#spent an embarrassing amount of time on the construct

[yanigma]

basically how it went, right? (other versions under cut)

[huhciel]

˖ ࣪ ‹ missing hours 𖥔 ࣪ ᥫ᭡

cho hyunju x fem!reader.

c/w: smut, phone sex, hyunju before transition, dirty talking, sub!hyunju x powerbottom!reader, needy hyunju, mentions of dick, full porn, sugarmommy kinda?? reader, little mention of breeding, and others things, lowercase intentional. hyunju rose dialogue.

a/n: guy's it's my first time posting something so please give me constructive tips!

you've been with hyunju for almost 5 months, and it was wonderful. she was the sweetest girl you could ever asked for, caring, lovely, understandable, comforting..and a nice cooker, of course. she was the first girl to not care about your money, even tho she knew that you have good amount of it, she never asked, and whenever she did for some reasonable and no doubts reason, she was so embarrassing to ask you for money, but you didn't care.

if you could, you would buy everything in your power to make hyunju happy, happy wife happy life, as they say.

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some weeks ago, hyunju talked about how much she wanted to do the bottom surgery. it's not like it's anything new for her to talk about, she always did, she always showed how she wanted to be fully transitioned but she was also very afraid to do so. but since you guys got more comfortable and more intimate, she gained some confidence and desire to have surgery. it would be in thailand, she would say, because there's a lot of procedures well done there. so, the next day, you caught yourself searching for thailand travel flights and gender transition surgery clinics, and of course, you brought the best ones.

when you showed it to her, she almost cried of joy and expressed how much thankful she was for you by kissing your whole face (you loved it). but she also got feeling guilt because you spent money on her, but why wouldn't you? she deserves everything she wants. the girl was so happy but then reality touched her. you would not come with her since you had work to do that day, money doesn't come for nowhere, right?

she pouted while looking at you, sad that you would not be with her in such a beautiful and memorable moment in her life, and trust, you were so sad as she was, you wanted to go with her and give her all the love and comfort but you just... couldn't.

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it's been two days since hyunju arrived at thailand, on the 3rd day, the surgery would be done. it's was fucking difficult for her not being with you, even if it was only two days since she saw you, she missed you so much like she was not seeing you for weeks. she mumbled from one side to the other with longing, she missed your sweet face to her, your soft hearted words for her, your touch which was always hot, since you had warm skin. urrgh, she missed you and she needed you so much. some hours passed, and it's has already 11pm for her, the time where you guys would call each other before hyunju passing out in sleep, so it wouldn't be long before you called her. she was waiting anxiously, and finally, she heard the phone ringing.

"hello?" you say, amazed at how quickly she responded.

"hiii baby! how was your day? busy one?"

"not really, it was fine. and you? how you doing? nervous about tomorrow?" you asked, already knowing the answer. how badly you wished you were with her right now. and so did she, your voice and genuinely concerned tone made her feel safe and loved, and that only made her long for you even more.

"mhm...but it's gonna be just fine.. everything is going to be as it should and it won't take long until you're with me tomorrow after the operation, right?" you could sense her nervousness through her voice but as she spoke the rest, she became happier and more relaxed.

"yes, baby. i can and i'm so excited to see you..and to see our future place to live in." a smile appears on your face when you remember all the promises of living together in thailand.

"thank god...i've been missing you so much."

"aw really? i miss you too."

"no, i really miss you badly. i can't stand not having yours slightly touch."

you paused for some seconds, not responding to her. you always loved when your girlfriend was needy, just because it was something rare to happen because she was an expert on containing herself. so in this case, she was really missing you.

"i need you here, sleeping with me, killing me with love and kisses. i wanted you to touch me until i sleep... it's so difficult here without you."

she continues confessing this and that, and you could tell she was imagining everything she was saying out loud as you hear her pauses and heavy sighs. you didn't know what to do or say, should i let her continue or should i respond something? you thought repeatedly.

"i need you, i miss you. i-i wanted to enjoy the last night together while i have...you know.." her voice trembles a little bit but you couldn't decipher whether it was desire or nervousness. you gulp hard as you got what she meant. was she for real?

"w-what?" that was the only thing that escaped from your mouth. how pathetic.

"i wish you were playing with my co...cock..." what came out of her mouth sent you to heaven, the shy way she said such thing. and she was not helping neither since you could clearly hear her panting heavily. you were trying to putting the dots in order, was this really happening? does she want it? should i risk it? but as you were thinking hardly, hyunju spoke.

"please...say something, help me.. somehow."

okay, fuck it. it's your girlfriend and she's extremely needy for you, so why would you deny her with your head bubbling up right now?

"what are you wearing?"

"a blue pajama-type dress, no underwear."

nasty, you thought. even without you, she would be still that naughty. and in some sense, you could feel your blood popping up thinking about her being like this, all alone. without you taking care of her.

"you're so naughty, hyunju. i know you really want me to suck your cock and feel your gland beating in the back of my throat but no underwear isn't resolving nothing, baby, you know that, right?"

"i-i know...It's just to stay relaxed at night because i always end up thinking about you and then i get hard...and it hurts when i have something rubbing down there.."

"my baby thinking about me at night? about what? me bouncing on your big dick already dirty with cum of both of us?"

"f-fuck yes, i want that so bad.." it was hard for her to control her breath while speaking and you could tell right away.

"how bad?"

"so so so fucking bad, i need you to r-ride my cock so badly... it's throbbing and craving for your pu..ssy..feels so good when i'm inside you, you make me feel so fucking go-good..please please let me-"

"let you what?"

"let me touch myself while thinking about you swallowing my cock, please please pleas...se, i c-can't anymore..."

"turn the camera on and touch yourself."

and hyunju did. she placed her phone right in front of her so you could see exactly how her face looked like at the moment. she was with her cheeks extremely red, same as her lips which were also wet from the times she bit her lips to contain herself. she was wearing what she told she was, and it suited her so well. her cock was full out, hard, juicy, and throbbing with need. she waited some time for you to admire her, because she knew that you would. and then finally, she placed the palm of her hand on top of the cock that had been begging to be touched for some time now. hyunju started to masturbate herself and you swear that the view was way better than any work of art. her free hand was glued to her mouth, being bitten to contain the louder moans and pleasure that hyunju felt, but she failef miserably since you could perfectly hear every sound that came out of her mouth, her eyes closed tightly and her eyebrows that the furrowed and moved with every movement that hyunju made on her own cock.

"just like that, baby...imagine it's me there, imagine your hand is my pussy taking care of your desperate dick."

"lo-ve...i'm gonna...i-" the hand that surrounded her cock began to make much faster movements. you could see her dick twitching.

"cum just inside of me, hyun."

and then, her orgasm arrived. the jets of liquid were falling down on her cock and hand. oh, how you wanted to lick that. her chest coming and going fast desperately, controlling her panting breath as she opened her eyes slowly as if she had just woken up.

"you did so well, my baby. you-"

she cut you off.

"i need...more, i want to make the most of my last day with a dick...and with you, please let me cum more."

reality hit you, this was going to be a long night and the best phone call you ever had, you should send her to thailand alone more times.

[donotspeakunlessyouarenamjoon]

Muse

Authors note: First Rafayel fic in honor of long haired Rafayel, Also might make this a series (angsty ofc) if I ever get inspiration

Word count: 485

Drawing the love of your life should be easy when you are an artist right?

Rafayel could construct poems, each describing every feature of you harbor- enough to fill up thousands of pages.

He can construct statues, with delicacy only a lover can have,

He can paint you - but he is sure that none of his creations can hold a candle to you.

Everytime he creates a statue so beautiful - matching your descriptions so beautifully,

He can't help but notice the little things missing from his creations that make you well you.

Everytime he paints a portrait of you -  one that critics would claim ‘deserves to be hung in the Louvre’- he cannot help but to nitpick each detail that he created. - How the faint glimmer in your eyes seems nonexistent in his painting, no matter the amount he tried to bring that spark to life.

And now as he stands before the painting that he'd spent hours of his life dedicating to, he cannot stop himself from analyzing each and every delicate stroke of his paintbrush, The intricate marks from his pencil - He knows that he has yet again failed in capturing your essence. He cannot stop the groan of frustration that escapes his throat and how his grip on his brush lightens- making it fall to the floor with a soft thud.

His eyes draft towards the floor remembering your faint words about keeping his place clean -  He does not hesitate to pick the fallen brush and tuck it away near his palette where the evidence of his hard work is present.

He sees the various colours he mixed within the span of a week, trying to find the perfect shade for every part of you - something he had succeeded after struggling for an embarrassing number of times. 

He softly chuckles- the chuckle traveling around the quiet room, echoing - at his struggles before looking back at his painting, searching for the missing element, which he succeeds in identifying after a brief moment - due to his skills of observing you.

It’s you, his portrait makes you look two dimensional, stripped off of your charm and light.

It stops him from wanting to hang the portrait of you in his room- something he wanted to do prior to drawing- he knows how tortuous it would be to wake up to a shadow of you, something he had to endure several millennia ago -  something he would be content on never experiencing again-.not if he had the real you to hold, every night - To kiss you until you both run out of breath, To hold and worship every inch of you - another thing his younger self had failed to do.

He shook himself from thinking, he'd made a promise to himself that he would not grovel and regret the past choices he made- even if they admittedly returned to haunt him, to remind him that he would never be free from the curse he was fated to experience in every lifetime.

[whoreseason]

RANDOM JAMES MARCH HEADCANONS

CW for murder, drug use mentions, and discussions of trauma/implied child abuse

I think he excels at doing cocaine. I don’t know how to explain what I mean though

He's done quite a lot of it in his life but no longer does, not only because his ass is dead and he can't get high but because such crass indulgences remind him of his younger days

He’d wear women’s perfume if it were more socially acceptable but his ideas around masculinity refuse to let him do this

His hair is naturally a bit curly and he has spent years gelling it into submission

Is 5'8 and rather small build-wise

Despite his size, he can really, really hold his own in a fight, though he fights very dirty. Hand to hand fighting triggers something in him and he does it with pure rage. His opponent will be on the ground before they know it and he'll probably have killed them before he realizes what he's doing

Is a bit resentful of his babyface, as well as his height, and wishes he were both taller and more mature looking

Growing out a mustache was influenced by this

Also deeply resentful of the phrase “prettyboy”, which he’s heard a fair amount

Either puts lifts in his shoes or wears slightly heeled ones. Do NOT bring this up

Has been smoking since he was 12 or so

His eye twitches just slightly when he’s annoyed. It’s often his only outward tell

His only two modes of expressing irritation/anger are “irritated but not showing it” or “literally screaming”

I feel like we as a fandom don’t talk about his canonical temper enough. This individual has probably thrown a fork into a maid’s eye because she got the placement of a napkin wrong

His original accent is lower class Boston, and while this may not be a headcanon, I feel the need to bring this up. His actual voice may sound more like Kit's than anything

Speaks a bit of French and Latin, largely in an attempt to fit in with the old money upper class

Started drinking pretty hard very young, maybe when he was around 12 or 13? And was basically an alcoholic throughout his teenage years

Barely went to school growing up and was more or less able to charm his way into university

Is embarrassed of his Irish heritage. He's a product of his time

Killed his first victim in a rage episode in an alley behind a bar somewhere when he was 16

His first victims were impulsive kills along these lines, but his motives switched from triggered anger to relying on it as he went on, and by the time he was in university he'd get tightly wound and restless if he'd gone a week without it

Took various traits from his first victims-- ways of lighting a cigarette, vocal quirks, body language tics, that sort of thing. As the number racked up and his designed personality become more fleshed out he stopped doing this, but he carries his first kills with him through certain mannerisms, though it's now subconscious

Also took various traits from movie stars and book characters. Spent a lot of time at the cinema as a young man finding things on screen to make a part of himself

Is so very, very fake. Has constructed basically every aspect of his presentation and outward personality

He hates being reminded of who he was before, who he truly was-- he’ll reference parts of his childhood in the context of who he is now and what he's had to overcome, but it’s more like he’s using pieces of his past to construct a story about himself. Anything vulnerable or authentic to that part of his life he won’t bring up, he doesn’t even let it cross his mind

Has worked very, very carefully to suppress his flinching instinct at sudden noise or movement, but sometimes it still comes out when he’s snuck up on

Used to wake up screaming sometimes when he was alive

Would just as often wake up crying, which he quite hated. He never remembered what those dreams were about

He’s glad that he doesn’t sleep anymore and can thus avoid all that. Which is what he loves to do with his memories or any sign of emotional vulnerability, avoid it. Good luck trying to get him to open up about anything

Love you grandpa

[mingiatz]

Summary: What started as an accidental encounter turned into something neither of them saw coming. Emilia never expected that a chaotic night in Frankfurt—where she met Ateez in the most ridiculous outfit imaginable—would lead to months of stolen moments, teasing, heartbreak and feelings too big to ignore.

Pairing: [Idol] Song Mingi x OC (Emilia)

Trope: Strangers to Lovers

Genre: Romance, Fluff, Light Angst, Slow Burn

Featuring: ATEEZ (being menaces), chaotic sibling energy, found family vibes, and an embarrassing amount of mutual pining

This Series will have multiple Chapters with around 4000 words. I hope you like it. Please be kind this is my first Fanfiction and English is not my first language. (I am open for constructive criticism). I will try to upload a chapter everyday.

