#this is in direct response to a message from a single fan hoping that he and bigbang don't fade away into memories

[r0ttenhearts]

slip from my mind

scaramouche x reader (streamer AU)

part 1

sypnosis: scaramouche was a moderately known streamer, while you were a newbie streamer who happened to be a “fan” of scaramouche. your only hope is for him to hear your feelings, even if he doesn’t reciprocate it.

you didn’t mean to be weird, not really. but it was scaramouche! in a world as small as yours, he was a micro celebrity in your small social circle online. you were only mutuals, which you considered yourself very lucky to have. it was strange for you to be so fangirlish over some random guy on the internet, but something about this felt different. somehow you had a feeling that you’d come to know him, every time you glanced his profile. that day couldn’t come soon enough.

scaramouche was streaming another one of his MMORPG’s while you watched quietly in a minimized tab at your desk. it was another one of those days where you felt a very heavy silence in the comfort of your four walls. only those walls didn’t feel comforting, just cold. it was a very deep cold, a cold that drapes over you like a heavy blanket.

“the redheads in this game are the hottest to me.” scaramouche’s voice rang out from the little box you had set his stream in. as a consistent lurker, you never were one to think of typing something the chat. but today you felt so constricted that you allowed yourself to mindlessly write a comment in his chat. “where’s the love for (h/c)’ed girls :(“ you typed out before tapping send. you didn’t think much of it, not really. it’s likely he wouldn’t even respond to it. he doesn’t respond to every single message.

you turned your attention back to your other monitor where you were idling in a game, your attempt to try and cut the heaviness that you felt.

“(h/c)’ed girls are cute too.” scaramouche replied, moments after you had already forgotten the message you had mindlessly posted. the gears clicked in your head as you replayed his words. he actually replied to your message. your first and only direct interaction to him and he noticed. a warmth swelled up inside of you as you clicked back into his chat, fingers ready to type. what would you say? how should you reply? should you be nice or give a witty answer? would he even reply to it?

“yay there’s hope for us :)” you sent into the chat. you giddily waited for a response, only for scaramouche to ramble on about a raid in his game. while you hadn’t gotten the complete interaction, you were still happy for the brief moments of his attention. it really was the coolest thing for you. and when your life is a constant replay of the same day, even small things like a streamer responding to you meant the the world to you. there wasn’t much to get excited for these days, so you let yourself savor these moments. as few and far between as they were.

scaramouche continued his stream for another hour until he went offline. you closed out of his stream page and went into yours, modifying a few of your stream elements before your next stream. as you clicked through your files to upload for your template, a ping sound came from below your screen. it was a DM. you clicked it open, only to see:

scarax: soo miss (h/c) girl, do you play WOL?

scaramouche asking if you play his game? so you could possibly duo? today couldn’t have gotten any better. your smile felt very cheesy as you clicked on the dm, typing away a reply.

(y/n)^_^: yes! but i’m very under-geared compared to you

you were in. you spent the rest of the afternoon texting scaramouche about the game, world of legends, planning a day to duo. he had given you his discord to be able to message more directly. it all felt so surreal. scaramouche was a lot sweeter than he appeared to be from his streams.

on camera he had this tough, almost borderline jerk-y attitude, but it was in a way that you found endearing. maybe that was your first red flag you shouldn’t have ignored. but off stream, he was the sweetest guy you had ever met. he made sure to good morning and good night text you, and consistently hangout and talk to you.before you knew it, it had officially been a month since you two met, and you were now very much into each other. he wanted nothing more than to introduce you on stream for your official getting together, so that’s just what you two did.

the chat blew up in support of the new relationship that had blossomed between you both.

mnxia: you guys are so cute!

prnk: wishing you the best dude

pnnylvr: so jealous omggg

you regularly would go on to stream together and spend practically every day together. everything felt perfect. you had finally gotten something to break your everyday life. and it was the micro celebrity with 500 followers.

a few weeks after your first month anniversary, scaramouche wanted to meet you. it had made you nervous, at the time you both were practically edating, despite living in the same city. but it wrecked your nerves to think of all of the things you could do wrong in person.

you were known for being a strange girl almost the few people that knew you. and not in a negative way; not really. just that you had a tendency to say things in a slightly more dramatized way. as well as another secret. one that could probably ruin your relationship with him. you see, you weren’t just a fan of his streams before. you were more of a stalker to be precise. every single thing he had done online, you had seen, read, watched, and memorized it. you practically knew everything about what he had made public online.

a bit strange, you would admit, but you rationalized it with love. but you wanted your relationship with scaramouche more than your fear for him to find out. so, you planned to see him in person. that day would be engraved in your mind forever.

seeing him out under the grey skies, orange, yellow, and brown leaves drifting to the ground. you had met your autumn love.

two months would go by quickly in your relationship with scaramouche. but lately things seemed off with him. he stopped inviting you over, didn’t reply much while you were attending your college classes, and overall seemed disinterested in you whenever you played games together. the anxiety of what was wrong was eating you up inside, as he always dismissed the question when you’d bring it up. but tonight you couldn’t do it anymore. the silence, the dismissing, it was all too much.

“please tell me what’s wrong, scara. i’m scared.” you spoke quietly into your mic as you clicked on your inventory in minecraft. you watched scaramouche’s character pause as silence was heard on his end. “i’m sorry (y/n).” he spoke softly, his character now afk. “it’s just, my ex messaged me recently and it’s really shaken me up.” he spoke into his mic. a moment later, a bloop came from your discord as scaramouche sent you a screenshot of the conversation. in the screenshot, it was a long paragraph of his ex explaining how she regretting hurting him and knew what she did was wrong. the same ex who had cheated on him and left him for a more popular streamer in his streamer company: fatui. as you finished reading the conversation you couldn’t help but notice how the scroll bar was a lot higher thea the bottom of the scroll bar, he had talked a lot more to her than he was willing to show you. the thought made you sick.

“i wish you would’ve just blocked her instead of feeding into it.” you mumbled.

“you don’t understand.” scaramouche flatly said before hanging up. you stared at the empty discord call, and then the “scarax has left the server” minecraft notification moments later. you sighed, clicking the server closed. you began typing a lengthy apology to scaramouche about how you were inconsiderate and wrong for what you had said. your message would be ignored for 3 days as you left more messages that would be ignored. on the third day he gave you an abrupt apology for not responding, just to ask if you’d like to hangout on a game together. you blinked at the interaction. was this meant to be your new normal? his silence and nothing to retaliate it for the sake of things being okay?

you swallowed hard as you agreed to his invitation. you would spend another half month in this treatment. his silence would last days with no remorse. scaramouche was known for being someone who thrived in being alone. his time away from you only solidified it.

“scara, we should talk.” you spoke into your mic a month later from the first time you had said this phrase. “what is it?” he asked, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. “it’s just, i don’t think i can do this. we can be friends but i can’t pretend like this relationship is okay. and i know you won’t change and i won’t ask you to. so i just want to end this.” you spoke rapidly into your microphone, afraid of his response.

“you lying fucking bitch.” scaramouche seethed into your ears. you stayed quiet as he shot out insult after insult. “you said you wouldn’t leave me no matter what. you promised. even after i told you about bal. you’re so fucking selfish. you’re only thinking of yourself.” he paused, “i’ll come over to get my stuff in a few days.” he spoke flatly before hanging up. you didn’t utter a word as you closed out the applications on your desktop.

you sat there idly, staring at your now black monitor. it was only to open a conversation, you didn’t mean for it to end so abruptly.

you quietly got into bed that night. he had blocked you on all socials by the time you woke up, so you blocked him back in response to the now visible disdain for one another. disdain you didn’t even feel.

three nights would pass before his knock came to your door. not a word was said as you went back in your room to collect the box of his belongings that you had gathered in the 3 days since the breakup.

scaramouche held a box containing your belongings. he walked into your living room, noting all of the details he would soon forget about you. as he set the box down on your sofa, he noticed your phone light up.

glancing at your door, he made sure you weren’t coming as he inserted your passcode into your phone. of course he knew your password, he was your boyfriend three days ago after all. he quickly opened and closed several apps, until he pressed on your gallery. he scrolled through hundreds and hundreds of screenshots of content of himself, things he didn’t know were even publicly online. he found your notepad of all of the known places he had gone to in your city, dating back to your fangirl days.

scaramouche slammed your phone down in disgust, alerting you from your bedroom. you walked over with the box in your hands, wondering what the loud noise was. scaramouche scoffed loudly, snatching the box from your grip. “you’re a fucking freak. stay the fuck away from me.” he spat before leaving, slamming the door behind him.

you walked over to what had been slammed on your coffee table, your phone. a long crack across your screen was the first thing you noticed, before turning your attention to what exactly was on your screen. all of the recently opened apps were left on some sort of documentation you had taken of scaramouche during your fangirl days. you didn’t meant to be weird. not really. you just wanted to bump into him and hopefully have a relationship with him, not even romantically, but a friendship.

your phone started dinging with notifications, twitter notifications coming up one after another. you tapped on the notification to see you had been tagged in a post by none other than scaramouche.

scarax: @(y/n)^_^ is a stalker freak. everything was a lie.

oh. oh.

mnxia: @(y/n)^_^ you’re acc such a freak for stalking scaramouche

hrtshapes: @(y/n)^_^ no way..

hundreds more notifications popped up on your phone. you quickly set all of your public accounts private. muting app notifications completely as you sat at your desk. so many thoughts raced through your head. your up and coming streaming channel was already starting to get a little popular, but that was all gone now. your whole online persona was tainted, ruined.

you sigh heavily, knowing you’d have to part with it. nothing you could do or say would make the situation any better. it looked bad. maybe it was bad.

a few hours after scaramouche’s tweet went out, all of your accounts were either deactivated or gone completely.

scaramouche scoffed as he tapped on your deactivated twitter account. you ran, just as he knew you would. he knew you wouldn’t have said anything in retaliation to his tweet, you knew better than that. but that didn’t stop him from looking through your mutuals following lists to make sure you hadn’t made a new account.

you spent the next two months in silence, away from any type of internet community. while you quietly browsed and logged things on your private accounts. scaramouche used the few public accounts you used, posting pictures of your steam, trying to add your friends on WoL through stat tracker sites.

that didn’t stop the tweets either, every other week he would vague tweet about you, or something you had ruined for him. the world had sided and sympathized with scaramouche.

luckily for you, two months later and the buzz of scaramouche’s ex stalker was no longer a topic at all. his feed was now void of any mention of you. so, you took advantage of this opportunity and created a twitter for your new self. you followed your mutual mutuals back, but kept the account as low profile as possible. you didn’t even have your name in the display name, just an emoji to represent your tweets. 

it didn’t take long for scaramouche to notice the sudden arrival of a new account following all of the people he knew you were friendly with. but he didn’t make it known that he knew, not really. at most, he would tweet out one of your tweets, word for word. people would reply to these tweets as if they were his own.

you took note of this as well on a burner account you had made in your absence, only following art and game accounts to keep up with the latest news. you frowned, seeing your same tweet on his feed. “if he hates me so much why does he watch me.” you mumbled under your breath as you closed out twitter.

you didn’t say anything related to him ever, your own personal rule. while you knew he watched you, at the very least he didn’t directly interact with you. he had your public account blocked despite the copying of tweets. but he left you alone. for that, you were grateful.

your account would go on to steadily grow in numbers, 100, 200, 300, and finally 400. only two hundred below scaramouche. for your 600th tweet and 400th follow you decided to post a picture of your cat in a silly hat you had gotten her while you were offline. your mutual, on a private account, tweeted a reply of her cat in response to the picture. “so cute 🤍” you replied to the picture.

hours later, your mutual would go on to post a private account requesting her account.

> @wanderingcat requested your account

> ew gross! total stalker account!

your breath hitched in your throat as you read over the username. wandering, cat. scaramouche’s old usernames had previously been wandering samurai, wandering hat. and cats, well, he looked just like one. and you had always let him know it.

you messaged your mutual, telling her about your history with him, and the reason why she had even been requested. because of you. scaramouche could not let go of you.

your mutual sent you screenshots of her telling him off, calling him a creep for still being so insistent on his knowledge of you. the screenshots made you laugh but you couldn’t help but notice his defense, as if nothing was wrong with what he was doing.

no word of you would ever be posted on his page though, everything looked normal. as it always had been. but the thought still weight heavily on you. he hadn’t done this since the initial breakup, it was now months later. why did he request her account? just because she replied to your post? you couldn’t let these burning questions go, so the next monday you found yourself in his doorway.

you knocked on the door, gripping your bag in your arm. the cold winter weather helped ease your nerves with the breeze against the trees.

it took a few moments before you heard his door unlatch, his bewildered expression surprising you.

“hey, scaramouche. are you busy?” you asked.

“why? what do you want?” you replied coldly. his glare made you feel small, standing there.

“i just want to talk. and finish things once and for all.”

“i considered it done when you ended it that friday.”

friday. you had forgotten what day of the week it was when it happened.

“but if it was completely done to you. then this wouldn’t still be happening, would it?”

scaramouche sucked his teeth, moving aside to let you into his apartment. nothing had changed since the last time you had been here. almost like nothing had happened at all.

“look, i’ll stop requesting your friends if that’s what you want. is there anything else i can do for you ma’am?” he retorted, leaning against his kitchen countertop.

an ironic thing to say really, as you had a gap in age with scaramouche.

“it’s not just that.” you mumbled, trying to get your thoughts together. the last few days, you had thought of something. but now that you were in front of him, asking if he would commit to your idea felt like a shot in the dark.

you had thought to befriend him, so this would all stop. the subtweeting, the stalking, the adding of your friends accounts. and despite what you were willing to admit, you wouldn’t mind being around him again. some days it felt so lonely that all you wanted to do was scream into your pillows and sulk in bed.

maybe he felt that same suffocating sadness. maybe that’s why he kept up with you.

“i understand if you don’t agree to this but, i would like to have a do over with you. not a relationship, but a friendship. just to be amicable. and then i’ll leave you alone, i promise. it just doesn’t feel right; leaving things like this.” you paused, looking at your feet. “i never hated you, not after the breakup or even with the tweets. i just hated what you were doing.”

“i hated what you were doing too, but, if we become amicable again, why do you want to leave? i don’t want to be left alone again.” he mumbled, reminding you of his sleepless nights he had once had about his mother and her absence.

how hopeless you were for a connection you had once had. the one thing that would break your circle of nothing. him.

“i won’t go if you don’t want me to. it’s just for your sake, i don’t think you’re too fond of me.”

scaramouche took you in his arms, cradling you in his embrace. “everything that happened deeply hurt me.” he whispered as you nodded. he pulled away from the embrace, he held your face in his hands, looking into your gaze directly.

“but please, give me your honesty. that’s the one thing i ask if i agree to this.”

“i will, i promise.”

you and scaramouche would go on to hangout everyday. both of your socials becoming less active as your days would be taken up with each other. you had come over with drinks in your hand, a very drunk friday night planned ahead for you both. alcohol sloshed in cans were clicked back as the night went on, movies you had brought over being played on his tv.

you never saw scaramouche in such a tender way. he was holding onto you in any way he could with each drink that passed into his system. you let yourself have that closeness to him for the night. it’s not like you’d remember it, anyway.

you had missed him, this close connection.

but after that weekend, everything had stopped, he’d stopped replying to your texts, his social media gone silent as well. you frowned, what had you done wrong?

you didn’t push him any further, opting to leave him alone. his discord status always stayed at an offline too. something that would stay for a month.

with december coming to an end, scaramouche’s birthday was coming up. january 3rd. though you weren’t talking, he was still someone you wanted to remember fondly. so, that weekend you went around to his streamer friends houses, gathering signatures for a card you’d present to him. everyone that signed had the same question, just who were you? you simply excused it with “just a friend.”

you wrote a personal note in a separate card, meant from you to him, and packaged them both up in decorated envelopes which you had drawn on. december 2nd came around, which meant you’d be making your midnight trip to his house.

pulling on your boots, you made sure to secure everything in your bag before you made the walk there. your boots crunched underneath the powdery white snow, evidence of this cold winter. while you walked, you thought of the last month that you hadn’t spoken to him. your month of patching things up felt like a brief but eventful time together. and you couldn’t fathom why he had decided to part from it.

you figured this would be your last interaction with him. he wanted nothing to do with you, you figured, from his constant disappearances. so, you’d give him one last gift before parting with him for good.

you had promised him, after all. and unlike him, you would make good on that promise.

the promise came with one of your drunken night’s together. through slurred words, scaramouche had told you how he had nothing planned for his birthday as he never felt he was worthy of a celebration for his life. with his mother taking off as soon as she could, he never saw much value in himself.

through quiet mumbles, you made him a drunken promise. you doubted he’d even remember it, but you still did. so here you were now, clutching two envelopes in your hand as you knocked on his door.

checking your phone, you noted the 2 minutes until midnight, hearing sounds coming from behind the door. scaramouche’s expression of exhaustion turned into one of surprise. here you were, once again. in the middle of the night?

“(y/n)? what time is it?” scaramouche yawned.

you shook your head, presenting him the envelopes. he took them from your hands, his eyes scanning over the little doodles and details you had drawn on them.

“happy birthday.” you replied, ready to turn away to return to your life. but he stopped you.

“(y/n)? why don’t you come in.” he said softly towards your turning back.

you smiled to yourself before turning around and following him inside. “okay.”

a/n: i didn’t mean to make this a two part story but i already feel like it’s very long so.. this will eventually be a 3 part series. i’m very sorry that i haven’t posted in awhile, i just haven’t felt much motivation to write with everything that was going on. everything going on being.. this. i haven’t written in a very long time so i apologize if my writing style seems different than before. i was also high for 3/4 of me writing this so there’s that. i’ll post part two very soon as i’m currently still living in part 3 ^_^

taglist: @samarill @whorerificstuff @somatchajade @sakiimeo @astrolomona @dearsumire @saeism @shoheartluv @0kauy @lelemnh @aqualesha @msdevilis @linkookie197 @beriiov @xiaonscaraswife @foxlover1144 @reblog-crazily @sparklylanddetective @gh0sts0up @darliingyu @magica-ren @kuronvshi @Maxineslair @kenmabfasf @atanukileaf @jihyuniepark @chiisananingen @just-anotherbookworm @kleeboomed @crepezinhos

[scarletwritesshit]

Yosuke Hanamura x F!Reader ❀ Town of Blossoms ❀ June 1st, 2013

While you were sitting atop your bed, you leaned against the wall in utter exhaustion with your head turned to look out of the window. The small oscillating fan in your room wasn’t doing much good against the blazing summer heat that was responsible for turning your residence into an oven. On the nightstand beside your bed, three empty plastic water bottles, all downed in the course of the afternoon, cluttered the space. A fourth, half empty bottle stood among the empty ones, but at this rate, it too would soon join the hoard of discarded plastic.

It could've been the perfect day to make plans to hang out with some friends, but chances were that nobody could even bring themselves to budge in this weather. In fact, it's not a single person in their right mind would be willing to leave what cool air they had available. The heat wave was physically draining, sickening even. Opening the doors to outside was equivalent to opening the gates to Hell itself.

You grabbed your phone from the side table, accidentally knocking down one of the empty water bottles in the process. It was too much effort to pick it up right now, so you left it on the floor to be picked up and thrown away during perhaps a brief period of mercy from the heat. After unlocking your phone, you were greeted with a bone-dry notifications menu. It was hardly a surprise, as your contacts have been nearly silent for a while. Occasionally, a message from one of many apps would alert you, but outside of that, texts from friends had been few and far between. For the most part, you hadn’t talked to the Investigation team for months. Chie and Rise had stopped talking to you altogether, and Yukiko and Kanji would check in once in a while.

Despite the lack of contact between you and most of the Investigation Team, you still held the occasional meaningful conversation with a few close friends. Even then, none of those exchanges would compare to how much time you had spent talking to Yosuke over the past year. The two of you were such incredibly close friends that a day without a message from each other felt most unusual.

When the team was still together as one, the rest of the group would always tease you two for sticking quite close to each other. It was mainly directed at Yosuke, who was well known for his inability to successfully acquire a partner in the past. After enduring it for a while, though, the teasing did get old, and neither of you would entertain their antics with a reaction of any sorts.

Hiding any form of reaction from them was easy initially, but as time went on, you realized that your feelings for him began to…change. It started out as but a small crush on him, as you found his clumsiness to be strangely adorable. He appeared to be a bit of an idiot on the surface, but he showed his hidden talent while tracking down the killer who ran rampant through Inaba. Yosuke’s lack of attention in school was probably where the false perception of his intelligence came from.

You hoped that these feelings were a mere fluke, but even through the split up of the Investigation Team and the lonely year afterwards, the two of you kept in almost constant contact. That didn't do much in terms of helping you overcome these feelings at all. Eventually, this little crush of yours became something not so little after all.

The conversation, located at the very top of your recent texts, was quite easy to locate. There wasn’t any need for you to debate an elaborate greeting, as the bond between you two was strong enough that unprompted casual conversation was second nature.

What are you up to? you texted him.

While you waited for a response, you turned the screen of your phone off and rested it in your lap. You looked out the window to see that a small field of pink hydrangeas were freshly bloomed, rustling gently in the wind. The gentle scent was picked up by the light breeze that was flowing into through your window, enough for a refreshing aroma, yet not nearly enough to overwhelm you.

Despite the high temperature of the air, the occasional breeze felt refreshing in a time like this. You couldn’t help but space out, entranced by the movement of the flowers dancing in the breeze. Eventually, you became completely lost in your thoughts…first, your mind was simply occupied with passing the time while waiting for Yosuke to reply. Then, your thoughts began to spiral, thinking of all of the time you two have spent together, from hunting down the killer to the outings you shared with what little free time you had. Even though the future still held the possibility for much more to come, a part of you craved the chance to live through those moments once again. The lingering sting of nostalgia did not make the desire to see your friends laugh together perhaps one more time any easier to bear, but at least you and Yosuke still had each other.

The vibration from your phone snapped you out of your daydreaming. You picked it up to see that he had at last responded to your text.

nothin much. just tryin to beat this heat. u? it read. He must be stuck in the same situation as you.

Same here. Too damn hot to do anything.

ikr if only i wouldn’t die every time I tried to move otherwise id hit u up for a trip to the river or somethin

Curse this goddamn blistering summer heat. If you were resilient enough, you would ask him to brave the heat and spend some time with you anyways. Was the affection of a young man truly worth your inevitable demise in the agonizing heat?

There's always a cooler day.

yea but idk. its boring all alone here

The grip he had on your heart was agonizing. If only you could get a hold of yourself and confess, releasing yourself of these feelings and showing him that he didn't have to spend his days alone and bored like this. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time, as a random text confession for someone you have held so dearly to your heart would be rather pathetic.

The breeze from outside suddenly picked up. It smacked you in the face with hot air for a moment before it started to feel refreshing. Looking out the window, you could see a swarm of pink hydrangea petals fluttering through the air, decorating the sky like a summertime blossom festival.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Yosuke sat on the floor of his bedroom, slumped against the back wall. He didn’t feel like moving, especially since he was at peace with what little cool air he had access to. At least he was in the comfort of his own home and not dealing with Junes’ pathetic excuse of an air conditioning system.

But this sucked.

Like, really sucked.

