#which evolved into 'yeah i guess'-type responses

[lungfuls]

Maybe I'm projecting and being hopeful but I mentioned to M that I don't even get to shit by myself in peace lmao and I feel like something clicked for him. Bc I was like hey, at least you get private bathroom breaks at work (noncombative). And since then he's been a lot more acquiescent when I ask if I can nap and stuff

[thekimchibear]

T발 너 C야?

In Korea, personality types have always been a talking point. In recent years MBTI has taken over, but before that it was blood-types. In social situations people would ask each other their MBTI, or made to guess the other persons, and this spread to the internet as well. Memes of the different types were popularized and have kept evolving.

One that was incredibly popular was

“너 T야?”

"Are you a T?"

T being “Thinkers / 사고형”, which is the opposite of F which are “Feelers / 감정형” Which came from when someone was being too rational or unsympathetic.

This evolved into “야 너 T야?”

“Oi, are you a T?” (야 is an very informal way of calling to someone.. oi seems more of a correct translation than Hey!)

“응 나 T야, 프리티!” “큐티!”

“Yeah, I am a T, Pretty” "Cutie"

Then in a more crude way, people would say “씨발, 너 T야?”

“Fuck, are you a T?”

Because of the similarity of 씨(C) and 티 (T) people would jumble it around and say

“T발, 너 C야?”

Which is just the modern way of referencing “너 T야?”, so the next time someone gives you a T kind of response, hit them with the “T발, 너 C야?”

[legally-a-bastard]

i sent a long with citations response to the strawberry shortcake post but hello! historical food enjoyer?? :)

YEAG

mostly from a standpoint of ‘i like seeing how foods have evolved and spread and adapted, and Why’ esp with a focus on where a food Originated from and then going from there, but not quite as much specific-recipe-based

MOST of my knowledge is specifically soups and stews bc I am obsessed with them and I am on a quest to collect as many recipes as possible. one of my favorites will always be a traditional Hungarian goulash that takes, like, eight million hours to cook/hyp

Food is very important to me (very very large family who are all very very big on cooking and baking) and it sort of merged with my interest of history

Also-I was gonna reply On the strawberry shortcake post abt it but figured I shouldn’t further clog OP’s notifs lmfao. so, my thoughts on the strawberry shortcake thing (putting a readmore bc this about to get long cause I’m full of Words):

Good Housekeeping 1933 is one of my own sources-it’s one of the few actual Book cookbooks we have in my house, but I do admit that most recipes I know for shortcake are handwritten ones we keep in one of the two Very Large Binders Full Of Recipes (of varying degrees of age-some are no older than 20 and some are from my great great grandmother) collected by my mother from culinary classes, family members, etc.

Some of the recipes (both my own collection and your citations) I do sort of raise my eyebrows at (no sweetening at all????? Bestie what?? bro must be throwing a shitload of strawberry on that thing)

Before this post I genuinely didn’t know people used Straight Up Actual Biscuits for strawberry shortcake, whcih prompted me to go looking through the recipes (I did in fact find a few that were definitely more of a biscuit and one that was just. Muffin as a substitute??? I guess????) and also take a look into the general history of shortcake, & strawberry shortcake

I’ve usually only ever seen them actually made with just normal cake (never has the right texture imo) or with actual shortcake

So what I’m Gathering is:

there seem to be three types of strawberry shortcake: regular cake, just a biscuit, and actual shortcake.

As the name suggests, it should be made with actual shortcake; a type of cake characterized by a thick dough-like batter and crumbliness similar to a biscuit. The ‘short’ part is in reference to the high amount of fats(typically butter) which give it the crumbling texture, which it has in common with biscuits/scones. But, traditionally, shortcake IS made with eggs and sugar, and is still a batter rather than dough (if you have achieved dough then you have in fact just made a really sweet biscuit). To me, biscuits, shortcakes/shortbreads, and scones are all just siblings. They’re very similar but they’re still they’re own separate things.

I believe the earliest shortcake recipe we know is from a 1588 English cookbook; it reached popularity the in the early 1600s(largely due to a Shakespeare play, in fact! In “The Merry Wives of Windsor”, there is a character named Alice Shortcake!). Strawberry shortcake itself was a popular type of fruit & shortcake dessert by the time of the Victorian era, and then becoming popularized in America (they used to have straight up strawberry shortcake PARTIES apparently! as a celebration of the fruit harvest in summer!! That’s sick as fuck I wanna do that!!! I think some places might still do it but I do not think it’s any around here lmfao)

also fun fact June 14 is national strawberry shortcake day

Anyways. Um yeah that’s it for my shortcake knowledge. do you have a favorite soup?

[attackfish]

A thing I've noticed is that most people who aren't in the biological sciences, and even a lot of people who are have this tendency to think that evolution is much cleaner and more purposeful than it is, for example if an organism has a trait, that trait must be doing something for the organism, and evolution must have selected for that trait, and that trait must be the best possible version of it for that organism's specific circumstances.

In reality of course evolution is very messy, and is the process of adapting what an organism has or can cobble together, to best meet an immediate need. And genes are connected to other genes in weird and wild ways. A fairly well-known example is the fact that floppy ears are connected to a bunch of other genes in canines that are related to domestication, so when we domesticated wolves into dogs, or they domesticated themselves, or however that process worked, floppy ears came along for the ride, even though they have no evolutionary advantage, and even a minor disadvantage.

So there is this post going around Tumblr about zombies, and why humans are afraid of them, and why we are afraid of things that look human but aren't quite human in general, and it goes through people talking about how it might have been because of other human species that were dangerous to us, and maybe this is a response to that danger, and then somebody else went no no it's probably rabies, because rabies is very dangerous and will make you look like a human but suddenly very dangerous to everyone around you, and you might as well already be dead because you will be dead very soon, and you can make other people be dead very soon too.

And yeah I am willing to admit that the human response to other humans that aren't acting right, that just seemed off in that undefinable way, was probably very useful at helping us avoid contagious disease. Though it is important to note here that the original zombie fear, where it came from in folklore, was a fear of being made into a zombie. This fear arose specifically in populations of enslaved Africans and their descendants and it was a fear of a slavery more total than even their current state of subjugation. It wasn't a fear of hordes of undead monsters, it was a fear of being taken over and used, and having your very self violated, of having death be no escape from slavery.

But anyway, I don't think that the uncanny valley arose to protect us from rabies or any other contagious disease, though it may have been a useful trait for that reason. the uncanny valley doesn't just apply to humans, a very popular type of horror monster is like X but not X, like a deer but not a deer, like a dog but not a dog, like a house but not a house, like a room but not a room. Given my last two examples, it's clear that the thing that this is like, doesn't even have to be alive. Somehow I don't think that's to protect us from rabies.

If you want my guess, and I am a lay person and this is a guess of somebody who is moderately interested in the subject, I think it has more to do with the fact that our brains have evolved to become pattern finding, categorizing meat machines, and this has all kinds of benefits to us, keeping us alive, helping us together food helping us find shelter keeping us out of danger etc etc etc. And our brains really really do not like it when it cannot categorize something, when something breaks a pattern, and it can't find a new one to put it into, or find a new box that this thing belongs in. And we feel that attempt and failure to categorize a thing, as The Uncanny. It's less a separate trait, and more a peek into how your brain actually works.

Again, this is a guess from a lay person, but even if I'm not correct in this instance, it really is important to keep in mind that evolution is messy, haphazard, and works only with what it has, and only sometimes is there a neat correlation between a trait and an evolutionary pressure which that trait evolved to fit.

[astroboyanalysis]

4. His Highness Deadcross

Note for people actually following this: The slight delay in post will probably be common. I work almost every weekday and come home really exhausted so I don't normally have the energy for something like this.

While I generally don't question the order the comics are placed in in this compilation, I will say that if someone were reading Astro Boy for the first time in this order, they would probably be pretty confused right now. "But Atom is in this panel!" "Who are any of these people?"

I'm curious where the comics introducing the creation of a family for Atom will end up in the compilation. This being a serialized manga without a singular coherent storyline, this type of thing happens a lot, where it makes more sense for a story to go early, but some detail in it won't be explained fully because it's a change made in the years between whatever comics you read.

While I'm fond of the more coherent storylines of modern animation and comics, I do sort of miss serialized stories and the return to normalcy at the end of each "episode." I understand it's more common in childrens' TV, especially childrens' TV we might not think of as Artful when compared with the childrens' TV that has those storylines (thinking of like. Uncle Grandpa. That type of show.)

I think the general culture around media has shifted to one of character and story development, which is interesting. Characters and stories can still be evolved over serialized media, but it's a different approach. I remember when Wander Over Yonder was airing thinking "wow, this is a great cartoon and it's episodic instead of arc-based!"

This is a ramble. I just think it's becoming much rarer, so this problem the omnibus has to deal with is not as much of an issue anymore, at least with officially published content.

EDIT: I realized the reason for this ramble is unclear. It's much more difficult to present a coherent storyline when the changes to the main cast are episodic rather than arc-based, because the pacing would be very strange. Many times these character introductions are apropos of nothing in a larger arc or storyline, which is fine, it's just a different approach and presents a challenge when trying to create a cohesive work later, because there are many possible ways to organize the "episodes"

Genuinely Uran is so funny for this. I know this is the first time we're seeing her in the omnibus but I'm just so fond of her. Her childish but sneaky approach parallels Atom's polite near-deference with figures of authority (unless they are "evil," but at this point we don't think anything of the Pants we are being presented) Part of me believes in my heart that this is because Atom has had high responsibility for his actions - He is held accountable to a standard human children are not, and the optics of what he says and does are scrutinized somewhat. Uran has not had this, but has the same type of "free will" and lack of given purpose that Atom does. Oh yeah cobalt is there too. Hi cobalt.

Really funny visual gag where did you get that bigass weight. Don't answer. I do love that he's ostensibly working out in his free time despite this giving no real strength benefit to a robot with a set strength built in, although I do suppose getting used to how weight handles and how heavy objects throw as opposed to light objects would be extremely useful for him. Anyway. You could probably guess this but as I grew up on the 2003 Astro Boy dub, I was also a Teen Titans (2003) fan. Cyborg has a great episode surrounding the idea that strength is built in called "Sum of His Parts". I have my artistic preferences with that episode and personally would not have done everything the way it does, but the evaluation of psychology when your physical limits are perceived as set in stone is very relevant here.

We are like two pages into this one btw. I'm normal.

Another robot specific law: Robots aren't allowed to go overseas by themselves/unaccompanied by humans without a permit. This makes a bit of sense relative to robots widely being property to be protected (read: you do not want them fleeing). This was actually shown in "The Birth of Astro Boy"

See the above panel from the first comic in the omnibus.

It's also funny that they didn't just also get Atom permission on the way and were instead like. Okay Atom we're just going to do a whole trenchcoat deal. I imagine that permission to move between borders is different to acquire in different countries, and likely far more difficult in countries with more restrictive laws around robotic existence. Japan is fairly forward in robotic tech from what we see, but it's likely the bureaucratic process would take a while. Easier to just break the law. (In some regard, this can be argued as a loophole rather than an outright crime - It depends how "A Robot" is defined. One could argue that a robot is based on their singular brain, so one pass per brain, but there are robots with parts that operate independent of one another, and this would mean they would need multiple passes. This is like, really specific legal wording type issues. What is shown here indicates that this is the case, but I can't say for certain why as we don't know the law in full.)

Also, while they say overseas, it's likely more like humans needing to acquire a visa, and certain countries or borders have agreements on the issue. Japan is surrounded by water, so any other country is "overseas."

Also, pretty sure we'll see Atom go to other countries without permission.

It's funny to me that they both act like younger siblings a lot of the time because Atom is just a lot more mature and has a lot more experience in the world. Anyway Ha ha ha ha lookee! lookee!

Ban really does get some of the best reaction expressions lol

I'm not asking how they made indent footprints in what seems to be concrete or stone. I'm not.

Seems to me that this indicates some amount of standardization in robots, or at the very least, robots meant to look human, by country. This also would make sense to identify what's going on, but uh. Can't they wear shoes...? Anyway, this kind of standardization would likely be required for those roaming permits to be functional in other countries. I.E. If Canada does not agree to standardization law x394.32, the USA will rescind their robotic passage permits and any permits currently in use will be void.

If I were making an Astro Boy comic, I'd keep some element of this standardization. Just maybe not on the feet.

God I love this series so much. WE CAN'T LET HIM KNOW WE ARE BOARDING FLIGHT 0036!

MORE ON ROBOTS BEING DISALLOWED FROM HURTING HUMANS: "We had no choice" is apparently a retort to this. So it's definitely a choice-based thing and not a built-in limitation of the AI. Anyway Atom looks really nervous about having hurt a human, probably for multiple reasons, one being that his teacher is out cold, another being what the consequences would be for this law being broken - And also the optics of Atom possibly being within blame.

I have no comment on this really it's just something that's likely disallowed in other countries. Sentiments would have to be extremely positive toward robots in a country for one to be allowed to run for president, and for them to win ).

This would be one of those countries with lax robotic laws I mentioned earlier.

.

Actually gruesome as hell

Another progressive robot law Gravia had that allowed this to happen, robots can vote. I sort of doubt this is the case in other places, but I'm not sure within the initial run of the manga.

Rag your minister just kicked a human in Japan like. For not even that much reason he could have just run faster instead.

Puts you in my torture chamber I devised full of polyester balls and pours water into it, half-crushing you (but not to worry, it's a comic strip, after all.)

Our first actual portrayal of a hate group, the Deadcross Society.

SPROING. I love the ZERO pause between "how can I meet him?" and Atom just using the window immediately.

I believe this is Atom Using An Unopened Window As A Door #1 of our read through. I suppose it indicates synthetic robot skin is more difficult to cut than human skin since he's so willing to jump through windows, but he's not really worried about his clothes either. So who knows.

Atom is highly capable in robotics. This is not new it's just the first we're seeing of it in the read through.

Also, Rag is really fruity about this. Strange two panels.

I know I add this kind of thing a lot but I love this detail. Looking forward to seeing it disregarded later <3 (Said with genuine love)

While simplified (because it's a kids manga), this is a pretty realistic and also like. realistically dark (? I don't know how else to describe it. It parallels how messed up they are in real life too with real tactics) portrayal of a hate group. The explicit "The fear this and the attacks put into you is with the intent of making you resign and return to subservience" is good for kids to see, I think.

Future technology. I do agree in the world of Astro Boy it's probably much more possible to have a realistic 3-dimensional display of something, which we haven't actually really acquired yet in the real world. That said, in this case, it can't be touched or interacted closely with (It's like a stage, you just can't step past the screen and into the scene), whereas something like Pluto shows holograms that can allow for closer investigation of detail. Looking forward to analyzing how other Astro Boy media approaches this type of technology.

Having to plan ahead and conserve energy for later things is notable since if two things happen one after the other he just runs out. He conserves energy even during combat if he thinks there will be More Combat After That.

Most days he probably hardly uses any though, assuming he doesn't fly to and from school.

Fucked. Jesus Christ. (no pun intended)

his beutiful eyes

.

Post to be continued in a reblog. Guess who hit 30 images. I'm so silly goofy like that.

[mycoolwritingcorner]

Ami The Pokémon Trainer

Written for Sailor Moon Platonic Week.

Day 1: Video Games.

----

“Good work today, Usagi.” Ami said, packing up her books after her one-on-one study session with Usagi, “Keep this up and you’ll pass your English test with flying colors.”

“Do you really mean it, Ami?” Usagi asked, with tears welling up in her eyes, to which Ami simply nodded in response, “Oh thank you thank you thank you!” Usagi said, wrapping her arms around Ami and pulling her into a hug, “Here, let me get your bag.”

With that, Usagi stood up and made her way to the other side of her bedroom where her blue-haired friend had set her bookbag. She picked up the bag and began to make her way back toward Ami, when she slipped on a loose piece of clothing which had been left out, “WHAA!” The blonde exclaimed as she slipped and fell onto the floor face-first, spilling the contents of the bag onto the floor.

“Usagi! Are you okay?” Ami asked as she rushed over to her friend to help her up.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Usagi said, sitting up and rubbing her head, “Sorry for-” She began to say, before observing the objects which had fallen out of Ami’s bag. Most of them were fairly standard, a pencil case, some books, a few loose homework assignments, but there was one object that caught Usagi’s eye: A Game Boy with what appeared to be a copy of Pokémon Blue inserted into it.

“What? What are- AHH!” Ami cried, quickly refilling her bag with its spilled contents, “Uh… I can explain.” The bluenette said, sheepishly.

“You like Pokémon?” Usagi asked, surprised at this revelation.

“What?! I mean, I… I don’t…” Ami sputtered, before letting out a large sigh, “Yeah…”

“I thought you didn’t like video games because they were too easy for you?” Usagi questioned as she moved closer and settled down closer on the floor to Ami.

“Most of them are! But this one is different because it isn’t just simple pattern recognition! You have to formulate a strategy with your battles, match the different types accordingly, there’s a random element involved with things like critical hits and also… well…” Ami said, looking away embarrassed, “... the little creatures are just really cute.”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME!?” Usagi exclaimed, grabbing Ami by the shoulders and shaking her, “We could’ve been playing together this whole time! I even have the Red version so we could’ve traded each other the exclusive Pokémon! I mean, Shingo has Blue, but he’s a jerk about it! I had to all but beg him to trade me a Vulpix!”

“Well… it’s because… I was embarrassed.” The blunette said, her cheeks tinted red.

“Huh? Why’s that?” Usagi asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“Because everyone sees me as the responsible one! Imagine what they would think if they found out I was indulging in something so childish. Oh, sorry, no offense.”

“None taken.” Usagi said, waving her hand nonchalantly, “But Ami, there’s nothing wrong with liking the things you like. No one’s gonna think you’re any less responsible just because you like a video game with cute little creatures. And if they do, I’ll punish them!” The blonde finished, doing a mock version of her famous pose.

Ami simply chuckled in response, “I guess you’re right.” She said, looking down at the floor.

“Good, now that that’s out of the way…” Usagi said before pulling her own Game Boy and link cable out of… somewhere, “I challenge you to a duel, Mizuno.”

Ami chuckled as she pulled her own Game Boy back out, “Alright, alright.”

“So, who’s your favorite Pokémon?” Usagi asked as they set up the duel, “Mine’s Eevee.”

“Oh, because of the different variety of evolutions it can undergo?”

“What? No, of course not! I would never evolve my Eevee! She’s perfect just the way she is!” Usagi exclaimed in a huff.

“I see…” Ami said, not wanting to tell her friend that that was a horrible strategy, “Mine’s Raichu.”

Usagi was somewhat surprised. She had assumed Ami’s favorite would be a water type, not an electric… type…

“Actually, yeah, that makes complete sense.” Usagi thought with a smirk, “Alright, let’s go! I’m gonna kick your butt!”

One Pokémon Battle Later…

“I can’t believe I didn’t beat a single one of your Pokémon!” Usagi cried.

“No offense Usagi, but your team wasn’t very well balanced. There were several redundancies. You know it’s probably not a good idea to have both a Ninetales and a Growlith, right? It makes your team doubly weak to water, rock, ground-”

“But they’re both so cute though! I mean, Ninetales was cuter as a Vulpix, but I love her just the same! I can’t abandon them!”

“Alright, alright, I understand.” Ami said with a smile, “Although, could you not tell the others about this? I know you said I shouldn’t be embarrassed, and you’re probably right, but-”

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. Although, I do have one condition.” 

“Oh? What’s that?”

“I want a Sandshrew!”

----

I swear I didn’t make Ami’s favorite Pokémon Raichu just because they’re my favorite Pokémon. That’s definitely a coincidence. I swear.

Anyway, that’s day one! Come back for Day 2: Comfort. Really happy with the story I cooked up for that one.

But until then, please let me know what you thought! Comments, reblogs, likes, etc. are much appreciated!

And until next time, take care everyone!

