#whom i have affectionately nicknamed

[jaylaxies]

THE ONLY EXCEPTION

PAIRING: haechan × fem!reader

GENRE/CW: smut, brother’s best friend trope, fluff, slight angst, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), cunnilingus, penetration, breeding, usage of nicknames, themes of jealousy, mentions of mark (brother) and other dreamies, mentions of yunjin from le sserafim, Imk if i missed anything!

WORD COUNT: 10k words

SYNOPSIS: mark was an overprotective brother and he didn’t fail to show it, warning all the guys to stay away from you, his best friends were no exception. so, how will you make it work when you return back after graduating school, only to find that your crush is paying more attention to you than ever? it most certainly doesn’t help that it’s lee donghyuck, to whom, you are strictly off limits.

WARNING: 18+ content, minors dni

A/N: hihi, my loves <3 i finally wrote a fic for the loml hyuckie <3 all likes, comments, reblogs are highly appreciated! it keeps me motivated! iloveyou all and happy reading <33

The music blasting from the speakers, reverberating around the room full of university students, the wretched smell of alcohol mixed with cigarettes lingered in the air as your sharp eyes adorned with perfectly winged liner focused around the room, greeting everyone who was shocked to find you at the party. 

It felt good to be back. 

Leaving for a boarding school wasn’t on your bucket list, yet it was an opportunity you couldn’t miss, the school being a prestigious one with a degree that would only be helpful in the future, which left you no choice but to disappear for three years, only to suddenly reappear today, straight making an appearance at the party. 

“Told you, your celebrity status is still intact,” Yunjin winked at you, her being the only friend who was stubborn enough to not break contact with you, and you loved her for the same. 

Raising your brow at her, you took another swing of beer which you had loosely gripped in your hand, “it’s not mine, it all belongs to my brother,” you said, “I don’t want this attention, especially when it’s only valid because I’m Mark’s sister who had a glow up over my time of not being in the town.”

Your brother was well known in the university—the same university which you’d be attending soon along with the people who also attended the same middle school as you, however, his reputation preceded him as he, along with his friends, had turned into the group all girls desired to be with, yet they never let anyone stick around for long. 

Settling down wasn’t their forte. 

People snogging around every corner of the house wasn’t a sight you were willing to witness, granted you had a long flight and were tired. Not having any ride back home was another factor which made you approach your brother—who wasn’t locked up in a room with some girl for once. 

“I wanna go home,” you huffed, standing next to Mark, who was quick to excuse himself from the conversation he was having. 

“I can’t drive you back, I’m buzzed dude,” he says, “my baby sis is all grown up,” he looks your way, patting your head before you step back, disgusted at his overly affectionate big brother act. 

He acted as if everything was normal when in reality, he was the one who always deprived you of every single thing, not allowing you to go out, not allowing you to meet boys, and most importantly, not letting his friends interact with you.

“Ew, drink this and sober up.” You passed on the water bottle in your hand to him, “how am I supposed to go back? Should I take a cab?” 

“No, that’s not safe. You wait here, I’ll get my friend to drop you off,” he asked you to wait by the front door. 

The shock on your face was evident, yet it was better to get a ride with one of his friends rather than fending for yourself this late at night. With a nonchalant nod, you walked away, waiting by the door. 

It wasn’t hard for Mark to find his group, they were sprawled across the sofa as if they owned it, surrounded by girls sitting around them; or on their lap. 

“Who’s not drunk here?” He asked, straight up eliminating Jeno from the list, who was taking big gulps from his can, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, “minus Jeno.”

Haechan was quick to ignore the girl who was leaning down to kiss him, eyes tired yet lined with the perfect amount of eyeliner—a look he went for whenever a party was concerned. 

“I am sober. Driver duties, why?” He asked. 

Even though there was nothing but truth in his words, it would be hard to accept it, provided that his eyes were the perfect shade of brown which harboured the ideal amount of brightness during the day, and just the exact amount of intoxication at night. 

“I had one beer,” Jaemin said, sitting with a bored expression on his face, probably not in the mood to entertain the girls at the given moment, unlike Jeno and Renjun, who basked in the attention of them. 

“Y/n wants to go back home,” Mark explained, grabbing another can of beer, “and I obviously can’t go to drop her off.”

“Y/n? Is she back?” Hyuck asked, playing with his silver rings before unbuttoning the top of his black button up, exposing his chain clad neck and clavicle, which was valid given how hot the room was. 

“Yeah, she came back in the afternoon today. Jaem can you drop her back home?” Jaemin chuckles at the offended look Haechan threw his way. 

“Of course man,” Jaemin agreed. 

“He’s drunk too, in case you overlooked that, I’m the sober one right now,” Hyuck said, pointing out the obvious. 

“Yeah, dude there’s no way I’m letting you go alone with my sister,” Mark laughed, “lord knows you can’t keep it in your pants,” he added. 

Hyuck was quick to raise his eyebrow, scoffing, pushing his tongue inside his cheek, “and he can?” He asked, pointing at Jaemin. 

“He knows where to draw a line, unlike you, and she’s my baby sister, I’m not risking anything,” Mark explained enthusiastically, as if it was a joke, because it caused an uproar of laughter, which only infuriated Hyuck more. 

“I know when to stop,” he said, annoyed. 

“You didn’t know that when you fucked principal’s daughter,” Jeno provided. 

“And when you did so in his office, with cameras installed,” Renjun not so helpfully added. 

Hyuck agrees that they were right to a certain extent, but their lack of trust was always something that bothered him. If there was someone who actually didn’t know where to stop, that would be them, because he did not appreciate the insults thrown his way. 

It also didn’t help how he genuinely wanted to see you, but now his mood was ruined, courtesy of Mark. 

Mark then proceeded to list out a few more things as to prove that Hyuck wasn’t fit for being anywhere close to his sister, “I don’t trust you with her,” he shrugged, asking Jaemin to drop you off and ending the conversation. 

Meanwhile, it had been a solid seven minutes and twenty six seconds since you started waiting for Mark’s friend to come and pick you up, and you made sure to put the time into good use by observing your surroundings yet again. 

In the farther right corner, you spotted your old crush, Park Sunghoon, who was in your ethics class. He never paid attention to you, granted your brother made sure to warn the whole school population that you were off limits. 

You couldn’t deny, it was good to see him happy and you swore you noticed him giggling too, talking to your old classmate, who you remember, was called Moon—one of the beauties of your school, before he pulled her into a sweet kiss. 

Your observation was cut short when one of Mark’s friends, whom you had not seen in the past three years appeared in front of you with a small smile. Na Jaemin, he was charming from the bottom to the top. 

“Welcome back, Y/n,” he smiled, voice slutry, which came naturally to him. 

You offered him a smile in return, shamelessly checking him out, he had gotten buff. You were not expecting him to come here, but then again, your subconscious wanted to see that one boy whose eyes reminded you of honey. 

You wondered how he looked now. Does he even remember you? A sigh left your glossy lips as you admitted that you still might have a teeny tiny crush on Lee Haechan after all this while, and deep inside, you wished to see him again. 

With a smile, you followed him to the car as he engaged you in a conversation. It was probably the first time he had been given the permission to interact with you, and even he couldn’t deny, he loved to see the development, the confidence that you had come back with. 

While you were getting back home, Haechan was fuming with anger, kicking the pavement as he had left the party, his mind formulating ideas for a plausible revenge against everyone. He was rebellious, he’d give himself that, yet in the depth of his heart, he meant well, not wanting to hurt anyone intentionally, only for the sake of having unharmed fun. 

It wasn’t as if his friends were any different, so why should he be the one who’s labelled to be the worst of them all? This time, he wanted to hurt someone on purpose, the someone being Mark Lee. 

Solution? Get as close to you as humanly possible—which would also mean that he’d have to work to get a place in your heart. But he didn’t mind it, especially when he had liked you all this while. 

Mark wanted him to stay away? Tough luck because Hyuck wanted you. 

Thinking about you reminded him of when you first met through Mark, he had priorly informed everyone to stay away from you, despite the fact you were in fifth grade, almost isolating you from the world. However, it wasn’t enough for Hyuck to stop greeting you with his gummy smiles, which caused you to smile back at him too. 

That’s the most exchange you guys have had over these years. Hyuck was gonna change that, and so, he found himself walking towards your house, knowing well that Mark won’t be around to stop him, and your parents would be deep asleep given that it was past midnight. 

Climbing up your room wasn’t hard, especially when he was aware of the ladder kept in your backyard, but being silent after entering your room through a window was tough. 

The lights were dim, just how you liked it when you slept. With a few steps, Hyuck reached your bed, eyes fixated on your sleeping figure. 

A small, genuine smile graced his face when he noticed the small pout on your moisturized lips. Adorable—that’s how he perceived you, yet there was no denying how much you had grown up to be prettier than ever, and he couldn’t help but caress your cheek with his thumb, even the slightest touch making you stir in your sleep, causing him to chuckle. 

He had to have you. 

You weren’t sure if it was a dream or had Hyuck actually visited you at night, though, the latter idea seemed nothing less than a delusion. Maybe it was your brain playing tricks with you, but it wasn’t your biggest concern at the given moment as you wanted nothing more than to freshen up and eat. 

What you did not expect was to see your mom catering the four boys sprawled across your living room, the guy in your dream wasn’t anywhere to be seen still. 

“Good morning, sweetheart,” your mom sweetly pulled you in her embrace, gaining the attention of your brother and his friends, who were sitting together playing some video games. 

“Good morning, mum,” you smiled, having missed her while you were away for school. 

“Yo, I almost forgot you were back for a second,” Mark commented as your mom asked everyone to sit down. 

You looked at him with a sour expression, “yeah, right. Cause there was no one to tell you that you’re wearing two different designs of socks,” you pointed out, getting a snigger out of Jeno, who passed you a sweet smile when you looked his way, averting his gaze within a second, a habit of all his friends who weren’t allowed to stare at you. 

“Or that you’re wearing your T-shirt inside out,” you scrunch your nose as others see a very clueless Mark trying to get everything in order, your mom also amused by the sudden liveliness in the home, “no, but how are you this unaware about yourself?” You mused. 

Mark didn’t get to reply or whine when the front door opened to reveal the guy of your dreams, quite literally. 

Lee Haechan came into the room as if he owned the place, your eyes fixated on his messy hair as he said hello to your mother, who was more than happy to see him here. 

Hyuck was her favourite out of all Mark’s friends. 

Other guys were quick to apologize to Hyuck, you wondered why, and Mark had apparently apologized on text last night for crossing the line. 

He looked carefree and unbothered, so you didn’t ponder upon it much till he sat down next to you for breakfast, finally looking in your eyes. 

You blinked once, focusing on his eyes which looked like they had honey swirling around them, his skin was tanned to the prettiest shade as he passed you a small smile, “hey, Y/n,” he acknowledged your presence, lips almost upturned into what seemed to be a smirk. 

For a second, you couldn’t quite focus as you were too enthralled observing the beauty marks scattered across his face, his plump pink lips—

Yeah, that thought shook you awake, “hey, Haechan,” you greeted back, thinking that calling him Hyuck might just be too friendly. 

“So, are we on for our trip tomorrow?” Jaemin asked, cutting your interaction short. 

“Wait, what trip?” You asked, knowing that your parents were gonna be out for a business trip too, and you weren’t one to enjoy being home alone in such a big house. 

“Didn’t Mark tell you?” Your mom asked and shook your head, throwing an accusatory look his way, “They all are having a stay in at Hyuck’s beach house.”

“And me? Am I supposed to be staying alone for what—how many days?” You asked. 

“A week,” Mark informed, unaffected. 

“I’m not staying home alone for a whole week, mum, this isn’t fair.” The distress was clear on your face. 

“Call your friends over then,” your mom suggested. 

“For a week? We’d rather go out for vacation too,” you pouted, not noticing the stare of two boys. 

“Join the trip with Mark then,” she recommended, placing the fluffy pancake on your plate. 

“What? Why? No,” Mark protested and the room bursted into a web of chaos with everyone discussing it. 

Only Hyuck was silent, his eyes still on your face, admiring your side view shamelessly, but also careful not to give out his intentions in front of Mark. 

“It’s a boys trip, mom. Y’know? Boy stuff,” he winced, trying to explain without explaining that all they planned on doing was drink, smoke and invite girls over, “guys, tell them?”

“Yeah—he’s right,” they all agreed, not maintaining eye contact, looking at each other awkwardly. 

“Okay, since the beach house is Hyuck’s, why don’t we let him decide?” Your mom sighs, looking at Hyuck. 

Now that the sole attention is on him, he tries to act clueless with a helpless look on his face, especially when you are looking at him with big eyes, lower lip jutting out in a pout. 

Then he looked back at his friends, who clearly wanted the girl to go, minus Mark at least. Lastly, he looked at your mom, who only smiled, and that was enough of an excuse for Hyuck to say with the sweetest smile—

“Of course, Y/n and her friend are always invited.”

“He said yes,” you were on the phone, explaining the whole situation to Yunjin, knowing well that she’d be more than ready to accompany you for your rendezvous. 

“He what?” She exclaimed, knowing that the boys would never take your side, especially in front of Mark. 

“I know, mom sorta helped cause Haechan never says no to mom, it’s like he’s her favourite child or something,” a humorous laugh left your lips. 

“Well, he will be once he becomes your boyfriend,” Yunjin gushed, “we’ll make sure he notices you this time, we’ve got a whole week to make it work.” 

You had rushed up the stairs and into your room as soon as the decision had been made, followed by the loud complaints of Mark—which you did not bother to hear, calling Yunjin to fill her in with the situation instead. 

She was packing as you were speaking. 

In all honesty, it never crossed your mind that you would actually want to seduce Haechan, provided that he was Mark’s friend, which would lead to fights you definitely didn’t wish to be a part of, but you were an adult, so Mark held no authority over you. 

There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun after all. 

“I’m not giving you a ride,” Mark deadpanned when you got back downstairs, your mother looking at him with disappointment. 

“I’ll take a cab then,” you rolled your eyes. 

“No need, you’re taking two cars and it’s enough to fit you all,” your mom finally said, “who’s driving?” 

“Me and Mark,” Hyuck replied, voice innocent as you turned to look his way, “Mark is taking the bigger one.”

“Is that so? All boys can go with Mark then. Won’t you give a lift to Y/n and Yunjin, Hyuck?” Your mom asked, knowing he won’t say no. 

She was good at persuasion, unknowingly giving Haechan the full opportunity to be with you, which is exactly what he was aiming for in the first place. 

Haechan only nodded earnestly, eyes almost shining as he looked back at you, “of course, you can ride with me,” he said, ignoring the glare thrown his way by Mark as your name rolled off his tongue, “Y/n.”

As if his voice and gaze wasn’t enough for you to stop breathing in a room full of people, the subtle smirk on his lips successfully had your knees buckling with anticipation. 

Never in a million years you had thought that you’d be riding shotgun in Hyuck’s car, with him driving and humming along to songs under his breath. You had worn the shortest skirt you managed to find in your closet and the little trick had worked as you saw him staring at your legs when you first came downstairs, announcing that you and Yunjin were ready to leave for the trip. 

Not only did it grab the attention of the boy you had been targeting, but also it garnered attention of Jaemin, who at least tried to act respectful by gulping and looking away. 

Hyuck on the other hand believed that he should blatantly stare at the things which are to be admired, including your legs. 

It didn’t take long for you guys to load your bags into his car, as the other one left ten minutes before you guys. Yunjin wasn’t a fan of long drives—two hours in your case, so she put on her AirPods and closed her eyes the second she got into the back seat, also to give you privacy with Haechan. 

He drove with one hand, the other resting on his thigh. The rings and chain adorning his body caught your attention for a second too long. His hands were definitely bigger than yours, veins popping out whenever he gripped the steering wheel. 

The aura around him was too strong, as if he was a magnet ready to pull everyone towards him, you were no exception. 

“Like the rings, darling?” He asked, eyes on the road with the corner of his lip upturned. 

The question successfully broke your train of thoughts. It was probably the first conversation you had with him, excluding the usual greetings. 

And he kick-started it by calling you darling. 

“They’re pretty,” you replied, not letting the nickname phase you, despite heat creeping up your neck. 

His smile widened at your answer and he swiftly got a ring off his finger, passing it to you—again, without even looking your way. 

“They’ll look prettier on you,” he says ever so smoothly, and you bite your lips, trying to stop the smile from widening as your fingers brush against his, taking the ring and inspecting the design, “don’t wear that in front of the boys though, they’ll flip.”

An amused chuckle left your lips, something which Haechan did not expect, “why? Still scared of Mark and his empty threats?” You asked. 

He pissed you off too much with his don’t come near my sister or I’ll make your life a living hell threat to others, and you were bitter about it. 

“Now, why would I be scared of Mark?” He scoffed. 

“Because you’re one of his friends who aren’t even allowed to look my way,” you said as a matter of fact, breath hitching the second you felt his fingers on your thigh, the warmth of his palm juxtaposing the cold metal of his rings. 

