#not trying to feed into it necessarily but at the same time I’m starting to think that if I don’t let myself feel it and deal with it

[insanechayne]

~ ~ ~

[rorywritesjunk]

No longer locked upon the land but free on the rolling waves

You and Buggy come face to face with himself from the past, and while you’re fully accepting that this is your husband as a child, Buggy doesn’t want to accept it.

Rating: PG-13ish, but just due to some swearing.

Warning: Upset kid, upset husband. Reader is way too nice, doesn’t necessarily take husband’s feelings into account as well.

A/N: A combined request. I did a few versions of this story before feeling like it hit the marks I was wanting to hit. Also, I’m just trying to vibe off what I’ve seen of Kid Buggy. I’m no expert. I’d protect that kid with my life. He’s so adorable. I also like the trope of “Meeting your self from another time” and “gets turned back into kid-self”. This is the former, and I know shit about time travel but I just kind of made something up. Also, kelpies. Are they in One Piece? I honestly don’t know but I love kelpies and needed an excuse to mention them.

Title comes from "Sailing Song" by S.J. Tucker.

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6/Epilogue TAGLIST: @lostfirefly @misadventures0fdes @sylum @valen-yamyam16 @dohkyu

Chapter 2

Your husband refused to speak to you until the kid was gone, but you weren’t going to put up with this. Instead, you carried on like normal, taking the kid with you as you did your tasks around the ship, giving him a tour, and when it was dinner time, you fixed his favorite meal. However, when your husband came into the kitchen, he was glaring at you.

“What’s he still doing here?”

You crossed your arms and stared at him. “I’m feeding him dinner because I’m not going to let this kid go hungry because you think he’s a kelpie or omen or whatever is rattling around in that brain of yours.” With a huff, you grabbed two plates and piled them both with food before placing them on the table. Kid Buggy was already seated, watching Adult Buggy cautiously. His clothes weren’t dry yet from earlier and he didn’t want to go for another swim.

Your husband grumbled and took a seat, glaring down at his plate of food. At least you cooked his favorite meal, must be to make up for this crap he’s having to deal with. He sighed and picked up his fork before he started to shovel food into his mouth. You rolled your eyes and fixed your own plate. Kid Buggy immediately started to do the same as his adult counterpart. His eyes lit up and he looked at you excitedly.

“This is my favorite!” He said with his mouth full of food. “How’d you know?!”

You just shrugged and smiled at him as you sat down between them at the head of the table, handing the kid and your husband each a napkin. It was a lost cause because neither of them took it from you so you set it down beside them. You tried to make an effort. “I know everything.” 

Kid Buggy looked between you and your husband; Adult Buggy did the same. It was weirdly intriguing and adorable to you. You ate your own food, not looking at either of them. Once your plate was clean you picked up your husband’s napkin and leaned over to wipe his face; he rolled his eyes, mumbling something about pirates and not being scary. The kid narrowed his eyes at the two of you as you leaned over to do the same for him.

“You both wear your food as much as eat it, you know.” You chuckled as you wiped the kid’s face, and to your surprise, he allowed it a second time. Your husband was used to it by now. He may be a pirate but you still wanted him to be somewhat clean, even if it was just using a damn napkin from time to time. “Now, sweetie, remember the conversation from earlier, about who this man across from you is?”

Kid Buggy shrugged and set his fork down. “You said it’s me from the future, but I don’t like this, I don’t want to be some loser like him.”

“You little-”

“Buggy.” You shot your husband a look. “This is you as a kid, so you can’t be mad if he’s sassy to you.” 

“He isn’t me!” Adult Buggy insisted. “Stop saying that!”

“Honey, it is, I know it.” You assured him. “I'll take care of him and get it all figured out, okay? I promise.”

Your husband crossed his arms and glared at you. You just smiled sweetly at him. You would figure it out, no matter what.

~

“No.”

“Buggy-”

“This is my bed.”

“And I share it with you.”

