#versus my current manager who is like

[urbanfiltered]

why am i crying lmao

[operator-report]

cw: ableism, Worm spoilers through Scourge 19.7

Thinking about Marissa Newland in the club tonight (Saturday afternoon). What a fast track for needing to go lie down.

Do you ever think about what it takes to be able to kill your best friend? What would your relationship with that friend need to be like? ("Sundancer spoke up, calling out, 'Remember the promise we made together.' Noelle didn’t reply.) How would you need to think of her? ("Hate these runs. People look at me funny when I bring a cart of meat and only meat.") How badly would you need to want to go back to your old life? ("How's life among the Travelers?" "Intense. Violent. Lonely.")

The Travelers entire team dynamic is a hideous torment nexus, but the collapse of Noelle and Marissa's friendship really gets to me. Going from Marissa always making sure Noelle ate to Marissa being ashamed of the food runs is agony. Marissa was Noelle's friend who cared for her, and cared about her, the most. Now, when Marissa talks to Noelle, she doesn't respond. Marissa can hold Dinah while she's sick in Noelle's cage, but can no longer reach out to Noelle. All care is completely cut off - Noelle is only a disease, who needs to be managed and grieved.

Marissa hates hurting people, but she can kill Noelle. Taylor just has to first tell Marissa that Noelle is no longer herself. (“She’s… she was my best friend.” “She’s not Noelle anymore.”)

Of course, it's so much more nightmarishly complicated than that. Marissa isn't a bad person, here - she's handling a horrible situation imperfectly. Marissa still loves Noelle. She insists to Taylor over and over again that Noelle is her friend, despite everything. But for one hideous moment, Marissa has to believe that Noelle isn't there, that the thing that Noelle has become isn't really her friend, isn't a person, before she can do the deed. And then Marissa goes right back to mourning.

It's awful. It's an incredibly well-executed tragedy. I don't really have much of a point beyond that, other than, damn. It really does suck that Noelle's friends - even her friend who best understood her struggles - no longer see Noelle as a person. Can't believe that's what killed her, in the end.

[mkstrigidae]

!!!!!! I FINALLY managed to map out the ch 16/17 outline for APWH!!! (16 and 17 because it's all thematically similar but it's gonna be literally seventy pages or something if it all goes in one chapter so we're breaking it up)

The good news about that, other than the fact that this part's been stumping me for ages, is that chapters 18 and 19 are MUCH clearer in my mind and have been planned out for a while.

Anyways i'm super tired but really excited about that

[garbinge]

Cowboy and Pony

Tyler Owens x F!Reader

Summary: Tyler comes home with the crew after a chase and after a unpleasant run in with your ex. Word Count 4.5k Warnings: Light angst, mentions of parental death, really bad science and tech explanations for the sake of plot lol, anxiety, talk of trauma/guilt/grief, fear of leaving home, kissing and i guess PG-13 sexual situations (not really but like blink and you miss it type stuff). A/N: I saw Twisters last night and cannot get Tyler Owens out of my brain. Taglist: @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics @kmc1989

You knew Tyler practically your whole life. He was the boy next door, but that quickly turned into your friend next door. Throughout all of his crazy life adventures, bull riding, studying meteorology, chasing storms, you were there. Except while he was trying out a million things, you were doing one. Tinkering with shit. Some people probably would have called you a mechanic, but you hated it. Because you didn’t just stop at cars, you were the person that would dig through the garbage to find trashed parts and build a computer out of it. That’s actually when Tyler talked to you for the first time, he stood back watching you pick through his trash just to get a circuit board from an old computer. You just liked to build stuff, you learned how to solder, how to rewire shit, the whole nine yards. 

Tyler wasn’t just your neighbor growing up, he was a friend. One of the best of ‘em. It’s why when he switched up to tornado chaser and asked you to join his crew there was no hesitation in your decision. You also managed to find a boyfriend, two of them actually, a jerk off one, that only lasted a few months and then the one you currently had, who was in front of your face this entire time. 

You were nose deep into some project as you heard the bark from Pony, the rescued Great Dane who you spent most of your days with. It was a miracle you didn’t hear the loud speakers of the truck you knew pulled into the driveway, but then you realized they had probably been broken off or mangled to the point of repair. 

“He-hey Pony, who's a good girl.” His voice was muffled, he had to have been a few feet out from the barn, which meant he was keeping the truck a good distance away from you on purpose. 

Sliding the barn doors open, your eyes first fell on him. Your number one concern always being him. But when you saw that damn handsome smug face on him, looking up at you with the most apologetic smile as Pony licked his face, your eyes jumped to the truck. They were jumping just as soon as they were closing shut. 

The exoskeleton of welded steel had been crushed on one side, which honestly was the least of your problems. The weather station atop had been missing complete pieces versus just a couple dings and scratches. The roof rack lights were broken and the trailer hitch was bent in an unusable position. But the firework launcher was in perfect condition still, of course. 

“I fixed what I could on site.” You heard the statement through gritted teeth as Tyler stared at you knowingly. 

“Oh. There was more.” You opened your eyes and saw him with an expression that could only be described as yikes as he nodded and stood up, Pony attaching to his side instantly. 

“Yeaaaaa.” He was still gritting his teeth as he walked towards you with open arms, knowing he was going to work his way back into your graces. His arms were around you in seconds, and his lips on yours moments later. Reaching to the top of your head, you removed the soldering headband that was resting on the top of your head like a simple pair of sunglasses although was 5x the size. Tyler instinctively grabbed it from you, and moved his hand right back to your lower back while you let your hands cup his face. “I’m sorry.” It was whispered as he pulled from the kiss to rest his forehead on yours. 

You looked up at him and noticed the smallest scratch on his face and wiped your thumb along it in hopes that it was just dirt but when the mark stayed and you felt the rigidness from the skin starting to heal already, you knew it wasn’t. “You know all that shit I build for you is so this doesn’t happen, right?” 

He let out a laugh, and you felt his body vibrate against yours as he did. “It’s barely the size of a papercut, and I, uh, recall you using your wiring tools to stitch up my head one from bull riding so I’d say it’s not too comparable.” His hands were now reaching up to your face to place a swift kiss on your forehead in an attempt to ease you. 

“I don’t compare, I just find a way to make things better. So now you need to tell me what happened to make this happen.” Your hands had moved against his chest. 

“One of Storm Par’s guys didn’t tie down their gear right and it nicked Tyler.” Lilly was walking right by you both into the barn to drop her drone for its own repairs. 

That made your entire mood change. “I’m sorry, what?” Your head jumping from Lilly to Tyler who was smiling with his mouth open readying an excuse.

“It was one of the new guys, didn’t know his ass from the tornado.” This was him trying to simmer the situation with humor.  

“Yea and when you told him that, that David guy got all up in our pretty boy’s face!” Boone was also entering the barn, following shortly behind Lilly with the drone eyes and controller. 

“I’m sorry, what?” That’s when your body got more tense and Tyler did everything to try and shake it off you. 

David. The jerk off ex-boyfriend. 

“Which ones David?” Dani was calling out from the RV, her hat crooked as she hung from the passenger door handle. It was obvious she was probably busy when the situation occurred. 

“The jerk-off one!” You and Tyler both called out at the same time. It earned him a smile, you could always count on being in sync with him. Surrendering from your tension you raised your arms up again to his neck, just below his jawline. 

“What’d he do?” 

“Ah, you know, storm up in my face.” The irony of his statement wasn’t lost on you, it’s why you rolled your eyes which made him explain further. “You know, just said some stupid shit, Boone’s probably got it on video, probably really drive up our views.” 

You didn’t give a fuck about views or watching the footage right now, you wanted to hear it from him what happened. And he read that off you immediately. “He just got mad. I mouthed off to someone in his crew, he said some shit to me and I just brushed him off.” 

Looking over to Lilly and Boone, you were looking at them for the real answer. “I didn’t realize we were calling, pushing the guy to the ground, brushing him off.” Lilly was smirking as she was looking around at the pieces of the drone that were needing repairs. 

“Let me see the video.” You were pushing off Tyler, who was leaning in trying to get you back in his embrace until he dropped his head in defeat. 

Boone was eager to show you the footage he caught, ditching the drone and coming to your workstation to set up his camera for you to watch. 

“Watch your mouth, Tornado Wrangler. One of my guys is worth all of yours combined.” A typical thing to come from David’s mouth. The MIT degree he held must’ve come with a minor in selfish pretentious douchebag. 

You saw how Tyler’s tongue swiped against his bottom lip inside his mouth as he looked out past David, considering he had a few inches of height on him. “See that’s the difference between me and you, Storm Par, we value things a little differently.” 

It was immediately apparent that Tyler was referring to you. Yes, he valued his team way more than David his, but Tyler knew what he was doing when he said it. David put a lot of things before you when you were dating, and the straw that broke the camel's back was when he didn’t show up to the hospital when you found out your mother was sick. This was before Storm Par and Tornado Wranglers though, this was when David was just working tracking storms in the area for his college internship and Tyler was just starting to get over taming bulls and more into taming twisters. 

When David joined Storm Par, you were already with Tyler for about a year, so it was much to his surprise when he saw you at one of the many motels on the storm trail in Oklahoma not only on top of the red dodge RAM truck fixing something, but also on top of Tyler at the little bonfire gathering in the field adjacent to the motel later that same night. 

But it wouldn’t have mattered if you were together with Tyler or not. The two never got along, when he first met David from when they both started chasing the same storms, there was always something in the air. 

“Yea, we do. Extremely difficult and exhausting emotional baggage weren’t high on my must-haves when I was looking for a girlfriend.” It was the exact words he used when you broke up with him. Correct, you broke up with him, and he hit you with the yea this isn’t working, you’re extremely difficult and the emotional baggage is beginning to exhaust me line. The extremely difficult line was probably in reference to not wanting to build machines for him to use to track the weather, modeling equipment, etc. And the exhausting emotional baggage was the whole your mother being sick thing. He clearly was still using the statement which meant he thought it was effective. And it was. At getting pushed to the ground. 

After the words left his mouth, Tyler’s hands were on David’s collar bones and shoving him with such little effort but enough to get him to stumble to the ground. Tyler smirked, a fully sarcastic look as he shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands. Very that’s what you get of him. “Told you not to talk about her, Storm Par.” 

“You told me not to say her name.” David was annoyingly dusting off his shirt, knowing that physically he couldn’t take Tyler even on his best day. The secret was, you knew he couldn’t outsmart him even on his worst day either. 

“Hm.” Tyler was taking a couple steps closer now, really towering over him now, blocking any sun from David's vision as he stood tall looking down at him. “Well let’s just add it to the list, huh?” Just as Tyler was about to step away, the smirk on his face went from sarcastic to a full blown smile as he grabbed the ‘not my first tornadeo’ t-shirt that was on Boone’s shoulder and tossed it down to him. “Here, something to change into, you got a little dirt.” He pointed to his own torso when he said it.

That’s when the camera flipped to Boone raising his eyebrows, “you mess with the bull you get the horns!” His fingers raised to his forehead where his pointer and pinky finger were extended in the rocker sign and his teeth gritted to imitate a bull. 

“Classy.” You looked up to see Tyler still in the same spot, at the entrance of the barn leaning against the door frame, arms crossed. “Maybe next time we can get you both knight costumes and we can make it a true fight for my honor.” 

Despite your satire, he knew you weren’t mad. “Next time, huh? That mean you comin’ on the next chase with us?” 

That was the question. It was so much the question, that everyone was looking at you now. Lilly, Boone, Dani, and Dexter. After your mother got really sick, it was hard for you to leave the house, when you needed time for yourself, you’d come to the garage barn and work, that way when she needed you you weren’t too far. When she passed, you were away, on a chase which held enough guilt to basically move you into your barn. The house was merely a place for you to eat, sleep, and shower. And have sex with Tyler, although the barn had seen its fair share of that as well. Now, you had explained it as a habit–preference even, you preferred staying home, it was habitual. But everyone really knew… it was that emotional baggage. 

Even though he was mentioning it now, you knew there was never any pressure to go. You used to go. But ever since you got that call from the nurse’s aid that your mother had passed in her sleep while you were 75 miles away, it was hard to pull yourself from here. 

“Let me bring the truck in here.” Avoidance.

The keys were being dangled from Tyler’s fingers before you could say another word. As you jumped into the driver’s seat of the truck, you looked down to see a note on the odometer with your name on it. 

She got a little more mangled than expected. But can’t wait to tell you about the chase. Give you a little sneak preview, twins, changing wind shear and a surprise. Did what I could on site to fix the ol girl but no one’s as brilliant as you, especially with the vehicle sonar. You probably didn’t notice the vehicle sonar was broken. I’m sorry, did I say that? I don’t think I said that. I love you, I’ll say that too, in hopes that it’s enough for you to forgive the state of the truck, and if not, I brought back barbecue to win your love back. 

T 

These were your favorite; they made you feel included, like you were there. And Tyler knew that. Tucking the note into your jacket pocket, you pulled into the garage barn and got to work. About an hour in was when you were interrupted by the smell of barbecue and Tyler attached to the plate. 

“Winning back my love?” You called out with a smile, your legs extended out on the roof of the truck as you installed the new-old weather station to it. 

He placed the plate next to you, barely needing to reach up to get it that high and jumped into the bed of the truck. “And if not yours then Pony’s.” He was picking a piece of chicken off the plate and tossing it to the Great Dane who was nestled in the corner of the truck bed. “You get my note?” He was standing in the bed now, leaning against the back of the truck cap, his arms crossed on the roof as he watched you work. 

“Of course I did. You gonna tell me about,” You pulled the wrench away and looked in his direction while trying to remember the keywords he gave you from the chase. “Twins, and the shifting shear.” 

“Don’t forget the surprise.” He was picking up the fork from the plate and waving it as he spoke. “Yea, so we caught twins, although they didn’t look like twins, one was thin, small radius, the other was growing, kickin’ up a lot of dirt.” 

“Which one did you follow?” Despite not being much into meteorology, Tyler talked enough about it for you to learn a lot, and even though you hadn’t been on a chase in while, you knew the ins and outs pretty well still. 

“The wrong one.” Now he was pushing the fork in your direction, knowing you wouldn’t stop what you were doing long enough to relax and eat. 

“The shifting shear.” You mhmed in acknowledgement to the word in his letter about the wind change and also as the taste of your favorite Oklahoma barbeque spot filled your taste buds. 

“Yep.” He nodded, “We lost it and Storm Par didn’t.” 

“Before or after your run in with David.” 

“Before.” 

“Then, Tyler Owens, I think you still came out on top.” You said it while still looking at the plate, about to grab more food but the interruption of Tyler’s arms pushing him up on the truck roof, his boot stepping up on the fixed exoskeleton to boost him up so he was on top of you. 

“You’re damn right.” He was leaning his face dangerously close, as if his body atop of yours wasn’t dangerous enough. The slightest touch of his lips met yours and any thought of barbecue and fixing weather stations was out of your brain, in fact any thoughts at all were gone from your head aside from the many thoughts of Tyler caressing you.  “I missed you.” That was until he said that. 

He meant well, and you missed him too, but it just reminded you of not being there. Tyler picked up on your change in mood immediately, his left arm pressed against the metal of the car so he wasn’t as on top of you anymore, his face twisted in concern as his eyebrows raised in a way to ask you what happened but as you thought about how you wanted to explain he got it without you needing to share a word. “Fuck.” Dropping his head and the confused concern, his head fell on your shoulder. “I didn’t mean it that way. Even earlier today, I just–” 

“Miss me. I get it.” Your hand fell on his head, your fingers getting tangled in his blonde locks, your mouth moving to pepper kisses on his head as well. “I missed you too, for the record.” You mumbled it against his head. 

He moved off you and fell next to you, his hand cupping your head as he placed a kiss to your forehead as he moved. “There’s never any pressure. At your own pace.” 

“Says the guy who faces his fears by riding them. If I was anyone else, you’d laugh and scream cowboy obscenities as you walked away from me.” 

That caused Tyler to laugh out loud, his body vibrating against yours as his laughs fell in the crook of your neck. “You’re not scared.” 

“I’m scarred.” Making jokes was the only way you felt comfortable really talking about it. 

“And for the record, you’re you, not anyone else, so yes I treat you differently.” He left a kiss in the crook of your neck as he left it. “And what are cowboy obscenities?” 

You cleared your throat and began hollering typical midwestern slang and finished it off with the Tyler Owens tagline. “Woooohooo, if you feel it chase it!” 

There was his laugh again, buzzing against your body, making you miss him even when he was right damn next to you. 

Things quieted down for a bit and the two of you sat up and finished off the plate of barbeque on the picnic table you turned the roof of the red dodge into. “So, I was thinkin’ you know how you have the buttons in the truck to release the rockets and drill in and all that.” You spoke like you weren’t the one that helped him install all of those gadgets. 

