#so part of me is keen to get to that stage and be the 50 year old with fun coloured hair

[delyth88]

I love how 'bald' as an option actually makes sense in this one. XD

And reading the comments it looks like there's gonna be a lot of older women having bright funky hair colours when the next couple of generations hit this age, and I love it!

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[jinkiezzsstuff]

TYSM FOR THE LADY GAGA FIC!!!!

I have another song fic request...

Alastor (or anyone else really lmao) has to find reader in order to patch up like a deal or smth idk and he finds them in this jazz club thing performing on the stage to 'Noel's lament' from 'ride the cyclone'? Like she's draped across a piano singing abt when she was living she was nobody but in her dreams she was this absolute femme fatale and alastor just watches her from the back of the crowd??

So niche but I was thinking abt it all night

Lots of love 🤍

i actually loveeee this song eeeee i’m so happy to do this, and i am so glad you liked the last one it means so much to me teehee sorry this took awhile i’ve been busier lately but i hope you enjoyed this, maybe i’ll do a part two but if i do it may be real delayed until i clear my plate lol!

song referenced; noel’s lament

warnings: implied to be succubus reader but their not really to standards of succubus, i don’t believe there are feminine pronouns here but there are certain feminine things (dress wearing, feminine terms like suductresd etc), no psychical descriptions of reader as per usual, minor gore and death, reader is sneaky and slipper, alastor is weird about love as he should king, but he still feels emotion, possible cringe parts idk it’s a songfic and sometimes they can be 50/50. LMK if i missed any!

word count: 2.7K

You had a debt to pay, you had to have known this. Alastors mind reeled as he toyed with the pen in his hand, occasionally scribbling nonsense down as he thought. You were always quite the slippery sinner, never being tied down to one place in the pentagram, but this was just ridiculous. Since he’d been back, and warmed up to the hotel, he’d been searching for you, but no sign. No demon has said a word about you either had he still been in touch with Vox he may have had you found by now.

You weren’t dead, and that’s as much as he knew; he would’ve felt your souls absence if you’d died, the fickle fun of making such contracts. There was little he knew about you personally, he new superficial things but nothing that would give him a clue on where you’d hide, a silly mistake on his part. He knew Mimzy would be were the cash or party was, Husk wherever there was a gamble and Nifty, well, normally she never strayed far anyways. As for other souls they were about the same in simplicity, whether they were murderous or cannibals they always had something keen to them that would lead him to where they were.

Alastor failed that with you, unfortunately he’d found himself a little at loss with you, in more ways than one you boggled his mind. He was used to women and men alike hitting on him or being incredibly provocative, but there was some way you did it that made him speechless. Not like when Angel would hit on him, where Alastor felt that sensation of being caught off guard with disgust and shock. No, on the night you made the deal, you were stalking around the back of his sofa inside his radio tower, your hands caressing his shoulders as you passed, sweetly and mischievously offering a pleasurable favour in return for his help. That was something else, that was unique to you.

He still recalls the memory as if he was still right there on the couch, engulfed in your scent, entranced by your siren-like voice, it made him hot under the collar and tight around the waist. Thankfully Alastor was a gentleman and a businessman and there was no way you were getting out of a soul contract through some silly sexual favours. It was definitely trying to keep his composure as your lidded eyes watched his lips move, but he managed as he always does. The deal was fairly boring on your part- you wanted to be his friend.

Red flags appeared in Alastors mind about the validity of that but shook on it nonetheless, however that was all before he disappeared. He’d not held up his end of the bargain but then again neither did you; you didn’t show when he called on you to the hotel and try as he may, couldn’t seem to summon you the way he could with Husk.

Dropping the pen, Alastor stood from his seat and shadowed into the floor, stalking out the window like a snake. Alastor decided a little stroll couldn’t hurt, after all his mind couldn’t rest and perhaps he could happen upon you out in sin city. Alastor enjoyed his time walking, humming and basking in all the horrors that happened around, however he grew bored fairly quickly, and decided to take a detour into Mimzy’s favourite joint.

Alastor walked in like he owned the place and seated himself at the bar waiting for his dear friend. “Mimzy dear, how’ve you been?” Alastor spoke out excitedly and loudly, catching the attention of his fellow demon who had appeared from the back of the bar. Mimzy squeaked and ran up to Alastor on the other side of the bar, shooing off the other demons trying to pull at her, the trim of her dress flying in all directions as she hopped and scuttled. “Alastor! What brings ya here, big man? Coming for a dance?” His smile was indifferent as she spoke but he was quite pleased to see the doll, someone of routine. He watched the demon plop herself down on the seat beside him, his hand fiddling with the whisky in his cup that he magicked up. “Yes dear, afraid I have quite the slippery soul in my hands.”

With both elbows on the table Mimzy leaned in, an excited smile on her face. Alastors head fell to the side, sighing at her desire for gossip, Alastor pushed up his monocle and explained the situation with you briefly. He probably went into too many details about how you looked, or smelt, or perhaps how he thought of you in his absence because the whole time Mimzy was coy and giggles. “Wow Al, sounds like you’re carryin’ a torch for this gal’,” Mimzy teased, walking her fingers across the table in his direction. Alastor stiffened at that watching her do her silly tease wide eyed. What a juvenile thing to assume, that he had feelings for some sinner. “Mimzy, don't be ridiculous!” Alastor scoffed grin still present as he threw his limp hand her way, head tossed back. “There’s no such thing! Besides she’s nothing more than some sensuous succubus, it’s what those types of demons do. Seduce.”

Crossing her arms Mimzy let out a flat ‘mhm’ clearly not convinced by what was being said. “Well Al, tell ya what! You have my back next time some nasty loan sharks come, and i’ll tell ya where your pretty seductress is.” Alastors nails tapped against the table rhythmically as he silently pondered, it’s not like he’d say no to her, just as she wouldn’t say no to him. Fixing his posture from his more lesuride position, he agreed with a nod, gulping back the last of his liquor.

-

This club Alastor stepped into was very reminiscent of a wealthy man’s speakeasy, something that was nestled safely in the depth of the pentagram in an unassuming alley, as if it were hiding from something or someone. It was nostalgic for him, in a sickening way, Alastor didn’t enjoy remembering mortal life as it seemed so detached from him and who he is now. His red eyes danced across the room manically, his static following in suit with every glance he gave. Searching for his little succubus. Low amber lighting, that stuffy smell of smoke in the air, the velvet chairs, surrounding chatter and the piano playing smooth jazz; Alastors body subconsciously relaxed into the familiar environment, as much as he hated his mortal life there were such aspects like this he missed.

He dragged himself inside and sat in a red velvet chair, immediately he slumped onto the table, his elbows on the table, his chin rested on his hand while the other toyed with the fire from the candle, bringing it up, around, and high and low. His eyes dragged over to the stage as the piano rifted into a new tune, the lights in the room dimming and brightening toward the stage. Inwardly, Alastors frustrations imploded making his skin hot and his antlers grow in size; all the light to see you with now focused on the stage for a performance he couldn’t care less about.

Standing to his feet, Alastor gripped his microphone like it was his life line. With a strained smile he began towards the door as the music began, and a voice started introducing themselves and talking about their dreams, however he was too busy being frustrated, and scanning the room for you to fully pay attention to the voice. That was until- “A hooker with a heart of black charcoal.” A breathy voice finally sang out, grabbing the attention of Alastor as he neared the exit. Freezing the static sounds of radio station channels sounded out from him, his eyes widening at the sound of you.

Turning abruptly on his heel, he looked over the crowd of seated heads and at the stage where you were walking on. There was a light focused down on you as you slunk out from behind a curtain furthest from the piano. Straightening his back, Alastor slipped into the shadows and behind a pillar near the bar, just to wait for you of course, to come off. “I write poems to burn by fire light, drink champagne and guzzle gin, good girls call me ‘The Town Bicycle’- don't knock it til you’ve tried my life of sin,” Alastor watched enchanted as you dragged your heels across the stage as you sung, making your way over the piano with seductive grace, something Alastor wasn’t used to being so hooked by.

“Oh, Claude, my pimp knows neva mess with me,” Your voice, once serene and beautiful now, was demonic and harsh, capturing the audience's attention. “Last prick did that faded quick to black,” Like a switch your voice returned to its sweetness, your arms outstretched just slightly, fingers twinkling to emphasise the ‘fade’ you sang of. Alastor couldn’t look away from how you manuerved your body, how your voice carried through the room, and how the lights sparkled against your jewellery. You were a sight for sore eyes as you teasingly brought yourself closer to the piano, that regular soft bedroom look in your eyes. “I have no idea where to find him officers,”

Alastors brow quirked at that, as your hands came up to cup your face with false naïveté. “But if you do, please mention that I’d like to have returned that pretty knife, that I stuck, ten. times. in his, back!” You grit out, sweet façade falling once more making Alastors tail wag, unbeknownst to him. There was something about the way you pulled and pushed the narrative in the song that made him antsy, excited even, and the fact that this was something you stated you dreamed to be, meaning whilst alive you dreamt of killing, of being bad, oh that made Alastors blood rush.. You waltzed around as you continued to sing the lyrics to the chores, Alastors eyes watched closely as you slithered your body effortlessly up onto the piano.

It was like you were made for performing, singing, and he had the brief fantasy of you in his studio singing on air, sat on his lap as you sung through his microphone for the folks of hell to hear, but he pulled himself out of it quickly, scolding himself for indulging in silliness. Now your body was draped across the obsidian piano that shone the reflections of the light, you sat on your hips, legs folded behind you, hands over your heart. “He said ‘I think I am in love with you’- I’ve heard that lie a million times before,” Your posture fell slightly as did your tone, it seemed that there was some truth and sombre in the lyrics you sang, and in a way Alastor felt like he could relate to that; after all what even was love?

It made him feel weak to pity you, to attempt to empathise with your pain, but there was barely any time to think about his thoughts because just as he did, you’d recapture his attention entirely. “Oh, tonight I give into the fantasy,” Your head fell back, sorrow in your tone as your hand caressed your shoulder, pulling down the strap of your dress. “Take love when you can, when you’re a whore.” After a silent moment the chorus picked up, as did you, sliding yourself off the piano and dancing around with a smile. Unfortunately Alastors mind lagged behind, something was just too vulnerable in the way you sang about love, and considering it wasn’t something he often thought about, it peaked his curiosity just slightly.

It wasn’t until the end of the performance when you sung about your death that Alastors attention zeroed back in on you, his eyes catching yours as the song fell out, your head turned in his direction. He watched as your eyes widened and mouth fell slightly ajar before you sang out one last word: a ‘hey’ coincidentally directed toward Alastor. After that the lights on stage shut off instantly, and the crowd applause began.

Alastor watched you be dragged off stage by two larger demons through the darkness, your legs flailing as your arms were restrained, at the sight the purpose of him being here returned. Pushing himself off the pillar he was leant against, he brushed himself off and straightened the crimps in his pants, before picking up his microphone and making his way towards where you’d been dragged. It was a cruddy little backstage area, he’s under the assumption the performers here weren’t treated as kindly as the guests. Throwing the door open he was greeted by the sight of you, the two demons who dragged you off, and some other third one.

You sat on an ottoman in the middle of the room, your entire essence changed as you curled into yourself, your head hung low. Humming, Alastor adjusted his monocle. “Am I interrupting something?” Oh how Alastor loved to play dumb, he watched the third demon, seemingly imp, stand straight anger evident and radiating off of him. “Yeah you really fuckin are red, get outta here now.” The imp barked throwing his hands up in a shooing motion. Your eyes met Alastors, begging silently to stay. “I’m afraid i can’t do that you silly lug,” Alastor tutted joyfully stepping into the room throwing his microphone around like it was a toy. His shadows crawled out from beneath his feet, sneaking up the walls and across the ceilings making the three men anxious. “This little canary happens to me mine, soul and all.” His voice shifted to a more demonic one as the hues in the room shifted.

You sat speechless, watching the mysterious deer defend you after seven long years of being on hold with him. You were surprised he came at such a time, convenient for you. The two muscle demons were quick to puff their chests and step toward Alastor, but before they could properly swing, tentacles emerged from the shadows gripping the torso and hips of the men and pulling them in two. The screams were horrific, and the sounds of squelch and ripping nearly made you yourself sick, however it did the job for the littler imp as he immediately caved. “Oh okay okay, alright buddy, take the siren, no problem take em! Go!” The imp stressed while pulling you from your seat and toward Alastor hurriedly.

You stumbled against his pushing and found yourself falling accidentally into Alastors arms, tripping over your own heel. Alastor caught you without even looking down, arms wrapping instinctively around you as he glared at the imp with a smile. “Oh good, I would have hated to have caused a scene! Ha ha.” Alastor laughed humorously, although he was the only one finding any joy from this as the imp cowered away from the two of you. Pulling you closer to his body, Alastor fell into the ground with you, your body feeling freezing and damp for a moment before normalcy returned.

You didn’t realise you had your hands over your eyes until you felt Alastors hands grip your wrists, and pull your hands away. You blinked up at him before glancing around the room, it was indeed a room, one you’d never seen. “We're at the Hazbin Hotel dear, time for you to see to your deal.” Alastor said calmly, his tone even and his voice soft, his even his static was at a minimum. “Of course,” You say clearing your throat and backing up from his grasp. He didn’t fight against your distance, letting his arms fall and wrap behind his back as they normally would. “Why did you help me back there? I mean you could’ve just poofed us away?” You ask, rubbing the places on your arms where the demons dragged you.

“Why, thats what friends are for my dear! That was our deal, no? To scare off the threats and protect each other?” Alastor coyly hummed, bending slightly at the waist. Looking down slightly you nodded, hands coming up to sit on your waist. Sighing you shook your head, you should’ve known that this would come back to bite you in the ass eventually. “Alright slick, what is it that i’m doing for you?”

[lgcmanager]

CRYSTALLIS MISSION 012

SCHEDULE TYPE: TRIMESTER ( PART 1 OUT OF 1 )  SCHEDULE RESTRICTIONS: cannot be paired with another trimester schedule, unless stated otherwise. for reference as to whether your muse is eligible for this event, please click over HERE.

all of the CRYSTALLIS managers and members gather together in one of the meeting rooms as their head manager, SEO YEWON, begins their meeting.

CASTING CALL 017 / PROJECT AKA

for JAEHWA, more information about the audition results can be found in the PROJECT AKA post!

CRYSTALLIS SUBUNIT ( BERYL )

“after discussing with the creative team and higher-ups, i can tell you a bit more information about the subunit. this subunit, which consists of YUJIN, SOMIN, YURA, and ICHIKA, will be called ‘BERYL’, inspired from the gemstone, chrysoberyl. the creative team thought it would best suit this unit because the chrysoberyl has some unique properties such as its high hardness, brittle tenacity, and distinct color-changing abilities. the gemstone along with some of the meanings associated with it, became the inspiration for the subunit and its debut. so for this debut, we thought of ‘soft but fierce’ as the main theme.” YEWON explained in depth the details of the subunit.

starting from now until JANUARY, the four girls will be learning, recording, and practicing the following songs for their official subunit debut:

PROLOGUE

EXTRA-ORDINARY

LUCID

INVINCIBLE ( TITLE TRACK )

the line distributions document can be found HERE. BERYL will be having their debut on JANUARY 12. more information about their promotion schedules will be mentioned next term.

KLAIRS STORE OPENING

on NOVEMBER 9, HYEJOO, YUJIN, SOYOUN, SOMIN, YURA, and ICHIKA will be attending the store opening of klairs in SEOUL. clips of their ‘AFTER STAGE TEA’ segment will be played on the television screens and the press will be present to take photos of the girls.

after the event is done, KLAIRS will be handing each of the girls their giftbox set of some of their best sellers and encourage them to promote their products/brand ( and/or store opening ) on crystallis’ instagram. there will be a special event requirement pertaining to this, but to make it easier for everyone involved, here is the list of hashtags used/mentioned during the ‘AFTER STAGE TEA’ videos:

#CRYSTALLISTOUR

#DEBUT

#DEBUTERA

#FIRSTTOUR

#FREETIME

#JAPANPROMOS

#KONNICHIWA

#LEADERSHIP

#OVERSEASPROMOTIONS

#PERSONALTIME

#SCHEDULES

#SISTERHOOD

the instagram posts for this will be posted AFTER NOVEMBER 9 and cannot be counted for the OPEN EVENT 002 ( MONTHLY SNS ) since they are two separate events. due to the deadline for this, you can submit the sns post any time from now until DECEMBER 14.

ONLINE & IN PERSON ARTIST CLASS

then on NOVEMBER 29 ( IN PERSON ) and DECEMBER 13 ( ONLINE ), SOYOUN, HYEJOO, and YUXI will be partnering up with KEENS ACADEMY to teach two dance classes! while accompanying one of the choreographers in the academy, the three of them will be teaching some of their fans and aspiring dance students the choreography to “#menow”. at the end of the workshop, there will be a short fan meeting where some of the students can interact with the girls ( each interaction will last for a very short period of time ). the in-person workshop will have up to 50 students while the online workshop will have up to 1,000 students.

prior to the classes, the trio will also be asked to sign their latest album ( BRAND NEW ME ) that will be given away to some of the lucky fans who attend the event!

CRYSTALLIS x PHOTOISM

YEWON explained the next gig to them, “every month or so PHOTOISM has a special concept called ‘artist frame’ where a group or artist is chosen to pose for some photos that fans can take whenever they use the PHOTOISM photobooth. for the month of NOVEMBER, CRYSTALLIS has been selected as one of the artists. to help prepare for this, later this week and next week each of you will be having an individual pictorial where you get to take photos for the promotional ad and pictures that can be used for the frames.”

for this event, there will be 10 frames that they will take photos of: one of each member ( eight ) and then two frames with 4 members each. for the latter, that will be decided based on age, so the first group frame will be with the older members ( SOYOUN, YURA, ICHIKA, YUXI ) and then the second frame will be with the younger members ( YUJIN, JAEHWA, HYEJOO, SOMIN ). since most of the photos will be casual but still match the vibes from “#menow” era, the girls will discuss with the stylists beforehand what their outfits will be for the solo frames. you can look over HERE for a general idea as to how the photo frames tend to look like.

some of the CRYSTALLIS staff members will be recording clips of the behind the scenes for this gig and post it on crystallis’ youtube channel throughout DECEMBER.

1000 NOTORIETY REWARD ( SOYOUN )

starting OCTOBER it will be announced ic that SOYOUN has accepted a brand ambassadorship for SCHIAPARELLI and her newly appointed title will be “okcheon’s fairy”! there will be no requirements for this nor do you have to confirm the renewal, so it will be a permanent contract and will take up one of the modeling contract spots.

YUXI UPDATE

from now and onwards YUXI will be eligible to partake in more of the group’s activities and make guest appearances on PERSONAL CHANNELS. however, most of the gigs that she will be a part of will have to include at least another CRYSTALLIS member. this includes for NOTORIETY TIERS for if and when YUXI is eligible to participate in the cycle.

BIRTHDAY LIVESTREAMS

during this term, there will be birthday livestreams for YUXI ( NOVEMBER 11 ) and YURA ( NOVEMBER 11 ). for YUXI, she will be eligible to partake in the new OPEN EVENT 008 ( BIRTHDAY LIVESTREAM ), which will be posted later. as for YURA, a variation of the open event has been completed before so she cannot do the open event but can write about the birthday livestream if chosen to do so ( however it won’t count for points ).

Q4 SCHEDULES

as a disclaimer, not all of the variety show appearances have been included here so if your muse appeared in one of the variety shows ( intimate note, lgc style s2, date lottery, star top pet care ) and it’s not listed before, most likely it will be in the Q1 schedules. in addition to that, not ALL of the year end ceremonies have been added here since they will be added in the YEAR END post.

