#which isn't a good airport generally

[liblarrian]

Hot take but airports should have more tables

[pajarinwrites]

中秋节 | Wen Junhui x Reader

➳ fem!reader x jun

➳ wc: 6.1k

➳ TAGS: idol!au, established relationship

➳ WARNINGS: omg um, cunnilingus, jun is a SIMP, piv sex, unprotected sex (wrap it, my dudes), praise, just general adorable lovey dovey softness, but like medium rough sex? ig, not really rough?, i never know how to write warnings, just like i don't know how to write smut woops sorry

➳ AN: HAPPY MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL BITCHES and 女王们; this is only moderately edited bc i actually meant to publish smt for 中秋节 last year but i didn't finish it in time so here it is now (I’m sure it’s still autumn festival somewhere in the world…)! I LOVE WEN JUNHUI

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE SMUT I HATED THIS AHHHH i don't think i'll ever be able to write any smut in which the man isn't a simpering, whimpering, submissive, cowering, crawling, obsequious little simping piece of trash; it's just how i like my men, but i kinda wanna challenge myself some time, not this time though :P also i'm low-key proud of this smut? i used miraclewoozi as an inspiration bc their smut is literal art...

also, literally three pieces in one week??? WHO AM I??? this is more than in the entire year before combined, i fear lmao. sorry. i'm off to return to hibernate in my bog for another six months now thx bye, RIN OUT *drops mic

masterlist

Jun stepped out of the airport into the sweltering heat, but had to find that merely knowing the weather conditions was quite different from being prepared for them. Luckily, he had left enough space in his carry-on to take off the jacket and sweater that he had needed in chilly Seoul and during the flight – airplane ACs were notoriously unpredictable. Despite this, Hong Kong never seized to amaze him with its constant warmth. At least the eternal sunshine gave him a good excuse to wear a cap and sunglasses at all times.

He flagged down a cross-border cab because, frankly, he didn’t feel like taking the crowded metro all the way home. This way he saved himself from a lot of heat, hassle, and the potential of being recognised, even if it delayed him. As expected, the traffic in the city was a nightmare and he did make it home later than strictly necessary. He paid the fee, dodging the driver’s interested gaze, and mumbling a small “mh gōi” before dashing into his building.

When he was finally standing in front of his apartment door, Jun felt ready to just lock himself in his room for the rest of the night. That was, until the door opened to reveal his parents and little brother. Immediately, his frown softened and he dropped his bags to engulf them in one enormous hug.

“I missed you guys so much,” he exclaimed to groans from his little brother and a soft smile from his mother.

This was most likely going to be the last chance he got to spend more than a day or two with them. With their world tour and his busy filming schedule just around the corner, he wouldn’t have time for months.

Jun had spent years of Zhōngqiūjié apart from them. It wasn’t easy to watch most of his members be able to visit their homes and spend Chuseok with their loved ones. Some years it was only him, Minghao, and Joshua in the dorms. But he wasn’t going to dwell on that. Not when he could finally hold the people he loved the most in his arms. Well, most of them at any rate. He would never get used to having to choose between his biological and his chosen family.

His mother peeled herself away from him, squeezing his cheek and insisting that he had grown even more handsome over the last few weeks.  His step father clapped him on the shoulder and asked him about the flight; his brother asked if he had brought him anything cool. Unable to stop smiling for even a second, Jun assented to both questions. He was led to the living room by his mother to sit and relax after the ‘strenuous journey’, giving him a moment to fish the presents out of his luggage, handing one off to his little brother.

“Thanks, gē!” YangYang exclaimed and bounded off to his room to open it in peace. Their mother called after him, “Don’t forget to do your homework before playing! Dinner will be ready in an hour!” Jun smiled, handing his parents the other one.

“You shouldn’t have! I keep telling you we don’t need anything.”

“But I want to get you guys nice things, mā.”

She looked trapped half-way between smitten and resigned, but accepted the present gracefully. With a kiss on the top of his head she stated, “You can rest a little before I call you boys for dinner. I’m making your favourite.”

He thanked her, foregoing the idea of retiring to his room in favour of joining his mother in the kitchen. Most of the ingredients were already laid out on the counter, but when she bent down to pick up something from the bottom shelf, she gasped, “I can’t believe it! Where did all of our rice noodles go? I don’t think this is enough. And I also forgot to buy bamboo shoots earlier!”

She turned around, apologetically, and murmured about having to go to the market real quick to get some. Jun held out his hand to stop her in her tracks.

“Don’t worry, mā. I’ll go get the missing ingredients, and you can get started on the other dishes.”

“No let me go, Jun. You’ve just had a taxing flight and—“ His step-father tried to intervene.

“It’s absolutely no problem!” Jun insisted, not paying his parents’ protests any mind. He grabbed his sunglasses from the side table by the entrance and was out the door before either of them could stop him.

Jun had missed their shèqū, its homely atmosphere, the bustling of the people on the street, and hence didn’t mind the opportunity for a late-night stroll. The closest super market was just down the short road at the main square, and he stopped by quickly before continuing on his way to the live market.

There was a certain nostalgia in going to the market like this, just the way he used to with his mother when he was younger. The stalls didn’t even seem to have changed at all. There was the same group of old ladies dancing in the small park to the side, and a little further down the road, a small group of children was taking turns, performing on a gǔzhēng. Jun watched the windows of his old piano school pass by, still partially lit as students practiced inside. At the corner of the next street was the second-hand book store they had often visited, next to the pharmacy in which he used to sit on the kiddie rides for ages, singing along to jiātíng chēnghu or liǎng zhī lǎohǔ.

Still lost in nostalgia, he stopped by one of the vegetable vendors to acquire the bamboo shoots. Jun enjoyed strolling the aisles leisurely, taking a look at all the things that were being sold. As he rounded one of the displays, someone else was cutting the corner in the opposite direction. Jun barely managed to dance out of the trajectory of them, murmuring an immediate, “Sorry, are you okay?”

He pulled down his sunglasses and looked at the person in front of him in worry. They looked up, locked eyes with him and whisper-screamed, “Oh my god! Wen Junhui?”

Jun was taken aback for only a split second, which he spent worrying he had been recognised, before he could place your face. He hadn’t seen you properly in years, just another name on the long list of people he had to leave behind. The last time you had run into each other had been during Rock With You promotions, when Minghao and he had taken time for their own schedules in China. His eyes crinkled in the corners but he still didn’t dare to take off his mask.

“It’s been so long!” He said instead. You had pulled him into your arms within a second, just a quick squeeze before remembering where you were. You pulled away, pouting, “You didn’t tell me you’d be back.”

“Sorry, it slipped my mind. I also didn’t think I’d have enough time to meet you. Not properly…”

You wiggled your eyebrows, “What does that mean?” Jun blushed, making you laugh. “I’m kidding, A-Jun. But I’m glad we ran into each other. I mean, what are the odds!”

“I didn’t even know whether you still lived here,” he admitted, sheepishly. But Jun wished profoundly that you could feel how earnest he was being. You didn’t actually seem to mind his failure to alert you of his arrival, despite your history. Instead, you continued in your usual chirpy manner, “Yeah, I managed to find work close by so I could stay here. But I’m here here just for the holiday. Staying at my parents, you know.” Jun nodded, accompanying you to the register under more animated chatter.

“Do you have to get anything else?” You asked after you had stepped out the open market. He negated, returning the question.

“Me neither,” you replied, hesitating shortly before continuing, “I guess that means we’ll have to part ways again…”

The way your voice trailed off and your eyebrows knitted together made Jun reply before thinking better of it, “Actually, I think my mā can wait for these bamboo shoots a little longer…” You face lit up with such intensity and immediacy that Jun had to chuckle.

“In that case let’s take a stroll through the park. I’ve been keeping up with Seventeen obviously, but I want to hear from you, personally, how you’ve been doing.”

Falling into step beside you felt so easy. Together, you walked the same paths you did when you were teenagers, talking about everything and anything – back before he had to leave for Korea. He talked a lot about the shoots, dorm fights and misunderstandings, and how much he had missed his mother’s cooking. You winked, asking whether he hadn’t missed you at all, and he couldn’t string together a coherent sentence in reply. Instead he sputtered for a few seconds before you let him off the hook.

“It’s fine. I was joking, Jun. Oh, look!” Jun was glad for the distraction as he watched you hurry of to the pavilion down the path. If you hadn’t changed the subject he might’ve said something stupid. But when you spun around to face him under the colourful roof, with the small pond and the bamboo in the background, he wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t say something stupid yet.

He was sitting next to you, listening to you rant about your catty co-workers, absent boss, and the general annoyances of adulthood, unable to stop himself from grinning like an idiot at the familiarity, the ease of the whole situation. At some point he shot his mom a text to let her know that he ran into you and to eat without him. She simply replied that he should take his time, but he felt like she was secretly glad to have the two of you reconnect. Your conversations veered from family to old memories together until eventually, when the sun had set almost completely, you got up abruptly.

“I should get back. My mom wasn’t expecting me back immediately but at this point she’s probably wondering if I’ve gotten lost.” Jun nodded, getting up with you and stepping out of the pavilion. You threw one look back over your shoulder before smiling down at your shoes.

“I don’t know if you remember but… this is where you said goodbye…” Jun blinked slowly before the memory registered. He couldn’t believe that he hadn’t immediately thought of the day he went to Korea, the last day he spent with you, the day he missed his chance to say so many things he had wanted to say.

“Oh,” he breathes softly, “yeah, I remember. But it’s not a very fun memory.”

Jun decides to look anywhere but you, at the trees lining the road home to his apartment building, the birds flying overhead, the children playing across the street.

“I have to agree. But I’m glad to have you back now. Even if it’s just for an afternoon.”

“Actually, you should visit tomorrow! If you want, of course. I don’t think my family would mind seeing you again after such a long time, and…”

He stops in his tracks. The two of you have reached the intersection at which your ways part. Jun turned to face you. The words were still stuck in his throat, just like all those years ago, just like every time he’s seen you since. But this time, with your hopeful eyes looking up at him, he takes a deep breath. This time will be different. He takes the leap.