There was nothing interesting to do that could keep him occupied. Sure, he could replay one of the same 20 videogames that he owned, but even that gets old after a while. Yosuke didn’t exactly have a large group of friends that he could bother to come over, either. Souji was back in his hometown, Naoto was busy cooperating with the local police force, and everyone else…well, had just sort of forgotten about him. It was for better or worse, as they didn’t exactly treat him well in the first place. Still, he longed for the days of being surrounded by those he was familiar with and not aggravating coworkers and entitled customers.

He could bother the girl that he was absolutely head over heels for. However, he didn’t exactly want to do that right now, despite the two of them quite literally talking almost every day for the past two years. Yosuke wasn’t in a mood to try and think of an excuse for conversation, when there was literally nothing to be conversated about. He still craved some kind of company…her company in particular.

For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to ask her for a little chat this afternoon. Usually, he wouldn’t hesitate, but he was being dragged down by some mysterious mental weight. It somewhat depressed him to think about how he was burdening such a fine lady with his lack of astounding qualities. His clever words weren’t coming as easily as when he would drop a few side comments to Naoto or suspicious remarks to Souji back in the day.

Perhaps, he was genuinely afraid that his stupidity would cause him to truly lose her, and he would once again end up all alone?

This wasn’t something that he wanted to think about at all today. To distract himself, he grabbed his guitar that was leaning against the wall close to him and began strumming a few random chords. Focusing on playing a song might take his mind off of things for a while.

Without regards to the accuracy of the notes. Yosuke began playing, envisioning the lyrics as he strummed away. It wasn’t filled with quite the same passion as the original song, as that required far too much effort to be exerted in the heat like this. He focused not on the accuracy of the notes, but more on passing the time preoccupied in a relatively positive manner.

More importantly, he was focused on not spiraling into focusing on the crippling loneliness that loomed over him.

After leisurely playing through the song, he picked up his phone to check for the off chance that someone wanted to talk to him. Surely enough, he had a singular unread message from the afternoon to attend to. He already knew who it would be from, but he was filled with excitement nonetheless.

What are you up to? the message read.

There was a slight urge for him to flex his…amazing skills with the guitar and dedication to his hobby. There was no need for him to, though. She was already well aware that he was an avid fan of music, whether it be playing it or talking about his taste. Plus, they were already quite close; what reason would he have to flex what little skills he did possess? It would eventually come off as desperate to make up for his pathetic nature, to the point where he would drive his last close friend away.

nothin much. just tryin to beat this heat. u? he replied, keeping it casual.

Yosuke got a reply almost immediately. Was she bored, or genuinely interested in holding a conversation with him? He’d been worrying an awful lot about her perception of him as of late.

Same here. Too damn hot to do anything.

ikr if only i wouldn’t die every time I tried to move otherwise id hit u up for a trip to the park or something

There’s always a cooler day.

Another time was indeed an option, but that doesn’t solve his problem in the present. Yosuke so desperately wanted to brave the miserable hellscape that was the great outdoors of Inaba, but he wasn’t looking to end up with a second dead crush. He probably wouldn’t survive ten minutes out there himself.

yea but idk. its boring all alone here

When he sent the final text, it felt as if his heart was pierced with a stake. Why was one lonely afternoon affecting him so badly? It wasn’t the end of the world, but he couldn’t deny that he was yearning for some serious company right about now.

If he was being honest, he has been dealing with lingering feelings for her for quite some time now. Yosuke wanted to preserve a precious friendship that he held so dear to his heart, but he truly wanted to reach out to her and perhaps have a shot at taking things a step further. At the same time, what if she didn’t return any of his feelings? It was a risk he was not willing to take, as the ending result could once more result in him being isolated from anyone relatively close to him.

It all boiled down to Yosuke’s fear of once again being bored and alone. And he hated that.

Upset at the unfortunate circumstances of this agonizingly hot Saturday, Yosuke sat his phone aside and plucked at a few of his guitar strings absentmindedly. His focus was shifted to the window when he heard a sudden rush of wind. The breeze carried some stray pink hydrangea blossoms, which must’ve been picked up from elsewhere, into his room. A few stray petals landed on his floor and furniture, but a small flower landed on top of his head perfectly intact.

[severingt]

So, I was sacked was I?

This can all be traced back to a gig at Cafe Jubilee Gzira.  I stated at the time that if we let it, this will be the undoing of the band and we should put it down to square pegs in round holes. However, no one listened.  

Rehearsals started being boring and just really getting in the way of drinking beer. Songs that I wanted to cover were 'poo-pooed' as losing us half our audience [strangely as previously the same song was agreed to be worthy].  Strangely, Venus in Furs was not thought of in the same way when it was clearly of the same ilk.

We started doing Country songs and easy listening stuff with no clear direction and our original purpose for being a band was diluted beyond recognition.  

I went to the UK and whilst I was away clearly something happened.  I do know that Jan and Dick rehearsed and that they all were seen [scheming] in the Office one night  

I do know that when I came back to Malta and we rehearsed there was a strange atmosphere which I chose to ignore and just played and wrote a new tune [I was the only one that brought new material to the table].  Then we set about putting together a set list for the Beer Festival [I refer to this below].  Three days later the below conversation happened  

Conversation started 11 June  

11:00 Glenn Travers  I don’t know about you but I wasn’t impressed with last night  

11:27 Jan Joachimsen  Neither was I. In fact I had a rather sleepless night in which I came up with the decision we should step out of the beer festival. Will write you and Dick a thorough message in the next 3 hours . but in a nutshell that’s what I think   

14:54 Jan Joachimsen  Too risky for such a big event like the Farsons. I wrote to you and Dick on Facebook. My feeling is that it will be the same audience response as at Jubilee’s. Just a bigger crowd not liking it . and I cant do that L     

15:00 Glenn Travers  Well we might as well shut the band down now then   

15:23 Jan Joachimsen  We might as well do that too. With everyone leaving anyway....   

13:43 Jan Joachimsen  Hi Glenn and Dick, after our "audition" yesterday evening and a following sleepless night, I have come up with a decision: it's better to not play at Farsons Beerfest. Phil's reaction showed me that we are still far away from having achieved a quality and presence that can catch a crowd, no matter what we do. We are simply not good enough.

Also with all the insecure line-up and constant changes, there is no way we can put together a convincing show for such a big event. This is not just one little pub, this is THE Farsons. My instinct tells me we would get the same response as from Phil yesterday, but just on a bigger scale. And I personally am not a fan of suicide missions. It is a pity for an audience not hearing our original songs. But we can also achieve that via Soundcloud (which worked well for "Marsalfornication", who never played a single note live). I'm sorry to sound like a spoil-sport, but I hope you can understand my doubts. Regards, Jan    

16:23 Glenn Travers  Jan, nice to have such a positive picture. So, based on one person that you ASSUME didnt like what we played, youre prepared to throw away months of rehearsals - one persons opinion! and who is he? What credibility has he got that makes his opinion so believeable? I dont believe we're not good enough, I think you're clinging onto the Cafe Jubilee thing as support for this.

2 weeks ago we played to 200 people and to very positive feedback, we did this in spite of not being able to hear each other; I think that shows we are certainly 'good enough'   

16:38 Jan Joachimsen No matter who he is, his face was a good indicator, and he wasn't the first one. Do you have exact numbers for positive feedback at the Dolmen? The athmosphere was awkward there, too. And I usually sense that. And from my own feeling, too, we are simply not good enough.  

16:39 Glenn Travers This is pathetic   

17:29 Dick Woolley Sorry guys to be late into the conversation but my departure is going to be very soon and so have been very busy as a result. I have to agree with Jan on this. Last night merely acted as a catalyst which allowed my misgivings to form a solid opinion. If I was not going away, then I would say we might find enough time to create a revamped act that could take to that large stage and carry an audience of strangers. But this is not the case.

All the gigs we have played so far have been to limited and largely friendly audiences and yet they have been just about ok at their best. After six months I would have liked it to have been at a higher level and I cannot see it transforming overnight. I probably should have spoken out before, but I guess I was carrying false hopes. I have thoroughly enjoyed it all but I do not want to spoil the end by a flat performance. And for sure it is the end as Glenn is going to UK and I am not going to be here.  

17:35 Glenn Travers I'll leave it to you guys to tell the Farsons - Im out of this  

18:12 Glenn Travers Well, I'm sorry that I have not been able to raise my game to the required standard. I really thought we were doing ok, how pathetic is that? Just as well it's ending now so as to not waste any more of your time. I could have gone home at the end of June, I only postponed it so that we could do the gigs, ah well never mind. I kinda enjoyed it even tho now I know it was all false   

19:04 Dick Woolley Glenn, it is not about individual performances, it is about the overall performance of the band.

16 July

18:21, Glenn Travers: I have been informed that you have decided to reverse what you told me and Kevin and are playing the Farsons.  Good luck with that   As I clearly cannot believe a single word you say I wish to put this in writing -   I hold the copyright to my songs and if you or any of your co...[I dont know what non contemptuous word to use to describe] play any of them in whole or in part I will take legal action   I know its a long shot but if you have any ethics left, please do not push me into this as I will protect what is mine   You reap what you sow  

From: Jan Joachimsen   Yes, it took me a week to come to the conclusion that there is no reason why I shouldn't play the Farsons. After all, you yourself said more than once that evening that this was MY decision. So I after a week, I made my final decision. The show trial you and Kevin gave me at the Office, left me in a position where I just can't go back to where we were before. It surely is very understandable that you are hurt. But the level of aggressiveness with that you lashed out at everyone (or rather, at me as substitute for everyone else) was remarkable. As for your songs, you can have it here and legally binding that nobody is going to play any of them. Neither now nor in the future. My lyrics, my violin? Keep them. Consider them as a farewell gift. I have no intention to start a legal battle over some little songs we once recorded. Yes, what's yours is yours! That was never in question for me. You own your songs/music alright. But you don't own me. It is still up to ME who I play with and when I play. There is no reason to threaten me for that. Regards, Jan

17 July

Dick Woolley: Glenn, Apologies for having remained silent since my decision not to play at the beerfest as conditions apply. I believed it best to let matters rest as you have taken this as a personal attack and there is little I could contribute of a positive nature. However the correspondence that Jan has chosen to share with me has upset me deeply. Do you remember our conversation regarding copyright? Everything we do is a collaboration I remember you stating. When I suggested that you should establish ownership of material, you said you were thinking that Jan putting it on Soundcloud was a good basic position. I made my decision not to play as part of conditions apply at the beerfest in the belief and spirit of honesty and respect to a large audience as our act was not worthy of such an occasion in my opinion. You appear to have chosen to believe that this decision as a personal attack. It was never intended as such and I never thought that you would react in such a negative way as you have. Do you truly believe that an act that has only played the likes of the qawra access centre and the office has built such a great following to justify a direct booking as the opening act for the beerfest? It was (in my opinion) Maddee that landed the gig and she picked us to back her. I too have accepted her invitation to play in her backing band for the beerfest as I have the good fortune to be available. When I agreed with Jan to pull the plug on conditions apply I thought the beerfest was gone and lost to me, but I make no apologies for accepting an offer to play with another band. I wish to conclude with thanking you for not dragging my wife into this seemingly childish response to the current circumstances that you have chosen to adopt and to wish you and Seeta all the best for your future. I will state for the avoidance of doubt that I will not deliberately infringe any of your legal rights and will expect and require that you respond in a similar fashion. Dick  

Glenn Travers: Well Dick, every action has a reaction and I didnt deserve the way I was treated. I have always considered you all in everything, even choosing to tell you of my decision face to face re relocating as I thought that was the ethical thing to do. After the way you lot have treated me oh boy do i feel silly  

I take exception to being called childish as I am the only one that had the guts to face it out whereas you guys - going on a non denial from Jan - chose the back door route. Well what goes around comes around. I am more hurt by the way Jan has treated me as I considered him my closest friend and I think the way he has treated me is shameful but he doesnt seem to understand - or doesnt want to - that. Friends dont do that to one another, not the way I was brought up, I wouldnt do it to him. Even other people that have seen his response thought it laughable that he should try to become the victim. Let me say this just once, if you had a problem why didnt you share it? Why did we spend the last rehearsal putting together a set list if we were that bad? Where's your honesty guys?  

I didnt involve Helen specifically as she has nothing to do with this and has always treated me with respect...maybe she should give lessons?   The nastiness continues to this day with daily new posts of photos of the gig [strangely not much in the way of an audience can be seen in any pix] and written posts clearly aimed at me from others.

I heard today [7 August] that they are saying that they sacked me which is the reason Ive put this together. But that's the way with cowards, isnt it?

[the-active-news]

Are Zayn and Selena D@ting? Love in the Spotlight

The two biggest talents in the music industry, Zayn Malik and Selena Gomez, have been the subject of d@ting rumors in both the music and celebrity worlds. Very skilled and good-looking, fans and tabloids alike are asking if the allegations are genuine and if these two artists are d@ting. Are Zayn and Selena D@ting? Come with me as I delve into the nitty-gritty of this rumored celebrity couple.

Are Zayn and Selena D@ting?

The former One Direction singer was most recently publicly linked to Gigi Hadid, whom Selena Gomez joked about d@ting earlier this month. Do Zayn Malik and Selena Gomez go out together?  The two music artists, both 30, have been linked after being seen having dinner together in New York. Selena Gomez and Zayn Malik spark romance rumors after alleged NYC dinner date. TikTok user @klarissa.mpeg shared a conversation with a friend who claimed to have been the hostess during the couple's dinner at an unidentified restaurant in the city, and the conversation quickly went viral. She went on to explain that she and her friend both work at restaurants frequented by celebrities, and she then showed a snapshot of a text message in which her friend said, "Tell me how Selena Gomez and Zayn just walked into hand in hand making out and I seated them." You can view Pop Hive's tweet confirming Selena Gomez and Zayn Malik's relationship status down below: Selena Gomez and Zayn Malik are officially d@ting. pic.twitter.com/NYSgIyLmwv — Pop Hive (@thepophive) March 26, 2023 When reached for comment by PEOPLE, representatives for Gomez and Malik were silent. A few weeks before the dinner, Gomez's fans on Twitter saw that Malik had followed back Her on Zyan Malik's Instagram. (She is also one of the "Pillowtalk" singer's 18 followed accounts.) Gomez's response to a fan's question on which One Direction member she'd like to kiss on a red carpet in the early 2010s has also gone viral. "Oh no," the "Lose You to Love Me" singer answers before quickly replying, "Zayn," with a giggle.

In January, the Only Murders in the Building actress and Drew Taggart of the Chainsmokers were spotted at a bowling alley together, sparking d@ting rumors. But, she quickly ended d@ting speculation by deleting an Instagram post where she said she was single. Gomez made light of her single state earlier this month with a TikTok video in which she lip-synced to the following audio:  "I hate it when girls are like, 'Oh my God, my crush doesn't even know that I exist.' Like girl, my crush doesn't even exist!" You can learn more about the romantic lives of other famous people by clicking the links above. - James Bergener Net Worth: Sugar Daddy D@ting How Did Noella Bergener Meet Her Ex-husband - Thomas Ian Nicholas Net Worth: Who Is He D@ting Currently? The video accompanied the message "Still out here lookin for him lol." from Rare Beauty's creator. Nevertheless, since breaking up with model Gigi Hadid in October 2021, Malik has not been publicly linked to anybody else. Khai, the couple's 2-year-old daughter, was first reported to be a member of the same family in 2015. I hope your answers to "Are Zayn and Selena D@ting?" prove accurate. If you're interested in learning more about other celebrities' personal lives and love partnerships, add Theactivenews.com to your favorites. Read the full article

[daesungindistress]

did d'splay actually reply to a comment saying he's looking forward to a bb comeback too or is that a fake one? I trust no one... even if it was him... do you think he might be trolling? vips are the ultimate deluded fools after all...

Seems so!

You're right to be wary. Already, just yesterday, SR/OT5 fans crafted a fake translation of an interaction between Daesung D'splay and Youngbae, slapped it on a screenshot, and let it take off. It took them less than 48 hours to start manipulating this situation to their liking and risk ruining it for everyone 🤦‍♀️ The incredible irony of them fabricating a chat without a care in the world... whew.

This wasn't a small account either. Last time I looked (the only time I looked) it had a thousand likes and hundreds of retweets. I guess their pea brains didn't consider that their willingness to fake conversations between the members and spread it like fire throws doubt on everything they've been claiming the guys have said about BIGBANG since the fandom split in 2019. I'm dead serious when I say they're not remotely trustworthy; they're as fraudulent as the former fifth member who they've spent the last 2 years foolishly defending -- tragically, by putting words in the remaining members' mouths. They also somehow got the backasswards idea that inventing a false comeback announcement using fanmade media would be a good idea -- and if they go through with it they probably plan to include you-know-who in their fictitious promo posters, so yeah. Watch out for that.

Anyway, the screenshots above come from a couple of KVIPs who I've been following for a little while now, one of whom was quick to sound the alarm about yesterday's fake translation by IVIPs. Here's the one who initially shared the screenshot and transcribed the Korean text to Twitter. I let Google do the rest:

So yeah, I think it's credible! As for whether or not it's sincere, well, even though I've been lol-ing nonstop at his trolling, his jokes are generally harmless. This, however, isn't something I can see him joking about. Messing with fans in a playful way may be his forte, but he isn't cruel. Even if he's saying it "as a fan" it still shows a desire for BB to resume activities -- and to do so quickly.

To me though... he seems more than ready be back on the stage, making fun memories with bandmates and fans alike. I'm amazed at how eagerly he's interacting with fans, and how often; at this rate he must be spending whole days on his replies, even if most are just a thumbs-up, a "Thank you for subscribing," a promise to practice a song that's been suggested to him, or another teasing, tongue-in-cheek "Sorry, I am not Daesung." 😆

*by the way, you may have noticed above that the characters KVIPs are using to write "D'splay" Google translates as "Dipple"... which I think is the best thing ever.

[midgardianweasley]

Your grace! Bless us with a Natasha x reader where the team is invited to a wedding by a close friend of Tony’s. Then when the bridal bouquet is thrown, the bride throws it too hard where reader accidentally catches it and the team is just going “Oooooh!” And reader is like “I’m not even in a relationship!” But the team know in secret that reader and Natasha have feelings for each other but are too dumb to know. Just funniness and fluff! 🥰😍 (Your writing is brilliant btw!)

I loved this request!! I hope i did it justice <3

it’s a wedding thing

Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

^idk Nat, you tell me^

Summary: When the Avengers get invited to a close friend of Tony's wedding, what hidden feelings will surface? What relationships will bloom? Who will be the next bride?

Warnings: none!

word count: 4.1k

Message/ask if you want to be added to the taglist!

requests are open loves

“Alright gang, this one’s for all of us, we all listening?”

A cluster of ‘yes’ ‘go on’ ‘come on Tony’ filled the room, everyone eager to hear what the fancy envelope held inside. It was amusing to watch Tony take advantage of everyone’s excitement, slowly peeling the envelope, gasping when he pulled the letter out of the casing slightly, not letting anyone else see what was written on it.

You, Natasha and Wanda all seemed to share a look of amusement at the dramatics and the almost visible frustration coming off of everyone. It was like watching children try to wait patiently for sweets in a shop, almost completely off of their seats. It wasn’t until Tony noticed that Pepper was giving him a warning look, that he, begrudgingly, hurried up and announced what was written on the letter.

“Wow. Caleb’s getting married.” He spoke, eyebrows raised in surprise. “And he’s invited the team.”

“Well, I’m not going.” A voice spoke from the corner of the room, clearly un-amused by what was currently going on.

“Luckily for you, I don’t see ‘reindeer games’ anywhere on the invitation. So you’re off the hook.” He replied with a tight lipped smile, Thor had been visiting recently to see Jane and pay the avengers a visit and wanted to bring Loki to meet her.

‘A pleasant trip’ Thor said.

‘A living hell’ Tony corrected.

It got a laugh out of the team though. Nat and I especially. We’d spent the last couple of nights in each other’s bedrooms, making a list about our favourite moments through the day where Tony and Loki clashed, making stupid insults towards the other. I think it’s safe to say that we went through multiple bags of popcorn over the nights, though you were both thankful it was there, it was the only thing muffling the laughter, if it hadn't, you’re almost certain the entire compound would have woken up at the sound of our laughter.

You nudged Natasha’s side gently, the bicker between the two men still continuing.

“Hey, Nat.” She turned and tilted her head questioningly.

“So we know how a physical fight between those two worked out. But, if they had to compete in a rap battle, who do you think would win?”

Her face immediately lit up, eyes sparkling which only enhanced their beauty, you could almost feel the cogs turning in her head, trying to go through every logical option.

“Well. Loki seems pretty well spoken, so vocabulary wise, I think he’d be strong. But Tony is sarcastic which can help with quick quips. But then again, Loki-”

“Hey lovebirds, Romanoff, Y/L/N” Tony clicked his fingers, earning himself a pair of eyerolls at the term he’d used. “Anything you wanna share with the team, or can we move on?”

“Actually-”

“Overridden. Moving on.”

You looked towards Natasha, snickering slightly at how blunt he’s being, Loki having found his way under his skin again. A part of you felt bad for the man, but that feeling is soon replaced by amusement. It was obvious Nat felt the same way, her sharing the same expression as you, although, you could hide yours much better. She had to physically put her hand over her mouth in the hopes the man wouldn’t notice her.

“So, the wedding is next week, a little short notice but when do we ever have enough notice, who’s in?”

Looking around the room, there were a handful of nods, each looking to see who else was going to go. You looked towards Nat again to see if she was planning on attending, only to find her already staring at you.

“So Y/L/N, up for a wedding?”

“It would be a nice change of pace. Are you going?”

“Only if you are” You blushed slightly at the response.

“Better get your nicest dress on Romanoff.” You winked, her turn to blush and focus back on what the rest of the group was saying.

“It’s probably easy if I list couples first on the RSVP and then the singles.” Tony took a glance around the table, mentally taking note of those who had shown signs of agreement. “So there’ll be Wanda and Vision, Legolas and his wife, Romanoff and Y/L/N, Thor and Jane-” You felt your face morph into one of confusion.

“Woah woah, Tony, back up, what did you say?”

“Thor and Jane, they’re-”

“Before that.”

“I’ve said this before Y/N, Legolas isn’t actually real. I meant Clint.”

“Very funny.” He held a proud smirk. “Romanoff and I aren’t a couple”

You wish.

“That’s not what Rogers said when he saw you both cuddling up on the sofa last night.” Before you had a chance to look in Steve’s direction, you could practically feel the daggers Nat was sending him, making his face cringe slightly and his back straighten.

“That’s what Rogers said, is it?” She spoke, tilting her head in question. You knew she was partly joking, but you’d still decided to intervene before anyone lost any limbs.

“My head fell onto her shoulder when I dozed off during our movie. It wasn’t ‘cuddling’ , thank you very much.” You laughed, internally wishing that Steve’s words were true.

“See? So cut it out.” Steve put his hands up in surrender, despite having a cheeky grin on his face.

“Okay okay. Fine!” The billionaire said, writing something on the envelope. “I’ll just put ‘couple pending’” He muttered

“Stark!”

__________________________

You and the girls had just come back from dress shopping, all three of you had spent the whole day in and out of different shops, hours in dressing rooms and your voices were almost completely gone with how often you were telling each other, ‘that looks stunning’ ‘that’s the one!’ and the most common one by the end of the trip; ‘please just pick a dress so we can go home and nap’. That one was from our very own black widow, her patience wore a little thin after 8 hours of staring at dresses.

You had gone through all the colours and styles while you were out, ranging from classy jumpsuits to figure hugging dresses that felt like a second skin. Wanda and Natasha had chosen their dresses and were eager to find you one, and what a mission that was.

