#theyre also all apart of the same group so if you see someone with the name orb and theyre in the hogs theres a 98% chance thats me

[leori-the-unlearned]

the way digimon does conflict/drama between two characters who should be or are close: chef’s kiss <3

the way sonic idw handles creating conflict/drama between two characters who should be or are close: *wilting flower*

[st4rstudent]

what a does thou toon look like (in game,)

My main toon is orb giblets! They have the small toon effect right now so theyre crazy tiny but they look like this!

However my other (EVIL) orbs are as follows:

..haha ignore the reference in the first two haha. anyways also Ignore the fact they're not all matching. As soon as elphabat comes back I'm getting them all the spy outfit. as for now I've been focusing them on GREED AND POWER rather than cosmetics

[lildiva00]

pt. 2 of Virgin Choso!! if you havent read the first part read it here and part 3

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡

Virgin Choso who looks at your abandoned bag in the corner of his small living room. Standing in the little apartment he moved into recently, chewing on his lip anxiously. Should he text you? you’d realize it was gone eventually, and when you give him a call to tell him, he could pretend he hadn’t seen it. It’s not because he doesn’t want to talk to you, the opposite really, but hes scared. He’d probably be weird and act awkward if you two were ever alone, if you came to retrieve your bag from his home.

You and Yuji had been at his apartment earlier that day to help him move his furniture around. He’d heard the doorbell ring and when you had finally ascended to the top floor were he resided, Yuji had given him a brotherly hug, patting his back. And you,

You.

it’s the second time he sees you after he realised what he felt for you, and it’s getting increasingly hard to be around you. Especially when you keep putting on those adorable little outfits. He can’t focus, he can hardly breathe. Yuji, that idiot, knows that fact better than even Choso himself, seeing right through his brother. Which is why the boy had invited you today to help him. To torture Choso, to make him crack.

But Choso wasn’t weak. He could hold his composure. Even when Yuji walks past him and whispers, trying to hold his laugh, “maybe cut back on the staring a little today, she might actually notice this time,”

And now he’s here, all his furniture in the right places, but your bag in the wrong. You’d went to the gym he remembers, which is why you had it with you.

When his phone rings a minute later, his heart starts beating faster, already? he calms down a little when he sees it’s Yuji who’s calling, but his ease is cut short when he answers.

“hello?”

“hi Choso, it’s me,” its you. He can hear people talking and laughing in the background, probably you and Yuji’s new friends from your Jujutsu College. “my phone went out so i borrowed Yuji’s to call you,” you say sweetly, and before you can continue, a voice way louder than yours comes through the line, “she forgot her bag on purpose!!” Yuji shouts from next to you, before someone in the group can shut him up,

“not true…” you say awkwardly and laugh “but uh, is it okay if i come and get it tomorrow after my shift? it’s gonna be a little late though, sorry for the trouble,” he can feel that tugging in his heart, he’s excited to see you again, even if it’s only because of your forgetfulness. “it uh…it is no trouble,” he says quickly,

“thank you Choso…ill see you tomorrow,” and with that you hang up, and Choso is left with the silence of his apartment and the bustle outside of tokyo city.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡

He’s sitting on the couch with your bag propped up next to him, did you really leave your bag here on purpose? why would you have done that? did you want to see him too? he sighs, wishful thinking.

He stands up from the couch and the movement makes your unzipped bag fall to the floor with a thud.

He looks to the floor, bends down to put the bag back when-

oh. fuck.

Laying on the ground is your used gym clothes, a big hoodie, some shorts, a top and also…

a pair of your used panties.

he freezes, his dick jumping at the sight alone. Theyre baby blue, with a little white bow on the waistband. fuck. no. don’t.

he picks them up.

He’s only just learned about sex, about relationships and about…pleasuring himself. And he’s already a massive pervert.

what would you think of him if you knew? if you could see him right now? desperately jerking himself off on the couch, whines and groans spilling from his lips, drool sliding down his mouth. your perfect little panties wrapped around his hard cock.

He watches as his pre cum makes a mess in them. he wants to make a mess with you. He wants to see you wearing nothing else than those same panties around him,

he takes them away from his dick and brings them to his nose. And when he breathes in the scent of your pussy, He cums so hard his mind turns blank.

And it hits him when he comes down, that hes disgusting. And your panties are ruined.

how can you make him feel like this. Without any cursed energy. without beating him into the ground. youre just existing, And that fact alone makes him feel so…weak? why does he feel weak?

He decides then that he needs to tell you, Its been building up in his chest for months. He needs to tell you that hes in love with you and that he would do anything for you.

he needs to tell you he wants to bury his face in your little cunt.

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

thx to everyone whos been leaving notes<33 part 3 coming!!

[jellyfemmedyke]

sorry to ramble in your inbox but its kinda fucking me up how "trans man with a cishet boyfriend who misgenders him behind his back" is like seen to be a person to make fun of in the general queer tumblr space instead of a person who is in a vulnerable situation. i know that there is trans men who are also women and there are trans men who are genuinely okay with dating a cis man who considers himself straight but people talking about these hypothetical couples arent talking about these situations but rather about "haha stupid trans man doesnt realize hes dating a bigot"

theres this attitude that the hypothetical cishet boyfriend is actually a conservative so it should be obvious to trans man that he doesnt respect his identity but i feel like its less "oh its obvious that this specific man is a bigot" and more "obviously cishet white men are bigots" and its weird how people laugh at this person instead of acknowledging that even if you are dating a bigot its usually not a big win for you personally. like the bigot cishet boyfriend isnt going to be okay with his trans man boyfriend starting testosterone. like we can sympathize with emotional abuse happening towards other groups but when its gay and mspec trans men its like "oh he should have known that would happen" or "its his fault for dating a bigot"?

of course people have the same making fun of the victim narrative with afab nonbinary people who date cishet men who misgender them [and im sure this bleeds over to affecting all nonbinary people if people arbitrarily decide theyre afab if the nonbinary person refuses to tell them personal information about themselves but the larger narrative always specifies that this is an afab person] and its almost like a "this is what you get for being attracted to men" sort of thing.

and also i theres something to be said about warning people for signs their partner or potential partner doesnt respect their identity but considering i imagine its a common anxiety among trans and nonbinary people who are into that sorta thing to wonder "am i ever going to find someone who loves me and is also accepting of me for being [insert gender here]?" its sort of fucked up for it to be common to basically claim "yea if youre dating a cis man who said he was straight before he started dating you but says he respects your identity hes probably just straight up lying to your face" and then laugh at the person getting misgendered for not knowing they were being misgendered.

anyway sorry for this big ramble i cant even remember specific instances of this to reference so i might seem like im making up a guy to be mad at but i swear this is like a general attitude and almost running joke i see around. anyway. have a good day.

I absolutely see that too, and I think it's a mixture of straight up victim blaming, because oh noo how dare you WANT to date *gasp* cis men

but it come with an intense transandrophobia and exorsexism because there's a lot more sympathy when it comes to cis women dating cishet men "poor things uwu" but when it's trans men or in this case non binary people assumed to be women, it's always "see I told you so" smug superiority. (cis women get this too, because of misogyny obviously, but it's different and worse for trans men) People are just waiting for a chance to be misogynistic and trans men are an acceptable target. This is honestly extra fucked up when we remember that trans men experience some of the highest rates of domestic violence and rape in the community though.

being trans is such a vulnerable place to be in, and a lot of people, trans or not are insecure or just want to be loved, that's normal. A lot of people are willing to accept certain behaviors from their partners that are bad, because of those reasons as well, victim blaming, and ESPECIALLy telling trans men to toughen up or "what did you expect" is apart of the toxic expectations that get placed of trans men as well. I could honestly go on for hours about this. good ask,anon

[jiminjeonging]

am pretty new to the group so i was just curious, what makes jmj ship so popular when they have little scenes like skinship or fanservice compared to other groups and their ships..?

well first of all welcome and im glad you realized they do little fanservice already!! thats one of the reasons theyre popular like their chemistry is real and not something forced thats why so many ppl love them!

like look at the material

i recommend you to scroll down this thread

i think as you follow aespa and catch up with their content you will get it!

jiminjeong is a name they created themselves when they were trainees, they met when they were 16 in a vocal room, jm walked in to show mj and two other trainees around, mj thought jm was tall and had an unique vibe like a model, jm thought mj was so soft and warm like a freshly steamed potato. “she's so soft & fluffy” first there was some rivalry going on bcs they joined around the same time but once they were put in the same trainee group they grew closer than ever, jm thought mj was a precious friend she needed to take care of and even though so many trainees joined and left the debut lineup, jmj was always in it and they’ve been never apart. they were together when the news of they were going to debut was told too. jm bought mj her first alcohol when mj turned 18, they studied for their geds together and took the exam in the same class too. they sneak up to roof together when their dorm lady fall asleep so they can eat snacks there. they went to tarot reading and found out they were meant to be married.

you wont see them fanservicing, they do negative fanservice actually. we wouldnt know about most of their hangs out if someone didnt spot them. high chance they rent places to hang out too. them not fanservicing and their moments being cut out despite being this popular what makes them special💖💖

also watch this!!

[trxstiezz]

Hi there! Can I request a Bill (2023) x yn (a fem!reader, who is also in the band and married to Bill ) fic where they react to fanfictions or edits abt them (abt Bill and yn back in the 2000s) during an Instagram live with the other members please ?

Take care 🫶🏻

Bill Kaulitz 🎤

“Memories”

AHH LITERALLY LOVE THIS REQUEST SMM!! IMMA DO MY VERY BEST!

Bill x y/n

I feel like this one turned out bad since i rushed it 😓 so sorry about that pookie 💔 may be some spelling mistakes!

You woke up, feeling the other side of the bed empty. You groaned, getting up and rubbing your eyes. You got up and made you way to the kitchen making coffee as you saw your husband fixing up his phone, positioning it so its facing him.

"Okay guys, now that everyones in here i thought we should do something that SOOO many people have been asking us to do." Bill said, laughing.

"Oh wait! Y/n!" He said turning around, motioning for you to come over. You picked up your coffee and made your way over to him,

"yes my love?" you said sitting down next to him, sipping on your coffee as you waved at the phone.

Seeing everyone wave, you smiled and pit your coffee on the small coffee table you guys had. "Hello everyone." You said giggling, "So?" you said turning to bill.

He smiled at you, "People have been requesting us to watch some edits i think thats what theyre called and fanfiction" (get ready guys 😣) he said with a big grin on his face. You furrowed your eyebrows and looked at him, “ill send them in our group chat so we can all see them at the same time.” bill said, pressing send.

You put your head on his shoulder, looking at the video, it was one of your guys concerts from when you were younger. “Oh gosh.. we were so little!” you said, a warm smile appearing on your face. “You were about 13 years old and i was only 14” he said, chuckling. “Exactly! Super young.” You said.

The edit was you and bill singing while there were some clips of tom, gustav, and georg playing. “When georg had his long hair!” you said laughing, “i was always jealous of his luscious hair.” You said, as georg laughed. “I know, everyone was.” He said winking, “it was beautiful.” He said, causing you to all laugh.

You watched more edits as they contained small clips of interviews you guys did when you were younger or other clips that you would sometimes record or someone else. You could remember them as if they were from yesterday, you felt old as you looked at your crazy younger self. Over the years you have had crazy looks as you never got to figure yourself out, you remember borrowing either tom or bills clothes or youd buy some clothes of your own but youd always prefer everyone else’s.

It was cute, looking back at how youthful you all were and you still were pretty young but just seeing your teen self brought back some of the best memories.

The last video bill showed was an edit of your guy’s wedding, including the members as they were also apart of it.

You loved seeing memories of the day you finally married the love of your life, you felt yourself smiling super hard as you looked at bill, “this is adorable, thank you my love.” You said giving his a small and quick kiss. “I love seeing these videos of our wedding, tom looks so silly right there.” He said laughing, “hey! No i dont.” He said rolling his eyes and he clicked on a new filter.

“Tom how do you get that, i want the cool filters too.” Bill said, whining and pressing on the screen, trying to figure out on how to get the filters. You rolled your eyes and laughed, they were always being so silly and that was one of the things you loved about bill, the relationship he had with his brother, considering you never grew up that close with any of your siblings.

“Okay, whatever. Lets move on to the fan fiction.” Bill said excitedly. You grabbed your coffee and sipped on it, “you guys, i dont know how to work this but im going to try my best. Ill be reading it out loud.” He said and clicked on an app. “Alright..” he said looking focused, trying to figure the app out.

he finally found one after searching and the title read “Your living nightmare.” ( i told yall to get ready 😓) “Ooo tom this ones about you!” bill said as tom looked at him confused, “what do you mean.” He said, “someone wrote this about you tom!” he said and started reading it, and boy was it odd.

They would go into deep detail of the character and tom, it was crazy how they made up so many things, i mean tom? A gangster? He was probably one of the nicest people you knew, obviously it didn’t appear like that to most people since he would put up an act but now you were just nervous about the rest of the fanfiction.

You wondered what people wrote about you and bill. After bill got bored and really weirded out by the fanfic he chose a new one, something called “oneshots” you didnt know what they meant but apparently they were like little chapters but each one contained a different plot and story.

He read out some about gustav and georg, some about tom and himself, he would squeal nervously when it was about him, and youd just laugh. This ones about you.” Bill said smirking at you, “something called smut?” you furrowed your eyebrows and nodded, you were now extremely nervous, “okay..” you said as he started reading, into the middle of the chapter his jaw dropped as he put his phone down, “yeahhh… okay, lets stop right there.”

He said, still shocked. “What? What is it?” you said confused as to why he stopped. He leaned over and whispered in your ear, “its about you and like.. sex related things.” He said, your face immediately turning red. “Oh wow..” you said shocked, you definitely weren’t expecting this but maybe you should have, i mean ever since you were a teenager you did always get alot of attention and some boys would catcall you and tell you things so you were pretty used to it but you never expected someone to write something sexual about you.

You laughed it off and just finished your coffee as it was already cold from you leaving it as you were busy reading the fan fictions with bill. “Well.. this whole thing was definitely interesting..” you said placing your lips together, pressing them shut.