“… and I’d also love to spend more time with you.”

You smile in reply, and agree to visit tomorrow. To say goodbye, you hug him again, and he feels like he’s floating all the way home. Maybe tomorrow he’ll gain the courage to tell you everything that he’s been keeping in his heart.

Their dorms were quiet, the shared living areas swallowed in darkness as Jun excited his room. He had been talking to his family via video call for the past hour or two, catching up and trying their best to celebrate Zhōngqiūjié together, even when they were physically apart. You had initially planned on joining the call, but there had been last minute plans that had kept you from it. Even though Jun understood, he had been able to help feeling a little crestfallen when you had told him about it. The two of you had made it work since he confessed to you a year ago, talking almost weekly on the phone because both his and your commitments kept you from visiting all too often. And since this year he couldn’t visit home because of the impeding comeback, he would’ve at least enjoyed talking to you on the holiday proper, instead of just during one of your regularly scheduled calls. Especially with how long it had been since he’d last seen you in person in June. To him, an eternity.

Vernon, Dokyeom, and Chan had returned to their families for the evening to celebrate Chuseok together, leaving the dorm deserted, save Jun himself. They’d all met up for lunch as a celebration before most left to go home. It was an effort by the Korean members to ease the homesickness of those that wouldn’t be able to see their families over the holiday. Seungkwan had ended up accompanying Vernon, while Joshua and Minghao decided to simply celebrate with each other, even though they hadn’t been lacking in invitations either. Jun had made the same decision. They had let him know they’d be out until the night but that he could join them at their apartment later.

Especially Dokyeom had had a hard time simply leaving Jun behind, but the older man had insisted that he was going to be fine, and that it would give him a chance to call his family in China. But coming out of his room and being greeted with a cold, dark apartment, made Jun question his decision. He sighed, contemplating for a second whether he should simply return to his room instead of feeling the hollow emptiness of their shared dorm. But before he could make a decision, the doorbell rang.

He wasn’t expecting anyone, so the sudden shrill of the bell surprised him. Maybe it was one of the members, back early. Maybe Minghao and Joshua had decided to surprise him at the apartment. But when he looked at the screen of the camera system, he was greeted with a sight wholly unexpected. His breath hitched as he looked at you, your eyes staring straight at the camera, a warm smile on your face. Jun buzzed you in, jittery with nerves as he worried you might disappear or he might wake up. You had been talking about your crazy workload and extra assignments for the past few weeks, how on earth were you here?

This has to be a dream, he thought, standing in the open door and waiting for the tell-tale ping of the elevator. When he heard it, he couldn’t even wait for you to round the corner. In slippers, he sprinted down the hallway to the lift, coming face to face with you as you were trying to heave your luggage out. Jun cast it aside, picking you up and spinning you around. He buried his face in the side of your neck, breathing in the scent of your perfume and your skin.

“How are you here?” He whispered after a good few seconds of spinning and listening to your tinkling laugh.

“Well, you know, I bought a plane ticket, went to the airport in Hong Kong, I got on a plane—“ Jun interrupted you by picking you up again, proclaiming his happiness while you insisted that he finally put you down. If he had been a better man, he might’ve listened immediately. As it stood, it took the two of you several minutes to make it the short way from the elevator to his apartment door, Jun stopping every few seconds to give you another spin or a kiss.

Once you had finally made it safely inside, he brought your luggage to his room, before returning to the shared space and staring at you in fascination. There you were, right in front of him, leaning onto the counters of his dorm’s kitchen as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“How did you know I’d be home?” He asked and you giggled, presumably at his flabbergasted expression.

“I kind of asked the members for help…”

“What? Who?”

In hindsight, he thought he should’ve expected this. There had been a curious lack of invitations extended to him this year. Especially considering that Joshua and Minghao were still invited everywhere. And, thinking about it now, the fact that the two of them had insisted on spending the evening ‘outside’ without Jun had also been more than a little suspicious.

“Almost all of them helped coordinate it, actually. They all had to be in on it to some extent.”

“When did you start planning this?” He asked, making his way over to you. One last time, he picked you up, setting you down softly on the counter. This time you let him do as he pleased without protest, choosing to answer his question instead, “Like a month ago or so. When it started becoming clear that you’d have no chance to make it home this year.” Jun hummed in response, stepping closer to stand between your legs. His arms found their place around your waist.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” he murmured, resting his head on your shoulder and sighing deeply when he felt you wrap your arms around him. He wished you could stay like this forever, or at least for a very, very long time. You turned your head, whispering that you had brought yuèbǐng from Shenzhen with you and he nodded automatically. Mentally, he was still focused only on your presence, the fact that he got to hold you in his arms and use his thumbs to draw absentminded circles on your waist. If he hadn’t been so focused on your body, he would’ve missed the small hitch of your breath as he exhaled against the column of your throat. He smirked lightly, murmuring something along the lines of ‘we can eat them later’ before attaching his lips to the place where your shoulder and neck met. You gasped, more audibly this time as he sucked on the sensitive skin, following the line of your collarbone. You tugged at his t-shirt, whispering that you should move to his bedroom but Jun smirked against your skin, slowly pushing up your shirt. As he tossed it over your head, he whispered, “Don’t worry, we’ve got the apartment to ourselves all night.”

He smoothed his hands under your thighs, grabbing onto your plush flesh and cursing the layer of your pants for stopping him from feeling your skin. Jun pulled you closer, to the edge of the counter, so that he could finally feel you pressed to him again, making his hands wander back up. He placed them on your waist, gingerly at first, as if you were going to vanish into thin air if he didn’t handle you with enough care. He still wasn’t sure you weren’t a figment of his imagination how you were sitting in front of him, hair and clothes messy from your flight, but your eyes shining so brightly he thought you were the most ethereal being on this planet. But when you bucked your hips forward against his, all that restrain flew out the window. He slid his hands lower from your waist, relishing in every inch of skin he got to touch along the way, before he settled them on your ass, encouraging your motions even further. Your arms tightened around him, one hand finding its way into his hair, the other toying with the collar of his t-shirt before slipping downwards and below the fabric to caress his back. He groaned, moving one hand - albeit reluctantly – away from your hips to tilt your head to the side. He was overwhelmed with your nearness, the swell of your breasts pressed against him, the smell of your skin filling his senses, spreading through him, expanding into every corner of his consciousness until all he could perceive was your presence, your breath, your skin on his.

You kissed him with so much vigour that he felt light-headed, the sparkle of your eyes encapsulated him, as if he was floating in space, surrounded by innumerable stars, twinkling around him. In his weightlessness, your hands were caressing him, still. You dropped them to the hem of his t-shirt, tracing along the exposed skin there as the rhythm of your hips never faltered.

You broke away, Jun following your lips with a whine. He wasn’t yet ready to leave your cosmos, but you pressed a soft hand against his chest, tugging his shirt off. Jun, personally, would have preferred to resume kissing you breathless right away, but you had other plans. Your hands returned to his chest, covering the expanse of his pectorals, gliding over the ridge of his shoulder, caressing every centimetre of skin while tracing the muscles across his torso. Every touch left a tingling feeling, pulling him deeper and deeper into your gravitation. His head was thrown back in pleasure, his eyes screwed shut while he tried (and failed) to even out his breathing under your attentive ministrations. When your hands returned to his chest and you flicked against his nipples tentatively, his head dropped forward in defeat, colliding with your shoulder.

He was breathing more heavily than he’d like to admit, as if he really was slowly rising through the atmosphere, the air becoming thinner and thinner. His cock was painfully hard, you grinding against it deliciously with every roll of your hips. Separated by way too many layers, Jun thought dimly before tapping against your ass, signalling for you to lift your hips off the counter.

You complied easily, leaning back in a way that allowed him to strip you of your comfy leggings. He watched you shudder at the feeling of cool marble under your skin, goosebumps forming at the sensation. Reverently, he let his hands glide up and down your legs, watching you shiver again, just from his touch. He hadn’t even realised that he had lowered himself down until one of your hands grabbed for his hair and tilted his head back.

Ripped out of his reverie, Jun stared up at you, towering over him, backlit by the kitchen lights. If it hadn’t meant leaving your reach, Jun would have fallen to his knees right this second. In this light, you looked like a higher being, come to cast divine judgement on him, a final reckoning. Jun found he would have taken any verdict, as long as it meant preserving your attention. He would have obliged any command, taken any punishment with equanimity. He would have taken Prometheus’ place, if it meant he could bask in your presence for another moment. He would suffer any acrimony, any scorn, any tribulation, if it meant your gaze would continue to rest on him like this – zeroed in on his face, your expression soft with adoration. He didn’t have to fear any judgment. The only thing written on your face was love. It was mirroring his own, he was sure, from where he was pleading for you attention from between your legs. You wouldn’t let him out of your sight, your fingers tugging at his hair with purpose. He angled his head, a miniscule movement, just enough to allow him to breathe a kiss against the inside of your thigh, a fluttering promise of continuation. If you let him. You loosened your grip, and Jun took it as the invitation that it was. His path mapped over the fat of your thigh, spilling over his kitchen counters, up one leg, down the other. All the while, he didn’t break eye contact, watching your expression crackle and slip, pleasure and frustration mixing in even measures as you breathed a plea, “Qīn'ài de, you’re teasing.”

His breathing became uneven, for just a second, at the term of endearment. You didn’t need to spell out your request. He could see it in the rise and fall of your chest, the sounds sneaking their way past your lips, the shifting of your hips – almost involuntary. The vision of you before him blurred as he tried to hear the rest of your declaration over the rushing in his ears. Your legs twitched under his hands; he didn’t remember when he had moved them there. But now they were here, holding your legs apart, leaving imprints in your flesh where they pressed against you. Jun searched your face for any sign of hesitance, any doubt, but he found none. All he could find was a sense of desperation clawing its way up your throat, leaving a blooming blush in its wake.

