#will always know each other. and also youre both nonbinary.'

[the-meme-monarch]

telling this to you because you’re the only one who likes the human characters in dandy’s world. but

Sam (sprout’s handler) is the only non-binary character in all of dandy’s world. which had to be weird for them! considering the time it takes place I doubt they were out. with your headcanons of Delilah being loveless aro & Arthur being aro it makes me think that maybe there were a lot of lgbt workers there. maybe they attracted each other to work in this nice place where there’s less judgment. idk I’m thinking

i’d like to start off with this post of mine before i start my damn Dissertation HDHSJSN

and yeah i think working at gardenview was very generally very nice ! i just like to think arthur is very kind, he wanted to make a good kids show that teaches good lessons. and like, assuming the universe of dandys world is otherwise realistic to real life; he’s a black man born maybe the 60s, growing up in the 70s and 80s. he would have witnessed discrimination or had it enacted on him, and Certainly not saying racism just Doesn’t Exist Any More, but he would’ve grown up while segregation was still very prevalent and racism was. louder. in the general -especially white- population. and then w my headcanon of him using mobility aids he would’ve likely dealt with a lot of ableism. and being aroace(though likely just identifying as asexual, as it seems aromantic wasn’t coined until 2005? according to google at least) likely dealing with amatonormativity/allonormativity/heteronormativity/aphobia/or even homophobia bc Well If You’re Not Straight You Must Be Gay. also while he maybe wouldn’t have had direct experience to the aids crisis, he was still Around For It. and then also my hc of him being mixed race. and then All the ways these things intersect with each other. i think he’s shaped by his experiences and just wants Better and to create positive change !

i also have a little headcanon that he used to be a teacher’s aide ! i think he’s always been into drawing and making characters, and so this job is where he decided he wanted to do children’s edutainment :’] my sibling and i have talked about what we think the cartoon may have been like, and i think we figured “somewhere between animaniacs and bluey”

delilah ofc would’ve dealt with sexism, and amatonormativity/etc and shitty comments about how she acts or doesn’t really care to make friends, “being a loner”, or not being “lady-like enough” or god forbid being friends with a black kid. i think she would be queer friendly maybe more because more plainly “what difference does it make/why should that bother me, they’re not hurting anybody” but also bc “they’re still people too” ! I think it’s very likely both her and arthur were raised christian, arthur probably still identifies with it, but i don’t think delilah does. i think she thinks her religious upbringing was a prison NDNSJSNSJ

sam may not have come out to either of them, but i think they felt safe there that maybe they could to at least the other main toon’s handlers <:] and also with them being presumably irish, with their last name being mclaughlin, they would’ve been dealing with bigot shit for that alone i wouldn’t fault them in the slightest for not coming out to anyone ever. regardless i think arthur and delilah try to make sure that gardenview is a welcoming and kind environment that doesn’t tolerate That Shit. i can only imagine the smear campaigns the show wouldve gotten for having a rainbow flower boy protagonist.

also iirc sam is Stated to be nonbinary and using they/them, while looey and teagan we don’t know the specifics of their gender labels but we do know they use he/they and she/they respectively, and i do picture them deciding on those pronouns was a later development, and not a since-creation thing. idk if they would’ve come out to anybody either, or if they did I don’t think they would’ve even thought it was a big deal at all. i think toons in general are sorta just inherently silly little guys that don’t really adhere to human strictures, they think bigotry is stupid they don’t Get how someone could actually think that way

[gpcwsl]

Hey! First of all, i really like your work! And as a nonbinary person, i wanted to say thank you for using they/them pronouns, i appreciate it 🫶

Could i also maybe request a new years fic for wally? With Lia and r being the only single friends at the party, so they decide to pair up for a new years kiss at midnight. They are really good friends who are obviously in love with each other but too oblivious to realise until after the kiss

Lia Wälti x Reader:

Unspoken Love.

(warnings: kissing, not read through.)

MasterList.

You weren’t sure why you agreed to come to this party. It wasn’t exactly your idea of a perfect New Year’s Eve. A crowded apartment filled with strangers, endless small talk, and the kind of noise that made conversation nearly impossible wasn’t your scene. But Lia Wälti had asked you, and when Lia asked for something, it was almost impossible to say no.

So here you were, standing by the snack table with a drink in hand, scanning the room and pretending you weren’t counting the minutes until midnight so you could leave without it being socially awkward. Lia was at your side, as always, effortlessly charming whoever came her way. You admired the way she seemed so at ease, her laugh soft and genuine, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled.

But as the evening wore on, she stuck closer to you, and you couldn’t help but feel grateful. It was a well-known fact among your mutual friends that the two of you were practically inseparable. “Partners in crime,” Lia liked to joke. But to you, it sometimes felt like something more, even if you’d never dared to say it out loud.

She turned to you now, nudging your arm. “Hey, you okay? You’ve been staring at that bowl of pretzels for ten minutes.”

You blinked, startled out of your thoughts. “Oh, yeah. Just… you know, soaking it all in.”

Lia raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “Right. Soaking it in. You hate parties.”

“I don’t hate parties,” you protested, though your weak tone betrayed you.

“You do,” she said, grinning. “But you came anyway. For me.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to deflect the sudden warmth creeping up your neck. “Don’t flatter yourself, Wälti. I came for the free snacks.”

She laughed, a sound that somehow made the chaotic party feel a little less overwhelming. “Well, either way, thanks for coming. It’s nice having you here.”

Her words were simple, but the way she said them—soft, sincere—made your heart skip a beat.

As the night wore on, you found yourself tucked into a quieter corner with Lia. The two of you had fallen into an easy rhythm, talking and joking as if the rest of the party didn’t exist. At one point, she pulled out her phone and began scrolling through old pictures of the two of you, reminiscing about shared adventures and inside jokes.

“Look at this one,” she said, showing you a blurry photo of the two of you from a hiking trip last year. You were both grinning, covered in mud from a fall you’d taken on the trail.

“That was your fault,” you teased. “You’re the one who dared me to jump over that puddle.”

“It wasn’t a puddle; it was practically a lake,” she shot back, laughing. “And you didn’t have to actually do it!”

“I was trying to impress you,” you said before you could think better of it.

The words hung in the air for a moment, and you immediately regretted them. Lia’s laughter faltered, and she looked at you with an expression you couldn’t quite read.

“Well,” she said softly, her voice teasing but her tone carrying something deeper, “I was impressed. Even if you did look like a drowned rat afterward.”

You laughed, relieved that she didn’t seem to take your comment too seriously. But the way she was looking at you now—her gaze lingering just a second too long—left your stomach in knots.

By the time the countdown to midnight began, the energy in the room had shifted. Couples were pairing off, whispering and laughing as they prepared for the traditional New Year’s kiss.

Lia nudged your shoulder, her expression somewhere between amused and resigned. “You realize we’re the only single people here, right?”

You glanced around, noticing for the first time just how many people seemed to be paired off. “Well, that’s not awkward at all.”

She tilted her head, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. “We could always kiss. You know, for the sake of appearances.”

You stared at her, your brain short-circuiting. “What?”

“Come on,” she said, laughing nervously. “It’s just a kiss. Friends do it all the time. Right?”

Your heart was racing now, your mind scrambling for something to say. “Right. Totally normal friend behavior.”

“Exactly,” she said, though her voice was quieter now, almost hesitant. “So, what do you say? Partners in crime, remember?”

You nodded, trying to keep your cool. “Partners in crime.”

The countdown began, the crowd shouting in unison. “Ten… nine… eight…”

You turned to face her, your palms suddenly clammy. Lia was looking at you, her usual confidence replaced with something more vulnerable.

“Three… two… one…”

The noise around you seemed to fade as she leaned in, her hand brushing yours as her lips met yours. The kiss was soft, hesitant at first, but then something shifted. It deepened, your hands finding their way to her waist, her fingers tangling in your hair.

When you finally pulled apart, the room erupted in cheers and shouts of “Happy New Year!” But neither of you moved, your foreheads still resting together, your breaths mingling.

“That…” Lia started, her voice barely above a whisper. “That wasn’t very… friendly, was it?”

You shook your head, your heart pounding. “No, it wasn’t.”

She pulled back just enough to look into your eyes, her own filled with something you’d never seen before. “Maybe we’ve been missing something this whole time.”

“Maybe,” you said, a smile tugging at your lips.

She smiled back, and this time, it was her who closed the distance between you.

And as the new year began, you couldn’t help but think that whatever came next, it was already off to a perfect start.

(Hope this is what you wanted.) :)

[gender-under-construction]

It's Never Too Late

I didn't know I was trans or even nonbinary when I was a kid.

A lot of that has to do with the time and place I grew up in. I was born in Denmark in 1976 and at that time there wasn't all that much of a problem with being a tomboy. In fact, it was probably even encouraged.

So I wasn't all that much different from the other girls in my peer group (in fact, looking back at school photos nearly all the girls were tomboys to one degree or another). It just wasn't a big deal for girls to present even very masculine.

So I never had reason to question my gender as a kid and probably all the way up until puberty I never felt wrong in any way, nor did I have the firm conviction that I hear from some other trans folx about knowing their gender from a very early age.

I got to dress the way I wanted, I could cut my hair short, and back then all the kids in my peer group played with each other; both boys and girls, and most of the time we were outdoors and completely unsupervised by adults (at least to the best of my knowledge).

It wasn't until my teens I started to feel wrong and uncomfortable with my body (mostly boobs and having periods). At that point it was still before the internet was common, so I had No Idea that I was trans and it wasn't until sometime in my twenties that I came across the term, at which point I guess I'd just gotten 'used' to my body.

Well, I'm 49 now, and it's only been a few years since I realised that I belong under the trans umbrella. At first I identified as genderqueer, then nonbinary, now nonbinary/transmasc and I'm hoping to begin my transition some time next year.

All this to say, kids: it's never too late. And you also don't have to have always known your gender identity or held firm in it since you were little.

Mine has been a long journey. Perhaps yours will be, too. And perhaps you'll never be 100% sure (I'm not, but I'm sure enough that I'm comfortable taking the next steps). Just don't let anyone tell you that your feelings about yourself and your body aren't valid.

In the words on Margaret Atwood: "Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down!"

[hopelesshaidys]

do you suppose we could have some headcanons for shoto todoroki being friends w/ reader who has seraphim wings? whether they’re into each other or just friends or in a qpr, who’s to say?

plz and thank you

no, thank you!!

i’m gonna do todoroki x gn! reader bc i’m pretty damn nonbinary and i don’t feel comfortable writing fem readers anymore :( sorry loves

also this is longer than i meant for it to be but my big ol brain just had so many ideas with this specific quirk so

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

‧₊˚♡pairing: Todoroki x gn! reader

‧₊˚♡tags: no beta we die like katsuki, one mention of negative reaction to religion, implied child abuse, reader gets hurt, slight angst, lots of fluff tho, kissing

‧₊˚♡masterlist

requests are wanted!! pls drop any ideas in my inbox 😚

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

☆ in the world of my hero, there are so many different quirks that manifest all over the world-and though wings are a common manifestation for people, seraphim was not

☆ your wings were not only a beautiful, soft and white set of wings that were stunning to look at, they were also powerful

☆ ever since your quirk manifested your father saw the instant potential of a true hero; as seraphim wings in many religions mean a great deal, and in his eyes you were a savior

☆ it was a blessing and a curse that your father trained you so hard- you were able to learn how to fight with and without your wings, becoming strong and independent

☆ however you started to feel as if you were only a soldier to your own father, and slowly religion and family started to mean nothing to you

☆ when you made it into UA your parents were ecstatic, and you were just glad you could make them proud after all of these years

☆ you fit into UA nicely, and slowly but surely create a friendship with the half white, half red headed boy: Todoroki Shoto

☆ whenever you talked to Tokoyami in class, Todoroki was there because of his seat, and you were always curious about the great Endeavor’s son-so you included Todoroki in conversations

☆ little did you know, ever since you showed off your stunning white wings, Todoroki had been infatuated with you and your quirk

☆ the more you talked to him, the more he developed a soft spot for you, and soon the two of you found out you both had similar childhoods when it came to your father’s constant training

☆ what started with small conversations with the three of you, became Shoto and you having your own inside jokes, and leaning towards the back of the class to comment on whatever came to mind

☆ it got to the point where the class always knew Shoto would be right by your side, whispering remarks in your ear waiting for you to snicker and continue the thought (gender-neutral gossip girls fr)

☆ Shoto loves to train with you, and ever since finding out about the two of you having alike childhoods, he would constantly ask you if you needed any breaks of any kind

☆ whenever he felt as if you pushed yourself too much he would force you to take a break, and there was absolutely no arguing with him

☆ the boy also loves to see you fight, seeing you fly into the sky with specks of gold in your aura (there were a multitude of times he got beat in training bc he was too busy looking at you)

☆ once, after a long day of training, Shoto accidentally let his hand slip and in a matter of seconds, you felt an extreme pain on the side of your body-and it wasn’t until the pain started to spread that you realized one of Shoto’s flames had hit your lower left wing

☆ the flame started to spread just as your fear did and you dropped to the ground, causing Shoto to rush over to your side, but too scared to touch you due to his quirk hurting you

☆ he watched as Aizawa helped you get up, as your fall had burnt out the flame, and all Shoto could do was watch as you had the most broken look on your face

☆ he watched helplessly as you walked off, and Shoto slumped to the ground

…

☆ later, after his friends encouraged, Shoto brought your favorite desert to your dorm and knocked lightly on the door; scared to wake you if you were resting

☆ “hold on i’m coming!” you responded almost immediately, and Shoto listened closely to hear you wrestling around along with a few grunts

☆ it had only been a couple of seconds and Shoto already felt bad for bothering you, starting to worry that you would never want to even look at him again after the incident

☆ just when he decided to just leave the desert by your door and disappear, the door swung wide open to display you in your pajamas

☆ he nearly melted at the sight of your domestic presence and the bright smile that appeared when you saw his face instantly

☆ as if nothing happened earlier that day, you gushed at the desert in his hands and quickly found comfort in hugging Shoto

☆ of course Shoto made no debate on your physical affection towards him, making sure not to touch your wings but still reciprocate your affection

☆ once you pulled away from the embrace, Shoto felt his face fall as he saw the bondages that were wrapped around both of your left wings

☆ “Hey, what’s wrong?” you inquired once you noticed the change of expression on his face, and you cupped his cheek gently to get the boy to look at you

☆ Shoto felt his face heat up with your delicate touch as he looked at you not being able to help the immense feeling of guilt

☆ “I hurt you.” he muttered, keeping his voice low with shame-meanwhile you just frowned at Shoto before dragging him into your bedroom

☆ you forced him to sit down on your bed, making him look up at you crossing your very muscular arms, and the new angle of your face made Shoto blush even more

☆ “You did not hurt me, you misfired in my direction. There’s a difference.” the stern tone in your voice caused him to pout mirroring your crossed arms

☆ eventually you sighed, plopping down on the bed and to Shoto’s surprise you stretched out your wings and started to unwrap the bandages

☆ Shoto felt himself panic as he tried to protest against your unwrapping but would soon become speechless when he saw your two left wings

☆ they were perfectly fine and unharmed, looking as powerful flawless as usual so when he looked back at you and you were smiling proudly he couldn’t help but smile as well

☆ “You can touch them if you really need to make sure.” you said leaning back to get more relaxed, and releif washed over him as he studied the state your wings were in

☆ usually you don’t let people touch your wings due to years of people randomly grabbing them and touching them without your permission, and you rarely have your wings out instead tucked and folded nicely against your clothing

☆ so to see you so relaxed and nonchalant about Shoto touching your wings, he felt honored that you allowed him to do so and yet so terrified to ruin the delicate moment

☆ his first touches are barely making contact, hovering over the feathers pleasently surprised to find out that they were as soft as he imagined they’d be

☆ a quick glance at your face and Shoto concluded that you were truly comfortable with him, as you had your eyes closed and head thrown back

☆ as he started to caress down the wing, making sure absolutely no marks were left behind from the incident

☆ “Another blessing of the quirk,” you breathed out obviously enjoying the physical touch

☆ “Healing powers,” you finished as Shoto’s eyebrows raised and suddenly his head ran full of questions for your quirk

☆ he realized that there were many things he did not know about your quirk, and the intimacy of the situation caused him to blurt out a question about your quirk

☆ “What’s the extent of the healing?” before he could scold himself for his lack of control you opened your eyes and smiled him

☆ his heart was racing with how close you moved to his face, and he was genuinely lost in your beauty

☆ you looked so at ease and happy, something he had always envied and loved about you, and without thinking next the hand that was on your wing moved to your face, tenderly touching your skin just as he did with your feathers

☆ instead of pushing him away or

becoming disgusted by his touch you just continued to smile then nuzzle your head closer to his hand

☆ as you began to answer his question he couldn’t help his mind wonder as he looked at you, trying to take in every detail of your face afraid he’ll never see it this up close again

☆ “But you’re not listening are you?” snapping out of his daze Shoto peered into your eyes again, feeling sorry that he didn’t listen to your explanation

☆ he opened his mouth to apologize but was cut off by your laughter, enjoying how your face crinkles when you do so

☆ you stopped abruptly, and if he had to guess it was probably because his face was centimeters closer than it was before

☆ in that moment Shoto decided that he was going to kiss you, and soon the gap between you two was closed

☆ the kiss unlocked feelings unlike Shoto had ever felt before, and just as he started to adjust to the new contact you pulled him closer and started to move your mouth

☆ his hands clumsily grabbed at your body desperately wanting to be even closer than you pulled him to be, feeling as if fireworks were bursting off of him

☆ suddenly you pulled away, a wicked smile and blown pupils faced Shoto as he caught his breath

☆ “Should have let you touch my wings ages ago” you giggled as he pulled you onto his lap

☆ “Yeah, you should have” and before you could respond his lips were on yours, exactly where they belong

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

[metalphoenix]

Super heroes as an allegory for Queer and Trans Narratives

Forgive me if this is a little rambley I have already taken my sleep meds.