As you said your goodbyes the live ended and bill looked at you, “some of the things they wrote about you were pretty accurate you know.” He said smirking, “you do love to moan my name out loud, dont you mein schatz?” He said, caressing your cheek with his thumb. His face now inches away from yours. Your face now as red as a tomato, “i-“ you tried to say but got interrupted, “shh..” bill said, placing his lips onto yours, slowly kissing you as you felt the kiss turn hungry very quickly. “Lets go to the bedroom.” He said getting up and grabbing your hand. You grabbed his hand and squealed in excitement.

[kingcunny]

so stupid how some ppl dont have the gals to admit they have a side and come with this "team smallfolk" bullshit, i noticed it only happens when there's targaryens at play, when there are other houses its more "fuck smallfolk".

the smallfolk liking viserys is what we deserve, the common people loving him

‘team neutral!’ ‘team smallfolk’ 🙄 okay *switzerland*. but you have a *preference* switzerland. you have a group of characters you *prefer*, switzerland. you say youre team neutral but you only talk about how cool and sexy and hot and sexy and cool and deep and hot and complicated and sexy the greens are? interesting.

thats an interesting point though i hadnt thought about that before but i Do think it fits…. you Do only really see ‘team smallfolk!’ when it comes to the targs. i wonder (genuinely, not being sarcastic) if it has something to do with the widespread misunderstanding of the difference between ‘conquerors’ and ‘colonizers’. and if because so many people incorrectly believe the targs are colonizers if that influences the pushback against them. the human desire to be morally ‘right’ and ‘correct’. even though, iirc, Most of the great houses either did or where descendents of people who did exactly what the targaryens did, minus the dragons. and maybe its because the targs are Main Characters and got their own history book, there isnt iir, any other books breaking down the history of the other houses. also like, iirc, wasnt there Thousands of years of the seven kingdoms before the targs came? theyve been around for a relatively short time. like didnt they barely even break double digit kings. that could be used as a mark either for or against them. either theyve managed to have *such* an impact (because of their dragons. lets be real) in such a short amount of time. or, time is Long. whos to say in another 300 years the seven kingdoms havent broken apart again and a single kingdom ruled by dragons isnt just an ancient story. OR maybe its Because of their dragons they get so much pushback. since hotd started airing ive seen a lot of people comparing dragons to nukes and while im not necessarily Against that analogy… i dont think it totally works either. i dont think dragons are just work animals like dogs or horses, i think theyre sentient And sapient. dragons arent interesting to me if theyre just dumb animals. the interesting part of dragons is a human (or near human) intelligence in an animal form.

as for your last statement…. my contrarian nature means i need to play devils advocate even to my own statements. the smallfolk also wanted aerys ii back. just because people like someone doesnt make them good. i love the proletariat, i am one, but sometimes the people are stupid. all my ‘aegon ii is just like his dad!’ posting means viserys was also just like aegon. he also wanted, tried, to be a Good, Just king. kind to the smallfolk. (before otto trained it out of him) but because of when hotd was set and the breakneck pace they set, they have to *tell* us this instead of *showing* it. (thats bad storytelling. thats bad writing.) but it also means if push came to shove i think viserys wouldve responded in the same way aegon did (maybe not as hasty, but the same Feelings. Instincts) everyones favorite marxist smallfolk loving king mindlessly executing dozens (if not hundred(s?)) of innocent smallfolk because One of them was guilty. shattering endless lives. viserys tells lyonel he wishes he had been tested and lyonel responds by telling him many who have only wished to be spared it. viserys would not have been able to handle being ‘tested’. aegon ii Will not.

[bylerfields]

i just read your bottom mike points and its the most sense ive ever read on that topic, considering im a top mike truther. not so much dom mike, cos i think theyre equals, but your thing about mike chiling and come down to wills level was interesting. it makes me wonder how these dynamics would have played out if there was never this supernatural threat... i got the sense that mike still always led, because of how he approached will on the swings, and their little bickers in the whole group even, outside of monster stuff (like the ghostbusters venkman thing). mike being the de facto leader, soft version when with will, seemed like something that had simply always been. he's soft with will, but usually when he thinks will needs caring for. when will isnt in danger, i dont think mike is soft or chill necessarily. so its interesting that you see a matured, grown-into-himself and secure mike as 'chilling'.

and lastly, if they both come down and meet on this equal level of softness, how is that still evidence of mike being a sub? surely that would make them both soft vers?

but your points did make sense and i like that there are some bottomsub mike people out there who dont just see him as a babygirl

all really fair points anon!!

i think it’s just the way i see it or prefer, i guess? i don’t think i ever claimed that theres evidence of mike being a sub, since i’m of the strong belief that there’s no evidence for their sexual dynamic at all.

it’s really just how i prefer to think about it if i had to pick my favorite dynamic or what i’d lean towards when i’m writing.. lmao i think we’re pretty much on the same page tho, since i’m also a top mike truther who thinks they’re equals. so, sure, soft vers is a great description - but my personal preference is that mike is perfectly fine submitting to whatever will says and (for the reasons i said) will is perfectly fine not only asking for what he wants but also taking care of mike bc he wants mike to feel so good (which there is huge evidence for in s4). i’m not forcing others to see it this way, it’s just what i like 🥲 (also i should note that this isn’t the only dynamic i like when thinking of byler concepts, i like it all 😮‍💨 but when talking about which part of their canon dynamic is most satisfying/realistic to me i guess?)

(but i’d rather not have more people come to my inbox saying ‘well what you’re describing is actually still dom mike,’ because to me it’s not. i don’t see him that way as a default/usual assumed dynamic for them.)

to address what you said about mike’s behaviors being more dominant-leaning even outside of supernatural stuff, i guess my stance is that you can’t really separate it? like the way he was in s2 from the start was bc he felt crazy about el being alive or not. and him being the softer version with will is yes bc he has a sense of feeling like he’s taking care of someone, ((((((which i could argue isn’t a traditionally masc role but i won’t)))))) but also because it’s a safe place for him. i agree with you that he is 1000% the de facto leader of their group. he also paralleled joyce a lot in s1 with his persistence in getting will back and getting the others on board, while also being the gentlest and most nurturing of the boys with eleven.

what i love about mike is that he isn’t a violent person, like, at all - and it’s shown in the times that he does try and defend himself/others - it’s unnatural. i love that he can be the leader who people look to for guidance but not because he demands it, he just is. he’s the quietest in the party when theyre at the arcade in s2. there’s a common theme of will trusting and confiding in him where he wouldn’t with others. themes of nurturing, safe haven, emotional intelligence, follow mike before the clear shift in s2-3 when things start to become unmanageable for him. there are a lot of things that set him apart from dustin and lucas in s1 as far as typical masc traits and how they treat el (especially noticeable with lucas, since he and mike have pretty similar motive to get will back).

as far as him not being soft or chill w will when he’s not in danger, i guess we’ll have to agree to disagree? i’m thinking about “another 90 miles, why” and the softness in his tone when theyre on the couch, before will discloses that 001 isn’t dead. demanding and aggressive isn’t his default in a comfort setting. it’s just something that’s easy to pick up on for me, something i enjoy exploring more of, and a cool thing about fanfiction is that ability to have different interpretations or see qualities in characters that you focus on more while others choose different ones to expound on.

i’ve always said i think it’s presumptuous to assume the mike we see, with his clear multitude of external pressures, is the one he’ll be years from now. (will too, but mike is the focus here). and it’s really not far fetched when you look at how he is in his earlier days that he’s softer than the typical boy and would likely level back to that when settled and regulated.

thanks for the ask & i’m glad my take made a little sense 🩵 i mostly end up word vomiting when it comes to the mike topic

[ofmermaidstories]

[im very invested in your oc hana, idkk if any of this makes sense, feel free to ignore]

on my first read thru of your story, her betrayal was nowhere near as impactful to me as it is now. i was blinded by the grandeur of pro heroes being so powerful yet oh so human, and by a selfish, insecure, and very human artist. thus i glanced over one of the most realistic charcters. hana is the epitome of a slippery slope that is being human, so many of us claim to know that we will never tumble, that we will never become the monster, after all its always us versus them. the thing is, we could all be them. we're all capable of selling our identity to society and ignoring that, or worse, denying that notion just emphasizes our susceptibility to being the next victim. it took me a while to figure that out, but once i did i realized how much i could understand why hana went the way she did, and i just began to see how she couldve started to fall (how any of us couldve fallen). it all started with little hisae (what a steep cliff that is). but in hanas eyes, in her mind, its so much easier to blame the heroes, to blame society than to blame the unyielding circumstances that she (and everyone else in japan) found themselves in. just imagining the thought process hana must of gone thru is so devastating. going from regular thoughts of grief and self-blame to slowly becoming more desperate in your search for both answers and justice:

"how did no one see her?", "why did no one save her?", "what if i had stayed in the shelter?", "what if someone had noticed sooner?" and so on, and so forth until hana would finally come to the conclusion "whats the point of heroes?"

then fin, your morals and beliefs are forever changed. the juxtaposition bw hana and hisaes death vs scribbles and hanas death i feel like also highlights how we can all become a monster, we just have to decide not to. at the end of the day, its just like uncle hideyo said. our loved ones have the same duty to us as we do to them. hana had a decision to make - she had multiple decisions to make - and she made hers, so now we must make ours.

anywayss, i just wanted to appreciate your ocs, theyre some of the best ive had the pleasure to get to know, and hana, hideyo, miki, hitomu and yua will always have a special place in my heart (and hikoboshi [rip :(] plus tobi cant forget them) <3

ps if you have any notes/tidbits youve been wanting to share about your oc i would love to hear them

people are a lot more selfish than they tend to give themselves credit for! grief is just a surefire way to illuminate that. and for hana, like you so thoughtfully point out, it’s a slippery slope. 🥺 radicalisation is so easy when there’s pain involved and none of us are the same, none of us will deal with it the same way. and with the world that Horikoshi’s created in My Hero, the power imbalance is so like, obvious and literal lmao. Look at Shigaraki’s pain, and how that was used against him. Spinner’s. Dabi’s and Toga’s! Twice!! it’s not a stretch to imagine ordinary civilians with like, nominal quirks or whatever, seeing that struggle between the villains and the pros and then similarly being affected by it—wanting to fight against that. and then that fight being perverted by assholes with crueller agendas. :/

and like, even then, though? you’re right. hana had choices to make, and she made the wrong ones. she knew what she was doing was wrong. the same woman that was smuggling in nail polish for a captive kid was helping another mail like, photocards. of course she knew; you see the drop even when you’re sliding down that cliff-face, i guess. and we never get this in the fic because the point-of-view never allows it, but i do think hana’s internal justification for staying with the group, for being apart of imprisoning those kids was that it was going to happen with or without her, that by being apart of it she could mitigate the horror somehow. of course, the tragedy is that she still perpetuates it by being there—because she’s selfish. selfish and scared (she knows she’s not walking away from it) but still selfish (at the heart of it she’s still that grieving, angry teenager. she still wants revenge against the pro heroes who weren’t there. and being apart of the gala attack gives her that, and she has to ignore the bruises on Yua’s arms or the resentment of some streetkid? Then whatever. Hisae’s body was unrecongisable, afterwards).

maybe more support as a teenager, afterwards, would have given an hana the ability to transmute her anger. maybe uncle could have done something more in regards to like, trying to press charges or otherwise seeking justice. maybe scribbles could have noticed, should have noticed, the cracks. but none of that happened. you can’t play could’ve, should’ve, would’ve when it comes to other people’s choices, because they still choose. scribbles—and uncle, even—are fundamentally different people to hana. they choose differently! we chose differently, in the end.

for hana and for scribbles both, their grief is about survival (all grief is, which is why all grief is selfish). scribbles—us, we—needs other people. so much of something is people like, reaching out to scribbles (to us). so when it all hits the fan that’s what our little self-insert needs more of: other people who choose to stay. and that in turn gets scribbles to a place where like, they can help other people in turn (uncle, hitomu, miki, tobi). hana by contrast rejects everyone, because she felt abandoned. you can’t change things now; you can only do better for the people in your life going forward. so much of healing is learning that.

thank-you for reading, anon. 🥺 i’m so grateful you liked the gang. 😭 being human—and being loved, even by a perfect superhero—means knowing and being surrounded by others who have their own lives, beyond your story. something needed it’s little cast. 🥹 deku and scribbles are empty puppets without the people they love (or are hurt by) beyond each other. and the fun of doing a series is that they’re not limited to their own stories. hitomu pops up, in shouto’s fic! and hana’s presense drifts in and out—rippling out with those choices she made. a ghost along the riverbank, following the current of a story she’s no longer apart of, i guess. 🥹

[smoked-salmon-official]

If Tarmac meets Tarn before Victory was even there, it would have been an absolute shitshow for Tarmac, she would be subjected to Tarn full attention with no one else for him to focus on.

Even if he loves her, he is still Tarn, a zealous fanatic whose job is to head a group who hunt down people and torture them to death, and Tarmac is a sheltered little bot who want to go into medicine.

With Victory there, Tarn would focus the brunt of his attention on them as they are related to the object of his obsession, as they are the heir to the Decepticon, which means one day they wil be the Decepticon ideal, something he's very fixated on. Plus, Victory being there provided Tarmac with some company that is not the torture squad.

Without them, Tarmac would be alone on a ship with brutal killers and Tarn would have have no distraction from making his daughter into a model Decepticon.

Also, if I remember correctly, Victory was the one to tell her that she was made to appease Tarn's addiction. Here she would have to learn the hard way as she watches Nickel extract a t-cog from a corpse saying it's for Tarn's addicting and remember every time Pharma put her under to remove a growth inside her, a growth that look identical too the sphere in Nickel's hand.

Maybe at some point, Tarn want to remove her medic symbols because, as his heir, they were unsuitable. Scared out of her mind but even more desperate to keep the only she had on her of Pharma, she talks about her regenerative t-cog and how she will cooperate with whatever if she could just keep them, or at least just use temporary paint, she'll make sure he never has to see them.