He still continued holding your gaze when he pressed his mouth to your core, pushing his tongue against the wet spot on your underwear. You gasped a little, hands twisting in his hair, the slight pain grounding him in this moment. His hands continued kneading your flesh, wandering, in feverish haste, across every expanse of skin they could cover. Above him, you writhed and moaned, his name leaving your lips as if you were now the one praying. Your head had tilted back slightly, breaking eye contact. But Jun’s gaze never left your face, drinking in every expression as he pushed your panties to the side to gain proper access to your sopping core.

“OhmygodJun,” you breathed, head lolling to the side when his tongue swirled around your most sensitive spot. One hand moved from your ass to your core, probing at your entrance just to feel you clench around him, hear the sharp intake of your breath. You tipped backwards, resting on your elbows as his name continued to tumble off your lips into the still air of the apartment. Jun’s other hand moved upwards, taking no care in pushing your sports bra out the way to grab at your breasts, pinching your nipples intermittently. He watched your chest heave as he slipped two fingers past your entrance at once, his tongue lapping between them, desperate to taste as much of you as possible. Your hands kept pushing him closer and closer, until his every sense was filled with you. Your taste on his tongue, your panting breath in his ears, the plush feeling of your thighs around his head. He moaned against your core.

Jun felt your high approach, maybe knew it was coming before you yourself even did, the way he could read your body in this moment, with how every fibre of his being was honed in on you and your pleasure.

“Jun, bǎobèi, I’m…”

His hand slid down to your waist, squeezing reassuringly. Jun felt you constrict around his digits, your moans growing louder and more desperate. He kept pressing his fingers into that spot that had you squeeze around him, kept his mouth sucking on your clit, humming at the flavour of you, until you peaked. You came with a cry of his name that made his chest swell with pride. Your thighs shut around his head like a vice, your hand evidently torn between wanting to pull him away and push him closer. Jun remained pressed to your core, lazily lapping at your release until your legs relaxed and he gained enough freedom of movement to lean back and search for your gaze.

Even though he had spent minutes staring at the ethereal picture of you earlier, he was still taken aback by your beauty: your hair even messier, your face blushed, your eyes glazed over in the hazy afterglow. He pressed another kiss to the inside of your thigh.

“How are you feeling, my love?”

It took you a few moments to answer him, calming your breath. A moment of which he took advantage to return to his full height, leaving kisses up your body on his way there. Once he was face to face with you, he brushed your hair out of your face, looking at you with devotion. You smiled back, softly, your arms wrapping around his shoulders and immediately causing a warm shiver to run down the length of his body. There you were, in his arms, gazing at him with love, bestowing him with whatever divine favour slumbered in your presence.

You leaned in closer, letting your breath ghost over his skin for a second before whispering, “I need you.”

Jun was sure he was about to malfunction. The way his body reacted instantly, unbidden, must have been proof of your power. He couldn’t suppress the groan that rose to the surface, betraying his helplessness in the face of you. But you only smiled, sliding off the counter, tossing your bra to the side, and leaning into him.

“I know you need me too, baby,” you susurrated against the shell of his ear, your hand falling to his crotch, smoothing over the outline of his cock against his sweatpants. Jun gasped when you gave his balls a squeeze, trailing your fingers back up, pressing them into his slit, already oozing with precum and staining his pants. He felt like melting, like he was Icarus and you were the sun, with the notable exception that your radiance was warm and welcoming. It didn’t burn him, it only made him feel soft, welcome, malleable. He melted at your touch, moulded himself to the shape of you.

Although Jun felt it was very much stating the obvious, he conceded, “I want you so bad.”

You smiled, discarding your panties in a swift motion, before turning around and bending over the surface.

“Then come get me.”

He only stared, transfixed by the way your muscles moved under your skin, how the warm kitchen light of his home cascaded over you, the way your eyes sparkled with mischief when you turned around to smirk at him. Jun’s mind was still fighting with the fact that you were real, you were here, and you were his. You cocked an eyebrow, watching him like a cat watched its supper. When he still continued to stare, your eyes darkened, beckoning him with intensity. You wiggled your ass at him, pushing it back so it grazed his throbbing dick. As you threatened to pull away again, Jun’s hands flew to your hips. You yelped at the sudden strength with which he gripped you, pulling you back against him once more, grinding down against your ass with such verve that your head dropped forward. A long groan escaped you as Jun crowded you against the counter, pushing you down and leaning over your back.

“You need me, huh?”

You nodded your head enthusiastically while meeting his thrusts, moaning his name again and again, and growing more breathless by the second. Jun wanted to tease you, he really did. He wanted to ask you how bad you needed him. He wanted to force you to be more specific, to hear you say how you needed to feel his cock inside you, hitting that spot over and over again. He wanted to make your pretty lips form all those filthy words, say his name, beg for him. But it had been months since he had seen you in person, it felt like an eternity had passed since his skin was last allowed to touch yours, a lifetime since he heard you whimper and moan and pant for him like this. So, he forewent any more teasing. Instead, Jun simply shoved his sweatpants and underwear down his legs, freeing his cock.

You whined at the sound of it hitting his abs, wiggling your ass again and breathing out his name in that way he would never grow tired of. He grinned, sliding his dick through your slick, nipping its tip against your clit, once, twice, three times. So many times that you whimpered, an indistinguishable string of supplications, whines of baby, please please please leaving your lips. Your forehead was pressed against the counter now, as if the cold, hard surface helped ground you in reality while Jun had his way with you.

When, finally, he slipped into you, both of you sighed. You voices mixing in the air of the kitchen that seemed to have been growing thinner by the second. Jun’s breathing was growing ragged, and he could tell you weren’t faring much better than him. He started moving, slowly at first, testing the waters and, yes, possibly also to rile you up a little more. But when you clenched around him, any self-control was thrown out the window. His hands on your lower back were shoving you down against the ice-cold surface, making you hiss. His hips snapping against your ass as he searched for that spot that would make you drool over the marble countertops.

“Fuck… yes! Baby, right there,” you groaned when he found it.

Jun leaned back down over you, his front pressed against your back, his hot breath by your ear, whispered prayers of your name escaping him. He drove into that spot relentlessly, repeatedly until you lost all function of speech, reduced only to swears and his name. Jun mirrored your vocabulary, one hand sneaking around your body to find your clit again and rub punishing circles. With the added stimulation of his hand, the pressure of his weight, and the way his cock was hitting that spongy part inside you again and again, you felt your pleasure crest alarmingly fast.

“Junjunjunjunjun,” you breathed, but, again, he somehow had known before you what was coming. His groans surrounded you, your perception narrowed to just the feeling and sound of him.

“Hold on a little longer, baby,” he breathed, and you barely registered it. Just nodding for the sake of nodding, praying his own release would find him fast.

“Doing so well, baby. So good for me,” he continued, almost to himself, baiting your release even more.

A few agonising, timeless moments passed until, “That’s it, let go. Come for me, baby. Come with me.”

Immediately, you released a sound somewhere between a groan and a whimper, you head falling forward again as your whole body tensed up. Jun followed your example, his head dropping against your shoulder as he drove his cock into you, prolonging both of your releases as much as possible, until the sensitivity forced him to pull out. He remained folded over you, so close that he could feel his cum drip out of you, landing on the kitchen floor with a small splat. The air felt too thin for any movement, so he remained draped over you, his thumb drew circles on your lower back until you returned to him, mumbling his name.

“Are you alright, qīn'ài de?”

You nodded almost imperceptibly, your hair sticking to the nape of your neck. Jun brushed it to the side, leaving a small peck where it had been.

“Nooo,” you whined, “I’m sweaty.”

“I don’t care,” he replied, matter-of-factly, smoothing his hand down your back one last time before peeling himself off you to get some tissue. His heart tore a little at the weak whine you let out in response to his absence.

“Don’t worry, I’m just trying to take care of you.”

You only whined more when he wiped the rest of your combined release from between your legs before also cleaning the floor. He caught your eyes from over your shoulder, smiling softly, and leaving another kiss on your back. After getting rid of the tissue, he pulled you off the counter, wrapping you up in his arms.

“You were amazing. I love you.”

He could hear the smile in your voice when you replied, “So were you, bǎobèi.”

“I can’t believe you’re really here…”

“I missed you something fierce,” you said by way of explanation.

“Me too. I miss you every day. Every hour.”

To his confusion, you smiled warmly at his pout, one hand caressing along the side of his face until it came to rest on his collarbone. You leaned in, lips ghosting against his in a silent promise, “Then let’s make the most of right now.”

Jun grinned, bending down to pick you up, laughing at the surprised yelp you let out.

“What on earth are you doing, Wen Junhui!”

“I think it’s time for a bath.”

“That is not what I was trying to insinuate!”

He wiggled his eyebrows, feeling his heart sore at your scandalised expression. Resting his forehead against yours, his eyes searched for yours, holding their stare for a few moments. With a smile on his lips and in his voice he murmured, “I don’t care what exactly we do in the bath, as long as we do it together.”

[iceman-soup]

request!

sorry if you've done this already, but what would Ghost and Soap's first leave together look like? could be sfw or nsfw, everything is up to you

yes yes yesss this is sfw because my descriptive brain took over, also autistic ghost supremacy 🫶🫶

ghost x soap

Simon wasn't ready to meet Johnny's family yet. Hell, they'd only been dating five or so months before deciding to stick with each other on leave, and by that point it was far too stressful and overwhelming to think about meeting a whole bunch of new people to mask around and make good impressions. Ghost needed the time off to re-regulate, and honestly, Soap wasn't up to introducing a boyfriend he had barely warned his mother about beforehand.

So instead the two taxi'd over to Manchester from the airport, arriving at a tiny, cheap flat with even cheaper security cameras dotted on each outside wall and above the front door. "Enough of a deterrent, even if half don't work," explains Simon, seeing Johnny looking around curiously. He unlocks the door and pushes it open an inch, baited breath for a couple of moments as he appears to listen for anything unusual, before opening the door properly, flicking on the warm overhead lights and pulling Soap in by the hand, who gazes at the inside of his flat whilst Ghost locks the door again.