“I promise you, we’re not going home until we find this dress, okay?”

“Wanda’s right. We’ll stay out until they all shut if we have to. But, let’s make that a last resort.” Natasha eyed you both warily.

You’d been walking around for hours now. Each dress you tried on had potential, but there was always something that didn’t sit right with you. It was either too baggy, too tight, the cut wasn’t appealing, the length wasn’t ideal, it was starting to feel hopeless. You’d even suggested just going in your pyjamas, but Wanda’s death glare had made it clear that wasn’t an option.

You and Natasha were both dragging your feet, Wanda still having a slight spring in her step as you walked into the final shop and picking up a couple of dresses before then going into the dressing room to try them on.

The first two were okay, but you weren’t a fan. Then there was the third one. The third one was a gorgeous Y/F/C dress that fell just past your knees, it had thin straps and the skirt was simple and loose so that when you spun around in it, you felt like a princess. You looked in the mirror and you adored the reflection, you still wanted the others opinions though, though you didn’t doubt that they’d feel the same way.

Pulling the curtain back and gaining their attention from where they were looking elsewhere, you smiled when you saw their reaction, more specifically, Natasha’s. Wanda was complimentary, walking up and feeling the fabric, gushing about how beautiful you looked, but you barely heard it, too focused on the redhead sitting in front of you, her eyes glazed over and her jaw almost on the floor, completely zoned out on you.

“This dress is it, Y/N, you have to get it! Nat? What do you think?” Her head shook, bringing herself back to reality and briefly meeting your eyes, only to quickly dart between You, Wanda and your dress in an attempt to compose herself.

“Yeah, I mean, wow, you look- wow.” Her hands flailed in your direction. You’d knocked the assassin speechless. Wanda rolled her eyes playfully at the interaction. She’d known about you and Nat’s feelings for each other for a month or two now, silently cursing the both of you when there was an opportunity to confess, yet never did. It was obvious to the rest of the team, why were neither of you picking up on it?

Keeping quiet, she ushered you back into the changing room, much to Natasha’s relief, both because she wanted to head back to the compound and she wasn’t sure how much longer she would’ve lasted seeing you standing there looking literally flawless. She always thought you looked amazing, but there was something about the way you looked in front of her just then that made her brain feel like a haze.

It was pretty safe to say,

You bought the dress.

Collapsing on your bed, dropping your bags to the side and letting out a loud sigh, you heard your door shut and someone fall into the chair by the window. You already knew who it was.

“I’m exhausted.” The woman groaned, rubbing her hands up and down her face to attempt to physically remove the tiredness from her body.

“Sorry for dragging you around for so long, I just-”

“Hey, no, don’t apologise for that. We all said we’d find the perfect dress, and it was worth the wait.” Heat rose to your cheeks at her words.

“You really think I looked good?”

Natasha could sense your underlying tone of doubt, unsure as to why you would doubt her opinion, she’d always been honest with you. Nonetheless, she heaved herself out of her seat and made her way to the end of the bed, kneeling down so that your now sat up figure could look down into her eyes, with her hands on each side of your face to focus you on her and her alone.

“I wouldn’t lie to you, okay? You looked incredible and I'm sure you’ll look even better at this wedding on Saturday, if that’s even possible.” You let out a small chuckle at her words as a smile made its way onto her face.

“You’ll be the prettiest one there.”

“Better not tell the Bride you said that, Nat.” She laughed, looking down for only a few seconds before looking at you again.

“We’ll make that our secret.” You nodded in silent agreement, grateful that she’d made you feel so reassured.

“Thank you, Tasha.”

“You’re more than welcome, sweetheart.” She replied.

You were so lost in her words, you hadn’t realised how close her face had gotten to yours, and how her eyes swapped between your eyes and your lips. You didn’t realise how she subconsciously had kept edging towards you, hands trembling a little with every inch closer she gets.

She wanted to kiss you. Every nerve in her body was almost electrified with the temptation to just move her lips over yours and become one. Her pulse raced, almost to prepare her for doing so. Which is why she wanted to kick herself with a pair of her highest heels when she uttered her next words.

“We should get some sleep.”

You broke out of your trance, jumping backwards slightly when noticing limited space between you both. You awkwardly coughed as she stood, heading back over to her chair to grab her bag and return to her room.

“Yeah, yeah of course. Big today, rest is probably a good idea.” You both nodded, she was already one foot out of the door when she gave you a small ‘goodnight’ and left, not waiting to hear you say it back.

Just like you hadn’t realised her actions early, you were oblivious to her hitting her head off of the wall in the corridor just outside of your room, wondering why she’d backed away. Where was Thor’s hammer when you needed to knock some sense into yourself? She thought before dragging herself back to her room where she would fall asleep, unable to get you out of her head.

_________________________

“Right! Headcount before we go in! And I want us all on our best behaviour Avengers, this is a wedding” Steve had completely lost you after ‘Headcount’. Not only are most of you fully grown adults, sorry Peter, but he seems to be oblivious to the fact that some of you were wearing high heels, and patience in high heels had an expiry date.

“Y’know, if he doesn’t let us in soon, I’m not afraid to threaten him with his own shield.” You heard a whisper just behind your ear, smirking at the comment.

“I’ll join you.” You answered, Bruce and Clint sharing a knowing look from afar when watching the two of you have your own quiet conversation, though short lived when they saw Natasha’s head move in their direction, their gaze coming to a halt so as to avoid any conflict with their teammate.

You guys could try to hide it all you want, but your entire team knows better than that, they just had to wait it out until you both finally admitted it to the other.

______________________

You and the Avenger’s were currently sitting at a guest table, now in the reception part of the evening. The ceremony was beautiful, the bride wore a crisp white ball gown with her makeup and hair done to perfection, the groom looking like a prince in his black tux and a look full of adoration towards his wife to be painted on his face.

Their looks weren’t the best part of it though. The clothes and the accessories were lovely, of course. But all you could focus on was the love shared between them as they shared their vows telling the other how they believed they were each other's soulmate, and that they promised to always be the other’s rock. You’d found yourself with tears in your eyes, barely able to appreciate the sight with how blurry your vision was now. They finally fell when they said their ‘I do’s’, feeling only happiness for the newlyweds.

Although marriage hadn’t been something you always thought about, you’d hoped that you would meet your special someone and settle down, retire from the missions, the battles, the superhero lifestyle and just be with your soulmate for the rest of your days.

Despite not being a couple, whenever you thought of the person you wanted to spend the rest of your time with, there was only one person that came to mind. And she stood right in front of you throughout the ceremony, comforting a sobbing demi-god while he was also trying to explain to Vision why he was in floods of tears.

Music filled the room, upbeat, but calm enough for the couples on the dancefloor to sway gently to the beat, soft lights occasionally shining on them as they danced, the bride and groom being one of them. You smiled gently at the sight, feeling dreadfully single with all of the love in the room, but grateful that you could see so many people look so content and in love with their significant other.

An elbow could suddenly be felt in your side, pulling you from your thoughts to instead be met with gorgeous green eyes and a bold red smirk.

“Penny for your thoughts?” She leaned in, curiosity clouding her mind.

“Nothing much up there really.” You glanced back at the dance floor quickly. “I’m just happy to see everyone so happy.”

Natasha followed your direction of where you were looking, an idea soon popped into her head. She was going to ask you to dance.

Her mouth opened to speak, but as if it was done on purpose, a ‘screech’ echoed in the ballroom, catching everyone’s attention, including taking yours away from hers.

“We’re taking a break from dancing for a minute folks, It’s time for the bride to throw the bouquet!” He announced, soon followed by shrieks and the sound of feet padding on the wooden floor, women all gathering in a small bunch, huddled together as if their lives depended on it as the men all returned to their seats, shaking their heads at the commotion.

Not really wanting to take part, you turned back around again.

“Sorry Nat, what were you-”

“Y/N!” Your head fell as you were interrupted by a very excited Maximoff.

“Y/N! C’mon! We need to do the bouquet toss!” She started to pull you up, refusing to listen to any excuse you could possibly conjure up to avoid having to take part.

Giving the team a desperate look, hoping someone will help you escape, you’re instead met with encouraging and amused faces, including Natasha’s a clear indication that not a single person was going to help you. Traitor’s.

With a half serious eye roll, you quickly grabbed your glass of champagne and kicked off your heels, heading towards the group of screaming women basically crawling on top of one another when the bride was barely up on the ‘stage’ yet. You let Wanda wander off into the group but remained towards the back, sipping from your glass and sending the occasional sneaky glare towards your table.

“You guys ready?” The bride yelled, only to be met with more screams and a faint chorus of ‘yes’ heard among it as they all threw their hands higher. Wanda saw you were just stood there, and subtly used her powers to raise your hand, earning loud laughs and cheers from the Avengers, taking great joy in the scene unfolding in front of them.

“Okay! Three...Two..”

You kept your arm up, pretending to be enthusiastic about the toss, when you realistically didn’t really expect much from these kinds of traditions. What you definitely hadn’t expected, was for your figure to stumble backwards as you suddenly felt petals and stems in your palm, a faint feeling of silk brushing against your thumb as your fingers wrapped around the item.

You almost spat out your champagne, eyes widening in shock as you looked to see the arrangement of flowers in your grip, looking up to see women both disheartened and elated at your catch. How the hell had you managed that? You were literally the farthest person away, and on your own! You must’ve been set up. Okay, a bit of a stretch, but still!

“WOOO, Y/L/N IS GETTING MARRIED!”

“WHO’S THE LUCKY SOMEONE Y/N?”

“Y/N CAUGHT THE FLOWERS, Y/N CAUGHT THE FLOWERS.”

The bride noticeably laughed at your friend’s cheers, she hadn’t meant to throw it that far back, her arm just kinda went full force, but seeing the reaction it caused, she didn’t regret it. She didn’t even regret it when she saw the look of embarrassment on your face, as it was soon replaced with a contagious beam as you walked towards them again, a very proud Wanda in tow,

“Guys! Guys! I’m not even in a relationship! I highly doubt i’m the next woman in this room to get married.” You joked

“Well, I wouldn’t be so sure.” Sam laughed “Romanoff, you got an engagement ring handy?” He yelped as a peanut from the centre of the table was thrown at him, and of course with being a trained assassin, Nat had hit him right in the centre of his forehead, earning a dramatic noise of pain to leave his mouth.

These guys will be the death of you.

__________________

After some teasing, the room had filled once again with happy couples dancing, now including some you were very familiar with, one being a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist and his CEO wife, and another being an Asgardian with his Midgardian girlfriend, both gently moving side to side in time with the music.

Letting out a content sigh, you were met once again with the flowers, however, this time, they weren’t on the table, but were held by a gorgeous woman in a flawless navy dress.

“So, I know we aren’t a couple, but, would the future bride like to dance?” She asked, you let out a content sigh, pretending to think it over for a minute.

“Y’know what, I would, thank you for your kind offer.” You took the hand she’d held out for you and led you to the dance floor. While her hands went to your waist, gently tugging you closer, your arms went around her neck, hands interlocking behind her as you, like the others you’d admired all even, swayed.

You’re unsure when it happened, much like a time before, but your head had made its way onto your dance partner's shoulder, your body following suit as it left no room between the two of you, though you weren’t complaining. Neither was the fellow Avenger.

It was peaceful for a period of time, the only sound being the slow music and a quiet chatter of people across the floor. It wasn’t long before you heard the red head above you whisper in your ear once again.

“You really do look amazing tonight, Y/N.” You raised your head so it was directly opposite hers, sending her an appreciative gaze.

“That future fiance of yours is lucky.” She winked.

“Hilarious” You scoffed, fully aware of her humorous tone.

“I know, sometimes I amaze even myself with my jokes.”

“Well, it really is funny, because I honestly don’t see myself getting married anytime soon.” Nat’s eyebrows raised in what could almost be described as confusion.

“And why is that? Do you not want to get married?” Her hands started grazing up and down your waist, like she was comforting you, but really she was bracing herself for what was incoming.

“No, no it’s not that. I just..”

“Just?”

“I don’t think the person i’m interested in, is necessarily interested in me.” Her heart dropped. So you did have someone of interest. She pushed the sinking feeling to the side quickly so that she could respond.

“Right, and why is that?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen them make a move. I thought it’d be obvious. I think it has been to some others.” Your eyes wandered, lingering for longer than what was probably appropriate, on Natasha’s plump lips, wondering if you’d ever get to experience what it’d be like to feel them on yours.

This time, Natasha didn’t miss it. She would’ve blamed it on alcohol, saying that she must’ve just imagined it, but she had only consumed a few drops all evening, being too entranced by you didn’t leave much room for hydration. She hadn’t been more thankful, because it made a light bulb go off in her head as the pieces came together in her head of who you were referring to. She didn’t make a move the other night. It was obvious to the team. How could she have been so blind?

You didn’t see it coming, even when your chin was held in her grasp and you saw her face leaning in towards yours, the reality only hitting you when you finally felt what you’d been wanting to feel for the last months, right now. Your surroundings had just disappeared, the only thing that was running through your head, was the way her lips were moving against yours, and the way her lips tasted faintly of vanilla, and how she smelled like her floral perfume she wore for special occasions.

Whooping and cheering brought you both back from your bubble with just the two of you, your head falling just below her chin, her hand stroking your back as you could feel her chuckle bubbling where your head lay. Well, hid. Her arms had muffled their comments, but you had an idea of what they were, probably a mixture of ‘finally!’, ‘i knew it!’ and you’re almost certain you heard a ‘You owe me 20 bucks.’, that one making you shake your head.

Remaining in your hiding spot, that wasn’t very well hidden, but was keeping your bright red face to yourself, a pair of familiar lips lingered right beside your head.

“So, about that bouquet..”

You weren’t getting married, but by the end of the night, you definitely didn’t feel so dreadfully single as you had earlier.

taglist: @the-dumbass-that-throws-knives

[hereforhalstead]

Showtime

*Gif not mine, credits to the owner*

• Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader.

• Requested: Not this one! Just fancied writing a little jealous Jay piece as I thought it had been a while👀 hope you enjoy!

• Warnings: Swearing

• Summary: Voight asks you to go undercover with Adam in which you decide to tease Jay about it as the unit are unaware of your relationship.

• Words: 3083

****

You sat at your desk as Voight called everyone to gather round his office, he makes his way over to the whiteboard and swings it round to show the information on the other side, your eyes wander over the board and the sight of so much detail and CCTV stills. You can’t help but realise you never saw him write any that down, so dread to think the hours he was here until last night to put this plan together. 

He was clearly having one of his days where no options were wanted and or needed, he blitzed through the minor details and barely stopped to take a breath. You all stood watching as he reeled off information that you were all supposed to be taking in, you were secretly hoping someone else was paying more attention than you as it seemed to be going in one ear and out the other. You find yourself loosing concentration as you focus on a random spot on the board, you jolt as Kevin nudges your arm. You turn to see Voight raising his brows at you, jaw hung open with the corner of his lip turned in spite “Sorry, what?” you quickly straighten up and actually focus on what he’s saying. “Nice of you to join us again, Y/N” he shakes his head and continues to point out details on the board.

A few moments later you had pretty much got the gist of the plan but it then came to giving out roles “Halstead, you’re gonna be posing as a bar tender to keep an eye on movements inside”. He barked his order and Jay nodded in response, “Kim, you’ll be a drunk club goer who’s trying it on with Jay so you’ll both be near by”. She rolled her eyes at Jay who always seemed to be used in some form of flirtatious way during these things which suited him but didn’t sit well with you. You trusted your team and would never doubt their intentions but it still wasn’t ideal for them to throw themselves at Jay during these missions and you couldn’t even make a well natured sarcastic comment about how he was yours.

You and Jay had been somewhat of an ‘item’ for a few months, you found yourselves growing closer after becoming partners and soon one thing led to another. Unbearable tension built and Kim was the one to call you out on it, fed up of being put in the middle of your silly spats and childish arguments when it was clear how drawn to each other you were. You decided to keep it between the pair of you as Voight made it clear he wasn’t a fan of relations within the unit, Jay struggled at first but after seeing the way Voight laid into Kim and Adam he soon realised you had a point. It was all fun and games at first, sneaky glances across the room, little touches in the locker room but there was always going to be some negatives that you hadn’t planned for. For example, the way girls throw themselves at Jay was something you’d never get used to. I mean he truly was something else but the way they would do anything to get his attention made you cringe, what was even worse was how he would try and wriggle out of the situations but they would follow him around like a lost puppy. You’d watch as he’d get more frustrated with not being able to tell them he wasn’t single and how he looked to you for help but you couldn’t do much more. 

Jay found it equally as hard as he was quite a jealous and protective person, this was magnified when he was thrown into the deep end of men flirting with you and him having to just stand back and watch. He would step in every now and then if they really weren’t getting the hint but if he intervened every time he wanted, someone definitely would’ve caught on by now. 

Voight finished giving out instructions and demands of Hailey and Kevin taking roles of surveillance in the van parked outside the venue. He was quick to dismiss everyone which left you and Adam without direction, “What about us Sarge?” Adam questions and the group hang back, thinking they’ll be involved in a change of plan. “Oh yeah, how could I forget. The main stars of my show” he slings an arm round each of you as he pulls the pair of you to face the rest “Everyone, meet the new hot couple in Intelligence” he proudly announces and you see Jay’s face drop but you’re just as confused “Come again?” you question but Adam doesn’t need telling twice as he doesn’t seem to doubt Voight’s decision “Fine by me” he winks towards you. You look to Kim and cock your eyebrow with an unimpressed glance, she shrugs back at you and smiles which puts you slightly at ease as you didn’t want to step on any toes due to you knowing how it felt to be put in that position with a certain detective. “I’m putting the pair of you undercover, Adam as the big man and you being his not to clued up eye candy” Voight pats you on the shoulder as you notice Jay roll his eyes “Thanks Sarge, won’t take it personally” you sarcastically respond. 

“Go on, go get dressed up the pair of you.” he releases you from his hold as Adam receives a high five from Kevin followed by a “my man” in praise. “I sent Trudy out to pick up some outfits for you, go and get them from her and get your arses into gear. We leave in an hour.” Voight heads back into his office and shuts the door behind him, you make your way over to Kim’s desk and perch yourself on the edge “Why couldn’t he choose you? Surely he knows you have much better convincing power with Adam than me” you mutter but considering the room was in silence you knew everyone could hear. “You know what he’s like with me and Adam, he’s probably doing this in spite of me” she moans “Just remember to stay on his left side, he always favors his right” she adds and you laugh “he’s such a girl”. 

“M’Lady, shall we go and get red carpet ready?” Adam approaches and offers his arm out to you, you run your eyes up and down his body in judgement but he doesn’t move “Come on, it could be worse. You could be stuck with Halstead” he scans his eyes over to Jay who was already leaning on his elbow and watching the pair of you “Suppose you’re right” you respond to play along with his jokes. Jay tilts his head and a sarcastic grin flashes on his face before turning back to his paperwork “Let’s go you two, why are you still here?” Voight’s rough voice echoes through the room as he storms out of his office “Trudy picking outfits? If I come back in a bin bag just know it was better than whatever god forsaken mess she has picked” you whisper to Kim who chuckles as you take Adam’s arm and head down the stairs to Trudy. 

You’re taken by surprise as she pulls out the clothes from the bags, she’d picked out a nice white shirt for Adam with some tailored black pants and some black leather shoes. “A little magician like for me but I’ll take it” he comments as he takes the bag from her, she stares him down with her intense gaze and then turns onto you. You feel yourself dreading what she will present you with but your jaw nearly drops to the floor when she picks out a little satin black dress and when you say little, you mean little. The corresponding black heels soon get placed on the counter and you can see Trudy trying to conceal her smugness but failing “This the kind of thing you wear for Mouch?” Adam asks and laughs to himself but Trudy doesn’t mirror his humour “I rarely wear anything for Mouch” she winks and Adam clears his throat “I’ll leave that alone if you don’t mind”.

You take the bag into the locker room and slip into the dress, this wasn’t you’re normal attire but you were not mad in the slightest. The shortness of the dress would take some getting used to but once you got the heels on you felt incredible. Luckily, you always kept some make up in your locker due to plans within Intelligence being pretty last minute and you liked to make some touch up’s before you headed out to Molly’s for the evening. You took yourself over to the mirror and began applying your make up, a little heavier than usual as you wanted to match the aesthetic of your outfit but still nothing crazy and thanking yourself for washing and straightening your hair the night before so it was already good to go after a quick brush through. You studied yourself in the mirror and was quite impressed with the outcome and dare you admit, excited to see how riled up it would make Jay. You took out your phone and sent him a quick text message, simply saying ‘Sorry in advance’ so you could say you gave him some form of pre warning. 

Stuffing your old clothes back into your locker you head back upstairs and can feel your heart racing as you get closer and closer to the top of the steps. As soon as you come into sight, you’re met with wolf whistles and various comments to which you never know how to respond “Damn girl, didn’t know you had it in you” Kevin pipes up as his eyes roam your body “Not mad about it, not mad at all” Adam chimes in as Hailey coughs to interrupt “Keep it in your pants boys, you don’t see Halstead drooling over her. Be more like him” she adds and you laugh to yourself at the irony. Jay clears his throat and makes his way over to you, your heart thumping so hard in your chest that you’re sure everyone is bound to hear. He hands you a necklace and you stare at him confused, he picks up your hand from your side and places it in your palm with more force than you were expecting, taking you slightly aback “Voight wants you to wear this, something about how it can be a present Adam gave you but it will really be where your mic goes”. Adam peers over at the necklace and nods “I’ve got good taste, you’re very lucky” he suggests with a wink, Jay soon returns to his desk, avoiding all eye contact and turning his attention back to his monitor. 

“Are you not meant to have a bag of some sort?” Hailey asks and you check inside the carrier bag Trudy gave you but see nothing resembling any accessories “Nothing in here, might’ve left it in the locker room though”. You place the bag on Kim’s desk and head back down the stairs, passing Trudy’s desk as you go. She takes a double look as you stroll past and nods to herself “Not bad Y/N. You’ve got a great stylist” she compliments and you dramatically flick your hair in response, “What’s up with the mood Halstead?” she keeps her eyes on you despite her talking to Jay who makes his way down the stairs “I’m not in a mood?” he snaps back, regretting instantly as she widens her eyes at him “Tell your stompy feet that then” she looks him up and down and then smiles at you “Smash it kid”. 

You feel some sort of warmth from Trudy despite what people think of her, she always had a soft spot for you and you found comfort in seeing her as your ‘work mum’. God for bid she ever found out that you think of her that way though, she’d probably stop speaking to you all together.. 

You stand at Trudy’s desk and wait for Jay to leave but he doesn’t seem to be budging, you feel him staring at you as if he is waiting for you to make the first move “Sorry, did you want something or?” she asks and Jay shakes his head “Voight sent me down here to help Y/N look for something in the locker room” he is quick to respond but you knew it was bullshit, Voight couldn’t care less about you finding a bag let alone putting 2 people onto finding it. You push your thoughts aside and carry on walking to the locker room you had just been getting ready in. The sound of your heels clicking on the hard floor sure turned some heads and it was just your luck a drunk group of men were in one of the rooms to awaiting questioning. One of them leant against the door frame and wolf whistled, the other joined him and made some comment about how you looked but you didn’t give it any attention, Jay on the other hand couldn’t stop himself “Sit back down and shut the fuck up before I make you, we clear?” he slammed the door shut behind them but you kept walking.