NOW-OCTOBER 5: short-term co-host for show! music core [ ICHIKA ]

NOW-OCTOBER 18: transit love ( fixed cast member/panelist ) [ ASTRID ]

OCTOBER 4: spread in dazed korea magazine [ YUJIN ]

OCTOBER 5: some ssom ep. 3 [ SELENE ]

OCTOBER 7: ‘lemon’ cover release on crystallis’ youtube channel [ SELENE ]

OCTOBER 8: after stage tea part 3 [ YOUNGWON & YURA ]

OCTOBER 10: scrapbook with yujin ep. 3 [ YUJIN ]

OCTOBER 13: astrid’s atelier ep. 3 [ ASTRID ]

OCTOBER 19: date lottery season 4 ep. 1 [ SELENE ]

OCTOBER 21: my foreign granddaughter ep. 4 [ ICHIKA ]

OCTOBER 23: jas can cook! ep. 4 [ JASMINE ]

OCTOBER 29: cleo’s constructions ep. 4 [ CLEO ]

NOVEMBER 1: lgc style season 2 ep. 1 [ ASTRID, JASMINE, YURA ]

NOVEMBER 2: cover & spread in cosmopolitan beauty china magazine [ CLEO ]

NOVEMBER 2: date lottery season 4 ep. 2 [ SELENE ]

NOVEMBER 2: some ssom ep. 4 [ SELENE ]

NOVEMBER 7: scrapbooking with yujin ep. 4 [ YUJIN ]

NOVEMBER 8: lgc style season 2 ep. 2 [ ASTRID, JASMINE, YURA ]

NOVEMBER 10: running man episode release ( guest appearance ) [ SELENE ]

NOVEMBER 11: ‘rain’ cover release on crystallis’ youtube channel [ YURA ]

NOVEMBER 11: my foreign granddaughter ep. 5 [ ICHIKA ]

NOVEMBER 13: jas can cook! ep. 5 [ ICHIKA ]

NOVEMBER 14: ‘superwoman’ tiktok challenge [ SELENE ]

NOVEMBER 16: korea grand music awards [ ALL; more info about this will be in the year end post ]

NOVEMBER 19: cleo’s constructions ep. 5 [ CLEO ]

NOVEMBER 22: MAMA awards in osaka [ ALL ]

NOVEMBER 23: some ssom ep. 5 [ SELENE ]

NOVEMBER 28: scrapbooking with yujin ep. 5 [ YUJIN ]

DECEMBER 1: astrid’s atelier ep. 5 [ ASTRID ]

DECEMBER 2: my foreign granddaughter ep. 6 [ ICHIKA ]

DECEMBER 4: cover & spread for jo malone x cosmopolitan korea magazine collab [ YURA ]

DECEMBER 4: jas can cook! ep. 6 [ JASMINE ]

DECEMBER 5: spread in vogue korea magazine [ SELENE ]

DECEMBER 7: some ssom ep. 6 [ SELENE ]

DECEMBER 10: cleo’s constructions ep. 6 [ CLEO ]

DECEMBER 17: lilybyred cf release [ SELENE ]

DECEMBER 19: scrapbooking with yujin ep. 6 [ YUJIN ]

DECEMBER 22: astrid’s atelier ep. 6 [ ASTRID ]

DECEMBER 23: my foreign granddaughter ep. 7 [ ICHIKA ]

DECEMBER 25: sbs gayo daejeon [ ALL ]

DECEMBER 27: asia artist awards [ ALL; more info about this will be in the year end post ]

JANUARY 5: astrid’s atelier ep. 7 [ ASTRID ]

JANUARY 7: cleo’s constructions ep. 7 [ CLEO ]

JANUARY 8: jas can cook! ep. 7 [ JASMINE ]

WRITING REQUIREMENTS

( note: the writing requirements for this career mission is lighter than usual because there will be additional events coming for the rest of the term. )

KLAIRS BRAND EVENT: submit to the lgcmedia blog an instagram post of the muse promoting the brand ( klairs ), products, and/or the store opening in seoul. while it is not required for the instagram captions, for an additional +2 NOTORIETY, if you add in at least one of the hashtags mentioned in the ‘after stage tea’ videos ( it doesn’t have to be the one that your muse/pair mentioned, it can be others as well. ). we encourage that regardless of when you submit the sns post, please have a private draft of it available when submitting the points for this mission in case we process and queue the post past the event deadline. furthermore, when submitting the instagram post to the lgcmedia blog, please add in the header “CRYSTALLIS MISSION 012” so that the admod will know that the submission is separate from the monthly sns! completing this will reward you +8 MODELING and +4 NOTORIETY ( OR 6 NOTORIETY IN TOTAL IF YOU USE ONE OF THE HASHTAGS ) ! ** only for HYEJOO, YUJIN, SOYOUN, SOMIN, YURA, ICHIKA **

CRYSTALLIS X PHOTOISM: write a 300+ word solo/headcanon post about the outfit and poses that your muses would have done for their solo frames OR write a 4 replies ( minimum 8 lines, 2 posts per mun ) thread with another CRYSTALLIS member about taking photos for their unit frames and/or group promotion pictures for +5 MODELING and +5 NOTORIETY !

Q4 SCHEDULES: continue a thread that started in Q3 ( JULY 7-OCTOBER 5 ) with an additional 4 replies ( minimum 8 lines, 2 posts per mun and can be with anyone ) OR start a new 4 replies ( minimum 8 lines, 2 posts per mun ) thread with another CRYSTALLIS member about any of their Q4 schedules ( excluding birthday livestreams, photoism, year end ceremonies, and klairs brand event ) or beryl preparations ( for the beryl members ) for +6 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE ANYWHERE and +4 NOTORIETY !

make sure to use the hashtag lgc:crystallismission for the task. you have until DECEMBER 14, 2024 at 11:59PM EST to complete the requirements and validate your points. please submit the following form ONCE on the points blog.

MUSE NAME ∙ CRYSTALLIS MISSION 012 - KLAIRS BRAND EVENT: +8 modeling, +4 or 6 notoriety [ LINK TO SNS POST ] ** for HYEJOO, YUJIN, SOYOUN, SOMIN, YURA, and ICHIKA ** - CRYSTALLIS X PHOTOISM: +5 modeling, +5 notoriety [ LINK ] - Q4 SCHEDULES: +6 ( skill points distribution ), +4 notoriety

[herrlindemann]

Rock Hard - September 1996

Mannheim, Capitol

Like almost all gigs of this tour, today's is sold out. No wonder, because Rammstein not only lures with a spectacular show, but also with extremely fair admission prices of around 25 marks at the box office. A number of bands, who put in much less effort but claim that it wouldn't go under 35 mice, can take an example from this!

When I enter the hall, the Farmer Boys, who are the only support act this evening, since Mink Stole also act as an opener on the partly overlapping Fu Manchu tour, have just started their gig. Despite being fairly obscure, they can excite around 50 head-bangers; the rest of the visitors give courtesy applause.

Rammstein start their gig with 'Rammstein' and the singer Till is on fire to match the lyrics. Irrespective of this almost traditional start, the guys, like on their last tour with DJ Komm, are very keen to experiment and test new songs and show gimmicks.

In addition to 'Spiel mit mir', which has been part of the set list for some time, and the rough 'Bück dich' (”...your face doesn't interest me”), there is also an audio sample of a 'man who cannot distinguish between humans and animals', which, despite the good text, still seems a bit immature. The usual fires and explosions are joined by the blowing up of a styrofoam head and Richard's hat on fire. After two blocks of encores - including the always funny Sado/Maso riding routine by keyboarder Flake and Till - the raging pack is finally satisfied. When the lights go on in the hall, not only countless "mullet superstars" ("short in front, long in back") can be seen in the audience, but also a few drunk rednecks in older Onkelz shirts.

We want to celebrate the after-show party in the outdoor pool where Break Out colleague Marco Magin works full-time as a lifeguard, but because he's so attached to his job, he doesn't want to give out the key at all. As a replacement, I'm going to Heidelberg with the two guitarists Paul and Richard and drummer Christoph to the "Swimming Pool", which isn't exactly the same, but a multi-storey club. In a good mood, various alcohols flow, so that some small technical problems of the previous show are quickly forgotten. Paul gets the new nickname Tim Thaler (Does anyone else know him?) because he no longer laughs on stage, and no longer twists his face.

On the way back to the club, I have a lengthy discussion with him about the Onkelz fans in the audience and the alleged legal bias from some quarters.

“I think it's too flat to just put a 'No Fascism' sticker on our next album, in keeping with the trend,” he sums up. “In my opinion there is no reason for that, because Till's texts are not political at all. If we caused trouble because of sexism, I would understand it, but I can't understand all this Nazi theater for the best will in the world.”

As already sufficiently explained in the interview, there are some ambivalent points on the surface, but when they are discussed in detail, they are not good enough to push the band into the right-wing camp. The experiences of this tour have emphatically proven that it doesn't belong there either. So for all notorious skeptics to write down again: Rammstein are non-political!

When we arrive at the Modernes, tour guide Tommy falls in love — with a 1950s Cadillac Fleetwood. After it turns out it belongs to a guy from local security, he won't give up until he gets the keys. He sits proudly behind the wheel and would like to buy the good piece right away. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the requested 22,000 eggs at hand right now.

Meanwhile, newly pierced F.B. guitarist Alex buys 20 red roses to send to his girlfriend; in addition to two calls a day, another token of love. Unbelievable, but true: musicians can also be on tour like this...

Mink Stole have to start their set under thankless conditions, because at 20.00 the place is still almost empty. Little by little the people pour in, but they don't seem particularly interested in the Swabians' noise rock. The introverted performance of the trio also makes it difficult for people to deal with it more intensively.

The F.B.-Lichtmann uses the possibilities of the system much better than in Mannheim and puts the farm boys in the limelight in an excellent way. They don't need to be asked twice and even animate a handful of metalheads to a small moshpit with their good performance.

Rammstein clean up completely again, but - as in the next two days - do without both the 'Mensch-Tier-Man' song and the riding performance.

Afterwards, almost the entire tour entourage ends up in a neighboring pub, where, in addition to the highly amusing courtship of two groupies, Matze's questionable alcohol level is particularly noticeable. In the end, the F.B. singer got so upset that when he got back on the bus, he missed the toilet bowl while peeing and put the whole toilet under "water". After this masterpiece, he stands helpless in front of his bunk because he has massive problems getting his duvet covered. He strenuously denies the mocking remark that his mother would otherwise have done it – but he has no proof to the contrary.

In view of the wonderful weather, Rammstein and I are drawn to the nearby outdoor pool, where singer Till, a former 1500-meter freestyle rider, shows what he's still capable of. He constantly pulls his lengths at a hellish pace, long after I ran out of breath. After this fitness training, we'll still be hanging around on the water slide before things get serious again: Till has come up with some new gimmicks for the upcoming open air events and buys big on the way back. Along with all sorts of odds and ends, he also brings two steel tubes that are supposed to make mobile rocket launchers out of his forearms.

The car park in front of the hall has meanwhile been transformed into a trend sports mecca: almost every member of the band and crew races over the generously laid-out "course" with inline skates or on a skateboard. Alex dares the most spectacular jumps, using Matze more or less voluntarily as a living obstacle. The daring, however, is the undoing of another: FB drummer Till breaks his board in the middle after a long sentence; Luckily he can clench (How nice that each of us can translate that immediately... - Red.) and avoid a serious fall.

Suddenly incredulous amazement: Rammstein guitarist Richard stands in the middle of a garbage container set up in front of the entrance and excitedly shovels around in it. What happened? The bus driver had cleaned up his vehicle and, in his overzealousness, accidentally thrown away Richard's credit card, which he had unsuspectingly left lying around among some odds and ends. To make matters worse, the rubbish was buried shortly afterwards by a few cubic meters of rubble, which made it even more difficult for you to "salvage" the valuable piece.

Luckily, after about half an hour of searching, he finds what he is looking for. Otherwise, demolition expert Till would certainly have taken action and simply blown up the contents of the container.

We spend the rest of the time until the show with Robert Rodriguez's cult flick “Desperado”; the clever tour manager Tommy got ten films from the neighboring video store for a backstage pass.

All three bands are well received in the once again very well-stocked shop, with the Depeche Mode cover version 'Never Let Me Down Again' by the Farmer Boys and all the 'Herzeleid' songs in particular being a real hit; in addition, some goths playing air guitar make for a somewhat irritating sight.

After the show, thumb scratcher Lupe stops by the FB bus and is completely enthusiastic about Rammstein, although he had considerable reservations just a short time before. In high spirits we down a few beers and witness an almost unbelievable incident: a female fan (is that the correct female form of fan, Hanno? - the author) asks the bus driver for an autograph. The latter replies that he is only the driver and not a member of the band, whereupon she throws an "it doesn't matter" at him. Needless to say, he stays with her and she never sees the band...

Because we're running out of beer, we switch to the "Kick" pub, where Rammstein also has a drink or two and visit the Dark Wave/EBM party that's taking place in the small club. Some fans have a lengthy image discussion with keyboardist Flake, whose private clothes neither match the stage outfit nor the usual fashion ideas. However, he remains defiant: "With my current appearance, I'm sure to spoil a lot in people's heads, but then maybe they'll understand that we only embody characters on stage who aren't necessarily identical to us as private people.”

In fact, this insight can't do any harm, because contrary to popular belief, the boys are anything but serious or dogged, but rather relaxed and fun-loving.

To wake up, it's back to the outdoor pool, where Paul immediately gets into a fight with the stuffy lifeguard because he's ignoring a barrier. Because the others want to eat in a restaurant, I drive back to Kufa alone with Till. We chat about the Rammstein concept, and he reveals that he intends to phase out the number with the burning arms, at least temporarily, so that it doesn't wear out too much. Too bad actually. Also, he definitely doesn't want a metal producer for the second album, so as not to be pushed too far into a corner stylistically. Let's wait and see what's in store for us...

Then the European Football Championship lures - but only Matze and me. The others are not deterred by the penetrating stench of the slaughterhouse opposite and sunbathe in the beer garden.

Tommy reports: sold out! However, the expectant good mood is suddenly clouded when the PA gives up shortly before the start of the Mink Stole show and the quickly brought in replacement system doesn't really want to harmonize with the remaining components. Despite the very modest sounds, the guys get the best reactions of the tour so far. The same applies to the Farmer Boys, who are able to inspire more and more people with increasing playing time and are even accompanied by massive calls for an encore when they leave the stage - a complete success!

Rammstein, on the other hand, have had a pitch-black day: In addition to the bad sound, they have to deal with a number of other problems such as a broken keyboard and guitars that sometimes stop playing. However, the party-loving crowd didn't let it spoil their mood and, in terms of atmosphere, gave the guys a worthy conclusion to the tour.

Accordingly, they accept the "bankruptcies, bad luck and breakdowns" performance and sit in front of the Kufa until late at night.

However, an unexpected problem arises: Till recognizes a friend of mine, who is supposed to take me to Düsseldorf with her, as an old acquaintance from Eastern times, and after more than ten years the two of course have a lot to tell each other — especially since she can hardly remember him and is completely confused... Luckily I find another ride, so that after these beautiful and eventful but exhausting days I can finally go to bed.

[scotianostra]

Happy 65th Birthday Scottish Golfer Sandy Lyle born on  on February 9th 1958.

Born Shrewsbury, England but considered Scottish, Lyle was one of  Europe’s top golfers during the 1980s. He is one of the golfers credited with breaking American domination of golf on the world stage.

Lyle was introduced to golf as soon as he would walk. His father, Alex, was a teaching professional at Hawkstone Park GC and had his son playing with miniature clubs from the age of 3. Lyle had an outstanding amateur career culminating in victory in the English Amateur Stroke Play championship in 1975 and 1977. He also served on the Walker Cup squad twice.

He turned professional in 1977 and was nominated Rookie of the Year in his first full season a year later. His first professional victory was the 1978 Nigerian Open. As a player, Lyle is renowned for his cool temperament and focus. However, his form is not always consistent and tends to play either exceptionally well or exceptionally bad.

Lyle won his first Major, the Open, in 1985. Perhaps the highlight of his career was victory in the 1988 US Masters. He was the first non-American to win the event, a victory made sweeter because of the intense competition between America and Europe in all aspects of golf. Lyle has also played on 5 Ryder Cup squads and represented Scotland 3 times in the World Cup.

On a personal level, Lyle has an amiable character and is modest despite his success and stardom. He enjoys Chinese food and is somewhat of an expert. He is also a keen enthusiastic of motorbike scrambling. In 1989, Lyle’s form began to slump. His last victory was the Volvo Masters in 1992 and since then has quietly retired from the main tour.

On turning 50 in 2008 he played on the Champions Tour and the European Senior Tour winning his first tournament in 19 years when he captured his first European Senior Tour title at the 2011 ISPS Handa Senior World Championship, held in China.

Sandy was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in May 2012, he now lives in Scotland with his wife Jolande and children Lonneke and Quintin

In 2014 Sandy won the World Hickory Open Championship, an open tournament for amateur or professional hickory golfers. Hickory golf is a variation of golf played with hickory-shafted golf clubs.  Part of the attraction of playing with hickory clubs is that they reintroduce ‘feel’ to the golf shot. Proponents also claim that hickory golf allows golfers to play classic golf courses as they are meant to be played    “I’m delighted to have won my fourth Major,” joked Sandy afterwards.

As a former winner I would have thought Sandy would get an invite to play in majors, but not so, last year in the run up to the 150th Open at St Andrews he was forced to retire injured commenting;

“When you’re pushing on the age that I am now, injuries are always sort of around the corner and you’ve just got to be careful what you do.”

Lyle’s withdrawal came after just one hole of the second round – a double-bogey six at the first.

Earlier in 2022 Sandy became the first Scottish golfer to play in 100 majors, a remarkable feat in itself, although  Lyle was completely unaware that he created history. It came in his 41st appearance at Augusta National and the 1988 winner said after missing the cut for the eighth year in a row that next year will be his last.“I was not aware, no,” said Lyle when he was asked about his major milestone by The Scotsman after carding a second-round 76 for a 14-over total at the Georgia venue.

“No-one has ever mentioned it to me. Does that make me feel better? A little bit,” said the two-time major winner. “But I suppose that is pretty sporty and something I can tell my grandkids in years to come.” he added.

Sandy went on to say;

“I think probably next year might be the end of the Lyle attack on the golf course,I think my older son (Stuart) is coming out and a few of his buddies, and I think my younger son (James) is probably coming out, so we're going to be a full family, I think, so I think it will be the end of the day.

I think he will continue to play in invitations and the senior tour. 

[crystalelemental]

I can't front.  I hate this one.

General Overview This one's weird, because it's not as though I don't have many EX Fire types.  I have more of them than I do Water types.  But somehow, Fire feels like a nightmare.  I didn't bother trying on Electric, I know that's worse.  But I didn't expect the Fire run to be so...terrible.

Problem 1: Fire supports suck unless they're SS Morty.  Kiawe doesn't do enough in one action, Evelyn is sturdy but not good at survival, while MC Torchic and Marley absolutely suck ass.  Anything above like 300 Strength may as well instantly kill those two.  And my Marley is EX, there is no excuse.

Problem 2: There is like nothing technical in this type.  SS May is a good example.  Like oh good, defense debuffs.  Except there aren't.  They're all single-target, and unless partnered with NC Leaf, she's kind of atrocious at her job.  Anni N is super slow to debuff anything, so even with his Sp Def drops against Kiawe, he can't get to it because oops, too busy having to Noble Roar.  Serena's sleep is borderline useless with Resilience and she's not a good damage dealer, Lodge Irida has a 50% flinch rate instead of 60% and somehow this is noticeable, etc etc etc.

Problem 3: some of these stage conditions are a nightmare.  Removal of 80% sync damage is absurd against Flannery, while Flint's removal of healing is absolutely disastrous.  Debuffs should be the answer to him, but it's not great, because you have only two options to work with.  And guess what.  One of the stages cuts Striker stats, so good luck with that.

Fire just feels like it sucks.  I can't figure out a good means of approaching half of these stages.  I have ideas, but they're clearly not working. This is about as good as I can do without investing more resources, and guess what I don't really want to do.  The supports suck, there's not really any good technical utility, and the stage conditions are nightmarish.  So I feel like this one's particularly rough.

And yet apparently it's not, and I'm just dumb!  I am super far down the ranks despite this score!  Honestly I don't know why.  Outside of the Master rank, sure, I'd buy that.  But down in Great?  You're telling me there's like 40k+ players out there that have performed better than this?  I don't think my Fire roster is lacking, so I admit, I'm legitimately stunned.  It's Challenger Gloria, isn't it?  I didn't get her, I don't like that outfit and don't like Cinderace.  But I'd bet that's a huge part of it.  How absurdly frustrating.

I may try to push a bit higher.  But I'm tempted to stop here just to keep the rounded number of powerup tickets.  Not like I need the Master medal, this is just pride.  And I find myself crankier than I want to be with this, so I'm not exactly keen on it.

Vs. Kiawe (MC Torchic, Anni N, Serena) This is the "Strikers get fucked" match, so I put Anni N here expecting the spread damage to matter.  It doesn't.  Anni N kinda sucks horrifically, you know?  So slow to set up, attack only has 85% accuracy by default, he's too busy.  Serena seemed like a good disruption call, but frankly the spread sleep is terrible.  They all recover simultaneously and it's too much for Torchic, and god forbid Anni N burns.

Vs. Blaine (Kiawe, Leon, Eevee Lucas) This one could be achieved much more easily with investment.  I have no doubt that this would generate a good amount more if I just bit the bullet and invested.  Leon's able to take the sync with Eevee Lucas' Atk debuffs, and his Earthquake/Hurricane combo is supereffective against everything.  But, because Leon and Lucas are 1/5 non-EX, they can only get so far.  If I were really aiming to push the score, this would be the solution.  And who knows, maybe that would fix the godforsaken gauge issues too.

