#thought a lot about Astro boy while writing this

[cicadascribbles]

Immortal characters like vampires and gods and whatever are always depicted as being apathetic to downright delusional as a byproduct of their immortality.

Being godlike and powerful makes them jaded and unempathetic (Greek gods in media) and the restless search for connection and validation makes them delightfully delusional and manipulative (many of the vampires in Interview)

But then you move into the robotic vein of immortality and you find a completely different kind of emotional composition entirely.

I was chatting with @rxmain-lettuce and essentially listing off every popular robot in media these days from Wheatley and Glados to AM and Auto.

When you have a character achieve immortality it so often comes with the consequence of depression and loneliness. The immortal’s loved ones pass on and they watch decades pass them by. It results in a character inherently out of touch with reality.

Even well meaning immortals in media like Heimerdinger (Arcane) are slightly deluded in an outdated or lofty way of thinking.

And then you have immortal robots who are anything but apathetic and jaded.

Robots like Glados and AM who completely sidestep apathy by being so hatefully vengeful

It’s almost what keeps them alive.

But then you get into robots like Auto or Five Pebbles who aren’t directly hateful but are antagonistic simply because their intended purpose no longer aligns with that of the human protagonists.

It’s also important for me to mention that I’m largely talking about antagonistic robots. There are plenty of friendly robots in media, however I feel that the characterization of an evil robot is something set into our very history with technology.

I mean the whole idea of “robots are going to kill all of humanity” could’ve started as early as 1900 when the poster, “An Unrestrained Demon” was prevalent.

We’ve always feared technological advances and personally I think we should go back to thinking about how robots are gonna take over the world. The his who thought of that and made movies out of those ideas were genius.

We don’t got jaded, sad, hateful little robots like we used to

[undead-supernova]

Chapter 2 - Series Masterlist

playlist

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader

plot: you and Eddie decide you're both showing up. grab some beer, bowl. let that melted cheese on your nachos bring you to a state of vulnerability.

wc: 6k

cw: bickering, smoking, bowling, and alcohol consumption

fic title reference: We Are Going To Be Friends by The White Stripes

I Saw the TV Glow was a big inspiration for this chapter. I don't know how to explain that. They couldn't be more opposite storylines. It did spark this idea so I still have to shout it out. And I listened to the soundtrack while writing it! Beautiful.

p.s. if you havent seen I Saw the TV Glow, you totally should. it's a very important story about queerness and one of the best movies to be released this year. anyways don't think about that right now. instead, go ahead and read this chapter that I'm very proud of. watch the movie after.

There once was a boy who made your impressionable heart swell. He was the class clown, the certified It Boy of your middle school class. Not a jock by any stretch of the imagination, all lanky and desperate for just a touch of peach fuzz on his upper lip. But he was charming. And funny. And cute.

He made the girls giggle and twirl their hair, imitating the exaggerations of television. They would wear makeup to school, always quick to pass around tubes of lip gloss as soon as they left their mothers’ cars. 

You, however, stayed true to yourself. You tried the natural approach, quite certain that he would like you if you didn’t act like the other girls. Sure, he never looked your way. He never gave you a second thought. But, for some reason, that meant something to you.

The day you were assigned a seat next to him in English, he’d forgotten his book. This was your shot. This was your moment. So you offered to share yours, heads huddled together to peer down at the pages of Catcher in the Rye. Your heart was pounding in your ears, shutting out the teacher completely.

After class, he’d thanked you. Asked for your name. Told you it was really pretty. Then he asked for your help on his next paper.

And you said yes immediately, a larva without the protection of a chrysalis.

You agonized over his papers, noting that he wasn’t necessarily the best writer or all that smart, but it was him. He trusted you with his words and that meant he could trust you with his heart. At some point.

Until the end of eighth grade when he invited you to meet him on the playground, behind a large oak tree that the kids used as cover to make out. You’d approached slowly, wearing the lipstick you’d stolen from the local pharmacy.

But when you peered around, you were drenched in spoiled milk. Milk. 

A chorus of laughter sounded and you watched in horror as your crush grinned at you like you were entertainment.

His friend handed him a five dollar bill and they ran off.

That was all you were worth.

After that, you thought you knew what hurt was. What it was like to learn your lesson and never allow yourself the ability to fall into something like that again. An unrequited crush. But that was before high school, where the boys got more clever in their humiliation. Fake love notes, getting handsy at dances before calling you a freak. 

You swore never to let a boy you liked be mean to you again. You meant it.

But never once did you believe it.

It’s just a bowling alley, you thought. Spending one night with him won’t kill me.

The parking lot was nearly deserted, outside of a few Hondas and a gray Chevy Astro. Two of the street lamps were blown out, the remaining three dulled by the fierce January chill. 

You wondered if Eddie would even show up. Maybe this was his prank, one with Ashton Kutcher as an accomplice waiting around in an alley and snickering to themselves. You’d believe it. He was devious enough to make it happen.

It would be a joke for the ages, after you’d applied makeup and spent time working on your hair. You’d put on something casual but seemingly more put together, a deep brown long-sleeved shirt, leaving the first two buttons popped. Layered on top was a cropped, dark green jacket with a hood. You’d settled for dark blue jeans and Converse, sure, but the muted nude pink lipstick you pathetically checked in the sun visor was a step above your usual stupidity.

But Eddie had been insistent about this and it hurt to admit it, but you believed him. In your hardest of hearts, you trusted his word. It was aggravating.

The clock struck seven and you gave yourself one last deep breath before you got out of your car and made your way to the entrance. 

Lanesman was a frequent spot for you, a solitary activity that gave you an excuse to revert to your childhood. After you’d moved back and took this job, you found yourself gravitating towards what used to bring you joy. Bowling with the kid bumpers apparently did the trick.

Working at a high school made you realize that growing up didn’t mean forgetting. It didn’t mean an automatic erasure of what used to soothe your blues. If anything, it reinforced your need for that promise of safety.

The lobby was beige and dull, walls smattered in faded neon paint that hadn’t been updated since your youth. A miserable looking teenager stood at the concession stand, frustratedly trying to get the popcorn to pop. 

As you scanned further, you felt something shock your system as you saw Eddie standing there, waving at you with his plethora of rings twinkling in a fluorescent haze.

He looked nice tonight, with a black Henley, jeans, and Converse that mirrored yours. He started towards you, leaving you to notice the top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. A hint of black could be spotted underneath, a wave of embarrassment washing over you as you wondered what tattoos he hid underneath.

But the thing that got you was his hair.

You’d never seen it down before, couldn’t even estimate how long you thought it would be. It hung in wavy curtains around his face and draped onto his shoulders. This was something you hadn’t seen coming. And here he was, sidling up to you.

“You’re early,” you started.

“Yeah, well,” he replied with a shrug. “I’m honestly shocked you showed up.”

“Yes, it seems that we are both in a state of shock.”

Eddie’s eyebrows shot up. “You’ll have to trust me eventually, you know.”

“We’ll see about that,” you shot back, shaking your head.

He snorted. “Alright, well. I’ll get the shoes if you get the beer.”

“I can do that,” you agreed before giving him your shoe size.

Eddie lifted his fingers and shot you with finger guns. “Always believed in you.”

He winked. 

Frustration flooded your system as he held your gaze for a moment too long. “I’m leaving now,” you murmured before walking away.

“You do that.”

Yeah, I will, you thought. Dickhead.

You made your way to the counter where that poor kid held up a finger as he attempted to fix the popcorn machine. The sounds of the arcade in the other room projected into the concession area, electronic sounds and buzzers trying to lure children in. As if there were any here in the first place. 

Eventually you ordered, getting a pitcher of beer and nachos. As you waited for the cheese machine to whirl back to life, you found your eyes wandering over towards the shoe hut. 

Eddie was laughing at something the kid said before taking two pairs of shoes and heading towards the back where the lanes were. Those areas were covered in blue wallpaper with pink squiggles, glowing neon in the rotating lights. He faded into the glow, dropping the shoes onto the table. 

You wondered why he’d gotten here early, going so far as to avoid the observation once you’d acknowledged it. This wasn’t even including his attitude being much more reserved than usual. He didn’t mock you once in that entire interaction. 

The night was still young, though.

When you walked over, Eddie’s eyes lit up at the sight of goodies in your arms.

“Beer and nachos?” he asked.

“Got a problem with nachos?”

Eddie grabbed a chip, drenching it in as much cheese as he could. “No, but you will after I eat all of them,” he said before tossing it into his mouth.

“Of course you’d never leave me any,” you commented as you set down the cups, beer, and nachos next to the shoes. 

He swallowed before shaking his head. “You know I can just get us some more, right?”

You shrugged off your coat, tossing it over his. “So that you can eat all of those, too?”

“These are some harsh accusations.”

“They’re hunches,” you countered, crossing your arms over your chest.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Come on. Tonight’s supposed to be about starting over, remember?”

You knew he was right. This was supposed to be a truce. Where was your can-do attitude? 

You took a deep breath before saying, “Yeah, okay. Sure. Yes. Starting over.”

Eddie smiled at you before throwing out his hand. “Hi, I’m Eddie Munson. Nice to meet you.”

You stared down at his hand. “We’re doing this?”

His smile widened. “We are.”

“Okay, fine.” You introduced yourself before taking his hand in yours. Shaking it, you added, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“What do you do for work?”

You snorted. “Uh, I’m a freshman English teacher at South Jefferson High School.”

He gave you a surprised expression. “You’re serious?”

“Uh, yeah?” you asked, confused.

He placed his free hand on his chest. “I’m a freshman English teacher at South Jefferson High School.” 

That was when you realized what was going on. What Eddie was attempting to do. You were really starting over. And if he was animated about this bit then, fuck it, you could be, too. 

Enthusiastically, you exclaimed, “What? That’s crazy!”

Eddie grinned, sparking something inside you. “Isn’t it?”

“How come I’ve never seen you around before?” you asked, fully playing along now.

“I don’t know! I’m in room 11A.”

You gasped. “I’m in 14A.”

“This is so bizarre.”

“I know. Small world, huh?”

In the silence that followed, you became aware of pressure that remained against your palm. The forgotten sensation that had your eyes lowering to your hand. They were joined, warmth being passed back and forth as your playful exchange came to a close. It felt like you couldn’t breathe.

So, you let go.

“Wanna bowl?” you asked, still feeling hazy. “With…me?”

Eddie coughed before sticking his hands in his back pockets. “Absolutely. Though, I have to warn you that I have the bumpers up.”

You smiled. “That’s the only way to play.”

Eddie won the first round. 

However, much to his dismay, you won the second.

It involved a lot of groans, snorts, and retreats to the beer pitcher in between turns. Overall, it was a pretty civil affair which surprised Eddie. He wondered how you felt about it.

The two of you now sat on top of the joint tables, having gone through a second pitcher of beer and demolished another helping of nachos. There’d only been one or two lanes taken up since you started, the room still in near silence outside of “I Wanna Love You” by Akon and Snoop Dogg playing over the crackled speakers. 

You sat close to one another, mirroring each other. Both you and Eddie were hunched over, feet planted on the chair in front. But as the conversation continued, you were turning closer to one another. The distance didn’t really feel like distance anymore.

Eddie was finishing off his final sip of beer when you suggested, “What if we did honesty hour?”

He glanced over at you, slowly lowering his cup. “What, like ask each other questions?”

“Yeah, and the other person has to answer. Nonegotiable.”

That was rather brave of you. And bold. You avoided any and all sense of trying to understand him. Not once did you ask him a question that wasn’t drenched in kerosene. Plus, what did you know about honesty? You grew defensive at any hint of curiosity and hostile when he reiterated whatever you told him. Could this really be considered progress or just a chance to seem like the good guy?

“Oh, I don’t know if you could handle your own game,” he challenged.

“What!” you exclaimed, lifting your hands.

He shook his head, unable to believe you were seriously that shocked. “You always have this look in your eye,” he said, wiggling his fingers in your face.

“What look?” you asked, slapping his hand away.

“Like you’re withholding information.”

One of your eyebrows twitched. “Is it wrong for me to keep some things to myself?” you argued, a forced chuckle leaving your lips. “I don’t need to tell you every thought in my head.”

“Why not?” “Because you make fun of everything I do!”

Eddie shook his head again, your irony bordering on comical. “You get mad at everything I do. Why do you get to be all high and mighty about it?”

“Because at least I keep my opinions to myself.”

“You make your opinions very clear, actually.” You rolled your eyes. “Okay, so are we gonna start or what? I don’t wanna do this if you’re gonna keep getting defensive.”

You let out a small groan. “Okay, yes. Fine.”

“We’ll start off easy, okay?” You nodded. “What was your favorite part of Napoleon Dynamite?”

You chuckled, catching him off guard. Then you smiled and an unexpected ease filled his chest. “Oh, most definitely Napoleon test tasting the milk.”

“It’s so nasty,” he agreed, feeling a laugh escape him. “Almost as good as the part when he watches Pedro ride his bike and asks if he can too and—”

“And he breaks the ramp!” you finished for him.

He nodded emphatically. “Yes, exactly!”

“I loved it. It was really funny.”

“What can I say? I have good taste.”

“You have one point,” you told him, holding up your pointer finger. “One.”

He shrugged. “That’s one more than yesterday.”

“Guess that means it’s my turn to ask a question?”

“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “I think I have a few more.”

“What? I came up with the idea.”

“Yes, but you always dodge answering anything honestly.”

“As if you don’t say anything other than,” you lowered your voice, “Oh, look at me. I’m so cool. You’re just jealous ‘cause I’m just so cool.”

Eddie snorted. “And what do you think you do?” He raised the pitch of his voice. “What? How dare you! Stop that! Ugh. I could never.”

“Yeah, okay,” you agreed. “I do sound like that.”

“Finally rolling an eighteen for once.”

You paused. Eddie watched as you looked down. “Did you just…” you trailed, eyes slowly coming back up to meet his. “Did you just make a Dungeons and Dragons reference?”

“Maybe.”

A loud chortle flew through the air as you exclaimed, “Oh my god! You’re a nerd!”

He rolled his eyes. “Nerd? Really? Are we in high school?” You gave him a playful shrug. “The fact that you know the rules means you’re just as big of a nerd as I am.”

“Exactly!” you exclaimed. “It’s not a bad thing. It just feels like. Well. I don’t know. I guess, to me, it feels like you’re a real human being now.”

“That’s because you have forgotten to ask me anything about myself.” You opened your mouth, but he beat you to the punch. “Which you can do after I ask mine.”

“Okay, fine,” you replied with a huff.

“Do you actually enjoy teaching at SJ?”

“Of course I do,” you said too quickly, eyes narrowing.

Eddie shook his head. “Defensive. I really am asking. It’s not a trap.”

“Fine, fine,” you agreed, holding up your hands. “I enjoy what I’ve started doing. I mean, I don’t think I’ve made the impact that I’ve wanted to, which was why getting the opportunity to do this full-time was really exciting.”

“Do you think this’ll be a long term thing? Teaching here?”

“I hope so. Maybe not forever, but I want to right now. I think I owe it to these kids who’re already in such a vulnerable phase in their lives. It keeps getting scarier out in the world. The least I can do is try to help make it easier with the small pocket of time I have in their lives.”

“That’s really sweet,” Eddie whispered, and he meant it.

“Oh, thanks,” you whispered back. “I mean it.”

“Does your family live around here? Or your, uh, boyfriend.” He panicked when you raised an eyebrow. “Or girlfriend. I, uh, I don’t judge.”

Shaking your head, you said, “No, my family isn’t around. I haven’t seen them in over a year. I moved back and then they moved across the country. Besides, we barely call. We’re all bad at using the phone. I write them sometimes, but it’s usually attached to cheesy holiday cards.” You looked down at your cup. “And no. I don’t have a partner of any kind at the moment.”

“Interesting,” he said.

“Do you?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do I what?”

“Do you have a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend?”

Eddie almost said, “Why do you wanna know?” But you were making real progress for once. He couldn’t fuck it up now. Not when your eyes were returning to his, brave and unafraid now.

“I do not,” he answered. “I don’t have a partner of any kind right now.”

“And your family?”

It was his turn to cower away. “Yikes,” he whispered, planting a goofy expression on his face to soften the blow. “Uh, yeah. My dad’s in jail and my mom passed when I was a kid. My uncle lived around here but he actually met a nice guy so now they pose as roommates in Ohio.”

“What’s in Ohio?”

That was your answer? To everything he just said, giving you the basics of a fucked up childhood, the only thing you had to respond with was a question about what state his uncle and his boyfriend settled on?

“Dave, I guess,” he replied, studying your lack of expression. You let out a hum and nodded. “Does that not, like, weird you out?”

“What part exactly?”

“My parents.”

You shook your head. “No, not really.”

“Hm.”

“Do you want me to be weirded out?”

“No, I…” Eddie trailed before taking a deep breath. “I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

You nodded. “Then you’ll be absolutely ecstatic to know that I am far from being weirded out.”

“Incredible,” he said lightly, trying to force out a laugh. He sobered up quickly when you gave him a closed-lip smile. “Last question.”

“Hit me.”

Do you really hate me?

He blinked. “Would you go outside with me and share a cigarette?”

“Yeah,” you replied. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

So you climbed off the tables, grabbing your jackets and heading back out the front door. Eddie had been eyeing your appearance all night, especially the lipstick you’d donned. You never wore lipstick at work and you hadn’t the last few times he saw you around the city. Why now?

If only asking questions didn’t get him annihilated. 

“I’ve actually decided I want my own,” you said, turning toward him.

“Of course you do.” Your breaths fogged together as you chuckled. “Are you finally gonna try a Marlboro Red?”

Your smile bordered on mischief as you pointed your thumb at the parking lot. “I mean, I have a pack of Newports in my car. I could always go get them.”

Eddie shook his head, slipping his pack out of his jacket. “Nah, I don’t trust you to come back.”

Snapping, you said, “Damn. You foiled my epic evil plan.”

“I see right through you.”

“You sure do.”

Eddie held out a lone cigarette for you to take. You gave him a small smile before plucking it from his fingers and sliding it between your teeth. He tried handing you the lighter but you shook your head.

“You’re not gonna light it for me?” you asked around the cigarette. “Some manners you’ve got.”

With only a snort as a response, Eddie lit both of your cigarettes at the same time. The smoke swirled through the air, mimicking a blanket of snow you were sure to get in the next few weeks.

The banter between you was nice. Eddie had made his peace with the constant back and forth, but nothing felt better than this. The two of you being civil and, if not friends, friendly. Your scowl had faded, leaving behind your gentler expressions. If he didn’t find you beautiful before, there was something almost explosive about what he saw now.

He wondered what it was like to grow up so wondrous. What kind of kid you were and whether you experienced the atrocities that he had in high school. What did you turn into after, when you could grasp at the sleeves of freedom? Did your fingers ever slip?

You bent down to stub out the cigarette before tossing it in the trash can next to the door. Eddie watched you, wondering how he could keep you from leaving. Sure, you probably weren’t thinking about leaving. But. Still.

He needed more time with you. He needed more time to understand you. And if you were to walk away from here tonight without divulging those details, he thought he’d explode. Especially when you’d be back as coworkers the following week.

So, he got an idea.

“We should go to the little arcade inside.”

“Why, so I can beat your ass?”

“Woah there!” Eddie exclaimed. “Trash talk. I like it.”

You took a step towards the door, watching as he flicked his cigarette out onto the pavement. “Guess you’re rubbing off on me.”

Before you could pull any further, Eddie was taking the handle from you. “I should do it more often,” he replied, gesturing for you to walk through.

“It’s only ‘cause I’m a little tipsy.”

“You didn’t have to drink the beer. I mean, it is kinda shitty.”

You shrugged. “I’ve been having fun. Sue me.”

“Then you’ll be excited to know that the arcade is the final showdown.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, think about it. I won the first round. You won the second, right?” You nodded. “So who is the winner?”

“We could tie and practice good sportsmanship.”

“What’s the fun in that?”

You giggled. You fucking giggled.

It jolted him. It wasn’t lightning, but rather the shock of static electricity on an unforgiven doorknob. 

“You’re right,” you said with a shrug.

God, he really fucking liked you.

“We’ll play three rounds,” Eddie started, fiddling with the coins in his hands. “First are Galaga and Target Terror. And then, for our final showdown? The claw machine.”

“The claw machine is rigged,” you argued. “We’ll both lose.”

“Yeah, with that attitude.” You snorted. “You can’t know if you don’t try.”

Instead of whipping up some witty comeback, you trudged over to the dusty Galaga machine, noting that one of the coin slots was shattered.

Eddie came to stand next to you, plopping a coin in your palm before you thrusted it into the unbroken slot and took off.

One thing you’d failed to mention up until this point was how shitty you were at any and all arcade games. You’d once thought Galaga was your favorite, something you gravitated towards as a kid. The flashes of neon against the black, with only specks of color to create the illusion of a night sky. It always drew you in, the feeling that you were escaping somewhere outside yourself. Outside of the reality— 

“Oh, come on, really?” you exclaimed as you failed. 

“You’re just smashing the keys,” Eddie groaned.

You shot him a look. “But that’s what you’re supposed to do!”

“Well,” he started, bumping your hip with his. “Doesn’t matter now ‘cause you’re dead. Officially. Time for you to scoot over. Come on.”

Reluctantly, you switched places. 

And, boy, were you immediately intimidated.

Eddie was a whiz, all calm and collected as he focused on the screen like his life depended on it. His fingers stretched, skillfully defending space from the countless hoards of aliens and other creatures that dared to cross his path. 

He finally died at the low low score of 140,820. 

“What the fuck?” you muttered as he took a step back and grinned at you.

“So that’s, what, two points now for me and one for you?”