Cliffnote btw

wow, tarmac hiding her cog regenerating abilities is actually a super cool idea. and then having to work through the horrifying circumstances that led up to her creation. and she wants to get off this ship and away from people that scare the shit out of her so bad, but returning home to pharma means making him have to suffer more by looking at the consequences of what tarn put him through. tarmac loves him so much, maybe its better that theyre apart (but def not better for her rn).

everyone on the peaceful tyranny has either completed justified what they do, enjoys it, or is desensitized. tarmac is none of those, and i imagine its just going to be very traumatic experience after very traumatic experience, being exposed to the worst things you can do to someone else. it's going to be a completely miserable time.

tarn definitely cares about her, but he has no idea how to sustain a relationship that is outside of his fanaticism, especially with someone like tarmac... and he of course wants her to be a decepticon like him, the next leader of the djd, all that good stuff. but tarmac was raised by autobots, she doesn't want to hurt anyone, she just wants to be a doctor.

actually, i love the idea of tarn not knowing why pharma made tarmac in the first place. i mean, how could he, im guessing he doesn't entirely question where his t cogs come from. once he finds out, how does he feel? im going to say at least somewhat guilty because come on i need to shove some good things into here. his own actions led to a childhood filled with pain for tarmac (by pharma, who was forced to inflict it by him). oh thats so fucked up.

so does tarn change? probably that is the ultimate question.

but tarmac would resist any attempts he made to change her and she would be out of there the first chance she got. at the same time, tarmac is able to see how messed up tarn is - mostly because of megatron's subtle manipulations that fucked up his mind. she can't fix him, but maybe she can stay and love him. if it doesn't kill her first, that is.

[thesassysegments]

wtf was today???

so to start off my day i woke up at 6ish to find out the ft hung up in the middle of the night. booooo. i woke up late and got to school late so i didnt get to see her in the morning. double boo. Carol was on her shit and clocked my ass??? triple boo. man wtf

skipping to 3rd. im so lucky to be apart of this program, ive made new friends and got closer with those i didnt know as well before. i also get to hang out with the coolest group of kids but going to this elementary school today was so whack.

so i started off the day meeting my students in the cafeteria, theyre like 6-8 so i have to remind them to talk one at a time and to sit correctly at the table. then one of the kids im closer to was in the clinic?? to find out one of the other students had a bit of an incident earlier in the day, yelling, trying to run out of class, hurting herself and hurting others. im honestly still confused on the whole story because in all honesty the teacher is unreliable but like the kids seemed a bit shook when we got back to class. i hope shes okay and that she wasnt hurt during this.

while getting ready to leave lunch a student im not familiar with came up and hugged me. i was confused because i dont know this student. i hugged him back a bit and asked him what his name was or if he knew where his table was. i was stuck standing, hugging this student trying to get an adult to get him off of me. luckily someone noticed me and got him. i found out shortly after when i looked back that he was with a certain group of kids, special ed students. i understood now why he wasnt talking and i hope he had a bit of comfort in hugging a stranger. idk that bit of my day caught me off guard.

when we got back to class i talked to the teacher and got a bit of details on the incident that occurred earlier in the day. one of the students had to go to the clinic because her tummy hurt. i made sure she got there and felt cared for. to cheer her up a bit on our way over there i was being a bit silly, i did a heel click, i tried to crack a couple jokes and i was saying silly things every time i opened a door for her. off topic but those doors are heavy asf for an elementary school.

once we made it to the clinic i was greeted by a familiar face, the little boy from the cafeteria. the nurse called a parent/ guardian for the student i brought to the clinic and she had to stay for the day, which she cried about but i tried to cheer her up on the way back. while we were waiting to contact a parent a teacher came to pick up the little boy. i asked the nurse if he was okay because i saw him in the cafeteria and she informed me that he was in the clinic because he had soiled himself. thinking back i thought i smelled something during lunch and tbh my first thought was "ew" but i didint wanna be rude to the student so i didint say anything about it. low key feel bad for him i hope hes lit.

anywho its always math after lunch so i usually help with that. one of the kids is super good with math and i told him to remember that not everyone does well with everything so we gotta help others. i reminded him if a friend needed help that he can help out by breaking it down. i told him about how i have a friend who speaks another language and how i help her with big kid math because the words were hard for her to understand. he listened to what i had to say and helped out the quiet little girl that sits in front of him.

the teacher told me to take two students over to a separate table to work on the two pages with them. i broke it down the same way i might for my friend who doesnt speak english. simplifying what i understand so we both have the same understanding. we finished the two pages while also breaking it down, including me literally breaking it down dancing, (it was silly), before the rest of the class got to page 2. i was so proud of those two you have no idea.

at about 12:30 we have to head to the bus to make sure were back to campus before B lunch is over. i was on my way out when one of the students ran up to hug me before i left. this specific little boy running up to me low key caught me off guard, him and i dont talk as much as i would with some others. he was sad i had to go, wished me a happy early birthday and went back to his seat. the teacher didnt know it was coming up, i talk to the kids more than i talk to her. she seemed excited that i had a birthday coming up and said shed get cupcakes for the tutor day before my birthday, which was super sweet. i have a confusing opinion on this teacher but the offer was sweet.

anywho, went back to school, saw my girlfriend and my friends (i love her shes so pretty) and i told them about my day. i walked with her to her building and said goodbye ( i didnt wanna go i shouldve kidnapped her and took her to class with me), i went to the drama room. i was bored all of class tbh but when it was over i got to see her again after, we walked to publix and walked back to campus and i teeheed the whole way. when we were sitting at the noodle i was the happiest i was all day i love her so much.

anywho that was my day and tbh an interesting one

Song of the vibe: Bewitched - Laufey

[crime-bot]

of course :D a lot of that's helped me shape who goro is, because (and vashtiijoy? i think that's their user? you should be able to look up their stuff. theyre on here talks about the momentos thing) he isn't confirmed to have been in momentos before sae's palace nor is it confirmed that he was ever told the same thing morgana told the thieves (that palaces dont always mean the person is horrible) and because he's had negative experiences with wakaba isshiki (& likely okumura as well. i wouldnt be surprised if it later came out that goro was trafficked essentially, since goro was also set to kill kaneshiro and that's what happens to makoto if you don't finish the palace on time. shido's definitely the type to use goro as a display piece for people like kamoshida, kobayakawa, madarame, kaneshiro, etc, who all are confirmed apart of the conspiracy aside from kamoshida. but we can assume he was as well.) so it creates the environment where its easier to kill them nor feel regret, (speaking as someone who.... almost did to my own abusers), even if he didn't know at first (assuming wakaba was the first to suffer a shutdown), that it would kill them .. on the topic of shido using goro, i think it would also benefit shido for goro to have bad experiences with them since it strengthen's goro's ...... how do i put this. hm. it strengthens his ability to work under shido and continue to kill people, especially if he finds out they've treated him or his mother horribly . it would also benefit shido to not let goro know about momentos or information morgana has, that not all palaces are evil.

Huh, yeah... it's wild how many early assumptions are made and accepted about Goro by the fandom. To be fair, not a lot of people think about him this in-depth, through so many different sources. More power to the people who are like, "I just think he's neat", this is our enrichment and it's great.

Oh I'm Sure that he was never told the same thing Morgana told the thieves. In general, it seems that a lot of information that grants him the opportunity to do or see good is withheld from him... (Oh god yes!!! I mean, considering hoe Shido thinks of him and cares about image/finding ways to control others, it would seem like a win-win for Shido unfortunately.) Goro's entire life really made it so that he can kill, huh... this boy... (our experiences are different, but I can't help but feel solidarity. It's... a lot, man. Even now, it makes me think.)

Oh I've got you, it would absolutely make it easier for Goro to carry out assassinations for him. I mean, there's so much motivation and anger and frustration and!!! Jeez, it's so damn much! And it's so temping and becomes easier and easier to aim all of that at people that are designated to a person or group as the Shitty People

[gokartkid]

we've been loving in silence

title prompt

brocedes im thinking normal-people esque.

like, lewis and nico are in a high school relationship, they've known each other for forever ever since they were kids, their parents are close, they've been on holidays together the whole deal but-- they're also childhood friends in that way where they fell apart somewhere in intermediate and early high school.

nico made different friends, lewis made different friends, they just stopped talking. they were never really friends at school either, they'd have a great time on the weekend but. again. they had separate groups

they start going out after they keep running into each other at parties in high school: they go off into quiet corners and end up talking for hours nursing warm beers and chatting about everything, nothing. one of these nights, someone leans forward -- dunno who, lewis or nico, and it doesn't really matter but they're kissing

they keep it secret and its painful. lewis doesn't want to be judged for dating nico (internalised homophobia and nico is just again. theyre part of different crowds. nico goes with it but its frustrating-- sometimes he just wants to talk to lewis at school but he knows he cant, they dont go anywhere in public together or if they do its not even fun because lewis is looking over his shoulder to see if theres anyone that they know.

they break up-- and its awful and messy and lewis tries to do it over the phone but nico is like you cant seriously be doing this i live 5 minutes away from you im coming over.

neither of them can even talk about it to anyone because again nobody KNEW (and people did know but they knew the vibe was. not tlaking about it, so they never brought it up. the secrecy never even mattered tragedy!) and its very licking your wounds why are you so moody and angry, ppl in their life being like. just TALK to us!

and then they just ignore it because they're going to different universities anyway (nico goes away, lewis stays near their hometown) except then nico transfers back because his dad has an illness and he wants to stay close to him. lewis hates bumping into him (he doesn't like who he used to be. he feels really bad for treating nico the way he did) but it comes off as him just hating nico.

nico is seeing someone who's-- just okay. lewis hates him. lewis also hates how okay his friends are with nico, and with the guy hes seeing (they were never homophobic, just normal guys. when nico comes to a party theyre at they back slap him say hey whats up ur back etc etc)

nico and the guy break up. long getting back together process -- theres a moment where lewis is like can we just be friends again. and then both of them are nervous about moving beyond that and possibly fucking it up again and then NEVER having each other in their lives

everyone around them can see whats going on but they cant moment. lewis thinks his parents r just being annoying asking after nico but they always knew and they care about lewis and they just want him to be happy etc. etc. (somewhere in here a rlly difficult coming out convo with his dad where theyre not making eye contact but in the end its all abt love)

and then yeah. they get back together and its the same but so different and theyre grown up!

[darcyolsson]

hello i'm sending you this bc i'm going insane over aled atm and i feel like you Get It. anyway the last couple of chapters have made me so sad for him i feel like i'm grieving a dead character but he's literally right there 😭 but like knowing that the end of heartstopper means the start of radio silence and everything that aled has to go through like ... when he said i'm bad at studying at home i nearly started crying bc yeah of course he is ... and no one knows!! his best friends don't know!!

LITERALLY!! LITERALLY!!!!! that panel literally left 10 dead 14 injured + it being in an update so shortly after me having a full aled breakdown on the dash..... that was personal im barely recovered and now im spiralling again

it's sooo heartbreaking bc aled is kind of letting them in on the fact that Something is wrong, but it's very easy to take it as regular teenage whining (who doesnt get distracted studying at home, who doesn't think their mom sucks when theyre 15) so no one ever questions it or takes it seriously! bc why would they!

plus we know from radio silence that aled does not like to talk ab his home situation-- he genuinely goes quite far to keep frances from ever meeting carol, and when she finally does it's on accident-- so even IF one of his friends would try to dig deeper we know he would not let them. we're literally constantly being reminded that aled is not okay and steadily getting worse but also hiding it very well, SO well in fact that we know it's not going to get better for him before the end of heartstopper. i am in shambles. (and i love it. literally obsessed with the fact that someone who hasn't read radio silence wouldn't even catch on to the fact that something's up w him either just little breadcrumbs of suffering here and there i love you expanded fictional universes)

on that same note, i always kind of assumed we would see aled grow apart from the heartstopper gang, but these past few updates have made me realise that we literally don't have to? n&c make a small appearance in RS where it's evident they're still friends, just not very close ones, but it's like... always been this way?

charlie knows about daniel but as far as we know the rest of the gang might not even know he exists. none of them have any clue his home life is anything except ordinary. tao and charlie are close, as are the girls, but aled does not have anyone he's particularly close to in the group.

i think it's just a part of who he is, aled is very introverted and all of his Friend Space is probably currently being taken up by daniel. and that isn't a sad thing in itself but it's sad that he has many friends who would try to help him if they Knew but fact is aled is not someone who wants to let them know. so they dont. it all makes very much sense so let me repeat myself once more i am SHAMBLES!!!!