Vs. Flint (Evelyn, Hilda, NC Leaf) No healing is a brutal condition in Fire.  With Anni N accounted for, the only other offense debuffer was NC Leaf.  Without healing, the options for support were Marley or Evelyn, and I went Evelyn for the defensive ability.  I slightly regret it.  Part of my problem here is that Hilda mostly exists just to sync, but truth be told she's not the best pick.  Without healing, all this Potion goes to waste.  But my other options aren't EX either.  I haven't EX'd Ethan, I won't EX SS Red, and I highly doubt Lodge Calem or Blarcanine are going to accomplish anything.  But really, this fight is...bad.  I think it might legitimately be in my best interest to drop Leaf and put in someone else, as Flint also uses Fire-type sync, and it's brutal.  But I can't think of anyone who stands a chance.  The problem with this mode is that it's all bulk.  They deal good damage, you do not, so it's an endurance contest.  Guess what doesn't work in your favor when you can't heal.

Vs. Chili (Marley, SS May, Lodge Irida) SS May really should be better than she is, but here we are.  I tried to get Irida to flinch for some extra turns and boy did that not accomplish shit.  Marley is frail beyond belief, and without debuffs, we're all just corpses in waiting.  Nothing in this fight works in our favor.  I can't even say there's a good SS May approach, since the only possible partner she works well with is NC Leaf.  I could make that shuffle, but it's not great.

Vs. Flannery (SS Morty, Silver, SS Hilda) SS Hilda deals great DPS, and that's really the aim here.  Flannery syncs Rock, which means Sun does little for her.  Silver can take every sync after first, since the damage won't matter, while Hilda beats everyone down.  Problem: spread damage from Searing Shot is required.  V-Create will not get the job done, and you will not have a good time against full HP sides.  Even with his bulk, Morty can only accomplish so much when the strength values start flying.  I honestly hate it.

Final Thoughts I think I'm legitimately mad about this one.  I have more EX Fire types than Water, but Water had nearly 80k more points out of this event.  I held Master rank with Water.  I don't even like Water.  I like Fire.  I was kinda looking forward to trying this one.  But I think I hate it now.

This is an excellent showcasing of how badly you need good supports.  Water thrived because it's got plenty of great support options to choose from, while Fire here is a nightmare.  While I admit I could push score pretty dramatically with the right investment, I don't really want to do that.  I don't care to invest in Leon, SS Red, and Eevee Lucas, just for this.  I don't want to use my candy on this.  So this is probably right where I'm staying.  Which annoys me.  I feel like I should be able to do better, but I don't think I want to try.

[escmemesandstuff]

Song Review: Finland

Another weekend, another three songs chosen. Let’s start with my country! Can’t promise not to be biased, but let’s try.

Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha

Personal opinion: I didn’t expect to like this song so much; a rap/metal/disco hybrid isn’t what I tend to listen on a daily basis. But let’s be real, this song just gets you hooked, up from the strong beginning, the catchy “cha cha cha” parts, and the way it just completely turns around from aggressive rapping to a fun poppy sound. It’s just chaotic, and in a good way! Just the kind of crazy entry that the contest needs. And the performance suits the mood perfectly, complete with the low-budget boxing ring and the pink dancers. Although I hope that the show will be tuned a bit to focus more on Käärijä himself, his stage presence is just unrivaled. Overall a great package anyway. Something that’s made seriously without taking itself too seriously. Plus, it’s great to get some Finnish in Eurovision!

Prediction: Televoters will love this one for sure. I it got over 50% of the public vote after all, and if that isn’t an indicator of the upcoming success then I’m not sure what is. The jury might not be so keen on such a non-conventional entry, but who knows. At this point, I predict a Hatari-like result. The song does remind me of their entry in a way.

Thoughts on selection: UMK has gone through a glowup in the 2020s and the quality seems to be getting higher year by year. I’m happy to see how it’s not treated as a mere Eurovision selection, but also a serious music show that gives artists opportunities to boost their careers. This year’s selection also had a diverse range of quality tracks, even my least favourite ones were nice to listen to. At first I was a bit disappointed not to see a rock band, but we’ve sent one for the past two years anyway, so it’s good to switch things up once a while (plus, ESC2023 seems to be turning into a battle of bands anyway). 

Of the other contestants, I need to single out Keira. Her song is surprisingly international-sounding and could’ve been a hit if performed by a big artist. For such a young and inexperienced artist, she also had a great stage presence along with the vocal performance. I really hope she does a comeback sometime in the future.

[jminter]

Interview: Todd Talbot, stars in Crazy For You at Royal City Musical Theatre this Spring

For its 31st season, Royal City Musical Theatre (RCMT) presents the Gershwin comedy musical Crazy for You at the Massey Theatre from April 27 – May 14.

Royal City Musical Theatre presents Crazy For You at Massey Theatre April 27 - May 14, 2023 A classic romantic comedy about a boy, a girl, and a theatre in need of salvation, it is full of humour, larger-than-life characters and some of the greatest showtunes of all-time. The zany yet lighthearted script is complemented with sensational tap dancing and a collection of the most beloved tunes from George and Ira Gershwin including the romantic “Someone To Watch Over Me” and “Shall We Dance”, “I Can’t Be Bothered Now” and the high-energy dance number, “I Got Rhythm”. RCMT’s Crazy for You features Vancouver’s own Todd Talbot playing the lead role of Bobby Child, alongside his wife Rabecca Talbot. You may know him from the hit TV series Love It or List It, Vancouver or possibly from the 90’s Nickelodeon series Fifteen - but you may not know, Todd is a theatre professional for more than 20 years, a true song and dance man!   Get to know a bit more about Todd Talbot in 5 questions: 1. Many may only know you from hosting Love It or List It, but you really are a true triple-threat: actor, singer, dancer with many theatre productions on your resume alongside your TV work.  What draws you to each genre, is there a preference between TV or Stage?

Todd Talbot stars in RCMT's Crazy For You at Massey Theatre opening night: April 29 I’ve been lucky to be able to spend time on Tv and on stage. Each genre has its pros and cons. After spending 8 years shooting Love it or List it, I was keen to get back on stage. Part of that desire was to challenge myself to flex that muscle again and an even bigger part was a chance to be back in that community. I’ll admit, having spent so much time in theatre, I took it for granted and didn’t realize how amazing that ‘family’ is. I missed them. But, TV pays better ha ha ha! 2. Followers of your Instagram have seen you dive into building of your “eh Frame” home and brand, over the last few years.  Does building and design offer a different or complimentary creative outlet to performing? It’s a very different experience for me. I love building because it’s tangible. I love the zen like state it puts me in. There’s a solitary element to it and a lasting end result. Performing is much more ethereal and fleeting. Especially theatre, which is a moment in time and only lives on in memory. Both are great but for me, opposite experiences other than both take a different creative energy. 2. Also on social media, you’ve said Crazy for You is one of your favourites, have you performed in the musical in the past? I’ve never done this show before but was on my bucket list since seeing it in London’s West End while I was a theatre school in England. My mom came to visit and we were mesmerized by the production. I remember it to this day. The music, the choreography amazed me, and the role of Bobby seemed the ultimate theatrical challenge. 4. Crazy for You was prepared to open three years ago but the pandemic put a damper on that. How has the company weathered the break, has everyone been able to return or have you had to recast or recrew? From what I hear there are about 50% returning from pre-Covid. All the leads will be back which is great. It feels like a lifetime ago but I’m sure it will fall back into place. I know that the theatre community was especially hard hit during the pandemic and I hope that folks find the time to get out and give themselves the gift of an evening in the theatre. It’s good medicine for audience and cast alike. 5. This isn’t the first time sharing the stage with your wife, how was it taking on these roles of Bobby and Polly together, 20 years since your first time? Oh boy…we sound old. We met doing West Side story at the Arts Club Theatre and as I share this story, tomorrow is our 16th wedding anniversary. It really is a treat to share the stage with her, she’s such a talent and sings this music beautifully. It does put a little pressure on working with your spouse but it’s all worth it. What I’m curious to see is what our two kids think?? Directed & choreographed by Valerie Easton with James Bryson, Musical Director, Crazy for You continue the Royal City Musical Theatre’s 30 year tradition of producing acclaimed Broadway-quality musicals.  Find more information and tickets online at royalcitymusicaltheatre.com Read the full article

[vynegar]

vyn electrifying night ssr, part six

one last part to the story :’) there’s still a couple things to resolve~

same disclaimer and notes from part one.

youtube link to OwO雯雯‘s video of the card story

links to other parts: one two three four five

do not repost

[PART SIX]

(44:50)

Underground bar

After the show ended, the next bands went onstage one after another, continually raising the energy of the venue to a peak.

Even so, around me I could still hear discussion about Vyn’s group.

Audience member 1: This performance was great, but I still think the first group was a bit better...

Audience member 2: Seriously, there were so many hot guys in the first group, especially that soloist at the end! I wish I knew what his social media accounts are...

Audience member 1: Aaaaahh! I want to know too, I want to go comment on his posts every day.

Hearing their praise, my heart suddenly felt somewhat complex emotions.

Standing at the edge of the crowd after the finale, I could only feel a sense of confusion as I watched the noisy stage.

MC: (The audience’s reaction was so enthusiastic, I’m sure Dr. Richter and the others will rank high in this competition.)

MC: (After a while he’ll probably have to attend the awards ceremony, I can’t go look for him right now...)

I couldn’t suppress a sigh.

Right at that moment, the sound of a text message alert suddenly came from my phone.

MC: (...It’s from Dr. Richter!)

The text message only contained a brief few words –

“Don’t move, I’ll come find you.”

Just as I put down my phone, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist from behind and pulled me out from the margins of the crowd.

MC: Huh?!

My surprised exclamation was swallowed up by the roar of the audience. I turned my head, and the tip of my nose just barely brushed past the hollows of his neck.

MC: Dr...

Vyn: Let’s go.

(46:05)

Not far from outside the underground bar was an empty, spacious warehouse area.

Leaning against the storage containers, I finally started to relax as the chill of the night started to seep in.

Vyn: It’s quite noisy in there, isn’t it?

MC: It’s alright, it’s just that since everyone is so enthusiastic, and there isn’t much circulation, it felt a bit stuffy.

Vyn: Enthusiastic... Then did you also feel that way when you were watching me perform?

MC: Of course! Even though I couldn’t get to the front of the audience at the start so I could only hear it, and I missed a lot of amazing moments...

MC: I was intently watching that solo at the end. Your performance was amazing, no one else could compare!

MC: And...

And there was that interview at the end...

Vyn seemed to astutely guess what I hadn’t spoken aloud, and smoothly continued the conversation.

Vyn: Just like I said in that interview, I’ve never been this nervous before in my life. It’s a good thing you were always looking at me, or else...

Vyn: ...Or else I wouldn’t have even known what to do.

Vyn watched me with keen, shining eyes.

The cold moonlight enveloped his form, and that feeling of hazy, intoxicating weakness had me at a complete loss for a moment.

MC: Dr. Richter... Your performance really was outstanding, and even if I weren’t watching you, that wouldn’t have changed.

MC: Oh right, they’re about to announce the winners, should we go back to watch? I think there’s a good chance you guys will win!

Vyn softly shook his head at my suggestion.

Vyn: There’s no need. I already said goodbyes to them. After this competition ends, I’m going to close that phone number and cut off contact with them

Vyn: So none of this is important. It’s enough for me to have your recognition.

MC: Huh? But...

Just as I was going to continue asking him about it, my attention was caught by the sounds of a discussion from not far away.

Audience member 1: Is he really somewhere near here? Could the security guy have made a mistake?

Audience member 2: No way! That handsome guy is so noticeable, you wouldn’t mistake him even if it was your first time seeing him, let’s keep looking!

MC: (These seem to be the two audience members who were talking about Dr. Richter earlier in the bar...)

MC: Dr. Richter, it seems like they’re looking for you...

Once I said it, I suddenly felt a bit upset...

Vyn: I see...

Watching them get closer and closer to this shipping container, I subconsciously bit my lip, feeling abnormally irritated –

(48:06)

CHOICE: “Drag Vyn away” or “Let Vyn handle it”

In the end, I decided to go with the idea I had, pulling Vyn’s arm and hiding on the other side of the container.

Vyn: What.. mmph!

Under the pressure of the figures approaching us, I directly reached out my arm and covered his mouth, giving him a “shh” gesture.

He was leaning against the front of the container, initially rather shocked.

But gradually his eyes began to show a bit of mirth, and he stayed completely still, allowing me to control him under restraints that lacked actual strength.

MC: ...

I held my hand there until their footsteps slowly faded, then finally relaxed and released my hand.

Vyn: Are you satisfied now?

MC: Sorry Dr. Richter, I wasn’t thinking just now. I wasn’t trying to make you mad, I just...

Vyn: I’m not mad.

He interrupted my attempts to explain, and his smile deepened.

Vyn: On the contrary, I’m very happy that you can have this kind of reaction.

MC: !!!

CHOICE: “Drag Vyn away” or “Let Vyn handle it”

(49:02 to 50:10 in this video by Sherry’s Gaming Notes; again again, please go support them too!!)

In the end, I decided to respect Vyn’s decision, letting him choose for himself how to deal with it.

MC: (After all, they’re Dr. Richter’s fans...)

Soon after, they found Vyn and gleefully ran over.

Audience member 1: Hello! I just saw your performance, it was really really incredible!

Audience member 1: So... could you tell me your contact info? In the future I’m definitely going support you and your band a lot!

As he watched her take out her phone, Vyn remained unmoved.

Vyn: Thank you, But I’m sorry, I only competed today as a substitute member.

Vyn: I’m going to be leaving the band, so please do not bother me while you’re supporting them.

Audience member 2: That’s no problem! Even if you go solo, we’ll still support you, so...

Vyn frowned, his tone tinged with impatience.

Vyn: I said, do not bother me.

Audience member 1: Un... understood...

It wasn’t until their footsteps slowly faded that he looked at me again, his eyes smiling.

Vyn: Well, were you satisfied at my reaction?

MC: !!!

At that moment, it seemed like Vyn had completely seen through all the thoughts that I myself hadn’t even been aware of.  

But I still hadn’t felt like the weight had been lifted off my shoulders...

Vyn: However... It seems to me like you still have something weighing on your mind.

Vyn: Does it have to do with that topic from earlier that we still haven’t finished discussing?

MC: (He guessed right...)

MC: I just still don’t quite understand, why are you able to completely break off all contact with Louis and the others like that?

Vyn: Failing to make a decision when necessary will only cause trouble. What happened just now is a good example.

Vyn: I’m not part of that social circle. Once I’ve completed what I wanted to do, there is no more need to maintain contact.

I could understand what Vyn was saying, but at the same time, a powerful feeling of uneasiness rose in me.

Was it possible, that just like with those band members that hadn’t known beforehand...

There would be a day where I’d also become someone that he would break off contact with?

Vyn: But don’t worry, you’re different.

He seemed to sense my emotions, and after gently smiling at me, he put his phone in front of me.

MC: Huh?

The phone screen displayed his contacts list.

Vyn: This is the reason why I had to call you during that game of Truth or Dare.

MC: Because there’s only one phone number in here...

Vyn: Exactly. No matter how many times I change phone numbers, even if there’s a day where I stop using the phone number you’re familiar with...

Vyn: In my new phone number, there will always be a place waiting for you.

After speaking, he extended his hand towards me.

Vyn: Is that okay?

MC: ...Yeah.

I nodded.

The next moment, Vyn slightly bent at the waist, the soft strands of his hair brushing against my cheeks, just like the moonlight suspended high in the night sky.

He held me, the breath he let out lingered near my ear, mingling with his quiet whisper.

Vyn: As long as you don't want to break off contact with me, I will never leave.

Vyn: So no matter what happens, I hope you won't easily let go...

(50:42)

Vyn's house

After returning home, Vyn changed into familiar everyday clothing.

New comments continuously appeared on a tablet screen, all congratulating Louis’s band on their easy victory and successful contract with a well-known label.

He stared out the window into the night, carefully remembering everything that had just happened.

Vyn: I’m very happy that it’s not just me who gets scared.

Vyn: Because of too much passion, you feel fear, and because of fear, you appreciate it even more...

Vyn: I trust that with the proper guidance, these feelings of fear will have a positive effect...

Vyn: ...And will fulfill my wish to be with you until the very end.

[END]

[+ phone call]

[burntmcnuggies]

Effectively Trained (1/2)

Yandere! Hawks x Reader

Warning: this story contains non-consensual touching, forced sex, mentions of serious harm and abuse, kidnapping, and excessive use of strong language! 18+ only please <3

Part Two

“He does things his own way and has climbed the ranks with lightening fast speed! In the number two spot! Winged Hero: Hawks!”

The crowd erupted in applause as the red suites hero approached the stage to stand beside his fellow heroes. The smell of delicious food, and expensive champagne filled the sensitive mans nose. As for having a bird-like quirk, the blonde had a very keen sense of smell and sight. The only thing he was focused on at the moment was the young woman sitting by herself at the table reserved for him and the other top three heroes. Her skinny arms were raised in a small quiet clap to appraise him. He smirked to himself and put his hands behind his neck, flaunting his vibrant red wings out to make himself stand out. It was impossible to miss his presence due to his powerful quirk. The announcer finished introducing the top 5 heroes supporting the charity event Hawks was currently at. Once the heroes were dismissed, he rose to the air and made a straight B-line for the woman at the table.

“Hey dove.” He called out to her, making the beautiful young woman flinch harshly and jerk around to greet him. He landed softly in front of her while people stared in awe at his large wings and glowing aura. This was the popularity of one of the top 3 heroes. He opened his arms, initiating a hug, but before he even got his arms up, she was already in his arms hugging him. His honey-colored eyes glistened and glowed with an unknown emotion. His strong arms wrapped around her, his hot breath ghosting over her ear. “Good girl. I’m proud of you.” His husky voice was suggestive and poisoned with lust. The girl in his arms shook slightly, slowly nodded her head in acknowledgment to his words. When he pulled away, his pupils constricted once he laid eyes upon a couple people staring. “Let’s go somewhere more private. So I can reward you properly.”

His voice was no longer warm and goofy. It was cold and harsh, demanding the woman in his arms to come with him immediately. She clung to his order and quickly latched onto his arm. His pupils dilated back to their normal size and he grinned cheekily walking through the crowd. “Leaving already Hawks? It’s barely just begun.” The number two hero stopped in his tracks hearing the voice of the man he admired every since he saved him. He turned his head around, the diamond studs in his ears sparkling under the bright lights. “Ah, Endeavor!” Hawks turned around and moved his hand down to tightly hold the mysterious woman by the waist. She kept her head down in Endeavors presence. The Flame hero was a clever man, and immediately, he could tell there was something odd about their relationship. “Oh! Endeavor! I’d like to introduce you to my beautiful dove, (Y/N).”

It was quick, but the woman’s head jerked up quickly, and her panicked (E/C) eyes could’ve been perceived as embarrassment, but Endeavor could clearly tell it was not that. It was fear. ‘There’s something off about her. Is it me?’ “I-It’s nice to meet you... M-Mr. Todoroki. H-Hawks is a huge fan. I-I really admire your work too... you’re a v-very respectable hero...” The red-haired man came to the conclusion that she was just shy. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Hawks carelessly flopped his arm around his lovers shoulder, tightly squeezing it with all the force he could. The woman now known as (Y/N) flinched feeling his tight grip. “I-I’m sorry! Please excuse me! I’m going to get some drinks! I-I’ll bring you some Hawks!” In the blink of an eye she was gone through the crowd, rushing towards the refreshment table. A sharp barbed feather glided across the floor unseen and jabbed into the frightened girls leg. Luckily, her dress covered it and her hair was down to cover up the frightened and pained face she was making.

“A good one isn’t she? Sorry about that! She’s a bit shy! She only likes me! That’s why we’re trynna leave so soon! I thought I’d make an appearance and earn some money for whatever this is for and head home!” Hawks boasted and flexed his wings a bit, showing off his alpha-like nature. Endeavor hummed in suspicion, looking for the girl to come back. This didn’t help the growing possessiveness inside the number two hero. His wings fluffed up wildly and his pupils contricted sharply in a threatening manner. He could feel the warm blood running down his unattached barbed feather, making his legs quiver. What a lovely feeling. “What’s with the look man? Don’t think I can land such a hottie? I’ll have you know I’ve been with plenty of smokin’ chicks. And not chickens!” His fake cheerful laugh interrupted Endeavor’s thoughts. He scowled a bit. “How exactly did you two meet? I’ve never seen her with you at one of these things.”

“We’ve been dating for about a year now. We met at my agency actually. She was looking for a job. Later I courted her and told her I would work and she wouldn’t ever have to raise a hand in the work force again!” Endeavor narrowed his eyes. ‘There’s no way anyone would willingly want to stay cooped up inside a house the whole time... he’s hiding something. It’s unlike him to be so defensive.’ Just in time, (Y/N) returned and handed Hawks his drink, lowering her head once again, refusing to make eye contact with either of them. Endeavor huffed and offered his hand out for her to take, a test of some sorts. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” The girl refused to take his hand. She kept her head lowered and clung herself to Hawks. Usually, Hawks would just laugh and make a joke for her not to be scared, but Endeavor was surprised to see Hawks holding her tightly and looking at her blankly. ‘Something’s off.’

