city to be with him. 

Red uses the Transistor to stab herself through the chest and means to transports herself into the Transistor. 

But death, the country, it wasn’t her destination. Not yet. 

powers/abilities: Abilities in this game are called Functions. These functions are gathered from dead individuals who were marked as influential figures back in the city of Cloudbank, or from Red herself leveling up in the game. The Functions are drawn into the Transistor and then can be used. Functions can be augmented and added onto other Functions to modify how those abilities behave.

> Function / Breach() - Function drawn from the body of Red’s lover. This Function fires a piercing bolt of energy in a straight line over a great distance that can penetrate most materials. 

> Function / Jaunt() - Function drawn from the body of Preston Moyle. This Function allows Red to Dash a short distance in any direction. It lets her travel through walls if the distance is short enough. 

> Function / Spark() - Function drawn from L. Platt. Red slams her sword into the ground and a shower of sparks explode outward from around her in an area-of-effect attack. 

> Function / Mask() - Function drawn from Shomar Shasberg. This Function makes the user invisible for a short time. The next attack out of invisibility has increased effectiveness. 

> Function / Get() - Function drawn from Bailey Gilande. This Function shoots a white, magnetic pulse effect in a straight line from the User, and pulls targets caught in the line towards the user.

> Function / Load() - Function drawn Wave Tennegan. This function creates a bundle, or a packet, of explosive energy in the shape of a sphere. If this packet is struck enough or knocked in a direction, it will explode on impact.

> Function / Ping() - Function drawn from Henter Jallaford. This function shoots bright orange bolts of energy that don’t pack much of a punch on their own, but can be fired rapidly in a machine-gun style.

> Function / Purge() - Function drawn from Maximilias Darzi. This function shoots a tracking white-yellow projectile that hunts down a target and if it hits, it’ll slowly erode away at them, damaging and slowing them.

> Function / Help() - Function drawn from Sybil Reisz. This function allows Red to summon a companion simply called ‘Friend’ that is in the shape of a dog to help the user by attacking, defending, or supporting the User. The Friend will despawn if it is damaged. 

> Function / Help() has a small chance (25% chance in game) to transform Red very briefly into a ‘SuperUser’. In this state, Red can perform a single Function called, Function / Kill(), which is a large AoE explosion that does massive damage. (To balance this RNG chance, it would only happen with consent/a high roll in a fight such as a natural 20, theoretically).

> Function / Tap() - Function drawn from Grant Kendrell. This function creates a green circle around where the Transistor strikes, that deals damage and heals Red for a portion of the strike’s overall damage dealt. 

> Function / Void() - Function drawn from Asher Kendrell. This function allows Red to summon a swarm of black and red swarms at a target location that weakens/makes targets vulnerable for a short period of time. 

inherent abilities: none! no supernatural traits here.

weapons/items: 

The Transistor - A bright teal sword with a red-orange circle in the center. It stores functions to amplify its abilities. After the assassination attempt on Red, it contains a trace of Red’s own function within it. Though it’s unique that instead of Red dying and being absorbed, the partial trace it stored and locked away was formed from Red’s voice. Function / Crash() - A simple but effective melee attack that can stun and expose vulnerabilities in the target. 

> > Given that Red is the assigned User of the Transistor, she can control its movements telepathically within a short range of up to five feet. This lets her make the sword float, swing, or thrust without needing to be touching it. 

Luna - A small robotic dog that is orange, yellow, and black in color. 

  starting ability: function/mask() starting item: the transistor

extra: 

red is mute! after the attempt on her life, the transistor’s innate ability to capture and store traces of the people it comes into contact with affected her partially. rather than being killed and stored inside of its trace banks like the others, red surviving the encounter with Boxer’s intervention caused a glitch to occur, an anomaly where only her voice and capacity to communicate verbally was taken. afterall, that was the driving force behind what the camerata desired from her deep-down. she can still hum, grunt, and make those sorts of noises, but actually speaking can’t happen unless she is inside the transistor, which can only happen with death by the sword.

all that being said, she knows sign language!

it’s been so long since i’ve written her but the anniversary of the game really gunched me and my mental became soup. 

this is now two characters i’ll have written with huge swords much bigger than them. it’s a brand. 

probably my favorite character from my favorite game ever i am excited to bring her to town. :smile: 

discord id: tracebanks passcode: paper hat

[theghostpinesmusic]

Deschutes River Canyon (1/3)

A few weeks ago, back before all of our recent travel and right after the end of the school year, Lindsey and I backpacked the Deschutes River Canyon from Mack's Canyon to the confluence with the Columbia.