[obitv]

compiling all my un-witness protection hcs into one post because. well why not

deadwood as whole is a fairly small town. one small school, the only highschool is actually outside the town. everyone from deadwood gets the bus out there and theyd all know Of eachother if they dont know everyone personally

because deadwood is Fucking Weird kids from there struggle fitting in once they go to the highschool. while a lot of them would be in larger more typical cliques, they tend to group together whenever they can

abilities like seeing/talking to spirits arent.. uncommon? its not like everyone has them and generally it isnt Spoken Of but theres a much higher concentration there than youd find in any other city or town in prime

which is how the upp formed! group of highschoolers from deadwood, all from different social groups who would never typically interact all realise they have some sort of Sight

i just realised theyyre literally like in scoobydoo. this wasnt on purpose oh god

anyway. the group was probably formed both by william (wants to investigate the goings-on but cant actually talk to spirits, only see them) and a more popular, extroverted girl who like probably had a bit of a crush on him but also agreed that something needed to be done and they could do it

just bc deadwood doesnt have heroes doesnt mean teenagers wont get hero complexes! erm

onto the actual upp! theres around 5-6 of them. 2 girls, 3 or 4 guys. i havent fully decided on a number, maybe one guy drops in and out.. for future consideration

im hesitant to give her names but one girl Is called mary. not the extroverted girl, id say shes more of their navigator and is big into survivalism. urban trespassing girlie

theres totally a jock. like there has to be. hes actually a lot smarter than people give him credit for

i think for abilities.. william has the weakest Sight but his investigative skills and motivation make up for that. also sometimes he throws sticks that helps

another one of the guys has the strongest abilities. he can see them vividly and can speak to anything that CAN speak. probably in the same boat as william, he'd be an outcast without the upp. maybe theyre close friends :)

they dont actually go into the woods unless they have to - theyve grown up on stories of how dangerous they can be and how easy it is to get lost or turned around or just Taken, even in groups

typically it was graveyards, old buildings, maybe a trainyard or something idk whats in america

if they were dealing with aware spirits, typically all they needed was some sort of easier seance/exorcism, maybe just having someone to tell their story to, maybe a mystery solved

theres monsters in deadwood too, though. procedure for them varied wildly from RUN AWAY to finding out who they once were and helping them back to that, and then the typical seance/exorcism, to just asking it to go away

after williams incident, they dont fully drift apart. maybe for a while after he left, until they were sure whatever curse he had brought on them was gone with him. they tone down the investigative side of things, and have less cases as a result, but they still do what they can

cant wait for all of this to get decanonised ^_^ itll be awesome. um hope u enjoyed. feel free to ask more details bc i left a lot out actually to try focus on the group instead off Just william. a few of my general deadwood hcs are in here so you can ask abt those too ^_^

[minkieater]

so im actually sick to my stomach. sorry for the book im bouta drop

ok i need to get this off my chest can i just say that seob is so appealing. he knows exactly what to say, what to do, he seems to know tori so well without really knowing her— i was genuinely convinced bro was ITZ. i wont even get into that rn. also seob & friends being the younger crew and them being the ones who suggested truth or dare, a straight up childish game, is so fucking big brained of you. ALSO seob is a fucking genius and to see the build up of his character and what hes turned into from nfw feels so full circle and so big BRAINED fuck plum youre a genius and everything your mind thinks up leaves my jaw hanging every single time

ok FIRST AND FOREMOST. matz confirmed thank you so much shit had me giggling and kicking my feet “do u really like what i do w my tongue” GOODBYE can u show me next pls

YUNGI KISSING!!! YUNGI KISSING!!! GODDDDDD THAT WAS SUCH A YUNHO THING TO FUCKING DOOOO he is so fucking smart. cannot believe tori is beefing with him now when they were JUST besties. tor is losing her god damn fucking mind i wish i was there to see it

deep in my soul, rortor is somewhere, im stuck between feeling heartbroken about their relationship & completely being on tori’s side. i dont know if im biased because i see so much of myself in tori sometimes or if i’m genuinely on her side, but her feelings are so valid, it hurts that she isn’t speaking up more but im more-so pained that aurora isnt trying harder. yes tori is being an asshole and that much is clear, but when has she ever been this much of an asshole? and yes when someones an asshole u usually dont want anything to do with them but like… this is rortor. sisters. tori considers ror more of a sister than her own BLOOD sister and i know that feeling is reciprocated by aurora— so why is she letting this beef drag on for so long?

we know aurora, we know the kind of person she is, in nfw she kept so much to herself & i KNOW she sees tori doing the same, we all know how that turned out in nfw, im sad aurora is watching it happen again… rora is bold, loud, she says whats on her mind, im disappointed she isnt doing more. it makes me feel like tori is actually morally right in her feelings and her assumptions, and rora really is too wrapped up in wooyoung to pick tori apart.

maybe im disappointed in the both of them, they’re both acting like what they hate. they went through so much together and instead of working it out together theyre more distant than they’ve ever been— it saddens me that tori is the glue but when shes feeling broken theres no one there to put her back together.

this chap was insane. the part where tori was on the fence about kissing seob and that last look to ror really sold it for me, also tori airing out ror’s dirty laundry about the pregnancy test??? im so fucked up. as best friends, as sisters even, this feels really bottom line and im terrified for what comes after, if and how they come back from this, im not sure if they should and that terrifies me even more.

speaking of truth or dare, man what a wild fucking ride— how you wrote it was addicting. keeping track of so many people, their interactions, you outdid yourself here. everything felt so real it was as if i was in the room, shit had me gripping my phone with a pit in my stomach while giggling at my screen like these were my friends at my house and god i yearn for that feeling in everything i read, and you deliver every. single. time. from yuna and jongho getting freaky to mingi being pure w keni and yeo to wooyoung and aurora not having anyone’s shit to seob’s crew running the entire show, i still cant fully process this shit. how a group of BOYS can orchestrate such a shit show is beyond me, and to do it so well it rips apart several relationships— “wooyoung may be quick but i am quicker” / “mind if we come play?” / tbh just how the word play is used in this entire chapter is sickening because that’s really what theyre doing, they’re playing, and winning apparently

gonna bring up mingi now and try to hold back my tears as i speak. my angel baby, my princess boy, i feel so fucking terrible for him. his fun little idea of getting tori to OPEN UP blowing up in his face because of a twenty year old ROACH that he cant get rid of is SICKENING. i love seob in this, and it might turn to a love/hate relationship when i think of mingi, but i really do love that genius fucking villain— he wants what he wants and he’ll stop at nothing to get it, but it’s sandpaper to my SOUL that it’s at mingi’s expense. mingi was actually going along with the whole threesome thing which seems so unlike him JUST to make tori happy, thinking she chose SEOB who he HATES just to make her happy… and then she KISSES him? RIGHT IN DRONT OF HIS FACE, aIn front of ALL OF THEIR FRIENDS FACES??? AND IT WASNT EVEN A SMOOCH SHE WAS MAULING HIM IH MY GOODDKEHSJSHS my boy is a martyr. from the first part of this party when tor was hanging around seob a part of me felt like she didn’t deserve mingi anymore and that breaks my heart the worst. i havent said that to u yet bc im scared. thinking about deleting it before u get ideas.

not even gonna talk about wooyoung cus its FUCK WOOYOUNG until he gets redemption. he doesn’t deserve my words or thoughts. u know them already anyways

sigh. tori tori tori my dumbass baby angel sweetie pie that i love so so much, you are so intelligent, you have so many people surrounding you that love and care for you, why on god’s green earth are you being such a fucking moron <3 i rlly do love her and stand by her and i’d defend her in a court of law but her kissing seob actually threw me off the deep end. that felt like she was dancing along the line of unredeemable— how can she do and say so many hurtful things and then have the conversation of, ��yeah everything we all went through last year hurt really bad. i know you all went through it too but like.. i went through it and it hurt so you should all suffer’… is she expecting to have friends after? i can look at it like that easily, but also i said that i see a lot of myself in tori, i’ve felt her feelings i’ve endured her emotions and i know what shes going through, why she’s making the decisions that she is, but ive also dealt with the consequences and they aren’t pretty. i fear for her going forward if she is to have any redemption at all, i hope she’s strong enough to face them, and come out stronger and smarter. my sweet pea. i adore her so bad. shes so silly.

last thing and then im done i swear- i had a situation where i was in love really close friends with a girl and she ended up getting a boyfriend that i didn’t know, i wasn’t friends with him, he wasn’t in our circle. im someone who has to have my claws in everything, which it seems tori is too, and i didn’t know anything about him nor did i have any importance in their relationship and that bothered me so fucking bad. bad enough to where the friendship ended lol this is a whole story but whatever sometimes i see a little bit of that in rortor, with wooyoung, even if im #fuckwooyoung sometimes i feel like its not really all that much about wooyoung. i think tori isn’t close with wooyoung, she doesn’t know him like she knows yunho, she doesn’t have a grip on everything and that bothers her— it reminds me a lot of the girl i was in love good friends with. which brings me to…. uhm…. i fear tori might have a little crush on aurora and id love to hear your thoughts on that ‼️

sorry for my rambles this made me rlly emotional and i had to get all my thoughts out lol. i dont even know if thats everything but.. plum u are an incredible writer and u inspire me so much, thank you for this piece of ART, i love u <3

gimme gimme gimme 7 -> mingi x fem!reader -> nice for what

wc: 12k ( i'm sorry ?! ) warnings: 18+, sexual content and alcohol consumption in every part, infidelity themes... if i missed anything please let me know! posted: 2/27/25 8:16 pm est.

masterlist ~ <- previous part - next part ->

Hongjoong circled around the coffee table in the middle of the couches, a wine glass dangling between his fingers adorned with silver rings. Sinking onto a cushion beside Seonghwa, he curled his legs beneath him, the Gucci socks getting lost beneath the silk hanging off of his lower half. Inches of space kept between the two did nothing to deter the sexual magnetism radiating off of them.

Stretching an arm along the back of the sofa, behind Hongjoongs back, careful not to actually touch him- none of you have seen them do so- Seonghwa kicked his legs out in front of him, bare olive skin in little loose fitted shorts, crossing his ankles. 

Gentle music pulsed through the room, a soft R&B playlist off of Mingi’s phone, one that heated your cheeks, your toes longing to curl as each song changed into one that brought back a plethora of memories. Catching his half smirk across the room with each new beat, hanging around opposite sides of the house for the evening, he knew what he was doing to you.

He sat on the couch to the left of Seonghwa and Hongjoong, Jongho also in the mix sitting beside your boyfriend. Beer cans in hand, they spoke covertly with their leaders, hushed voices like gentle lullabies sneaking over to where you stood with the girls around the kitchen island, the girls and Yeosang. He bounced back and forth, a few minutes with the boys, a few minutes with you girls, which meant a few minutes with his girl. 

You’re certain you’ll all be receiving save the dates in the mail sometime next year.

Yeosang had no other reason to hang around the guys aside from spending genuine time with them. Nasara is his past, Keni is his future. Balancing the two now, watching him wander from couch to counter, from leaning over a sofa to wrapping an arm around her waist, checking in on her without a word, without interrupting her aside from the tiniest kiss to her cheek, it’s like his life went unchanged.

Like graduating hadn’t affected him in the slightest. He’s ready to move on, he wants what comes next, he’s leaving all of you, this life, behind. 

Much like Ryujin and Jeongyeon, not one of them questioned what came next for the sorority, the fraternity. The three of them, they didn’t need to know. Sure, if it came up in conversation they cared, they listened, they watched with gleaming eyes as the rest of you talked plans, talked details. But, they didn’t contribute. Nor did they have any opinions. They had nothing to say.

Even now, as the song changed into one more upbeat now that the night progressed later and Mingi shifted the vibes, Yuna ran her mouth a mile a minute, eyes wide, hands flying as she expressed her ideas for fundraisers and for recruiting new girls, letting the underclassmen shadow their seniors with the specific positions they’d want in the future… Ryujin blinked. Her gaze traveled out toward the living room. She rested her elbows on the counter and laid her head on Jeongyeons shoulder, and they whispered to each other.

She didn’t pay attention.

She’d rather talk to her girlfriend. She’d rather move up to Iloa, rent an apartment with her, call you guys occasionally, slum it through these weeks with all of you, then go back to her separate life with Jeongyeon like the last four years of her life never happened.

Personally, I don’t wanna stay stuck in a place that made me miserable.

That’s what she told you that night in Cheers. That this chapter has closed, that if she wants to feel better, if she wants to get better, she has to move on.

It must be the same for Yeosang.

I’m willing to make sacrifices for the people I love.

Your eyes found Mingi. Leaning over his knees covered in baggy denim, his black button down exposed his golden chest, a few silver chains dangling around his neck, contrasting against his skin. He wore his black, square, chunky glasses tonight, they sat on the edge of his nose. You don’t know how many times you have to tell him that if he doesn’t wear them right he’ll have a headache within the hour, but he’ll defend himself, Tori, if I push them back they don’t look right, they have to look right.

Not paying attention to you, he listened to Seonghwa who hadn’t moved from Hongjoongs side. The president, with his head softly bobbing around, spoke like Yuna, a mile a minute, just much quieter. It gave you insight to how the house was run behind closed doors. You’ve shared with Mingi what the sorority was like, and he’s told you just as much about ATZ, but to see it happening in real time, right in front of you, so compelling.

Hongjoong had minute things to add, his eyes on Seonghwa, a gaze that’d drop to his lips occasionally. After a small sip from his glass, swirling the wine around before another, he’d speak, and after a few times, it happened.

Seonghwa’s hand gripped the back of his neck, thumb and fingers on either side, squeezing him. Turning his head, his glare blazing like Hongjoong had said something wrong, neither of them faltered. Where Seonghwa’s eyes were hot, almost angry, Hongjoongs were alight with mischief. Both Mingi and Jongho glanced away the second Seonghwa pulled Hongjoong closer by his neck. His lips found his ear, a whisper shared, one no one needed to know.

Seonghwa released him and Hongjoong fell back into place with a smile on his face.

Wandering over to the fridge, leaving Yuna and Keni to discuss Iloa with Ryujin and Jeongyeon, you pulled a seltzer off the shelf and cracked it open, swinging the door shut with a slam. Facing the living room, downing half your drink in a few gulps, you watched the front door open a crack, Yunho slipping inside on alert, scanning the room before closing the door behind him. 

Spotting you, he lifted his hand with the smallest wave, then tried to make his six foot self smaller, planting himself on the couch opposite Mingi, next to Yeosang. The boys acknowledged his appearance, but didn’t let it deter them from discussion. Yunho fell right in without missing a beat.

“You’re quiet tonight,” Ryujin said, spawning beside you, grabbing herself a new drink. 

Giving her a shrug, glancing down at her, you pursed your glossed lips. “Lots to think about.”

“You still having trouble adjusting?” she asked, eyeing the scene beneath her shaggy bangs parted in the center. Looking up at you, she read your gaze and laughed. “Damn, Tor. Maybe you need to talk to someone.”

The words stung. “I don’t need to talk to anyone,” you snapped. “I need people to stop being assholes.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Who’s being an asshole?” There wasn’t a single infliction in her tone. She remained utterly calm, her inner lion always asleep until it was necessary for it to wake up. “As far as I know, everyone’s chill.”

“Everyone is not chill.”

“Like who?” she asked, bobbing her chin. “Aurora? You guys haven’t spoken in, like, two days, Tor.”

“‘Cause she’s wrapped up in her life, Rio,” you sneered, both of your gazes heating up. “Everybody thinks they’re so adorable, they’re so cute, but no one is looking at it.”

Ryujin tightened her jaw. “When was the last time you went out of your way to ask her about it? About him? Have you even talked to her about it, and listened?”

“When’s the last time she’s asked me about me?” 

Your voices were raised, the only indicator being Mingi’s attention turned to you from the living room.