Your husband stood at your side of the bed, glaring down at you and the sleeping figure beside you. There was no way you were going to allow the kid to sleep with the crew, and while you didn’t talk about the sleeping arrangements first with your husband, you also couldn’t find him to talk about it. He had disappeared after dinner, grumbling once again about kelpies, omens, selkies, whatever. You didn’t even know at this point. So after you got yourself and Kid Buggy ready for bed, you let the kid tell you another story about his adventures as an apprentice before he fell asleep nearing the end of his tale. It was kind of cute.

“Just for the night.” You told Buggy as he stormed over to his side of the bed. “Buggy, why are you so upset by this?”

“You brought something onto the ship!” He hissed at you as he threw the covers back and climbed under them. “We don’t know what this is!”

“It’s you, Buggy.” You sighed as you looked down at the sleeping kid. He was sprawled out beside you, snoring loudly. It reminded you of someone else you knew. “He mentioned being an apprentice on the Oro Jackson, and… and you know weird things like this can happen!”

“Not weird like this!” He shot back. “I’m going to sleep and when I wake up that kid better be gone. I don’t care where you take him, he has to be gone.”

He turned his back to you after that and pulled the covers over his head. Okay, you weren’t really bothered by that reaction. He was upset over this but you wanted to know why. What made him so certain this wasn’t him as a kid? It made you wonder if something happened to your husband as a kid to get him this freaked out. Your husband could be stubborn but you were determined. You carefully crawled over the sleeping kid and slipped under the covers behind your husband, stretching out behind him as you wrapped your arms around him.

“Buggy, tell me what’s wrong, please.” You murmured in his ear. You felt his body stiffen up, whether from the question or you suddenly being right there, you weren’t sure, but you needed to know. “You… you seem scared.”

He turned and glared at you but you didn’t back down. “I’m not talking about it.”

Oh, well… 

You rested your chin against his shoulder. “I think there’s something to talk about, honey.”

He scoffed and looked away from you, but he didn’t shy away from your touch. You leaned over to kiss his cheek, hoping that might help him relax enough to start talking to you. Clearly there was something about having Kid Buggy here that was bothering him more than the kid just “being a curse or bad omen”. It made you wonder of the possibility of other universes, alternate realities, but then you remember hearing those stories from the drunk sailors and pirates, and really, you heard enough of those stories from different places that it had to be a possibility. 

“Buggy, did something happen to you when you were that age?” You asked. He tensed up once more and you loosened your hold on him, but he sighed heavily and relaxed in your arms. “Honey?”

“Stop talking and go to sleep.” Buggy replied wearily. “Please, it’s late.”

Oh, he said please to you, that meant something. You knew when to stop, and if he was using words like that it meant you had to back off, so you did. You kissed his cheek again and pulled the covers around the two of you tightly.

“I love you so much, Captain.” You whispered in his ear. “You’re the fiercest pirate on the seas, and no one ever stands a chance against the future King of the Pirates.”

That did the trick. He rolled over and wrapped himself around you, head tucked under your chin as he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as you ran your fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead. You’d have to try and ask him again tomorrow. Maybe you could get him and the kid to interact without insults and threats.

Kid Buggy, however, had stirred and woken up at that moment, hearing you say the words ‘Captain’ and ‘King of the Pirates’. Now he was more confused than ever.

~

You were the first one awake, which wasn’t a surprise, but what was a surprise was you were surrounded on both sides. Your husband was clinging to you like a damn octopus, arms and legs wrapped around you with his head resting against your chest. The kid was curled up beside you and your arm was holding him against your side. Did he move in his sleep or did you? It was hard to tell but you didn’t think too long at that moment. You needed to get up and start breakfast.

Not to mention they were both snoring. The kid at least was nowhere near your ear, but your husband moved in his sleep and suddenly he was snoring right in your ear. Okay, that was enough. You suddenly sat up, jostling them both awake, and their matching sleepy expressions were quite adorable.

“Good morning!” You giggled, leaning over to kiss your husband on the cheek before turning to give Kid Buggy a kiss on the forehead. You pretended not to notice the smug look on your husband’s face at being the first to get attention, but you figured the kid wouldn’t care. “I’m going to get breakfast started, okay? Both of you get dressed and come find me in a bit.”