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Chapter Five

Mingi’s POV

I had been in many places, but nothing quite like this. The chaos of early mornings at Emilia’s house, the way Sophie could pull you out of your sleep with an unmatched level of energy—this was a new experience. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be around people who didn’t live by strict schedules, people who didn’t need to hide behind the persona of an idol all the time. I was awake now, though the pain from being dragged out of my sleep was still with me. But the excitement of the day ahead—the thought of spending it with the people who had become a strange, unexpected family over the past few days—was enough to make me look forward to the chaos.

As we all gathered in the kitchen, I stole a glance at Emilia. She was laughing softly at something Noah had said, her eyes bright and full of a happiness I hadn’t seen in a while. I could tell that she didn’t always let herself have fun, but today—today was different. She was letting herself enjoy this day, even if it meant getting caught up in the madness that was Sophie and Ateez combined.

I felt a warmth in my chest, something I hadn’t realized I needed until this very moment.

Emilia’s POV

The city of Frankfurt never looked so alive. The whole day felt like a blur of laughter, exploration, and unexpected moments. Sophie was in her element, eagerly guiding Ateez and Noah through the city’s charming streets, showing them both the famous landmarks and her favorite hidden spots.

We started the day with a visit to a museum, where Yunho and Seonghwa marveled at the art while the others, notably San and Wooyoung, joked around, causing just enough disruption to make the tour guides chuckle. There was something oddly comforting about watching them interact so freely—like they weren’t idols at all, but just people enjoying a day off.

After the museum, we headed to a nearby park, where we spent a good while relaxing on the grass. Mingi, surprisingly, had a love for people-watching, his eyes scanning the busy streets as we lounged in the sunlight. I found myself sitting beside him, just talking about the little things. His easygoing nature made me feel at ease, and I was glad to share these moments with him and the rest of Ateez

We ate lunch at a cute cafe near the river, and I caught Mingi and Wooyoung in a fierce competition to see who could order the most ridiculous drink. The table erupted into laughter when Wooyoung’s "Rainbow Latte" arrived, an Instagram-worthy monstrosity of colors and whipped cream. Mingi wasn’t far behind with his "Bubblegum Frappe."

Even Noah, who normally shied away from attention, found himself grinning as he watched the chaos unfold. "I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be dragged into this," he muttered, taking a cautious sip of his own "normal" coffee.

The day felt lighthearted and carefree, filled with moments I wished could last forever.

As the evening drew near, we made our way to a small local street market. The vibrant stalls, the sound of street performers, and the mingling of languages and laughter made it feel like we were all part of something special. Ateez was just as fascinated by the market as I was, and it felt good to see them outside of their busy schedules, laughing, taking photos, and just being present in the moment.

Sophie, of course, had to drag us all into a spontaneous dance-off in the middle of the market, pulling everyone into a circle as she played some loud K-pop hits on her phone. Even Noah found himself joining in, though he tried to play it cool with some half-hearted moves. San and Wooyoung didn’t hesitate to throw themselves into the dance, as usual, and it wasn’t long before everyone had somehow joined in, creating a spontaneous party right there in the middle of the market.

I laughed, the pure joy of the moment washing over me. It felt like the world had paused, just for us, to enjoy the simple fun of a late summer evening.

By the time we made it back to the house, the light of the setting sun was fading, casting a warm glow over everything. Ateez’s last night in Germany was quickly approaching, and despite how fun today had been, I could already feel the heaviness in my chest. The thought of saying goodbye felt all too real now.

Noah and I lingered in the living room as the others went upstairs to wind down. I busied myself making tea, though my mind was elsewhere.

"Do you think we’ll ever get to do this again?" I asked softly, glancing at Noah.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You’re already missing them, aren’t you?" he teased, his voice light but laced with understanding.

I didn’t answer at first, just staring at the steam rising from my cup. It felt silly to admit it, but I was. I was already going to miss Sophie, even though I knew she’d be back in South Korea soon. And part of me felt like I was going to miss Ateez too, even though I had only known them for a few days. They had become a part of our routine, a little extra burst of life that had brightened up our days in ways I hadn’t expected.

Noah let out a long sigh and sat down beside me. "I was thinking," he started, his voice quieter now, as if hesitant. "Maybe... I should do an exchange year in South Korea."

I blinked, surprised by the sudden suggestion. "What? Like, a year abroad?" I asked, unsure if I’d heard him right.

He nodded, his eyes focused on the cup in his hands. "Yeah. I mean, I’ve been thinking about it. It would be good for my studies, and... I’d be closer to Sophie. And I guess, I’d get to see what it’s like for her over there. Also mum was Korean, I want to see the culture and our roots."

I could sense the weight of his words. He had always been the more composed one between the two of us, but I knew how much Sophie’s move to South Korea had affected him. He missed her, even though he wouldn’t always admit it. "You’d really do that? Spend a whole year there?" I asked, my voice soft.

He nodded again, his gaze lifting to meet mine. "I think it could be a good opportunity. But, uh… I was wondering… would you want to come with me?"

I blinked in surprise. "Me?" I asked incredulously. "Why would I go to South Korea with you?"

"Because you work remotely. You can do your freelance work from anywhere, right?" he pointed out. "And you could be closer to Sophie too. You wouldn’t have to stay here and feel like you’re missing out. And I didnt need to worry about you, being alone here."

The thought of it hit me like a wave. I had never seriously considered moving to South Korea, not even for a second. I was so used to being anchored here in Germany, close to my home and my family. But the more I thought about it, the more the idea didn’t seem impossible. I could work from anywhere, and the chance to reconnect with Sophie—being close to her in a way that I hadn’t been in years—sounded like something I could do.

"I don’t know," I admitted, more to myself than to Noah. "It’s a big step. But… it could be interesting."

Noah smiled, looking a bit relieved at my response. "Well, think about it. It’s not like we have to decide right now, but I wanted to ask. Maybe it’d be good for both of us."

I nodded slowly, still absorbing the idea. It was a big change, one I wasn’t sure I was ready for. But the more I thought about it, the more the idea of being closer to Sophie, of supporting her in her new life, seemed like something worth considering.

Mingi’s POV

The atmosphere in the house was a little different tonight. Even though everyone had enjoyed the day in Frankfurt—especially the spontaneous dance party at the market—there was an underlying sense of finality hanging in the air. Ateez’s time in Germany was winding down, and it felt like we had only just begun to get close to Emilia and her family.

I couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was as I walked downstairs after getting ready for bed. The house was still, except for the soft clink of cups in the kitchen. I walked in and found Emilia sitting at the table, staring out the window with a thoughtful expression.

I hesitated for a moment, unsure if I should disturb her, but something in my gut told me that she wasn’t ready to let go of this moment yet.

"You alright?" I asked, taking a seat across from her.

She looked up, her gaze softening when she saw me. "Yeah," she said, offering a small smile. "Just thinking about everything. How quickly the time’s gone by."

I nodded. I felt the same. The days we’d spent together had been full of laughter, and despite everything, I was starting to feel like I was part of their world—if only for a short while.

"I’ll miss it," she added quietly. "All of this. I didn’t expect to get so attached so quickly."

I understood. I felt the same way. The bond we’d formed with her, Sophie, and Noah had become stronger than I anticipated, and it was hard to think about leaving.

But as I looked at Emilia, her soft eyes and the way she seemed to hold everything together for her family, I couldn’t help but admire her strength. Even though she was thinking about everything she might lose, there was still a part of her that was willing to embrace whatever came next.

And that made me want to stay around a little longer.

Emilia’s POV

The morning was quieter than expected. No chaotic wake-up calls from Sophie, no teasing from Wooyoung, no spontaneous music blasting from my speaker as we danced around the house. Just a heavy stillness that reminded me of what was about to happen.

Ateez was leaving.

Sophie was leaving.

And for the first time in days, the house felt too big again.

I stood in the kitchen, pouring coffee into mugs, knowing full well that half of them wouldn’t even get touched. The others slowly trickled in, each of them looking groggy but resigned to the inevitable. Sophie was the first to break the silence. „This sucks,“ she mumbled, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie.

„Yeah,“ I agreed, exhaling softly. „It does.“

I glanced over at Noah, who was leaning against the counter, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. I knew he felt the same way. He just wasn’t saying it out loud. One by one, the members of Ateez filed into the room, all of them looking equally reluctant about the impending departure. Even San, who was usually one of the loudest of them all, stayed quiet as he took his cup of coffee and sipped it slowly.

Hongjoong was the first to speak up. „We really appreciate you letting us stay here, Emilia. You didn’t have to, and I know it was unexpected. But we’re really grateful.“

I waved a hand dismissively. „It was chaotic, but it wasn’t that bad.“ I smirked. „Even if you did treat my house like a practice room and an amusement park.“

Wooyoung grinned. „Admit it. You loved it.“

I rolled my eyes but didn’t deny it. The next half-hour was spent in a quiet, almost subdued atmosphere as they gathered their things and made final preparations. Sophie flitted between them, triple-checking everyone’s luggage, her usual energy dimmed by the weight of goodbye.

When the van arrived, the reality of the situation truly hit me.

They were leaving.

And I hated goodbyes.

Standing by the doorway, I watched as each of them gave me a hug before stepping out. Yunho, warm and familiar. San, a little more dramatic than necessary. Jongho, quiet but firm. Hongjoong, full of gratitude. Wooyoung, the most reluctant, squeezing my shoulders like he wanted to say something more but decided against it.

Seonghwa gave me a kind smile. „Come visit us sometime.“

„I’ll think about it,“ I teased.

Finally, it was Mingi’s turn. He hesitated for a moment before stepping forward. His hug was brief but solid, his voice quieter than usual. „Take care, okay?“

„You too,“ I said, surprised at how genuine it sounded.

And then, just like that, they were gone.

Sophie was the last to leave, turning back one more time to give me and Noah a tearful smile. „I’ll see you soon, okay?“

„You better,“ Noah said, nudging her.

And then she was gone too.

Noah and I stood in the doorway long after the van disappeared down the street.

„So,“ he finally said, „you gonna miss them?“

I let out a breath. „Yeah.“

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Disclaimer:This is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and scenarios in this story are entirely fictional and not intended to reflect the real lives of the members of Ateez or any other individuals. This fanfiction is purely for entertainment purposes.

[a-personiftranslator]

POSTINVERSION CONSUZ THOUGHTS TIME

the terms of her vassalage seem extremely lenient. afaik the typical deal is “you get internal autonomy but i defend you and your international relations go through me” but she has a royal navy that she evidently controls and it isn’t ceremonial either because when yechusta acts up she goes to threaten her with it. which also means that nuevas baleares is calling rowmansland to tell her she needs her to threaten yechusta with her royal navy and that hakensaqi lets her do that. which means she’s allowed some international relations. so her terms are probably more like “as long as it doesn’t conflict with my goals (retaining use of your coastline and not pissing off makamazuh or mundaberria) do whatever the hell you want”.

of course she initially sought his suzerainty because she needed someone to govern her so i imagine he was a lot more involved in her politics at the outset since he had to be. now that things have stabilized hes more hands off.

being the vassal definitely like. immediately deleted most of her british superiority complex. he is more capable than you and he always was.

there was no wedding ceremony just the signing of papers. she was embarrassed.

they have an actual ceremony in 2101 on their 161st anniversary (the year the amount of time theyd spent under each other’s control was equal). no other countryspirits were invited. rowmansland’s 11 reservations were invited but not under any obligation and none of them came which like, yeah whatever it doesn’t really concern them. their capitals did the officiating and some of the bigger cityspirits were there too. and then human political figures and the king and everything.

sorry so much of this is rowmansland focused lmfao i like women and also british people exist irl while hakensaqi people don’t so i just have more to go off of for her

being able to fly means thinking in 3D so hakensaqi has a much better intuitive understanding of space than your average person. hes also very good at memorizing landmarks and constructing maps in his head. this mostly means he always finds rowmansland’s keys when she loses them.

he can carry her into the air. only for short periods of time because yk it’s twice the work but he does do that quite often.

I STILL DONT HAVE GOOD NICKNAMES FOR THEM. WHAT DO THEY CALL EACH OTHER. THEYVE BEEN MARRIED FOR 2 CENTURIES THERES NO WAY HE STILL SAYS ALL 3 SYLLABLES OF HER NAME TO HER EVERY DAY. AND HER ALL 4 SYLLABLES OF HIS.

[j0jorocityisntokay]

The Truman Show GerRome AU

You guys gotta hear me out about this

For the people who haven’t watched the movie, it’s about a man, Truman, whose entire life is a tv show and he’s the star. His entire life is broadcasted 24/7 since the day he was born, and he was adopted by a tv studio. Everyone he cares about is a paid actor that is being fed lines. Truman does get a happy ending (he escapes the tv set), but think about it—it’s not exactly happy. Why would Truman be able to trust anybody ever again? If someone holds the door open for him, is it because it’s out of the genuine kindness of their hearts, or is it because he’s Truman? Is it because they’re also being fed lines through an earpiece he can’t see? He would be in a constant state of paranoia. The only person that has cared about him was a woman named Sylvia, the woman he fell in love with when the producers intended for him to fall in love with another woman named Meryl. Sylvia wanted to free Truman so she tried to tell him the truth, but she was immediately taken off set and he never got to see her again. He’s motivated to escape for someone he fell in love with years ago, someone he only got to spend a brief amount of time with, and someone who he never stopped loving, despite having a wife. For this GerRome au, Agostino (Rome) is the star of the show. He is charismatic and handsome and funny and really all you could want in a man. He has a loving wife (Ancient Greece/Aikaterini) and a bright son (my Byzantine Empire/Alexios oc), as well as a beautiful home by the sea and a stable job as a college history professor—what more could he want? But deep in his heart, he never wanted a mundane, suburban life style. He yearned for excitement. He yearned to explore the world, to venture beyond his small seaside town. He’s tried to do it, but his fear of the ocean due to a horrible experience he had out at sea has prevented that from happening (his former boyfriend, my Ancient Carthage/Hannibal oc, took him out on a sailing trip to try to mend their relationship but drowned. The producers set all of it up so Agostino would be too scared to try to escape by sea, if he ever got the idea).