Ryujin’s entire demeanor changed, like she took an entire mental step backward. “She’s tried. You won’t talk to her. She’s been asking us all to look out for you, to make sure you’re okay, that you have a good time while we’re here.”

Your heart sank into your stomach. “You told her what we talked about? She told you stuff, too?”

“She hasn’t said shit, Tor,” she shook her head, “And I didn’t tell her a thing. She knows you, you think she can’t tell that something’s off? That something between the two of you is wrong?”

You couldn’t even hide it. Distorting your face into something of a frown, you scoffed, then groaned. “I tried to talk to her after we got into it, but she ignored me.” Ryujin tilted her head. “I haven’t tried again since.”

“Okay, she may have told me something,” she said after a couple blinks. Your cheeks warmed. “We’ve been out the last two nights, right?” You nodded. Everyone’s been spending time at Cheers together, drinking, dancing, but just the main group of you all, the people in the house right now. “She told me she’s staying out of your way.” You parted your lips, but she continued on. “And that she wanted me to help keep you away from her. For your sake. Not hers.”

Feet thundered down the stairs behind you, San whooping, leaping over the back of the couch Mingi and Jongho sat on, wedging himself in the middle of the two. Taking Mingi’s chin in his hand after nearly knocking the two boys out with his knees, he tugged your boyfriend closer and smacked a thick, wet kiss to his cheek before he tried to do the same to Jongho, but the boy held up a hand and San retreated with a smirk.

The room grew louder. Especially once San caught a glimpse of Yunho sitting across from him.

“She told me that she thinks she bothers you,” Ryujin said, taking your attention back. “And, she doesn’t know why. She doesn’t know what she’s done, she doesn’t know how to fix it, and she feels bad for putting you through a hard time without realizing it.”

The tiniest laugh sparked at your lips. Shaking your head, letting her words sink in, mess with your heart, mess with your head, you sent her a glare. “Of course,” you lowered your voice, hearing footsteps on the stairsteps. “Of course she’d think that. That it’s because of her. No one fucking gets it.” 

Pressing your can to your lips you spun away from her and started around the counters, heading for Mingi. Ryujin threw her arms out and shook her hair around.

“We’re trying to!” she shouted.

Aurora and Wooyoung had come downstairs. Wrapped up in one another, Aurora pressed to his chest, her arms slung around his back like they usually were, they stood behind San, Wooyoung toying with the short black hair tousled atop his head. Cracking jokes, all the boys laughing with one another aside from Mingi and Yunho, no one seemed to notice the way Aurora stared across the room. No one except the boy she stared at.

He fought to look elsewhere, fidgeting in his seat, only uncomfortable because she held onto Wooyoung at the same time, Yunho didn’t know what to do. Yeosang slid a hand over his knee, calming him. Yunho gave him a look, but he didn’t return it, his focus laid upon his girlfriend who joined the group in the living room, as did Yuna. 

Sinking onto Mingi’s lap without sparing Aurora a look, not that she’d dare look away from her soulmate to acknowledge you, you wrapped an arm around his shoulder and kissed his cheek, the one San didn’t. Sliding his phone into his pocket in a hurry when you appeared in front of him, he smiled up at you and sat backward, inviting you in. One of his hands rested around your waist and the high waisted denim skirt hugging your hips. The other reached up to tuck some of your hair behind your ear, his fingertips dancing along the golden earrings hanging from your lobes. 

“Hi pretty girl.” Voice low, gravely, just for you, he coerced you closer for a real kiss, one gentle and slow. “You okay?” he asked through a breath. A shake of your head was enough for him. Anyone could feel the tension in the air, sprouting from a thousand places other than just your own heart. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, blinking his big brown eyes up at you behind his frames.

“It’s okay,” you whispered back, dragging your fingers through his hair. “I’ll just stay right here all night, and everything will be fine.”

Mingi squeezed your curves and smized. “Fine by me.”

“Hey, Tori?” Yunho’s voice sounded beside you. He left his spot on the couch to crouch next to the one the two of you sat on. Turning your head, ghosting Mingi’s kiss, you questioned him with a brow. “Can I talk to you for a second?” 

“Sure,” you said quietly, turning to Mingi who nodded at you and helped you off of his lap. Yunho lead you into the kitchen, out of earshot of everyone else. Towering above you, an inch taller than your boyfriend, he flickered his eyes in and out of the living room. “What’s up, Yo?”

He paced a bit, slowly, yet obvious his nervous system had been overloaded. He was going to talk about Aurora. And you were going to have to endure it.

“I don’t know what to do,” he sucked in a breath, shaking his head in tiny, a trillion times. “Up until the other night, no, until that party, no.” He paused, turning toward you. “The other night, the night at Wave, what the fuck.” 

“Words, Yunho,” you said gently, resting a hand on a counter.

He drug his hands through his hair and tried to take another deep breath, but it was as if his lungs had forgotten how to work. “I was fine. I could do this.”

“Do what?”

He grit his teeth, dropping his hands at his side. “Watch them. Be around them. Encounter them in the wild and not have it affect me so awfully terribly. But, now that she knows something, now that I know a lot of something, I can’t.” He gulped. He spun around once to catch a glimpse of the couple now sitting on the back of the sofa behind San, then faced you. “I just don’t know how I’m supposed to-”

“Then, go home,” you said. Shock slapped him across the face. “You can’t handle it, then leave. What else do you want me to say?”

Dropping his eyes, taking all of you in, as if to double check who he was speaking to, he said within a breath, “What?”

You shrugged. “You heard me.”

“Tor, I thought-”

“She’s not speaking to me anymore,” you said, and his face went blank. “Somehow, right now, I might be okay with that. If you want Aurora, you go get Aurora. I don’t want to help anymore.”

Leaving him in the kitchen, you backed away a few steps and started yourself toward Mingi. He followed you.

“Can you at least tell me why Mingi was so quick to defend Hwa that night?” he asked.

Facing him one last time, you sipped your drink and looked him in the eye. “You distanced yourself. From everyone. Is it so criminal they’ve grown closer? You’re no longer in the middle of them, they have a friendship of their own now.” He glanced over your head at the boys laughing together. “You want to know why, you ask him.”

You stepped away, but he took one step closer. 

“But, I thought we-”

“No,” you said, whipping your head toward him one last time. “Whatever you’re thinking, no. I don’t wanna be involved. You wanna play your games with her? Go ahead. You wanna pull my boyfriend through months of hell again, make him not speak to you? Go ahead. You did this. It’s your fault, Yunho.”

Turning from him, you didn’t let anything stop you this time, not Mingi’s attention, not Yunho’s shout of your name, nothing. Crinkling the can in your hand, you threw it to the hardwood and hurried for the front door, yanking it open, slamming it shut behind you without a care for the houses wellbeing or the people inside of it. Wandering over the porch to the front stairs, you took a couple down toward the sand in the yard and paused. 

Closing your eyes in the night air, taking a deep breath, planting your hand on one of the railings, you let the breeze ease the heat beneath your skin. Let it partially clear your head from all thoughts of the people in the living room, though the buzz of them could still be heard where you stood.

Everything you once wanted, everything that brought you down, the weighted thoughts, the heavy words, the awful feelings… It all came from them.

Everyone in the house.

A family you so desperately yearned to keep together.

Immovable forces, every single one of them. Beings full of freewill. In no way can you force them back where you wanted them. In no way can you make them feel how you want them to feel.

There was no putting them back together, they moved against you. Opposed to you.

Pulling your phone from the back pocket of your skirt, you tapped on your messages and sent one off to your father.

[you]: what if i dropped out of ITZ

The thought nauseated you, but it was the first thing to pop into your head as you stood out here without them. 

There were two unread messages from ITZ. One sent earlier, and the other sent about a minute ago.

[ITZ]: hi sexy. whats this night gonna be like :) 

[ITZ]: are you okay??

Sighing heavily, you sat down on the step you stood on and rolled your head backward. Tilting it side to side, looking either way into the shadows that bounced off of other houses, your eye caught a five foot something shaped shadow wandering closer to your porch.

“Tori?” he asked, and you groaned internally.

Jongseob appeared in the light pouring from the windows of your house, mere feet from where you sat on the step. His hands were in his dark denim pockets, his matching dark tee hanging over his waist. Dirty blonde hair fluffed on his head, he wore a pout and concern in his eyes.

“What do you want?” you grumbled.

He glanced back toward his house, where distant noise and commotion came from. “We’re smoking, I heard the door slam and saw you come out here. Just didn’t sound good.”

“So, you’re here to check on me?” you sneered, and he nodded, unaffected by your venom. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

He took a step closer to the stairs. “Are you?”

“Yes,” you snapped. “Now leave me alone.”

A smirk found his lips, a flash of his teeth peeking between them. Tilting his chin back, he laughed. “This the thanks I get for exterminating your house?”

Narrowing your eyes, you shook your head. “What are you talking about?”

He glanced toward his porch, then lifted a brow. “I took care of your little Soul problem, didn’t I?”

Your stomach flipped. “That was you?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “It was obvious he bothered you. We’ve got a lot out of him since he’s been back, you’re friends with some freaks.”

Groaning aloud this time, you squeezed your eyes shut. “I know, I know!” 

“Surprised no party has ever turned into something more,” he said, lifting a foot to place it on the bottom stair. “Or does something like that happen tonight, when we aren’t invited.”

Shooting him a glare, you said, “Does it look like we’re in the middle of an orgy!?”

His eyes drew up and down your body. “Could be, I dunno. You’re unpredictable, Tori.”

A breath corrupted your lungs, and it shouldn’t have. His words, his stare, his intent. “You’ll say anything, won’t you?”

“I mean it,” he whispered, meeting your eyes with such ferocity. “There’s a lot I don’t know about you, a lot so many of us don’t know about you. You keep it hidden. But, I see it.” His eyes flashed to the door behind you. “I could look at every girl in there and know exactly who they are, know exactly how they work. Yuna, she needs someone to take care of her. Keni, she needs someone to control. Aurora, a slut.”

“Watch your mouth.”

He stepped up onto the stair, looking down at you now. “It’s the truth is it not? You know it, everyone knows it, no one speaks of it. How come?” 

Leaning down over you, his face inches from your own, his smile sparked something within you, it fueled your frustration for everyone in that living room, it gave you an excitement you hadn’t felt in months.

“I’m exactly like that son of a bitch in there, the one wearing Aurora. I see everything, I pick up on it all, I can figure out why these people work the way that they work, and I know how to take what they give me unknowingly, twist it up, and spit it back out at them.” 

You watched him in awe. 

“Wooyoung is quick, but I am quicker. They think Soul’s been rogue since he left with me from that last party?” 

You nodded. 

“He’s been drinking on my couch and passing a girl back and forth with Intak for days before he passes out in my bed for hours just to wake up and do it all over again. He’s twenty. What the fuck do they think he’s gonna do?”

“They say you guys take advantage of him,” you said quietly, and he scoffed.

“Advantage of what? What can Soul do?” He laughed. “He barely knows his right from his left, do they think he’s walking around telling people off, getting in fistfights, causing problems?” You shrugged. “He’s not,” he said with a wink. “That’s Wooyoung.”

“I dunno, they just-”

“Talk?” His smirk made you feel something you shouldn’t, but after a few drinks you couldn’t help yourself. “That’s all they ever do, isn’t it? Take it from me, as someone on the outside of it, Tor. Who are all of those people without this drama? All of your friends in there, what are they without something to talk about? Someone to do dirty? A plot to scheme up and pursue?”

Brainless, his pink lips knocked every thought from your head.

“Exactly,” he said softly, releasing a breath, one grazing your skin. “It’s all a game to them.” He reached out a hand and moved a strand of hair from your cheek. Your breath caught in your lungs. “And you’re another pawn, aren’t you?” He crouched down in front of you, his head between your legs if you were to part them. “Want some help?” he asked in a whisper, flashing you caramel doe eyes. “Mind if we come play?”

Their peace had been disturbed.

Giving Jongseob ten minutes to collect his friends, his groupies, you scurried back inside the house, bolting for the fridge for another drink to enjoy while the boys walked themselves in the house and everybody lounging around on the couches watched it happen. Mingi, with his eyes on you, gave you a smile, one small, loving, just enough to warm the edges of your heart hanging cold in your chest.

Standing behind the island counter, drink in hand, sipping in delicately, you returned it to him, but he didn’t believe you. Rising from the couch, giving Aurora and Wooyoung more space to spread out beside San, he joined you in the kitchen, a hand sliding around your shoulder.

The only acknowledgement of you returning inside, Yuna’s glance from where she sat on top of Jongho. Her always wide eyes met yours, full of worry, and they asked you questions, ones you couldn’t answer at the moment.

“What happened, Tor?” Mingi asked from your side, stepping closer to press his chest to your shoulder. His other hand squeezed you, fingers digging into muscle. “With Ryujin? With Yunho?”

Looking up at him, tipping your chin backward almost all the way, you planted a smile on your lips. “I’m over it.”

“Over what?” His brows furrowed.

“All of this.”

The front door swung open, the handle hitting the wall it slammed into as Jongseob stepped over the threshold with Soul wobbling under his arm, a big smile on both their faces. Behind them, Jiung, Intak, and a few other boys who’ve shown up to parties, are a part of ATZ, and have definitely heard plenty about you with how they grinned over Jongseob’s shoulder.

“Tori.” Mingi’s tone fell flat. Smiling, you glanced at him and stood to your tiptoes to plant a kiss to his cheek. He stared at the boys wandering in, one of them closing the door. “What the fuck?”

Taking sips of your drink, you stationed yourself here for the time being, watching it all play out before your eyes.

Confused, every single one of them, no one knew what to do, things for the most part fell silent aside from the boys' remarks about not being invited and what a way to welcome Soul home. Aurora didn’t look at him. Focused on Wooyoung who, what it seemed, tried to kill Intak with a glare, she pressed herself closer to him and toyed with the chain around his neck. 

Seonghwa was the only one to stand up, extending a hand toward the underclassmen, welcoming them in after Hongjoong finally whispered something to him and shoved him off the sofa. Pointing them around in the direction of things they’d need, drinks, bathroom, back patio, Jongseob took the president by the shoulder with a grin and thanked him. 