[onewomancitadel]

Good lord that was masterful lol. When you put it like that I can see why Jaune is necessary for her story. I never even imagined something like Jaune x Cinder could make so much sense. Jesus if you explain things THAT well then maybe I really should listen to your Knightfall Manifesto...

Aw, I almost didn't want to answer this because then it would leave my inbox lol. Thank you for such a lovely ask once again!

Posts referenced: 'Does Cinder have self-esteem?'

and follow-up 'How does Cinder heal?'

Yes, I think Jaune and Cinder's stories are interrelated and part of where I feel analysis of their character arcs drops the ball is not appreciating the other. It's where I feel people can't figure out what Jaune's going to do in the story or what's the symbolic point of his Semblance (or meaningful relation to Ruby or the greater story) and in Cinder's case if they theorise about her redemption is often 'just-so' - Character A (swappable with anyone) will simply help Cinder because that needs to happen, but we're not exactly sure why, and not sure why it couldn't have happened sooner (or people just think Cinder will die I guess. Jaune will kill her. Something something nonsense).

Suffice it to say, I find that analysis insufficient and in addition to that not really that respectful of how R/WBY does redemption arcs anyway. There coupled pairs (platonic, familial... romantic) that are involved with each other's redemption which then opens up the way for their connection to other characters. Blake-Ilia, Yang-Raven, Penny-Winter, Emerald-Mercury, Oscar-Hazel - characters who do not exactly exist in isolation, because once their stories open up, you have Ilia helping restore the White Fang, Raven going to Tai, Winter helping Marrow and her sister, Emerald being able to fully accept Hazel's help (and be released from perma-childhood) and even help Oscar... and Emerald-Mercury is a special case because his gift to her will be returned twicefold.

So, if am expecting a romantic pair out of Emerald-Mercury's shared redemption arcs (allies-to-enemies-to-lovers) - yeah that seems kind of inevitable to me lol, the romantic paralleling with Ren/Nora is too much, to the point their V8 heavily romantic-coded scenes mirror each other - then at that point I know it's not wrong to expect redemption paired with romance... special built-up redemptions... and all of these redemption arcs are setting up Cinder's, because Cinder's is a big deal. Emerald and Hazel's were already built up as a major revelation in V8 that turned the tide and saved the day.

The point I'm kind of trying to make here is that there is reason to speculate on the type of structure I suggested in my previous post; it's not arbitrary, there is some sense to it, and we also see that the intensity of redemption arcs in the story have been gradually built up to suggest we're working towards something. Raven's hasn't been fully delivered upon yet and I expect that to evolve in the following volumes (maybe even so with rescuing them from Ever After, both for Persephone, also known as Korē (which literally means... maiden), vegetation goddess/Queen of the Underworld allusion reasons and also her portals that visually mirror the Yellow Brick Road ones). Here what I think is interesting that the Maidens joining the side of Good mirrors the order that they join the Old Man in the story. We've had Winter first, spring is next, summer, autumn. Ilia has also been reintroduced into the story... but I'll save my Summer Maiden speculation for another time. Nevertheless, we do have a linked idea of redemption of the Maiden linked with redemption of the power - and so it feels organic to speculate on Cinder's.

I have a tag for Cinder's redemption you can peruse to your heart's desire for further speculation and there is also my Knightfall tag, but if you have any questions or wanted a more simplistic summary I can certainly try (and you ask great questions, so I hope my responses are just as interesting)! <3

I never even imagined something like Jaune x Cinder could make so much sense.

Hahahah I love this! I never assume that someone isn't interested in Knightfall because they don't know any better - we all have different tastes - and I think it's much better to simply lay my opinions on the table and let you decide. The reaction of 'omg it actually makes sense though?' is much more fun, I admittedly do get quite a kick out of it, and on some level it does make me feel a bit less delusional seeing as it's not a pairing you see many seriously argue for. Or at all. I try to maintain a little perspective.

To be quite frank, when I started putting the pieces together of Knightfall it was with some trepidation - I am often an enemies-to-lovers, love endures type of shipper, I'm no stranger to it, but that trepidation was because of that in part, since I assumed I was just seeing what I wanted to see. This was a while ago, and if I had encountered evidence that refuted it I probably would have packed up camp, because I am almost exclusively a canonshipper.

Jesus if you explain things THAT well then maybe I really should listen to your Knightfall Manifesto…

That is very kind of you to say, I'm glad that I have communicated myself well, that is my one goal. My Knightfall manifesto is not a manifesto as such; it's a masterpost grouping all the intertextual and canonical speculation together so I can reference it. My true Knightfall manifesto is a fanfic I'm writing called The Distance Which Fools the Skimming Eye, but you can generally consider my blog here one big manifesto for Knightfall. Lol.

I think I generally don't come at the angle of trying to convince other people to ship Knightfall either because so much of it is down to taste - and I like exploring taste, I like documenting what I'm interested in - but I wouldn't position it as the 'correct' thing to ship, because that kind of thing is really frustrating as a fan lol. What I would like to seriously do is discuss the structural necessities of redemption arcs and serious consideration of their characters... and justify why romance can be fun and heart-twisty and amazing and also convey serious plot/character/theme (though it doesn't need that to justify it - of course - but Romance romance is where it's at for me). It's kind of hard for it to not do that (even if the R/WBY romances aren't all it for everyone) considering Ozlem is at the heart of it. You can read my Reverse Ozlem tag where I discuss relationship parallels with Ozlem, chief of which I think Knightfall is one (lovers to enemies -> enemies to lovers, it's like poetry it rhymes).

I think what's great about Knightfall (and Cinder and Jaune by extension) is that the thematic heart of the show is wrapped up in it, and it makes everything very clear. Certainly, it's not the Jaune and Cinder show - I talk about other relationships, romantic or otherwise, for a reason - but in part I think what makes it special is this type of essential connection, which is transcendental on an epic scale. Compassion as a superpower. I am totally down for that. The ensemble cast kind of makes it more special for me, and I think what's successful is you have instances like Ironwood's fall that is calculatedly foiling Cinder's rise - that you have tragedy in this story that hopefully, in some way, foreshadows romantic and hopeful reprise.

In a lot of other stories I would be quite upset with the handling of Adam, Hazel and Ironwood, but what makes R/WBY successful is that you do have that sense of loss - that Adam wears a mask but an inverse of Cinder's, because his is concealing evil and pain that he uses to control Blake, but she (and Yang) nevertheless try to extend mercy. Hazel sacrifices himself - and this type of death-by-redemption I'd normally hate - but it fulfills the idea of parental sacrifice for Emerald which is in part the 'true' message of Vader's death. Vader was not too evil to live and be forgiven, he was an old man who died for his son and his son's inheritance (and because he was artificially kept alive through unnatural forces). Ironwood's story could be read as punitive - foolish to believe in change, foolish to believe in redemption and turning it back - but the execution is anything but. If anything it's a model of forcing you to pay attention to what substantial change is in the story - and Ironwood really embodies the anti-fairytale, narratively cynical mentality that yes - pervades part of the fanbase that thinks you can just nuke Salem and get it all over with. That Ironwood's fall, once again, is deliberately paralleled with Cinder's (whose story is steeped in the fairytale and the mythic and will deliver on it - literally steeped in disillusionment of the failed Huntsman, the evil step-mothers - Cinder's a wounded idealist) tells me about what sort of narrative logic that will be validated.

The elephant in the room I've delicately skirted around in this post (but I do discuss a lot) is that the typical objection to Knightfall is Cinder killed Pyrrha so Jaune can never love her. You can feel uncomfortable about it, sure, but it doesn't change the nature of their confrontation at Haven (Jaune isn't acting like an aggrieved boyfriend sad about his fridged girlfriend... Pyrrha's arc is SO much more complex than that, than aborted romance) and it doesn't change the fact that Pyrrha - and the Fall Beacon - was a way to tie Jaune's character to Cinder's. Not anyone else, Jaune, and not even Ren or Nora who were Pyrrha's teammates too. Why would they do that? Why would they put Jaune in a position of narrative empathy with Cinder for having killed Penny?

I'm not trying to diminish Jaune's connection to Pyrrha - if anything I think the mischaracterisation of Pyrrha (her destiny, what she wanted, what she fought for) and her eternal glorification (that she never wanted) is what bothers me, and so too does it bother me that Jaune's character isn't taken seriously on that front because he can never grow beyond that romance or the childish (literally), childhood one-sided crush on Weiss. I want a more satisfying answer, and based on the fact they have committed to exploring Ren/Nora in an interesting way, that they committed to Blake/Yang at all, that the story is grounded in Ozlem (tragic separation! Deep enmity!) is begging for me to look at it from a new perspective.

But that sense of loss is what makes a hopeful resolution so potent. If we were supposed to be taught that there are no happy endings, that fairytales are stupid and you're stupid for believing in magic, then the answer to Salem's story - that she's eternally cursed and punished - would have been it. That would have been our ending. But that is only the revealed thesis. So what should I be expecting to fix that?

The reason I emphasise the Reverse Ozlem angle with Knightfall - working back from that, looking at the broader conflict that pitted Ozma against Salem through the Brother of Light, Salem losing sight of who she truly is, Cursed - is because you don't just a simplistic reprisal of knight freeing Maiden from her tower and falling in love, it's more complicated and more reciprocal and it sees the relationship for all its flaws and fixes it. The key with Ozlem is that if you've got literal reincarnation you should be looking for metaphorical reincarnation and repetition in the story, and eventually - eventually - that should be broken.

We're in the cycle breaker! Curses are to be broken! Maidens freed and redeemed!

[diloph]

Diloph, since the only Avatar related thing you've reblogged is the Yautja killing the N'avi, I'm curious what your opinion on the blue elf movie and how it's becoming relevant again with a sequel.

Haven't seen the sequel at all, but I remember the first movie. I thought it was okay, considering that I was much younger and didn't put much though into stuff like themes or whatever.

Naturally, I thought the film looked nice enough, but I wasn't very convinced about the world. If the bad guys were the standard evil and ruthless Weyland-Yutani types, why did they just... you know, leave after being beaten in ground combat? They could have easily bombed the planet into rubble, or hell, avoided all conflict in the first place by digging under the Na'vi's trees to get to the Unobtainium (sigh).

What had them go down the middle as bad, but not so much as to cause problems for the script?

I understand that for the narrative to work, they needed to be arrogant and aggressive, yes, but they either didn't commit to it fully or took every opportunity to fight for no real reason. Just snapped their fingers and went "Aw, shucks, guess we're beat. But we'll get you next time, Avatars, just you wait!" then went home.

You could argue nuking the site from orbit is overkill and needlessly evil, yeah, because somebody somewhere presumably has some standards. But after negotiations failed and their next response was an all-out assault with missile-armed future gunships against foes they dismissed as uncivilized and primitive, why wouldn't that be their next move? It didn't make sense.

Still, I do remember having one very distinct opinion of the film at the time. One comment raised my ire back in the day, when James Cameron said that his new creature, the Thanator, was apparently capable of easily killing both the T. Rex from Jurassic Park and the Queen Xenomorph from Aliens.

It's then, very anticlimactically, quickly stabbed to death by the main bad guy company enforcer in a mech with a large-ish knife.

Now, that evidence alone makes me laugh said claim out of the room, but I'm of the opinion that you don't insult those two iconic horror monster ladies of film and expect shit like that to fly. Both beings were very capable of taking hits; a creature evolved to deal with ceratopsian horns far longer and sharper than the knife or a creature with above-monster intelligence and highly-pressurized acid for blood would have made far shorter work of Quartrich than the new monster, but it's a thing I'd like to highlight.

A very common and aggressive form of hyping up a creature used in a film, is to compare it to others previously established in canon or out, setting them up as a rival or superior... and that is something I absolutely despise when it comes to monsterdom.

Rather than have it have its own merits, or forge its own legacy, it stands on the shoulders of titans and claims it made the mountainous climb all by themselves. There are certainly some things I like that do that, versus concepts like AVP that I enjoy, but the fact is that most of those I like had the monsters build themselves up, then start making noise.

Going hand in hand with that is the distressing modern trend of marketing/writing in movies nowadays to have a new, tougher monster, kill the old one to establish how badass the new creature is. Then usually have it killed in a way the original one would have shrugged off or just "and then they shot it to death", which is so unimaginative it hurts.

Whiiiich leads me onto the Predator (as in the creature, not the bad film where that stupid thing happens).

Spaghettibastard's art of the Predator killing the Na'vi is, in my mind at least, an extension of that or one of the insulted franchises striking back at said comments. If Cameron's words were true and the Thanator could kill Xenomorphs (HA), then naturally, the Yautja would set up shop there and have a grand old time, their hunts decimating Pandora's landscape when the occasional hunter was downed and activated his self destruct device.

Even when they're being careful, they could easily devastate the planet because of its interconnected ecosystem, which again considering the snide comment against the Predator's favourite rivals who are akin to a living cancer and would topple such a system, bears keeping in mind. They're jerks and glory-hunting killers, but they have a system in place to ensure that they don't cause irreparable harm, contrasting them to the "sure, we're evil, let's mass kill sometimes but not all the time" villains of Avatar.

You could also look at the meta commentary of the images. I'll preface this, given that I'm not learned on the subject and a white European guy about to hit thirty, my words should definitely be taken with a (gratuitous) pinch of salt.

Cameron's Avatar films have been slammed for appropriating Indigenous American cultures and themes, including many themes and tropes that are considered patronizing to said cultures. I've not looked into this as much because I'm not a fan of the franchise, but as far as I'm aware, there's been moves to protest and boycott the films for these transgressions. Opinions of the people that apparently inspired the Na'vi and their world are very dim towards Pandora and they aren't afraid to make that known.

The recent Predator film, Prey, on the other hand, was praised for its ties to the Comanche actors that gave the film its characters and world, even releasing an Comanche dub. Despite the fact that the killer monster is murdering numerous members of Naru's tribe, the Comanche protagonist ultimately wins out against a vastly tougher and better armed foe by using her wits, the environment and everything at her disposal, as a sensible protagonist should.

Better, smarter people than I are more capable of addressing the themes and likely will, but my reasons for reblogging the pictures were the "settling the score" dynamic of monsters I mentioned, rather than any criticism of said themes or dislike of the franchise, which I have little to no investment in.

Will I see the new film? Probably not, unless it's on TV one day or I get the notion to investigate it. I saw a giant reptopanther being stabbed to death by a middle-aged army guy in a mech suit after the director claimed it could get past two of modern horror's most infamous set of fangs and claws without issue. I think I've seen all I needed to.

[sepublic]

I dunno if there’s a name for this type of genre/setting, but. I’m really digging how S3 seems to be going for that type of story, often coming-of-age, involving a ragtag group of tweens investigating their suburban neighborhood, performing historical research and unraveling a mystery, in response to supernatural happenings. There’s a monster lurking out there, and they have not much beyond your typical, everyday household objects to defend themselves; And of course, the beloved flashlight!

Obviously three of our protagonists DO have actual magic, but I have to wonder if prolonged separation from the Demon Realm will cause a witch’s magic bile to run out... Thus forcing the kids into a time limit and making them struggle even further against the odds, esp since even their original strength wasn’t enough to defeat Belos’ monster form. This might be why Amity has her Palisman; Willow and Gus have more innate talent and thus ‘bile’ to run off of, but Amity isn’t as gifted and so runs out a lot more quickly, and has to rely on her staff as a backup.

Which, I guess is not unlike Belos, perhaps; I can definitely see him focusing on the kids’ palismen, as he deals with his own dwindling time and energy... Anyhow, I dig this type of horror story where the kids are forced to confront the hidden sins of their town’s past, as a literal ghost comes back from the dead to haunt them.

It’s a mystery and of course you have the occasional kind adult or parent struggling to make things right; Struggling against the danger that threatens the idyllic life kids are meant to have, because these types of stories I imagine are meant to shatter the illusion of a perfect suburban neighborhood, show there’s shadows lying beneath the picturesque surface and nostalgia. A critique of that nuclear family image, because of the skeletons in the closet... Typically the ones who don’t fit in, the outcasts from whom the protagonists are, and find acceptance in fighting the idyllic facade. They too relate to being unacceptable and hidden away, hence their connection to the hidden darkness they unravel. I guess that’s what’s at root behind the fundamental appeal of these stories, what makes them resonate with audiences so much, that and the rad aesthetic of course.

It’s all really a metaphor in a way for a protagonist’s struggle with their parents and their need to be accepted, even as the parent adjusts to a shaken-up status quo they’re totally unprepared for and how they can somehow maintain their duties as an adult amidst all this, accepting that this status quo isn’t so perfect after all. Like Paranorman, Stranger Things, Deltarune. I don’t know WHAT the name is for these type of stories is, but I’m delighted to see The Owl House naturally develop our protagonists’ circumstances into this kind of familiar, recognizable story. The perfect neighborhood isn’t so perfect actually, it’s all a social critique by the end of the day.

And of course, the beta AU aspects are noticeable, especially the baseball bat that is a common trope of these kinds of stories; Which just gets back to what Dana said about her original intentions for the show to be darker, even as it literally becomes so! She DID clarify that Luz and the kids were made younger and more cheerful, precisely as her own creative choice; To paraphrase, if everybody is edgy then nobody is edgy, the brightness of someone like Luz was chosen by Dana herself, not Disney, as a way to contrast with the surroundings.

BUT... That’s how it starts for the story! But as things develop and Luz’s character grows and is hurt, experiences the loss of innocence in coming of age stories... Yeah, I can see the vibes of the Beta AU always having been the intention for the crew, they just opted to have the cast evolve into that, instead of starting off that way! Which of course, creates the nice contrast between then and now that makes the darkness of recent events all the more apparent. I dig it.

It truly feels like such a natural and perfect way to portray Luz’s arc to evolve in her return to the human world, confronting what she’s learned of it since then, and coming to terms with how she doesn’t fit the mold that Gravesfield wants, recognizing its cruelty towards those outcasts, and unveiling the truth. All while finding her acceptance from her mother and peers... Because that’s what it’s really about at the heart of the story, what it’s a metaphor for. It’s the ideal and classic genre to explore and settle her issues back home, in a home that isn’t as normal as some might claim it is away from the Demon Realm.

This could easily be its own isolated, more mundane AU and I love the range this show offers; I’m almost surprised the show didn’t go for this setting earlier, but that’s only because there’s a time and place for it and the time is now after carefully building up to it. Luz is truly disillusioned with the human world after living in a different place and seeing how it easily could and should be better, which just allows her to really make a stand against it this time. Now she knows another life is viable and isn’t interested in returning back to this one. This could be the end of her hero’s journey with how Luz has come back changed; But unlike the classic version, the beginning is not her end.

[learnyouabiology]

Do oilbirds have that bullshit metabolism/immune system thing bats have going on?

(here’s my oilbird post, for reference)

The short answer: Kind of, but not really?

The medium-length answer: Bats have a bullshit weird immune system compared to other mammals. Oilbirds, on the other hand, have a perfectly ordinary bird immune system! That said, birds and bats do have some similarities when it comes to immune system processes.

The excessively long answer that honestly got a bit away from me in length because i think the bat immune system is delightful:

OK, so, glossing over a LOT of details, this is basically what makes bats weird compared to other mammals:

Powered flight requires a LOT of energy, which the mitochondria the powerhouse of the cell produces by working very hard.

As a byproduct of this energy production, a LOT of volatile molecules called “reactive oxygen species” are generated. Just, an excessive amount. These molecules cause oxidative stress, including (most notably for this post) a bunch of DNA damage. In most mammals, this would cause a whole lot of cancer and also trigger an extreme inflammation response, which is rough if you're an organism that hopes to not die.

Bats, however, avoid dying in this way through a few processes:

they are REALLY good at repairing DNA damage (which means they rarely get cancer)

they suppress their inflammatory response (which means they don’t get a lot of the typical “sick” symptoms, like fever, cough, runny nose, etc., but also means they can't use inflammation as effectively to fight viral invaders).