"Dinnae take you for an interior designer, Lt," John grins, glancing at the taller man before going back to admiring the space. It's dusty, sure, but otherwise not quite as awful as expected, and although cramped, holds a feeling of comfort and rest. The two are standing in the kitchen, cupboards naked oak wood and counters hand-painted daffodil yellow, the honey-coloured floor tiles chipped but superglued back together. The image of Si sitting cross-legged on the ground fixing them fills Soap's mind, his heart fluttering at how domestic his lieutenant suddenly seems.

There isn't a wall between the kitchen and living room, and Johnny takes that opportunity to wonder straight through, taking note of a comfy-looking secondhand sofa to cuddle up on together later. An old TV with a jumble of cables is stood upon a coffee table, which simultaneously doubles as an actual coffee table, evident by a few mismatched coasters with just as many water marks as the surface they're supposed to be protecting. Splintering wood in the tried-to-be-aesthetic bare floorboards are covered by a granny rug which contrasts the baby blue walls surprisingly well. Two doors lead off from the living room, and Ghost walks over to the first one, opening it to show the other.

"Bathroom," he comments as if it isn't obvious. There's nothing extraordinary about it, but Soap does notice his unwavering loyalty here and on base to his very specific shower products - of course. He nods and they move on, entering the fourth room. Si hovers at the doorway whilst Johnny wanders inside, taking in the bedroom.

Most of the space is taken up by a double bed pressed up in the far corner, white paint on the metal frame missing in spots, showing its age. The bedding is black with little bone prints patterning it, soft cotton and all matching. Shoved next to the bed is a chest of drawers, one of the handles missing and replaced with a nail bashed into the wood. Hung up precariously on the picture rail over it is Simon's formal uniform - clearly unused for years due to his skilful avoidance of social events. Again, the floor is stripped of carpet (the bedroom in slightly safer condition than in the living room) and the walls are painted, this time a pale pink and dotted with glow-in-the-dark plastic stars.

"Never got them as a kid," Ghost mutters, gesturing to the stars and then the general soft colours of his flat. He shuffles awkwardly on his feet, avoiding eye contact - and subsequently his boyfriend's loving smile too. "You want something to eat? I don't have anything," he adds quickly.

"We can go doon to the chippy?" John suggests, walking over to kiss him tenderly. "Or if you don't feel like seein' people, I could order us something." The taller man nods at the second option, then proceeds to wrap his arms around Soap's waist, burying his face into the crook of his neck and pressing his lips to the skin, simply savouring his warm embrace.

"I love you, Johnny. I'm happy you're here."

The next few days go by far too quick for either's liking. They're spent with long mornings just laying in bed, doing fuck all on their phones in the oddest cuddle positions known; alternatively, smothering each other in hugs and kisses until they have to give them attention until they're satisfied. Time is spent plodding around the flat, wearing pyjama trousers and fluffy socks and with blankets draped over their bare shoulders.

Meals are cooked with very little skill but a whole lot of try, so at least that's something. Neither go out much; just to the shops when they need something or one night to get fish and chips from the good place across the street. They eat sitting on the countertop or the sofa, watching some shitshow with a laugh track that winds Simon up.

Evenings involve making out during conversation, quietly murmuring and laughing between kisses, chests pressed together so their hearts can talk directly. Ghost realises he's never felt so safe and content on leave before this one night when they're lying in bed, a dim lamp the only light in the room as he runs his fingers through Soap's hair, now slightly curly from growing out whilst not on base. It's quiet, but not in the lonely, terrifying way it usually is when he's alone in the flat, left to his own thoughts for however long between deployments.

Maybe, just maybe, leave will become something that he doesn't dread anymore. And perhaps next time - he thinks, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's forehead and flicking off the lamp - it might be nice to meet Johnny's family.

[crabadonk]

there's been an uptick in recent years of the kind of cheap paperback romance novels you'd see in an airport bookstore But Starring Lesbians, which is good to see, but generally they're not too interesting to me specifically because the dynamic between the love interests isn't fucked up enough. you can keep your "i can't let myself fall in love with the woman whose company's construction plans i oppose," give me "oh my god i'm at my mom's funeral i can't keep hitting on her ex-girlfriend from high school"

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hi, I really love your posts, they are so well-structured and researched and I agree with a lot of your takes. I was wondering firstly if you had any headcanons about people’s accents outside of standard RP english (which there was an over-representation of in the movies)? i found a really good post on this by @lotstradamus. I also wondered if there are any characters you headcanon as PoC that are not explicitly stated like Blaise, Angelina, Kingsley, Dean, the Patil twins and Cho? Also, what are your favourite fic recs for HP (Tomarry, Gen or Harry/Others)? I am trying to expand my fic list. Thanks :)

Hi, 👋

Thank you so much!

Okay, so I found @lotstradamus's post you mentioned here and she explains UK and Ireland accents way better than I, a non-brit whose only time standing on British soil was in the London airport for a connection flight, ever could. Additionally, I'm shit at recognizing accents from hearing even when these are accents I know well. That being said, I have been thinking a lot about where in the UK & Ireland characters came from so I will use that (& the power of Google) to infer about the accents, since they tend to be regional.

I would love to hear about my attempt from any actual Brits who can help me with this. (Also, I'm not going to be mentioning the movie accents, as yes, there definitely aren't enough accents there, but also, I don't really know how to tell the difference between many British accents from hearing alone, so...) I also tried to add video/recording examples for how the accents would sound like for all the non-brits like me for whom the accent name would say literally nothing. Without further ado:

HP characters accents

Let's start with the characters we know for sure where they are from:

We know Harry is from Surry, so his accent should be southern but from an upper-middle-class area near London, so he should be close-ish to RP. (Tom Felton was born in 1980 in Surrey, so he's probably close to Harry's accent)

Sirius grew up in Grimmauld Place in London so as rebellious as he wants to be he still sounds like a posh-as-hell Londoner. (Example)

The Weasleys, Luna Lovegood, and Cedric Diggory all grew up in Ottery St Catchpole which is in Devon, so they all have a West Country accent.

(the children at least, the parents might have different accents. Like, Molly I think sounds a bit posher since the Prewetts seem at least upper-middle-class).

Albus Dumbledore was born in Mould-on-the-Wold before his family moved to Godric's Hallow after his father's arrest. As Mould-on-the-Wold might be based on Stow-on-the-Wold, I'd take it that it's located around the same area in Gloucestershire. As such his accent would probably be a West country accent for the most part.

Abeforth's accent is similarly West Country, except add some random bits of highland slang he might've picked up from all his years at Hogsmeade and without any smoothening over.

Google has informed me Hagrid's dialect written in the books is a West Country dialect, which is the same as the Weasleys, Diggorys, Lovegoods, and Dumbledores (there are a lot of wizards in West Country)

(West Country Example 1, West Country Example 2, West Country Example 3) - think movie Hagrid for all of them.

James Potter and the entire Potter family (and the Abbotts as well, actually, so Hannah too) are from Godric's Hallow which is somewhere in the West Country, but, James is also from a rich family, so he likely sounds closer to RP than the Weasleys. So his accent should be a general southern posh that isn't quite perfect RP but closer to it than to West Country accent. (Example)

Tom Riddle is one I have a specific headcanon about. Like, he grew up in an underfunded orphanage that was most likely in East End London — young Tommy had a Cockney accent and he spent his first month at Hogwarts learning to mimic all the posh purebloods around him. So Tom probably sounds like the perfect dictionary version of RP as he is actively hiding his accent. (Cockney example, another one, RP example)

Snape, probably does something similar. He grew up in slums in Cokeworth which is somewhere in the Midlands, so I think he is actively hiding his accent too so he could fit in with his posh pureblood peers in Slytherin better.

Lily probably has a similar accent to Snape, just, probably like a softer version of it, idk, that's what I'm thinking.

Now the midlands is an area that encompasses a lot of different accents, so I wanted to narrow it down a bit more. I found this post by @potions-and-potters that placed Cokeworth in the black country, and it sounds right considering the industrial vibe of the town and the descriptions we get. So, Lily and Snape had variations of the black country accent. The Snape we meet in the book speaks the same dictionary RP as Voldemort, probably (Example 1, Example 2 of Lily's and Snape's accents)

Draco and the Malfoy family are from Wiltshire which is also in the West Country, but because you know the Malfoys sound posh, it would be closer to RP (not too different from James' accent probably), but with a bit of a drawl since in the books they are described often as "drawling".

McGonagall is the most Scottish character there is so she has to have a Scottish accent. On Pottermore it's written she grew up in the Highlands of Scotland:

She grew up in the Highlands of Scotland

(from Pottermore)

So she has a Highlands accent (Example 1, Example 2). I find this sort of Scottish accent fits McGonagall quite well since it's very clear and deliberate.

Seamus Finnigan has to be Irish, as he is mentioned to be a fan of the Quidditch Team Kenmare Kestrels, he likely is from the area, which is around south Ireland. (Example)

Stan Shunpike is written as speaking in a Cockney dialect according to Google.

Dean Thomas is a fan of the West Ham United Football Club which is located in London, so Dean is likely from London and has a London accent. (Went for a South London accent).

We know Justing Flich-Fletchy had his name down for Eton, as @lotstradamus mentioned, so he's also a super posh RP-ish speaker. (More examples)

Tonks uses "wotcher" a lot which is common in North London dialects, so I'm going to go with a North London accent for her. (Example)

Now, for characters I don't know where they are from it's much harder to guess accents because I'm not British and can't get accent "vibes", unfortunately, so I'm only going based on locations and gut feelings.