You got up before either could respond, throwing on your clothes for the day and hurrying out the door. Hopefully your husband wouldn’t throw the kid overboard again but you knew not to hold your breath. Maybe they could have a bonding moment, or Buggy could talk to his kid self or vice versa, who knew, but you wanted your husband to be honest about why this was so upsetting and stressful for him.

They finally joined you fifteen minutes later. Kid Buggy’s clothes were finally dry, so he put those back on. Your husband had his jacket and hat on, looking every bit the dashing and handsome captain that he is. You brought him a cup of coffee and kissed his cheek, complimenting on how handsome he looked this morning. He leaned back in his seat with a smirk; the kid just looked between the two of you.

“So… do I become a captain?” He asked; you both turned to look at him. “I heard you talking last night.”

“Oh!” You poured him a cup of juice and brought it over to him, giving your husband a look that said please please be quiet and don’t interrupt let me just explain something to the kid. “Um, yes. You become a captain with your own crew and everything!”

His eyes widened and he looked at Buggy. Your husband was watching you carefully, but he said nothing. The kid actually looked impressed by that. “Is this my ship?”

“My ship.” Buggy told him, narrowing his eyes. “I worked hard to get where I am.”

“But if I’m you then it’s also my ship.” The kid said with a smug look, crossing his arms as he looked back at the captain. You chuckled softly as you served them both breakfast; eggs, toast, and potatoes. The two Buggys locked eyes for a moment before both picking up their forks and shoveling food into their mouths. It was quite a sight to see how in sync they were with their movements. You finally sat down with your own plate.

“You have to work hard to get where he is.” You said, pointing from the kid to your husband. “It didn’t happen overnight. It took a lot of work and sacrifice, y’know, usual stuff.” 

“Wow.” Kid Buggy grinned. “Do me and Shanks have the ship together? Is he a part of the crew too? Where’s he at?”

Your husband stopped eating and set the fork down. He pushed back from the table and walked out of the room. It was surprising that he didn’t blow up at the kid, but you were grateful that he didn’t. The kid looked at you with a frown.

“What did I do?”

“Nothing.” You assured him. “We can talk about it later, I promise, but we got chores to do after breakfast.”

[cloverdaisies]

# ART CLASS 𝜗𝜚𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

JI CHANGMIN x reader

˗ˏˋ description:ˎˊ˗જ⁀➴ৎ୭ : your crush on your art professor might be affecting your grades, he was just perfect but you’re just a student. how you accidentally fell in love with art class for the wrong reasons…

˗ˏˋ genre:ˎˊ˗જ⁀➴ৎ୭ : fluff, unrequited to lovers.

˗ˏˋ word count:ˎˊ˗જ⁀➴ৎ୭ : 5.5k+

˗ˏˋ notes:ˎˊ˗જ⁀➴ৎ୭ : this was once 10k+ but oops, is a bit of an indulgent fic i can’t lie, i hope you love it as much as i do, so here’s some changmin brainrot to feed ur delusions, massive thank you to @juyeonszn for helping me get over my plot blocks, ily. proof reading in progress!

Mondays, the worst day of the week. That was for certain, considering you had a two hour class that morning with a professor that would draw over your weeks worth of work with sharpie. Thankfully, he’d already announced his leave and you wouldn’t had to deal with that anymore. Every morning you’d get the bus to university dreading the next class, headphones on trying to drown out thoughts of how you were going to survive your degree in these insufferable conditions.

“Today you have a lesson with your new professor, who’ll be taking over for me. He’s very well educated and I’m sure he will be able to fill in the gap after my leave.” Your old professor rambled on as if his low marking and reckless actions with felt tip pens would be missed.

You weren’t necessarily paying attention, more focused on your pencil work in the sketchbook than you were on the front of the class. Ears suddenly perking up at the voice you heard from the front of the room, it was a cuteish tone, at the same time mellow and calm - a voice that could put you to sleep that sat just on the right octave to make you fall in love with it.