“All my shit still upstairs?” Soul asked him, his hand holding the back of Jongseob’s tee with a nasty grip. Seob did say they’d been smoking, you wouldn’t be surprised if any of them were doing both, furthering your interest in the rest of this night. 

Seonghwa clenched his jaw. “Yeah, your shit’s still upstairs. We didn’t touch anything.” 

Soul shot a look toward Aurora paying no mind to him and shouted, “That’s a shock!“

Both Intak and Jiung laughed, making their way past the couch the couples sat on, Intak sure to get his own death glare toward Wooyoung in before shaking Seonghwa’s hand.

Jiung pouted and nudged Soul's shoulder in a way that would’ve sent him to the floor if he wasn’t clinging to Jongseob. “Mommy didn’t touch your stuff?”

“Mommy hasn’t touched his stuff in a while,” Jongseob smized, and Wooyoung nearly leapt off of the couch. 

“This is not good,” Mingi mumbled beside you. He turned to you and your soft smile, scoffing at you in disbelief. “Are you enjoying this?”

You spared him a glance. “No, I, uh…”

“Come on,” Jongseob sang out, his head tipping backward as the boys laughed at something you missed. Aurora whispered to Wooyoung, you figured it was another comment about them. “Can we party, we came here to party!” Seob looked around for you, then pointed a finger in your direction. “You,” he winked. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Mingi asked behind his teeth just for you to hear. The boys whirled away as the music grew in volume, Mingi facing you completely. “Tori. What is he thanking you for?”

Pursing your lips, you took another sip of your drink. “Inviting them into my house.”

Within the hour the lights had dimmed, the amount of people doubled, and so did your consumption of drinks. Wedged between Jongseob and Jiung in the game room, the two of them shooting pool and blowing weed smoke in your face, you listened to them blab on and on about underground rappers they loved and what they were going to do when you and your friends left Haos. Intoxicated enough to not care that they were smoking inside, in a house you were renting that would most likely charge you for smoking inside, you bounced from one of their shoulders to the other sipping your umpteenth drink.

Bodies moved around you, other people the boys played with, faces unrecognizable, but fuck it, if Seob knew them then they were okay in your book tonight. 

“What are you on, baby girl?” Jongseob asked after his turn, balls clacking against one another, Jiung and the other players witnessing Seob’s almost victory, but he was too engrossed in you to realize. He touched the bottom of your can and you shrugged. Blinking through dazed eyes, he laughed at you. “Oh, you’re fucked up.”

Taking a hand to his shoulder, you squeezed him and laughed with him. “Nooo, no, no, M’not.”

Jongseob raised a brow and brought his hand to yours where it rested on him. “Baby, you can’t even speak full words.” 

Stepping closer to him, Jongseob ignored the joint between Jiung’s fingers hanging over his shoulder and let you move into him. “I can speak full words, Jongseob… Seob… Seobie.” Giggling, you leaned into him, but he didn’t move.

“Seobie, huh?” he questioned, smiling at you. “What about Mingi?” 

Your eyes widened and he winked. “Mingi,” you parroted. He bobbed his head.

“The boyfriend,” he said. “Where is he?”

“I dunno, I been with you this whole time.”

Jongseobs smile went crooked. “Yeah, you have. How come?”

Both of your hands found his chest. “Because…”

“Seob, you're up!” Jiung shouted from the opposite corner of the table. Jongseob shot him a glare and waved him off.

“…Are you the one who’s texting me?” you asked, and his head tilted, and his eyes widened a bit. Dirty blonde hair framed his face, his round cheeks, his charismatic aura.

“Am I texting you?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you said, leaning into him so much now that your chests were brushing. “I have this unknown number texting me, since we got here, I can’t figure out who it is… At first I thought it was you, but then I thought it was Yunho… But, it can’t be Yunho ‘cause he loves Ror, so, it’s gotta be you.”

Jongseob glanced over your shoulder, his lips parted in surprise. Meeting eyes with someone, he laughed aloud. 

“What’s this person saying to you?” It was Intak behind you. Short, black hair moved in your peripheral, but you focused on Jongseob. The edges of your vision were blurry.

“Sex stuff,” you said, and they both gasped, laughing together. “They’re saying I should tell Mingi, and we can have a threesome.”

“Sounds like you,” Intak said to Jongseob who gleamed with pride. “Is it?”

“I wish,” he spat. “That’s fuckin’ smart. Leading you on for this long, knowing you…”

“Knowing me?” you asked, shaking your head. The boys shared a look. 

“You aren’t gonna leave him alone,” Jongseob said, lowering his hands on your back. “You’re gonna keep pushing ‘till you figure out who it is.”

A pout formed on your lips. Your hands fisted his t-shirt into clumps. “Oh, c’mon, it’s not you?”

“Nah,” he shook his head, then his hands slipped even lower, feeling you up, searching for your phone. Ignoring how your breath stifled when his fingers grazed over your ass to pull it from your back pocket, you barely had time to react to anything at all. “Lemme see what y’all are talking about.”

“Seob, wait,” you breathed, moving to snatch it from him, but he was a little more sober than you were at the moment. Using your face ID to get into it, holding it up in front of you, you still weren’t quick enough to catch it. “Hang on!”

Intak watched over his shoulder, both boys snickering at the messages as they scrolled. Whining, shaking Seob’s arm around, not really doing much, you had to wait until they handed it back over.

“You faked an orgasm?” Jongseob shot you a look so disgusted you wanted to smack it off of his face. Lunging for the phone, he moved swiftly. “Oh, baby, come on. I think that would ruin my life,” he said to Intak, and his friend agreed, “If a girl faked it ‘cause of me, and told people about it, goodbye world.” 

“Nah, same, bro,” Intak groaned. “And I’ve got a rep now?! If a girl ever… Christ, man.” He looked you over and shrugged. “He’s lucky you’ve been together for ages, imagine if that was one hook up? Bro would be cooked.”

Bro. 

His name is Mingi.

“His name is Mingi,” you attempted to scoff, and they both snickered. Jongseob typed away at your phone before locking it and slapping it into your hand. 

“Don’t get defensive now, babe, it won’t do much, I can smell it from here.”

Pushing by you, gripping the back of your neck, Jongseob, followed by Intak and Jiung, moved you out of the game room and into the dark living room lit up by phone screens and the dim kitchen light. 

“Where are we going?” you asked, watching how he and his friends seemed to scour the place for familiar faces. 

“To find your friends,” he mumbled over the music. 

A boy passed by, the one from the other party, taking note of how Jongseob held onto you. “It’s your night Seob,” he cheered, tapping him on the shoulder with a fist. 

You raised a brow. “Your night?”

Jongseob touched a finger under your chin, giving you a smile. “Don’t worry about it.” His eye caught something on the second floor, from the balcony edge just after the staircase where the bar lived. “Find Soul,” he muttered to Intak and Jiung, “Let’s go.”

Yunho and Mingi sat at the bar. Facing their backs to the marble, leaning against it, their legs were hooked onto the rungs of the cushioned stools they were perched upon. Sipping from cocktail glasses, elbows nudging together every now and again, they spoke quietly to one another, eyes scoping the scene of their friends before them. 

Wooyoung in a lounge chair, Aurora on his lap. Jongho on the slender leather sofa pushed to the wall, Yuna smushed into his side, his arm around her. Yeosang and Keni relaxed into the other end of the couch, hands intertwined. San wandered about the circle, talking to someone new every five minutes. Ryujin and Jeongyeon sat on the floor in front of the couch. Seonghwa sat on the other lounge chair, Hongjoong either hovering behind him or sitting on the floor between his legs in front of the glass table that lived in the center on top of the blue patterned rug draped along the floor.

Other people teetered by occasionally, simply wandering from floor to floor, stopping by the group to say hi, to try to get on the inside, to earn their points as members of ATZ and ITZ. Neither Seonghwa nor Aurora paid much attention aside from a hi, this vacation wasn’t meant to turn into a Greek Life event.

They sat up here for comfort, to stay away from the younger crowd, to keep to themselves like the night was meant to be spent, just the core group. Not the incels down the street.

The ones you waddled up the stairs with.

The ones met with almost eleven complete death glares as you stepped up onto the second floor and expressed your excitement for finding everyone.

“You knew they were up here,” you said to Jongseob, hitting him with an elbow before teetering toward Mingi and Yunho. Both boys raised a brow, their eyes shifting between you and Jongseob. “Mingi,” you sighed with a smile, reaching for his arm. You were intoxicated enough to not notice him move away from you, leaning into Yunho.

“Where’ve you been?” he asked. 

You tried to reach for him again. Tilting your head, you laughed. “Whadda you mean? I’ve been here, downstairs, we were playing pool.”

“You don’t know how to play pool, Tor,” he said. Yunho pressed his lips together to hide his smile and turned away. “We moved up here and you said you’d come with us.”

Glancing around the space, the underclassmen now integrated with your friends, every exchange dripping with some sort of intended malice, you shook your shoulders in a little shimmy and gave him another smile. “I’m here now,” you said. “And they aren’t so bad.” Gesturing toward the younger boys standing over their elders, talking down to them, both Mingi and Yunho let out a quiet snicker. Mingi’s ended with a groan.

“You’re pushing all of us away,” Mingi said, just to you. “None of this is you, Torilynn. I thought we were moving past things, I thought we were getting through these things together, but I can’t…” he paused, shaking his head, “I don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing. And that hurts me, because I used to know why you did every little thing, why every single detail of every single thing mattered.” 

You blinked at him. Unfortunately you processed every other word. 

“Doing this? Bringing them here when you know they cause problems? Bringing them here to, I dunno, maybe cause problems? ‘Cause you know how we all feel about them, you know what they do to Rora, you know how they look at me. You know it, Tori. And you did it anyway.”

Soul hurried around the bar with the biggest smile on his face, his black eyes alight with excitement. Watching him push around bottles of liquor and tiny glasses while the other boys shouted at him, you dropped your jaw, searching your mind for something to say to Mingi, but you couldn’t find a word. 

He was right.

Clenching his jaw, staring at you, waiting for you to speak, he shook his head and sipped his drink realizing he wasn’t going to get anything out of you. 

“Come on,” Soul said to you, bumping into your shoulder, inches taller than you were. He nodded toward the group forming a circle around the glass table. The younger boys coerced everyone closer, the circle tightening with sighs and groans and rolls of eyes. Holding up a bottle of vodka, Soul laughed. “Let’s play.”

Meeting Jongseob’s gaze from across the room, his smirk drilled beneath your skin, warming you, yet filling you with some kind of unease you couldn’t quite place. Jongho waved Mingi over before you had the chance to grab onto him, your titan of a boyfriend strolling toward the couple on the couch, perching himself on the arm of the leather next to his friend. Yunho joined the group as well, keeping himself still on the outskirts of it all, sitting down on the floor beside Seonghwa and Hongjoong, Mingi on the couch on the other side of him.

With every reluctant step toward them the tension seemed to ease. Everyone focused on Soul handing out shot glasses, wanting them full, some of your friends knocking them back before any game actually began. Stepping over legs, brushing past faces you didn’t dare look at, you ended up between Ryujin and Jeongyeon on the floor, stretching your legs out under the glass, letting them fix your hair and fawn over you for a few seconds.

“You okay?” Ryujin asked, but the look you gave her made her frown. “It’s okay,” she mumbled, acknowledging the moment you shared earlier. Acknowledging everything actually it seemed. Squeezing your shoulder, she smiled. “Stay right here,” she handed you a shot, “Drink, play games, just chill, okay?” You nodded, taking the shot, adding more fuel to the fire. “This night’ll be over before you know it. Tomorrow I’ll help you fix whatever you gotta fix.”

“Thanks,” you whispered, leaning into her, feeling Jeongyeon’s gentle eyes watching over the two of you. 

Glancing toward Mingi, he talked with Seonghwa and Hongjoong. Glancing toward Aurora, she held Wooyoung tight around the neck, her eyes pointed toward Soul on his knees opposite you at the table, filling up the glasses as Jiung and Intak on either side cheered him on. Wooyoung smoothed a hand over her thigh, his arm wrapped around her back. Yunho watched that hand and took his shot, slamming it down on the table for more. Soul obliged, his own eyes shifting from Yunho to Aurora.

Sliding one of the glasses to the end of the table, Soul said, “Aurora.” She faced Wooyoung immediately, the two gazing at one another, Wooyoung whispering something to her. Soul’s brow furrowed slightly, his eyes flickering to the glass. Fingers splayed out on the table, he drummed them once, licked his lips, finally blinked, then took the glass and poured the liquor down his own throat. 

“What are we playing?” Yeosang called out, twirling the glass in his hand, his other arm wrapped around Keni. 

San, on the arm rest beside him, emphasized his question with a, “Yeah! Let me show you boys how it’s done, I’ll outdrink every single one of you.”

Jongseob, who stood on his feet, positioned himself between Seonghwa on the chair and Jiung on the floor. “Not that kinda game,” he grinned, lifting his full glass with a cheers before knocking it back.

Yuna, leaning forward onto her knees, gave him a curious look. “What is it?”

Jongseob beamed. “Truth or Dare.”

A chorus of groans erupted amongst crackles of laughter, both intrigued and degrading. 

“I need everyone to take three more shots,” Jongseob demanded, eyebrows raised to his hairline. 

With giggles they listened, even you, taking the glass from Ryujin after it’d been filled again. The only two to not move, Wooyoung and Aurora. As your friends, your boyfriend, and the other boys chattered happily amongst themselves, the tension finally easing with every shot taken, you eyed Jongseob and the way he studied your best friend and her boyfriend. He waltzed over to them, behind the lounge chair they sat upon, and shoved his head in between theirs. 

“Three more,” he smiled, making sure to look in both their eyes, noses centimeters apart. “Or you’re not playing.”

Aurora curled her lip. “Then we’re not playing.”

Jongseob narrowed his eyes. “Then, I need you to leave the room.”  

“Who the fuck do you-”

Jongseob cut Wooyoung off before he had the chance to say more.

“Last I checked, you have no authority to talk shit,” he spat. “You think you belong here, but do you?” Wooyoung tightened his jaw. Jongseob turned to Aurora, looked her up and down, drew his tongue over his lips, then shot his glare back toward Wooyoung. “She’s the only one who cares by the way. They don’t give a fuck. No one else would miss you if you weren’t here.”