“What are you really doing here Jay?” you question as you enter the room, holding the door open for him before walking over to your locker. You hear a loud thud as he shuts it behind the pair of you and leans his back against it, his knee bent as he picks off a bit of fluff from the thigh of his jeans “That dress new?” he asks, still not looking up at you and focusing on his jeans “You know it is, Voight only told the entire team that Trudy bought us outfits?” you huff as you fail to find any form of bag or purse that was intended for you to use. 

You begin to walk around to check other areas you had been within the room, the bathroom, the mirror but nothing seemed to jump out. Meanwhile, Jay was still stood leaning against the door and watching your every move intently “You gonna let me leave and do my job or?” you stand in front of Jay but he doesn’t budge. Instead he simply turns his nose up and shakes his head “Well then do something useful and help me put this necklace on” you hang the jewelry from your hand but he just stares at it “Or I’ll just do it myself then. Fuck sake” you mumble under your breath and walk back over to the mirror.

A few moments go by and it was no use, you couldn’t get the necklace on by yourself and Jay was still being as useless as ever and not moving to help, instead strolling over and sitting on one of the benches in the middle of the room. “Guess I’ll just get Adam to put it on for me, or Kevin. I’m sure they’d jump at the chance to help” you think aloud and strut past Jay who reaches up to catch your wrist before you can get any further “Come here then”.

He pulls you down onto his lap and you can feel his breath against the nape of your neck, a shiver run down your spine as he touches your skin and moves your hair to one side “Looking forward to being coupled with Adam? You look great together” he remarks and you roll your eyes at him for ruining what could’ve been one of your private moments that you were starting to crave. You stand from his grasp as he manages to fix the necklace round your neck and head for the door to leave but he is hot on your trail “Something bothering you?” you ask but Jay responds by looking down on you with that glint in his eye and mischievous smirk to try and divert your attention from how he is behaving “You don’t even have to say a word for me to know you’re lying if you say you don’t care" you chuckle but Jay isn’t amused. 

“Go and have fun, I’m sure I’ll have a great time watching the pair of you all over each other” he comments with gritted teeth “I’m sure we will have a blast, might even stick my tongue down his throat" you quickly add and curse yourself for not thinking before you speak “Go for it, gotta make it convincing” to your shock he agrees but the way his fists hang tight at his side and his nostrils are flared tell a whole different story “You really need to work on your lying skills detective”.

You can sense the rage running through him as the pair of you stand in silence, your eyes flick over to the clock and realise you’re meant to be leaving at any moment and they will be wondering where you are. You place your hand on Jay’s cheek and see him lean into your hand slightly, no matter how tense he is with you he can never stop himself from giving into your touch. “We best get going, I’ve got to see a man about a new boyfriend” you tease causing Jay to regain himself and straighten up “I dare you Y/N. I dare you to put on your little act as best you can because you know I’ll be watching and ready to remind you who you belong to when we’re alone” he threatens and you feel as though your legs could give way out of the weakness he causes you. You know him too well to know these weren’t empty threats and you were now set on going above and beyond to make him jealous “Enjoy the show, baby.”

***

Inbox and requests always open💃🏼

After popular demand, Part 2 to this is now up!

[itsclydebitches]

You think a show with the subject of Unity WOULD’VE made James redeemable. This show used to do this, during the Fall in V3 is when we really saw how close everyone was. Heck, Qrow saving Ironwood and assuring him he knows he would never do this was the moment we learned that, for all their differences, they ARE friends who care about each other. What happened to this? What happened to the hope and unity in times of a darkness? V7-8 makes me feel so dirty with the lack of compassion.

I think what frustrates me about Ironwood isn’t that the story had an antagonist/villain go too far to be redeemed within the story itself. After all, a story with a cast this side doesn’t need (and, arguably, shouldn’t have) every single character become #good if you’re looking for some kind of “realism.” The execution of the arcs aside, having someone who is too scared to do the right thing (Raven), or dies as a result of their unwillingness to back down (Adam) isn’t bad writing and doesn’t automatically undermine the message of unity. After all, we see the characters attempting such unity, or at least peace through distance—Ruby asking Raven to come over to their side, Yang telling Adam to just leave them alone—and those offers were rejected. At that point, there’s only so much the heroes can do. The ball is now in the antagonist's court.

So putting aside how badly Ironwood’s fall was written overall (which, obviously, contributes to the frustration) I think RWBY’s mistake stems largely from the heroes not making those offers, nor putting in the expected effort for an ally (in RWBYJNOR's case) and a friend (in Qrow and Winter's). I’ve seen a resurgence in the fandom of a “The heroes aren’t responsible for Ironwood” take and yeah, sure, technically speaking no one is responsible for anyone else, especially not when it’s a bunch of teenagers in regards to the world leader. However, if we’re thinking about this in terms of what the heroes preach and what messages the story wants to convey, then it is a problem that none of them work to unify with Ironwood. Many fans will claim they did do that work, but as discussed elsewhere, everything came with the “Do as we say” caveat. Ruby was only willing to unify provided they do things her way, which is no more unity than Ironwood demanding that she “unify” by doing exactly what he wants. It’s just obedience in either direction, but the difference is that Ironwood spent all of Volume 7 working towards actual unity in the form of offering information, support, and compromise whereas the group maintained their lie, demanded perfection without offering solutions, and went on to betray him. Then we hit Volume 8 where that mistake occurs: characters either ignore, or attack Ironwood/what he represents without trying to strive for that unity prior to giving up on him. Off the top of my head:

Qrow randomly drops his initial desire to talk to Ironwood to instead attack Clover with Tyrian, then plans a revenge killing on Ironwood.

Team RWBY chooses to fight the Ace Ops despite being given the call to approach this problem in a more peaceful way, even if it’s not ideal.

Penny is torn about this division between Ruby’s group and Ironwood's, but instead of allowing her to work through that—which could potentially lead to reunification—Ruby makes it clear that there are sides and Penny needs to stay on the correct one. (Seen mostly notably in Ruby taking Penny’s call and giving a very biased speech before entering Atlas HQ).

Winter and the Ace Ops both see Ironwood shoot a man… but no one cares? No one is going to try and talk to him about that? Make sure it doesn’t happen again? Even just leave if he’s officially gone off the deep end? By having them all stay by his side but without commenting on the murder (even in a “Holy shit is he gonna kill us? I’m too scared to try and escape” way), we’re left with the implication that they’re just… fine with that. No need to try and steer off the road Ironwood is heading down. This is whatever. We’ve got five otherwise active characters passively allowing this to happen because the story didn’t want Ironwood to change, but it also wasn’t capable of writing that fall persuasively.

Going off of that, many others have pointed to Winter’s brief talk with Ironwood before JNOR+E arrive to take him out. She explicitly says that she doesn’t think she can talk him out of this, despite the fact that no one has tried.

Ruby announces to the entire world that Ironwood is no longer trustworthy. This happens early in the Volume, before the bomb threat, when Ruby doesn’t know about the councilman, or Ironwood shooting Oscar, or anything else he's done while separated from her. All she knows is that he wanted to evacuate who he could and that, to Ruby’s mind, is worthy of world-wide condemnation. Regardless of whether we think Remnant would trust the word of an unknown, too young huntress, the fact remains that Ruby expects them to trust her. She expects them to believe her and act accordingly: all of Remnant should refrain from trusting Ironwood. Not only is this a strong indication that the writing never even considered giving Ironwood a redemption, but in-world our main characters—the one who is preaching unity—has rejected it completely despite having incredibly little reason to. At this point in time, from Ruby’s perspective, the worst thing Ironwood has done is try to save half his Kingdom rather than letting it all be destroyed, yet according to her, this is unforgivable.

When Yang has a long talk with Raven and makes no headway in changing her mind, I buy that there’s nothing left for Yang to do except walk away. When Adam has stalked Blake for weeks, attacked her twice, dismembered Yang, was given numerous chances to back down, and was still going in for the kill, I buy that there’s nothing left for them to do except act in self-defense, resulting in his death. In contrast, I personally don’t buy Oscar putting that amount of trust in Hazel with no indication that this would amount to anything except a major loss for the good side, but the story insists that this was the right thing to do. It’s worth reaching out to people, even if they’re one of Salem’s lackeys and are currently torturing you! Similarly, I don’t buy the heroes accepting Emerald with the speed they did, but again, the story insists that this was the right thing to do. It’s worth reaching out to people, even if they’re one of Salem’s/Cinder’s lackeys, destroyed your school, helped murder your friend, and tried to kill that friend again just an hour ago! The message is that the chance of success doesn't matter, it's always correct to try and get people to do the right thing. The execution of all this is incredibly messy, but usually RWBY gives us something in regard to why redemption hasn’t happened despite those offers. Either it does happen (logic be damned) thereby justifying the effort in the first place, or the antagonist refused to take it, letting the hero off the hook. They tried and that's all we can ask of them.

The exceptions to this are Ozpin and Ironwood. Ozpin was granted forgiveness, but it was never offered. He had to come begging for it after circumstances ensured he couldn’t keep his distance anymore. However, Ironwood is (apparently) operating under a semblance that ensures he focuses 100% on whatever task he has set, presumably making it impossible (or at least very, very hard) to snap out of that and go asking for his own redemption. Iffy canon aside, there are a dozen more reasons why it’s unreasonable to expect Ironwood to orchestrate a moment like Ozpin’s—from him actually believing he’s right to just not being forced to interact with the group—which means that redemption could only come if someone offered it. After Oscar's attempt that, in retrospect, was pretty lackluster and maintained those caveats, one did. No one was inclined to help, or push back, or work to save a man they supposedly cared about. It would indeed take work! It would not be easy, nor without risk, but isn’t that supposed to be the message of RWBY? Trust love and fight for unity? The characters are, apparently, willing to put in that effort and accept that risk for the likes of Hazel and Emerald… just not Ironwood. Ironwood is the outlier who, despite being surrounded by people of varying relationships—from subordinates to friends—and despite these people having varying responses to his actions—from horror to full support—none of them, when it was clear he needed help, was inclined to offer that. And sure, that’s a story. There’s nothing wrong with that story, but it’s certainly not the kind of story RWBY claims to want to tell.

[calif0rnia-lovers]

big boss.

1a/n: i don't always write smut driven plots, but when i do it's for daddy losa. set in s2 before the shit hit the fan. unedited might be some typos.

pairing: bishop losa x bratty!reader

warnings: 18+ rating: 💦

requested prompt: "What's wrong? I thought you liked teasing."

words: 2.4k

sum: bish has a sit down with the sons scheduled. it's the fifth night in a row that you've gone to bed without your husband. so you try your best to get him home early.

Bishop’s mind is split, torn into what feels like a million pieces. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t notice your arrival at the clubhouse.

You find him seated at the bar, fingers massaging his temple, his gaze fixated on his never-ending vibrating phone. For the majority of the day, you were responsible for the vibration.

He'd received a barrage of messages from you, all in response to the words he mumbled as he placed a kiss against your forehead this morning.

“I gonna be home late tonight. We’re sitting down at the table. You don’t have to wait up.”

Now, his phone is going off for club related matters.

“There’s my husband,” you smile as you sit his wrapped dinner on the bartop. Your lips press a kiss against his cheek as he reads an incoming message. “I almost forgot what he looks like. I brought your dinner.”

“Thanks,” he sighs.

“All these late nights,” you mumble against the warmth of his skin. “I had to check and make sure you weren’t meeting up with your girlfriend.”

Bishop's eyes roll, a chuckle leaving his lips. "Between you and the M.C., I wouldn't have the energy."

He doesn't object to your hands guiding his lips to yours. The kiss pushes the incoming messages out of his mind, his hands finding your waist. Guiding your body closer, he smiles as you leave a second kiss against his lips.

"I miss you."

The admission comes out soft against his lips. The kiss you leave behind this time tightens his grip, his lips chasing yours as you pull back.

"You too."

"Kinda hard to tell," you sigh, a smile finding your lips as Bishop presses a kiss against the warmth of your neck. "The only time I see you is over breakfast."

"Shit's been--"

"Crazy." You take a step back, slipping out of his grip. The dramatic roll of your eyes brings a smile to your husband's lips. "I know. So crazy, I can't even get in a quickie with my own husband."

Although he chuckles at your teasing, Bishop knows you're right. For the past week, he's gone before you can finish your morning coffee. Only to return when you're already asleep. It's not something he's proud of.

He's in the process of opening his mouth to apologize when you take a second step back.

Bishop’s brow arches, his eyes taking in your appearance--specifically the skirt you wear.

“You went shopping?”

Your eyes drop, your fingers flattening the fabric.

“I did, actually." You smile. You watch as his eyes travel the entire length of the grey pleats. "I stopped by the mall today. My husband hasn’t been around lately, so I had to find some way to keep myself busy.”

Shrugging off his jacket, you lay it across the bar. Taking a step back, you turn in a circle giving Bishop a full look at the mini skirt. By the time you come full circle you dawn a wide smile.

"I figured I try something new."

"It’s definitely...new."

"What?" You fix your lips into a pout as his gaze lifts. "You don’t like it? I was thinking of you when I got it."

Before your husband can string together another word, you turn to catch the eye of a passing Angel.

"What do you think, handsome?"

The question freezes the Mayan in his tracks.

The quest of finding another beer slipping through Angel's mind as he takes in your smile. "About what?"

"My new skirt."

Angel's mouth opens. Thankfully, his brain stalls as his gaze passes over the length of the skirt. His eyes linger on the length of your legs. The inability of his brain to string together a coherent sentence saving him from saying something stupid.

Heat rushes to his face as Angel clears his throat.

"I think you look nice, don't you Bish?" Angel manages as he reaches around you for a beer. His eyes avoid Bishop's as he grabs a second before quickly dismissing himself.

"Well," you smile. "At least somebody thinks I look nice."

"I don’t have time for this," Bishop admits knowing exactly where this will lead.

"What’s new?" you release a dramatic sigh as you step between his legs. "You never have time for me anymore."

"I have this meeting with the Sons--"

"Oh, is that today?" You ask, the heat of your touch seeping through the chest of his shirt. "I thought you said it was tomorrow night."

"Which is why I’d appreciate it if you put your jacket back on."

Although it doesn't drastically improve your appearance. The oversized jacket is enough to distract from the length--or lack thereof--of the skirt you wear.

"No."

It’s a word Bishop Losa rarely hears.

It’s also your favorite word to use against your husband.

“No?”

You shake your head, taking another step back putting a distance between the two of you.

"Then, wait for me at home where the entire club can't see your--"

“Nope,” you say allowing the end to pop, before turning on your heels. “I think I want to stay.”

You reach out, taking the cue stick from a passing Ezekiel.

“You have your meeting. I'll wait for you out here. I’ll just play some pool.” You smile as Bishop's jaw tightens. “Zeke here can keep me company. Right?"

The prospect's gaze lifts from the grey pleats of your skirt.

“Uh—yeah, I mean. I guess if that’s what you want—”

Ez clears his throat as he takes in your wide innocent smile. He glances in your husband's direction. The look in Bishop’s darkened gaze causes the prospect to quickly divert his eyes.

Ez's hand rubs against the back of his neck. “I mean, if it’s alright with Bishop--”

“He'll be fine. You don’t have to ask him for permission, Ez."

Ez quickly retrieves the second cue stick, suddenly focused on lining up a shot.

“Stop playing with the kid,” Bishop’s voice drops as he comes to a stop before you. “He’s my prospect, not your new toy.”

It doesn’t take a genius to understand where this is headed.

Your husband is well versed in your antics, as you are his. The firm squeeze of your hip is a silent warning. A warning that reemphasizes his previous statement

I don’t have time for this.

Between the upcoming meeting, your pouts over breakfast, and round-the-clock sassy texts, his patience is wearing thin.

“Or what, Obispo?” You huff, your weight resting against your cue stick. “You’ll spank me?”

The taunt is enough to lift Bishop’s gaze from the tip of the cigarette he lights. His brow arches as he catches sight of your playful eyes. The unimpressed look on your face earns you the tiniest reaction, the twitching of his lips as he pushes the smoke from his lungs.

“Because if that’s all, let me bend over and make it easy for you,” you laugh as you turn.

Bishop takes a step back as you lean forward, bending over the pool table. The drawn-out act of lining up your shot gives an up-close view of just how short the skirt really is.

His double-take at your arrival was highly warranted.

You can feel the heat of his darkened gaze as it travels along the length of your legs, your new position dragging his tongue across his lips. His eyes pass over your shoulder to the opening door, signaling the early arriving Sons. Releasing a huff, you straighten before turning to face Bishop.

“Put your jacket back on,” he says.

“Is that what you're bringing to the table tonight? I expected a little more intimidation from el Presidente.” Your finger trails down the leather of his kutte, your touch lingering on the worn patch. “What will the boys think if you can’t even handle an old lady? Thought they said you were the big boss.”

For a brief second, the sight of you looking up at him through your lashes, push his arriving brothers out of Bishop's mind. His hand finds the base of your throat, his thumb tipping your chin back so that your gaze meets his.

The look you find weakens your knees. It’s what you’re looking for, the sight of it pulling your lips towards his. A pout settles on your lips as Bishop leaves them cold. Instead, he pauses to place a kiss against your forehead.

“Behave.”

There is one cardinal rule your husband expects you to follow when the doors to Templo are closed.

Do not interrupt--unless it is life or death.

This is why Bishop stops midsentence when the doors slide open.

Bishop wishes he could say he's surprised, but he's not when he glances away from Hank to find you standing in the doorway.

“I just figured the boys might want a drink after making the drive here.”

Ez stands behind you, a case of beer in his hands. His face is visible over your shoulder. He hopes the telepathic message sent to your husband is received.

I told her no--or, I tried to.

One moment Ez was shaking his head and chuckling, "I don't think it's a good idea, you know how Bish gets--" the next, he was carrying a case of beer into the lion's den for you.

“We are the hosts after all,” you smile, not waiting for your husband’s permission.

Ez distributes his beers as fast as he can. You take your time, your husband's eyes following you with each passing second.

By the time you’ve reached the head of the table, there is one drink left to distribute.

“And something special for the boss.”

His eyes study the sweet, innocent smile on your lips as you place the shot of whiskey down alongside the gavel.

"Thanks, sweetheart."

All of the men throw in a word of appreciation. A mixture of "thank you" and "appreciate it" filling the air as you cross the room. Not a single man is foolish enough to glance up from the beer in their hands until they hear the door slide shut.

Hank is the first to file out. He has a mixture of humor and pure admiration on his face as he meets your gaze. It is a look you’ve both grown accustomed to over the years. The one that comes each time he sees you are bold enough to push his best friend's buttons. Which is entirely too often.

“He wants to see you,” he shares, his head shaking as you pass.

You find your husband in the same spot you left him fifteen minutes prior. Seated at the head of the table. Only his whiskey is gone, and he’s got a freshly lit cigarette between his lips. His eyes lift from the zippo in his hand as you pull the door shut.

“I’ve been summoned?” Pushing your weight off the door, you start your journey around the table. Your finger traces over the wood, your gaze lifting to his. "I take it the meeting went well. It didn’t last long."

"Thought you'd sound a little more excited now that it's over."

"Only if you got what you wanted," you respond coming to a stop alongside him.

"You got something you wanna show me?” He asks, tossing his lighter onto the table.

"What makes you say that?"

Instead of answering your question, he nods to the table.

"Bend over."

Your head shakes as you take a seat on the table before him. Your palms rest against the table, your left foot settling on his armrest. A wave of heat covers you from head to toe as Bishop's gaze travels the length of your leg.

A smile finds your lips as his touch ghosts the curve of your calf.

The response is premature. Bishop takes a drag of his cigarette before repeating his previous demand.

"Bend over."

You heed his order, a smile finding your lips as the legs of his chair drag across the floor. The heat of his palm drags the length of your outer thigh, a smile finding his lips as he puts out his cigarette.

"Tell me," he asks, his touch drifting between your thighs. "What couldn't you wait, till I got home, to show me?"

Your teeth tug at your bottom lip as his thumb teasingly pass over the lace covering your clit.

"It's gotta be beautiful," he continues, his touch sending shockwaves through your body as he traces the pattern of the fabric. "The way you were trying to show it off in front of the whole fucking club."

"Why don't you see for yourself?" You breathe, your hips shifting to increase the pressure of his touch.

The red fabric brings a grin to your husband's lip. It is a color he can never resist when paired against your skin.

"Do you like it?"

Bishop doesn't rush to answer your question. Each roll of his thumb meticulous, as he unzips his jeans.

"I do," he places a soft kiss against your shoulder.

Your body tenses in anticipation as the head of his cock teases your slick folds. A soft whimper fills the air as he denies you what you want. Instead of pushing inside, he allows his tip to rub the length of your folds. He repeats the process until your mind has lost count, the trembling of your thighs arching his brow. As you shift your hips back, he pulls a grunt of frustration from your lips.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he chuckles, his grip presses against your spine pinning you in place. "Hm? I thought you liked teasing...this isn't a reward, you don't get to pick how you get it. "

He slides into you in one fluid motion. Bishop's thrusts are not as sweet as your pet name. They are deliberate, pushing into you at a fast and harsh pace. His hips snap into you with a relentless force, his grip bruising your skin.

The edge of the table is the only anchor you're able to find as your body succumbs to the pleasure only he can bring. It doesn't take long for the muscles of your body to tense.

"You wanna cum, sweetheart?" he grunts, his words rasping with every thrust.

“Yes--fuck, Bish,” you manage. The words pass breathlessly, your mind struggling to string together a coherent plea. “Please--”

The pleas spilling from your lips are lost to a gasp as he pulls out of you.

“Since you’ve been trying to get me there all day,” he breathes. “You can wait till you get home.”

Your husband’s chuckle drowns out your whimpered protest. He catches your wrist as you attempt to finish where he’s left off, pinning it flat against the table.

“You don’t have time for that,” he assures you, the wave of pleasure he’s built already slowly beginning to ebb away. “You got something else you need to do first.”

He releases your wrist, his hands moving to pull your skirt back into place. The moment he’s finished, Bishop steps back allowing you to stand.

Turning to face him, you watch as he settles back into his chair. The smile on Bishop's lips morphs into a grin, his playful gaze watching you bite your lip. The desire to disobey his demand only seems to increase with each slowly passing second. The shifting of your weight pulls a chuckle from his lips.

“For making me cut my meeting short,” his head cocks to the side. His eyes pass over your heaving chest before he smiles. “I think that pretty mouth of yours owes me fifteen minutes.”

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[xjoonchildx]

guarded | jhs x reader | chapter one: fan mail

summary: you’ve tried to separate yourself from your infamous crime family, but a new case has your carefully-constructed world crashing down around you.  now you have to figure out how to heal old wounds and handle the new man who enters your orbit.

pairing: hoseok x reader

genre: mafia AU, E2L, slow burn, tsundere, eventual smut

rating: 18+

word count: 2.8K

Chapter 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | EPILOGUE

***************************

You stare at the words for a moment before folding the paper in half and slipping it back into the envelope you pulled it from.  

Honestly?  

It’s not the first time you’ve gotten a threat. It happens from time to time in this line of work.

But this note plucks a chord of anxiety inside of you. Must be the eleven missed calls you suspect go hand-in-hand with your little love letter. Your phone hasn’t stopped buzzing for a half-hour now.

“Are you okay?”

Hyejin’s voice filters through your thoughts. She’s taken stock of the strange look that crosses your face in the split-second before you school your features back into a mask of calm.