To make up for their lack of inflammation, they have crazy "interferon production systems" that they can use to fight viruses within their cells. All mammals have these systems, but unlike other mammals, bats have systems that are HYPER VIGILANT/ super quick to react to a viral infection, to the extent that some parts are left on 24/7, just in case they’re needed (which is a LOT but if it works, it works, I guess).

there's more but it's complicated and i would need a team of like 5 other scientists to help me out before I could be confident in explaining it

So, compared to other mammals, bats are weird.

But, wait, birds also fly, and they also use a lot of energy via mitochondria. So, do birds run into the same oxidative stress problems as bats?

The sure probably do! (source)

BUT FIRST I want to highlight that bat immune systems are way more similar to the immune systems of other mammals than to the immune systems of birds. Bats and other mammals have the same type of lymphatic system, the same types of white blood cells, the same types of immunoglobins, etc (source, see table 1). Despite being weird, bats are still mammals. 

That said, both birds and bats have a few general traits of their immune system (which I will be calling “quirks” as a way to keep them as generalised as possible) that they both arrived at convergently (honestly this should be the theme of my blog) possibly because they both use powered flight. Evolution sometimes solves the same problems in similar ways!

For example, birds are also good at repairing damaged DNA/ preventing oxidative stress to counteract their crazy metabolisms, have a somewhat dampened inflammation responses, and have innate immunity that is activated WAY more quickly after a viral infection occurs, compared to non-bat mammals (here’s some sources, because yeah, this is a bit of an oversimplification).

(cutie...)

So, why do people say that bat immune systems are “bullshit” while bird immune systems are just normal? 

Well, generally, things aren't “weird” when everyone does it (for an example, see: big hair and shoulder pads in the 80s). Bat immune systems are strange because they’re the exception to how the immune systems of most mammals work, and are therefore noteworthy, especially because these quirks seems to have arisen as a consequence of evolving powered flight. Meanwhile, most birds have immune systems that look fairly similar (possibly in part because most birds fly). Everyone’s doing it, ergo, it is not odd!

The second reason bat immune systems make a lot of people feel strong emotions is because bats are way more likely to spread diseases to humans than birds are. Like, waaaaay more likely. This is partially a consequence of bats’ strange immune systems, but it’s mostly because bats and humans are both mammals which, as previously mentioned, have fairly similar immune systems. This makes it easier for viruses to jump between species. 

(HOWEVER bats also do things like pollinate flowers and eat a LOT of mosquitoes & other pests and also, humans studying their weird immune systems could lead to better treatments for cancer & autoimmune diseases & more, so I don’t want to see ANY bat hate! I love them!)

So, to return to your question: do oilbirds, specifically, have a bat-like immune system? I would argue that no, they do not. Instead, bats have a slightly bird-like immune system!

(disclaimer: this is a HUGE over-simplification, and there’s WAY more, but listen, people can (and do) teach entire university courses on this stuff and I am not getting paid any money for this, so, if you’re interested, pls read some of these papers, and I’m happy to answer questions, too. Or, you can watch SciShow’s episode on bat immune systems. It is higher quality than anything I could ever hope to make 😂)

This has been Fun Fact Friday: Ask Edition! 

Feel free to send me other cool questions about biology, and maybe I’ll feature your question on a future Fun Fact Friday! Regardless, I’ll do my best to answer any queries you may have, even if my answer ends up being “I do not know”!

[dogtoling]

What is a Special Weapon? (a speculation)

So let's get straight into the post. (LONG post under the cut)

A Special Weapon is: - the weapon itself: a powerful ink battling weapon manufactured and regulated specifically for this purpose (Bubble Blower, Sting Ray, Inkstrike, Inkzooka etc.) OR - a specialized attack or response treated as a special weapon (Kraken, Splashdown, Booyah Bomb etc.) - Supposedly uses the Inkling's own ink - debatable, but highly likely based on evidence

Before we can get deeper into the special weapon lore, we must look into what comes BEFORE a special weapon. That's the special gauge.

There are multiple ways to fill up a special gauge: - Inking turf - Having control over an objective in Ranked Battle - Being in an underdog situation in a match (Tenacity) - Equipping a Canned Special What happens when the special is then activated? The meter slowly depletes, and once it is fully drained, the special ends. In practice, what IS the special meter? Now, when looking at the meter objectively, it looks as if it's filled with ink. That alongside its function in powering Special Weapons, as well as draining like an actual Ink Tank, can give the impression that it is LITERALLY a secondary ink reserve the player is filling up. This is in order to then use all of that ink as ammo for the special. And this actually makes a lot of sense. well now it's time to open a whole new can of worms (or weapons i guess)

CANNED SPECIALS Canned specials are literally, well, canned specials that make an appearance in Splatoon's single player modes as well as the Battle Dojo from the first game.

(From the splash screen of the first game, we can see that they are approximately the size of an actual tuna can.) Upon obtaining a canned special, your special gauge immediately fills up and you gain the ability to use said special weapon, which heavily suggests that the special weapon itself is stored inside.... the tiny can. You know, stuff like a force field, or a 7ft ink cannon. Or a pressure washer that includes more ink than the volume of an Inkling. Yeah. Right. So this implies insane hammerspace technology if it IS to be taken at face value - although i find it odd that there's not a single official art or tidbit of lore that acknowledges that inklings in fact obtain their specials from tiny hammerspace tins. (Even sub weapons and their inner workings make a tiny appearance in official art. Specials are never elaborated on too much, unfortunately...)

As an alternative, there is the concept of the cans holding a specific amount of condensed ink enough to power any of the included specials that you could then pop inside the weapon. That is not at all how it's implied to work, but it's a cool alternate explanation that makes slightly more sense - and if we take some liberties and assume that the cans are a LIIITTLE bit bigger, we could even argue that the cans could be THE special gauge itself. Looking at the special gauge, it IS designed to be round, just like a tin. I don't recall what it was modeled after if anything, or if it's just a coincidence, but food for thought.

Oh yeah also here's a picture of a NORMAL main weapon can that you can get at Kamabo Co. They have one for like every weapon type as well as some bombs which implies that weapons are oftentimes stored inside cans (although these might be bigger cans). Either way, the ink tank idea might be down the drain considering the implications of this one.

Anyway, moving on. Hi guys! I brought you guys all the way through that wall of text... just to dunk on that literal ink tank theory and dump it in the trash because there is another theory that makes more sense on like every scale possible. I'm so sorry. (But I also really like the idea of the special gauge being a literal ink tank that you fill up, so I had to include it, because it's not like it doesn't hold a lot of ground.) I'll get straight to the point. The other theory is that the special gauge is only a hypothetical concept created for the sake of gameplay and balancing, and in reality, it is simply the buildup to what I'll refer to as the "special rush" state of an Inkling. It has no physical value, varies between Inklings, and has no ties to actual points at all. Observe these bits from the art books 1 and 2:

1. Some Inkzooka trivia. Although the entry refers to SPECIFICALLY this weapon, it is very likely that the same is true for all special weapons - or at least the ones that primarily use ink (so not necessarily things such as the Bubbler and Echolocator).

(Ignore the random lines. Those are my notes lol) This Baller entry tells us a LOT and i mean a LOT of what we needed to know. First of all, the Inklings' ink output breaks the laws of physics there is no way a single inkling has enough ink inside it to even fill THAT ball at least 4 times the volume of its body NOT TO MENTION producing enough ink to fill one SEVEN TIMES THAT SIZE anyway the important part is the one where it confirms that Inklings produce an abnormal amount of ink while they are using a special weapon. Because the Baller was specifically developed for the purpose of containing all the excess ink, there is a big implication that the ink is originating from the user itself, specifically in the moment of using a Special. Then why is this? Well now we get to the concept of the "special rush" that I mentioned before. It refers to this state that we see Inklings enter when their special gauge fills up:

Their tentacles will glow, bubble up as if boiling, and they will look as if caught in an epic dramatic action movie wind at all times. This is when they're able to use their Special.

I think it's safe to say that this is "a heightened emotional state". As opposed to for example the Kraken which could be a repurposed panic response (if you haven't seen my post about that, that exists too) the special rush is likely a similar all-out response, although caused by getting really in the zone of battle. So to put it simply, a POSITIVE chemical response, in which the Inkling's body starts pumping more ink through channeling one's fighting spirit and yadda yadda yadda.

To put it shortly here; this "rush" likely evolved as a response to intense territory disputes or even hunting. More ink means more defense AND more offensive power. In Turf Wars, reaching this rush means that Inklings can - and probably have to - channel this excess ink elsewhere, which in this case is into special weapons that quickly gobble up all of the excess ink (with part of it going in the ink tank).

A lot of the weapons second this excess ink theory by including a heightened coating of ink across the user's whole body (Ink Armor, Booyah Bomb, Splashdown) or even rounding up the excess ink that's built up into an offensive endeavor (Splashdown, Booyah Bomb, other specials utilize it as ammo). Once all the ink is used up, the Inkling's emotional state stabilizes and the cycle soon starts over again until they hit the high mark again. (For a second ignoring the fact that it is physically impossible for them to produce this much ink. I guess I'm not ignoring it since I'm drawing attention to it here but it bothers me so much. My work is never done lol) So I guess this theory makes sense, but why is it inherently BETTER than the "special gauge is an ink reserve" one? Let's see the arguments for the ink tank version: 1. The Special Gauge is literally filled up with ink as the game is played. This is potentially something that happens as the weapon is shot, and some of the ink is channeled into the special gauge instead.

> It doesn't make much sense for this to be the case. The ink is being SHOT OUT, not stored; at least not stored anywhere visible and although you really have to have room for imagination when trying to draw logic for this game, i would really assume the developers would include a physical indicator of the gauge if it was meant to be literal.

2. There is potential for the Canned Specials to BE the gauge itself, as something that attaches or "fuels" the special. The gauge could be designed the way it is to reflect this.

> The canned specials are a weirdly inconsistent thing in the world of Splatoon, appearing ONLY as insta-fills in single player campaigns and the Splatoon 1 battle dojo. True, there are some on the player's desk in the splash screen of the first game, but we also don't know if those are for Turf War, or the dojo, or from Hero Mode. There's not even any for sale at Ammo Knights, whereas entire special weapons outside of cans very much are. Even if the special gauge isn't a can, it also doesn't mean that a can as an ink tank can't essentially serve the same purpose of providing the ink needed for a special. 3. The gauge fills up with a very distinct ink graphic, so it could literally mean it's ink!

> This one is true! But taking into consideration one thing; as a hypothetical gauge, the connection with ink is STILL there, as by the time the gauge is finished, the Inkling is basically overflowing with excess Ink. So rather than an external tank being filled with ink, the player itself is. 4. The gauge fills, then it's full, and it slowly depletes as a special is used. Basically the perfect flow; and a perfect reasoning for where all the ink comes from, and WHY you need to fill up the gauge to be able to use a special.

> This same reasoning still makes complete sense for the hypothetical gauge. The graphic goes up to indicate how close the Inkling is getting to the rush state, clearly shows when they are IN the rush state, and then the state slowly wears off as the ink is used. Where the ink comes from is directly explained in canon at this point; an Inkling in its special weapon state emits a crazy amount of ink - according to what the art book shows, more than like 10 times the volume of the inkling itself. Which makes zero sense whatsoever but, well, it does explain where the ink comes from. 5. The special meter being hypothetical wouldn't be good because it wouldn't be consistent at all. Some people surely get way more pumped WAY faster and use way more specials than others! No balance!

> The special meters aren't consistent to begin with, even in the game. People who stack Special Charge Up will sometimes use a special upwards of five times per 3-minute-game. People who get splatted a lot may literally never get to use a special once. Just like people's personalities in real life, the rates at which different Inklings would "charge up" can vary by a mile. And furthermore...

We see examples of the "special rush" outside of the gameplay!

Pearl, in the ending of Octo Expansion, enters a special rush mode seemingly out of nowhere (though you could also maybe say she might have used a canned special) after getting pumped to literally save the world. So does Agent 3; DOZENS OF TIMES, in both iterations of battles against them. They use a bunch of special weapons completely out of left field, take way more hits than the player and continuously use Splashdowns. This is because they're continuously triggering their Rush in the midst of intense combat, and especially under mind control, during which most of what they probably have is survival instinct, which means drastically raised ink production upping both offensive and defensive capabilities. But wait, there's actually even more that supports the theory of the special gauge referring to a buildup to a rush state: - Tenacity as an ability. This ability makes it so that your special gauge will automatically fill itself up if your team has fewer players on the field than the enemy team. This ability makes very little sense in the situation that the special gauge is literally an ink tank, as you're not actually shooting ink at all for it to fill up. However, as an emotional thing, a player that is also an underdog is SURE to be really giving their all in the competition and thus building up their rush faster. - Your special gauge supposedly fills up passively while your team has control of the objective in Ranked (I literally didn't know this because I barely play ranked ever). Again, this has nothing to do with actual inking. But what it DOES have to do with is potentially winning the game, and that totally gets you pumped. - Again, the inconsistencies in a special gauge. If it was an ink tank, you would assume the amount of ink needed for each special weapon was a very specific amount. Instead, players fill their special gauge at different rates, and getting splatted cuts down the gauge... again, depending on your abilities. Losing ink from a pre-filled ink tank that is being specifically saved up for a weapon doesn't really make sense as one gets splatted, but getting demoralized and frustrated when getting splatted makes a whole lot of sense, which would also set you back in reaching your special rush.

In conclusion: The Special Gauge is a hypothetical meter that exists for gameplay purposes; in practice, it only conveys how close or far a player is to their "special rush" state, in which their senses and emotions are heightened and their ink production is greatly increased due to a surge in fighting spirit.

1. When a battle starts, no one has their rush going on because everyone is only just warming up. Different people with different objectives and personalities may get their rush very quickly, very slowly, very frequently or only once. You get the picture.

2. As players find themselves doing intense physical activities, participating in tense combat and so on, they build up towards their rush state (likely building up endorphins, dopamine and adrenaline or the like), which increases the body's ink production. It is likely that contact with ink also naturally increases one's ink production.

3. When players hit this rush state and the "special meter" is filled, they can channel all the excess ink into a special weapon. Once the ink is used up, the rush subsides into a less intense emotional state, until the cycle may start again soon after.

Well, there's my thoughts on specials and mostly the special gauge and what it means. Thanks for reading yet another one of these essays.

[haos-the-tea]

Title: Better Than You Pairing: Mingyu x Fem!Reader x Wonwoo Rating: 18+ Warnings: Language, angst, low self image, sub boy, oral (male and female receiving), Face riding, Sexual praise, Degradation, Choking (male receiving), Over stimulation (male receiving), Voyeurism, Pegging, Edging, Light bondage. WC: 9.3K+

A/N: so this started out as just a means to write hate smut for Mingyu and then evolved into this. IDK how that happened. I also didn’t bother to edit this, so enjoy this first draft nonsense lol.

You didn’t hate your job. You really didn’t. Or, at least that was what you kept telling yourself so that you could get through this hell of a shift. Saturdays were always the absolute worst, the restaurant was crowded and it was always so loud, and orders came out almost as soon as you picked up the previous ones. It was hectic, but it was even worse when you were understaffed. 

“Thank you so much, that order will be out in just a few minutes.” You said, fake smile plastered onto your face as you bid farewell to a table that wasn’t a part of your section. Stalking through the restaurant your smile dropping as you did so, you found the cause of your troubles standing in the kitchen, chatting it up with one of the chefs while the chef worked.

“Kim Mingyu!” You exclaimed, using the noise of the kitchen to cover your shout. He turned to face you and you could see his eyes rolling when he realized just who was calling him.

It was an unspoken fact that you and Mingyu...did not get along. You boss generally made sure to try and schedule the two of you on different days, but that was getting harder and harder

when people kept asking for days off. Which is...fine, you just really hate working with Mingyu. Judging by the look on his face, the feeling was mutual.

“Dude, I just had to take A5’s order because they’d been in your section for twenty minutes and all you’d done was get them drinks! What the hell, man!” You complained, glaring up at the abnormally tall server. He simply rolled his eyes, glancing back over at the chef and bidding him farewell before brushing past you and making sure that he bumped your shoulder as he did.

“Lay off it, you’re not even a manager yet you’re so high strung. Just chill out, it’s not like they’re going to die if I don’t get them soon.” His response was typical, and honestly you were starting to wonder how he still had a job with how much he slacked off.

Turning on your heel you followed him as he made his way into the empty breakroom in an attempt to get away from your lecture.

“I’d be ‘chill’ if I didn’t always have to cover both my section and your section when we worked together. Why can’t you just do your fucking job?” You complained, eyes boring holes into the back of his head as he pulled his phone out of his locker. Mindlessly scrolling it for a moment, before he turned to look back at you with a shit eating grin on his face.

“Order up!” Could be heard in the distance, over the sound of your pounding heart.

“Well, I guess you better go grab that if you’re working both of our jobs.” Before turning back to his phone and laughing at something on the handheld device.

God you hope that you could keep from throttling the man, because you knew for a fact that you didn’t have bail money.

The night continued with Mingyu doing a minimal amount of his tasks, the only thing you were grateful for was that he at least wrapped his own silverware. You probably would have stabbed him with one of the unwrapped forks if he hadn’t. With a farewell to the rest of the staff and a harsh glare sent in Mingyu’s direction, you were finally able to leave around 12am.

During the drive home, all of the adrenaline from the shift seemed to fade away and leave you as an exhausted husk of a person. Your eyes threatened to drift shut even as you drove, forcing you to roll down your windows to scream sing out whatever song was playing from your phone in an attempt to keep awake. You just wanted this day to be over so you could enjoy your day off tomorrow and catch up on your school work, and so you didn’t have to see Kim Mingyu’s infuriating face.

He probably got away with so much shit just because he was tall and handsome, beautiful features seemed to get so many doors opened for people. Meanwhile, average people like yourself seemed to be overlooked and ignored, having to work twice as hard for something handed to those types of people on silver platters. It was probably the only reason Mingyu still had a job, considering your boss fancied him. It was pathetic how much she fawned over him, and he seemed to just soak up all the praise and attention. Your grip on the steering wheel tightened, knuckles going white as you thought about the situation.

The tension sat with you until you unlocked the door to your apartment and smelt the wonderful aroma that told you that your roommate had waited up for you. Slipping your shoes off and placing your keys on their hanger, you made your way into the small kitchen.

“Nunu!” You exclaimed as your eyes landed on the male. His thick brown hair was sticking up in all different directions, which told you he had gotten a good nap in before you came home but that he had woken up to make dinner. He pushed up his thick rimmed glasses as he glanced over at you, a small tired smile on his face.

“Welcome home.” he muttered before returning his gaze back to the food he had just plated, picking them up and dropping them off at the table before looking back over at you. “Go change and come eat.”

You gave him a mock salute before doing as instructed. Swapping your work pants and polo shirt for some sleep shorts and a tank top, it had a tendency to get rather hot in your apartment at night even if you had the AC on. When you returned to the kitchen, Wonwoo seemed a bit more awake than before and was scrolling through some website on his phone as he ate. You quickly joined, scarfing down your food.

“How was work?”

With that single question, your expression dropped mid bite. All the irritation flooding back into your system causing you to aggressively stab the next bit of food that you were wanting to eat before beginning your rant.

“So you know that dick bag at work?”

“The really tall hot one?”

“Yeah, that jackass.” You went into extreme detail about the night, fury filling your voice as you spoke.

“Can you believe him!?” You exclaimed, shoveling the last bit off your dinner into your mouth as you heard Wonwoo sigh. He always told you that you needed to quit if this guy was as bad as you said he was and none of the higher ups would do anything about it.

“Sorry Nunu, Didn’t mean to yell...Fuck, how was your day dude?” You stood, taking your plate over to the sink and setting it down. You’d get to those tomorrow, you were too tired to do them tonight.