“We’re going to head home then.” Hawks spoke suddenly, rubbing his lovers back with a small sincere smile. He downed the expensive champagne and set it on a random table. He kissed her head and moved his wings to block her from anyone else’s view. A crimson feather came from the floor and reattached to his large set of feathered wings. Unnoticed by everyone. “I don’t want to make my beautiful angel uncomfortable. See ya later Endeavor! Let’s go out sometime for some Yakitori soon! Okay?” He ushered her quickly away from the scene where the number one hero just stood there. He watched them go, his gut demanding him to follow them, that something was off, that something sinister was right in front of him. It couldn’t possibly be Hawks.

‘I’m probably just imagining things. But next time we meet, I’ll definitely get to the bottom of whatever is going on.’

——

*Click*

.

.

.

“I’m proud of you, dove. You did so well tonight.” Hawks praised his lover once they reached the security of his top level pent house suite. His eyes seemed to glow in the dim light cascading over the room from the moon. His hands twitched in anticipation seeing his beautiful angel standing before him, now completely undressed, patiently waiting for his orders. “I would like to reward you, buuuuut you got a bit too talkitive with Endeavor back there... guess I gotta punish you just a little.” It was quick, but the winged hero harshly pushed against the back of her knees and made her kneel harshly in front of him. His ungloved hand made contact with her hair, entangling his rough fingers within and yanking upwards harshly, forcing the terrified girl to look at him. “You should only say stuff like that to me. ME. Got it?”

She nodded frantically, tears building within her large (E/C) eyes. Flurries of apologies burst through her lips and onto his deaf ears. He thought actions spoke louder than words. Her next actions would determine if the punishment needed to go further or not. Over the past year, it had been his goal to break her mind into being his obedient little pet. He had taken her out to his office only a couple times, but when she ran and pleaded for help from one of his sidekicks, his “training” became more intense. The pain became too much for her malnourished and fragile body to handle. Her mind slowly began to crack. “You know I don’t accept apologies that way my beautiful dove. Use that mouth for something else other than talking.” She knew what he was implying, and hastily began to unbuckle his belt.

His training paid off. He was in complete and total control over this woman. HIS woman. His lips spread into a sadistic grin and he let out a throaty chuckle, sighing in pure amazement at how well he had done. “Look at you, desperately wanting to suck my cock for my forgiveness. I’ve trained you quite well haven’t I angel?” He pulled back a little bit to plop on the couch, watching with lustful eyes as the woman of his dreams quickly followed after him on her knees and got between his legs. She nodded anxiously and fearfully, worried that if she took too long to respond, he would go through another “training” session with her. “Hmm... hey... remind me again what I did last time to make you mind so easily. I tried out a bunch of different methods than last time. I just wanna know... what works best for you angel.”

He reached down and grabbed her hands to stop her from continuing, waiting for her answer to his question. He already knew the answer, he was only testing to see if she remembered what punishment he gave her last time she went against the rules. “You uhm...” She stuttered, trying her hardest to remember the punishment she was given last time. Over the year, he had given her hundreds of punishments, and over 50 “training” sessions. There was a large difference between Hawks’ punishments and training sessions. Punishments would only last a little while, maybe a few hours. But training sessions lasted days, even weeks. She had to remember all of the rules he had set in place for her, or else she would be punished and go through the same session again and again until she never forgot.

Rule 1. Always love Hawks

Rule 2. Always support Hawks

Rule 3. Hawks is your favorite hero

Rule 4. Always listen to Hawks

Rule 5. Hawks loves you

Rule 6. Hawks will always protect you

Rule 7. No talking back to Hawks

Rule 8. Don’t look at anyone besides Hawks

Rule 9. Hawks knows what’s best for you

Rule 10. Don’t think of anyone besides Hawks

Rule 11. Don’t talk to anyone besides Hawks

Rule 12. Always comfort Hawks

Rule 13. No make up

Rule 14. Don’t smile at anyone besides Hawks

Rule 15. Only leave the house WITH Hawks

Rule 16. Tell Hawks “I love you” every day

Rule 17. Call Hawks if someone touches you.

And the list went on, and on, and on, and on. The rules were hammered into her brain for days. Morning time, Hawks would take his feathers and penetrate the skin on her back, making her repeat the rules every time a feather pierced her now scarred skin. Then make her repeat it again when he pulled them out. While she was home alone, he tasked her with writing down the rule over 100 times to make sure she got it. Then we he came home, he would review her work, demand her to tell him the rule, and depending on that, he may let her eat and sleep. Everyone looked at Hawks as the friendly, carefree, boisterous, and fun pro-hero. However, (Y/N) knew the dark side of him. The possessive side of him that refused to let her go, let her speak to anyone else but him, anything really. Everything had to be him.

She snapped out of her gruesome thoughts of her last training session and shakily looked back up to see Hawks patiently waiting for her answer. “You... p-put your feather... through m-my tongue... b-because I s-said... I felt b-bad for... B-Best J-Jeanist...” He nodded and scratched the stubble on his chin. His lower lip stuck out and he smirked. “Ah! Now I remember perfectly... the taste of your blood when I kissed you felt so good. Should I do it again? I’m feeling pretty punishy today.” (Y/N)‘s face drained color immediately and she hastily began to unbuckle Hawks’s belt, hopeful he would forgive her.

Rule 41. Blow Jobs for forgiveness.

“Looks like I burned that rule right into that pretty head of yours huh? They always say I’m too fast for my own good... what do you think dove?” His sinister yet carefree grin unnerved her and she shivered harshly under his gaze. She didn’t know how to respond. After being with him for a year, she was still wary of his mood swings. He could be so friendly and nonchalant the first minute and the next he’s cruel and cold. What answer was best? “I.... I think you’re perfect just the way you are Hawks... fast or not... y-you are... perfect.” That was a good answer. She inwardly applauded herself for coming up with such a great answer. Hopefully he would punish her less right? “Perfect huh? You always know how to make my heart flutter don’t cha dove? But I’m not letting you off that easily.”

Her body stiffened.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you behave around me. It’s quite suspicious. Even Endeavor back there was gettin’ a little too curious about our relationship.” Her hands halted, his pants now loosely hanging from his hips, his arousal clearly evident by the bulge in his grey boxers and the slight stain from his sticky pre-cum. She regretted the moment she looked up to look into his golden eyes. His pupils were slit, and he wore a grin, a crazily sinister glint within those once warm eyes. “It’s startin’ to piss me off a bit ya know? It hurts my feelings my baby bird isn’t being honest with me. After everything I’ve done?” He laughed and spread his large wings out, towering over her and blocking her only heavenly source of light. Her gaze was locked on the only thing she could see.

Those horrific glimmering eyes of his.

“No I want you to be honest and tell me everything you’re feeling right now.” Suddenly, a hand forced its way onto her throat. The unexpected movement knocked the breath from her lungs, and the restricted force placed around her windpipe only made it harder. Her mouth shakily began to open, but closed immediately, fresh hot and salty tears already beginning to stream down her already dampened cheeks. “What? Don’t wanna be honest with me baby? I thought you would’ve remembered that rule...” He pouted in disapproval. In a sudden flurry of panic and fear, she pushed his hand away, stunning him into silence as she recited the rule. “Rule 21! Always be honest! Rule 6! Hawks will always protect me! A-And rule 5! Hawks will always love me! Rule 27! Everything Hawks does is for me! And I’m always grateful! Rule-“

“Woah there tiger! Didn’t need ya to tell me every little thing. But I’m glad you remember so much. I’m honestly impressed.” His wings retreated against his back, and he raised his bare hands up to softly pet her hair. His precious dove lowered her head slowly, accepting his praise silently. “But you still aren’t being honest with me. I want you to tell me how scared I make you. How you’re so scared about what I might do that you’ll never leave. That you’ll always be beside me!” His voice was getting desperate, and the way his ash blonde eyebrows furrowed showed her his frustration was seeping through. She shakily exhaled, heart pounding harshly against her chest. “I... u-understand... your want to k-keep me here... you’re... l-lonely... and mentally exhausted... I... love you Keigo... I just... don’t... like how... you hurt me... that... terrifies me.”

His pupils shrunk hearing his first name come from her lips. He searched deeply for any lingering signs of dishonesty, but found none. What she said was genuine. She was scared of being hurt by him, but knew deep down how fucked up his life had been despite being such a popular hero. Having to play double agent, keep up two different personas and stress about not getting found out by the other organization. “...Rule 5.” He said sternly. His voice was cold and void of emotion, which was strange and unnatural for the usually bubbly winged-hero. Blonde bangs covered his honey colored eyes, hiding the truth from her. (Y/N) flinched and quickly recited the rule. “Rule 5... H-Hawks will always love me.” A smirk stretched across his face, and he raised his head up, his eyes shimmering with possessiveness and greed. A red glint shined within those bird-like eyes, and he grabbed her hands, placing them on his hips again. “Please me. Pleasure the fuck out of me dove. Do good... and I might let you go out tomorrow —with a feather of course.”

All of a sudden her mood lifted, and she smiled widely at his proposal. “R-Really? Y-You mean it Keigo...?” He gave her a lopsided grin and nodded his head confidently. His wings spread while he laid back against the sofa, comfortably adjusting himself so he could get a perfect view of his little lover. His avian eyes watched carefully as her delicate hands moved over his pants, pulling them down just a bit. The large H on his belt hung loosely to the side, making the belt a bit heavy. Hawks deployed his feathers to make his wings smaller and slipped his jacket off, only being left in his tight fitting shirt with gold accent lines and a diamond. His wings came back to life quickly, slightly fluttered as he got them reattached. “Your... wings are very... large and b-beautiful.”

“They’re all for you baby bird.” He commented flirtatiously. His eyelashes were exceptionally long, and those dark markings near his eyes made his eyes only pop and glow in the moonlight. His large wings created long and intimidating shadows, shaking up his forced lover. She shook her head quickly and focused her attention back on the task at hand. Her cool fingers slid across the fabric of his boxers, a heavy blush settling on her face. She leaned closer to his hips, her (H/C) hair falling to rest against the top of his clothed thighs. (E/C) eyes looking up innocently to see what reaction his smooth face held. He was watching intently, his stern eyes demanding her to continue. Her throat bobbed slowly and she gently pulled down his boxers, clenching his loose pants in embarrassment watching his arousal slap against his abdomen.

“Ahh... come on baby, don’t tease me like this. Hurry up and swallow my worm birdie.” He cooed, throwing a very gross sounding bird pun in. A shiver crawls up her spine sharply, her brain finally taking back control of her fingers. The smooth skin of her fingers folded over his steamy cock, running along the vien on his underside. In the background she saw his bare hands clenching the cushions of the couch tightly, his forearm stiff. He was restraining himself, and clearly it wasn’t working too well if he had to go through all that. “Stop. Fucking teasing me.” He ordered in a raspy hoarse voice, struggling to even get a sentence out. His cock twitched in her smooth hands, aching and throbbing, begging to be touched and engulfed by something warm and tight.

(Y/N) closed her eyes and leaned forwards, pressing her lips gently against the head, before her tongue slid over the vein and she took him into her mouth. “Hah... fuck, deeper.” The hand previously on the couch came to tangle into her once beautifully curled hair. His reluctant lover flinched and squeezed her eyes shut tighter, letting his hand guide her. His nails dug into her scalp, some of her hair being pulled out by the roots at his strong grip. There was a very arousing wet sound bursting into both their ears from the activity both adults engaged in. The pro hero had his head on the back cushions, panting heavily with his wings tightly folded against his back occasionally twitching and shivering. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. Yeah... just like that dove. Hah fuck, your mouth is so damn amazing! Haha! You can take me all in can’t ya? Argh... only one way to find out right?”

The girls eyes widened in horror and the hero slammed his impressive length down her throat, his strong hands pushing on her head as hard as he could. “Ugh! I feel yer teeth! Open that beautiful mouth wider for me dove!” Her mouth was at its limit. Her jaw was aching, her throat being stretched, her nose buried within the curly mess of musky smelling hair near his V-line. Her eyes burned with tears, head throbbing, pussy dripping with fluids, her lungs clawing at any ounce of oxygen they could find. She was incredibly lucky she got over her gag reflex early on into their “relationship.” He jerked her head back, her nostrils stretching to catch even a small amount of air to satisfy her lungs, only to be slammed back down repeatedly. “Didn’t- Ngh!- know you could go this deep! Fuck! Haha, you’re gonna make me c-cum soon~”

His calloused hands from years of hard work shoved her head back and forth wildly, refusing to stop his relentless face-fucking. His movements increased, and his panting and moaning had only gotten louder. “Ahh~ hah! Yeah baby! Come on!” He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth and growled out lustfully. His husky voice shamefully making his baby bird’s love parts ooze with arousal. His keen nose could smell it from a mile away. Suddenly a soft feather came under the woman on her knees, harshly rubbing against her sensitive clit. Two more came to push against her nipples with the softer part of the feathers. “That’s it b-baby! Ahh yeah you dirty little slut~ getting wet while sucking me off~ haha! Agh... yeah... lemme know when you’re close, I-I wanna cum in that pretty pink damn pussy. And it’s all mine. Ohh... it’s all mine.”

His low husky growls only made the sensations better. (Y/N) was now struggling to maintain the fast pace he forced on her. The adrenaline pumping through her veins with the only thought in her mind was not getting hurt, she pushed through. “Haha! Ohh~ you’re mine. Fucking mine...” He growled through grit teeth, his avian eyes glued to the sight of his cock disappearing into the mouth of the woman of his dreams. His eyes traveled just a bit south and caught a glimpse of his soft red feathers harshly grinding against her nipples, making her squirm in discomfort and desperation. “Nghh~ haha! Fuck! Fuck baby bird~ my cute dove~ my god damn angel... I’m gonna fucking cum. Hurry, hurry get on the couch.”

In a flash he shoved her head back, not even giving her a second to even breath before hoisting her up and slamming her down on the couch. His rough hands found her legs quickly, spreading them apart and getting between them. He hastily grabbed his hard cock and immediately shoved it inside her aching and unprepared womanhood. A flash of white hot pain shook her whole body. Her fingers were tingling and the breath was knocked from her lungs. He was a monster. Relentlessly moving himself in and out of her like she was some kind of toy. His play thing he could bend, break, use, and throw away whenever he pleased. But she was his favorite toy, his most prized possession. No matter how broken, or bent, or lost, it was his.

And he would kill anyone if he ever lost his precious treasure.

“Haha! Ohhh... oh, yeah. It’s been a while huh baby bird? You okay dove? You can take my cock soooo good can’t you~? Right?” His flirtatious groans echoed in the large space of his penthouse living room. His wings spread widely, fluttering slightly at all of the lewd attention his sweet sweet cock was getting. Squeezed so firmly by unprepared walls of squishy muscle, enveloped in a warm and comforting feeling of love. He couldn’t have been any happier at that moment. His lover on the other hand, “Y-Yes H-Hawks!” Her mouth was left hanging open, her eyebrows scrunched together tightly in pain. Her cheeks were painted with salty streaks that cascaded to her chin and left drops on the couch.

“No... hah, no Hawks. Say my name. My name that o-only you know.” He was setting her up to make himself lose control. They both knew that whenever (Y/N) would say Hawks’ real name, the bird-quirked hero would lose control and turn into a complete animal. The girl underneath the presumed hero could only sob in pain and fear, conflicted on what to do. Have her captor cum inside of her and possibly force her not to take plan B, or be brutally hurt for disobeying his orders. On the slim chance Hawks would let her take the pill afterwards, she succumbed. “K-Keigo! Keigo! Kei! Kei! Kei-.. g-go!!!”

“FUCK DOVE! Yeah say it more! Goddamnit! Fucking say my name! You’re m-mine! Ahh hah! My pretty bird! A-All... mine...” His large hands slid over her slim waist, malnourished from his constant punishments and paranoia if she gained too much strength she would attempt to rebel against him like she did when she first got here. She began to chant his name desperately, almost screaming at the top of her lungs to satisfy him. “Rule 5, 1, and 19. Say them.” He demanded, not faltering in his movements. His fierce golden eyes stared upon her, watching intently as he made her cute breasts bounce. Her body being shoved back and forth aggressively to satisfy his burning hunger. “Hawks will a-always love me!” She sobbed out, struggling to even get a sentence out. She opened her blurry eyes to look at him, biting her lip harshly to stop crying. “I-I will always love Hawks! And we will do a-anything for each o-other!! Keigo please! Please!”

“Good girl! Fuck! I’m gonna cum dove!” His screwed up mind perceived her pleas as a sign for him to push her over and make her reach her euphoric orgasm. In reality, she was begging for him to stop. Stop his assault, stop his forceful touches. She could practically feel her body shutting down. Her heart and mind mentally checking out. Her emotions become hard and stone-like. Death would be better then spending another second with this man above her. She flinched feeling something warm flood about inside of her, ears barely picking up on the breathy gasp that came from the number two hero as he finished himself off. Her mind began to wander back to how all this even came to be.

So naive.

So stupid.

So blind to the true nature of the number two hero, Hawks.

Her eyes slowly fluttered closed, feigning being asleep in hopes she could escape to another world. Alas, that world faded the moment he opened his mouth and took away all her concentration. “Wore out already, huh? Guess I need to feed ya more, dove.” She was lifted into the strong hero’s arms, carried carefully back to his bedroom like she was the most fragile thing in the world. She knew of the pro hero’s past, how lonely he was. Even though she hated him to the core for everything he’s done to her, she couldn’t help but pity him. “But you know I can’t feed you too much or you’ll try to leave me again. You remember, baby?”

No response.

He sighed blissfully and leaned close to her, gently brushing her hair out of the way and listening to her soft breathing. “So fucking beautiful. You still manage to take my breath away. I trained you quite nicely. You behave so well... I couldn’t ask for a better girl. Although... when I first saw you I knew you had to be mine.” She tensed under his calloused fingers smoothing over her face. He knew she was awake. He wasn’t an idiot. “Rest baby bird. My sweet... sweet fucking dove. You mean the world to me. And I would kill. Anyone. That would try to take you away from me.” He smirked and pressed a kiss to her head. She slowly opened her eyes to look at him, seeing his warm smile full of genuine love. “Your eyes are so beautiful, (Y/N). Everything about you I love but your eyes... they’re your most beautiful feature.”

“...thank you, Keigo.” She whispered. He chuckled and crawled into bed beside her, pulling her body close to his. Large red wings spread widely, slowly coming down to cover them both as protection, and reassurance that his precious angel wouldn’t escape. She moved close to his chest, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his bare chest. “Rest. You’ve got a busy day tomorrow, going out on your own without me. You must be excited.” He always gave her these fishy questions. It was like he was testing her to examine her commitment to him. She swallowed a little and smiled. “A-A little... I’m g-going to buy groceries, ch-chicken, your coffee... a-and some p-plan-B...”

“Still weary of barring my chicks? That’s alright. It’ll all change soon dove. Once I achieve my dream, I’ll take you far away, start our family, and marry you.” He smirked down at her sleepy state. His large hands combing through her soft (H/C) hair. ‘Maybe we can start over, and you can love me without being forced.’ He thought to himself. I’m honesty, he disliked hurting her, but he couldn’t control his rage sometimes. In his childhood, all he had was an Endeavor toy. His favorite toy. Now he had (Y/N), and she was his new favorite toy, his treasure really. He needed to hold on with a death grip and not let her go. Not let go of the only good thing going for him at the moment. “That sounds n-nice... I-I’m sorry I’m v-very tired... g-goodnight Keigo... I-I love you.”

“I love you too.” He kisses her head. “Just don’t forget the rules while you’re out.”

[unnuevosoltransformalarealidad]

It’s Cold Outside

Title: It’s Cold Outside Summary: Christmas isn’t your favorite holiday. That is going to change soon. Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Reader Prompt: #20 Baby It’s Cold Outside Warnings: Fluff, bad writing Word Count: 1306 (with lyrics) This was written for the Christmas Writing Challenge of @toomanystoriessolittletime

A/N: Prompt is bold and in italics | Hello! Sorry for the absence in the posting schedule. I had a few personal issues and I wasn’t able to post them. Hope you like it! Enjoy the reading!

^

You weren’t too keen on celebrating the holidays. It wasn’t your favorite holiday, but you liked to spend time with your friends and family. Your mom invited your best friend Tom, you didn’t care he was coming, you loved him, but you knew that your mom did it because she had other intentions. 

Tom and you were very very good friends. You’ve been friends for a long time, and you couldn’t deny the beauty that Tom is. Truth is you’ve never made a move with him because the friendship suited both of you, and you never thought about him feeling the same way as you.

Your parents organized a huge Christmas party with some family members and a lot of friends from every member of your family. Probably there were like 50 people there, which meant lots of alcohol which led to embarrassing games and odd stories from the past.

Everyone was happily drunk, everyone laughing and playing games, cracking jokes, all of you were having an amazing time. Your mom had set up the karaoke, but nobody was playing with it. Tom went there and checked the mic

-Hello everyone! — he screamed to the mic Eveyone in the room started to applaud. He went to the computer and picked up a song, a Christmas song. -Y/N, dove. Come sing with me — he extended a hand He used that pet name again with you. He had stopped using it after his last relationship. You felt bad that his ex thought bad about you. He grew a little distant, but he kept in touch with you no matter what that girl thought. -You know I don’t sing, right? — You said grabbing his hand -I don’t believe you, babe. Is everyone ready? The song “Baby it’s cold outside” started and a smile appeared on your lips. Tom knew how much you loved that song, still, he had never listened to you singing it.