“Mhm.” He smiled thinking the same thing, his arm propped up on his folded leg. 

“Well, Storm Par they have those data trackers, the things they gotta get out of the car and place down around the vortex.” You explained. 

“Think it’s the PAR in Storm Par.” Tyler teased.

“Exactly, Phased Array Radar. And I know we have the drone, which is great but what if we could have both? Footage and data.” Before Tyler could answer you were jumping back down to your work station and moving some things around to pull out a mechanism you had been working on before the group arrived back. 

Tyler was following behind you, not as quickly paced but still intrigued. “Okay so this we could install in your truck and attach it to this.” You were now showing a large panel that had hydraulics on it. “And basically, you press this and the truck bed flap will open and this will move out, dropping whatever you want out, you guys won't have to leave the car.” 

Tyler nodded as he took it all in, impressed, as always. “Pretty sure the handsome fellas at Storm Par use 3 of those bad boy radars though. Don’t think we could get the RV that close to a twister.” 

“I’d build you a data catcher where you’d only need one.” Already having the answer to his question you folded your arms and smirked. You had the mechanism to release it pretty much done, now you just had to build the radar, no biggie. 

“How?” He copied your pose, arms crossed, leaning more on one leg than the other, although his eyebrows were frowned while yours were raised. 

“Because you just have to drop it in the vortex.” Now his eyebrows raised and before he could ask his one more follow up question, you were answering it for him. “And I’m planning on building one that shifts its panel, so even when the twister passes, you can still track it for up to 5 miles. Dorothy reimagined.” You were referring to the hundreds of sensors people would generally have zipped up into a tornado to radio back data. 

“We’d have information on the twister way quicker.” Tyler’s brain was starting to wrap around this idea. 

“It’s not perfect, it’s not going to change much but–”

“It’s a way to get more information faster, that’s pretty big.” He stopped you from doubting the idea. “And keeps us from needing to race against the twister outside the truck. 

“I’m nothing if not concerned for your safety.” You pointed at him with the large switch in your hand while he walked over to start helping you piece some more things together. The two of you fell into a silent groove, working on the idea you had just shared with him, rewiring things and going over different equations to best prepare the data capture radar. As time passed, Tyler looked over at you from across the workstation and spoke up. 

“You know, I get why you can’t come out. I know prolly better than anyone how much your mom meant to you, what seeing her get sick did to you.” 

Shifting your focus from the lamp lit table covered in wires in front of you, you looked up at him. His eyes were staring at you, softly, it was something he seemed to want to share for a while and was just waiting for the right moment. And he was right, Tyler did know. It was the perk of growing up with him as your neighbor, he just knew things because he was there. Not only did he know, but he experienced them with you. He’d come by for dinner, bring you any piece of tech or electronics him or his aunt didn’t use anymore. When you popped your bicycle tire riding home from school, he picked you up in his aunt’s truck even though he didn’t have a license. On those weekend trips you’d so often take with your mom, he’d come by and check in on the barn, on your family pets. When she was sick and 90% of your time was spent making sure she was okay, he was making sure you were okay. And when your mom passed, he was the one who drove you the 75 miles back home in the same red pickup truck when one of the most historical twisters touched down. 

It was memories and thoughts like those that always made you wonder what took you so long to realize you were in love with Tyler Owens. He’d love to tell everyone now that he knew from the moment he saw you picking through trash that he loved you. That when you were rushing down the high school hallway with some contraption you made explaining to him that you made it to help him with the focusing issue he had casually brought up to you was when he realized he could never lose you. This person who knew neither of them had the money for noise cancellation headphones and just decided to make them herself with a playlist of his favorite songs in one night to help him focus? You cared about him. And he could never lose that. Which is why he could never tell you that he was in love with you. He watched you date losers, even went on his own dates too sometimes to see if he could get over the feeling. The only thing comparable was bull riding. Or storm chasing. And with that came you, because as much as you didn’t realize you loved Tyler, you knew you loved being around him. 

“We can start slow if you want to get out, maybe we can go away for the weekend, go to that town you and your mom used to drive out to in Texas, Sun Valley, right?” 

It was honestly the perfect idea. Getting out and doing something that reminded you of your mom. “Yea that’s a good idea.” 

He sensed the hesitancy in your voice though and changed the topic quickly. “Never asked me what the surprise was.” 

“What’s the surprise?” It was spoken in a mockery tone, you knew he’d get around to telling you. 

“Be right back.” He was eagerly standing up from the table and lightly jogging down the driveway into the RV where Dani and Dexter were probably working on making sense of the data they had already captured. 

As Tyler came back into the barn, Pony whined and tilted his head as the scent of what Tyler was carrying entered the barn. He had a young dog in his hands, although the dog was big enough to likely not be a puppy but you could tell from his face, he still had a few more young months ahead. It was a real dog and pony show, literally. 

“Found him in the aftermath rubble, pretty sure his owners didn’t make it because no one claimed him.” The heaviness of his statement hit you as you stepped out and made your way towards both Tyler and the dog.  “Didn’t have a nametag on ‘em.”  

“Cowboy.” You grabbed the dog from Tyler’s hands, giving him his name, and scratched him behind his ears before putting him down on the ground to meet Pony. 

As you looked at both dogs, now curiously sniffing and playing together in your workshop barn, Tyler tossed his arm around your shoulders and kissed your head. “Pony and Cowboy.” He nodded. 

“You bring him home because you don’t think Pony has it in her to protect me all by herself?” 

“Somethin’ like that.” He smirked. “Plus now, you got an excuse to stay home more. You got a puppy to raise.”

[kopilot-pop]

[New Jeans x Oldest Member! Reader] - #3

-imagine.

Summary: Silly little fics of you and the gorls. You’re basically the tired father figure in their lives.

Warning(s): Cursing, car accident?, bribing a worker?,!crack humor, Hanni has a stalker, you get violent, etc.

A/N: This is like really unserious lmao. I wrote it really lighthearted. Also, this was written over the course of the whole Ador vs Hybe situation. So please understand I’m slowly becoming more unhinged as the story goes.

———————————————————————

#1

You’re strong. I mean physically strong. All of New Jeans, hell, ADOR knows that.

Oh where’s Y/n unnie?; She’s out for a jog.

Unnie is your hand okay?; Yeah, I just had a sparring match today.

That’s just a part of your life.

Fans adore this about you, the girls adore this about you, and today, you’ve come to appreciate this fact too.

Especially when a stalker decided to show his face again at the airport.

It’s been about 2 months since you’ve last seen the man. He went viral on the news (by news I mean Dispatch) for being Hanni’s stalker.

The last time you met him - oh, it was ugly.

He snuck into a performance venue disguised as a staff member. You were the one that caught him lurking near the MC waiting room.

‘Hanni’s supposed to be in there.’

Five. seconds.

That’s all it took for Hanni’s scream to pierce your ear.

The stalker barged into the room, grabbed the girl, and attempted to drag her towards the exit.

You don’t remember much after that scene.

Actually you might remember punching his face something and throwing something him across the wall, but that doesn’t really matter does it?

It mattered alot to Dispatch, who got a hold of the security footage, and decided to share it for the world to see.

The whole situation cause alot of debates of “Oh he’s a stalker. He deserved it. Good job Y/n!” versus “Wow, you didn’t have to get that violent Y/n.”, and in the end, the company decided to put you on a short hiatus and a long scolding from the producer.

Currently, you guys are standing across a crosswalk in front of the airport. The six of you are scheduled to perform in Paris in a few days and decided to get there early to settle in. You all planned a short vacation before having a whole week of dancing after dancing.

So imagine your surprise to see the dirty little freak right between the paparazzis - with a broken camera, might I add - staring at your group.

After acknowledging his presence, you quickly turned to Hanni - hoping that she didn’t notice him yet.

Unfortunately, you were too late.

Hanni’s body was slightly shaking and you could see the fear in her eyes as she stares directly towards the area where the stalker is.

Instinctively, you rushed to her side, and held her waist with your arm.

“I’m not letting him get to you, bub.”

“I.. oh you saw him too?”

“Mm-hm, and I’ll sucker-punch him if he tries to touch you again, alright?”

Hanni giggles, “Nooo, I don’t want you to be stuck in our dorms again!”

“I think it’ll be worth it if I get to break his nose this time, no?”

Minji - overhearing your conversation - butts in.

“Please don’t break anybody’s nose today unnie.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Minji gives you a skeptical look and you give her an innocent smile.

When the crosswalk light turns green, the whole group starts to walk through the group of people, as security tries to make enough room for you guys to pass.

The six of you were just about to manage through the gates when Hanni’s pained scream cuts through the air. You snap your head towards your right to see the same stalker gripping a fist-full of her hair.

And in just a millisecond, a loud crack replaces the girl’s scream.

The paparazzis’ cameras went wild with flashes - all trying to capture how you grabbed the man by his collar and slammed your fist right into his nose. Your pupils were blown wide, piercing right through the stalker writhing on the floor.

“Y/N!!”

Minji was the only one quick enough to snap out of her shock and grab onto you before you could attempt to break anymore of his bones..

Yeah, guess you’re not making it to Paris.

———————————————————————

#2

“UNNIE!! Look at this!!”

Danielle happily skips over to the rack filled to the brim with different bunny plushies. You, her and Haerin all decided to go to a state fair that was happening only an hour away from the hotel.

Technically, you were dragged here by the two of them, but that doesn’t matter.

You watched as the girls looked through the pile of plushies while sipping in your smoothie.

‘Is this what parenthood feels like..’

When the two of them finally chose a bunny they liked, they simultaneously looked over to you… expectingly..

“What. Wait. I already bought us food?”

They nod.

“And hats, I bought us three hats.”

They nod, again.

They’re now directly under your nose, giving you those big puppy eyes. Sweat drips down your back, and it’s definitely not because of the Texas heat.

With a exasperated sigh, you reach into your back pocket and take out your card.

“Excuse me, how much for two of those plushies?”

“Oh, so sorry, but those aren’t for sale. You have to win 50 tickets to win two of them!”

The worker gives you a smile and continues helping out a family near the shooting range. When you turn around, Danielle has a clear pout on her face.

“Aww.. I thought I could buy them..”

“Not you, I could buy them.”

“Potato po-tah-to.”

For a moment you think of the choices you have. It’s either waste cash on a rigged shooting range, give up on the plushes, and.. oh.

“Can the two of you get wait in line for the bucket of cookies over there? Here-”

You hand over a 20$ bill. Danielle squeals happily and Haerin finally has a tiny smile on her face. The older girl grabs her hand and runs towards the stand.

As soon as they turn their backs on you, you slither over to the worker again.

“I need the plushies.”

“Wha- oh it’s you again. Look man, we have a policy that we can’t sell the prizes for c-cash.. wha..what is that..”

You quickly tuck a 100 dollar bill into his front pocket and give him an innocent smile.

“Dude, this isn’t a drug deal, I- ugh, fine, I’ll grab you the fucking plushies”

“Thank you :D”

You carry the two bunny plushies in your arms and a giant teddy bear the man gave you in return for a signature to give to his sister.

You awkwardly walk towards your groupmates while balancing the giant furball on your back.

“Y/n unnie!!! Oh my god! What is that?!”

Danielle looks clearly surprised, but you can tell she’s having a hard time containing her smile. Haerin’s trying her best to help you with the teddy bear.

“I.. uh…-holyshitthisisheavy- I hit the jack pot! Yeah, jackpot….”

You give them a toothy grin, not noticing the group of people taking photos of the three of you, and definitely not realizing the absolute fever Twitter is having over the pictures.

———————————————————————

#3

“I’m telling you guys, nothing’s gonna happen-”

A loud scream cuts off Minji as a ghost jumps out from the wardrobe.

Hanni and Danielle screams louder than the ghost, and runs into your arms in fear. You turn around to see Minji in the same situation as you - just with Hyein.

“Nevermind…” Minji rolls her eyes as the actor scurries off to a different room.

But her nonchalant behavior doesn’t last long when something under the bed grabs her ankle. She screams and - quite literally - jumps into your arms.

“WHY DID YOU CHOOSE A HAUNTED HOUSE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST.”

The moment you let down a wide-eyed Minji, Hanni grabs your collar and shakes you; Pretty sure she’s trying to get revenge, but having absolutely no impact.

“Ack- I thought it would be fun..”

“FUN?! YOU THINK GHOSTS AND DEAD PEOPLE ARE FUN???!!!”

While Hanni growls at you with tears in her eyes, Haerin bravely opens the next door, only to be met with a doll dropped right in front of her face.

The shock causes her to let out a scream-

‘My ears are ringing.’

which you never expected from her - and run towards you to use your body as a shield.

“ALRIGHT, you guys stand behind me, and I’ll open all the doors, okay? That way I’m the one being threatened by the next ghoul or whatever…”

The girls nod their heads in unison. Hanni finally lets go of your collar to grip onto your left arm.

You cautiously kick open several doors, trying to find the exit, and on the third try you finally find another long corridor with a glowing exit sign at the end. The 6 of you slowly walk towards it but freezes when the buzzing sound of a chainsaw starting echoes from behind.

You’re the only one brave enough to turn around and see the clown standing in the middle of the room you guys just left.

“Okay, don’t panic but there’s a clown-”

The girls scream in unison as they sprint towards the exit like their life depends on it. You follow suit, and use your body to bust down the last door.

The whole group falls toward the ground together, and the younger girls naturally grab onto you, tightly closing their eyes in fear.

“Um… Congrats…?”

When you see the employee standing behind the counter, you sigh in relief that the haunted house is over.

“Guys, we escaped the house.”

They finally detach from you to take a look around their surroundings.

“Oh! Well that was nothing.” Hanni scoffs confidently, causing everyone around her to let out a deep sigh.

———————————————————————

#4

“We got into a car accident.”

“WHAT?!”

You jump up from the bed - almost dropping your phone - and check the contact name again.

“Yeah, I think Haerin unnie has a concussion.”

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.”

You quickly put the phone on speaker and fumble around to find your jacket.

“Yeah.. so since Haerin unnie got her license we decided to take your car out for a drive..”

“Wait, wait- MY CAR?!”

“Yeah, you said we can take it out whenever we want? Anyways, we decided to go to the beach… but the road was really messy, I think my phone is glitched, unnie.”

“HUH?!”

“We kinda went down this hill… blah blah blah… we hit a telephone poll- blah blah….”

“Oh my god.”

You rush out the door to the location Hyein has told you. When you arrive, you spot the girls and your BMW M3 that you recently acquired after begging your uncle for 3 months to sell it to you.

With a quick glance you can tell that - thankfully - the car is only a little scratched up, so you immediately turn your attention to the girl curled up in the driver’s seat.

Haerin’s head is against the handle with both of her arms covering her face. Her knuckles are almost white.

“Hey, hey, you okay?”

The only response you receive is a tiny groan from the younger girl.

“Hyein said you might have a concussion? Can you look at me sweetheart?”

“She’s been like this the whole time.” Hyein chimes in.

“The car can be fixed, it’s fine, just a scratch. But it’s more important to me if you’re fine, bub.”

With that a few seconds of silence passes and you finally get a tiny ‘I’m okay’ from Haerin.

“Alright then, let’s move you to the backseat so I can drive us to the hospital, okay? Hyein, get in the passenger seat.”

“Hell yeah! Shotgun!!”

You carry Haerin to the backseat, but as you try to get her seatbelt on, you finally notice the frown on her face.

“Haerin, I’m not disappointed you guys took my car out. I told you guys you’re free to do that. However, I am upset that you guys weren’t careful and got hurt. Okay? We can talk about that after we check if the two of you are fine.”

“What- me too?”

“YES, YOU TOO. YOU WERE ALSO IN THE CAR!”

Hyein pouts at your disbelief. You sigh and give Haerin a peck on her forehead, and hurry to your seat to get to the hospital.

“Put your seatbelt on bub, I’m speeding to the ER.”

“W-wait, you just told us to be caref-AHHH!!”

———————————————————————

A/N: This was fun to write lol.