My obsession with this area started during COVID, when I took a solo trip there during spring break in 2021, because I was overwhelmed by work and stress and work-related stress and thought that maybe going on a backpacking trip earlier in the year than usual might help. It did, and so I came back in the spring of '22. Where my '21 trip was, by necessity, an out-and-back hike of part of the canyon, with Lindsey's help I was able to set up a shuttle in '22 and hike the full canyon from one end to the other. I had so much fun the second time that I started thinking of the trip as a new spring tradition of sorts.

Unfortunately, I was so buried by work this past spring break that I couldn't make the third annual iteration of the trip happen. Arguably, I needed the break this year more than in previous years for a variety of factors that probably deserve their own story, and I was heartbroken to have to "miss" the trip…but only until June, as it turned out.

Usually, the canyon heats up so much by June that while it's not unhikeable, it would be distinctly uncomfortable and possibly even dangerous to hike it. Also usually, by June I'm typically aiming for higher elevation alpine backpacking destinations that have a higher "payoff" (however you want to parse that word) for the effort than the Deschutes Canyon.

However, in one of those situations that was likely just random chance but felt like evidence of providence, the three days immediately following the end of the academic year this year were forecast to have atypically low temperatures. Simultaneously, because of the exceptionally high snowfall in the mountains this winter and spring, many of the high routes that are usually "in" in mid-June were still a month or so away from melting out. So, Lindsey and I booked a shuttle, packed our bags, and headed to the Mack's Canyon trailhead the Monday after Saturday's graduation. For "fun," we both decided to hike with completely new bags: by and large, this worked out fine, although I found my REI Flash 55 bag to be a bit less comfortable when fully weighted than my usual Exos 58.

It's a five-hour drive from our house to the trailhead, but a lot of it is through really beautiful Central Oregon country, culminating in a drive along the Deschutes that wedges you between the river and insane columnar basalt pillars for a few miles before dead-ending at Mack's Canyon. There are a lot of paid campgrounds along this stretch of road, too, that would be fantastic stops if I ever manage to take a break from backpacking and car camp instead, but I digress…

Because of the long drive, we didn't plan on making great mileage the first day, but nonetheless ended up covering about eight miles from the trailhead to Lockit Camp, coincidentally the exact same camp spot that I stopped at on my first night of the trip last year. One of the fun parts of this trip is just the sheer number of potential along-the-river campsites that are available to choose from, so repeating myself felt like a little bit of a cheat, but Lockit is definitely the best campsite within a half-day's walk of the Mack's Canyon start point.

The entire Deschutes Canyon hike is roughly twenty-five miles of walking along an old railroad bed (check out the history of "The Deschutes Railroad War" if you're interested, it's wild, and at one point we found the remains of a century-old boiler from an old train), which means that there's very little in terms of difficult topography or elevation gain/loss.

That said, the first three miles or so heading north from Mack's Canyon is the toughest part of the whole trip in this regard. The culprits are a series of canyons that used to be spanned by railroad bridges almost a century ago, but now are…not. Which means you have to scramble down into the canyons, pick your way across them, and then scale the canyon wall on the other side to regain the road bed. I'm selling this as if it's incredibly difficult, and it's not. But it's also not easy.

Fortunately, we didn't have much trouble negotiating these spans, and the rest of the day was spent ambling along the road bed until we ended up at Lockit Camp and bedded down for the night.