“Hello everyone, I’m professor Ji and will be taking over the introduction to Fine Art module going forward. I look forward to getting to know you all and seeing your work. Today we will be starting a new project for your mid term evaluations, it will be a multimedia piece with a theme of your choice. Make it mean something, do what’s true to you.” Professor Ji stated, already he sounded as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. It was a breath of fresh air and his intellect was almost making you dizzy.

No y/n, you can’t be getting a crush on your professor this can only end in tears if you find out he’s already happily married and settled in life.

“Any questions?” He asked looking around the room with his thick black rimmed glasses, leant against the wall with his hands clasped in his blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

“Are you married?” Someone asked from the back of the room triggering a boisterous laugh to break out across the classroom.

Professor Ji sighed and rolled his eyes, clearly contemplating his response a bit taken a back by the question. Especially in a university classroom, where everyone’s an adult, it was such a high school question, but who could blame them for asking?

“Do I look that old to you?” He responded with a chuckle, holding a hand over his chest like wound had opened over his heart. Oh and he’s funny. This literally couldn’t get any worse, he just seemed perfect.

After that the class began to start their projects, however for some reason you just couldn’t overcome the creative block in your mind on what to do. As you were sat twiddling your pencil and scratching out ideas in your planner you felt a presence appear behind you.

“Struggling?” Professor Ji appeared over your shoulder with his hands behind his back, briefly looking down at your empty page before back at your embarrassed expression.

“I guess you could say so.” You laughed as if you were begging for hole in the earth to collapse and swallow you into non existence. You watched as he smiled sympathetically thinking of a way to help you, dragging a stool and bringing it closer to your workspace. He’d done this to every student, going around to check on your progress unlike your previous professor who didn’t really care less.

“Let’s see.” He scratched his head for a moment, tapping his pencil on the table. “What are you interested in?”

You blushed internally, the question on completely professional terms but almost sounded like something someone would ask on a first date - at least in your delusional state of mind.

“Well I usually focus on work that expresses feeling, like this piece I did on stress.” You showed him a previous piece of work you did for the class, the abstract work compelling him to the phone screen.

“This is really creative. I love the way you used colour here, it’s abstract but so detailed. I think you’ve definitely found a style there —” He paused for a moment realising he didn’t know your name.

“Y/n.” You slightly smiled at him, trying to make yourself seem less like an awkward mess in front of him or mask the fact, that you totally weren’t staring at him the entire time he’d been looking at the phone.

“Y/n. I definitely won’t tell you what to do! But something similar will definitely have you sailing through this module.” He smiled, the cute line peaking at his dimples which could of had you squealing right there like some sort of wild animal.

As he walked over to the next table you couldn’t help but wish he’d stayed longer, his presence was unfortunately addicting. It’s the way his eyes lit up seeing your work, his passion for his work, his intellect, his welcoming aura, it had you in some sort of chokehold you hadn’t felt in years.

You took his words on board, an idea suddenly crossing your mind in a quick flash. Sure it wasn’t the best idea considering your current situation, but all the emotions you’d depicted so far were negative. Something within you was scratching at your brain to illustrate the feeling of the fear of love, knowing you were good at painting the feelings you genuinely felt.

Beginning to map out your idea in your planner, the new wave of creativity certainly didn’t go unnoticed by your professor as he looked over at you working away with a smile.

Then you hit a wall. You didn’t like using anything other than acrylic paint, every other form of media just for some reason seemed to irk every single creative bone within you.

“Any progress?” Professor Ji passed your table for the last time, as the lesson would soon be drawing to a close.

“Yeah I have an idea. However, I hate working with anything other than acrylic.” You expressed, your ears turning a bright pink as he grazed your arm to take a look at your planner.

“Well I think this is a great idea.” He laughed politely, readjusting his glasses with a light push. “I’d love to discuss this more thoroughly in office hours with you, if you’d be up for it?”