“Eh, not much different than normal.” He muttered, joining you at the sink. There was a brief pause before he turned to you. “My...my boyfriend is going to come visit tomorrow. He said he wants to meet you, and I mean you’re my best friend so…”

“Oh! Really? Ah, I’ll make dinner tomorrow night then so that you guys can hang out beforehand!” Wonwoo seemed to be appreciative of it as he wrapped his arms around your waist to pull you into a tight hug. The affection caused your heart to soar, wrapping your arms around his neck as he rested his head on your shoulder “I’ll even clean up around the apartment while you’re at work.”

You felt your breath hitch in your throat as his hands lowered to firmly grip your ass. So that was how tonight was going to be. You knew that he had told his (currently unnamed) boyfriend about your little...sexcapades, and apparently the guy didn’t mind. It wasn’t like you and Wonwoo had legit feelings for each other...or at least, Wonwoo didn’t have feelings for you. Your feelings were still up in the air, but you would never tell him that.

“You sure your man is still okay with us doing...this?” You questioned, one hand slipped into his soft brown tresses as you whispered into his ear. Gently nibbling on the lobe of his ear. His response was simply to hike one of your legs up around his waist, bucking his hips forward into your heat. The action caused a soft moan to slip out of your lips, after the stress of today you wouldn’t mind having a round of fun. But Wonwoo seemed to need a reminder of the rules.

“Nunu, baby. I need you to use your words.” You instructed, gently stroking his hair as he gave your thigh a firm squeeze. When the two of you first hooked up like this, you would have never expected any kind of submissive side to him and yet looks could be deceiving. He let out a soft groan at the pet name before listening to your instructions.

“He...he thinks it’s fine.” He muttered into the shell of your neck, nipping lightly as he spoke. “It’s why he wants to meet you.” If you were being honest, you were a little more than surprised at that. You figured that your roommates boyfriend would be less than excited to meet someone who has been fucking their significat other with no strings attached for...multiple years.

“Oh he does? Is he just as dirty as you?” As you spoke, your free hand slid down to his pants to the prominent bulge that was hidden underneath the thin grey sweatpants. You would probably never get over just how large Wonwoo was, it was almost ridiculous. “Does he like that you get fucked by me? Or do you tell him that you’re in charge?”

Your grip had Wonwoo groaning before biting into the flesh of your neck, causing you to let out a loud moan at the sensation. As he let go, you pulled yourself away letting both of your feet return to the floor before turning the tables. You pushed Wonwoo back against the counter top, cornering him. One of your legs rested between his own, and you lifted that leg to press against the growing problem in his pants.

“Answer me Wonwoo.”

“No, he knows you’re in charge.” He told, squirming to try and get a bit more friction to his aching cock. You always liked making him needy, it was such a stark contrast to his normal day to day attitude. So seeing him like this was intoxicating for you.

Since he answered you so honestly, you decided to give him a bit more. Slowly, you pushed his sweatpants down his legs, your fingers gently clawing at the skin of his thighs as you did so. Once those were out of the way, you were pleasantly surprised to find that he had decided to forgo his usual boxers this evening. Leaving his thick cock on display for you.

“Oh, Nunu were you planning this?” You knelt down on the kitchen floor, leaning forward to give a small teasing kiss to the tip of his massive dick. “Did you make dinner for me, just so I’d fuck you against the countertops, while we talk about your boyfriend?”

You couldn’t stop yourself from taking the tip in your mouth, gently sucking on the tender skin as your tongue lapped up the drips of pre-cum from him. Your eyes never leaving his face as you worked, watching as he threw his head back and groaned. His hands gripped the counter’s edge so harshly his knuckles seemed to be turning white.

“Y-yeah,” he breathed out, the sound of it all so sickeningly seductive. “I did. I wanted...fuck I wanted it so bad.” he groaned out, bucking his hips up in an attempt to get you to take more of him. You gripped his hip firmly, pushing them back against the counter and successfully thwarting his attempts. The confession had you clenching around nothing as you pulled away from his dick with a loud pop.

“Oh Nunu, baby Nunu. You know all you have to do is ask. I’m always willing to make time for my good little boy.” Only he wasn’t yours, he had a boyfriend. You were just someone he got fucked by on the side, or well...who fucked him on the side. Despite the melancholy that thought brought to you, you kept up your role and gave a teasing lick to his length. “Does he ever take control, or is my poor little Nunu always domming when he just wants to be dicked down?”

The question along with the actions from your tongue had the male letting out small whimpers, his eyes squeezed shut as you took him into your mouth once more. Once again his hips thrashed forward, only being stopped by your hands as you grip him tightly.

You had been told previously all about Wonwoo’s sexual relations with his boyfriend, another thing that this mysterious man seemed to have no issue with. Once Wonwoo even confessed this boyfriend of his found it ‘hot’ that Wonwoo would tell you, which made you question just who your best friend was dating and how open this relationship would continue being.

“He doesn’t. Fuck fuck, i want it. Just like yo-you...just like you give it to me.” One thing you loved about Wonwoo was that his  moans were never loud, but beathy and that was an entirely different type of sexy. As a reward for his honesty you continued your mistrations on his firm length, taking him further into your mouth and pumping what couldn’t fit with your hand.

“No, no fuck. I’ll..cum, I want inside.” His words slurred together and barely made sense as he spoke but you knew exactly what he wanted. So you pulled yourself off of his delicious dick, and despite that being what he asked for he still let out a soft yet insanely deep whine. Missing the contact despite knowing exactly what he wanted.

You quickly slipped your sleep shorts from your frame, letting them drop to the floor. Wonwoo’s eyes watched you hungrily, waiting for you to follow through with his request only for you to flash a devilish grin at him.

“Catch.” Was all the warning he got, but the two of you had played this game before and he knew exactly what to do. Your feet were soon off the ground and wrapped around his waist, the tip of his cock prodding your entrance as he held you up. With practiced ease he turned and let your ass rest on the cold clean countertops, causing your frame to shiver at the temperature difference.

You trust your hips forward, rubbing his length against your folds and letting out a groan as you did so. He curled into you, waiting for permission. Soft pleading words slipped from his lips as he begged to be let in. Being just as needy, you decided to give in.

“Nunu, I want you to fuck me good okay?” Your voice was light and playful as your nails sunk into the skin of his back, prompting another low breathy groan from the male. “I want your boyfriend to be able to tell how good you fucke me, can you do that for me, baby boy?” He nodded against your shoulder as you gave him the final go ahead.

It was almost painful how slowly he entered you, filling you up completely while taking the most grueling pace ever. You knew what this was, his own little way of teasing you back. Sure Wonwoo enjoyed subbing and he was a very obedient sub but he was still a switch and things like this were how he made sure you knew that despite the position he took in your ‘relationship’.

“Fuck shit.” You groaned, throwing your head back and clenching around him as he bottomed out inside you. Despite how many time the two of you had sex, it always felt like the first time. You always felt impossibly full, and add him moaning in your ear into the mix and you swore you could come undone just from that. He started at an agonizingly slow pace, making sure to pull himself almost completely out of your before slamming back in. The feeling rocking you to your very core, gripping his shoulders tightly.

“God Nunu, you feel so fucking good.” You moaned out, “You fill me up so well baby, it’s like your dick was made for me.” Hearing your words seemed to spur him into a faster pace. His hands gripping your hips tightly as he slammed into you, there would surely be bruises there come tomorrow. You were once again finding another reason to be grateful that you were off work tomorrow.

“Fuck, your so tight.” He groaned, the husky low tones doing wonders to you. “Won’t last.” Was all he could bring out as his thrust grew more messy, less coordinated as he struggled to reach his high. One of his hands left your hips and found its way to your clit, gently massaging the small bundle of nerves as he continued his deep thrusts. It seemed like that was all you needed to be thrown off the edge

“Ah, fuck fuck, cum for me Wonwoo.”

And cum he did. You felt so full with just him, not bothering to worry about any kind of protection since you were on the pill. Your heart pounding a mile a minute as you leaned forward, resting your head on his shoulders. Three little words lingers on your lips, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say them. They weren’t your words to say...he wasn’t yours and he never would be.

***

Needless to say you were walking with a small limp the next day as you cleaned up around the house. Making sure to sanitize the kitchen countertops after your little...encounter there last night. Loud music blared through the apartment, you singing loudly along to the shitty songs about unrequited love. It was pathetic but at least it was a way to get the emotions out.

You had a few more hours before Wonwoo would be off work, and he boyfriend probably wouldn’t come over until after that so you weren’t all too concerned with your appearance at the moment, you’d probably wear something presentable and chit chat with the two for a bit before escaping to Joshua’s house. He knew about your stupid feelings and was willing to let you make an escape whenever you needed, he was a damn good friend.

To your surprise, a knock sounded through the apartment causing you to jump in shock. Grabbing your phone, you paused your music before returning the item to the kitchen table where it had been sitting. Grabbing the metal bat from beside the door, the two of you kept it there just in case of an intruder) you gripped the handle of the item before slowly pulling the door open. The sight that greeted you caused a rage to pool inside of your gut.

“Kim Mingyu, what the fuck are you doing at my apartment?” You seethed, glaring up at the male. A part of you was debating on just slamming the door back into his face, that would be pretty damn satisfying. Despite your irritation, he looked just as surprised as you felt.

“I’m here to visit my boyfriend and his roommate. But if you’re here, I must have the wrong place.” His words seemed to push everything into place and you were going to be sick. With how much Wonwoo had spoken about his boyfriend, he never mentioned the guy’s name...and the same went for you, you complained about your coworker on an almost daily basis but never mentioned that it was Kim Mingyu.

“Wonwoo? You’re here to see Wonwoo?” The words left your lips shakily, and you felt a rock sink into your gut. You prayed to whatever God was listening that he would deny it, say some other name, that he literally did get the wrong address and Wonwoo’s boyfriend wasn’t going to be your arch nemesis.

He nodded, he fucking nodded and it felt like everything was crashing around you. Not only was Kim Mingyu a hassle at work, but now you were finding out that he was dating the guy you were in love with. It was all too much.

“Well, you’re early. He doesn’t get off work until 6.” You muttered, opening the door to let him in despite the urge to leave him stranded outside until Wonwoo got home. You heard the door shut behind you, but couldn’t bring yourself to look back at him. Thinking about all the things Wonwoo had told you about the mysterious boyfriend, it was too much. Mingyu knew far too much about you now. Fuck now you would have to quit, there is no way he would keep that information secret now that he knew it was you fucking his boyfriend.

“Oh, I know. He said his roommate was going to make dinner, so I wanted to come over to help.” You flashed him a disgruntled look as he explained his reasoning for coming over so early. A sharp comment on the tip of your tongue as he slipped his shoes off and entered your abode as if it were his own. “Though, if I had known you were his roommate I probably would have stayed home.”

There it was, that smug smirk that you wanted to punch off of his face. A fire grew in your stomach and you stormed into the kitchen, determined to start and finish dinner as soon as possible. You weren’t going to stay here tonight, hoping Joshua wouldn’t mind you coming over earlier than expected.

“Well, lucky for you. I don’t need help, so you can just stand around and do nothing. You’re already pretty good at that.” Hearing the sound of his footsteps behind as you entered the kitchen, the small chuckle coming after it. Almost like he was mocking you, like he knew about your hidden feelings for Wonwoo, like he knew this was possibly the worst outcome for your evening. At this point, you just wanted to know why he seemed to enjoy pushing your buttons.

You swung open the door to the fridge and bent down to begin pulling out the items you would need to start the meal. You could feel his eyes on you as you traveling around the kitchen, pulling out bowls and spices, and it was infuriating.

“You know, you’re pretty hot when you’re angry,” His words caused you to practically choke on your own breath. “I wonder if that’s what gets Wonwoo off when you two fuck.” It was almost like he punched you in the gut. Of course, you knew that he knew but you definitely weren’t expecting him to just outright bring it up. Though you should have expected something as blunt as that from Kim Fucking Mingyu.

You placed the box of salt on the counter before turning to glare at Mingyu once more, only to find him almost directly behind you...much closer than he had been. Your mind flashed back to the night before, where you fucked Wonwoo in this very room, and now you were standing here talking to his boyfriend. You took a deep breath, swallowing your hesitation before continuing with your thought.

“Look, Wonwoo said you were cool with it. If it’s a problem then it stops, simple as that. I may hate your fucking guts but I’m not gonna keep fucking your boyfriend better than you do without your okay.”

That was...definitely the wrong thing to say but your anger got the better of you, your jealousy. It was a monster that was now fueling the previous wrath you had felt for the male. Before you could think about anything else to say, you felt yourself being forced back against the counter with his hands laying flat on either side of you, caging you in as he stared down with a dark look in his eye.

“See, I don’t think you do. I think you’re just a cocky, high strung, know-it-all who thinks she’s better than everyone else.” He muttered, his voice lowering into a range you had never heard before from the male. It sent a heat straight to your core, a heat you usually only felt around Wonwoo, this seemed to only fuel your anger. You quickly pushed your hands to his, rather firm, chest and shoved him backwards, hard enough to get him away from you but not hard enough to accidentally hurt him.

“And I think you’re a lazy jackass who hasn’t had to work a day in his life just because his perfect good looks have gotten him everything he could ever want.” You retorted, voice coming out almost as a growl. If a look could kill someone then Mingyu would have instantly caught fire from the heat of your gaze. Despite your anger, he still carried that smug grin on his face.

“Awe, you think I’m pretty? I mean, you’re right but it’s always nice to hear.”

“Fuck, you’re insuferable! Just shut up and leave me alone, so I can finish making this fucking dinner and then leave.” With that you turned back to the counter, furiously beginning your task as you tried to ignore the man who was currently plaguing your day.

“Make me.” Those two little words, you weren’t sure why but those two simple words seemed to throw your entire world into disarray. It was like a switch was flipped and you couldn’t stop the urge growing inside you, the urge to break him. You wanted him practically crying and begging for you, but...you couldn’t do that. Despite how much you hated him, this was still Wonwoo’s boyfriend and while he was okay with Wonwoo fooling around with you...you weren’t sure how Wonwoo would feel if you decided to humiliate his boyfriend. You gripped the bowl in front of you, trying your best to take a deep breath and stop yourself from doing the terrible things you were thinking of.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said make me. I thought that was like a trigger phrase for dom’s?” So he knew what he was doing, he knew it and was still being an ass. The switch broke, and all you could see was red. You turned back to face him, glowering up at him and your face flushed with an angry heat.

“What the hell are you trying to pull Kim Mingyu?” Your accusatory tone was harsh, even harsher than the tones you used at work. In fact, the only time you had really spoken like this to anyone was the one time Wonwoo had attempted to be a brat. You watched as a small shiver went up his spine, his eyes never leaving yours. His shit eating grin seemed to only grow as you took harsh steps towards him, causing him to back up until he was stopped by a wall. His back pressed firmly against it, but you refused to lift your arms and cage him in.

“Well, what if I told you I didn’t come over to help with dinner prep.”

“Color me surprised.” He ignored your sarcasm and continued.

“What if I said that Wonwoo wanted me to come here early, cause he wanted me to see how good he got it with you?” It almost seemed like he was determined to give you a heart attack today, there was no way Wonwoo would have said something like that. Right? As if he could sense the hesitation to believe his words, reached up and gently cupped your cheek with his.

“Or maybe, you’d rather I take control today?” Once again it seemed like he knew exactly how to push your buttons to rekindle the rage in your gut all over again. You reached up and gripped his wrist, yanking his hand away from you. Your earlier fervor returning, as you tightly clenched his wrist. The grip tight enough to show him just who was in charge here, but not tight enough to actually hurt him.

“Bad boys don’t get to be in control.”

“Bad Boy? Is that what we’re going with?”

“It’s better than me calling you a jackass. Which is the name i’d prefer to call you.”

Everything felt like a blur, soon you were pulling him towards you by his collar and slamming your lips onto his own. It was nothing like your kisses with Wonwoo which were full of passion, you filled this with as much anger as you could. You wanted him to feel your anger, your pain, you deserved that much if all you were going to be is a cock sleeve. A dom to get tossed back and forth between the couple. You weren’t sure if that was what Wonwoo was intending but, a part of you felt worthless in any aspect except sex so you might as well use what you’ve got.

Not bothering to break the heated kiss, full of teeth and tongue, you navigated Mingyu into the living room. Only then did you pull away, nipping at his bottom lip with your teeth as you did. He quickly went to bring his lips back to your own, but you decided to not let him get that pleasure and shoved him back onto the couch, his shirt riding up ever so slightly as he fell back onto the sofa that was much too small for him, let alone two people.

“We have rules here Mingyu, I know you have trouble following them at work but try not to be too much of a whore and break my rules. Got it?” He rolled his eyes as you began explaining, as if he were already planning on disobeying your very simple rules. “First is, we go by the color system. Got it?” He nodded. “The second is, you don’t cum until I tell you to.”

You might hate the male below you, but you weren’t going to do things he wasn’t comfortable with. You weren’t a terrible person, just an angry one. Despite these gratuitous warnings, Mingyu still seemed irritatingly smug.

“Wow, pretty weak rules. I doubt you could make me cum even if you tried.”

You were going to make him eat those words.

Which was probably why he was currently a groaning mess on your couch, hands bound behind his back and his jeans long discarded. In your hand was a small vibrator that you were just lightly pressing against his hard cock. He wasn’t as large as Wonwoo, width wise and was a bit shorter than him but it was still pretty impressive. You would never tell him that though.

He looked a mess, almost as if he was just about to hit his high. So you removed the toy, and listened to those beautiful whines escape his lips. He was in for a long ride if he thought this was the worst you were going to do to him.

“Awe, is the little whore upset I took his toy away?” Your tone mocking as you turned off the vibrator, waiting for his response to see just what you would do next. He seemed to be expecting something like this and grinned despite his heavy breathing.

“You’re little games aren’t doing shit. I think you’re just too scared to fuck me yourself.” Without hesitation you returned the vibrator to his dick, turning it onto its highest setting just so you could watch him squirm. He let out a loud gasp, throwing his head back against the couch cushions, his back arching off of the couch as he let out a sinful moan. Then it was over, you were once again pulling the toy away from him once again, giving a teasing lick to the silicone as he glared at you through hooded eyes. His breath coming out in small pants as he lost that high once more.

With a smug smirk of your own, you leaned forward your lips stopping right next to his ear. One of your hands reached down to slowly stroke his twitching member, you could practically feel how close he was.

“Oh I’m not scared, I just don’t want your trash dick inside me.” Much to your surprise you felt him tremble beneath you. So he liked being talked down to? That was good to know, you would definitely be using that to your advantage. It was a stark contrast from Wonwoo who lived for praise, you honestly thought Mingyu would be the same way.

“What makes you think I’d want your dick when I can fuck your boyfriend whenever I want? His massive cock fills me up so well, almost like he was made for me.” Your words were but a sinful whisper in his ear. Your teeth gently nipping at the lobe of his ear, pulling slightly as you spoke. The words plus your hand against his dick brought out another groan, almost like you had struck a match inside him. Before you could stop him, he pushed himself forward and sunk his teeth into the crook of your neck and you were almost certain that it was almost harsh enough to break the skin. A surprised yelp left your lips, mixing into a long moan at the feeling. Without even thinking about it, your grip on his dick tightened which seemed to be the exact reaction he was hoping for. The feeling pulling him over the edge as he released into your hand with a low guttural moan.

You pulled yourself away, staring at your jizz covered hand in feigned disgust.

“One simple rule, and you couldn’t even follow it. Wonwoo was right when he said you were fucking filthy.” You chastised, wiping your hand off on his naked thigh not giving him the pleasure of seeing you lick it off of your own skin. He hadn’t earned that.

“What’re you gonna do about it? Punish me?” The words left his lips just as your hand moved to wrap around his neck, squeezing the side lightly as to give him the choking sensation without actually putting him in potential danger.