It's always hard for me to explain why I find this particular trail so beautiful. It's not as immediately striking as many of the alpine locations I've hiked in, and it also more dry than wet, more brown and yellow than green. Maybe you have to live in central/southern Oregon for it to make sense. I think it has something to do with the contrast between the dry, rocky canyon and the huge, blue river hammering its way through the middle of it all; hopefully some of these photos help illustrate what I can't explain in words. More later about the second and third days of the trip!

[mint-yooxgi]

Obsession - Epilogue

Yandere AU - Part of the EXO Obsession Series

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst

Pairing: EXO OT9 X Reader (with a particular focus on X-EXO)

Words: 1,031

Warnings: This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: On the fifth day of ficmas, Jackie wrote for me~ So I think this is the first chaptered series I've ever completed on my blog in all the years I've been writing for it, omg!!! This makes me really happy, so I really hope it will for you too!! Left it a bit of an open ending, so you can decide which member it is in the end, hehehe. Hope you all enjoy, feedback is greatly appreciated as always!!

Previous

Approximately two weeks have passed since that entire incident with the clones at the abandoned compound. To say your strike team has been acting different since then would be an understatement. Standing upon the platform overlooking the main base, your gaze trails over each area where a member of your strike team resides.

Currently, both Junmyeon and Jongdae are discussing plans on the best way to stake out a new coven of rogue witches that have appeared on your radar. Baekhyun is sharpening his blades off to the side. Sehun is being scolded by Yixing for aggravating his wound again while Minseok shakes his head at them amusedly from off to the side, and both Chanyeol and Jongin are playing cards at one of the side tables.

Looks like everything is back to normal. Well, as normal as it can be now.

“Hey,” turning your head, you see Kyungsoo walking up to you. “How are you holding up?”

You let out a small sigh, “about as well as you’d expect me to.”

“You seriously need a vacation after everything that’s happened to you recently,” Kyungsoo playfully nudges your arm as he comes to lean against the railing beside you.

“You’re telling me,” you reply. “I still feel like a bomb might go off at any moment, but their actions have really surprised me.

“Honestly,” Kyungsoo lets out a breath, turning around so his back is leaning against the railing now, “me too.”

That hour or so that you were trapped in that room by yourself felt like an eternity. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t break out of your restraints. By the time Jongdae found you, your wrists had been torn apart from the harshness of the bindings tying you down.

You still remember how it all happened.

As soon as you saw Jongdae enter that room, you held your breath, waiting for the inevitable to come. The whole situation was finally over, but at what costs? Was Jongdae going to keep you to himself now? Was everything truly over?

The first thing he did as soon as he reached you was slide your ring on your finger. Your breath had hitched, but probably not in the way he had hoped as he started to untie your restraints. You had said nothing, opting to remain silent as he untied your last binding.

As soon as you were free, you sprang up and away from him, guard on high alert as to what he may do next. Instead, the image that greeted you when you turned around shocked you. It still does, even when you think about it now.

Nothing but regret shone in his eyes, a downturned expression on his face as he angled his body away from you in shame. Even he remained silent, waiting for you to curse him out.

Your team seemed full of surprises that day. Considering each time you thought one of your members would leave their comrades behind to die, they proved you wrong. You think the biggest shock was seeing Junmyeon going back for an almost dead Baekhyun and carrying him back to safety aboard the hover ship.

They changed, and it looks like you weren’t the only one to notice.

“I’m sorry,” Jongdae’s words had caught you off guard, his voice small and barely more than a whisper. At that, he had finally lifted his gaze to meet your own. “This is our fault. All of it, but we are not our clones.”

You didn’t trust him for the moment - couldn’t. However, his words gave you hope. Hope that everything would be okay. Despite what you went through with them and their clones, there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to lose them. They’re much too dear to you, anyways.

Not even a day after this whole incident, each of them sought you out or requested your presence, in Sehun’s case since he was bedridden and still recovering from the effects of the poison, to personally apologize to you. You allowed them to speak their piece, bluntly telling them you’d need a little bit of time to decide whether you were comfortable being alone around them once more. In the end, you still forgave them, though. Despite everything, you do care about them, just not in the ways they so badly had hoped; had wanted.