“Sure. When?” You asked completely composed, your mind rattling through ideas for the piece whilst trying to block out any thoughts of the man next to you. He smiled for a moment, flicking through your scribbled notes with a pen.

“Today, 5-6pm. Think of the things you want to discuss before attending and I’ll be happy to help. It seems you’re a really talented artist. You just need a push in the right direction.” He replied, his friendly register doing nothing to help you out of the sick spiral you were falling down. You smiled as he walked off to the front of the classroom to close the lesson, unable to pay any focus to the words falling from his mouth as you flipped around your ballpoint pen and chewed nervously down on your lip - the venom of adrenaline circulating your body like a wildfire from the interaction.

The class began to pack their things, snapping you out of your silly nightmare daydreams packing your sketchbook and planner. You pushed your pencil behind your ear, planning to pack it away into your pencil case at some point but not necessarily revising that idea. You slung your bag over your shoulder with a sigh, about to leave door without looking back, your bed awaits.

“Don’t forget to sign your attendance guys.” Professor Ji pointed to the clipboard on the back of the door greeting everyone on the way out with a warm smile.

You quickly went to check your bag for the loose pencil you could have sworn you just had, not remembering where you’d placed it, frantically searching the bottom of your bag for it not fussing to open the case of pens in front of you.

“Are you looking for this?” Professor Ji, took the pencil from behind your ear with a chuckle. Thankfully, being the last to leave was on your side today, no one seeing the god awful embarrassment on your face.

“Thank you, that’s so stupid of me. Sorry.” You laughed off the embarrassment, grabbing the pencil from his hand and signing your name on the sheet as he continued to laugh. “Stop laughing.” You looked over to him, holding back your own giggles as he only laughed more.

“Sorry I can’t help it. See you later y/n.” He chuckled as you left the classroom with a idiotic smile glued to your lips, the door closing behind you. You could have screamed right there and then due to the shear torment of embarrassment.

As soon as your head hit your pillowcase, the room felt as if it was spinning, so many thoughts drowning that brain of yours they were turning it into nothing but mush. You felt your eyes shuttering closed, slumber gradually taking over your body.

┈ ・꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ୨୧ ꒱ ・┈

The persistent beeping of the alarm on your bedside table triggered you to rise from your nap like something out of the walking dead. You could have used more sleep, but you seriously needed to attend Professor Ji’s office hours otherwise your project was never going to be finished.

You got ready, your head clouded with looking good for your literal university professor. You shook those thoughts out your head fairly quickly before sliding into your boots and setting off out the door. The winter semester brought in dark nights, it was cold outside, so cold you could see your breath in a thin smoke as you waited at the bus stop.

Presenting your pass to the driver, thoughts circulated your head like a manic steam train running a track as if it was the F1 , you can’t fall for your prof, it would only end in tears when he doesn’t reciprocate those feelings. Staring into the steamed windows of the bus out on the dark night, you sighed the faint sound of music playing through your headphones as comfort.

You pressed the stop button, nervously making your way down the bus aisle as it came to a halt. Making your way to the arts building on campus, you inhaled an anxious sharp breath before reaching the hallway of offices. The office still had your old professors name engraved in a silver board on the front of the door, hesitantly you knocked awaiting an answer. The door handle turned, your stomach flipping and performing handstands.

“Y/n, come in.” Professor Ji smiled, walking into the office with a confident stride, the place littered with boxes seemingly needing to be unpacked. The office was lit warmly with a lamp stood in the corner behind the desk. He sat in a spinning chair at the polished desk nearly placed towards the centre of the room.

“So explain your plan.” He leant forward as you sat in one of the chairs opposite him, you pulled out your portfolio the chunky folder highlighting a collection of your previous projects.

“So, since I’ve done a lot of work on emotion, I thought I’d tackle something more complicated. So I wanted to do the fear of falling in love.” You explained showing him a colour palette you put together in class, it showed colours from a deep scarlett red to a sapphire blue. “The only issue is I don’t know how to use any other media than acrylic.”