I really can't stay Baby, it's cold outside I've got to go away Baby, it's cold outside

When he heard you sing, his eyes went wide. He knew you were capable of singing, but your voice, he felt something inside, his eyes were sparkling. You noticed the way he was looking at you, you felt shy.

This evening has been Been hoping that you'd drop-in So very nice I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice My mother will start to worry Beautiful, what's your hurry? My father will be pacing the floor Listen to that fireplace roar So really I'd better scurry Beautiful, please don't hurry Well maybe just a half a drink more Put some records on while I pour

Each line you sang, you started to feel more comfortable, you started to enjoy it, and seeing Tom smiling, made your heart flutter. 

The neighbors might think Baby, it's bad out there Say, what's in this drink? No cabs to be had out there I wish I knew how Your eyes are like stars right now To break this spell I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell I ought to say no, no, no Sir Mind if I move in closer? At least I'm going to say that I tried What's the sense in hurting my pride? I really can't stay Baby, don't hold out Baby it's cold outside

You didn’t know if it was all the alcohol you’d drank, but it seemed like Tom was flirting with you by using the lyrics of the song. You decided to playback. Your friendship wasn’t at risk because you both were drunk and you weren’t going to remember anything.

I simply must go Baby, it's cold outside The answer is No But, baby, it's cold outside The welcome has been How lucky that you dropped in So nice and warm Look out the window at that storm My sister will be suspicious Gosh, your lips look delicious My brother will be there at the door Waves upon a tropical shore My maiden aunt's mind is vicious Gosh, your lips are delicious Well maybe just a cigarette more Never such a blizzard before

Tom fell in love more after each sentence. He wanted to have you by his side. He always believed you were an amazing friend, but he never thought you would be interested in him in a romantic way, but the way Y/N responded to his flirting, showed a different story. He was going to take advantage of it

I've got to get home But Baby, you'd freeze out there Say, lend me a comb? It's up to your knees out there You've really been grand I thrill when I touch your hand But don't you see? How can you do this thing to me?

Tom looked at your eyes and grabbed your hand. It was now or never, depending on her reaction he was going to act up or not. You felt your cheeks blushing, your heart was beating so hard that if the music wasn’t too loud he would’ve probably listened to it. You decided to intertwined your fingers with his and sang the last part of the song.

There's bound to be talk tomorrow Think of my life-long sorrow At least there will be plenty implied If you got pneumonia and died I really can't stay Get over that hold out Baby it's cold Baby it's cold outside

When you finish singing, you were expecting a kiss from him, the tension between you too was too thick.  Instead, he thanked the little audience and helped you get down of that little stage that was set up. 

-Can I invite you for a drink? — Tom asked you -Of course — you answered

He never let your hand go. It felt good against your hand, it was warm and they fitted perfectly, like if they were made for each other. He took you to a corner in the kitchen, it was a little bit more private than the living room and it was way quieter. It was better for talking. He handed you a beer and sat in front of you, keeping his hand near yours to keep the slight touches.

-What a beautiful voice you have — he said and you smiled shyly -I’m not as good as you are, Tom — you admitted -You are way better than me dove -I’m not. I just do it for fun, I don’t think I’ll be ever as good as you say it — you explained -Dove — he said grabbing your hand and getting closer to you — Your voice is incredible, you are amazing, and I know you don’t like to recognize it, but you are as good as me, hell, you are even better -Stop -Why? — Tom was confused — Is the truth -I can’t stand this — you said -What? I’m not following -You, being like this, and then you become cold because your dates don’t like me — you admitted

Tom got up leaving his beer on the counter. You fucked it up and you knew it. This was the end of your friendship. Tom stood right in front of you, he grabbed your face kissed you, you leaned against his warm touch. He was sweet and careful, he broke the kiss and looked at you -Why did you stop? — you asked him -Because I want to say that I love you. I always had and always will. I never thought you had feelings for me, that’s why I always reacted that way. I never meant to hurt you. You didn’t say anything, you just kissed him. You wanted to be in his embrace for the rest of your life -I love you too — you said between kisses Definitely, it was one of the best Christmas you ever had.

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added)

@iguessweallcrazyithinktho | @void-hoechlin | @mrspeacem1nusone | @thevelvetseries | @bitchy-witchy-post-mortem | @caplanbuckybarnes | @just-the-hiddles 

[ot3]

your last post made me think about how I loooove how you use color in your art, it's so vibrant and full of life and movement and expression! I was wondering if you had any advice on how to do color studies? perhaps doing drawings with limited palettes? or anything similar?

First things first, thank you, I really do appreciate comments like these! this post now also has a follow up for finish limited palette pieces

I'm obviously very fond of limited palette art and color studies/color thumbnailing are great ways to get that done. When people think limited palette there's often the association of unrealistic and fantastical color palettes, but learning to limit your color use absolutely applies to semirealism and just builds stronger color theory in general. I was planning to talk about limited palettes in more realistic color use in this post, but this already ended up way too long. If that's something people want to hear about I can talk about it later.

Color theory basics crash-course! I'm sure almost anyone who has colored anything is familiar with this, so I'll be SUPER brief, but I want everyone to be on the same page for this. Color has three qualities you need to take into account: Hue, saturation, and brightness. Hue is what we think of as the 'color'. Saturation is the vibrancy of this color; how bold or dull it is. Brightness is how light or dark the color is. Here's this all labeled on a color picker I stole from google.

As a rule of thumb, things that look good in color should look good in grayscale. Having a strong range of values (brightness) makes for a strong image. Keep this in mind when you're picking colors – knowing what areas need to be light and what areas need to be dark before you start coloring will make your life easier. I'm going to teach you when and how to break this rule later, but for now let's just talk about picking a palette. I've found five to seven different colors to be a really nice sweet spot for working with limited palettes.

There are three main types of color palettes ill work with and ill provide examples each of them. I expect you to all politely refrain commenting on the amount of homestuck fanart that's here.

Monochromatic, where the piece is all within one color family with slight variations in hue, and larger variations in brightness and saturation

Accent, which is essentially the same as a monochromatic type with the addition of a strong, contrasting secondary color in one or two variants. Normally the accent color is lighter and serves as a highlight. This is not any kind of a hard rule, but is instead just what I like.

Split. There are two (or more) main colors at play, each with a couple of different shades.

Cool. Now lets see how we'd go about making one of these palettes.

 I'm grabbing an inconsequential sketch i've already got and we're gonna slap some color on it. Let's start monochromatic – I've gone and just tossed six pretty random shades of green on it, picking what goes where based on what I want to be light and what I want to be darker. 

Keep in mind, by monochromatic, I don't mean just picking one color and making it lighter or darker! Adjust your hue within the same color family – some of these are very blue, definitely more blue than green, and some are much warmer and yellower. Play around. In this stage I like to have every color on a distinct layer, so I can just recolor the entire layer at once as I tweak the palette.

 On the right, I have each color lined up in order of lightest to darkest just so I can get a sense of what I'm working with. Lets go ahead and call this one thumbnail. Now I'm gonna group the layers, duplicate them, and flatten the copy. I'll shrink it down and shove it off to the side so I can compare it to the other ones I make later.

Okay, I did a few more almost completely arbitrary monochromatic palettes. Here they are compared with their grayscale counterparts. 

All of them have the same number of colors, and lights stay lights, darks stay dark, midtones stay mid consistent between all of them, but the range of values is different between them all. The difference in light or dark between each tone is different and it gives a different mood that you can see even in black and white. None of them is more 'correct' than any other, and it's all about establishing the tone and atmosphere you want. Experimentation is key.

Now lets try making this a complimentary palette. With a strong accent color, your accent should be placed at areas of importance. People are naturally drawn to contrast and when using an accent color in a piece it'll make that area stick out, so make sure you're placing your colors with intent. For this I went back to that first set of greens I had because it was my favorite. Since this palette is over all very dark, I am going to make my accent the lightest color, because that'll stand out more. In a lighter palette, try making your accent the darkest color. Once again I must stress these are not hard rules – there are very few hard rules in art at all – but these are very useful tips for getting emphasis in the right place. This is just an example piece so I'm not being huuugely thoughtful with how I'm placing the color. 

Here's the same image but with the lightest green just swapped out for a far more vibrant accent of yellow. Looks pretty terrible. I don't want all of the papers and blinds to seem so prominent. So let's scrap this and try a different approach. We're gonna instead add our accent as a sixth color to our palette.

By adding another color, I've added another level of detail. Figuring out how to manage detail isn't just dependent on how many colors you have, but this is already going to be ridiculously long so I'll spare you that spiel. This is another one of those things I'll talk about more later if people want to hear my #thots. Using the new yellow accent, I emphasized the eyes, the mug, and added some interior detailing to the objects on the table. I also decided to place yellow in some of the windows of the outside buildings, to add a bit more interest in that area, and to justify giving yellow back lighting to our little goblin lad here, which makes him stand out nicely.

A split palette makes things a whole lot more complicated. Now that you're gonna be working with two different base colors you don't just only have to worry about which one is lighter or darker, you have to worry about how the hues look next to each other. Lets work with an orange on top of our original green here. I picked two of the greens and replaced the darker one with a darker orange, and the lighter one with a lighter orange. Now our palette is six colors split 50/50 between orange+yellow, and green. 

But now something interesting is happening. Let's take a look. If you're particularly keen eyed, you might have noticed that there's a third set of colors here, using a greyish brown in place of the oranges. What's up with that?

Well, what's up with that is, they are orange. The palette on the far right is what happens if, instead of choosing my own oranges, I simply hue-shifted the bluegreens until they were technically orange in hue. 

The oranges I chose just based on how they looked without actually checking the value and saturation of actually changed the value hierarchy of the whole piece. The table, instead of being in between the objects stacked upon it in terms of brightness, is lighter than either. This isnt bad at all – there's absolutely nothing wrong here. It's just important to be aware of things like this! This is why I said a split palette is the most complicated of the three I'm talking about here – in many occasions, the hue hierarchy can top the value hierarchy. Keep that in mind for slightly later.

I think split palettes work really well for comics, and I like to make my comics with split palettes. Whereas with a single illustration, you can just putz around with your color thumbnails until you get something good, for a comic you're locked into your palette once you've done the first page. Unless you're some sort of insanely meticulous person, in which case I envy you, you probably don't have every single page of your comic blocked out with respective values and can't apply your palette to the whole thing at once to test it. This means you'll need a palette that's pretty versatile. Having a split palette where one of the hue sets is lighter than the other overall allows you to decide whether you're going to create an overall light panel with dark accents, or vice versa. I'm gonna compare two palettes I'm using for comics to make this point. 

Here's a sampling of the comic pages in full color, at 0% saturation, and adjusted for grayscale respectively. You'll notice a slight difference between the desaturated colors and the grayscale colors – grayscale seems to hold truer to the full color version, doesn't it?

Now, here are the palettes themselves, and some grids showing the relationship between every pair of colors. When you don't know exactly what you're going to be using any given palette for, the relationship between any two colors becomes more important than ever. The bottom palette is split three ways, red yellow and blue each with a light and a dark, and then a completely neutral dark gray color. I'm using it for a long ongoing ace attorney comic I'm drawing. The top one has 4 shades of blue that go from darker and cooler to lighter and warmer, then 3 shades of orange that get yellower as they get lighter. Underneath is just the values – you'll notice that the top palette has a larger value range, with its lightest color being lighter than that of the bottom palette, and it's mid tones spaced further apart. 

What you'll also notice about the bottom palette is that instead of the reds being lighter than the blues and darker than the yellows, the value alternates dark red dark yellow light red light yellow. Take a look at the color grids. You'll notice that for the most part, every color in the palette on the right looks good with every other color. That's not nearly as true for the palette on the left. The light blue has a weird vibration where it meets either of the reds, and a few of the pairings just aren't particularly pleasant. Honestly, from any objective ideas of color theory, this palette kind of sucks shit. Lets make some adjustments to it.

I've changed the dark yellow and light red hues so now the light red is slightly darker than the dark yellow. That's the palette that's on top now. Looks better, doesn't it? But so now the question becomes why am I using a palette that looks awkward, disharmonious, and visually strained when I know exactly how to fix it? The simple answer is because I wanted a color palette that's awkward. I wanted that visual strain. I have trouble working on comics and general, especially anything as long as this one, and I wanted a color palette that already meant things would come out looking a little bit wonky, so I wouldn't be as concerned with nitpicking all the details and making everything pretty. I think the sort of visual upset also fits the tone I'm keeping with a lot of the comic.

Remember earlier when I said I'd talk about breaking the rule of stuff looking good in gray scale and in color? That's now. Take a look at this image. 

Which of the three colors is darker: the red, blue, or yellow? The stupid truth of it is that there's not really a proper way to tell. All three are technically the same 'brightness' but our brain tells us that the blue is the darkest, and the yellow is the lightest. Why do our brains do this? Let’s make em gray now.

On the bottom you can see what the colors look like when they are set to 0% saturation; as you'd expect it's a homogeneous gray blob. So then what the fuck is going on with the grayscale one? The grayscale one is closer to the way our brains interpret the colors, but we know this to be an improper rendering of their respective values. Which is the correct version, then – the grayscale or the desaturation? Luckily, we're using a computer, so we can have photoshop tell us the exact balance of hue, saturation, and brightness of any given pixel. Let's take a look now.

Wait, huh? We can plainly see that all three of the colors are at 49% brightness. But neither the desaturated value or any of the 3 grayscale values have a brightness of 49%. So what does a brightness of 49% look like?

Okay. Sure. Why not.

All of what I've just shown you regarding grayscale is to emphasize the point that your best judgment for which colors look good is a far better measuring stick for a good color palette than any technicalities. Even if the value is the same, the hue can differ enough that you can still get a beautiful finished drawing. Color and our perception of it is so, so vastly technically complex. You can not allow yourself to be bogged down by this. Simply practice, and color will become intuitive to you over time. I have a lot more I could say on the subject of picking and using your colors, but this is already insanely long. Feel free to ask any follow up questions, I hope this was of literally any use!

[jaxsteamblog]

Cherry Blossoms

Click here to read the entire fic on AO3

For dinner, the family stayed in the large estate near to the village. The festival had attracted the Air Nomads for years, and this time they brought along the workers from the oilrig for a well-earned reprieve. All that meant Katara and Zuko couldn’t always be out in public or else they’d be swarmed.

And Katara wasn’t keen on getting attacked or kidnapped again, especially when she was in such a good mood.

“So what do you think of the festivities, Zuko?” Malina asked as she and Hakoda brought out large platters of food. Sokka followed after them with a covered tureen that still couldn’t contain the smell of seaprune stew.

“It’s been amazing. I have a weakness for festivals like this though.” Zuko replied.

“The kind that won’t piss off the spirits if you do them wrong, you mean?” Sokka asked, setting the tureen down on the table.

Katara leaned over and plucked off the lid, breathing in the steam. It smelled right for once.

“Who made this?” She asked, looking around. Hakoda opened his mouth but, looking past her, quickly shut it.

“It’s Gran-Gran’s recipe, Kat. Don’t worry.” Sokka interjected, picking up a ladle and slopping a generous scoop into a bowl. She narrowed her eyes at him but took it.

“Do you have a favorite festival?” Suki asked.

“Does it have to be Fire Nation?” Zuko asked in return.

“No?” Suki looked confused and Zuko leaned over to look in Katara’s bowl.

“I only ask because my favorite is an Earth Kingdom one. But I do have one I like a lot in Caldera.” He said and started pulling the bowl. Katara shoved it over and returned to the tureen.

“Let’s hear the favorite.” Suki said.

“I can’t remember what it’s called because I only got to see it when I was a kid.” Zuko started, picking up a spoon. “I must’ve been really young because my cousin was…”

Zuko smiled sadly and focused on the seaprune stew.

“Anyway, my mother had taken Azula and I to visit my uncle and a festival was going on when we got there. My cousin took my sister and I out to attend, and it was a lot of fun. The cherry blossoms were in peak bloom and there were picnics and tea; I knew it was probably my uncle’s favorite festival too.

“But at night, the town had set up these lights under the trees and you could walk around this garden looking at them. When the sun had fully set, other lights went on and they made sculptures with them. It blew my tiny little mind.” Zuko explained.

“So, a colony.” Hakoda said.

Katara sat up, but Zuko nodded.

“Yes.” He answered and looked back at Hakoda.

“I think,” Malina said slowly, resting her hand on Hakoda’s arm. “We can all appreciate what Zuko went through to end up here with us.”

Hakoda looked at Katara’s face and grumbled.

“My favorite is Avatar Day.” Suki stated, loudly clattering food onto a plate. Katara relaxed, rolling her eyes.

“We’re lucky Thuy’s not here.” Zuko said.

“That’d only be a problem if Katara said it was her favorite.” Sokka corrected.

“Oh for sure.” Suki said, drawing out her accent for effect. “Zuko can never leave Katara or else Thuy will smack him down.”

“Like she did his dad.” Sokka quipped and Zuko burst with a laugh.

“What’s your favorite festival, Sokka?” Malina asked.

“Love Day.” Suki and Katara shouted together and started laughing. Sokka groaned with loud exaggeration and Malina laughed lightly.

“I don’t like most festivals if they have fireworks. Those bug me.” He did say, tearing his flatbread into shreds.

“I like the solstice stuff. I get a kick out of how serious everyone gets when in reality they’re talking about Yue and my bratty sister.” He said finally and Katara launched a seaprune at him.

“What about you, Malina? Hakoda?” Zuko asked.

“Anything with good food is the best in my opinion.” Hakoda answered gruffly.

“Mine is similar to Zuko’s, actually. But I lived in the northern part of the Earth Empire and I think what you were talking about is in the south.” Malina said.

“Cherry blossoms bloom all the way up there?” Zuko questioned.

“Not natively, but for a long time the trees were a common gift the kings would send to each other. You can find them dotted all over capitals but only in the south are they everywhere.” Malina explained.

“They’re really something.” Zuko said.

“Oh yes. They reminded me of the North Pole, or at least, how my parents talked about the North Pole.” Malina said in a rush.

“Flowers?” Zuko asked.

“What about them?” Sokka snapped.

“How are they at all like the North Pole?” Zuko asked, bewildered.

Sokka looked over and met Malina’s eye, making Katara frown.

“I mean, have you actually looked at snow?” Sokka asked, turning to Zuko.

“You are clearly Piandao’s favorite.” Zuko murmured and Sokka scoffed.

“My parents would always talk about the North Pole when it snowed. Maliq and I would go crazy seeing how little it snowed inside Ba Sing Se, and how quickly the snowplows would come through.” Malina laughed and tapped Hakoda’s arm. “We were not prepared for coming back home.”

“Did you know that some places pickle cherry blossoms and make tea out of it?” Sokka asked and Zuko choked on his soup.

“Oh spirits what.” Sokka croaked.

Katara patted Zuko’s back and shrugged.

“Apparently it’s a wedding sort of tea and Iroh gave it to Zuko and me a while back.” She said.

“I was trying so hard not throw myself at you at that point too.” Zuko said, wiping his eyes.

“Excuse me?” Hakoda interrupted sharply and Malina snorted.

“Well, turns out you’re married by swamp standards so we should probably go pick up some more.” Sokka said.

“Excuse me?” Hakoda repeated.

“We have to get married before them, really.” Suki said, looking at Sokka.

“We should probably elope then, because at this rate they’ll be married twice over.” He said.

“Now hold on…” Hakoda leaned over the table and Zuko put his arm around Katara.

“We’re going backwards through the Avatar cycle. We just have to figure out which temple Aang was born at so we can get hitched there.” He said.

“No.” Hakoda said firmly, and everyone turned to him. “Both of my children are getting married in the South Pole.”

“Dad, we were just kidding.” Sokka said.

Hakoda sighed and leaned back.

“I know.” He said.

“And Suki and I are getting married in Kyoshi.” Sokka added.

Hakoda sputtered and even Katara turned to stare at Sokka. Her brother took Suki’s hand and stared down at their rings.

“I hate being in the Poles.” He said softly.

“What?” Hakoda and Katara shouted.

“O-kay.” Zuko stood up, jostling the table. “I’m taking Sokka to show me the penguins.”

“I can fight my own battles!” Sokka protested, but Suki also stood and the two of them grabbed either of his shoulders.

“I love you man, but I am trying to keep my future wife and father-in-law from hating my guts.” Zuko muttered as he and Suki started dragging him out of the room.

“That’s not my problem! Hey wait the stairs guys wai-” Sokka’s voice was cut off by the sound of chaotic thudding.

“So, Katara, what do you want to do for your birthday?” Malina asked.

Katara lowered her face into her hands and groaned.

~

“Cherry blossoms, huh?” Katara asked, laying on her back and looking up at Zuko.