[daddyslilchickenfingers2]

Noise Complaint (Chris)

Request: none

Warnings: secret relationship, semi public sex(hotel room), protective triplets, slightly possessive chris, degradation, filming/pictures, praise kink, daddy kink, getting caught by a fan, being found out by Matt and Nick, super rough sex, dom!chris, lingerie, choking, slapping, spanking, oral(male receiving), cum swallowing, creampie, facefucking, hair pulling, choking, maybe more idk

A/N: this was written when they were on the versus tour which is why it obviously mentions the tour

Y/n’s pov

We were going into week three of the boys’ tour and it was getting increasingly harder for Chris and I to hide the fact that we’re dating. Nobody knew, not even his brothers or Madi, who’s my best friend. At home, it’s a lot easier to hide the fact that we’re dating because Chris and I have always been super close, so us going to “hang out” alone wasn’t abnormal. Thankfully I was invited to go on tour with them since Madi couldn’t go this time, meaning I would have to share one of the two rooms with one of the triplets. You’d probably expect me to be sharing a room with Nick, which I wouldn’t mind considering he’s one of my best friends, but Chris had managed to convince both Matt and Nick to let him sleep in the same room with me by claiming he needs to cuddle with someone when he’s not sleeping in his own house. Since we’d usually get one room with two beds and the other with only one bed, neither Nick nor Matt wanted to have to share a bed or cuddle with Chris so they had “forced” me to be the one sharing a bed with Chris. Not that I was complaining anyways.

This was basically the only time when we could be completely alone however, Matt and Nick always had the room next to us meaning we could never have sex if fear of them hearing us. Luckily for us, the hotel we were staying at tonight only had rooms on separate floors. Currently, we were at the venue getting ready for the meet and greet as we just finished the show, everyone was still dressing in the color for their team. My color being red, I wore black cargo pants with white stitching, a red belt, a red corset top, and red Jordans, I paired my outfit with some silver jewelry and some basic makeup, adding winged eyeliner and red lipstick. As soon as I walked out of my dressing room, Chris pushed me back into it, “You look so fucking hot right now babe, I don’t know how I’m gonna control myself out there.” he said trying to go in for a kiss but I had to swerve it. Chris started pouting as I said “Sorry handsome, I don’t want to get any lipstick on you. We don’t want anyone to find out we’re dating, remember?” “Yeah, yeah, I just don’t know how I’m going to control myself out there because if I’m being honest, all I want to do right now is rip your clothes off and fuck you.” he said as we walked towards the door to leave.

We met back up with Nick and Matt as we all walked out to the meet and greet area and started taking pictures with fans. There was this one guy who came up to me and started flirting, I could tell that Chris was irritated but it’s not like he could do anything about it. “You’re hot, can I get your number and take you out to dinner? You know, maybe I can get you away from these boys and show you what I can do.” the guy said, making me slightly uncomfortable. Luckily for me, Nick saw this and came over to us “Hey man, can you not talk to her like that and move on to she can take pictures with non-creepy people? Thanks.” he said shooing him away. The guy did leave, but Chris still kept looking at me out of the corner of his eye to make sure nobody else bothered his girl.

After the meet and greet, we had all decided to go get dinner at a restaurant, and guess who just so happened to be our waiter? The creepy guy from earlier, and I think all the boys could tell he was making me uncomfortable. Due to this Nick ordered for me so I wouldn’t have to talk to him and we got threw dinner without an incident, well except for when we got our receipt, which had his number on it. I could literally feel the jealousy radiating off of Chris as we waited for our Uber, “Chris what’s wrong? You look super pissed off, are you okay?” Matt had asked him. “I’m fine, I just want to be at the hotel already.” Chris replied through gritted teeth making both his brothers give him a weird look before we got inside the Uber and went back to the hotel. Laura had met us in the lobby, handing us our room keys and telling us our room numbers as all five of us piled in the elevator. Laura got off first, then Matt and Nick, as soon as the doors closed Chris grabbed my hand, “I don’t like people flirting with you, I wanna punch them all in the face.” he said while rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand as we walked to our room

As soon as we got inside our bedroom, Chris pushed me up against the door “I want my fucking kiss now, you’ve had me so hard all day.” he said before capturing my lips in a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck, playing with his hair as our kiss turned into a heavy makeout. He started pressing his body against mine so I could feel how hard he was before he pulled away, “I’ve been waiting to do that all day. God, Y/n/n you look so hot in this outfit, shit I never thought you wearing red lipstick would make me so fucking hard, you’re gonna have to start wearing it more often.” Chris told me. I had a little surprise for him, I had just been waiting for when we could get the chance to fuck on tour, I bought it at one of our stops after hearing Chris say I looked hot in red a million times. “Would you do me a favor?” I asked him in a seductive voice, continuing to speak after he nodded “Can you go stand in the bathroom for like five minutes, please? It’ll be worth it, I promise you’ll like it.” “Ughhh you know I don’t like surprises!” he whined. “You’ll like this one I promise!” I told him as I shoved him into the bathroom, I quickly went to change into a pair of red heels and a lacy red lingerie set before quickly reapplying some lipstick.

I sat down on the edge of the bed before telling Chris he could come out, “This better not be som- holy fuck!” he cut himself off as he stopped dead in his tracks a few feet away from me. “Do you like it, baby?” I asked innocently, he was at a loss for words, only being able to mutter out a delayed “Uh-huh, really like it…” as I stood up and walked over to him. Chris couldn’t stop staring at every move I made, I grabbed his hand and led him over to sit on the bed. He slid off his shirt and shoes as his eyes continued to scan my body, “Are you just going to sit there and stare at me or are you going to use me like I planned on letting you?” I said as I traced my finger across his jawline, tilting his head up to look at me. His lips were wet and red as he kept licking and biting at them and his eyes were so blown out that you could barely see a small sliver of blue.

Chris quickly stood up to take his pants off before sitting against the headboard, pulling me with him “As much as I love those heels, Imma need to take them off because you’re gonna be real uncomfortable wearing those in a bit.” he said making me take them off, instantly pulling me onto his lap when I was done. He grabbed the back of my head before smashing our lips together in a hot and needy kiss, he swiped his tongue across my bottom lip while pulling me hair causing me to gasp, giving him a chance to slide his tongue into my mouth. Chris suck and licked my tongue and lips, letting out a deep groan when I started slowly grinding on him, his hands quickly making their way down to my ass with a tight grip. He slowly pulled away biting my lip, “God, I’m gonna fuck you so hard tonight! You’re gonna be so full my cum like the filthy little whore you are, gotta show you who you fucking belong to after that guy flirted with you today!” he growled into my ear.

I knew he was serious when he said I’d be filled with his cum considering neither of us had cum since tour started. I started trailing kisses down his neck and chest, disappointed that I couldn’t leave any hickies “Look like such a slut right now, wish I could take pictures and shit because you look fucking hot.” Chris groaned. I stopped kissing his body and looked at him from between his legs with an innocent smile “Who said you couldn’t? You can take videos of me sucking your cock or fucking me for all I care.” When I said that Chris groaned and his cock twitched. You could tell he was constantly dripping precum from the growing wet patch on his gray boxers. After a second he stood up and grabbed my wrist, dragging me with him before he grabbed his phone out of his pants “Get on your fucking knees for me, I’m taking you up on that offer.” he said while caressing my face before pushing me onto my knees.

He pushed down his boxers, stepping out of them before he tapped his cock against my lips, I quickly opened my mouth and stuck my tongue out waiting for him to put it in my mouth. He placed his thick cock onto my tongue before thrusting into my mouth, pushing some hair out of face while I sucked on the tip. “Can I really record you baby?” he asked while caressing my face, I pulled off of him for a second, using my hand to continue to stroke him. “Yes baby, you can record it and take pictures of whatever you want tonight.” I told him before deep throating him, Chris let out a loud groan before he started to record me. I looked up at the camera innocently as I started sucking him off “Put your hands behind your, I’m gonna fuck that pretty little face of yours.” he said as he placed his hand on the back of my head.

I placed my hands behind my back as Chris started slowly thrusting his cock into my mouth, I hollowed out my cheeks making him let out a low groan. He started fully fucking my face roughly causing me to gag when his tip would hit the back of my throat. I started to whine and moan against him when he started fisting my hair and pulling it, the constant abuse of my throat combined with him pulling my hair caused tears to start falling down my face. “God, you look so pretty like this for me! Next time I’m gonna cum all over your slutty face!” he grunted out, making me whine around him again. I felt his cock twitch before his grip on my hair got tighter and he’s thrusts grew erratic. “You gonna let me cum down your slutty little throat baby?” he asked, I moaned around him as a response before his hips sputtered.

Chris shoved my face down so his cock was literally down my throat, my nose pressed against his pubic bone. “Fuck baby, so good for me.” he praised as he came before pulling out of my mouth. “Open your mouth for me.” he said making me quickly oblige, showing him my mouth full of cum. “Swallow.” I did as he said, sticking my tongue out to show him I did what he asked before he stopped the video. After he caught his breath he helped me stand up, “As hot as you look in this I need it off, right now.” he growled helping me take the lingerie off. Once Chris had helped me undress, he cupped my face in his hands to wipe the dried tears and mascara off my cheeks. Chris sat up against the headboard again, telling me to sit on his lap. He grabbed my throat to pull me into another rough kiss harshly sucking on my tongue, groaning when he felt my wetness spread across his cock, which was already hard again.

Quickly flipping us over, pushing my right leg up against my chest before slamming into me. I let out a loud moan as he gave me no time to adjust before he was pounding into me. “Fuck, so goddamn tight for me! You like being treated like a slut don’t you? Such a good girl.” he grunted as I scratched my nails done his back. “Yes! Yes, your good girl daddy! Please, so good!” I moaned incoherently. “Please what baby? What do you want?” he asked me but I couldn’t explain what I wanted as he was pounding into me so roughly and it felt so good. Since I was whining and moaning so much I just grabbed his hand, making him lightly slap my face. “You want me to hit you? God, you’re such a kinky whore!” he loud groaned before actually slapping my face making me let out an extremely loud, high pitched moan as I came around him. Chris grabbed my jaw harshly, getting closer to my face “Fucking bitch! I didn’t say you could cum, you didn’t even fucking ask!” he growled at me before slapping me again as I cried out, quickly becoming overstimulated. “Open your damn mouth!” I did as he said before Chris spit into my mouth making me whine “Fucking swallow bitch!” he said and I quickly obliged.

Me and Chris have never had such rough sex before but we were both living for it, not even registering the fact that we were in a hotel room and the people next to us could probably hear our moans. Chris suddenly pulled out making me whimper, “Hands and knees slut.” he ordered and I quickly did as he said. He pushed on my back making me arch it before he licked from my clit all the way to my ass hole, loudly groaning as he pulled away. “I’m gonna fuck your tight ass one day and you’re gonna let it happen.” he said before slapping my ass. “Chris please, need your cock back inside me.” I begged “You’re fucking greedy aren’t you?” he asked rhetorically as he ran his tip through my folds teasingly.

Chris then started thrusting into me at a slow pace, “Faster daddy, please!” I asked in a whine voice. He started thrusting quickly and hard, his nails digging into my hips as a form of leverage. Both of us were being extremely loud at this point since this new angle felt amazing, he had leaned forward to play with my nipples. He knew my nipples were extremely sensitive so he used that to his advantage, relishing in the fact that he was the only person to make me feel this way. With the combination of Chris playing with my nipples, aggressive thrusts, and loud groans he was letting in my ear were getting me extremely close to cumming again. “Mmm please can I cum daddy? Feels s-so good don’t stop! F-Fuck please!” I cried out making Chris let out an almost animalistic growl in my ear. “You can cum but I’m not fucking stopping!” he said moving one of his hands to my throat. I came around his cock for the second time tonight, crying as I was extremely overstimulated.

Chris pulled back to sit up straight again on his knees when suddenly our hotel phone started to ring. He slowed down his thrust, making me whine before going to pick up the phone. “Be quiet baby.” he told me, still slowly pumping in and out of me, Chris cleared his throat before actually answering the phone. “Um hello?” he asked confused, I started thrusting back against him causing Chris to completely stop moving and slap my ass harshly. “Uh oh okay, y-yea. I’m s-sorry.” he replied to whatever the person on the other end of the phone said before hanging up. Slapping my ass one time before flipping me over, looking down at me with a stupid smile. “We just got a noise complaint, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop. It just means you need to shut the fuck up!” he laughed before thrusting back into me.

Chris once again started thrusting into me but this time he smashed our lips together in an attempt to stifle my moans. These thrusts weren’t as rough as before, but they were still quite fast as we were both nearing our orgasms. We pulled away for just a second, Chris saying “Shit baby are you close? Because I’m about to fucking cum in you!” I just nodded in response not wanting to be loud again. He brought his hand down to rub my clit in fast, tight circles as he pressed our lips together again. After a few more thrusts, I was cumming around his cock with a whine, this caused Chris to cum as well. Filling me up before slowly pulling out, using his fingers to collect the cum dripping out of me only to shove them in my mouth a second later. He laid down next to me as we caught our breath for a minute.

Once our breath was back to normal Chris stood up before grabbing my hand and helping me up as well. My legs were trembling and it was kind of hard to stand but we silently walked over to the bathroom. Chris told me to pee while he turned the shower on, going back out into our room to grab our toothbrushes, my hair brush and, my makeup wipes before returning. We took a quick shower using the soaps that the hotel had in there before we got out. Chris wrapped one of the big white fluffy towels around me before grabbing another one for himself, I grabbed one of the smaller towels to wrap my hair in making chris giggle. “You look cute like that babe.” he said sarcastically as we got ready to brush our teeth. I used a makeup wipe to get the rest of my makeup off my face and some red smudges of lipstick off from around Chris’ lips. He insisted on blowing my hair so I didn’t argue and just let him do it since my legs were still shaky and I was tired.

Once we were done in the bathroom we went over to our suitcases to get changed, I wore an oversized shirt and panties while Chris just wore some boxers before we climbed into bed and went to sleep. We woke up at 7am as we needed to get back on the bus to drive to our next location, quickly getting dressed in some comfy clothes and brushing our teeth before gathering our things to meet Nick, Matt, and Laura in the lobby. Unfortunately for us, we walked out at the same time as the person from next door that made the noise complaint. We were just going to ignore her until she said our names, “Y/n? Chris? You guys were the ones fucking extremely loud next door?” she asked making us both blush and turn around. Chris awkwardly scratched the back of his neck before sheepishly nodding “Oh my god are you guys dating!? That’s so cute I love it! Oh shit did I ruin your night last night?” the fan said super fast.

“You can’t tell anyone about this!” Chris and I said at the same time, not wanting this to get out. “We don’t want anyone to know we’re dating yet, not even his brother know so could you please keep this private and between us?” I asked nervous. She agreed to do so as long as we followed her fan and main accounts on insta, which we obviously did before taking a quick picture with her. As we started to walk away, Chris turned around again “Oh and by the way, you didn’t ruin our night, you just made us realize we gotta be more quiet.” he said while laughing. We got into the elevator to go down to the lobby when Chris grabbed my waist and pulled me in for a quick passion kiss, pulling away right before the doors opened. Nick and Matt got into the elevator with us, Nick seemed to be oblivious but Matt gave us a weird look. “Why are you two blushing and shit?” he asked suspiciously, but luckily for us the elevator doors opened and we walked out to meet with Laura to go to the bus. Once we got settled in on the bus, Matt looked over to Nick before saying “You owe me 50 bucks, they’re definitely dating so pay up” making Chris and I blush.

“How do you know that? We’ve been so careful!” Chris exclaimed as Nick looked at us, irritated because he owes Matt money now, “I don’t know, maybe it’s the because she’s wearing your hoodie or the fact that you have pink lipgloss on your lips” Nick said. Both brothers started laughing but quickly stopped when Chris said “Well at least I scan do this more often” pulling me in for a quick kiss. Both boys gave us a cheesy smile as they were happy that we were finally dating before we all drifted back off to sleep.

[juyeonszn]

(NO) STRINGS ATTACHED

PAIRING lee hyunjae x f!reader

WORD COUNT 5.58k

GENRES smut ﹒angst ﹒fluff

WARNINGS 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, mature language, strangers to fwb to lovers, a few timeskips here and there, hyunjae is a manwhore but what else is new, he’s also a criminal justice major so, mentions of alcohol, mentions of roblox? idk, reader is lowkey horny as hell 😭, handjob, oral (m!receiving), mentions of sex in various places, hyunjae is an emotionally constipated idiot, juyeon appearance crowd cheered, also cha eunwoo appearance but crowd did not cheer, hyunjae goes through the five stages of grief, no foreplay but what can u do about it, marking, unprotected sex (wrap before u tap u know the drill), cowgirl position yeehaw, creampie yeehaw, little bit of cockwarming st the end ngl

SUMMARY becoming friends with lee hyunjae after his valiant attempt to save your life (stopping you from drunk driving) was certainly not on your year’s bingo card. also not on your bingo card? waking up in his bed every other night following, but it’s not like you’re really complaining.

MORE bruh. first of all. i’m so sorry this is so late. 😭 second of all, NOT ONLY IS IT A DAY LATE, BUT ITS ALSO LIKE AN HOUR AND A HALF LATE 😭 my time management was not all there this past weekend, and also due to some unfortunate decisions on my part, this fic was delayed a bunch but WE ARE SO BACK pls. i hope u all enjoy this bc i kinda hate it and im sad bc i was so excited for it and its nothing like how i wanted it to be… pls rb if u liked it 😿 also this is lowkey for izzy bc we’re both going through insane hyunjae brainrot rn..