“Hmm. So you’re a painter?” He asked watching you nod before beginning to speak again. “Have you ever tried oil paint?”

“Only briefly, I don’t really have the funds to buy oil paints though.” You laughed, thinking the suggestion was silly considering how expensive oil paints could be on your student funds.

“Thought so, that’s why I’m offering you use my resources for this project. Here.” He pushed a set of untouched oil paints across the table, as if they’d just been bought. You looked at him with confusion, you thought this had to be too generous, you’d never had any teacher care so much about their students.

“I mean thank you so much but why?” You couldn’t help but chuckle at the gift, it wasn’t necessarily too expensive nor was it meant anything but a professional proposal.

“I know what it’s like to be a student. Plus, someone like you could really benefit from it, your work with acrylic is to not be transitioned into oil paint.” He passed on a genuine smile, a smile that radiated a positive energy you’d never felt. You looked down at them, still in a state of shock he’d go out of his way to buy such a thing for you. “I was also thinking, since 1 to 1 mentoring is setting back up with the new semester, would that be something you’d be interested in? I happened to stumble across your notes from your old professor and he noted you seemed very stressed with your work load.”

“Yeah that’s true, but I can handle it!” You tried to smile, however upon hearing the comments you couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed in front of the likes of Professor Ji and his intellectual level in art. It felt as if you were being told you were slacking or left behind. “I don’t think I need any extra help.”

“Are you sure? I mean when I was in your year I also went through 1 to 1 mentoring for the same issue. I wasn’t always at the level I am now.” He sympathised with you, trying to catch eye contact as you looked down at the table.

“Okay. I guess it can’t hurt.” You sighed, still avoiding the glare of his brown eyes across the table, a silence lingering as the grandfather clock ticked on in the background.

“That’s great to hear. So it will be out of university grounds. Purely because the university won’t let me book a space in the week, I was thinking maybe a café? Of course on a completely professional basis, there’s a few other students needing the extra help too. I’ve got one more slot, are you free Wednesday at 10am?” He rambled on slightly, the thin biro in his hand hovering over the page beneath him. He pushed up his glasses and looked at you expectantly, your many thoughts being interrupted by his gaze.

“Uh, yeah that’s my day off so I guess.” You replied with a shrug, sitting back in the chair as you watched him messily scribble in his planner. “Do you have any pieces you’re working on at the minute?” You had no idea why you asked him, however something in you was desperate to ask.

“I’m just doing research at the moment into the baroque period, I would love to have the time do a piece of my own. It’s been a while.” Prof Ji seemed happy you asked, a small grin lighting up his cheeks as he spoke about it.

“Hopefully you can clear some time soon, I’d love to see what you make yourself.” You laughed, almost forgetting you were in a professional space as you let the words slip from your lips.

“Agreed. You’re free to go, see you on Wednesday morning.” He concluded the meeting politely, seeing you out the warm lit room through the tall chestnut door.

“See you then.” You replied, feeling heat rising to your cheeks as you noticed his arm over you keeping the door open, thoughts spinning through your dizzy head feeding your delusions like a sickly candy.

┈ ・꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ୨୧ ꒱ ・┈

After then, every other class had you spacing out with a mind full of Professor Ji, thoughts of his paint covered glasses, rolled up shirt sleeves, sweet smile and messy short hair. You often smiled to yourself, the words of every other prof passing through one ear and out the other - drowning softly into the background of your daydreams.

Wednesday seemed like a century away, you found your weekend dragging by Monday felt like an entire week and so did Tuesday. The night before, you’re sat planning your outfit as if you were going somewhere incredibly important the next day. Scrolling tiktok to cancel out your nerves for the next day, although it wasn’t a date, it was a completely professional meeting. You couldn’t shake the thought of it being a café setting, somewhere where you’d get to know someone for the first time, somewhere where you’d ask someone their hobbies, stare at each other across the table- you were getting carried away, but how couldn’t you?