Zuko’s long hair acted like a curtain as he propped himself over her. He was doing what he normally did when they were able to sleep together; trying to see which parts of her were ticklish as he lightly kissed her.

“They’re pretty.” He said with his lips against her shoulder.

“And very dainty.” Katara added.

“I’m not in love with cherry blossoms, Katara.” Zuko murmured, moving down to her collarbone.

“I’m just saying.”

“And I’m just saying. Though it would be nice to see you in a bath with some cherry blossoms. Seeing them stick to your skin.” Zuko laid himself on her and went back to her neck. “Mmmmm.”

“You just constantly run hot don’t you?” Katara said with a laugh threading through her words.

“You should have seen me as a young man.” Zuko said, pushing himself up to look directly at her. “And when I was plagued with thoughts of a very mysterious spirit.”

“You’re still a young man.” Katara retorted, putting her hands on his chest.

“Did you ever think of me?” Zuko asked.

“The Blue Spirit?”

“Yeah.”

Katara paused then, trying to recollect. Her memory was shoddy at best, and some events were warped by time and trauma.

She remembered her first kiss with Haru before staging a prison break to rescue his father. She remembered seeing Yue in the moonlight and knew love and heartbreak in the same moment as she saw Sokka’s face. She remembered digging her nails into Jet as if she could mold him into something else.

And she remembered the vigilante that she could never figure out.

“I used to dream about running into you over and over again in the war. We’d fight the same villains, we’d tease each other because we are always suspicious, and you would unmask yourself while proclaiming your eternal love for me.” Katara said.

“Funny, I always imagined the same thing.” Zuko said.

“I would never have unmasked.” Katara scoffed.

“There’d be no need.” Zuko said with a smile and then lowered himself again. “I told you that you sweat your stripes off.”

“Zuko!”

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[rapperkookz]

charity date auction | f2l!jk | fluff, smut if you SQUINT

A/N day ___ of quarantine and i’m going insane

genre: fluff, crack, slight smut if you SQUINT

summary: Beta Tau Sigma was hosting their annual charity date auction for their philanthropy. In previous years, you just attended for fun and to see how many university girls were actually willing to spend their money just to go out on one date with one of the fraternity members. This year’s something different, especially when Jungkook’s on the lineup to get auctioned off.

word count: 4.3k ______________________________________________________________

Your POV

Ah the spring semester. The time when most events and end-of-the-year festivities happen. It was your favorite time. And this was no exception.

“Hey y/n, don’t just stand there laughing, this is a serious meeting we’re having right now.” Hoseok complained pointing his finger at you accusingly as you tried to hide your chuckles in. You leaned against Jungkook’s side, crossing your arms as you responded, “First of all, oppa, I’m sitting. And I’m sorry! This is my favorite event of yours, watching the girls - and guys! - fight over you idiots and actually pay money just to spend time with you all! It’s a great time, ah if only my Sisters and I could do something as dumb as this.”

“Call us dumb all you want kiddo, it gets us over $2000 in philanthropy,” Namjoon shrugged giving you a lighthearted mocking face. You shut your mouth, a little pout remaining on your lips as you turned your attention back to the show that you and Jungkook were watching. He grinned and poked your head with one hand, his opposite arm easily going around and framing your shoulders. “what?”

“Nothing, you’re just funny. Hopefully you won’t make fun of me when I’m getting auctioned.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m part of the lineup this year,” He said simply, scanning your face for a reaction. “That’s...okay right?”

You tried to hide your shock with a little smile, “N-no yeah that’s fine, I mean we’re not dating, Kook. You can do whatever you want,” Even as the words left your mouth, you felt your chest tightening in discomfort, finding it harder to smile genuinely at him. Jungkook mumbled a quiet ‘yeah’ and watched the show again, but the air surrounding you both suddenly turned awkward.

“Hey, with Kookie in the lineup this year, we might double profits!” Jimin said excitedly from the table where he sat with the rest of the boys. Taehyung nodded in agreement, “Even with Yoongi hyung out, Jungkook will probably get us at least $700,”

“You’re not doing the auction, Yoongi oppa?” You asked the older boy timidly. He looked at you with a soft smile, eyes reading your expression as if you were an open book. He shook his head, “No need to out of respect for my guy. We don’t do the auction if we’re in relationships.”

You nodded in acknowledgement, that made sense. Yoongi just started dating this guy a couple months ago and you’ve never see him happier ever since. You lingered on the last part of his comment, so...if you and Jungkook were dating, he wouldn’t be in the auction?

Ah but that was the thing though, you and him weren’t dating. It’s...complicated. You like Jungkook and he likes you back. That you both have established, hence the ease and touchiness that you and him already share. But after a drunk hookup with him and both of you struggling with the actual concept of settling down and commitment - even though that is basically what you both were doing already as of recent - it was just a friendship with a mutual romantic attraction that has no defined labels. Yet, neither of you seek anyone else and you both spend every waking day together when not in class or preoccupied with other activities.

“I uh, I need to go back to the house. I’ll see you guys tomorrow at the auction.” You said standing up rather abruptly, “I’m gonna get my bag from your room, Kook.” 

He nodded and stood up soon after, heading towards the table where the rest of his brothers sat. Seokjin patted his back,  “When are you and y/n going to make it official, huh?”

“It literally kills me watching you both,” Yoongi deadpanned in agreement. Jungkook sighed, running his hands through his hair as he leaned against the kitchen island. “I want to be with y/n, believe me. We’ve both talked about it too, I don’t know...just, commitment? We both got out of messy breakups and I don’t know if we’re ready for it yet.”

“Not ready? You two literally act like you’ve been dating for the past two months.” Jimin scoffed. Namjoon nodded, “Besides, she looked upset about the auction thing. You weren’t too keen on doing it either when we brought the event up at chapter.”

“I know,” Jungkook muttered, “give me a sec, hyungs. I’m gonna go talk to her before she leaves.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You pursed your lips as you packed up your books from Jungkook’s room. Why was this bothering you so much? Dumb question, you knew why this was bugging you, someone else is literally going to go on a date with your boyfriend - not...boyfriend. Fuck!

“Ugh!”

“y/n?” Jungkook said softly, knocking on the door as he opened it. You whipped around surprised, hitting your backpack which fell off his bed. “h-hey, Kook.”

He grinned at your clumsiness, his eyes turning into crescent moons as he closed the door behind him. “You alright?”

“I’m fine, I just have to, you know, go back to the house and do some stuff.” You said, your voice getting quieter as you went on. Picking up your bag, you put your laptop inside and zipped it up before sitting down at the side of the bed. Jungkook sat next to you as if on instinct. “y/n, I don’t have to do the auction, you know? Not if you’re uncomfortable with it.”

“Kook, who am I to stop you from that, though? And I mean, it’ll give your fraternity some good money too, I don’t have any right to keep you from participating.” You said, focus completely on your hands which were placed tightly in your lap. He sighed and grabbed one of your hands, lightly playing with your fingers which were hiding in the sleeve of his sweater. “You have every right, you’re...y/n.” 

“I am y/n,” You said with a small smile, but you knew what he meant. “Go through with it, Kook. I’m not that selfish especially when you know...we’re not even together.”

“Yeah,” He said interlocking your fingers, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

You nodded, rubbing the back of his hand with your thumb. He smiled and pressed a kiss to your cheek, that’s how you always said goodbye. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“-sold! To that lovely lady for $500!” Yoongi said excitedly, watching Namjoon walk to the girl who won him with a rose in his hand, giving it to the girl who was fully charmed by him already. You stood with Taehyung and his date, who - conveniently - was one of your sisters that has had a crush on him for what seemed like ages.

“Look at Namjoon hyung’s smile,” Taehyung snickered hitting you on the arm in amusement. You turned around to face him and your sister, covering your mouth with one hand, afraid your laugh was going to be heard by the rest of the people in the venue, “You guys are such dorks, stop making me laugh!” 

Your sister placed her hands on your shoulders and spun you around, “it’s Jungkook’s turn.” All of a sudden, your insides ran cold and you couldn’t find it in you to breathe, whether it be because you’re dreading this or because of how amazing Jungkook looked, you didn’t know. He was wearing his usual monochromatic look, a large white tee tucked into black jeans which emphasized his thighs and made you salivate and his hair was its usual fluffy brown mess parted down the middle. 

“Next up we have Jungkook! He’s a comp-sci major with a photography minor. This year, he’s our fraternity’s social media chair and vice president of records. Probably our most talented brother, he can do literally anything, and he can serenade you to sleep.” Yoongi said with a wink at the end, “Do we have $20?”

A swarm of hands shot up from the crowd making Yoongi chuckle, “Ah I crack myself up, $30...$50-”

“I bid $100.” 

Your eyes shot to the girl who just stood up, and to your horror it was none other than Lee Yuna. She was in another sorority on campus, and she was annoyingly pretty. You and her were good friends, you know, until she homewrecked your last relationship.

“Isn’t that-”

“$150.”

The words left your mouth before you could process anything, the attention of the room now on you as you let the price slip. You heard Taehyung try to hide his laughter from behind you, as Yoongi started ushering you up to the stage.

“$150 going once, going twice-”

“$300,” Yuna said her eyes narrowing at your form. You bit your lip in annoyance, walking up the stairs. You huffed out a breath, taking a glance at Yoongi as you answered, “$400.”

“$600.”

“$750.” You said with finality. There was no way that she would say anything higher than that. I mean, you guys are college students, this auction could easily apply to your student loans. “$800.”

“That’s Lee Yuna with $800, you gonna raise it y/n?” You crossed your arms, having an inner battle between yourself as you rested your weight on your leg, “$1000.”

“$1000!” Yoongi shouted, “Going once, going twice.”

“Fuck whatever, my parents will never give me $1000 without an explanation.” Yuna said leaving the stage agitated.

“And that’s $1000 sold to l/n y/n!” Yoongi said excitedly as the venue started clapping. You let out a sound of embarrassment, messing with your braids, as you started descending the stairs. You refused to look anyone in the eye, especially not the boys, and God forbid, Jungkook.

“Ah!” You shrieked in surprise as you felt arms circle around your waist, pulling you along to the side of the room. Thankfully the attention of the crowd was back to the front as Seokjin took the stage for his turn in the bidding. “Kook, don’t say it.”

“Hey, c’mon. Look at me y/n.” Jungkook said chuckling. He lifted the rose and put it at your eye level, which was trained to the floor. You couldn’t help the smile that graced your face as you took the rose in your hand, lifting your head up a little to get a better look at it, but still refusing to meet his eye. Jungkook mumbled something under his breath that you couldn’t quite catch besides ‘so stubborn’ before cupping your cheeks in between his hands and forcing you to look at him.

Damn his sparkling brown eyes. God his eyes that literally look like they hold the entire solar system in them. You felt your resolve melting, your cheeks tinging pink at how adoringly he looked at you. “What Kook?” 

“Nothing,” he smiled. His focus moved from your eyes down to your lips, darting back up as if to ask for your permission. You grinned and puckered your lips in the slightest, your eyes fluttering closed as he finally closed the distance and kissed you.

It was short, but it still conveyed a mirage of emotions that somehow managed to overwhelm you. Neither of you were huge on public displays of affection, especially when your relationship had no defined labels. You pulled away first after the brief intimate moment, offering him a smile as you grabbed his hand and began leading him towards the back where you previously stood with Taehyung and your sister.

You could literally see the cockiness radiating from Taehyung as he held out his hand for Jungkook to complete their brother shake. The older boy nudged your side, “Didn’t know you were ballin with money, y/n. You should participate in the bidding more often.” Rolling your eyes, you were about to roast the living life out of Taehyung before Jungkook squeezed your hand.

“Cut it out, hyung.” The boy said lightheartedly, a small chuckled radiating from his chest. You and Jungkook met eyes once more, his expression softening even more - if that was possible - as he framed his arms around your body. You snuggled your back against his warmth upon instinct, feeling content in his embrace as the group of you watched the rest of the auction.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You said goodbye to your sister as the boys were cleaning up the venue. It was a bit of a given that you were going back to the fraternity house, especially in these circumstances. You were cleaning up the tables with Hoseok as you watched Taehyung and your sister say their goodbyes. She looked as giddy as you’ve ever seen her, and from the way Taehyung was shyly rubbing the back of his neck, there was a potential new romance brewing in the air.

“We’re gonna move the platform back to Student Activities, we’ll see you guys at the house?” Jungkook asked standing with Jimin and Seokjin, his eyes, though, were trained on you at his question. You nodded in response, the other boys mumbling on in agreement as they hurried their cleaning tasks.

The remaining five of you leisurely hung around the common area of the fraternity house after changing into something more comfortable, waiting for the three to come back. You were minding your own business in the kitchen, drinking some juice as you scrolled through your tiktok feed on your phone.

“So,” Yoongi said hopping on the counter, “$1000 for Kook, huh?”

You sighed and put your phone down, sipping on your glass as you faced the older boy. Yoongi was like an older brother to you, more than the other guys. He gave you all your talks about Jungkook and this was no different. “I know what you’re going to say, oppa.”

“No, I’m not helping you pay for the money you promised our chapter.” He rolled his eyes. You laughed and threw your scrunchie at him, “No! You’re so annoying. You were gonna talk to me about Jungkook.”

“My question never changes, kiddo.” He said simply, giving you your hair tie back. “Why aren’t you official?”

“Yeah, why aren’t you official?” Hoseok said curious from the other room. You and Yoongi turned your heads to see the others listening intently in your conversation. Yoongi hopped off the counter and patted your shoulder, leading the both of you into the common area. You sat down on the arm of the single seat, facing the boys as you rested your elbows on your lap, your face being propped up by your hands. “I don’t know guys, I wanna be with Jungkook more than anything, I don’t know if he’s ready yet though or if I’m ready-”

“My God, all I know is that I’m ready to smack both of you upside your heads,” Namjoon shook his head. “y/n, it literally pains me and all of us watching you both pine for each other.”

“We-we don’t pine for each other...” You mumbled your voice trailing off as you tried to deny his statement.

Hoseok laughed, “Oh please, it’s all in the eyes y/n.”

“Besides, you’re literally wearing his shirt. He doesn’t even let us borrow his clothes,” Taehyung added making you curl your body in closer to itself.

Your lips formed a pout, trying to come up with a smart reply to the boys, but to no surprise you couldn’t figure one out. “I’ll...I don’t know, I’ll talk to Kook. We’re gonna have to I mean, I literally paid $1000 for a date with him.”

The others burst out laughing as if they forgot the highlight of the night. Your cheeks warmed up in embarrassment as Yoongi started hitting your leg, fully amused. 

“Where are you even gonna get $1000?” Taehyung laughed, “I’ve seen your bank account y/n,”

“Stop! Oppa, I have a...savings...account somewhere.” You whined crossing your arms. The guys lived to tease you, they say it’s all love, but personally you think it’s because you’re an easy target. Either way, you let it slide, their jokes were pretty funny anyway. 

Namjoon cleared his throat after the room calmed down from their outburst. “You know, y/n, you must have been aware of this, but you could have just gotten Jungkook for free.”

“Matter of fact, you already have his heart for free,” Yoongi agreed, his sharp hearing picking up the click of the knob as the front door opened. In an instant, the remaining three boys walked inside the fraternity house, looking relieved to finally be back in their home. Chatter started to spark up once more as the boys were now complete. Your attention was focused on Jungkook as he lagged into the common room from the kitchen, drinking from a bottle of water that he retrieved from the fridge. He gravitated to your side while listening to the conversation of his brothers, his hand easily taking its place on your waist. 

He squeezed your skin as if saying hello, making you wiggle against his body as you let out a laugh. Jungkook looked at you fondly, noticing that you were wearing one of his shirts and wow did you manage to pull it off, even if you were only wearing his white tee and a pair of your athletic shorts. After a couple minutes, the group of you dispersed into doing your own separate things, you and Jungkook already making yourselves comfortable in his room.

He grabbed a towel and informed you that he was going to take a quick shower. You nodded and leaned against his headboard, passing the time efficiently by scrolling through tiktoks. Soon enough, Jungkook was strolling back inside his room, rubbing his hair dry as he hummed a little song. You narrowed your eyes at him as he innocently looked at you with a smile, “What?”

“You’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you?” You said shamelessly checking out his half-naked form. He only wore his grey sweatpants with you when he wanted something. He smirked mischievously, “It’s working, isn’t it?”

“Shut up,” You said throwing one of his pillows at him. He laughed, swiftly dodging your attack as he focused on drying his hair. You put your phone down on his bedside table, trying to figure out the right moment to start speaking. “You know, Kook-”

“Wait, I just wanna say first that I’m not gonna make you pay $1000 or force you to go out on a date with me. I can help you pay the money if my hyungs are really pressing for it because it does go towards our chapter.” He said sitting on the side of his bed adjacent to you. “What did you wanna say?”

You suddenly started to feel shy, your thoughts all clumping together as you fumbled with what to say first. “Uh...about tonight,” God your palms were sweaty. You and Jungkook have had this talk numerous times, yet it still made you nervous every time it was brought up. It was probably your fear of rejection, even though all signs pointed to the complete opposite of that. “I, um, I know that even yesterday, I was laughing about this auction and about the girls and guys bidding and honestly you probably think I’m stupid by what happened tonight-”

“Not at all,” Jungkook said putting his hand on your thigh for comfort. Your body temperature started to rise upon the contact of his warm hand on your bare thigh. You know he meant nothing sexual by it, but the way he looked delicious in his sweats betrayed you and the fact that you haven’t been laid in a month wasn’t helping either. Shaking your head to remove the dirty thoughts, you sighed and bit your lip, “I really wasn’t gonna bid tonight, like I was going to let them fight over you because I know where our feelings stand, but when I saw Yuna stand up I just...God I don’t know.”

The corners of his lips started to curl up in a little smirk, scooching on closer to you as he put his arm around your figure, his other hand still on your thigh. “You felt a little jealous?” 

You could hear the smugness in his tone, but you couldn’t even deny it at this point. “I wanted to push her off the fucking platform.”

“I’m not gonna lie,” he said ghosting his lips against your neck. You shivered, the warm feeling of his breath making your body react almost immediately. Craning your neck so that he could get better access, you bit back a moan as he kissed at your sensitive spot, “you looked pretty sexy when you were fighting her.”

You scoffed, but let out a gasp as he pulled your hair to the side, biting your neck to make sure to leave a mark. “Jungkook, wait.”

In an instant, all his administrations stopped, respecting your words. You turned around in his hold, moving your legs to either side of his thighs, straddling the boy’s lap. His hands instantly found your waist, moving underneath his shirt to find access to your skin. You met his eyes, which held curiosity and concern. You gave a soft smile, moving one of your hands to play with his lightly damp hair. “Jungkook, I don’t want to be confused about our relationship anymore.” 

“Me neither.”

“I don’t want to feel jealous over girls that throw themselves at you. I don’t want to have to think twice about hugging you in public or holding your hand or kissing you. Kook, I want to be yours and have everyone else know it too. I wanna be able to call you my boyfriend.” You said letting it all go. “I know we both got out of traumatic breakups and like honestly thinking about being in a relationship and the possibility of getting broken like that again is scaring me even right now, like I don’t know what I’m saying I might talk myself out of this, fuck I don’t know-”

Jungkook leaned in and pressed your lips together, shutting you up effectively. You relaxed in the kiss, all feelings of anxiety that you brought up disappearing in an instant. Wrapping your arms around his neck, he made a sound of approval and pulled you flush against his chest. You whimpered at the feeling of his hardening bulge against your ass, moving your bottom back and forth to feel some friction. He groaned into your mouth and ground his hips up into yours, his bulge making contact with your core making you whine in pleasure.

Unwillingly, Jungkook pulled away before you both were too far gone, the grip he had on your waist tightening in sexual frustration. “Sorry, you were just really cute rambling, I couldn’t help myself.”

You were already breathing hard from the kiss, your hormones were starting to go haywire at all these interruptions, “Kook, I know we’re both hesitant about starting a new relationship, but I know that if it’s with you, I know that I wanna try.”

“Me too,” he agreed his expression switching from lustful to soft. His duality amazed you. “Can I finally call you my girlfriend now, y/n?”

You giggled and kissed his nose, the smile radiant on your face, “yes please.”

He laughed and flipped you both over so that he was topping you. He tickled your sides affectionately, his laughs raising in pitch as you squealed at his attack. “Now, my dick is hard and you’ve been turning me on since the auction, can I please fuck you? it’s been so long.”

You could already feel his hands grope the side of your breast. Instead of responding with words, you snuck your hand between the two of you and squeezed at his bulge, the man above you groaning in pleasure. Bless his grey sweatpants. It always had to do with his grey sweats.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning, Jungkook never seemed to leave your side. Even as you were making coffee for the whole house, you found it rather endearing than clingy. You don’t know if the boys caught on yet, they probably should have by now.

“God you two are insatiable rabbits,” Yoongi groaned seeing you and Jungkook in the kitchen. He shot a pointed look at your boyfriend, “What the fuck did you take for you to go at it all night? Viagra? Ecstasy? Poppers?”