SERIES MASTERLIST

PERM TAGLIST @winterchimez @maessseongs @itsbeeble @zzoguri @deoboyznet @cloverdaisies @vernyangel @ericlvr

TAGLIST @millksea @from-izzy

In Hyunjae’s defense, he didn’t mean for any of this to happen.

When the two of you first met, he really was just trying to be a gentleman. He’d always been raised as someone who should do the right thing without expecting anything in return. He prided himself on sticking by his mother’s lifelong wisdom.

Okay sure, he might’ve had a few slip ups here and there in the form of random girls he’s hooked up with, but could you blame him? He was a university criminal justice major after all. There’s no harm in a little one-night-stand fun. Learning the ins and outs of the world of law and order was soul-draining enough without the freedom to stress-relieve whenever he felt fit.

Right. Back to you.

Your first encounter took place at the Tau Beta Zeta end of semester party. The fraternity had been working towards securing their victory against the KAT sorority just so they could host the damn thing. Hyunjae had yet to find a girl to entice him for the night, instead bothering some of his frat brothers. For example, Jacob Bae, who had just won the IST University boys’ volleyball team a championship title.

He could’ve gone after Lee Haeun, Jacob’s ex, but he had higher standards than that. There was also the incident earlier that day, while setting up for the party. He tried making a move on the KAT president to piss off Sangyeon, but that ended up failing. Honestly, he didn’t even care much about sleeping with anyone at these things anyways. Usually pretty girls came up to him first, but then ghosted him once they realized he wasn’t looking for anything serious. That was the only reason why his rap sheet was so long. He’d never intended on being the resident fuckboy.

Hyunjae remembers spotting you across the room during one of the numerous rounds of beer pong that night. Rather than Juyeon refereeing with Younghoon like they normally did, he stepped in to let the younger male enjoy the party with his girlfriend. The current match-up was Sunwoo versus Changmin with their respective partners. He had glanced up after witnessing the soccer prodigy miss a cup, making eye contact with you accidentally.

You tucked some hair behind your ear, bringing your drink to your lips and taking a sip before looking away. Your friends had sucked you back into the conversation you were having, effectively blocking Hyunjae’s chance to shoot any shots. He quickly got over it upon witnessing Changmin and Sunwoo arguing over the game, egging them on like the instigator he was.

Most people would’ve thought that was the end of it. Just a fleeting glance at each other, dozens of people standing between you. In hindsight, Hyunjae partially wishes that was where your story ended. You would’ve just been another girl to him, a stranger he saw once and never ran into again.

It’s funny how the universe works in strange ways.

By two in the morning, when over half of the partygoers had left the TBZ house, Hyunjae felt his social battery reach empty. He woke up earlier that morning to study for his Victimology final and felt drained by the time he walked out of the lecture hall. (He knew he aced it, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t mentally taxing.) He was just about ready to call it a night when he saw you sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, blubbering into your phone about something.

“What do you mean you left?” You wail, cheeks stained with mascara streaks. “I don’t care about your boyfriend! I’m too drunk to drive home and you were supposed to be my D.D.”

Your words are slightly slurred, a hiccup following your last sentence. Damn, you were cute even when you were crying like a baby. Hyunjae observed as you argued with who he assumed to be your friend over the phone, exasperated by the end of it. Despite not knowing a single thing about you, not even your name, he decided to step in and offer aid.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you saying you’re too drunk to drive yourself, and as a TBZ member I just can’t let that happen,” he extended a hand to you. “I’d be more than willing to let you stay here until the morning, if you’d like. You can have my room and I’ll just crash in one of the others.”

Your lower lip quivered, as if you were on the verge of even more tears. You sniffle when you respond, eyes doe-like and glassy. “R-Really? You would do that f-for me?”

“It’s a better alternative than taking a rideshare home alone while drunk,” he nods. “And I’m definitely not letting you drive anywhere yourself.”

Hyunjae doesn’t know why he felt so protective over you. The thought of some potentially creepy man taking advantage of you because you were under the influence didn’t sit right with him. He poked his cheek with his tongue, hand still outstretched to you. You took it gently, allowing him to guide you to his bedroom. He grabbed some of his clothes so you could be comfier and gave you a washcloth so you wouldn’t go to be with your makeup on. He felt better knowing you were in the safety of his fraternity house rather than anywhere else. It kind of pissed him off that your friends would leave you to fend for yourself like that.

The next morning, you came down the stairs drowning in Hyunjae’s clothes, rubbing at your eyes sleepily. You held the heel of your palm to your temple, wincing from the headache no doubtedly caused by your hangover. It was around 11 AM when you woke up and most, if not all, of his frat brothers had already left to head home for the holidays.

You found your knight in shining armor sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, a mug with the default male Roblox face in his grasp. He was scrolling through his phone mindlessly, taking sips of his coffee every now and then until he heard you. He spins around in his chair, offering you a warm smile.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Did you rest okay?” He asks, getting up to grab you your own mug.

Your cheeks burn up at the nickname. The whole situation is still a bit odd to you. You knew of Lee Hyunjae through the grapevine (every other girl at your school), yes, but you’ve never held an actual conversation with him before. And now here you are, taking shelter in his home and sleeping in his bed. It was sweet of him to be so hospitable, though. He could’ve kicked you out and pretended you didn’t exist.

“That’s probably the best I’ve ever slept in my life,” you laugh to cut through the tension. “Thank you for keeping me alive last night. I feel indebted to you forever.”

“It was no problem, at all. My pleasure, actually,” he grins, passing you a mug filled with fresh coffee. “By the way, I never got your name.”

“It’s Y/N,” you tell him, mouth pulling into a smile at the cup he just gave you, which happened to be the female adjacent to his. “Hyunjae, right?”

He doesn’t know if he should be embarrassed by the fact that you already knew his name or not, but given his previous reputation, he thinks it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. He clears his throat and nods as he drinks more of his coffee. He tries to distract himself from the weird feeling bubbling in his chest with how cute you looked in his clothes.

“Do you not have any plans for the break?” You switch the subject, noticing that the house was empty for the most part.

“Nah,” he shakes his head. “I’m from here, so it isn’t really much of a drive to visit home. I’ll go over on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years but that’s about it. Other than that, I like to enjoy having the whole house to myself.”

“Woah, me too! My friends are all from out of town though, so I’m usually really lonely. It’s always so odd thinking about how this is just a stepping stone for people’s lives and I’ve been here all of mine.” You stir some cream and sugar into your coffee, pursing your lips. “So, I take it you’re not doing anything today?”

“Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada,” Hyunjae leans back in his chair. “I’ll probably just watch some movies and call it a day. What about you? Any plans for the break since all of your friends are gone?”

“I have just as many as you.” You sip on your beverage.

“Well, the couch space next to me will be unoccupied if you’d like to join me.”

“I think I might take you up on that offer.”

You feel like maybe this was some sort of elaborate scheme to trap you. Your eyes kept flickering from the TV to his profile, entranced by the blue light illuminating his features. You wanted nothing more than to claim your seat on his lap and ride him into the sunset like a gallant steed, which was ironic considering the way the two of you met.

It’s in the middle of the third movie that you finally feel yourself grow restless. No way could you sit beside Lee Hyunjae, spend the whole day with him, and not jump his bones. It was, like, the most obvious thing to do. It was Lee Hyunjae. Did he expect you not to?

He feels you squirming next to him, glancing at you from the corner of his eye. In all honesty, he’s surprised he’s abstained from touching you this long. From the moment he saw you in his clothes this morning, he wanted you underneath him. He doesn’t know how to initiate anything without seeming too forward though.

Luckily, he doesn’t have to make much effort on his part.

You place one of your hands on his thigh, dragging your nail along the seam of his sweatpants. He turns to you with a raised eyebrow. All you can do is bat your eyelashes at him innocently.

“You know, Hyunjae, I never got to properly thank you for your act of nobility last night,” you start, fingers creeping up higher. “And I just thought of something that I think we’ll both like.”

He doesn’t have the strength in him to restrain himself after that, pulling you into a heated kiss. He nips at your lower lip and tangles his tongue with your own, getting easily lost in the spellbinding of your touch. Your lips trail along his jaw and down his neck, hooking your fingers into the waistband of his pants. You suck deep marks into the skin of his pulse point while simultaneously palming him through his underwear.

You’re moving fast, but you’re on a mission. You’ve been waiting for this all day, you can’t imagine slowing down now. It doesn’t appear that he plans on stopping you either.

Hyunjae throws his head back, hissing when you discard his boxers. The cool air of the house hits his cock at the same time you bite down on the divot where his neck meets his shoulder. Your hand gently wraps around his length, thumb running over the slit to collect the precum that’s formed there. He watches in a trance as you go on your knees between his legs.

You press a sweet kiss to his tip before taking him into your mouth. He groans, twisting your hair around his wrist so he can control your movements. Hyunjae doesn’t think he’s ever wanted head this badly in his life. He’s always been a giving person, always providing the pleasure for the girl he was with. There were only a handful of times that he’s ever been on the receiving end and none of them were memorable. But this time is different.

For some reason, you’re the only one who’s ever been able to get him this riled up this quickly. You’re still relatively a stranger to him, and even though he’s had plenty of one night stands, it’s unlike any of the others.

Your throat relaxes so you can swallow more of him, tongue swirling around the tip. He’s the biggest guy you’ve ever been with, making things a little harder for you, but you were never one to back down from a challenge. And getting Lee Hyunjae to cum from the work of your mouth alone was the ultimate reward.

Hyunjae moans when your attention focuses on his sensitive slit. The sound is music to your ears, goading you into continuing your task. You gag around his dick and tears prick at your eyes when he pushes your face down further, your nose brushing the lower part of his abdomen. One of your hands wanders, tracing and scratching his abs as the other jerks him off.

He swipes away some stray tears with his thumb, bucking into your mouth and hand. “Fucking look at you, taking me like a good girl. You’re so filthy.”

You whine, squeezing your thighs together for your own friction. You can wait, though, entirely too focused on getting him to finish. You’re thankful it isn’t that much longer until he does, painting your lips and cheeks with his release when you pull off of him to press a cute kiss on the same spot. He knows he finished too fast for someone of his caliber, but he doesn’t have it in him to care.

“You’re so hot,” he brings you up to connect your lips once again.

It was very easy to fall into a habit after that.

Throughout the entirety of the break, Hyunjae would call you over or vice versa and you’d rock each other’s world’s. It was practically an entire month of fucking nonstop. You’d done it in the TBZ house living room, in his bed, in the kitchen, in the shower and every other surface you could think of. Your own apartment had been christened plenty with your sexcapades also. Both of your cars had seen you naked too. But the most memorable place had to be his childhood bedroom the night of Christmas. He went to his parents’ for a couple days and hit you with that 3 AM “You up?” text when his libido couldn’t quell. That was probably the quietest you’d ever have to be.

Hyunjae had to explain to his mom that no, he hadn’t gotten mauled by a wild animal in his sleep. It was harder coming up with another plausible lie to cover the source of the hickeys on his neck, but he’d rather tell his mother something stupid than the fact that he was an insatiable freak.

When it came time for everyone to return to school for the spring semester, you’d deluded yourself into thinking there could be something real between you and Hyunjae. I mean, what else were you supposed to do? This gorgeous man had spent almost every single day of winter break with you, even if it was mostly for the sex. That wasn’t all you did though. You shared meals together and talked about your life goals. You truly got to know him better than just the hot frat guy who’s made his rounds with girls on campus.

However, Hyunjae did not think he was ready for that level of commitment.

After spending a month with you and learning all of your little quirks, he thought he was going insane. He’d been in situationships in the past and none of them ever ended well, especially because they always caught feelings. He didn’t want the two of you to fall down the same path. But he noticed the linger of your touches and kisses and the way your eyes sparkled when he spoke. He didn’t want to be the one to break your heart.

He just couldn’t see himself getting into a serious relationship. He was preparing to apply for law schools and get his shit together. He didn’t think he couldn’t handle throwing a girlfriend into the mix. Even if it was you. Bold, pretty little you, who had Lee Hyunjae wrapped around her finger without trying.

Things come to a speeding halt for both of you halfway into the second week back.

Hyunjae was walking out of his Crime Mapping II lecture when he saw you chatting up Cha Eunwoo outside of the building, giggling and being all touchy with him. He doesn’t know why he feels so… stuffy… when he sees that. He doesn’t know why it makes him mad. He doesn’t know why it feels like his heart has just been stomped on a handful of times.

He walks over to you and clears his throat, hands shoving into his jacket pockets. He tries to ignore how cute you look in your puffer coat, nose rosy from the cold. You pause in your conversation to say hi to him before resuming whatever you were saying before. It was like he was invisible.

“I gotta go, but I’ll see you in class tomorrow?” You tuck some hair behind your ear, smiling at the male.

“For sure. Talk to you later, Y/N.” He says, waving as he takes off.

Hyunjae starts in the opposite direction wordlessly, leaving you to stumble behind him like a newborn deer. He looks upset about something, but you’re not sure if you should ask. When you finally match his pace, you frown, tapping his shoulder.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Since when were you friends with Cha Eunwoo?” Hyunjae blurts, tone catching you off guard. You blink at his outburst.

“For a while, I guess? We’re in the same department and we’ve had a few classes together. Why? Is that a problem?” You stop your steps, forcing him to do the same.

“No, why would it be? I’m not your boyfriend. You can talk to whoever you want.” He backtracks, realizing the connotation behind his question. Shit, why does he not think before he speaks?

“You could be,” you shrug, gaze casted downward to avoid his stare. “You could be my boyfriend.”

Again, because he’s a stupid boy, he chooses not to use his brain in such a critical situation. “I don’t want to be. You can date him for all I care.”

Hyunjae didn’t want to be the one to break your heart, but he knows he did when he sees the flame in your eyes die out. He thinks he broke his own too, chest constricting when tears well up in the corners. You wipe your runny nose with your gloved hand, sniffling with a scoff.

“Fuck you, Hyunjae,” your voice is surprisingly calm, and that scares him more. “Fuck you and your stupid fucking commitment issues and your lack of empathy. Stay away from me.”

He can’t even think of something quick enough to stop you. Of course, his mind runs at a million miles a minute when it’s the worst time. But when he needs it to work most, it fails on him. That’s exactly his luck.

He just stares as your figure gets smaller and smaller, getting further and further away from his reach. His stomach feels ugly, twisted in a way it shouldn’t be. Maybe it’s because he’d considered you a close friend at this point, and now there’s no way you didn’t hate him. He told you things that he hadn’t even told his brothers, things that he hoped would never see the light of day. He’d spoken his insecurities out into the world and you were the one he let see that vulnerable side of him. He had something good going for him finally, and he went and ruined it.

Who could he be mad at but himself?

When Hyunjae sees you again, it’s been at least a week since your argument in the middle of campus.

He’d been beating himself up over the fight the entire time. Numerous what-if scenarios ran through his mind when he should’ve been sleeping. He wonders what he could’ve said to make everything turn out differently. Had he just told you what was bothering him, told you about that icky sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, perhaps you wouldn’t have walked away.

He’s pretty sure you’re doing it on purpose. You avoided him until you knew you’d definitely see him, and then you’d flaunt yourself to purposefully piss him off. Despite only knowing each other for a little over a month, you had Hyunjae read like the back of your hand. You knew he was stubborn and had to be pushed into admitting he was wrong. He’d never outright confess to his mistakes unless you backed him into a corner and forced him to.

So you can imagine his reaction when he saw you walk into that week’s TBZ party with Cha Eunwoo around your shoulders.

If Lee Hyunjae had any faults, it was that he was too prideful. He realizes this when you stroll right past him, ignoring his presence. You giggle at something Eunwoo said as you grab some drinks. There’s no way you aren’t doing this to get on his nerves. Especially not in that outfit.

His grip on his cup is not normal, he knows that. But it’s not subtle if anyone notices and when Juyeon of all people points it out, he knows it even more.

“Yo, dude. Are you good? You look like you might kill somebody if we’d let you.” The younger male pats his back.

“Honestly, no, not really. But there isn’t really anything I can do about it.” Hyunjae huffs, welcoming his defeat with open arms.

“You can talk to me about things. It’s kinda weird but I always feel like getting out your thoughts is better than internalizing and blowing up randomly.” He says after a moment.

“I guess I’m just confused why I’m so jealous of something that isn’t mine.” The heart to heart with his frat brother follows the entire five stages of grief, starting with step one; Denial. He’ll keep denying the real reason he feels the way he does.