I was just thinking about why I like super heroes so much (they have been my special interested for probably around 8 years now) and I think because they can be seen as a queer allegory.

You have a separate life, one that you have to keep separate from your day to day life. That very much feels like being in the closet/mostly in the closet. That secrete life comes with a different name and different clothes. Trans people or Drag Artists anyone? Most of the time super heroes find each other and form a tight community because no civilian will understand their experiences. This mirrors queer people finding and building community. In both Marvel and DC older heroes will take younger ones under their wings to teach them and give them community. Queer people have taken me under their wing and I've done the same for others.

Theres also the isolation. Most heroes are only "out" as heroes to other heroes and maybe a few civilians they really truly trust. Or maybe no one knows. The knowledge that you have a huge secret. You are hiding a big part of your self. Maybe the part that is more you than the you everyone else knows. You know that if you tell or someone finds out, everything will change. Others may or may not except that part of you. You may loose people you love. Maybe the people who are close to you are pro heroes (Ned from Spiderman) or maybe they are not (Foggy from Daredevil) but either way there will always be a possibility of rejection.

The danger of being a hero also lines up. They wear masks, cowls, helmets, disguises etc, to hide their identities because if people knew they and the people they love would be in danger. Heroes who's identities are known (either by their own volition or someone else's) are also in danger. Batman keeps his and his kids identities under lock and key because everything goes wrong when the wrong person finds out. Jessica Jones does not because she's tired of hiding. Queer people weather in or out of the closet are also in danger of being outed. I've been outed before and it ruined one relationship and almost ruined another. I've lost friends and family because of being queer and nonbinary and I'm from a pretty liberal area. Just look up death, houselessness, rape, unemployment, suicide statistic etc. All of them are higher for queer, trans and intersex folks.

The last parallel I can think of is how both super heroes and queer/trans people exist outside of the system/establishment. Heroes and vigilantes work outside of the justice system because in most cases because they see it doesn't work. They are usually at risk of arrest by cops or in danger from the government (the Sokovia accords are a good example of this). Queer people exist outside of many establishments: The gender binary, amatonormativity, heteronormativity, the sex binary, etc. Queer people are also at greater risk of arrest and experiencing police violence.

IDK these are just my thoughts. I hope everything made sense. If you can think of any other ways super hero narratives mirror lgbtq experiences feel free to put them in the notes! (or not its whatever)

[hashimasims]

Presenting Kaye for @changingplumbob's Dating Deanna

Hello there! Umm . . . My name's Kaye and I'm applying to be a contestant on Dating Deanna

I've just recently aged up to a young adult (21 in Watcher years) and moved out of my Mother's house and into an apartment in San Myshuno! Nothing I ever did made her happy but I think most of that stems from the fact that we're on one of the spare branches of this save's legacy family - did I forget to mention my last name is Glynnan? I was also born a human which is a MAJOR area of contention for my mother Deliliah who thinks it's a disgrace but my big brother Domenic loves me just the same and doesn't care that I'm not exactly the girly girl princess mother always wanted. I wanted to play football instead of joining the cheer leading team in high school and I'm a bit of a glutton - though I consider myself more a foodie who just enjoys ALL food!

I'm an Adventurous sim and I love the slopes of Mt. Komorebi just don't put me on a set of skis, snowboarding is the only way to go down the mountain! I do have to admit that though I don't dislike rock climbing I'd much prefer using the safer machines found at gyms to actually climbing the mountain after hearing about my Uncle Daolong's incident.

I'm working on becoming a professional athlete one day and here's to hoping one of the EA Gods will patch in professional snowboarding. If that happens I'd be the happiest woman ever! But currently just making Candles and selling them on Plopsy to make a bit of extra cash while I slowly move up the athletic career corporate ladder.

I love listening to music at the end of a long day but PLEASE no winter holiday music! I heard far to much of that All I Want for Winterfest Song while I was working retail as a teenager I NEVER EVER want to hear it again if I can help it!

Now for the specifics I guess . . .

I'm a cisgender female still exploring their sexuality. I'm attracted to both men and woman so being classified as Bisexual might be easiest though I'm leaning more towards Pansexual since I don't really care if someone is nonbinary, trans, genderfluid etc and I've met a few Sims who claim they're bisexual but won't date Trans sims, to each their own but why? If someone makes me happy and I them it seems perfect to me!

My traits are Adventurous, Music Lover, and Glutton. I think there used to be more like Socially Awkward and Vegetarian but my Watcher wasn't sure if @changingplumbob had the more traits mod so removed the last two

My current aspiration is to be a Master Maker

My likes and dislikes are below ↓ There's quite a few but My Watcher actually cut it down from what was there when I was a Teenager

Am I OK with getting flirty with the other contestants? I'm here for Deanna but if any of the other contestants flirt with me I don't see a problem with it since we're not in committed relationships or anything.

Am I open to Polyamory? Maybe? It seems to be working fairly well for my cousin where monogamy hasn't been working for my mother - three kids from three separate failed marriages yikes! Maybe you shouldn't talk trash about El when you don't have even half as healthy of a love life. Sorry mom I know it's not proper to air your dirty laundry on national tumblrvision but oh well! Domenic raised me to think honesty is the best policy so . . .

Open to woohoo? I mean it's part of romance now a days so I'd be alright with it. I just won't let my brother tune in those days. Sorry Dom!

Am I open to flirting with Joey? I think I could be! Again I signed up for Dating Deanna and don't want to hurt her feelings but the heart wants what the heart wants I guess

My watcher is ALL IN!!!

[sentfromwolves]

◈—⌈ SENTFROMWOLVES ⌋ writeblr introduction ²⁰²⁴

Hi everyone, and welcome to my writeblr 2024 introduction. My name is Eran (they/he & freshly thirty) and I've been on writeblr for awhile, so you might've seen me around. ( •̀ ω •́ ) This is my yearly post to introduce the projects I'll be working on this year, what I write, and who I am. I'll be keeping it short and sweet.

I'd love to meet more writers this year, so if you write any of the following, or just like these genres, or even just wanna shout about ocs together, come holler and I'll give you a follow!

◈ — sci-fi and fantasy of any kind! cozy fantasy, romantasy, epic fantasy, space opera? this is my bread and butter, and I love shouting about it from the rooftops with others! ◈ — found families, ot3s, complicated soulmates. I am almost always writing about soulmates who have either killed each other at least once in the past or are planning some sort of murder. Complicated relationships, especially found families that aren't all rainbows and butterflies, are right up my alley. ◈ — queer and trans protagonists, large queer casts! all of my wips feature trans/nonbinary leads, and I'm always looking for more queer writer friends to connect with! ◈ — hope at the end of the tunnel, but hell to get to. I write stories with hopeful endings, with the sun on the horizon, with the promise that something better might now at long last be on the way. I love seeing characters get put through hell, but I love it even more when they make it to the other side. (if you write tragedy though, please know I will still cry on your doorstep if you'll have me) ◈ — corruption arcs, redemption arcs, sometimes both! Deeply nuanced characters with messy attitudes, and even messier actions. I'm just as equally obsessed with cool worldbuilding as I am with character-driven things, and I will yell about ocs all day, and maybe draw them too >:3 ◈ — big, epic, and sweeping worldbuilding! I am a huge fan of delving into the worldbuilding aspect of my wips. I love building magic systems, cultures, geographies, and more. One of my 2024 projects is doing a worldbuilding experiment blog at some point. I am always down to clown over worldbuilding, whether to sound board or just holler together!

There's a lot more I could say here, but this post can only get so long! Σ(っ °Д °;)っ my dms are always open, and I will follow back most of the time! But just to get all of the basics outta the way:

◈—« here's a quick and dirty rundown of how I work! »—◈

➺ I interact and follow from @calamityeden, so if you see that username, it's just me.✌️I am most active on discord, and if we become friends, you're more than welcome to ask to add me there. ➺ I am open to being tagged in writeblr games! Just know that I am not online all the time, and might be slow to respond to them. 🐌 ➺ My ask box and DMs are open, just please be respectful. I love meeting new writers and talking about projects! I am happy to chat and make new friends. You're always welcome! 💌 ➺ This is a strictly 18+ writeblr. Please DNI with me if you are a minor and respect my boundaries.

🪄You can find my core tags here under my writing and my graphics, as well as writer reminders, game train and catharsis. (❁´◡`❁) And now onto the fun part! My 2024 main project line up!

I have my main four listed here that you'll probably hear me yelling about pretty consistently, but I've also got a lot of other projects rattling around in my brain. So if you're ever curious about a project that's not here, feel free to yell at me about it! >:3

Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy Standalone.

Status: First Draft Complete (117k)—Revising for beta round one.

There's a clock tattooed on Nemesis's wrist, and when it reaches midnight on his 21st birthday, it will kill him. It doesn't help that his mom is the one that cursed him, and the demon currently possessing his car ate her before Nemesis could convince her to break the damned thing. Thankfully, Judge came prepared with an alternative: help him break into a mythical living city and steal its heart, and in return, he'll shatter Nemesis's curse for free. Accompanied by a three-headed hellhound, a haunted holy sword, and an excommunicated exorcist, Judge and Nemesis set their sights on an impossible heist. But the closer Nemesis gets to the heart, the more he begins to realize that he isn't the only one under a curse. And if he doesn't find a way to break Judge's soon, his own life will be forfeit as well.

Genre: Space Opera

Status: 2024 zero drafting from scratch

Two hundred years ago, humanity expanded to the stars only to find a cosmos filled with graves. But then their children began displaying the strange ability to commune with the alien ruins scattered across the planets, waking ancient, extrasolar mecha from their sleep, and turned the struggling colonies of space explorers into the fledgling galactic nation of Sol Galatea.  Now, Wren Akane is on the run from the whole galaxy, wanted for the strange alien powers throbbing through his veins. His luck runs out when he accidentally awakens an ancient Relic in the desert of his planet, only to be embedded with the memories of its last pilot and the revelation that the war that littered the cosmos with graves is far from over. But no one believes Wren when he tells them that continuing to wake the Relics will bring the hostile alien empire that destroyed them back to Sol Galatea’s doorstep. Only Wren’s rival pilot, Marek Khalid, seems interested in a word Wren has to say. But Marek doesn’t want to save Sol Galatea. He has big plans for what to do when the aliens arrive, a rebellion to lead, and if Wren isn’t on his side, he’s in his way. With time running out, Wren must soon decide how far he’s willing to go to save the people that never tried to save him—or if Marek is right, and he should let the stars burn instead.

Genre: Adult Romantasy

Status: First Draft (1k/100k)

Once a year, Celestials from all across the Lumina Kingdom gather together for Eventide, the season of courtship, hoping to win the hand of the most eligible star at court. Sirius knows the game they play all too well: by day, he is the forgettable, miserable daughter of the Lumina Family, least of his seven siblings and wanted only for the royal blood running through his veins.  By night, however, Sirius is the Starweaver—the mysterious dressmaker taking the kingdom by storm. Everyone wants to know the identity of the one responsible for elaborate outfits that turn even the quietest Celestial in the room into the star of the show, outshining even Sirius’s luminous sibling, Diana. When the infamous King Beyond Midnight arrives with the intent to wed Diana, Sirius finds his secret in jeopardy when the condition for their hand in marriage is a simple challenge: reveal the Starweaver's true identity. There’s no outsmarting Octavian for long, and soon, Sirius will have to make a choice: give up on his passion and stay hidden forever, or risk everything to stay true to who he really is.

Genre: Second World Urban Fantasy

Status: Outlining

Something changes the day that Nakano Touya returns to the crumbling city of Soma Lux. It starts with voices in the radio static, blurry figures caught on camera, always out of focus. When a monster crawls out of Touya's television screen and eats him, the last thing he expects is to find a strange, shadowy otherworld lurking on the other side. But his biggest problem isn't the monsters of the otherworld that want to eat him, or the talking cat that saved him, now living in his apartment without a care in sight. Soma Lux is experiencing a strange new epidemic—one that Touya is completely unaffected by. But when his half-sister falls comatose, Touya knows he has to get to the bottom of it all to save her—and find out why he's the only one immune. Accompanied by his jaded ex-boyfriend, Touya’s nosy classmates, a part-time fortune teller, and a cantankerous old hag, Touya dives into the murky underbelly of Soma Lux, where the realities have begun to bleed together between his world and the next. 

That's all for now! >:3 Here's to an amazing 2024! (also my actual blog is a mess right now please do not mind it ksjndfskfn)

[sincerely-astra]

Ricky Potts x enby reader headcanons?

☁️Ricky Potts x Enby Reader☁️

Look, he’s not trying to be rude, but he can practically smell the outcast coming off you-

Uranium is one of the least accepting places on the planet, so your being even slightly different from their cookie-cutter ideals was bound to make you an outcast.

But luckily, so was he.

As was probably obvious, you guys meet when you are inevitably forced into the choir. The guidance counselor was convinced you just needed some extracurricular activities to keep your mind off sin. (Aka literally just being enby-)

And as a new member of a choir meant to go into competition in a short amount of time, Father Marcus and Ocean didn't really know what to do with you...

You might be able to learn all the music and choreography in time for the competition, but they also really didn't want to risk the chance that you couldn't and hurt their chance at winning.

And thus, that is how you get stuck on the sidelines with Ricky playing the recorder while he plays the tambourine. Thrilling as you can imagine.

You both weren't friends right away, you said hi to each other to be polite and you helped him every so often if he needed it, but nothing too much to warrant a close friendship. Yet, you both were content with that, especially when in a choir with some more than eccentric people, you both found comfort in each other's presence.

That all being said, Ricky was quick to notice that something was off about you... He wasn't even sure what started him down this path, it might have been the way you wore your uniform, the way your hair was done, or any other assortment of things, but he knew you were different than anyone else he'd met at St. Cassian. He would be lying if he said that didn't interest him as well.