Soon, each of them had also informed you that they were all seeing therapists due to this whole incident. The last thing they want is a repeat of all of this, just with a worse outcome. Besides, if they want to still hold onto the hope that you’ll end up with one of them some day, they need to get better. Not just for their sake, but most importantly, for yours.

Perhaps you should follow in their footsteps and see one of your own. It certainly would help you deal with all of this trauma this past incident has left you with. As much as you love your strike team, your trust in them has gone significantly down. Perhaps it’s all for the best though. Nothing is meant to last forever.

Maybe you should get a cat or something in the meantime to help make you feel less lonely when you’re at home alone. At least then you’d have someone to watch over the house when you’re gone, considering you’ve decided not to move. It’s too much hassle, and led to a lot of complications before. You certainly don’t need that happening again.

“Don’t look now,” Kyungsoo’s voice manages to pull you out of your thoughts, turning to look at him in the next moment. You’ve noticed he’s standing once more in his original position, looking out at the compound just as you are doing. He tilts his chin in a certain direction, nothing but amusement shining behind his eyes, “but it looks like someone still has their eyes on you.”

Sure enough, when you turn to look in the direction he’s pointed you in, you see someone already staring at you. A smirk tugs at their lips, your eyes locking once more with that all too familiar gaze.

[hwaightme]

"Your fan, _____" Series Masterlist

Hello there <3 welcome to the mini masterlist for this series! All works collected here are around the theme of what would each member be like as your fan and how that develops into a heart-fluttering romance! In general, the bullet-style fics are sfw, fem!reader unless stated otherwise, and done in two parts. Below the cut you will find the general disclaimers as well as additional information for each member, and links to the fics! Happy reading, and any and all likes, reblogs and asks are always welcome, thank you so much <3

Suggested order: Jongho, Yunho, Mingi, Wooyoung, Hongjoong, Yeosang, San, Seonghwa

GENERAL DISCLAIMERS:

These works are fictional and for entertainment purposes only, and do not reflect the people mentioned in them as individuals.

All works and moodboards have been created by me, and reposting is strictly prohibited.

Themes covered may be triggering for certain audiences and/or inappropriate for minors. This is why I keep the body of the works below the cut, and try my best to do extensive tagging and warnings. If you see something that does not sit well with you, please dni, and if I missed a tag lmk immediately.

👘 Hongjoong: (part 1) (part 2)

pairing: hongjoong x fashion designer!reader warnings/tags: language, radio shows, reader is goth, goth subculture, a bit of mutual pining, seonghwa aries rage, san is sus, jealousy, DRAMA(rama), hongjoong is starstruck, reader has her own fashion house/brand, photoshoots, brand collabs, demon line boutta act up

🛸 Seonghwa: (part 1) (part 2)

pairing: seonghwa x nerdfluencer & physicist!reader warnings/tags: language, SCIENCE, astrophysics, may the force be with you, scientific formulas, lego obsession, yunho driving, hongjoong jealousy and fatigue, seonghwa just wants someone to be a nerd with

📺 Yeosang: (part 1) (part 2)

pairing: yeosang x talk show host!reader warnings/tags: language, yeosang lowkey writing fanfics, manhandling, wooyoung attacks, roommate gathering, mc yeosang, reader is a late night talk show host, exo and txt appearances, wooyoung has connections everywhere, yeosang always has a plan even when you think he doesn't

🎮 Yunho: (part 1) (part 2)

pairing: yunho x game developer!reader warnings/tags: language, reader is a dev, coding/gaming is life, wooyoung knows, yunho as a gaming enthusiast, introversion, social anxiety, implied depressive episode, business friend playing wingwoman, flirting in chat, reader is oblivious, yunho wants to be noticed, gaming dates, ateez have potential as twitch streamers, yeosang is a legend, mingi is best homie