Agostino met Germania (Aldrich) in college, as a student. The producers wanted him to fall in love with Aikaterini—and he did, sort of. He thought she was pretty. They dated. But he was never truly happy. He just wanted to please Aikaterini. Agostino was practically attached to Aldrich and probably spent more time with him in college than with Aika. He wasn’t sure what it was about Aldrich that interested him, but he supposed it was everything. How he looked, how he talked, how he laughed (if ever), his look of surprise when Agostino came running to him, his blush of embarrassment, he could go on and on. But Aldrich did have somewhat of an ulterior motive once he got closer to him—he was going to get Agostino out of here. Before he became an actor on the show, he was a part (and still is) of a small group that advocated to free Agostino because obviously confining someone to a tv show and making them believe that their constructed reality is true is kind of fucked up. Aldrich thought the best way to free him was to become apart of the cast (he made sure to cover up the time he spent in that group). He eventually tried to tell Agostino the truth, that all of this was a lie, and tried to talk to him about escaping together, but a security guard dressed up like one of the background characters took him away pretending to be Aldrich’s father and he was fired.

Agostino lived in relative peace afterwards, but that wasn’t to say Aldrich left his mind. Agostino thought about him almost everyday. He even picked up drawing just to make sure he never forgot his face. His words never left him either. Agostino was wholly shaken up after the incident and for a while genuinely considered his words, but his “best friend” convinced him he was just overthinking it. He believed him obviously, but after finally finding out the truth for himself and going on a paranoid trip, he faces his fear of the ocean and tries to escape. The producers almost drown him, but he survives and makes it till the very end—only to find out that he’s in a tv set. Though, he does find stairs and an exit door and with a final goodbye to the camera, leaves, thus ending the show permanently.

Once’s out of the tv set, he attempts to find Aldrich, though Aldrich comes to him first. They have a bit of a cheesy confession scene and Aldrich decides to show him the real world.

Paranoia settles in again. What if people do favours for me because I’m me and not because it’s kind to do so? What if they’re also actors? What if the world he was in right now was just another tv set on a larger scale? Like with Truman and Sylvia, nobody has ever actually cared about Agostino besides Aldrich, which led him to cling onto Aldrich like it was the end of the world. They would’ve probably had a lot of fights over this since Aldrich thinks he’s overreacting and Agostino a genuine mistrust of everyone else, but Aldrich does eventually realise what Agostino is going through and helps him realise that maybe it isn’t so bad after all.

I’m going to keep thinking about this tbh. Sorry this was incredibly long, I just had a lot on my mind lol. Feel free to ask questions!

edit: I changed Rome’s modern human name

[istariot]

> 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝚁𝙾𝚆𝙳 𝙶𝙾𝙴𝚂 𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙳 !!

and as promised i bring you ZHANG XIAOTIAN, pathological liar, pyro-hobbyist, and devil chilling on your shoulder. below the cut is a little disjointed overview but you can check out more here ! i'll be floating about im's to plot with everyone ( slowly getting back to everyone who messaged already ! ), but feel free to like this post and i'll come your way posthaste !

i. information you may care about:

zhang xiaotian ( Rh1 ) is really just kind of existing.

the family business is all about that construction and steel manufacturing life, hence the chiseled jaw and aversion to manual labor.

he's spent the majority of his youth in a boarding school for wealthy wayward youth, following in his brother's footsteps since it seems to be a rite of passage for this family ( ...plus the kid just couldn't stop setting shit on fire and that really did need to be addressed in a structured environment ).

his brothers have been in this intense game-of-thrones-style rivalry his entire life and honestly he's just here to vibe so he doesn't really get involved ( except for this one time, but it was all alleged and mostly just some nasty rumors that he played a minor role in spreading but that's beside the point ).

said rivalry is pretty much what got xiaotian heading to snu in the first place ( along with father dearest's cash money ). casualty of war and all that.

the king's club is probably the only club he's managed to stay in throughout the entirety of his college career.

and it's not for lack of trying. he did all that he could to sabotage himself, lose friends, and alienate others and yet here he is your 2016 white rook ( his initiation was seriously lacking red carpet fanfare but its whatevs ).

on the bright side he had more fun tormenting initiates than he does embarrassing his father publicly, so he didn't mind sticking it out long enough to barely graduate ( below average ayyy lmao ) and roll into the nice cushy job his eldest brother created for him because we love a little nepotism.

ii. information you didn't ask for but you're going to get anyway:

certified yapper. physically can't shut the fuck up. believe about 82% of what comes out of his mouth.

would totally sleep his way to the top if he could. but for now he's satisfied with just sleeping his way into whoever is willing to let him crash at their place until he figures out what the hell is going on with all of his credit cards ( he suspects identity theft or something ).

his hobbies include long walks by the han river, spending exorbitant amounts at luxury grocery stores on random weekdays at 2:15pm specifically, and minding your business.

thankfully, he has grown out of his klepto phase but is not opposed to showing off his skills like a fun party trick when needed.

is completely capable of reading the room, but actively chooses not to. the whole no-filter thing doesn't really help either. his favorite pastime is figuring out how to offend each member of the king's club in a new and exciting way.

thinks cilantro tastes like soap. not really all that important, he just thought you should know.

oh, and it's probably a good idea to keep him away from flammable materials.

iii. some present day tidbits:

currently manager of operations for one of his father's smaller materials manufacturing subsidiaries but honestly he could not tell you what his title means or what it is exactly he's supposed to be doing. he just kind of sits in on meetings and looks handsome, but he's boosting morale and that's kind of all that matters.

is pretty late to this whole case reopening news and really is trying to figure out how everyone found out about it before him. who started the groupchat and why was he not invited?

now what happened to hyungseo was unfortunate, but he had nothing to do with it. he might've said something to try to shake him up in passing during one of the rituals, but there wasn't a single recruit he hadn't messed with back then. and even if he did know something about the whole thing, it's not like he'd tell it. at least not the truth about it. in fact, he doesn't even know what you're talking about. what rituals? what club? ...by the way can he borrow some money for the bus — kidding, kidding ( it's for his rideshare actually he just figured out how the app works ).

iii. information for plotting purposes?

if it wasn't obvious i'm still figuring this lil guy out, but i think it's best to plot on a canon-by-canon basis? but just to throw some random plot ideas out there —

blasts from his past with the teen delinquent squad ( think bling ring but without all the publicity ), fling, friend of a fling, and flings twice removed, friends of his eldest brother ( the guy is wrapped up in snu alum activities and spends a substantial amount of time with the business school, so totally plausible that he's done some mentoring and your muse has no idea how those two are even remotely related ), someone who's interested in his father's business dealings ( barking up the wrong tree with him but tian will bite and be the best source of misinformation he can be ), extracurricular activity buddies with strong livers, business associates ( can he copy your homework or something because someone is asking him for accrual data and he might just cry ), and maybe a few fellow daredevils that love a good thrill ( cliff diving anyone? no? too soon? )

i've got some other random things in mind and am so hype to get brainstorming so i'll just end things here and start floating about. thanks for making it to the end of this ramble and for that i'm going to give you a tian peptalk pov free of charge !

[antrylis]

✨Trade Space Station !✨

[1/4] >Next>

Finally...More than 60 hours of work, I can present my masterpiece. I have been working and planning this project for a long time. Given the sheer amount of things to talk about, I will split all of my rambling in (at least) four posts : one about the concepts, ideas, and general aspect (you're here !); one about the technical side of things; one depicting how the project evolved (using pictures taken during the construction); and one dealing with all the smaller details, ships, and such.

Enough with planning, though. Explanations, other images and more explanations below the cut !

(less) edited picture of the build :

So. You might see, now that I got rid of all that pesky editing (or most of it) that there is a big arm holding the thing in place. It's easily a fifth of all the work of this build, because I absolutely wanted to hold this thing at an angle, and it's heavy, at around 15 kilograms (33 pounds). I'll talk about the technical difficulties of that in a later post, but it was important for it to be solid, because the station was the central piece of my second ever (very small) lego exhibition. AND it allowed me to meet the recruiter of a much larger exhibit. Long story short, in a month, I'm presenting this piece again (just before my exams, whoops-).

Anyway. Not only is it heavy, but it's also quite tall and wide. Around a meter at the highest point (tilted or not), while the diameter of the main ring is at around 0.75m. Quite a difficult thing to move around. Or is it ? Well, yes and no.

Here are all the main components (excluding the holding arm), when I move the piece around. Of course, all the ships are detachable (it allows me to move them around from one day to the other), but the dome carrying the antenna can also be removed, and then, the entire ring can be disconnected (that, too, was quite a challenge).

Removing the ring obviously makes it waaay easier to transport, because a single wooden plank can then be used (again, except for the arm, but that thing was made to be sturdy, so it can be transported with less care); and , once the dome is removed, I can just let the central cylinder stand upside-down (useful for storage). The only trouble I found with this system is that I once connected the ring the wrong way around, meaning everything in the small hangars was upside down. Quite an embarrassing moment.

Speaking of the hangars, I initially wanted to keep them all empty, to store ships inside, but it didn't really offer this piece the sparkle of life. Setting up these small decors inside most of them, with colors contrasting with the general theme of the build, was actually a really good addition.

The colour scheme as it is now is not exactly the one I had planned at the start of the project. I originally planned on using bright light orange (bricklink colour name) instead of sand green, but I found out that this colour was tough to find in large quantities, and I already had quite a bunch of the sand green, so this tragic decision was made. I think it would have offered a more vibrant colour to the build (resembling a Subnautica default palette, which I enjoy quite a lot), but in hindsight, the green works really well, appart from a small detail I'll expand on in a minute.

What's really funny for this project is that, when it started, I actually only wanted a nice way of showcasing all the little space ships that I tend to make whenever I have access to a small amount of cool pieces. Then came a long time where I only daydreamed about it and planned how I would want it to go, and only when I had a clear vision did I start the actual building process. So, taking all that into account, you can probably double the amount of time I spiritually spent on this project.

What I knew is that I wanted to get this huge ring held by beams to the station's body, which made the build both more interesting and more complicated that it would have been. But the challenge was appealing.

At first, the main body was completely flat and white, but I soon had to add texture, both because it was becoming ugly and because the 2*2 white curved slopes were starting to diminish fast. The first modifications I did were to add the sand green curved slopes instead to create stipes, then letters : the big A-2 you can easily spot. With the few bits of lore that I have created for this piece, you have to imagine that there are hundreds of these stations spread in the galaxy, which can be easily described through 3 criteria : the Letter, the Number, and the Colour. That would mean that, if you wanted to meet with someone at the exemplar I made, you would say something along the lines of 'Meet you at Sand Green A2'.

Texture-wise, the other element of the largest cylinder is the exposed bits of machinery, very classic in sci-fi, I know, but it does work well in this context. The second cylinder has much less textures, with only a few grates, and some 2*1 ingot pieces (because they look cool); but it also has its own, smaller ring (diameter slightly larger than the largest cylinder's).

Then come the smaller cylinders, which don't have much texture, except in their transition from one to another (barely visible in any of the pictures, but it exist).

Overall, I'm also really happy of how round it looks, given that circles are not my speciality.

Here is a completely unedited picture of the support arm (Lewa for scale), with a nice counterweight which might be necessary to hold the entire thing in place (it may not be, but I'm not trying to remove it. Bad idea.).

As you might notice, my studio is not a shelf anymore. I built something new from scratch with a green screen, because I thought it would make my editing job easier. And it would have, if I didn't use sand green in my build. Anyway, I'm keeping this for a few days, to snap some pictures of the MOCs which don't fit in my shelve (and are not green, meaning editing will be easier.

Here is the 'studio' from an outside point of view :

I know it's quite a mess outside of my clean perimeter, but I do as I can. You can see one light in the foreground, but there is also one (less visible in the background), symmetrical to the first one, and a third one behind and above the camera (outside of the picture).

You may also notice a lot of sorting boxes. Sorting pieces can greatly improve your productivity, if you label all your box correctly. Covered by the greenscreen is essentially a shelf full of these sorting boxes, labelled by colour and piece type, and it was really practical. Anyway. Thank you for reading until this point, I guess ? If you survived through all this rambling, you probably deserve something...

I mean- Have these pictures I took during the exhibition, I guess...

(You can notice that these are two different days because of the ships’ placement).

[nicklloydnow]

“IN THE ANNALS OF ROCK HISTORY, Chinese Democracy is a punchline and a cautionary tale. Guns N’ Roses spent more than 14 years working on it. At the beginning of the process, they were still arguably the biggest rock band in the world. By the end, they were Axl Rose fronting a collection of musicians who could’ve staffed a rock & roll fantasy camp.

Much of the band’s core when they began making the album — Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke — either quit or were fired (or both) along the way. New members reportedly had to be approved by Rose’s spiritual adviser, an aura-reading psychic from Sedona named Sharon Maynard, who was often referred to as “Yoda.” At various points, the band’s lineup included ex-members of Nine Inch Nails, Primus, the Replacements, Devo, and the Psychedelic Furs. The list of musicians who auditioned, contributed, or visited the sessions includes Dave Navarro, Brian May, Sebastian Bach, Moby, and Shaquille O’Neal.