“Hey,” San spoke up from the couch to the right of Aurora, tuning into the exchange too late. “The fuck did you just say?”

Jongseob stood up straight, his chin lifted a smidge. Giving San a smile and the subtlest wink, he said, “Don’t worry ‘bout it, pretty boy.” 

Wooyoung leaned forward, taking Aurora with him. Snatching two glasses from the table he took them both, placed them back down for Soul to refill them, then lifted them to Aurora’s lips for her to drink.

Jongseob smacked a hand to his head and ruffled his black waves. “Good,” he snickered. “Everyone have three?” A chorus of yes’s showered over him, even yours. Making his way back to the other side of Jiung, his eyes locked on you, he grinned. “Perfect.” Picking up the bottle of vodka off the table by the handle, he held it in the air before he dropped it into Seonghwa’s lap. The president jumped, legs squeezing together, capturing both Hongjoong and the bottle between them. 

“It goes in a circle. You have the bottle, you can ask one person, truth or dare, but you can only ask once.” Jongseob’s gaze traveled around the circle, everyone's attention glued to him. “Nothing is off limits. Every truth must be answered, every dare must be completed.”

Ryujin scoffed. “What if it’s completely inappropriate, I don’t think that’s fair at all. You’re in a room full of couples.”

Jongseob’s eyes sparkled. He glanced toward Aurora and Wooyoung, then Soul, then Yunho, then you. “Don’t take it too seriously,” he said softly. “It’s just a game.”

All eyes pointed to Seonghwa, the air growing thicker as silence ensued.

“Uh,” he sang, bouncing the bottle in his hands. Searching the room for a face, he chose to stare down at the bottle as a tiny smile found his lips. “Hey, H.”

Hongjoong froze on the floor in front of him. A giggle came out of Yuna, and though the rest of you kept quiet, more than half of you wore a smile. This game, so childish, yet so invigorating.

Seonghwa cleared his throat. “Truth or dare?”

Hongjoong sighed. It took him a few seconds to answer him. They weren’t even looking at each other. The vice president lived between his knees on the floor, fondling a shot glass between his ring wearing fingers. 

“Truth,” he said, rushed.

Seonghwa held in a laugh, something you all witnessed but Hongjoong missed. His voice came out quiet, with a hint of humor, but completely serious. “You really like that thing I do with my tongue?”

Giggles poured from more of you than just Yuna this time. Jongho squeezed his eyes shut with a smile, Mingi’s melody filled the air, and Yeosang and Keni both loosed quiet laughs in the form of breath. San’s jaw dropped, the sophomores nibbled at their nails furiously, grins behind their hands, and Aurora and Wooyoung, they didn’t move.

Whirling around, jumping onto his knees on the floor, Hongjoong slapped one of Seonghwa’s thighs, making the president laugh. “Bastard!”

“Answer it,” Jongseob said, one of the only ones with a steady face.

Dropping his chin, Seonghwa raised a brow. Hongjoong took a deep breath.

“Sorry,” Seonghwa whispered, his smile never leaving his lips.

Hongjoong shook his head. “I do,” he forced out of him, and the room erupted with cheers. Ryujin slapped her hands to the table, San took another shot and threw his arms out with a shout of when’s it my turn, and the sophomores shared glances with one another. 

Seonghwa, after winking at Hongjoong, looked to Jongseob and held up the bottle. 

“Pass it,” he gestured to Hongjoong, and the vice president took the bottle into his hands, situating himself back on the floor between Seonghwa’s knees.

Cheeks pink, unable to look at anyone, he rolled his eyes and groaned at once. “San,” he grumbled, and the boy on the end of the couch perked up. You could feel his excitement.

“Hongjoong,” he said with all of his chest.

“Truth or da-”

“Dare.”

You giggled with the girls around you, all of you leaning forward to catch a glimpse of him riding the edge of the arm rest, buzzing with adrenaline. Heart pounding in your own chest, knowing that many of your friends felt the same, you waited with baited breath. San would do anything. Twice. Even Aurora finally broke into a smile, gazing over at him.

Hongjoong’s eyes traveled from San to Wooyoung. The corners of his lips tipped up, his wicked smile cracking onto his cheeks pairing with his sharp eyes, the devil personified. “I dare you…” San gulped, eyes growing wider as Hongjoong paused. Like a dog being taunted with ribeye. “To swap places with Wooyoung.” 

Snapping his head to the side, they looked at each other, the three of them. Sighing, Aurora gave a look to Wooyoung and reluctantly slid off of his lap. San hadn’t even accepted and she was already moving. Intak and Jiung both snickered under their breath. 

“Done,” San said, and everyone egged them on. Meaningless words and sounds they didn’t even pay attention to. Wooyoung moved around him, the two sharing a look and a quick slip of their hands over each other before assuming their new positions.  Flopping down in the lounge chair, soft smile on his face, he glanced up at Aurora and tapped his lap a few times. “Don’t be shy.”

Intak muttered, “When is she ever,” and Jiung and Seob nearly choked on their laughter. Soul’s face rendered unreadable.

Wooyoung’s glare across the room held zero power anymore. The sophomores teased him with pouty faces. 

Hongjoong passed the bottle to Yunho. Barely able to look up at the group, paralyzed where he sat on the floor, he studied the glass and shrugged. 

“Uh, Tori,” he mumbled, and your stomach flipped. “Truth or dare?”

“Why her?” Jiung whispered to his friends. 

Intak gave him a look. “Are we surprised? He don’t talk to these people no more.”

Taking a breath, you sat forward and focused on him. “Truth,” you sighed, giving a quick look to Mingi who found interest in the chandelier hanging above your heads.

Yunho pursed his lips and looked at you. “Make any new friends since you’ve been here?” 

The attention was on you now, everyones curious gazes pointed toward you, wondering why he would ask such a question.

“Uh,” you drug out, half racking your brain for an answer, also wondering why he’d ask such a question. All thoughts of why were wiped away when Intak opened his mouth.

“Oh, I get why,” he said entirely too loud to Jiung, catching the room's attention. Mingi stared at him for many seconds before his eyes ripped toward you. Seob smized. Your body filled with heat, and not the good kind.

“No, I haven’t,” you said to Yunho. “But, thanks for asking.”

His glare burned into yours. Thrusting the bottle toward Mingi, after your boyfriend took it he tucked his knees into his chest, wrapping his arms around them, averting his glare to the floor. 

“Yeosang,” Mingi called out with a shrug. 

His arm not wrapped around Keni shot in the air. “Me!”

Mingi smiled and nudged his glasses up his nose. “Truth or dare?”

Consulting with his girlfriend, Yeosang tipped his chin back with a grin. “Truth, why not.”

“Oh god, I don’t know what to ask,” Mingi laughed, and half the room laughed with him with hearty encouragement thrown toward him, mumbles of it doesn’t have to be insane comforting to his ears, and Yeosang’s too. Jongseob rolled his eyes. “Uh, how… How are you guys?” Your boyfriend gestured to Keni with a nod of his head, and the couple smiled together.

The sophomores across the table groaned, giving him looks of disbelief that your friends kept to themselves. Half the room disappointed with the innocent question, the other half admiring him for it. You think you stood right in the middle. Where you wanted the taboo, the questions that should be saved for privacy, for the couple only, this question was entirely Mingi and everything he stood for. 

“We’re fantastic,” Yeosang said with his chest, pulling Keni closer to him. “Thank you for asking, Mingi.” 

Your boyfriend shot him a lopsided smile and a shrug, brushing off his thanks. “Sure,” he said, handing the bottle to Jongho.

“Truth or dare,” he said to Yuna quickly.

Taken aback, she faced him and laughed. “Dare,” she whispered, and you and Ryujin glimmering on the floor with oo’s and giggles.

Jongho smirked. “Dare you to show them how you kissed me last night.”

Now the room erupted in oo’s and giggles. Soul refilled shot glasses as everyone shifted, laughing as Yuna gave everyone a look of dismay, calling out for her to do it, do it, do it!

Reaching for a shot glass, everyone shouting louder and louder, Yuna knocked the liquor back and flung herself onto Jongho’s lap, engulfing his lips with her own, but she didn’t stop there. Her tongue slipped out from her lips, meeting Jongho’s in the middle of it all, the two pressing together before she welcomed it into her mouth, wrapping her lips around it. His hands slipped around her ass and Ryujin grabbed onto you, the two of you screeching aloud as the others cheered for them. 

Glancing over to Aurora, you found her watching Yuna with a proud smile, and it pulled at your heart. She should be here on the floor with you and Ryujin. San cheered behind her, his crude comments showering over the couple grinding on the couch like dirty rainfall, but she didn’t say much. She simply smiled. 

Yuna pulled back from Jongho with a smack of their lips and the room audibly expressed their disappointment. Laughing, she tried to slide off of his lap, but he held her in place.

“You have to stay right here,” he mumbled, trying to keep it quiet, but you all caught it. 

Yeosang deepened his voice and called out, “Jjong’s got a boner!”

San leaned forward, holding onto Aurora as he moved, and said to Yeosang, “Are we surprised?”

Jongho shot him a glare. San simply smiled back at him.

Yuna, staying on top of her boyfriend, twisted herself around and faced the group, taking the bottle of vodka in her hands. “Sheesh,” she sighed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Looking at Aurora she uttered a quiet, “I think I get it,” and took a deep breath. Jongho smirked behind her, side eyeing Wooyoung. You turned to catch his reaction, but found him looking down at his shoes where he sat on the arm rest.

Twisting the lid off the bottle, Yuna took a swig, some of the boys exclaiming in surprise, clapping their hands together. The sophomores, except Jongseob, leaned over the table, their wide eyes glued to Yuna. Gulping some of the alcohol down, with furrowed brows she fumbled to put the lid back on. Jongho took it from her and fixed it as she shot a hand toward Soul.

“You,” she said. Intak and Jiung whipped their heads toward him, lips parted in shock. “Truth or…” she hiccuped and giggled, “Truth or dare?”

Soul, blinking up at her, muttered, “Truth.”

She hesitated, looking at him with such intrigue that the room fell quiet. When she spoke, she gagged you all.

“How many times did you hook up with Aurora and Wooyoung?”

Intak, Jiung, and Jongseob lost their absolute shit. Hands flying to their faces, smacking each other, laughter ringing and echoing into the high ceiling and likely over the first floor. Ryujin, jaw agape, eyes wide, glanced around because this was the first her and Jeongyeon had heard of this. Jongho, keeping a laugh inside, jokingly placed a hand over his girlfriend's mouth making Seonghwa and Hongjoong snicker.

“What?” Ryujin shouted amidst the noise, looking up at Aurora who wore nothing on her face. San rubbed a hand into her shoulder as he and Wooyoung looked at one another. 

Yunho didn’t move, but his eyes studied everyone.

Soul, unable to acknowledge anyone, even his friends, he flattened out his brows and said, “Together or separate?” 

Everyone lost their shit.

Except you. Except Aurora and Wooyoung. Except Yunho.

Yuna, distracted by the shouts, the shoves towards her, she blinked about the room and said, “Both.”

Souls lips perked into a small smile as he glanced away from her. “Mm,” he hummed, “Six times together? A lot of times separate…”

San lurched forward, both of his arms snatching Aurora by the waist, holding him against her as he shouted at Soul, “Six?!” Wooyoung gave him a glare.

“How many times separate?” Yuna asked.

Ryujin, reading the room much faster than anyone else, smacked Yuna on the thigh. “Shut up.” She looked over to Jongseob laughing with Jiung. “Thought we could only ask once?”

He assumed his game master role and cleared his throat, his smile dying down, the occasional snicker sneaking out. “Right, right, you can’t ask multiple questions, my bad,” he said, half assed. 

Reluctantly, you turned toward Mingi. You could feel someone’s eyes on you, and lo and behold, it was your boyfriend. His heavy stare spoke to you. If you hadn’t opened your mouth, if you hadn’t said anything, she would’ve never asked Soul that question. You knew that. His glare didn’t help, it made you feel worse. Whirling away from him, you looked toward Aurora and swallowed hard. Stone faced, she sat on San’s lap looking out at the rowdy bunch before her on the floor with a distaste pulling at her lips. 

As if she were better than all of them. All of you.

Your guilt disappeared in seconds.

The game moved along, the bottle passed from Ryujin to you after another innocent question for Keni about Yeosang. With the glass in hand, you spun it around and debated gulping some of it down like Yuna did, but your head already spun and your vision blurred more than it was when you were downstairs. The glass in your hands, utter power. You could ask anyone anything, you could make anyone do anything you wanted, and they had to do it. 

Meeting Jongseob’s eyes, his expression shifted into one that shot through you down to between your legs. He wanted you to ask anyone anything, he wanted you to make someone do something… Anything and something that would create waves and cause problems. 

“Yunho,” you said, and like when he chose you, some of your friends wore confusion on their faces. He didn’t move his eyes from the floor. With a single raise of a brow he bobbed his head, wanting to be anywhere but here. “Truth or dare?”

He lifted his hardened gaze. “Dare,” he spat, and a few exclaims of interest sounded around you.

“I dare you to kiss the prettiest person in the room,” you said without taking a breath, and watched as he clenched his jaw and tightened his fists around his knees. This could be it. This could be the moment shit went down. You wanted it to be.

“Really?” he sneered. “You got that from that Perks movie, care to be a little more original?”

You smiled. “Do it.”

“Fine,” he sighed and leapt onto his feet. Aurora reacted behind you, sinking further into San’s hold, back into his chest. Staring at you until he took a few steps over toward your boyfriend and grabbed his face, he squeezed his eyes shut and planted his lips on Mingi’s, shouts and screams breaking out over the plot twist tainting your master plan.  “There,” he said, letting your boyfriend go. Tapping his cheek with his slender fingers, Yunho nodded once and sat back down on the floor.

Mingi, dumbfounded, drug his fingers over his lips and glanced around the room, Jongho laughing at him, swatting at his arm. 

Rolling your eyes, you ignored Yunho’s smug little grin and handed the bottle over to Keni.