You tried to suppress your glare. “Good job,” you said through your teeth.

Eddie gave you a bow. “Why, thank you. Sometimes it pays off to be a nerd.”

It wasn’t that you were a sore loser. But you were with a sore winner. Now it was time to get your revenge. How you would do that was beyond you, but you had to try.

“Come on,” you told him.

Your next destination was the Target Terror, taking the red gun before he even approached. For good measure, you turned and pretended to shoot him. Eddie let out a dramatic gasp before clutching his chest and falling to the floor.

Laughter tumbled out of you without any thought, made boisterous when he twitched and kept making the stupidest noises you’d ever heard before finally playing dead.

“Bravo,” you complimented.

Like a flattened cartoon character, he regenerated and sprung back up to his feet. 

“I’m a natural, I know,” he responded, sliding coins in for you both.

“Yeah, you should be the next drama teacher.”

He grabbed the blue gun. “I actually think I’d kick ass at it.”

He didn’t sound like he was joking.

As you went to shoot the start button, you couldn’t help but look over at Eddie. He was checking out the gun and deciding on his hand placement as if that mattered. But you were thinking about something else.

Eddie was a good guy, wasn’t he? Take away his revolting arrogance and inability to keep his mouth shut and you could see a person underneath. His ambition mirrored yours and maybe, just maybe, his heart had been in the right place all along. Maybe there was more to him that you wanted to learn.

You wanted to be his friend.

Eddie caught your eye, pausing to look up at you. “What?” he asked. “You waiting on me?”

“Um.” You made yourself look back at the screen. “Yeah, I want to win fair and you’re taking too long. So. Uh. Let’s play.”

Without another word, you shot the first level and the two of you were off, trying to kill as many bad guys as you could. Though, they were kinda lame, just some guys in hoodies and sunglasses. A few of them were women which you appreciated, but they were the only ones who seemed like they had any real backstories. 

You tried not to sneak a glance over at Eddie’s score, but you couldn’t help it. You were winning. He seemed to be struggling, glancing over at you every so often. His frustrated looks sat in your peripheral, leaving you with a shit eating grin on your face as you took your sweet time. 

“What the hell,” he said when it hit game over.

You pretended to blow smoke off of your plastic gun before putting it back. “You were just smashing the trigger,” you said. “So, that’s, what? Two points for me, two for you?”

Eddie sighed. “Guess I deserved that one.”

You smirked. 

The claw machine was the final destination, lined in yellow and emitting a neon glow. Turning to look at Eddie, you saw the neon illuminating his dark eyes which were solely on you. 

You nearly did a double take, suddenly overwhelmed by the exposure.

“What?” you asked.

“What?” he retorted, smirking.

“You’re staring at me.”

“Maybe I am.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause you’re really pretty.”

Your gut twisted again. “You think I’m pretty?”

“Yeah, of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?’

“I feel like you look at me as some, I don’t know, clownish hag or something.”

“Clownish hag?” he repeated.

“Or something.”

Eddie laughed. “You’re just saying that because that’s how you see me.”

“You think that I think you’re a clownish hag?”

“Isn’t that why you’re so annoyed by me?”

“No, I’m annoyed by you because your goal in life is to make mine miserable.”

“Sure, yeah. Let’s go with that.” You rolled your eyes. “So how do you see me then? Hm?” “I mean, a guy like you already knows how pretty he is. I don’t think I have to be the one to tell you that.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Pretty, huh?”

“What?” you asked, blinking.

“You think I’m pretty, too.”

“Objectively, yes.”

“Objectively,” he repeated, snorting.

“You can’t deny it.”

“Only if you don’t deny finding me pretty.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Alright. Come on.” He gestured towards the machine. “Go ahead and try.”

Your eyes lingered on him for possibly a second too long before you returned your attention to the claw machine. Hitting the start button, you moved the claw around the box. You were sure this was going to fail. There was no other way for this to go.

Eddie called me pretty.

It was a rigged system. You give them your money, left with the unspoken contract that this was a game of chance. You paid for what you got in the end. No take backs. No refunds. What you ended up with was what you ended up with. There was no return to the way things were before you gave away something so special. 

Eddie called me pretty.

But in the end, there really was nothing left to lose. So, you slammed your hand down on the button.

Eddie called me pretty.

Slowly, the claw extended and fell against a small tiger plushie. It clamped down on its head before slowly rising. You gasped as it stayed secure and moved towards the safety box inside. Then, the claw opened.

And you won.

Almost simultaneously, you and Eddie erupted in shrieks, jumping up and down as you stared at the machine in disbelief. 

“Oh my god!” you exclaimed.

His eyes sparkled. “You did it!” 

“I know! That was crazy!”

Eddie laughed and gave you a high five. “That was amazing.”

You shrugged. “I’m the best, what can I say?”

“Can’t disagree with you there, sweetheart.”

You felt your eyes widen, mirroring the same exact movement now coming from him. 

Sweetheart.

Of all the names you’d been given from crushes, part-time lovers, and partners, never had you heard the word sweetheart.

It sent a wave of bubbles to your gut before floating up, up, up and into your throat. You tried to clear it, but nothing could get it out. Eddie held your stare, seemingly unable to make a comment. Unable to call you out for what you surely knew he knew despite you not really knowing for yourself. 

What was happening?

“Eddie?”

You heard him take a sharp inhale as his name left your lips. It was the first time you’d uttered it out loud. To yourself. To someone else.

To him.

“Can I ask you something?”

He nodded, slowly. “Anything.”

You could feel yourself unraveling. “Do you really want to be my friend?” you whispered.

Eddie’s expression softened. “Of course I do.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Yes.” He didn’t even blink.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The catch in your throat was enough.

Eddie’s hands lifted, fingers slowly curling around your cheeks before bringing your lips to his. 

It was the meteor you never saw coming. A gentle kind of impact. It’s intense and explosive, but there’s safety. Somehow, Eddie’s the reason why. 

He was gone too quickly, not giving you enough time to process why he was making you feel this way. But his eyes met yours and suddenly he was the breathless one.

“Uh, sorry,” he said, taking slow blinks.

You didn’t know what to say. Too many questions were caught in your throat. Was this manipulation? Was this real? And if it was, did that mean he liked you? Did that mean that you liked him?

But Eddie began to take a step back and it angered you to no end.

“Don’t you dare,” you grumbled, grabbing onto that stupid open collar of his. “Come here.” You pulled him back toward you, connecting your lips once more.

The trance fixed itself, your brain struck with neon pixels of excitement, of bewilderment. There was this need to completely consume him. To take his breath as your own so that you may understand who he is and what makes this so different.

You knew you’d never be the same after this ended.

Eddie was quick to reverse the roles, turning you around pulling you to the other side of the claw machine, hiding you both. You had no problem shoving him against the wall, both hands on his chest now. 

He broke through your arms, reaching for your jaw once more and dragging you closer. As if that were possible. As if there was any space left between your bodies. 

It wasn’t desire. It was necessity.

Your fingers locked around his hips, digging your fingernails as hard as you could. It was instinctual, like there was no other way this could go.

He let out a deep moan, sounding more like a growl than anything else. It sprung you further as you pressed your hips against his. You found friction and chased it without hesitation. 

Hands moved down to your neck, squeezing ever so lightly.

Your goosebumps rose like static electricity. 

But then someone cleared their throat. Loudly.

You jumped away, turning to find the kid from the counter. “Uh, yeah, hi. Please stop making out in the arcade.”

“Oh, sorry,” you said.

All he did was shrug and walk away.

Slowly, your heart slowed down and you dared yourself to look back at Eddie, his pink lips coated in your lipstick.

His eyes were already on yours, but you could see little flickers to your lips. It restarted that pumping, pushing you to take a step forward.

So did he.

His hand found your elbow and drew you forward.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

“That was…” he trailed.

“It was what?” you asked, feeling dread pool in your stomach.

He paused. Too long, your thoughts echoed. Too long.

And that’s when it finally hit you.

Eddie hadn’t given you a second glance before the book club debacle started. There was no indication of interest or intrigue, settling on December as the start date of his ventures. December, when it was finalized that the two of you would be sponsoring together. 

He’d come into the break room for lunch. He had to know you’d be in there, had to know already that you were co-sponsors. Why else would he try to rile you up? Why else would he try to befriend you?

He was tricking you.

This had been his plan all along. 

He was trying to get you to forget all about the book club. He was trying to take it for himself. You knew he’d certainly read enough books to know how to do it. 

This was what men did. They got you alone, vulnerable, and then stabbed you in the back. Their games were always the same. 

You’d grown up, but you were still just as naive as you were at eleven. Fifteen. Nineteen. Twenty-five.

“What am I doing?” you wondered out loud, glancing at him one last time before you turned and walked towards your coat and purse.

Eddie didn’t follow you.

Once more, you smoothed the wrinkles in your white button down and red floral skirt. Your heel-clad feet ached as you leaned against the desk at the head of the room. Next to you was Eddie, back to his bun and waiter uniform. He stood a few feet away, but you were more than conscious of his presence.

It was cumbersome, lighting your skin on fire as you gave fake smiles to every student filing into your classroom at three-ten in the afternoon. The tension was palpable, found in the awkward silence that rested between the two of you.

One by one, the students sat down and made small talk with their friends. They laughed and giggled, eyes flickering over to you two every so often.

But at three-fifteen, you heard Eddie clear his throat.

“We’re going to start by re-introducing ourselves,” he started.

You both said your names.

You couldn’t help but glance over at Eddie, watching as he did the same.

Quickly averting your gaze, you took a quick breath and looked back at the kids.

“So,” you said. “Who wants to go first?”

requested tagging: @anukulee, @twihard28, @doorlesscub00, @whisperingwillowxox, @ubiquitous-corvids, @kellsck

thank you to @littlexdeaths for her dividers :')

[boyrobott]

(i know you're on break rn so don't feel pressured to reply ) but the video essay is officially on youtube worldwide!! I had to fight with copyright for a week to get it up lol, but its here! 90 minutes of unhinged rambling about this movie. (GhostyQuartz on youtube, I don't think your asks allow links lol)

it's great to hear from you again! and if it helps you feel any better about messaging me while i'm on hiatus, i pretty much never log onto social media when i'm on a break, so i didn't even see this message until a couple days ago when i had some downtime. but i immediately went and watched your video essay right away as soon as i had the chance! i'm going to drop a comment on the video itself at some point, but i also don't want to clutter up your comment section too much, so i'm going to post the majority of my thoughts here instead.

for interested followers, here's the video in question.

"make america metro city great again" is living in my head rent-free from now on. it'll be here for exactly forever.

"you won't grow??? get sold to the circus, idiot" 😭😭😭

referring to elefun as tenma's "definitely not gay lover" ITS TRUE BUT YOU SHOULDNT SAY IT. WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUTING THEM LIKE THIS. THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO THEIR PRIVACY. WHO ARE YOU TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM THEM.

i literally never noticed nor considered the symbolism of astro being suspended by wires, breaking free of those wires in the first moments of existence, and becoming so much more than the puppet tenma wants him to be. that literally got me right in the chest. i never thought about that before. thank you. i will be thinking about it for exactly forever now.

your notes about tenma's relationship with both his sons being largely transactional in their own ways (tobio gets good grades, tenma "rewards" him with love & affection / astro behaves like tobio, tenma "rewards" him with love & affection / astro fails to behave like tobio, tenma shuns him, withdraws from him, and rejects him) and how that bleeds over into astro's dynamic with everyone else in the movie, particularly hamegg, and colors his actions during his stay in the orphanage, is actually something i've thought about a lot. so it was really cool to hear somebody else drew the exact same conclusion. still got me right in the chest though.

re: why do robots have their own language, separate from the humans, in the 2009 universe?? i'm actually writing a fic about that!! i originally intended for it to fill one of the astro boy 2024 fanweek prompts, but then i got a better idea and this one went on the back burner. but it'll definitely get written & posted someday!

your analysis of the tension in astro's posture whenever tenma is in the room made me so sad for real. the fact that astro is so visibly uncomfortable and nervous around his own father will never not break my heart. poor kid deserves so much better.

ZANE IS BESTIE GOALS!!!!! this is real!!! this is true!!! this is canon!!! sometimes i feel like i'm the only true zane stan in the fandom, so it's always so great to encounter other people who also notice what a good friend he is to astro. their dynamic is usually ignored or overlooked in favor of astro & cora (which is understandable, considering their parallel backstories) but i really love them. zane is so ride-or-die for astro it's UNREAL. i've played around with the concept of zane faking his illiteracy so astro can reveal his secret on his own terms, too, and that was actually my automatic assumption when i watched the movie for the first time -- zane was just pretending for astro's sake -- but then the joke came back a couple times later on, and i don't know if zane has the patience and dedication to commit to the bit for that long, lmao. nonetheless, i've been considering a post-canon fic where zane accidentally reveals he does know how to read, and astro is so genuinely stunned lol

the surface was SO criminally underutilized. thank you for noticing. kissing you on the mouth. in my opinion, it was a far more interesting location than metro city, and i would've loved a more thorough exploration of it before he goes back home. i'd love the opportunity to write a post-canon fic one day where astro stays on the surface for several years at a time, slowly helping the surface-dwellers bring the earth back to life. elefun did say the blue core had the power to do that, and i just think it'd be really cool if his prediction came true not because of the energy within the core being "properly harnessed", as he says, but because the robot who's powered by it cares enough about humanity to devote himself to planetary restoration efforts all across the globe.

did not realize cora was canonically seventeen. i dont like that. i dont like that at all. i'm rejecting that full stop. she's like twelve or thirteen now because i said so. (i know she's pretty tall in comparison to the boys, which would suggest she's older, but i always assumed that was because girls tend to hit puberty first and reach their adult height by fourteen or fifteen, with maybe another inch or two before they hit adulthood. so i figured that was what happened with her. plus, astro & zane aren't really that tall. astro is canonically under five feet, and zane is only about four inches taller than him, give or take a bit. even if we assume astro is 4'11 (he's not lmao he's closer to 4'5 or 4'6 i think) that would only put zane at about 5'4.) and now you've got me wondering whether astro is canonically thirteen or not, because i always assumed he was younger, too, and everyone just jumped on what that security guard in the ministry says to tobio ("you're what, thirteen?") as a canon confirmation of his age. but you know what, it doesn't matter what his canon age is, because i won't accept it, anyway. he's ten or eleven to me. no way he's any older than that. he's too baby-coded <3

you want a copy of the 2009 novelization?? i gotchu. give me a little while to get it together and find a site to put it on (i know internet archive hosts rare books, but i dont know shit about it beyond that i just use it to read out-of-print stuff from decades past lmao so there WILL be a learning curve). i also have the 2009 graphic novel AND the Underground comic series. hmu if you want any of that too

"hamegg should have found out astro was tenma's son and hurt him as a way to get back at tenma" NO NO BUT I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN WRITING A FIC ABOUT THIS?????? I'VE BEEN WRITING A FIC ABOUT THIS FOR REAL???? I'VE HAD THIS EXACT IDEA IN MY HEAD SINCE 2021???? WHAT THE HELL AND FUCK!!!!!!!

that moment where you stopped to count up all the times astro died in the movie literally sent me into fucking orbit for real. i saved the picture to my computer because i want to be able to look at "death #3 (kind of)" whenever i want

speaking of memes i'm honored my "do it for him" one got featured in your video 😭😭😭

THE EYE CONTACT DURING THE SCENE WHERE TENMA DEACTIVATES ASTRO. YOU GET IT. YOU ABSOLUTELY GET IT. YOU ABSOLUTELY FUCKING GET IT. ALL THE UNSPOKEN THINGS BETWEEN THEM HANGING SO HEAVY IN THE AIR IT'S ALMOST PALPABLE. THE REGRET AND REMORSE AND GRIEF AND DESPERATE HOPE ON BOTH SIDES. TENMA'S EFFORTS TO FIND TOBIO IN ASTRO. NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY LOVE EACH OTHER THEY ARE NOT CAPABLE OF BEING WHAT THE OTHER WANTS OR NEEDS. I'M LEGIT CHEWING DRYWALL RN.

your absolute roast of tenma's redesign was so good lmao. "you can tell he hasn't had a good night's sleep in 3 decades" took me OUT. they really yanked his dilf card away and didnt give it back until pluto 😭

you really hit the nail on the head when you said hamegg's presence on the surface combined with stone's presence in metro city means astro isn't safe anywhere. one of my favorite things about the movie is how there is nowhere astro can go to escape the humans' cruelty. he can't even find basic safety and security, let alone home and family. it really drives home the hardship he's living through, and underscores the inherent tragedy of his existence. i'm absolutely fine.

i'm really surprised to hear you disliked astro's statements regarding his "destiny", since that was something i personally enjoyed a great deal! the way i've always interpreted is not that astro genuinely, wholeheartedly believes in fate so much as he has to believe in it to maintain his sense of hope and optimism. he has to believe that he has a greater purpose beyond a failed experiment and an imperfect copy of his father's real son, he has to believe he exists for a good reason, because otherwise, he'll have to face the fact that he's nothing more than a mistake tenma made in the darkest depths of his grief and denial. if he admits there's no such thing as destiny, he admits that he has no purpose and no place in the world. if he admits there's no such thing as destiny, he admits that he shouldn't even be alive. when he says it's his destiny to die at tenma's hands in the ministry, and when he says it's his destiny to die fighting the peacekeeper, that's actually an extremely realistic and heartbreakingly human response to his very distressing, very traumatic, and horrendously unfair circumstances. at the end of the day, he's really nothing more than a young boy who's just had his whole world ripped away from him, and he's struggling to make sense of this new reality he's found himself in. the horror of his situation is simply too cruel for him to accept fully, so he dresses it up as destiny. that's always been fascinating and heart-wrenching to me in equal measure. but i understand it's not for everyone, and to each their own 🤷

thank you again for linking me to the video! it was so much fun and so enjoyable for a die-hard 2009 fan such as myself. i'd be interested in hearing your thoughts if / when you complete your watch of the 2003 series, though i understand videos of that length require a lot of time and commitment, so i absolutely don't expect to see anything like that, lol. i hope you're having a wonderful day, and that you have a lovely holiday season if you celebrate anything around this time of year!

[365sylviaplath]

Week of 10/21-10/27

astrology forecast + collective tarot card for the week

Card for this week: Queen of Wands (reversed) - looking inward this week to re-establish your sense of self. lots of inner work the last few weeks (honestly, this year overall) and getting re-acquainted with the person you want to be. for many of us, this is finding that person you want to be for the first time and building a strong foundation from scratch. to become courageous/confident/independent (themes of the Queen of Wands), you have to first learn who you are and bravely stand by yourself! the universe may send you check-ins this week to show you how ready you are to leave the old behind and step into this new self-worth. celebrate yourself and who you're becoming!!!

Transits/Astro forecast: scorpio season is here! even though we've had so much pluto/scorpio energy already in libra season, it honestly snuck up on me a little still. waxing poetic a bit because it's my birthday week...... it's a little surreal how much has changed for me in the last year. some days we focus mainly on what we still have to change/things we feel stuck on, but i'm utilizing this week to remember how much has evolved and how much hard work went into that. you dictate your own journey and set the pace! do not let anyone make you run through the stages you know you need to walk through.

me from last year would be a little stunned that i'm writing a newsletter/blog/whatever i'm calling this. i was struggling with basic self maintenance and had a deep frustration with everything going on in my life. things all felt harder than necessary and i felt powerless to it. i think it's a great week to re-affirm where you are, where you'd like to go, what you desire from your life, so on. scorpio is about depth, intensity, desire - yearning hours are back. change something, end something, admit how you feel - honor that things cannot exist in stasis forever. be real with yourself and those around you, you'll die soon enough. live while you can!

current retrogrades are jupiter, chiron, saturn, uranus, and neptune. my thoughts on pluto in capricorn might have to get their own longer form post because jeez this has been a crazy run. started out with the david cook/david archuleta american idol finale, financial collapse, and michael jackson's passing. a few more weeks and then pluto will begin anew once more in aquarius. life will never be the same etc etc

as for specifics-

monday 10/21 - mercury trine saturn rx - a monday for Locking In. this is probably your most productive day of the week. get to the pesky to-dos you've put off, do some longer term planning, organize your desk, whatever comes to your mind when you hear "productive". applaud your hard work this year as well - last time we had this transit was june 26th of this year, could be some topical reminders from that time frame.

tuesday 10/22 - sun square pluto, sun enters scorpio - entering very boldly here! scorpio season! sun aspecting pluto and then going right into scorpio (ruled by pluto) seems like a bit overkill but i guess we are a dramatic lot. the spirit of transformation is once again with us. how far we've come since the scorpio south node transit (2021-2023).... let's remember that today and thank it for leaving. say your final farewells to that era because we are Not doing that again. anyway.... great day for honoring your intensity, focusing on which areas of your life are ready to be transformed, etc. secretly also a great time to reflectively yearn about the past. i've been natally experiencing this transit as well since pluto began its journey into aquarius last spring and boy it does ask you to transform.

thursday 10/24 - mars sextile uranus rx (and also my birthday) - spontaneity is king today. you've got energy to channel and a desire to part ways with the pieces of your routine that no longer serve you. fun, excitement, spontaneity, curiosity, exploration - all key words today. do something fun and spontaneous in my honor today!

[astorinx-writes]

Why "Lost In Outland" Is Astro Boy's Most Beloved Episode

The 2003 series is considered by fans to be one of the best renditions of Astro boy ever. Known for its risk taking and emotionally charged story-lines, most if not all the episodes hit. But one in particular, “Lost In Outland,” stands out among the rest. Why that is, has been of particular interest to me, who personally enjoys it as well. My findings have led me to come up with three reasons as to why. For starters, the change in pace & scenario compared to other episodes. Secondly, the unforgettable and unique characters. And, thirdly, Astro’s place in it all. While this is not an exhaustive list of reasons, it is clear from these three alone that, out of all the 2003 series episodes, “Lost In Outland” proves time and time again to be the best and most loved.