The car was stopped at the red light, “I’ve always looked you in the eye, sweetheart,” he whispered, confirming his statement by turning his head and staring right into your eyes, the tension palpable as your gazes locked, the look being too alluring for you to break the eye contact. 

His whole demeanour changed in a second when his serious expression morphed into a sweet smile, the kind that makes you melt right before he shifted his focus back on the road as if he hadn’t just provided you a sliver of hope about him being interested in you. 

He, however, didn’t bother moving his hand which was gripping your thigh lightly, his fingers were long and looked exceptionally pretty on your skin. You couldn’t help but look out of the window, trying not to let your thoughts get out of hand. 

It certainly didn’t help that he was singing explicit romantic songs with all his might while your best friend was sleeping peacefully in the backseat. 

Haechan loved every single reaction he got out of you, your little shivers when he caressed your thigh, your breath hitching for the very same reason midway a conversation, and your sweet blabber as you he initiated a conversation. 

“How was school?” He asked after a while. 

The conversation flowed smoothly after, the ride wasn’t long after all, his hand caressing your thigh throughout the journey, and you wished for it to be longer. 

The beach house wasn’t a house apparently, but a mansion with how grand it was. Meaning, everyone would easily get their own rooms. Mark’s car was already parked as they reached earlier, but you saw Jaemin coming out when he heard the sound of Hyuck’s car, helping you take the bags inside with his ever so charming smile while Yunjin and you silently gushed about the beach view. 

Others were busy preparing for the party that was to be held at night—which was news to you. 

The interior was in the shades of black, white, and greys, matching Haechan’s personality in a peculiar manner, given that he was filled with colours of all sorts. 

You and Yunjin selected the adjacent rooms on the first floor, the balcony giving you a pretty view wasn’t something you’d want to miss out on. Haechan occupying the room which was right in front of your room is another thing which boosted your excitement. 

The next few hours flew by as you rested on the beach with Yunjin, soaking up warmth of the sand with the cold ocean waves reaching your toes. It felt peaceful. 

“So, what are you gonna wear to woo Haechan today?” Yunjin asked, sipping on her iced beverage. 

The sun was about to set, your eyes never leaving the sky which displayed all shades of red, yellow and orange, “what do you mean?”

“I mean that there’s no way they won’t be inviting girls, it was supposed to be a boys trip after all to get their dicks wet,” she said as a matter of fact. 

You winced again, not having it in you to watch your brother surrounded by girls. 

“And if Haechan was flirting with you, then it’s your chance to flirt back now, given that Mark would be drunk beyond the point of recovery. Not to mention how you’ll have to do something so he doesn’t stray off and give attention to other girls,” Yunjin listed out. 

She was right, it wasn’t like you were going to get this chance again, “red dress or black dress?” You asked with a playful smile and she squealed, rushing you into your room to help you get ready. 

The music was blaring by the time you applied the last swatch of lipstick, smacking your lips for the colour to blend in perfectly, complementing your skin tone ever so perfectly. Yunjin doing the same beside you. 

You weren’t sure how they managed to gather all this crowd for a party, granted you guys didn’t even live here, yet who would question these boys, an online invite and people would come running to attend their parties. 

Which was the case at the given moment as well. The second you stepped out from your assorted room, you found Jeno practically eating a girl’s face off with how passionately they were kissing  right beside the door, the music blaring in the background as you tried to overcome the initial shock of seeing your brother’s friend going what you’d consider wild. 

Making your way downstairs, you put on your best confident expression, your eyes immediately looking around, trying to find a certain black haired guy. 

Yunjin stopped you, pointing at the corner of the room where Hyuck was sitting with girls surrounding him, Renjun right next to him, a scoff of disbelief leaving your lips when one of them oh so comfortably sat down on his lap, his arm wrapping around her waist so naturally. 

Yet you couldn’t deny just how effortlessly attractive he looked in that black button up, the first few buttons undone to reveal his chest. The eyeshadow enhancing the look of his eyes to appear more slutry than they already seemed to be. 

Great. This is what you came on this trip for—to see Hyuck tilting the chin of a random girl, shoving his tongue inside her mouth. 

This won’t do, you averted your gaze, going straight to get alcohol, any kind would do, you just needed a boost of confidence to work upon your plan. Yunjin knew exactly what you were up to, winking at you before wandering off in the crowd. 

“Not dancing tonight?” Jaemin asked, standing right next to you as he poured himself a drink. 

His presence made your job easier, especially when he looked so good tonight. His dark hair was a little messy, sleeves rolled up as he was clad in all black, a simple chain adorning his slender neck. 

Perfect bait to get a reaction out of Haechan. 

If he’d bother to look your way, that is. 

“Talking to me tonight? Not scared of my brother anymore?” Your lips curled up, amused. 

That earned a laugh out of him, “he’s locked up in a room as we speak,” he said over the music. Translation: he was busy fucking someone and he won’t be here to monitor your moves. 

Your nose scrunched, not wanting to think about your brother doing the deed. Jaemin walked alongside you as you took up his offer to dance, but also made sure that you could see Haechan clearly with your spot. 

His eyes turned your way for the first time tonight the second you started moving your body along to the rhythm. The distance was fair, yet it felt as if you were the only person in this room and he was the only spectator to your actions. 

Jaemin’s hand came to rest on your waist, your body in sync with his moves, the proximity close and a blissful expression on your face. 

Again, you subtly looked Hyuck’s way, only to find his eyes darker than ever, not straying away from you for even a second, the girl on his lap long forgotten as he couldn’t find a reason to give her his attention anymore. 

Not when you were dancing with Jaemin, not when your dress rode up, revealing your thighs, not when Jaemin whispered in your ear and you giggled, getting closer to him. 

He couldn’t stand it, the muscle in his jaw clenched, his tongue pushed against the inside of his cheek with annoyance bubbling up in his body. 

You turned around, only to find Haechan missing from the spot he was sitting at. All of a sudden, you excused yourself from Jaemin and made your way around the room, to find him again and you failed to do so. 

The room’s atmosphere got stuffy as the night progressed and you made your way upstairs to your room in need of fresh air which was very well provided by the grand balcony. 

Just as you twisted the door knob, getting inside the room, you gasped as Hyuck closed the door behind you, pushing you against the wooden surface of the door, his scent taking over your senses seamlessly as you breathed in deeply. 

“Hyuck—” you whispered, hyper aware of how close he was to you, his body pressed against yours in a way you could feel his torso muscles. His face tilted ever so slightly, just enough for your noses to brush against each other. 

The position alone sent you into a state of frenzy, and he didn’t even let you finish speaking out his name as he chuckled darkly. 

“Didn’t know you were into Jaemin, darling,” he whispered, causing you to gulp down the nervousness, which was of no use as your knees felt even weaker with his slender finger tracing your cheek, stopping right by your lips, “dancing with him while wearing the ring that I gave you.” His thumb caressing your bottom lip, parting it ever so slightly, “doesn’t really sound fair to me now, does it, baby?” He asked, stopping his actions and looking your right in the eye. 

You couldn’t show him how affected you were with possessiveness laced tone, “I don’t see how it’s unfair, Haechan,” you smiled sweetly, keeping your hand on his chest. 

“Wrong,” he said in a beat, “his intentions aren’t pure,” he provided. 

You chuckled, turning your face to the side for a second, “what about your intentions?” You dared to ask. 

His hold on you tightened, “you wanna know my intentions?” He asked, voice so low it gave you goosebumps as he moved even closer to you, his lips on the verge of touching yours. 

They never fully touched, your hand becoming a barrier between you two, “maybe some other day,” you whispered, the expression in his eyes unreadable, “someday when you don’t come here with tainted lips after kissing god knows how many girls,” you smiled tightly, pushing him aside, the alcohol only providing you with unadulterated courage. 

He pulled you back, hand wrapped around your wrist so his torso was pressed against your back, which vibrated with his chuckles, “didn’t know it bothered you that much, pretty,” his lips touched your earlobe. 

“It doesn’t,” you seethed out, trying not to sound breathless as you shrugged out of his hold, “besides, we mean nothing to each other. I won’t stop you from snogging anyone and you can’t stop me from dancing with anyone.”

That’s all you said before slipping out of his grasp, rushing in and closing the bathroom door behind you and breathing in deeply. The feeling of his touch still lingering on your body, he was jealous as you were and he was so close. 

So close to kissing you. 

Hyuck leaned against the door on the opposite side of you, “we mean nothing to each other?” He scoffed under his breath, the image of Jaemin’s hands on your waist coming back to his mind. He was wrong to pay attention to someone else, he admits, but now he was determined to give you all his attention. 

“You’re mine, you just don’t know that yet,” he says, knowing you won’t be able to hear him, “all mine,” his tone was possessive still as he walked out of the room. 

The boys woke up all hungover the next morning, while you and Yunjin snuck out of the mansion before others woke up, only to avoid Hyuck, which was almost funny given that you were here to get his attention. 

Regardless, you sat in this cute cafe you found nearby, explaining the whole situation to your best friend. The slight smirk on her face gave away the fact that she was proud of you for not giving him attention last night. It’ll only make him want you more, she had said. 

Mark called you right after you finished your meal, “where are you?” He asked, panicked, “don’t tell me you got kidnapped,” the horror was clear in his voice and you rolled your eyes, not understanding how his brain worked. 

“I literally left a note on the fridge that I’ll be out for lunch and shopping, Mark,” you explained, almost laughing when you heard him say oh. He was standing right in front of the fridge apparently. 

“Right, have fun,” he said, hanging up the call. 

He wasn’t the best brother but he did care. At times, more than he needed to. 

“Okay so here’s the plan,” Yunjin started to explain. She loved giving out ideas and they always worked, which is why you found yourself in the swimsuit store, purchasing the one which flattered your body in the best manner. 

“And don’t lock your room at night. Knowing Haechan, he would definitely give you a little visit after seeing you pull that stunt.” 

The sun was setting and you were almost back at the mansion. You enjoyed the day and it was a great plan to get Hyuck out of your head, even though it wasn’t possible despite the fact that it had been only two days since you came back and met him again. 

Tonight’s plan was to have a bonfire by the beach, grill meat and have a good time. Mark had finally accepted and asked everyone to tone down and make the trip more family friendly, hence the bonfire.  

The place was empty when you got back in, and you saw the boys setting up the barbecue when you changed into your dress before making your way to join them. 

“Remember the plan?” Yunjin asked and you nodded, loving the feel of cold sand beneath your foot. 

Hyuck was the first one to notice your presence, his dark eyes fixated on your figure as you walked towards them, Jaemin being the second one as he smiled your way, to which you smiled back sweetly. 

You still had Hyuck’s ring on as you approached the place where Hyuck and Jaemin were grilling the meat, Mark was sitting down and playing his guitar while Jeno and Renjun sang along to the song, Yunjin being a great singer also joined those three. 

“Can I have a taste?” You asked, looking at Jaemin with hopeful eyes. 

The weather was cold yet the burning stare of a certain someone had you feeling all kinds of warmth, yet you didn’t look his way. 

“Of course, say ah,” Jaemin said, eyes shining as he held the piece of meat for you and you gladly accepted it, your lips touching his fingers in a caress, the juicy taste making you hum out in pleasure. 

In a second, you were turned around, “there’s something on your lips,” Hyuck muttered, expression stoic as he brushed his thumb on your lower lip, “all cleaned.”

You would have laughed at the jealousy had his action not been so intimidating, as if he was warning you not to do this. 

“Thanks,” you said, voice extra sweet before you looked back at Jaemin who was confused at the exchange, “can I have more?” You asked. 

“Here.” Hyuck shoved a plate in your hands before Jaemin could even reply, “enjoy your food,” he said, smiling but his eye twitched in the process, making you bite your lower lip to contain your laugh yet again and you sat down finally. 

“Do you think the water would be cold right now?” Jeno asked no one in general, his intrusive thoughts winning.  

“Why? Wanna take a dip?” Mark asked with a laugh, eyebrows raising once he realized that Jeno was serious about it. 

“It’ll be fun,” he said as everyone laughed around him. 

“There’s no light out here, Jeno,” Renjun said. 

“It’ll be fun.”

“The waves are strong too,” Mark reasoned.

“It’ll be fun.”

“Okay, his vocabulary is limited,” Hyuck said, sitting by you as Jaemin handed over the plates to everyone, Mark sparing a glance to make sure Hyuck didn’t sit too close to you. 

“We can go one hour after eating, just dip our toes in,” Yunjin suggested and you guys agreed as Mark resumed playing his guitar. 

“Have more, Y/n.” Jaemin smiled, giving you more pieces to eat from his own plate. 

Haechan didn’t remember the last time he felt so pissed over something this small, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. It had been two whole days since you made your comeback in his life but those two days were enough for him to want you, granted he did have a crush on you for the longest time, only now it wasn’t just your sweetness he was attracted to. 

“Thank you, nana,” you beamed, the nickname only infuriating Hyuck more while you could see Jaemin blush faintly and you truly wondered how all these goofballs pulled girls so easily. 

“Nana,” Hyuck mocked under his breath, Yunjin noticing the atmosphere and slightly pushing you towards him. 

“You’re doing brilliantly,” she whispered, “he looks like he’ll blow up anytime now.”

It felt nice, sitting in front of the bonfire while listening to others singing. You knew you were trying to make Hyuck jealous yet it was hard not to stare at his face, which basked in the glow of fire. He was already looking your way, noticing how you still had his ring on, which only tempted him to pull you on his lap, yet he knew it was impossible with your brother monitoring his every move. 

“Let’s go into the water,” Jeno repeated, as Mark smirked. 

“On the count of one, two,” he said, and didn’t even finish before your eyes widened as your brother came to pick you up in hopes of throwing you into the cold water. 

Mark was escapable. Jeno on the other hand, not so much and it didn’t help how they both had lifted you up despite your thrashing and whining and ran towards the water. 

“Mark I swear I’ll kill you—” you warned and Yunjin had the time of her life recording this whole scene. 

Renjun continuously reminded the boys to stay safe while also doing god’s work by providing you with the flashlight set on the highest setting from his phone. 

Within a second, you were screaming and thrashing as the boys dropped you into the cold water, laughing and doing the same with a horrified Renjun before rushing towards the mansion, especially Mark, leaving you all cold. 

Hyuck rushed to close the flashlight. 

You were wearing white, and the water only made your clothes look transparent, which is why Hyuck was taking his jacket off, but yet again, Jaemin was quick to wrap his leather jacket around your shivering frame. 

He was glad that you were covered but the annoyance was clear on his face, the amusement long gone even with you muttering and plotting Mark and Jeno’s murder with Renjun. 

Nor did he enjoy the sight of Jaemin taking you back to the villa, acting all protective as if he was your knight in shining armour. 

“You’re making it so obvious that you’re jealous,” Yunjin quipped, noticing how everyone walked ahead of them, rushing to the mansion. 

He laughed out, ending it with a scoff, “I have no reason to be,” he said, voice calm, “she’s mine anyways,” he shrugged, determination clear in his eyes. 

“Wow, you’re not even scared to admit it out loud? What if Mark hears?” She asks and Hyuck’s expression sours. 

“He wouldn’t approve. That’s a given but that’s not enough to stop me,” he shrugged yet again. 

“Okay Mr. Someone is stealing your girl as we speak though,” Yunjin pointed out, a fake sympathetic scowl on her face. 

Haechan hated feeling this way, the feeling where things do not go his way. He hadn’t felt this way since—forever. He had everything he wanted, but not you. Mark being a hindrance is something he considered to be normal till some extent, but Jaemin? That’s unacceptable. 

“I’ll take care of it.”

It was one in the morning and you were wrapped up in a blanket, sitting down near the balcony to observe the spectrum of stars which you could have sworn were shining. 

Being thrown into the water wasn’t the best experience per se, but you knew it would soon turn into a funny memory you guys would look back at someday in the future. Yet, it wasn’t something you were thinking about much, granted you had better things to ponder about. 

Lee Haechan. 

You well expected him to show at least a sliver of reaction, some sort of outburst during the evening, however it never came. Either he was plotting revenge or he simply didn’t care enough. Or he was trying to keep it in, your mind tried to reason with you. 

You sighed, getting up and closing the sliding doors of the big balcony in hopes of getting a cozy sleep. You needed that warmth after all. Just as you dropped the blanket on the bed, the door swung open—which shouldn’t have happened, given that you were sure you had locked it.

Haechan entered the room, closing the door behind him and you couldn’t help but stand at your place, shocked at his sudden appearance, “how did you—” 

“It’s my place, I can get in and out anytime I want,” he replied, voice smooth, giving you goosebumps as he walked closer to you. 

He was clad in sweatpants and a white T-shirt, the attire was simple, yet he made it look a hundred times more attractive than the usual. 

“Oh,” you breathed out, the dim lights of the room caused his skin to glow a beautiful shade of golden. 