I can say Hermione always sounds very RP and kinda posh in my head, I imagine books Hermione sounding pretty much like Emma Watson. As we know she comes from a well-to-do middle-class family, it even makes some sense. (Example)

(I also think it's funny to have Harry and Hermione both sounding all RP and Ron speaking more similar to movie Hagrid)

I kinda want to give Remus an accent that isn't RP, just because I feel like it and there are so many posh speakers on this list already and his mom is said to be Welsh:

On an investigative trip into a dense Welsh forest in which a particularly vicious Boggart was supposed to be lurking, Lyall ran across his future wife. Hope Howell, a beautiful Muggle girl who worked in an insurance office in Cardiff

(from Pottermore)

I decided I wanted Remus to be Welsh, so I gave him a South Welsh accent in my head. (Example)

Since there's no one on this list from the north, I'd like Neville to keep Matthew Lewis' Yorkshire accent. (Example)

Trelawney is a cornish name and JKR chose it on purpose:

I love Cornish surnames, and had never used one until the third book in the series, so that is how Professor Trelawney got her family name.

(from Pottermore)

So, I'll take it to mean Trelawney is from Cornwell and has a Cornish accent. (Examples)

I have no clue about Peter.

If any Brits are reading this, how did I do?

As for your other questions: not really.

I mean, Harry is pretty detailed with character descriptions (especially for the main ones, including himself and Hermione who are often headcanoned as having darker skin but are described as white in the books on multiple occasions) so I never really felt there was headcanon space there for the characters I cared for. Personally, I try to keep my headcanons as canon compliant as I can so if someone has a description, I won't come up with a different one.

As for fics, I don't really do fic recs, so I'm sorry I can't help you with that.

[mazeinthemiroh]

So I'm currently stuck in the airport due to weather delays (and have been for the last two hours L.O.L. 🙃). How would the members of Stray Kids handle this situation/help pass the time?

stray kids waiting for their plane

genre: general

warnings: not proofread

a/n: sorry ✈️ anon this should've been done first out of all your requests but hey-ho, here ya go

bangchan

you can't tell me this man is going to do anything other than sleep

like.... oh my plane has been delayed? okay then, wake me up in 3 hours ig...

that's so him

he's got his travel pillow wrapped around his neck already so he can pretty much fall asleep at any given point if he feels like it

so who's gonna stop him?? cos i ain't???

minho

he will go on a little walk around the airport

grabs a good ol' starbucks frappuccino and goes about his business, gazing around the shops for nothing in particular

might get some cute little gifts for his friends or his cats while he's at it

but overall he's just walking around like the model he is, probably stealing a few people's hearts in the process

like you can't tell me he won't be your airport crush if you saw him in that setting fr

changbin

gets a meal for himself because he's been waiting so long and he still isn't on the plane yet??

ain't no way he's paying for that overpriced stuff of the plane, nuh-uh

so he gets a takeaway and likely spends the rest of his time on his phone, texting someone and ranting about his delayed flight on the internet

but overall his mind is preoccupied. he keeps checking to see if it's finally time for his departure after waiting so long

hyunjin

might just whip out his sketchbook and start drawing the pretty people he sees when waiting in the seating area

either that or he's hititng th eshops

and it's not like he needs any new stuff, but he ends up buying new clothes and accessories for his trip just because he can

and honestly, i don't blame him. it's a bit of fun!

might also buy a book, for good measure

jisung

another sleeper

he's already done. like he doesn't wanna be there and is frustrated that he has to wait more time for his plane to arrive

so he might have a little snooze if he can

either that or he's popping his headphones on and walking around, seeing if there is anything that could possibly peak his interest while he waits for his plane

felix

plays game son his phone most of the time

i mean

he's got enough games on there to last him the whole day anyway so why not put them to good use!

but if he gets that bordd he might do a lil shopping spree, definitely getting some sort of croissant or other baked good to keep him going

i also see him buying little knick-knacks and gifts for people because my boy loves giving <3

seungmin

he's got a few books packed, so he might grab one and dig into it while he waits for the plane

but if the book isn't grabbing him, he might go for a walk around the airport, earphones in as he window-shops with no intention to buy anything

he is also a keen people-watcher, which is a great habit to have at the airport because there is so many different people from every walks of life. it's safe to say he's going to have fun observing people and lowkey judging them lmao

jeongin

hits all the shops

and the food hall of course

to pass the time, he wants to eat different types of food

1, because he's hungry. 2, because he's bored. but 3, he thinks that if he fills up on food that when he does get on the plane, he if more likely to fall asleep, making his plane ride ultimately more quicker. that's pretty smart tbh

[randomfoggytiger]

Fail Better Premium: David's Thoughts (Part VIII, 1/1)

Creating a breadcrumb trail with David Duchovny's personal growth.

"Just gettin' my post Sean Penn interview stuff down, the next day, the day after.

"The first thing that's abundantly clear to me is that face-to-face, the human connection, is so much better for this kind of conversation.... And I resolve to-- whenever possible-- be in the same room with the person that I'm having a discussion with. There's just something about presence and eye contact that's ineffable; and you can't replicate it.... It's possible you might feel safer, hidden away behind a screen, or within a screen, or on the phone. But there's nothing about the give-and-take-- or the timing-- or the presence and breathe; and eye-to-eye. It made me sad, actually, to think what we're missing in general, in this life as we Zoom more and more... as we allow screens to stand-in for presence. Which it's not: it's just a facsimile really, isn't it? My, my, my. It's probably the same kind of argument people made against movies when they first started. Or television. Um, so. I don't know what I'm talking about in that case. It is what it is. Let's just say that it's different. That they're both legitimate: they both can have a connection, but it's a different connection. Let's end there.

"One thing that I missed... was a discussion of Daddio. ...I wanted to talk about-- because it was similar to What Happens Later that I did with Meg Ryan: it was just two people... and that's it. And there's Sean and, uh, Dakota Johnson; and that's it.... And Christy Hall, like Meg Ryan, manages to keep, keep the plate spinning, the ball afloat, whatever metaphor you want to use for just two people holding the screen. And hers is really just two people in a cab, holding the screen. Meg and I had a big, good-looking airport to play around in. Christy has limited herself beautifully to a taxi cab.... And, uh-- not to give anything away, I think it's terrific-- it's a really, it's a real cool take about an older guy (played by Sean, obviously) and his patriarchal-- or stereotypical patriarchal wisdom-- and a younger woman and... I don't know what you'd call it, millennial wisdom. More modern kind of take on the world? And neither is validated completely or discounted completely. There's kind of a meeting in the middle between these two,...let's say partial points of view. And I commend Christy... for really balancing that, beautifully... the tension of the difference, and the sameness under the difference."

[Audio quality change.]

"I would put this under TMI-- too much information. Um, but it's not gonna be what you think it is.

"I was having these thoughts while I was speaking with Sean Penn. Sean Penn, Sean Penn. And, um. I, uh, I don't know if he said it when we were speaking, being recorded or if we had talked about it another time; but we were talking about a time when you didn't know much about actors. I mean, you knew what the glossy magazines would say, or the... tabloids. But you didn't know... eh. Y'know the Instagram world of today, the branding world of today, there's, y'know, everything. Or, y'know, a lot. And a lot of that is what the actor or actress or performer wants you to know. There's 'curated' on their, on their social media. Handled. Managed. Pointed. And, uh. I guess it's similar to the old days of Hollywood when, y'know, publicists would control 'image'. And set up couples.... I don't think it's... I don't think it's new; but it's definitely... it's definitely more intense. It seems like everyone is branding out there.

"We were having this discussion. And this is my fear, I think, my fear with the podcast-- and I've always been a person that kind of keeps things close to my vest. Um, I have a sense of privacy or... or maybe secrecy or.... Y'know, the difference between privacy and secrecy is really, y'know, that's the whole ballgame maturation of becoming an adult, I think. Big part of it. I keep on getting off topic here; but my point is: the fear... of this podcast, for me, is that... people will get to know me too well. Not, "oh, dark secrets", whatever-- but just know me too well. And that... your mystery, or your qualities of being unknown, your actual personality-- of myself, or really any actor-- is really a powerful tool for that person. Uh, to be removed, and to just appear on-screens, and to change-- the quality of being able to change is dependent on the quality of being unknown as yourself so that people don't go, 'Oh, it's just that guy.'

"So, y'know, I've been trying to pinpoint my fears around the podcast, sharing too much. There's one side of it-- y'know, it's my personal life: I've got kids, I've got people that I love, I don't want to be talking about stuff that might disturb them. Y'know? That's, that's legitimate, I think. But on the other hand, there's a way more selfish or egocentric, uh, professional vibe to it: y'know, I want to remain somewhat mysterious because that enhances my ability to appear on-screen. To be allowed to step into somebody else's shoes. The more you portray yourself out there, in the public eye, the less-- I think-- you are able to change in your work, in your art. Not, not that you aren't able to change, but. Y'know, the more solidified that image, and the more particular and detailed the information about you, the actor, that gets out there, I think that crowd's out-- a certain space in the audience's minds to be able to allow you to exist as something other than yourself. This could just be professional paranoia on my part. Um.

"But it's definitely... y'know, I haven't, I haven't been able to pinpoint my reticence. Part of it is just my sense of decency and privacy; and then part of it, I realized, was this kind of professional fear. Which even sharing that is, like, putting another log on that fire of: 'Oh. That guy, I know that guy-- he can't be that guy 'cuz I know that guy.' Parse that sentence. I don't even know if I want to share this because it might not be an idea in anybody's heads but mine; and once I put the idea in your head, then you can't forget that idea. Right? Not because I'm me, but just because that's the nature of ideas.

"Anyway. Bladdy blah blah blah, Baby."

(Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV: 1/3, Part IV: 2/3, Part IV: 3/3, Part V: 1/3, Part V: 2/3, Part V: 3/3, Part VI: 1/2, Part VI: 2/2, Part VII)

[just2bubbly]

So apparently I decided to write fluff after a long long time and I'm quite proud of myself for that! :)

Masterlist

Romantic Diversions

Ship: Kaider

Words: 925

Genre: Fluff

Kai's Perspective:

Dhsam!

The door was opened with a loud bang which caused Kai to stir from his work. This uninvited disturbance gave rise to subtle anger and he was ready to pounce on the individual who had decided to barge in his cabin in such a dramatic fashion. 