“Whore, what’s your color?”

“Fuck, fuck green. So green, fuck.” Taking that response, you quickly tighten your grip which was followed by another strangled groan. You weren’t about to admit it, but he looked really hot like this. Underneath you, completely spent while still seeming to be gearing up for another round.

“Well then you better get comfortable, brat. Because you’ve really pissed me off now.” With every word your grip tightened just a bit more before you pulled away, ending the sentence. You turned your back to him for a moment, shoving off everything that had previously been on your coffee table before taking a seat on top of it, right in perfect view of Mingyu.

“If you even want me to think about putting your filthy dick inside of me, then you better not move. Got that?” You didn’t wait for his response as you pulled your shirt over your head, and quickly unclipped your bra, tossing both of the garments to the other side of the living room to be forgotten about. Without hesitation you began fondling your chest, tweaking your rapidly hardening nipples. Your eyes never left Mingyu, making sure he was paying attention and keeping still. A quick glance down at his lap and you could see his cock slowly starting to harden once more at the sight before him. His tongue slipped out of his mouth to lick his lips, eyes not leaving your chest as you fondled yourself.

While one hand continued to fondle your breasts, your other slid down to tease the waste of your shorts.

“Tell me what you want you little whore, maybe I’ll give it to you if you ask nicely enough.” In truth, you had no intention of giving him anything just yet but dangling his wants in front of his face would be so sweet a punishment. One he deserved for breaking your rules.

“Let me fuck you, I know you want it too. I’ve seen how you keep watching my cock, almost drooling aren’t you baby girl.” Instantly at his words, you stopped touching yourself and stood from the table. Without a word you made your way out of the living room and down the hallway, ignoring as he called out to you. To your surprise though, he was still in the same spot on the couch when you returned with what you had got to grab. A soft silk tie, black in color and well used.

You grabbed the previously discarded vibrator and returned it to its former position pressed against his cock and used the tie to keep it held there without the need for your hands before you turned it onto the lowest setting possible. Still sweet but enough to drive him crazy. Then you proceeded to push him back down into a lying position before stripping yourself of your shorts and underwear, tossing them into the ever growing pile of clothing.

“If you’re going to keep talking back, I might as well put your disgusting mouth to good use.” You said, swinging your leg over him so that you were now straddling his face. Your dripping pussy resting just above his face. “Get to work, bitch.”

He groaned out, loving the treatment you were giving him before he latched his lips to your wet sex, tongue lapping up whatever liquid he could as if this were his last meal. It was honestly really fucking sexy. You couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a soft breathy moan, which only seemed to encourage the male below you.

As another mewl left your lips you heard the sound of the front door being opened, and the distinct voice of Wonwoo calling out that he was home. Your heart almost stopped, you weren’t sure if you were excited for Wonwoo to discover the two of you or terrified. Mingyu didn’t seem bothered by it, not even really acknowledging his boyfriend’s voice as he continued to devour your pussy. His tongue gave a particularly pleasing swipe just as Wonwoo entered the living room.

Your eyes met his brown ones and you could practically see the gears turning in his head as he saw the compromising position the two of you were in. For a moment, you were concerned that Mingyu had lied and that Wonwoo would be upset. The relief that filled your body as he quickly closed the distance, leaning over the couch and pulling you into a deep kiss. If it was possible the kiss was almost better than the attacks to your lower region, if only because it was from Wonwoo. When he pulled away he let his forehead press against your own.

“I see you guys couldn’t be bothered to wait for me…” He didn’t sound upset at all though, almost as if he were hoping to catch the two of you in the act. You reached up and took a handful of his beautiful brown tresses into your grip, pulling ever so slightly as you ground your pelvis against Mingyu’s face.

“This little whore needed to be taught a lesson, Nunu. You’re boyfriend’s such a disgusting boy, so selfish.” Your words could barely come out as you felt your high coming closer and closer. Mingyu was in fact, pretty damn good with his mouth. You weren’t about to come undone yet though, so you released Wonwoo from your grip and pushed Mingyu’s head away from you. The action was met with a pitiful whine from the infuriating male.

“Oh shut up, you don’t deserve to make me cum. You’ve been nothing but a whiney, needy bitch. Like a dog in heat.” You watched him tremble as your words went straight to his dick, the vibrations from the toy doing just enough to keep him needy but not enough to get him too close to cumming again.

“You like that, being a little dog? Fucking sick, this little dog just wants a hole to fuck.” You reached down and gripped his cheeks in your hand, pushing your face just close enough for you to bite his lip before pulling away.

Your attention turned fully to Wonwoo, a small grin on his face.

“Nunu, can you show this dirty dog how to be a good boy?” A request the male was all too quick to comply with. At your instructions he stripped down under the watchful eyes of both yourself and Mingyu.

“Now i want you to sit on the table, right here. Don’t touch yourself until I get back.” You ordered, and Wonwoo nodded. As obedient as always. You glanced back at Mingyu, arms still tied behind his back, dick looking almost painfully hard and your slick covering his lips. Letting out a small chuckle before leaving the living room once more only this time on much shakier legs.

As you dug through your toybox you could hear the distinct voice of Mingyu.

“Come one Wonwoo, you should touch yourself. Don’t you wanna make her mad?” He was trying to sound in control but you could tell the over stimulation was getting to him. His words were pitchy, and he seemed to be trying to catch his breath as he egged on his boyfriend. Oh he was going to regret that.

“Not really,” Was Wonwoo’s reply. “She’ll keep you on edge for hours if you keep this up, Gyu.” The male scoffed, only his scoff came out more as a moan than anything else. You couldn’t see what he was doing but you could hear the distinct sound of the creaking couch to give away that he was in fact moving despite your instructions. Another strike.

“S-She...she’s not so tough.” Left his lips as you returned to the room, strap on in one hand and a bottle of lube in the other. You could see Wonwoo’s eyes light up as he recognized the item, which just so happened to be his favorite of the strap ons that you owned. Keeping yourself behind the couch so that you obscured Mingyu’s vision of you until you had the extension snuggly strapped onto yourself.

Being the good boy he was, Wonwoo scooted himself to the edge of the table and leaned back on his hands as he waited for you. You stopped just in front of him, squeezing a nice amount of lube into your open palm and began coating the strap on, stroking the silicone toy as Wonwoo and Mingyu hungrily watched.

“Color?”

You question was followed by both men giving green, giving you the go ahead to continue. Kneeling forward, you pushed Wonwoo’s legs apart and he was more than willing to let you. His hand stayed pressed firmly against the hardwood of the coffee table, his fingers twitching slightly as he did his best to not touch himself or you until he got the go ahead. The order never came though, this was about putting on a show for Mingyu and that’s exactly what you were going to do.

You slowly prodded a lube covered finger at his ass, teasing the hole a bit before entering to begin preparing him for the much larger dildo. Once again the apartment was filled with your favorite sounds, his low breathy moans. Only this time they were accompanied by the almost whining coming from Mingyu as he lay helpless on the couch.

“See Mingyu? This is what good little boys get. Isn’t that right Nunu?” Your question was followed by a few soft teasing nips at his thigh, and another finger entering his tight hole. His moans were breathtaking to listen to, it filled you with confidence that you couldn’t describe. Your own core was practically throbbing, you had no idea you would enjoy being watched like this.

Your other hand reached up, taking Wonwoo’s massive cock and slowly pumping it just as you had done to Mingyu’s before this. The whimpers that left his lips as Mingyu squirming from his spot on the couch, desperate to be touched by something more than the vibrator that was still lightly buzzing. After a few more pumps of your hand, you removed the fingers and positioned yourself in front of the entrance.

“God, yes please please fuck me.” Wonwoo was practically begging at this point.

“Anything for my good boy.” Slowly, you pushed your hips forward to sink the thick black silicone dick inside of Wonwoo’s ass. You took a second to let him get adjusted, and to just watch him whimper below you, his back arching and his eyes screwed shut as he begged for you to move.  Which you gladly complied with.

“You’re always so good for me Nunu, my perfect boy.” You praised as you thrust into his ass, taking quick thrust just the way he liked it. Pulling out almost completely before harshly snapping your hips forward, making sure to stroke his cock in time with your trusts. The actions had him a mess below you and you could practically see Mingyu drooling as he watched the two of you.

“Mingyu, if you want this. Then I want you to rut against the couch. You better cum without me touching you or you won’t be getting anything else tonight.” It was almost instantaneous how quickly he moved, flipping over onto his stomach as he began needily humping at your couch, his eyes never leaving the scenario in front of him though as he used it to try and bring himself his much needed second release of the night.

The air felt hot and humid as the moans of the two males filled the apartment, and fuck it was hot. You weren’t even being properly touched and you were still feeling close. The feeling only growing as Wonwoo shivered below you.

“Please, please miss. F-fuck, pleae let me cum.” He whimpered, his eyes glancing over at Mingyu. Watching his boyfriend rutting against the couch like a dog in heat. For a moment you were brought out of the mood, remembering that you were just a third you had no part of the actual relationship that the two men had. Shaking your head, you quickly pulled yourself back, that was a problem for future you. Right now your only concern was making sure these men were properly fucked out.

“Go ahead, cum for me baby. Cum while your boyfriend watches me fuck you.” That was all he needed, you felt his dick twitch in your hand before thick strings of white cum left him. You continued your mistrations making sure to milk his orgasm for all it was worth. Your eyes drifted over to Mingyu, who seemed to be having a bit of trouble getting to that high once again and he looked down right pitiful.

After Wonwo had successfully come back to you, you pulled yourself from him as you decided to give Mingyu a little help. Sure you still hated him, but it would be cruel to not finish him off now.

“Stop and sit up.” You ordered, and surprisingly the male responded just as Wonwoo had, with obedience. You unlaced the tie and pulled the unsatisfying vibrator away from his cock, listening to more loud whiny moans leave his lips.

“Don’t expect me to be this nice again, you filthy dog. I have standards.” You muttered, before lowering your lips to his throbbing dick. You could hear Wonwoo’s breathy moans from behind you as he watched you suck off his boyfriend. Hollowing your cheeks and teasing his tip with your tongue seemed to be just enough to push Mingyu over the edge and you felt his thick hot release enter your mouth. Not wanting to make a mess, you just swallowed the salty liquid before pulling away and wiping your lips. His loud moans causing your core to ache in need. Which was another thing you would never admit out loud, his moans were just as delicious as Wonwoo’s.

“See? Was being good so hard?” You questioned, pulling your mouth off of his softening member. Sure you were left still needy but you could take care of that in the shower, your job here was done. They got what they wanted out of you and you’d see yourself out.

You went to stand once more, muttering something about going to take a shower and clean up when you felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around you from behind. Wonwoo carefully began unstrapping the accessory from your pelvis, letting it fall to the floor between you and Mingyu with a soft thud. Followed by his lips pressing small kisses against your neck.

“Gyu, think you can finish her off?” He questioned the fucked out male on the couch in between his feather light kisses. You heard a soft groan escape Mingyu’s lips, almost as if it were a hassle but he reached out and grabbed your thighs to pull you closer to him.

“Nunu, it’s fine.” You tried to protest, but the words stopped dead in your throat as Mingyu’s tongue began to work you once again. A small curse leaving your lips as your hand found its way into Mingyu’s hair, causing him to chuckle slightly before his lips latched against your clit, his tongue working furiously to tease the nub.

“You really think we’re just going to let you leave after that?” Wonwoo questioned, his tone reminding you of the times he would switch. Taking control of your little scenarios and it had you letting out another embarrassingly loud groan. “You’re not leaving here until you cum.”

And cum you did.

A few hours later, after some showers, the three of you were gathered around the kitchen table with a small slew of pizza boxes since none of you had the actual energy to make dinner. It wasn’t awkward per se, but you certainly felt awkward. The two were casually chatting with each other as if what transpired in the living room hadn’t happened. You picked at the pepperoni on the slice in front of you. Sure you were hungry but couldn’t bring yourself to really eat more than a few bites.

“Hey, make sure to eat. You probably wore yourself out back there,” Mingyu mentioned, causing you to finally look up from your pizza and connect eyes with him. “You’re gonna need the food so you get back that energy.”

Your eyes flickered over to Wonwoo before returning to Mingyu. “I am eating.” You lied, lifting the slice to show him the small bites you had taken. “I don’t need you babying me.”

The sound of Wonwoo muttering your name had your attention on him once again, “You don’t have to be the hard one all the time.” Just like normal, he seemed to see right through you. A sigh escaped your lips as you reluctantly took another bite of the food. After you thoroughly chewed and swallowed the bite you spoke once more.

“I’ll be heading over to Josh’s tonight,” This had both men turning their gaze to you once more. The anxiety from before filled your gut once more, maybe you would even ask Josh if he was needing another roommate. “Give you guys some alone time, ya know?”

“What if...we said we wanted you to stay?” You were caught off guard by Mingyu’s declaration, fixing your nemesis with a harsh questioning gaze. He seemed to find the look amusing, once again returning to your game of cat and mouse. “Is that so bad? It’s not like you’re completely terrible company.”

“I’m not fucking you again.”

Your words had both men letting out their own unique laughs, the sound surprisingly made your heart flutter. Wonwoo’s was to be expected, but Mingyu’s that was new territory. Wonwoo took Mingyu’s hand, gently caressing the top of it with his thumb. You found your gaze lingering on the intimate action, a longing filling your chest and making you sick to your stomach. You didn’t want to just be a third that was kept around for fun times, but how were you supposed to tell them that when all your words seemed to die in your throat.

“We’re not asking for that. We...talked while you were in the shower, we’d like to give this,” Wonwoo gestured to the three of you. “A try.”

“You are aware that I absolutely hate your boyfriend though.” Which wasn’t a total lie, he was still infuriating but now that you were watching him with Wonwoo. You were seeing a side of him that you had originally not believed to exist, a side that wasn’t a complete ass.

“He’s aware, I told him all about our ‘loving’ work relationship.” Mingyu snorted as he spoke, rolling his eyes as he probably imagined how just yesterday had been for the two of you. “And we still want to give it a shot. He and I love each other, but he...also loves you.”

The confession has your heart stopping dead in your chest, eyes quickly moving back over to watch Wonwoo’s face heat up in a pink flush at Mingyu confessing for him.

“It’s the main reason I was cool with the two of you fooling around. I knew I had part of his heart, but so did you. It’s also why I wanted to meet you. It’d be easier on all of us if you and I also shared something, yeah?”

“You’re kidding right? This is all just some massive joke isn’t it? It’s not funny, guys.”  You felt your hands tremble lightly, scared that they would admit to their offer being false. That you’d be left alone and hurt at such a cruel prank. To your surprise though, Wonwoo reached across the table and took your hand in his own. Caressing the skin as he had done with Mingyu’s only moments ago.

“It’s no joke. I love you, and I hope you love me too...and can maybe even come to love Mingyu too.”

For the first time in a long time, your heart was soaring in your chest.

***

“Mingyu, I love you I really fucking do, but that doesn’t mean I’m cool with you making me wait your tables.” You complained, shoving your boyfriend from behind as the two of you entered your apartment after returning from another ridiculously long shift at your mutual job. Mingyu laughed as he slipped out of his shoes so he could make his way into the apartment proper.

“But you still let me do it, just admit it. You’re whipped for me now~”

“Oh, in your dreams, Puppy.” You could tell the nickname hit Mingyu just the right way, by now you knew all the right buttons to press to tease him without even having to touch him. Slipping off your own shoes you followed him into the living room flopping down on the couch as he turned the AC on, muttering something about how hot the stupid apartment was.

Closing your eyes, your rested your head against the back of the couch in an attempt to relax despite still being in your work clothing. It was only for a moment though, as Mingyu moved to straddle your waist.

“Down boy, tonight’s Wonwoo’s night. I don’t have the energy to deal with your ridiculous sex drive right now.” You muttered, but didn’t bother trying to push him off as he leaned forwards to nip at your neck just the way you liked it.  He pouted against the flesh but did as he was told, stopping his ‘assault’ but not bothering to move off of you.

That was how Wonwoo found the two of you when he returned home from work, the both of you fast asleep on the couch without a care in the world. He watched his partners with a soft look in his eye, heart filled with love.

It wasn’t the perfect relationship but it was one he wouldn’t trade for the world.

[emilycollins00]

Hello there :) How would Juza, Tasuku and Omi react if Azuma asked what your type was and you casually mention the masculine type and mention them (they have a crush on you). Separate reactions of course 😂 Thank you! Here's a cookie for you 🍪 ~

Thank you anon, that’s very sweet of you! 💕

I was surprised at how into this ask I was that I went over how much I had initially thought to write. Hope you and everyone enjoy it!

Juza, Tasuku and Omi discovering they are reader’s ideal type

Juza

I think he would feel a bit self-conscious, not knowing what to feel.

We all know this young boy has the face of a troublemaker and pretty dominant first impression.

But poor thing couldn’t be more different.

“Mmm… I’d say… manly? I haven’t really thought about it that much. but I would say I like having someone protective and strong with me.” you drank a bit from the tea Azuma and you had prepared.

The cuddling expert hummed at your response, smiling. “Never thought you would go for that type Y/N,” he rested his cup on the table. “I guess Juza fits that description coincidentally, wouldn’t you agree?”

You gave it a thought. You had known Juza for a while so you were used to him now, but it was true he gave pretty strong masculine vibes. “Yeah, he’s actually a pretty good resemblance” you laughed.

“Heard that, Juza?”

A clumsy noise of stumbling feet alerted you of something moving behind you. Turning, you discovered the tall boy looking at the ground, frowning face and red ears.

“Ah, sorry, do you feel bad I used you as an example?” you tried to make contact with his eyes, not that he was letting you. “Don’t worry Juza, it’s just a comment! We all here now you’re the sweetest guy around ah, not that it doesn’t go well with being manly of course! You are good at both.”

The high schooler glanced from the corner of his eyes at your face. He felt his palms sweating and his heart beating fast in his chest. He deepened his scowl at the floor again, too shy to look at you “Uh…’thanks.”

“Really, you have amazing traits!”

“…’thanks.”

You tilted your head, still confused as to why he had gone quiet. Azuma on the other hand sipped contently his tea, enjoying the oblivious cute exchange between you two.

                                               ..............................

Tasuku:

 I don’t think he would react too much if he heard it. 

He has always been on the heavy side of what people call “masculine”

 Maybe if it’s you, he would feel happy knowing he was on the safe here.

“Oh come on Azuma-san, that’s their biggest selling point! You have to see that.”

Azuma leaned in, looking again at the magazine. His eyes went trhough the pages while you started expectantly. "Well?"

“Mmm… who knows.” he finally chuckled. You sighed, it was obvious you had to resort to more sources to stan on your argument.

"I'm back- Ah, It's been a while Y/N."

Tasuku stood holding the doorknob to the living room, surprised to see you and Azuma chatting- an unusual pair given that you worked with another theatre. You lifted your head smiling at the actor and he told himself to remain composed. It hadn’t been long since he felt he was starting to develop affection for you and it wasn’t good for him to see your face so suddenly.

“Oh hi Tasuku! I came here to grab those props Izumi-san said I could take from your last performance, she told me you knew where they were.”

Catching his breath from all the running he had just done, he nodded mindlessly going to the kitchen to get some water. His gaze changed to other troupe member, still immersed in the magazine. “You also know where they are Azuma-san, shouldn’t have kept Y/N waiting.”

“Mmm? Fufu we were not waiting. Y/N had this magazine and we were discussing important matters.” the long-haired man turned it to show the content. “Look, these are the top 10 men models of the year. I have to say, I like their smooth aesthetic, what about you?”

“I couldn’t care less about it, honestly.” after sipping on the bottle, he closed the fridge and turned to get the things you had asked.

You shrugged browsing through the photographs. “I’m not saying they are bad just that someone with a strong and assertive masculine profile is better. Many people could definitely see the appeal in that.”

Tasuku stopped for a second before humming uninterested, however his movements became duller, as if he didn't want to completely leave the room.