There wasn’t a single ounce of jealousy on his face, rather, he looked content with the setting, settling down and sitting on the corner of the bed, his dark eyes staring at you, the silence louder than ever. 

“Uhm, so—did you want something?” You asked, wincing at your tone as you suddenly felt conscious under his gaze, slightly aroused too, not knowing what he was actually here for. 

He clicked his tongue, looking away for a second before his eyes settled on you for the second time. 

Hyuck gave you no time to process anything as his hands grabbed your wrist, pulling you to him in a single hard tug, which had your body stumbling forward and right on his lap. 

He held on to your waist, helping you stabilize your balance, “what’s wrong, princess? You were so confident, getting cozy with Jaemin, huh?” He raise his brow, letting the possessiveness show on his face, the I don’t give a fuck facade disappearing. 

Your breath hitched with the movement of his fingers on your waist, his thumb rubbing circles on the part where your top had ridden up to expose your skin. 

“He was just being nice,” you breathed out, shivering slightly. 

He rolled his eyes at your statement, a scoff leaving his lips before he leaned in, earning a gasp out of you. His nose caressed yours, and you were scared to move, his lips hovering above yours. 

“Just being nice my ass,” he clicked his tongue yet again, and suddenly you were hyper aware about the fact that you were breathing in the same air, “you wanted to know my intentions, right, princess?” He asked, “then listen, I want you all to myself,” his tone was raspy, your fingers digging into his shoulders for support, “don’t think I didn’t notice your subtle glances towards me, especially when you were with Jaemin,” he chuckled and you gulped, looking elsewhere. 

He was quick to grab your chin, making you look right in his eyes, “trying to get me jealous, darling? Well, good for you, it fucking worked.”

“Hyuck—” you whimper, your body heating up as you realized you were sitting right on his crotch. 

“Shh, bad girls don’t get to talk,” he shook his head, disappointed, “now what do we do about this? Maybe I’ll just have to claim your body to make you understand that you don’t need to make me jealous to have all my attention,” he suggested. 

You could feel the wetness down in your lacy panties and he hadn’t even touched you. Something about the way his voice came out so luscious, something about the way his touch made you feel like putty, something about his eyes made you feel mesmerized. 

“Tell me, baby. Can I mark you mine?” He asked and you felt your heart flutter, his voice was gentle when he asked for your consent, and you couldn’t hold back from wanting him anymore, nodding gently, “use your words, love,” he urged, lips parted. 

“Yes,” you whispered, grabbing on to him as he bit your lip, eliciting another gasp out of you, a teasing smirk on his face. 

“Yeah? You sure you can handle it?” He asked and you tugged on to his collar, impatiently pulling you to him. 

“Let’s find out,” you mumbled. 

Without any more delay, you closed the distance between you both, his hand coming to rest on your nape, tilting your head to kiss you passionately, his tongue brushing over your lips, parting them with ease for your tongue to graze the tip of his own. 

The room felt misty as you continued to kiss, his kisses getting more possessive by second, thinking about how no one else should have you, that you belong to him. He picked you up with ease, putting you underneath him on the bed, his kisses trailing down as you took a deep breath. 

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he mumbled midway kisses, some were long, especially the ones around your clavicle and neck region while the others were feather soft, driving you insane to the point of no return. It only ascended when his fingers finally lifted up your top, exploring the expanse of your skin with teasing touches. 

Your back arched as soon as he caresses the area under your tits, before cupping them fully, leaning back to get rid of your top altogether. You couldn’t shy under his gaze, the way he looked at you only boosted your confidence, as if he was a predator hungry for a meal and you were his precious prey, all ready to be devoured. 

He had no time to waste, his mouth working fast to lean down, swirling his tongue around your hardened nipples, noticing how you react to his each touch, fondling your other tit, hearing you whimper and beg for more, his name chanting on your lips out of sheer pleasure. 

“It’s so fucking cute how your body reacts to every little touch of mine,” he whispered, biting your earlobe in the process, your eyes rolling to the back of your head as he stuffed his pretty fingers inside your shorts, chuckling when he realizes how soiled your lacy panties had gotten, “fuck, I wanna taste that pretty cunt,” he says, taking off his T-shirt before doing the same to your shorts, dragging your panties down alongside it. 

You found yourself drooling at the sight of Hyuck’s muscles, he had started going to the gym and the results were clearly visible on his body, but you were ripped out of your thought train when he bit your inner thigh, causing you to clench around nothing, giving you kisses and licks all over, but not touching the part where you needed him the most. 

“P—please,” you cried out of frustration, and he immersed himself, licking a big stripe of your wet cunt, genuinely loving the taste as he hummed with satisfaction, holding your thighs open with his strong arms, “oh god,” you moaned out, causing him to smirk against your wetness, pressing sweet kisses to your clit. 

It felt like heaven when you were being destroyed by the demon himself. 

Hyuck was hard, his thick cock barely containing itself from splitting your pussy into two, but he wanted to see you fall apart on his tongue first, “your cunt,” he said, licking it to make a point, “belongs to me,” he whispered and you nodded. 

“It’s yours—all yours!”

“That’s my good fucking girl, you’re all mine,” he said, his tongue prodding at your entrance, fucking your pussy, which gave you more pleasure than you had ever felt through your life. 

It didn’t take long for you to feel your lower abdomen tightening, your fingers tugging on his silky black roots as he ate you out like a madman, as if he was drunk in the essence of your pussy. With a cry, you found yourself falling apart all over his tongue and he lapped it up, coming to kiss you right after, letting you taste yourself in his mouth. He knew you’d be overstimulated, but that’s exactly what he was aiming for when he finally pulled out his cock. You knew he’d be thick, but you underestimated him still, knowing well his cock wouldn’t fit in your cunt. 

“Gonna claim you mine,” he whispered, intertwining his fingers with yours as he positioned himself on your entrance, “fuck, you’re all mine,” he said, kissing you deeply to absorb all yours moans as he pushed himself inside you. 

Your wetness helped him, yet he had to thrust in a few times to bottom out and could feel yourself clenching around him uncontrollably, loving the stretch and also the fact that he was twitching inside of you. 

His fingers grabbed your hips in a tight hold as he started pistoning into you at a pace which you hadn’t expected, and you were sure you looked crazy with how your eyes were teary, your hair a mess and your lips swollen, courtesy of the boy who groaned and slapped your cunt, fucking you deeper. 

“That’s it, baby, you’re taking me so well,” he praised and you let out broken sentences which he couldn’t comprehend, you were too gone, pushed into your subspace to the point you simply let Hyuck do all the work, moaning and whimpering for him, trying to keep your noises at bay in case anyone wakes up. 

Just when you both were about to read your high, he stopped fucking you, making you whimper out in distress, only to have you flipped with your ass up and head down on the pillow. 

It didn’t take him a second before he was entering your cunt again, fucking you from behind in hopes of giving you the brutal backshots you deserved, to fuck you in a way that you’ll be ruined forever, not even wanting to go back to another guy for their cock. 

This also gave him the perfect opportunity to spank your ass, the hurt only making you clench around him harder. 

“Fuck—I’m so—so close,” you sobbed, voice coming out muffled and Hyuck rubbed your clit to stimulate you further. 

“Go on, baby. Give me everything,” he urged and you both finally let go, groaning and whining as he filled you up with his cum, mixing it with your juices.

It felt as if the universe had blessed you with the highest amount of unadulterated pleasure one could have, and your eyes closed shut as Hyuck lay down next to you, breathing in and out just as quick as you to regain his strength to breathe properly. 

“Y/n,” he whispered, more gently this time, pulling you into a sweet kiss as you smiled into it, finding it amusing that he was the same guy who brutally fucked you not even a few minutes back, “you really are mine, yeah?” He said, caressing your cheek. 

“Yeah?” You asked in a whisper and he nodded earnestly, getting a washcloth and helping you into the bathroom, feeling proud when you couldn’t stand up properly. 

He was sweet. Sweeter than you had ever expected him to be and that’s why you found yourself kissing him again, and again as you both washed up in the shower, turning it to the point you both couldn’t help but giggle, his forehead resting against yours. 

“I really do like you, baby,” he whispered. 

“I really like you too, Hyuck,” you replied, feeling happier than you had ever felt, spending a while in his embrace, talking and kissing and eventually, falling asleep in his arms as you both smiled faintly, even in your deep slumber. 

Hurt. 

That’s what your body felt the second you blinked open your eyes. Images from last night revisiting you as a montage, a small smile lingered on your face, discarding the fact that you were disappointed, not having Hyuck by your side when you woke up, but then again, it was still better than getting caught by Mark. 

With the support of the bedside tables, you managed to stand up on your wobbly feet, stablizing yourself before going into the bathroom to freshen up, you needed that long bath to soothe down your muscles. 

Now wrapped up in your bath robe, you passed by the door, only to hear the sound of someone arguing. Curiosity got the best of you as you walked back, twisting the knob to open it just the right amount for it to not be noticeable, gladly the door opened seamlessly. 

“Stop playing with her feelings,” Jaemin whisper-yelled, and your heartbeat rose when you saw how it was directed towards Hyuck. 

“Who the fuck even said I’m playing with her?” Hyuck asked, his voice full of exasperation and anger. 

Jaemin scoffed, you hadn’t seen that expression on his face, ever. “So you’re just gonna go around fucking her right after Mark told you, specifically might I add, to stay away from her. What are you trying to do here? Take revenge by proving a point?” 

Your heart dropped hearing that sentence. Sneaking around made sense because Mark would, without any doubts, be against this setting, but what revenge was Jaemin talking about? When did Mark ask Hyuck to stay away from her, specifically at that? 

“That’s none of your business,” Hyuck replied, teeth gritted, “besides, weren’t you the one begging for her attention by putting up your good boy act? We aren’t that different, Jaemin,” he mocked, “you only want her cause she’s Mark’s sister.”

Your lip wobbled at his confession, he hadn’t agreed to Jaemin’s claims yet he hadn’t denied it either and suddenly you didn’t feel comfortable, all the positive energy drained as you rushed to get dressed, to get out. 

You trusted Hyuck too easily, and you knew you’d have to confront him about this, but you didn’t feel like doing it now. You wanted to go back home, alone, to deal with your inconvenience which would bother you for a while now. 

So you did what you had to do: run away from your problems. 

You texted Mark that you’d be taking his car, also mentioning it to Yunjin that you’ll be going back home, as you rushed to get dressed up and sneak out of the place without Hyuck knowing, and you were successful in doing so, sighing as soon as you started driving back. 

Hyuck thought you were sleeping in, and he couldn’t enter your room with everyone being awake and roaming around, especially when Jaemin knew what you two had done last night. 

The reminder only made him smile, as cliche as it sounds, he had never felt this way with other girls, your little confession only made his heart beat faster. You liked him back, and that’s all that mattered. 

“Yo, why did Y/n leave? She’s not picking up the calls either?” Hyuck heard Mark ask Yunjin, who knew exactly what was up. 

“She’s got some work to take care of, you don’t have to worry about it,” Yunjin patted his shoulder before making her way out to the beach to call you again. She knows you want space, but she also knows you like it when she checks up on you. 

Now, that was news to Hyuck, his eyes widening as he rushed to open the door to your room, only to find you weren’t actually there. 

“Fuck,” he mumbled, getting his phone out and calling you, only for it to get declined, “no, fuck,” he groaned, thinking about if he upset you in any way, yet he couldn’t understand why you’d leave, especially when you were so happy when you went to sleep. 

Or maybe she heard you talking to Jaemin, his subconscious spoke up, making him lose his mind and punch the wall next to him, running down the stairs to follow Yunjin, calling out her name which caused her to pause and remove her sunglasses. 

“Where is Y/n?” He asked, breathing heavily. 

“Are you playing with her feelings?” She asked instead of replying to his question, “cause if that’s the case then I don’t care if we’re staying at your mansion, I’ll have to kick and break your baby making machine.” Her smile was threatening. 

“Oh god, that’s not it!” Hyuck was frustrated, “I’ve liked her since we were kids, I'm not joking around,” he said earnestly, “is she upset, why did she leave?” 

Yunjin watched the boy with amusement in her eyes, “you’re so dumb actually. If you like her enough then why aren’t you running after her right now? Get in your car and get your girl, shoo,” she dismissed him and Hyuck didn’t wait to chat about how she shouldn’t shoo him away, rather, he ran to grab his car keys, not paying attention to Renjun who asked why he was in such a hurry. 

Hyuck didn’t want any miscommunications whatsoever, it had been an hour since you had left, and it’ll probably be impossible to cover that distance in a short while so he decided to drive faster and get to your place. 

“Y/n, baby, please listen to me,” he muttered to himself, trying to call you again. 

You weren’t dating. It had barely been a week since you came back, a few days since he had started to get to know this new side of you and he didn’t want it to stop, not when he’s genuinely liked you for so long, minus his fuckboy ways of course. 

Mark had tried to call him a few times too, sensing that something was up, yet Hyuck didn’t pick up those calls, focusing on driving till he finally reached your place, relieved to see Mark’s car parked there. 

He knew there was an extra key under the third potted plant on the entrance, and that’s exactly what he took and opened the door. The living room was empty, which caused him to rush up the stairs to find you in your room, his chest heaving up and down. 

The sudden voice startled you, your mouth going dry at the sight of Hyuck. 

You couldn’t avoid him after all. 

“Hyuck, is everything okay? What are you doing here—why are you here?” You asked, pretending to be okay. 

“Did you hear us in the morning?” He asked, eyes softer than you had ever seen. 

You opened your mouth to speak, but stopped, gulping down your emotions before staring at your feet, “I did,” you whispered, “but it’s fine, Hyuck. The sex was great—”

You didn’t look up while rambling, and it was cut short when Hyuck pulled you into his embrace, warmth spreading all over your body with how he held you close to him. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so broken seeing someone’s face, and he couldn’t handle that it was because of him that you felt this hurt. 

“That’s not true,” he whispered, holding you tighter, you could feel tears forming in your eyes. 

“N—no one’s ever approached me because of Mark,” your voice came out muffled, and Hyuck leaned back slightly just to look at your face, his thumb wiping the stray tear that cascaded down your cheek, “i felt like no one wanted to befriend me for me, all girls wanted to get to him through me and all the boys were so scared,” you laughed pathetically, knowing that your story wasn’t even sob worthy, “but you were the only one who still talked to me, even if it was just greeting me, asking me about my day,” you let out your breath. 

“Baby,” Hyuck cupped your cheeks. 

“You were the only exception, Hyuck. Maybe that’s the reason I’ve always liked you so much. So tell me, was it all a joke?” You asked, eyes serious. 

“It wasn’t,” he shook his head, gulping down before explaining it to you, “it happened at the party when I offered to drop you home but Mark was against it, thinking that I would use you to only fuck you, but that was not my intention I swear,” he says with a frown. 

“So that’s what you did,” your voice barely came out, it sounded broken. 

“God—no. No. I could never do that to you,” he felt helpless, trying to word his sentence properly, “I’ve liked you since we were kids, and I was heartbroken when you switched schools and cities. But I just got so excited when Mark told us that you were back—I wanted to see you, talk to you, but Mark only gave me a reminder that I couldn’t have you.”

You listened to him, your heart undoubtedly fluttering with how earnest his eyes looked, how the distress of being denied of you flashed clearly on his face. 

You really wanted to kiss him. 

“And when he gave all those permissions to Jaemin, I couldn’t help it. I never had revenge in my mind Y/n. I like you too much to hurt you, and I know we’re not even dating right now, but I don’t want anyone to ruin it for us even before our story starts and I swear to god I’ll fight Mark if it means that I can have you,” he breathed out, cheeks flushed as he had confessed to someone for the very first time.

You broke into a smile despite the tears in your eyes, “you promise?” You held up your pinky finger. 

He laced his pinky finger with yours, tugging it so you stumble slightly, and he takes it as an opportunity to pull you into a deep kiss, his soft lips caressing yours in a possessive hold, promising that he’ll take care of you. 

“Good, cause I was going to be really upset if you didn’t,” you mumbled against his lips. 

He chuckled before saying, “don’t ever run away from me, yeah?” 

You nodded, hugging him back tighter as you felt your anxiety calming down, your smile widening as he kissed your forehead, easing out your worries and you were sure you wanted to give it a try—you wanted to give you both a try. 

Yet another problem lingered in your mind. 

“So, about Mark,” you winced, knowing it’ll be disastrous.

“Shh, we’ll think about him later,” he mumbled, but the peacefulness wasn’t here to stay for long as a loud voice boomed up, indicating that Jaemin had snitched. 

“Lee fucking Donghyuck, I told you to stay away from my sister!” Mark shouted, your eyes widening as you both looked at each other. 

“Fuck, hide!”

Despite the chaos of hiding in your closet, you knew that Hyuck would always be your exception. 

THANK YOU FOR READING!

TAGGING: @ajayke-reads @jenoslutie @jjaeyuns @heesuncore @celeste-hoon

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[greenfiend]

The Significance of Lover’s Lake and Byler (Theory)

'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact

Yes we're lovers, and that is that (Heroes by David Bowie)

Part 2 here

(Warning: This post has mentions of sex (nothing graphic)… if you’re uncomfortable with that please do not proceed.)