You could write an entire book about the tenure of avant-garde guitarist Buckethead, who communicated with bandmates through a hand puppet, and for whom a chicken coop was constructed in the studio, where, according to Zutaut, the guitarist would record his parts and watch porn. Zutaut also once claimed that, after Rose’s wolf puppy took a shit in said chicken coop, Buckethead resisted efforts to clean it up, claiming he loved the smell.

The entire project wasn’t only time consuming, it was wildly expensive, with costs reportedly running to a quarter of a million dollars per month at some stages, and a final tab of at least $13 million. The protracted recording process was a function of, among other things, Rose’s desperate effort to match the sound coming out of the speakers to the sound in his head. A less charitable reading was that he’d simply lost the plot, and without a strong creative counterweight — someone like Slash or Duff who was equally invested in the outcome — there was nobody to help him find it.

(…)

Within the insular confines of the GN’R fan community, though, there were devotees like Dunsford and Madeline, for whom Chinese Democracy wasn’t an embarrassing bomb from a megalomaniac who’d alienated his most important collaborators. It was an overlooked magnum opus by a misunderstood genius. If GN’R’s early albums bottled a certain amount of anti-social rebellion, Chinese Democracy represents a kind of counterrevolution, in which its relative unpopularity has only intensified the passion of its adherents.

Madeline told me that for years on GN’R forums, “85 to 95 percent of fans wanted nothing to do with Guns N’ Roses unless it was discussing the old lineup. Then you have people like me — we call ourselves five-percenters. All we cared about was Chinese Democracy.”

(…)

Amid this void, the less-dedicated fans lost interest, leaving a hardcore group who feasted on any scraps of information they could scrounge. Every paparazzi photo of Rose would be studied for clues to his mind state. Fans would discuss a stray quote from a band member with the dedication of Talmudic scholars.

This sense of scarcity was foundational to the fan community. Anyone with access to new music or information — or anyone perceived to — has cachet. Unreleased music is the most prized of all currencies.

GN’R fans who manage to procure unreleased tracks, or even snippets of them, fall into two basic categories: hoarders and leakers. Hoarders keep whatever they find for themselves or share only with a handful of trusted friends. Leakers distribute it to the rest of the fans. Within the community, hoarders are both despised and venerated. They’re viewed as anti-democratic elitists, but they’re insiders with something everyone wants. On occasion, a hoarder may sell unreleased material or trade it — and some make real money doing this — but they intuitively understand the scarcity principle. If they distribute music widely, it not only puts them at risk legally, it also erases the music’s value and endangers their heightened status.

(…)

By the time of Chinese Democracy’s official release, most of its songs had already leaked, occasionally in dramatic fashion — including one, bizarrely, when then-New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza brought a CD-R of unreleased songs to Eddie Trunk’s radio show. The album’s anti-climactic arrival fed the fans’ thirst for more music. Suggestions from Rose and others that the album was intended as part of a trilogy, and that there was enough music to fill several albums, convinced some fans there was a lost classic just gathering dust in the band’s vault.

In light of this, many fans have come to resent GN’R’s secrecy and stinginess with new music. “The band should’ve figured out a way to manage their community online in a more positive way, instead of keeping them in the dark for so many years,” says Kooluris. “They’ve created all these monsters who just want to pillage, steal, and grab whatever they can get because they don’t feel like they’ve ever been appreciated by the band.… It’s like Stockholm syndrome. They’re chained up in the basement, they haven’t been outside for years, so they act in unhealthy ways.

“It’s more than the music,” he continues. “These people are looking for belonging.… But these guys invest so much that it distracts them from being happy. Because you’re not going to be happy if you’re all in on GN’R.”

(…)

The studio was Village Recorder, the legendary birthplace of Steely Dan’s Aja, Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk, and Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. GN’R moved their base of operations there in 2000. Nineteen of the CD-Rs Bird found in the locker were rough mixes from the 2000-01 Village sessions. They included complete songs, instrumentals, rehearsals, and alternate versions of previously released material. The sessions were legendary among fans. Nothing had ever leaked from them. This, they believed, was where they’d find their lost classic.

(…)

Fans have now been waiting nearly as long for a Chinese Democracy follow-up as they waited for Chinese Democracy. Whispers swirl about the imminent arrival of a new full-length culled from this batch of leaked material. But is this stuff any good?

Within the GN’R community, views diverge. “There’s plenty of material that could really be a legendary album,” says Dunsford. Kooluris is less sanguine: “These fans think Axl’s got another ‘Paradise City’ or ‘November Rain’ in the vault, and he fucking doesn’t.” There’s widespread enthusiasm for the raw, guitar-driven “Hard Skool,” which was released as a single in 2021 and hearkens back to pre-Chinese Democracy GN’R. It’s a particular curiosity because many fans interpret the lyrics (“You had to play it cool, had to do it your way/Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away”) as a shot at Slash, who rejoined the band with Duff in 2016, and ultimately contributed guitar parts to the finished song.

Many of the leaked songs aren’t hard to find online. Listening to them, it’s easy to convince yourself that with a little polish, “Atlas Shrugged,” the tense, dramatic “Perhaps,” and “State of Grace,” an industrial-tinged midtempo creeper, could’ve anchored another classic GN’R album. Other tracks feel half-baked. But judging these songs based on rough mixes feels unfair. Exploring ideas that never get fully fleshed out and trying things that don’t succeed is how the creative process is supposed to work. This, of course, underscores the moral argument against leaking unreleased music. “Ultimately, there’s only one truth,” says Kooluris. “It’s stolen music. These guys try to rationalize it, but it’s not theirs.”

(…)

One of his long-running motivations around leaking music has been to stick it to “the hoarding putzes,” though he recognizes the biggest hoarder of all is Rose himself. “He doesn’t owe anybody anything, but sometimes he teases like he’s going to do something, then nothing happens, and people get frustrated,” Craig says. “It’s almost like drug addicts.… You’re so desperate for a fix you’ll do things not within the norm to get your fix. All these kids are acting like they’re members of a spy ring.… You don’t see that with Metallica or Faith No More.”

(…)

Being a music fan has changed a lot in the past 20 years. Collecting an artist’s every release was once the sign of a true die-hard. Now, we all have that for nearly every artist in existence for the price of a monthly subscription fee.

So, in this time of instant access and overwhelming abundance, what defines real fandom? How do you prove it? Well, if you’re Rick Dunsford, you do whatever it takes to get your hands on the music nobody else has. When being a fan is easy, you do what’s hard. These GN’R fans — not just Dunsford, but the whole collection of crazies — understand that.”

“This, in the Year Punk Broke A.D., was months before Nevermind, and a year before Kurt Cobain, on the exact same journey as GN’R, rocked a “Corporate Magazines Still Suck” T-shit on Rolling Stone’s cover. But even as grunge and punk revivalism supposedly unseated mainstream rock in the Nineties (or so the myth goes), Guns N’ Roses, who’d been covering punk groups the U.K. Subs and the Misfits for years, were playing in stadiums alongside Metallica (another band that covered the Misfits, as well as punks Fang years before Nirvana). Mainstream rock, with all its primordial influences, was still bigger than ever and would remain so for at least a couple more years. This box set, memorializing the 30th anniversary of Guns N’ Roses’ overwhelming and intimidating Use Your Illusion albums — arriving, in true GN’R fashion, a year late — presents some interesting alternate facts for the alternative explosion.

(…)

The albums, in hindsight, present the paradox of a band of outsiders who have become the biggest band on the planet but still want to be rebels (see also: Neil Young’s fable of Johnny Rotten, and Kurt Cobain’s fable of Kurt Cobain). It’s a portrait of an identity crisis and it eventually tore them apart. But at the time, they rose to the challenge and reaped the rewards, even if by all accounts the Use Your Illusion albums are still Too Much Music.

(…)

By this point, the band had been called up from the streets and had risen to the occasion. They were still working together, and, gosh, maybe even liked each other. Three decades since their release, we know understand how the Use Your Illusion albums represented the most of what they could do, and they secured their legend. If they had called it quits completely after the tour, like the Police did after Synchronicity, and avoided all the nasty press digs, it could have been a clean break and we probably still would have gotten Chinese Democracy. But Use Your Illusion was a testament to their determination, which is still their driving force. Not grunge, not Spin, not good taste (or even bad taste) could hold them back then or now. This is a portrait of the kings of the jungle.”

[inkincaps01]

The Magic of Projection Mapping: How it is Reshaping Brand Experiences

I still remember standing on a chilly evening downtown, staring up at a building that seemed to be coming alive. The concrete facade appeared to breathe, then dissolve into a kaleidoscope of colors, before transforming into what looked like an open dollhouse revealing magical worlds inside each "room." My hot chocolate went cold in my hands as I stood transfixed alongside dozens of other mesmerized onlookers.

That was my first encounter with projection mapping, and it changed how I think about marketing forever.

What is This Sorcery?

At its heart, projection mapping is like giving buildings, objects, or spaces a digital costume. Unlike regular projections that just splash an image onto a flat surface, projection mapping wraps visuals around the contours of three-dimensional objects.

My tech-obsessed nephew tried explaining the technical details to me, but honestly, the magic isn't in understanding how it works—it's in experiencing it. When you see a car morph from red to blue to a galaxy pattern, or watch as a mannequin appears to don different outfits in seconds, the effect is genuinely jaw-dropping.

Why Traditional Advertising Just Doesn't Cut It Anymore

I used to work in traditional marketing, and I'll admit it: getting people to notice ads today is harder than getting my teenagers off their phones at dinner time.

We've all developed sophisticated ad blindness. Our brains have learned to filter out billboards, scroll past sponsored content, and mute commercials without a second thought. But projection mapping? It triggers that childlike part of our brains that's still capable of wonder.

Last month, I watched a crowd gather around a storefront where shoes on display seemed to construct themselves piece by piece through projection. People weren't just glancing—they were filming, commenting, and most importantly, remembering the brand.

My Favorite Projection Mapping Approaches

After diving into this world, I've fallen in love with several different applications:

Building transformations are the showstoppers—like the time I saw a historic city hall appear to crumble and rebuild itself during a festival. My Instagram followers thought I'd used some fancy filter until I explained it was happening in real time.

Product showcases use smaller-scale mapping to demonstrate features or options. A furniture store near me projects different fabric patterns onto plain white couches, and I've spent embarrassing amounts of time watching the transformations.

Interactive experiences have actually gotten my 15-year-old daughter to engage with brands. She spent half an hour controlling a light display with her movements at a mall event, and yes, she bought the sneakers being promoted afterward.

Real Results I've Witnessed

My friend Sarah runs a small boutique hotel that couldn't compete with the marketing budgets of big chains. For their anniversary celebration, they invested in a weekend-long projection mapping display on their historic facade. The return? Bookings increased 35% in the following quarter, and their social media following tripled.

When my brother launched his craft brewery in a crowded market, a projection mapping installation showing the brewing process on the actual brewing tanks became their signature draw. Visitors now time their tours specifically to see the show.

Finding the Right Partners

After seeing too many businesses jump into projection mapping without a plan, I've learned this isn't a DIY project (despite my husband's insistence that he could "figure it out" for our anniversary party).

When my marketing team explored options, we discovered vast differences between providers. Some were technical wizards but couldn't tell a compelling story. Others had amazing creative ideas but struggled with execution.

The best partnerships happen when you find experts who ask about your goals first, not your budget. They should be translating marketing objectives into experiences, not just showing off technical capabilities.

Is It Worth the Investment?

I'm naturally skeptical about marketing "trends," having seen too many flash and disappear. But projection mapping has staying power because it taps into fundamental human psychology—our attraction to novelty, storytelling, and shared experiences.

Yes, it requires investment. But compared to what? The forgettable digital ads we're all ignoring? The print materials heading straight to recycling bins?

When I calculated the cost-per-engagement for our last projection campaign versus our digital advertising, projection mapping delivered three times the meaningful interactions at a comparable price point.

In today's world where capturing attention is the hardest currency to earn, projection mapping doesn't just capture it—it rewards it with an experience worth remembering.

Have you encountered a projection mapping display that stuck with you? Or are you considering it for your business? I'd love to hear your stories and questions!

[non-binary-surgery-log]

Non-binary Surgery

For this surgery's context I am AMAB and retained my dick and had a neo-vagina constructed out of sack and stomach tissue. I had my urethra rerouted to the neo-vagina and as much of my sack removed as possible to still have enough left over to retain full erectile length.

First day after the surgery was probably the hardest of the first 5 days

I had 3 drains, a catheter (they called a foley) and a sponge stuffed inside the vagina

I had a section of my stomach tissue used for the internals

My doctor for this was Dr Fascelli with Beth 

(drains are jp)

The first five days I had to stay in bed and did not get out, tho I was able to move myself with my arms

During my first day I was so nauseous I couldn’t keep anything down even water but I possibly have a bad interaction with opioids 

I was on a pain pump for the first two and a half days 

During this time I had external dressings across my abdomen and new anatomy as well around my dick which was left mostly intact minus the fact that my pee hole was rerouted to female anatomy

During this time I had to use a bowl to go number two, probably the most embarrassing part of the whole ordeal

I also was in pain when laughing 

As part of the preparation they had me do a bowel prep so I didn’t have solid food for the first day and a half

They said the entire time that my healing was really good, possibly because I still had the analogous structure to the clit intact

Day 6 I have my drains, or JP out, the catheter or foley out, and my packing sponge out

I am walking again and was able to take a shower by myself, am using the bathroom by myself and fully

Using the bathroom is a little messy due to swelling and using a catheter for so many days my body forgot how precision release the bladder

Day 7

I completed my first dilation, strange new sensation with both the insertion and the removal but I was very happy with the total amount of depth achieved over the 30 minute session

Day 8

Several more dilation have been done, a bit sore but overall seems to be going well enough to possibly size up early as the after care says

Have some discharge after dilation but that is within the notes of dilation as normal 

One of the JP holes hurts and doesn’t look great but so far they say to just keep it covered and let water run over it in the shower 

Day 9

A quick trip to the toilet resulted in a popped stitch and needing to put pressure on the spot for half an hour, 15 min of which was with ice

Blood is basically the theme of day 9, with everything now including blood, from when I clean myself after peeing, to when I’m laying around putting pressure on the vagina wound, and rearing it’s head when I’m dilating

The JP holes are all looking better with two looking like they’re close to closing and the infected looking one getting marginally better

Days 10, 11

Both days are basically just manage the blood sacrifices and keep dilating

Day 16

Over the past few days the bleeding has stopped, healing is looking good and I haven’t popped any more stitches

I moved up in size on the dilator

I’m stuck on 3/5 dots on the dilator

The grafts are the strangest part of the healing, it’s hard to judge their status

Beyond 16 days I stopped keeping daily logs, things were more changing slowly rather than drastic changes.