Now, of course, before we begin, I have to disclaim a couple of things. One, this is not meant to convince you to like the episode if you dislike it already, I am simply explaining what I have found & researched and presenting it to you as such. Two, I am well aware that the research methods I have used to come to these conclusions with drawbacks and downsides that harm its legitimacy. While I tried my best to circumvent this, things can and do fall through the cracks, and there is nothing I can do about that in said regard.

To start, I want to explain a little bit about how I got to this point, and what made me wish to write this post. I knew personally that Lost In Outland was my favorite episode of the 03 series, but when speaking about it with other people, I was shocked to find out I was not the only one who felt that way. I also, at the time, had developed some theories as a result of this feedback that hinged on my own personal thoughts, not just about the episode, but also about my personal life. Thus, I decided to put together a Google Form in an attempt to not only gauge what other’s thought about this episode, but also if my theories held any water.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, there are some caveats to doing a poll. Besides the obvious— that people can lie or use bots to manipulate the results— there’s also the inherent bias that I am (presumably) polling people who already like and enjoy the 2003 series. So, the odds of them liking Lost In Outland goes up tenfold. There’s also the fact that I was only (at the time of writing this) able to pull in 8 responses. But as I said, I cannot control how people respond, and who responds, exactly. Even if I made it extra obvious that the results would be anonymous, that still may not have been enough to convince people to be brutally honest. This fandom is also quite tiny, so while 8 people in a poll for any fandom would seem so little, in this case it’s actually quite a lot. Finally, there was a second section in the form that contained some more heavy questions (mostly pertaining to my theories) that people had to opt in to answer. Some may have chosen not to participate and thus only answered the questions from the first section.

Out of the 8 people who submitted responses, 75% of them consider Lost In Outland their favorite, or all-time favorite episode. 25% did not consider Lost In Outland to be their fave or all-time fave. Participants were given a question to elaborate on why they did or disliked the episode, and we will be discussing their thoughts later. For now, to continue, 75% prefer the subbed version of the episode, while 25% prefer the dubbed.

For the second half of the survey, in which 87.5% of people agreed to participate, 57.1% of them consider themselves to be LGBTQ+/queer. 42.9% of them (presumably) consider themselves to be cishet. Precisely 71.4% of them have said they’ve experienced some form of trauma at any point in their life, while 14.3% did not, and 14.3% said “maybe.” The final question, directly attempting to answer a theory I had made, was a bit inconclusive. Only 57.1% of people said that they have or had (at any point) thoughts of escaping/running away, starting over somewhere new, or anything similar.

Now that we have broken down the multiple choice responses, we can get back to talking about the written response question I saved for later. This brings us to the three reasons outlined in the intro as to why the episode is so enjoyed. For starters, we can talk about one of the most frequently brought up reasons: the characters. Many praised the unique nature of the commune characters, with one even mentioning how lovable and interesting they are. Personally, I also agree that the characters are what make the episode. They serve as the backbone for the episode’s plot, and as one participant said, even make for the perfect set-up for a spin-off show. Boon in particular was brought up twice and seems to be the breakout star altogether. However, I can also see the opposite for why some wouldn’t like this, as introducing so many new characters (that, spoiler alert, we never see again) can be overwhelming, or seen as a waste. But, I think the episode did a fantastic job at making them all diverse and unique that we can’t really forget them. And, as for the “wastefulness” argument, that’s somewhat valid, but it’s not entirely our fault that the show couldn’t find a way to bring them back in some capacity.

Next, we have something a little similar, and that’s the change of pace/scenery. Now this personally has got to be one of, if not the sole reasons I love this episode, and I’m glad everyone else agrees! To begin, many pointed out how we don’t normally get to see live as lived outside of Metro City, or even outside of those that are rich. This episode, based around a commune that is said to live in Outland as a “[Way for] people to forget about their problems.” gives us a perspective we haven’t seen yet. Of course, though, I can't talk about this point and not say the obvious, that this isn’t the first time (nor would it be the last) that Astro’s lost their memory. However, in this specific context, I think it takes that idea and freshens it up a little. It’s also really nice to see O’shay step up to the plate and take initiative in looking for them. Not to say that he’s never stepped up before, but as one participant wrote: “It was the first episode, Ochanomizu claimed parenthood over, Atom.”

Finally, our third reason is a bit hard to pin down. Originally written in my outline for this blog post as simply “Astro’s altruism”, which is based on a single response written that spoke of Astro wanting to help others, despite everything. It seems far more that the majority (including myself), similar to liking how different of a situation Astro was in, also liked what it represented for them. Now, I am no psychologist, nor would I claim that anyone who participated is, either. Even still, the fact that it's as clear as the night sky that what Astro goes through is enough to make us all collectively sigh in gratitude that it’s not of importance or worry this time around, is astounding. Yes, there is still something to be said about the episode's entire premise beginning with Astro going out of their way to fix the satellite, despite not being instructed to do so at all. As well as the fact that they were able to clear Boon’s name after successfully using the Boon Unit. But for once, we’re seeing Astro live a life where they aren’t pestered or arsed to have a “purpose,” to be a mediator, to feel like being an activist is more important than being a kid. They were allowed to just be, and that, is precious.

For the 25% who disliked the episode, only 1 submitted a written response that said though it is not their favorite, they still enjoyed the episode. The other declined to comment.

To summarize, there are many reasons why Lost In Outland is considered the best of the best, even by 2003 series standards. But, based on my research, the 3 most predominate ones are: the stellar characters, the unorthodox setting, and Astro’s place in it all. And considering I agree with them all, should it really have been a surprise to me that I wasn’t the only one? Perhaps not- but I’m glad to now have concrete evidence as to why, and perhaps you do too as well. Because, out of all the 2003 series episodes, “Lost In Outland” proves time and time again to be the best and most loved. And the proof is in the pudding.

[siflshonen]

recently read your presentations on deku and bakugo and my god your brain is MASSIVE. i really enjoyed reading how you synthesized existing shonen charas and how it relates to the way bkg and dk are constructed + how much you reiterate that the series comes from a japanese perspective. i feel like a good majority of the western audience tends to forget that its a japanese series written from a japanese perspective, so ofc its themes would touch on cultural/social issues related to it that people in the western audience cant catch/understand easily

i also never thought that id end up reading how ww2/post ww2 influenced how shonen is written. it was an interesting point you mentioned!

thank you for your time and effort on writing these metas!!! loved your humor too and it kept me engaged!! your media comprehension skills are insane and i admire that :))

Thank you and thank you for reading! But I can’t take credit for everything in there - much of it owes a lot to the observation and contributions of other people who were in the fandom for much longer than I have been and have done more study on the topic (or related topics) to really give me a comprehensive view. (It might be more apt to say my brain is “well-seasoned” by these other people rather than large.)

Most of all, I think it’s wonderful that Horikoshi put so much thought into his manga or, even if he didn’t actively think about all these things, he stewed in them long enough that they came out subliminally!!!

The one thing I CAN take credit for as my own primary contribution is the research behind WWII and how it impacted the shonen genre. While I don’t have a degree in it or anything, the history of the genre is my personal and most vested area of interest! While I don’t reference them, I have several books on my shelf related to the topic - usually as extras in the back and front of Astro Boy works or supplementary materials as well as a couple comic history books, hahaha.

[dailykoreanpop]

Grief and shock as K-pop star Moon Bin, member of boy band Astro, dies age 25

Seoul/ Hong KongCNN —Global fans reacted with shock and grief over the death of 25-year-old K-pop star Moon Bin, a member of the popular boy band Astro.

His music label, Fantagio, confirmed Moon Bin’s death Thursday, and said he has “suddenly left us and became a star in the sky.”

“All Astro members, Fantagio colleagues, executives and employees who’ve been together for a long time are deeply mourning the deceased in such great sadness and shock,” the music label said, adding Moon Bin “always loved and thought of the fans more than anyone else.”

The star was found dead in his home in southern Seoul by his manager at around 8:10 p.m. Wednesday night, according to an official at Gangnam Police Station.

Gangnam police told CNN Thursday that authorities believe Moon Bin had taken his own life. “No signs of foul play have been found related to this case,” police added.

Social media filled with condolences as fans expressed their upset at the celebrity’s death, the latest to cast a spotlight on the often intense pressures celebrities face in the competitive and stressful Korean entertainment industry.

The hashtag #moonbin on Twitter was trending globally with over 2.6 million tweets, some posts written in English, Spanish, Indonesian, Tagalog and Thai.

Meanwhile, social media videos showed fans in Chile setting up a memorial for the late star, lining a wall with white and purple balloons, the theme colors of Astro.

A fan who commented on the video shared on Twitter said: “Rest in peace Moonbin… You had words of [comfort] for others. I wish you had talked about your pain… Rest sweet angel.”

“You’re a star in the sky now and watching over the people you love. Hearts and thoughts go out to his loved ones and all AROHAs,” MTV Asia tweeted, referring to name Astro’s fans call themselves.

“We lost a bright light, who was really contributing to the lives of his family and his friends and his fans and that bright light is gone,” said CedarBough Saeji, assistant professor of Korean and East Asian Studies at Pusan National University.

Saeji, a self-confessed Moon Bin fan, said amid the discussion on the pressures of Korean society and its celebrity industry, it was also important to remember the accomplishments of the young star.

“Moonbin was phenomenally talented dancer and singer. In recent years, he’d started writing some of the material for Astro as well. And he’d also been acting in a bunch of web dramas that had been quite popular. There’s really no limit to how far he could have gone if he continued his career and continue to mature as a performer,” Saeji said.

Child stars

Many K-pop icons start training as young teens, honing their singing, dancing and acting skills for years before they are even allowed a chance to debut their first song.

K-pop idols are known to be subject to intense pressure from their strict management, which has been linked to a mental health crisis in the industry.

South Korea has the highest rate of youth suicide among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations.

In 2021, the suicide rate in South Korea was 26 out of every 100,000 people, and while the country’s overall suicide rate is falling, deaths of those in their twenties are rising, according to the country’s Health and Welfare Ministry.

Moon Bin debuted with Astro in 2016. The other members of the group are Jinjin, MJ, Cha Eun-woo and Yoon San-ha.

He also performed as part of a subgroup called Moon Bin & Sanha, which toured in Asia in recent months.

Prior to his death the duo had been expected to perform next month in Busan, as part of the port city’s bid to promote the 2030 World Expo, and in Jakarta on May 13.

Moon Bin entered the entertainment industry as a child actor, making his debut in 2009 in the Korean Broadcasting System TV drama “Boys Over Flowers.” The series was widely popular and its dubbed version aired globally, gaining lots of fans from Southeast Asia.

His sister, Moon Sua, is also a K-pop celebrity, performing as part of the girl group Billlie.

Credit: CNN 

[fallinglikemagic]

Penny Polendina alludes to Astro Boy - and how this allusion foreshadows Penny’s eventual resurrection

Some of you may remember my first post in which I compared Penny and Astro Boy, with a specific focus on the version of Astro from the 2009 3D animated film (if not, you can read it here, but I'll be repeating everything stated there anyway). In the month or two since I first made that post, more and more parallels have start to pop up, with one of those parallels matching one of our most popular theories and foreshadowing Penny's upcoming resurrection.

In order to write this, I went through and watched the entire film, taking notes as I went. I'm not going to include every single detail that I noticed, only the things that seem the most relevant and can be put together in a single post in a comprehensive manner. Believe me when I say that I've thought about this a lot, and the sheer amount of parallels and connections (and the fact that I'm not the only one to notice these connections) has lead me to believe that this has been done intentionally. 

With that being said, I'm only going to focus on the Astro Boy film from 2009 - the Astro Boy franchise is massive, going back to the first manga coming out in 1952 with a few different adaptations and reboots with different versions of the story, and I just don't have the time to go through all of those. As such, I'm going to be focusing on the movie, due to the fact that it has the highest amount of parallels to both Penny specifically, and RWBY as a whole.

So, let's get into this.

Worldbuilding

Metro City and the Surface - Atlas and Mantle

One of the reasons I've decided to focus on the film in particular is due to the nature of the film's setting. Astro Boy (2009) takes place in two locations - Metro City, and the Surface.

According to the opening of the film, Metro City was created when the people who would become the founders of the city noticed the world changing for the worse, and responded by taking part of the land and lifting it into the sky, creating a floating city - the opening voiceover refers to it as "an oasis, a floating paradise". Everybody else is left behind on what is referred to as the Surface, left to fend for themselves while the people of Metro City largely ignore their existence.

The parallels to Atlas and Mantle are crystal clear. Atlas and Metro City are both set up as a beautiful city above the clouds, meant to serve as an inspiration for the rest of the world. In reality, it's a place where the rich and privileged can live in comfort while shunning the poor. Meanwhile, down in Mantle/on the Surface, people are suffering and struggling to get by. Additionally, both 'surface' and 'mantle' are words that are associated with the ground.

The Blue Core (and the Red Core) - Penny's soul and Maiden powers.

Another concept that is (as far as my research shows at least) unique to the film is the Blue Core and the Red Core.

The Blue Core is a small sphere that is filled with pure positive energy, referred to as Blue Core Energy. It was created by Dr. Elefun, made from the fragments of a star that no longer exists - meaning that the Blue Core is all that's left, and cannot be recreated. This is reminiscent of how Pietro has no more aura left to spare, and thus is unable to give any more of his soul to Penny like he did the first time she died. In this allusion, the Blue Core is representative of Penny's soul and the power of the Winter Maiden.

When the Blue Core was created, there was also a byproduct - the Red Core. Essentially, it's the same thing as the Blue Core, but with negative energy instead of positive. If the Blue Core and the Red Core make contact, they both die - this is relevant later.

You could compare the Red Core to Watts’ virus, due to the way that it causes a robot to have red eyes and that it coming into contact with the Blue Core destroys them both.

Character Parallels

Before I get into this properly, I wanna give a quick side note. While Astro matches up to Penny perfectly, things get a little bit messier with the others in that we have a case of characters taking on multiple roles. However, this is far from unheard of in RWBY - let's not forget about how Blake represents both Belle and the Beast, Yang is sometimes the Beast to Blake's Belle, and Adam is an amalgamation of every antagonistic force in Beauty and the Beast. It's far from uncommon for a character to allude to multiple characters from the same allusion, or vice versa, which is what we see with some of the characters in this allusion as well.

Astro - Penny Polendina

Unsurprisingly, Astro himself is our parallel to Penny.

After the death of his son Toby, Dr. Tenma rebuilds his son as a robot, using the Blue Core as his energy source. The Blue Core is stated to be unpredictable, and it's this that makes Astro who he is, what makes him unique from every other robot. As stated earlier, the Blue Core represents Penny's soul (and the Winter Maiden powers that are attached to it). When the Blue Core dies - and Astro dies with it - and Dr. Elefun is asked if he can be rebuilt, the answer is 'no' because the Core was unique and can't be remade - just like Penny's soul.

While Astro appears perfectly human on the surface, he's fitted with as much self-defence technology as Tenma could fit in him. The most iconic of these upgrades (and the only one that's consistent across every single version of Astro throughout the franchise) is the rocket boots. He even flies in a very similar way to Penny - pay attention to the posing, especially with the legs.

When Astro starts making friends with humans on the Surface, he conceals the fact that he's a robot, afraid of what they'll think of him when they learn he's not human. This matches up to Penny initially hiding the fact that she's not human, seeing herself as 'not a real girl'.

Astro has two father figures - Dr. Elefun and Dr. Tenma. Similarly, Penny has two father figures - Pietro and Ironwood.

During the climax of the film, Metro City starts to fall out of the sky and back down to the Surface. This is a parallel to two seperate moments in RWBY. The most obvious one is when Atlas is falling onto Mantle after the Staff of Creation is used. However, I think this scene more closely resembles the scene from Amity in which Amity Tower begins to fall.

When Astro sees that Metro City is falling, he immediately flies in to hold it up, despite the incredible strain it puts on him. This is a direct parallel to how Penny flew in to hold up Amity Tower.

Astro pushes himself to the limit when he holds up Metro City, to the point where the flames from his boots burn so brightly that they turn blue - oh hey, doesn't that look familiar?

Astro also demonstrates self-sacrificial tendencies at a few points in the film. When he's captured in order to have his Blue Core taken out and placed into another robot, he simply accepts it, saying that "I think maybe this is what's supposed to happen...this is my destiny". This becomes a lot more interesting when you remember that the Blue Core is representative of Penny's soul and Maiden powers. Astro giving himself up to President Stone (the film's main antagonist who later ends up in a sort of 'fusion' with the Red Core) so that Stone can use the Blue Core could be a reference to the virus making Penny want to give herself up to Ironwood so that he can use her soul to open the vault - especially if we believe that the Red Core is connected to the virus in some way.

Near the end of the film, in the fight against the fusion of President Stone and a giant robot containing the Red Core (it's a long story, I'll get to it later in the post), Astro makes the decision to sacrifice his own life in order to destroy both the Red Core and the Blue Core, saying “this is what I was created for” and saving the lives of everybody else in the process. I doubt I need to explain how "choosing to die in order to protect other people" relates back to Penny in Volume 8.

At the end of the film, and in the rest of the Astro Boy franchise as a whole, Astro takes it upon himself to be the protector of Metro City (and technically the Surface, but since Metro City has fallen, they're not exactly seperate locations anymore...). 'Robotic guardian of a city who's seen as a hero by the people' - you don't get much more obvious of a connection to the Protector of Mantle than that.

Additional details that may not be intentional but I still noticed anyway;

- Dr. Elefun describes as Astro by saying "That robot had more humanity than most of us". At this point, there's been many moments that affirm Penny's humanity - "You have an aura, Penny. A soul. That's who you are - our friend. Not a machine", "Her soul is who she is", the fact that she was able to receive the Maiden powers, all of these moments affirm that Penny has always been just as human as anybody else. This is also contrasted against Ironwood (and, for a while, Winter), who act more machine than human.

- Astro is actually rather heavily trans-coded. Penny is also trans-coded, but this is mostly likely a coincidence that happened as a result of the inherent transness of robots

- Elefun tells Astro that he's "not actually an entirely ordinary boy", which is reminiscent of Ruby describing Penny as "she's...not your typical girl."

- The shape of Penny's bow (the way that it sticks out more on one side while the other side is more vertical) looks similar to the shape of Astro's hair (this one was pointed out to me by @cosmokyrin​ when I mentioned this theory in the Frosen Steel server)

Dr. Elefun - Pietro Polendina

Dr. Elefun is one of Metro City's top scientists, and one of Astro's father figures. He is soft-spoken and gentle, a dreamer but a genius. In terms of personality alone, he's a pretty good match with Pietro. He's also the one who created the Blue Core, which draws a direct parallel to Pietro creating Penny's soul from part of his.

Dr. Elefun is the first person to truly see Astro as who he truly is. Dr. Tenma expects Astro to be a replacement for Toby, and is disappointed when he isn't. Similarly, everybody else sees Astro as a robot just like any other at first - an advanced robot, but nothing more than a robot. But Dr. Elefun gives him genuine praise, and encourages Astro to live his life and find his place in the world, just like how Pietro tells Penny that he wants to see her live her life.

It's also worth noting that in most other versions of Astro Boy, Elefun takes the role of Astro's primary caregiver after Dr. Tenma no longer wants him.

President Stone - James Ironwood

President Stone is the current political leader of Metro City. For the entire film, his entire focus is on combat and military strength, and on multiple occasions he actively expresses his intention to start a war with the Surface. He believes that the best way to get re-elected is with a show of military force and violence.

His primary goal throughout the film is to have Astro destroyed in order to retrieve the Blue Core and use it for his own gain. This is a direct parallel to Ironwood's goal in Volume 8 - to hunt down Penny and have her use her Maiden power to open the vault, and destroy herself.

Stone wants to use the Blue Core in order to power a specialised combat robot, ironically called the Peacekeeper. When Astro continues to escape his clutches, he decides to use the Red Core to power the Peacekeeper instead, but it doesn't completely go as planned. The Peacekeeper is equipped with what the film calls 'adaptive technology' - it's capable of absorbing anything it makes contact with into its own body.

And I do mean anything

After Stone is absorbed by the Peacekeeper, he's in full control of it - essentially the Peacekeeper is nothing more than a metal outer shell. President Stone has become a fusion of man and machine.

Dr. Tenma - both Pietro Polendina AND James Ironwood (a bit more Pietro than Ironwood but it's worth acknowledging both)

You might notice that while Elefun and Stone do have plenty of references to Pietro and Ironwood respectively, there are gaps where they don't cover every aspect of these characters and/or their dynamic with Penny. This is where Dr. Tenma comes in.

Dr. Tenma is Astro's dad, and the one who built him. He originally created Astro as a sort of 'replacement' for his biological son Toby after he died, giving Astro all of Toby's memories (more on this later). Naturally, this is a very clear connection to Pietro.

Additionally, Dr. Tenma uses the Blue Core - a completely unique, one-of-a-kind technological marvel - in order to power a single small robot that's intended to be nothing more than a replacement for his son, saying "I can't lose him again!". In this moment, Dr. Tenma is so focused on not losing his child that he doesn't acknowledge the big picture.

However, once Dr. Tenma realises that Astro isn't a perfect replica of Toby, but rather his own person, Tenma discards him, not caring if Astro gets destroyed or not. Similarly, when Penny stopped doing what Ironwood wanted her to do, Ironwood stopped caring about her as anything more than a container for the Maiden powers and is perfectly willing to let her die once the vault is opened.