So, Lover’s Lake has existed within the show ever since season 2, when Will mapped out the entirety of Hawkins. The lake is shaped like a heart (keep this in mind for later) thus the name “Lover’s Lake”. Makes sense within the town of Hawkins, but does not provide an explanation on a subtextual level. None of the “lovers” existing within the show has been associated with the lake (you could say Steve/Nancy but honestly it’s a stretch since they never actually rekindled their romance.)

This leads me to the question… why call the lake “Lover’s Lake” without associating any lovers to it?

Because maybe, there will be lovers connected to it… but they aren’t lovers… yet.

Okay, let’s get back to the shape. A heart. ❤️ Hm. Now which character within the show is most associated with hearts? Which character is even referred to as the heart by their love interest?

Mike.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he’s one part of the “lovers” here. Thus ruling out many other romantic pairings within the show. Leaving only two pairings: Mike/El and Mike/Will. I won’t go into detail on why I believe Mike and El will inevitably break up, you can read a lot of different analyses for that. So that leaves… Mike/Will. Not lovers yet.

Okay, here’s the part where I may get crucified. The definition of lovers.

Please put your pitch forks down for this.

Lovers usually refers to two people in a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

With all the subtext (and actual text) around sex and sexuality, and how we see Will struggle with his own sexuality, there is a likely conclusion here. He’s going to confront his sexuality. To do so, he will have sex. With whom? Well, with the one person he loves the most, the one he affectionately refers to as the heart… his best friend… Mike.

Now, where’s this going to happen? What better location than somewhere empty and secluded.

Reefer Rick’s lakeside house.

Now, who is “Reefer Rick”?

Also known as, Rick Lipton, Reefer Rick is a drug dealer who’s closely acquainted with Eddie.

He’s an enigma. We never see him. All that is known about him are the things mentioned by other characters.

He’s currently in jail apparently for dealing drugs. Also, he seems like a town pariah.

Also, he isn’t too keen on Fast Times (returned on time), at least not as much as “Cheech and Chong” (returned late each time.) That shot at 53 minutes and 5 seconds in Fast Times doesn’t do it for him, I guess. Unlike watching two guys get high.

His name choice is an interesting one.

“Reefer” Rick Lipton.

“Reefer” is a synonym for “marijuana cigarette”. Okay, makes sense, he is a drug dealer after all. But why the term “cigarette”? Well… there’s this other word that also happens to be a synonym for “cigarette”…

Then Rick… short for “Richard”. Richard is one of the few names out there with a nickname that is also slang for male genitalia… “Dick”.

Then finally… Lipton.

As Robin says, spelled like Lipton tea. Now, why would the writers use the name “Lipton” and even reference the tea company if there were no significance to it? They wouldn’t. We know this about them.

So why “Lipton”?

Let’s do a bit of research here, shall we?

The founder of Lipton tea was a man named Thomas Lipton.

Thomas Lipton just so happens to have been a closeted homosexual man who had a long term relationship with another man whose name is… *drumroll please*

William Love.

Okay, that can’t be just a coincidence right?

So moving on to Reefer Rick’s house.

We see glimpses of his living room, kitchen, and briefly his bedroom.

Jason and his buds are searching for Eddie and this involves looking under the mattress? As if, Eddie could successfully hide under there? Haha okay sure.

The angle of this shot is interesting too, because the bed is essentially being shown off to us.

This bed with a blue blanket and yellow sheets. Hm. Interesting.

Keep in mind this scene is essentially unnecessary. They could have easily shown Jason et al searching for Eddie without creating an entire new set for a room that’s only used in one single insignificant shot. Therefore, I do not think it’s unreasonable to believe this is used for foreshadowing.

Then we also get this shot from outside the window into the bedroom.

Look familiar? I thought so too.

Okay. Now for my theory/prediction.

As I mentioned earlier, Will is currently struggling with his own sexuality and feels a lot of shame and internalized homophobia. There’s also a lot of evidence that Mike is experiencing the same thing. Unlike Will, Mike conforms to the society’s expectations. He dates El, performing as her boyfriend. This is comparable to Nancy’s arc in season 1. She also conforms, and like Mike, leaves her best friend behind. We all know how that ended.

Now, what better way to wrap up the show than to have Mike correct his sister’s mistake? To have Mike reject societal expectations in favour of his best friend?

Okay so this is my theory.

Mike and Will have their first kiss an episode or two prior to 5x07. Tensions are high, but they’re busy fighting interdimentional monsters along side their friends.

Then comes 5x07 which somehow leaves Mike and Will alone by Lover’s Lake. The tension between them reaches an all time high, leading to a passionate kiss and then… more. Let’s just say it involves that blue and yellow bed.

At the same time as these two become the lovers they were meant to be, another character is being saved, or perhaps being brought back to life. Perhaps another red head, one we all know and love. Yes, a major parallel and contrast to Steve/Nancy’s sex scene in season 1, which featured Barb dying. But because Mike is rejecting conformity and being authentic, another character lives instead.

I mean, what better way to represent the beauty of the love and intimacy between these two boys? Their love is literally bringing back life to the world.

So yeah, basically I’m saying that Mike and Will expressing their love for each other will save Max.

This also wouldn’t be the first time that Max’s survival is correlated with their relationship. As I doubt that it was merely a coincidence that in episode 4x04 we have Mike’s genuine monologue to Will, then we have Max surviving Vecna. In contrast to 4x09, which features a forced monologue from Mike to El, followed by Max losing to Vecna and barely surviving.

So, as their bond strengthens, Max’s life bar goes up (so to speak). If something interferes with their bond, Max’s outcome is more dire.

The writers have also been associating Mike/El with death…

[Tumblr only allows a limited number of images so pretend we have one of El holding dead flowers and another image of the cut scene from 3x05 with Mike/El having a moment cutting to a dead body on the hospital floor]

Mike/Will on the other hand have been associated with life. The birds chirping in the background of their final scene together, the flowers blooming between them as they stand together. Plus, blue plus yellow does equal green after all. Which is the most commonly associated colour with life.

🌿🌱🌳

To conclude, I just want to say that I personally think this would be a nice way to end their arc. I know a lot of people are uncomfortable with associating Mike/Will with anything sexual… but the show has been doing this already. Whether you like it or not, Mike and Will have been shown implicitly and explicitly that they desire each other both romantically and sexually. The fact that they have sexual desire for each other does not minimize or trivialize their friendship and love, it’s an aspect of it… adding another dimension to their relationship.

Do I think or hope they would show anything pornographic? Absolutely not (do I even have to say this?) But explicit like Steve/Nancy? Yes. Do I think they’ll be only 14/15 years old when this occurs? No. This will likely happen after a time jump.

Being authentically yourself and not conforming is overall a major theme of the show. I mean it’s called Stranger Things after all. Will people be upset by the ending of this arc? Bylers included? Absolutely. Many people within the town of Hawkins and people watching the show will both show disgust for it. But that’s the point. It’s not “normal” and that’s okay. Different is good, and can be a beautiful and wonderful thing. We all just need to open our minds and hearts a bit. I’m not just talking about the GA; many Bylers are also closed minded and stuck in their ways too. Let’s all try to work on that, shall we?

Despite the opinions of others, Will and Mike will choose to love each other which will inevitably lead to their defeat of Vecna. Love concurs all. It may be cheesy and cliche but personally? I think that’s a beautiful thing. We all can learn to love more.

Anyway, would love to know your thoughts on this.

Then we could be Heroes, just for one day

Part 2 here

[jjbalice]

Martyr's Folly

Summary: Yunho helps and comforts the reader after they've accidentally cut too deep.

Genre: a hurt/comfort Yunho x reader oneshot

Word count: 4.81k (15-20 mins)

Trigger warnings: semi-descriptive self-harm (blood, cuts, use of blades - nothing too crazy, though, don't worry!), panicking, crying, mentions of relapsing, lots of pet names, nicknames, and physical affection lol, Yunho is a blessing

A/N: This fic is pretty personal since I've been struggling with not feeling valid enough because of the way I SH, which isn't the stereotypical kind you see in movies and such. In a way, it's an attempt at scaring myself from buying any actual blades mixed in with the comfort I crave whenever I slip up, I guess.

Baby cuts. Cat scratches. Damage dealt within the epidermis and the higher half of the dermis. Whatever you want to call it.

For a few weeks now, that's exactly what has been slowly but steadily appearing on your feet and lower calves. Or re-appearing, rather. A bad habit from the past coming back to haunt you all over again for no apparent reason.

No but seriously, what reason for doing this is there? You're happy, you have a stable part-time job on the side of your studies that are also going great, and an incredible boyfriend with whom you've just celebrated a 6-month anniversary. No real issues in your life as far as you can see.

Sure, sometimes you get caught up in a fight with your friends or parents, or even with Yunho, or maybe some of your insecurities hit extra strong on some days. But all of that is normal, right? Just some passing obstacles that get resolved in a few days tops.

So why are you here, at 3 am, staring at the husk of a person in the mirror? Why is your head so empty yet incomprehensibly full at the same time? Why are your hands all fidgety, getting ready to strike any moment?

Truth be told, you have no clue.

This was supposed to be a lovely weekend for you. You got off work early on Friday, securing enough time to pack your stuff at your dorm before heading to Yunho's apartment for a sleepover. He's been trying to convince you to move in with him after your anniversary, saying how it would be both cheaper and closer to your university. Both of those arguments are true, and yet you remain stubborn, wanting to keep your independence for just a bit longer.

Alas, Yunho has no choice but to respect your decision and settle for weekend sleepovers in the meantime.

And even those are great! The two of you get to talk for hours and play games, cook dinner together or order in and watch TV... Mainly, though, you get to cuddle and snuggle to your hearts' content (and maybe even do a bit more than that, if the opportunity and want arises).

That's also one of the main reasons for your hesitance over this whole... relapse thing.

Because of Yunho and his affectionate nature towards you, hiding the traces of your renewed habits became much more difficult. You couldn't cut where you used to before, all of those areas feeling way too exposed now.

And so, you settled on the bottom of your legs. Anything a pair of longer socks could easily hide without too much questioning from your boyfriend. Let's just say your feet are cold all the time now, even though summer's just barely starting to end.

Is it satisfying to harm there? No, not at all. The area is too small and angular, and the pain-to-mark ratio is nowhere near optimal. Everything feels too bony and stings more than other places, and all you get from it are the faintest of scratches.

But anything to at least partially quell the urge, right?

Well, not exactly.

If the razor blade hidden within the confines of your duffel bag was any proof, your methods weren't exactly effective.

You've never used an actual razor blade before, never even planned on trying it since you knew about the dangers of using it and how everything could get out of hand within seconds. Sure, the scissors and other sharp objects you've used until now weren't exactly perfect either, but they didn't put you at as much of a risk of going to the ER.

...So why did you buy the blade then?

Well, it was pretty cheap, first of all. You could just buy it, think about using it, and then throw it out without feeling too guilty about it, right? Not to mention how it helped you feel more valid about harming, even if you haven't used it yet. Self-harm is always depicted as razor blades on wrists, so even just owning one somehow helped you feel a bit more valid amidst the disappointing scratches on your leg.

It's been a week since you've bought said blade (or 5 blades rather, as they came in a pack - what a steal!). During that week, not much has happened to it. Right after you paid and got your receipt, you tossed the paper into a nearby trash can and stashed the pack of blades into your wallet. And there they were even later tonight, as you quietly crept to your bag to retrieve them, careful not to wake Yunho up.

But let's rewind back a bit. Back to where today's misfortune started.

Just like with everything else lately, you don't know why the urge to indulge washed over you specifically tonight. You and Yunho have spent such a fun evening together, lounging around and enjoying each other in whatever way felt right.

And yet, the moment the lights were turned off and your boyfriend spooned you from behind, holding you close while his breathing slowly evened out, it was as if something had shifted in the air. An overwhelming sense of emptiness washed over you, making you feel both completely dull and overstimulated. Yunho's arms around you felt both like an anchor and a vice, the opposing feelings adding even more to the already rising chaos in your mind. You were suddenly overly aware of every part of your body, as if your own skin was calling out to you.

You didn't want to.

You knew you had to.

As gently and quietly as you could, you unwrapped yourself from Yunho's embrace and got up. He let out a soft sigh at the loss of contact, and you had to admit, you already mourned it too.

Sneaking into the bathroom, you closed the door before turning on the lights. Avoiding the reflection in the mirror, you began searching through the cabinet under the sink. You didn't want to see yourself right now. If anything, it would just add to the confusing conflict raging within you, and you really didn't need that.

Rummaging through each shelf one more time, you let out a frustrated huff. There was nothing you could use. Well, save for the expensive-looking razor Yunho owned, but you really didn't have the patience or coherency to take apart your boyfriend's belongings.

It's time, then.

The return to the bedroom was a bit stressful, as you couldn't decide between searching through your duffel bag there or bringing it with you to the bathroom. Both options seemed too noisy right now, causing you to awkwardly loom over the bag for a few moments, chewing nervously on your bottom lip.

In the end, you decided to just risk it, crouching down to begin unzipping the top. Strangely enough, you kind of hoped Yunho would hear it and wake up. Maybe the shock of being caught would stop you for the time being and you could just go back to bed.

To both your luck and dismay, Yunho didn't wake up, his biggest reaction being the slightest stir of the sheets.

With your wallet in hand, you walked back to the bathroom, your steps a bit bolder this time. Now that you knew Yunho wouldn't wake up so easily, you didn't pay as much mind to the noise you were making.

In a weird way, you were upset. Upset he didn't wake up. Upset he didn't magically realize what your new obsession with socks could possibly mean. Upset he wasn't there to stop you right now.

But along with the upset came a strange feeling of calm. Joy, even.

He doesn't know. Nobody has any idea you're doing this right now. Nobody cares enough to find out anyway. You're free to reign over your body as you please, especially if it will finally shut down the confusing mess of emotions boiling within you.

It will, right?

It's 3 am. You're staying over at Yunho's apartment and he's currently sleeping in the bedroom next-door. You finally gather enough courage to look at yourself in the mirror, but it's rather disappointing. The shell standing in front of you doesn't bring up any emotions anymore. It doesn't even look like you, you think. Maybe this isn't you, after all. That's what you like to tell yourself whenever the moment is over, that this isn't actually the real you harming yourself. This is someone else taking hold of you and your upcoming actions.

You sit down on the cold bathroom floor, a razor blade in hand. When did you unpack them? The small paper packaging and 4 other blades are lying right next to you. Huh. Guess you did just now.

You don't bother taking off the socks. A precious thing like this shouldn't be used in such a shitty spot anyways.

Then again, you also don't exactly want to die right now, so the wrists are off-limits. Sure, you want to feel more valid and that place is the most stereotypical one to cut, but you're already holding the blade you thought you'd never dare use, so that's enough "progress" for now.

Now that you think about it, the thighs sound pretty scary too. You've always heard of some major arteries being located in the thigh. Perhaps you shouldn't risk it there then. Not yet, at least.

And so, like a coward, you move back to your lower leg.

To your defense, you do go considerably higher than usual! You pick a nice spot that's vaguely in the middle of the side of your leg, where your shins and calves would meet.

Deep breaths. You can do this. Just brace yourself and-

...

...

Oh fuck.

No, no, no nonono-

You knew the risks, you knew you should watch out for the pressure when using a razor blade for the first time since it's so much sharper than any pair of scissors you own, but somehow even the lessened pressure you put was too much.

Within seconds, blood started flowing to the surface. You dropped the blade, making it fly in a random direction as your hands trembled.

Your eyes welled with tears as, despite the blood, you could see a gash way deeper than any cut you'd ever made until now; you could literally see two parts of your skin split-

You're gonna throw up. Or faint. Or both. Oh fuck.

The first drops of blood fell onto the tiles just as your own tears pooled over. Your chest heaved with your labored breathing. You didn't know what to do.

Should you go to the ER? Will it stop on its own? Should you wake Yunho up? Oh god, you should probably wake Yunho up, shouldn't you.

Wiping your tear-stained face as best as you could with your shirt, you crawled over to the bathroom door. You were too scared to walk, afraid you'd faint if you stood up so suddenly.

As you sat by the door, another sob wracked through you. You couldn't calm down, you were too scared of what might happen if you didn't take care of the gash in time. And yet, you couldn't help but fear what might happen if you woke Yunho up. Now that you think about it, maybe it will just stop on its own and you can hide it for the rest of the weekend and then you'll just make up a story of how you got into an accident at work and-

One look at the trail of blood behind you was enough to get your hands on the door handle, pulling the door open on your second try. The door handle flew back up with a loud bang as you dropped back down, but the door was open at last. You pulled it fully open from where you sat, taking a few shallow breaths once you did so.

"...Y/N?"

Now. Now he wakes up. Not at any point before you could have done this. Now.