I spent about 4 weeks putting an anti-bacterial goop on my surgical site, assisted by my partner.

Sometime around 8-12 weeks I changed my dilating routine from 3 times per day to 2 times per day adding up to the same amount of time. This was earlier than the paperwork said but my doctor said it was okay due to how well I personally was healing.

Around this same time I started using the third dilator size. I had and still have trouble getting to full depth with the third dilator so I mix using the second and third.

Around 4 and a half months I started dilating once per day, still mixing the two dilators.

Things have largely stayed the same during this entire time from 3 months or twelve weeks until the time of writing this at just over 6 months. All pain with dilating has long since stopped and I no longer have blood when I dilate.

[kalims]

⊹ㅤasking you to be their valentines | first years

note. happy (late) valentines guys, not proofread

cw. reader implied to be around ace's height (in his part only) sorry I just can't keep the throwing an arm around your shoulder hc off 😢 aghhh but other than that I tried my best to not describe any features. (just imagine you tp to his height for one paragraph then your mc can go back to your height after LOL)

deuce spade ── has everything planned out but most of it doesn't go to plan

deuce sweats.

never in his life has he even considered doing something for someone in valentines day.

correction; he did not make a move to his old crushes so he could very well be compared to that of a kid with no knowledge about the area whatsoever which is embarrassing cause he knows kids younger who had somehow managed to score a lover.

he had always thought nothing of it and wondered about them being too young to even be 'in love' but damn was it humiliating to get humbled now!

the bouquet of flowers seem to be shaking in his grip every second and cater had commented that he should loosen his grip—lest he actually breaks it with his nervous strength alone, and that's the last thing deuce wants. the madol he spent for it was a hefty amount and his mother would strangle him if he broke the only thing he gave to someone in a romantic sense.

there's clear traces of gel in his hair. slicked back, shiny and unmoving. he looks a little weird standing in the middle of the field looking like he was plucked straight out of a private school which is ironic considering his delinquency.

deuce looks back at the hasty morning he spent. waking up, realizing he just slept past the 5 alarms he set up, clumsily finishing his routine before sparing a good moment to stand in his mirror and recite the paragraph he'd been constructing for days.

ace had caught him there once, talking to a mirror like it was someone; you. and snorted so loudly that deuce wondered if anything about it was wrong.

'everything is wrong with it' ace had told him with a dead kind of look, disgusted but amused nonetheless. deuce never took his word for it, his mother had said something similar to his father and look where they were!

he is practically choking the round, white plush in his other hand the more he tightens his jaw out of anticipation. eleanor smiles at him cutely, pink round blush stitched below her eyelids. eleanor, or so he'd named the egg plush. deuce would have went with the signature bear plush but the moment he set his eyes on eleanor he just fell in love.

... with the exception of you of course.

like a puppy brightening up when it sees it's favorite person deuce perks up and does a quick run over.

he'd practically begged trey to bake some of your favorite delicacy and trusted to leave it bravely within the confines of the heartslabyul fridge. of course sticking a sticky note on the container with a threat and an angry face.

if you accept he'll take you right over there for a little date.. (if he's being too presumption that it is that is)

flowers, got it. he misses the wilted petals from his previous vice grip.

"prefect!" he yells from across the field. successfully making you pause in the middle of your traversing towards the gate. your eyes land on deuce spade, looking a little different than you remember—clad in a suit that definitely isn't nrc's, slicked back hair and decked in the 'will you be my prom date' set.

you sweatdrop. but raise your hand in a friendly wave despite it. "hi deuce," you greet sweetly and deuce swoons from his spot. his cheeks erupt to fire as he shyly looks away.

is he okay? you think.

deuce gestures you to come over.

so that's exactly what you did. I can spare a few, you glance at the time and make your way over to the boy certainly acting strange.

once you do his arms reaches up to show a bouquet of.. flowers in it. you stare at it in confusion, then at the several parts that had stared falling off. deuce curses under his breath but keeps a twitching smile. ".. for you," he says.

you smile, unable to stop the laugh that had emerged. "are you sick deucey? what's the occasion?" you tease lightheartedly. nudging him and taking a whiff.

you sneeze.

then blink. oh that's kind of... strong?

deuce grimaces from beside you.

"uh.. nevermind those, you can have this instead," he presents you a plushie in the shape of an egg. once again, perhaps deuce really is sick. you can't help but laugh again at the endearing silliness.

"can I name it?"

"sure..?" he doesn't look too sure. it's name is eleanor he bites it back.

"(plushie name)." I was gonna name it ash but coughs

he forces a smile. "wow. what a nice name,"

deuce suffers in the silence that follows after, and he's a little bothered by the new name of his favorite egg plushie. you will be missed eleanor, he thinks. midst the loss of his friend he supposes the fact that his favorite person ever makes up for it.

you do a quick do over deuce, blinking slowly at the attire that seems foreign. "what's the occasion? you look fancy," that's right. deuce almost forgot the reason why he was standing in the middle of the field in the first place, he doesn't wanna blame the fact that you practically knock the words out of his throat but.. it is you.

and, momentarily he forgot what nerves were in that very moment.

he can feel it come back, to the cold sweat on his neck, the clammy fingers, and the tightening sensation in his throat. deuce unconsciously nips at the skin of his lips as he exhales—then he straightens his top to prolong his question.

"you.. know that valentines is coming up right..?" he asks nervously.

you nod. "yep, about a week from now," you pause. "why?"

he looks down. "do you,,, wanna be my valentine?"

silence.

deuce slumps at the non verbal response of rejection as the shame fully descends on him. how could he do this? now he's ruined the friendship he's glad he'd built with you.

"what's with the gloomy face? I haven't said no, you know,"

a laugh and instantly it shines down a new hope at his darkness, like light upon an enclosed room. sparkling eyes full of suprise stare at you and you resist the urge to pinch his cheeks and simply wrap him up in a burrito blanket. strange, you know but it fits him.

"you mean?" right. he'd burst into tears when he gets home if you're just playing a joke on him.

you smile at him fondly. "there's like, a gala that the school is hosting. let's go as each others valentines date," you laugh and close the space between you two. a hug, deuce recognizes and it's almost the warmest he's ever had.

albeit awkwardly arms wrap around your body and return your love fully.

ㅤ

ace trapolla ── is 'going with the flow' but 'forgets'

"you're totally down bad!"

ace huffs. what could cater know about romance? people would totally run away from him before he could even ask someone out! meanwhile he; the classic boy everyone's after. he claimed, but cater just laughed at refused to believe him.

whatever some people just don't have good taste. ace rolls his eyes and takes out his cellphone. besides, I'm not down bad at all! he groans. the chime of a notification has him looking down, sparing the air from his annoyed glare.

'a user has commented to your post'

at the sight of it his cheeks turn ablaze and he shoves the screen to his chest, obscuring the view of anyone who dares to peer.

(said 'anyone' is just the air, there's no one besides him and a group of students far away)

ace inhales sharply. he's not crazy he was just,, curious. a man's gotta have his secrets! even if he was gonna drown himself if anyone find out.

he spares one more look at the non existent crowd before swiping up. the big letters read: 'how do I ask someone out as valentines' he most definitely didn't run to google, googling things like 'why is the idiot no longer annoying' 'why do I feel like this I like it but I hate it' which would be cringe worthy if cater ever found out.

I am not down bad. he thinks as he clicks on the comment icons then reads the latest one.

monsieur d'amour_ : there is no better way than to speak from your heart! 💖 n'ayez pas peur ~

( n'ayez pas peur — do not be afraid )

this guy has screws loose. speak from his heart? what a bunch of stupid shit.. and he's not afraid! ace is no coward. he stares silently but he can't deny that it was just a tad, bit inspirational. how could he ever do that? his mouth basically runs on auto pilot to protect his pride and his pride certainly doesn't correlate with his feelings.

yes.. he's not scared.

do it pussy. a second conscious voice seems to taunt him, he sighs. sometimes he hates the attitude that his thoughts,, think.

as if the seven really wants to laugh at him for entertainment the object of his affections silhouette keeps getting larger and larger.

you; the prefect of ramshackle. the same person that had him up for a punishment on the first day of school, he can say that you're the reason he was almost expelled but you're also partially the reason why he wasn't. crazy isn't it? his best friend (other), the same person he just had to fall for.

you're coming closer, ace concludes and he squares up his shoulders and presents the most natural grin he can.

ace saunters up to you and throws a casual arm around your shoulders. it's been habit at this point, perhaps ace just does it because you're his friend or maybe he's just finding another reason to keep you close. (he does the same with deuce but there's an almost guaranteed wrestle and ruffling of the head aggressively affectionate right after)

"what's my favorite prefect doing around here?" ace grins. you roll your eyes at his words but mirror his smile. "favorite prefect? are you serious?" you push him with your shoulder lightly but never enough to shove him off and decline the skin to skin contact he gives. technically it is true though. he doesn't like nearly all the dorm leaders, perhaps with the exception of scarabia's but he can't say they're close.

he smirks. "who else?" then the raw confidence he doesn't have a problem excluding dims when he remembers the whole,, valentines thing.

his smile drops for a second before he repairs it back up.

okay ace, go with the flow. speak with your heart. he can't believe he's actually heeding that random idiots advice. "soooo... you must be date-less on valentines, I mean who would want to go with you?" cruel words seem to spout out of his mouth as a habit. it was like that the first time you met but you practically shoved it all back up his ass.

you were used to it so you didn't mind. maybe that's why ace likes you. you aren't as weak hearted, and sensitive like the other people. a little selfish and strange on his part but he always wanted someone who'd joke with him, not minding his rather dark humor.

"no actually. I'm going with someone," you say. all smiley and all and ace feels like barfing his breakfast in the toilet. his smile immediately falls into a deadpan that he could not hide from you. in turn, you smile mischievously at the new revelation. this idiot is so easy to read. you think.

likable, lovable idiot on your part.

ace grimaces and ignores the tight fist he has curled up on his other, free hand. "... someone actually wanted to go with you? suprising," he comments dryly. a little colder than you expected so you still spare a raised brow to his quick, words. you shove him playfully. "I am completely—perfectly date material,"

I'd like to be the judge of that. ace sighs quietly. that kind of thought seems way out of reach in reality now though, whoever got you first is one lucky bastard.

"sure,"

"yeah I just hope grim doesn't get us kicked out of the venue,"

oh.

oh.

incredulously, he turns to you with barely contained shock. "grim? you're going with grim?"

you tilt your head. "who else? we are each others platonic soul mate," you claim with a grin. grim might be a headache most of the time but you can't deny that you've grown fond of the chaos he brought into your life.

if he's your platonic soulmate then what is he? ace gulps. "I must be your, other kind of soulmate then?" he says in a joking manner. your romantic sense of soulmate? you side eye him.

"I think so,"

he blinks. are we flirting right now? he'd like to ask.

ace is great at changing topics.

kind of.

"you can't bring a cat as the one you go with. riddle will literally behead you with his bare hands," moments ago ace had let go of your shoulders and let his hands settle behind the back of his head. act casual, he thinks.

at some point he's been telling himself what to do several times in the middle of the conversation with you, taking in the points he constructs an appropriate action. he's completely gone off track from going with the flow.

you snort. "no way dude. with his tiny little hands?" obviously joking you shiver at the thought of riddle listening to your conversation and comment. you'd be beheaded on spot. he is true though, if you brought grim the rules technically wouldn't account him as a guest so basically you're listed alone.

I refuse to be single in valentines day. you think in determination. but alas.. no one really had ask you. you cast an inquisitive look at ace, you certainly wouldn't mind him..

you clear your throat and look away, I am not down bad!

but if I don't ask now would I be able to spend a valentines with the person I'd like to be mine at all? you both think.

"hey do you—"

"I've been thinking—"

you both pause at each other running over the others words. you point at him then nod, but he shakes his head and nudges you. "you first,"

ugh.

"I've been thinking.. you said I can't go with grim, how about you?" you say quietly. embarassment coating your features and ace's heart actually started racing. is this really happening right now? is this real?

but.. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't beat me to that," he deadpans. and you smirk once you realize what he's talking about. ace does not like being one upped at all.

he fakes a cough and clears his throat. "wanna be my valentines?" you're lucky if you are my valentines. ace tells himself. but I might be even luckier.

ㅤ

jack howl ── actually asked crewel at first (since it seems like that man practically adopted you) before asking you.