He wasn't going to push you of course and he wasn't even sure if you knew sign or would bother listening to his AAC device in the first place, but there would always be these times during choir practice when he would glance at you and observe your behavior, curious as to what lies underneath the front you have carefully put up.

Uranium wasn't accepting, you know this, Ricky knows this, it was a well-known fact to everyone living there even if they didn't bother trying to change it. Being nonbinary was obviously in the group of attributes people in Uranium didn't see as "normal" or "as things should be," if people knew that you identified as nonbinary, it would be pretty much a death sentence to a lifetime of bullying, mocking, and every other cruel act these people can think of.

It was unheard of, a thing no one talked about but was deemed by pretty much everything as despicable and unwelcomed.

So, one can see why you would not be so open to sharing your identity with just about everyone.

Moving past the intolerable place that is Uranium, Ricky, a couple of days after meeting you, was quick to realize you both share math and history together. You both sat pretty far from one another, so that's probably why he didn't notice, but once he did he passed you a note before your math class started to ask if you wanted to sit next to each other. Yes, it was a strategy to see if he could find out what was up with you, but he also just thought you seemed nice.

Seeing as you had no friends in those classes, you said yes, much to Ricky's delight.

You would sit together for your shared courses and would gradually start talking, passing each other notes (since you didn't quite know sign yet and Ricky can't use his communication device during class) complaining about the material or the teachers, random doodles Ricky drew, and sometimes, miraculously, actual questions about the work being given.

You both actually work really well as a duo, your energies just match perfectly, and even if Ricky has yet to know your gender identity, he is always super accommodating to whatever is making you uncomfortable.

Ricky is literally the yapper of the century, I'm not even joking. You think Ocean or Noel talk a lot? Then you are not ready for the whirlwind that is Richard Potts.

Seriously, others dismiss him a lot since he's disabled and is mute, but once getting to know him, he will be saying the most out-of-pocket things at the most random of times... The amount of weird Star Trek references this boy can fit into his everyday vocab is insane.

Ricky will allow you, and actively encourages, you to put stickers on his crutches. His favorite ones are the kinds that show off your interests since it gives him more insight into you.

His parents are so sweet to you and will be taking a good chunk of your time when you come over, much to Ricky's dismay. You get to actually learn some of their sign language too! Ricky tries to insist that you don't need to do that because he's aware it isn't traditional ASL or LSQ and it won't have any practical use outside of his immediate family, but you aren't having it.

There will be moments where you feel comfortable enough with Ricky to share bits of your identity, not the full story yet, but like your preferences with titles (Ex. Mr, Ms, Mx, etc.) or your preferences in clothing that might not correlate with your agab, just little tidbits that help steer him in the right direction.

He is your number one supporter even if he doesn't know what he's supporting!

He might figure it out sooner or later though..., not that he'd out you or anything, if he does find out you're nonbinary, he would 100% wait for you to come out before saying anything.

When it comes to coming out, whenever you decide to do it, Ricky is very supportive. He is also very helpful with your nerves before actually coming out to him, he reassures you everything will be fine and he could never think any less of you from what you are about to tell him.

He doesn't hide how happy he is you told him such sensitive information, it means you trust him and he doesn't ever want to break that! You are his best friend and he wants to be your safe space like you are for him.

As stated earlier, he would never out you to anyone and he is very good at keeping your identity as under wraps as you want. If you want to be out and proud, he supports you completely and will be with you throughout the whole process, if you want to just keep it on the down low, then he's fine with that too.

The only thing you would have to worry about if you're keeping your identity a secret is that Ricky will get defensive if anyone is being a jerk unknowingly from time to time, but of course, people tend to ignore him so there's not much to worry about there-

Ricky definitely isn't wealthy, but if there's ever anything you need to feel more comfortable with your identity, then be ready for that to be in your hands by a maximum of 3 days.

He likes to show you all his nonbinary Zolar OCs, most of which are inspired by you. (What do you mean his love interest looks strangely like you? Whaaattttt-)

You have also inspired him to look more into LGBTQIA+ himself since he wants to be inclusive and he won't deny that some of the identities he's seeing feel like something he personally would use.

Richard Potts falls in love fast... He's had many crushes, most of which he falls out of love with quickly for numerous reasons.

So he thought it would be the same situation with you, that he would have a small crush on you for a while and then it would go away and you could return to being friends! All's well that ends well.

It will all be over soon and he won't be thinking about how his hands lingering on yours for a bit too long.

He won't think of how nice your voice sounds, or the way you style your hair, or your laugh, or-

...Well..., this has lasted longer than he thought it would.

There was a very good while where Ricky was actually in denial about his feelings, he didn't want to mess up your friendship just for his fickle feelings. This one was just taking more time because he likes you so much, yeah, that's what it is.

...

He likes you so, so much.

Getting over the initial hump of denial, Ricky did try and subtly see if the feeling was mutual. His way of seeing was to tactfully flirt every now and again, giving a variety of different compliments and suggesting more hangouts, whatever he could think of.

What he hadn't accounted for was that he already pretty much acted this way to you- Albeit, in a nonromantic connotation. But this means you literally picked up on zero of his advances and he is a little too uncomfortable to go any further than that...

It literally felt like agony to keep "flirting" with you (if you can even call it that anymore) only for you to just smile and thank him for being so nice...

Ricky is gonna start begging at this point.

He loves you so much, please understand that him holding your hand for longer than 5 seconds is an act of his devotion and love and not just something friends do, PLEASE-

It's all fine though, since you are the one confessing after all.

Wait, you're confessing?-

Ricky's jaw was practically hanging open as he listened to you confess your feelings, flowers in hand, blush on your cheeks, the whole nine yards.

He couldn't even let you get done with your confession before he blurted out breathlessly, "...I love you." Words he has never meant more in his entire life... He really, truly loves you for everything that you are.

After he got home and into his room after you both became lovers, he was literally so freaking giddy and had to stop himself from trying to spam text you.

He swears he's not usually so clingy, but even after a few months of dating him, his face still lights up whenever you say you love him.

You surely know a good bit of ASL and his family's sign language by now, but he still enjoys getting to teach you more complicated terms and watching you try to memorize new sentences. It's the bare minimum, but you both are also in Uranium, so he is beyond grateful to have someone his age to talk to.

Ricky really likes to play with your hair, he doesn't even know why, he just finds it cathartic to run his hands through it while you both watch a movie or something.

Ricky is so sassy with your bullies, I swear. He's learned it all from Noel.

He also likes to just draw the nonbinary flag on pretty much everything, from his own drawings to homework, pretty much everywhere you look in his room, there will be a ton of tiny nonbinary flags he drew.

It reminds him of you and he can never get enough of you.

Don't think your room is safe either, the nonbinary flags will be everywhere if Ricky has anything to say about it.

It's all because he loves you though.

A/N: God, I need to catch up on my requests, I’m so sorry. :(

[thatndginger]

I made a powerpoint presentation for The Runaway. I tried to make it comic sans, I swear, but Temperance refused to cooperate. Anyway, I realized I haven't talked about this Shapeshifter project nearly as much, so a formal introduction is in order.

@sunset-a-story @touloserlautrec @ceph-the-ghost-writer @illyriashade56 I hope you guys don't mind that I borrowed your tags and comments, but they made me happy cry to read💙💙

Transcription for each slide under the cut.

A powerpoint presentation comprised of ten slides. Each slide has a faint background image of a watercolor painting depicting a foggy pine forest.

[SLIDE ONE]

thatndginger presents:

The Runaway A Shapeshifter story

also known as: the story that got me anon hate from a jaded ex-friend who co-wrote the original version, then got mad that I kept writing after she cut me out of her life with no explanation :D

[SLIDE TWO]

THE PREMISE

Temperance Maddox does a runner

ok but seriously, the title of the story is the plot: a shifter [Temperance] runs away from certain traumatic events and ends up stranded in middle-of-nowhere Wyoming

where he’s rescued by a quiet, kind single dad [Dean] with a ~mysterious past~, an adorably rude six year old [Kate], an empty room, and seemingly infinite patience for Temperance’s terrible attitude

Temperance is a totally mature and reasonable adult who absolutely does not argue with the six year old and engage in petty name calling with her

Temperance will also never fall for the man who rescued him. It’s not like he’s going to stick around long enough to even consider it. Right?

everyone involved questions why Dean bothered taking this guy in when he’s a

capital-P Problem - even to himself. Dean is not taking questions at this time

[SLIDE THREE]

alright let’s break this down tier-style

Tier One - The POV Characters: Dean Matthews & Temperance Maddox

dueling POVs are always fun in a romance-centric story, right?

ok neither of these two would shut up so they both get POVs so I can get some sleep

Tier Two - The Important Side Characters: Kate Matthews & Talia Salwood

one is dependent on their father and the other is just plain nosy, so they’re almost always around in one way or another

Tier Three - The Supporting Cast: the residents of Kilnora Falls

there’s a nonbinary mechanic, the mechanic’s Australian vampire partner, a witch that runs a coffee shop, forest rangers, well-meaning grandmas, and distrustful neighbors

imagine one of those small-town romcom background casts and you’re probably close. except most of these background characters are witches, vampires, or shifters

[SLIDE FOUR]

Image ID: in the top right corner of the slide is a digital drawing of Temperance Maddox in a side profile view. He has short black hair, pale skin, and sharp features. His expression could be called confident, contemptuous, or amused. There is a simple sketched outline of a fox just behind and in front of his face.

Temperance Maddox he/him - 22 - fox shifter

the most pathetic drowned rat of a man you’ll ever meet

can and will cuss you out in multiple languages (he only knows the swear words)

if you can get him to stop saying ‘fuck’ every other word he’s surprisingly well-spoken

a city boy born and raised in Moressau, Washington

he’s got worse manners and emotional intelligence than the literal six year old

desperately in need of a long nap, a strong hug, and a lot of therapy. and maybe some kisses

would rather gouge his eyes out than admit any of the above

somehow a fan favorite among readers? I don’t understand that at all but I’m glad y’all love my terrible son?

[SLIDE FIVE]

Image ID: in the top right corner of the slide is a digital drawing of Dean Matthews in a side profile view. He has long-ish brown hair, tan skin, and is missing the tip of his left ear. His expression is neutral but has the slightest hint of a smile. There is a simple sketched outline of a coyote just behind and in front of his face.

Dean Matthews he/him - 32 - coyote shifter

heavy on the Romance Protagonist vibes (the good kind, not the weird heteronormative kind)

has lots of feelings but cannot for the life of him figure out how to show them on his face

tries to be a good dad, kind of a pushover and would bend over backwards to keep his daughter happy

is a carpenter by trade, and always willing to help out around town when things need fixing

the kind of tragic backstory character that sneaks up on you, because how can such a decent guy have a tragic past?

would very much like to have a quiet, simple life in his quiet, far-from-simple mountain town but things just keep happening to him

did I mention he has a bit of a southern drawl? and can play the guitar?

[SLIDE SIX]

Image ID: in the top right corner of the slide is a digital drawing of Kate Matthews in a front-facing view. She has long and curly red hair, darkly tanned skin, and yellow eyes with slit pupils. There are freckles on her face that are grouped in stripe-like patterns. Around her neck is a necklace with green and white crystals. She is looking off to one side with a solemn but curious expression.

Kate Matthews she/her - 6 - half-fae

unreasonably cute for a being who’s part uncanny-valley-made-of-magic creature

not blood related to Dean, but try telling her that

too young for anyone to tell if she’ll end up more fae-like or more human, but who cares? she’s adorable

has to wear a special necklace when she’s not at home to keep her innate magic in check. no one wants the little kid to have a tantrum and set the mercantile on fire

thinks her dad is the coolest thing in the world, especially when he turns into a coyote

thinks Temperance smells funny and is a rude meanie

personal space is not a concept she understands around those she likes. will bite anyone she doesn’t like who tries to touch her. watch out, her teeth are sharper than they look

thinks fairy tales are stupid, because real fae are scary and mean

[SLIDE SEVEN]

The Setting

middle of nowhere town in the western mountains of Wyoming

the town is called Kilnora Falls and there are exactly 521 people living there

more than half the population is some kind of supernatural, the majority being shifters and witches

everyone knows that faeries are real, that they’re incredibly dangerous, and that no one’s seen a true fae in almost a decade since the old faerie door beneath the waterfall collapsed

there is a very strong distrust of strangers among the residents of the Falls. They don’t see many strangers, and not many people who grew up there choose to leave

this setting started as an inside joke between me and my partner because he grew up in that part of Wyoming and I think it’s hilarious to tease him about it. Now it’s its own thing with regional holidays and a whole map and everything

[SLIDE EIGHT]

Image ID: on the left side of the slide is a digital drawing of a map depicting Kilnora Falls. It is in a simple style, with the buildings depicted as simple white shapes. The town sits on a small river and is surrounded on all sides by thick forests and tall mountains. 'Kilnora Falls' is written in the bottom left corner, while a scale and compass are depicted in the top left corner.

look! a map! imagine steep mountains all around, because would rather cut my foot off than draw contour lines

average weather conditions lean towards ‘cold’ - summer highs hang around the 70's. winter lows can get down nearly to -40. bring your coats, kids!

the entire town is less than one square mile in size

all the businesses in town are open 24 hours a day so that the nocturnal residents can still use their services. which means the bar is open 24 hours a day.... oh boy

the nearest ‘city’ is almost two hours away (Wyoming’s biggest town only has 65,000 people guys, the quotation marks are justified)

most people who are born here don’t leave, or if they do for school or work or whatever, they come back

[SLIDE NINE]

TROPES, MEMES, AND THEMES

y’all know I can’t resist a good meme sesh, so without further ado, here’s a mish-mash of tumblr-approved silliness for The Runaway

grumpy x sunshine pairings

domestication arcs

pathetic little meow meows

hot handymen

cute romance moments

tragic backstories

Image ID: a meme variation of the "Gru's Plan" meme. In it, Gru is labeled as 'Dean'. The first section reads "see someone stranded on the side of the road. The second section reads "stop to help. The third and fourth sections read "be verbally assaulted by an angry twink".

Image ID: a meme variation of the "Flex Tape" meme. The man slapping the tape is labeled as 'Temperance'. The tank spewing water is labeled as "trauma induced nightmares. The flex tape is labeled as "don't sleep ever".

Image ID: a meme variation of the "Schoolbus Hit By Train" meme. The schoolbus is labeled as "a wall around your emotions you've spent most of your life building". The train is labeled as "Dean Matthews".

Image ID: a meme variation of the "Bernie Sanders Asking" meme. Bernie is labeled as 'Kate'. The subtitled text reads "I am once again asking why the stranger dad found smell weird. And acts like a big mean pinecone." The line "and never says 'please' or 'thank you' is partially cut off at the bottom of the image.

[SLIDE TEN]

some comments from my lovely friends who have read The Runaway, because they make me happy and if published books get to put endorsement quotes on their covers, why can’t I do the same with my little powerpoint?

"#highly recommend you follow for the absolute bangers of stories you'll find here"

"#askjkdhd look at Temperance's sweet dumb little face #Dean looks like the type of guy who'd pick up a rude stranger #on the side of the road"

"Oh I can already tell Temperance is gonna be my favorite poor little meow meow I adore him."

"#good on you for writing on company time #me [handshake emoji] Dean #<- not being fooled by Temperance's tough guy act one bit #I want to wrap him in a blanket like the feral kitten he is #or maybe talk to him like Sam from Vampire Therapist #'Woah there fella. Easy now. Ain't no one gonna hurt ya. That's right...nice protagonist...'"

"#efojweojfoe love this whole shapeshifter thing giving tem a heart attack #also the way this playing scene is described? idk it flows so neatly and pleasant to read"

"#i can't wait #Dean is dreamy"

[this-is-exorsexism]

Hey, since I saw you speak German (making that assumption based on the fact that you mentioned a exorsexist comment being German in a post. Sorry if that’s a wrong assumption) I really want to talk about instances of exorsexism that I see so often in the feminist German speaking circles and that I’m so so tired off.