In the back of your mind, a strange feeling of anger bubbled up. Somehow, you wanted to blame Yunho for not getting to you sooner. But the second you realized what your brain was trying to do, you felt another pang of nausea hit you.

Yunho was not to blame in the slightest. This is all you. You started this, you went through with it, and now you're crawling back to him for help. Don't even try to put any blame on him, no matter how much easier it would make this whole thing to stomach.

"Y/N, are you okay?"

Right, he was awake. The shuffling of the sheets coming from the bedroom confirmed as much.

You tried to call out to him but choked on another sob instead.

All of your fear of being seriously hurt and needing help immediately shifted, transforming into the most heart-wrenching wave of guilt imaginable. Just what have you done? Why are you burdening someone else with this? Are you really going to make him see this?

Your thoughts were quickly interrupted by the first footstep. All the raging panic hit you anew, making you speak before you could think.

"W-wait!" You cried, an unknown feeling of desperation clutching your chest. "Please, please don't come here, please."

To your surprise, the footsteps actually stopped.

"...I'm waiting, but please tell me what's going on," Yunho replied with obvious unease.

Well, uh. You haven't exactly thought this far, have you?

"O-okay, I, well, I," you stumbled over your words, trying to work through the mush of your brain to come up with anything even barely comprehensible. "I did something really bad and I think I need your help but you have to promise not to be mad. I don't know what to do but please don't be upset."

Selfish. That's what you were. Even amongst all this chaos and pain you were about to drag Yunho into, all you could think about was saving your own face and evading consequences.

"Y/N, I'm sorry but I'm coming in," Yunho suddenly announced, and the footsteps resumed. "I need to see if you're okay, I promise I won't be mad."

There was no escaping it now. You could only brace yourself for the worst, whatever that would entail.

Two feet stood before your hunched-over form. You didn't dare look up, you didn't dare see what he was feeling.

As carefully as he could, Yunho stepped around you and further into the bathroom. You heard the scraping of metal across tiles before the cabinet doors opened. A towel, a first aid kit, and a medium-sized, colorful box appeared before you, along with your boyfriend in his cozy pajamas. Still, you didn't dare look up.

Wordlessly, he propped your injured leg up as gently as he could, as if he was handling the finest china in the world. Placing the dark grey towel under it, blood immediately rolled down and seeped into the material.

"Okay, this might seem a bit weird, but just- I'm not an expert or anything, far from it, really, but-"

As Yunho rambled nervously, you watched his hands tear open a pack of pads. Ever since your sleepovers became a more regular thing, he'd made sure to keep some in his apartment at all times in case of an emergency. Never had he thought he'd use them in this type of emergency, though.

You watched in confusion as he pulled out one of the pads, opening it and double-checking which side was sticky and which was dry. Unable to hide his worried grimace as he got closer to the wound, he pressed the cotton pad against it.

"I- I probably have something better in the first aid kit to stop the bleeding, but while I look through it, just hold that down to the cut, okay?"

You nodded weakly, deciding not to ask any questions and just let your boyfriend try to fix you. Not that you could say much anyway, not with the way your throat had dried and closed up from all the anxiety.

You silently kept watch as Yunho fumbled through the red bag, noticing the slight tremors in his hands. When you looked at his face, however, it appeared surprisingly neutral.

Ah, so he was trying to stay calm to not worry you any further, but on the inside, he was freaking out just as much as you, if not more. Great. You didn't think you could feel more guilt than you already had, but guess not.

"I'm sorry it's taking so long," he spoke up again, "Mingi would get injured all the time before he'd moved out - you know how clumsy he can get - and I, uh, haven't exactly taken the time to re-organize everything. Sorry."

Your lips twitched into the smallest of smiles, along with a hushed "It's okay, babe".

Yunho's eyes shot up at your words, mirroring your soft smile with his own. Pausing his search for just a second, he leaned over and planted a quick, reassuring kiss on your forehead. "You're right. I'll take good care of you, don't worry. After the first accident Mingi had here, I bought some steri-strips... They should still be around here somewhere, but we threw the original packaging away, so they're just a bit hard to find."

You hummed in understanding, hoping you could ease at least some of his worries by showing him you were doing alright.

Somehow, the moment Yunho appeared in the doorway, all of your previous panic stopped. It was as if through his presence, the jumbled mess of worries surrounding you had split into two. Yunho had graciously shouldered the worries about your physical state, while you focused on keeping his mental well-being in check. All of the fear about his reaction to this situation as a whole was still there, of course, but for the time being, you'd managed to shove them to the back of your mind. It was something to worry about later, when the two of you could calm down and properly talk to each other.

For now, all you had to do was just worry about Yunho while he worried about you.

"Finally!" Yunho sighed in relief, fishing out two small packs of steri-strips. "Okay. Let's do this, then."

But as he shuffled closer to your leg again, he paused.

"Wait, I'm sorry for assuming," he began while opening the first set, "but you don't want to go to the hospital, right? They'd obviously do a much better job than me, but since you said you needed my help, I just, I guessed that- you know. Should we go to the hospital instead?"

You immediately shook your head no, making Yunho smile faintly, glad to have read you right and that he wasn't wasting time trying to play hero.

You were thankful he didn't insist on taking you to the hospital. You knew it would probably be for the best, but right now, in your state, you couldn't even fathom going. You were terrified just crawling to the door to beg for Yunho's help, let alone driving to the opposite part of town to have complete strangers examine you.

"Right then," Yunho sighed, mentally steeling himself for the next step. "Can you feel your leg fine? Feeling faint or anything?"

You just shook your head, slowly easing the pressure you held on the cut. "I'm okay, I think. Just a little shaken up still."

Yunho nodded thoughtfully, helping you unstick the bloody pad from your hand. Luckily, it seemed that most of the bleeding had stopped, at least for now. "It's okay, I'm a bit out of it too."

"Sorry for making you do this," you whispered sincerely, but Yunho quickly stopped you again.

"Don't be sorry, Y/N. I know you didn't mean to do this. You wouldn't have called for me like that if things went down the way you wanted them to."

You couldn't bring yourself to say anything after that, feeling your throat tighten as a fresh wave of tears rushed to your eyes.

You averted your gaze as Yunho began cleaning the area as gently as he could before placing the strips down, helping hold the wound shut. Four strips helped the cut close up, and then two were laid on top of them to help everything stay put. Despite no professional medical training, you swear your boyfriend could do anything like an expert first-try. Well, considering him saying something about treating Mingi's injuries, he might have actually trained a bit already. Either way, you could feel your nerves easing a considerable bit at the sight of the gash finally closed-up.

"There we go," Yunho said contently, giving your other leg a gentle pat. "Just stay put a little longer, okay? I'm gonna clean up a bit in here."

Oh, that's right.

You were so out of it you completely forgot about the blades scattered around, the blood dripping across the floor, the towel, pads, first aid kit, everything.

Closing your eyes, you tried to focus on your breathing. It has mostly returned to normal, but you could still feel a lot of tightness in your chest.

"Hey now, don't go falling asleep on me, okay?" You heard Yunho calling out to you a few meters away, making you peek one eye open.

He was kneeling by the sink, scrubbing at the dirty tiles. When he noticed you looking at him, he flashed you a quick, comforting smile.

"'m not falling asleep," you protested, "I'm just resting a bit, sorry."

"It's okay, I was just a little worried."

Yeah. That's definitely one way to put how Yunho was likely feeling right now.

But that could be dwelled on and discussed later. For now, all you had to do was sit still, breathe deep, and stay strong.

...

"You still with me, princess?"

You opened your eyes again, this time to find Yunho sitting in front of you. You don't know how much time has passed, too focused on pacing your breaths, saying the alphabet forwards and backwards, thinking about your favorite TV show moments - anything to calm down, really.

When he saw you were still fully awake, he pulled out a gauze bandage with a small smile. "We should be fine with just the steri-strips, but let me wrap this up for you to be one hundred percent safe, okay?"

You let him do as he pleased, trusting his judgment better than your own at the moment. As he bandaged your leg, you looked around the room, noticing everything was back the way it was before you'd entered.

"I put the, uh, the blades away for now," Yunho continued, a nervous edge to his tone. "I didn't want to just throw them away without permission, but leaving them out here in the open didn't seem like a great idea either. Sorry if it seems distrustful, it's just... you know."

"You're scared I might do it again," you finished for him, making him nod hesitantly. "It's okay, I get it."

It was honestly surprising how easy it was to talk to Yunho about this. Maybe it's because he already saw the worst of it, maybe it was the way he took such gentle care of you, or maybe it was just his entire attitude about this so far. Caring, non-judgemental, open to listen.

"Alright then, I think we're done here. Let's get you to bed, shall we?"

Before you could respond, you were picked up by a pair of strong, warm hands. You wanted to object for a split second, but on second thought, maybe it was in your best interest not to move too much right now.

A few moments later, you were laid back down on the bed, a soft kiss pressed to your temple before you were shrouded in your blanket. With a whispered promise of returning again, Yunho rushed back to turn off the lights and close the door, enveloping the two of you in darkness. You waited a second, two, and then the bed dipped behind you with a quiet creak.

"Come here." Yunho's arms wrapped around your waist from behind again, holding you closer than before. "Is this okay? Should I give you space?"

"It's fine, Yuyu."

His chest shook with a small chuckle. "Oh come on, don't call me that right now." He somehow snuggled up even closer to you, pressing his face into your neck. "I'm already emotional enough as is."

A beat or two of silence passed between the two of you before he spoke up again.

"Was this," Yunho paused, hesitating for a second, "was this the first time you did something like this, or are there... more?"

You sighed. "Well, this was the first time I've messed up like this and used an actual razor blade, but in general? There's been a few instances, yeah. Most of them happened years ago, but lately, it started up again."

Yunho stayed quiet this time. As the silence stretched on, you began to grow worried. Is this the moment where he gets mad at you?

A sniffle broke through the air, quickly followed by another. The hold around your waist tightened.

"It's the socks, isn't it?" Yunho barely choked out, voice trembling.

Never have you felt so guilty in your life before.

"I thought it was weird, I wanted to ask you about it, I really did," he sobbed, burying his wet face further into your shirt. "I didn't want to make you feel bad about it if it was genuinely just something you preferred, so I held back, but it worried me anyway. I should have asked so much sooner."

"Yu..." You tried to turn around in his embrace, but he stopped you, not letting you see his tearful eyes. "Honey, it's not your fault in the slightest, please don't beat yourself up about it."

"But I should have-"

"Just listen to the same advice you gave me, hm? You never wanted this to happen, you wouldn't be so torn up about it otherwise. It's really not your fault."

With what you assumed to be a watery hum of agreement, Yunho nodded into your back.

You tried to turn around again, and this time, Yunho finally let you. You watched as his silhouette sat up, reaching around for the tissue box on the nightstand before wiping his tears and blowing his nose.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, crumpling the tissue and putting it away, "you're the one hurting and I'm making it all about myself."

You tutted softly as he laid back down, shuffling closer to him to drape yourself over his broad chest. "That's not true, Yun. I know this is really hard on you as well, you have all the right to be upset. Please don't hide it just because I'm also in pain."

"Okay," he accepted, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

The room stayed quiet for another few minutes, save for the faint rustling of the sheets as you intertwined one of your hands with his.

"If it's okay," Yunho croaked in a careful, ginger tone, "could we maybe talk more about this tomorrow? I feel like I have over a million questions right now, but I don't want to overwhelm you when you should be resting."

You let out a small, sleepy chuckle. "Yeah, that sounds good. I think I'll also feel a bit better if we talk about this some more tomorrow. It's a bit embarrassing even now when I know that you know, but I trust you enough to share this part of me, I think."

Yunho leaned down to kiss the top of your head, making you smile. "Thank you, you have no idea how much that means to me. And please, never feel embarrassed about this. Just because this stuff is not talked about enough doesn't mean your feelings are wrong or not valid. We'll figure this out together, I promise. No matter what it takes."

"Okay. I look forward to tomorrow," you said, pressing a quick peck to his sternum before lying down again. "Goodnight, Yuyu."

"Goodnight, love."

Please, don't hesitate to reblog or comment!! Any kind of feedback is much appreciated!! <333

(Also would once again like to say that this was not meant to romanticize SH in any way, and I hope it did not come across that way. Take care, everyone <3)

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

Omae: Complexity of Self-Expression and Intimacy with the Japanese “You”

(Update: I have written a follow-up to this post wherein I exhaustively examine Katsuki's "you" pronoun usage, including every time he uses omae. Please be sure to read both posts! :D)

The anime adaption of chapter 322 is rapidly approaching, so I wanna talk about something really interesting: as far as I can tell, Izuku is the only person Katsuki has ever used the pronoun omae (おまえ) towards in-canon. Furthermore, he has only used omae towards Izuku on three occasions.

The first time is after Deku vs. Kacchan 2 in chapter 120.

The second time is right after his apology in chapter 322. (Katsuki actually uses omae four times in a row in this scene.)

(We'll get to the third time later, just you wait.)

Why does Katsuki address Izuku differently in these scenes? To answer this, we’re gonna commit some language nerdery.

First, let’s be real about the fact that Japanese pronouns can be complicated. There are a ton of them. You learn the common uses—like you could say that, broadly, omae tends to be used by guys for their friends and romantic partners. But the reality is that in a high-context language like Japanese, pronouns can come across wildly differently depending on who uses it, to whom, with what tone, and in what context.

It is difficult to generalize real-life usage, so to be clear, I am talking about MHA as a piece of media. I could try to tell you that omae is rude but also friendly but also condescending but also comedic but also confrontational but also affectionate—and so on, but that wouldn’t help you understand what Katsuki’s omae to Izuku means and why it feels significant.

The thing is, Izuku and Katsuki can each say omae and mean completely different things, because their normal way of speaking tells us how to interpret their words.

When Izuku speaks, he is polite and considerate. He uses the boyish first-person pronoun boku (僕). In Japanese, avoiding second-person pronouns is the polite thing to do; you use the person’s surname and an appropriate suffix instead, and this is the tactic Izuku uses to address others. When he does say “you,” it is usually the familiar kimi (君) towards Katsuki.

We see Izuku use omae in only a few circumstances: he uses it towards himself during inner monologues when he is trying to figure out what to do or compel himself to act, and he uses it when he faces All For One.

Both of these involve what I think of as “tough talk”—Izuku talks tough to himself to push past his fears and be a hero. With AFO, he is talking to a villain, someone he has to defeat. From someone like Izuku who speaks with such politeness and humility, omae reads as aggressive and confrontational.

Katsuki, on the other hand, is always aggressive and confrontational. He uses the masculine, somewhat boastful first-person pronoun ore (俺) and the second-person pronoun temee (てめえ) towards just about everybody. Temee is an extremely rude, combative word; Japanese descriptions usually point out that it reads like fightin’ words—it’s what you’d call an opponent, someone you are confronting, challenging, or belittling. As mentioned, you’re supposed to avoid “you” words to be polite, so the fact that Katsuki whips out temee constantly and makes up insulting nicknames instead of using anybody’s real name is just like, damn, dude!

Unlike Izuku, Katsuki sounds like he is challenging everyone all the time. This means that, coming from him, omae actually seems gentler.

After Deku vs. Kacchan 2, he opens his sentence with omae, and Izuku looks startled by this.

They just had a huge, emotional fistfight, and Katsuki… isn’t addressing him as an opponent, like he always has before. For once, he is addressing Izuku not as his enemy, but his equal.

This scene is the first time Katsuki properly grapples with the truth of their mutual weaknesses and comes to an understanding about it. It leaves him frustrated and unsure, but he walks away seeing himself and Izuku as being on the same side.

Because he takes All Might's words to heart: they are two halves of what makes a hero. They need to learn from each other and push each other to truly reach their best—as rivals, not enemies.

In chapter 322, Katsuki talks Izuku through how he felt about him all these years. He goes over all the things he's had to face to see how wrong he was, to see his own weakness and Izuku's strength. The whole time, he uses the "you" word he always has: temee.

But when it comes time to tell Izuku his true feelings, he calls Izuku by his given name, apologizes, and then right away he says this:

This is a direct call-back to the core question that Katsuki posed to Izuku during Deku vs. Kacchan 2: "Is my way of admiring All Might wrong?"

The second half to that question has always been, implicitly, "Does that mean yours is right?"

Here, Katsuki acknowledges Izuku fully as All Might's successor and affirms that Izuku's path is not wrong, using omae to tell him so. And then he uses it three more times to convince Izuku to come back with them and fight together, "because saving people is how we win."

To me, omae in this scene comes across with such softness. He's speaking with more humility than we've ever seen, both in what he's conveying and his word choice. (There is a whole other conversation to be had about Katsuki's word choice for "I'm sorry," but that is for a different time.)

This omae is not just a sign that he sees Izuku as his equal, it's expressing care for him. Katsuki sacrificed his life for Izuku, telling him, "Stop trying to win this on your own." He is trying so hard to make Izuku understand: Come back, I was wrong. Come back, I care about you.