Luckily, Dr. Tenma does have a change of heart, deciding that while Astro isn't Toby, he's still his son. Near the end of the film, Astro is very injured, and Dr. Tenma encourages him to get far away from the danger. However, Astro refuses to back down, instead choosing to sacrifice his life in order to stop President Stone, despite Dr. Tenma begging him not to go. Here, we have yet another parallel to this moment in Amity.

Bonus (aka characters that aren't perfect allusions, but connections do exist)

When Astro ends up on the Surface, he's taken in by a man who calls himself Hamegg. Hamegg ends up being a jerk, and while his personality and actions in the film don't particularly match up with any characters in RWBY, his backstory is a perfect match to Watts - a head scientist in Metro City who was shunned and fired for reasons unknown (Hamegg claims that they were 'intimated by his ideas and talent', but this was when he was trying to impress Astro and he lies a lot anyway, so this could be a complete lie).

On the Surface, Astro befriends four human kids (Cora, Zane, Sludge and Widget) and their robotic dog, Trashcan. While the personalities don't really match up (though Cora, Astro's closest friend, does bear a visual resemblance to Ruby), the idea of a 4-person group + a dog could be a parallel to Team RWBY and Zwei.

Zog is a very old, very large robot that had been 'dead' for several years until Astro found him and revived him by giving him some of his Blue Core Energy. Zog is our allusion to Winter - Astro giving Zog some of his Blue Core energy is a parallel to Penny giving Winter the Maiden powers. Additionally, in The Final Word, Winter explicitly calls herself a machine. While this does have significance on it's own, it could also be a nod to this allusion. That being said, the main connection between Winter and Zog (and possibly the most important part of this post) is based on events that have yet to happen in RWBY canon, and so I'm saving that part for the end of the post.

Story Parallels 

Toby's Death

Toby Tenma, Dr. Tenma's biological son, was very similar to Astro in terms of personality (with some key differences), as well as having a strong physical resemblance.

When the Blue Core and the Red Core were first being shown off to President Stone, Toby was accidentally locked behind a sealed off barrier, trapped with the Peacekeeper containing the Red Core. Toby was killed in a blast that completely disintegrated him, leaving nothing but a hat containing a single strand of hair.

This hair is important, because Dr. Tenma used this hair in order to extract Toby's DNA and memories, which he was then able to implant into Astro in order to make him resemble Toby.

This scene is most likely a parallel to Penny's first death in the Vytal Festival. In her first death, Penny's body was destroyed, but her core remained intact. Her core, which contained all of her memories, was the key piece in properly putting her back together without erasing who she used to be. The strand of hair containing Toby's DNA is representative of Penny's core containing her memories.

Additionally, there's the fact that when Toby was rebuilt as Astro, he was given various upgrades to allow him to better hold his own in a fight, with the most obvious behind the ability to fly via rocket boots. Penny received similar upgrades when she was rebuilt as well.

It's worth acknowledging that Toby's death could potentially parallel the moment that Ambrosius separated Penny from her robotic body, with the strand of hair instead being her soul, separated from her dying body and then disintegrating. However, due to the timeline and order of events, I think that Toby's death is more likely to be a parallel to Penny's first death, and her separation from her robot body is instead a parallel to the next scene I'm about to mention.

Momentary Death

When Astro is captured by President Stone and taken back to Metro City, Dr. Tenma actually does remove the Blue Core from his body, which does cause Astro to temporarily die.

Luckily, it only takes a few moments for Dr. Tenma to change his mind and return the Blue Core to Astro, reviving him.

Astro's 'soul' was removed from his body, causing that robotic body to die, even though in the end Astro does survive it. This is reminiscent of Ambrosius removing Penny's soul from her robotic body, letting that body die, while Penny survives.

Zog

I briefly went over Zog earlier, but I wanna go into more in-depth about him, because the parallels between Winter and Zog and the implications of said parallels are the main reason I ultimately decided to make this post.

As I said earlier, Zog is a very old, broken down robot that nobody has been able to revive in years. When Astro finds him, he brings him back to life by giving him some of his Blue Core Energy. Astro essentially gives Zog some of his lifeforce, a part of his soul.

Winter was on the verge of death at Ironwood's hands, but Penny was able to save her by giving her the Maiden powers, and her soul with them.

However, Zog doesn't keep all of the Blue Core Energy Astro gave him all to himself...

Resurrection

As I've mentioned a few times in this post, Astro does die - and I mean properly die, not a death that lasted 2 minutes at the most and had no consequences. Astro sacrifices himself and his Blue Core dies, all in attempts to protect the people of Metro City/the Surface and his friends. Dr. Elefun says that he can't be rebuilt because his Blue Core, his soul, was unique.

But then, Zog comes around. Zog, who is holding onto what is a part of Astro's soul - the only surviving part of Astro's soul. Zog returns some of the Blue Core Energy to Astro, which brings Astro back to life.

So, to recap: Astro gives a part of his lifeforce, part of his soul, to Zog. When Astro dies, Zog gives some of that soul back to Astro in order to revive him.

If you've been looking at the theories regarding Penny and Winter recently, this will sound VERY familiar. While the specifics vary, the essentials of the most popular theory is that Penny transferred her soul to Winter to hold on to along with the Maiden powers, and that somehow, Winter will return that soul to Penny in one way or another (either by putting her into another robotic body, or just somehow extracting her soul and letting it form it's own body again). The fact that this movie has these exact events occurring makes this seem more and more like the most likely route.

If Penny really is an intentional allusion to Astro Boy - which, based on the sheer length of this post, seems pretty damn likely - then the film practically spells it out for us. Winter will give part of her aura, the part that Penny gave her, in order to bring Penny back to life.

thank you for coming to my ted talk

[binunus]

afk | yoon sanha (m)

​

a/n y..oon...sanha...really do be acting up...also idk why but whenever I think of husband!sanha I can’t seem to write anything which is why I’ve been staring at this request literally for the longest time, but when I think of like just bf!sanha I get so many ideas...is it me? am I just weird?? maybe it’s bc I’m literally not in a headspace to think about marriage or commitment sksksk but uh yeah thank you for coming to my ted talk

{request: anther sanha husband smut please? 🥺 the one u wrote was so good ‘m not a creative person so the plot coulld be as you wish 😼}

→ pairing: idol bf!sanha x f!reader

→ genre: fluff, smut

→ tw: unprotected sex (conceal before you feel loves), reader riding sanha as he’s playing his game oops...and 00 line is on the other end hehe, dirty talk?? well...sanha tried okay, multiple orgasms, slight overstimulation, embarrassment

→ word count: 4k _____________________________________________

*afk → away from keyboard* for all my non-gamers :) I’m not a gamer, I just live with them...

Your POV

You were ecstatic, a little jump in your step as you neared your boyfriend’s dorm. You haven’t seen him in almost a month due to his busy schedule and comeback preparations. You were excited for him and his group, one of the perks of dating an idol member was knowing the secrets and spoilers of his plans long before they were revealed to the public. But with those perks also came the disadvantages of not being able to see your boyfriend as much as you’d like to, or even be open with your relationship in general. 

Anyway, you were excited to see him. The text messages, phone calls, and FaceTimes could only satisfy you for so long, seeing Sanha in person was a completely different story. The last time you saw him was before he dyed his hair from black to the sleek dark red that it was now. 

As soon as you received the text from your boyfriend asking if you were free to come over, you literally dropped everything that you were doing and got dressed to leave your apartment. You arrived at his dorm within thirty minutes, not wasting any precious time that you could be spending with him.

You were warmly greeted by their eldest, Myungjun’s excited tone alerting the others about your appearance. “y/n! We haven’t seen you in so long!”

You laughed and wrapped your arms around him in a hug, giggling as he lifted your body and shook you around, “I know, oppa! It’s so good to see you! You look so good! I’m excited for your album to come out.”

“Oh you cutie, stop it.” He beamed, patting your head as he set you down. “Sanha’s playing games in his room right now. If you get bored of him, just come find me and I’ll entertain you.”

“Will do oppa,” You chuckled as you bounced in the direction of Sanha’s bedroom. Your heart rapidly beating in your chest as you opened the door, revealing your 6′1 sweet boyfriend who was sitting intently on his gaming chair. You felt the oxygen knocked away from your lungs as he turned his maroon head of hair to face you. You almost had to do a double take from actually seeing his new hair color in person. Sure he’s sent you a bunch of pictures as soon as he dyed it and you’ve seen it through video calls, but wow...was this good looking man really your boyfriend?

He held his hand out to you, smiling as you approached him. He moved the mic away from his mouth before kissing the back of your hand, “Hey baby, I’m just playing a match real quick and then I’m all yours, okay?”

You nodded excitedly and leaned in to press a kiss on the cheek which wasn’t being covered by his headset. Sanha squeezed your hand affectionately before you hopped on his bed, pulling out your phone to pass the time while you waited for him to finish his match. Every now and then, you would look over to observe him and his game. You noticed that even his gaming setup has changed in the past month you haven’t seen each other, he was finally using the light-up keyboard you gifted him for your one year anniversary.

You could vaguely hear his friends through the headset, chuckling at his conversations with the esteemed ‘00 line. You found yourself grinning as Sanha furiously clicked away at the keyboard, even though your boyfriend is a famous idol, at the end of the day he was still just a regular young adult at heart who loved playing games.

You understood that this was probably one of his only ways of de-stressing as of recent, so you were pretty lenient about his gaming habits...

Until one match turned into two, which turned into three, and before you knew it, you’ve been waiting on his bed -- affection-starved -- for almost two hours. 

Your lips pursed in annoyance, huffing as you locked your phone and tossed it aside somewhere on his bed, standing to get some water. Sanha turned his head at your movement, his mouth opening a bit in shock as he watched you leave his room. At that moment, he knew your patience was running thin.

You saw Jinwoo and Bin in the kitchen, the two smiling as you joined them. You found yourself pouting as you waddled into Jinwoo’s arms which opened in a welcoming hug. With dating Sanha, you also had the opportunity of getting to know his group, gaining five older brothers who treated you like one of their own. You got babied by the five of them a lot since you were dating their baby.

You let out a sigh as you retrieved a glass of water, resting your head on Jinwoo’s shoulder as you took small sips. You’ve received more affection from the rest of Astro than you have from your own boyfriend during this whole visit so far. Bin cooed as he pinched your cheek, “Why do you look so upset?”

You rolled your eyes as you took another sip, “Sanha’s been playing his game for the past 2 hours, I don’t even know why he asked me to come over if he wasn’t at least going to talk to me.”

Jinwoo gave you a sympathetic smile, patting your head as he nodded, “You know how he is y/n. When he doesn’t have a schedule or practice, he’s practically glued to his computer chair.”

You groaned and finished the rest of your water, placing the glass in the sink before you rested your hands on your hips, “If he doesn’t stop playing after this match, I’m literally leaving.”

The two elder boys laughed, respectively patting your shoulder and rubbing your back. Bin chuckled, “You do what you have to do. You know, scold him for us too. His eyes are gonna go bad from looking at that monitor too much.”

You nodded, asking them to wish you luck as you went back into Sanha’s room. When you opened the door, you noticed his chair turned around so that his back was to the desk, the monitor on the loading screen, and Sanha on his phone. He looked up with that big puppy expression on his face when he knew he’s did something wrong. He quickly placed his phone on the desk, pulling you in towards him as soon as you were in arm’s reach. He gently squeezed your hands as you stood in between his legs, resting your weight on one foot. “I’m sorry, baby.”

You narrowed your eyes in the slightest, “And what are you sorry for?”

“For ignoring you and just playing my game...” Sanha said quietly hugging your waist. He nuzzled his face against your stomach as your hands went up to play with his hair, all annoyance fizzling away in an instant. Damn, he was too cute for you to stay mad at him. You sighed and kissed the crown of his head, “Sanha, we haven’t seen in each other in so long because of your comeback. If you want to invite me over, I sort of hope that we’re spending time together and I’m not just watching you play...is your game really that much more interesting than me?”

He shook his head against your body, his voice muffled as he immediately said no. The tiniest of smiles crept its way onto your face, endeared at how cute your boyfriend was.

And then you heard his best friend through the headset, ruining the soft mood in an instant. “Sanha load up, c’mon where are you?”

You let out a sigh, God dammit Bomin.

Sanha lifted his head to meet your eyes, he sensed your frustration again immediately. You pursed your lips, reading the conflict swimming through his pupils. You knew that he wanted to keep playing, but he didn’t wanna make you mad. And in Sanha’s perspective, he did honestly plan to spend time with you when he invited you over, but then Daehwi asked him to play a round and when he gets immersed in his game, he needs to play until he’s literally sick of it for the day. “Baby..?”

You averted your gaze for a moment in thought, an idea popping into your head. Humming, your fingers twirled a strand of his hair, “You can keep playing, baby.”

Sanha blinked at you in surprise, his eyes widening, “Really? You won’t get mad if--”

“But! I’m sitting on your lap. I haven’t gotten any cuddles from you in at least three weeks and I’m not going back to your bed without you.”

He nodded eagerly, satisfied with the win-win situation. Sanha grinned patting his lap as he spread his legs to give you room. You chuckled, maneuvering your body through the space of his chair as you got seated atop his thighs, both of you face to face. By habit, Sanha’s hands rested at your waist, smiling as he pulled you into a sweet kiss. You felt the butterflies flutter in your stomach at the action, responding instantly. Your lips formed a little pout when he pulled away, your boyfriend smiling cheekily as he nuzzled his nose against yours, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” You said before resting your head on his shoulder, leaning your body weight on his chest as a means to get as close to him as you possibly could. Sanha rubbed the skin of your waist affectionately before reaching for the headset and unmuting himself, “Bomin, I’m here.”

“Hey! What took you so long?”

“Chill, y/n’s here.” He said, glancing at you with a smile, “She can hear you by the way.”

“Yeah so watch your mouth, Bomin.” You said jokingly, turning your head briefly to speak into the microphone. Sanha grinned, pressing a kiss to your cheek as Bomin laughed through the headset. You heard Bomin -- along with Sanha’s other friends -- greet you, chuckling as your head returned to its spot on Sanha’s shoulder. 

You let your boyfriend play one match peacefully, still enjoying finally being in his embrace. You closed your eyes, taking in the comforting scent of Sanha’s detergent and let yourself relax for a short while. When he got killed during the first match, his arms immediately wrapped around your waist, squeezing your body tightly as he kissed your temple. You hummed, listening as he watched and conversed with the others who were still alive.

It was then that you noticed the slight new definition of his muscles, the gears in your brain turning as you thought about how to proceed with your plan. Although you were literally on top of him right now, the majority of Sanha’s attention span was focused on his monitor, so you knew he couldn’t sense the growing arousal in your mind. 

Early into his second match, you subtly shifted your ass around on his lap, making it seem like you were trying to readjust into a more comfortable position. At the same time, you moved your head to his other shoulder, pressing a kiss to his cheek as you did so. Your boyfriend smiled at you, still oblivious to what you were trying to do. 

And then your hands gently started rubbing at his sides, the touch featherlike as you began to press kisses in the crook of his neck. You felt Sanha tense in the slightest as he quickly pressed the mute button on his mic, “Baby...what are you doing?”

“Hm?” You asked not even bothering to lift your head, “I’m kissing you, can I not?”

The male closed his eyes as he let out a muffled groan, his body reacting immediately to your ministrations, “y/n, are you trying to make me moan into the mic while I’m playing with the guys?”

You chuckled dryly as you started to start to suck on his skin, not hard enough to leave a mark because you knew his stylists would literally kill you if you did, but enough for him to get affected. And he did. 

Sanha let out a breathy moan, subconsciously tilting his head so that you had more access.

“You ignored me for two hours baby. Since you wanna keep playing your game while I’m here, you’re gonna have to do so while I’m making you feel good. Now unmute and keep doing your thing.”

He bit his lip, narrowing his eyes at you as you moved your ass directly over his crotch, which was quickly getting hard. He was about to say something, but was cut off by Daehwi asking him where he was, Sanha cursing internally as he pressed unmute and responded. You smirked against his skin, still trailing kisses along his neck and intending to move up his jawline -- which had definitely gotten sharper since the last time you saw him.

Sanha tried his best, you could see how hard he was fighting against your temptations. Admittedly, you were a bit impressed with how well he was masking what was going on to his friends. 

But you were a brat and you wanted to see your boyfriend’s self-restraint crumble. He managed to get through one match, trying to compromise with you once the display showed the loading screen, “Fuck, baby, I’m done. I can’t play anymore.”

You smiled at him as you got off his lap, going over to lock his door. Sanha sighed in relief, getting ready to tell his friends that he was logging off for the night, until you held your finger up at him, confusion on his features. Casually, you pulled down your pants and underwear, placing them to the side as you leaned down for a kiss. Your hands reached for the waistband of his sweats, Sanha lifting up his hips to help you pull the fabric down his legs.

“You’re gonna play one more game, baby.” You whispered against his mouth, the boy sighing in frustration as you climbed back onto his lap. His cock was already hard from all your grinding, he could not believe you were teasing him like this right now. 

You were soaked, you knew that Sanha would slide right in without any resistance. You let out a sharp inhale as you lined yourself up with his cock, burying your face in his shoulder as you sat down in one go. The two of you let out a synchronized groan at the feeling, it had been too long since you last had sex. “Shit, y/n, you’re so fucking tight--I-fuck can’t we just take this to my bed?”

“No,” You said, voice shaky as you tried to calm yourself down from the initial intrusion. “This is payback for making me wait so long.”

Sanha’s hands gripped the meat of your ass, squeezing as he thrusted into you just once, “God, you do realize we’re both gonna suffer if you make me play another round.”

“You’re going to suffer more than I am,” You said devilishly as you unmuted his mic, “Sorry boys, Sanha went to the bathroom but he’s back now.”

He shot you glare, reluctantly removing his hands from your ass as he wore his headset again, “Guys, I think this is gonna be my last game, I’m getting pretty tired.”

“You know, I can’t believe y/n really just let you play with us this whole time. That’s love right there.”

“You’re a real one, y/n!”

“Sanha doesn’t deserve you, y/n!”

You laughed into the mic, sweetly responding to Sanha’s friends as you clenched your walls around his cock, watching with a lustful glint in your eyes at the contortion of pleasure on his face, his teeth harshly dug into his bottom lip to prevent any sounds from escaping.

“C’mon, start game.” Sanha said shortly, the grip on his mouse tightening as you clenched again. You stayed still for the first couple of minutes, letting Sanha adjust and play his game so that his friends wouldn’t be able to tell that something explicit was happening on his side of the screen. 

Of course all Sanha could think about right now was the way your walls just sucked him in so nicely, wanting nothing more than to pin you to his bed and fuck into you with no restraints. But he knew that you wouldn’t let him do that until he finished his match, so he tried to focus on completing this game as fast as he could. 

He felt himself freezing as you started to kiss his neck again, mentally telling himself to stay calm and not make a noise. As soon as his guard was down, you lifted your hips so that only the head of his cock was in your cunt before slamming your ass down on his lap, a loud slap sounding from the contact of your skins. Sanha lurched forward, a strangled moan fighting in his throat as you tightly clenched your walls, squeezing his cock. 

“Woah-are you okay, Sanha? What happened?”

“Y-yeah, I hit my knee against the d-desk,” He stuttered a lie, one of his hands gripping your waist as you started to slowly fuck yourself on him. It was getting harder for you to conceal your moans, burying your face in his shoulder as you tried to chase your high, this position allowing Sanha to hit so deep in your cunt.

His eyes flickered back and forth between the screen and you riding his cock, his legs subconsciously spreading as far as the chair allowed him. Sanha knew it was over for him when you lifted yourself off his chest, your eyes blown wide with lust as one of your hands fisted the bottom of his shirt, the other sneaking down to where the two of you were connected, making contact with your clit. You threw your head back at the added sensation, your mouth opening in a silent moan as you clenched your walls again.

“Sanha, where are you? Why are you standing still--”

“Fuck--AFK guys, AFK!” Sanha said hurriedly, throwing his headset off as he muted his mic. He pulled you in for a searing kiss, moving his lips fiercely against yours as you grabbed at his shoulders. “You’re fucking evil.”

“That’s what you get for not paying attention to me,” You panted against his mouth, sluggishly getting off his lap. Sanha practically kicked his gaming chair back as he towered over you, removing both of your shirts before he pushed you down on his bed. He pulled your thighs open, positioning his cock at your entrance. “Fuck, do you know how hard it was to not fuck you while I was playing?”

You whined as he moved his tip up and down your slit, tapping the head at your sensitive bud. “Now you have all my attention, baby.”

The two of you moaned loudly as he sheathed himself in your cunt, momentarily forgetting that there were five other inhabitants of his dorm. Sanha started a brutal pace from the beginning, thrusting into you with no restraints. Your hands tangled themselves in his hair as you pulled him down for a kiss, muffling your moans against his mouth.

“Mmmf, Sanha--”

He groaned, biting your bottom lip before lifting your thighs so that your legs hung from his shoulder, allowing him to penetrate even deeper in your cunt, “Shit, I missed your pussy baby. You’re fucking dripping on my sheets, God.”

His hands flew to your chest, roughly groping your breasts as he used it for leverage to fuck into you at a faster pace. The sounds in his room were obscene, the squelch of your arousal and the smack of his balls hitting your ass drowning out anything else. 

Sanha felt like he was drunk on your cunt, breathing heavily as he tried to get more sounds out of you, your moans music to his ears. He hissed as your nails clawed at his arms, a telltale sign that you were nearing your end. “S-Sanha, I-fuck!”