She’s observant like that.

“Oh yeah, it’s nothing,” you say, shaking your head.  “Just some fan mail.”  

Your phone buzzes against the papers on your desk -- again -- and Hyejin raises an eyebrow.

Make that twelve.

“Tell you what,” she says, standing to stretch her legs. “I’m ready to go blind from reading these files and I could use an Americano.  You want one?”

“Actually yes,” you exhale.  “That’s exactly what I need. You’re a lifesaver.”

She gives you one last are you sure you don’t need to tell me anything? look before opening the door to your office.  You reassure her with a soft smile but the second the door to your office closes, you blow out one long, heavy breath and reach for your phone.

you: what the hell? [ 3:15 PM ]

namjoon: this can’t wait [ 3:15 PM ]

you: clearly [ 3:16 PM ]

namjoon: come in ASAP [ 3:16 PM ]

You groan.

Namjoon knows you avoid that place at all costs.

It’s not a good look for you to be seen there -- and so as a rule -- you’re not.  Your brother is usually understanding about your stance on the matter. But it’s not like him to push so there’s probably a damned good reason why he’s summoning you to his office like some wayward employee.

You glance back at the stack of files on your desk, riddled with notes and highlights.  Even after a morning spent tag-teaming with Hyejin, there’s still a shitload of work to be done. But then you look back at that envelope sitting on your desk and pick up your phone again.

you: give me thirty minutes [ 3:19 PM ]

namjoon: okay [ 3:19 PM ]

Paperwork is going to have to wait.

*****************************

You’re not a moron.  

You know what people say about your family, what they say about you.

You know what they whisper when you show up to charity galas and fundraising dinners. You know what they murmur the second their false smiles fall and you turn your back. They say that the money that paid for your prep schools and top-notch legal education is blood money; paid for by one of Seoul’s oldest and most powerful crime networks.  They say that you took a job prosecuting crime to assuage for your family’s sins.

They’re not wrong.

Your father -- your cruel, unsophisticated father -- shelled out top dollar to put you in fancy schools and fancy clothes and fancy riding lessons.  He threw elaborate birthday parties where he showered you with extravagant gifts in front of guests who were only there to celebrate because they feared turning down the invitation.

So others saw your material good fortune and mistook you for a pampered mafia princess. None of them had to come home every day to the stench of death and destruction. None of them had to endure the gossip and the looks and the cold shoulders.

That was a burden you shared with only one other person.

You and Namjoon huddled together during your lavish and turbulent childhood, leaning on one another for strength because no one else understood. He was the only safe harbor you had in the storm you both lived every day.

And then you left.

You walked away from your father and the Gajog and crossed the country to study law.  Far from the vicious gossip and prying eyes and violent drama that always awaited you in Seoul.  You walked away and decided that you weren’t going to live that life anymore.  

But you also walked away from Namjoon.

Now it’s a cold comfort, seeing your brother seated so naturally at the throne of power your father vacated when he died.  The old-school brute-force organization your father ran for decades is a thing of the past.  In its place, a well-oiled, highly-organized machine -- making far more money and far fewer mistakes.  

Namjoon single-handedly pulled the crime syndicate into a new era, dusted it off and dressed it up.  He legitimized parts of the business, took up residence in one of the city’s most expensive buildings, and basically dared law enforcement to come get him.

They still haven’t.

And there isn’t a day that Namjoon doesn’t cross your mind.  

There isn’t a day that you don’t pray that the menace that existed inside your father never takes root inside of your brother.  You pray that he can shoulder the burden of his responsibilities without rotting from the inside out.  

If anyone can, you tell yourself, it’s him.

**********************

Namjoon cuts an imposing figure behind his grandiose wooden desk.

He’s seated when his assistant first opens the door to his secure private office, but as soon as you follow her inside he makes to stand.

He looks so tall now, you think -- as though it’s been years since you’ve seen him.  

In reality, it’s only been a few months since your last brief encounter, but it’s still hard sometimes to recognize the handsome, polished man in front of you as the kid you grew up with. You’re hit with a pang of regret that it’s been so long since you’ve seen one another face-to-face.

Two men stand guard on either side of Namjoon’s desk, which doesn’t surprise you. Your brother is always surrounded by guards these days.  

The only one you recognize is Min Yoongi, who gives a slight bow in your direction as you cross the broad expanse of the office.  You’re certain you’ve never seen the second man, who stands eerily still on your brother’s other side.  You can feel the stranger’s stare from a distance and avert your eyes.

You bow to Namjoon and take a seat in the plush chair facing his desk.  A fond look passes over his features but when he opens his mouth to speak his tone is businesslike, serious.

“I know you don’t like coming in here,” he begins carefully, “and so I have to apologize for asking you to make an exception.  I hope you understand this can’t be helped.”

“Yes, of course,” you say softly. “Sorry it took me a while.  I’m buried with a new case.”

Namjoon nods.

“That case is the reason why we’ve run into a bit of trouble in the past few days,” he admits. “Some of our friends across town are pretty upset about it.  Apparently very agitated and hoping to leverage the fact that you’ve been assigned to this case to their advantage.”

“I see,” you murmur.

You knew the men you’d been assigned to build a weapons trafficking case against were part of a rival organization -- but on paper they were low-level foot soldiers, considered expendable in a business like theirs.  Why the Ssijog were so worried about losing a couple of nobodies from their ranks was a bit puzzling.

“I guess that explains this,” you say, reaching into your bag for the letter delivered to your office.  

You hand it to Namjoon and he reads the words with a tight expression before turning it over to the man you don’t recognize.  It’s a relief when the stranger’s focus moves away from you and onto that paper. You take the opportunity to get a closer look at him.

The first word that comes to mind is sharp.

Everything about the man is sharp -- from his meticulously tailored suit to his severe jawline to the angles of his body.  Intense dark eyes set in honey gold skin and black hair carefully styled off of his face. You’re caught staring when his eyes snap up from the paper and back to you.

You clear your throat, gaze darting back to your brother.

“They want you to make this go away.”

You sigh.

“I can’t do that. I don’t have that kind of authority. And besides, it would attract all the wrong kinds of attention to me and -- “ you pause, choose your next words carefully, “ -- to my ties to this organization.”

Namjoon concedes your point with a slow bob of his head.

“Right.  So we have a problem,” he admits.  “Because the message we’re getting is that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want.  And it’s been made quite clear to me that hurting you is not off the table.”

You take in a deep breath.

“This is Jung Hoseok,” Namjoon says after a short silence, motioning to the stranger at his side. You straighten when the man acknowledges you with a barely-there bow.  

“I’ve assigned him to your detail.”

“Detail,” you repeat slowly.  “Like a bodyguard.”

“Exactly like that.”

“Namjoon, I -- “ you look away from the man to turn your attention back to your brother,  “-- I can’t have one of your guys following me around.  People are going to talk.”

“Amsaja,” he sighs, “They talk anyway.”

You bristle at his use of your childhood nickname.  

You know it’s meant as an endearment but it still feels infantilizing in front of his men -- one of whom hasn’t seen you in years, one of whom knows nothing about you at all.  You’re a grown woman, a successful prosecutor, and more than just Kim Namjoon’s little sister.

“Joon -- “

There is annoyance behind the way you fire off his name and one of your brother’s eyebrows lifts in warning.  A silent reminder that in this room, in this building, in this realm, he is the absolute authority.  You swallow back the argument on the tip of your tongue.

“Namjoon,” you start again, this time with a restrained calm.  “Please. Let’s have this conversation in private.”

He drums his fingers across the surface of his wooden desk before nodding his agreement and raising a hand to motion his guards out the door.  You wait until both men are gone and the heavy door to Namjoon’s office clicks shut to speak again.

“You’re putting me in a terrible position here,” you exhale. “I’ve worked so hard to -- distance myself.  I can’t walk around with a reminder of my family history at my heels.”

Your brother stands from his seat and walks to an ornate sideboard, pours liquor from a heavy crystal decanter into a highball glass.  He takes a slow drink before speaking.

“You are worried about your image; I’m worried about your safety.  Those two concerns are not equal. Not to me.”

Your face heats at the kernel of truth in your brother’s assessment.  

Certainly, it’s about how it looks, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about the life you’ve worked so hard to build away from the drama surrounding your family name.  It’s about a future that depends on the burial of your past.

Namjoon leans against his heavy wooden desk, arms crossed.

“You should know me by now,” he continues.  “If I thought these were empty words, I wouldn’t have bothered you with them.”

“I know that,” you admit quietly.  Doesn’t make the pill any easier to swallow, though.

“Hoseok is under orders to stay with you at all times. Obviously, he won’t be physically at your side while you’re working, but he will be close by.  And he will be staying at your apartment for the time being.”

You blink.  “In my apartment?”

A flash of irritation crosses your brother’s face. “Yes, in your apartment.  I’m privy to information you don’t have.”  He takes a long drink from the highball glass.  “It’s necessary until we have this situation under control.”

“I don’t know this man,” you argue, and that eyebrow lifts again at the rising heat in your tone. “Can’t you give me Yoongi or Seokjin or someone else?”

“No.”

“Thanks for considering that, Joon.”

You don’t even bother to hide your displeasure now, climbing out of the plush chair and walking over to the massive window that makes up the back wall of your brother’s office. You look down at the street. From this height, the cars below look like toys and the people look like ants.  

Namjoon joins you in front of the window, drink in hand.

“I don’t want to fight with you, I want to protect you. Jung Hoseok has worked for me three years now and he spent many more years serving in the military.  He is the man I want for this assignment and I need you to trust me on that, too.”

You say nothing, staring out the window and feeling suddenly exhausted.  You hate everything about today -- the letter, the case, this arrangement you now have to endure.  You hate that this is the first real conversation you’ve had with your brother in months and you’re locking horns.  

“Okay,” you whisper after a while, reluctant to let the tension escalate. Your brother has asked so little of you since you severed ties with the Gajog -- and effectively, with him.  You swallow past the taste of guilt when you turn to look him in the eye.

“I’ll play ball, Jaegyueo.”

Your brother seems to soften when you use his childhood nickname in return, shoulders relaxing as he takes another sip from the highball and looks out over the city he basically runs.  

“Thank you, Amsaja.”

*************************

Hoseok

“Has she seen this?”

Hoseok stares down at the glossy photograph in his hands.  

There’s little to be gleaned from the details in the picture.  There are no shadows, no reflections, no personal items to give away any clues as to who took it or when.

You are asleep, one bare shoulder peeking out from underneath your plush bedding -- your hair spilling out onto your pillow. You appear blissfully unaware of the danger standing just a few feet away.

“Hell no,” Namjoon exhales.  “And I would like to keep it that way. She’d probably never sleep again if she saw that shit.”

Hoseok hands the photograph back.

“I need the two of you to figure out who got into her apartment.  And then I need you to bring him here.”

Namjoon doesn’t finish that train of thought -- he doesn’t have to.  Hoseok and Yoongi hear clearly everything he hasn’t said.  

“We’ll find him,” Yoongi vows, and Hoseok nods his agreement.  “It’s gonna be handled.”

Namjoon scrubs a hand down his jaw, eyes still glued to the picture on his desk.

He’s an uncharacteristically even-tempered boss, particularly in this line of work.  Seeing him this unnerved is unnerving to Hoseok, who’s seen him handle countless shitty situations with an unnatural calm.

“She’s my sister,” Namjoon says quietly.  “I don’t expect any of you to understand our dynamic, but I need you to know that her safety is my top priority.”

“Understood,” Hoseok murmurs and in that moment, the heavy door to the office opens wide. Namjoon shoves the photograph into his desk drawer.  

Hoseok studies you as you trail Namjoon’s assistant across the length of this massive office.

The first word that comes to mind is small.

You’re much smaller than Hoseok imagined you’d be, basing that assumption almost entirely on Namjoon’s tall and solid frame.  Physically, you are nearly the opposite of your brother, delicate features set in smooth skin, any appearance of height owed directly to the high-heeled shoes you’ve carefully matched to your business suit.  

Hoseok notes that you have the same stubborn set to your jaw, though -- a defense mechanism that slips momentarily when you lock eyes with your brother.  He catches the brief flash of sadness in your face before you manage it away.

In the years he’s been with the Gajog, he’s only heard your name a handful of times --  almost always followed by hushed exchanges and pained expressions.  Never once has anyone breathed your name in front of Namjoon, though.  That appears to be an invisible line everyone understands not to cross.

But now you’re here, in the flesh. One piece of the puzzle revealed.

Hoseok watches your exchange with Namjoon with curiosity. It’s not the easy back-and-forth one would expect to see between a pair of siblings -- but there is an underlying affection between the two of you. A quiet respect.

Amsaja, Namjoon had called you.  Lioness.

Hoseok doesn’t see a lioness when he looks at you, though.  

He sees a rich girl desperate to prove how much better she is than her own flesh and blood.  He sees a social climber so eager to make a name for herself in this city that she walked away from her own brother to make it happen.  

This is the moment that Hoseok decides that you’re not the kind of person he could ever respect.

Because unlike you, he would never put ambition above loyalty.

Never.

**********************

tag list:

@yoongbug @brilliantlybasicb @lemonjoonah @illnevertrustmyselfagain​@sunkissed75 @taetaewonderland @shadowhale​

[senju-sekhmet]

Leporina venatio

leporina venatio (latin): rabbit hunt

Summary: You’ve cleaned it. You’ve groomed it. You’ve run your fingers through it - time to get around to wear it. Tobirama’s fur collar has got to be the number one prize - except he’d never actually let you adorn it. You’ll just have to help yourself to it a little bit differently, no? I COULDN’T RESIST... In response to the lovely headcanons @cafeinthemoon! Go check them out!

Warnings: the fact I really suck at comedy? And slightly suggestive tones in the end. SFW, though, don’t worry!

~3.200k words Read on AO3!

He opened his eyes lazily. The sun was already filtering warmly through the window and with a content sigh he reached over to - Empty. Tobirama turned over to find your side of the bed vacant - cold, even. He huffed. Now he couldn’t deny being slightly miffed that you’d rather rise on your own than spend a few precious moments with him, awake, in bed - as you used to, on your off-duty days; but being the man he was, there must be a reason behind all this. Maybe you had prepared breakfast, received an urgent message… a multitude of logical reasons were plausible.

He still was annoyed. Those were your shared off days, after all. Precious and few inbetween. With a shake of his head and sigh he rose to get dressed in his dark casual attire. His scarlet gaze swept the room for any clues regarding your departure. At the very least he expected you to leave some kind of message behind for him to find - if you really did leave without any hint at all? However he came up short. Leaving the bedroom and entering the narrow hall, he found there was no smell of fresh food being cooked either, which ruled out the breakfast option. Tobirama’s heart sank a little. So much for a calm day off, then.

Quietly, as a last resort he tentatively called out - “Y/n?”

No answer. Closing his eyes momentarily he sent out a weak pulse of chakra and tuned into his sensor skills to see if you were anywhere nearby, but none of the signatures belonged to you. Opening his eyes again, he stemmed his palms to his hips and frowned deeply. Had you actually left just like that?

Suddenly, his gaze widened as a more sinister thought occurred to him.

Had something happened to you?

His frown deepened. Should he check the hospital - should he -

Then he noticed it. The door of your shared armoury - really, the small room in which you both kept your weapons, armor and other items for combat and missions was slightly agape. His eyes narrowed to tiny slits. That door was always closed. He stalked over cautiously, nudged the door open - then he saw it. All the puzzle pieces fell into place immediately.

His ultramarine battle gear, polished. Shining.

His white fur collar - missing.

“Why, you…”, he muttered, no, snarled. For a moment the world was red and hot ire burned inside of him - then he gazed through the window, huffing.

He whipped around on his heels and stalked out of the house. Already, he channeled his chakra to let his sensor skills fan out in search of you.

You wanted to hide from him, an extremely skilled sensor?

Game on.

_________

Your neck and shoulders were comfortably warm. It was spring, so the temperatures were rising indeed, but not quite there yet - though it did make you wonder how Tobirama handled this in summer. Occasionally you’d tilt your head to the side to nuzzle into the warmth of the white fur that adorned your shoulders, inhaling the scent of your husband.

With a snicker, you thought about how he’d wake up to you - and his precious floof - missing.

Honestly, this was a godly prank, or so you’d like to think. Waltzing through Konoha, wearing what obvious was Tobirama’s trademark piece of attire was bound to turn a few select heads - and it did. You even happened to meet Madara - who had regarded you with a fine smirk. He understood immediately, of course - the fact Tobirama wouldn’t part willingly with this and was somewhere else, royally pissed off.

“Does he know yet?”, the Uchiha clan leader mused darkly, a glint to his obsidian eyes.

You blinked innocently, putting a slender finger to pursed lips. “Do you hear him yelling and ripping it off me?”

He merely gave a low laugh and waved goodbye, going on his merry way.

As you did yourself. You weren’t stupid, of course. Stealing Tobirama’s fur collar was one thing. Hiding with it for a prolonged amount of time was another - by now he’d be awake, have figured everything out and probably even be using shadow clones to look for you.

His sensor skills were an extremely unfair advantage in this game.

Which was another reason you kept to the broad public - the more chakra signatures were around you, the more difficult it’d be for him to discern yours. Really, it’d just buy you a little bit more time - and dignity. Tobirama wouldn’t make a scene to recover his most prized possession in front of the entire village.

You hoped, at least.

It was just in front of a flower shop when you spotted him - his silvery hair would always stand out, just like the three red facial markings he used paint on. He was down the road, way off; however his stare might as well have been a kunai flying in your direction for how enraged it was.

You gave a cheeky grin, waved at him and entered the shop without looking back to see his face become contorted by a furious scowl.

Inside the shop were a handful of customers and the keeper of course, who you approached politely. “Hello, might I take a look around? I’m looking for a little surprise for my husband and your display had me enraptured, really.” Your tone was honey-sweet, you almost felt guilty knowing what would follow in here.

The man blinked, blushing a little. “O-oh, sure, go ahead,” waving you towards his sortiment with a bright smile.

You made a mental note to buy some flowers from this poor fellow later.

____

Tobirama couldn’t believe his own eyes.

Not only had he located you amidst the bustling streets - it was a quite busy morning - but every single aspect of the situation fuelled his fury more. Obviously - obviously - you had been mingling in an effort to make tracking you down with his sensor skills more difficult (How pathetic - he’d know your chakra’s signature between a thousand, always), but you actually also had the gall to stare him in the eye once he found you, grin at him and, by all that is holy, waltz away.

With his fur collar on.

He wasn’t a conceited man nor did he care for appearances, but frankly a part of him quite liked the idea of you wearing it (for a short time, anyway) - your scent on it, the idea of it being warm by your body’s warmth -

But this was his fur collar! And he hadn’t given you permission to saunter around with it in public like some - some - look-alike? Furiously he stalked over to the shop you had just entered, paying no attention to what was being sold there exactly. People made way for him simply for how he walked - likely his expression helped with that bit too - but he didn’t care. This game was over, now.

Inside, his scarlet gaze locks with yours immediately and his eyes narrow to tiny slits. “Y/n,” he sternly calls as though his voice was a weapon - a threat he’d make good on.

The shop’s owner turned his head, mouth slightly agape when recognition settled into his expression.

You weren’t fazed the slightest, of course. That grin of yours was as cheeky as ever and had he been slightly more prepared - had this not been about his fur collar - maybe, maybe he’d have found it funny. A little bit.

But as it was, he didn't. Not the slightest. Nope.

“Tobirama!”, you waved, “There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you before, dear, I’m glad you found me now.”

He was sure at this point his face became as red as three red streaks of paint that adorned it. The shop owner ducked behind his counter a little. “It wasn’t all that difficult, Y/n, with that outfit you’re brandishing right now, you know.” The tone of his voice was subzero, but quiet. He took a few measured steps towards you.

Your smile didn’t falter the slightest. “It’s lovely, isn’t it?” You tilted your head slightly to rub your cheek over the fluffy white fur, closing your eyes to inhale the scent again.

Tobirama took a sharp breath and his eyes widened slightly as that motion alone did something else to him. His fists balled though. “Shall we, then? We got a lot more to do today.” He extended his hand for you to take, taking another measured step towards you. If you weren’t going to take his hand, he’d simply take your arm or make body contact somehow else to use his hiraishin seal and end this prank.

Unfortunately - of course - you were too smart for that. Your loving ministrations to the floof ceased immediately as an attentive eye caught his hand nearing you; your lips formed a wicked smile. “Sure - go ahead, Tobi. I’ll be right along, I promised Mito to stop by and - oh, I needed to buy something else, too.”

Tobirama nostrils flared and his gaze narrowed to tiny slits. Momentarily his jaws clenched so hard it hurt, but he raised his chin as he identified this for what this was. Defiance. And the proverbial gauntlet being thrown down again. “Then let’s go together, shall we?” He raised his hand to casually lay it on your shoulder as he stood by your side - as wife and husband would -

But you pranced to the side nimbly and towards the door before he could do so much as lay a finger on you or get within arm’s reach. “Wonderful! This will be fun. I’ll be back later, mister, your flowers are delightful!”, waving the shop owner goodbye, you already were out of the shop.

Tobirama’s hand dropped to his side, his hands balled into fists again. Darkly he stared after you. So this is how we’re going to do this. Not sparing the shop owner a second glance he was out before you could slip out of his sight again.

________

With no small amount of satisfaction you were sauntering down the main street of Konoha again, ignoring the ominous presence that was following you. The look on Tobirama’s face had been priceless. Unfortunately you had a problem now: he literally only needed to graze your skin now to whisk you away to your shared home.

Then the un-fun part of this prank would begin. You’d have to find a way to pacify him before that because right now, you knew he was royally pissed only.

Still. It was fun to watch, once in a while. And you really loved this lovely floof.

His low timbre reached your ears again, nearer than you expected. Already, you sped up your playful gait, throwing a glance over your shoulder. “Enjoying yourself?” He inquired darkly.

If looks could kill, you might drop dead now. There were honest shadows cast over his face from how enraged he was. But - and this was most important - he was far enough away still. You smiled cheekily again. “Quite a lot.”

His voice became chilly again. “You realise this is no match for my hiraishin?”

You giggled. “Yeah, I’d be in real trouble if you ever used it.” To accentuate your statement, you picked up your pace a little bit more. By now you were quite close to running.

Tobirama gave a low growl in response and answered by picking up his speed, too. The way the two of you walked must look comical by now. Not like you cared - and Tobirama seemed fixated on his goal now.

Truth be told, you needed a plan. Another shop would just strain his patience more - and that trick was old. Reaching a familiar destination - like Hashirama’s house - was dangerous. Tobirama might unleash his fury there or simply grab you and really haul you away. Briefly you considered seeking out Madara - but the fun would stop right there, or the probability of an actual incident was too high.

That left you with one option.

Within the blink of an eye, you bolted into a sidealley.

_______

Tobirama skidded to a halt for just a moment as you ran - right down into the narrow alley to your right. Snarling, he began the pursuit - gloves off now. If you actually thought you could outpace the fastest shinobi alive, you had another thing coming.

Though you weren’t exactly holding back either - nor were you a sluggish person. Your footwork had always been nimble and in the small streets it was possible to zigzag past narrow corners, under clothes lines and down even more narrow alleys that barely deserved the name.

He had to be careful. This was not some panicked move, this had been a calculated decision of yours. Quite possibly you had more planned. His best option remained to stay as close as he could - no, get close enough to touch you and teleport home.