The terms “female read” and “male read” to refer to people, both when talking about, you know, just everyday things they saw ex. “I like seeing female read people sporting body hair” (just say you like people who don’t shave their body hair. Cause it’s not just the demographic of people that society pushes to present as “women” that are pressured into body hair removal.) and in context of feminist discussions “Cat calling affects female read individuals more than male read people. And male read people are more often the perpetrator of cat calling”. (This one irkes me so so much, because it’s a sweeping generalisation in general, which is just not okay.)

Another example that also falls into every day things and is even more removed from any “political” statement: “I saw a female read person that reminded me of my mother.” (This quote came from a nonbinary person which made the unnecessary gendering feel even more uncomfortable. There was no forceful gendering of the person necessary. It could have just been “I saw a person that reminded me of my mother” the assumption that it must have been a woman already is a possibility by the association with mother. And you sadly can’t get rid of it. There is no necessity to state it like that.)

One last longer example that is partly feminism related again (that is a near direct translation): “A lot of women and female read people know the feeling of standing in front of the mirror and asking wether or not they want to wear this or if it’s too revealing. Because choice of clothing alone can suggest you want to provoke men.[…] Even if a female read person wears tight clothing, because [she/they] feel sexy in it, is that no reason to insult [her/them] as a slut.” (The “she” could have also been meant in a “they” sense, because this is a translation situation where it isn’t 100% clear. That’s why I wrote it like that.) (This quote is again making assumptions and putting experiences on people and forcefully gendering people who experience these feelings. When these experiences actually can’t be categorised like that. Like even perisex cis men can experience this. It is also very telling here that only the “female read” wording was used when making social commentary, not the “male read”, when men where mentioned.)

(These statements are not always necessarily word for word quotes. They are partly just things I remember seeing in the past. Each example is from a different person.)

The description “female read”/“male read” as you likely know is typically said to be used to “to be more inclusive. Since we don’t know how someone actually identifies and we shouldn’t assume”. Which to me is just very much a “I’m gonna categorise you into man or woman on sight, just as anyone else, but I’ll say ‘male read’/‘female read’ to make it inclusive and not feel bad in case I’m actually misgendering you.”.

The fact that people think it’s more inclusive and isn’t just basically another way to categories man and woman, while claiming to be inclusive, drives me up the wall if I think about it for to long. The idea to be categorised as “female read” is honestly more dysphoria inducing than simply being assumed to be a woman, because it feels even more like failing at being uncategorisable, because the people supposedly not clinging onto the binary are categorising me as something I’m not. And as I hinted at, at the beginning, these two categories virtually ignore any possibility of seeing people who your brain can’t sort into the man/woman categories immediately, and pushes them into one or the other. Which also can ultimately lead to erasure of intersex individuals who could be sorted differently than both their sex and gender. (I hope my wording here is okay and it’s clear what I mean. If not. Please let me know.) The categories of “female read”/“male read” to me are ultimately cissexist, exorsexist and intersexist. This whole concept is just forceful gendering of people wrapped up in a pretty package that says “feminism”.

A big personal pet peeve of mine is people praising people who categorise like that. I’ve recently seen it done by a cis woman, intersectional feminist, who was praising a speaker for using the terms.

There is also the not uncommon occurrence where it’s just not even hidden anymore that “female read” or “male read” is just put in instead of woman or man or used interchangeably.

I just truly deeply dislike how these terms have become a very common thing in feminist circles, even between trans*(= very much meaning nonbinary here as well, hence the trans*) educators, feminists and influencers. It feels like such a gut punch to see even them reinforcing the gender binary in such ways.

(If you disagree with this being exorsexism I’d be very curious as to how. Because to me personally it is a very clear example of exorsexism that I’ve been wishing to talk about since I first encountered it. Also sorry if this is worded a bit confusingly at times. I tried my best.)

this is definitely exorsexism.

i know exactly what you're talking about and i have spoken about the misuse of these terms at length on my personal social media too.

to be honest, i was about to defend ~some~ uses of these terms, but after reading everything you said, i think these terms need to be retired.

i think at least half the time people use "female-read" and "male-read" to just mean women and men, because i don't know, maybe they think nonbinary people think that men and women exist is somehow offensive? a woman is a woman and you can and should just call her a woman, a man is a man and you can and should just call him a man. calling a woman "female-read" is entirely unnecessary and quite disrespectful too, in my opinion. it basically strips her of her identity as a woman and reduces her to how society sees her. the same is true for men.

"male-read people are often the perpetrators of catcalling" is also an interesting one because it proves that "male-read" and "female-read" are just stand-ins for the gender binary and gender oppositionism: "male-read" people have (perisex cisgender) male privilege and the entitlement and attitudes that come with it. they can never be victims of patriarchal violence, only perpetrators. "female-read" people are always more marginalised than "male-read" people. if you want to talk about people who are most likely to catcall, you must talk about perisex cisgender men.

as you've said, this doesn't take into account transgender, nonbinary and intersex people as it doesn't only sort us into a new male-female gender binary but also into a binary of "perpetrator of the patriarchy" and "victim of the patriarchy" in very oversimplified ways. in its attempt at inclusivity, this language completely obscures the experiences of people whom society sees as men or women but aren't. being seen as male when you're nonbinary or female, being seen as female when you're nonbinary or male, i.e. having your gender assumed incorrectly can actually be really dangerous. it also once again reduces us to how society sees us and acts as if our actual genders don't contribute to our experience.

one of the strangest ways people use this language is when they say something like "i saw a male-read person at the shop today". like, what do you mean? you read this person as male. you projected your binary thinking onto this person. using passive voice for this is just a way to try to remove your responsibility in participating in this system of gender assumption. at this point, you might just say that you saw a man at the shop. in this context, they mean the exact same thing.

these terms also don't take into account that there are different ways of being perceived as male or female. some people are perceived as transgender male rather than cisgender male, which are two very different experiences. being seen as transgender female rather than cisgender female is also very much not the same.

people also ignore that a lot the people they're trying to be inclusive of by using this language aren't actually consistently read as either binary gender or are read as something else entirely. "male-read" and "female-read" are pretty much used to be permanent life-long states of being perceived, with the exception of people transitioning and then going from one to the other and will be read as that and only that for the rest of their life. in reality, this looks very different. some of us are called he one day and she another. sometimes it depends on our gender presentation. sometimes it depends on the person perceiving us. for many of us, we actually have no idea how someone's perceiving our gender until they indicate this. also, many of us aren't read as either male or female. a lot of us are just read as "what the fuck are you" or [insert slur here]. none of these experiences can be mapped onto the idea of male-read and female-read.

not to mention how they keep using these terms to refer to body parts. "female-read" is too often just code for "has boobs". it's especially funny when they use this language for internal organs. like, sure, the catcaller on the street totally perceives someone's uterus.

"male-read" and "female-read" are what "women and femmes" or the transmasc/transfem binary will become if we don't stop it. they can always be replaced with other more precise terms that don't reinforce exorsexism, cissexism, intersexism and gender oppositionism.

[thembeau]

I dreamt that the next Pokémon generation added a nonbinary Nidoran sibling, plus a retconned baby stage. The baby was called Nido, and they all had the same baby stage, and they only knew this new attack called “Tears.” Which had the same effect as “Fake Tears” but I looked it up in the dream and the bulbapedia description said it was genuine, they were crying because it’s all they know how to do. (Makes sense, they are babies). It was like Nidoran but no horn, no whiskers, no teeth, and it was smaller and a very pale lavender.

Then they would evolve and pick a gender, Nidoran/rino/king, Nidoran/rina/queen, or the nonbinary one. You would try to evolve it with the Nidoran card in your hand, but if you had more than one type of Nidoran in your hand, sometimes an error message would pop up saying to try again, and you had to use one of the other genders? So people sometimes just started with the basic Nidoran stage, since you don’t need to play babies in the TCG.

It started as a less pale lavender as a basic and was a dark bluish purple fully evolved, but the shiny was teal the whole time, ranging from light grayish teal (like if you desaturated nidoqueen and added a splash of green) as a basic to a deep electric teal as an adult (like if you heavily saturated Nidorina)

Aesthetically, it sorta aggregated both of the existing Nidorans at each stage. I can’t draw so you’re just gonna have to imagine with me, but it had a smaller horn than the boys, kept nidorina’s spiky ears as an adult, longer whiskers than the girl in the nidoran stage. Instead of lovestrike or poison horn it had a new attack. I can’t remember what it was called, but it did 50 damage and got like an 30 extra damage for each nidoqueen or king or nb adult in your bench (maximum of like 140?) but you could flip a coin and if it was heads the other Pokémon was poisoned too.

All perfectly reasonable stuff so far, I guess. There was some discourse about it obviously, and some folks didn’t like that they had to use Nidoran (girl) when they had nidorino and nidoking in their hand, or vice versa. Understandable complaint I guess, but you could also just not use the baby gen, so everyone kind of agreed anyone complaining about this was a transphobe. So in TCG Pocket they set it so you could change their gender and throw a nidoking on a nidorina, a nidorina on a boy Nidoran, a nidorino on an nb Nidoran, etc. Cue more discourse, but “transing” became a very popular strat. The memes were lovely. I only remember one enough to recreate it:

Which I then immediately saw reblogged with some text crossed out and rewritten so it said “I (scribbled out) always trans, (scribbled) ^and when I do (next line) Nidoqueen 💕”

There was also one with the sweaty button choice guy, and one with the guy walking with his girlfriend but looking at the girl in red, but I can’t remember the text.

Anyway, none of this surprises me as things my brain would come up with, as a terminally online, nonbinary fan of Nidoran.

The names though?! Inexplicable.

If they stayed nonbinary the whole time, the evolutionary line went Nido (new baby) —> Nidoran (no symbol) —> Elliot (like just. The human name) —> Darkskamurmur (pronounced darks-kah-murmur)

Perhaps the most inexplicable part of this dream was that none of the memes were about the names, and no one considered them odd.

[lockes-woods]

My Place Is In Your Hearts

MDNI; You Will Be Blocked

A/N: (Zosan x Nonbinary Reader)

This was a fic that I initially just wrote for myself to process my own emotions about the election. I'm honestly only posting in case others want a distraction too. It's pretty self-indulgent. The reader is AFAB but receives both masculine and feminine compliments. The reader is described with they/them pronouns.

WARNINGS: SMUT, Oral (M & Reader receiving), Politics, Fingering, Naked Reader Clothed Characters, Squirting, Coming Untouched, Daddy Kink, Sir Kink, Fingering

PS: This is my first time writing Zosan, so it may unintentionally be OOC.

Taglist: @nocturnalrorobin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~You bit the inside of your cheek as you pushed around the remaining food on your plate. You had eaten just over half of the food before losing your appetite completely. You glanced up at the TV from your spot in the corner of your couch. While the show playing was almost always a comfort you had no idea what was going on plot-wise. It felt like you’ve been in a fog since receiving the news of the election winner a week ago today. You lived in a swing state that had flipped red, electing a Republican for not only the presidency but also the House and the Senate. While nothing bad has happened yet the looming doom of the future after January 20th will not leave your mind.

“Baby,”

“Love,”

“Sweetheart.”

“Fleur,”

“Hey-” Zoro said as he squeezed your knee, finally pulling you back into the present. You snap your attention to your left and are met with the concerned faces of your partners. Zoro’s hand rested comfortably on your knee as you tuned into what was happening.

“Love, was there something wrong with the food? Is there something else I can make you?” Sanji asked.

“No,” you answered holding back tears. Outside of retreating back into yourself, crying spells were the main way your body manifested all of your anxiety. So far you have been able to control them to an extent. You tried to pull back from Zoro’s reach and go to the bathroom to ride out your outburst, but Zoro’s grip locked around your wrist made it impossible for you to retreat. Unable to stop your waves of emotion you finally broke down in front of them. You have been trying your best to maintain a brave face amidst all the emotions running through your body. You knew they each had more important things to worry about outside of you. Zoro’s grip slid down your wrist and interlaced with your left hand before pulling it up to his lips for a gentle kiss. Sanji moved down to the floor in between your legs, gently holding your face in the palm of his hand as he brushed away your tears. Both sat patiently as you allowed yourself to finally release all of the pent-up emotions you had been holding in for over a week.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” was all you were able to get out through your tears.

“Shhh, it’s okay love,” Sanji said, focus never leaving you.

“Can you breathe with me, sweetheart?” Zoro asked, squeezing your palm. Through stuttered breaths, you mimicked his breath as he counted out exhales and inhales. You sniffled as you slowly went back to equilibrium. Sanji wiped away the last of your tears before gently tipping your chin up to look into your eyes. Both of your boyfriends waited a beat for you to pull yourself back together.

“Baby, I know you like to have space to process things, but we can’t let this go on,” Sanji said calmly, maintaining a soft grip on your face so that you couldn’t hide away.

“I didn’t want to add to your stress,” You sniffled, finally breaking your silence, “You both have more important things to focus on right now.”

“Fleur, you and Zoro are the most important things to me,” Sanji said softly, Zoro grunted in agreement.

“B-but you run a food bank that is only able to run with government grants from the USDA,” You said finally meeting Sanji’s gaze, before turning to Zoro, “And you’re a prenatal surgeon.”

“Baby, I know the unknown is scary, but we will get through this together,” Zoro said squeezing your hand, Sanji hummed in agreement.

“I know it’s hard not to be focused on what could come after his inauguration, but I hate to see you worry about things that may never happen. We will deal with this together as it comes,” Sanji said looking up at you and Zoro fondly. You nodded, taking in a shaky breath.

“While I know that logically, it just keeps worming its way into my head whenever I have an idle moment.” You sigh.

“It’s that why you’ve been picking up so many hours at work?” Zoro asked.

“Kinda? I just don’t think it’s good for my mental health to be stuck alone with my thoughts.” You sighed, “Plus I’m so tired from work that I’ve only had the energy to shower and go to sleep.”

“Do you want a distraction love?” Sanji asked, smiling up at you. You could feel heat flooding your face at his implication.

“You’re all pent-up baby; you need a release. Will you let us help you get there?” Zoro asked, squeezing your hand comfortingly.

“O-okay,” you barely managed to get out, you could feel the heat of embarrassment crawls up your neck up to your ears. You let out a surprised squeak, as Zoro manhandled you into his lap. He pressed your back against his chest. He pulled a whine from you as he held you firmly against him; you could feel the prominent pulsing of his cock against your lower back. There was no mistaking it, even now when he wasn’t fully hard yet. You couldn’t help but let out a whine at the sight of Sanji looking up at you between Zoro’s legs. In a move they’d perfected since you started dating Zoro gripped your hips and lifted you up so that Sanji could tug down your sleep shorts and panties. Once your bottom half was bare Zoro hooked your legs over his exposing you fully to Sanji.

You began to squirm as the cool air of your open living room was replaced by the sensation of Sanji’s hot breath on your cunt. Zoro grunted at your inadvertent grinding against his cock; his grip on your waist tightened to still your movement. You whine as Sanji’s long fingers spread your lower lips with his right hand while stroking up and down your thighs with his left.

“Beau,” Sanji, groaned to himself as he took in sight of your pussy. He took his time slowly working closer and closer to your core as he admired your anatomy.

“Sir,” you all but begged as he traced his fingertips gently against your labia minora. While this was standard practice at this point you were feeling especially needy and wanted him now.

You gasped as Zoro slapped your inner thigh inches away from where you needed stimulation the most.

“You know better than to interrupt Sir while he’s enjoying his meal. Be a good boy and apologize or you won’t even get my tip tonight.” Zoro reprimands you, his hot breath and gravelly voice doing nothing to help satisfy your appetite.

“Yes, Daddy,” you groaned as Sanji lightly pet your clit as he raked his fingers up and down your slit, collecting your slick as he went.