🍰 Wooyoung: (part 1) (part 2)

pairing: wooyoung x baker!/cafeowner!reader warnings/tags: maybe language, a tad suggestive, ateez chaotic energy, wooyoung what are you watching boi, e-girls mention with yunho hints, time to vacuum the lawn to catch gossip, ateez wingmen, wooyoung falls fast, reader and wooyoung are both flirts, cooking, baking, mention of food/eating

🎤 Mingi: (part 1) (part 2)

pairing: mingi x rapper!reader warnings/tags: language, reader is an underground rapper, mingi is totally starstruk, producer hongjoong energy, activism, criticism of music industry, dark side of idol life, hongjoong-ah instead of hyung, yunho is supportive friend (TM), mingi being a rebel, sneaking out, potential rap battles incoming, reader with that mic drop

💬 San: (part 1) (part 2)

pairing: san x interpreter!reader warnings/tags: language, simping, hopeless romantic, linguistics, interpreter/translator reader, duo bird terrors, ateez wingman alliance, concerts, public speaking, job stress, slow burn, falling in love hard and fast

⚽ Jongho: (part 1) (part 2)

pairing: jongho x footballer!reader warnings/tags: jongho falling fast, you are a football prodigy, hongjoong lowkey is a wingman, jongho hiding feelings, sports, football, cute romance, overall wholesome vibes, jongho is an undercover athlete, yeosang seizes opportunity, hongjoong is in on the secrets, sports, football, cute romance, secret relationship, seriously in love, overall wholesome vibes

Your fan messages:

[ 1 ] - Jongho, Yunho

[ 2 ] - Wooyoung, Mingi

[ 3 ] - Hongjoong, Yeosang

[ 4 ] - San, Seonghwa

[peppertaemint]

Thank you for your thoughts about my question concerning why BTS fans seem obsessed with what EXO members are doing even to the point they're complaining about Jin having to go serve yet Kai and Sehun don't and it's so stupid: Jin born in 1992, Kai and Sehun born in 1994. Make it make sense. Those are the only two left to enlist and they're not even 30 yet (global age) Anyway they keep up with EXO stats and unprompted will bring up BTS paved the way and EXO fans are "crying" about it lmao I am so confused because most EXO fans who aren't BTS fans don't give a fuck about what BTS is doing. Most of us are just waiting for a full group comeback, the first in almost 5 yrs lol if Lay is involved, that's even longer since we had an OT9 comeback. I just don't get the obsession they have needing to be concerned with what the "flops" are doing if BTS are so much more than Kpop according to a lot of them. It's so annoying to see the nonsense because even though I used to be a big BTS fan, I can honestly say i truly do not care what they're doing, or winning or anything like that. I don't keep tabs on them. Their success has nothing to do with my favorite groups and the quality of music I have been enjoying from them. BTS can go on to win every award until the end of time, it changes nothing for me so I really don't understand why they feel awards and numbers makes a hill of beans to how music fans enjoy music and why they think it matters to everybody.

Anyway, I also asked about WayV lol Did you skip them purposely or you forgot? 😄

Also is SHINee queer??? Lol

I'm gonna talk about WayV, the rolls royce of NCT, on a separate post (hopefully tomorrow). I think they deserve the spotlight.

SHINee are queer? Did I say that? Must have been a typo.

Why do army obsess over so-called flops? I think it's about validation. It makes them feel really good to make other groups of people ostensibly feel bad. They're not music fans (the ones you see behaving like this). They're people who are part of a cultish subculture that gains energy and attracts attention through different forms of bullying and manipulation. It will be interesting when someone makes a documentary about this.

Idk I'm a music fan. I listened to 1.2K different artists last year, which is actually low for me! I've been close to 1.5K before. Anyhow, I like to pay attention to different artists and enjoy what they have on offer. In fact I just caught up on Jackson Wang's Magic Man series and that shit is cray. Loving how balls-to-the-wall he went. I just don't think it's at all interesting to focus on streams or accolades. What I care about is how the music, and the performance since we're talking about Kpop here, hits me. In that sense I think it's good to keep up with different artists. What's not good is doing it just for a sense of superiority. That's not contributing to respectful environment in which art thrives. That's capitalistic nonsense that crushes creativity. Hmm, why is that familiar?