The weather was on your side the next morning, the sun shining through your small apartment building window, the temperature outside not too warm but not too cold either. You carefully got dressed into the clothes you picked the night before, fixing your appearance in the mirror with a smile. Hopefully the effort wouldn’t look strange to him, after all you weren’t trying to look like the weird student with the crush on the teacher, nooooo that’s not you! It was and you couldn’t deny it.

You couldn’t help but twiddle your thumbs on the bus towards campus, palms coating themselves in a thin layer of sweat, your stomach churning in anticipation. You thanked the driver, walking towards one of the many on campus café where you’d agreed on meeting. It was a sunny day, therefore a considerable amount of people had taken to having picnics on the campus green, most opting to sit outside the café with their iced drinks and books.

You spotted him immediately, sat on one of the small tables with his laptop, scrolling away through his laptop and sipping at his iced latte with pouty lips.

"Hey." You smiled walking up to the chair in front of him with a smile, he returned the smile closing his laptop and putting his drink aside on the table.

"Y/n, lovely to see you. How are things coming alone? Do you want a coffee?" He asked picking up his wallet and signalling towards inside of the cafe.

"I can get my own! And I can't say I've done much, I've been pretty distracted the past few days." You laughed, trying not to be too suspicious or act embarrassing in anyway. He looked at you momentarily, eyes wavering across your outfit and perfectly styled hair.

"You look nice, are you going somewhere after this?" He asked, for the second time heat flooded your cheeks, your ears probably lighting up bright pink.

"No." You didn't know how to respond, if anything you were too stunned to speak, trying to gargle up words out of the jungle rattling in your brain. "I just had some extra time to get ready this morning."

"Glad I'm not keeping you from getting anywhere." He chuckled a mischevious smile on his lips, "I'll get the coffee, what are you wanting?"

"An iced matcha would be nice." You blushed, your voice barely coming out above a whisper as all your dreams of a man all seemed to be coming true. He was so mature but at the same time had a man-child charm, he believed in chivalry and was always there to give you everything you needed. In your sick fantasy, he was your prince, the older man that would save you from the horror of the boys your own age.

As he nodded, politely exusing himself to get your drink, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket, reaching to grab it, a text from your roommate lit up the screen. 'Wanna go to the bar tonight?' You hadn't been out in a long time, too busy in work and exams to dare leave your mess of a bedroom: seemingly procastinating work was always more important than your own happiness and social life. 'Sure' You replied, after all you deserved some fun after everything.

Professor Ji returned with your drink, you graciously thanked him and slid your phone back into your pocket. He turned the pages of his planner to the notes about your project he'd written earlier.

"So have you started sketching out your linework yet?" He asked, repeating his little habit where he pushes up the middle of his glasses to the top og his nose since they always slid down slightly everytime he loked down.

"No... Sorry, its been a hard few days. I'm not even sure where to begin." You replied awkwardly, with all the thoughts of him you'd completely forgotten all aspects of the project or the fact it was due sooner than anticipated.

"That's okay, we can always start now, that's if you brought your sketchbook." He laughed lightly, not trying to put you in some pit of self doubt when you were already struggling to hit a pencil to paper.

"Yeah I did actually." You reach to grab your large portfolio bag, grabbing your sketchbook and opening it to the page where your moodboard for the piece was. You had practiced some sketching, feathered lines and doodles scattered across one of the pages. He reached across the table, looking at the drawings with a keen eye.

"Pass me a pencil." He asked, holding out his hand as you gave him one of yours, watching as he began to draw in the corner. "Instead of feathering your lines so much, try to get a firmer line like this so its easier for you to follow the precision of the paint."

He drew the heart balloon you'd drew in the corner, of course in a much nicer way which was soul crushing for you, but you followed his guidance and he nodded in approval. Of course, he could'nt admit it, but Ji himself was feeling some sort of gut feeling, perhaps guilt as he felt himself begin to get nervous around you. He thought it was endearing, the way you followed his movements and laughed nervously when you accidentally made a mistake quicly erasing it. However, he would absolutely never, his self control was a much tougher obstacle to tackle and he wouldn't let it fall for anyone.