"so puppy," in an empty classroom—his, empty classroom crewel sits on his velvety cushioned chair. over the table jack howl sits tensely, ears stiffed up high. his tail in a similar dilemma, listening to even a single sound of displeasure on crewel's face.

jack has never felt so nervous in the face of his professor, but he doubts crewel is even his professor right now. the 'technically' only family you consider right now would be the best word to describe him. even he wasn't this nervous the first time he was let on the field. his first magishift game.

he doubted crewel would even spare him the time. but when he mentioned something about you, the man's face shifted into something blank and frankly the way he peered down at him was terrifying. jack realized you were something precious to the man and had gotten a look deeper into his fatherly protectiveness.

of course crewel assumed something worse. and demanded, that he spit out whatever he has to say about you before he makes him. jack thought no one would find anything if he were to miraculously disappear right now.

he does understand, rather than thinking it was cruel jack emphasized. he would do anything for his pack too, his family.

"let's continue with that conversation we had shall we? now in particular," crewel hums. "I'd like it for you to spit it out, if anything happened to the prefect I assure you. the following events, you will not like,"

jack shivers at the underlying fury beneath his words and hell. he completely forgot to tell crewel the reason why he's in front of a noticeably worried parent. and perhaps if he did about a while ago? maybe he would be facing something more bearable, and less.. scary..

"I,,, I apologize sir. nothing bad happened to the prefect," jack clears his throat and breathes in the air in relief when crewel's sharp stare softens—he breathes a similar sigh to his. "why didn't you start with that? I can't say I like puppies who beat around the bush,"

he is not a puppy. jack would like to add but he doesn't think he'd like to see another sharp stare for the sake of his pride.

this one is fidgety. crewel notes, noticing his tense shoulders and averting gaze. he wonders what kind of business he has with him when the boy practically had done everything to 'discuss something' with him. maybe a failing grade? he is quite strict with academics. if he mentioned you then are you the one failing?

crewel huffs. impossible, you can't have a failing grade! he tutors you after class!

the man crosses his arms. "what is it then?"

the moment of truth. jack wills the anxiety to evaporate out of his body as he faces the man whose answer will depend on his answers. "I would like to ask if I could ask the prefect out this week—" jack feigns a cough. "—as my valentines as well,," not entirely consensual on his part but his voice trails off weakly at the end.

(okay I might be writing this too seriously. jack treats this seriously it's kinda comedic lol)

crewel blinks, huffs and barks out a laugh. a little out of disbelief but it's quite entertaining to him to see this puppy on his knees figuratively asking him? for the prefect? on a date? how funny.

maybe he would have said a simple; 'absolutely not' because no one could ever have someone as good as you. but he's seen enough, clearly this boy's love for you might even be beyond his imagination. if he says yes it will only continue to grow and surpass even his own.

the thought of someone loving you more than him is preposterous! maybe he feels a little old for this time to happen so soon. and no way he's letting some,,, boy take you away from him!

but it would do the both of you some good. he concludes.

jack stares at him in confusion. was it so ridiculous that he had to laugh?

crewel plays a rare smile, small but one nonetheless. "you must be jack," the prefect has told a lot about you. it seems like your love is returned in full. he thinks.

the door opens and jack jolts. speak of the devil. crewel smirks. this will make up for good entertainment.

what an unlikely pair, jack and crewel? you raise your brows in suprise. your eyes slide to the former, he looks kinda scared wonder what happened here. you wondered.

the smirk on crewel's face has jack internally praying. "has anyone asked you for valentines, honey?"

you deadpan. that is quite concerning, the first thing crewel would've done if that was the cause was hunt whoever that was down. "... no, why?"

crewel stands up and saunters over to the other side of the table—where jack sits and the boy tensed up quickly when he felt the skin of crewel's gloves on his shoulder. crewel was gripping his broad shoulders, menacingly but yet managing to smile at you.

"how about this one?" he grins.

in all fairness—you gaped, and stared at the two like they had grown three heads. "w-what?" you gulped. a little embarrassed by the stammer but can you blame yourself? you had gone in the room you know whose crewel's to unwind and maybe have a chat with him not.. this strange predicament.

you know full well what he's implying and if it were any other person you'd have no problem saying no.

but it's jack!

you scratch your head. awkward silence drifts over the atmosphere when you and jack both meet eyes. crewel's hands finally leave the former's shoulders but not without an aspirated sigh. he thought this would be amusing to watch, not... overbearing.

"oh for seven's sake. why don't both of you go to the gala as each other's valentines?" crewel smiles thinly, and it seems like there's no room for arguments. "any objections,"

you stare at jack's silence. he's alright with this? you nervously think before frowning. "that's.. unfair, jack would want to have a valentines that's his own choice," you shake your head. willing he strange pressure around your throat as you do so. hell you're practically already jealous on the person he'd choose.

"no." jack denies. "I'm glad, you're the only person I'd like to be mine," you assume he's referring to you as his valentines but honestly? the way he said 'mine' had you feeling kinda warm.

finally. crewel is pleased with his work.

he scowls. "good. now get out," enough of this teenage romance. crewel's had enough for the day.

ㅤ

epel felmier ── tried to ask you several times in a planned day but ended up chickening out. that is, until the situation just called for it

"what did they say?"

epel blinks away from his haze at the sound of vil's questioning voice. "what?" he dumbly mumbles out. besides heartslabyul famous rose maze, pomefiore has a rather beautiful garden. more variety of flowers and wildlife. exclusively only accessible to the dorm's students.

even epel can say that despite his hate for the dorm itself it's very nice to be around this particular spot—epel would have stayed, and used it as his hiding spot if vil didn't like it as well. unfortunately for him it meant that the garden is still under the scrutinizing gaze or the dorm leader.

which meant that he basically gets no break. epel would like to climb over the dorm's walls.

right now the field isn't housing people other than him and vil. he assumes rook had shoo'd them away, given how vil is currently using it. the latter sets down his tea cup on it's tray before raising a brow at epel. "... the prefect? you were going on all about how you were gonna ask them to be your valentines earlier," vil says.

epel curses in his mind and hoped that the distraught look was something vil didn't catch. though he doubts it he still hopes.

vil stays silent but keeps the raised brow for a second longer. he shakes his head after dropping it entirely. "don't tell me you failed," something as simple as that? come on. vil is sure that you wouldn't even deny the apple of pomefiore. anyone could see how reciprocated epel's feelings are.

his stare hardens in disappointment. "epel,"

epel keeps his mouth shut and replies in his mind. what? he told me to not tell him. epel resists to roll his eyes..

vil crosses his arms over his chest just as rook chimes from the entrance. "what a shame. I thought it was a perfect time to strike!" he grins.

epel blanches. "what the—rook you were there?" that, he did not know. epel points an accusing gaze at vil whom pretends to not notice, sipping on his tea and all. the smile on rook's face does not waver as he tips his hat as a greeting. "fufu.. we simply could not leave our precious apple without guidance,"

"I don't need your guidance, imma a grown man!" epel snaps. letting his accent accent slip past for a second before deflating once he realizes. vil stares at him silently, though rook spares him a look of pity. which is not really helping!

"I mean.. thanks?" as some kind of last effort to lessen the fury epel clears his throat.

fortunately vil was in a good mood so he let it slide.

"we were speaking about the prefect?"

vil urges epel to explain whatever happened and the boy's face twists into awkwardness. probably having war flashbacks hours ago, it was embarrassing because all the things he had planned went to waste. epel does not want to talk about it.

"prefect? oh they were looking as magnifique as ever~ they are on the way here as we speak now,"

what.

epel completely freezes as he practically was on the road to breaking his neck with how fast it snapped over to rook. did he hear that right? if he did epel hoped he was deaf in that moment. he looks down and hastily pats the crumbs of crackers out of his uniform.

oh seven no! he looked atrocious right now, his hair still had twigs from the mishap with you earlier and the literal reason he ran away was because he definitely did not want you to see him like he just crawled out of a jungle.

vil shoots him a look. I told you so. he should have taken up his suggestion of taking a bath to clear out the dirt. he didn't even have time to change, epel slumps. it's a miracle vil let him walk around like that which epel actually hoped he didn't for once.

maybe this is vil's influence. epel suddenly caring about appearance and all but he does admit he had grown a little self conscious when you were in his case.

he doesn't get a chance to ponder about it any longer since your head popped in to peer into the garden, suprised at the three guys looking right at you. all varying faces of happiness, indifferent and grief?

vil clears his throat even though it feels completely all right. "ahem.. rook why don't we finish our plans for the annual magishift?" the man is already walking to which the other follows. his words catches your attention.

your brows raise. strange "magishift? i thought you guys didn't like that," true. comes vil's blank face but his dorm isn't a loser. after all, their performance reflects on the evil queen and vil would hate it to be a bad light.

"hmph. we are not just beauty you know," he smirks and continues on towards the path, rook trailing behind him nodding along.

on their way out he can still hear the duo. vil's huff; "it's painful to watch them," and rook's response; "I am merely pleased i could bear witness to the fruits of love,"

you take in his messy appearance and epel winces, placing a carefully practiced 'cute' smile on his face. "don't say anything about it," please. epel has an abnormally softer voice compared to that of he shows you.

this boy is trying to manipulate me? you wonder in amusement. he does look quite messy though, it's a wonder vil acted so casual with him a few minutes ago. since you were the one who scared him to tripping on that poor bush you suppose the least you could do was help him clean up.

epel recoils away from your outstretched hand the moment it touched his hair. heat soars through his face as he nearly screeches. "what are you doing?!" calming down the slightest at your bewildered expression.

"there's twigs in your hair,"

",,oh,,"

reluctantly he sits back down in his chair, squirming at the sensation of your fingers digging in for the sticks and twigs he had forgotten to shake off. epel feels awfully flustered by a simple thing.

the time passes. the sky gets darker, and epel gets more comfortable. the tense in his shoulders eventually deteriorates into a relaxed posture. he's never felt so comfortably before. I hope there's more stuff in there so you don't have to go. epel thinks.

"all done,"

yes, epel will do anything to get you to stay longer.

"what if you were my valentines tomorrow..?" he blurts out.

you movements stutter in response. well that was forward. you think, you'd expect nothing less from epel, plans weren't his forte anyways. with vil's absence he has no problem saying his mind. then again, the reason he probably failed before was because of the presence of rook.

"I mean,, it's just a what if,," he trails off looking unsure.

you sigh and shake your head. unable to keep the smile off your face. "sure. let's ditch the gala tomorrow, yeah?"

the grin on epel's face is practically shining. "yeah!" he perks up in excitement before pausing. "I mean,, yeah," to pretend he's cool. you suppose.

ㅤ

sebek zigvolt ── ITS ALL LILIAS WORK

"you! where is the human prefect?"

the student at the end of sebek's finger pretty much all but froze up. staring stupidly at it (admittedly looking a bit scared) only igniting the impatience within sebek since he scowled and the scared silence and shook his head. what else did he expect from a human?

the intense sharp stare from sebek probably ran off the shock and fear from the student because finally, they started speaking. "u-uh... who are you looking for?" they quietly ask.

sebek's eye twitches.

did they not hear him? "hmph. if you were listening to what I was saying, you'd know," maybe a mouth he just kind of got from the early years of his father, maybe he did actually get that from lilia.

the student cowers. I want to go home. they knew they shouldn't have rolled off their comfortable bed... far better than this predicament. they definitely don't deserve this anger. but there's like,,, 4 human prefects, they'd like to add to defend themselves but the word just dies up in their mouth when sebek huffed—and turned like he didn't figure it would be wise to waste his time here.

they sigh.

further down fhe hallway sebek marches. quickly, quietly—back stiff yet proper, just as he'd been trained to do. proper manners. something you don't seem to have. you're always cooped up in the center of chaos somewhere, in the back of sebek's mind a voice reminds that you weren't given the same treatment and training as him but he needed a reason.

a reason to hate you, and love you less he supposed.

it doesn't seem to be working though, given as he's literally about to turn the school upside down to look for you.

he has no idea why he'd even asked his father in the first place. attempting to 'court' a human! it seemed preposterous when you're just about every trait he dislikes. ahem, the fact that you aren't a fae is enough for him to consider it horribly.

what if you were taken? someone delusional tells him in his mind.

why should you care? another chips in.

yeah why should he care? he grumbled incoherent words. currently he has the brain to stop in his tracks, not waste his time here—but not the heart.

because his heart speaks the feelings his mouth won't let him, because it beats for you, and is just about to leap out when you do anything that he'd really like to keep the withering smile out of his face.

he doesn't smile. soliders do not, a great one like his father had learned to control his emotions but the one they call 'love' is something he can't get the hang of.

sebek thinks back to the occurrence that had went by a while ago.

── 

"I don't get it father. I don't need to calm down I need a doctor!" sebek explained loudly. trailing after the much shorter boy like a puppy. lilia can tell that his very jolly dear son is taking hid 'disease' very seriously by the exaggerated hand motions that he pairs with his equally flabbergasted words.

lilia chuckles, silly yet so endearing. "go again by your symptoms dear," he strolls in the kitchen, completely missing sebek's mortified face.

should he run right now? but he must not ignore lilia's request!

some things need sacrifices. he concludes. "well! my chest is beating very fast, it's like I am going to have a heart attack. which is why I need a healer, father!" he argues before pausing. "—also I've been very warm lately, I think I have a fever as well," he adds.

my dear little sebek is oblivious, lilia giggles to himself. but in the face of his son he merely raises his brow in feign suprise. "and,,, all of this is with the prefect around?"

sebek nods.

lilia's giggles intensify.