“Are you talking about that girl you were messing around with during break?” Juyeon asks, bringing his cup to his mouth. “And the fact that she’s here with Cha Eunwoo?”

Step two; Anger. His cup snaps and the sharp edge of the plastic scratches the inside of his palm. “Why would I be jealous of her being here with him? I could give less of a fuck about that. She’s not my girlfriend, she can do whatever she wants.”

He raises an eyebrow at how defensive his senior gets, lips quirking up. “Sure, Hyunjae. You’re not jealous. But you’re acting like it and you know you are.”

“Well,” step three; bargaining. “I’m not not jealous, I just— I don’t know. I’ve never been on this side of the situation before. Am I even allowed to be mad about it?”

“I mean, it’s a little unconventional, but yeah, I think you are. You spent the better part of a month getting to know this girl. You’ve seen her in ways other people haven’t. Even if you weren’t going into it with the intention to start something, I think it’s hard not to want anything after. Unless you’re completely heartless. But you’re not exactly The Grinch, so.” Juyeon sounds too wise for standing in the middle of a frat party.

“Nothing’s gonna happen now, though. She hates me and wants nothing to do with me because I screwed up.” Step four; Depression.

“You don’t know that unless you make an attempt to fix it,” his junior sighs. “Look, she’s gonna keep projecting how upset you made her if you aren’t gonna do something about it. But there’s a high chance that she’ll forgive you if you’re just real with her.”

And last, but not least, step five. Acceptance. Lee Hyunjae has finally accepted that he’s not an emotionless robot incapable of producing feelings for someone. He takes Juyeon’s advice right then and there, deciding that this is something he has to do immediately. (He also knows how much you can drink at these things and he preferred that you were sober when he spoke to you.)

He thanks his friend and sets off to search for you in the sea of already drunk university students. He’s anxious. He’s never been the type to have serious discussions about anything, really. He assumes that it stems from never seeing that in his own parents. They loved each other, yeah, but they never really talked about difficult topics with each other. Or, in front of him they didn’t.

Hyunjae thinks he might throw up when he finds you in the other room. Cha Eunwoo is still glued to your side, but he’s hardly paying attention to you, talking to his friends. You look bored, like you were waiting for something— or someone— to save you. This was his opportunity.

Your eyes widen when you see him heading straight for you, swallowing thickly. There wasn’t any route of escape so you were stuck having to deal with him. In all honesty, the hurt was still very fresh for you, and you weren’t sure you could handle talking to him yet.

“Can we please talk? I need to tell you something,” he yells over the loud music.

“Why should I listen to what you have to say?” Your tone is shaky, wavering slightly, but you’re grateful that he can’t hear it with how voluminous this party is.

“Y/N,” he pleads almost, eyes communicating what you needed to hear. “This is important.”

You concede, sneaking from Eunwoo and following Hyunjae blindly. You could be getting whisked away to your demise, but the former hardly even notices, too engrossed in whatever he was saying to his friends. You’re a bit apprehensive when Hyunjae takes you into his bedroom, biting your cheek when the memories of what you’ve done in here come flooding back to you.

“Okay, I don’t know how to put this into a coherent thought,” he turns his back to you.

“Can we just get this over with? You don’t want me, remember? I don’t even know why I’m giving you the time of day—“

“Of course I want you,” he exclaims, spinning around and pinching the bridge of his nose. “God, are you blind? It’s so obvious that I’ve wanted you for so long, Y/N. I’m just stupid and I fucked everything up, because I was scared that things would change and I’m afraid of change. That’s the reason why I have commitment problems. I don’t want to commit myself to something just for everything to change in the blink of an eye.”

You shut up after that, your heart skipping in your chest. This was what you wanted. You wanted a messy confession. Something that told you it wasn’t all in your head. That you weren’t making things up. That he felt the same way you did.

Your lips collide in a rough, desperate manner. Hyunjae’s never had a way with words, so kissing you with every ounce of longing in his being and holding you like you’d disappear any second was his outlet. This was how he could show you his true feelings. Your heart rate transitions from your pulse point to your ears, amplifying with each suck of your bottom lip between his teeth

You’ve done this so many times before, but it will never be the same as this one. No one could ever make you feel the way Lee Hyunjae does. It might be crazy, but it only took a month for you to realize that there will never be another for you. The conversations that trickled into early hours of the morning following going at it like jackrabbits were perfect to you. They weren’t ideal, but they were enough.

The two of you walk backwards until he’s sitting on the edge of his bed, your knees on either side of his lap. You cup his jaw in your hands, grinding down on him every time your lips move together. Hyunjae’s fingers dig into your sides and push up the material of your dress. He’s moving fast, rushed like you might decide you don’t want this and walk out of his room.

You can’t really blame him, your pace disorganized with only one goal in mind. Neither of you could be bothered with the foreplay, too needy and craving the touch of one another as quickly as possible. You part from him to pull off your dress, eyes fluttering shut when he starts leaving a trail of kisses down your stomach. He doesn’t want to waste time commenting on the fact that you were braless underneath so he busies himself with pecking the tops of your tits. Your fingers card through his hair with an extended sigh, noticing how long it’s gotten since you first met.

Hyunjae pushes his pants down his legs as you yank his shirt over his head, reconnecting your lips. He uses his ring and middle fingers to shove aside your underwear, discarding his own shortly after. Your mouth nips and bites your favorite places on his neck, ensuring you mark the surface so everyone knows who he belongs to. You were the one who acquired the key to Lee Hyunjae’s heart.

Your teeth sink into his skin the moment he slips inside of you, both of you moaning when he slides right into your cunt like he was meant to be there. You whine when he bottoms out, your sensitive clit bumping into his pelvic bone. You’re so warm and inviting, Hyunjae feels like he’s falling under a spell. Just being inside of you feels like a form of hypnosis. If it was up to him, he’d stay here forever, content to sit with his cock stuffed in you without interruption. But you both yearn for more than that.

He tightens his grip on your hips, bucking upwards into you and watching with heavy eyes as a whine spills from your lips. You look so fucked out despite him doing absolutely nothing to you yet. He thrusts up again experimentally, grinning when your upper half knocks into his.

“Feel good, baby?” He coos into your ear, nipping at the lobe and the area surrounding.

You nod with a whimper when his cock brushes that sweet spot deep inside your pussy. “Mhm, feels so— fuck, Jae, want it harder.”

“Anything for my pretty girl,” he smiles into your skin.

He increases the speed that he fucks into you, pinning down your hips so you can’t move and all you can do is take it. It’s like you can feel him in your abdomen, his cock plunging in you so far. You’d think after a month of fucking practically every day, you’d be used to his size by now. However, that was just not attainable. You don’t think you could ever get used to how big he was, how thick he was.

The force that he drives into you with is unmatched, miles apart from what he’s given you before. It’s like he wants to burn the shape of himself inside you, so you never forget that he’s the one making you feel like this. Nobody but Hyunjae can fuck you this well.

He moves you further up the bed, flattening his feet on the mattress and laying down so he can press deeper, a new angle that has your vision going blank. You don’t think twice about the volume of your cries, letting him know how good he’s giving it to you. You’re encouraging him, wanting him to get cockier so he can keep fucking you into oblivion. Your fingers grasp at the sheets beside his head for support.

Hyunjae’s nails impress crescent shapes into your waist, his mouth returning to your tits so he can leave his own marks all over your chest. It’s when your clit rubs against his lower stomach again that you let go, your orgasm crashing into like a train. It winds you, ripping your breath from your throat and stealing your oxygen. He’s close behind, the feeling of your walls clenching around him in rapid intervals triggering his own.

He fills you up nicely, both of you releasing guttural groans at the sight of his cum dripping out of you. You’re too exhausted to get up, collapsing on top of him. He doesn’t mind, more than happy to stay buried inside of you even if you didn’t do anything.

“So…” You start after a bit of silence, drawing unrecognizable shapes on his chest. “You’ve wanted me for so long, huh?”

“Shut up,” he laughs, eyes closed while he recuperates from using all of his energy on you. “This is still new for me.”

“I know, Mr. Emotionally Constipated And I Don’t Date ‘Cause I’m Going To Be A Big Fancy Hotshot Lawyer,” you tease, pecking his lips and then his nose. “I must be extremely special to be the one who changed your mind.”

“You’ll be the death of me, you know that right?” He shakes his head, brushing some of your hair from your face. You smile down at him with an unfamiliar fondness in your eyes.

“Why else do you think we’ve gotten this far?”

© juyeonszn. do not steal, claim, or repost.

[cripplecharacters]

I have a character with chronic pain who uses healing magic to manage it; I myself have mild chronic pain that I don't take any painkillers for, so I wanted to ask some questions on how to appropriately portray what is essentially magic painkillers.

My current idea is that healing magic in this setting can be used as a local anesthetic on top of typical healing. With some careful control, my character applies the same principles to relieve pain without fully numbing his body.

A drawback of this is that if applies too much magic this way, he can end up just numbing himself, which is dangerous in the combat situations his work frequently puts him in. When he pushes himself too hard or just has a bad day, his pain can exceed what he can safely mitigate with magic alone. He also works primarily as a healer, and has to balance between this form of pain relief versus saving enough energy for his work - to borrow video game terminology, if he spends too much MP on pain relief he won't have enough left to heal others.

My character does have access to medical/alchemical pain relief. He takes them to sleep because he can't control his magic carefully enough while asleep, though he otherwise prefers to rely more on magic purely because it's inconvenient to carry around a lot of potions when he travels.

Does this sound like there are any pitfalls I would have to watch out for, or aspects I should reconsider? Thank you for your time!

Hi!

To be honest, this solution is a nice breath of fresh air when it comes to anything related to fantasy healing and disabled characters. You are essentially dealing with painkillers who happen to exist in a world with magic - they exist, have potential side effects, and not always fix everything. Their magicalness is mostly in the convenience, which is great! Like I also find it annoying to carry my meds around; if I had the option to just make them Appear out of thin air, I'm definitely taking it!

This is in my opinion a good and realistic representation of chronic pain and taking painkillers in a fantasy world. The difference between your story and the experience of someone like me is that in your story there is magic because it's fantasy - while for a lot of other fantasy settings, the difference would be that chronic pain and my whole experience don't even exist there. But you're including it in a nice and tasteful way! Great work :-D

I genuinely wish more writers put as much thought into their fantasy-related disability solutions as you :-) Good luck with your story!

mod Sasza

[steamberrystudio]

15/09/2024

Hallo everyone!  Tumblr devlog time. 

Summary:

Finished Daaz's play test

Finished Kav's play test

Started Asher play test

Finished the flowchart for Chapter 2

Set up all the unlock statements for the flowchart

Finished coding expressions through Chapter 2

Coded the expressions through the bonus scenes

Some QoL fixes to various screens

Finished Noel's CG

Coded Noel, Daaz, and Yren's CGs

Started Asher's CG

Writing/Playtesting:

Okay so I have still been working on my playtest and am currently finishing up the playtest of Asher's route - about half done with it.

For those wondering why the play test is taking forever, I always do a play test with the auto-voicing on. It forces me to slow down and listen, which helps me hear issues like word repetition as well as typos and things like that. I catch a lot more issues this way than if I try to read it.

A lot of times I'll reach a later part of the game and realise I need a conditional statement based on much earlier content. I find it easier to try to manage that as well as I can now versus later on. Especially with something like an episodic release, I think it's useful to try to catch as much of that stuff as I can at this stage.

So yeah!

I also finished writing and coding all the bonus scenes I mentioned last time.

Art:

Art wise I have...

Finished Cim's sprite. She is a minor character who appears briefly in Chapter two. Her sprite is created and coded now.

Finished Noel's Ch 2 CG...

Coded Yren, Raif, and Noel's CGs

Started Asher's CG (currently rendering the shading)

Received a new BG.

Other Stuff:

So I got the flowcharts finished and set up and the page functional. I also have set up the unlock statements (Just up to Ch2 of course).

I have coded expressions.

Coded in a ton of button fixes and QoL fixes and stuff like that. Most of that stuff is done. There are only a few small things I want to tweak.

I also made a ton of corrections offered up by an alpha tester who has been going through the game to help me out. So yay for that. 

Upcoming Weeks:

Finish Asher and Daaz's CGs

Finish Asher's play test

Once I am done with the CGs I will probably release the first episode to beta testers on Patreon. So.

We are getting really close to that stage.

Finally.

[gluion]

there have been many discussions surrounding the boycott of riize that i think there's no harm in sharing my two cents on this issue.

seunghan’s removal from riize speaks a lot about the state of the kpop industry, from the constant accommodation to fans' parasocialism to a lack of mental health protection for kpop idols. idols are being treated as commodities versus real people. we’ve seen it in newjeans’ situation, seungkwan’s instagram post, the starlight boys mission, and anecdotes from other idols.

what happens in the behind-the-scenes of the kpop industry is generally not common knowledge, but as more idols continue to speak up about mistreatment, it’s clear to see such a capitalistic industry does nothing but service management more than the idols themselves.

with that, i think it’s important that we don’t forget the purpose of the boycott. while it does have aims to bring seunghan back, i think it also speaks up against the lack of protection idols have.

still in doubt? well, i thought i could take some time to offer a different perspective on some common reasons people don't believe in the boycott.

"seunghan made the decision to leave the group."

it's not enough to take the statement at face value because you wouldn't be considering the context of the situation. seunghan left because of all the backlash he received. i wish more people recognized the reason why he made that decision. ultimately, the circumstances/situation cornered him to make that decision—and it shows the lack of protection that SM has over their artists. and you have to recognize that seunghan, although he's 21 years old, is a rookie artist. this is his first time as an idol, and to receive all that backlash after being relatively fresh from debut are waters he has never navigated.

"oh, the boycott won't work. SM is a big company."

everyone knows of SM’s status. the purpose of a boycott is to put pressure on them in light of seunghan’s removal. after all, the boycott is happening because people recognize a deeper issue that reflects the kpop industry: a lack of protection for their own artists. there is a long, ongoing history of boycotting and its success. boycotting is not instant. it will take time like any other boycott. this initiative aims to put pressure on SM to reevaluate their actions and current protocols in handling defamation of their own artists, especially rookie ones.

"let's just support the boys as they are now."

i understand that most people think it's better to support them as who they are now, but i would like for you guys to remember back to the reason why people are boycotting in the first place. the group fought for seunghan's comeback and it would be understandable for them to be stressed out by this whole situation. you can still support the current members while still holding SM accountable through a boycott. how? letters is always a start. weverse exists to help send your messages to artists. after all, we know how much riize would prefer to read your thoughtful and comforting words, especially now.

i would like to reiterate that boycotting doesn't translate in hate for riize but an initiative to put pressure on SM. people have reasons of why they chose to unstan riize due to how split the current fandom is between ot6s and ot7s. when a subgroup in a fandom manages to push for the removal of a member, it's hard to feel safe in such a space. however, instead of wasting your time trying to fight seunghan antis, you can find more ways to support the boycott and offer your own perspectives on why you support it.

i wish more people realized and reconsidered why multiple kpop fans from across different fandoms are united about this issue. as always, please reconsider if you aren't participating in the boycott!

resources:

boycott sm by @hanibani-world

boycott plans as international briize by @seoktized

BOYCOTT RIIZE with petition by @axibani

google drive of riize content sorry for the mention to these accounts! — thank you again for your posts <3

[windmaedchen-oceanhorn]

I have found the strength to draw one (of two) OCs for AFK Journey. So let me record a few details about her here.

Lavinia

Close childhood friend of Valen. Her father was an Imperial Knight stationed there (Stoutstone Isle) but died on duty in her early childhood years. Since then she dreamed of stepping into her father's shoes, bravely (and angrily often) tagging behind Valen to prove she was no less than him, despite being nearly 3 years younger. Sometimes even managed to kick his butt!

Left for the capital at 11 with her mother. She hated the city and missed the island (and her friend), but then found the Heroic Order and saw that girls were allowed - and then didn't think of anything else.

She had agreed with Valen that they'd meet again as knights but he never showed up and so time passed. On occasion she'd discuss with her mother what he might have been up to, not knowing that he's been in Holistone the past few years.

Her design was influenced by the two other Imperial members Guywin and Joey. She isn't meant to have any special rank, but somehow the design looked bland without the touch of gold.

Her story would be experienced as some extended side quest. At that point she's been through stupid stuff and hit rock bottom. She hid in the Ashen Wastes for a few weeks, before Berial senses her despair. He grants her continued life in exchange of being entertained... so now Lavinia is returning to the capital to follow up on her dark thoughts and assassinate the current leader of the Heroic Order.

She would not actually be wearing her uniform, but some rags she got in Mauler territory a few weeks prior. Only after the side quest is over she'd be seen in uniform again.