His increasing fury didn’t help maintain focus, though. All he did see was his white fur collar trail in front of him and away, alongside the endlessly amused laughter of his wife.

Were he not so frustrated, he might find the challenge entertaining. Enjoyable. Perhaps he did, right now.

Nonsense, this was ridiculous! He had better things to do than running after you like some schoolboy!

Just as you turned around yet another corner he lunged forward for you to narrowly miss his grabbing hand - so narrow he could still feel the air draft of your movement as you had to dance to the side in order to avoid capture.

“Ahaha!”, you giggled, “It seems you got to be faster, dear husband!” - and with a literal twirl you were on your merry way again.

That did it.

_______

After your very narrow escape, you had turned yet another corner - quite frankly you were surprised Tobirama hadn’t shouted anything back. There are no people in these alleys; and by now you expected him to be frothing by the mouth or something. Instead he actually lost a few meters on you - hah.

Then you frowned.

That was quaint, actually. Had he stopped for some reason? You spurred yourself to greater speeds but nonetheless you couldn’t deny the tiny shiver down your spine. Your husband was an extremely intelligent man and the fact he had hatched some plan that had required him to stand still even for just a second - that didn’t sit well with you.

You had to change your tactic, again.

But quite frankly you were running out of options at this point. A disguise was out of question due to his sensor capabilities - back on the main road, maybe?

You took another quick turn-

Only to be slammed into the ground by a tall, silver-haired man. With a yelp, you rolled forward to ease the incoming fall as you lost all balance due to your speed, but your assailant was quick as well - before you could gain your footing again, he used the weight of his body to tackle you. You managed to roll on your back to identify the attacker as - who else could it be - Tobirama.

“How?!”, you breathed, incredulously, but already, you raised your legs to kick out viciously to shake him off; though he was faster.

With a low huff he seized your wrists simply and dragged you up with him - damn it all. This was as good as over now. After a short scuffle he had wrestled your arms behind your back and turned you around to face down the alley, where the answer was coming from.

Another Tobirama was striding down towards you. He clapped his hands, once twice, lazily. The smirk in his voice was unmistakable. “Well done. Shall we go home, dear?”

You struggled still against the shadow clone that held your arms wrenched behind your back, scrunching your nose and huffing. “That was low, Tobi. I thought we were having a fair chase here,” you moped.

He finally stood in before you, arms crossed in front of his chest. His eyebrows rose lazily. “I was chasing you. Apologies for not reading the rules, you didn’t leave any behind.” He sounded entirely unimpressed now, but there was a certain glint in his scarlet gaze as he stared his quarry - you - down. You were unsure if it was fury or plain annoyance.

Your lips formed a pout. “At least make your clone disappear now. You won.”

He didn’t move an inch. In fact, his clone reinforced his grip, earning him indignant “Hey!” from you. Tobirama only blinked, gaze never leaving you. “Do you think I’m stupid? You’re going to bolt the moment I release you.”

You click your tongue in feigned hurt. “Ouch? Please, have some faith, husband. I lost a fair chase, I’m a good sport.”

“You just called it unfair, my dear.” He cocked an eyebrow, unimpressed.

You just stared at him for another moment after he had called your rather obvious bluff. Finally, you bit your lower lip and attempted a little bit of a smirk again. “Come on, Tobi. You did enjoy yourself a little.” He still didn’t move an inch. His intense gaze simply kept mustering you, only narrowing ever so slightly. “We’re going home now.”

Instantly reality twisted and a familiar lurch later you were in your bedroom, Tobirama right in front of you. The clone was gone - he must’ve released it the moment it had teleported you. In a swift motion he backed you up closer to the nearest wall, closer and closer - until you felt your back make contact with the wall. Defiantly, you crossed your arms in front of your chest.

“Well, go ahead then. Take the floof back.” At the very least, you were surprised he hadn’t been shouting or something. Remembering his face when he initially had spotted you, you’d been rather sure you were in for something.

Right now? Right now the scarlet gaze of his was near liquid, ablaze but narrow nonetheless. His jaw was working and slowly, he put a hand to the wall next to your head. “Hm,” he gave a low hum that rolled right off his tongue.

You raised an eyebrow. Was he going to prank you now? “If you’re waiting for me to give it back, no can do. I’m rather attached to this. Literally.” You smirked again, confidently, turning your head slightly to nuzzle the soft fur again for a moment.

From the corner of your eye you saw his throat move as he swallowed heavily, his eyes widening slightly. He was staring you down like a hawk now. Silence stretched for a few moments before - “Maybe I quite enjoy the sights right now, actually.” His baritone voice had taken on a sultry tone now and his free hand moved up to first ruffle through his fur, then trail up your neck and cup your cheek tenderly.

Your eyebrows climbed up. So that was what that look had been about. You leaned into his touch a little and couldn’t help but smile gently, looking up at him. Right then you wanted to lose yourself in that intense gaze of his. “Then ... I’ll wear it a bit longer?” you murmured headily, quietly.

He took another small step closer until his body almost touched yours, his fresh breath hitting your face as he seemed to ponder the notion for a moment. The hand next to your face slipped down to linger between the soft fur and your neck alike, his thumb stroking your skin gently. For a moment all he did was caressing you, pinning you with gaze; no marvelling you.

“A tiny bit…”, he finally murmured, then a fine smirk formed - and his voice turned stern. “But you’re not going to leave this house. With my collar on. Ever again.”

You rolled your eyes.

This was still Tobirama, after all.

[fyeah-bangtan7]

Jin: “I just hope anyone who likes me is happy”

When you’re trying to speak candidly with someone, it’s not always easy to be pleasant and considerate at the same time. Jin is all those things. “Butter” is staying on top of the Billboard Hot 100. How does it feel? Jin: I can’t really get a feel for what kind of response it’s getting since I can only go to and from work right now. Since all the awards shows are done remotely/have moved online, too, we can’t accept any awards in person or feel the vibe in person or anything. And I don’t use the Internet much, really. Consequently, I ended up feeling less pressure and I could enjoy the promotional period itself a little better. I’m just glad we’re doing well in the meantime.

In your last interview with Weverse Magazine, you talked about the pressure you felt after “Dynamite” topped the Billboard Hot 100, but it seems like you’re mostly over that. Jin: You could say that I cleared my mind, or that I worked through some things. I’m pretty sure I am doing better than then. I’m keeping a pretty regular routine now that I’m getting accustomed to commuting life, even though my schedule is sometimes a bit erratic. When I had to keep working without a single day off, I was sometimes really tired because I had things of my own to do after work before going to bed, but now after cycling through this routine for a while I’m a little healthier and I’m getting a little more sleep, too.

Before “Butter” came out, you released a solo song, “Abyss.” You were very forthcoming about the psychological difficulties you revealed in the lyrics and what you wrote about the song. What effect did releasing “Abyss” have on you? Jin: I felt a kind of relief. I want my fans to picture me as being happy and I don’t actually want them to know that I feel that way, but now and then I feel the need to talk about what’s inside me. It’s been a few years since I expressed it in a song or explained anything about it so I feel a tiny bit relieved.

Part of the lyrics say, “I want to know more about you today.” That overlaps with the line, “I hold my breath and enter my ocean,” to make a song that’s like you’re meeting your own inner self. Jin: Even I don’t know myself very well, and I was also depressed at the time, and that’s how I chose to face that part of myself. I never had a chance to meet myself, and I just feel like I was submerged in my own ocean and came back up to walk on the beach.

It’s not a perfect solution, but just the act itself of trying to go deep into the place with the answer appears to have had a positive influence on you. Jin: I’m trying. I thought that sort of exercise was right for me, but if this doesn’t resolve anything, I’ll try something else, and then something else. If I’m having a hard time, I can ask the label for some time off to do something else. I feel like just being able to do that, even, is a little bit helpful itself.

Is your style of singing in that song related to the message you wanted to convey? You tried to reveal the problems you had in a frank manner and solve them in some way, and the song disclosed your emotions as straightforwardly as the lyrics did. Jin: I handled the overall direction and composition of the song with Kye Bumzoo, one of the producers, and Pdogg, the other producer, directed while I recorded the vocals. We decided I would just go with my gut and not try to make it sound pretty or anything. That goes for the lyrics, too. I prefer songs that convey emotion in a calm, straightforward manner, both when I sing and when I’m listening to music.

Then what about “Butter”? Although it’s also straightforward like “Abyss,” the feelings it expresses are more pleasant. Jin: Seriously, sometimes I think how great it’d be if I could sing this kind of song exclusively—other than the chorus. (laughs) I mean, every song we sing is so high-pitched. If you take out the chorus of this song, I thought I could do this song live pretty comfortably, no matter how hard the dance moves are.

You sing the “Butter” chorus in a light, high pitch. You must have given a lot of thought about how to express yourself for that part. Jin: I felt pressure because the notes in the chorus are particularly high, so I put all my power into singing it, but I actually ended up putting too much power into my vocals, so I kept thinking I have to ease up and chill. When we were doing the first performance in particular, I forgot all of that and put power behind my vocals. I get nervous for every performance, but some make me especially nervous. I feel it sometimes whenever I do those performances. Inside I’m like, Right—Seokjin, you said you would ease up, remember? Anyway, it’s also nice that I get to show off a lot in “Butter.” You know I’m handsome, right? (laughs) It makes me happy that I can show off my handsome face to my heart’s content and show you everything I’m capable of. I wanted to show all of this off in a performance as quickly as possible.

“Butter” opens with you making gestures with your hands while looking cheerfully into the camera. I imagine you had a lot of fun preparing for the performance. Jin: Practice is honestly a burden, though. Usually when we practice, I’m slow at learning the moves. So I’m not very good at it. [And] when I practiced with [performance director Son] Sung Deuk, he was really worried at first. This is tough—can he pull it off? He worried a lot, right up until we got up for our first performance, but when he saw me again after two or three weeks of doing “Butter,” he said to me, Whoa, is this Seokjin, the guy getting all that hot feedback lately? (laughs) He said I was dancing great. At first I hadn’t seen the response, so I asked him if he was teasing me, but he said, “No, everybody’s saying you’re dancing great.” If that’s really true, it’s all thanks to him. (laughs)

In the “ARMY Corner Store” video uploaded to YouTube for FESTA 2021 in celebration of the eighth anniversary of your debut, you said you put a lot of effort into following the songs and dances. Aren’t you satisfied with how “Butter” turned out? I feel like the song was more enjoyable thanks to the character you’ve built up over time. Jin: Well, the song where I’m most satisfied with myself is “Butter,” because I’ve been honing my skills for a long time at this point, and “Butter” is our latest release. As time goes by and we come out with more songs, and if I improve more, my favorite song will be whatever is newest, and then “Butter” might not be as satisfying to me anymore. But it’s the most satisfying one for now.

In what ways have you gotten better? Jin: When I first started this job, I practiced according to the staff’s directions, and even now in the case of dancing I’m still striving to follow along, but it takes me less time to adjust than it used to. When I review after practice, I can see how it’s going and what I need to do. It takes a little less time to line myself up with the beat than before, and I think I’ve become able to refine it a bit better. I was also happy this time around when Hobi told me my dancing really improved.

How was performing for “Permission to Dance”? Jin: I really like the song, but when we perform it, I wish I’d had more time to prepare. We had a comeback in May with “Butter” and then a fan meeting concert in June, so we got ready for “Permission to Dance” at the same time we were filming performances of “Butter.” We didn’t have anything else we had to work on before “Butter” so we had plenty of time to practice it, but we had to practice “Permission to Dance” and get ready for the fan meeting simultaneously. Time’s always tight, but I think I could’ve done even better if I could’ve taken a little more time. I wish I had had more time to put a little more effort in.

The more time you spend practicing, the better the outcome, and the more ambitious you end up becoming. Jin: So, I’m not good at memorizing lyrics, for instance. I think some of the other members can catch on real quick, but it’s not like that for me. So if we do something like a new song or a special one at a fan meeting, I have to spend more time preparing than the others. When a new song’s coming out, I have to practice for at least 4-5 days to get the hang of it.

You performed the rap in “Daechwita” for BTS 2021 MUSTER SOWOOZOO, but it’s really rare to see you rapping. I imagine the process you went through to practice was intense. Jin: It was so hard. I had to do “Daechwita” and “Chicken Noodle Soup,” but it was only about a month before the concert when the set list was decided. During that time, I’d come home after finishing work, turn on the music for “Daechwita” and practice it for 15 minutes, then do “Chicken Noodle Soup” after that, and then go straight to sleep. The next day I’d wake up, go to work, come home and do another 15 minutes of “Daechwita” and more “Chicken Noodle Soup.” I kept repeating that for a really long time. I’m terrible at memorizing lyrics so that kind of took a while.

That’s a lot of time to keep practicing constantly like that. Your work-life balance must also be important, too. It’s difficult to practice beyond a certain amount of time every day without having some time to relax. Jin: Exactly. Like I said, my skills are lacking when it comes to memorizing lyrics, but I think I have other abilities that cover up for what I lack. In fact, I enjoy constantly memorizing things like that. My gift is my ability to enjoy practicing repeatedly, so if I somehow succeed before the deadline, I give myself praise. (laughs) Practicing takes me a long time, so I just decided to treat it as one big project. The way I do it is, when I say it’s time for a break, it’s time for a break, and I rest to my heart’s content.

You seemed to be talking about the importance of time spent outside working hours in “ARMY Corner Store” when you said the measure of your satisfaction is the degree to which you can pass your day meaninglessly. As a member of BTS, you must not have that much time to spend as you please. Jin: Koreans my age have no choice but to self-improve these days. You have to improve your qualifications, learn things, and people even tell you your hobbies have to be productive, even though they’re hobbies. After being taught that way since I was young, I think I need to follow through on that somehow. I feel like I have to do something productive, even when I’m trying to take a break. But if I don’t do a single thing and just loaf around in bed, or do some unproductive, unnecessary activity, I actually end up feeling satisfied. Go from sleeping to waking up, waking up to eating, eating to sleeping again. Wake up from sleep and suddenly want to watch TV, and go watch it. If there’s nothing good on TV, play a game, then look at the clock, and if it’s late, sleep. I think everyone needs days like this.

That time must become all the more important when you’re busy being a member of BTS, since you don’t have much time to spend that way. Jin: When I’m not working, all I really want to do is something I enjoy for myself. In that case, people might wonder why you’re doing things that won’t help you in life, but I think that time’s important for everyone. Society is always seeking out the things that are useful. And that’s good, too, but for our own sake, I think we require time to find stability in our own minds, even if it looks useless in the eyes of others.

Speaking of which, you posted a picture of yourself eating with Bang Si-hyuk, the producer, on Weverse. It’s amazing that two people with so much influence and things to do can take the time to relax together. Jin: People around the office might feel he is unapproachable, but I don’t find him to be like that. (laughs) So I asked him in passing to have a drink and he suddenly said, “Okay, when are you free?” Most of the time, though, I only meet like that on a spur of the moment, so I said, “Uh, I’m busy right now. This day’s all booked up, too, and so’s this day.” (laughs) “Then just give me a rough time and I’ll make time when you’re done.” We talked back and forth like that and he came to see me the next day for dinner when I was all finished with work. And he said he’d cook for me and buy wine, too. Anyway, it was a nice meal.

You couldn’t have felt that comfortable with him before your debut (laughs) but as time passed, many things have changed. Everyone became so successful, too. Jin: You could say that I was in a position where I was looking for a job when I was a trainee. At the time, I thought people who got chosen seemed really cool, but by contrast I had no confidence. I don’t think it would’ve actually happened this way, but I thought if I talked to someone who found work, they would give me the cold shoulder, sort of. So I didn’t feel very confident.

I think you showed that you have confidence with the joke you told on tvN’s You Quiz on the Block about your older brother calling you Mr. Seokjin lately, or when you talked about the mood when an older relative gave you money for Korean New Years on V LIVE. That you can easily accept anyone no matter how they handle you. Jin: Right. If I don’t behave that way, everyone else has a harder time. People I know will say “the superstar is here” as a joke. If I say, “Superstar? What are you talking about? Don’t say that,” and give them a serious look, they’ll have no idea what to call me next time or what to talk about. Honestly, if someone who’s meeting me for the first time or doesn’t see me that often responds in that kind of somewhat exaggerated way, they might think it’s fun. I’m sure that’s the way I’d react if I met a really famous person. So if someone says, “Aha, the superstar is here,” I say, “the superstar has come!” too. As long as I don’t respond in a serious way so everyone can tell it’s a joke, the ice is broken.

Now that you’re a superstar for real—not a joke—is there anything you’d tell the old, unconfident Jin from the past if you could meet him? Jin: I don’t know what I would tell him. I want to tell him to keep his head up (laughs) but if I gave my old self too much to think about, he might end up feeling exhausted after practice and give up. I think it would be enough just to tell him to work hard.

Where do you find the ambition to keep working hard, even now? Jin: From ARMY’s reactions, of course. I’d say I’m trying harder and trying to do well without exhausting myself so I can see people on Twitter or Weverse saying I’ve improved or that I’m doing a good job. And these days we have to do the performances on film, and we shoot them in advance for the sake of quality. Because of that, we usually record the performances long before the songs get released, which means we have to change our looks for the recording. It’s hard to go public with my new look until anything’s officially released for that reason, or else there could be spoilers. That makes me all the more eager to show off the best parts of myself in our performances. If it weren’t for the current situation, I could instantly see our fans’ reactions, so it’s a shame they can’t see me working this hard.

What would you like to say to ARMY? Jin: I hope our fans don’t lose their laughter. I’m not really good at saying those kinds of cheesy things. It’s not in my personality. I feel embarrassed and cringey when I talk like that and I can’t take myself seriously, so I try to keep it to a minimum. But fans watch us as a hobby, you know? Hobbies are all about enjoying yourself and being able to laugh, so I want to look happy for them, not exhausted. I go out of my way to make funny posts or leave funny replies on Weverse to make them happier. I just hope anyone who likes me is happy. And I don’t want them to see anything bad. That’s how I feel about my work.

© source

[wingsofanillyrian]

Lights Over Monaco: Chapter 3

Day late but here you go! Thank you to @acourtofcouture​ for beta-ing and putting up with me!

Chapter Masterlist

The six hour flight left Nesta well rested and refreshed as she checked into her hotel. She texted Jacob to check in and make sure none of his equipment had gotten lost on the flight. Having arrived a day earlier, he had been lurking around paddocks in hopes of capturing any drama on film.

He assured her everything had made it safely and informed her there were rumors flying about transmission troubles with the McLaren team. Nesta told him to keep an eye on it and unpacked her suitcase.

Nesta had just sat down when her phone rang. It was Tomas. Sighing, she decided she couldn’t avoid him forever.

“Tomas,” She answered coldly.

“About damn time you picked up the phone,” He replied, remorseless. He wasn’t earning himself any points. “What room are you in?”

She frowned. “How do you know if I’m even in Baku?”

“Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to find out flight numbers.” Interesting, he was keeping tabs on her.

“I don’t want to-”

“I said what room?”

Nesta sank back in the plush chair. Truthfully, she did want to see him, if only to determine what he had to say for himself. She couldn’t let go of the hope that somehow this was all a simple misunderstanding.

“Fourteen twelve,” She told him, instantly regretting it.

She heard him shuffling on the other end. “Five minutes.”

A knock on her door sounded a few minutes later, and she let Tomas in. “I saw the story.”

“Obviously,” Nesta scoffed, crossing her arms. Tomas reached for her but she stepped away. His eyes went bright with anger. She would not make this easy for him.

“I tried calling you.”

“I am aware.” Nesta picked at her nails to hide her trembling, trying to appear utterly nonplussed. “Did you sleep with her?”

“Yes.”

Nesta froze. Ever so slowly, her gaze slid to Tomas. Back straight, chin jutting out, staring down his nose at her. He still showed no sign of regret, nothing that would indicate he made a mistake.

“Why?” She rasped, fighting back tears. Tomas was not worth it.

He shrugged. “Because I wanted to. You and I are just fucking anyways. What does it matter?”

Nesta recoiled, blinking. “I can’t do this.” She had grossly miscalculated their entire relationship. Her palms began to sweat, her breathing increasing to a fever pitch. She pressed a hand to her chest, praying that the pressure would prevent her glass heart from shattering. Instead, it pushed the shards further into her lungs, making each breath ragged.

“Get out,” She whispered. Tomas scoffed, stepping forward.

“Nesta-”

“Out!” She repeated, more forcefully. She only needed to hold herself together for a few more seconds until he was out the door, then she could crumble.

Tomas’ face twisted. “Fine. I’ll see you at the paddock tomorrow anyway, I’m sure.”

Nesta let out a choked sob as soon as the door slammed shut. Her resolve broke, the dam inside of her punched through. Tears flowed freely down her face as she fell to her knees. She shouldn’t have loved him. 

Before they had met, she knew he was nothing but a heartbreaker. He went through women the way a drunk went through a bottle of liquor. Tomas viewed women in the same way as well; objects to be used until they were no more than empty shells and then discarded.

Nesta let the grief crash against her for a handful of minutes before she realized how useless it was. Tomas would never love her. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if he was capable of feeling such an emotion at all. There was no use letting him affect her.

Gathering her strength, Nesta stood. She looked at the sorry image in the mirror, taking in the red eyes, the mascara tracking down her cheeks, the disheveled hair. She wouldn’t let a man crush her. She had made it this far by blinding herself to the sneers and derogatory comments thrown at her. Why couldn’t she do the same to get over Tomas?

But as she climbed into bed, she realized how flawed that mentality was.

**********

Sunday’s race kept Nesta busy. Lucien and Azriel collided in lap three, causing a safety car and ultimately leading to the pair of them being unable to finish the race. Nesta had seen it on a television hanging in the Mercedes garage, the entire team letting out a collective shout when Vanserra didn’t yield to Azriel in the 90 degree turn and the Red Bull tangled with the Mercedes. Both cars were a mess of broken carbon fiber and snapped suspension bits.

Nesta managed to corner Azriel and get a few heated words out of him, a rare bit of annoyance showing through his usual calm. “Vanserra should have cut into the corner more sharply. He was way off the racing line.”

“Some people would say that you should have backed off and yielded the position to him,” Nesta added, hoping to get him worked up further. “What are your thoughts on that?”

Azriel glared at the camera, addressing anyone who dared think the incident had been his fault. “If you’re not allowed to defend, what’s racing about, then?”

Azriel turned on his heel and belined back to the garage. Jacob lowered the camera and turned to Nesta to ask, “You don’t actually believe it was Azriel’s fault, do you?”

“Of course not.” Nesta’s attention returned to the monitors and she grimaced. The racing incident had allowed Tomas to move up into first. Cassian was only a second behind, but struggling to overtake. At least she no longer had to be invested in Tomas holding his position. She couldn’t care less if he won or not.

In the end, it was Tomas taking home top points for Red Bull, Cassian bringing home 18 for Mercedes and Varian with a handful for McLaren spraying the champagne on the podium. Red Bull’s one stop strategy meant that when Cassian dipped into the pits on lap 38 for a fresh set of soft compound tires and one of the wheel nuts got stuck, Tomas was the clear winner. Cassian had no way to make up the 10 second deficit. The 25 points Tomas’ first place finish awarded him allowed him to slip past Cassian and snag the championship lead. 

And gods, was he smug about it.

Nesta told herself she didn’t care when Tomas sauntered into the press pen, his self-satisfied smile directed at her as he sat. Cassian and Varian filed in moments later, each silent as they took their seats. The room paused, Cassian’s hazel eyes flicking to where she sat front row. Everyone was waiting…. For her.