"I know just the thing!"

the younger boy perks up. he knew going to lilia was a spectacular idea! lilia seriously beckoned sebek to bend down to his height a little. "you have to proclaim your feelings to the prefect themselves so it would go away,"

lilia added, "and to seal the deal you have to ask them to be your valentines,"

he grinned.

though sebek blinks in confusion.

── 

sebek thought his advice was strange but if lilia thought it was the right thing to do then he'd do it.

after a period of just questioning people around the halls. he found you himself—and all by himself. hm, if he knew the humans wouldn't serve any purpose he would have did this in the first place. to think he had conversed with them for nothing after all.

you remove one earbud from your ear at the light flooding into the room. you stretch your arms and yawn lightly. "sebek? what's up?" you greet shortly. the green haired boy shutting the door behind him with no regard to his strength as it lead to a loud sound of impact.

atleast it closed?

sebek scours the room with disinterest but answers you. "the ceiling, I'm suprised you don't know,"

you deadpan. "i- whatever, I meant to ask if you needed something from me," you gesture to him. "seeing as you entered my humble abode without knocking,"

he crosses his arms over his chest. "I thought ramshackle is your abode," less humble. sebek thought, watching you shrug and flop down on a cushion comfortably. the music still plays in your other ear, so it was kind of hard to hear him fully.

you hum along the melody. "it's quite far so I set up my little corner in the school," you snort. so this is where you probably disappear to. sebek thinks. he can't bring himself to insult anything.

"anyways. why're you here?"

"you've made me sick and father told me to tell you some things," he explained. surprising you with the lack of intensity and volume in his voice. sebek would very much like to flop down next to you right now but that wouldn't be proper at all..

and, he doesn't know if he can ever control that feeling if he does.

you raise your brow. "uh? go on?" am I going to be told a briar valley secret then executed for knowing? you wonder.

he exhales slowly. "I've told father about my symptoms you've infected me with," sebek huffs. his first words both concerning and confusing you. "the heart attacks, and warmth so I've come here to tell you to get rid of them,"

I have no idea what he's talking about. you think, other than a flu a month ago you're pretty alright in terms of health..

"to seal the deal i would like to ask you to be my valentine!" he proudly says.

you stifle a laugh. lilia, that bastard. poor sebek doesn't have an idea of what he's asking. with the whole valentine deal you can see what kind of 'symptoms' he's talking about. "um,, I'm not sure you're aware of what you're asking right now," you say. as much as you'd like to take him as your valentine you wouldn't be too happy if you knew it's not because he wanted you to be.

"how about I tell you what lilia's talking about then I'll ask you again if you want me to be your valentines?"

you smile at his nod then pat the spot next to you.

sebek is no fool.

he understood what lilia was doing. but to him it's a clear opportunity to take you for valentines without you knowing that,, he is. he feels kind of horrible for using lilia to cover it up but..

the time you spent together is enjoyable enough to let it slide.

[theemporium]

[1.3k] late night dinners, home-cooked meals and wayne munson realising his nephew’s girlfriend makes the trailer feel like home.

.

Wayne Munson was not a good chef. 

He could read the instructions on the back of the package. He could whip up basic meals that didn’t require more than three ingredients. He had the number of his favourite local takeaway memorised. 

He never really cared about nutritious meals and all that five-a-day crap, not until he had his young nephew thrown at the doorstep of his trailer with no parents and big brown eyes that could melt anybody’s heart. 

So yeah, it was fine that Wayne Munson was not a chef when it was just himself he needed to worry about. But when little Eddie Munson came into his life, he knew he needed to make more of an effort. 

The microwave meals and the takeaways never really disappeared though. Wayne worked night shifts and it was easy to just leave money on the counter for Eddie to grab what he wanted. And when he came in in the mornings, he was too tired to make anything more convoluted than cereal. 

Wayne knew it was bad, and he knew he wasn’t exactly teaching Eddie any good habits, but there wasn’t much else you could do. 

He just had to deal with the hand he had been given. 

Then the Munson boys met you.

“You don’t get it, Wayne, she’s…” Eddie had trailed off one day, oddly bouncy and on some sort of high he knew wasn’t from anything in that metal lunchbox. He had sprawled himself on the couch, eyes shining with an emotion Wayne had never seen as he continued to ramble to his uncle about his day at school (something he had never done in his life). “She’s fuckin’ perfect, I’m telling you.” 

And as bad as it sounded, Wayne didn’t really expect much to come out of it. Hawkins, Indiana was full of narrow-minded people who didn’t understand his nephew, who were superficial and couldn’t look past the wild curls and theatric persona. He knew how locals viewed Eddie and as much as he hated it, he knew that there was very little he could do to change their minds. People were just bastards like that. 

But much to Wayne’s own surprise, he had walked in back from work early one morning, dragging himself through the door with plans to just make it to his bed before he gave into the exhaustion—only to find you in their small kitchen, clad in one of Eddie’s shirts with a sheepish smile on your face. 

“‘m sorry,” you murmured, cheeks heating up in embarrassment as you looked around at the kitchen counters. They weren’t messy by any means. Hell, they probably looked cleaner than when he left. “I made pancakes…if you want some.” 

The Munsons became quite smitten for you pretty fast. 

Wayne thought it would be weird having another young adult in his space. The trailer wasn’t fooling anyone and he knew it already felt cramped some days with him and Eddie, he didn’t know what it would be like adding you the mix considering you spent a generous amount of time at the trailer (not that he minded). 

But the truth was Wayne couldn’t bring himself to even care if the small couch was a bit of a squeeze for the three of you on movie night because you made his nephew happy in this deadbeat town and that was truly all he could ask for. 

And maybe Wayne hadn’t realised what a family unit you three had become until he pushed through the door after a long shift at the construction site, shaking off the snow and the cold, only to be met with the mouth-watering smell of home cooking. 

He was somewhat convinced that he was hallucinating the smell until he popped his head around, knocking the trailer door closed with his foot and the sounds of one of Eddie’s tapes playing through the trailer, mixed with some snickers and giggles. 

“Eds, leave it!” 

“I’m just taste-testing it!” 

“Are you questioning my culinary skills?”

“Never, baby.” 

Shrugging off his coat and leaving it abandoned on the back of the couch, he made his way towards the kitchen to really take in the sight in front of him. Pots and pans and dishes sprawled around the kitchen, vegetables being boiled and desserts being made and, fuck, he was pretty sure he could see a turkey in the oven. You and Eddie were pressed up against each other, with you hovering by the hobs and Eddie right behind you because god knows that boy couldn’t stand to be away from you for a second. 

“What’s going on here?” His gruff voice broke through the picturesque moment and he almost winced at the way both of your heads snapped around. 

But you just smiled brightly at him, not a care in the world as Metallica’s Ride The Lightning was filling the space instead of cheesy Christmas carols. “Christmas dinner!” 

Wayne never considered himself a Scrooge or anything, but usually there were just more pressing matters on his mind whenever the holiday season came around. But this—sitting with a plate full with a loving, homemade meal,  some trashy movie playing in the background as he sat with his nephew and his nephew’s girlfriend—maybe this was the closest Wayne ever got to feeling festive. 

“You, baby, are a fucking godsend,” Eddie grumbled with a mouth full of turkey and potatoes. “A magician in the kitchen, I swear.” 

“It’s just some turkey, Eddie,” you said with a roll of your eyes, though it didn’t stop the pink tint growing on your cheeks. “Nothing special.” 

“It’s the first time I’ve ever had turkey,” Eddie commented so casually, not seeming to notice the way you paused in your meal. “Now I get why the snobs over in the west side never shut up about this stuff.” 

“I’ll make you turkey whenever you want,” you said to him, voice a little thick but before Eddie could even question it, you were leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek. 

“Careful, sweetheart, sounds like you’re signing yourself up to deal with this buffoon for a long time,” Wayne piped up, causing a snort to leave your lips and an exaggerated sound of offence to leave Eddie. 

Eddie puffed his chest out. “Oi, I happen to be quite the charmer.” 

You snickered. “You sure about that, big boy?” 

“I got you, didn’t I?” Eddie retorted as he threw an arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side so he could press a loud, wet smack against your cheek. You let out a small shriek but you didn’t move away from his touch.

“Keep her around then, will you? Don’t think I can go back to that dodgy mac and cheese you make in the microwave after this,” Wayne joked, watching in amusement as your face brightened and his nephew’s face blushed in embarrassment. 

“It was one time, alright?” Eddie huffed in his own defence. “I didn’t even know you could get food poisoning from pasta and cheese.” 

You barked out a laugh, a sound so full of love and warmth. You placed your hand on Eddie’s cheek, grinning when the boy leaned into your touch. “It’s fine, baby, I’ll give you some lessons.” 

“God knows he needs them,” Wayne coughed under his breath. 

“Hey! You too, old man!” 

But your smile didn’t drop as you shrugged, your eyes meeting Wayne’s from across the table. “I’ll teach you both then, since you’re just as hopeless as each other.” 

Eddie tugged on the end of your sweater, your attention returning to him once again. “Think we can learn how to make those chocolate pudding things you put in the fridge first?” 

Wayne Munson was not a good chef, and maybe he never would be. But in his little family of three, he didn’t think it was the biggest deal.

.

[mingiatz]

Summary: What started as an accidental encounter turned into something neither of them saw coming. Emilia never expected that a chaotic night in Frankfurt—where she met Ateez in the most ridiculous outfit imaginable—would lead to months of stolen moments, teasing, heartbreak and feelings too big to ignore.

Pairing: [Idol] Song Mingi x OC (Emilia)

Trope: Strangers to Lovers

Genre: Romance, Fluff, Light Angst, Slow Burn

Featuring: ATEEZ (being menaces), chaotic sibling energy, found family vibes, and an embarrassing amount of mutual pining

This Series will have multiple Chapters with around 4000 words. I hope you like it. Please be kind this is my first Fanfiction and English is not my first language. (I am open for constructive criticism). I will try to upload a chapter everyday.

Masterlist

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Chapter Seventeen

Mingi’s POV

Mingi had never felt this at peace before.

Emilia was curled up against his chest, her slow, steady breathing the only sound in the quiet apartment. She had fallen asleep not long after their last kiss, her fingers still lightly tangled in the fabric of his hoodie, like she was afraid he’d disappear.

He wasn’t going anywhere.

His arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her close as they lay on the couch. His knee still ached, but he didn’t care—not when she was here, not when he could feel the warmth of her body against his, not when her face was so soft and relaxed in sleep.

She was his.

And he was completely, entirely hers.

The thought sent a rush of something almost overwhelming through his chest.

He had spent so much time convincing himself that this—her—wasn’t possible. That he had ruined everything, that he didn’t deserve her, that she was better off without him.

But now?

Now she was here, in his arms, trusting him enough to sleep against him, and Mingi realized—

He was probably already in love with her.

The thought should’ve scared him.

It didn’t.

Instead, it made him determined.

He wasn’t going to mess this up. Not again.

Mingi tightened his hold on her slightly, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head.

“Sweet dreams, Em,” he whispered.

She made a small sound in response, burrowing closer into him, and Mingi couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his lips.

For the first time in a long time—

He knew everything was going to be okay.

The Next Morning

Mingi was woken up by his phone vibrating aggressively on the coffee table.

He groaned, eyes barely open as he fumbled for it, trying not to wake Emilia, who was still fast asleep against him.

When he finally managed to grab it, his tired brain registered one thing—

The ridiculous amount of missed messages.

[Group Chat – Ateez]

San: WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU??

Wooyoung: ANSWER YOUR PHONE YOU COWARD

Yunho: Are you alive???

Hongjoong: If you’re dead, I’m going to be very annoyed.

Jongho: He’s definitely with her.

Yunho: Yeah, but we need proof.

Wooyoung: I swear to god if you are at her place and didn’t tell us I’m going to lose my mind.

Seonghwa: Mingi. Wake up and explain yourself.

Mingi blinked, trying to process the absolute chaos on his screen.

Before he could respond, another flood of messages came in.

Noah: Sophie says if you hurt her again, she’ll personally break your other knee.

Sophie: Correct.

San: HAHAHAHAHAHA

Jongho: That’s fair.

Mingi sighed, shaking his head.

Of course they were losing their minds over this.

Still, he couldn’t stop the smirk tugging at his lips.

Carefully, so he wouldn’t wake Emilia, he snapped a quick picture of her still sleeping against his chest—her hair a little messy, her face peaceful, her fingers still curled lightly in his hoodie.

He sent it to the chat without a caption.

The reaction was immediate.

Wooyoung: YOU LITTLE SHIT

San: LET’S GOOOOOOO

Yunho: Oh my god.

Jongho: I’ll admit. I didn’t expect this much progress.

Hongjoong: I hate all of you.

Seonghwa: Take care of her, Mingi.

Mingi’s heart softened at Seonghwa’s message.

He glanced down at Emilia, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

“I will,” he whispered to himself.

He would.

This time, he wasn’t letting her go.

Emilia’s POV

The first thing Emilia became aware of was warmth.

The second was the steady sound of breathing, close—too close.

Her eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, she didn’t understand where she was.

Then she felt the steady rise and fall of Mingi’s chest beneath her cheek.

Oh.

Oh.

Memories from the night before rushed back—walking home together, Mingi staying over because of his knee, their kiss.

Her face heated instantly.

She had fallen asleep on him.

Slowly, carefully, she lifted her head, peeking up at Mingi’s face. He was still asleep, his lips slightly parted, his breathing deep and even. His arm was still wrapped loosely around her waist, holding her close like he didn’t want to let go.

Emilia swallowed.

Last night felt real.

Like something had shifted between them, and there was no turning back now.

She bit her lip, staring at his face for a moment longer.

And then, before she could lose her nerve, she reached out and gently poked his cheek.