“Shut up hyung,” Jungkook said trying to hide the blush from his face by burying it in your neck. You patted his arm, “it’s okay, Kook.”

“Babe, he’s being mean to me.”

“Hold on. Babe?” Yoongi asked before slowly clapping his hands. “Thank fucking God finally!”

“Are they finally together?” Jimin yawned from the common area, the boys starting to fill the space in. You and Jungkook shared a look before he spoke to all his brothers.

“Not that we were really obligated to tell you guys, but yeah y/n and I are dating now.” Jungkook grinned hugging you tightly from behind. 

“Damn, it really took $1000 for you both to define the relationship,” Seokjin cackled as you glared at him. “It wasn’t just because of that, oppa please!”

“Well, guess that explains why they were fucking all night.” Namjoon said as Taehyung and Hoseok nodded in agreement.

“You still have to pay, y/n sorry.” Hoseok shrugged making you whine.

“I can’t believe you paid $1000 to go on a date with your boyfriend,” Taehyung snorted, the rest of the boys bursting out in laughter at the seemingly stupid fact, even your dumbass boyfriend was laughing too. You elbowed Jungkook’s stomach, groaning at the sad reality your wallet was about to face.

“I can’t believe I have to pay to go out with you,” You rolled your eyes. Jungkook smiled cheekily and wrapped his arms around you in a tight hug. He kissed your lips briefly, as if that would fix everything. Jungkook met your eyes with a flirty wink, “I’ll make sure it’s the best fucking date ever, babe. Don’t worry.” ______________________________________________________________

A/N Wow I finally finished this. Fun fact, I was inspired by an episode of Full House for this, but wow I’ve been craving on posting something for literally the longest time. I also have an exam in 5 hours and it’s 4:30 am right now ah ha ha but ~quAranTiNe VibEZ~ I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy everyone <3

[thetravelerwrites]

Dr. Maël Halvorg (Fae)

Rating: Teen Relationship: Male Part-Fae/Female Part Fae Additional Tags: Exophilia, Monster Boyfriend, Fae, Naga, Reader Insert, Anthropology, Genetics Content Warnings: Children, Pregnancy, Incubation, Infertility Words: 4723

A commission by @ivymemnoch​​! With Amai and Yenuno's children getting older, they need a teacher, and Amai calls a friend to help out. Please reblog and leave feedback!

The Traveler's Masterlist

“Amai, it’s great to hear from you!” You said, sitting back and sipping a coffee. You were typing up reports at your desk when she called. “God, it’s been forever since we last spoke. How are Yenuno and the children?”

You were surprised to get a call from your old friend while you were working overseas. You and Amai had gone to college together, and while she was getting a law degree in civil rights, you were studying anthropology. You were both in fields specializing in non-humans, which is why you were studying together.

There was a college that offered specific studies in exology, or the study of non-human sentient life, Exanian University. It provided classes in medicine, law, sociology, politics, cultural exo-anthropology, and many other subjects that focused solely on non-humans.

It was established in the early 1890’s and originally only taught humans about the nine Established races. The Established were allowed to attend school in the 50’s, and during the Neogon rights movement in the 80’s, the campus and curriculum was expanded to included education on the newer races that had begun to emerge as well as open its doors to non-humans. In addition, they began to petition and encourage other colleges to offer exological studies. Many alumni of E.U. were now teaching exological studies at other colleges.

You were now a research professor for E.U., studying newly emerged races and reaching out to those shy about integrating. When you first started your career, Amai and the firm where she worked would often help draw up protection papers for the new races until they were formally recognized as a Neogon race and therefore protected under the Neogon act, which granted them the same rights as humans and the Established. Though, as time went on, new races were much rarer, and you hadn’t needed their services. The surprise call was the first time you’d spoken in months, and you hadn’t seen her face-to-face in eight years.

“They’re well, thank you!” She said. “Whereabouts are you these days?”

“Portugal,” You replied. “We’ve had reports that the Encante people may actually exist, and we’ve been attempting to locate and make contact with them. Unfortunately, because they’re underwater creatures, they’re ability to shapeshift, and their reputation as seducers in the mythology of the region, it hasn’t been an easy task. Although, several people in the local villages claim to have Encantado ancestry, so we’re running blood tests to determine the legitimacy of that claim. If they’re blood comes back with unidentified DNA, we can start the protected race process. I assume that’s why you’re calling? You must have heard the news from Song. I sent him an email about drawing up papers a few days ago.”

“He did tell me, yes, and that’s wonderful news,” She replied. “But that’s actually not why I’m calling.”

“Oh?” You’re head rocked back, surprised. “To what do I owe the pleasure, then?”

“Well,” She sighed heavily. “The older children are at the developmental stage enough now where they should begin school, and the younger ones could use some help with supplemental skills. But both Yenuno and Dr. Halvorg don’t think putting them in a normal school a good idea, so I’ve been outvoted. At the very least, they need a tutor. I’ve done what I can on my own, but I’m not a very good teacher. At least, not for fifteen children. Soon to be eighteen, actually.”

“You’re carrying a new clutch?” You said, excited. “That’s wonderful! Yenuno must be very happy.”

“He is, and so am I,” She said, sounding please but tired. “Although we think this might be the last one. My body isn’t recovering as quickly as it used to and Yenuno worries about my health.”

“Understandable. So why did you call me?”

“Well, Yenuno doesn’t know anything about the educational system, having grown up in the wild, and Dr. Halvorg wants to hire some stuffy colleague of his who will bore the kids into a drooling stupor. Halvorg won’t accept anything less than the best, which I mean… I guess it’s nice that he wants the kids to have nothing but the utmost quality, I just wish he wasn’t so damn rigid. He needs to get laid, honestly,” She huffed, and you stifled a laugh. “Do you have someone you could recommend?”

“To get him laid?”

She snorted. “No! You know what I mean. Do you think any of your colleagues at the university would be interested in educating the children of a rare, endangered race? That’s got to have appeal to you academic types, right?”

“Hmm,” You hummed, sitting back in your chair and contemplating. “I’m not sure. You know, it occurs to me that I’ve never even met your children. Or your husband, for that matter.” You sat up and looked at your calendar. “You know what? I’m due for a vacation. Why don’t I come back state-side and meet all of your little ones? I can get a better idea of who would be a good fit for them. I know several people in early education who could be great for tutoring a large group of children at different development levels.”

“Ah, you’re a lifesaver, thank you so much,” Amai said. “I’ll owe you one big time.”

“Just find me a man and we’ll call it even,” You said, laughing. “I’ll text you when my schedule frees up and we’ll make some plans.”

Two weeks later, you stepped off the plane of the airport in Coleville and rented a car. Willowridge was an out of the way town that had the E.U. campus where you and Amai had gone to school. It was a little bit of a drive from the city to get there, but Coleville had the closest airport.

You arrived at the research facility sometime around mid-afternoon, greeted out front by Amai and her youngest child, Yenu. Yenu was a 50/50 hybrid between naga and human, which was unheard of; all other hybrids were a 95/5 percent split since the males both created and fertilized the eggs. Females were simply incubators in the breeding process. Yenu was a curious mix between Amai and her father, from her stubby little legs to her long snake tail and the blue scales running down her neck and back. From an academic perspective, it’s no wonder this Dr. Halvorg was so keen on keeping her and her siblings in the facility for study.

On the other hand, she was adorable, and the entire world needed to know about it. You wondered how many specialists actually knew about her existence and why there wasn’t more published about her in scientific literature. You’re fairly sure there was only one article based on her, and it was authored by Dr. Halvorg. They were likely keeping her under strict protections until she was older, to spare her the media circus.

“It’s so good to see you!” You said as you scooped her into a hug. Her belly wasn’t big yet, but you could feel it’s hardness against your own belly. Yenu squealed happily in her arms as you squished the two of them.

“You, too!” She said, kissing your cheek. “How was the drive?”

“Scenic, as always,” You said, following her as she went inside. “I got the email from Dr. Halvorg last night about accommodations. You’re right: he’s a little abrupt, but in all honestly I’ve yet to meet a geneticist that isn’t.”

“Believe it or not, he’s way less uptight than he used to be. The children really help lighten him up.”

“He likes kids?” You said, your opinion of him rising slightly.

“Oh, very much,” She said, then her voice lowered to a sad whisper. “He can’t have any children, apparently. His kind are bad breeders, he says.”

“His kind?”

“He’s part fae,” She replied.

“Oh,” You said, frowning. “That’s odd.”

“What is?”

“Well, I’m part fae, too, and I have three brothers. And I know of several subraces of fae that are prolific breeders, several of which I helped integrate myself. Exogenetics is still an evolving science. Perhaps he has been so focused on his current work that he hasn’t checked recent literature in the field. He’s been working in conservation for several decades, didn’t you say? I’ll make some calls and see what I can find.”

“I forgot you were part fae,” She said thoughtfully. “What subrace are you, again?”

“Russian Bereginya,” You replied. “What is he?”

“I’ve never asked,” She said. “He very rarely talks about himself at all. Honestly, it seems like a sore subject with him, so I’ve never brought it up. Even Yenuno seems hesitant to ask, and he gets along better with Dr. Halvorg than I do. The only reason I know his first name is because I’ve seen it on official reports. Only the children are allowed to say it, even if it’s to call him ‘Uncle Maël’.”

“A hard nut to crack, huh?” You asked as she led you into the public lobby and fished out a personnel I.D. badge.

“You could say that,” She said. “He and I don’t always see eye to eye, at least.” She swiped her card in a card slot and pressed her thumb on the printpad. “I’ve got a temporary I.D. waiting for you in the back. It’ll be good for the next two weeks. Let me know if you decide to stay longer, and I’ll have the expiration extended.”

“Sure, thanks,” You said.

“You’re about to meet the man himself,” She said as she walked though an automatic sliding door. “Plus my man, and my children. You remember their names?”

You nodded. “It’ll take me a while to match names to faces, though. You always were an overachiever.”

She laughed.

The two of you walked into what looked like the receiving room of a warehouse, except it was empty. There was a large, rolling aluminum wall that was raised and led to a forested area outside. There was an enclosed greenhouse type thing that had several nests built, as well as a cottage at the far end.

Each little nest had a small body with blue scales and warm almond skin lying in it, curled up into a coil, eyes closed and breathing softly. The cottage at the far end also had a movable wall, which was up, and a large, blue naga with long, straight, black hair and pale skin was sitting there, typing on a laptop that was perched on a standing desk.

“Yenuno is a bit socially shy, so he connects with others through the internet,” Amai whispered. “It’s about as much social interaction with the outside world as he can tolerate sometimes.”

“It must be naptime,” You whispered back, nodding toward the kids.

She laughed softly. “The older ones only need to eat once a day now, depending on the size of their prey, and they get tired after hunting and feeding, so we schedule it for noon. They should be up soon, though.”

She waved her hand to get Yenuno’s attention. He looked up and smiled, closing the laptop. He slithered down the ramp, over to Amai to plant a kiss on her lips, and then took Yenu in his arms, tossing her up once to make her giggle before squishing her in a big hug and blowing a raspberry into her cheek. Amai shushed him.

“Let’s go to the lounge to talk,” Amai said quietly. “Yenuno, this is my friend I told you about, the professor from E.U.”

“It’s nice to meet you finally,” Yenuno said as the three--no, four--of you went to a sitting area nearby. Half of the room had chairs and a couch, while the other side had cushions with a table in between. “Amai has told me many stories about you.”

“Most of them are true,” You said, sitting. “But I won’t say which.”

He laughed and set Yenu on the floor in front of him, watching her carefully as she scooted her way across the carpet. “Dr. Halvorg will be around soon. He usually talks to the children after their naps about their hunting experiences.”

“Jeez, I thought I was a workaholic,” You said. “Does he ever relax?”

“Not that I’ve ever seen,” Amai said, handing you a cup of coffee from the bar behind the couch. “If he’s awake, he’s in research mode. He even works through meals.”

“Well, I’ll hope he’ll make some time so I can discuss the children’s developments with him.”

“Oh, if it’s for the kids, he’ll make time,” Yenuno replied. “He’s practically adopted them.”

“I swear, if he thought he could get away with it, he’d forge our signatures on adoption papers,” Amai said sardonically.

“Speak of the devil,” Yenuno said, jerking his head at the open loading space near the greenhouse. A man stood there, surveying the sleeping children for a moment before heading over to the lounge area. He was thin and tall with long, white-blonde hair in a sleek braid down his back. He was pale complected and had a sharp, angular face with bushy eyebrows and vivid, amber colored eyes. His ears had a definitive point to them.

Yep, definitely Celtic fae heritage; you could spot it a mile away. It’s true that the Celtic fae populace had dwindled over the years, though you hadn’t really considered why. You chalked it up to interbreeding with other races or being edged out of their territory. Historically, since fae were immortal, or at least very long lived, they often didn’t feel the biological incentive that mortal creatures felt to procreate. Could their long-held disinterest in breeding have eventually rendered them infertile? That was a startling thought.

“Is this the professor I’ve heard so much about?” Dr. Halvorg asked as he approached. Yenu toddled her way over to him on her short little legs and he picked her up, popping her onto his hip like a pro.

“Yes,” Amai said and introduced you. Dr. Halvorg used his free hand to shake yours.

“Lovely to meet you,” He said. “I look forward to working with you. You have an impressive reputation. I’ve actually been following your progress for quite a while.”

“Really?” You asked, surprised.

“Oh, yes,” He replied, shifting a squealing Yenu to the opposite hip. “You’re the foremost anthropologist in the field currently. You and your team are responsible for integrating over thirty percent of known Neogon races in the last ten years. As a geneticist, as a scientist, seeing the steady expansion and confirmation of known non-human races happen in my lifetime is pretty incredible to watch.”

“Wow,” You said, stunned. “I didn’t realize I had such a reputation.”

“Well, you’ve been in the field for a long time,” He said with a smile. “It’s not surprising that you might not be aware of the impact your work has had on the world.”

You may have blushed, but you’d never have admitted it. Thankfully you were spared from finding a way to follow up that statement by a range of sleepy groans issuing from the enclosure. One by one, the children began to stretch and yawn and make their way over to their parents, the first of which was one of the youngest.

“Mommy!” He said, his curly hair bouncing as he slithered over the lip of the carpeted lounge area. “Who’s that?” He pointed directly at me.

“Osan, it’s not polite to point!” She said sharply. “This is my friend who I told you was coming to meet all of you. Wait for your brothers and sisters to get over here before we start introductions, okay?”

Osan shot across the enclosure to rudely awaken the rest of his siblings. His excited hollering echoed throughout the empty enclosure.

“Ah, youth. I’d love to siphon some of that energy and drink it like an espresso,” Amai said.

“Girl, I hear that,” You replied, chuckling.

A small army of nearly identical naga children came following Osan, curious about you, chattering and craning their necks to get a better look at you.

“Kids, line up, line up,” Yenuno said, wading out into the sea of small clones of himself. “These are the five year olds: Keenai, Tani, Fuma, and Amaia. The four year olds: Nenish, Tahara, and Sadji. The three year olds: Jinsa, Ishni, Chidil, Itheti, and Dashu. The two year olds: Osan and Khuzho. And little Yenu is eight months old.”

“I don’t know how you tell them all apart,” You laughed.

“I have a mole!” Sadji said, pointing at it. “See!”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” You said, bending down to pat his head. He shook off your hand but laughed. You tickled his chubby cheek and he giggled, trying to fend you off.

“So what would you like to do?” Amai said. “I assume you already have a plan.”

“Yes,” You said. “I’d like to interview each child with a behavioral therapist and get a sense of their development levels myself, and then Dr. Halvorg and I will compare notes. I can make my determination then.”

“Sounds good,” Amai replied. “But it doesn’t have to be today, does it? You just got into town. I’d love to take you out for an early dinner, if you haven’t eaten. Yenuno hunted with the kids, so he likely won’t eat again until morning.”

“Sure, I’d love to,” You said. “Dr. Halvorg, do you have dinner plans?”

“Oh, no, I have a lot of work to do,” He said. “Besides, I’m sure the two of you will want to catch up. Please, enjoy yourselves. If you all would excuse me, I have a report to write.” He kissed Yenu on the cheek before handing her back to Amai and tousled a few of the kids’ hair as he passed. “Come along, children. Let’s do our interviews and I’ll take you all out to the playground.”

The kids cheered and followed him down the hall to the offices.

“You weren’t lying, Amai, he is really good with kids,” You said.

“Between him and the volunteers, we never have to hire a babysitter, which is nice,” Yenuno replied.

“Some days, it’s his only redeeming feature,” Amai said with a sour smile. “I still haven’t quite forgiven him for what happened when I was pregnant with Yenu. If I sit too long, thinking about it, I get mad all over again.”

“Think of the eggs, my love,” Yenuno said patiently, patting her belly. “He’s apologized many times since then. You can’t hold a grudge forever.”

“I absolutely can,” She said churlishly. “I understand his job is conserving and repopulating your species, but our marriage is an entirely separate thing and he can keep his nose out of it.”

“Well, let’s get a cheesecake and forget all about it,” You suggested.

“Sound good to me,” She said. She kissed Yenuno on the lips and waved goodbye to him. “There’s a new Italian place that’s got really good reviews.”

“No seafood! Or wine!” Yenuno called after her.

“This ain’t my first rodeo!” She called back.

The Italian place was as good as Amai said it was, and the two of you went to Tumble’s Cafe for dessert and coffee. Tumble had actually been a client of Amai’s when a hate crime had been committed against him. Now his wife and kids had two shops open in town and were doing very well for themselves.

Lucy, Tumble’s wife, was a few years your junior and a mother of three. Amai and Lucy had become close friends over the years and they were both in an interspecies mommy group. You knew of her, since you’d both grown up in the same small town, but you hadn’t actually met her before. Amai told you that the triplets often played with her children at the park, and you had to stop for a moment and contemplate the strange image of bunnies and snakes playing together.

“Is this the professor?” Lucy asked as you came in with Amai.

“Did you tell the whole town I was coming?” You asked Amai.

“I didn’t need to,” Amai replied with a laugh. “Word gets around.”

“What can I get you guys?” Lucy asked, a big smile on her freckled face.

“Coffee and cheesecake to go, please,” You said.

“Oh, no coffee for me,” Amai interjected. “Can I have a decaf iced cinnamon chai instead?”  

“You got it. Whipped cream on top?”

“Yes, please. Where’s Tumble?”

“Putting the kids to bed upstairs,” Lucy said. “Such a good daddy. We’re talking about having more.”

“More than three?” You asked as she handed you a steaming cup of coffee. “I can’t imagine having more than two, at the most.”

“I guess it comes with having a non-human partner who’s used to the idea of having many children,” Lucy said, nodding at Amai, who tilted her head in agreement. “Not all non-humans have litters or clutches, but the ones who do always want more kids. At least the girls are in school now andTumble gave me a good five years before asking for another litter, unlike supermom over here. How’s that going on your end, by the way?”

“That’s why the professor is here,” Amai said, bumping you slightly with her shoulder. “She just got in today. The evaluations start tomorrow.”

“Well, good luck.” She handed you a box that contained two generous slices of cheesecake.

“Thanks, Lucy,” Amai said as the two of you left. “I’m sure I’ll be back in here soon. Tumble’s pastries are the best in town.”

“I’ll tell him you said that!” Lucy said with a laugh, waving.

The next morning, you began setting up for the individual assessments when Dr. Halvorg entered the room.

“Good morning,” You said. “Are you observing with the behavioral specialist?”

“I am the behavioral specialist,” He said. “I have a PhDs in child psychology and clinical psychology.”

“How many degrees do you have?” You asked, impressed.

“A few,” He admitted. “I’ve been alive for quite a long time, so I go back every once in a while to get another, or for a refresher. The education for each degree is much different now than it was fifty years ago.”

“How old are you?” You asked. “I know you’re part fae.”

“Amai told you that, eh?”

“Maybe,” You replied. “I mean, I’m part fae, too, so it’s not like I’m bothered by it.”

“You are?” He asked, looking at you keenly. “That wasn’t in your dossier. European?”

“Russian, and it’s not really a secret. I’m surprised you didn’t already know; I figured Amai would have said something. I was actually thinking you and I should have a conversation about that.”

He looked at you with an indecipherable expression and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, one of the eldest children came in the door.

“Later,” He said. You nodded.

The evaluations were interesting. The children were advanced for their ages, though Dr. Halvorg told you that was normal among nagas, who had to mature quickly in the wild. Watching them problem solve during the assessment was actually fascinating. They grasped new concepts relatively quickly and were wildly curious. They actually seemed happy to learn new and unusual things and kept asking you about your work with new races. You imagined they got a lot of that exuberance from Amai. Yenuno seemed a great deal more anxious and withdrawn.

The assessments took the entire day, and Dr. Halvorg asked you back to his office to compare notes when they were done.

“I think Ishni is slightly behind the others in his age group, or rather his brothers are more advanced. Honestly, it’s hard to tell with nagas. Their development is so unusual.”

“I would agree,” Dr. Halvorg said. “With Ishni being behind, that is. But it’s nothing some focused work won’t fix. The rest of them are advancing well, based on the available statistics for their age groups.”