Regardless, he didn't do any of that since the person who was standing at the door was his own wife. He smiled at her sight, expecting the generic 'Did I disturb you?' from her but she had more surprising cards up her sleeves today. Her theatrical entry just led to an even bigger bouncy voice. 

"I can't believe you did that?!" she cried as she pulled a seat before him. That phrase left him more baffled than ever. Cinder wasn't the one for dramatic flair if truth be told- he was the theatre kid out of the two. 

"What did I do?" he questioned, the file he was working on completely forgotten. 

"Look," she said as she passed the tablet to him. Kai was really curious about what he had done that had got Cinder so excited so he looked into the screen without asking any further questions. 

The screen played a video: 

"Your Majesty, would you like to say anything about the lack of apprehension-" some reporter asked before being interrupted by another.

Kai was not expecting to be chased by a mass of reporters as he flew back home. Alas, he was having a press conference in the airport parking lot right now and he definitely wasn't prepared for this one. 

"Goodness, is that Dr Alan Coetze I see there," he exclaimed- seeing the familiar face of the scientist who talked in a language Kai wasn't quite fluent in. Cinder used to love watching his shows and Kai had seen them from time to time too.

"My wife, the Empress is a big fan of Dr Coetze. You would have to excuse me. I need to have his autograph. My wife would be sorely disappointed if I let down this chance," he explained as he tried making his way towards his saviour. 

The press seemed taken aback by his words, having a hard time believing that it was the Emperor gushing about a European scientist who had just won the Nobel Peace Prize for his thesis. 

"But you are the Emperor, Your Majesty-" someone argued, trying to put sense in him. 

"So what? You don't have any idea how inconsiderate intelligent people are towards royalty," he noted. His arguments made little sense but he needed an escapade and this crazily intelligent man that was standing a few yards from him was going to give him exactly that. 

"Your Majesty, you don't- " 

"I understand it's your work but you do have to be a little understanding about my situation too. My anniversary is getting closer and what better gift than the autograph of Dr Alan Coetze. You would have to excuse me for now. However I promise you, there will be a press conference in New Beijing and I look forward to seeing you all there." 

..

"Oh goodness!" Kai laughed and looked up, his wife's contagious smile made him smile more. 

"I can't believe you said it!" she gushed again. 

"Well, I had a flight to attend and the press wasn't going anywhere. I had to make some diversions," he elaborated, passing the tablet back to her. If he knew anything, he was sure this news was everywhere by now. 

"You're telling me the world's best diplomat needed a romantic diversion?"

"You're never gonna let this one go, are you?" he asked, knowing very well the answer to that question, instead he focused on signing the bottom of the page. 

"That isn't going to be the problem. Next press conference everyone is going to talk about this and this only," she pointed out, forgetting to mention that she too was going to make multiple jokes at his expense. 

He glanced at her, thinking how if these small diversions were what made her smile ear to ear then Kai would be likely to commit more of them every now and then. 

"Nothing that a small 'I love my wife' can't suffice." 

"Which reminds me - you said 'my wife' so many times throughout the entire thing." 

"I have a lovely wife. You can't forbid me from bringing her up all the damn time," he said. 

"Stars, I can't believe you," she continued to say, glancing back at the video before whispering, "I love my wonderful husband too." 

"Shh, don't let my wife hear about this. She gets quite protective," he smirked, throwing a wink in her direction. 

That made her chuckle again as she leaned over the desk to whisper in his ear, "Where's my autograph, Your Majesty?"

He tipped to stare into her brown orbs and replied, "I think I said it was an anniversary gift."

Before closing the inches between the two, he murmured, "Wait your time kitten." Cinder captured his lips with hers, her hands holding the back of his neck. One of his hands spread across her cheek, as he deepened the -

Tring! Tring!

The kiss was cut short by the comm that rang through Cinder's tablet and both of them groaned over it. 

"I'd see you at dinner," Cinder said, getting up from her seat. She was almost out of the door when she looked over her shoulder and announced, "I better have an autograph." 

Kai chuckled at the demand and had a delighted feeling for having met the scientist that day.

--

A/N: Wrote this because I have got myself fixated on this power celebrity couple and they had a fun banter on the media and I couldn't help but imagine it for Kai and Cinder. It seems a lil unrelaistic but it's mostly the modern day alteration of the royalty and media. Hope you like it! <333

tagging: @gingerale2017 @salt-warrior @slmkaider @cinderswrench @cindersassasin @impossiblesuitcase @kaiderswell @kaider-is-my-otp @therealkaidertrash21 @fangirlforever0704

[gunpowder-gemini]

I love liminal spaces but I think we're all using that term wrong

Like ok, hear me out. I ADORE liminal space vibes and playlists and photos etc. I think the backrooms are great! I love the unsettling-yet-oddly-comforting vibes of all this stuff. But I don't think we're using the term right. Or rather, we're using it too broadly I think. Putting the rest under a cut because writing down my thoughts turned into a whole ass essay.

So the definition of liminal according to Merriam-Webster is:

of, relating to, or situated at a sensory threshold : barely perceptible or capable of eliciting a response

of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : in-between, transitional.

When talking about spaces and locations we're generally meaning the 2nd one. (Though the first one sounds like shit you can barely see and I do love the idea of exploring that in terms of like, houses that you aren't sure are there or a place that you can only sort of see out of the corner of your eye but I'm getting sidetracked).

So these are places that are transitional and are unsettling because they are places that we are familiar with but we don't think about when we aren't actively there. Seeing them outside that context is odd and feels kinda wrong (also because they're generally portrayed as always empty and lit strangely, but we'll come back to that). Good examples are like stairwells, hallways, train stations, airports, bus stops, gas stations, etc.

So we agree on that, yeah? Great. Now where I'm saying we're wrong is in OTHER kinds of creepy spaces that give the same sort of vibe, but AREN'T inherently transitional spaces.

For example, I don't think offices are liminal. Office spaces are horrifying and endless office rooms DO sound like my personal hell, but that's because you spend a LOT of time in them. Like, office spaces full of cubicles and computers and shit is a JOB, a DESTINATION. It isn't somewhere you're just passing through or waiting in while you move to another location. Now the office hallways or stairwells I WOULD say are liminal, but the rooms themselves? Unsettling but not liminal, and I think are unsettling BECAUSE they aren't liminal.

I would apply this same logic to a lot of other popular "liminal space" places that get thrown around, such as shopping malls, playplaces, hotels (this one could go either way tbh), classrooms, houses (come on, you literally live in those), etc. Some examples of what I mean:

These aren't liminal imo, they're just empty and/or poorly lit. Empty places that feel like they should have people, especially places that feel familiar, can evoke that same sort of uncanny uneasiness that liminal spaces do.

There is, of course, overlap and gray areas and nuance. Places that do not normally exist as liminal spaces CAN be liminal spaces if the place itself is in a state of transition.

For example, the backrooms. Office spaces are not inherently liminal but EMPTY office spaces I would say are. Without the cubicles and desks and computers and whatnot, the space ceases to be a destination. No one is working in the completely empty backrooms. So the space is in a period of transition either into a usable workspace or going from a workspace into something else. I would say this applies to things like empty houses before you move in/after you move out. Waffle House at 3 am is liminal because it's not a destination you just end up there somehow. There's more but you get the gist, here's some examples.

The last category of liminal spaces are ones I'm not sure where to put, because they aren't real. These are things like the poolrooms and bathrooms that don't make sense and stuff like that. I see these labeled "dreamcore" more than anything which is a good label, but since they do get brought up as liminal spaces I figured I'd mention them here too. Idk, I don't think they're liminal if only because they aren't real.

SO all of that explained, I'd like to bring back that thing about emptiness and strange lighting. Because all of these images I found by searching for liminal spaces (and specifying like, bathroom or whatever) and I DON'T think they're all liminal but I DO think they are all unsettling and weirdly familiar in the same way. We're using liminal to describe this vibe, but I think what we all ACTUALLY mean is uncanny.

Like, all of these places are places that look familiar even though we may never have been there, but they look WRONG. They're all too empty, the lights are either too bright or too dim and many of them look abandoned. They're such a strange marriage of nostalgically familiar (for those of us that grew up in the us in the 90s/00s anyway, ymmv) and horrifyingly unsettling. They're like the uncanny valley, but for locations. Thus, I think this aesthetic should be called something like uncanny spaces and that liminal spaces would be a subset of this.

Obviously I'm just some guy on the internet and I can't make anyone stop using liminal to mean uncanny, it's just something I've kinda thought a lot about and wanted to yell those thoughts into the void that is the internet lol.

[kissabledyke]

there's been an uptick in recent years of the kind of cheap paperback romance novels you'd see in an airport bookstore But Starring Lesbians, which is good to see, but generally they're not too interesting to me specifically because the dynamic between the love interests isn't fucked up enough. you can keep your "i can't let myself fall in love with the woman whose company's construction plans i oppose," give me "oh my god i'm at my mom's funeral i can't keep hitting on her ex-girlfriend from high school"

[colorful-white-ideas]

the fact that Bill said he smokes weed made me love him even MORE 🤣

This man serves cuntttttttt 🤣🚬🫦❤️‍🔥

And he admitted fully the Arlanda airport incident and that the weed was his ,not from his friend ( As it was initially reported)

WHICH ALSO MAKES ME WANT TO POINT OUT:

He is a very private person and someone who doesn't like to get his business out there , so for him to approve this question to be asked and by the very relaxed answer he gave , leads me to think that he READ ALL THE SUPPORT he got from people calling that arrest ridiculous ( cause it was) , therefore he felt confident in disclosing that episode to the world... Bc smoking weed isn't going to ruin his image.

Something else that kind of confirmed my belief that he ( or his team) are very aware of what's being said about him in social media is his opinion about The Crow 2024v

After the wave of hate this new Crow is getting I understand he wants to save his name from being dragged along with it. As if saying " if you fans don't like the result, know that I didn't have anything to do with it"

A bit unnecessary but he can't help it right? We know he is terrified of failure, critics , hate ... At the same time I think he should stand his ground and face critics with a more " fuck it , I know what I did , I'm proud of it " attitude.