But her mind was blank. Not a single race related question surfaced. Nesta panicked, clenching a fist hard enough to feel her nails bite her palm. After a few beats of silence, the roar of the other reporters filled her head.

They had been waiting for her to ask something - anything - and she couldn’t come up with a single damned thing to say.

Jacob nudged her side. “You good?”

Nesta was too lost in the tangled web of thoughts to reply. This had all been a game to Tomas; his attitude now told her that. He had used her to gain favor with other teams and build a solid reputation with fans. After all, what better way to gain positive media attention than to have the sport’s most infamous writer in your bed?

She managed to keep her face carefully blank until the end of the conference. She didn’t say a word to Jacob as he packed up, shooting her confused glances all the while. The walls of the room pushed in on her, chest becoming tight. Standing on shaky legs, she fled down the hall, finding an abandoned alcove far from the cacophony of noise.

Chest heaving, Nesta tried to sort through her revelation. Tomas had used her. He had never intended to let this drag out. Those pictures had likely been a calculated move on his end, intended to spear her heart. Maybe breaking her had been his plan all along. He seemed to enjoy her emptiness, judging by the way he kept glancing at her during the conference. 

Her phone vibrated. Against her better judgement, she checked it. It was only Jacob, asking where she was. She only texted back to say that she was fine before gathering herself. She couldn’t just crumble in a hallway where anyone could see her.

She had just began to head towards the exit when someone jogged behind her. “Hey!”

“Not now Cassian,” Nesta said, annoyance evident. How did he always manage to find her when she wanted to be left alone? It was like he had some kind of sixth sense, focused directly on her.

“Hold on,” He said, fingers brushing her arm. The touch froze her, muscles coiling. It had only been a brief moment, but the surprise of it was enough to disarm her. “You okay? You didn’t say a word at the conference.”

Her lips peeled back in a snarl. “Why do you care?”

He did not flinch. Most would have. “Because I’m a decent person, believe it or not.” She searched his face for any sign of insincerity. She couldn’t find any; his hazel eyes held only honeyed truths.  

Nesta’s laugh was cruel, hot tears threatening to fall. “Right. Sure you are. Suddenly you feel like caring about how I feel instead of fucking with me. How about you leave me to my misery, Cassian? No need to rub it in.”

She didn’t wait for a response. Didn’t want to see the look on his face, whether it was anger or smug satisfaction, or something else entirely. 

Nesta managed to make it out and call a taxi to take her back to the hotel. She was silent the entire ride, not bothering with half-hearted small talk. Collapsing on the bed, she didn’t bother changing. She queued up a cheesy comedy film, one that was full of stupid jokes that were funny when it first came out, but not relevant in the present day.

Halfway through, Nesta grew bored and checked her phone. There was a text from an unknown number.

You okay? You never answered me.

"What the fuck," Nesta mumbled, rereading the message. How had Cassian gotten her number? 

Fine, was all she said back. She didn't know why she even bothered responding. Maybe it was because he had seemed genuinely concerned in that hallway and she felt slightly guilty for blowing him off.

I can buy you a drink if you come down to the hotel bar

Fuck off and leave me alone

Gladly.

Nesta let out a frustrated sigh and texted Jacob.

You gave him my number didn't you?

Jacob's response was only an emoji of a nervous smile.

"Little fucker," She mumbled, tossing her phone aside. She'd throttle him tomorrow on the plane. Right now, she was too hungry to send a snarky reply. If she slipped out the back, she could grab a burger without having to chance running into Cassian at the bar.

Grabbing a sweater - the desert got cold at night, she'd learned that the hard way - she made the trek down the fourteen flights of stairs, trying to piece together her life.

By the time she made it to a fast food shop, she was exhausted. She inhaled her meal in minutes, lounging in the dingy booth. She looked at her phone for what felt like the thousandth time, disappointed when there wasn’t so much as a text from Tomas.

She got up from the booth, tossed her trash in the bin and walked out. She took the long way back to the hotel, purposely winding through the streets. Why did she care if Tomas hadn’t texted her? It was her own fault that she had let herself fall for him in the first place. She knew it had been a horrible idea, and yet she had allowed herself to let him gain a place of importance in her life. They’d agreed on no feelings, and yet here she was. 

By the time she made it back to her hotel room, Nesta was exhausted. It took her three tries to fit the electronic key in the reader, and she used her full weight to shoulder the obscenely heavy door open. 

She didn’t bother with the lights, simply slipping out of her shoes and throwing her jacket in the general direction of the closet. She wanted to sleep; maybe that would reset her mind so she could feel less broken tomorrow.

“Hey-”

“Fuck!” Nesta jumped at the voice, fumbling for the lightswitch, heart in her throat. She squinted when warm light filled the room, shoulders relaxing when she saw who it was. Tomas, standing awkwardly by the desk, roses and a small box in his hands. Despite herself, hope bloomed.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, unmoving.

Setting down the bouquet, Tomas stepped forward to hand her the box. “I came to apologize. I know I missed your birthday and that I’m a shitty person. But if you open that, I think you’ll see…”

He trailed off, nodding to the present she now held. She opened the hinged black velvet, revealing a small diamond necklace. It was delicate, nothing flashy, but enough to make a statement. Nesta glanced up at him, heart warring with her head.

“Do you think showering me with pretty things will make me take you back, after what you said?”

“I think it’ll help, when paired with the fact that I-” He swallowed, trying and failing to hide his grimace. “I love you.”

Any and all sane thoughts left her head upon hearing those three precious words. Gods, she had dreamed of this moment for months. He’d only waited to tell her because it was clearly hard for him to say. But now that he’d admitted it, she could teach him how to love.

Nesta laughed, throwing her arms around his neck. “I love you too, Tomas. I always have.”

His hands rest on her back, not returning her fervor but she didn’t care. “Now will you take me back?”

The short answer was yes, absolutely. There was nothing she wanted more in the world than to wrap herself up in him and get lost. But her head knew that she needed to lay out a defense.

“Only if you promise we can make this real. If we can be together. Which means no more stunts for the cameras. I can’t keep writing about it like it’s nothing.”

Tomas tensed against her. “Fine. I can do that.”

The weight on Nesta’s chest eased. She let him lay her back on the bed, ripping at his clothes. She only let him pull away long enough for him to whisper, “I can’t stay the night.”

@aphoeni @planet-faerie  @nina-zcnik @darlinminds @linsimin @that-little-red-head @teagoddess99 @enpointe10 @electronicstrawberrystrawberry @awesomelena555 @iptneus @weesablackbeak @wonderland–memories @nessian-trash-heap @magicalwaterfall @perfectlyimpxrfect @cassians-wings @valkyrie-archeron @acourtofcouture @nesemryn @chloepereyra @toastedroastedburnt @swankii-art-teacher @illyrianshadowhunter @bakingandbooks3 @maastrash​ @candid-confetti​ @flamingveritas​ @silentquartz​ @suckmykawaiidesu​ @18moneytoad​ @frosted-crackers​ @maybekindasortaace @lysandra-tiara9 @rowaelinismyotp​ @jlinez

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, BLOOD OFFICIAL VISUAL FANBOOK ー Interview Vol. 1 feat. Saki Ito

Source: DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, BLOOD Official Visual Fanbook

Release date: 2013

Huge thank you to @keithvalentinex​ for providing the raw scans!

SECTION 1: Q&A

Q1. How did you feel when a sequel game got green light?

A: Not only were we fortunate to receive many passionate messages and feedback from the players, but we also received the news of an anime adaption alongside a game sequel, so amidst the joy, I also remember a distinct feeling of responsiblity and pressure.

Q2. Does the feedback you received from the players reflect in any parts of the game?

A: The series features characters who all have very strong and distinct character traits, so they tend to stand out based solely on these specific elements, which is what made us reflect upon the scenario parts of the previous game. Therefore, in the sequel, we decided to flesh them out so we let Idea Factory know that we would like to create sceranio’s on events of their pasts, so we can give a better understanding of how they think as individuals. We received a positive response but this ultimately required quite a bit of scenarios so later both me and Nakamura suffered because of it. (lol) However, even though there is still room for improvement, I would like to think that we succeeded in creating scenario’s in which the players will get to know them on a deeper level.

Q3. Who did you struggle most with when creating the setting for the new characters?

A: Ruki. Both in terms of design and personality. At first we thought of having him be on an almost equal footing with Karlheinz in terms of power and status, so basically the character who stands at the very top of the Mukami family, with everyone following his lead as they have no other choice but to acknowledge his superiority . But he’s a Do-S...We played with various ideas like that.

Q4. What did the process of creating these characters look like?

A: After settling on their visuals and personalities, we moved on to building a set image of them. I was impressed that at the time of initial recording where we would add the voices to these characters, there was already an agreement amongst the production staff about how they viewed these brothers inside their minds. 

Q5. Were there any moments during the recording which left a strong impression on you?

A: I am sure everyone feels the same in this regard, but I was very much impressed by Midorikawa Hikaru (Ayato’s VA) and his ability to voice a single line in so many different ways and apply minor adjustment time after time. I was baffled how the same phrase could be voiced in so many different ways, and while this may be embarrassing to admit as part of the production staff, I felt as if I could learn a lot from him.

Q6. How did you approach the blood-sucking scenes?

A: We start by creating a fixed image inside our heads of how each character would suck someone’s blood. However, we initially opted to leave things up to the casted voice actors. We figured that if their voicing was somewhat off from how we envisioned it, we would guide them into the desired direction afterwards, but so far that has yet to happen! The voice actors seem to understand that the blood-sucking scenes are a huge selling point of the Diabolik Lovers franchise, so they anticipated on this and had already thought about which personal quirks they want to include in these scenes before the recording. Afterwards they would tell us things such as ‘I wanted to make it sound a little dirty’ or ‘I imagined ____ would suck blood like this’, showing us their effort to voice these characters while thinking about their personalities, which is why we - the production staff - were able to feel the unique traits of these boys through their performance as well, I believe. I cannot express with words just how greatful I am for everyone’s excellent voice work. 

Q7. When writing the scenario’s and the character dialogue, were there any conscious changes you made from the first game?

A: In the first game, there were very little interactions between the different characters, but with the introduction of the Mukami brothers, we focused on these kind of interactions where one of the Sakamaki brothers would fight with one of the Mukami brothers. Additionally, this would allow for us to express the changes in their feelings towards the main character.

Q8. What did you struggle the most with while writing the script?

A: There were just so many different scenarios to write, I recall feeling as if there was no end to it. Every time you think you’re done adjusting one part, you have to move on to the next and by the time you’re done with that, something just doesn’t feel right about the first scenario again...This game includes many scenarios about the characters’ pasts so there would be times where we suddenly went ‘...Hold on!? I feel like the previous scene doesn’t quite make sense anymore...,’ So we’d have to go back and make sure everything remained consistent.

Q9. Which character caused you the most problems while writing the script?

A: Every single one. In case of the Sakamaki brothers, all because of the same reason. For starters, despite this being a sequel game, the intial setting remains the same as before with the main character having arrived at the Sakamaki manor, , so we were worried whether or not the audience would accept this without it feeling weird or off. The Mukami brothers are then added on top of that, so we struggled a lot expressing the wavering feelings of the main character. Each of the Mukami brothers has their own dark past and setting which we came up with beforehand, so it was very difficult to then later add the element of romance to this.

Q10. Is there a character who underwent drastic changes compared to the last game?

A: No. Although the ‘MORE, BLOOD’ games feature the Sakamaki brothers struggling with an immense ‘thirst for blood’ which is different from our previous approach, so we hope this allows the players to enjoy a different side of them.

Q11. The endings are now named ‘Vampire Ending’, ‘Manservant Ending’ and ‘Brute’ Ending. Could you tell us what kind of thought you put into these names?

A: They do each have their own fixed image attached to them. We divided them into the ‘Vampire Ending’ which is supposed to be the most natural ending. The ‘Manservant Ending’ which emphasizes the element of sadism the strongest and lastly the ‘Brute Ending’ which is the most violent. Depending on the character, there might be minor changes such as the main character developing sadistic tendencies herself or it being another character who grows violent. We hope the audience will enjoy this wide array of endings.

Q12. What are parts which have greatly improved or parts you want us to focus on in comparison to the first game?

A: My apologies for repeating myself, but it would have to be the scenarios. Also please pay attention to the upgraded sprite artwork for everyone, as well as the addition of the sprites for the brothers as children!

Q13. Why do you think the series has received such a great amount of support?

A: During the development of the first set of CDs, we made them with a specific niche audience in mind, so never did we expect the franchise would grow this large. We truly are grateful. We would like to believe that Satoi-sama’s illustration are the biggest contributor in this case. I was already acquaintanced with Satoi-sama at that point but due to certain circumstances, we weren’t able to work on a project together. However, when the development for Diabolik Lovers started, I immediately reached out to her. I believe that the way she draws these Do-S Vampires as handsome guys is what the fans enjoy the most!

Q14. Please leave a message for the fans.

A: First of all, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. If it wasn’t for you guys’ reactions, we wouldn’t have been able to deliver this much content. I won’t go as far as to tell you to continue to loving ‘DIABOLIK LOVERS’ and its characters forever...! Even if it’s somewhere in the very back of your mind, I’d be happy if you could at least hold onto the fond memories of these characters. Honestly, thank you so so much.

SECTION 2: THEIR FAVORITE EPISODES

Sakamaki brothers: Laito’s Vampire Ending. It conveys that feeling of loving someone, yet still keeping you on the edge of your seat as he doesn’t quite fully want to admit to his own feelings, even though you can tell that he does properly love the main character, which made me feel joyful inside.

Mukami brothers: Rather than one specific scene, I loved the interactions between the Mukami brothers. When they are all enjoying a meal together, they would fight over the food, or Kou would make a fuss because he wants to eat Vongole Bianco. I found it cute how they would talk in a way you’d expect from normal high school boys. 

SECTION 3: SAKI ITO CHOOSES ー SITUATION-DEPENDENT CHARACTER SELECT

Who would you choose in these situations? What’s the developer’s opinion?

S1. To sleep together with?

Best: Shuu, he probably wouldn’t bother me.

Worst: Reiji, he seems like the type to get upset if you don’t keep perfectly still while sleeping.

S2. To go on a trip together with?

Best: Ruki, I feel like he would come fully prepped. 

Worst: Azusa, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my trip if I get hurt because of him.

S3. To eat together with?

Best: Shuu, I feel like our eating styles would match.

Worst: Reiji, I’d constantly feel nervous.

S4. To study with?

Best: Ruki, I feel like he’d be able to explain things in a comprehensive manner.

Worst: Laito because he might just blow air into my ear all of a sudden.

S5. To go on a date with?

Best: Kou, he probably knows all the good places so it could be fun.

Worst: Kanato, I can’t stand the thought of him suddenly lashing out at me.

S6. To play a video game with?

Best: Yuma, I feel like he wouldn’t be the best at it, but it’d still be enjoyable regardless.

Worst: Subaru, he would destroy the console!

S7. To play sports with?

Best: Kou, I can imagine his sweat sparkling in the light as it bounces off him.

Worst: Reiji, he seems stiff.

S8. To go on a drive with?

Best: Ayato, it just seems fun.

Worst: Yuma, he strikes me as a speed devil. 

[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts and Reaction to OPTIGAMI!!

I have never been so nervous and scream so much during an episode of this show before. And if you know me, that's saying something. Gabriel and Nathalie are getting seriously scary. Their plans are getting much more convoluted and are getting closer and closer to actually succeeding. And because of this, Alya's involvement is a lot more important now because there's no way Chat Noir and Ladybug would have managed it without her. Let's be real, the reason they chose Nino as their target was because Gabriel's still bitter about Adrien and Nino being friends after Bubbler. Awww all the Kwami's are so cute, wanting to go along. Trixx being like, oh well I have an owner so I can go! And Marinette being adamantly against it. It was at this moment I knew, Alya's getting that Miraculous permanently. But I didn't know if it'd be in this episode or not, so I didn't get too excited yet. But Trixx and Alya's bond is something I really like and want to see more of. Nino and Alya's little high-five/handshake is so cute I can't help but smile every time. x3

Marinette's freak-out about getting in the elevator. Luka's got a soft look on his face. Kagami's like "why are you like this" Max's just confused at what's going on AND THEN THERE'S ADRIEN WITH THE SOFTEST LOOK When you realize that Marinette adoringly (and appeared like she wishes she could have that, too) watching Alya and Nino do their little high-five/handshake is what saved everything in the end.....😬Cutting it really close. I thought Alec got trapped by Hawk Moth and that that's why he didn't show up. Who knew he was playing video games in a bathroom stall instead of doing his job lol. Lesson learned, I hope. xD I'm just surprised Hawk Moth's in the bathroom instead of his lair. He could do the same thing from home. 😂 I'm not a fan of Audrey, but that was really cold. The exchange between Marinette and Alya during an akuma attack is what I've been waiting for since Gang of Secrets. Adrien being wonderful and protecting Chloe, which could've messed up everything had Kagami not saved him. It's so sweet that despite what happened between them, she still risks herself to save him. "Plagg-" Marinette comes bursting into the elevator, looking in her bag "Tikk..iii!" OOF So I screamed, a lot. And laughed hysterically 😂 All Marinette had to do was run in facing the other way and she'd see Plagg and it'd be all over. All that had to happen was for her to run in a second or two later. All that had to happen was she noticed Adrien a second or two too late. But Adrien heard her say "Tikk...iii" in an attempt to cover herself. Remember, he's always had suspicion of Marinette being Ladybug and came to the conclusion easily enough. Kwamibuster did divert his attention away from it a bit, but Chat Blanc took place after and he didn't hesitate to think otherwise. Aww poor Zoe :c She's part of the "Chloe's used me as a human shield" club. (((Everything after this point, I had to completely redo because tumblr decided to suck and wouldn't allow me to post my message due to an "error" (which has never happened to me before), then wouldn't let me save it as a draft. Then when I went to copy it all, somehow everything got eaten and it wouldn't allow me to undo to bring it back 😭 Goodbye an hour and a half of my time. And another hour and a half redoing it all. So if I happen to leave anything big out, I'm so sorry. My luck has just been extremely awful lately.))) You can take the Miraculous away from the kid, but you can't take the Miraculous out of the kid. Max and Luka showing their hero sides while not suited up is so nice. Loving the Oblivio parallel! Marinette says softly, "I'm sure Chat Noir will save us." While I know she's Ladybug and knows Ladybug won't show up to save them, he doesn't know that. Her response of Chat Noir will come save them, shows that she has confidence in him. Even if Adrien knows Chat Noir won't show up, that's such a sweet thing for her to say and I hope he noticed that. Marinette: "I'M STUCK IN THE ELEVATOR" Alya: "Ohhh? With

Adrien?" Marinette: how did she know? "Yeeeeees!" Alya: oh wait this is really bad Adrien: "I'm stuck in the elevator with Marinette!" Nino: "How cool! Adrien and Marinette are stuck together in the elevator!" Alya: "Haha yeah so cool and not problematic at all!" I love this entire scene. Alya teasing Marinette but then being like oh shoot this is seriously bad. Nino being totally oblivious to it all and thinking that it's good news to get their friends closer. And Adrien's just like, I'm not going to ask for help, I'm just informing my friend I'm stuck in an elevator with my just a friend. xDD And that kiss on the cheek from Alya was adooorable! Emergency phone for the Kwami's is such a good idea. But yeah, if they all screamed "Hello?!" in my ear, I'd be chucking my phone across the room too. Adrien's like, "who's that? That sounded like a lot of people.: "I called the fire department." OK. Yes, because you tell the fire department not to fly but to ride a horse to come rescue you when you're in a skyscraper. And repeat it again "Understood, firefighters? Ride in on a horse." Adrien's over in the corner like what the heck? You also, to firefighters, totally yell, "No, no, not prehistory!" and then sheepishly grin at the person you're with. Totally not sus and makes absolutely perfect sense! And then here's the part that has me going ??? Adrien saw Optigami's eyes on the wall, immediately alerts her to that and shushes her. Now, they're hiding from an akuma, but the thing sees them. There's no hiding from it regardless of what's said. So why be quiet? And yet, he's shushing her which convinces her to hang up. Had she continued trying to talk to them, Nathalie might've caught on to there being something up. Adrien's in Chat Noir mode here, as if what she's saying could expose their identities to Hawk Moth. That intense look he gives her after the fact too really shows that, he's not messing around. They also were both just about to tell the other their identities, them being extremely close to each other to do so. They came so close! So what's going on here, exactly? Adrien's come to the conclusion Ladybug is Marinette before. In Chat Blanc, after Kwamibuster showed him supposedly that LB and Marinette are different people, he didn't hesitate to think that Ladybug was Marinette. I don't think he's ever let that possibility go. And the events in the elevator where she started calling for Tikki, and her nonsensical comments over the phone that'd be something Ladybug does, may really have him leaning in that direction. Also, so very sus again that once Optigami went away, they both were like "Oh it was nothing" "I was only wondering what that strange eye thing was." Yeah, that's why you guys sounded nervous like you had something important to say and got in each other's faces! :D It's also interesting, because whenever Marinette and Adrien are in a situation together, Adrien almost always is the one that takes hold of the situation and is more aware of his surroundings over Marinette. xD This man over here just eagerly eliminating children. x.x Like a lot of things in this show, if Alya had just answered that phone call from Nino, events may have played out completely differently! o.o There goes the Eiffel Tower again xD It never not gets blown up, knocked over, or teleported. LOL it's so funny to me, and also such a yikes moment, that while Alya rushed over to Marinette's, got the Miraculous, teleported back, found "Nino" and gave him the Miraculous, then teleported into the elevator, Ladybug and Chat Noir's civilian selves are just trapped in that elevator, awkwardly, and all alone. Likely deep in thought feeling guilty they're powerless to do anything without exposing their identities. xD But at least they're both brooding over the same thing and probably couldn't care less if the other one talks or not, nor noticing enough that the other's really quiet. XD And the way they both reacted to the portal being opened in the elevator. Cautious, but then Adrien puts his hand on Marinette's back and kind of has

her in a position where he can pull her back to him and protect her. Which is a very different kind of protection than he's offered to others, Chloe earlier in this episode being a very good example. Just a friend? Yeeaah. The fact that in every single episode that has Marinette and Adrien interact this season, there's something there, and it's just a matter of time before it's addressed. A bit sad that we didn't get actual Carapace in this episode, but I'm hoping we get him in later eps! MAJOR OOOF A train with people in it underwater, a skyscraper with probably a lot of people in it burning in a volcano, cars, what looks to be the building they were filming the music video in Frightningale, and the Arc de Triomphe on the moon. Yeah I'm seeing where things are going now with this. I'm going to write a post addressing some of these things a bit later. Ladybug in a ponytail is the prettiest hairstyle imo. Chat Noir rushes in, sees Ladybug, Carapace, and Rena Rouge all together, first wondering how they all got in "Hello, Chat Noir" there went any of his thoughts he may have had about it lol... and feels disappointed. "Sorry! I would have got you, if I knew your secret identity." Whoa hold up. Ladybug, so forwardly talking about knowing his secret identity? o.O I smell foreshadowing. "As I always say, m'lady. To know me means to love me." "Then I'll think about it." as she smirks and giggles. Guys. She's being serious. 😍😍😍 I admit, I wish we could know what she was going to talk to Chat Noir about after everything, since she thought the situation was taken care of and asked him to wait there for her. She obviously had something she wanted to talk with him about. And thank you Marinette's observation skills for knowing that's not the real Nino! But poor Alya, so horrified like that... I bet she's thinking both "What have I done? I just gave a Miraculous away to Hawk Moth essentially." and "How is it that I couldn't recognize that wasn't my boyfriend?" On the latter, Chat Noir's made that error several times as well. Hawk Moth just really sucks to do that kind of thing to these kids. Real Nino's here to comfort Alya. Doesn't even have to say a word, just gives her a hug. I absolutely adore this. They're so perfect together. ;-; "It (Lucky Charm) always shows me the right way, but this time I was shortly led astray." "Hmm." Hmm? What the heck does that mean? More foreshadowing?? What's going to happen next omg. Yes, Marinette needs someone out there who can replace her if something happens. And I know so many people are like, oh no, that should be Chat! But just think about it. Today, Chat Noir and Ladybug were trapped in an elevator in a situation where they were powerless. They came extremely close to needing to transform with Hawk Moth watching. Had Hawk Moth not been Adrien's dad and let him be, they would've transformed and fought, no doubt. A lot of things could happen, and Ladybug and Chat Noir are always in the thick of things. We've seen one or both of them become unavailable many times. It's good that someone else is their safety net. You may see Alya as just Ladybug's but she's also Chat's too. I screamed and cheered so loud when Alya got her Miraculous to hold onto! I've wanted this for sooo long now! ;-; Okay ew, the way the music went from happy and sweet to creepy when Gabriel and Nathalie were on screen. 😬 Watch: Gabriel, in his plot to try to get to know more about Alya, will have Adrien through a party or have some friends get together at his house which will likely include Nino and Marinette as well, and have him use his own son to try to get what he wants without Adrien suspecting a thing, even thinking his father's giving him more freedom and more of a normal life. How sick. x.x This was a seriously good episode! I'm very excited to see how this all plays out, because things are getting seriously intense in many different ways! Honestly, my original write up of this post was much better but I lost it all. Which makes me very sad and disappointed, but it can't be undone. :c So

hopefully this was enjoyable anyway! I'll be writing a few posts that are more in-depth about some of the events that happened in recent episodes, including Chloe's character and situation, Adrien's feelings for Marinette, Adrien/Chat's situation with Ladybug, etc that are too specific and detailed to write in a thoughts and reactions post, so be on the look out for those! c:

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Mako x female water bender Part 2

You and Mako begin dating and Mako struggles to hide his feelings as you start competing for the fire ferrets...to make things worse any time you try and get Mako alone you’re interrupted leaving Mako very frustrated....