“Are you close, baby?” He asked authoritatively, his heart swelling as you nodded with a whine, your hands scrambling to feel every inch of his skin. You keened as he called your name, commanding you to look at him as you reached your orgasm. 

The tension in your stomach snapped when he snuck a hand down to play at your clit, rubbing it between two of his fingers as he tweaked your nipple, fucking you through your high. Your toes curled in pleasure, legs convulsing as you let out a high-pitched moan. You tried your best to maintain eye contact, but the dizzying euphoria made your lids flutter close, Sanha harshly sucking hickeys in your neck as he too, chased, his high. 

He cursed, still drawing circles on your clit as he rutted his hips into yours. You screamed as you were forced into another orgasm, your tight pulsating walls around his cock enough to push him to the edge. Sanha groaned gravelly, his nails digging into your waist as he released his load in your cunt. 

Sanha pulled out when he felt his cock fully flaccid, sitting back against his palms as he watched both of your cum leak out your entrance. Your chest heaved up and down as you tried to regain your breath, meeting his eyes from where you laid. Sanha chuckled, kissing your knee before standing to get some tissues, coming back to carefully wipe your cunt clean. 

You reached your arms out for him to lay down next to you as soon as he threw the soiled tissue away. He smiled lovingly, joining you on the bed and wrapping his arms around you in a hug. 

“Are you upset with me?” He asked cutely, pecking your nose. You grinned and buried your face in his chest, kissing the space between his collarbones. “No, you’re here with me now.”

Sanha giggled, stroking your hair as he tapped his fingers at the small of your back, “’M sorry for ignoring you, baby. I love you.”

“I love you too,” You said, humming as you closed your eyes, sleep slowly overtaking you. He tutted, removing his arms from your body as he sat up, “No! y/n, you have to pee first before you sleep.”

“But I’m tired,” You whined, reaching for him again. Sanha shook his head, gently pulling you up, “Baby, if you get a UTI, you’re gonna hate yourself. Now c’mon, peeing only takes a couple seconds.” 

You grumbled as he found one of his oversized t-shirts, dressing you before finding a pair of shorts for himself. You let out a woah as you stood, holding onto Sanha for support as your legs started to wobble. Your boyfriend chuckled smugly, squeezing your waist as you regained your balance, “You good, baby?”

“Shut up.”

The two of you glanced at his computer, which was now at the main screen of the game. “Do you think they heard, baby?”

“No way,” Sanha said, though he couldn’t deny the slight fear in the pit of his stomach if his friends really did hear you and him having sex. “I muted myself...right?”

You shrugged, not really minding before going to open the door, leading the two of you out of his room. Your face flushed, your feet stopping dead in their tracks as you came face to face with the rest of Astro, all five of them giving you and your boyfriend knowing looks as they sat dispersed around the living room.

“Ah hyungs!”

“I really hope you two used protection,” Eunwoo lectured, though you saw the smirk on his face. 

“I’m--bathroom--peeing...yeah.” You said embarrassed, scurrying off to the direction of their bathroom, yelping as your legs almost gave in.

“Woah, careful y/n,” Rocky snickered sending a wink in Sanha’s direction. The boys began teasing their youngest as soon as you closed the door to the bathroom, Sanha hiding his face in his hands, “Are you really going to do this every time y/n comes over?? It’s been more than a year!”

“No, we only do it when you two kids are loud as hell.” Bin said bluntly, slapping Myungjun’s arm in amusement. Jinwoo chuckled, lightly pointing a finger at your boyfriend, “You better have this much energy during promotions, Sanha--”

“Hyung!” ______________________________

4-6-21

[honeyhuun]

astro’s reaction to you calling them late at night

~  type  .  reaction

~ requested . no

~  pairing  .  astro x gender-neutral!reader

~  genre  .  comfort fluff with some slight angst 

~  tw  .  mentions of insomnia

~  song recommendation  .  all night by astro

~  a/n  .  ahh it feels so good to be writing on this platform again ~ hopefully i can stay more active on this blog hehe, i hope you enjoy my first reaction !! it’s like 12am when i’m writing this so it might be shit lol. i just miss ot6 astro a lot mm’kay, someone tell eunwoo to come home ;-;

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you check the time on your phone and it’s only three am when it feels like you have tried to fall asleep for what felt like hours. you sit up in bed and rub your tired red eyes, fearing for when your alarm would start going off alerting you to start your day when you hadn’t even finished the last. in your sluggish haste you dialled your boyfriend’s number with empty hope that’ll he will pick up... 

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| p a r k  j i n w o o 

it took him a while to answer, as expected he was fast asleep. but when he was dragged finally dragged so far outside of his sleep cycle to notice that his phone was ringing, he shot up so fast and answered immediately. when jinwoo heard your voice on the other end he became even more concerned than he already was. why were you awake at this time? was something troubling you? were you in danger? this worried leader bear would not stop worried leadering, he can’t help it, it’s in his nature to be concerned about you. however when you said you just found it a bit hard to sleep and wanted to hear his voice, he softened (a just a bit though he’s still nag you a bit but it was all out of love). jinwoo would then spend the rest of the call’s duration talking softly about his day and things he’s been interested in lately. and maybe MAYBE sing a short lullaby for you really really quietly (so quiet you’d think he’s whispering). in between all his sweet actions he never fails to tell you he loves you and that he’s so extremely proud of you no matter what you do. he wouldn’t end the call until you’ve been silent for 20 minutes and hears your heavy breathing from the other side of the line.

“you want me to sing for you? really bubs, is there anything else- okay, okay, but only because i love you so much my beautiful amazing y/n. if you ever feel like this again please call me, i don’t care what time, your wellbeing is my number one priority” 

(i’m blushing oml i love jinwoo so much ;-;)

| k i m  m y u n g j u n

when it comes to you he would be all bright n’ smiley, no matter how tired he actually was. you knew he had musical promotions coming up which is why you wanted to avoid calling him during the later hours of the day as much as possible. but you should know myungjun is always up to talk to you no matter the time place or day: you’re his love why wouldn’t he? when he answered your call he tried to mask the tiredness in his voice by speaking in a chirpier tone than usual, you laughed at his attempt and said you were going to end the call to let him rest. myungjun of course would never let you have the final say so he started to whine until you gave in and continued to talk to him. then he insisted you guys face timed his excuse being “if i don’t see your face i am physically unable to go to sleep” complete bullshit, but that’s what you love about him. when you answered his face time request he had the biggest shit eating grin on his face. you’d guys would be on call for about an hour telling shitty jokes, blowing raspberries at the screen and talking about places you’d like to visit when you’re both less busy. myungjun only agreed to end the call when both of you struggled intensely to keep your eyes open. 

“oooo, look at you my perfect baby!! you’re so good looking you know that? you take my breathe away every single day, i can’t believe you’ve deprived me from seeing your face for this long”

“it’s too late for this myungjun...”

“no matter the time i will shower you with the compliments you deserve jagi!”

| c h a  e u n w o o

good chances are he’s awake and can’t seem to sleep, not being able to clear his head to the point of exhaustion. eunwoo was fully prepared to spend the rest of the night awake. maybe he could do something more useful with his time and catch a nap on set later in the day. kicking off his covers, he was planning to get out of bed but then he got your call. out of all the members i feel eunwoo would be the happiest to get a call from you at this time of night (all of the members wouldn’t really mind but eunwoo would love getting calls like this, it made him feel liked you needed him). when he picked up and there was no hint of sleepiness in his tone you got worried. for the first few minutes all the call was you two sweetly bickering. “why are you still awake-” “well why are you?” “you called me first” “well if you were fast asleep you wouldn’t pick up” and more cute shit like that. talking to you at times like this would bring him so much strength and he really treasures it. something about your silly sleep deprived conversations feels so intimate to him and it sets his heart alight. when he can tell you’re drifting off, he makes sure to tell you he loves you once more before trying to get some sleep himself. the sounds of you soft half-awake sighs would lull him into a deep sleep and you would only notice he never ended the call when you wake up to your phone’s battery being on 3% and the sound of a snoring eunwoo.

“i’ve noticed i don’t sleep as well without you in my arms. i miss your sleepy voice, it’s like a lullaby to me. when i see next you i’m never letting you leave my sight again.”

| m o o n  b i n

is it just me or does anyone else think our binnie has a slight temper when he’s woken up from sleep. it wouldn’t last for long but he’ll be very cranky and frustratedly pouty if his alarm had gone off or one of the members started shouting in the dorm when he’s trying to have a lie in. he’d wouldn’t be any different when he heard his phone ringing from the bedside table. he was so tempted to fling that thing out the window. when it went off for the third time he answered the call clumsily almost missing the answer button. in a pissed sleepy voice he answered “what do you want?” you taken aback by your normally sweet boyfriend’s bluntness, whispered a quick apology before ending the call. moonbin felt so awful when he was realised it was you. the last thing this boy wants to do is hurt your feelings and he was angry at himself for denying you in a time of need (now we have a really frustrated pouty bin). he immediately called you back and apologised a lot (even after you said it was fine, his every other sentence was filled with sweet sorry’s and kissy noises just to make sure you don’t hate him) moonbin would calmly ask why you called and got a bit worried when you said you couldn’t sleep. bin would scold you lightly for maybe staring at your screen for too long or not taking as many breaks as he thought you needed. but then again he would comfort you and ask if there’s anything you’d like to get off your chest. after letting you rant he gave his best advice and the most loving and encouraging words he could. you fell asleep to the sounds of his praise and bin couldn’t have felt better.

“baby i’m so so sorry, you know i would never deny you like that on purpose, please don’t be hurt. you’re worth so much to me, i couldn’t bare for you to be upset with me. you know how much i care about you love, right?” *ensue more pouty and whiny bin waffle*

(why this so long and i’m not even binnie biased -_-)

| p a r k  m i n h y u k

minhyuk would be wide awake when you call him. he feels like one of those people who finds it really relaxing to go on runs in the early morning, watching the sunrise by the river; seeing streets around him get busier as the city starts waking up. he would be in his kitchen filling up his water bottle, hearing his phone ring from the island behind him. his eyes glanced at the contact name and he smiled. minhyuk answered your call like he would answer any other, failing to realise that it was going on 4am and you had things to do in the next few hours. after hearing that you couldn’t sleep he would chuckle and joke around “what’s the thing keeping my y/n from sleeping? tell me and i’ll beat the shit out of the thing ” (not lying he would punch the air around you if you said it was bothering you, he really is that whipped). i don’t think the conversation would hold anything in particular. it would just be mindless small talk and random thoughts as rocky is getting himself ready for his run. it would be so light hearted and sweet, this is what most of your relationship is like and why you love minhyuk so much. everything is so chill and thoughtless with him, you match each other so well. you could say something and nine times out of ten he is thinking the same thing. after sometime he would say he had to end the call because if not he’d miss the sunrise. you complained playfully that he was choosing the sun over you and minhyuk found it funny; promising to make it up to you in one way or another. but you didn’t expect to be woken up by the clattering of pans and cups caused by your clumsy boyfriend, in your kitchen trying to make you breakfast.

“ahh don’t worry y/n, i would never need the sun when i have you with me. you make me so happy you’re like my own personal sunshine. try and get some rest and you’ll wake up to pictures of the sunrise that reminds me so much of you.”

| y o o n  s a n a h

out of all six members, he would be the only one not to pick up. sanah obviously wouldn’t do it on purpose, he loves you way too much to ignore you like that. he probably left his phone to charge in another room or in a more likely scenario poor bubs was just so tired he couldn’t wake up. even if you threw water on him our maknae wouldn’t budge. so when you called, his phone was just vibrating on the table untouched. after the fifth go you just stopped trying to reach him and started up at your celling hoping tiredness would reach you soon. in the morning when sanah checked his phone and saw all your missed calls, colour drained from his face and he’d get so panicky that he’d almost drop his it. he called back immediately, flooding your exhausted state with so many questions it would make anyone lightheaded. when telling him you just wanted to hear his voice hoping it would help you sleep, he replied with “did you end up getting any sleep then?” and when all he was met with was silence from your end, his heart dropped. he was so angry at himself and would never let it go that he was the reason you didn’t sleep (he wasn’t but trust me for the next week he’d go to bed with his phone right behind his ear). sanah would tell you to get your laptop ready with a show you’d been meaning to watch because he was coming over for a nap n’ movie date. when you tried to object because you had things to do that day he told you no but’s and he’d cancel work/school/your meet up with friends for you. in no time he showed up at your door in his pyjamas with two plastic bags, filled with extra blankets and your favourite sweet and savoury snacks.

“what do you mean you didn’t get any sleep and did some work instead? sweetcheeks you know that’s horrible for your health, i can’t have you being sick, it would break me knowing i was the reason. you know what? get your netflix account up i’m coming over- no excuses, i’ll handle everything else, now go get ready to be attack with my love.”

(the sweetest >:( i cry)

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if you reached the end thank you so so much for reading. if this comforted you even just a bit i’m so glad <3 ily u all ~~

[welcome-to-afterlife]

Wannabe Challenge Kpop AU Headcanons

I know that no one requested this, but I had this idea stuck in my head for a while now. It took quite some time to get down, but I'm finally done!

Role: Leader, Main Vocalist, Center

Taehee was the first member of the group to be recruited by ST Entertainment. He had a charismatic yet soft aura that drew all the girls on audition day. Immediately, the entertainment company knew that Taehee would become part of their label.

However, it took him a good 5 years before the company decided that he was ready for debut. It was within this time that he learned how to avoid the entertainment industry's sleazy business practices, develop a strong image, and maintain constant motivation for debut. You could say he subconsciously preparing to he a leader by trying to himself afloat for 5 years.

Once he finally got to debut, Taehee was chosen to be the leader of the group. Although Hansol seemed like the more obvious choice, Hansol thought that Taehee would be a better fit since Taehee already knew a lot about the entertainment industry due to his experience. Besides, he was the only one who was mature and emotionally-equipped to lead a group.

As for Taehee's abilities, his strongest suit is his singing. While he wasn't the strongest singer at the start of his training, he ended up become one of the best vocalists in the company. His voice has a unique color that radiates smoothness with a hint of attitude. He's able to hit high notes, but he's a lot better at belting -- especially when he's feeling emotional.

Perhaps this is the reason that Taehee excels in elegant concepts. His graceful movements along with his princely facial expressions make him the star on the stage. Think of songs such as "I'm in Trouble" by NU'EST, "Blue Flame" by ASTRO, and "Not By the Moon" by GOT7. It's like he belongs on an icy throne in a golden palace.

Surprise, surprise: he gets the most lines in their songs. Usually it's not by a lot, but sometimes ST gives some of Biho's lines to Taehee (much to the everyone's dismay). He's never comfortable singing those lines and tries to negotiate to give Biho more lines, but it doesn't always work. He gets quite the backlash for it, but unfortunately it's out of his control.

When interacting with fans, Taehee is usually very warm and kind. He's constantly asking about everyone's health and well-being, nagging fans to keep themselves at top priority. He doesn't want fans to ruin their lives because of their love for him and his group. He's also very earnest and mature, almost like a guardian angel to his fans. Wherever they go, his heart is always with them.

In the group, he's basically the dad. He's always looking out for the other members (yes, even Yooha). Just like his fans, his members' well-being is top priority. In lives, you'll probably see him in the background cooking food, cleaning dorms, and or scolding the other members for doing dumb things (that last reason is why he's also very likely to appear in crack videos).

However, he appears most often in "sassy moment compilations" because of his reactions. Taehee has even gone viral because he just straight up rolled his eyes at a variety show when they asked him uncomfortable questions and threw not-so-subtle shade. From then on, he's been dubbed as the "sassy king".

For side projects, his main path is acting. Taehee is a really good actor who played the main male lead in a critically acclaimed K-Drama. He played the sly but sweet love interest in a historical drama. The audience are always amazed at his ability to adapt to the time period so accurately.... it's almost as if he's lived there himself?

Role: Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Vocalist

Originally, Yooha has started off as a model. However, staff from ST Entertainment saw Yooha and thought that his visuals would be perfect for the kpop business. They offered their business card to him and he decided to try out for fun. Fortunately, he nailed his audition and was admitted as a trainee immediately.

Yooha was the last person to join the company and had the shortest training time (1 year). His sudden arrival and decision to debut with the group created a rift between him and the other members. Taehee thought it was unfair that Yooha could debut with minimal training while Hansol was worried that Yooha's addition would affect the group's dynamic (in areas like line distribution, dance formation, etc).

However, he and the other members were forced to resolve their issues when he became Taehee's roommate at their dorm. Since it was Taehee's job to lead the group (including Yooha), the two had no choice but to bond.

Now before y'all yell at me that Yooha isn't main rapper material, just know that I had to give the position to someone. Secondly, Yooha has an alluring and deep voice voice that was perfect for rap. Also, he is really good at rapping in various beats and experiments with different flows. While he can do fast raps, he prefers to make ones that have a distinct rhythm and leave a lasting impact on the audience.

However, Yooha hadn't planned to debut as the group's rapper. His original role being the main dancer, but he jokingly rapped in an pre-debut interview and everyone fell in love with his voice. From that, ST Entertainment thought it would be best to make Yooha the rapper instead.

In fan interactions, Yooha is very slick and flirty. Whether it's in fanmeet, lives, or concerts, Yooha knows exactly how to steal the hearts of his fans. Just one wink is enough to make the entire stadium swoon over him.

However, he's also the crackhead of the group. If you search for the group's "crackhead moment compilations", 80% of the video will involve Yooha somehow. In fact, it's these moments that really boost his popularity within the group and skyrocket him to the 2nd most popular member in the group.

Sometimes, he manages to pull one over Taehee and becomes the most popular member. How does this happen? Well, whenever the group has a "bad boy"/sexy concept comeback, Yooha absolutely dominates the stage. Think of songs such as "Want" by Taemin, "7th Sense" by NCT U, and "Love Killa" by Monsta X. The sexy concept was made for him, so it's no surprise when everyone in the comments section thirsts over him. It's just enough to put him over the edge against Taehee in fan voting.

He also has the most risque outfits. Yooha has an amazing body and he knows it, so why keep it hidden? His wardrobe is filled with experimental pieces that show of his abs, forearms, and everything in between. It's the reason why he's voted "Best Dressed" on every voting app.

Yooha is also a smooth dancer. His fluidity and confidence amplifies his sex appeal on stage, which often causes fans to confuse him as the group's main dancer. He's also has killer facial expressions that maintain his striking stage presence, making it impossible to keep your eyes off of him.

When Yooha isn't rocking the stage, you'll probably see him on magazines and commercial shoots. Photographers just can't get enough of his visuals, so they constantly bring him back for more modeling. He'll even dabble his feet in web dramas, but it doesn't last for long due to the scheduling conflicts between the web dramas and his music career.

Position: Main Dancer, Main Vocalist, Producer, Face of the Group

Hansol started his music journey long before ST Entertainment. He had been creating music as early as elementary school (mainly him bashing wooden sticks on the table and strumming rubber bands). However, he really got to develop his passion on high school-- where he dedicated his time towards music production and music theory.

Thus, Hansol had his own YouTube channel where he created covers of different artists and snippets of songs that he created on his own. From that, he amassed a small following of 25K subscribers. This audience attracted ST Entertainment, who took a liking to his videos and asked him whether he wanted to be a trainee. Hansol gladly took the offer.

Hansol was the 2nd member to join ST and trained for 3 years. Although the company had given him the opportunity to debut immediately, Hansol wanted to wait until he reached his full potential.

While Hansol originally was the leader of the group (since he already had a fairly stable music presence), he had to product all their music. This ate up leadership time, which Hansol was having difficulty in managing. Besides, he thought that Taehee was more mature than him and thought Taehee would do a better job as a leader. Hansol ended up handing the leader role to Taehee before debut.

Hansol's production has been praised by critics, fans, and other producers. His vision for the song helps the group distinguish themselves from the other acts in the entertainment industry and create their own identities as a group. Sometimes he writes songs with Biho (or by himself) to better convey his emotions onto their group's album.

Hansol is the group's ace: he can sing, dance, and even rap. He's equally talented at singing and dancing, so he decided to take main positions for both skills. In his singing, Hansol has a high-pitched voice that makes it easy for him to hit high notes and belt to his heart's content. In fact, many of his lines in the songs are his adlibs (which give the song that extra spice).

Hansol's dancing style is sharp and energetic. There's a lot of power in his movements with playful facial expressions (in contrast to Yooha's powerful, sexy style). This allows him to steal the spotlight when the group has a playful and upbeat comback (think "Energetic" by Wanna One, "Sha La La" by Pentagon, and "BBUSYEO" by ONEUS). His bright grin is enough to light up the entire stadium while keeping fans engaged throughout the performance.

The group's debut turned out pretty successful thanks the Hansol's YouTube fanbase. With his enlarged presence, Hansol is the "Face of the Group"-- the most recognizable member to the general public. While he isn't the most popular within his group's fans, Hansol is the most liked across the general public.

Hansol's personality around fans is very bubbly. He loves playing up his cute, boyish charms to win over the fans (especially when they drool over Yooha). There's a lot of winking, heart signs, pouting, and hugs whenever Hansol interacts with his fans.

Within the group, Hansol is the baby. Although he isn't the youngest, he acts the most immature. He's always nagging the other members and trying to prove his manliness, but it's more like a puppy trying to intimidate a pack of wolves.

For side projects, Hansol would have a solo debut. He'd produce all the music on his album while collaborating with Biho for songwriting. Since it's his solo career, Hansol would have much more creative control-- allowing him to fully explore every corner of his artistry. He plans to continues his solo career long after the group disbands too.