“So that would be your ideal type.” he heard Azuma's usual teasing tone followed by a soft giggle. “Good to know.”

“…Sure? Uh, Tasuku, everything okay?”

“What? Ah yeah, I… I will get going.” cleaning his throat, he resumed the usual pace.

He would never admit it, but after you took the props leaving the magazine alone, he scrolled through the pages you two had looked at.

Just checking, nothing else.

                                           .....................................

Omi

I’ll be honest, more than getting flustered or anything else...

This wonder of a man would just feel happy hearing he was close to what you were into.

He’s so precious.

“Ah… that was a really good movie!” you leaned back on the couch. You and Omi had been encouraged to watch this film from the photography club president. The angles and backgrounds had received really high praises after all. “Wish I could record and photograph such beautiful sceneries too!”

Azuma hummed, agreeing with your statement. Both him and Yuki had decided to watch it with you two and it had been a success. “The world was very well built and the main character also had a good story.”

“I’ll have to ask Minagi to think of a script for these types of men. I would really fall in love with a play similar to this one!”

“What, do you like those beefy type Y/N?” Yuki frowned confused, getting up and grabbing what was left of the popcorns, which wasn’t much.

“That’s not what I meant.”

The comment caught the oldest one’s attention. “Oh…? Then what type of guy do you like?”

You crossed your arms, deep in thought. “You know, it’s the…” you tried to gesture, although to no avail, “the independence, strength… like- like Omi! That’s what I like.” you turned to the university student.

“Um?” said boy smiled, feeling your gaze on him. He had been watching the last images from the credits, not really listening. He failed to understand what the conversation had evolved into. “What about me?”

You briefly explained what you three had been talking about. “…and so I decided you’re the closest to what I’d aspire a perfect man to be”

The cook laughed sheepishly, not thinking you would say something like that with such a straight face. But that’s what he liked about you. “Well, that’s good to know.”

You sighed from your side of the sofa. “I want to watch something similar, maybe I should look for other recommendations,” you opened your phone, already browsing. “A play would be good too, Autumn troupe really would crush it.”

“I see… if you make Tsuzuru do it and we get written a comparable play, I will do my best to remember today’s talk.” he looked at you in a sudden good mood. "I'll go make dinner."

“Come on, stop joking!”

What you couldn’t imagine was how true the his words were.

_________________________________________________________

Aaaah they are just too cute. I love them so much. Hope you guys liked them, have a wonderful day! 💕

[mortedeveles]

faint of heart

Copyright © 2021 by Veles. Do NOT repost, plagiarize, or read my content as ASMR or audiofics.

SUMMARY: This Valentine’s Day, your boyfriend Suga has decided to take you to an amusement park. The problem is, you’re terrified of rollercoasters, and he happens to love them. And if you add two totally immature chaperones to the equation, chaos is bound to break loose. 

PAIRING: Sugawara Koshi x gender neutral! reader, ft. Nishinoya & Tanaka [platonic] 

THEMES: fluff, a bit of chaos, humor. [ONE-SHOT] [CUPID’S ARROW WRITING EVENT] 

WORD COUNT: 4.7k (around 4,747 words) 

TAGS & TW’S: nothing much, just descriptions of jump scares, rollercoasters, reader is afraid/nervous of them in here, sugawara is a sneaky boi, might be some slight cursing. 

before you read (!!!): this fic is part of the writing event, Cupid’s Arrow! check out our masterlist if you’re interested in more Valentine Day themed works <3 please support the event with REBLOGS, likes and comments!! 

a/n: tyty to @etegomanere​ for beta reading this fic!! 

Valentine’s Day meant a lot of things to you. Before attending Karasuno High, it was just another holiday, giving giri-choco to your friends, or simply staying at home with family. But ever since you met Sugawara Koshi, things were different. 

Pretty different, to be honest. From being shy acquaintances, fleeting looks, and burning cheeks, your relationship with the grey-haired boy had evolved into much more. To friends, loud laughter and mischievous adventures, and finally, to intimate lovers, shared kisses, whispers of promises and affection, sneaking out to spend the night together, it was safe to say that it was certainly an adventure- one that you enjoyed and hoped for it to never end. 

And this Valentine’s Day, your boyfriend seemed to agree with you. Although customary to give honmei-choco to those you desired as romantic partners, Suga had set the idea aside, deciding it was his turn to give you something this year. 

You were excited to see what he had in plan, and after revealing his surprise, you weren’t sure how to feel. The moment you heard the words leave Suga’s lips, you knew you were doomed. It was a simple sentence but brought back childhood memories of screaming kids, impossibly tall and long rides, which usually ended with you in tears or hunched over, puking out your guts. 

And all you could think about was, out of all the things he could’ve chosen, did he really have to decide on a…

‘’...amusement park,’’ he had said with a bright smile. ‘’And I was thinking we should go on the roller coasters! It’ll be a lot of fun.’’

Your mouth felt dry. Here you were, sitting on your boyfriend’s lap as he talked about going to an amusement park today, with wide eyes and a bright smile. He looked so happy and excited, and who were you to destroy that child-like happiness? If anything, you never wanted it to end. So that’s why you agreed to go, even if your stomach twisted and churned on the way there.

Suga was driving, one hand on the steering wheel, the other one linked with your hand. It was your only comfort at the moment, and every now and then you’d squeeze his hand to calm down. He’d look over to you with a soft smile, pressing a kiss to your knuckles before returning his gaze to the road. Your other hand felt clammy with sweat, slight anxiety building in your stomach. 

‘’Suga…’’ you spoke into the static silence. He hummed in acknowledgment, waiting for you to continue. 

‘’I have something to tell you,’’ you swallowed. ‘’It’s about, uh….the amusement park.’’ 

At this, you watched his eyebrows furrow, but he remained silent, urging you to continue.

‘’I’m….I’m afraid of-’’ a sudden honk behind you two made you jump, and Sugawara cursed. 

The two of you looked back, only to meet the grinning faces of two all classmates, and a smiling blonde, waving at you frantically. Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, jaw slack. 

‘’It’s Nishinoya and Tanaka-!’’ Sugawara said with an open jaw, shocked as well. He quickly pulled over, and the car behind you two did the same. Hastily, the both of you stepped out of the car, racing to greet the second-years. Tanaka’s sister stayed in the car, watching the interaction develop with a smirk.

‘’Hey!’’ They both cheered, racing towards the two of you. 

You laughed loudly, ‘’How did you guys know we were heading to the amusement park?’ You asked. Sugawara’s shocked expression quickly washed away, and now he looked rather grumpy.

‘’Our… customer gave us the information, told us you two were going on a date,’’ Tanaka said in such a serious tone, that you couldn’t help but snort. 

‘’It’s a date between Y/N and me, not with you two rascals.’’ He grumbled. They gasped dramatically, shaking their heads.

‘’Aww, don’t be like that, Suga-san!’’ The shorter one said with a grin. Tanaka huffed in agreement and grinned wickedly.

‘’Daichi-san sent us. He told us to supervise you two. After all- without us, who knows what type of things you guys are up to-?!’’ 

You scoffed, albeit your face warming up, while Suga snickered, pulling you snug against his chest. He upturned his nose with a grin.

‘’Whatever we do is none of your business! Anyway, it’s Valentine’s Day, shouldn’t you guys be trying to ask Kiyoko out?’’ Surprisingly, they shook their heads, sporting confident smiles. 

‘’Don’t you know Valentine’s Day is also about friendship, Suga-san?’’ Nishinoya said.

‘’Not only did we come to supervise you, but we also came as bros!’’ Tanaka piped in. Nishinoya cheered in agreement, before Sugawara and you watched blankly as the two second-years fist-bumped each other, a mischievous glint in their eyes. 

‘’Alright…’’ Sugawara sighed defeatedly. You giggled at his expression. ‘’Let’s go Y/N, we’re almost there,’’ he eyed the two boys. ‘’And you two as well, I guess…’’

They attempted to laugh throatily in response and only ended up looking like fools. You laughed on the way back into the car. Once the doors slammed shut, you buckled up, glancing at Sugawara. His eyebrows were knitted together, looking displeased. Both his hands were on the steering wheel, clenched tightly. 

‘’Hey,’’ you said softly, hand reaching out to wrap around his. Immediately, his eyes snapped towards yours, hands slowly unclenching. ‘’Everything alright?’’ 

The boy let out a shaky breath, before smiling faintly. ‘’Yeah…’’ he chewed on his lip. ‘’I’m sorry- are you okay with them tagging along? I had everything planned out, just so it would be the two of us,’’ he huffed, shaking his head. ‘’But it looks like we have company.’’ 

You smiled, leaning over to press a kiss on his forehead. His body relaxed under your touch, lines of stress fading away. It made your heart warm. 

‘’It’s fine Suga, you didn’t ask them to come. If there’s anyone to blame, we need to talk to Daichi once we return.’’ He laughed and nodded in agreement.

‘’We sure do.’’ 

Seeing him regain his composure, you settled back into your seat, eyes pinned on the amusement park ahead of you. 

‘’Since they’re here now, we might as well enjoy it together. The more the merrier, right?’’             

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As it turned out, the more, was not the merrier. Upon arriving at the theme park, the second-years raced towards the entrance, screaming and making fools of themselves. Suga and you stayed behind, carrying your few bags, attempting to not look ashamed. Saeko had waved goodbye to you guys, before speeding off. You hoped she would return to pick up the second-years. 

‘’They’re here to chaperone us, but why do I feel that we’re going to babysit them?’’ your boyfriend groaned, and you laughed.

‘’It’s Tanaka and ‘Noya, you know how they get.’’ Sighing in response, Suga continued forward, his hand wrapped around yours. 

Despite being afraid of the roller-coasters, you smiled. The sky was clear, seemingly hand-painted with a baby blue, very few clouds, and only the sun in sight. Not too harsh to make you constantly sweat, but enough to provide you with warmth. A perfect balance. 

And with Sugawara’s hand on yours, everything was nearly perfect. His grey hair was gently swept by the wind as if even the powerful currents of air were afraid of moving it. The sun poured on his skin, and you felt your heart thud loudly. He was beautiful. 

‘’Y/N?’’ His voice snapped you out of your thoughts. With a small smile and burning cheeks, you focused on the site ahead. The two of you had just gone past the billing entrance and were inside the amusement park. Kilometers of brick flooring stretched ahead of you, several booth tables and running children ahead. In the background, you saw the all too familiar roller coasters and gulped. 

‘’Yeah?’’ He laughed airily, squeezing your hand. You couldn’t get enough of him. 

‘’I was asking you where you want to go first, but you spaced out,’’ he watched you with a faint smile. 

‘’I don’t know,’’ you admitted. The sudden shrieking that pierced the air made you snap your eyes ahead, watching as a crow attacked Nishinoya’s hair, while he raced in circles and cried out. Tanaka was laughing loudly, tears in his eyes, and did not attempt to help the other second-year. 

‘’I told you,’’ Sugawara groaned as the two of you raced to aid the crying libero. ‘’We’re stuck babysitting them.’’ 

Between shouts of pain, yelps and cries, and one bitten finger after, Nishinoya had been freed. He was pouting as the four of you walked towards the rides that were ahead. 

‘’Are you sure you’re okay, ‘Noya?’’ You patted his hair affectionately, checking for blood or any injuries.

‘’Yeah…’’ he whined. ‘’I think I just lost my dignity though. Being attacked by a bird, in front of all those people.’’ 

At Nishinoya’s side, Tanaka snorted. ‘’What dignity, bro? You got none,’’ he cackled maniacally as the shorter boy growled in annoyance. Suga and you watched the exchange with mild amusement, his arm wrapped around your shoulders, having you pressed up to his side. It was warm and you snuggled into his chest. 

‘’You’re the one to talk Tanaka, what makes you think you have any dignity as well?’’ At his snarky remark, you let out a stifled laugh, which only grew louder as the three boys began to bicker. 

You watched the interaction with a warm smile, savoring the moments. Maybe you hadn’t been able to spend Valentine’s Day alone with Sugawara, but at least you were with the people you loved… even if some of them had you questioning your choices in making friends.

In a matter of a few minutes, the bickering died down as the four of you arrived at the first event, a spooky house. These didn’t affect you as much, at least not as much as rollercoasters, so you strode in confidently. The four of you paid for your ticket, and waited in line, the dark and black house at your left. 

‘’Hey,’’ Sugawara nudged your shoulder. ‘’Are you scared?’’

With a dismissive shrug, you shook your head. ‘’Nah, I’m good. Spooky houses aren’t really scary if you think about it. After all, it’s just a bunch of robots, cheap jumpscares, and underpaid workers.’’ 

He snorted. ‘’Yeah, I guess so,’’ his eyes trailed to Tanaka and Nishinoya, who were waiting in front of you. ‘’I’m afraid we might get kicked out because of them though.’’ 

You chuckled. ‘’Let’s just say we don’t know them.’’ 

Soon enough, the waiting line began to shorten and the four of you stepped inside the scary house. Everything was dark, and you could only spot the fluorescent arrows high on the wall indicating where to go next. 

‘’It’s really dark,’’ you commented. Instinctively, you grabbed Suga’s hand. He murmured in agreement. The two of you walked towards the next room, standing behind Tanaka and Nishinoya, who were chattering loudly. 

You would hear the occasional groan of exhaustion, the floor creaking under your feet, but nothing else. Just as you guys arrived at the entrance to the other room, the wall next to you suddenly opened. It was a hidden door.

‘’Beware!’’ A sudden stranger poked their head out of the wall, bathed in what seemed blood, before they were seemingly dragged away, back into the room, screams echoing. You let out a fearful scream, racing out of the room, Sugawara running at your side. Ahead of you, the second-years shrieked and ran, their arms thrown in the air. Soon, the four of you entered a tight and narrow corridor, resorting to walking in a line. 

‘’Go in front of me,’’ Suga told you, gently pulling you in front of him. ‘’I’ll be right behind you.’’ 

‘’Okay,’’ you whispered, eyes pinned to your left. The corridor was pitch black and you could only see some lighting ahead and yet… something told you that someone was watching you. 

A chorus of loud moans and groans ripped through the air, and you shrieked as you felt a finger brush against your left side. Behind you, Sugawara let out a frightened shout of his own, while Tanaka and Nishinoya squealed like frightened pigs. 

Ahead of you, the second-years stopped in their tracks as one of the robotic fingers had gotten stuck in Nishinoya’s shirt. He was squealing, shouting, desperately trying to run away. You heard the loud tear of the fabric, before the two boys ran out of the corridor, tripping over their own feet.

While you would’ve laughed at this on any other occasion, you too were frightened, and instead, reached for Suga’s hand behind you, racing out of the spooky house together. Running past the fake corpses hanging from the ceiling, feeling hands ghost over your body, you didn’t stop until you felt sunlight prick at your eyes. 

Gasping loudly, the two of you walked into a black curtain, finally out of the house. Wheezing, you bent over your knees. Sugawara wasn’t any better, his breathing labored.

‘’Wow,’’ your gasps for air turned into breathless laughter. ‘’That was… scarier than I thought it would be.’’

Sugawara chuckled. ‘’Yeah, for sure. Although it was shorter than I expected.’’ 

You raised your gaze, squinting your eyes as the sudden sunlight invaded your eyesight. You were only a few feet away from the original entrance, as the house didn’t stray far from it, and only stretched ahead to its left. Ahead of you, Tanaka and Nishinoya were sitting at a table, bickering about god knows what. The two of you strolled towards the pair and snorted when you spotted Nishinoya’s tee shirt. It was torn apart at the side, exposing his skin like a crop top.

‘’Well,’’ you said with a grin, sitting down on the bench. ‘’Decided to spice up your clothes, ‘Noya?’’ 

He whined, grabbing the tips of the ripped fabric. ‘’It got caught on those damn robot fingers! I had to keep moving, so I just forced myself to keep running, and…’’ his shoulders slumped, pouting dramatically. ‘’My shirt ripped.’’

Tanaka cackled, shaking his head in amusement. You smiled, and your boyfriend, who took a seat next to you, sighed exasperatedly.

‘’What are we going to do with you troublemakers?’’ He murmured with disapproval, tapping his fingers on the table. Despite the annoyance in his tone, you smiled. You could see the gleam of amusement in his eyes and knew that he wouldn’t have had this any other way.

     ➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

‘’Woohoo!’’ Tanaka shouted. He pulled off his shirt, quickly wringing it in the air before racing towards the water fountains. Nishinoya quickly followed after his friend, discarding his shirt and footwear to splash in the water.

‘’Do you wanna go in?’’ You nudged your boyfriend. 

His eyes trailed over the fountains of water, watching as children splashed around in the water, squeals, and screams of joy invading your ears. The creamy mosaic tiles of the water fountain section were slick with water, and there was a sidewalk ahead of the fountains, and a lake stretched beyond the railing of the sidewalk. At your sides, were some mosaic stairs in which clothes were strewn on, and in others some people were sitting down, chatting without a care in the world. 

‘’Yeah, sure,’’ he agreed with a smile. ‘’Did you bring your swimwear beneath your clothes?’’ You nodded eagerly. You quickly pulled off your shirt, rolling your eyes when Sugawara wolf-whistled. Once you discarded your shirt and bottoms, tugged off your footwear and socks, you were left in your swimwear. 

Sugawara on the other hand simply discarded the black jacket he was wearing, pulled off his tee-shirt, wearing nothing beneath it (you may or may have not stared at him while he did so), and pulled off his denim jeans, revealing a pair of swim shorts. You snorted, shaking your head. 

‘’How did you stuff those shorts under your jeans?’’ Somewhat impressed, you raised an eyebrow and rested a fist on your waist. 

He chuckled. ‘’I have my secrets.’’ Without further ado, the two of you folded your clothing, leaving it atop of your bags, before Suga grabbed your hand, and the two of you raced barefoot to the water fountains.

You shivered as the water drenched you, cold liquid splashing against your warm skin. Sugawara was laughing loudly, hands splayed at his sides, redirecting the water. You squealed when it splashed against your eyes, and retaliated, sticking a hand in front of a water hole, sending it straight towards Suga’s knee. He yelped, and rubbed his knee, while you snickered. 

‘’How cruel,’’ he said as you gasped when he pulled you into his arms in one quick movement. His voice was teasing and there was a mischievous smile spreading across his cheeks. 

‘’I learned from the best.’’ You grinned and leaned closer as his arms tightened around your waist. 

‘’Mhm…’’ his voice trailed off, and his attention quickly snapped towards your lips. ‘’You sure did.’’ 

His lips slowly connected with yours, and you greedily accepted them, the warmth spreading through your otherwise cold and drenched body. Your hands went to the back of his neck, slowly creeping up to his hair. Just as the kiss grew deeper, a loud shout ripped through the air.

‘’HELL YEAH!’’ Tanaka shouted, and you slowly pulled away with a long sigh, only to have your eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets at the current sight. 

Tanaka was cheering, arms in the air as Nishinoya knelt at his side, mouth wide open, the stream of water shooting inside.

‘’NISHINOYA, DON’T DRINK THE WATER-!’’

Sugawara and you raced towards the troublesome pair, barely arriving at the other side of the water fountains without slipping on your head. And after minutes of Tanaka screaming, Nishinoya groaning and whining, you managed to pull away from the latter from the water fountain, rushing towards the restrooms. 

‘’Nishinoya!’’ You scolded him while Sugawara inspected him. ‘’What in the world gave you the idea to drink the fountain water? That isn’t purified water, you dumbass.’’ 

Tanaka trudged into the restrooms just as you finished chewing Nishinoya out, walking in with a bright grin.

‘’That was fun!’’ You could only sigh in response.

After a few minutes, everyone took a quick shower in their respective stalls, dried up, and pulled on some dry clothes. You had just walked out of the dressing room when you met Sugawara’s gaze, who had just stepped out as well.