Especially when people who assisted the tests screenings have had nothing but good things to say about his work as Eric and the movie in general.

If he wasn't ready for the backlash then why take the role in the first place ?

Confidence is key, Bill.

[golden--doodler]

Linda's parents suck.

Like, really suck.

Definitely not an original thought in the slightest, but I feel like the way the show portrays Gloria and Al is really interesting. They're an example of abusive parents being portrayed in a more subtle, realistic way, which almost makes them feel even worse than if their portrayal was obvious and over-the-top.

Starting with Gloria, because she's definitely the worse of the two. She constantly gaslights Linda all the time, and never feels remorse about it, or even acknowledges her own behavior. The best example of this behavior is the Season 11 episode "The Terminalator II: Terminals of Endearment", where she literally forces Linda and the rest of the family to buy cream for Al, one that he doesn't even end up needing, mind you. The airport is also pretty far, so the drive over must've not been very fun (Bob has even stated on one occasion that it's difficult to drive for a long time with everyone because they all end up getting each other carsick).

Apparently, one time in the past, Gloria straight-up stole Linda's phone charger and refuses to admit she did it. Even when Bob is confronting her and becomes rightfully upset, she doesn't say anything about it. This leads to Linda saying that Gloria didn't do anything, even when the signs are extremely obvious that she did. And just in general, everything the family went through that day just to gather Gloria and Al in one place was a complete nightmare, because Gloria kept getting sidetracked and doing things like going on the wrong tram. It's no wonder that Bob went on a whole rant about Linda's parents not deserving her and her generosity.

There's also the fact that Gloria lied to Gayle about her goldfish being immortal, forcing Linda to keep up the lie too and to be on the receiving end of Gayle's outburst when she inevitably found out the truth. In general, she's very enabling of Gayle, pretty much letting Gayle do whatever she wants and not being very helpful in terms of Gayle's behavior. This must've led to Linda having to be a parent to Gayle growing up and also gave Gayle the impression that she can just do whatever around Linda.

And during her first appearance in "Crawl Space", she's really not much better. All she does is criticize Bob and is just no help whatsoever. You can't really blame Bob for wanting to stay in there instead of spending time with her. Not to mention that she and Al literally had sex presumably knowing that their grandchildren could hear them. Gene even recorded them and got in trouble for it.

Al isn't much better than Gloria. While he isn't as horrible, he's very enabling of Gloria and doesn't do anything to stop her or encourage her to be better. Not to mention that because he's hard of hearing, he has difficulty communicating. He just seems like a distant sort of guy, and one has to wonder how present of a father he was during Linda and Gayle's childhoods.

Gloria and Al also don't really acknowledge their grandchildren that much, and Tina, Gene, and Louise definitely don't have a good opinion of them. It doesn't seem they spend many of the major holidays together, either--it feels like they've seen more of Big Bob than them despite Bob's strained relationship with Big Bob. Or at least, it's obvious they have a better relationship with Big Bob. It's just interesting how Gloria's awfulness is very realistic, just doing little things and refusing to acknowledge her own wrongdoing, leading to Linda always being the one to apologize even when it's not necessary. And Al just doesn't do much at all, which is bad, too.

Linda deserves better parents, or at least her current ones really need to shape up. It's probably not too late for Al.

[wisteria-winter]

I have a nagging feeling that the reason sinners can't go to the other rings is because it would solve the proposed problem of overpopulation in hell.

Though that begs the question, if it is simply overpopulation that is the problem, they why would Charlie not just try and relocate sinners to the other rings?

Her current goal is practically to dump people in heaven, has she not considered that heaven might also have an overpopulation problem? Or at least considered the fact that they might get one if she sends people up there?

All she would be doing would be making her problem heavens problem instead.

In that regard I can understand heaven not wanting to support her idea, it would in essence just bring a mess their way.

So then the question goes, would they have anything against sinners moving to other rings?

If the exterminators would still happen then I can imagine they wouldn't appreciate spreading out all the sinners, but apart from that, why would they care?

Meaning that either:

A: The nature of hell is that sinners can only be in pride. Which just begs the question of, why?

or B: Lucifer or the deadly sins are for some reason preventing sinners from moving. So it would be more like an airport not allowing you to fly than there being an invisible wall preventing you from going through.

(Might simply be that you need an ID and it's pretty hard to get an ID if you just pop into existens in hell after dying)

Generally, in my mind it sounds more reasonable that it's option B, with the reasoning being that it was part of the agreement when establishing the function of the exterminators.

Like, The exorcists will only travel to the Pride ring, as long as there are no sinners outside of Pride.

I also imagen that the exorcists don't really see a distinction between sinners and hellborn. Like if Adam had any qualms about that, then he shouldn't have been so willing to choose Charlie's Hotel as the first place of attack.

I'd imagine something more cruel would be to round up a bunch of sinners just outside the hotel and tell her that they'll all be killed unless she gives up her dream. So she has to watch her people get killed one by one, trying to justify it by saying her dream is for the greater good or something. Not fully knowing what is the right thing to do, should she just give up?

Point being, the exorcists and Adam are more "kill first, ask questions later" kind of people, meaning if a hellhound was running in a crowd of sinners, I'm pretty sure they too would be a target. In addition, them being like that is the reason they decided to attact the hotel first, Adam did seem quite ready to kill Charlie after all.

Which brings us back to our previous point, it's most likely just the rules that control the fact that sinners can't move to the other rings.

In other words, wouldn't it be more reasonable if Charlies goal was to change those rules? Maybe talk to her dad about letting people through? Like, why wouldn't she even give it a try? Is she truly so afraid of talking to her dad that she wouldn't want to try something that could solve what she considers the biggest problem in hell?

Unless, her real goal isn't to solve overpopulation, it's to find a reason for heaven to stop the exterminations and give sinners who are to the most part kind, a chance to show that they are truly deserving of heaven.

You know, good sinners, like Vaggie

[jiminjeonging]

i feel like jimin is a very insecure person. she knows she’s pretty when she’s on stage and dolled up and she knows the whole nation is obsessed with her looks. but I think that’s taken a toll on her because she’s always afraid to show her bare face. going as for as covering it when she arrived to the airport and asking for a mask just feels really sad tbh. also that live where she was waiting for ningning to wake up, she had some really light makeup and kept going “do I look okay? i didn’t want to go live with this face” and i think she’s starting to rely on makeup a lot to feel pretty. like she doesn’t feel comfortable without it if that makes sense, even though she looks amazing either way.

i think she’s really confident in her body and loves to show it but sometimes may resent it because of how people treat her. she might have a love hate relationship with herself and I think minjeong would’ve been there to support her. jimin saying she’s not pretty without makeup and minjeong going EXCUSE ME???? like minjeong hasn’t always been that good at showing affection but i think she’s made it a habit to always compliment jimin and remind her of how beautiful she is

i agree with you!! i've been thinking about something like this ever since she said 'i want to make an asmr channel without showing my face i think i will have about 4 subs mom dad sister grandma' or her always asking on fancalls why do fans like her. she wants to be appreciated more for her talents, humor and such rather than ppl always looking at her like a piece of meat. she started to be more insecure about her bare face too these days since now so many ppl are watching her and she thinks if shes less than perfect she would be criticized(this is true tho unfortunately just remember how everyone was on her ass for watching mha). like i dont think mj was being gatekeepy when she posted about their brunch but rather was respecting jm's whishes since she was bare faced and didn't want to be seen like that. thats why she started to care much more about what fans think too. especially after 0227 even though i think it was fake, jm saw how some fans are ready drop her, she saw 3 trucks infront of her workplace and shes now terrified that they will leave. she wants to please every single one of her fans so bad.

i also think shes confident in her own skin but theres a difference between an outfit she choose for going out and wearing something someone else picked out for you infront of thousands. she was so ucomfy in both musinsa event and yesterday. jm isn't naive too, she knows what ppl think when they see her like that and she doesn't want to be perceived like that. i think jm is in such a sticky situation because she wants to be free so bad but doesn't want to lose everything she worked for, she loves her job but she hates that she just cant sing and dance and be done with it, she is under a lot of pressure while ppl around her and mj wants to help, always compliment her, this is an idea exist in her head and thats very hard to fix when she was born into this society on top of all that. i just hope this doesn't affect her mentally in long term and she learns to let go. i dont think she cares much about people that hates her but she cares a lot about her fans which can suck sometimes since they can be her biggest haters too and wants to be perceived as a good person in general publics eyes. being good with the gp is a concern she has since debut too bcs of bullying accusations and thats why she will always hide a part of herself infront of cameras. even though shes such a genuine person we will never know for sure how shes really like irl. i think thats why some ppl get surprised about the stuff members say about her like her being a slytherin or the idea of her getting angry easily. we are only seeing a part of her shes letting us to see which obviously comes from a lot of insecurities and ofc she has every right to not want every part of her life to be exploited. also she doesn't want to seem like she cares so much about trivial things, wants to seem strong and carefree.

in short i think she resents the fact shes being exploited but she thinks thats an obligation she has to endure to keep the job she loves and being perceived like that makes her insecure and drives her to be want to be perfect all the time. this is true for most idols ofc but since jm is at top right now she feels that more than anyone.

[thatwasthenightthingschanged]

eras tour city guide: Gelsenkirchen

(Hamburg | Munich)

are you're traveling to see the eras tour in Gelsenkirchen and are looking for things to do in the city or just need advice for good food/drinks spots? Or are you looking for some insider information about the venue? here are some ideas for you (I will continuously update this post!):

GENERAL ADVICE

credit: @youlooklikeasixtiesqueen (thank you!!)