Roll on EXO reunion! I want to see what they got.

[rrxnjun]

OML OKAY i like john green too <3 i love looking for alaska. i recently read turtles all the way down and oof it hit really hard. next on my tbr is papertowns and then i’ll be done with all of his books (hi i’m obsessed with his writing style hkjg) and ooh i haven’t read any from j.d. salinger. the catcher in the rye is the only book of his i’ve heard of </3 i’ll check him out soon. YUSSSUH i love dystopian books too. dkfjg this just made me realise that they made up almost 60% of my life as a bookworm. the maze runner is my favourite out of all i’ve read !! the adrenaline rush it gave was unparalleled. i’ve also read hunger games, divergent, ready player one and a few more from the dystopian genre but i don’t remember them rn. also unless my physics books count for smth, no i’m not reading anything 😭😭 i was reading war storm by victoria aveyard (the red queen series.) and it’s going good but i’m taking a break bc exams </3

AHHH you play the guitar :0 ? THAT’S SO COOL and no idk how to play any instruments. i have literally no knowledge about instruments so sheet music is just, so weird for me even after a friend tried explaining it gdfgdf i learn classical music tho so i can sing to some extent 

OMG YESSS OVERDOSE IS JUST SO HGFKGF it just activates this part in my brain and makes me go grrr. YESS the playlist was literally me putting in my fave of fave songs so i’m glad you like it and kdjfhd i love going crazy too it was in my spotify wrapped’s top 10 last year. OKAYYY since exo is kind of sort of completely dormant rn there’s literally just crumbs and older content left for the fans </3. you can check out this channel and this video. warning: exo-l territory = crackzone NOT EVEN KIDDING this place is wild lmao. expect what you will from neocity’s sunbaenims <3 also lmk your bias so that we can collectively lose it all together <3

gosh i listened to all of fandom’s songs but i felt younger when we met still stays the fave (i said i loved you to death so i must be dead 🙇🏾‍♀️) easy to hate might be a second kjfgd it’s so. good. i’ve been playing it on loop too dfjhdjh 

oml pls i really needed to see that 🤧 tysm bar !! i really can’t wait to get into uni ngl i am excited for that. but it’s also slightly weird bc the last year of high school sentiments have finally started hitting and they’re hitting hard </3 it’s funny how we spend sm time with friends we’ve known like, forever, and don’t really treat every moment as smth special till it all comes to an end. ahh i was really planning on making the most of my hs years but pandemic decided to be a pain in the ass. nvm tho. 17 is weird and it feels like time’s running fast i do plan on making sm good memories 💪🏾

NOW BACK TO TALKING AB SM VIP THINGS

THIS AGENDA IS GOING SO STRONG hfjgkdafgdja also oml i did notice that yn doesn't smoke around yangyang after that scene but thought that it was just me being delusional hhh i think ab that fic sm and yangyang just amplified that brainrot by doing this

HEAD EMPTY NO THOUGHTS JUST HE KDJFHGDKF HGD laptop's dying from all the ss i took lol

also the dreamies concert 👀 .. hyuck... renj-?? ... cue my brain giving up

p.s. hihii this took me so long 😭 it’s exam season for like the next 2 weeks so the pressure is finally catching up w me also your words really meant a lot to me tysm for them <3 have a segci day/night and stay safe ily

I MISSED YOU !!!!!!!! im glad youre back 🥺🥺 looking for alaska and turtles all the way down are my most fav from john green!! paper towns was really beautiful and its my friends favorite,, however id say that amongst john green books, id put it somewhere in the bottom tbh. hope you enjoy it tho!! i had to read the catcher in the rye for my exams last year but i surprisingly enjoyed it so much its one of my most fav books now! also the fact that i read and loved all the dystopian books you mentioned 😩😩 taste.