Which brings us to the third time Katsuki uses omae: chapter 362.

That's right, the infamous "Can I still catch up to you?" / "Can I still reach you?" line uses omae.

Here's the thing that's unique about this omae: it's in Katsuki's head. This is internal monologue; he isn't talking out loud to Izuku, he isn't trying to convey something to him face-to-face, he is just thinking about Izuku.

The word choice isn't for anyone else's benefit or any external purpose: this is just how Katsuki sees him.

I can't overstate how soft, vulnerable, and sincere this moment is for Katsuki. And what gets me about him thinking of Izuku as omae is, it makes me wonder, "How long has he thought of Izuku this way?"

When did Izuku stop being temee in his head?

Changing how you address someone is a big deal in Japanese. Whether it's a name or suffix change (Deku -> Izuku) or a pronoun change (temee -> omae), it represents a significant shift in the emotional dynamics of a relationship.

It crops up a lot in media as a dramatic moment of intimacy, sometimes even being a part of love confessions. This heightened drama is exactly what we see with Katsuki's apology when he calls him Izuku.

Katsuki addresses only Izuku with his given name and omae, and in the whole run of the series, he only uses omae in a few select instances. I would argue that this is really important, subtle character writing.

Looking at the scenes, at least to me, each omae reads as progressively more honest and intimate. Each time Katsuki uses it, he is reaching for Izuku. Each time, it means more.

[flwerswrld]

relationship headcannons ୨୧ | hsr men

cw: lowercase intended, tooth rottingly fluffy, slight crack if u squint, gender neutral!reader, established relationship for all characters, grumpy x sunshine if you squint (caelus), sick!reader (dan heng), dan heng being a worrywart, marriage #4lifers >_< (welt), flustered geppie, ooc for probably all of them...😞 whoopsies i haven't written fanfic in like 4-5 yrs

character/s included: caelus, dan heng, welt, gepard landau

caelus ♡

- biiiiig cuddler :3

- like this man is ON YOU.

- march has multiple photos of you two attached to the hip (one where u guys were literally HANDCUFFED to each other. caelus wanted to try the idea out, might write a whole other fic just on that)

- literally anything could remind him of you

- he sees a bag of chips? oh, they're y/n's fav, oh i'm thinking of my partner now, oh how i love my partner :3

- ^ literally his thought process

- adding to the last point, he'll find or buy random things to give to you because he thought you'd like it/it reminded him of you

"caelus, are these... cat keychains?" you ask, the gift random, but definitely not unwelcomed, conveyed by the growing smile on your face. "they reminded me of us." he replies, his shoulders moving up and down in a noncommittal shrug. "i'm the orange cat, and you're the black cat."

well... now that you look at it, the keychains do remind you of you and caelus' relationship dynamic. the ginger cat— a tabby, it seems, is laying on the black cat's belly affectionately, the aforementioned feline having an annoyed frown on its face.

"it's cute." pressing a kiss to his cheek, your then soft smile grows into something more joyful. "thank you for the sweet gift, caelus."

and caelus swore to the aeons themselves that he was having heart palpitations from the feeling of your lips on his cheek.

dan heng ♡

- way less affectionate compared to how caelus is, not because he doesn't love you, but because he's more reserved

- doesn't mean he doesn't cuddle, he loves it when you and him have a nice snuggle sesh after a stressful day (but shhhh don't tell him i told you, it's supposed to be a secret 🤫)

"you're sure you don't need more tea?"

- prefers to show you his affections through acts of service rather than words or physical touch

- he's so dorky ugh i want him so bad

"dan heng, i'll be fine—" another coughing fit ensued, the hacking so intense dan heng backs away. "yep, more tea for you." he mumbles under his breath. "and more soup."

he reminds me of a mother hen... you think, sipping on your mug of tea that your lovely boyfriend had made for you. the beverage is hot and relaxing, feeling like a smoldering fire was in your belly whenever you swallow it.

"you know..." you start when he comes back inside your room, looking at your boyfriend with a hint of a smirk on your face. "you remind me of a mother hen, sometimes."

and you almost laugh at the disgruntled expression that appears on his stupidly handsome face. "i do not act like a mother hen—"

"oh, come on! you know you do, babe!"

with his cheeks turning a shade of light pink at the nickname, he sighs. "you can call me whatever you want, just drink your tea, for the love of aeons." he replied begrudgingly. "then give me a kiss!" you shoot back, weakly puckering your lips. "then i'll drink my tea, eat my soup, and then take a niiiiiice long nap."

dan heng stands there for a second, weighing his options. on one hand, he gets to kiss his partner — whom he loves very dearly he might add — to get them to eat their soup and drink the tea he had prepared for them. the only problem is that they're sick.

oh, fuck it.

pressing a kiss to your lips, he sighs into it, pulling away after a few seconds. "there. better now?" he asks.

he got sick two days later, but to him it was worth it.

welt ♡

- this man KNOWS how to treat someone right. i just know it in the deepest parts of my soul.

- shows you the animations that he made when he worked as an animator (it probably has 12 episodes, only 1 season, and ended on a cliffhanger 😞)

- HE DRAWS YOU. IDC. his sketchbook is full of drawings of you, random things he sees while out on his travels with you and the express, and other random doodles

- loves sightseeing with you. every time you go to a new planet you guys take pictures together at every tourist spot

- slow dancing w/ him to frank sinatra... it'd be so cute??? STOP STOP EVERYONE SHUT UP FOR 2 SECONDS. ☹️☹️

you felt like life was perfect right now.

with all the drama on penacony being over, you and welt finally had some free time to just chill out and take a breather.

"this is so nice..." you mumble to yourself, the metal of your ring softly pressing against the skin of your finger as your hands rest on welt's shoulders. "slow dancing is so romantic, don't you think?" welt asks, smiling down at you as frank sinatra records play in the background.

"are you trying to seduce me, mr. yang? even after years of marriage?" you ask, smiling when he spins you around slowly to the soft voice of frank sinatra, and the romantic melodies of the instruments. "and what if i am, mx yang?" he leans down in your ear to mumble, his tone teasing, maybe a bit... mischievous?

when the record stops spinning, welt holds you close to him, heat radiating off of him like a radiator. "hm, you're warm." you mumble, letting out a yawn. "like a heater."

hearing your husband let out a little chuckle, he smiles down at you. "you say this every time we hug."

"is it romantic, though?"

there was a pregnant pause, as if welt was deciding on what to say.

"do you want me to be honest or nice...?"

"welt!"

gepard landau ♡

- he's soooo protective ik it :[ like he's always keeping an eye on you while he's on patrol to make sure you're safe (not in a stalker way, just looking out for you bc he cares (⁠◕⁠દ⁠◕⁠))

- gets you something on every holiday, even if it doesn't count as a ‘holiday’. for every valentine's day he buys you chocolates and a cute little teddy bear 🥹🥹 he's so cute

- bc he's so busy with belobog duties(??), he doesn't have much time for dates

- so for the time he does have off, he'll spend with you!! (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

- serval is also you and gepard's biggest supporter, and lowkey played matchmaker with you two so you guys could get together

"aww, geppie! this is so cute!" you say, smiling at the rose bouquet and chocolates he had gotten you for valentine's day.

"serval actually suggested for me to buy you them..." the blonde replied, a mixed pile of mush and flustered mumblings underneath his breath. "she said your favourite flowers are roses, so i tried to find the best ones in belobog for you."

you actually think your heart is going to explode. or that you're going to squeeze your boyfriend to death from his cuteness.

and that's exactly what you do, making a mental note to thank serval the next time you see her.

"gepard, you're the best!" you exclaim, leaning your head onto his chest.

"don't mention it, y/n..." he mumbles, praying to qilpoth that you can't hear the relentless beating of his heart, the thumpity thump of it so profound he can feel it in his ears. "it's my duty as your boyfriend to give you gifts."

you also make another mental note: to wife this man up as soon as possible.

[croquis-el]

I think everyone has already seen that short dossier in the court records about Odoroki (Apollo)

The entire Internet managed to laugh at the line "I call him Apollo" (Bro, that's literally his name)

I, in turn, will say that this is the result of unsuccessful localization (for now I'm talking about one specific line, don't swear)

In the original version, a slightly different meaning was embedded under this explanation. Namely, that Naruhodo does not "call him", but "gave him a nickname".

Won't you agree? Already a different message.

More below

ふとしたキッカケで 知り合った新米弁護士。 愛称はオドロキくん。

futoshita kikkake de shiriatta shin kome bengoshi. Aishō wa Odoroki-kun.

A novice lawyer whom I met by chance. His nickname is Odoroki-kun.

愛称(aisho) - A friendly, affectionate name used to address someone. (syn.) nickname.

In Japan, great importance is attached to friendly names, with their help people show their affection (of course, there are also offensive nicknames, but that's not the topic of the post)

Addressing by last name + warm, friendly suffix -kun shows us a respectful and trusting attitude towards the young lawyer

The dossier was probably entered into the MAISON system after Odoroki started working in Hodo's office, so there was confusion with the content (7 years ago, Odoroki was only 15 years old, he could not have been a lawyer, since he was in school)

Of course, this line is difficult to convey in another language with the same emotions and meaning, so everything was lost again

Yes, the Western world is more accustomed to addressing by name in friendly relations, so this line seemed stupid to everyone, but this was influenced not only by the impossibility of correct adaptation

And also by the way other characters address Odoroki

We will not mention episodic characters, but let's focus on those who appear in each case

The judge addresses Odoroki in two ways:

弁護人 (bengonin) - counsel; defender; advocate

At important and serious moments in the trial

Odoroki-kun - in a situation where the case takes an unexpected turn

よろしいですね? オドロキくん。

yoroshīdesu ne? Odoroki-kun.

Is that okay? Odoroki-kun.

Minuki Naruhodō (Trucy Wright)

Contrary to all the established impressions that the young magician very quickly begins to address the lawyer informally and behaves very boldly with him, giving him the nickname "Polly", in the original everything is completely different.

Absolutely always, Minuki addresses him exclusively as "Odoroki-san"

だ。ダメですよ、オドロキさん! ちゃんと、お話を聞かないと!

Damedesuyo, Odoroki-san! Chanto, ohanashi o kikanaito!

No. That's no good, Odoroki-san! You have to listen carefully!

San - さん.

It is the most common Japanese honorific and can be used to address both male and female adults. 

Like mister and misses, san is used when you do not know the person very well or when you want to show respect for someone who is not a close friend.

Minuki treats Odoroki with respect, but at the same time keeps him at a respectful distance. She guards her secrets to the very end and simply could not so quickly trust, essentially, a stranger, even if dad told her about him.

This freedom of adaptation changes Minuki's character and a new character, Trucy, appears (although all players should have approximately the same impression of the characters, after all, we are playing the same game).

She continues to call him the same in AA 5 and 6, probably just to accommodate the age difference (as with other adults)

あ、オドロキさん! お早い到着ですね。

a, Odoroki-san! O hayai tōchakudesu ne.

Oh, Odoroki-san! You arrived early.

Kyoya Garyuu (Klavier Gavin)

The prosecutor most often uses a unique and friendly nickname - Odeko-kun (Herr Forehead)

なあに。他に説明がつかないからさ。 そうだろう? おデコくん。

Hoka ni setsumei ga tsukanaikara sa. Sōdarou? Odeko-kun.

What? Because there's no other explanation. Right? Odeko-kun.

But when he's angry, our lawyer suddenly becomes Odoroki Hosuke (as a way to express frustration)

あ! キサ���か、王泥喜法介! ぼくを燃やそうとしたのは!

a! Kisamaka, Odoroki Hōsuke! Boku o moyasou to shita no wa!

Ah! You, Odoroki Hosuke! You were the one who tried to burn me!

Kirihito Garyuu (Kristoph Gavin)

Just Odoroki-kun, nothing out of the ordinary

Kokone Kizuki (Athena Cykes)

As a junior co-counsel, she addresses him as "Odoroki-senpai"

あ! オドロキ先輩。

Ah! Odoroki senpai.

Senpai (先輩、せんぱい, "former born") is used to address or refer to one's older or more senior colleagues and students in a school, workplace etc.

By doing this, she shows respect for her senior colleague and respects subordination.

I understand that it is very difficult to adapt the honorifics that are used in the original version, but it was possible to leave Mr. Justice where he rightfully belongs

[blastaway2004]

Bryke comparing Aang and Katara’s relationship to a younger brother/babysitter isn’t the “gotcha” ZKs think it is.

So Bryke the nickname of the A:TLA creators once talked about teen romance tropes, to paraphrase “younger boy likes older girl but said girl only sees boy as a younger brother or as themself as their babysitter”. This was coupled with an image of Aang and Katara. There was also an article saying that dynamic is Aang and Katara’s. ZKs seem to think this is a “gotcha”, that Katara canonically thinks of Aang as her younger brother whom she babysits.

HOWEVER!

This was specifically taken from A:TLA’s original pitch bible, which contains INTIAL ideas for a show, its characters and world. Many things in pitch bibles don’t make it into the final show, for example in the original pitch bible for SpongeBob SquarePants (originally SpongeBoy Ahoy!) Sandy Cheeks the squirrel was described as the apple of SpongeBoy’s eye and was suppose to be SpongeBoy’s love interest, but in the actual show the romance was dropped, there was some occasional ship-tease (especially in Sandy’s first two episodes), and tons of people ship the two, but SpongeBob and Sandy’s relationship is platonic.

With Aang and Katara, while Bryke may have originally intended for their relationship to be unrequited with Katara viewing Aang as a lil bro to babysit, this isn’t present at all in the show itself.

I’m gonna make a bold statement and say that Katara objectively DID have feelings for Aang. Even if they weren’t super obvious and spelled out like Aang’s feelings. The Cave of Two Lovers and The Headband are the most obvious examples but there are also other notable more subtler examples, for example, Katara is very physically affectionate towards Aang, something she doesn’t really display with anyone else. 

She has a lot of respect for Aang, she choses Aang over her tribe despite knowing him for one day, she defends him from that old fisherman, suggest he be the leader of the group, asks for his opinion on how she looks, she dismisses Sokka’s idea with finding the Earth King but quickly changes her tune when Aang suggests the same thing, she gets all embarrassed and flustered when Aang comments about her hair. Point being she clearly views Aang as an equal and her peer, not someone she begrudgingly has to babysit.

She herself even straight up says she loves Aang “for the people who love you, watching you be in that much rage and pain is really scary”. And she dismisses the notion that she views Aang as a brother in The Ember Island Players. If anything, actress Katara saying Aang is like a little brother was probably just a mythology gag based on the original pitch like Toph being a dude.

So, all-in-all, the babysitter Kataang comments really don’t mean anything, because they’re about an initial idea that was clearly scrapped in the show itself. Even if it is what inspired Kataang, who cares Aaron Ehasz agreed with a comment comparing Zuko and Katara to siblings and that she was foil to Azula (something I agree with). Bryke even made a joke saying “people who ship Zutara will have doomed relationships”. Given some of the weird takes from these people, I almost feel inclined to agree.

[queenimmadolla]

𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐍, 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐘, 𝐀 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄

(dad!eddie munson x mom!reader)

more dad!eddie, penny and baby wayne adventures can be found here.

summary: . . . jonathan and argyle return to spend an afternoon helping Eddie babysit your toddler and newborn at everyone’s favorite fast food place. once again, they are of no help. neither is Steve.

a/n: everyone loved Three Men and a Baby so here's a little sequel with everyone's fav babysitter and we couldn't leave baby wayne out. as always, all characters live in Hawkins because i said so. mistakes will be fixed later!

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

“You know, it kinda feels like we’re a family.” Argyle pointed out from his place on the soft mat just outside of the play place. He was yanking off his shoes to stick into the cubby next to Penny’s significantly smaller ones.

“Kind of? We’re at McDonald’s with our toddler and our baby, pretty sure we are a family.” Jonathan chimed in from his spot across the booth from Eddie. He was sunk into the seat, shoeless and waiting for Argyle with Penny on his lap. 

The three year old was practically shaking with energy, eager to jump into the playpen but since there were a couple of older kids in there, Argyle and Jonathan would be going in with her to make sure nothing happened to her. Truthfully, she probably would have been fine on her own but Jonathan and Argyle insisted, not amused with the idea of some seven year old touching their precious Penny with gross, sticky barbecue sauce covered fingers.

Not on their watch.

“With my toddler and my baby.” Eddie corrected them with a lazy grin, fingers gently massaging the fuzz on the top of the one month old’s head. He was leaned back on his side of the booth, baby Wayne curled up and fast asleep on his chest despite the noise around him. 

He was heavy sleeper, much like his dad had been before Penny and he came into the world. Now, Eddie was lucky if he didn’t wake up when you moved around in your sleep next to him.

“Same thing,” Argyle mumbled with a vague hand gesture, tossing his hat onto the table. “Man, you asked us to help you with the kids for the day, so we’ve got joint custody right now.”