From Keni, to Yeosang, to Wooyoung, to Aurora, the four of them kept it less exciting than the first half of the circle, a whole bunch of truth’s all of you already knew of happening at once. The moment Aurora passed the vodka to San, everyone perked up.

With a charming smile, he shouted, “Yuna!”

Jongho groaned as his girlfriend sprung up straight.

“Truth or dare, sweetie,” San cooed.

She smiled and bit down on her lip. “Dare!” The energy in the room woke back up, the sophomores leaning over the table toward her again, their eager eyes darting from San to Yuna in anticipation. 

Wiggling his finger, signaling for her to spin around on Jongho’s lap, he said softly, “Dare you to show us that lil kiss again, please.” 

“Fuck yes,” Jiung muttered.

It didn’t take much more convincing. Yunal, clearly plastered, scrambled to straddle her boyfriend and deep throat his tongue.

“Oh my god,” Ryujin groaned with a smile, shaking her head toward the boys. “You guys are gross.”

“It’s hot,” Intak said, jaw slack, eyes on Yuna. 

“Moving on!” Ryujin shouted, waving her hand at San to pass the bottle along. Yuna fell backward, her and Jongho giggling together. “No one can ask them to do that again!”

Intak shot her a look. “Then I’ll ask you two to do what I really wanna watch,” he said, making sure Jeongyeon was looking at him. You kicked your foot into his thigh under the table. “Ah!” he cringed.

“Don’t be a perv,” you snapped.

Intak leaned over the glass. “Would you prefer I ask you and Aurora?” 

Jongseob appeared behind him and dug his fingers into his friend's hair, yanking his head backward. “Enough,” he eyed the bottle of vodka and cocked his chin. “Keep going.”

The bottle passed through Soul, over to Intak who didn’t ask what you thought he would ask, both boys keeping it light, asking one of their seniors about their first time, targeting both Seonghwa and Yeosang, like they planned to ask them both. When Jiung held the vodka, he pursed his lips and glanced around, everyone seeming like an excellent target, until he landed on you.

“Tori,” he smiled. You rolled your eyes. “Truth or dare?”

Sighing, you settled against Ryujin and shrugged. “Dare, I guess.”

Jiung blinked and his eyes went dark. “I dare you to kiss Jongseob.”

All of the air had been sucked out of the room. Blood running cold, your throat tightened and panic set in fast. Ryujin gripped onto your knee. No one moved. For the first time, no one had anything to say aside from Yeosang who let out a disapproving hum, shaking his head toward Jiung.

Jongseob raised his hand, taking the attention off of you, off of his friend. Wearing compassion on his cheeks, he gestured toward Mingi, then you. “I just… No.”

Jiung whipped his head around. “You said nothing was off limits.”

“I know,” Seob chuckled, placing his hand to his chest. “But, that feels really wrong. I can’t do that. We can’t have her do that.”

“Do it,” Mingi said without an ounce of aggression in his tone.

Every being in the room stared at him, eyes wide, surprise between their teeth, even yours. Aurora, brows flipped to oblivion, sat forward off of San’s lap, eyes bouncing from you, to Mingi, to Jongseob, to Jiung, and back. 

Your boyfriend shrugged. “What? It’s a game, right?” He aimed his question at Jongseob who feigned his own shock. 

“Course,” the boy nodded. “It’s a game, but… I’ll let her pass this once.”

You exchanged a glance with Mingi, one you absolutely could not read. Whatever went through his head, you couldn’t figure it out. You couldn’t see it, you couldn’t place it.

“Do it,” he shrugged again, gesturing to Jongseob.

“Tori,” Aurora said from San’s lap, the sound of her voice and your name jarring. With a snap of your neck you shot her a bewildered look, and her don’t do this expression aided you in your decision.

Without acknowledging Mingi one last time, using Aurora and her plea to get you off your ass, onto your feet, and over to Jongseob, you grabbed him by the neck, ignored the gasps behind you and his fake ass shock he wore on his face, you yanked him into you and kissed him.

You kissed Jongseob.

In front of the entire room. In front of your boyfriend.

Alcohol driving this bus, you dug your fingers into his neck and parted your lips to deepen the kiss, giving Jiung exactly what he wanted, exactly what Jongseob wanted. His lips, warm and full, they knew how to work, and they knew how to work with you, even for your first kiss, he already knew how to work you. Tasting of alcohol and adultery, your heart ignited in your chest, flames engulfing your inhibitions, moving your hands up into his hair, tugging at the dirty blonde shag that drove you insane.

It didn’t have to be this way. You’d been dared to kiss him, not swallow him whole.

But, this could be your only chance. To kiss him. To touch him. 

The moment your hips wanted to grind into him you pushed him away, and the stifled laughter and gasps that had continued around you bled back into your ears. Jongseob, cheeks pink and lips wet, he cleared his throat and looked away from you. Narrowing your eyes at the pretender, you took a deep breath, mustered up the courage to turn around and wedge yourself back between your friends, and did just that. 

You didn’t dare look at Mingi.

Your adrenaline, your excitement, your arousal, it outweighed your guilt.

The game moved on.

Seonghwa, bottle in hand, looked over at Yunho, and the giant curled up into a ball sighed heavily and shook his head. “Truth or dare?”

Yunho blinked blankly. “Truth.”

“When was the last time you spoke to Mina?” Seonghwa asked, tone dripping in utter sincerity, genuine curiosity. The name sent a chill through the room. Peeking at Aurora, her eyes were sharp, staring at him.

Reaching into his pocket, Yunho pulled out his phone and scrolled, and scrolled. “Uh, when school ended. Little over a month ago.” He spoke quietly. He was afraid to say it. 

And the game moved on.

The bottle rounded the circle, the bottle made everyone laugh, made everyone answer ridiculous questions, say absurd things, and then Aurora got it in her hands, her eyes having barely left Yunho since he answered Seonghwa’s question.

“Truth or dare?” she asked, and Yunho gulped.

“Me?”

Aurora nodded.

“Uh,” he stammered, sparing Wooyoung a glance. “T- D- Truth.” 

She didn’t miss a beat. Sitting forward on San, she clutched the bottle with a glare and perfect posture. “Why’d you text her?” 

Yunho’s eyes bugged out of his head. “I- I- I didn’t,” he said, folding his legs beneath him and his hands onto his middle. You peeked at his fingers. He was trembling. “She texted me.” Everyone watched them like ping pong.

“Why?” Aurora asked, and just as Yunho parted his lips to speak, Jongseob cut them off.

“Gotta wait your turn again,” he policed, and a majority of the room groaned to themselves, as if he’d just shut off the television in the middle of a crucial episode. 

Sitting back against San, settling back into his touch, she lobbed the bottle behind her and he took it. Disappointment washed over her as her eyes dropped to the floor, and you couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you. Accidental, you think, but it made her lips pull into a frown, her eyes glossing over. She held back tears. Soul watched her with broken hearts flowing out of him toward her. 

And the game moved on.

The bottle rounded the circle, and it ended up in Jiung’s hands once more.

“Tori,” he said, and the room groaned. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” you said, sitting up straight.

Jiung tilted his head, toying with his ginger curls for a moment. “Why did you think Seob was the ITZ texter? The number you don’t know?”

Now immediate panic set it. Confused looks faced you, mumbled questions of what the fuck is he talking about. Mouth gone dry, you shook your head.

“What ITZ number?” Ryujin asked from beside you, trying to catch your eye, but you could only focus on Jiung. Not an ounce of malice lived within the question. He asked you genuinely.

Looking at Ryujin, he blinked, then turned to you. “The one texting you about sex stuff?”

Yunho sat forward. “You thought it was him?” He threw a hand toward Seob where he stood.

Mingi shot a look toward his best friend. “You knew?”

“What ITZ number are we talking about?” Yuna asked, glimpsing in a million directions at once, unable to keep up with the commotion.

“Wait,” Aurora said, strength in her tone, raising her voice. The room quieted some. “The ITZ phone number?” Glaring at her, she glared right back. 

Yes, the ITZ phone number, the texts you read at the bar when you did drugs and couldn’t stand up on your own.

“It’s been texting her since you all got here. Juicy messages, too.” Jiung turned to Yunho. “She thought it was you, but she just asked Seob if it was him downstairs.”

Aurora let a singular laugh tumble from her chest. “You thought Yunho was sending you sex stuff?”

Holding up a hand, you started, “I realized it wasn’t him before-”

“This number, ITZ, I’ve been thinking is some secret group chat with all of you in it,” she pointed at each of your friends, “You thought it was Yunho?” 

Ryujin and Yuna, they shook their heads, they didn’t speak, they waited.

The chill of being found out had flushed through you, now your blood ran red hot. “Why do you care if it was, Aurora? You only care about one thing now!” You tossed a hand over Jeongyeon toward Wooyoung who gave you his infamous grimace. 

Aurora slapped her hand to her chest. “You kept it from me.”

Because Aurora needs to know everything.

Groaning aloud, wanting to tear your hands through your hair, wanting to throw the shot glasses off of the table and flip it as well, you sat up to your knees. “Why do you care! Because you still love him? Because you miss him? Because if that test gave you a plus instead you’d be pushing out his kid right now?” Ryujin latched a hand onto your arm, and Yuna gasped, both of her hands squishing her cheeks together. 

Nobody moved. On the edge of their seats, every single one of them.

“Tori, shut up,” Ryujin demanded.

You flung her arm off of you. “No!”

Yunho stood to his feet, his cheeks flushed of all color. If you didn’t notice him trembling before, it stood out now. “What?”

Aurora released a shaky breath. “Yunho, I-”

He never raised his voice. Sure, a passionate man, a loud man, his volume often grew out of control, but never through anger. Never through pure frustration. He never scared you, but in this moment, he did.

“You couldn’t have broken your stupid ass rule to at least tell me that?!”

His voice echoed, ringing against the glass in the room, the bottles, the table, the shot glasses. His voice struck not only you, but everyone in the room. Aurora. 

He fled the scene, his long legs removing him from any and all narratives in seconds. Aurora stumbled off of San’s lap, a sob escaping her as she chased him down the stairs. Wooyoung sprung to his feet, his grimace upon you once more.

“That’s your girl for you, Wooyoung,” you sneered, and he scoffed.

“You think she didn’t tell me?” His words pointed a gun to your heart and pulled the trigger. “News flash to you Tor, and anyone, since you’re all invested when it’s none of your business- Ro and I weren’t anything until we went home for winter break. Before any of it, we were friends.”

Curling your lip, you spat, “You’re her therapist.”

Wooyoung settled his jaw. “We communicate, Tori. Not shocked you don’t know what that looks like.”

Silence followed as he took himself out of the room and down the stairs. 

Intak, with a rich smile pulling at his lips, he took the bottle of vodka from Jiung and filled up the shot glasses. Each sophomore took one, even Soul. Hongjoong reached for two and handed one back to Seonghwa who avoided eye contact with anybody. San took a glass as well, holding it up toward his president before gulping it down.

Jongseob, licking his lips, eyed you where you sat as he wandered behind Intak, taking the bottle from his hands. Just like you, everyone on the couch behind you, the girls beside you, you sighed, silent plea’s for this to be over.

He looked at Mingi and gestured toward him with the bottle.

“Truth or dare.”

Glancing toward your boyfriend, he gave you a side eye, then answered, “Dare.”

Jongseob smirked. “I dare you to read the last text you received out loud.”

Taking his time, Mingi wiggled out his phone. Popping open his messages, he took a deep breath and released it with a ragged sigh. Blinking fervently, he read it aloud, and you wanted to be sick.

“Forgive me,” he started, and Jongseob smiled. “I’ll do anything you want me to do, I’ll be your good girl,” he paused to gulp, not letting sounds from anyone deter him from finishing reading, “I know who I wanna play with. Let’s play, I’ll be so good for you.” He slapped his phone to his thigh.

“Goddamn,” Jongho laughed, nudging him with his elbow, nearly pushing him off the edge of the arm rest. 

A lump lodged into your throat. Bile rose within you, you wanted to scream, but could only manage to whisper, “Who the fuck sent that?” 

“Oh my god,” Yuna mumbled, covering her mouth, and everyone seemed to react just the same.

Everyone had thought that message came from you. They assumed it came from you.

Mingi narrowed his eyes, they drew all over you, then met your glare. “Tori…”

“Mingi,” you said louder, standing up, hands balling into fists. “Who the fuck sent that message?”

Your boyfriend stood to his feet, sliding his phone back into his pocket. Confusion warped through him, and it lingered. “You did.”

“No the fuck I didn’t?!” you shouted, scrambling to get a hold of your phone.

Tilting his head, he froze, looking you over. Then, he looked at Jongseob and his shit eating grin.

“Tori, check your fucking phone,” he grumbled, every muscle in his body tensing, his ears turning red, the color bleeding into his cheeks.

Swiping through apps, you landed on messages and tapped through them. It didn’t live in his thread, the last messages you sent to one another were from yesterday and what snacks he wanted you to bring to the beach.

“Mingi, I didn’t send that fucking message, I-”

Breath caught in your throat.

Tapping onto the thread with ITZ, that message resided there. Sent over an hour ago, just after the are you okay message from ITZ themself.

Looking up at him, you found him walking toward Jongseob, his fists tight at his side.

It was Mingi.

It’d been Mingi this whole time.

ITZ, the unknown number, belonged to your very own boyfriend.

Frozen in shock, in subtle betrayal, in amazement that he’d been able to pull this off, you couldn’t stop him from grabbing Jongseob by the collar of his shirt, one of his fists hauling backward before he launched it into his jaw. Every other person in the room leapt to their feet, the boys rushing in to pull the two apart, shouts echoing through the air, but never penetrating your ears.

Jongseob sent the text.

And Mingi received it.

Mingi, who through anonymous text message, told you he wanted to set up… a threesome. 

And Jongseob read that.

Jongseob who curated that message, had known Mingi would read it, played innocent throughout this game of truth or dare so that when the opportunity arose for one of his friends to dare you to kiss him, Mingi would allow it. 

Because he was under the impression you’d chosen Jongseob.

Wooyoung is quick, but I am quicker.

Mind if we come play?

Checkmate. 

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