“I’m sorry I was rushing you Sir- Fuck,” you cursed as he breached your pussy and flexed his fingers inside of you. You couldn’t help but moan as Sanji locked eyes with you as he licked a long strip from your opening to your clit, while simultaneously curling his fingers in a ‘come hither’ movement against your front wall. You squirmed against Zoro’s iron grip as Sanji gave your clit one last kitten lick before pulling back.

“It’s okay amour,” he started, not breaking pace as he continued to finger you, “I know how antsy you get when your little flower doesn’t get the attention it needs,” he teased.

You bit your lip to stifle a whine as he dipped his mouth back down and once again sealed his lips around your clit. You gasped as Zoro gripped your chin harshly pulling your face to the side and up to meet his gaze.

“Baby, what have we said about holding in your moans?” he asked, lips centimeters away from your own. You share a breath before responding.

“B-but Daddy, it’s embarrassing. What if the neighbors hear me?” you whined. He grunted before responding, the grip on your chin tightening.

“Baby, I don’t care if the whole block hears you. Your sounds are rewards for us fucking you right. Do you really want to take that away from Sir and me?” he asked, “I wouldn’t want to punish a good boy like you, but if you keep acting like a brat, you’re gonna get treated like one.” He said with no room for argument. You couldn’t help but clench around Sanji’s fingers at Zoro’s threat.

“Oh, they like that,” Sanji said, pulling back from your clit and looking up at you both with a teasing smirk.

“Is that right baby?” Zoro asked with a matching patronizing smirk, eyes locked with Sanji’s as they spoke like you weren’t centered between them.

“Mhm,” Sanji hummed in response, “They’re squeezing me so tight it feels like they’re pushing me out.”

“N-no I-I,” you tried to start embarrassment rushing through your body.

“Oh, love there’s no denying it, bet you’d love Daddy taking you over his knee and spanking you until you behave,” Sanji commented, before once again shifting his focus back to your now puffy clit.

“That can be arranged baby,” Zoro rasped against your lips, before smashing them against yours. You couldn’t help but moan as he dominated the kiss. His hands migrated upward from their place on your hips up to your chest.

“Is this alright baby?” he asked, after pulling back from your kiss and resting his forehead against yours.

“Yes Daddy~” You were cut off by a deep moan as Sanji hit, that, spot. Zoro wasted no time in snapping the thin spaghetti straps of your tank top, before yanking your top down to your waist, causing your boobs to bounce out before they settled against your chest. You inadvertently whined as Zoro began to kiss down your neck, while simultaneously pinching and twisting your sensitive nipples causing your back to arch.

“Fuck,” you moaned unabashed, it was all too much too fast. Between their teasing, the kissing, Zoro’s stimulation of your chest, and Sanji’s fingers’ unrelenting pace you could feel the coil in your gut tightening exponentially tighter than you were used to.

“Fuck-no. Fuck please, please. I’m gonna- I’m gonna. Fuck,” You moaned as tears kissed the corners of your eyes for the second time tonight. This time from overstimulation. There was no time for you to react as an overwhelming feeling of pleasure shot through you. Your eyes widened at the sight of Zoro’s hand threaded through Sanji’s hair, keeping him flush with your pussy. Your eyes shut tight from overstimulation as you road out your orgasm. You were unabashedly grinding against Sanji’s face, moaning only amplified by the stimulation of his nose on your clit and the sensation of his facial hair rubbing roughly against your smooth inner thighs. Your thighs quaked as you came down from your extreme high. Lazily cracking your eyes open, they immediately widened as you took in Sanji’s wrecked form.

Your brain was still a bit fuzzy from your intense orgasm as you laid eyes on him. His entire face was covered in cum, from just below his eyes, down his face to the collar of his button-up. His initial look of shock was quickly replaced by a look of hunger in his eyes.

“Fuck, didn’t know you could squirt.” Zoro groaned as you shifted, grinding against his now fully hardened cock.

“Amour,” Sanji started, drawing your attention back down to your lover on the floor.

“Y-yes Sir?” you asked cautious of his tone. He pulled another whine from you as he eased his fingers out of your cunt. His fingers tightly gripped your thighs pulling you down to his lap.

“Did you know you could squirt?” he asked in a firm tone; the same one he used on the rare occasion he punished you.

“No, Sir,” you rushed out. His gaze softened slightly as he cupped your face in his hands.

“Good,” he hummed, “That’ll be far from the last time.” He said, like a promise.

He pulled you in for a sweet kiss, that quickly devolved as a spark of pleasure formed in your core. You moaned unabashed at the taste of you on his lips as you both became desperate. You grinded down against him pausing as something felt off, or rather the absence of something. Sanji whined as you pressed on his shoulder and pulled back from the kiss. Your eyes widened as you took in the large wet stain on the crouch of his trousers.

“Did you-,” you started to question as you looked up from his crotch. You paused as a lovely blush rose high in his cheekbones.

“Erm-yes, I suppose I did” he answered turning his head away as the blush grew.

“But both your hands were on me?” you questioned.

“Fuck, you came untouched,” Zoro goaded, “One little taste of our little one and you already creamed your pants.”

“Fuck off Marimo,” Sanji snapped, now focused past you to your other love, “See how long you last when you get them to squirt. Or should I say ‘if’ considering you haven’t done it yet.”

“Oh, I’m gonna make them squirt,” Zoro seethed, “For all we know yours was just a fluke.”

“I’ll show you a fluke-” Sanji started before you began to tune your lovers out for now. You had to be careful with your next move. Any missteps could lead them to waste the rest of the night bickering. While they were distracted you slipped off the remains of your tank top, now fully nude between your clothed partners. You slid up on Sanji’s lap so that his flaccid penis was resting between your lower lips. Only a thin piece of fabric keeps you away from him. Next in one fell swoop you tilted his chin down to face you as you purposefully pushed up your chest and gave him your best puppy dog look.

“Please Sir,” you started, “Daddy didn’t get off yet, and I want you inside me,” you paused looking between your two partners before finishing your thought, “Both of you.”

The two men groaned at your admission.

“Sorry, baby”

“Sorry, love”

They both said in sync.

“Can you help me take care of Daddy?” you asked looking back up at Sanji, “You can take him so much deeper than I can.”

He gave you a tight lip look before easing his face and letting out a sigh.

“Anything for you, amour,” he relented, positioning you so your back was pressed against his chest. Zoro scooted forward, lifting his hips so that Sanji could tug off his joggers along with his underwear. Your gaze locked in on his cock as soon as it came into sight. While Sanji was not small by any means, Zoro was thick. Despite taking his cock many times you were still amazed at how it fits in you. Sanji lightly slapped your hand away when you went to wrap your hand around it.

“Baby, you know better than that, ask Daddy for permission before starting,” he hummed into your ear, resting his chin on your shoulder.

“Fuck, Daddy, can I? Can I please?” you asked looking up at him between his spread legs.

“Fuck,” Zoro groaned, “Go ahead baby, do whatever you need.”

With his permission, you gripped his cock in a light hold as you teasingly sucked the head of his cock into your mouth, while simultaneously looking up at him through your eyelashes. Zoro let out a groan as you began to work down his cock. Sucking in as much as you can while pumping what was left with your hands. The corners of your mouth stung the closer you got to his base.

“Baby,” Sanji chastised, “You know better than to hog Daddy’s cock”

Zoro moaned at the sensation of you whining around his cock as Sanji pulled you off it. A string of saliva was now all that connected you to his cock. You panted lightly as Sanji’s right hand stroked up Zoro’s thigh at a leisurely pace, his left arm curled around you to keep you flush against his chest. You watched with bated breath as Sanji teased and cupped Zoro’s balls before stroking upward to the base of his cock.

“Ready love?” Sanji asked, leaning over your shoulder, his mouth now centimeters from the head of Zoro’s cock.

“Mhm,” you hummed in response, you and Sanji began to lick and tease at his cock simultaneously, while Sanji set a steady pace of jerking him off. Zoro was a moaning mess as he watched you two come together to share a sloppy kiss around his tip. He began helplessly thrusting upward; chasing the stimulation of your tongues. Sanji pulled back, encouraging you to once again take Zoro back into your mouth.

“Go on love, be a good boy, and finish Daddy off.” Sanji panted against your right ear. You hummed around Zoro in confirmation. You knew he was close as his cock throbbed over your tongue. Your and Sanji’s hands laced together around the base of his cock and stroked him in time with the bobbing of your head. The only warning you got of his release was a drawn-out, “Fuck,” before he laced his fingers through your hair and pulled you down hard against his cock. Tears flooded your waterline as held you firmly down on him, thrusting harshly up into your mouth as he released. You focused on your breathing as he came hard, his excess cum spilling out the corners of your mouth. You stayed still until he had fill, slowly pulling off of him as he fell back onto the couch.

Sanji tilted your chin up, thumb tapping at your chin prompting you to open wide for him. You once again felt a rush of embarrassment as you opened wide to show off a pool of Zoro’s cum in your mouth.

“Good boy,” Sanji praised, stroking your cheek, before tapping your lip one more time to signal that you could swallow. You sucked in as much air as possible as you panted in an attempt to regulate your breathing. Your attempt was short-lived as Sanji pulled you back into a demanding kiss, rutting his now hard cock against your ass.

“As much as I love to watch Sir fuck you on the floor, I think you’d feel better tomorrow if we continue on our bed.” Zoro cut in before Sanji could go any further, pulling off his tank top and tossing it to the side. Sanji pulled back and sighed, leaning his forehead against yours.

“As much as I hate to agree with Marimo, he does have a point,” Sanji admitted reluctantly.

“Okay,” you nodded, bottom lip sandwich between your teeth as you attempted to hide how desperate you were. You let out another inadvertent squeak as Zoro scoops you up throwing you over his shoulder as he made his way to your bedroom. Sanji followed along, stripping as he went.

While you had been struggling with gratitude lately, you never felt more privileged to know that the men that you loved would always be in your corner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~As always thank you so much for taking the time to read. I may write a part II with continued smut; I just wanted to get this out of my WIPs.

-Locke

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Part of the Team

The vigilante Duality gets hurt in a fight, Virgil goes to the only hero he can trust to help him.

It turns out that they might all know each other better than they thought.

----

| Ao3 |

Warnings: None

Pairings: Virgil/Roman/Janus/Logan (Analoroceit??)

Word Count: 1421

Notes:

My second fic for the @tsspromptmonth sleepy bean cafe event!!!

So Roman/Janus/Virgil/Logan is not a ship I would normally write and I actually intended this to just be anaroceit but then Logan inserted himself in so now we're here.

Written for @nonbinary-octopus

The Prompt: superpowers, secret identities, mutual pining, and ""only one knows their dating"" with a polycule of at least three

----

Virgil smashed the rock that had been launched at him mere seconds ago, it broke into shards that bounced off his costume easily. 

“Can you listen to me for one fucking second?” Virgil yelled at the superhero attempting to fight him, the hotshot in town, “I don’t want to fight you-”

“Of course you do!” Prince said, puffing out his chest as he landed in front of Virgil, who was about three seconds away from a panic attack as the most powerful hero in the city and also Virgil’s longest standing crush, “That’s like- our entire thing!”

Virgil, admittedly, loved their fights. It gave him an opportunity to both punch Roman in the face and also to get close enough to him to see his face, how his eyes widened and his pupils dilated when Virgil got too close, how his hair never looked messy no matter how many times Virgil landed a hit, it was fun to fight the hero. But not right now.

“Look - I just- fuck-” Virgil said, lunging to grab Roman by the collar of his shirt with an involuntary crack of electricity in his hand to stop him from zipping away with those stupid flight powers he had on top of the others, “I need your help.”

That seemed to strike a chord, as Roman practically went limp for just a few seconds before righting himself. 

“You need my help?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Don't make me regret asking you, Princey,” Virgil growled, choosing not to notice the blush that bloomed on a Romans face because of it, instead dropping the hero, “Duality is in trouble.” 

“Duality? The vigilante?” Roman asked, immediately getting up from the floor seemingly unharmed to Virgil's displeasure, “What- what's wrong with him? And what did you have to do with it, villain?” 

Roman had hastily added that last part to cover up the clear worry on his face at the idea that the vigilante who always seemed to pop up during Roman's operations to help might be in trouble. 

“I didn't have shit to do with it, you asshole,” Virgil hissed, the idea that he would've done something to get Janus hurt, “It was another villain he ended up fighting who could stop him from shifting - I had to drag him back home and I don't know what the hell to do- I just- you have healing powers so-” 

“Okay okay-” Roman said, reaching forward to take Virgil by the arms. The villain froze, “I'll help Duality okay? You just gotta take me to him.” 

Virgil took a deep breath and nodded, taking Roman's hand and dragging him off,  determinedly pulling him along until halfway there when he stopped abruptly, “Princey.” 

“Tempest,” Roman returned, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Look - he’s- he’s not in the best state right now, before we go in, and I wanna warn you - you’re gonna find out stuff that you can’t fucking tell anyone. Okay?” Virgil stressed, “Not even your stupid hero buddies.”

“Like I would tell them anyway,” Prince rolls his eyes, “They’d arrest me for talking to you like a normal human being let alone helping a vigilante, just shut up and show me what’s going on.”

“Right - well um- Logic is also there, so just- be prepared,” Virgil mumbled, going back to dragging the hero across town to a fairly nice apartment building.

“What- the hell is Logic doing there?” Prince asked, eyes wide. 

“They're my friends, and it's my damn apartment so I'll invite whoever I want, deal with it.” 

—

“Duality isn’t in costume,” Virgil told him firmly, “So just- nothing you see here leaves this room.”

“I already said yes,” Prince rolled his eyes as Virgil dragged him up the stairs. Virgil called out once they arrived at the apartment, fumbling to unlock the door and drag Prince inside. Prince came easily, pushing the door closed behind him and trailing behind into the living room, where Duality - or, right now, Virgil’s best friend Janus - was laying on the sofa. Currently he was being looked over by Logic, the notoriously hyper intelligent supervillain - which sure was a sight for the hero to behold… especially since he happened to recognise Janus. 

Prince stopped in the doorway, staring at the two of them, before grabbing Virgi’s wrist and dragging him back.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Virgil hissed as Prince shoved him back into the hall. 

“That is my boyfriend-” Prince said in a whisper-yell, Virgil’s eyes widened. 

Janus was Virgil’s best friend - they knew each other’s civilian identities, and because of that Virgil knew that Janus was dating two people, and one of them was already in his apartment with Janus. 

“Holy fucking shit,” Virgil mumbled, “You’re Roman Kingsley.”

Roman went pale, before flailing a little, “What? No- no of course not- why would I ever be-”

“Roman shut up,” Virgil said, shaking his head, “This is so dumb - I’m Virgil.”

“...Oh,” Roman said, blinking at him, slowly his eyes widened, “Oh! Virgil!”

And Virgil found himself swept off of his feet and spun around by the hero, and Virgil struggled to get out of his hold.

“Shut up - what the hell-”

“Virgil! Oh this is wonderful! We’re all together now! Thank you for telling me what was going on-”

“You’re welcome-?” Virgil said awkwardly, blushing despite his attempt to quell his own feelings - they were all in a relationship, apparently, which meant even his crush on the stupid superhero was even less attainable, “Can we - can we just go inside-?”

—

It took almost no time at all for Janus to be patched up with both Roman and Logan helping out. It was odd to Virgil to see both a notorious supervillain and hero working together to help someone they both clearly cared about. Virgil meanwhile was steadily keeping watch, both on the two of them to ensure they didn’t try anything in his apartment. 

At some point, Logan’s identity had also been revealed and the two had comforted Roman on the fact that he was dating a supervillain, while Janus just snuggled up to Roman’s side, mentally and physically exhausted from the day. 

“Here,” Virgil says, carrying a pile of blankets and pillows into the room, placing them next to Janus, “I’m guessing you guys are gonna want to stay here, so um, here’s some blankets and stuff, you guys can stay on the sofas and stuff? Unless you’d rather take my bed and I’ll sleep out here-?”