“You asked me if you guys could hang out with us!”

With your family of three having turned into a family of four, it was clear you were outgrowing the trailer Big Wayne had left you and Eddie when he’d moved in with his new ‘lady friend’. So while you were out apartment hunting with Eden, Eddie had stayed home with Penny and Wayne. This time around, he was much more confident in himself being solo, despite the addition of the new baby. Besides, Penny was easy to watch right now.

She was so taken with baby Wayne, whom she affectionally referred to as her ‘potatoes’ because it had been what Grandpa Wayne compared him to when he was born, shockingly pale, small and covered heavily in white biofilm. He’d since developed color, but Penny had latched onto it and wouldn’t be letting the nickname go anytime soon.

Jonathan and Argyle had stopped by—a normal occurrence since the first time they’d hung around Eddie and Penny when she had been the newborn—under the guise of having caught wind from Eden that Eddie would be alone with the kids.

Eddie knew they just missed Penny and were trying to be the cool uncles they thought they were and he hadn’t wanted her to feel like she wasn’t going to be getting attention now that Wayne had finally made his arrival in the world, so he figured a little outing would do her some good.

Apparently it did Argyle and Jonathan some good, too.

“Hurry up, Argyle.” Jonathan hissed, and Penny nodded from her place on his lap.

“Yeah, huwwy!”

“Oh my god—fine, let’s go already!” Argyle threw his hands up in exasperation. He didn’t need to tell her twice. Penny climbed down from Jonathan’s lap faster than he could try to get a hold of her and made a run for the play place, quickly diving in, much to Argyle and Jonathan’s horror.

“Dude, you just let her go alone!”

“You could have grabbed her, why did you tell her to do that?”

They were still arguing as they crawled in after her, Jonathan looking absolutely ridiculous as he called out for her in hopes of finding her quickly.

Eddie laughed, big doe eyes focused on a window of the play place where he could see Penny waving a little hand at him. She already made it to the highest level, Jonathan and Argyle wouldn’t be getting a hold of her anytime soon.

For a good fifteen minutes, Eddie watched as Jonathan and Argyle popped up in spots Penny had previously been occupying just a couple of moments too late, it looked like they were still arguing as they crawled through each section in search of her.

Wayne stirred, his tiny body wiggling on Eddie’s chest. 

Eddie sat up a little straighter as his hand cradled the back of his son’s head to lay him across his lap. “Someone’s finally up."

Wayne was staring up at him, face set in a slight scowl. The differences between Penny and Wayne would never cease to amuse Eddie. While Penny had been a happy baby, if not a little judgmental looking with her expressions, Wayne’s main emotion was bothered.  He was remarkably unimpressed with just about everyone except his parents, so far. Most babies were figuring out how to use their face and constantly smiling when doing so, but not Wayne.

He only moved his face around to look angry or annoyed. He seemed to be filled with attitude and Eddie honestly couldn’t be more proud, especially when you were cooing over it. Probably wouldn’t appreciate it when Wayne would become a teenager, but for now it was stinking cute. It also helped that you seemed to be a copy machine, while they might differ in personalities so far, Wayne looked almost exactly like Penny had when she was his age, though instead of a fully covered head of curls, his head was mostly fuzz with a main strip of the curls going down the center of his head—when it was Wayne’s bath time, Eddie liked to give him a mohawk—and you were pleased when he came out with a pair of big brown, doe eyes, too. Along with unfairly long eyelashes.

Wayne gave a loud grunt up at him, his barely-there eyebrows furrowing as he seemingly tried to yell at his dad.

“Ooh and on the wrong side of the crib again, huh?” Eddie frowned mockingly down at him, clicking his tongue as he bounced his baby gently.

Wayne still wasn’t amused with his daddy’s teasing and gave another warning yelp without breaking eye contact.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re so intimidating and so tough, no one can mess with you.” Eddie cooed, raising the tiny baby in his hold to his lips as he pressed a kiss to the soft, sweet smelling skin of his son’s forehead. 

Regardless of how annoyed he seemed to be, just like every other baby Wayne was a sucker for human contact and preened under Eddie’s affections, when Eddie pulled back to look at him he was more content, fists uncurling to stretch out his little wrinkly fingers as he suckled on his bottom lip.

“What the hell is this?”

The voice surprised Wayne so much his little arms shot up and his body stiffened, back arching. Eddie sighed as he reached for the pacifier on the table top before acknowledging the drama queen.

“That would be my son, Harrington.” 

Steve rolled his eyes, foot tapping in irritation as his hands rested on his hips.

“I know that, Munson, I wasn’t referring to the cute little bread loaf. I’m talking about how I was at the stoplight down the street and I just so happened to glance into the parking lot and see both your van and a certain pizza delivery service car. Which would mean you, Jonathan and Argyle are hanging out without me again. And I know you guys wouldn’t do that, especially since the whole friend group knows how I feel about being left out.”

“You hang out with plenty of other people all the time.” Eddie reminded him as he held the pacifier to Wayne’s lips. The glutton accepted it eagerly and relaxed into his dad’s embrace once again.

“I mean being left out with guys! Not the kids!”

“You’ve got Robin.”

“I said not with the kids.”

“I’m telling her you said that.”

“I know you’re probably joking—or at least I hope to god you are, but please don’t do that.” Steve didn’t bother waiting for an invitation to sit down, just sat in the side of the booth Argyle had been occupying. “Where are Cheech and Chong, anyways?”

Before Eddie could answer, a crash came from one of the upper levels of the playpen.

“THERE SHE IS, QUICK GRAB HER!” Argyle yelled, followed by the sound of another bang and some groaning. “Ow! Dude, get your elbow out of my kidneys!”

“Then stop trying to crowd in front of me! You’re gonna get us stuck!”

“Never mind.” Steve chuckled and Eddie smirked when he caught sight of Penny running past another barrier window, still wild and free. While he couldn’t see Argyle or Jonathan, he could make out the figures belonging to the two grown men in the red tubing. “Do I even want to know what they’re doing?”

“It’s pretty funny with the context, but it’s probably even funnier without.” Eddie shifted until Wayne was tucked in the crook of his arm, big brown eyes heavily lidded as he sucked on his pacifier and stared up at his dad.

“Can I hold him?” Steve asked, trying to get Wayne to look at him with mind powers he lacked. It didn’t work, Wayne was still zeroed in on Eddie.

“Yeah, hold on.” Eddie placed one hand under Wayne’s body and the other under his head, before lifting him up like an offering. Steve’s hand carefully replaced Eddie’s and then was pulling Wayne to his body, arms secure around his little body.

“Oh.” Steve was taken aback with the angry glare directed up at him. He’d only seen the one month old a handful of times so far in his existence and he hadn’t really gotten to hold him for long due to the amount of arms he had to be passed through in one go whenever he was brought around. Robin told him Wayne had reminded her of how unfriendly Eddie looked to people who didn’t know him—and people who did—and he was starting to get what she meant. 

“That—that’s a face he’s making. Cute, but damn, he’s a little scary.”

Maybe it was mean of him, Eddie was hoping Wayne would cry and knock Steve’s ego down a few notches. He had faith in his little boy.

“He’s just a little delayed when it comes to his facial expressions, I’m sure as soon as he learns how to express emotions, he’ll be all smiley.” Eddie stayed fixated on the baby in Steve’s arms, watching his face for any impending outbursts.

Much to his surprise, he did start smiling. Right up at Steve. The big haired jerk started beaming. “Look! He’s doing it!”

Eddie tried not to frown, Wayne hadn’t smiled like that around him on his own yet, why the hell was he doing it for Harrington?

He got his answer when Wayne’s stomach began to gurgle, followed by the distinct sound of him utterly obliterating his diaper.

Steve looked horrified as he realized Wayne was pooping in his arms, but he looked traumatized when he realized he could feel warmth spreading up Wayne’s little back. Then the smell punched him in the face. “Oh my god.”

Eddie’s head flew back as he laughed hard, tears welling up in his eyes. That explained why Wayne had been in such a sour mood, his poor baby was probably feeling so relieved after dropping that dump.

Steve didn’t look so amused, he stood up and moved over to give Wayne back to Eddie before disappearing into the play place after Penny, Jonathan and Argyle. 

“Good job, baby.” Eddie cooed, pressing a kiss into his baby’s fat cheeks. With his tummy no longer an issue, Wayne was cooing right back at him, looking entirely relaxed.

Eddie gathered Wayne and his diaper bag, slipping out to the parking lot. Once he’d made it to the van, he placed Wayne down on the seat and quickly changed his diaper, making sure to clean any blow out he might have gotten on his back. Steve had to be a weenie when it came to smells because it didn’t stink to Eddie, especially considering the only thing Wayne consumed was breast milk. 

“How you feeling?” Eddie asked the infant as he swapped out his onesie with a cleaner one. He liked this one better, anyways. It had been Penny’s old Hellfire onesie, something you made her when you’d found out you were pregnant and what she wore when you’d dressed her as him for her first Halloween. Obviously, Wayne didn’t say anything back but Eddie had grown used to talking to Penny when she hadn’t been able to talk yet, so he was more than comfortable doing the same thing with Wayne.

“Yeah, I’d feel better after that, too. But knowing you, you’re starving now that you’re empty, aren’t you?” Eddie gently pulled the pacifier from Wayne’s mouth, lips twitching into a smile when his baby continued to mime the suckling  motion. He held his knuckle up to Wayne’s little lips and sure enough his little guy sucked eagerly at it.

Eddie pulled the small bottle containing your breast milk from one of the side pouches of the diaper bag and decided to leave the bag itself in the car. He wasn’t planning on sticking around for too much longer since Penny was probably wearing herself out, no doubt she’d need a nap soon. As would Jonathan and Argyle, probably.

Once he was back inside and back in the booth, Eddie fed Wayne his bottle, gazing down at him with adoration as his sons’ eyes closed in content.

“Hi, daddy.” Penny appeared at the table, the curls on her little head going in every direction as she struggled to pull herself onto the seat. Eddie placed a hand on her bottom, simultaneously feeling her diaper for any droopiness—she wasn’t entirely potty trained yet—and hoisting her up next to him.

“Did you go potty?”

“No.”

“Do you need to?”

“No. Tooce?”

“Juice, baby.” Eddie handed her the apple juice box that had come with her happy meal, watching as she drained it. She’d need to go pee soon, after that.

Now, if Penny was here then . . . where were the the guys who had tasked themselves with watching her?

Both he and Penny glanced up when they heard Steve’s voice coming from the section of the playpen right above them.

“I’m telling you guys, I didn’t see her when I came in!”

“Well, I’ve been blocking this part off and Argyle’s stuck in the green diesel truck side, she hasn’t come by here so she had to have passed you!” Jonathan’s voice shot back.

“Wait—he’s stuck?”

“He got a cramp in his leg and he can’t stretch it out since it’s so cramped in there, so he’s just got to wait it out—hey, did you go through the yellow tunnel yet?”

Both of Steve’s elbows smacked into the plastic walls around him as he changed direction, hissing in pain. “Fuck—no, hold on I’ll go check. Meet me back at the green diesel.”

Eddie could make out the silhouette of their figures crawling away from each other and then it got quiet before both Eddie and Penny started laughing.

Penny giggled into her hand as she rested her head against her daddy’s arm. He stroked a hand over her heated face, the apples of her cheeks dark from the wild chase she’d lead her uncles on.

“You tired yet, baby?”

“Yuh-huh. I had so many funs, daddy! Unca Johnny and Unca Ahgle chaseded me, but I am so fast! Is my little baby potatoes eating, daddy?” Penny got a grip on his jacket and used it to balance herself as she stood up on the seat to peer down at her baby brother who had his eyes closed but was still suckling on the bottle.

His heart warmed at the sight, Eddie loved how much Penny loved Wayne. He’d always been lonely as a kid and longed for companionship, even a sibling. Now, he was just happy Penny wouldn’t have to go through life with that same loneliness. And neither would Wayne, they’d have each other through thick and thin. They’d have both of their parents, too. 

Eddie was so thankful for his family, suddenly he longed to have you near him to complete it again. 

Fate seemed to be taking it easy on him these last few years, because he got you, he had Penny, he had Wayne, and now he had you again, this time walking into the McDonalds.

Penny spotted you first and began jumping up and down to get your attention. Once you’d spotted her, you hurried over and let her jump into your arms, holding her close to your body as she clung to you.

“Mommy, mommy! Look!” She points over at the play place, you followed her finger, assuming she was trying to get you to admire the build.

“I see! Were you playing in there?”

“Yeah! Yeah! I was play’n wiff Unca Johnny and Unca Ahgle.”

“Let me guess, your uncles are still playing in there without you.”

“Uh-huh!”

“Argyle, you’re blocking the way!” You heard Steve yell out.

“Go around! My leg hurts!”

“We literally can’t, Argyle.” Jonathan’s voiced echoed above you as Eden stepped out from behind you with a heavy sigh.

“Did Argyle get stuck again?” The shorter girl, clad in black directed the question at Eddie who was biting back a grin.

“Green diesel,” he snickered out, nodding to the section of the play place. Eden’s shoulders sagged before she walked over to the cubby and kicked her shoes off.

“The things I do for love,” she grumbled as she climbed through the entrance and up the large purple stairs, not having to wcrawl as much as the guys did since she was smaller in stature.

“How’d it go?” Eddie asked as you slid in next to him, giving him a kiss before you stroked a hand over your now dozing baby’s cheek.

“Really good! I think I found one you’re gonna like, it’s gated and it’s near the garage, though I’m not sure about the gated part now. Can’t imagine the amount of trouble The Brothers Pothead would have with the gate code.”

Right on cue you heard more loud thumps and bangs coming from above you.

“Argyle, you have to stretch your leg out!”

“Baby, I can’t! It hurts like hell!”

“Stop cussing, this is a children’s place!”

“Argyle, I will give you five dollars to just suck it up and drag yourself through so we can get Penny and get out of here.”

“Penny’s already out there,” You heard Eden inform the guys who groaned.

“Thought she didn’t get past you, Steve.” Jonathan’s condescending tone could be heard.

“Yes, because I willingly want to be in a confined space that smells like butt sweat. Obviously, I didn’t see her.”

Eddie watched you laugh with a smile on his face before raising his eyebrows down at Penny as she pried herself out of your arms to tug on the sleeve of his jacket.

“It’s stinky in thew, daddy. It weally is. ‘S why I left.”

“That’s gross, baby."

“Yeah.”

You couldn’t wait any longer, carefully plucking your baby from Eddie’s arms. Baby Wayne let out a couple of little squeaks but didn’t stir too much as he curled into your chest, cheek resting against your breast. You spotted the empty bottle in Eddie’s hold and began to gently pat your son’s back. It took a few moments, then he let out the most adorable of burps and for once didn’t spit up all over you.

“Is he still out?” You asked Eddie, unable to see if the baby still had his eyes closed from the angle you had him cradled to your chest at.

“For the most part,” Wayne’s eyes weren’t entirely closed, they were open just enough for Eddie to tell his eyes were rolled back. Very metal looking. With Eddie’s arms free, Penny decided to climb right into them, securing her own around his neck.

You raised your baby’s body a little higher to nuzzle your face in the trail of soft, sweet smelling hair, getting a good whiff of his baby scent.

Once you’d had your fill, you shuffled further into the booth until Eddie could slip an arm over your shoulders, thumb stroking against the side of your neck and you relaxed into the hard plastic of the booth, shooting your daughter a smile when you caught her staring at you, “Get comfortable, baby. I think we’re gonna be here for a while.” 

Eddie laughed and Penny didn’t look like she cared.

“I've got a riddle for you, sweetheart,” Eddie started, shifting Penny around until her back was to his front and she was perched comfortably in his lap. “What’s the difference between the three stooges and three grown men stuck in a children’s play course?”

You pretended to think for a few minutes. “Mmm, you got me. What do you think, Penny?”

Penny grinned, shoulders shrugging.

“I dunno.”

“Nothing.” Eddie finally answered. “There is no difference.”

“Whas the stooges?” Penny asked, little hand scratching the curls on her head.

“You’re ruining daddy’s joke, baby.” Eddie playfully growled down at her, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers as she craned her neck back to look up at him, giggling in delight and oh so pleased to have caused ‘trouble’ for her daddy.

“I should have just kept driving.” A familiar voice passed over you from the tube directly above your head.

“Eddie, is that Steve?”

“Sweetheart, I said three stooges and I wasn’t referring to Eden, does it look like I have a death wish?”

[snowmantita]

Some time ago I had a strange dream...

It was about Persehone and Rudra as a couple, hugging, holding hands and calling each other endless affectionate nicknames. I have always shipped my Ocs with other Ocs or canon characters with whom they have something in common or complement each other, for example, one of the ships of my Queen of the Underworld is with Mictlantecuhtli, the god of the Mexica Underworld.

Our beloved King of Helheim is not at all happy about other people/gods flirting with his beloved wife.

Will there be more ships like this? Maybe... If you want to ship our Ocs, feel free! I'd like to see what couples are formed.