Position: Lead Vocalist, Rapper, Songwriter, Visual, Maknae

Biho was the 3rd member to join ST Entertainment. Out of the 4, he was the only one who submitted a formal audition tape to ST Entertainment and got accepted through the traditional audtion process. What made his audtion special was that he performed his own song-- a love song to his future lover. The judges absolutely loved his vibe and voice, so they couldn't pass this opportunity.

When Biho became a trainee, he always felt insecure about his skills. Even though he was talented, Biho was training with the likes of Taehee and Hansol, who were already experienced and seasoned professionals. Biho thought he'd be holding his group back, but the other members assured him that his presence made a significant impact on the group.

And honestly, it really did because Biho wrote most of their songs. His lyrics were both thought-provoking and poetic. He was never afraid of writing music about the things on his mind (whether it was love, fear, anger, or sadness). However, editing the lyrics took a lot of time as Biho only wanted to make the best content for his fans. Sometimes he lets Hansol write music with him.

Biho's strength lies in his singing (like most of the other members). His voice is soft and breathy, almost like a lullaby wrapping you in a soft blanket. No matter how you're feeling, Biho's voice is guaranteed to calm your nerves and take to your safe place.

Biho is also known for his looks. Although Yooha is the group's top model, Biho's face is the perfect canvas for all types of makeup styles. Although he doesn't realize it, fans love the duality between his soft persona and his darker one. Many are surprised that Biho is able to make the switch for sexier concepts and absolutely die when he does.

However, Biho shines the most with soft boy concepts. It's the image that he's had for the longest and is most comfortable with. Besides, the more thoughtful and heartfelt songs are where his lyrics get to shine through-- making him extra happy. For reference, the best examples of soft boy songs that suits Biho would be "Spring Day" by BTS, "Don't Wanna Cry" by SEVENTEEN, "Blue Hour" by TXT.

In fan interactions, Biho is extremely warm and a tad bit shy. He's always blushing when fans compliment him and showers his fans with a bunch of love in return. He likes to take his fans' hands and sincerely thank them for their support because his group would be nothing without them.

In fact, Biho is the most likely to get emotional while performing. The fact that there are so many people who are willing to listen to his music and his message is something that he could barely dream of. He will be forever indebted to their kindness, which is why he tries go provide his fans with all a lot of content (lives, Q+As, pop-up fansigns).

In the group, Biho isn't much different. In fact, he's the member whose idol persona matches his real personality the most. He's always cheering hisnother members from the side and gushing about how amazing they are. Sometimes he likes to throw an occasional jab at Yooha though (especially when Yooha is feeling himself too much).

For side projects, Biho is working on a book! He already has a collect of poems that was published, which has recieved high praise from critics and other poets. He also spends time writing songs for other groups, especially ones that come from small, poor companies.

[sknewmuse]

K-POP WEEKLY WRAP UP: GAON Album Charts

[August 20, 2021] 2021년 33주차

#1- 6TH MINI ALBUM [THRILL-ING]

This weeks hot topic boy group The Boyz take the lead in chart toppers! They impressively ruled over Gaon Charts taking #1 in not just Album charts but also took top spot in the Download & BGM charts. This is the first time since The Boyz debut that they’ve sold over a whopping 500,000 albums. 

“There are so many emotions related to that word. Whether it be nervousness, the nerves you feel before getting on a ride, the fear that you feel when you’re about to go on a drop, and the joy that you feel at the end of it, with those different elements we made an album that relates to those emotions, so you’ll find that as you listen to the entire album, start to finish, you’ll feel the emotions that you feel as if you were on an actual roller coaster.” -Kevin

#2- SUMMER POPUP ALBUM [POPPING]

One of the hottest up and coming boy bands to hit the K-Pop scene is ONF. The group topped the music charts with their new summer album. ONF has now broken into one of the top 10 places on the Gaon Albums chart with all of their projects, bringing them to now landing eight placements in the important region. Seems we have new summer music kings on the scene.

“I hope more fans in America will listen to us and love our songs. I hope that ONF can enter the Billboard chart as well. Someday, I want to appear on a TV show to perform in front of many people!” -J-US

#3- 공감 - The 1st Mini Album

Do Kyungsoo, member and main vocalist of acclaimed boy group EXO known by stage name ‘D.O.’ made his long anticipated debut for his solo music career, and as expected it was an instant #1 chart topper a few weeks back and still remains in the top 5 this week.

“After deciding the theme of the album would be ’empathy,’ one of the things I thought of was love, an emotion that anyone could feel, and I felt that it would be nice if my songs could comfort others like my previous song ‘That’s Okay’, so I tried to write the lyrics myself.” -D.O.

#4- My Collection 

Park Jihoon, former member of Wanna One and actor continues to prove years later he will always be a solo successor. The singer and actor alone has now charted five top 10 albums in South Korea. Easy to say Jihoon is still collecting hearts of many fans.

“Park Ji Hoon is gazing at multiple art pieces while calling himself one and boasting about all his features that make him a desirable being. Another one of our top moments is when the video shows him within the skies asking for fans to ‘sit in a special seat’ dressed in a sharp blue suit. A hint of skin can be seen when he moves on the increasing tempo of the song, now joined by dancers in a flickering room inside the gallery.” -Ayushi Agrawal from pinkvilla.com

#5-  1/6

Lee Sunmi, one of Korea’s hottest solo artists and heartthrobber of the K-Pop scene. Former member of girl group Wonder Girls under JYP Entertainment, continues to break the barriers of the K-Pop industry’s expectations for solo artists. 

NME’s Angela Patricia Suacillo praised Sunmi on her work, “ability to take the lively, upbeat elements of synth- and dance pop and use them to confront her anxieties.”

#6- Select Shop

Another former Wanna One member takes the top of the charts! Ha Sungwoon, also former of the boy group HOTSHOT, this set serves as a reissued version of his recent EP Sneakers, and coincidentally, they both peaked at No. 6. Select Shop is Ha Sungwoon’s sixth solo placement inside the top 10.

“Strawberry Gum,” the album’s title track featuring Don Mills, is a retro funk genre song composed by Flow Blow, Christian Fast, and Maria Marcus. The lyrics written by really6(153/Joombas), Jo Yoon Kyung, and Don Mills compare someone’s growing feelings of love to blowing a pink strawberry-flavored bubble gum. Fans will be able to get a taste of Ha Sung Woon’s youthful side as well as his sexier, more mature side.” -D. KIM of Soompi

#7- SWITCH ON

Summer concept kings and icons ASTRO after taking number 1 spot last week, the group still remains in the top 10 with latest release Switch On. 

“I would recommend “Don’t Worry”. Everyone has been working hard at such a time recently, and may not be in a good mood. The lyrics “I got u back don’t worry” convey positive power.” -Cha Eunwoo

#8- SIREN : DAWN

The ace group of K-Pop. Bringing in at #8 is aesthetic and concept pleasing talent A.C.E. Siren : Dawn which holds more than 70 spaces to return to the top 10. The set rose all the way to the runner-up spot this past June when it had first released.

“This album, SIREN:DAWN is full of thrilling and deadly love stories. Our title ‘Higher’ is a love story of a mermaid dreaming a fatal dream, which is reinterpreted through A.C.E’s eyes. We are back with a love story that contains more of a mature and sexy visual. Please show lots of love to ‘Higher.’ -Chan

#9- TURN OVER

The charisma and personality driven boy group SF9, one month ago in counting, ‘Turn Over’ made it to the second place rung on the Gaon Albums chart. The EP shoots to No. 9, becoming one of two previously-released efforts to re-earn their top 10 title.

“When we worked on “Believer” and “Tear Drop,” I remember it was so hard that we recorded a few different options and chose the final lyrics from there. And “Hey Hi Bye” is memorable because it took a longer time to work on compared to the other songs.” -Youngbin

#10- BUTTER

The boys everyone knows and loves, global legends BTS. BTS close out this weeks #10 spot. Known for their ranging of concepts and new leap into English titled tracks that was long awaited by ARMY’s everywhere, they continue to make K-Pop history on chart topping globally as their fanbase count rises everyday.

“Of course, the moment when we reveal our song and music video — nothing can match that momentary satisfaction, it doesn't last long, but that flashing moment really hits us. Surprise!” -RM

[parkjess]

Heyy, i saw you write for astro so could you do their reaction to you getting them couple rings and the other boys tease them about it??? And could you please do Sanha's a bit longer?? Thanks !!

Thank you for requesting!🥰

Myungjun:

You wanted to surprise your partner for his last musical show, besides the flowers you picked thanks to the other members that helped you. You woke up with the sunlight burning slightly your eyes through the curtains, Myungjun left earlier today for his final rehearsal, and you took this opportunity to buy him another small yet sentimental gift.

As the evening approached, you called the boys to come over and for all of you to go together to the show, not revealing the gift to them yet. The show ended quickly than you thought it will be, and you all waited for Myungjun to come to the backstage where he told you he’ll meet you in the end of the day.

“There he is!” Jinwoo says, Myungjun opens the door and within seconds your arms are all around his frame. -“Baby...” you mumble into the bear hug, having cheering sounds from the others, and the maknae line trying to imitate you both.

“We bought you something.” Bin speaks up, separating you from your beloved boyfriend, handing the bags of presents over to Myungjun. -“And here’s mine,” you say finally, you were the last one because you wanted it to be the most special, but it would be anyways since he loves you with all of his heart. You take his hand in yours, taking out the couple rings you bought this morning from its little box, Sliding it onto his finger and then on your own. The boys felt touched by your surprise, they started to make girly voices and call out both your and Myungjun’s names in excitement.

Myungjun smiled from ear to ear as he took a closer look at the ring. “Forever... with you.” He reads out loud, making your heart beat faster and the rest of the boys giggle and tap on his back teasingly.

Jinwoo:

“Babe?” You answer the phone, Jinwoo called you back since he couldn’t answer earlier. -“Hey~ I missed your voice babygirl, 21 missed calls, what’s up?” His husky voice heard from the other side of the phone.

“Can I come over? I have something to give you...” you say, holding the couple rings you bought earlier this afternoon. -“Uhm... yeah sure, I’ll be at the dorm in 15 minutes, but babe- Is there something wrong? Why did you call so many times?” He asks, as if he was suspencting something he shouldn’t have. “No no, everything is perfect, I just can’t wait for you to see what I got for you...oops- said too much, see you in 20, love you.” And with that, you were the first to hang up, your heart was beating fast as you ran to the closet to change and head out of your house.

Arriving at their place, you text Jinwoo you’re already nearby. -“Y/n! Come on in, it looks like it’s about to rain.” Dongmin calls out from the dorm’s window, closing it shut right after you smile and nod to him. “Hey~ baby... I missed you.” Jinwoo approaches you with a bear hug when the door opens by him, you actually were surprised to see them all there, thinking it will be just the two of you.

-“I missed you too...” you mumble into his embrace, while the rain starts to pour down the windows, covering it with a small amount of fog.

“I made you some tea, come have a seat with us.” He takes your hand and leads you to the table, where they all greet you with hugs and wide smiles. “Ah that... what were you so excited about to show me?” He says, taking a piece of your hair and placing it behind your ear. -“uh...” you stuttered, thinking about telling a white lie and give it to him when you two are alone since you feel embarrassed doing it in front of his friends, but they are your friends too.

-“I bought you a small gift...” you say quietly eventually, digging in your bag to find it, they were all curious about what you got for him. -“Here.” You say shyly and hand it to him, he glances at you with love in his eyes and opens the velvet sack. -“Mine is already here.” You show him your hand since you’re already wearing your ring, waiting for him to wear his. “Aww, couple rings.” Sanha squeals, looks a bit jealous.

“Thanks baby, I love it. I’m never taking it off from my finger.” Jinwoo says, kissing your forehead right after, causing the boys to get goosebumps and shout at both of you to stop the cheesiness.

-“This, was worth it.” You point at them and whisper to your boyfriend.

Dongmin:

Though he wanted to be the one to gift you couple rings, he was the happiest to receive it first.

It was on a Friday night, he was waiting for you near the company building since you were at work (/studies) all day, he decided to take you on a fresh air date to clean your head from the tough week you both had.

“Oh! Dongmin!” You wave at him from quite a far, but he could hear you almost clearly.

-“Hi baby~!” His lips stretch from ear to ear for a wide smile as he approaches you with his arms around your body, it’s kinda chilly so he warms you up.

“I got you something!” You squeal with excitement, taking it from the pockets of your hoodie. -“Ooh~ a gift from my baby.” He cups your cheeks and places a soft, quick kiss on your head. “Here.” You take his hand and slip the ring on his finger, putting the other one on yours right after. -“Couple ring? Baby, I love it. Thank you~” he ruffles your hair and says, hugging you again.

“Eunwoo-ya!” You hear Myungjun yell from afar, the others follow. -“Oh my...” your boyfriend mumbles, making you burst into laughter.

-“Hyung, look what y/n bought me.” Dongmin giggles, excited to show his friends the couple rings you got. “Oh! Y/n, do you read minds? Woah!” Myungjun replies as the other are curious just like you. You make a confused look and ask them both what is it about. -“Two days ago I told M hyung I want to get us couple bracelets.” You were shocked at your boyfriend and the fact he just didn’t tell you that but wanted to surprise you, meanwhile you did.

-“Aish you two are really soulmates.” Jinwoo adds, poking at Dongmin’s sides as a tease, he bursts into laughter that can’t be helped and the chaos starts.

Bin:

You are dating bin for couple of weeks now, he was your biggest crush and when he asked you out, it all felt like a dream coming true since he’s your first.

He took you out tonight on a date, the second one since the week had started. He’s that type of romantic, taking you out for dates he planned long ago, but never had someone to take to, and then finally god sent you to him.

He sends you roses every Friday since he has to stay at the dorms and you can’t spend the weekend together, he writes poems about you, and the dates with him are never boring.

“Y/n...” he calls you with his soft voice, rubbing his neck nervously. -“Yes?” You look up at him, one hand is still on his neck as he breaths heavily and his other hand is in the pocket of his jacket. You stop near the closest building, which is their dorms. “Let’s sit here for a bit, I don’t wan’t to leave you yet.” He says shyly, giggles his slight nervous laugh and looks down, playing with a little rock on the ground with his foot.

-“I’d love to!” You both take a seat on the bench nearby, moving closer to him as he takes your hand in his and puts it inside the pocket of his hoodie. “I have something for you.” He suddenly says, after couple of seconds he just stared at the night skies, cold air hitting his face. -“Really? Woah, I have something for you too.” You say excitingly, surprised he also brought you a gift. “Oh, you go first.” He says and leaves your hand for you to hand him your present.

-“I’m a bit embarrassed though, but please accept it, it means a lot to me.” He holds it and takes the two rings with your names on it and wears his. “It’s so cute, thank you baby. will you let me?” He offers to put the ring on your finger as you smile at him, appreciating his features as suddenly a voice comes out of his phone.

“Bin-hyung? Are you proposing already?” Minhyuk’s voice is heard and you recognize it and immediately take it to listen clearly, both you and bin. “Hyung, I think y/n gifted him couple rings.” You hear sanha whisper in the background to minhyuk and you both start to laugh.

-“Sanha I always believed you do have something in your little brain.” You joke and laugh along with your chuckling boyfriend. “Ohh bin hyung! Woah! Couple rings... I’m jealous.” Minhyuk screams into the phone, being sarcastic.

“Aish... I’ll see you later. I’m hanging up.” Bin says and clicks the red button. You could notice his slightly red cheeks at this point that he didn’t try to hide.

“Where were we?” He asks and takes your hand again. -“Where you were all normal and not red yet.” You answer sarcastically and giggle, teasing your own boyfriend. “Imma leave with your present.” He threatens, until you lean in and place a kiss on his lips.

-“I don’t need no presents, you are the best thing god gifted me.”

“You really want to see me like a tomato again, huh?”

-“Yep.”

Minhyuk:

It was Halloween night, your friends decided to throw a small party at their dorm and film the whole thing, the idea which you really liked since you wanted to gift your boyfriend a small present you ordered long time ago, and kept it a secret from him.

It was finally his turn to talk to the camera, explaining about his costume which was completely not understandable yet it looked so good on him.

You stood behind him along wish Bin and Jinwoo so he couldn’t see you. The boys noticed you’re looking for something but said nothing, you suddenly take the cope that rested on the chair the whole time, wearing it on Minhyuk’s back, and lastly tying it beneath his chin. Once it was perfect, you took out a little jewelry bag from the pocket of your costume, wrapping your arms around his shoulders again, making him look at you.

“Baby.” He mumbles, trying to make you pay attention to the camera, but you ignore him, though you want to crash your lips on his since he was so close to your face with his.

You just take his hand, it was soft to your touch. -“Oh, y/n what are you doing?” Jinwoo asks surprisingly, everyone were focusing on both of you. You took his empty finger, sliding down the golden ring you bought for both of you. You are able to hear his heartbeat, slight heavy breathing, and the wide smile he had plastered on his beautiful face.

Minhyuk takes a closer look at the ring, as you put on yours on the same finger as his and go stand infront of him so he can see you. “Y/n...” he mumbles as he reads your name that was carved into the gold ring, next to the date you first met.

He lifts his head to look at you with glistening eyes and a spreading smile, the one that made you fall for him. “I love you.” He mouths as everyone around starts screaming and cringing as Minhyuk pulls you closer when he stands up, glancing at the ring You’re wearing with his name on it, and a little heart on the side.

“AISH~~ why do you have to be so cheesy?” Bin cringes and hits your arm playfully, making a sour face. -“Heyy Hyung~ don’t touch my baby.” Both you and bin were shocked at the soft side of Minhyuk he usually doesn’t show comes out of him.

Sanha:

It is your one year anniversary with your boyfriend, Sanha, and for all of this time you have been thinking about buying you couple clothes, or couple jewelry, but you never found yourself going to buy something cute that will match both of you. He isn’t the cheesy romantic type, but he always knew how to mark your month anniversaries well and enjoy them together.

This day is the one you have waited for the most, since it’s also Sanha’s birthday and the first day you became a couple exactly a year ago, when everything in your world was about to fall apart, he came and held you, mentally and physically. You decided to put all your effort in this day, no matter how tired you will end up being.

As the sun rose, you picked up your phone to check up on social media, noticing the calendar’s reminder that immediately made your smile appear. Next thing you did was not wasting any more time but calling Bin, Sanha’s best friend. “Hey, I need your help for tonight, do you think you can handle this until 7pm?” You said as you sent him a list of things you wanted to be ready until the evening, and couldn’t handle all by yourself. Luckily, Sanha left early to work this morning so he didn’t know anything. -“Sure, goodluck y/n.” Bin replies with his soft voice, promising he won’t say anything to the birthday boy who was on his way to meet him.

You got off bed to get this day started, your nostrils immediately caught the sweet scent of fresh pancakes.

With furrowed brows, you walk slowly to the kitchen to check if your smelling sense isn’t wrong, and it wasn’t wrong. There was a small post it note beside the tower of golden, smooth pancakes, you take a step closer and grab the note to see what it says.

Happy anniversary my baby, Sorry I couldn’t make a whole breakfast, but this was made from the bottom of my heart like my love to you. I love you, Your birthday boy.

A smile took a second to appear on your face as you folded the note and kept it inside your wallet, taking a bite from the freshly made pancakes, that were slightly cold because he made them about half an hour ago.

As the sunset approached, you took your time to write a handwritten birthday card for Sanha, and attached it to the velvety, jewelry bag, taking one last look at the rings you bought for both Sanha and yourself.

“Oh hey, is everything ready yet?” You answer the call in the speed of light as you saw Bin’s name on the screen, taking a bite from the morning’s pancakes. -“Y/n... I-“ he stuttered, sounds a bit worried, feeling like everything is already messed up, and the voices of the others in the background didn’t make it better.

“I’m coming over.” You reply furiously, feeling the blood rushing while boiling in your veins. You grabbed the only few things you need and ran out. It’s been 15 minutes and endless calls you denied from the boys until you reached their dorm.

“It’s me.” You knock (knock knock) at their door, hearing whisperes from where you stand as footsteps towards the door approach. Not a second into Bin opening the door and confetti is flying all over you, and apparently the birthday boy, Sanha.

-“Happy anniversary!” The boys scream, making you jump into your boyfriend’s arms. “Ya-aish... you know how pissed I was?” You attack Bin for the little prank they pulled on you. You look up at Sanha, wasn’t expecting to meet him on this special day like this, but every way and its own advantage.

“Happy birthday baby,” you scan his face, and then his hair which he just had dyed today to full black, “oh! Your hair...” you run your fingers through it, gaining some cringed sounds from Jinwoo and Minhyuk at the sudden affection.

-“Sanha-ya, your gifts.” Jinwoo reminds, “and the cake!” You complete him, having all of their eyes directly at your direction. “there is a cake, right?” You furrow an eyebrow. -“Sure... I’ll bring it.” Bin says, pushing the boys to the kitchen.

-“Happy anniversary baby.” Sanha says quietly to you as you rest your chin on his chest and look up at your cute boyfriend. “Happy birthsary, babyboy.” You make him laugh with a word you just made up, while wondering why the others take so long to bring the cake. -“My gift for you.” He leads you to the couch and hands you a medium sized box, wrapped nicely and tied with a little bow. You were about to ask him if he rather wait to the boys but it seems he enjoys being alone with you, well, not completely alone but that’s enough.

“Let’s open it together, this one’s for you.” You hand him the small jewelry bag, he takes it with the widest smile he ever had on his face, letting out a soft, shy giggle.

He was the first one to open the gift since you asked him nicely to, pulling the thread that kept the bag closed, taking a look inside as you hear the boys giggling around the corner of the living room, probably peeking at the two of you getting overwhelmed.