“Why can’t you join us?” Roman asked, tilting his head, looking a little disappointed as he held a pillow. 

“I-” Virgil started, looking around at the three of them, who all looked at him the same way, “Why would you want me to stay?”

“Why wouldn’t we want to spend more time with our boyfriend?” Logan asked, looking confused, “Especially when he’s done so much for us today.”

“I- I’m sorry, what?” Virgil asked, “The hell do you mean, boyfriend?”

“You’re… our boyfriend, aren’t you?” Janus asked, looking confused. 

“Not as far as I knew!” Virgil cried, confusion and fluster alike squeezing his chest tightly, “You guys - you guys think we’ve been dating?”

“Well- yeah! We kept inviting you on dates and you kept coming-” Roman said, shaking his head, “We thought you knew!”

“I thought they were just hanging out!” Virgil said, fidgeting with his sleeve, he’d changed out of his costume into a more comfortable hoodie since they’d gotten back. 

“Oh - no sweetie-” Janus said softly, “‘m sorry if our advances were unwanted-”

“What advances??” 

“Virgil… we’ve been flirting with you for months…”

“Oh my god…” Virgil groans.

“If you don’t want to date us that is alright-” Logan piped up, “Apologies that we misinterpreted this relationship-”

“No no-” Virgil said quickly, “No- I mean- I do want to date you - fucking hell I’ve had a huge crush on all of you for like years - but I just-”

Janus offered his arm on the opposite side to Roman, and with a look at the other two, Virgil hesitantly walks over and sits, letting Janus pull him in until Virgil is more comfortably curled up to his side. 

“Since we never made ourselves clear enough before,” Logan says, walking around the sofa to stand before them, “Virgil, would you like to be part of this relationship?”

“I- Yes - yes I would,” Virgil nodded. Roman grinned and took one of his hands, bringing it up to his lips and kissing his knuckles. 

“Then we are incredibly happy to have you, darling stormcloud.”

----

Tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess @glacierruler @roseianxiety @bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti @scalesfeathersnfur @oatmealdaydreams @littlerat2 @goldnskyart (if anyone wants to be added, let me know!)

[crescentfool]

What are your ryomina headcanons? I've loved these two since I played P3 FES, and I'm so excited to get back into the fandom^^

hi!! thank you so much for the ask, welcome back to the p3 fandom, it's always a delight to see new and old ryomina fans alike! 🥺💛💙

as for headcanons, here's a "few" i that i tend to come back to a lot! my interpretations of them are influenced from both the source material and other's fanworks, so i've linked to them as i saw fit! hcs in no particular order under the cut because oops this got long (900 word bullet point list, mentions of reload content up to 1/1)

minato's hair is dyed blue (hair originally brown, you can see it in his roots!) and he has a beauty mark on under his left eye. i like mirror imagery and there's definitely a few arts i've rb'd that portray them this way :) (e.g. this one by feliichu and this one by marasschino)

as far as i'm concerned the bathhouse scene from the manga where ryoji's hair down = similar shape to minato? that is canon to me. this art from xierru is a fun depiction of hair down ryoji :D

ryoji is homeless. everyone say thank you foxmulder_whereartthou for this awesome fic it's why i have the headcanon! but like seriously. we have no idea where ryoji lives and i could believe this.

minato dying at the end of the game is sad to an outsider's POV BUT!!! ryomina gets to be together in death for the rest of their lives (this illustration from mafuwara is a gorgeous representation of them as nyx avatar + the seal)!

speaking of the seal, they are like telepathically communicating to me in the great seal together. (mymp3 had a comic wip with this. give it a looksie :D)

ryoji likes cuddling with minato because he's warm :) (something something orpheus has fire affinity, minato is warm by extension and ryoji is cold because he's death)

ryoji's camera roll is filled with pictures of minato! ryoji... loves life, to me. and i feel that photography and journaling are perfect ways of expressing gratitude and capturing the moments in life that are most important to you :3

my other favorite activity for these two is stargazing- i feel like it's something they could appreciate either in life or death (looking at the stars from the great seal...)! they do a bit of this in the fic eurydice's vow by crescentmoontea (P5R spoilers, takes place in third sem it's a very fun fic concept).

between ryoji and minato i feel like ryoji was the one who fell in love first- and it doesn't really click in place for minato that he loves ryoji until december hits (appriser reveal + ryoji transforming into thanatos). its about the realization that ryoji was with him for his whole life and that he gets him like no one else does.

ryoji is like a sad and wet puppy who is so scared minato won't like him back. he is so scared of being rejected by minato to me like. this boy straight up deflates after he does his "i know i said i wanted us to be friends, but... i actually want to be something more." / "what about you?" on 12/1 ???

AND SPEAKING of wet puppy ryoji. ryoji is like. every animal in the world to me. he's a bird. he's a cat. etc. and also ryoji knows every language in the world ever and uses it to express his love for minato. see this fic from superheroics to see what i mean.

both of them are lactose intolerant. "this isn't lactose, it's milk!" i definitely think ryoji would make himself sick eating ice cream and milk he doesn't know what lactose is. (i made a silly poll about this once and the tags were very entertaining.)

i see minato as transmasc or nonbinary depending on the day (schrodinger's headcanons babey they're simultaneously true and not true at the same time!!). either way he's not cis to me and ryoji is like. His Gender. anyway go read this fic by nail_gun for t4t ryomina :D !

ryomina are WEIRD GUYS TO ME!!! they are so strange and they understand each other better than anyone else because of the circumstances of their relationship!!! if you asked them to do the "i wonder what i taste like" meme i think they'd start biting each other (affectionate) tbh but that's just me.

after ryoji gives minato the music box in 12/31 on reload, minato listens to the music box every night in january. this boy has insomnia and also chronic illness to me (things that housing death does to you). but i think he finds comfort in the melody and memories he made with ryoji.

in general, i think it's fun to imagine minato taking ryoji to places and show him things he's interested in! i feel that ryoji takes a lot of interest in minato's life, this isn't really a hc because in reload, minato DOES give ryoji a tour of the school (11/9) and possibly port island (11/12). but ITS CUTE OK! (tangentially related fanwork: this series of doodles from vinnigami: 1, 2, and 3)

not a hc but minato's kindness is like the backbone of their relationship and i think we would not have the ryomina we know and love today if minato wasn't such a kind soul. oh minato.... we can learn so much from you... like ryoji did!

anyway! that's all the hcs that i could think of, thank you for the ask! i had a lot of fun answering this, these two mean a lot to me 💛💙

i hope you don't mind the links to the fanart and fanfic as well, the fanwork people have made for ryomina have really made an imprint on me! if you want to see more of them, i definitely recommend looking through my tag for them because oh. i got a lot of them reblogged alright 😂 (<- SOOO NORMAL)

[sodepope]

Epic cotl lamb and goat headcanon dump!

The Lamb

- potential headcanon name: “Prince”. There parents had VERY strong hopes for them so of course they had to name them after a royal title

- Age: 35 (way older then they look)

- there pansexual and a agender amab who uses they/it pronouns

- as a young child they really struggled with male gender norms and fitting into them, so as soon as they where old enough to think for themselves they said “fuck that I wanna be a prettiest lamb of all time” and that’s why they look the way they are now!

- there pupils used be a normal white but once the crown was given to it they turned red, and now there permanently that way even when lamb takes the crown off

- is usually nice but they can be incredibly sassy and petty when they want too

- it’s horns also used to be a normal shape but again once the crown got put on they became more devilish looking

-likes to say the most diabolical shit in a cutesy little voice just to disturb there enemies, they get a genuine kick out of it.

- uses quite a bit of hair products, I mean how else would they be able to pull off those marvelous curls?

The Goat

Potential headcanon name: “Lyric”. A person on discord gave me the idea and I like how it sounds

- Age: 35

- there a nonbinary omnisexual (pref for agender and nonbinary) afab who uses they/them pronouns

- like lamb they also struggled with female gender norms and fitting in when they where a kid but they eventually overcame all that just like lamb and became the person they are today

- like irl goats, Goat will “faint” whenever they get extremely excited or shocked, and goat getting that excited or shocked is once in a blue moon.

- the goats hair gets in the way of there vision a bit but they REFUSE to cut it

- hates everybody else’s children but wouldn’t mind having one of there own (foreshadowing)

- is just constantly being a mischievous asshole to everyone around them. nobody is safe, not even lamb (as shown from the resent animated short)

- goth

- like an inch taller then lamb

LambGoat/general headcanons

- The Lamb and Goat where childhood friends (thank you @littl3d0ll-art for sharing this headcanon and your art) and the goat is basically from a realm where all the goats go extinct instead of the lambs and the Lamb from there realm just disappeared, (yes I know the Goat is supposed to be a “dark reflection of the Lamb” but I personally interpret that as like there not quite the same person but they went through a lot of the same things In there realm)

- both the Lamb and Goat try so hard to not let ANYONE see them in a sad, vulnerable state (for faith in followers specifically). But when there alone together they don’t feel the need to hide it anymore

- the goat is the one you’d EXPECT to be the freaky one but in reality the oh so benevolent lamb is the actual freaky one.

- and to refute your expectations further: goat is little spoon, lamb is big spoon

- when there relationship was just them crushing on each other, lamb would try to impress goat by showing off there combat skills, even though goat was the better fighter hands down. and they would even try to do that thing where horned male animals show off there horns to attract females, except the effect was greatly diminished because lamb’s horns are so fucking tiny compared to goat’s. So goat would just find these attempts “cute” rather than impressive.

However lamb did have there moments that genuinely impressed goat. And these instances were always completely unintentional on lambs end.

- lamb likes to style goats hair, bury there face into it or just simply play with it, at first goat was annoyed at this but grew to get used to and even like it.

- they switch the tasks of crusades and taking care of the cult between each other like a married couple would switch different chores between each other.

- they where both EXTREMELY touch starved so there favorite way of showing affection is through physical touch. But they do share heartfelt words between each other just as much.

- when there relationship was as surface level as it could possibly be goat pulled a LOT more asshole stunts towards lamb, but as there relationship grew the meanness slowly became less frequent and less extreme.

And to end this whole thing off here’s a screenshot edit of them together

[sweetkpopmusings]

long for you (act two) | h. hyunjin <3

a/n: i've returned with the second part of "long for you!" this is potentially the longest section, but we'll see :^) also ah! if you'd like to be added to the tag list, please reply to this or send me an ask <3 pics not mine <3

♡ find all parts here ♡

content: fluff, romance, fake dating, angst, a happy ending | wc: 7.7k | warnings: mentions of food/eating, a kiss, some crying | pairing: nonbinary!painter!hyunjin x gn!writer!reader | requests: open

synopsis: y/n is a writer with a long-awaited, well-deserved career opportunity. despite the excitement, there’s one major problem: the publisher expects a modern love story, equally romcom-like and authentic, but y/n lacks the inspiration to write something worth reading. through a chance meeting with mutual friends, y/n and hyunjin bond over upcoming deadlines and creative blocks. before the conversation ends, they discover that the ridiculous plot of fake dating might just work to solve their inspirational dry spell.

act two: the lovers 

“sorry we are starting with something so stereotypical,” hyunjin smiles sheepishly as you both slide into your seats with fresh drinks.

“it’s okay! coffee shop dates are a default for me, if i’m being honest.”

they nod, pleased with your answer, “well then, why don’t you tell me about some of your other defaults?”

“meaning?”

“tell me about the music you listen to on repeat, the shows you watch and rewatch, your favorite color shirt to wear, your go-to story to tell at a party…” hyunjin pauses, pink tinting their ears when realizing he’s starting to ramble, “should i give you more examples?”

you laugh, “no, i think i get the gist of what you’re asking. hmm, let’s see…”

hyunjin waits patiently while you gather your thoughts and find a good place to start. it’s always a bit intimidating when you try to figure out the perfect conversation piece for a date. even if you’ve talked with someone over text beforehand, a lot rides on the first part of yourself that you share, even if it isn’t anything particularly vulnerable. perhaps because you’re a writer, you’re always hyper-aware of impressions, specifically the first ones you leave on and have about others. with hyunjin, your nerves dissipated after you walked through the coffee shop doors and waved to them. this arrangement, fake as it is, lends itself to a real comfort from the very beginning. you are not there to impress hyunjin. you’re there to know him for the sake of knowing him, and he’s there for the sake of knowing you.

hyunjin remains engaged with each anecdote you share, reacting enthusiastically at the exciting bits and showing concern at the right times. they even ask follow-up questions, make silly comments, and write down some new content to check out per your recommendation. by the time your drinks are halfway gone, you realize you’ve been the main one talking.

“so, when do i get to hear about your defaults? it feels as though i’ve been talking your ear off this entire time.”

hyunjin smiles, “i haven’t noticed! it’s really enjoyable listening to you.”

a sweet silence fills the space between you as they smile from across the table. you feel heat rising to your face at the tender attention, but, thankfully, it dissipates when hyunjin starts to speak.

“maybe it’s cliché, but i feel like it’s only natural if i start by talking about painting.”

“yes, please! i’d love to know about how that became your focus in art and life.”

hyunjin grins, a visible spark appearing in their eyes, “contrary to popular belief, painting wasn’t the first artistic medium i tried. i actually thought i’d pursue sculpture. there was something about it being so tactile, you know? like being able to feel the artwork with my bare hands, it was like my body movements were a part of the piece itself. and, being a pretentious college student, i loved leaving my actual fingerprint as my signature on each sculpture.”

hyunjin rolls their eyes, and you laugh, “oh, don’t even get me started on the pretentious stuff i used to do with writing assignments in high school and college.”

“oh, we’ll definitely be coming back to that,” hyunjin teases, “but even with my dramatic flair, sculpting started to…not necessarily bore me, but become…mundane. it was as though i hit a creative wall. none of my sculptures inspired me anymore; nothing seemed to go right. changbin reassured me that it was probably just a slump–we all have them, creative or not, as he said–i just knew that it was deeper than that. i was always searching for something in my work, and it felt like i had lost it in sculpting. then, by a stroke of luck or fate or good ole early adulthood happenstance, i attended a painting class. i don’t even remember why i took that particular class. immediately, though, it was like i was on fire with ideas. i remember my friends having to force me to leave the studio and eat, shower, or exist as a normal human being,” they laugh, slightly embarrassed at their former self’s antics, “eventually i calmed down from that initial creative high, of course. the fulfillment and energy painting gave me lasted. even today, even right now while talking about it, i can feel the urge to sketch out new ideas. so, i guess this is a long-winded way of me saying that, after taking a singular painting class, i fell in love with it, and years later i still haven’t expressed all that i need to through it.”

you nod, gratefully absorbing all of the information hyunjin shared with you. you notice there was an electricity in their voice when he discussed painting, hands gesturing excitedly and precisely when discussing how painting made them feel. regardless of your relationship with the art form, hyunjin’s description of it made you want to give painting a go. if you were honest, something about hyunjin’s words left you craving the feeling of a paintbrush in your hand. their words are like magic, and you wonder if all the great painters before had ever spoken so beautifully about the practice themselves.

“that’s incredible, hyunjin. it’s obvious you’re in the right field.”

he giggles, tucking his hair behind his ear, “i’m glad you think so. i always trust the judgment of a fellow artist.”

you giggle in response to their wink, and continue, “if you’re willing, i’d love to see some of your work. i know i could look it up online, but i figured i’d abstain from an internet investigation before our first fake date.”

hyunjin laughs, “i really appreciate that, y/n. i promise i didn’t read any of your writing before this.”

you feel a wave of relief wash over you, surprised that you were nervous about the prospect of hyunjin reading your work. before you could dwell on that mini revelation, hyunjin speaks again.