Valen's got to attend an important meeting of the Solitaries in the capital, and Merlin joins for the opportunity to see more of the Lightbearer Empire (and refresh her memory). They run into Lavinia on the road and travel together for a bit.

"Who the heck gave you permission to grow into such a stud of a man?!" "The same entity that made you grow pretty beautiful curves. You actually look like a girl now!"

Then lots of things happen. xD Friendships rekindled and broken again. Attempted murder in broad daylight and witnesses.

Truths are being shared, faith and trust are lost. Futures put on line. Hypofiends and a Hypogean in the middle of the capital!

Valen nearly throws the towel on the Heroic Order.

Corrupted Lavinia versus Valen (and others)

Berial is causing chaos but escapes from Merlin and the celestials.

The leader of the Heroic Order ends up very dead. Lavinia lives, somewhat against her expectations and wishes.

Hogan saves the situation, at least he tries to.

The Happy End is not missing, though: while leaving behind the capital for good, Lavinia continues to serve under and among better men in Holistone. ;-)

Due to previous events, Lavinia's life is dependent on Berial's grace. She's also got some perks due to that but she'd much rather not have anything to do with a Hypogean. Thankfully, he forgets about her until I need more drama many years down the line. xD

And finally... she wouldn't be a playable character ever, her skills are boring and greatly overshadowed by Valen or even Guywin. I might think about her stats in the future but since that part of the game isn't what sparks my interest, I probably won't. *shrugs*

Thanks for reading. :-) Until next time! <3

[mikuni14]

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo - Ep 7-8

There have certainly been many smart words written about the finale, I've managed to read only one post so far (and I totally agree with it), I've got a busy end of the week and don't really have time to read more. So I'll quickly list what I particularly liked about the finale:

as far as I can tell, the series probably wrapped up all the threads. Some things may be a bit incomprehensible, but I think that may have been the creators' intention, so that we could guess many things rather than be told specifically by the series. Like, for example, the reasons why JuYeong stayed and took care of DoHoe's father. There could be several such reasons and each one is good (and each one could be wrong lol). Such a wrap-up of threads, a satisfying finale and leaving viewers with a sense of closure is not that common in BL series, especially those that aspire to be more serious, we all know that 🤷‍♀️ so I really appreciate it!

the actors are excellent, I really liked, for example, how looking at DoHoe's body, figure, face, one could clearly deduce his current condition. This zombie-like rigidity, apathy versus ease, a broad smile, uncontrollable bursts of laughter... it was just 👌

I liked this juxtaposition of the oppressive, homophobic, obedience-enforcing and punishing version of religion, with the positive version of religion, i.e. "and the truth shall set you free" :) Because yes, truth, honesty, liberated DoHoe, made him feel free at last, made him feel at peace

I liked this "simple, ordinary" ending in general, where the answer turned out to be a simple, ordinary truth and honesty. Even if it involves pain, loss of something, consequences. And how even these consequences cannot overshadow the overwhelming sense of freedom and peace that is immediately visible in DoHoe. I like the lack of a sugary-sweet ending: DoHoe suffers the consequences of his lies, although as viewers we root for him and want him not to be punished at all

I absolutely love JuYeon's unconditional feelings, how he helps DoHoe over and over again, just like HyeonHo, who, even when rejected, after a difficult conversation, is still ready to help DoHoe

just like the unconditional standing by the child, even at their own expense

JuYeong, when he is serious and so matter-of-fact, when he sees reality for what it is, not believing DoHoe's "mean" but also empty words about breaking up. How many such situations have we seen, when one rejects the other for Noble Motives, or Out of Fear, or for some other Bullshit Reason, when due to an irritating lack of communication the other leaves hurt and then, frustrated, we watch them suffer for several episodes convinced of their unrequited love 😬 JuYeong is not like that, he knows DoHe, he believes in his love, he doesn't believe DoHoe's words because he knows him - this knowledge of the other person, their past, their personality is something I love in my romances, and what makes me believe in love watched on screen as a viewer. Personally, I can't stand this trope when someone is pretending or saying something ooc for them and the other person just buys it. I always ask then: do you even know who you love? Because it's so obvious ooc for them! 😤Super happy that JuYeong is like "I'm not going anywhere and I don't think you actually mean it"

I love how they talk about themselves, their relationship, their life together, their future together, like a real couple, real people 🥰

I love JuYeong because he educated himself in various, sometimes serious, sometimes funny topics 🤩 I often hear men people complaining that they can't handle various things because their parents / school / no one taught them, while Google and books in the library are free. JuYeong asks the internet how to live and how to be a perfect little boyfriend for his pookie and the internet answers him lmao, this is just so simple and perfect. JuYeong is the best!

teddy-bear pajamas! (I will put a gif of them later, love it so much!)

HyeonHo is so fiiiiiine

(apologies for the screenshot from the gray pages but I can't make them on Gaga)

To sum up: I won't hide the fact that whether it's my own fault, or the fault of the subtitles, or the plot, or the aura of depressiveness, but episodes 4-7 were incomprehensible and chaotic for me in some parts, overly complicated at times with conversations full of ambiguities and understatements to the point of being incomprehensible (but I also completely buy the fact that I'm just too stupid to catch all the nuances lol). Overall, the series is very good, although unlike Where Your Eyes Linger, I can only watch it once. The series showed the long-term effects of domestic violence very well, realistically but with respect for the victims, without sugarcoating, without idealizing the victims. It also showed struggling with traumas, which is not always successful, it also shows how important unconditional support is, but also coming face to face with the unpleasant consequences of untreated traumas. It shows the value of love, friendship, honesty, doing what is right, without irritating moralizing. The series had a very realistic vibe, I was able to imagine all of DoHoe's feelings, and the actor convincingly played him as a lost kid, tangled in his own guilt, traumas, lies, yearning for love and hope - even though he is an adult.

The only tiny reservation I have about the series is that I would like more of JuYeong, who has also suffered so much, but from the beginning he has been a strong,leading force in their relationship and is often "the adult one". However, his type of personality, his openness, courage, honesty and straightforwardness are responsible for the fact that he copes relatively better with difficult situations. So it's not really any complaint, more an observation ;)

But apart from that, this series is really good aaaand has a good, happy ending, yay!💖

[anonymousewrites]

Pearl of the Sea Chapter Twenty-Six

Found Family! PoTC Cast x Teen! Reader

Platonic! Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Jack Sparrow, Tia Dalma x Reader

Chapter Twenty-Six: Battling the East India Company

Summary: (Y/N) fights for their seas and their family.

            (Y/N) hit the water with a splash, and they swore they’d never felt so alive. They’d thought sailing and fighting with freedom had been perfect, but this was better. They were in their waters, their scales free, their mind aware of who they were. And (Y/N) was damn well aware of what they were capable of.

            Ready to fight? whispered the storm.

            (Y/N) grinned, and the current swept them forward. Always, Calypso.

            They swam through the water, and they felt it turn. The current constricted into a whirlpool, and (Y/N) was quick to avoid it. The seas were turning on those that tried to tame it. Now it was only skill that let people sail.

            Not that I need skill. The seas were (Y/N). (Y/N) was the seas.

l

            “Maelstrom!” shouted Gibbs, warning the Pearl about the oncoming storm and whirlpool.

            “Where’s (Y/N)?!” shouted Will, searching the murky waters below for any sight of them.

            “They disappeared!” said Elizabeth, equally worried.

            “The lad is a nereid!” said Barbossa, at control of the helm. “I’ll give my hat to Beckett meself if they ain’t just fine!”

            Will and Elizabeth exchanged worried looks, but they had bigger issues at hand. They were skirting the edge of the whirlpool, and the Dutchman was following.

            “She’s on our stern and gaining!” warned Will.

            “More speed!” shouted Barbossa. “Haul your wind and hold your water!”

            Cannon fire began, and the crew of the Pearl ducked.

            “Take us out!” said Will. “Or they’ll overbear us!”

            Barbossa grinned. “Nay! We’ve got the faster waters on our side.”

            Elizabeth stumbled to the rail as the ship listed, and she saw a flash of silver beneath the waves. Her eyes widened as the Pearl lurched forward faster. As she raised her gaze, she saw the East India fleet itself battling impressive waves as the pirates sailed closer. She could swear the water didn’t seem to be moving naturally.

l

            “Think like the whelp, think like the whelp, think like the whelp,” repeated Jack as he paced. He froze. “Double-barrel hinges.” He turned to the door, grabbed a slab of wood, and pushed down. The cell door fell, and Jack gleefully walked out of the cell.

l

            (Y/N) swam towards the Dutchman. If they managed to take it down, the most important pawn at Beckett’s disposal would be gone. Their hand went to their sword, and they grinned as they reached the ship.

l

            Jack froze as he held Jones’s chest and faced Jones’s himself. Davy Jones had killed the last of the East India Company, which meant it was just him versus those that had wronged him—like Jack.

            “Lookee here. A lost bird,” sneered Jones. “A lost bird that never learned to fly.”

            Jack put his usual smile on his face. “To my great regret. But never too late to learn, eh?” He grabbed a rope, tugged, and was swept off his feet. He swung through the air and landed on a sail.

            Unfortunately for him, Jones was able to move like a supernatural creature on his hip, and he was at Jack’s level in a moment. Jones drew his sword and advanced on Jack.

            “The chest. Hand it over,” he ordered.

            “I can set you free, mate,” said Jack, drawing his own sword.

            “My freedom was forfeit long ago,” said Jones. He raised his sword.

            And a giant wave swept up over the Dutchman. It rocked to the side, and all the pirates struggled to stay standing. Jack and Jones stumbled and fought for balance. The wave splashed over the deck and sails, and they blinked the seawater from their eyes.

            Jack’s eyes widened. “Pearl!”

            (Y/N) stood on the rail between him and Jones. Scales shone in the lightning flashes, and they were soaking wet yet seemed stronger than ever.

            “Sorry I’m a bit late, Jack,” said (Y/N).

            “Perfect timing,” said Jack.

            “You,” said Jones, staring at the scales.

            “Me,” said (Y/N). They grinned and twirled their sword. “By the way, Calypso’s pretty mad at you. I’d be a little worried where you sail nowadays.”

            Jones let out a roar and swung at (Y/N). They blocked him, ducked under his arm, grabbed a rope, and swung to the side. He kept attacking towards Jack, who stepped back with he chest.

            “Jack!” said (Y/N).

            Jack tossed it through the air, and (Y/N) caught it. Jones spun to face them, but Jack stabbed at him, forcing his attention to go back to him. Jones pressed his sword at Jack.

            “You can do nothing without the key,” said Jones.

            “I already have the key,” lied Jack.

            One of Jones’s tentacles lifted the key from his own neck. “No, you don’t.”

            “Oh, that key,” said Jack.

            (Y/N) stabbed at Jones, who pivoted to dodge and reach for the chest. Jack took his chance, swung, and cut the tentacle holding the key off. Jones completed his pivot in anger and grabbed at (Y/N). They tossed the chest back to Jack and blocked with their sword. Jones grabbed it with his crab hand, squeezed, and snapped the sword.

            “Huh,” said (Y/N). “I wish I had those.”

            Jones growled and surged towards them. They stumbled back towards the edge of the wooden bar. Jack held his sword in one hand, the chest in the other, and advanced. He refused to leave (Y/N) to get hurt or worse. He raised his sword.

            Crack!

            The masts of the Dutchman and Pearl crashed into one another. The spin of the whirlpool had finally pushed them together. Jack stumbled and fell back. (Y/N) slipped, grabbed a rope, and swung haphazardly away. As Jack fell, Jones grabbed the chest, and Jack held the other end. His eyes went to (Y/N) upon instinct.

            They had swung out over the whirlpool but were swinging back towards the ships. Jack breathed a sigh of relief that quickly turned nervous as Jones lifted him. He gave a weak smile. Jones narrowed his eyes, lowered his down, and pulled him up. Jack went flying through the air and lost his grip on the chest. He let out a wild yell as he flew through the storm.

            He promptly crashed into (Y/N). With one hand, he grabbed the rope, and the other pulled them securely to them. He wasn’t letting his kid fall to the fight below anytime soon.

            “Shoot him!” said Jack over the wind.

            “Right!” said (Y/N), grabbing their pistol and aiming as they swung around.

            Bang!

            Jones roared as the bullet hit his hand. The chest dropped to the deck below. Coincidentally, it hit the ground just in front of Will, who had swung aboard (after marrying Elizabeth). Instantly, Jones dropped himself to the deck.

            “Drop us,” said (Y/N).

            “I’d rather not break my head on the Dutchman, thank you very much,” said Jack.

            “I’ll catch us,” said (Y/N).

            Jack looked at them and trusted them. He let go of the rope, and the pair fell down. A wave rushed up and hit the Dutchman. It heaved to the side, knocking everyone to one direction. The spray of water caught (Y/N) and Jack, and the pair were pushed safely to the deck below.

            Or, well, not so safely since they landed in front of Jones. Jack reached for his sword, but in the swinging and falling, it had disappeared from his hand. (Y/N)’s was still broken. Jones grinned and held his own sword tighter.

            “Damn,” said (Y/N).

            Jones lunged, and Jack and (Y/N) split up. Jack grabbed a piece of wood and spung at Jones. He was shoved back and received several hits to his face. Finally, he grabbed the wood and snapped it. Jack’s eyes widened. A small wave rose and slammed into Jones. He stumbled to the side, leaving Jack to stare at (Y/N) from behind him.

            “I’m a big fan of this new thing you’ve got going on, laddie!” said Jack, grinning.

            “I am, too,” said (Y/N).

            “You’re not the only one with magic,” snarled Jones, melted through the helm and running at them.

            (Y/N) rolled to the side as he sliced at them, but he pivoted, sliced through a rail, and the wood fell down onto (Y/N). They yelped and fell back. Jack quickly grabbed them and pulled them back as Jones slashed down.

            Before he attacked, Elizabeth swung to the Dutchman and landed to face Jones. He narrowed his eyes as he saw her.

            “Harridan! You’ll see no mercy from me,” said Jones.

            “That’s why I brought this,” said Elizabeth, drawing her sword. She and Jones clashed.

            Jack helped (Y/N) to their feet before freezing. A tiny tentacle holding a key was inching by. He dove for it while (Y/N) ran to help Elizabeth. Jones had just struck her across the face, and she’d fallen against the stairs.

            (Y/N) jumped at Jones and stabbed the broken end of the sword into Jones’s back. He roared in anger, grabbed them, and flung them from his back. They hit the ground, and their head slammed into the wood. They groaned.

            “Did you think that would do anything?” sneered Jones. “I’m a heartless wretch, remember?”

            “Yeah, but it still hurts, doesn’t it?” said (Y/N), groaning.

            “Don’t touch them!” said Will, trying to stab Jones.

            Jones pivoted, blocked him, and slammed him back. He hit the ground, and Elizabeth gasped as she lifted her head. Jones huffed, held his sword tightly, and looked back at (Y/N), whose eyes widened as he loomed over them.

            “(Y/N),” breathed Jack, freezing from where he was trying to catch the key. All the adults froze as (Y/N) was placed in danger. No one could move closer for fear of Jones ending their life.

            Jones raised a brow and look at Jack, Will, and Elizabeth before looking back at (Y/N). “Ah. Love.” This was a family. “A dreadful bond. And yet so easily severed.” He looked down at (Y/N). “Tell me, (Y/N) the Nereid, do you fear death?”

            “Do you?” said Jack, standing up and holding a knife in one hand. It rested just above a beating heart. “Heady tonic, holding life and death in the palm of one’s hand.”

            Jones took a step away from (Y/N) and towards Jack. “You’re a cruel man, Jack Sparrow.”

            “Cruel is a matter of perspective,” said Jack calmly. He was protecting his kid, his pearl.

            “Is it?” said Jones.

            He turned. Will lunged forward. Jones stabbed. (Y/N) gasped. Will collapsed to the side, sword through his back and heart.

            “Will!” cried (Y/N).

            “Will!” shouted Elizabeth, running to his side.

            Jones turned and laughed at Jack’s shocked face that his kid had nearly died and now Will was dying.

            “Will, stay with us,” said (Y/N).

            “Look at us!” said Elizabeth, crying. “You’re alright.”

            “William?” A man made of coral and barnacles stood and looked at them. “My son…” He blinked. “My son!”

            He lunged at Jones, and the two began to battle. (Y/N) held Will’s hand tightly, and the waves began to heave. The Dutchman rocked back and forth as (Y/N) lost control of their emotions and the sea did with them.

            They looked up at Jack, tears in their eyes. Rage and pain was reflected in their eyes, and they were caught between remaining by Will’s side to support him and taking out their fury on Jones.

            “Jack,” said (Y/N). “Help him. Please.”