-“Y/n...” he calls your name softly after he pulls the rings out the velvety sack, reading whatever it says on both of them. -“I love it so much, thank you baby.” He says and you reach out your hand to him, he looks confused. -“What...?” Sanha leaves a confused laugh, taking your hand in his. “Wear it on my finger, dummy.” The moment these words come out from you, Myungjun exposes their “hiding” spot with his laughter and they all hit him on his elbow playfully.

-“Aish... M hyung~!” They complain, -“Sorry, keep going Yoon Sanha...” Minhyuk approves and makes you laugh at them.

Sanha turns his head back to you, staring deeply into your soul through your eyes while slipping the ring down your finger, making it feel like you just got married. “I love you y/n, thank you for everything.” He whisperes, yet loud enough for the boys to flinch with excitement, biting their own fists (lol). -“Get you a room later, let’s eat the cake now.” Myungjun says, making you laugh in embarrassment.

[shining-red-diamond]

Bells in the Distance (Part 1)

Words: 2.9k

Pairing: Onew x Winnie (OC) (feat. Amber Liu, Monsta X’s Joohoney, and ROMEO’s Minsung)

Raiting: PG

Genre: Fluff, angst

Warnings: intense in some scenes, some peril

Summary: Since being home from the military, Lee Jinki is over the moon to be home with his wife Winnie and son Owen. They grew closer together, but Jinki can’t help but feel as if he failed as a husband and father by being away from his little family for so long and not connecting with his son as he would wish. On Christmas Eve, he’ll take a journey to a place he knew only in legends and maybe learn something from St. Nicholas. Inspired by the film The Polar Express.

Tags: @ezralia-writes​ @queen-of-himbos​ @romeorussia​ @barnesbabee​ @daybreakx​ @fairyofdusk​ Let me know if you want to be tagged.

-

December 24, 2020

“But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight— ‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night,’” Winnie finished the story.

“Read it again, Mommy,” the four-year-old boy begged.

“But if I read it again, Santa might not come,” his mother warned in a gentle voice. “All of those cookies we made for him will go to waste, and you decorated them so beautifully.”

“Even the ones with lots of icing?”

“Those are his favorites.”

“Okay, Mommy,” the boy sighed.

Winnie chuckled. “Sweet dreams, baby.”

Jinki watched as the light in his son’s room was switched off, and his wife’s footsteps were heard trudging down the hallway towards his and her bedroom.

Earlier that evening, Jinki and Winnie had gotten into an argument. Ever since he had returned from military service back in July, he felt he had missed out on much of his son’s life. He wasn’t feeling as connected with him as he used to be. Winnie argued that Owen always wanted to be with his dad, and now that he’s home all Owen wants to do is spend time playing with him. The ordeal led them in a heated argument, which led to each of them saying hurtful words to each other. Jinki hated himself for it, so he decided to sleep on the couch in the living room for the night in order for the two of them to cool off until morning. Seeing Winnie cry killed Jinki inside. She was four and a half years younger than him, but he always wanted to be gentle with her feelings, especially now that she was pregnant with number two. He wanted to run up there, snuggle her, and rub and kiss her swollen belly; but the last thing he wanted to do was make his beloved wife upset.

After a glass of water, Jinki tiptoed upstairs to check on his little boy. Peaking into his bedroom, the child was fast asleep while snuggling his fox plushie. The only light in his room was his galaxy projector giving a green light show. Once he shut the door as quietly as possible, his foot carried him towards his and Winnie’s room; but something told him not to go in. Was it guilt? A sixth sense? Was something going to happen? He wasn’t sure, but he listened to his gut and returned to his self-made couch bed.

Jinki then turned off the kitchen light after refilling his cup and headed back to the couch. Gently, he set his drink on the cork coaster and rested his head on his pillow. However, he still had to get up in the morning to set out Owen’s gifts from “Santa,” so he set an alarm for 7:45AM before lying down again.

Silence and darkness engulfed the house, the ticking of the grandfather clock near the TV, its hands reading 10:20, was the only noise that broke the dreary silence. Moonlight shone through the windows as snow fell, the Lee’s Christmas tree illuminated by the silver glow. As Jinki closed his eyes, the ticking seemed to grow louder and louder as he drifted. It was only after a few seconds, the ticking stopped at the sound of sleigh bells in the distance, and it was silent again.

When he opened his eyes again, Jinki looked at the clock.

11:55.

How did the time fly so fast? Jinki wondered. He figured it was only because he was going in and out of sleep.

A ripple in his water cup caught his attention. Then, the family pictures began to rattle, and the Christmas tree began to dance a little. Jinki could feel his whole house begin to shake nearly violently. Earthquake, he thought. As he was about to jump out of bed to get his wife and child to safety an old train whistle blew loudly. Through the living room windows, pale-yellow light illuminated the living room, and Jinki could hear a train chugging by. What was going on?

In a haste, Jinki grabbed his military coat from the coat closet, ripping the garment in the pocket as it got caught on the door handle. He slipped on his black boots and dashed outside into the cold night air. In front of him was an old, black locomotive stopped in front of his home. It wasn’t a subway train that he was used to seeing, but a steam powered train that he had only seen at museums and read about in school. Stretched across two cars, gold lettering read “POLAR EXPRESS.”

Just as he moved to check it out, a man’s voice called out, “All aboard! All aboard!”

Jinki turned around to see the owner of that voice standing by an entrance on one of the train cars. As he marched through snow closer, he noticed the man carried an electric lantern, wore a dark blue suit with a hat that said “CONDUCTOR” on gold lettering, square-framed glasses, and a dark brown mustache sat perched on his top lip.

“Well, you comin’?” the man, now identified as the conductor, spoke after a few seconds of silence.

“Where?” Jinki shrugged.

“Why to the North Pole, of course!” The conductor near-shouted as if he should have known ahead of time. He then motioned to the train. “This is the Polar Express.”

“The North Pole?”

The conductor made a “tsk” sound, and gave a curt nod. “I see. Hold this, please.”

He handed Jinki the lantern to hold before pulling out a clipboard from inside the car. He turned it around and asked, “Is this you?”

It was a profile of Jinki with all of his statuses including marital, parental, and career.

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“Well,” the conductor looked at the profile, “it says here that you’ve had doubts this year, are lacking a sort of confidence, and even got into an argument with your wife this evening. Sounds to me like this is your crucial year. If I were you, I would think about climbing on board.”

Jinki couldn’t believe what he was hearing. A train shows up in his neighborhood, no one else seems to notice nor care about the ruckus noise of the whistle, and now he’s told the train is going to the legendary North Pole. It existed, of course, but the aspect of Santa’s North Pole was just a legend. That’s what he knew. It was too much to wrap his head around, so he shook his head and backed away.

“Suit yourself,” the conductor shrugged as he took the lantern back. Once he stepped onto the car, he waved his source of light, and the train whistled in response. The train lurched forward and began to chug away. Jinki’s mind began to race as he thought about why the train showed up in the first place. It must have been a sign for something, and he had that gut feeling earlier telling him to wait down in the living room. This train had to arrive for whatever reason, so with a change of mind, Jinki jumped on before the locomotive could pick up speed.

Looking out into his neighborhood, he passed his house, and he silently promised to return in a while.

Jinki didn’t notice the conductor standing behind him until he cleared his throat. He turned around and saw the conductor holding the compartment door open for him. When he entered, the interior of the car was stunning. Beautiful red moquette covered the seats, the floor carpet was a dark green with a holly print on it, a light colored wood framed the entire compartment, and large windows were wiped crystal clear with the exception of ice leaving their thumbprints on the outside.

There were already a few passengers inside. Most of them were people who didn’t know, but there were a few idols he recognized or was familiar with: Yoohyeon from DREAMCATCHER, Moonbin from ASTRO, San from ATEEZ, Red Velvet’s Yeri, and even Yanan of PENTAGON. They were all joking around or speaking with the other passengers, but he wasn’t sure why they were on the train in the first place.

Jinki just took the first seat he saw. The seat was comfy, at least.

“Onew?” a woman’s voice sounded from his left.

Turning his head, he found his former labelmate Amber sitting across the aisle from him. Her hair was still in its iconic short cut but dyed a velvet red, and she was dressed in a sweater and comfortable, heather grey pants. Her tattoo sleeve peaked from beneath the long sleeves every now and then.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, sitting up a bit straighter.

“I should be asking you the same thing.”

“Did the train just show up at your house?”

“Yep. As it did everyone else here.”

“Do you know what kind of train this is?” another voice chimed in. Joohoney of Monsta X was sitting in front of him.

“A magic train?” Amber replied sarcastically.

“I know it’s a magic train. Actually, it’s a Baldwin 2-8-4 S3-class steam locomotive, but in 1931 at Baldwin Locomotive Works.”

Someone’s been doing a lot of Googling, Jinki thought.

He leaned in towards Amber and asked her, “Are we really going to the North Pole?”

Amber nodded. “I didn’t believe it either, but trust me, the conductor has been telling the truth.”

“Tickets, please!” the conductor announced.

Everyone scrambled back to their seats as he began to check for tickets. Jinki was the first person he came to and asked for his ticket, but he shook his head. He wasn’t informed of any tickets beforehand.

“Try your pocket,” instructed the conductor.

Jinki checked his right pocket, but it was empty with the tear from earlier. It was about two fingers wide, and he would have to fix it soon.

“Try your other pocket.”

When he inspected it, the feeling of something paperlike caught him by surprise. Pulling it out, he was holding a shining, golden ticket that had a picture of the train on the front. The ticket was about the size of a football, and the gold reflected the light at every angle. Jinki had never seen anything like it.

Still stunned, he handed it to the conductor, who snatched it up with a thank you. Using a hole punch, he began making holes in the ticket at such a rapid pace Jinki thought it was automatic at one point.

The conductor gave him back the ticket before thanking him and moving on to the next passenger. Jinki’s ticket had the letters “H” and “R” punched into it. What kind of train was this?

“That guy sure likes to show off with his ticket punch,” Joohoney scoffed as he held up his ticket. “Look what that wise guy punched in my ticket. ‘L’ ‘E.’ What the heck does that mean?”

The conductor made an announcement over a PA system, stating the train would be making another stop at an address.

“We’re heading for the other side of the tracks,” Joohoney whispered to someone.

Jinki rolled down his window to see what was happening. The train had stopped at a beautiful white house that was two stories high. It was decorated for the holidays with a wreath hanging on the door and multicolored lights wrapped around two columns. A small snowman in a purple bonnet seemed to greet the train, and the front porch was covered in snow. Through a large window on the first floor, Jinki could make out a Christmas tree that was illuminated by white lights.

The conductor stepped off the train to greet a tall, young man standing outside and dressed in warm pajamas and a black robe and slippers.

“It’s just another pickup,” Joohoney said before turning to Jinki. “That’s weird. I thought you were supposed to be the last one.”

Jinki was paying attention to the scene outside. The conductor gave him the same speech to the young man about where the train was going and all, but just like Jinki, the young man got cold feet and backed away.

“Suit yourself,” said the conductor. He hopped back onto a car and waved his lantern. The train whistled and began to chug, the center of gravity forcing the passengers back a little.

As the locomotive passed the man, Jinki seemed to recognize who he was as they got closer. He had jet black hair, idol-like features, and was about five feet and eleven inches tall. His dark eyes looked up at Jinki, and the older man gave a small wave.

Minsung, it clicked in his mind. Minsung of ROMEO. Minho had appeared in one of their music videos a few years back, so that’s where he remembered him from. He looked the same, but a tad bit older.

To Jinki’s surprise, the young man began to run after the train. However, despite Minsung’s long legs he was lagging to catch up to the train. The snow was making it difficult for him, and it didn’t help that the train was beginning to pick up speed.

“We have to stop the train,” Jinki concluded as he pulled himself back into the compartment.

“I don’t know how to stop a train,” Amber panicked.

“Pull the emergency break!” Joohoney pointed to a red, stirrup shaped object hanging in a cylindrical cavity in the wall.

Without a second thought, JInki rushed over and ranked on it with both hands. Almost immediately, the train halted to stop, but the force pushed the passengers over. Jinki, Amber, and Joohoney all were thrown to the floor, the wind being knocked out of the older man for a few seconds.

Once he caught his breath, he stood up again. Minsung’s head appeared on the other side of the car door’s round window. He looked in at everyone else, but turned the other way to enter the caboose. Jinki concluded he was just shy. Jinki was about to go invite him to the other car when another door slammed open.

“WHO IN THE BLAZES APPLIED THAT EMERGENCY BREAK?!?!” the conductor screamed.

“He did,” Joohoney tattled as he pointed to Jinki.

“You.” -The conductor furiously marched towards him- “In case you didn’t know, that cord if for emergency purposes only!” -he moved over to the open window to signal to the driver of the train- “And in case you weren’t aware, tonight is Christmas Eve. And in case you hadn’t noticed, this train is on a very tight schedule.”

The train whistled as the conductor got close to Jinki’s face.

“Now, Mr. Lee,” he lowered his voice. “Christmas might not be important to some people, but it is very important to the rest of us!”

Jinki tried to explain, but Amber stepped to defend him. “He was just trying to stop the train so that guy could get on!” she raised her voice.

The conductor looked out to where she was pointing and saw Minsung taking a seat in the caboose. “I see. Mr. Lee, is that what happened?”

Jinki nodded quickly.

Smacking his lips, the conductor calmed down, and told them, “Let me remind you, we are on a very tight schedule” -he checked his golden pocket watch and nearly had a heart attack- “And I’ve never been late before! And I am certainly not going to be late tonight.” He then rushed to the front door of the car and instructed everyone to return to their seats.

The Polar Express began to move again. Picking up the microphone for the PA system, the conductor announced, “Your attention, please. Are there any Polar Express passengers in need of refreshment?”

Everyone who was a passenger shot their hands in the air. The conductor slid the door open, and about eight waiters dressed in black vests and pants with white clothes wrapped around their midsections came tap dancing into the car. Music started to play as every other seat was turned towards the ones behind them, creating a sort of booth with at least three or four passengers sitting together. As the waiters and conductor sang about hot chocolate, the white clothes were tossed into each booth and made a sort of floating table. A few chefs entered on a trolley cart and began to toss out cups and saucers to each waiters’ tray. Jinki was surprised none of the dishes shattered upon impact despite being made of porcelain.

Some more chefs entered with a giant, bronze pot that was steaming with some boiling substance in it. A lever was pulled, and shots of the burning brown liquid landed in each cup. The beverage was then passed to each passenger, and as soon as Jinki tasted his, he couldn’t believe how delectable it was. He wished his son was there to try it as well, but he hoped to try to find something similar to make for him.

As soon as everyone was finished with their first round, they were giving a second cup as the waiters gave a gymnastic type performance. Then, once everything was picked up, the waiters jumped onto the tables, pulled the clothes as they back flipped back into the aisle, and then tap danced back out of the car as the seats were turned back into their original positions.

[smegdwarf]

But Who Could Love Me? (Rimmer x Reader) - Chapter 14

A/N: I recommend listening to ‘I’ll Keep You Safe’ by Sleeping At Last while reading this as I listen to it a lot while writing it! :P

Warnings: just fluff

Summary: Basically giving Rimmer the love deserves :p

“Hey I thought you were going to help me revise for my Astro-Navs?” Rimmer suddenly appeared next you, your focus glued to the screen in front of you “What are you watching?”

“The cctv footage of my panic attack” You mumbled “I was hoping it would jog my memory but I’ve got nothing”

“I could get Kryten to do some digging, I did ask Holly but he said all your files were marked confidential so he couldn’t access them” Rimmer sat down in the seat next to you “But Kryten might be able to hack into them?”

“I just want to know who it was that I was shouting at?” You sighed “What if it happens again? What if I do end up hurting someone?”

“I won’t let it come to that” Rimmer smiled taking your hands in his.

“I’m scared” You looked down at the floor.

“Hey I’m supposed to be the scared one in this relationship?” Rimmer gently ran his thumbs across the back of your hands “Take that away from me and what else have I got?”

You managed to stifle a little laugh as Rimmer tried to make you feel better but the thoughts and feelings in your head were almost too heavy. You felt so confused, lost, scared basically any negative emotion you could think of. Who treated you so badly for you to react the way you did? And why can’t you remember anything?

“Well you are a wuss!” You started to crack a smile as you teased Rimmer.

“As you’re not feeling too good I’ll let that one slide” Rimmer chuckled “And you are helping me pass this exam”

“Hmm maybe asking you Astro-Nav questions will take my mind off it” You smirked.

“And watching me fail spectacularly” Rimmer grinned as you stood up.

“I’m sure you won’t fail” You replied as you slipped your fingers between Rimmer’s as you started walking towards your quarters.

“Oh come on I’ve got the memory of a goldfish”

“Oh so that’s why you wrote ‘I’m a fish’ over and over on the exam that one time?” You smiled properly for the first time that day.

“So Lister told you about that did he?” Rimmer raised he eyebrow at you with a smile.

“Oh you don’t wanna know what he’s told me about you” You smirked as Rimmer looked at you in panic “Don’t worry, nothing too bad!”

“Oh good” Rimmer exhaled.

“Oh he did tell me about the mushrooms and you turning up to a parade naked” You laughed as Rimmer let out a groan.

“God nothing’s sacred with him” Rimmer rolled his eyes as you reached the door to your quarters.

“Hey I would’ve found out eventually” You smiled as you walked over to the desk Rimmer had occupied for his studying. Taking your normal seat on top of it next to his study materials.

“So what are we doing today teacher?” Rimmer grinned as you sighed a little.

“I’m not a teacher ...and calculations” You smirked as Rimmer groaned.

“Why?” Rimmer pretended to cry, his head down on the desk in front of him.

“Because you have the memory of a goldfish remember?”

“Well obviously I don’t” Rimmer sat back up.

“Oh ha ha” You smiled, Rimmer had clearly censored all the negativity from earlier, completely distracting you by being an absolute goon ...but most importantly being himself.

You had been helping Rimmer revise for his Astro Navigation exam for weeks now and it was becoming clear that it wasn’t Rimmer’s ability to remember the material or carry out the calculations but his overwhelming exam anxiety that was stopping him from passing the exam.

“You know I think you might be ready?” You smiled after a round of quick fire questions as he looked at you in complete panic.

“It’s only been a few weeks I don’t know...” You stopped him with a finger to his lips.

“You know you answered every question I asked you just now correctly right?”

“Yeah but I won’t have you on the desk in front of me to ask me the questions in the exam?” Rimmer smiled as you laughed.

“I don’t think you not remembering the material has ever been an issue, it’s your anxiety going into that exam room with the pressure of your parents and brothers weighing on your shoulders” You took his hands in yours “You can do this”

“How? You know I’ll walk in that room and freak out” Rimmer looked down at his hands in yours.

“Pretend I’m sat on the desk or read the questions in my voice, I don’t know” You smiled “but you can do it”

“Hmm I don’t know whether that will be more distracting than helpful” Rimmer smirked “So how should we spend the rest of our day?”

“Arnie what if I hurt you?” Rimmer looked confused at your sudden change of conversation.

“Erm that wasn’t quite the answer I thought you were going to say” Rimmer joked much to the unamused and terrified look on your face.

“I’m serious! What if I have another attack and I hurt you?”

“I’m hard light remember?” Rimmer voice became soft as his hands sat on your thighs, the weight of them against your skin brought you a little comfort.

“All it takes is one hit in the right place and I could disable your light bee and you’ll be gone” You started to splutter as your breathing became erratic.

“Deep breaths, it’s ok” Rimmer drew gentle circles with his thumbs as you tried to control your breathing “I won’t let anything like that happen”

“But what if it does happen?” You kept yours eyes tightly shut desperately trying to keep any tears from falling, your hands gripping the desk so hard your knuckles turned white as Rimmer ran his tongue across his lips as he tried to figure out what to do.

“Take my hands” Rimmer smiled sweetly as he held his hands out for you.

“What are you thinking of doing?” You raised your eyebrow, hesitant to take his hands.

“It’s ok trust me!” Rimmer replied as he helped you up from the desk, looking into your tear filled eyes as they finally escaped “Oh darling!”

“I’m so scared” You cried as he cupped your face in his hands, catching the tears with his thumbs.

“I know you are but we’re gonna figure this all out” Rimmer’s voice was soft and quiet “Together!”

“Sorry” You sniffed as Rimmer wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a tight hug and rocking you gently in his arms.

“No need to apologize” Rimmer spoke quietly in your ear before placing a kiss to the top of your head “Come on”

Upon releasing you from his embrace, Rimmer walked over to the end of the bed, sitting down and making sure there was enough room for you as he patted the space in front of him.

“Sit in front of me” Rimmer smiled sweetly as you followed his orders.

“What are you up to?” You mumbled as his softly placed his hands on your shoulders.

“I want you to close your eyes and focus on your breathing ...can you do that?” Rimmer continued to speak soft and sweet in your ear.

“Seriously what are you... oh!” Your sentence stopped as soon as Rimmer applied pressure to your shoulders, moving his thumbs in circles as he worked on the tension in your muscles.

“Pressure ok?” Rimmer’s voice remained soft and soothing as he continued to massage your shoulders.

“Mhmm” Was about all you could muster, far too distracted by Rimmer’s hands working away the knots and the anxiety.

“Just relax and let me take care of you” Rimmer spoke softly in your ear, sending a shiver down your spine.

After 20 minutes or so of massaging your shoulders his hands slowly came to a stop.

“How are you feeling?” He mumbled while he gently placed kisses along your shoulder and up your neck.

“Better!” You smiled as he buried his nose into the crook of your neck, taking in your scent as he held you delicately in his arms.