[princeofthecornfield]

Bluebelle and her tall son Belcar! My dungeon meshi ocs whom I love dearly!

Lore ⬇️

Belcar’s first mother was Bluebelles first and best friend when she first moved to the city they loved having similar names. (Her name was Carabelle)

And his name is a combination of their names as Bluebelle was with her the entire pregnancy after her husband unexpectedly died. Unfortunately due to a sickness that swept the city Carabelle passed when Belcar was 11 months old.

They live with Blue’s sister Yellowjack and her husband Clive who run an apothecary together. (They also sell spices). Bluebelle and Belcar collect herbs, roots and other plant parts to be taken back to the shop to be dried and processed.

Bluebelle and Belcar are pretty well known in half foot circles and he is usually referred to as Bluebelle's boy or her Tall son. Which unfortunately sometimes gets shortened to Talson and people think it's his name. He is prepping for a jewelry making and goldsmithing apprenticeship which will start when he is 18 (he's currently 16).

Belcar is like a very responsible teen much to bluebelle's dismay he has no desire to do any reckless teen stuff like drinking, smoking, sneaking out etc. She parented too well and now has a responsible nerd son (affectionately).

Her favorite bit is to convince new people that he is her biological son. Especially when they say they can see her in his face (they look nothing a like). She also likes calling him her bag when she makes him go shopping with her. And she has even taken over one of his pants pockets to hold her purse.

She has a slew of nicknames for him Bel bel, baby bel, muscles, Belly boy, car car, and tall son. He is also very protective of her as she’s so much smaller than him and someone has attempted to pick her up before. (They claimed it was a joke but that was after Belcar spear tackled him so who really knows)

He’s is now biased against other races due to mistreatment he’s seen towards half foots. Meaning he tends to come off as standoffish and rude. Bluebelle wishes he wasn’t like this but he’s pretty firm in his belief of arms length until proven otherwise.

[couldtransitionsaveher]

GUMBALL WATTERSON from THE AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL

JUSTIFICATIONS:

"Ok this is a bit of a weird one but hear me out here, I'm a certified Gumball scholar. Gumball (and Darwin) dress up as girls several times over the course of the show and never really show any discomfort over it, and also Gumball has this entire episode dedicated to Eradicating her deadname after it comes alive and takes on a persona of its own. Like ok I don't want to summarize the plot of the entire episode (it's called 'The Name' if anyone wants to watch it themselves) but her deadname literally manifests as an alternate personality douchebag that begins altering her memories and erasing her true self because she isn't "cool enough" and the way she defeats this is by literally changing her legal name to "Gumball" which is y'know a nickname she presumedly chose for herself. Unfortunately all this potential subtext is somewhat undercut by one of the running gags of the episode being a very transmisogynistic joke, but I digress. Anyway she's also girlfriends with the other extremely blatant trans allegory, Penny, whom is so goddamn trans-coded that I could (and probably will) make an entire separate post about it. So in conclusion Gumball should take some estrogen so she can be t4t bi4bi with her magical shape-shifter fairy girlfriend <3" - @jam-n-jay

"I think she deserves it" - @stitchwraith-stingers

Reminder: Submissions are always open! Submit here!

Did you make your daily click today?

[casual-praxis]

Since I haven't gotten around to drawing them yet, I haven't talked much about Blue and Green in the Slime Rancher AU (I really need to come up with a name for it), this will hopefully change in the near future, but in the meantime, here's a random assortment of fun facts about them.

+ Green is in a similar position to Bea (the Slime Rancher protagonist), in that he left behind a close friend with whom he may have had a romantic connection with in order to nurture his adventurous spirit. That friend was Zelda, and she still regularly sends him starmail to keep him updated on how things are back in their hometown.

(Note: one of my friends wants me to bring Zelda to the range and theme her after a pink slime, which is a really cute idea but hh I don't know how to get her there. And I don't want her to be viewed as a relationship rival, she's too sweet for that.)

+ Blue, when he initially shows up, is very dismissive of the whole, "slimes are cute, they're like lil' buddies" notion. They can make him easy money. And the faster he can save up, the faster he can get a shuttle back to Earth and kick his family's teeth in for sending him there in the first place. That's all that matters to him. The other losers on the ranch might subscribe to the whole ridiculous pyramid scheme, but not Blue.

Nope, he's totally not falling for it. He's not falling for Green's genuine concern, Red's effortless handling of borderline explosives, Vio's general competence, or Shadow's playful banter. But especially not this goopy, waterlogged slime that keeps trying to follow him around and--hey, Window's Vista, how the hell is he supposed to keep one of these bastards when the Slimepedia says they evaporate?!

More notes under the cut! ^^

+ Green may be the unofficial leader in everyone else's mind, but to Green, the leader is actually Vio due to their experience gap and the fact Vio has seniority. He often goes to Vio for guidance on certain unforeseen issues, like a hen-hen infestation (they are everywhere, help) or advice on where to put a new corral or silo.

But when it comes down to it, Green is the one to step up quickest in high-stress situations (like Tarr outbreaks) and de-escalate conflicts (interpersonal or otherwise), which he doesn't even hesitate on. He has everyone's trust, he gets things done, and he does all the communicating with other ranches. He is the leader, the others have no doubts.

+ Despite his prickly demeanor early on, Blue was still asked to help with physical labor around the ranch at the very least. He has a knack for construction, and production speed usually went up with him actually keeping the projects organized.

Red in particular would go to Blue for help with heavy lifting, even if it was just so he didn't have to do it himself (Blue would never admit it, but he was the one to initially reach out to help Red. Watching him struggle wasn't as fun as he thought it'd be). Also, sometimes Shadow would rope him into tests of strength on streams, those were always nice ego boosts (not that he needed one).

+ Green and Blue both use nicknames for the others, but while Green's are largely affectionate and closer to pet names, Blue's are more akin to insults (which become softer over time).

For Green's nicknames, he uses Firework or Firefly for Red, Puddle Fly or Water Bug for Blue, Jewel Beetle or Bookworm for Vio, and Moth(ra) or Shads for Shadow. (Can you sense a pattern here lmao.)

For Blue's nicknames, he cycles through quite a few, especially early on since he doesn't intend to learn anything about the others. He uses Stringbean, Airhead, "His Greenness", etc for Green (Greenbean and Froggy once he stops being a dick), Ground Zero, Creepy, Ash-For-Brains, etc for Red (Firecracker, Hotshot, and Sparkles once he stops being a prick), Windows Vista, Glitchy/Twitchy, Violetta, etc for Vio (Bug and V once he stops being an ass), The Influencer (derogatory), Porphylophile (person who really likes purple), and Eyeliner, etc for Shadow (Kitten and Princess ((still teasing)) once he stops being a dumbass).

That's all I have time for right now, work is starting soon hhh--but I definitely have more for these two planned! Look forward to that if you'd like, and thank you for reading this far!

[da-rulah]

Not sure if this is a good short fanfic, but what about if a ghoul steals papas batwings and he catches them playing with them while hes looking for them? I think that’s be something silly and cute 🫶

This is an adorable idea omg

Okay so I took some artistic liberties with this, and went with the idea that the Ghouls are hybrid animals/humans, most of whom are non-verbal. Enjoy cat-like Swiss! No warnings apply - straight up fluff drabble.

Packing was the worst part of getting ready for a Ghost Project tour. It was one of those things that Copia's put off until the last minute to avoid as long as possible, then had to do it in such a panic the day before they would leave - and yes, he had done it again...

The stress that last-minute packing brought him was immense, especially when certain things would go missing. Like his damn batwings. Copia slammed the lid of his old-fashioned suitcase shut in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a deep breath. He didn't have time for this. Sister Imperator would have his balls pickling in a jar with his absent father's if he'd lost his fucking batwings the day before the tour...

Swiss stared into the mirror in his room, cocking his head in interest as he took himself in. With his arms at his sides like this, it was nothing special, but when he raised his arms up, his lips curled back into a straight-toothed grin.

Papa's batwings spread out from his arms, and he made a hiss sound at himself as if trying to scare his reflection. His tail swished behind him proudly as he giggled, wrapping his arms around his middle like a cocoon, before spreading them again in a flash and hissing again.

There was no-one to frighten, but he persisted, turning on his heels and jumping back to the mirror, another hiss and his arms spreading out again, flapping this time as if about to take off.

Swiss was so enamoured with his new bat-like appearance, he didn't notice when his bedroom door started to slowly swing open, a silhouette standing in the doorway and blocking the light from the halls. It wasn't until he swished around one more time that he yelped and stumbled back, falling into the mirror behind him and knocking it over.

The smash of the mirror was the last thing on his mind as he stayed poised against the wall he'd falling into, staring at the very quiet and stoic Papa in his doorway with wide eyes behind his helmet. His tail sank between his legs in shame. "Swiss... Are those my batwings?" Papa asked, slowly... intimidatingly.

Swiss stayed quiet, too afraid to speak. He knew he shouldn't have taken them, but he just wanted to try them. There was no harm in that, right? Papa always looked so good in them, they looked so fun to play with... He was gonna give them back, he'd never steal them! Never! Just borrowed...

"Swiss, did you steal my batwings?" Copia asked again. Swiss shook his head violently no. "Swiiiisssss?" Copia dragged it out, encouraging the truth from him. He nodded a tiny nod, looking down at the ground where the mirror had slipped and cracked at his feet. Guilt racked over him. Copia sighed and stepped into the room, letting his hardened 'Papa' exterior soften to help Swiss stand upright again. "That's seven years bad luck, Swissy," he chuckled, his affectionate nickname for one of his most loyal and long-standing Ghouls allowing Swiss to breathe out what he'd been holding in fear. "I'm not mad, I just needed to pack. You know how I get, eh?" Swiss nodded, still staring at the ground in shame, wringing his hands. Papa covered them in his own, making Swiss look up at him in confusion. "If you want to try them out, ask me next time, hm? I won't say no, Swiss. But... I do need to pack them now, okie dokie?"

Swiss nodded with enthusiam, his teeth baring in his signature gharish smile again at the thought of being able to play with them whenever he wanted. Copia petted his head, laughing when he nuzzled into the touch sweetly and purred.

"They suit you, eh? Perhaps I'll have some made for you - a Yule gift!" he began undoing the straps of the harness, dodging Swiss' happy tail as it swished to the image of having his own batwings.

Copia couldn't stay mad at Swiss - not when he was this precious.

[connoisseursdecomfort]

Theory on the Authens - Barbara

[Manga spoiler alert]

Inspired by this post. This post uses several names to demonstrate examples of what Polish diminutives of names would be like. The examples given were Olka (for obvious reasons) and Basia (for Barbara). NOW we do have a Barbara in this story.

I was thinking, so why is Anya Ania but Barbara not Basia? (The answer can be very simple - they are not from the same place. I'm not actually trying to go against the original post - I'm just happy to learn more about different languages and am very thankful that someone made a post about it.) So I went to check the meaning and diminutives for Barbara.

According to A Dictionary of First Names (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019):

Or mom.com (lol):

In my other posts, I talked about whom Sigmund Freud Authen might be based on and how mysteriously skilful the old couple is. I've mentioned what Anya calls Sigmund and Barbara: Ji-jiji and Ba-baba. Bar-bar-bar, exactly why the ancient Greeks (and the ancient Romans) called foreigners or strangers Barbara in the first place.

The other thing(s) about Barbara's husband is:

We know Sigmund Authen teaches in a university

We know who Sigmund Freud is

According to OED, Barbara also means:

So Barbara is:

A stranger

The patron of architects, stonemasons, and fortifications, and of firework makers, artillerymen, and gunpowder magazines (According to Sigmund, she could set traps and shoot people)

A term in logic

It is an interesting idea how something that is originally used to mock others can be turned into a term of endearment. A name. Or an affectionate nickname for Granny Barbara. (Obaasan, or the shortened forms, Baasan or Ba-ba, means Grandma in Japanese.) It is also quite a sxf thing to do to group a bunch of strangers who are all rejected by the society together, and turn them into family.

Just food for thoughts.

[marbeeowl]

a short story dedicated to this picture

--------------- - Well, how many times have I told you that they will dump you?

The black-haired guy exhaled indignantly and irritably. His already perpetually gloomy face became even darker. Dima Ternov, ternovik, devil, that's what the others called him. And he matched with his nicknames. His sharp tongue was both his friend and enemy, and the whole gloomy and dark appearance of that guy repelled, as if saying "Don't come near - it will kill you". He always knew that pioneering was stupid, that there were no friends there, that everything there was as hypocritical as in any "firm". Yes, everyone work together, help each other in small things, but no one is really friends there. So he believed in his opinion, he saw the confirmation of his point of view.

- And they didn't dump me at all...Big deal, they forgot at the bus stop..I'll go to the museum next time. What I didn't see there..

He was answered by a blond boy wearing a newspaper man's cap in the English manner, who walked next to him with a frustrated, but not discouraged look. Philip Pirronov, or as he was affectionately called sometimes, Philya, was the complete opposite of Dmitry in every sense. Always cheerful and polite, a young pioneer, proud to wear his red tie. He piously believe that pioneering was honorable, that all pioneers were good and responsive, despite the fact that his "friends" from the same brigade made fun of him. Is he too kind and trusting? Definitely. Did he realize that he had been made a kind of punching bag? Definitely not. They might have been tolerant of him, but they always dumped him to the rough work. However, Philip never complained and, on the contrary, was proud that he could do something useful. And what a surprise it was that such a simpleton would be able to make friends with almost an enemy of the pioneer party, who openly called it all nonsense. Although at first it was difficult to call it friendship. Dima just made an errand boy out of him, give-and-bring something, nothing more. Over time, he began to stand up for him. And now, taking him by the hand and carrying his briefcase along with his own, he accompany him home. Dima sometimes wondered himself: why was he so soft? Why does he get into fights for this fool? Why is he comforting when Philip has once again become the one on whom all the dogs are unleashed even though he has done nothing wrong? Neither Ternov nor Pirronov himself knew. However, even though Dima grumbled about it, he did not regret anything.

- You're a fool. How many times have I told you that? - Five in a day, probably.. - So I'll tell the sixth: You're an idiot. Someday I'll leave you and figure it out on your own, until you realize with your empty little head that I'm right.

The blond boy just smiled, letting out a short laugh. He was used to Ternov's sarcasm and sometimes it seemed funny to him. Philya raised his eyes, blue as the summer sky, at him, looking at him with the same cheerful sparkle in them.

- Did you not join the pioneers so as not to be in my place, or because you didn't want to, huh? - Maybe. ---------------

[xenodile]

While I still haven't gotten Elegg, by an unbelievable stroke of luck I've gotten Maxwell, Laplace, and Drake among my starting roster, and I love this fucking goon squad. This trio are Syuen's personal minions, whom she markets as the "heroes" and protectors of the Ark.

First up, the face of the squad is Drake, a scary, demon-looking lady in black and red armor, whose personality of what I can only call "a gijinka of those flaming, gun-toting, motorcycle-driving skeleton memes that say corny wholesome things, with the moral sensibilities of a Disgaea demon." She wants to form a "Villain Union" because being part of the most popular squad in the entire Ark isn't enough, so she'll surpass her reputation as a hero as a villain. Except her idea of villainy is the most harmless petty stuff possible, like walking in the bike line, buying out the entire stock at a food stall so no one else can get any, or paying for a meal at a restaurant with her autograph. These actions all ultimately cause more good than any harm, which only makes her more beloved as a hero, much to her frustration. She's kind of hilarious, being an effortlessly intimidating and charismatic figure that cackles like a supervillain while also being a goody twoshoes that needs help ordering a pizza because she gets nervous when talking on the phone.

Then we've got Laplace, who are respectively a hyperactive idiot that screams about justice and being a superhero while causing massive amounts of property damage with every "heroic" action she takes. She's got gold and blue armor, and embodies the "Good Is Dumb" trope, lacking any and all common sense. She jumps through windows rather than use doors, sees every situation as a chance for her to be a hero, and uses breaking things as her go to solution to any problem. Building on fire? Blow up the surrounding buildings so the fire can't spread! Naturally her popularity is mixed as while she means well, she ends up causing more problems with her rampant collateral damage and lack of sense, but having her status as a "hero" called into question is so emotionally damaging it physically paralyzes her.

And backing them up is Maxwell, an utterly deranged mad scientist that is openly manipulating you for the sake of testing her dangerous inventions and completely defies the ideas that Nikkes need to carry out normal human activities to maintain their mental health by having fully robotic legs and a railgun directly integrated into her spine. Uncommon for many, Maxwell freely talks about her life before she volunteered to become a Nikke and how convenient it is to be free from biological processes of being human. So she can spend more time working. She has no hobbies, no friends, and doesn't even think about things like food or drink, because all her time is dedicated to squeezing more power out of gun she refers to with the same affectionate nickname as the Commander. At this point I think she's trying to trick herself into falling in love to see if that will get an extra 1% energy output in her railcannon.