‘’Hey,’’ you gave him a bright smile. ‘’Where are we going now?’’ 

Sugawara hummed thoughtfully as the two of you strolled out of the foggy washrooms and the sun hit your still somewhat humid skin.

‘’I’m not sure. Oh,’’ he suddenly stopped in his tracks and you stopped as well. 

‘’What is it?’’ You asked while the grey-haired boy stared at his surroundings as if looking for the second-years. His eyes narrowed, but once he didn’t spot them, they returned to you, softening.

‘’I have something for you.’’ Fiddling with the backpack that was slung over his shoulder, you watched as he pulled out a small, black box.

‘’Suga…’’ You said, rather excited but cautious. ‘’If this is what I think it is-’’ 

‘’Huh?’’ He looked confused, but then his eyes widened. ‘’Oh! No, relax sweetheart,’’ he chucked. ‘’We’re still in high school, I’m not proposing.’’ 

‘’Oh, okay,’’ you replied, chest feeling much lighter. While you did like to think of marrying your boyfriend and other type of daydreams, right now was too soon for that...

‘’I was planning to give you this at the end of the day,’’ he said. ‘’But since we have some unexpected guests with us… I thought I’d just give it to you now, while they’re not here.’’ Slowly, he opened the box, and you let out a small gasp of surprise.

It was absolutely beautiful. The silver chain was gleaming in the sunlight, and the (favorite/color) heart pendant had a delicately carved S. A smile stretched across your lips, and Suga gently pulled out the necklace, looking at you expectantly.

‘’Would you like me to put it on you?’’ He asked softly, and you nodded eagerly. You stepped towards him, back facing his chest. You brushed your hair to the side, and you felt his long and nimble fingers trace your collarbone, before delicately placing the necklace around your neck. The cool metal made you slightly shiver, and your boyfriend quickly clasped it and stepped away. 

‘’What do you think?’’ 

‘’I love it!’’ Sugawara’s lips curled upwards. You quickly threw your arms around him, tugging him closer to press a brief but sweet kiss on his lips.

‘’Thank you so much. I have a gift of my own for you,’’ the boy’s eyebrows quirked upwards. ‘’But you’ll get it once you get home.’’ With a teasing smile on your lips, your boyfriend smirked and nodded.

‘’Alright then,’’ he leaned to your ear. ‘’I’ll be waiting to unwrap it.’’

Giggling giddily, you stepped away, and the familiar voices of Nishinoya and Tanaka interrupted your thoughts.

‘’Well, what do we have here!’’ Tanaka wolf-whistled at the sight of Sugawara’s hand on your lower back, and you rolled your eyes.

‘’A relationship, Tanaka. Of course, you wouldn’t know, would you now?’’ You cackled as the boy gasped and began to mutter to himself.

‘’Alright, alright, calm down you two.’’ The voice of reason, Suga, stepped into the conversation and placed his hand on your upper back. 

Nishinoya merely hummed and bopped his head, seemingly quiet for once. It was an odd sight. 

‘’It’s time to visit my favorite ride,’’ the mischief in your boyfriend’s voice made your heart skip a beat.

You had completely forgotten about the rollercoasters! What were you supposed to do now? Run away? Come up with a lame excuse to get off the hook? You doubted Tanaka and ‘Noya would be persuaded easily. 

‘’Wait a second…’’ Sugawara paused as he squinted his eyes towards the view ahead of you, a large and imposing roller coaster. 

‘’Oh wow! It’s a new roller coaster, and it looks even bigger and taller than the old one,’’ you could hear the childlike excitement in his voice and it tugged at your heartstrings. ‘’Let’s go check it out!’’ 

Without further ado, your boyfriend clasped onto your hand, and the two of you sprinted towards the ride, feeling like your stomach was about to leap onto the ground. At your left, you spotted the second-years racing towards the ride as well.

 Being only a few feet away from the coaster was nearly enough to give you a heart attack. You swallowed thickly and stared at the infrastructure. You were standing outside of the arch, which stretched into a sign that read, Cupid’s Arrow. A few feet ahead was the waiting line, with a few people already there. 

The railing of the ride was silver, but the actual seats of the ride were a soft pink, adorned with several hearts. You followed the people who had just hopped into the cart and winced as the ride began to move upwards, hearing the railing shift under it. It continued to increase in height, climbing, and climbing until it suddenly reached a stop. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in. It didn’t look too bad… hopefully it would be a slow descent from there?

Your eyes widened as the cart suddenly dropped, moving at such a fast speed you had to blink twice to spot it. The screams of delight- or fear, you couldn’t tell, from the passengers ripped through the air.

You were going to be sick. 

‘’That looks like so much fun,’’ your boyfriend commented. ‘’C’mon, let’s go stand in the waiting line.’’ 

‘’Wait…’’ you froze in your place and tugged on his sleeve. He stopped and turned around, a questioning look on his face. 

‘’What is it, Y/N?’’ He tilted his head to the side.

‘’I...I can’t,’’ the words stumbled out of your head, but you couldn’t manage to get anything else out. 

‘’You can’t what?’’ His voice was calm and firm. You swallowed nervously and dug your nails into your left palm.

‘’Yo! The waiting line is loosening up, we’re about to go on, let’s go!’’ Nishinoya interrupted. Just as you opened your lips to protest again, Sugawara perked up at words and quickly led you to the waiting line.

Inconveniently for you, the four sets of carts pulled up at the entrance, and you sat down in the second set with Sugawara. Nishinoya and Tanaka were sitting in front of you, talking excitedly. Your heart was beating madly, pounding so hard, it felt like you were going to die.

‘’Suga...Can we get off?’’ He turned to look at you, confused. But it was too late, the ride’s worker had already done their walk around each cart, securely locking everyone into their seats. A shrill alarm made you wince, and the carts lurched forward.

‘’Oh god…’’ you mumbled and closed your eyes tightly.

‘’Y/N?’’ Sugawara reached to place his hand over yours. The ride’s restraints were pressed against your neck, and a belt was closed firmly over your lap. ‘’Do you not like roller coasters? You should’ve told me earlier,’’ 

‘’No, I…’’ you couldn’t finish your sentence, as a scream ripped from your throat as the cart launched downwards. 

The wind slapped against your face, and falling from such a high distance sent your heart to your throat. You couldn’t stop screaming, couldn’t close your eyes as the ride only went faster, and faster, taking a turn and before you knew it, you were upside down. The ride slowed for a second, and you whimpered.

‘’I hate roller coasters,’’ you said in a small voice, closing your eyes just as the ride lurched forward again, another terrified scream ripping from your chest.

Your mind was muddled, your stomach doing backflips and pure horror lodged in your throat. Nausea overtook you like a warm, suffocating blanket, and you felt your stomach churn. 

The ride came to a slow halt, and you breathed shakily. Your mind was racing, bouncing from one place to another, the sudden rush of adrenaline still lingering in your veins.

‘’Y/N? Y/N!’’ You opened your voice and met Sugawara’s concerned gaze, as he quickly helped you take off the restraints and step out of the cart. The moment your shoe touched the ground, you were falling to the side. Thankfully, Suga caught you before you hit the ground, and kept you in his arms. 

‘’Are you feeling okay? Oh god, you screamed a lot. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you were terrified of roller coasters! I wouldn’t have even brought it up if I knew-’’ you raised your hand and stopped him in the middle of his rambling.

‘’It’s..okay,’’ but you weren’t. Nausea washed over you, wave after wave.

 ‘’But...I think I’m going to be sick.’’ The grey-haired boy's eyes widened. In a blink of an eye, he had you in his arms, and the two of you raced towards the closest restrooms.

‘’Hang on!’’ He said while rushing towards the stalls. ‘’We’re almost there.’’ Soon enough, you were set on the floor and puked your guts out on the toilet. You felt Suga’s warm hair push your hair out of your face, just so you wouldn’t dirty yourself.

After puking much more than you’d like, you panted, hunched over the toilet. Sugawara was rubbing circles on your back, and the second-hand embarrassment began to seep in. 

‘’Oh god,’’ you mumbled, slowly getting up. ‘’I’m so sorry you had to see me like that.’’ You grabbed the toilet paper that was next to the toilet, ripping a piece and cleaning your mouth.

‘’Hey, it’s alright,’’ Sugawara said. ‘’Nothing to be ashamed about. I should’ve picked up on the fact that you aren’t good with rollercoasters, I’m sorry this happened.’’ 

You shook your head and flushed the toilet. The two of you stepped out of the stall, trudging towards the sink.

‘’You were so excited, and I didn’t want to ruin that,’’ you opened the sink faucet, and began to clean your face, wiping away residue. ‘’But I think I ruined it either way…’’

Staring at the sink, you couldn’t meet Sugawara’s gaze. Instead, you leaned towards the faucet of water, cleaning your mouth from the stench of vomit as much as you could. God, this was so embarrassing.

‘’You didn’t ruin it,’’ Sugawara argued. ‘’We still have a day ahead of us, don’t we? I don’t care if you vomited sweetheart, it’s perfectly normal to do so. Besides,’’ he pulled you into his arms, resting his head on top of yours. ‘’being able to be with you, just like this, is better than anything else in this entire world.’’ 

‘’Really?’’ You murmured, cuddling into his chest. It was warm, and listening to his heartbeat was soothing.

‘’Really.’’ You smiled. Slowly, Sugawara pulled away, his hand squeezing your shoulders firmly, a new look of determination shining in his eyes.

‘’As I said, the day isn’t over yet. Why don’t we go out there and enjoy it, hm?’’ 

a/n: hey hey!! this was my first time writing for sugawara and my first ever haikyuu fanfic and honestly it went better than i expected-?? lmk what you guys think :3 if you enjoyed, please REBLOG, like, and leave comments on the post! feedback is greatly appreciated <3 

Copyright © 2021 by Veles. Do NOT repost, plagiarize, or read my content as ASMR or audiofics.

[padfootagain]

A Very Rose Mistake (VI)

Part 6: How You Almost Did

 Here I come with a new chapter for this series!!! I'm sorry the posting schedule is a little bit more hectic than usual, but depression is kicking my arse pretty badly, and it's harder to write then. BUT here is a new chapter!! Things are… evolving. A lot of this chapter is the flashback, because it's an important scene.

I hope you like this chapter, and don't forget to leave a little comment if you read, cause that really helps motivating me into writing, and I need that extra piece of motivation now more than ever, sadly.

No warnings here, it's pretty fluffy :)

Pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

Word Count : 4283

I.

Holmes Chapel, 2010

 "So… do you have everything?"

"Yeah, it's all ready."

"Did you take your inhaler? I won't be here to save your distracted arse this time."

"I do have it. Thanks, Lambkin."

"Fuck you, Chuckaboo."

"Oi!"

You laughed as you helped Harry carry his suitcase down the stairs. He was leaving to take a chance at X-factor. It was already crazy that he got through the first round of auditions, but now he had to travel across the country to start the first steps of the show.

Whenever the two of you talked about it though, he insisted that he would be back in the blink of an eye. He hadn't even expected to successfully get two 'yes' from the jury during the auditions, and now his purpose was to learn as much as he could from the experience, and enjoy it while it would last. It was a crazy adventure, but one he was certain would simply end in a flicker. He had asked you to get all the lessons for him that he would miss, so he wouldn't struggle too much when he would come back in a couple of weeks.

And to be honest, you thought the same about the whole thing as he did. It wasn't that you didn't believe in him enough, because you did. If there was one person that you trusted and believed in on this Earth, it was Harry. And you had heard him sing before, you knew he had talent, even if it was a little raw for now. You did not doubt though that he was full of potential, and with some hard work, could definitely stand a chance. But he was also a sixteen-year-old boy, from this little English town you called home where nothing happened, and he was your best friend. You had known each other since you were five. It was almost impossible for you to imagine him as anything else but the goofy teenager he was when around you. So, a professional singer? It was improbable up to a hilarious degree.

Still, you were nervous and sad at the sight of Harry checking the content of his backpack one last time, checking if he had everything. He would be leaving early the next morning. It was the last evening you would share before he was off for an unknown period of time, and even if you both assumed it would be but a short one, it was still scary to think about how you didn't know when you would next see him. Maybe it was simply because it had never happened before, you guessed so, at the very least. Anything unknown was scary, after all.

Harry was trying to keep a calm façade, but you were far from a fool, and knew perfectly well that he was, in reality, terrified about the whole endeavour. After all, he was going to be leaving his home for some time. Any sixteen-year-old would find the mere thought terrifying.

After you brought all of his bags to the hallway by the front door, ready for his journey the next day, you settled for a while in the kitchen, where you prepared some toasts and sandwiches for your dinner. Anne was working late, and would not be coming home for another hour or so, which meant that Harry and you could enjoy some quality time together for a little longer.

You both laughed as you almost burned down the kitchen preparing the toasts, both of you pretending for that time that everything was normal. It was almost as if you had both silently came to the agreement that for that evening, while the two of you were alone cooking in the kitchen, his journey of the next day was but a reverie, and instead, the next morning would simply be the beginning of a normal day.

You talked about video games, and TV shows you found funny but stupid, and school. You couldn't really describe why talking with Harry was so different to talking to anyone else. It was just so easy. Fluent. It came without an effort, and it seemed that the two of you could have been left there for hours on your own and would still have found some things to say to each other, some new topic to discuss. You had always attributed that trait of his to the fact that he was your best friend, and had been so for such a long time. Knowing him so well meant that there wasn't much you didn't dare to do in front of him. You weren't afraid to be yourself when he was around, never had been.

And for a long time, you reckoned that it was simply explained by you seeing a brother in him. A twin of sort that you had never had. But as puberty started its work, and your mind embraced new possible explanations and understood new kinds of relationships, you wondered if a brotherly bond was really what united so closely the two of you.

Because you weren't sure that it was all there was to it, really. Maybe, it wasn't the reason why you didn't like his girlfriends. Maybe it wasn't why you were so sad to say goodbye tonight. Maybe it wasn't why you trusted him so blindly all the time. Why you always forgave him.

But you were young, and you weren't quite sure yet of what you felt meant. Maybe you were just trying to figure yourself out, and were making a fuss of nothing.

Or maybe, Harry meant something else to you than a brother.

All you knew was that when the conversation finally quietened, slowing down to reach a full stop that filled the room with silence, his departure on the tip of both your tongues once more, you were sad and afraid like you had never been before.

"We should wash the dishes," Harry threw one last attempt at avoiding the floating threat hovering in the comfortable silence. One last ammunition used to keep his fear at bay for a little longer, and instead, bathe in your presence for a little longer.

He couldn't really explain how he felt about you. It wasn't something he had felt with the few girls he had been with before, and it wasn't either a level of intimacy that he had ever reached with any other of his friends. You were in that special box in his heart, that had only your name on it, and no one else's. More than a friend, but not a girlfriend either. Somehow, you were more than that to him. You were family to him. But he didn't see you like a sister either. Maybe he had for a while, but it slowly yet irremediably changed along the past few years. He wasn't sure to understand what that box your name lived in inside his heart was, but he was okay with that, for now. Sixteen was young after all, to understand matters of the heart.

For now, he simply wanted to be with you whenever he could, and that was enough.

He started to wash the plates in the sink, while you grabbed a clothe and started to dry the cutlery.

You didn't notice the glances he threw towards your direction, and he didn't notice the way your eyes lingered on his features as if to carve them into memory either. It was an unspoken, halfway type of zone you had settled in. It was hard to escape it now.

"Are you worried about tomorrow?" you asked, breaking the long silence that had settled in the kitchen, broken only by the distant murmur of cars passing by the street, and the water running from the faucet.

Had it been anyone else, Harry would have probably lied and pretended that he was perfectly fine.

But then, it was you, standing in that special little box of yours, and despite how fragile it made him feel, he answered you anyway.

"Yeah… I'm a bit nervous."

"I mean, I reckon it's normal to be so."

"Yeah… I mean, it's all new and I don't really know what will happen. And… huh… I think… It's gonna be hard to be away, I guess. I think I'll miss my mum a lot. And… and you too."

You stared at him for a moment, yellow photons from the lamp above your heads getting caught in the wild curls of his hair. He seemed a little lost. He was just a boy, after all.

You nudged him, trying to make him feel better.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure you'll be alright. Besides, you'll have fun, and make new friends over there, I'm sure. You will barely notice I'm not here."

He frowned, looking hurt at your statement, and you wondered why.

"You really think I would forget about you?" he asked, his voice a little too low, a little too deep, a little too fragile.

You shook your head, but he could see in the way you fidgeted with the cloth that you were not completely earnest with him.

"Of course not. I know you won't."

He turned off the water, the silence becoming deafening while he took his time to turn fully towards you, drying his hands on his worn-out jeans. Meanwhile, you were drying a plate, or at least, faking to do so, for there was no more water to sweep away across the porcelain. But it was easier to rub the white plate than to look at your friend at that moment.

"Hey, look at me."

When you stubbornly kept your eyes on this plate you kept on drying, Harry gently rested his hands upon yours, successfully interrupting your movements.

"Y/N. Please."

You let him take the plate away from you, putting it away before taking your chin in between his fingers to force you to turn to him. He wasn't surprised to find withheld tears glimmering in your eyes, yet the sight broke his heart all the same.

He couldn't see you cry. Never had been able to. He would have done anything to make you smile, and it had been so since the two of you were five.

He gave you a tender, reassuring smile.

"You're stupid sometimes, you know that?"

You frowned at that, taken aback. If anything, you weren't expecting that kind of response from him. But it wasn't all that he had to say.

"I could never forget you, you dummy. You're my best friend. You're… You're special to me. And whatever happens, I will never ever forget about you. Okay?"

You looked down at your feet, fleeing his green eyes that seemed to pierce right through all the pieces of armoury you had built around your soul. You nodded, slowly, your throat too tight to speak. But you weren't so worried anymore.

"You're not gonna forget about me either, are you?" he asked, his voice fragile again too.

You smiled one more time, looking up to find yourself trapped in the green hues of his irises.

"Now, you're being the silly one. Of course not. Besides, you'll be back in two weeks, tops. You're not half as charming as you think you are."

"Aren't I?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows in a ridiculous way, making you laugh.

"No, you're not."

As you both fell quiet again, you suddenly seemed hype-aware of Harry's hold on your chin, that hadn't wavered throughout your exchange. He brushed his thumb across the soft skin, making you gasp.

And all of a sudden, there was a shift between the two of you. The air across the room seemed to be filled with electricity, growing denser, and maybe it was why both of you found it harder to breathe. Or maybe it was the way you both lost yourselves in each other's eyes in a way you never had before.

You caught him as he glimpsed down at your lips. You noticed the way his eyes travelled across your mouth, as if he was hesitating, weighing his options. You saw his Adam's apple jumping as he struggled to swallow the lump that was growing in his throat. When his gaze flickered back to meet yours though, both of you could barely breathe at all, your two hearts stomping under your ribcages.

His hold on your chin had become more of a caress than a hold: gentle, brushing of fingertips against your skin, giving you back complete freedom of your movements. Yet, you didn't want to move away at all.

And when Harry leaned closer to you, it was your turn to glance at his lips, watching the two lines barely parted fall towards yours. And when you realized what he was doing, you stopped breathing altogether.

Because Harry was about to kiss you.

But then he stopped, merely an inch or so away, his breath fanning and brushing your lips, warm and staggering, uncertain through uneven pants. And he was absolutely sure that he had never felt anything as intense as this moment in his entire short life.

But he stopped, because it was you he was about to kiss. His best friend. And even if you lived in that special box in his heart, even if, to him, maybe it meant that you were more than just a friend to him, you were way too important for him to take any uncalculated risk. So instead of closing the gap between your mouths, he stood still, in his kitchen under the yellowish light of the lamp, fingers still a little wet from washing the dishes, or maybe it was more because of how nervous he was. He needed to give you a chance to step back and stop him.

So, he blinked a few times, staring at your eyes with a silent question in his green irises. To which you answered by leaning closer to him too.