“rather than just show you some of my paintings, i think there’s something better we could do.”

their smile is playful, and you can’t deny the butterflies that flutter in your chest when you imagine the possibilities of what could be going on inside hyunjin’s head.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

sunlight washes over you, pleasantly warm and gently bright. hyunjin busies themself with the setup of the easels–small ones, so you both could sit comfortably on the picnic blanket he brought–and meticulously arranges the painting supplies. they hum a vaguely familiar melody, and your mind and body relax as you eat fresh fruit and sip homemade lemonade. 

“ah!” hyunjin claps their hands together, “perfect!”

you give him a round of applause, which they respond to with a bow and thank you, thank you.

with two blank canvases in front of you, hyunjin asks, “do you know where you’re going to start?”

“hmmm,” your eyes sweep around the park, observing shadows fluttering in the shape of tree leaves and happy people walking and chatting down the park’s path, “ironically, i’m finding it hard to think of something when this place is so…idyllic.”

hyunjin sighs, more dreamily than in exasperation, “i totally get what you mean. maybe we can find a random prompt online?”

“what, like use a painting prompt generator?”

hyunjin makes a look of disgust, as cute and earnest as a toddler refusing vegetables, “no! i mean look for a list of prompts on tumblr or something and then choose one that sounds viable for us to complete on our date.”

biting your lip to prevent the instinctual smile that would erupt after a beautiful person says something like our date, you reply, “that works for me. why don’t you choose, as you’re the resident artist here?”

hyunjin agrees and gets right to work scouring the internet for the perfect picnic date painting idea. you busy yourself with finding the perfect playlist for your activity, which aids hyunjin in deciding on a prompt.

“how does painting the view from your bedroom window sound?”

“how do you know what the view from my bedroom window is?”

hyunjin’s eyes go wide, and they start shaking their hands frantically, desperate to dispel the thought of knowing anything about your bedroom, so you laugh and speak again before they fall too far down the rabbit hole, “i’m just teasing you, hyunjin! i know you’re not a creep who has previously snuck into my bedroom. that sounds like a perfect idea for our paintings.”

“phew!” hyunjin wipes imaginary sweat from their brow, “i’m glad we’ve cleared that all up. so let’s get started! let me know if you would like any tips along the way. i doubt you’ll need any, but i have made plenty of mistakes while mixing colors and choosing brush sizes to be quite the teacher.”

you both giggle at this admission and soon shout ready, get set, go! as you pick up your brushes. despite the racelike commentary, you both take your time. there is a calmness surrounding you, conversation sparse and ease abundant. much to your surprise, hyunjin asks for your advice a couple of times on their painting choices. you’re honored, which you tell them, and they only give you a look of confusion.

“what’s so strange about me asking for insight? you’re someone with a beautiful mind, and i’d be a fool not to appreciate your proximity.”

“you really know how to butter someone up, don’t you?”

hyunjin shakes his head, “according to changbin, i can only flirt unintentionally. it has to be natural; otherwise, i talk like someone who hasn’t had contact with another human in far too long.”

you laugh, not quite believing him, but you thank them for how they view your creativity. they jump at every opportunity you give them to discuss your painting, each time responding with grace and consideration. while you don’t spend too much of your time talking, you learn that everything hyunjin does with art is full of intention. that, you realize, must be what draws you in so intensely to their words and into the painting they hold before you.

“what do you think?”

hyunjin’s eyes are wide with anticipation as you scan every detail: the blue tint on the walls, the knick-knacks cluttering the desk, the dawn colors in the sky, and the two butterflies, mid-flight, just ahead of the windowsill.

“wow,” you breathe out softly, “it’s beautiful, hyunjin. i feel like i’m at home.”

they beam at your response and say about a thousand thank you’s in the span of about 20 seconds. when you show your painting, hyunjin takes just as much care in viewing yours. his focus is a little intimidating because of the ardor with which they examine your piece, but you trust that they won’t say anything too critical.

“this is stunning, y/n!”

you blush, a little taken aback by the passion, “you think so?”

hyunjin nods vigorously, “absolutely! i love everything about it. the textures, the colors, the items you included…all of it fits together so perfectly. sitting right in front of it makes me feel as though i’m safe from the outside world. it’s…serene.”

your head turns toward your painting, reviewing everything hyunjin mentioned, almost as though you’re looking for evidence of their claims. before your gaze can turn skeptical, hyunjin’s voice breaks your concentration.

“can i have it?”

you whip your head towards them, “huh?”

they gesture to the canvas beside you, “your painting. can i have it? i’d love to hang it above my desk, as an inspiration and a reprieve. i totally understand if you aren’t comfortable with that, or if you want to keep it for yourself, so no pressure! i just…well, honestly, i’d love to look at it and be reminded of today.”

you pretend you don’t notice the pinkness of hyunjin’s ears in hopes that they don’t notice the same flush on your skin, “um, yeah. yes! i’d be more than happy to give this to you.”

they nearly squeal with excitement and beg you to sign it. after your signature is placed in the corner, you hand it over to hyunjin. they stare at it lovingly, holding it with more care than you ever would have. after a little while, they look back up at you.

“why did you choose to paint the sunset at the very end, when there aren’t that many colors left in the sky?”

you can’t say that you thought it through before putting brush to canvas, but you pause before answering. if it’s for hyunjin’s curiosity, you’re more than willing to dig around in your brain for unearthed motivations.

“i think,” you start, not entirely confident but fully honest, “i think that i notice more of the world that’s right outside my room as i’m saying goodbye to the day. it’s like a transition from my public life to my private life, and, even though the night is only beginning, that time of day is when i can safely say ‘see you tomorrow’ to anything that isn’t in my home. that, or i just liked the colors of dusk better.”

you both laugh, and hyunjin sets the painting back on the easel before replying, “whatever the case, i’m honored that you’re letting me into that window of time with you. i’ll cherish this perspective, this moment, forever.” 

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

you fidget with your clothes, tugging them to be sure they’re in exactly the right place, as hyunjin knocks on the door. 

they turn to you and smile, “don’t worry, y/n, you look perfect.”

you smile back, now messing with your accessories, “thank you. i guess i feel extra nervous because i’m not used to going to things like this without felix or jisung.”

you feel a little embarrassed to admit that, but hyunjin shows no sign of judgment. instead, they pat you gently on the shoulder. the right amount of comfort.

“i know what you mean. you’ve got me though! let me know at any time if you need an escape. plus, i’m pretty sure felix will be here, so he can run away with you too.”

a giggle escapes your lips as changbin opens the apartment door, loudly greeting you and hyunjin.

“y/n! so glad you could make it!” changbin grins widely, beckoning you and hyunjin into his place.

as soon as you’re inside, changbin wraps his arm around hyunjin’s waist and places a kiss on their cheek. hyunjin laughs and wipes his cheek with the back of their hand, which earns a complaint from changbin.

“i love you, but i don’t want your cooties.”

“since when is it a crime to kiss the homies?”

“oh my god, changbin, you did not just say that,” a voice of disapproval chimes in from the living room.

you turn to the source of the voice and notice someone with long hair–similar to hyunjin’s, just lighter–and sharp features. before you even need to ask, hyunjin whispers jeongin to you. 

“as in…?”

hyunjin nods, “yes, the jeongin who is ruining my life with his exhibition theme.”

jeongin turns his head so you can see him roll his eyes, “for once, our emo boy can’t come up with something heart-wrenching. i’m assuming that’s where you come in?”

he raises an eyebrow to you, more playful than inquisitive, so you nod, “yep! hyunjin’s muse, reporting for duty.”

you hear changbin laughing from the kitchen, and it grows louder as he returns with your drinks, “please, make yourselves at home! minho is almost done with the food, and felix should be here soon, so get comfortable!”

hyunjin guides you to the living room, and you catch a glimpse of minho working hard on the meal you’ll all devour far too quickly. yet another handsome member of the friend group–dizzying to think about how many attractive people are currently surrounding you–he also carries distinct features, particularly a sharp nose, and holds himself with certainty.

somehow reading your mind, hyunjin leans over to you, “don’t be intimidated. we’re obviously the hottest people here.”

you both snicker like schoolchildren, and you feel your shoulders relax bit by bit. felix’s arrival helps, especially since he engulfs you into one of his classic hugs the second he’s within arm’s reach.

“felix! you act like you didn’t just see me yesterday,” you chuckle, not making a move to break the embrace.

“yeah, yeah, i need to make sure your partner here doesn’t forget who comes first!” 

felix sticks his tongue out at hyunjin, causing them to throw their head back in laughter. almost perfectly on cue, minho calls out to confirm that dinner is ready. changbin rushes around to serve everyone’s dishes, only being slightly micromanaged by minho. the conversation continues easily, while you all enjoy the graciously prepared meal. you learn not just about the new people in the room, but more about hyunjin: how they were in university, endless tales of their clumsiness, his affinity for painting flowers and portraits of strangers, as well as his never-ending love and support for those close to him. endeared only scratches the surface of the warm feeling growing inside you as you discover these qualities of hyunjin’s. if you were honest, you never wanted the conversation to go in a different direction. your heart was full learning more about the person at your side, and you were thoroughly entertained by all the faces he made when his friends embarrassed him. perhaps chasing the same warmth, hyunjin steers the conversation toward you.

“it feels a little silly to ask basic questions,” minho smirks, “hyunjin has already told us so much about you.”

felix giggles, “how could they not? y/n is the best.”

you smile at felix and then at hyunjin, who is trying to convince you that minho is exaggerating. 

“i’ll only accept the best for our hyunjin, so let’s see if you really meet those standards, y/n,” changbin jokingly assumes the persona of a hardcore journalist, ready to get to the bottom of the night’s biggest story.

with that, hyunjin’s friends ask you question after question, sometimes starting with hyunjin told us about this, but we’d love to hear more from you in order to make hyunjin squirm in their seat. hyunjin’s adorableness reduces any anxiety or stress you would have normally felt when getting, for lack of a better term, examined by their friends. with him and felix on either side of you, you feel like you are in on the fun, not trapped in the spotlight.

“okay, okay, i think we can give y/n a break from the interview,” hyunjin puts their hands up in your defense.

changbin sighs, leaning back in his seat, “fine, but only because you asked, hyunjinnie.”

you could almost hear a collection of heart emojis coming from changbin’s mouth. it is funny how flirtatious he is with hyunjin, but you couldn’t deny a twinge of jealousy every time he made hyunjin blush. sure, you are fake dating them. but is it so out-of-pocket to feel as though you should be the one making hyunjin giggle, twirl their hair, and kick his feet? you make a mental note to ask felix that very question tomorrow, crossing your fingers that you were just feeling very committed to the bit and nothing else. 

hours pass in the blink of an eye, and you only realize how tired you feel once felix mentions the time. 

jeongin stretches, quickly standing up from the couch, “well, since changbin promised he would do all the dishes, i vote we all leave quickly so as to not hold him back from his chores!”

changbin yells in protest to no avail against jeongin’s mischievous grin. minho mutters something about “the kids” fighting again as he walks back to the kitchen. you hear the sink running and decide to invite minho to any dinner party you throw in the future.

felix checks his pockets to ensure he didn’t leave anything, turning to you before heading to the entryway, “would you like me to accompany you home?”

you shake your head, “no, that’s okay, felix! we live in opposite directions, and i can safely get home by myself. you go and get some rest!”

“who said you’re getting home by yourself?” hyunjin tilts his head.

changbin whoops from the kitchen, causing felix to laugh and hyunjin to quickly clarify, “i mean, who said that your partner wouldn’t make sure that you arrive home in one piece? it’s the chivalrous thing to do.”

“as long as it’s chivalrous and nothing more…” felix makes an i’m watching you gesture towards hyunjin.

you roll your eyes and wave goodbye to felix. within a handful of minutes, you and hyunjin are saying your goodbyes. hyunjin helps you to put on your shoes, and the two of you have almost escaped when changbin pulls hyunjin in for another kiss on the cheek.

“oh, come on!” hyunjin groans while changbin giggles in pure delight.

“bye, y/n! it was lovely having you here. you’re welcome back any time, with or without them!” changbin smiles at you.

you thank him, and minho, for dinner again. as you and hyunjin step into the hall, you are hit with another wave of tiredness.

hyunjin notices and drapes your coat around your shoulders, “let’s get you home, yeah?”

you nod, grateful that you don’t have to worry about staying awake to get home safely.

the two of you enjoy a comfortable silence as you make your way to your place. here and there, you share a smile, a knowing glance that both of you are quite happy to be there, together. there is a small pang in your chest when you reach your door, realizing that you’ll have to part ways with hyunjin now.

“so, i’ll see you in a few days for our next date?” hyunjin asks, hands in their pockets as they stand in front of you.

“of course! i’m looking forward to it.”

hyunjin grins. you start to turn toward your door, but you notice that they are staring at you.

“what’s up?”

hyunjin shakes his head slightly, as though they’re breaking themselves out of a trance, “nothing! sorry, i was just thinking about something.”

“care to share?” you raise an eyebrow, reenergized with curiosity.

their hand rubs the back of their neck, and they look down to the floor briefly, “i was running through the stereotypical goodbyes at the end of dates like this.”

you nod, only partially following their train of thought. they look back up at you, brown eyes soft yet focused. you’re not sure why, but you feel electricity in your fingertips beneath their gaze.

“in movies and books, nights like this usually end with a goodbye kiss.”

“oh, i see…” your voice fades, unsure of what to say next.

“we don’t have to! it just came to mind. probably an intrusive artistic thought. you know how creative brains live for the drama,” hyunjin jokes.

you laugh softly, somewhat halfheartedly, as you process what they said. you speak again, before they get too nervous.

“i wouldn’t be opposed to it,” you admit, “for the plot, of course.”

hyunjin’s eyes widen slightly in shock, but they nod quickly, “yes, for the plot! we should kiss for the plot!”

that sentence in particular earns a giggle from you, which relaxes hyunjin enough to take the necessary steps toward you. when you’re close enough to feel the heat radiating off each other’s bodies, hyunjin catches your gaze.

“are you sure?”

mustering up as much volume as you can–curse those big, beautiful brown eyes and all their charm–you respond, “yes, i’m sure.”

with that, hyunjin’s fingers delicately grace your chin, pulling you towards them. sweetly, like a hushed voice in a beautiful library, your lips meet. the kiss is quick, nothing too involved, but the sensation of hyunjin being so close to you, right beneath your fingertips, melts you in a way you can’t be sure that you’ve felt before. 

when you open your eyes, you see that hyunjin’s are still closed, despite separating your lips a dozen or so seconds ago. the corners of your mouth lift, appreciating the innocent look on hyunjin’s face.

“wow,” hyunjin whispers, brown eyes observing you with a soft fervor, “thank you.”

oblivious to how much you’re blushing, you reply with a confident, “no, thank you.”

they smile widely, amused by the playful tone of your voice. judging by the look on his face, this is the best ending to the night that hyunjin ever could have imagined. 

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

stretching your arms and groaning, you remove your body from the position it had been locked in for the past couple of hours. you know the knock on the door was hyunjin–it hadn’t taken long for you to memorize what it sounded like for him to be near–so you do your best to open the door quickly and cheerily, despite your aching neck and shoulders.

“so sorry i’m late!” hyunjin exclaims, “changbin wasn’t letting me leave lunch, despite my insistence that i had a very important date to attend.”

you roll your eyes as you step to the side, letting hyunjin into your home, “are you sure you two aren’t dating?”

they scrunch their nose in light disgust, “i am certain. i love changbin, but we are not compatible partners, no matter what he may try to convince you of.”

you laugh, feeling a little more joyous at that admission than you probably should. hyunjin asks you about your day as you collect snacks to share, and he happily chats about anything and everything. whenever together, it seems as though neither of you would ever run out of words.

“so, are you ready?” hyunjin stretches their hands and wrists.

you nod, eyeing the stereotypical leather journal in front of them, “probably not as ready as you are.”

he giggles at the reference to the journal, “well, if i’m going to be in the presence of a real writer, i have to at least look the part, right?”