Part One here

It was your first match and you were now regretting all the effort you’d put into convincing Mako to let you compete. You’d only got some basic training and were feeling very unprepared. Mako and Bolin were well aware of this and tried to take your mind off it but in a bending arena it was hard, especially when they were talking about you on the loud speaker. "The fire ferrets newest team mate is apparently their roomate, guess the pickings were slim" the commentator said and you frowned. "Don’t worry" Bolin said rushing to your side, he didn’t notice he’d cut Mako off from going to comfort you or how that made Mako sigh. "Them underestimating you will work out for us". "I hope so" you gulped fiddling with your uniform". "You'll be fine" Mako said taking over, he undid the straps of your unform and did them again tighter, his hands only lingering slightly "right?" he asked you. "Right" you nodded meeting his eyes. Mako smiled before moving away from you. You all took your places on the platform and the match begun....

...It was not going well. Instead of under-estimating you like Bolin thought the other team saw you as an easy target and had you cornered against the ropes suffering an onslaught of fire and water, while the earth bender kept Mako and Bolin away from you.  "The newbie is just that folks, she’s a fish out of water" the commentator helpfully announced and your confidence fell even more. The assault continued and you heard Bolin yell for you hold on. You gritted your teeth when a disk hit your shoulder and sent you over the ropes. "Y/n" Mako yelled but relaxed when he saw you clinging onto the ropes. Mako launched an attack now the other team were distracted and hit the earth bender hard. You managed to pull yourself back up just as you heard the referee call a time out as they considered Mako’s attack too rough. "You okay?" Bolin asked as you massaged the arm you’d pulled yourself back up on. You nodded "are you guys?". Mako wasn’t talking, he was just eminating anger and you hoped it wasn’t at you. Mako sensed you looking at him and nodded, his body moving up and down as he breathed heavily. You nodded back and looked across at the referee. He came over and made his announcement. Mako’s attack wasn’t classed as a foul but Mako got a warning for aggressive behaviour. You smiled but Mako’s glare didn’t even lessen. "The lead fire ferret is not pleased with that call and may i say it was a generous one" the commentator called. Mako gripped his fists and you and Bolin exchanged a look. The bell rang and you got out of the way quicker this time. "The water bender has learnt not to seek corners" the commentator said as you saught refuge beside Bolin and assisted him. Mako planted himself in the middle of the zone and was sending jets of fire everywhere rapidly. One almost singed you and Bolin making both of you flinch. "The fire ferret almost took out his own team mates" the commentator called "we know fire benders are firey but this is something else". Mako jumped in shock and glanced at you to make sure he hadn’t burnt you and that was all the other team needed. They struck Mako hard but you saw it coming. You sent a jet of water and hit the opposing earth bender square in the chest pushing them back a zone. Mako had lost a zone too but atleast it wasn’t for nothing. "The water bender is finding her feet" the commentator smirked and Bolin patted your back. You stayed beside him the two of you covering one another and Bolin worked on defence as you went on the attack but the other team were now targetting Mako. Mako’s shots couldn’t reach as far as Bolin’s so he could barely retaliate as the earth bender focused solely on him. "We have to get rid of the earth bender" you commented and Bolin nodded "on it!". He broke out of cover and rushed to the front. You covered him from behind and swatted the fire bender away clearing a path to the earth bender for Bolin. With a show of brute strength Bolin and the earth bender clashed and you saw Bolin’s whole body tense. Bolin groaned and with a fly of his arms sent the man flying over the edge. "What a show of force" the commentator called and you attacked the fire bender knocking them into the final zone too. You all advanced a zone and you eagerly attacked the water bender, no longer seeking refuge beside Bolin. You got cocky and it showed. The water bender was more skilled than you and waited out your showy attacks before launching one focused attack at you propelling you backwards. If Mako hadn’t caught you, you’d have fallen off the platform. He set you down and you nodded to him "thanks". "No problem" Mako breathed and you tried your best to support Bolin from your position. Bolin was a pro though and when the water bender had knocked you back he struck and sent the fire bender off the platform. Bolin single handedly took on your remaining opponent and you won the match.

You managed to stay upright until you got back to the training room and you winced sliding onto the floor as all your muscles ached. You shoulder where the disk hit you was particularly painful and you discovered a nice bruise already forming under your padding. "Man we need a lot more training" Mako sighed and you nodded feeling like that was directed at you. Mako looked up and saw your face "not just you y/n, we all need it". Bolin nodded "yeah we were all rusty out there" and threw an arm around your shoulders “but you we’re great rookie!”. You saw Mako glance at Bolin’s arm around you and look away. You cringed and managed to shrug Bolin’s arm off you. Bolin didn’t even seem to notice, he was in a world of his own as always. A message was delivered saying the commentator wanted to interview Bolin and he rushed away eager to get to his fans. You smirked as how hard Bolin slammed the door and looked over to where Mako was undoing his wrappings. “That earth bender was really good, it’s just lucky we have a better one”. Mako nodded “yup thank god for Bolin”. You paused hearing the sarcastic tone of Mako’s voice and Mako sighed “sorry i’m just tired, Bolin was great”. Mako sat down on the bench and you joined him. "How was it?" you asked “was it as terrible as you thought it would be?” you tried to joke but Mako tensed. "It was...hard" he admitted "seeing them attack you, knowing i couldn’t help you". "It’s not that deep Mako" you smiled resting a hand on his arm him "if i got hit i’d fall into water, no damage done". "Yeah no damage" Mako commented looking at the large bruise on your shoulder. "Hey that’s nothing i’m fine" you said pushing his head up to look at you "see?". Mako rolled his eyes but nodded "i suppose" and pulled you to him in a hug. You chuckled "you need to control that temper". Mako made a grunt in response and you smirked "or atleast find an outlet for it, i mean they recommend exercise but you’re already a pro-athlete so i don’t know what else to suggest..." you started when Mako kissed you. You were caught off guard and carried on talking as Mako let you go "well that’s one outlet". "Yeah and a good one" Mako replied and you had to agree as he kissed you again. You moved to face him more comfortably and Mako just tugged you against him. You jumped suprised at his eagerness and rested your hands on his shoulders to stabalise yourself. Mako’s hand on the small of your back pushed you closer and closer into him and you smiled, this was supposed to relieve stress but you felt very hightenned. So did Mako apparently and he only increased the intensity he was kissing you with. You knew one of you would have to do something and quick to relieve the tension and went to make the first move when the door slammed opened. "Look what I got" Bolin yelled holding out a giant foam finger with the fire ferrets written across it. Luckily it had been constricting his view and so it gave you time to get off Mako and act like nothing was happening. “How cool is this” Bolin cried and you and Mako nodded up at him, both of you red and sweaty but sat beside one another acting like nothing had been going on. "This is awesome! I’m so glad we’re pro-benders" Bolin called. “Right this moment I’m not” Mako muttered and you smirked moving away from him. 

The very next day you were back at the arena for training and it was way harder than you expected. "Great training session guys" Bolin smiled as you traipsed back to the training room. Bolin looked a lot happier than you felt due to the onsalught you’d suffered at the hands of the earth bender’s regime. He seemed to forget normal people didn’t have the upper body of five people like him. You were massaging your muscles bitterly noticing how full of energy Bolin still was as he grinned at you and Mako. “I have to run but you guys unwind, get a steam whatever you want but don’t wait up for me I have a date". Bolin rushed from the room and you stared after him before realising you and Mako were alone. "A steam sounds nice" Mako commented and you nodded. Mako led you to the steam room and you smiled at the heat. Mako saw more steam come off you because of your lower body temperature being a water bender and had to look away. "This is heaven" you sighed sitting on a bench and Mako nodded "i didn’t know if you’d like the heat being from the northern water tribe". "Pft I can handle a little heat" you smirked and Mako swallowed. You closed your eyes but could feel Mako watching you. Mako moved closer to you on the bench and placed an arm around the back of your seat. You opened your eye and glanced at him, the boy definitely seemed flustered and not because of the steam. You traced his arm making him glance at you and smirked. That was all the invitation Mako needed and he moved closer when you were interupted.

The door opened and you both moved apart and stared at the intruder. Mako tensed apparently not pleased with who it was and you saw the man smirk "ahhh the fire ferrets, good to see you’re training you need it". You looked at the man trying to place him but had no idea who he was. The man seemed to get that and held out a hand to you "we haven’t met, I’m Tahno, leader of the wolfbats". Ahh you’d heard of them, they were the highest in the league. "Nice to meet you" you smiled and the man smirked down at you before sitting on the other side of you. You felt Mako tense and he purposefully kept his arm around you.“So how is it going?” the boy asked “I saw your first match and honestly it looked painful”. You nodded “yeah it was but i’m working hard to get better”. “That’s good to hear but are you sure there’s enough time?”. You frowned and the boy carried on “I mean you next match is in less than a week, how is training going to help? You’re a rookie in the big league”. You narrowed your eyes “well i managed to survive the match didn’t i?”. “Yeah thanks to your body guards” Tahno smirked looking at Mako who even now had an arm around you protectively. “Mako and Bolin are my friends, of course they’d try and help me and i’d do the same for them” you spat but the boy just smiled.��“Did you always want to be a pro water bender y/n?”. “No” you said honestly. Tahno frowned “no? So if you’re not a natural what’s the point? Honestly, if I was you i’d give up”. “I can’t give up” you snapped “if I do then....” you trailed off. “Then..?" the boy asked a glint in his eyes. "None of your buisness" you snapped aware it wouldn’t be good to admit you were the only thing preventing the fireferrets from having to leave the league for not having a waterbender. The man leaned forward undetered "y/n isn’t it? You live with your team mates correct?" he asked speaking as if Mako wasn’t sat right there. "Why is that any of your concern?" you asked and the man smirked at your tone. "It’s not, but my guess is you did this as a favour to them" he said vaguely nodding to Mako "you’re here for no other reason than because they asked you but you do show some potential and water benders are hard to come by...with the right training and funding from a proper group i could help you go places" he smirked putting an arm around the seat you were on, cutting off Mako’s arm completely. Mako moved behind you but you put a hand to his chest and stopped him. "The only place i want to go with you is the ring" you glared "but for your sake i hope you get eliminated before either me or him can get our hands on you". You stood up and Tahno went to follow but he halted, you’d frozen his hand to the bench. Mako stood up and towered over Tahno for good measure before following you out proudly.

You reached your changing rooms and Mako kicked the door. "Assholes". You nodded and touched his cheek "hey don’t let them bother you, i handled it didn’t i?". Sweat dripped down your chin and across your shoulders and Mako resisted the urge to look at it. "You did but It’s hard not to react" Mako commented "the way he was looking at you...". "Not at all how you were looking at me?" you asked and Mako frowned. "Well no but i’m...we’re...im sorry for staring at you". "I was joking" you smiled "you’re the one person allowed to look at me like that". "I am?" Mako asked already glancing over you as you said that. You chuckled as you saw Mako’s breath quicken "lucky me". "Lucky you indeed" you agreed and kissed him. Mako picked you up in seconds and you wrapped your legs around him. He propped you up against the lockers but that wasn’t stable enough. Mako carried you to the bench and laid you down.The situation wasn’t ideal cleanliness wise being a training room and you could’t help notice when an idea struck you. “Mako isn’t Bolin out?” you asked. Mako frowned “what about what we’re doing made you wonder where Bolin was?”. You hit his shoulder “no you idiot, what I mean is isn’t the loft completely free? Can’t we have it to ourselves?”. Mako grinned getting your meaning and tugged you onto your feet suddenly. “Come on lets go” he smirked grabbing your stuff in his hands and rushing out the door.

It was the quickest you’d ever made it home but when you got there the front door was the biggest problem. Mako dropped half of your stuff trying to unlock the door and you laughed. “Stop smirking and help me” Mako cried but you only laughed harder. Finally Mako half forced half opened the door and smiled. He bundled the stuff inside before grabbing your hand and pulling you inside too. The door was hastily shut and finally alone you continued what you’d started. In too much of a rush the sofa became the target and you laughed again as Mako almost tripped over it in his haste. “Stop laughing at me” Mako smirked and you shook your head “make me”. Mako grinned intending to do just that and tugged you onto his lap. You smiled relaxing into Mako as he took the lead when he tensed and suddenly pushed you away from him. You collapsed onto the other end of the sofa and glared at Mako confused when the door opened and Bolin appeared. “I just had the best date!” he cried throwing himself onto the sofa between the two of you. He proceeded to tell you all about it and Mako shot you a sorry look in apology. You rolled your eyes but smiled telling him it was okay but if you didn’t get some interupted time with Mako soon you’d explode. From the tense way Mako was sat you figured the feeling was mutual. 

3 days later

You could tell Mako wanted to tell you something by how anxiously he was waiting for Bolin to leave the breakfast table. He was beating his fingers against his bowl and anytime Bolin stood he looked up hopefully. There had been many false alarms so when Bolin did finish his breakfast and went to wash his bowl Mako was near breaking point. “I’ll do it” he cried knowing how slow Bolin was at cleaning. Bolin looked confused as Mako rushed to grab his bowl and Mako shrugged “I’ve got mine to wash too so i may aswell do yours”. Bolin smiled “aw thanks Mako that’s so nice”. “It is Mako thanks” you smirked adding your bowl to the pile. Messing with Mako you went to follow Bolin out the room when he hissed ”y/n”. “Yes?” you smirked and Mako gestured for you to come closer. “So tonight Bolin’s got that earth bender retreat right?”. You nodded “yeah?”. "So Bolin's going to be out all night" Mako said smirking. When you didn’t react Mako looked down awkwardly "so I was thinking we could...you know...". You smirked at Mako’s reddening cheeks "Mako is this your way of asking me if i want to spend the night with you?". Mako’s blush was in full place now but he nodded swallowing "yes! I mean i know we've done stuff before but it was always so hasty or we got interupted, so I was just thinking this could be more special, we don’t have to rush it or hide like before, we can relax, take our time and it can be romantic". Now you blushed. "I think that sounds amazing" you smiled at him and Mako blushed “great....great I’ll cook us a nice meal and it’ll be great” before stumbling away still bright red. 

As soon as it was agreed you could tell Mako was excited. He spent all day cleaning his room, stripping the bedding, airing it. Bolin watched confused and you tried not to react. Then Mako started planning your dinner and he was definitely making a fuss. Bolin pouted at how much effort Mako was putting into dinner the one night he wasn’t here and Mako just shrugged. You again struggled not to react.

Then finally Bolin left and you and Mako looked at one another. Mako had the table all set and the food was ready and waiting. You had a nice meal and spent more time together than you’d managed to sneak in weeks. You were relaxing by the fire when you turned to look at Mako. "Want to show me how nice your room looks?" you asked. Mako smirked "sure" and took your hand. He halted outside the door and told you to give him a few seconds. You heard him firebending before suddenly he opened the door. You were honestly shocked when you saw the place. It was spotless, the whole place was immaculate, even the windows was sparkling. There were candles dotted around the room and even petals on the floor. "You didn’t have to do all this” you smiled “you literally scrubbed the place from head to toe" you smirked looking up as even the ceiling looked clean. "And it smells so..". "Is it too much?" Mako asked and you shook your head looking at the array of tea light candles he’d lit around his room. "No" you smiled "no it’s lovely, this is so nice Mako". Mako saw the pink in your cheeks and that made it all worth it. "I wanted to make it special like i said" Mako told you "you mean a lot to me y/n and i don’t always show that with us sneaking around so this was my way of proving it to you, this is my big stupid gesture". "It’s not stupid it’s beautiful like you are" you smiled standing on your tiptoes to wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him. Mako stooped to meet you half way and wrapped his arms around your waist gently. You smiled into the kiss feeling so happy in this beautiful room with this amazing man. You seperated and looked at Mako. He blinked open his eyes and the candles made his eyes look like they were on fire too. "You’re amazing y/n" Mako told you and you smiled "if you say so". Mako kissed you again and you smiled knowing you could kiss him as long as you wanted to. You traced Mako’s neck with your fingertips making him jump. As firebenders were warm, water benders were naturally cold, meaning when Mako touched you it felt like a drop of warmth and when you touched his warm skin it felt like a cold drop of water. "Sorry" you paused and Mako shook his head as you pulled your hand away "don’t" he kissed your fingertips "it feels nice". You smiled and wrapped your hand back around neck the other playing with the bottom of his tank top. Mako grinned and caught your hands pushing them away. You pulled away and pouted at him confused. Mako just smirked "you were taking too long" and swfitly pulled the fabric over his head. You smirked tilting your head to the side "i think i’m done being romantic" and Mako grinned.

Not long after the front door slammed and you and Mako jumped. You were both frozen for a few seconds as you heard muffled sounds. "Bolin?" Mako called and you felt him tense in case it wasn’t. "Yeah it’s me" Bolin called "the retreat was a bust so i came home early". "Ow great" Mako said and you saw his shoulders slump as he got off of you. You sat up and wrapped your arms around his shoulder "it doesn’t mean we have to stop" you whispered. Mako shook his head "we do, atleast until he goes to bed. Having Bolin right outside kind of ruins the mood for me". "Okay" you nodded "so we wait?". Mako nodded purposely not looking at you to hide his disappointment. "Erm mako..." Bolin called through the door "do you know where y/n is?". You and Mako froze confused "why?". "Well her doors wide open and she’s nowhere in the loft". Mako and you exchanged a panicked look and eventually Mako startled babbling "errrr she said she had a date!". "Ow a date...with anyone we know?". "Erm i’m not sure, someone from the arena i think" Mako lied and heard Bolin make a loud gasp in reponse. "Who? Who? Who?" he called beating the door "did she give any clues? What did she say exactly and can you open your door it feels weird talking to you through it". "Yeah sure" Mako called as you looked around for somewhere to hide. "Under the bed" Mako whispered and you shook your jead "i won’t fit there!". "In the wardrobe?" "Nope" you hissed growing frantic as Bolin tried the door “Makooooo”. "Erm..." Mako tugged you behind the door and opened it, making sure to hold it so Bolin couldn’t come into the room. "Hey" he smiled at Bolin who smiled back "Hi! So tell me everything!". "She didn’t really say much" Mako smiled awkwardly "just she’d be back late or maybe tomorrow...not to wait up, that kind of thing". Bolin frowned "that doesn’t sound like y/n..” .when he caught sight of Mako’s room. "Do you have petals on your floor and candles...?". Mako blushed "erm yeah the petals blew in from outside and the candles....". Mako paused and you heard Bolin gasp, "I know what this is" Bolin frowned and Mako’s eyes widenned in alarm "you do?". "You’re having a self care night! Let me guess bubble bath, nice relaxing candles, a bit of meditation?". "Yes!" Mako cried "you got me, eugh i’m so embarassed...". "Don’t be i do it all the time!" Bolin smiled "mine are never as nice as this though" Bolin said trying to get into the room more but Mako pushed him back. "Sorry do you mind if i get back to it? I was planning on going to bed now...". "No totally" Bolin nodded "sorry i disturbed you, i’m just gonna get a quick snack and go to bed too, goodnight". "Night" mako called but he frowned when he shut the door. "What’s wrong?" you asked and Mako sighed "he's going to be ages". "But he said quick snack...". "Y/n you've seen how much Bolin eats, have you ever seen him have a snack that couldn’t feed a small family?". "Ow...he's going to make a full on feast isn’t he". Mako nodded sitting down on the edge of his bed deflated. "Don’t worry we can wait" you smiled kissing his cheek "how long can he be? Twenty minutes? Half an hour?".

An hour and a half later Bolin was still banging around in the kitchen and you yawned but tried to hide it. "I saw that" Mako commented and you straightened "saw what? I didn’t do anything". "You’re tired" Mako sighed. "No i’m not". "Yes you are" Mako frowned "and I get why, it's pretty late". "Well yeah...why do you not want to wait up?". Mako sighed "i mean i’m pretty tired too, what if we just...postponed this?". You shrugged but secretly wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. "Okay lets do that" Mako told you and you nodded "but how do i get back to my room with Bolin out there". "Stay here?" Mako shrugged "I mean as long as you don’t hog the bed". You threw a pillow at him but smirked "that’s rich considering you’re as big as the bed!". "Ouch" Mako winced but he smiled "don’t worry i’ll make room for you". You nodded and got into the quilt and tried to warm up in the cold loft. "You cold?" Mako asked after extinguishing all the candles and you nodded "i’m always cold". Mako smiled "well i can help" and pulled you onto his chest. You smiled at how warm he was, it felt like spooning a human water bottle. Mako, who always ran warm felt the same with you but reversed. He was always too warm for blankets or pillows but with you wrapped around him cooling him down he happily engulfed you in both. Mako rested his palms on the base of your back on your bare skin and you smiled. You rested your hands on his chest in response and Mako grinned. "Goodnight Mako". "Night y/n" he whispered and you fell asleep. Neither of you caring that Bolin had just left the kitchen and the loft was now silent. Tonight had been perfect anyway.