So… you didn't want him to stop?

He moved his hand up your jaw, cupping your cheek instead, closing his eyes and focusing on how warm the air leaving your lungs was against his face, breaths mingling together halfway between your parted lips.

And you were about to meet when the front door of Harry's house loudly opened.

"Harry! Y/N! I'm home!"

Both you and Harry jumped away from each other as Anne was ruffling in the hallway, probably taking off her shoes and coat.

In the kitchen, you both shied away. The moment had passed, broken, and you both knew that there wasn't going to be any other moment for you to be alone before Harry would leave.

Harry looked over his shoulder, and before his mother would appear, he hurried to take your hand in his.

He seemed frightened, and a little frantic. A little desperate too, still struggling to catch his breath.

"We'll talk about it when I come back."

You stared at him intensely, and he took your other hand in his as well.

"It's a promise. We'll talk about what just happened when I come back, okay? Cause… that… that was a thing. Right?"

"Yeah… yeah I think it… was a thing."

He struggled to swallow, stuttering a little as he let down his armour before you completely, and with a shaky voice asked one more question.

"Will you… would you wait for me?"

You gave him a reassuring smile, and to his hands you gifted a tender squeeze.

"I will. I'll wait for you."

 II. 

Loch Lomond, 2020

 Harry was pretty when he slept.

Not that he was ever not pretty, you reckoned that Harry was a very handsome man in general. But there was something soft in the way he looked when he slept, peaceful, that you really loved.

Maybe it was his parted lips, or the soft sound of air leaving his lungs in a perfectly regular rhythm. The occasional little crease between his brow that appeared and vanished at the rhythm of his dreams. Or the way his eyelids trembled a little sometimes before growing still again, eyelashes perfectly bent in the most graceful curve barely disturbed by the movement at all. Or perhaps it was how messy his hair became as they rubbed against the pillow.

But you could hardly deny that the main reason was that Harry always grabbed whatever he could during the night and held onto it for dear life throughout the rest of the night. To ensure that he would not disturb your sleep – and knowing Harry, probably also because he was worried it would make you uncomfortable – he had hold onto a pillow for the first evening, making sure that he would not end up curled around you instead. And it had worked, the two of you waking up peacefully on each side of the bed.

But not today.

This morning, you opened your eyes to find that the reason why you felt so warm and snuggled up was because you were safely tucked in Harry's side, his arms wrapped around you and his nose almost brushing yours, face resting at the edge of his own pillow, legs tangled in a mess of limbs. A quick glance across the bed revealed that the pillow he was hugging when you went to bed the previous night was nowhere to be seen. You guessed that Harry had dropped it to the floor during the night, turned around, probably wearing across his features a grumpy little pout as he tossed and turned while still mostly asleep, until he found your form sleeping soundly on the other side of the mattress. And then, well, the rest was easy to guess given your current position.

There was a little voice in your head that kept on telling you to pull away. That you should have felt uneasy with your current position. And had it been anyone but Harry, yes, you guessed that you would have been uncomfortable right now and would have freed yourself with little regard for the other person's sleep. But the thing was, it was Harry.

It was Harry all cuddled up around you, holding you close, and you didn't feel uncomfortable at all. You felt safe and warm and taken care of. Because it was Harry holding you. Harry who had always been here for you, since your early childhood. You felt so safe with him all the time after all, this morning waking up in his arms wasn't different. It was safe, the same way you always felt whenever he was around.

It was barely dawn and the orange light of the rising sun bathed the room a colourful hue. It was still quite dark, despite the deep orange shades of the beams licking at the walls. Particles of light were caught in his wild curls, brown tainted with orange, and you spent long minutes studying the changes in the colours, the way the light made his cheeks look a little pinker, the way it seemed to hug his jawline, and was left stranded across his eyelashes and the stubble that coloured his skin. It took all of your strengths to refrain yourself from running your fingers across the swallows tattooed on his upper chest, but you were too scared of waking him if you did so. You couldn't help but stare at them though, the black ink rising and falling with his regular breathing. He was still wearing his cross necklace around his neck, the gold reflecting the morning light. It wasn't the first time that you saw him with a bare chest, and it wasn't the first either that he hugged you without a shirt on. But it didn't stop you from shivering in the best way when he moved his arm around you ever so slightly, his bare skin sliding across your own bare arms. Because you were trapped in his arms, your arms folded between your two bodies, your hands were pressed against your chest. But now that your eyes were settling on his skin again, a little tanned and looking so invitingly smooth, you really couldn't summon enough willpower to not reach across the inches-long gap between your hand and his chest, and you gently rested your palm against his heart. You could feel the organ beating under his skin and muscles, little rhythm pulsing through your skin. Regular, soothing, safe. Just like Harry.

After a long while staring at him, with a smile across your lips you hadn't even noticed, your gaze moved across the room to settle upon the window instead, and you watched the quiet waters of the loch as it reflected the bright gold and orange of the sky. With the trees alongside the shores also covered with autumnal hues, it looked as if someone had painted the entire scene in shades of ochre. It was peaceful, a landscape still barely awake, that only the wind carrying freshly fallen skeleton leaves seemed able to disturb.

You didn't know for how long you had remained like this, staring at the landscape outside, safely tugged in Harry's warmth, when he finally started to stir and wake up. You turned to him again just in time to catch his eyes fluttering open, green irises appearing in the early morning light that fell upon your face instantly, as if they had been looking for you as a reflex. A bright smile appeared on his lips at the sight of your dishevelled and freshly awaken form in his arms.

"Morning," he mumbled, sleep making his voice deeper than usual, raw and warm.

"Good morning," you answered with a smile of your own.

He snuggled closer to you, until you were tugged under his chin, so he could bury his face in your hair, inhaling the addicting fragrance of your shampoo.

You were so warm against him. He could feel your hand pressed to his chest, and the mere touch was enough to set his whole body on fire. Your smell was reassuring, so reassuring, like the scent of something familiar, the scent of an old memory. And he felt so safe like this, with you in his arms. Invincible. Yes, that was the word. He felt invincible, like nothing bad could ever happen while he held you as close as he did now.

Why hadn't he done that sooner? It felt amazing.

His eyes snapped open when the thought finished to form in his mind.

Why hadn't he done that sooner? Because you were just a friend.

He quickly unwrapped his arms from around you, pushing himself away and in his haste to put distance between your two bodies, falling from the bed and onto the wooden floor and the pillow that had grown cold after he had lost it during the night. He let out a loud 'ouch', and when you peered beyond the bed, Harry was rubbing his arse cheek through his sweatpants. And you couldn't stop yourself from laughing at him.

"You alright down there?"

"Oh shut up!" he fought back, looking all pouty and grumpy, and you found the sight so ridiculously adorable that you had to laugh to stop yourself from melting instead.

"Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?" you asked a little more seriously.

"My butt and my ego will be equally bruised by the incident for a few days," he replied, but he couldn't refrain a smile of his own as the situation was rather hilarious.

You laughed at that, but grew silent again when he finally looked up at you. He seemed uncomfortable, running a hand in his hair. Embarrassed, even. And for some reason, it hurt to see him react like this.

"I… I'm sorry."

"About?"

"About… how we woke up," he apologized, stumbling on his words and stuttering a little. "I… I must have lost my pillow during the night."

"I had figured that much."

"I… I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"You didn't. It's okay."

He gave you a hopeful stare.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," you nodded. "I mean, you were just hugging me, not much to say about it."

Nothing much to say about it? Then why was your heart still beating this fast just thinking about it then?

"I… you sure you're okay?"

You rolled your eyes at him.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's fine."

"Oh. Okay."

Harry had to admit that he was surprised that you were taking this so… well. As if it didn't have any meaning at all. When he had woken up cuddling you, holding you as close as he could.

As he finally stumbled back to his feet, he had to admit that he was not just surprised, he was also a little disappointed. Because he didn't take the situation as lightly as you did, and that was because…

He pushed the thought away before it could finish forming in his mind. He didn't need to think about this at all. It was all something from the past. He was over it. Had been for a while. No need to think of it again.

"Right. Well, still, I'm sorry."

"You were asleep, it's alright."

"You should have woken me up."

"I… I was barely awake myself, hadn't really processed what was going on yet."

It was a lie, but he seemed to buy it.

"Oh… okay."

"Besides, I've noticed by now how clingy you can be!" you joked, making him chuckle.

"Right… uhm… I'm gonna go take a shower, and then we can go grab a bite for breakfast, yeah?"

"Sure, you can take the shower first."

"Thanks."

And indeed, Harry was grateful that you granted him access to the bathroom first. Because he could hide how much he was blushing in there.

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

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[wutroows]

in a heartbeat (captain rex x reader)

pairing: captain rex x reader (romantic), hints of anakin x reader but best friends  request:  Can we have some Captain Rex for 161? prompt:  “Are you…drunk?” requested by: anon a/n: this is probably one of the longest things i’ve written on this blog. it takes me a while to write just in general for long periods of time because it really hurts my wrists to type, but i’m proud of this one overall. hopefully you enjoy it and where it led to!! 

you didn’t mean to drink that much, first of all. 

your time with anakin had quickly gotten out of hand. it started off as a joke, and it quickly evolved into drinking and talking about anything and everything. anakin was your best friend, after all. the one who you felt like you could go to about anything. the one you confided your secrets in, your emotions in, even if it was against the jedi code. you didn’t care, and neither did anakin, (that should be obvious, everyone knew he was in a relationship with padme). 

and you also didn’t mean to get yourself at rex’s bedroom door, either. 

your feet seemed to take you there, no matter how many times your drunken brain said it was a bad idea. you stood outside of his door, staring it down. a sigh escaped your lips and you brought your hand up to knock, only to lose your balance and have your head hit the door instead. 

you heard shuffling, and then the door opening. 

before you knew it, you were headed straight for the ground 

that was, until rex had caught you, arms wrapped around your waist as tightly as they could be without hurting you.

you looked up at him, a goofy smile on your face. “y/n?” he raised an eyebrow and gently sat you down as best as he could on his bed, shutting the door behind him with his foot. you nodded. “hi, rexy!” he rolled his eyes. that nickname, as much as it was annoying and embarrassing in public, made his heart feel like it would combust on the spot. 

he liked you. he knew he shouldn’t have, but he managed to fall for you anyways. your kindness and ability to think of him differently than all of his clone brothers, it seemed impossible to not fall for you. you were a genius in battle, too, but that was only a plus. he couldn’t even care less if you were a clutz, or couldn’t hold a lightsaber properly, you were you. that’s all he cared about. 

“why.. why are you here?” he asked you after a moment, and you shrugged your shoulders. “i wanted to go back to my room but my feet,” you swung your feet back and forth, angling your head so you could look up at the taller man standing in front of you, “my feet led me right to you.” 

“are you... drunk?” 

“mayyyybe... a little.” you giggled, poking at his chest. for once he wasn’t wearing that armor. it was a little refreshing to see him without it on. he was pretty. you knew that now, sober you knew it too. you knew you shouldn’t form attachments, especially to the clones, but you couldn’t help it. you’d developed so many special relationships with each of them, but your relationship with rex confused you the most. he was so pretty, weirdly more beautiful than his brothers who looked the same as he did. though, all of their personalities were different. most days, you’d forget they were clones, and instead, they would be one big family of brothers who all looked exactly the same. 

“what did you do?” his tone was stern. you’d only hear him talk like this when giving commands, knowing he was seriously angry at you or concerned enough for him to command you to tell him what happened. “i just.. i had fun with ani.” you used a nickname padme had given him. it’d quickly became something you called him frequently and neither of them could stop it. rex knew automatically who you were talking about, and his eyes were practically bulging out of his head. “had fun?” 

“we drank, rexy!” 

he pressed his palm to his forehead, hiding the fact that he was secretly happy that was all you did. he was hopeless. 

you reached your hand out, pulling his arm so he’d be sitting down next to you. you took your bottom lip between your teeth, taking his hand into yours. “this is nice.” you said simply after a moment, not quite realizing how big of an effect your actions had on the captain sitting next to you. “yeah.. nice.” 

you let go of his hand after his words, not wanting to make him uncomfortable in any way you could. as soon as you pulled your hand away from his, he brought it right back to where it was. his fingers gently entwined with yours, and he stared straight ahead at the wall in front of him, trying not to think about his pounding heart. 

“rex?” 

he hummed in response, looking over at you out of the corner of his eye. “what is it?” he asked you, noticing you said nothing. “you’re so pretty.” you told him after a moment, a lovesick smile across your features. “yeah, you’re definitely drunk.” 

“listen.. listen, please.” you slurred out, turning to face him slowly, not wanting to fall off the bed as you’d fallen before. without rex there to catch you, knowing your luck, you’d probably have to be taken care of by a bunch of doctors for weeks. bringing your attention back to the man sitting in front of you, your free hand shakily moved up to cup his cheek. “you really.. are pretty.” the flushed look on your features should’ve given it away, but rex was a stubborn man. knowing the person he’d fallen in love with had loved him back would send him into cardiac arrest, so he refused to believe any of your words. he shook his head, taking your wrist and pulling your hand away from his cheek.

“you’re.. special. you’re special.” trying to find the right words, you squeezed your eyes shut and furrowed your eyebrows, desperately trying to make yourself look like less of an idiot. “you’re just.. you.. you’re so.. perfect. so beautiful.. inside and out.” you didn’t sound incredibly drunk in that moment, finally finding some sense of sobriety as you confessed to him. “you make me so.. so happy. my heart always.. feels like it’s gonna pop right out of me whenever i see you..” you admit to him, hands covering up your face as he stared at you, frozen in place. 

part of him wanted to believe what you were saying to him. the way you looked at him as you spoke made his heart pound, and hearing those words compared with the look in your eyes made him feel like he was the only man in the galaxy for you to fall in love with. but why him? he was a clone, he was one in millions of his brothers. he was nothing special. he didn’t deserve having someone love him, especially a jedi like you were. he pointed out so many flaws in himself as your eyes stared helplessly into his own, begging for him to say something, anything, back to you. he was just a clone. there were so many people in the galaxy who could give you a family, who could give you true happiness. he would age too fast for you, he probably never would be able to give you a family, something you told him you would want if you weren’t a jedi. he was nothing special. absolutely nothing. 

what kind of crazy person would fall in love with him? 

you were drunk and probably just talking out of your ass, but he couldn’t help but wish the words you spoke to him were true. all he could do is hope. 

“y/n.” he spoke after a few minutes sitting in silence with his thoughts. “you know you’re drunk, you don’t mean any of this, y/n.” rex concluded. your eyes stared straight through him, and he was hoping you weren’t secretly reading his thoughts and finding out how he truly felt about you. he knew you meant nothing of your confession to him, anyways. 

there were only two people (that he knew of) who were aware of his feelings towards you. anakin, and his togruta padawan, ahsoka tano. the two of them were always around each other, stuck together like glue. it was endearing, but whenever the two of them were together they were so much worse than when they were alone. the teasing was relentless. it wasn’t incredibly surprising though, they rubbed off on each other, having already been similar before meeting. 

“but i do! i do mean this, rex!” your volume increased and his face contorted, a hand covering up your mouth for a moment. he looked straight into your eyes as he spoke, “if you mean this, tell me when you’re sober. please.” you pushed his hand off of your mouth, and stumbled out the door to his room. 

-

you woke up with a pounding headache that morning. you barely remembered walking back to your quarters the night prior, and for some reason, you remembered feeling upset. you pushed that thought out of your mind and begrudgingly climbed out of bed. 

you felt the headache behind your eyes and you knew you got drunk last night. however, you had no idea what you talked about or who you were with other than anakin. you could only hope you didn’t embarrass yourself too much.

how that aged poorly. 

you’d quite literally ran into rex in the hallway. he was easily recognizable, with the jaig eyes which stood out in a crowd, and the tally marks he had engraved on the side of his helmet. they stood for how many battle droids he’d taken down, but you knew full well that he couldn’t keep track anymore. your eyes stared straight ahead into his chest, wanting to pretend he was just invisible and that you could walk through him. unfortunately, it didn’t work that way. 

“y/n. i needed to talk to you.” rex told you, hands raising up to remove the helmet from his head. “alright, alright.” you replied back to him. he’d turned away from you and led you back to his bedroom, telling you he wanted to talk to you in a place that could be private so someone wouldn’t barge in looking for either of you. they’d all have to wait until after this conversation was over. 

rex’s door opened with a creak, and you felt a sense of deja vu hit you. 

your knocking on the door, then almost falling and busting your head open on the ground. that was, until the captain standing in front of you saved you. why did you come to rex’s room last night? you had no idea. you guessed that what you said last night was what this was about. 

“listen, i know i probably said some stuff last night.. i want to apologize for that.” 

“no, no. no need to apologize.” he insisted, a small smile on his lips. “i just.. i knew you’d forget what you said, you were hammered last night. i wanted to tell you.. ask you, if you really meant what you told me.” 

you furrowed your eyebrows, tilting your head a bit to signify your confusion. 

i told him. you thought in your head, biting awkwardly at the inside of your cheek as he eyed you. “you told me i was pretty, that i was special.. that i was perfect to you. did you mean that?” you sighed, putting your head in your hands, not wanting him to see the embarrassed look on your face. of course you meant what you said. he really was perfect. 

but you wished you didn’t tell him that while you were drunk.

“i did mean all those things, rex. i just.. wish i told you sober, first.” you managed to laugh your way through the awkward aura in the room, and he scratched at the back of his neck. “what does that mean?” he asked you after a few moments in silence. “it means i like you.”

there it was. it was out. 

“why?” he said. you turned to look at him, inhaling deeply. you shrugged. you didn’t know exactly why you liked him. you just did. “you’re really kind, you’ve always been there for me, on and off the battlefield. you’re one of the people i’m closest to and.. i guess it was inevitable for me to like you.” you paused, “but, you don’t have to like me back or anything! don’t feel pressured to do that..”

“no, i’m not pressured at all.”

“what?”

“i do like you, y/n.” 

“really?”

he nodded. you felt yourself smile until your cheeks began to hurt and you quickly pulled him into your arms. “finally.. i don’t have to hide it anymore.” his armor was bulky and uncomfortable on top of you, but you couldn’t care less. “rex?” he hummed in response, his eyes closed with a smile on his face. “will you.. be my boyfriend?” 

“of course i will.” he replied back to you, his lips finding your cheek. you felt yourself flush, squeezing your eyes closed until they hurt as bad as your cheeks did. you grabbed his shoulders and pushed him a bit, signaling him to get off of you and to lie down next to you. he followed your actions and did as you told him to. 

“close your eyes, rex.” 

“w-”

“just do it.”

he complied, and your hands gently cupped his cheeks. you took the opportunity to look at him for a moment. he was beautiful to you, he always had been. he was different than his clone brothers, he was so much more than he gave himself credit for. your thumbs ran over his cheekbones, and you took a deep breath, finally putting your lips to his. he freezes up. this was his first kiss, and he didn’t know what to do.

where did he put his hands? how does he kiss you back in a way that feels good for the both of you? all of his questions were answered as you moved one of his hands to your waist, and he subconsciously pulled you closer to his form. you tasted of honey. he kept his eyes half open, watching as you came back for air to make sure this wasn’t just a figment of his imagination. 

you pulled away, laughing happily as you pressed your forehead against his. “i’m happy.” you told him, nose bumping against his every time either of you moved. “i’m happy too.” you heard his voice say. you were glad he was happy. he seemed to enjoy the kiss you’d given him. the truth was, that kiss he shared with you he’d imagined in his head millions of times, hoping that one day it would come true. finally it did.

“y/n.. what if the council-” you put a finger over his lips, shaking your head. “rex, i don’t care about the council. let them find out. i’d leave the jedi order for you in a heartbeat.” 

as you said that, he realized he would leave all he’s ever known for you,

fighting in a war that wasn’t his to fight, or raising a family of his own with the love of his life? he would take the latter in a heartbeat.