“what does that make me then, with my laptop on a metal stand in front of me?”

they hum, feigning deep thought before replying, “cute. it makes you cute.”

you scoff at the sly cheesiness, still having to turn your head in an attempt to hide the blush, “all right shakespeare, what do you say we get to writing?”

“i could never say no to you, y/n,” hyunjin replies with a sugary sweet tone and extra honey in their eyes.

with that, you two find your focus. after painting together, you suggested a writing date. admittedly, the suggestion came from your need to work on your novel as much as it came from the desire to spend more creative time with hyunjin. they, of course, jumped at the opportunity, clearly feeling just as fond of your painting session as you. 

save for the low-volume background music, the sound of your keyboard, and hyunjin’s pen on paper, your home is delightfully silent. very quickly after hyunjin’s arrival, you make more progress than you had the entire day. hyunjin notices how in the zone you are, pausing their own work to appreciate your furrowed brow and fixed gaze on the screen. attached to the story unfolding in front of you, you’re not quite sure how long he has been observing you before you feel their eyes on you.

“is there something on my face?” your eyes flit to meet hyunjin’s before returning to the screen.

“just an admirable amount of concentration,” they chuckle, “though i’d hate to interrupt your flow, let’s take a quick break, yeah?”

you sigh, feeling the soreness in your wrists and back from vigorous typing, “okay, i guess we should.”

they’re obviously pleased as they sit up straighter, “yay! i think we deserve some treats, don’t you?”

you laugh, “i mean, i’m literally doing my job here, so i don’t know if that warrants a treat.”

hyunjin frowns, “everything warrants a treat! what do you want? a little bevvie? some food? it’s on me, so dream big!”

you laugh again, sweeter this time, “you don’t have to do that, hyunjin.”

he waves his hand in the air, dismissing your claim, “i do. you’re hosting me and letting me partake in your creative genius. the least i could do is offer you a snack or something!”

you can tell they won’t back down, so you agree to give them your order for your favorite restaurant. when the food arrives, you and hyunjin migrate to the living room, spreading out your spoils and turning on content you both love. it is casual and comfortable, wildly familiar despite this being the first time you two have had dinner like this. hyunjin says so themself, much to your delight.

after the plates have been cleared and the dishes have been cleaned, you two wind up at the table again, writing for hours and talking about random topics during your little breaks. eventually, you feel your brain wearing out, so you suggest that the writing session comes to a close. 

“that sounds perfect to me,” hyunjin agrees, covering his mouth as he yawns, “was it successful for you?”

you hum happily, “yes! i can’t say that i made as much progress as i had hoped to, but i feel like i’m really fleshing out this story for the first time.”

hyunjin grins, “that’s wonderful! i’m so proud of you.”

your heart warms at their admission, and you ask, “how was it for you? come up with any masterpieces?”

they giggle, “i don’t know if i can call any of them masterpieces, but i did write some poems.”

“oh? you’re a painter and a poet?”

hyunjin looks away briefly, again tucking their hair behind their ear, “poetry is my favorite thing to write. i don’t do it very often because i’m not that adept at expressing myself in this way, but i enjoy the process every time.”

“expressing your thoughts with words gets easier with practice, so don’t discount yourself!” you reassure them, pausing to gain the courage to ask, “could i…would you mind if i read something you wrote?”

their ears immediately turn pink, but that doesn’t stop them from nodding and flipping through to a specific page, “here, this is my favorite one from today. please be nice in your feedback, for i am just a girl.”

you giggle at the last comment, and you graciously take the journal they place in your hands. the poem is short and impactful. in particular, you feel a few lines settling deep in your chest: a tenderness on fire / a lightness in your eyes / the unbearable closeness of desire / in the presence of your touch, in the proximity of your potential 

“hyunjin,” you say their name softly, only loud enough for them to hear, “this is beautiful. your voice is captivating, truly. thank you for letting me read it.”

“you really think so?” their eyes linger on you, full of curiosity and wonder.

you nod, “i do. i can’t believe you wrote this while sitting at my kitchen table. i love it.”

hyunjin puts their hand on their chest, over their heart, “that means a lot, y/n. thank you.”

“of course,” you smile, slipping once again into a comfortable silence with them.

hyunjin accepts his journal back, and then fiddles with the page, “you can have this one, if you want.”

your eyebrows raise, shocked and excited, “really? you’re sure?”

they nod eagerly, tearing the page out before you formally accept it, “yes! i have your painting hanging by my desk, so it’d be an honor if you had my poem literally anywhere in your home.”

you laugh at their dramatics, gently holding out your hands to receive their beautiful words, “i’ll hang it on my fridge, so i can see it every morning, afternoon, and night.”

with that, hyunjin trails behind you like a puppy while you place the handwritten poem on your fridge, held up by your favorite magnet. you both smile, admiring the work in your quiet kitchen. the silence is only broken by hyunjin’s yawn, which they cutely apologize for. when you look at the clock, you realize how late it has become.

“oh wow! are you sure you’re awake enough to get home safely?”

“yes, i’ll be okay!” hyunjin assures you, walking toward your table to gather their things.

as you watch them move, you see their body sway with sleepiness in a way that emphasizes their natural clumsiness. there is no way you can let them travel alone, across town, in this state.

“hyunjin, please stay here tonight.”

they freeze, turning their head to you after a few beats pass, “are you–would that be–really?”

you fight the smile at their flustered response, “yes, really. i wouldn’t be able to sleep if i let you go home when you’re this tired. i probably have some clothes you can borrow and an extra toothbrush i keep for emergencies. you can sleep in the bed, and i’ll take the couch.”

“wow, y/n, thank you for caring this much about my well being,” they reply in an incredibly genuine tone.

your expression has to have been one of why wouldn’t i care about your well being? because they quickly speak again, “i just wouldn’t have expected my fake dating partner to be so generous with their home! no way i’m stealing your bed from you tonight, though. i will be sleeping on the couch, and that’s final.”

despite your honest efforts to donate your bed to hyunjin for the night, they truly won’t have it. you make up the couch while they get ready for bed, stepping into the bathroom yourself once they make themselves comfortable in the living room. you feel some nerves ripple inside you as you brush your teeth, but they verge on excitement more than anxiety. it’s strange, being so comfortable with hyunjin so soon. it could be the reduced pressure of your arrangement, or, more likely, it’s their good-natured spirit. you can’t help the warmth that envelops you as they wish you sweet dreams in a velvety, singsongy voice. you also can’t help the way your body sinks into the softness of your bed in an entirely new way, as though you have been introduced to a new kind of safety, a new kind of home that you didn’t know existed. you wonder whether hyunjin feels the same way too.

after a short while, you pad out to your kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. hyunjin sleeps soundly on the couch, blanket perfectly wrapped around them and hands folded under their pillow to prop their head at the perfect angle. you stare, enchanted by the soft curves of their slightly parted lips, hypnotized by the melodic rise and fall of their chest. standing there in your living room in the middle of the night, you discover that your fondness for the person in front of you has blossomed into something much greater than anything you would have expected weeks ago when you agreed to this fake dating venture. for fear that your gaze will pull them out of their slumber, you step back into your room, turning once more at the doorway to ensure they are still peacefully resting. 

it doesn’t take much reflection to determine that you feel something special in hyunjin’s presence. though entirely unexpected and definitely not a part of the original plan, you know in your heart that you wouldn’t want it any other way.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

early in your “relationship,” you and hyunjin joked that, for a two-month anniversary, you should meet for dinner at a stereotypically romantic restaurant. both of you were people of your word, so it was no surprise when hyunjin made a reservation for a bistro in the area. 

you decide to dress up like a movie character going to a date pertinent to the story’s plot–this may not be a proposal dinner, but two months into a three-month fake relationship certainly was worth celebrating. adorning curated accessories and the best outfit you could create, you happily stride to hyunjin at the restaurant’s entrance. 

the space is bustling with people and conversation, but hyunjin’s greeting cuts through the noise with absolute clarity. 

“hi y/n, you look lovely.”

you take a moment to appreciate their outfit–a simple trouser and button-up combo amplified by an embroidered blazer and statement jewelry–and reply with enthusiasm, “hi hyunjin, you look lovely too.”

he offers you a soft smile before guiding you through the front door. the host takes you to a table by the window, and you slip into your usual beginning-of-the-date conversation. hyunjin asks you about your day, tells you about theirs, and you laugh together at stories of your beloved friends doing dumb things. 

getting the basics out of the way, you ask a question that’s been on your mind all day, “how is your painting series going?”

hyunjin lets out a small sigh, but quickly follows it with a smile, “i’ve made significant progress. i still have a long way to go, but, thankfully, i’m figuring out what i want to capture now.”

“oh, good!” you clap your hands, “i imagine the sigh was because of the stress? i know we are both coming close to the deadline.”

they take a sip of their water and nod, “yes, exactly. it’s difficult to appreciate creative breakthroughs when you’re hyper-aware of the clock ticking. how is the book?”

you grimace, “honestly…not as formed as i would hope, given there’s only a month left before i need to hand in the manuscript. the story is there, but i’m just not sure if i believe it, you know? and there’s the matter of the ending…”

hyunjin’s brow furrows, “isn’t it a guaranteed happy ending?”

“yes, thankfully i didn’t have to do the heavy-lifting of deciding whether the characters ended up together. i want to make sure, though, that the ending feels real. the lovers in the story are flawed. they make mistakes, they don’t always choose what’s best, they have big feelings and even bigger questions, and, ultimately, they’re realizing that they barely know anything about real love. i’m stuck trying to figure out how to grant them the gift of true love without losing the readers’ trust in my portrayal of the lived experience of loving someone. i think…i’m worried about whether people will agree that these characters have earned the happy ending.”

“if true love is the ending, then it’s not something they need to earn,” hyunjin muses, “i think everyone deserves true love.”

you let those words hang in the air, rolling them over in your mind. eventually, you smile at hyunjin.

“i’m not sure if that’s a conclusion i can come to naturally, but i think it’s beautiful that you have a romantic outlook on it all.”

they chuckle, “well, i’m sure that beautiful mind of yours will come up with the perfect ending, even if you don’t completely agree with my philosophy on the matter.”

after placing your orders, you both opt for quiet people-watching. the view of the city from that window feels intimate. just beyond a pane of glass is the world where you and hyunjin existed simultaneously before your paths ever crossed. while it’s probably the writer in you, you sit there wondering how many people could change each other’s lives, if only they were given the chance to meet. 

the conversation is minimal throughout the rest of the meal. at times, you catch hyunjin watching you, only for them to quickly look away, seemingly embarrassed. you smile to yourself, unable to resist the cliché cuteness of it all. 

after you catch them for the umpteenth time, you tease, “you know, if we’re fake dating, there’s nothing wrong with you staring at me.”

they laugh, tucking their hair behind their ear like clockwork, “i guess you’re right.”

“mhm,” you nod, leaning back in your seat, “what’re you thinking about when you look at me like that?”

hyunjin freezes, apparently caught off-guard by the question, “what am i thinking every time i look at you?”

“okay, maybe requesting an itemized list of your thoughts every time you look at me is a bit…extravagant, even for us,” you laugh, “so i guess i’m asking what you’re thinking of tonight, while you’re looking at me like that.”

he fidgets in his seat, and you worry that you’ve accidentally crossed a line into real-dating territory. you try not to scold yourself, at least not in the moment, because this faux-pas was bound to happen at some point or another, right? 

you open your mouth to apologize for the weird question, but hyunjin answers, “i think we should end this.”

oh.

your mouth opens a few times before you can finally vocalize the only word you can think of, “what?”

hyunjin runs their hand through their hair, only to spin a ring on their finger over and over again while they speak, “i think we should end this arrangement we have. it’s been a lot of fun, don’t get me wrong, and i know we’ve both benefited creatively from it. i just think it has…run its course, you know?”

this arrangement. that phrase crashes over you like a tidal wave. you know it shouldn’t shock you because this is a fake dating arrangement. but it seemed that both of you started to treat it as something more. at least, that’s the impression you got with the intimate moments shared, the growing comfort between you two, and the abundant sweetness that surrounded you when you were together. sitting at this table and hearing these words, however, is an indication that maybe you were wrong. regardless, you can’t deny the fact that this has always been an at-will situation. if hyunjin wants to break it off, they can, no questions asked.

“i see…” you reply, hoping the pause wasn’t too long, “if that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“i’m sorry if this came out of nowhere. it must feel kind of random since i sort of…blurted it out,” they smile sympathetically, “i just think that it’s for the best. plus, we’ve both gotten what we needed out of this, right? i’ve gotten my paintings, and you’ve gotten your story. we accomplished what we set out to do.”

sure, you’ve gotten what you needed, but had you gotten all that you wanted? it feels as though there’s no use in asking hyunjin. if they wanted the same thing as you, they almost definitely wouldn’t have made the suggestion to end things.

“yeah, mission accomplished.”

you offer a weak smile, unsure of what to say next. a silence falls over you two again, signaling not comfort but the end of the conversation. you both simply have run out of words.

after saying the last thing you would have expected, after compartmentalizing everything you had built and secretly hoped you would never lose, hyunjin reaches out their hand, “no harm, no foul, right?” 

choking back tears and mustering all your strength into keeping it together, you offer them your hand and reply, “no harm, no foul.”

hyunjin removes their hand from yours and quietly gathers their things. when they ask if you’ll be okay getting home on your own, you simply nod. hyunjin believes you, or at least respects your desire for space, so, with a small goodbye–not even a promise to see you soon–he walks out of the restaurant. instinctively, your eyes move toward the street to ensure they’re heading home safely, but hyunjin chooses to travel down a route out of your view. maybe that is for the best. 

almost as though you’re the character in the movie you used as fashion inspiration, you lose track of time as you sit alone at the table. you know you need to go home, you want to get out of here, but you can’t figure out how to. when the waiter asks if you’d like more water, you shake your head and inform them that you’ll actually be leaving. 

“i hope you enjoyed your dinner!” they grin politely. 

“yes, yes, everything was great,” you lie.

“come back soon!” they call after you as you step past the threshold of the building.

you’re on the street. you’re standing where, only hours ago, you told hyunjin they looked lovely. how bitter it is to experience how much your world can change on such short notice. before you get too wrapped up in those thoughts, you will your legs to move, heading in the direction that will take you home. instinctively, you pull out your phone and call felix. when he picks up and says your name, everything falls apart.

“hey, are you okay? what’s going on?”

you sniffle, clear your throat, and beg your voice to do its job, “i don’t know, felix. i’m so confused. hyunjin…”

you hear felix jump to his feet on the other end, “did they hurt you? where are you? i’ll come get you.”

“no, they didn’t hurt me. well, not really. it’s,” a quick sob escapes your throat, muddling your words momentarily, “please come get me.”

“i’m coming. send me your location. i’ll be there as soon as i can.”

feeling comforted by the sound of his door closing behind him, you manage to say, “please bring jisung, too.”

“of course. stay where you are. stay safe. we’ll be right there. i love you, okay?”

“okay. i love you too. thank you,” you whisper, overwhelmed by the tears that stream endlessly.

after sending felix your exact location, you hide from the passersby against the corner of a building. with intense deep breathing and clenched fists, you manage to stop crying, at least enough for people to stop looking at you with concern. 

“y/n!” two familiar voices call out to you from across the street.

you smile when you see jisung and felix running towards you, and that gratitude breaks your resolve, so the tears come falling down all the same.

jisung’s face is saturated with worry, “hey, hey, what’s going on?”

felix, eyes glistening with tears, wraps an arm around you to safely lead you home. 

you stare at your feet, too emotional to look your dearest friends in the eyes while you admit, “hyunjin ended our…they broke…we won’t be seeing each other anymore. i don’t understand why, but…i think…my heart is broken.”

“oh, y/n…” felix laments.

jisung wraps his hand around yours and squeezes gently, “i’m so sorry. i honestly never would have expected this.”

“me neither,” you whisper, leaning even closer into felix, no longer distancing yourself from the truth.  

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

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