“Yes, it’s shocking how quickly they pick up new things. I wouldn’t be surprised if they completed a full curriculum in just a few years.”

“Based on today’s evaluations, do you have a candidate in mind who would work for them?” He asked.

You sighed heavily. “I do,” You said. “I actually know of several that would be good fits. Unfortunately, all of those people are currently under contract.”

“Oh,” Dr. Halvorg said. “I thought you said you knew someone who would be perfect for this job.”

“I said early development!” You replied. “But these children don’t need early development. That’s shapes and colors and numbers and things like that. All of these kids can already read. Even the two year olds! They need more advanced tutelage, and I didn’t realize that when Amai first asked.”

“So what would you recommend?”

You sat back in your chair. “Give me a few days to think it over and make some calls and I’ll get back to you. In the meantime, just go about things as normal. I’d like to observe how things run here naturally.”

“Is that in reference to the search for an educator?”

“No, it’s for my own personal observations,” You said, smiling. “I am still an exo-anthropologist, after all, and quite honestly, the last couple of days have been riveting.”

He grinned. “A woman after my own heart.”

Two nights later, you walked into the enclosure after dinner to a strange sight: Dr. Halvorg reading the kids a bedtime story. He was sitting on the ground in the circle of nests and reading from a big book of non-human fairy tales. Race appropriate ones, of course. It was so unusual that all you could do was lean against the doorframe and listen.

When he finished, he helped settle all of the children and wished them a good night, and set the lights to starlight, with little pinpricks of light shining through the ceiling. When he saw you, he walked over.

“So, no good,” You said. “There aren’t any teachers who can come in on short notice.”

He sighed unhappily. “Well, what now?”

“I’ve decided that until they make contact with the Encante people, I’m not needed, so I might as well make the most of my time here and be the kids’ tutor until I need to go back or a teacher is made available.”

“Really?” Dr. Halvorg said, surprised. “Well, the kids like you, and you’re certainly well-educated. Have you ever taught before?”

“Briefly at E.U.,” You replied. “I taught one year of anthropology. It was nice staying in one place for a while, and the students seemed receptive to me. I only left because I was needed for a first contact situation.” You looked around. “Where’s Yenuno and Amai?”

“Date night,” He said. “They’re off… doing whatever people do on dates these days. I haven’t dated in decades, so I’m not certain what that entails anymore.”

“I could fix that, if you like,” You offered.

He smiled, but tilted his head. “How do you mean?”

“You could go on a date with me,” You said. “Since I’m going to be staying a while and working with you, it’ll be nice to get to know you better. And… maybe more than that.”

He looked like you’d hit him with a brick. He was still smiling confusedly, but his mouth was open and he couldn’t seem to speak.

“You okay there?” You asked.

“Ye--yes,” He stammered. “Forgive me. I… I appreciate the offer, but… I... I, uh…”

“It’s okay to say no, Maël,” You replied, laughing a little. “You don’t have to find an excuse. ‘No’ is a valid answer.”

He laughed a little self-consciously. “I’m sorry. I’ve been married to my work for so long that I just haven’t considered the possibility of dating. It’s… not something I’m interested in. I hope you understand.”

“Of course,” You replied. “That’s completely fine. And if you change your mind, that’s fine too. You know how to get in touch with me. No pressure. We’re both adults, after all.”

“Yes,” He said, adjusting his glasses. “I appreciate that. Thank you for the offer.”

“Think nothing of it,” You said. “I should get back to work. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes,” He repeated. You waved and walked away, unaware of his curious, piercing gaze on your retreating back.

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi, becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I thought about WandaVision

Y'know, it's kind of crazy to think that it's been over a year since we've been given any content involving the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios announced so many great movies, on top of new TV shows that actually impact the story, way back in the summer of 2019. But then 2020 happened. Resulting in everything, and I mean everything, we were promised getting pushed back for another year. So, when it was finally announced that the series WandaVision was, at last, ready to be released, fans were both excited as well as skeptical. Because the first thing that would reintegrate us back into this franchise would be a show about how two Avengers are stuck in a sitcom. It might be new, long-awaited content, but it also doesn't sound all that interesting. Could a story involving two characters who have yet to stand on their own be enough to carry a brand new adventure? Well, for eight whole weeks, fans were given that answer. And personally, I will admit that WandaVision might have been better than anybody could have ever expected...for the most part.

(Final spoiler warning if you haven't seen the show yet)

WHAT I LIKE

It Just Goes: This is easily the best way the series could have started. We are given no context about what is going on. We're just shown that Wanda and Vision are currently stuck in a sitcom, and that's it. By making it a mystery, fans are given this sort of interaction with the series as they find clues and come up with theories about how and why this happened. Sure, some assumptions were more far fetched than others (did people think Mephisto was confirmed just because of one misinterpreted line involving the Devil?), but it still makes the show a ton of fun to watch. Plus, even when we're given answers, it's only tiny pieces of the puzzle. We're always given a chance to figure out the bigger picture, resulting in an image that is, I'll admit, somewhat satisfying to see. Just as long as you ignore the crybabies who get upset that their favorite theories turned out to be wrong.

The Homages are on Point: I also love how straight the cast and crew play with the idea of two superheroes being stuck in a series of sitcoms. Everything they use fits in the era each sitcom takes place in. With things like camerawork, set design, special effects, acting quality, tropes, and even theme songs, everything works as a proper homage than just having two episodes in black and white and the rest in color. Each new sitcom that Wanda and Vision are rebooted in feels so genuine, to the point where they seem like they could be actual shows that could have existed. Seriously, my dad showed me stuff like The Dick Van Dyke Show when I was a kid, so trust me when I say that the very first episode nails the style that it's honoring. Not only is it charming as all forms of hell, but it also works in making these moments when characters break from the spell (get it) all the more jarring and even disturbing at times. Because when you're so keen on watching what seems like a fun and cheesy sitcom, you feel a bit unsettled when a character suddenly acts in a way that's a tad foreboding. Still, it's fun to watch and is easily the central hook for what makes this show work.

The Comedy: The homages also nail the comedy that came from each type of sitcom. The jokes fit with each period, from the cheesy and charming 50s to the cynical and dry 90s and early 2000s. It's another thing the writers play straight with, and I think it works. The only jokes made by most stories like this are just pointing out that these serious characters are stuck in a silly sitcom. Instead, the writers tell jokes that work for the period it's in, and it is all genuinely funny if you're used to those types of goofs and gags. If you didn't laugh, that's because the comedy isn't trying to reach out to you. It's reaching out to the people who actually watched these types of sitcoms. Or, in my case, the type of people who had their parents show them these types of sitcoms. And even then, I still think there are these lines and deliveries that are still funny even if you don't get the joke. For example, there's this brief moment with Vision and a toy baby that got a genuine chuckle out of me for how absurd it was. I wasn't expecting to laugh that much, but on top of the many surprises this show gave, being funny was definitely one of them.

“My husband, and his indestructible forehead”: He...hehe...hehehehahahaHAHAHAHA! AH! HA! HA! HA! 

*Slowly starts sobbing*

>Squeaks<

I see what you did there.

Paul Bettany as “Vision,” “Vision,” and Vision: Can we give Paul Bettany a round of applause for basically playing three different characters, each with their own varying levels of emotions and purposes? Because goodness gracious, this man is a champion! I've seen tons of people praise Elizabeth Olson for her performance as Wanda, and to be fair, she does do a fantastic job...aside from one blatant issue (which I'll get into later). But as great as Olson is, Bettany still deserves some credit. Throughout most of the series, he has this level of comedic-timing that I didn't even know he was capable of, by going ham or just having a dry wit. Seriously, was someone going to tell me that Paul Bettany can be funny, or was I supposed to find that out for myself? On top of being hilarious, Bettany delivers such raw emotion that none of us would have ever expected from this character. That screaming match “Vision” has with Wanda shows the very first time that any version of him has ever been angry, and Bettany does a great job at making that moment as jarring as it needed to be. And that's just from playing one version of the character! I didn't even talk about how he nails the naive yet still wise Vision from the flashback in "Previously On" or the cold and robotic "Vision" from "The Series Finale." Bettany has range, and WandaVision is a great show that proves how. One just needs to have the right amount of vision to see it (HhhhhhhhhhhHA!)

Developing Wanda: But as great as Paul Bettany, and to a lesser extent, Vision, is, Wanda Maximoff is clearly the star of the show here (And yes, I know that it's Wanda who's the character and Elizabeth Olson is the actor, but...I'll get into it!). If WandaVision has taught me anything about these Disney+ shows, it's that we are finally going to get some long-awaited development to characters that are starved from it. And Wanda definitely needed it. Don't get me wrong, Wanda was great in past movies but wasn't that compelling of a character. Here, trust me when I say that the opposite is true. 

We are given a deep dive into not only Wanda's morality but also her psyche. The writers really play around with how scary Wanda can be. As well as questioning if Wanda has the capability of being evil. Because, yeah, what she did was not right. True, our "heroine" was going through some rough s**t, but that doesn't excuse the amount of torture Wanda put the people of Westview through, no matter how unwittingly. Just look at that scene where everyone grills Wanda about what she's doing to them, not only pleading for whatever compromise they can get and even begging for her to kill them instead. That is dark! That is the darkest concept the MCU has ever offered, and the ending of Avengers: Infinity War exists!

But, while it doesn't entirely excuse everything, there is a reason why Wanda did all of this. You see, throughout WandaVision, Wanda goes through the five stages of grief. It all starts with denial as she pretends to live in a sitcom that she created where Vision is alive, and they get to even have kids together. Soon comes anger when she destroys anything and physically harms anyone that tries to bring her back to reality. Next, there's bargaining as Wanda strengthens her hex and expands it to keep outsiders out and keep Vision in. This leads to depression as the weight of all of Wanda's actions finally sinks in, and she's forced to realize the damage she's causing. Until all of it ends with acceptance, as Wanda finally, finally, gets to say goodbye to Vision. Something she never really got when Thanos ripped the mind stone out of Vision's forehead. It's both incredible to watch as it is fascinating. Wanda, through the course of her own little spin-off series, just went from a decent character to one of the most intriguing to dissect in the MCU. And we have this show to thank for it.

The Commercials: These commercials offer three things.

They're more homages to classic television, each product and filming for each one honoring how commercials looked in each era.

They offer more of an insight into Wanda's psyche as we see how each commercial shows bits of her history, regrets, and deepest desires. You see all of the above in the Lagos' paper towel commercial.

There are neat bits of foreshadowing of what's to come, like how Hydra Soak ends by saying it's for "your inner goddess" or how the 90s commercial ends by saying Magic isn't meant for the weak.

With all of that, these commercials are as fun to analyze as they are disturbing as hell.

The Dinner Scene: This was the moment it was clear that WandaVision wasn’t going to just be fun and games. The second that "Mr. Heart" starts screaming at Wanda about why she and Vision came, it becomes clear that the whole wacky scenario our heroes are in isn't as harmless as we all thought. And when "Mrs. Heart" playfully tells her husband to stop it when “Mr. Heart” starts choking, only to desperately scream at Wanda to stop it, audiences begin to piece together that the people of Westview are prisoners--no--victims. As for Wanda? She's the unknowing dictator forcing them to do what she says. And it was this scene that I knew I was going to really enjoy this show.

The Blip Scene: And it was this scene that made WandaVision skyrocket into top-tier MCU territory! As much as I love Spider-Man: Far From Home, I will admit that making a joke with the concept of something like the blip might not have been the best move. But showing the chaos of everyone coming back all at once? On top of showing the confusion that a person would have from being told that a five-second nap was five years? Yeah, that's more in line with what we want.

Returning Characters: Not only was I surprised by the fact that these pretty minor characters in the MCU made a return at all, but I was also shocked to find out they work better in this series than they did in their respective movies. First, there's Monica. Not only is she reintroduced as a brand new hero (with, admittingly, confusing superpowers), but she also works as the anti-Wanda. Both characters had someone they care about dearly die without getting a chance to say goodbye. The difference is that Monica doesn't have the abilities Wanda does and is instead forced to quickly accept that her mom is dead and won't come back. She even admits that she would bring her mom back if she could. But that just makes Monica the perfect person that Wanda needs. A person that understands where she's coming from and tries to convince Wanda to do the right thing, no matter how hard it is. Monica's methods may have been a tad bit sloppy, but she is still ten times more intriguing than that little girl who screwed around with the color scheme on Captain Marvel’s suit.

Then there's Jimmy Woo, who is both funnier here than in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and actually shows signs of being a competent FBI agent. A step up, I might add, from the hilariously incompetent character we saw in his previous appearance.

And also, Darcie is here...and still slightly annoying...but at least she still has a couple funny lines here and there! Which is more than I can say with Thor and Thor: The Dark World.

In my opinion, it's a good move having these characters with pretty small roles in vastly different stories make a return. It shows that they are not limited to their one little corner of the MCU. And that they can branch off into taller tales that suit them perfectly. It's pretty cool, and it makes me wonder what other small characters could make a triumphant return.

Billy and Tommy: These two are...fine. Billy and Tommy give me Zach and Cody vibes sometimes, the kids playing them do a decent job, and they both offer some great emotional moments. The problem is that out of the list of characters that WandaVision introduces and reintroduces, there's not much to talk about with Billy and Tommy. Honestly, the only reason why I briefly mentioned that I like them is that I don't want dozens of people crucifying me for not saying anything about them. I don't hate them, but I don't much care for them either.

Evan Peters as Quicksilver: Although I would have loved it if it was Aaron Taylor-Johnson who made a return, seeing Evan Peters in a good Marvel movie again is more than worth it. He plays a much more fun version of Quicksilver while still nailing the sibling relationship the character has with Wanda. In a way, it's a lot like how Marvel cast J.K. Simmons as J Jonah Jameson at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. It's admitting that no one could have played the character better than this one actor and briefly making fans happy in the process. While also not doing something crazy like having it be the exact same Quicksilver from the X-Men movies. Only f**king idiots would believe something like that...

...

...But hypothetically speaking, let's say some people were stupid to believe that. While making an outrageous claim that the writers "lead them on to doing so." In which case, I will say the same thing that one would say when friend-zoning someone: "Nobody led you on to s**t. You were just too busy focusing on what you wanted to see instead of what you needed to see."

Because there was no evidence that it was the same Quicksilver other than the fact that it was the same actor. And, hypothetically speaking, if there were dozens of crybabies who were upset about it not being the same Quicksilver, then I have so much more respect for this character being nothing more than a boner joke. Because you did this to yourselves...hypothetically speaking.

Retconning Wanda’s Powers: ...I'm ok with this. Retcons happen all the time in the comics, as well as in movies and television. It's just a matter of making the retcon believable enough where there are few holes in what you're telling people. As for Wanda apparently having magic this entire time, but the mind stone amplified her powers? I can buy that. Besides, it's an acceptable excuse to make Wanda as powerful as she is in the comics (from what I've been told), so like I said, I'm ok with this.

“I can’t feel you…”: ...That's fine. I didn't need my heart anyway.

“Vision’s” Talk with “Vision”: Forget the horrible CGIed battles. I want more of this!

Now, I put both Visions in quotation marks because while they're both the same character, they're also...not the same. Which is, funnily enough, what this scene is: A philosophical discussion between two versions of the same android about what makes them both/neither the definitive version. One may look the same, and the other may be the same body, but neither "Vision" really is the true Vision. However, the fact that these two stop their fighting so they can have this discussion in the first place helps secure that while different, they are still the same. It's a thought-provoking discussion, and it is ten times more interesting to watch than Wanda and Agatha's CGI fight in the sky. Although it is kind of odd that White-Vision just peaces out the second Hex-Vision gives him a reboot. But hey, that's for the future movies to deal with.

“Thank you for choosing me to be your mom.”: >Deep inhale<...Girl.

Wanda Saying Goodbye to Vision: >DEEPER INHALE< HOOOOOOOOOOO BOY! I did not expect this much emotional turmoil from f**king WANDAVISION!

Joking aside, this is a well-handled scene. It's incredibly emotional to see these two characters say goodbye to each other as their arcs come to a close. "Vision" peacefully leaves knowing who he is in the world, and Wanda can finally start moving on as she gets to say goodbye to her one true love. It's as bittersweet as it is beautiful.

WHAT I DISLIKE

MCU logos flashing in every episode: You know how CinemaSins has this bulls**t excuse about how the MCU opening logo wastes time to get to the good stuff? This is the only instance where that's applicable. Because the opening logo was cool to see again for the first episode, but having it play in every single one after breaks the immersion when trying to binge the series. It's for a couple of seconds, sure, but after a while, it does get pretty annoying.

Elizabeth Olson as Scarlet Witch: Now, to be clear, I have no problems with Elizabeth Olson's acting ability in this series. She juggles being funny, heartbreaking, and threatening so well that I am likely to laugh and cry with her as I am to s**t my pants while in her presence. Elizabeth Olson does a great job with this character. The problem? Well, in the comics, Wanda Maximoff is Roma, and Elizabeth Olson...isn't. This means that WandaVision, and the MCU as a whole, has a bad case of white-washing.

I could go on about the issues this brings, but I am not as educated about this subject, and all I know is just stuff that seems like common sense. For instance, I believe it is more than reasonable to hire an actor of a specific race or ethnicity for a character who is of a that same race or ethnicity. But that is as far as my knowledge and personal stance goes, and to expand on it would be too much of a risk because I have no right to criticize the representation of something I am not a part of. So instead, I'm going to point you to @earnestdesire‘s blog and Jessica Reidy’s article on the subject. They do a great job at discussing the issues with Olson’s Wanda and pointing to the issues the MCU has in representing Wanda and Pietro's representation in the comics. And they do it in a far better way than I ever could have. So check them out to truly see why, despite doing a great job, Elizabeth Olson should not be the person donning the suit.

It Was Agatha All Along: AND I STILL F**KING HATE THAT!

I know, I know, I am in the minority on this one. And I still don't understand why! To me, Agatha has all of the problems that Hans has in Frozen. Sure, there are hints if you pay more attention during a few select scenes that are slightly questionable. Like how she refers to Wanda as "the star of the show" or coincidentally shows up with a dog house for Sparky. However, much like how Frozen didn't need a villain like Hans, WandaVision didn't need a comic book villain like Agatha. The story was perfectly passable as a personal conflict involving Wanda's grief where the only obstacle was the director of S.W.O.R.D. and his agents. There is nothing Agatha adds to that.

"But she helps Wanda find out what happens!" Yeah, but Monica could have done the same thing by actually breaking through to Wanda and calmly asking what happened. From then on, they could have worked things out together by having Wanda retrace events that transpired through the information that Monica knows as well.

"But Agatha helps Wanda realize what she's doing is wrong!" So could Vision! He could have shown up, did that mind-meld thing to the townspeople, and Wanda would finally learn what she was doing was wrong through the person she trusts the most.

"But Agatha helps Wanda learn that she's the Scarlet Witch!" Ok...but did that need to happen in this series? Because when you think about it, when the central conflict is all about exploring Wanda's grief, throwing in this narrative about becoming the Scarlet Witch has little to do with anything. Meaning that if you cut it from the story, little would change other than cutting a CGI battle that everyone agrees is the worst part of the series.

The most Agatha adds to the story is a secondary conflict that could easily be cut, and the overall quality would stay the same, if not better. And that is a problem. Agatha needs to add to the central conflict in a way that no other character could have. Like, give her a reason to be involved in Wanda’s life that goes beyond feeding off her magic and leading Wanda to her destiny. Because as is, even if you argue that Agatha is a good twist villain, she's a villain that really didn't need to be here.

Director Haywood: But as much as I don't like Agatha, I think we can all agree that Director Haywood is the worst villain in the MCU. Because one issue that Haywood has is a lack of motivation. For instance, why does he try so hard to write off Wanda as this supervillain? It was never explained, and for something so bizarre and crucial to his character, I feel like it needed to be. It would be passable if he was motivated out of fear and ignorance, but Haywood goes so far as to misedit security footage to prove his point. And I don't get why.

Is he sexist?

Did Wanda not show up at his kid's birthday party?

Did he secretly want to use Vision as a sexbot and didn't want Wanda to get between them?

I don't know, and I'll never know.

Plus, on top of having no motivation, Haywood is just forgettable. Agatha may piss me off to no end, but at least I'll remember her. I honestly forgot Haywood's name half the time, and I'm willing to bet that you did too. Case in point, his name isn't even Haywood. It's Hayward. And in the off chance that you didn't even know about that misspelling just proves my point about how forgettable Hayward is. While it's one thing to be hated, it's another to be forgotten. Because that just means that you left so little impact that you aren't even worth getting upset about.

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And that is what I thought about WandaVision. If I had to base this off my usual score, I'd have to give the show the same 7/10 that everyone else gave it. Because there's a lot that I love, but the stuff that I hate is so problematic that it takes the WandaVision down on a couple of notches. It's still a fantastic series with a solid story, a great message, incredible acting, and phenomenal character development. It's just that not everyone is going to be willing to tune in as much as you might think.