i do play the guitar! not very well tho, i only know the basic chords hhhh so the yy fic was kind of self indulgent in a way LMAO but you can sing?? 😯😯 thats impressive. could never be me i absolutely suck AJJAJA

i will never skip overdose or monster when they come on shuffle theyre just THAT good. i listen to exo a lot recently bc of you😭😭 i watched the videos and WHY ARE THEY SO CHAOTIC i am in love w them SJJS feel free to send more content my way!!! i think my biases are baekhyun (expected) and chanyeol (also expected) 👀👀 literally tell me everything abt them im ready to listen. baek is very funny and chaotic and theres just something abt chanyeol that pulls me to him. i also like sehun tho! idk what this tells abt me feel free to psychoanalyze AHAHHA also kyungsoo is so funny i completely get why you ult him

17 went by so fast for me as well bro and the last year of hs even faster... to think that i didnt have prom bc of corona but i had exams that were cancelled 2 years in a row the previous years 💀 i hope you make the best out of your last year!! i start uni in a week and im shitting my pants its so scARY I DONT KNOW THE CITY OR THE PPL AND THIS GUY I MET ON A PARTY THAT I LOWKEY AVOIDED LIVES THERE AND HE KEEPS REACHING OUT TO ME THROUGH MY FRIEND AND HE ASKED IF I WANNA COME OVER AND NOW IM PANICKING EVEN MORE 😭😭😭😭

yangyang and me are soulmates. its confirmed. also youre not delusional at all it was intended!!! sjsj im honored to hear that you think abt my fic a lot but also YANGYANG UGH that sc !!! instant brainrot. i dont actually think he can play that guitar but its okay 😩😩😩😩

IVE BEEN FREAKING OUT OVER THE DREAM CONCERT EVER SINCE I SAW THE CLIPS. RENJUN GOING WILD IN THAT GLASS BOX AND DONT EVEN MENTION HYUCK BC WHEN HE KISSED THAT GLASS BOX FROM THE INSIDE, I LOST MY MIND. BUT ALSO THEY ARE SUCH GOOD PERFORMERS THEY DID SO WELL AND I LOVE THEM TO DEATH OMG :(((((( LITERALLY CRIED AT RENJUNS MENT! FUN TIMES! :D ALSO DEAR DREAM LIVE. CRIED LITERAL WATERFALLS OF TEARS THAT SONG HURTS SM TO LISTEN TO BUT IS ALSO MY BIGGEST COMFORT OHGOD

have a good day stay safe!! good luck with your exams i love u xx

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Interview with Axie Oh

We’re excited to feature an interview with Axie Oh today. It’s release day for her latest novel, XOXO.

Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.

Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.

When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.

*There will be several online events to help celebrate release week and you can find out more about those here.

Congratulations and happy release day. Thanks so much for taking the time to share a little bit about your writing. I just re-read XOXO and it was even more fun the second time through. I had so many smiles and plenty of laughter. I also had to find and listen to a few songs along the way as music is such a big part of the story.

Axie: Ah, I love that!

Jenny is clearly a music lover–though K-pop isn’t exactly at the top of her playlists. Has music and/or K-pop always been important in your life?

Axie: It has! My mother, who immigrated to the US when she was in high school, listened to Korean music—though I’m not sure if that would be considered K-pop at the time, and so did my older brother. In elementary school, I was into 1st generation K-pop groups like Fin.K.L and Shinhwa, then in middle school I was obsessed with Super Junior, and finally in high school and college, my favorite groups were Big Bang and Exo, among so many others. BTS debuted in 2013 right after I graduated from college, and I was a fan of theirs from the beginning!

Is there a K-pop song you’re loving right now or a K-pop group you think people should listen to immediately?

Axie: Right now I’m really into TXT and ENHYPEN’s music. If you like BTS, you should give them a listen! See the below question for what songs I think you should listen to immediately!

I’ve seen playlists for Rebel Seoul and Rogue Heart. Do you make one for all of your novels?

Axie: I do! I make playlists after each book I write as something fun for myself and they also provide some nice extra content for readers. I recently shared my playlist for XOXO, which I spent months on—it’s a K-pop book so I really wanted to showcase a variety of artists, and curate it well with songs that fit the book’s mood and tone. I even attempted to match each song to a chapter, so there are 40 songs on the playlist! You can check out the Spotify playlist here.