“Good” He smiled “I’m glad’

“I don’t know what I’d do without you” You let out a soft laugh as you placed your arms on top of his “It does feel a little weird”

“What does?” Rimmer asked.

“Well I’m supposed to be the confident ball busting one and look at me?” You sighed.

“Hey we all have our dark sides, it’s ok not to be confident and happy all the time” Rimmer was back at it with his pearls of wisdom ...even if he did ignore them himself.

“I know”

“I promise you I’ll keep you safe” Rimmer smiled “I’ll be here to help you through thick and thin, rain or shine”

“You’re too sweet” You looked up at him as he smiled down at you.

“Anything to see you smile darling” He spoke softly as he gently kissed your cheek “I love you”

“I love you too Arnie, always” 

If Rimmer couldn’t completely fix the problem he would never stop trying to make you feel better, the suggestion of snuggling up together and watching tv brought a small smile to your face as he offered to go and get the snacks.

“You know you can Bob to deliver them?” You smiled, sitting cross legged on the bed.

“I know, I want to go get them” Rimmer replied, palm either side of you on the bed as he leant into kiss you “Why don’t you change and get comfy and I’ll be right back!”

“You’re not an officer yet buddy!” You smirked as Rimmer chuckled, he was happy to see you perking up but he knew you were nowhere near 100%.

“Not long though” Rimmer winked before leaving your quarters, the sound of someone else’s footsteps shortly appearing outside your door.

“Hey Lady Bud how’s it going?” It was Cat, standing in your doorway dressed to the nines as always with his Cheshire Cat grin.

“Hey Cat, I’ve been better” You sighed, smiling half-heartedly as Cat walked over to sit next to you on the bed.

“Still haven’t figure things out huh?” Cat replied as you shook your head “You know you’re not alone right?”

“I’ve just had all this from Arnold” You couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“I don’t say this very often but he’s right” Cat almost grimaced at the idea of saying Rimmer was right about something “You’re a part of this crew, part of the boys from the dwarf!”

“I guess” You smiled, amused by Cat calling a boy from the dwarf when you were quietly clearly a girl.

“You know what I mean, it’s a figure of speech, you are one of us” You couldn’t quite believe the words coming from Cats mouth “and as monkey always says one in all in”

“I’m starting to think you might be a polymorph or something” You teased.

“I know I’m not the brightest bulb but there is a couple of brain cells knocking around up there” Cat smiled as you laughed.

“Thanks Cat”

“We need you ok, you keep alphabet head grounded and out of our hair” Cat pretended to straighten out his hair “and I do have great hair”

“There he is!” You smiled as you both laughed.

“I should shoot before Rimmer comes back” Cat replied “Just remember we’re all here for you, me, Kryten, dreadlock Dave and wheel arch nostrils”

“Oi less of that please” Rimmer scolded Cat as he stood in the door way.

“And on that note I’ll be off” Cat smiled as he walked over to the doorway.

“Thanks Cat!” You smiled too “I really appreciate you checking in on me”

“Hey don’t worry about it and if you ever wanna see any of my shiny things you know where to find me! Owwwww” Cat squealed and shuffled off down the corridor as you laughed while Rimmer grumbled.

“Leave him, he’s just trying to help” You smiled at Rimmer as he walked over to where you were sitting.

“What did that stupid moggy want anyway?” Rimmer asked as he placed a box down on the bed.

“He was just checking to see if I was alright, don’t let that green bug out” You replied as you looked over the contents of the box “How much did you bring up?”

“I got Kryten to put it together” Rimmer smiled as he sat down beside you “He’s also going to look into your files and see if he can hack into them”

“What would I do without you guys?” You grinned as Rimmer switched the screen on.

“Let’s get comfy and watching tv then” Rimmer spoke softly as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders bringing you into his side. Just as you were about to rest your head on his chest, his free hand gently caressed your cheek bringing you into a sweet but passionate kiss.

“I think you should take the exam tomorrrow” You spoke softly, getting lost his eyes as he smiled.

“Alright you’re on” He spoke quietly back as he leant into kiss you again, both of you completely ignoring the film that was were supposed to be watching and opting for each other’s love instead.

[the-silvr-speedster]

The Totally Crazy Adventures of the Astro Ambassadors

Fandom: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Relationships: Daisy Johnson / Daniel Sousa, Daisy Johnson & Kora, Kora & Daniel Sousa

After they return from their six-month mission in space, Daisy, Daniel and Kora want just a bit of peace and quiet before they are shipped off on another space adventure. But Mack has other plans for them since they are needed for one more short mission. However, things might not go according to plan and without the extraction team, they have to rely on a teleporting device they've never used before.

Chapter 1: Just One More Adventure

Read on AO3 or here ↓

I teased last week that I am working on something and now I deliver. It took me longer then anticipated, the story started to write itself so it was taking different turns than those I originally planned, and I was unfortunatelly most productive only from midnight until 4 a.m. Anyway, here is my new multichapter fic. I hope you like it. Updates should come every week on Wednesday. Hopefully. 

I am sorry for any mistakes. I don’t have a beta.

So, the story begins in October 2020 (oh, how much I would love to live in their corona-free universe), about four months after the one year jump in the last episode. 

It will totally make my day better if you leave kudos, comments or reblog this. I need positive motivation.

Happy reading!

“I like this,” Daisy mumbled contently, twirling a reddish maple leaf in her fingers absentmindedly. She was sprawled on a blanket with her head placed on Daniel’s lap, watching the rustling leaves of the maple tree above her.

It was a nice day in early October. Warm enough for a picnic at their favorite spot in a park yet a bit chilly with the fresh autumn breeze but that was nothing a warm blanket and hot cocoa couldn’t solve.

Daniel stopped reading a book and looked down at her with a smile. “What in particular?”

“Uh, I don’t know,” Daisy said unsure, meeting his eyes. “This? Right now, right here. Us. The peace and quiet,” she paused before looking at him again. Seeing his amused expression, she added: “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I can appreciate peace and quiet.”

“Uh-huh. Right. But only for so long before you barge into another storm…or cause it,” Daniel laughed at her mock offended pout.

Daisy playfully smacked him on the arm. “That’s not true and you know it. I don’t cause problems anymore. I am the commander of Zephyr-3.”

“Hmm…Termans would disagree,” Daniel chuckled.

“Hey!” She gasped. “That was on Kora, not me!”

“If you say so,” Daniel shrugged and picked the book up again, a teasing grin spreading on his face. “Quake.”

Daisy groaned. If she ever thought that he’s gonna drop the whole Quake thing after some time, she had never been more wrong. Not when most of the universe out there knows her as Quake.

“Don’t push your luck Danny-boy.”

“Or what? You quake me?” He asked her with a raised eyebrow and a glint in his eyes.

“Definitely not. It’s not a punishment when you actually want it,” she winked at him teasingly. “No, you will sleep on a couch.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t do that.”

“Yes, I would,” Daisy stuck her tongue out and then yelped when Daniel proceeded to tickle her. “You…really…wanna…find…out,” she managed to get out in between giggles.

When he finally stopped his attack, she took a moment to catch her breath, watching his smug expression. “You are a dork,” she said with a huge grin.

“I love you, too,” he told her, a tender smile playing on his lips.

She sat up and cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand. Daniel leaned into her touch and placed his hand on top of hers, the engagement ring on her finger lightly pressing against his palm. He moved her hand to his lips and placed a small kiss on her fingers, his eyes never leaving hers. Well, forget the cocoa, this warmed Daisy up much more. She closed the distance between them bringing their lips together in a short but sweet kiss.

“I love you,” she whispered like it was a secret kept just between the two of them. Their faces lingered close to each other for a while longer, just to enjoy their little bubble. Daisy then changed her position and leaned against Daniel’s side. He snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her even closer and placed a kiss on her temple before grabbing the forgotten book again.

Daisy let out a content sigh. “This is what I meant. I like being out there, exploring the universe with you and Kora and our team but…I love this, too. I missed it for those six months we were away. Just the two of us enjoying some time together without other people and…mission updates and…looming threats…” She looked up at him and let out a soft laugh. “I’m rambling now, aren’t I?”

“I like listening to your rambling,” he said and kissed her temple again. “And I know what you mean. I feel the same way. I like our adventures but I love our time together. Just the two of us. But hey, we have a couple of months before the next mission is scheduled. So, we are okay.”

“Yeah. We have a wedding to attend to,” Daisy grinned at him.

“Uh-huh.” Daniel looked at her with a small smile. “That wouldn’t be very nice if we didn’t show up there now, would it?”

“It definitely wouldn’t. We are too important,” she laughed lightly and put her head on his shoulder.

Daniel shifted his focus to the book again but before he resumed the reading, a memory crossed his mind and he let out a chuckle.

“What?” Daisy asked curiously.

“You know, the first time we came here to have a picnic you said ‘How very square of you’ and how sappy and tooth-rottingly sweet we sound and look. Sitting here under the tree, me reading to you, you laying on a blanket with your head in my lap always trying to hide that big smile of yours…and failing,” he laughed and shook his head. “And now…”

“And now I say I like it,” she mumbled into his shoulder and cringed as she said it. “I think I just…I guess I blame you for that,” she told him lightly.

“Me?” he asked jokingly, turning his head to look at her but Daisy kept staring at her fingers, playing with the engagement ring on her left hand.

“Yeah. I’ve never thought I would like something like this before I met you. An ordinary life. Well, as ordinary as one can get while still working for S.H.I.E.L.D.,” she chuckled softly. “And even before joining S.H.I.E.L.D….I’ve never thought I could have this. I just couldn’t see it for myself, growing up the way I did. And later I’ve thought I…I don’t deserve this.”

“Daisy- “

“So yeah. Uh…I still think we are overly sweet sometimes but…” she looked up and met Daniel’s warm brown eyes, “I like it. I always did. I’ve just never thought I could be this person. And I have you to thank for that. You showed me that I can be this person…that I deserve a little normalcy in my life.” She lowered her gaze again, her hands picking at his shirt this time.  “That I deserve to be loved and to love.”

“Of course, you deserve it. You deserve the best things in the universe,” Daniel put the book down and ran his hand through her hair before cupping her cheek and guiding her face to look up at him again. There were unshed tears shining in her beautiful eyes. She tried to blink them away offering him a watery smile. But then with a little shake of her head, she switched back to her joking self.

“Gah! Even now I sound so corny! I don’t even recognize myself sometimes. Kora says you are rubbing off on me. Making me a dorky square like yourself,” she smirked and poked him in the chest. “She says it’s annoying. But you know what? I don’t care.”

Daniel gave her his best lopsided grin. “Because you love this dorky square?”

“Yep. Exactly,” Daisy flashed him the biggest smile. “And…I like to annoy my little sister.”

They were suddenly interrupted by the ringing of Daisy’s phone. She sighed as her hand dived into the back pocket of her jeans, fishing it out. She cursed silently as she saw the caller ID flashing across the screen. There go peace and quiet.

“We were pushing our luck earlier. It’s Mack,” she informed Daniel with a sad smile, knowing that whatever it is, it will involve getting back to work, even if it’s Sunday.

“Hey Director, what’s up?” she asked him lightly.

“Hey Tremors,” Mack started with a tired sigh. The man just keeps working too much. “Listen, I know that it’s a weekend and you’ve just got back from space few days ago but I need you to come in. Both of you, assuming Sousa is there with you.”

“What’s going on? You sound tired,” Daisy remarked worriedly.

“I’ll disclose the details when you get here. Come as soon as you can,” he replied.

“Okay. Uh, we can be there in…thirty?” She said, uncertain, meeting Daniel’s eyes for confirmation. He nodded.

“Great. See you then.”

“See ya.” Daisy kept her eyes on Daniel and shrugged as the call ended.

“So, I guess we won’t finish the chapter today,” he commented, book in hand.

“I guess not.”

      ⁂

When the duo arrived at Triskelion some twenty minutes later, they bumped into Kora in the lobby. She looked a little disheveled, annoyed expression plastered on her face.

“I guess Mack called you guys, too. On Sunday of all days,” she mumbled with a hoarse voice.

“Were you…sleeping?” Daisy asked her, raising her eyebrows.

“And? It’s Sunday. We came back from space four days ago. I have a lot of sleep to catch up on. And I can finally sleep in a normal bed,” she defended herself fiercely.

“Ooookay. Let’s go find Mack and get this over with so we can all go home and relax…or whatever,” Daisy offered and started to walk towards the elevators.

When they reached Director’s office, Mack opened the door before they even had the time to knock. He quickly ushered them inside and closed the door behind them.

“What- “ Daisy started but Mack cut her off.

“Sagittarians contacted HQ earlier today. They want to meet up and discuss a potential alliance.”

“You really don’t beat around the bush, do you?” Daniel remarked and Mack just shrugged.

“Are you kidding me?” Daisy spoke up a little too loudly, clearly frustrated. “We stopped on Berhert less than two weeks ago on our way home and they refused to talk to us. What changed?”

“They didn’t care to elaborate on that. But they want to meet up today,” Mack informed the three agents.

“Yeah, that’s funny. Since it will take us almost two days to get there. It’s three jumps away and the jump drive needs to charge in between the jumps…so…not today,” Kora explained as she plopped into a chair with a heavy sigh.

“They know that. That’s why they are sending someone to get you,” Mack stated, his hand scratching his beard in thought. “Apparently, they have some kind of advanced tech for interstellar travel without the need to use a spaceship.”

“Well, they are known for their impressive technology. That much we gathered about them by visiting other planets. We didn’t see much ourselves since they didn’t give us the permission to land,” Daisy grumbled still frustrated after the last encounter with the aliens.

“But isn’t it just a different version of our jump drive?” Daniel asked, leaning against Mack’s table. “Like the one we have on the Zephyrs but it moves just people around the galaxy?”

“No. These jump drives…we didn’t invent them,” Mack tried to clarify. “We got one from a crashed Confederacy ship and recreated more, thanks to Deke. So, yeah, he basically stole the technology. The original one could teleport even people themselves without the need of a spaceship. But it was always a one-way trip unless there was another jump drive on the other side.”

“Meaning?” Daniel gave him a confused look.

“Meaning that whatever tech Sagittarians possess, they are probably teleported with the device in hand,” Daisy explained to him and then turned to face Mack. “But Deke redesigned the original jump drive to be wearable. Remember? He used it to get to the temple.”

“And failed to get back to the Lighthouse,” Mack remarked. “Look, whatever they have, we’ll see soon enough. But I have to say, having a device like that in S.H.I.E.L.D. would be very useful. You guys wouldn’t have to spend so much time drifting in between planets and could spend more time at home.”

“Sleeping in a normal bed,” Kora added dreamily.

Daisy raised an eyebrow at her and sighed. She had to admit that it would be a much more comfortable way for visiting planets.

“So, what are our orders Director?” she asked.

“Suit up. They’ll come to get you in two hours,” he paused, thinking. “If they will be willing to trade one of those devices, we have to come up with a suitable counteroffer.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Daniel shrugged. “Considering how they refused to talk to us only to change their mind so suddenly. I don’t really trust them.”

“We’ll do our best and see how that goes,” Daisy fixed everyone with a determined gaze. “Let’s suit up.”

“Just one more adventure for the Astro Ambassadors before a few months break,” Daniel muttered pushing himself off the table.

Kora groaned and Daisy shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips as she led the way out of Mack’s office so they could get ready for their new mission.

       ⁂

Two hours later they were all gathered in the HQ’s hangar waiting for the Sagittarians to show up. Wearing her Quake suit, Daisy was shuffling her feet nervously, standing between Mack and Daniel. She couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was just something unsettling about the way the Sagittarians changed their mind so fast. She doesn’t know much about them but what she does know is that they are a monarchy led by a princess called Daydra who may or may not have some dispute with her uncle who is the head of their military. The last thing Daisy wanted was to get mixed up in family affairs and instead of a new ally make a new enemy. Daniel, being as observant as ever, took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She offered him a grateful smile in return.

Suddenly they were startled by a bright blue light in front of them. They shut their eyes to block the light and when they opened them again two tall grey-skinned aliens stood before them. One was a male and the other was a female, both looking like warriors. The woman had long black hair woven into a braid and her dark grey eyes were studying the humans in front of her cautiously yet with a drop of curiosity. Slightly taller than her, the man had an impressive white mustache and was bald with-

“Is that…a fin on his head?” Kora whispered in Daisy’s ear from behind.

“I…think so?” Daisy whispered back.

“Greetings Terrans. My name is Brodin,” the guy with the fin spoke. “I am a Captain of the Royal Guard and I and my second-in-command, Adlynn, were tasked to bring you to our planet Berhert for the scheduled meeting with Princess Daydra, our fearless leader.”

The group of humans shared a look between each other before Mack spoke up.

“I am Alphonso MacKenzie, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Welcome to Earth. I believe we spoke to each other when you contacted us this morning.”

“That is correct. I see you assembled the small team you wanted to send as emissaries since you will not be attending personally,” Brodin commented, pointing his hand towards Daisy, Daniel and Kora.

“Yes. They are some of our best agents,” Mack looked at the trio standing by his side with a proud smile. “Leaders of the special team tasked with space exploration and acquiring new allies…and assessing the threats from outer space.”

“That has been a wise decision on your part. There are many threats out there,” Adlynn spoke for the first time.

“Yes. We had enough bad luck to cross paths with some of them,” Mack remarked with a sigh. “So, anyway, this is Agent Daisy Johnson,” he put his big hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “She is in command of Zephyr-3 and its space exploring team.”

Daisy smiled at the two aliens and gave them a nod.

“Next to her,” Mack continued, “is Agent Daniel Sousa. He is her second-in-command or a first officer on Zephyr-3.”

“Nice to meet you.” Daniel, as polite as ever, offered them a hand to shake but Daisy could hear an edge to his voice, which was missing its usual warm friendliness.

“Likewise,” Brodin replied with a neutral voice and shook Daniel’s hand as did Adlynn.

Daisy sighed in relief because she could still vividly remember the time when Daniel offered a handshake on a planet where it was considered inappropriate due to rules of no physical contact in public. She had to quake a guard off of him and then explain in length that they didn’t know it was forbidden since on Earth it’s a gesture of friendship. They barely evaded the prison and were immediately exiled from the planet, never to return back. It was impossible to learn the etiquette rules of all the planets before they visited them.

“And finally, this is Agent Kora Johnson. She is one of our best pilots and a valued member of this team,” Mack pointed to Kora who in the meantime moved to stand on Daniel’s other side.

“We came to your planet like ten days ago and you refused to let us land,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Kora!” Daisy hissed warningly while Daniel tensed beside her and Mack ran his hand down his face with a sigh.

“What? It’s the truth. We came as emissaries too and they refused to talk to us. Now they are suddenly willing to,” Kora voiced her concerns.

“We are deeply sorry for that. There was…a misunderstanding on our end that had nothing to do with you,” Adlynn explained with a sad smile.

That seemed to calm Kora down a little but it sparked some suspicions in Daisy’s head. But this was nor time or place to be voicing them.

“It’s okay,” Mack assured them.

“If these are your most trusted agents who can speak on your behalf at the meeting with Princess Daydra, it is my duty now to bring them to our planet safely,” Brodin announced.

“Yes, they have all my trust,” Mack nodded and put his hand encouragingly on Daisy’s shoulder. “Agents, good luck,” Mack added, looking from Daisy to Daniel and Kora who both nodded at him.

“Thank you, Director.” Daisy squeezed his arm in response.

“Thank you, sir,” Daniel said at the same time.

“Let’s go then,” Brodin suggested and held a spherical device, slightly smaller than a soccer ball, in front of him. “Please stand in a circle as close to the device as possible.”

“If I may ask,” Mack spoke up again, “what is that thing?”

“It’s an interstellar and interdimensional teleportation device,” Brodin explained. “It allows us to travel anywhere in the universe or even between the universes. Although I am not sure how much you Terrans know about the Multiverse.”

“It’s the same as multiple timelines, right?” Daisy asked, unsure.

“Yes, but it’s more than just that,” Brodin muttered, looking down at the device he was holding.

“Then, yes…uh, we know something about it,” Daisy looked at Daniel and Kora with an amused grin on her face.

“I am pleasantly surprised. Many races out there have never heard of it,” Adlynn commented, excitement visible in her eyes. “You are much more advanced than we thought.”

“Not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult,” Daniel whispered into Daisy’s ear and she tried hard not to smile.

“Yeah,” Mack sighed, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “you could say we discovered a lot in the past ten years or so.”

“Maybe your friends will share some of those discoveries with us. I would like to hear all about them. They are usually accompanied by interesting stories,” Adlynn couldn’t hide her excitement anymore.

“Sure,” Daisy said, “but you know, these things go both ways. We share if you do too.”

“This will be a very interesting meeting, I can tell,” Adlynn smiled while Brodin shook his head with a sigh.

“That’s why we should be going, Adlynn,” he noted dryly and held the device in the middle of their small circle.

“Of course, Captain,” Adlynn tried to compose herself and warned the trio of humans: “Get ready.”

Daisy grasped both Daniel’s and Kora’s hands in each of hers. The last thing she wanted was to lose one of them in the vacuum of space or whatever. She didn’t know how that device worked.

Suddenly they were all enveloped by the blue light emitting from the device in the middle. Somehow, in some way, it reminded her of Gordon’s powers.

Next Chapter →

I wrote this and the next chapter as one big chapter but decided to split them up...it was too long and I know some people prefer shorter chapters. This is the calm before the storm.

Both planets mentioned here exist in the MCU (Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2) but the Sagittarians were not mentioned so I took them out of the comics (I've never read any of them). Princess Daydra and her uncle exist in the comics the rest is made up.

So that's it then. Thanks for reading. Stay safe and see you all next week!