            Jack would never deny his kid. He moved to their side and knelt. He took Will’s hand and placed it around his knife. He stabbed down, into the heart. Will stabbed Jones.

            Davy Jones gasped as his heart was pierced. He whirled on the group—the family—as they stared back at him defiantly.

            “Goodbye,” said (Y/N), raising their hand.

            The waves rocked the boat again, and Jones stumbled to the railing.

            “Calypso,” he whispered before closing his eyes and tipping backwards.

            He fell into the whirlpool and Calypso’s clutches below.

            Elizabeth held Will’s face tightly. She shook her head desperately as he pushed her hair behind her ear fondly.

            “Why?” said (Y/N). “Why did you sacrifice yourself? I would have been alright.”

            Will shook his head. “No. You wouldn’t have.” He smiled. “But you’re family. And family doesn’t leave each other behind.”

            “Oh, Will,” said Elizabeth sadly.

            “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to smile at her. “I love you, wife.”

            “I love you, husband,” choked out Elizabeth.

            “I love you, (Y/N),” said Will.

            “I love you, Will,” said (Y/N), wiping away their tears.

            Jack took their shoulders and steadied them as they cried. He held them as they buried their face in his clothes. Will’s head fell back, and he went limp.

            “No! No!” cried Elizabeth.

            “Part of the ship, part of the crew,” whispered the crew of the Dutchman, coming out from every corner to observe the situation. “Part of the ship, part of the crew.”

            “Don’t leave me!” shouted Elizabeth.

            “Part of the ship, part of the crew,” chanted the crew.

            Jack grabbed Elizabeth and (Y/N) and dragged them away from Will. They fought against him, but Jack pulled them back. Behind them, Bootstrap Bill knelt with a knife, and another crewman opened the chest.

            “The Dutchman must have a captain,” said Bill.

            Jack grabbed a rope and prepared an escape. “Hold on,” he said to Elizabeth and (Y/N).

            They grabbed him, he fired the pistol, and they all rocketed into the air. The sail-parachute caught the winds, and they flew towards the Black Pearl. Below them, the Dutchman plunged into the depths of the whirlpool. (Y/N) closed their eyes and felt the waters close over the Dutchman. The whirlpool disappeared, and Calypso’s storm began to clear as they landed in the water by the Pearl.

            A ladder was quickly let down, and Jack, Elizabeth, and (Y/N) climbed back aboard the Black Pearl.

            “Thank goodness, Jack,” said Gibbs. “The armada’s still out there! The Endeavor’s coming up hard to starboard, and I think it’s time we embrace that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions.”

            “Never actually been one for tradition,” said Jack. He looked out at Beckett’s ship as it approached. “Close haul her!” He turned to business. “Luff her sails and lay her in irons.”

            “Belay that, or we’ll be a sitting duck!” said Barbossa.

            “Belay that ‘belay that,’ ” said Jack.

            “But the arma—”

            “Beckett’s meddling got Will killed,” said (Y/N), voice low.

            Everyone paused and looked at them. They stepped onto the rail of the Pearl and looked out at Beckett’s ship.

            “He tried to kill everyone I care about. He tried to control the Caribbean. He tried to control the seas. He tried to control me.” The sun glinted with pearlescent light off (Y/N)’s scales. “And I told him he’d pay for it with his life.” They raised their chin. “I’m keeping my promise.”

            “Uh, what?” said Gibbs.

            “Give him hell,” spat Elizabeth.

            “Have fun, Pearl,” said Jack, grinning.

            Barbossa raised a brow at the nickname, and (Y/N) took a deep breath. They focused on the familiar pull of the ocean and tugged. The waters rocked around them. The sea obeyed their will. It swelled, and the ships began to rock.

            Near them, a familiar ship exploded out from the water. The Dutchman floated on the water, whole and powerful once more. The crew was human. Will stood at the helm, healthy and determined.

            “Will!” said Elizabeth in shock and relief.

            Jack grinned. He hadn’t gotten his immortality, but a part of his family was alive. “Looks like he made it. Good on him.”

            The Dutchman and the Pearl floated side by side as (Y/N) stood at the front and faced the Endeavor. (Y/N) grinned as the waters rose. They had their family. They had the sea. They had their freedom.

            (Y/N) had everything they ever wanted.

            They raised their hands, and the waters rose. Aboard the Endeavor, Beckett’s eyes widened. He could see Will at the helm of the Pearl. He could see Jack alive and free. He could see the nereid standing before him.

            “Fire!” shouted Jack.

            “Fire!” shouted Will.

            “Welcome to my sea!” (Y/N) dropped their arms.

            Cannonballs shot into the Endeavor, and a large wave crashed down at the same time. As the cannons fired, the ship began to sink, and its crew was thrown to the ground, dead, while the waters rose. As the wave swept down over them, the mast broke, the sails crashed to the deck, and men were swept overboard. Those who could stand opted to abandon ship.

            Beckett was given no such choice. His eyes met (Y/N)’s, and the last sight he saw was their scales and their power. They smirked, and the waves crashed over him once more. He was dragged to the Caribbean Sea, and as he tried to gasp for air, all that met him were the waters he sought to conquer.

            He drowned in his own fruitless ambitions.

Taglist:

@slytherinroyalty16

@aew-kun-age-regression

@grippleback-galaxy

@andsoigotabutterfly

@insomniacneedssleep

@painstakingly-juno

@kitkatlover015

@chronicallybubbly

@froggyisfriend

@elliottheidiot2007

@paastaboi

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@speckle-meow-meow

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@snowy-violet

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@roo024

@rory-cakes

[kungukingi]

Meditations on bris/isbr [12/?] "Evolved Dynamic"

Link to previous part.

The 3v3 match and its aftermath marked the high point for these two in terms of their interactions in the Second Selection. Consequently, it follows that their relationship was far from being a top priority in the list of "Narrative Elements That Need To Be Conveyed" during the 4v4 match. This match primarily revolves around the triangular relationship between Isagi, Bachira, and Rin — focusing on how those three are in dialogue with each other during the match.

Yet the central theme of the match is predictability versus unpredictability. So it tracks that Kaneshiro still managed to incorporate a surprising number of panels highlighting the dynamic between Isagi and Barou.

From my perspective, the entire match can be distilled into a few key observations regarding their relationship:

Barou demonstrates the ability to function as part of a team in which he is not the leader.

Isagi proves capable of utilising Barou in ways that do not undermine his ego.

They show that they are not limited to plays where they attempt to devour each other.

None of these observations are likely to stand out to the reader upon first reading. However, in the context of the manga as a whole, up to where we are currently (chapter 270), they become more noticeable and, in my opinion, more significant.

But let's go through all bris/isbr relevant moments around the match anyway:

Strategy Meeting

Following Isagi's confirmation of the upcoming match against Rin's team, Team White convenes to discuss his proposed strategy. In a notable departure from his previous attitude, Barou listens to Isagi with the same attentiveness as his teammates. As Isagi assigns roles and responsibilities on the pitch, Barou appears to have no reservations about following his plan.

And why should he, when Isagi has allocated him a role that capitalises on his strengths while allowing him to function as a semi-autonomous agent?

Taking Their Positions

Shenanigans involving Aryu and Tokimitsu prompt Team White to adjust their planned formation even before the match commences. This begins with Barou informing Isagi that they are going to alter the formation, since he has just decided he wants to face off against Tokimitsu (who pisses him off).

Barou's assertiveness and tendency to act as he pleases is completely in line with what we've seen from him before, but what's noteworthy is that this time he gives Isagi a heads up about this decision. While he's not exactly deferring to Isagi or seeking his permission, he is acknowledging Isagi as the team's de facto leader by bringing this information to him specifically, instead of just breaking out of formation in the middle of the match.

And Isagi takes it in stride.

Isagi has demonstrated his adaptability ever since he came to Blue Lock, but following the previous match, he has developed a keener understanding of what he will later (during the Manshine match in NEL) come to recognise as 'the protagonist feeling'. Having failed to reduce Barou to a supporting role in the 3v3 match, Isagi has become far more receptive to treating each teammate as an individual with their own desires and motivations, rather than merely as pieces executing his own designs.

It remains unclear whether Isagi is consciously aware of this shift yet (I think not), but his approach to the game has undeniably evolved in this direction.

New Synergy

As the match commences, we get to witness Isagi's and Barou's newfound synergy through Bachira's perspective. First he is blocked in from passing by Barou, then Isagi interjects his pass towards Tokimitsu, and then...

This moment serves as the first glimpse of the new approach they've naturally fallen into while playing within the same team. It showcases their ability to maintain their rivalry without either one having to willingly assume a supporting actor's role.

Barou As The Bug In The System

Later, Isagi realises that everyone is playing into Rin's hands, as he can anticipate each player's moves with his superior visualisation. Only Isagi himself can keep pace with Rin's thinking, but his physical performance lags so far behind that he cannot compensate.

It's not looking good.

However, Barou has grown dissatisfied with the match's direction while he's been 'playing nice' with his teammates. He decides to once again fully embrace his new 'villain' persona. As Isagi becomes locked in a one-on-one with Rin, Barou stalks him, choosing the opportune moment to charge in and snatch the ball from his own teammate. By acting in such an unpredictable manner, he manages to catch Rin off guard and score.

Barou proceeds to tell Isagi he is 'not up to snuff' and should 'feed him more' — which aligns with how their dynamic has evolved through his awakening. This represents their new symbiotic relationship, in which Isagi aspires to be the lead actor by controlling the pitch, while Barou aims to snatch that mantle from him by targeting the plays Isagi creates. Isagi draws the spotlight, and Barou thrives in the shadows at his periphery. Their rivalry has coalesced around these motifs of light and darkness, the hero and the villain.

During this moment, Isagi recognises that Barou's unpredictability is currently the most valuable asset in his toolkit.

Isagi embraces this new dynamic between himself and Barou, unconventional though it may be, as he recognises its utility.

He wastes no time in finding a way to incorporate this element into his team's strategy, using himself as bait to allow Barou to charge through.

The strategy proves unsuccessful, as Rin has swiftly adapted to Barou as an unpredictable agent. However, this does not discourage Isagi, as it was merely his initial attempt.

On top of that, he saw that Rin only narrowly reacted in time, suggesting that the tactic has potential.

Had Isagi and Barou not fundamentally altered their perception of themselves in relation to each other, Isagi's line here might have come off as a regression. After all, wasn't the entire 3v3 match centred on Isagi's attempts to control Barou, and Barou's resistance to that?

However, things have changed, even if neither has completely reinvented their overall playstyle. Barou still plays selfishly, and Isagi still aims to control the entire pitch. The key difference lies in their understanding of how far they can push their own methods when it comes to interacting with the other.

And none of this they've negotiated out loud. Instead, they demonstrate an intuitive understanding of the new 'rules' of their rivalry.

Post Free Kick

Following Rin's successful free kick, Barou grumbles about his exclusion from the defensive wall, since Rin managed to score by aiming over Isagi's head. This observation sparks a realisation in Isagi: he can attempt to outmanoeuvre Rin by adapting mid-match once again, this time by utilising himself from a different perspective.

And what better angle to initiate his series of unpredictable plays than to make it seem like he's working with Barou?

Isagi acts as if he's about to pass to Barou, prompting him to follow Isagi's vision in anticipation of receiving the ball. However, instead of passing, Isagi breaks through himself, causing Barou to realise he has once again been used as bait.

Through a series of passes, Isagi manoeuvres himself into a position in front of the goal. And for the first time, he outsmarts Rin in a one-on-one situation with his back-heel shot.

As usual, Barou is the only one who refrains from joining the celebration of goals scored by others. However, this time he neither grimaces nor curses about it.

Not only that, Barou then proceeds to ask whether Isagi had orchestrated every aspect of that play, showing no signs of having a grudge over being used as bait.

This stands in marked contrast to his reaction when Isagi employed a similar tactic during the 3v3 game:

The Isagi x Barou Countercombo One-Two Charge

As their unpredictable tactics continue, when the match resumes and Tokimitsu presses Barou, he passes to Isagi to prevent the 'big baby' from stealing the ball.

Some might argue this is out of character for Barou, but the significance of this pass in the broader context lies in its distance from the opposing team's goal; there is no risk of it becoming an assist. Even with his evolved mindset, and prior to Isagi's selection for the Blue Lock Eleven over him, it's unlikely Barou would have ever been comfortable giving him an assist.

Even in this instance, Barou only passes because he expects Isagi to return the favour.

When Isagi immediately executes a one-two pass back to him, Barou instantly grasps his intention. They advance with rapid passes, showcasing a level of cooperation they haven't demonstrated before or since.

Although this is the only instance where we've witnessed this kind of synchronisation from them, it proves that they are capable of it. They can intuitively read and respond to each other's plays, leveraging one another without friction while maintaining their individual pursuits of becoming the lead actor through scoring their own goals.

Considering the inevitability of playing on the same team in the future, it's significant to note that the single-minded, devouring mindset we get to see from Barou in the match against the U20 team is not his only mode of interaction with Isagi. In this match, he utilised those tactics, but he did not confine himself to that approach alone.

My own belief is that from Barou's perspective, a crucial factor in creating this dynamic was that just before this game, he felt like he had achieved equal footing with Isagi. In contrast, during the later U20 game, he starts from a disadvantageous position, which prompts his "Isagi-hunting" with a holistically antagonistic mindset.

Given his recent growth towards becoming a better team player during his time in Ubers, who knows how this development might influence the way these two play together, should they end up as forwards in the same starting lineup.

The End

Ultimately, their team has to face defeat after Rin scores the finisher goal. He selects Isagi to advance with them to the World 5 game, forcing him to part ways with his teammates.

Through this, all of them maintain a stoic demeanour, with Barou's final words to Isagi conveying his resentment at having been consigned to a supporting role once again.

This time though, he's better equipped to handle this affront to his ego, since he's already clawed his way up through this feeling once before. He vows that it won't end like this and, as we all know, it does not.

[thisaintascenereviews]

What I’ve Been Listening To During Spooky Season: 2024 Edition

Ah, yes, Halloween season is upon us again. I started a tradition a few years ago where I’d talk about Halloween-themed or Halloween adjacent music, and it was pretty fun! I always love writing these types of pieces, because I try to listen to different stuff with a spooky theme each year, and this year is no different. Each year I’ll try to have a theme, and from looking back to see what theme I had last year, I didn’t even post one last year. I thought I did, but I was going to write about the last couple of albums from Clipping, an experimental rap group fronted by Daveed Diggs. I’ll still talk about those albums at some point, but I really thought I did that.

My first theme was spooky-themed rock and metal bands, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, and a few other bands, but I don’t want to repeat myself twice. Nonetheless, I wanted to bring this series back this year, especially when this year caught me by surprise. It all started by the first thing I’ll talk about here in a minute, but it made me remember a couple of other things I found last year and never spent that much time with, so I got a bit of an interesting theme with this year. What is that theme, you may be asking? Why, my theme is 1960s surf-rock, bubblegum pop, and novelty albums! The first album I’ll talk about isn’t from the 1960s, but it’s very much inspired by it, which is…

The Boulet Brothers - Halloween House Party EP

If you read the newest piece I wrote with my buddy Jake, where we cut it up about the newest stuff we’ve been enjoying over the last couple months, I talked about the drag competition show Dragula, which is Drag Race for horror fans, basically, that’s in its sixth season currently. It’s a show that’s more so about horror, versus standard drag, so there is a lot of VFX and makeup, as well as performing and acting. The show was created by legendary drag duo, The Boulet Brothers, and aside from Dragula, they also have veered into music. I haven’t liked much they’ve done, but this new Halloween EP they put out is a lot of fun. It’s very short, sweet, and to the point. There’s a 1960s surf-rock and doo-woo feel throughout it, and despite the EP having a similar sound, all the songs are catchy enough, and they manage to make each song interesting enough, considering the ideas they have to work with.

As a side bar, music that is specifically Halloween-themed, versus just being spooky in general, is way more niche than Christmas music. Fun fact: I’ve already got some Christmas music on deck, and I may talk about it in some way this year, although, despite already talking about a Christmas album last year in the vein of Seth MacFarlane and Liz Gillies’ newly released Christmas album, We Wish You The Merriest. Halloween music has its place, but at the same time, there aren’t many things to really talk about that hold up for a whole season. Christmas music, especially the more secular stuff, can be about wintertime, versus Halloween is mainly about monsters, trick or treating, and just being overall spooky and stuff. Music that is Halloween-adjacent holds up because it has more to talk about, versus specifically Halloween-themed music.