❗if you're taking public transport i recommend using the app "vrr bus&bahn". it has a green logo with vrr in it as the thumbnail. you can use it to look up public transport lines and if they're on time, and you can buy tickets on your phone (i think paypal and credit card are accepted as payments, not sure about google pay etc) i think it should be in english if your phone is set to english, but i can't 100% guarantee it. i just remember that a friend has her phone set to english and i believe the app is in english for her. you will need to make an account to buy tickets.

❗gelsenkirchen has the highest percentage of people living in poverty in germany. if you're not from around here and you're imagining a cute german town that looks like it's from a picture book, then that is not gelsenkirchen. it's a large town in the industrial part of germany. crime is not uncommon, especially downtown. keep an eye on your belongings, if you wear a bag make sure it closes completely, and please walk in groups of at least three people when it gets dark. basically just make smart choices and use common sense to stay safe.

❗ the median temperature for july is around 25°C

THINGS TO DO:

credit: @youlooklikeasixtiesqueen

❗important: taylor is playing her shows while the kids are out of school for the summer, so anything touristy that is family friendly will probably be full

❗there is a theme park nearby called "movie park germany" which is hella overpriced. there's not a lot of good rides for adults. the lines are also very very long in the summer. i would not recommend going.

⭐ the area around the veltins arena itself (arena-park):

- mini golf: 3.50€ for adults and 2.50€ for kids - schalke museum: museum about the football club that the veltins-arena is home to, 5€ for adults over 21, 6-21yo it's 3€, under 6yo it's free - apollo cinema: no movies in english but if you speak japanese or turkish you might be in luck if you want to catch a movie - food: several places to buy food including a mcdonalds - there is also a small castle called schloss berge nearby

⭐ zoom erlebniswelt:

- amazing large zoo with three areas (africa, asia, alaska) - highlights: igloo ride, petting zoo, viewing platform for the giraffes, lemur island (lemurs move around freely amongst visitors), canopy walk (by the orangutan outdoor area) - definitely plan to be there for at least half a day, my tip is to go when it opens and go to the "alaska" area first because they have this little ride that's an igloo that shakes you around a bit and it's so much fun, but there can be quite long lines in the summer (i think mostly because it has aircon), it's called "alaska ice adventure" and is opposite the polar bears - they have a little boat that you can go on to get closer to the baboons and flamingos but imho it isn't worth the wait - another tip: bring your own food and plenty of water. it's very expensive at the zoo. like, worse than airport prices. - you can buy artwork made by animals for very good prices at the gift store. i love the penguin art made by their little feet waddling over the canvas. - sadly not a great place for people who need walking aids or wheelchairs. they do say they're somewhat accessible but they aren't (it's better than ten years ago but still not great) - there's plenty of toilets and places to sit, and the toilets have always been clean when i went - prices: for adults it's 21,50€, kids up to 12 pay 14€, and it's free for kids under 4. if someone wants to bring a dog it's 6€. prices are reduced by a lot after 4pm (adults 10€, kids 8,50€), but you won't have a lot of time in the zoo, only about two hours. they also have lower prices for students if you have proof that you go to school or college. it is recommended to buy your tickets online and i agree with that. there's very long lines in the summer. - getting there: if you go by car, parking is 6€ for a day. the address for a gps is bleckstraße 64, 45889 gelsenkirchen. HOWEVER I do recommend taking the tramline 301 from the main station, the stop is just called "zoom erlebniswelt", it's a very short walk. - website: https://www.zoom-erlebniswelt.de/ (only in german) - btw they had baby pigs at the petting zoo not too long ago - @notjustillusion (thank you!!) also recommends ZOOM Erlebniswelt!

⭐erlebnismuseum schloss horst

- i haven't been but i've heard it's cool - interactive museum in a castle!! - exhibits on how people lived in the mid-16th century - free and accessible! - playground outside for the kiddos - in the afternoon on mon, tue, thu, and fri you can use an old printing press - open every day except saturdays from 3pm to 6pm, and sundays from 11am to 6pm - getting there: the address is turfstraße 21, 45899 gelsenkirchen. from the main station you can take bus 383, or tramline 301. the stop is "schloß horst" or "schloss horst"

credit: @notjustillusion (thank you!!)

Zeche Zollverein in Essen: a Zeche that was shut down, great place for walks and/or tours informing you about mining in the Ruhrgebiet in general!

credit: @feminst4life (thank you Nadine!!)

Nordsternpark: nice park where you can go climbing and there's also a museum!

Rungenberg-Halde: a nice photo spot!

FOOD & DRINKS:

credit: @feminst4life

Noah & Zoe's Place: all kinds of food (from breakfast do dinner to drinks), only a 15 minute ride with the tram away from the venue!

GENERAL ADVICE ABOUT THE VENUE:

credit: once again @youlooklikeasixtiesqueen (I feel the need to thank you again because you helped me so much with this post!!)

veltins arena, also called "arena auf schalke", max capacity around 60k

it has different entraces, your ticket should say which one you need to use

cashless venue - you can pay by credit or debit card, or using google pay, apple pay, or samsung pay. you can also trade cash at the venue for a "knappenkarte", which is basically a card you can pay with when you buy something in the venue. they have several different "payment counters" where you can exchange your money throughout the stadium. i'm not sure if these restrictions apply to merch, because it hasn't been announced if she will have her merch trucks or sell it inside the stadium.

you can buy food at the venue, they have vegetarian and vegan options too, but i don't know what anything costs. they have an overview where you can see what food counter has what on their website. they have pretzels and sweets at every food counter.

the website says you can bring in something to drink that is up to 500ml in a "tetra-pak", aka a juice box or a milk carton. i'm not sure about foldable silicone water bottles. plastic bottles are not allowed.

no bags larger than an a4 sheet of paper. i recommend a clear bag as well. they don't seem to have a clear back policy, but it'll make security lines move faster (i'm nearly certain there will be bag checks, i've never been to a concert in this general area that didn't have them, no matter how big or small). i got a clear fanny pack from amazon that i can also wear over one shoulder and around my torso because i think it'll make dancing easier than a crossbody.

i know someone once brought a dog to the rep tour and idk if it was a service dog but i think it's worth mentioning that animals are not allowed.

cameras for commercial use are not allowed (usually that means don't take a dslr)

powerbanks are only allowed if they are smaller than 10x7x3 cm. charge your phone beforehand and maybe put it in energy saving until you want to take pictures

you are not allowed to climb on seats

if you pee anywhere other than the toilets, smoke outside the designated area, or put a sticker somewhere, it's a 25€ fine

the roof will be closed unless it's too hot

they don't have lockers so only take what you need

website: https://en.veltins-arena.de/

[forcebookish]

thanks for the tag, @retiredficwriter!!

Make a poll with 5 of your favorite rarepairs/crackships. See which one is everyone's favorite!

PROPAGANDA UNDER THE CUT!

obviously, my favorite is kaibaek. i feel like i don't ship a lot of rarepairs so these were kind of hard to come up with after kaibaek and widowana fjdsljldg i might have forgotten a more obvious one, sorry!

tagging: @ariadnekurosaki @takeanumbrella @monwillica @sssneakiest and idk if it's my internet connection but tumblr isn't letting me tag anything else. if you wanna do it, do it and tag me! i wanna see your rarepairs :D

KAIBAEK

my exo otp and one of my ultimate OTPs. they had a bit of a rocky start and had a hard time getting close pre-debut, but once they did they now have a sincere trust for each other. they're caring and protective of one another: jongin (kai) running to baekhyun when he was injured, comforting each other when they cry (baekhyun following after jongin and holding his hand; jongin gently tugging at his ear), baekhyun leading jongin through the airport when he was sick, jongin drinking bitter juice for him in a batsu game (the reason i started shipping them), and so on. they've had to deal with a lot of similar situations wrt hate from fans (added to the group late, "overly" featured, dating scandals, etc.), as well as challenges with simply being in exo, superm, and sm in general. they admire each other, compliment and complement each other, and aspire to be as accomplished as each other; they support each other's solo careers and are always excited for each other. easily my favorite thing about them is why they're a rare pair in the first place, despite being in two groups together: their interactions, even the more affectionate ones, are rarely played up for fanservice. it's often little, private moments where they lean on each other or are affectionate in some other way. like THIS:

it's just so subtle and intimate? it's for no one but them. most of these kind of moments like the ones i've mentioned and others, can only be found on fancams! also they're really playful!!!!! i love them!!

WIDOWANA

my overwatch otp. friends (or lovers if you're delulu like me) to enemies to attempted killers. after thinking amélie (widowmaker) dead for a year, ana snipes her helmet on the battlefield, revealing who widowmaker actually is. once ana realizes it's her friend, she can't pull the trigger. ana, who never hesitates, hesitates for the first time, and widowmaker shoots her cybernetic eye out. they have an adversarial and competitive relationship now that they're both snipers on opposite ends of the war, trading barbs and pity for the other's situation. as the top two deadliest snipers in the world, they're kind of obsessed with one another and specifically outdoing each other. it provides a lot of tension and potential angst, especially of the "i know you're in there somewhere, come back to me" variety.

ISHINEMU

so rare even i don't talk about them (i tend to ship ishihime more, although even that is third after tatsuhime and ulquihime). SO much wasted potential! both of them have been wronged so acutely by mayuri and i think there are a lot of daddy issues to explore between the two of them. plus, uryuu seems to be literally the only person in the series who sees nemu as a person. shame their relationship, and mayuri medically torturing uryuu's grandfather AND the way he abuses nemu, was played for laughs later on lol good one, kubo :/

SHONEJING

jing is my name for him, he's a fusion of "force" who showed up in only boo! and that one guy in you fight, and i love (i'd use the nickname of what character from the novel he's supposed to be, but i couldn't find it lol). i have a fic in mind i wanna write for them and it would have been another entry into the hurt/comfort bingo, but it accidentally ended up too long. the headcanon is that jing is deeply closeted and shone is addicted to heartbreak.

TYLOKKA

idk i just like them. i think ty lee's crush on him is cute.

with a couple exceptions, i tend not to care about popular enemies to lovers ships but when it comes to rarepairs, apparently they're my preference? 🤔