Do you feel like you are finished with the characters in XOXO or is there a possible follow-up?

Axie: I wrote XOXO as a standalone, but if my publisher came knocking, I wouldn’t say no!

What did you like about going from writing sci-fi books to writing a contemporary romance?

Axie: I liked exploring a completely new genre with so many fun, familiar tropes. And XOXO in particular is a very light-hearted and happy book, much different than my moody, atmospheric sci-fi series. Though there *is* worldbuilding involved in writing a contemporary, it’s not as intense as a sci-fi novel, so that was also nice for me!

And I see your next publication The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a fantasy re-telling. Are there things about writing a fantasy that you’ve appreciated?

Axie: Fantasy as a genre is actually my first love, and retellings my favorite subgenre of fantasy. I love how in fantasy you can explore new worlds, and there are no limits to one’s imagination.

No matter the genre, what do you love about writing and what can be a challenge?

Axie: As a generally private person, I love how through writing I can share parts of myself with others. I feel like I express myself best through fiction. I also definitely don’t feel like I create in a vacuum, but in conversation with others. What I mean by this is that I’m inspired by other forms of media when creating my own stories. For example, XOXO is inspired by my love of K-dramas, the Rebel Seoul series is a love letter to mecha anime, and The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is my addition to the YA retelling subgenre of books, like those written by Robin McKinley and Diana Wynne Jones.

As for challenges, there are so many—difficult revisions, bad writing days, comparing myself to other writers—but at the end of the day, the need to express myself through writing is most important to me than all the rest combined.

What are your most anticipated reads that haven’t been published yet?

Axie: I blurbed a few books that I’m very excited about! Nafiza Azad’s sophomore novel THE WILD ONES releases next month and it’s absolutely stunning. If you liked XOXO, and were curious what it’s like to be a non-Korean idol in the K-pop world—in this case, Chinese American—then check out Alexandra Leigh Young’s IDOL GOSSIP, out in September. And lastly, Julie Abe’s YA contemporary debut, THE CHARMED LIST, is as charming as it sounds, about two childhood best friends to enemies to lovers who go on a road trip together—they also happen to wield magic! This one isn’t out until Summer 2022.

We’re looking forward to seeing XOXO out in the world soon and having a group discussion here on the blog about it too! Thanks again.

Axie: Thank you for having me!! This interview was so much fun ☺

Axie Oh is a first generation Korean American, born in NYC and raised in New Jersey. She studied Korean history and creative writing as an undergrad at the University of California – San Diego and holds an MFA from Lesley University in Writing for Young People. Her passions include K-pop, anime, stationery supplies, and milk tea. She currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with her puppy, Toro.

You can find her on her website and on Goodreads, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram.

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"...𝙀𝙓𝙊..."

Missing 9

Counting Stars

Phobia

Mafioso

Paper Towns

Obsession

Stuck  (Part of my Who Do You Love series)

Hellfire  (Part of my Who Do You Love series)

Dilemma  (Part of my Who Do You Love series)

Lost

All the Stars are Closer (Unspoken Love series)

Alone

Wrong

Trouble (Part of my Unspoken Love series)

Angel  (Part of my Unspoken Love series)

Heart Attack (Part of my Unspoken Love series)

Orient Express (Requested)

Love Again  (Part of my Unspoken Love series)

The Mirror of Erised collab

No More Roses collab

Autophobia

SMCU collab

The Detouring Tour (Part of the Around the World in 31 Days event)

Levitating  (Part of my Unspoken Love series)

The Crown (Part of the Once Upon A Time collab)

Kittens and Cuddles (requested)

EXO reacting to you obviously being smarter than them (requested)

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[18:25]

[20:49]

[19:39]

[00:45]

[19:27]

[21:24]

[10:15]

Make Up (Requested)

Porcelain (Part of my Till Death Do Us Part series)

Telephone (Part of my Till Death Do Us Part series)