The Deadly Ones - It’s Monster Surfing Time

During the early 1960s, surf-rock was all the rage, especially with Dick Dale, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys, The Trashmen, and many other acts having that sound, so what’s the most logical thing to do? Combine Halloween and surf-rock to make for one of the most niche and interesting albums I’ve heard in a long time. Released in 1964, It’s Monster Surfing Time is the only album from The Deadly Ones, and the kicker is, no one knows who played on this. They seem to be session musicians from their label, Vee-Jay, but that’s it. I couldn’t find much about this album at all, but in a way, the mystery is that much more fun. This is a mainly instrumental album that has surf-rock with some spooky sounds thrown in. It’s fun, despite being relatively generic, as well as niche as all hell, but I’ve been having some fun with it.

Bobby “Boris” Pickett - The Original Monster Mash

If there is one “essential” Halloween song, it has to be “Monster Mash.” While it’s a novelty hit that comes back for a bit each year, Pickett released a whole album in 1962 with a lot of Halloween songs. The album has its name for a funny reason — another artist released a cover version of the “Monster Mash,” and put out a whole record before Pickett could, hence the “original” moniker. I’ve been wanting to really sink my teeth into this album for the last couple of years, and I finally have. It’s been a fun little listen, despite the songs being of the novelty and cheesy variety. Most of these songs are in line with a popular trend of the time, not including the title track, but they take advantage of the popularity of certain things at that time, and it can be either pretty cheesy or pretty fun, depending on who you are. I might add this to my yearly rotation, at least for a bit, anyway.

The Munsters - S/T

The last thing I wanted to talk about is one of the most niche and cash grabby things I’ve ever heard, and it’s The Munsters 1964 self-titled album. This album doesn’t have much information about it, but it’s a surf-rock album that’s touted as being performed by The Munsters, who were in their prime at the time, but it’s really just some session musicians. This record is pretty fun, albeit very gimmicky and silly, because it’s just songs about The Munsters, so if you don’t like The Munsters, I can’t help you. If you do, though, this album should be a lot of fun and get some chuckles out of you. I’ve listened to it a handful of times, but it’s a good little record that admittedly sounds dated and niche. I still enjoy this, though, at least for what it is.

[ckret2]

Lord Loveless versus the Arrow Ace

A few years ago I contributed a short story to an asexuality zine:

A showdown between a cruel, heartless villain who wants to destroy the world and all that's good in it—Lord Loveless—and a hero—the Arrow Ace—who's been searching for someone else like herself... and is furious that all she's found is him.

It's a satire/conflicted love letter to cheesy cartoony villains who are "too evil to comprehend good, kindness, and love"—and might be the only approximation of the aro & ace experience a kid sees. ... But it's also as goofy & corny as physically possible. Enjoy.

####

On one side of the chasm dividing the massive stone cavern: Lord Loveless, tattered cape billowing with magic currents, the naked skull beneath his black crown lit green by the starlike spell floating above.

On the other side: Sapphire, gripping her axes; Blair, maintaining the shimmering spherical shield protecting them both; and a half dozen of Lord Loveless's minions, blocking the exits and surrounding the shield.

"You're too late," Lord Loveless crowed. "Even if you weren't trapped, powerless before my superior forces—"

(Blair gave one of the minions a skeptical look, lurched toward them as though to attack, and smirked when they flinched several steps back.)

"—my spell has progressed too far for any lesser a sorcerer than I to reverse it! You can try to put one of your pretty little shields around it, Claire—"

"Blair."

Lord Loveless waved his magic staff dismissively. "But it will pop like the bubble it is. And then, you're all doomed—along with the rest of the world!" He cackled maniacally.

Sapphire blew a raspberry.

Lord Loveless's laughter cut off. Even without a face to speak of, he managed to give her a peevish look. With a tone of mock indulgence, he said, "I take it you'd like to make your last words?"

"Last words before we reduce you to bone toothpicks?" Sapphire hefted one axe threateningly. "Sure, how about this: why?! Why destroy the world? You don't get power, you don't get riches. When there's nothing left, what's left for you?"

"Oh! Hmm." Lord Loveless settled the butt of his staff on the stone floor and thoughtfully tapped a bony finger on its green orb. Finally, he said, "As a general policy I don't explain my dastardly plans to my enemies, but I suppose there's no risk in explaining my dastardly motives, is there?"

A couple of minions shrugged. One nodded encouragingly.

"Very well! In that case: what I get out of this is..." He paused dramatically. "Absolutely nothing! Haa! I don't do this for a purpose! I'm evil, it's what I do! It's this whole thing!"

"Then don't be evil," Blair said.

Lord Loveless turned to stare at her as if she'd grown a second head. "No," he said. "I'm gonna."

"Well, why?"

"It's in my nature," he said, with a scornful tilt of his head as if to stare down his non-existent nose at the two heroes. "I was born an inherently villainous being. I don't have your natural human instincts, you see. Affection." He scoffed. "Love!" He scoffed harder. "The mere intimate, 'pleasurable' touch of flesh disgusts me. So much so, I got rid of the issue completely!" He brandished one bony arm demonstratively. "So you tell me, heroes—how could a creature who scorns the very touch of his 'fellow' humans be anything but evil—"

One of Lord Loveless's minions cried, "Are you kidding me?!"

While Lord Loveless watched in amazement, the minion tossed off her hood and unclasped her robe, revealing light leather armor that matched Sapphire’s.

Sapphire swore quietly under her breath. Blair groaned.

"Oh, you!" Lord Loveless angrily stamped his staff on the ground; acid green sparks fluttered from the orb. "I knew there was supposed to be a third one of you!" He gestured to his remaining minions. “Get h—!”

Before he could finish the order, Blair burst their protective bubble, knocking one minion to the edge of the chasm and sending another running to the edge to help the fallen one back up; Sapphire knocked one unconscious with the butt of an axe and intimidated another into fleeing; and the new arrival drew a bow and arrow from under her cloak and pointed it at the last remaining minion until they too raised their hands in surrender, backed toward the entrance tunnel, and ran.

Then Sapphire turned toward the team’s third member. “Oriana, what happened to the sneak attack? We had a whole plan...”

"No." Oriana slid the arrow back in its quiver and held up a finger to Sapphire. "No, it's personal now."

Sapphire shrugged helplessly. "All right, okay. Have at him."

Oriana nodded and turned a sharp gaze toward Lord Loveless.

Lord Loveless watched in dismay as the last of his minions fled, then snapped, “Oh, you think you’re gonna get me with that? You’re gonna hit me with an arrow?” He somehow made a raspberry sound without lips. He drew a circle in front of him, briefly illuminating the otherwise-invisible magic shield protecting him from attack.

But instead of drawing another arrow, Oriana planted her hands on her hips, jutted her chin out, and said, “Your motive is stupid.”

Lord Loveless canted his head in disbelief. “Excuse you?”

“I’m the same as you! But I’m over here being a hero! What’s your excuse?"

“What?” Electric purple light briefly flickered on in his black sockets. “No. That can’t be right. You, with the do-gooders? You can’t be the same—”

“Do you hate hugs.”

Lord Loveless hesitated. “Yeah,” he said. “What, that’s—isn’t that an automatic evil trait?”

Oriana furiously gestured at herself. “Apparently not,” she said. “Think kissing is gross?”

“I didn’t get rid of my lips because I thought it’d make using a straw easier!"

Oriana paused. “Kind of extreme reaction, but we’re on the same page. When kids your age started flirting, did you use to, like, pick someone to decide you have a crush on?”

He was silent for a long moment. “Huh.”

“Do you hate it when two characters in a play who obviously hate each other suddenly fall into bed? And we’re just supposed to believe they’ve had invisible sexual tension the whole time and that makes up for the constant fighting?”

“Yes!” Lord Loveless pointed emphatically at her. “Yes! Don’t—why don’t people who actually feel attraction think that’s weird? Do they actually work like that?”

Oriana turned toward Sapphire and Blair for their opinions. They shuffled on their feet self-consciously.

Sapphire said, “It does bug me when the guy’s got no redeeming qualities?”

Blair winced sheepishly. “Honestly, it—depends on how hot the actor and actress are.”

Lord Loveless scoffed.

Oriana went on: “Do you ever wonder why people get, like, depressed if they haven’t had a date in a while?”

“Yeah?!” He flung up a hand in bafflement. “What is with that, don’t they have hobbies?”

She made almost the exact same baffled gesture. “I don’t know! Like, hang out with friends, go fly a kite, something!”

“So!” Lord Loveless drew himself up, hefting his staff into the air once more. “You do understand! You, too, have felt that dark emptiness, that brokenness, that wrathful hatred of all others—”

“No?” Oriana cut in. “Literally never? Ever? None of those things? Buddy, you have problems, okay, and literally none of those problems are connected to not wanting to screw.”

“Oh really!” Lord Loveless rolled his non-existent eyes toward the progressing spell above them. “Because they sure seem connected!”

“Why?” Oriana asked, with enough real curiosity in her tone that Lord Loveless looked back down to study her face. “What, did—did people make you feel like that, like you’re empty or broken or whatever? Or did you decide that all on your own? Because both are sad in wildly different ways. Just—who raised you?”

For a moment, he didn’t respond; long enough that Blair started glancing nervously at the spell above again and Sapphire moved to Oriana’s other side, prepared to flank her if they launched an attack.

But then, finally, in a voice small and awkward and human, he said, “I had this... mentor. For seven years. He was all about the power of love. He was all determined to wake up my capacity for love, and when he didn’t...”

Sapphire and Blair’s faces lit up in surprise at the same time Oriana’s fell.

Suspiciously, Lord Loveless said, “You’ve met.”

Sapphire said, “He told us how to find you.”

Blair added, “It’s how I met them. I’ve been training under him the last three years.”

Lord Loveless grunted. “Have you,” he said spiritlessly. “I thought that bubble of yours was familiar.”

“He taught me everything I know. I love him like a second father.” Blair paused. “But...” She glanced at Oriana.

Oriana had been standing there with her face screwed up in distaste while waiting for the other two to finish. “Yeah, he’s kind of a judgy jerkwad, isn’t he.”

Lord Loveless let his staff settle on the ground again. “No one’s ever called my mentor a jerkwad before,” he said. “I... assumed it was just me.”

“I’m sure he’s a great teacher if you wanna learn how to channel love magic or whatever—but if you tell him you don’t have any?” Oriana laughed bitterly. “Ohh, we didn’t get along.”

Blair half reached for Oriana. “He’s not right about everything. You know I don’t think...”

Oriana nodded quickly. “Yeah. You’re fine. We’re cool.”

Lord Loveless silently regarded the conversation, his shoulders sagging beneath his cloak, as if a heavy weight was beginning to slide off of them. “Well—well. Well... Well, why do you fight for good, then? Without love, why bother?”

Oriana laughed in disbelief. “I don’t have to love people to not want the planet to die, holy crap! You really do sound like his student.”

He visibly winced, the joints between his bones creaking together, like of all the accusations that had been flung at him that one hurt the most.

“I can just like people? And want good things to happen to people I like? And—enjoy the planet in one piece? The power of love isn’t necessary, I’ve gotten by just fine with the power of basic compassion! You don’t need to find a soulmate, or—or—” she attempted a crude pantomime with her hands that made Blair bite her lip in silent laughter and Sapphire quickly look away, “—or mash parts to feel a basic connection to other human beings.”

“But it stops others from feeling a connection to you, doesn’t it?” Lord Loveless demanded—an edge of desperation in his tone. “I recognize the uniforms on you two—Lunar Archers, aren’t you?”

“Yeah?” Oriana said, a tad defensive, but not quite sure where he was aiming yet. “Both of us.” She nudged Sapphire. “We met there.”

“A-ha. I know what the sash missing from your uniform means. I can guess why you”—he tipped his staff toward Sapphire—“aren’t still in the archers’ ranks.” Sapphire hefted her axes in a shrug of acknowledgment. “But why aren’t you, o arrow ace?”

Oriana grimaced in irritation. “Okay. Right. Yeah, okay, I signed up because their target audience is all, ‘women who cast aside the duties of marriage to men and take up the mantle of chastity,’ and I was like, ‘hey, my people,’ and then it turned out that was a two-hundred-year-old euphemism for ‘we’re a bunch of lesbians and this is the easiest way to explain that when nobody's talking about that yet.’ So, y’know...” She jerked one shoulder self-consciously. “Didn’t fit in.”

Victorious, Lord Loveless crowed, “So they cast you out!”

“What? No. Phire and I left voluntarily. We’re still both in good standing with the Archers. We’re welcome at the camps. We hang out with them on holidays. They still let me use their magic bows and arrows and everything.” She drew an arrow out of her quiver and pointed at the tip, faintly sparkling yellowish-white. “Check it out. Lightning.”

Lord Loveless took a moment to process that. “They didn’t turn their backs on you,” he said. “Why didn’t they turn their backs on you? What did you do?"

“I—acted like a decent person? And I didn’t peel the skin off my face? And they didn’t turn their backs on me because they’re not jerks—unlike whoever you’ve been hanging out with, you misanthrope! Make some better friends!”

“I don’t believe that,” he snarled. “Nobody would treat you any better than I was treated. Nobody.”

The irritation on Oriana’s face deepened to rage. She shot a quick glance over toward Sapphire—just the nearest of her friends that Lord Loveless was slandering.

“If it was really so fantastic, you wouldn’t have left. There’s not a chance. I wouldn’t have left! So why would you—”

Furiously, Oriana shouted, “I left to find you!”

“What?”

"I went looking for people like me! They were fine, but I wanted to find somebody I could relate to! But all this time I've been looking, there's just—just you!" Oriana gestured furiously toward Lord Loveless. "Is that it?! Are you the best I'll ever find? Is the only one who can understand me—this? You aren't even human anymore!"

“But—”

Lord Loveless fell silent as an arrow sailed by him—far enough not to bounce off his protective wards, near enough to catch his attention. It clattered on the cavern wall with a burst of sparks and a tiny thunderclap. “I deserve better,” Oriana snarled, voice trembling with fury, aiming another arrow at him. “I deserve better than for you to be the only thing I have to look up to! I deserve better than a villain and a monster!”

Lord Loveless’s jaw opened, then clacked shut without his finding anything to say. Blair put a hand on Oriana’s shoulder, whispered something to her; Oriana nodded jerkily, put the arrow away, and slung her bow back over her shoulder; Sapphire lightly punched Oriana’s upper arm and Oriana punched hers back.

“You’re lonely,” Lord Loveless said. Oriana flinched. “Even flanked by your so-called friends, you’re alone.”

“Not ‘so-called,’” Oriana said firmly. “They mean the world to me! We’d do anything for each other! But...”

A world of things Blair and Sapphire would never quite understand hung in the air after that “but.”

Lord Loveless didn’t press. He just nodded understandingly, once more the master of this cavern. "We truly are alike," he murmured. "Probably more alike than even you think." It wasn't a gloat, wasn't a taunt, not like it should have been; his supernaturally strident voice was unusually compassionate. "We're the same, you and I. We shouldn't be enemies. You could have easily ended up like me. You still could. It's not too late for you to join me—"

"No," Oriana snapped. She stomped to the edge of the chasm separating her team from Lord Loveless and held out a hand across it. "You join us."

Sapphire and Blair gaped at her. Lord Loveless reeled back, an offended hand splayed across his ribs. "I beg your pardon?"

She continued stubbornly extending her hand. "I was never going to end up like you. Who does that, who goes ‘oh, I don’t wanna bone the other gross snotty kids in my town, guess I’d better murder people over it’? Nobody does that. You should have ended up like me. So turn that thing off and come on."

"But..." Lord Loveless looked at her, then at the giant green world-ending spell floating over the chasm between them. Then, finally, shoulders sagging, he waved his staff. The light above dissipated, sucked back into the orb. The only light illuminating the cavern was the orb and a flickering blue and pink flame Blair hastily summoned up.

"Hell," Lord Loveless grumbled. He almost absent-mindedly summoned up a pathway of floating stones and trudged across the chasm.  "I don't know what I would've done with myself after ending reality as we know it anyway. But if this is horrible, I'm gonna destroy the world later."

The trio of heroes stepped back from the edge to give him room to stand in front of them. They glared up at him warily. He glared down at them imperiously.

Then Blair wordlessly pointed at his staff.

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t get to keep that,” Blair said. “You destroy things with it.”

“You people go around taking on baddies, don’t you? What if we’re attacked, surely you don’t plan to leave me defenseless.”

“I know you can do enough magic to defend yourself without the orb. Hand it over.”

Lord Loveless sighed noisily, but held it out to Oriana. “I don’t trust you with it,” he muttered to Blair. “You could do stuff with it.”

Blair shrugged. Oriana took the staff.

Sapphire wordlessly pointed at his crown.

“What? No! This is mine.” He clamped a bony hand on the crown. “It’s not even magic, it just looks cool! I’m keeping it.”

Sapphire clicked her tongue in disappointment.

Together, they headed up the tunnel out of the cavern and toward the sunlight.