“Mingi,” she whispered.

No reaction.

She poked him again. “Mingi.”

A groggy sound left his lips, his brows furrowing slightly.

She tried not to laugh.

“Wake up, big guy,” she teased.

Mingi groaned, his grip on her tightening slightly before his eyes cracked open. His gaze was unfocused for a second before it landed on her—and suddenly, he was very awake.

“Morning,” she said softly.

He blinked. “You’re still here.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re literally in my apartment.”

Mingi huffed a small laugh, rubbing his hand over his face. “Right.”

Emilia pushed herself up, stretching. “Come on. We should eat before you have to deal with your very nosy group chat.”

Mingi groaned again. “They already blew up my phone.”

She smirked. “Good.”

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

Fifteen minutes later, Emilia was in the kitchen making scrambled eggs while Mingi sat at the table, watching her with a lazy smile.

“You’re staring,” she pointed out, tossing him a look over her shoulder.

“Yeah,” he admitted, resting his chin in his hand. “I still can’t believe this is real. And you look very pretty in the morning.”

Her heart skipped.

She tried to play it off. “What, breakfast?”

He snorted. “No. You. This. Us.”

Emilia paused for just a second before focusing back on the eggs. “Me neither,” she admitted quietly.

She felt Mingi’s gaze soften.

He didn’t push her to say more, and she was grateful.

A comfortable silence settled between them until she finally set their plates down on the table.

Mingi perked up instantly. “You’re an angel.”

She rolled her eyes. “Just eat.”

He grinned, digging in.

For a moment, it was easy—just them, sharing breakfast like it was something they had always done.

Like they hadn’t spent months dancing around their feelings.

Like they belonged like this.

And maybe, Emilia thought, maybe they did.

At the Ateez Dorm

As soon as Emilia and Mingi stepped into the dorm, all hell broke loose.

Wooyoung lunged at Mingi. “YOU STAYED OVER?! WITHOUT TELLING US?!”

Mingi barely dodged him, using Emilia as a shield. “Chill!”

San was grinning. “Nah, we need details.”

Yunho crossed his arms, smirking. “So, Mingi. How was your sleepover?”

Mingi groaned, rubbing his temples. “I hate all of you.”

Jongho snorted. “No, you don’t.”

Hongjoong sighed from the couch. “Can we all act like adults for five minutes?”

“No,” Wooyoung and San said in unison.

Seonghwa shook his head fondly before turning to Emilia. “How are you?”

Emilia hesitated, glancing at Mingi before answering.

“I’m… good. More than good.”

And for the first time in a long time—

She actually meant it.

Mingi’s POV

Mingi could barely focus on the chaos happening in the dorm.

His members were still teasing him, Wooyoung was dramatically reenacting what he thought happened last night, and San was throwing in exaggerated sound effects. But all Mingi could think about was Emilia—standing next to him, close enough that their arms brushed every now and then.

He needed to talk to her. Alone.

So, without a word, he grabbed her hand.

Emilia blinked at him, startled. “Mingi—?”

“Come with me,” he murmured, tugging her toward his room.

The teasing from the others immediately escalated.

“OH, OKAY.”

“Damn, at least wait until we leave.”

“Use protection—OW, Hwa.”

Mingi rolled his eyes, pulling Emilia inside and shutting the door behind them. He turned to find her raising an eyebrow at him.

“So, what’s up?” she asked, crossing her arms.

Mingi exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I, uh… I have a question.”

She tilted her head. “Okay?”

He shifted awkwardly. “Are you… my girlfriend?”

Emilia blinked. “You don’t know?”

He huffed. “I mean, I think so? But I never actually asked, and now I feel stupid—”

Her lips twitched. “You are stupid.”

Mingi groaned. “Emilia—”

She stepped closer, pressing a finger to his chest. “But yes, dummy. I’m your girlfriend.”

His heart stopped.

And then, before he could even think, he kissed her.

It wasn’t careful or hesitant like last night—it was desperate, like he had been waiting forever. His hands found her waist, pulling her closer as she melted against him.

Emilia’s fingers curled into his hoodie, holding on like she needed him just as much as he needed her.

When they finally pulled apart, they were both breathless.

Mingi grinned. “So, you’re mine?”

Emilia rolled her eyes but smiled. “Yes, Mingi. I’m yours.”

And just like that—

Everything felt right.

Emilia’s POV

“So, uh… I have news.”

Noah and Sophie stared at her expectantly through the phone screen.

Emilia took a deep breath. “Mingi and I are together.”

Silence.

Then—

“FINALLY.”

Sophie threw her hands up. “Do you know how painful it was watching you two be idiots for months?!”

Noah smirked. “Did he actually confess, or did you have to drag it out of him?”

Emilia laughed. “He asked if I was his girlfriend because he wasn’t sure.”

Sophie groaned. “Of course he did.”

Noah just grinned. “Well, congrats, sis. You got your giant idiot.”

Sophie leaned closer to the screen, narrowing her eyes. “Are we supposed to like him again now? Because I was kinda enjoying hating him.”

Emilia snorted. “I think you’re allowed to like him again.”

Noah hummed thoughtfully. “Should we break his other knee just to be sure he never hurts you again?”

Sophie perked up. “Ooooh, good idea.”

Emilia gasped, laughing. “You cannot break his other knee!”

Noah shrugged. “Fine, fine. But if he messes up again, just say the word.”

Sophie crossed her arms, nodding. “We’ll handle it.”

Emilia shook her head, but warmth spread through her chest. As much as they teased, she knew they cared.

Noah grinned. “Alright. Since you’re disgustingly happy now, I guess we can tolerate him again.”

Sophie sighed dramatically. “I’ll consider it.”

Emilia smiled.

Yeah. Everything was finally falling into place.

Mingi’s POV

Mingi should have known walking into the living room with Emilia by his side was going to cause chaos. But even he wasn’t prepared for the sheer level of teasing that erupted the second they stepped in.

Wooyoung gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. “Look at them. Holding hands. Disgusting.”

San fake wiped a tear. “Our little Mingi is all grown up.”

Yunho smirked. “So… what’s it like having a girlfriend? Feeling powerful?”

Mingi groaned. “Can you all shut up?”

Jongho crossed his arms, pretending to think. “Mmm, no.”

Emilia, to her credit, was trying not to laugh. “You guys act like this is some shocking development.”

Seonghwa raised an eyebrow. “It is. Do you know how long we had to watch you two be idiots?”

Hongjoong shook his head in disappointment. “Painful. Truly painful.”

Mingi pouted, nudging Emilia. “Are you gonna defend me, or…?”

Emilia smirked. “Nope. This is fun.”

Wooyoung grinned. “I like her.”

Mingi sighed, resigning himself to his fate. The teasing continued for a while, with the guys throwing in exaggerated reenactments of their “love story” and Emilia laughing way too hard at their antics. But honestly, Mingi didn’t mind. Seeing her smile like that—being comfortable with his members—made him happier than he could put into words.

Eventually, when the chaos settled, Emilia turned to him. “Wanna get out of here?”

Mingi perked up immediately. “Yes. Please.”

Wooyoung gasped again. “Oh now that you have a girlfriend you don't want to hang out with us?”

San shook his head. “Tragic.”

Mingi rolled his eyes, grabbing Emilia’s hand. “Bye.”

Their laughter followed them out the door.

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

Mingi had planned something simple for their first real date—something that felt like them.

A quiet walk through the park, a stop at a cute little café he had found, and then a cozy movie night back at her place. Nothing extravagant. Just… time together.

They were walking hand in hand, the air crisp but not too cold, when Emilia squeezed his fingers. “You really let them tease you, huh?”

Mingi chuckled. “I can’t stop them. It’s easier to just accept my fate.”

Emilia grinned. “I think it’s cute.”

Mingi turned to her, raising an eyebrow. “You think I’m cute?”

She hummed, pretending to think. “Mmm… maybe a little.”

Mingi scoffed playfully. “Wow. Just ‘a little’?”

Emilia smirked. “What, you want me to say you’re really cute?”

He nodded. “Yes. Obviously.”

She laughed, leaning up to press a quick kiss to his cheek. “Fine. You’re really cute.”

Mingi grinned like an idiot. “Damn right.”

The café was small and cozy, with warm lighting and the smell of fresh pastries filling the air. They found a quiet corner, ordering drinks and sharing a slice of cake. It felt… easy. Comfortable. Like they had been doing this forever.

At one point, Mingi caught Emilia just looking at him, something soft in her eyes.

He tilted his head. “What?”

She shook her head, smiling. “Nothing. Just… I’m happy.”

His chest tightened in the best way. He reached across the table, taking her hand. “Me too.”

They stayed like that for a moment—just looking at each other, fingers intertwined.

Yeah.

This was exactly where he wanted to be.

 

Masterlist

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Disclaimer:This is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and scenarios in this story are entirely fictional and not intended to reflect the real lives of the members of Ateez or any other individuals. This fanfiction is purely for entertainment purposes.

[river-in-the-woods]

Tips on divining for others

As someone who has been giving free readings on the internet for a modest while, I have some tips to share if you want to sharpen your skills.

🌿 Find your audience If reading for friends and family is not an option, there are many forums, Discord servers and other social platforms for you to practice on strangers and then cut all contact if it gets too weird or embarrassing! (Try not to ghost people too much though, you should practice your communication skills as much as your divination).

🌿 Get clear on your goals This is kind of obvious I guess, but instead of just “practice divination”, decide on some clear achievable goals like: – Practice a particular divination tool X amount of times – Practice a particular spread X amount of times (because each spread brings its own style of interpretation to the reading) – Get X number of positive feedback from querents – Make X number of brave predictions about the querent (and get X number correct!)

🌿 Experiment This is the ideal environment to try out something new. Mixing up different divination tools, breaking in a new deck, changing up your divination style, trying a new pre-divination ritual, and making brave predictions about people’s past, present and future! Every success will build your confidence, every failure will teach you something – if you reflect on it patiently and mindfully.

🌿 Be humble and accept mistakes graciously You will get things wrong and be totally off. This is okay and happens even to advanced diviners. Be upfront about the fact that you are doing this to practice, and if you get it wrong – be light-hearted and have a laugh about it!

“Oh haha, I was totally off! Thanks for correcting me!”

Ask questions, get the correct answer, and relate it back to your divination tool. Then diagnose the reason why you misinterpreted. You didn’t cleanse your deck recently, you’re having a bad day, you’re distracted, you didn’t vibe with the querent, etc. Next time, tweak your pre-divination preparations and see if things change.

🌿 Ask about the querent’s existing knowledge This will save you time. If you are doing a romance reading, ask if the querent is dating. If you are reading for career, ask about the querent’s education and career path. You don’t need much detail, just enough to help you interpret what comes out of the reading. There is no point in you spending time divining knowledge the querent already has! (Unless you’re doing this specifically to practice and get quick answers about your accuracy). Instead, just ask them, and focus on divining the things your querent isn’t clear on, so they come out of it with a little more perspective. This is the goal of divination.

🌿 Be firm about receiving constructive feedback You spent all this time and effort constructing a thoughtful reading aaand... the querent just goes “thanks, that resonates”. This will not help you develop your skills, and it is also the querent lacking in manners. Expect reciprocation! Deal with this as professionally as you can. For instance:

“I would appreciate it if you give me some constructive feedback on the reading I just did for you.”

If they do not give constructive feedback, kindly explain what it is:

“By constructive feedback I mean, please reflect on every aspect of the reading and talk me through how it helps you, and how it relates to what you experienced – in this case, perhaps the events surrounding [the subject of the reading].”

And if they still do not reciprocate, blacklist them. If they attempt to contact you again, simply say:

“I appreciate your trust in me, but I am doing this to practice my skills and I need proper feedback to improve.”

If you are giving a reading about the future, of course the querent can’t tell you much about what they think of it. In this case, it is a good idea to check in with them at a later date and ask them how things went. This is a small request, one the querent should be happy to honour, and will help you very much.

🌿 Sometimes querents just want to vent This happens especially when querents ask about their relationships, especially romantic ones. You will very likely come across the “what does my ex think of me” crowd or the “advice on my love life” crowd when giving readings.

Usually these kinds of people won’t listen to you unless you tell them what they want to hear. They might thank you for the reading but continue riding the disaster train. You might even get an essay on someone’s entire life story and all their relationship drama. It’s up to you whether you want to moonlight as an amateur therapist (or if you are a professional therapist, you ought to be paid for it!)

If you’re doing divination with the desire to help people, then a few kind words will suffice. Thoughtful and practical advice is great if you can provide some. Divination services can attract some very desperate people who just want someone to give them the answer. Your readings are a puzzle piece in the mystery and an opportunity for the querent to receive help from a kind stranger, but you cannot fix someone’s life for them. Wish them luck and send them on their way.

🌿 You don’t have to read for everything Get clear on what subjects you’re willing to read for, and what you want to avoid. Legal matters, pregnancy, medical health, spirit/deity contact, death, ex-partners – these are common ones people don’t want to read for. You can if you want to, but make sure you’re not liable for any advice you give (especially if you charge money for your services). Tell people not to take you too seriously. A common disclaimer is “this is purely for entertainment purposes.”

Similarly, you have no obligation to read for querents that are rude, unresponsive, rambling endlessly, or just... asking weird questions.

🌿 You are paid for your effort This is for those who do paid readings. Personally I have only ever done readings for free (that may change) but don’t feel guilty about charging money, even if the reading was not the quality they expected. You are being paid for your time, and for performing a service. And if the querent accepts this transaction, it was their choice to do so. Make this clear at the very beginning.