You carried on discussing placement and ideas, not long until you had an minitaure layout of the page for your project all sketched out. The hour had flew by, and you almost forgot about your drink, too focused on him and his words to comprehend the time.

"Thanks for today, oh, and the drink, Professor Ji." You began to pack up your things, your pencils going neatly slotting into their case.

"Of course, just call me Changmin by the way, the professor thing is too formal even for a classroom." He felt himself cringing, why would he say that? He did mean it but, it felt even weirder that it was you saying it and not the other students.

As you left, he took off his glasses for a moment palms flattened over his face as his thoughts ran over all the events of the past hour, raking his fingers through his hair. Although he did think everything you did was in some way magical, he understood that he could not loosen the boundary between him being your tutor and you being his student. It simply couldn't happen. Ever. That thought would torment him until you either went away or he had to leave himself.

┈ ・꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ୨୧ ꒱ ・┈

For the next few hours, your daydreams had become an even more delusional hell than before. Your memory floated over the fact his hand had touched yours briefly as you handed him the pencil, the warmth of his fingertips lingering over your knuckles. As you grabbed your bag, getting ready to meet your friends you simple’s could not shake the thought of today, the chemistry between you both, the tension. It was all a bit much to handle.

You met your friends at the bar, regardless of the messy state of mind you were in. You got a break from work conversations for once, being able to stay up late and drink as much as you wanted as the sports played in the background of the bar. For the first time you felt as if this was normal university life you were living, however the huge disadvantage of not drinking in a long time is that after a couple of drinks you were irresponsibly and irrevocably drunk.

“Get home safe y/n.” You friend smiled, you two bring the last people in the bar as your roommate and her boyfriend had already left much earlier.

“You too.” You smiled before turning around and trying to walk in a straight line, the narrow alley of the street proving difficult as you accidentally wandered into the wall.

On a late night convenience store trip, trying to shake his irreplaceable thoughts. Changmin couldn’t get a wink of sleep with the pool of guilt sitting in the pit of his stomach at the idea of you. He left the store with a few snacks, figuring if he couldn’t sleep he may as well watch a movie or something to pass the time.

As if the world was against him, he noticed a familiar figure stumbling down the street, sighing as he recognised you, clearly not being in a state where you can get home safe unless you lived extremely nearby.

“Y/n?” Your ears perked up at the familiarly sweet voice. A voice of concern as you looked up to see your professor, Changmin stood in front of you with a glint of worry in his eyes.

“Oh…. hiiiii…. Sorry I must look like a mess right now.” Barely able to string out a sentence you giggled and hiccuped pushing a strand of hair behind your ear. Oh goodness… how you’d regret this in the morning.

“Can you get home safely? How much did you have to drink?” He asked frantically, gasping as you almost stumbled over his palms landing on either arm to support your body.

“Yes. You’re so funny…. I just need to get the bus.” You slurred your words going to walk past him, before you were stopped by him blocking your path.

“There’s no buses from here at this hour it’s 3am! I can’t take you home because I’ve drank myself. You can sleep on my couch if you want but if you go to walk home, I’m walking all the way with you.” Changmin stated, watching your eyes light up all giddily as you began jumping up and down.

“OOOO, What does your place look like?!” You squealed the curiosity getting you way too overexcited in the drunken state you were in

“Come on then, you had lectures in the morning you need be more careful.” Changmin let you link your arm into his, despite the berry pink shade rising in his cheeks he hoped you’d wake up in the morning and forget all about the way you were acting towards him for your own sake.

His apartment was a humble excuse for a studio, not too big but not inconveniently small either. There were band posters and some of his original art work hung on the walls across the room where there was space. It was lit warmly, he seemed to hate fluorescence of ceiling lights and much preferred dotting smaller lights with thrifted lampshades around the room.

“You have the bed, I’m gonna stay awake for a while.” He pointed to across the room where his neatly made bed was just waiting to canon balled, the mountain of pillows looking so unrightfully comfortable. You collapsed into the sheets without any arguments, failing to see the relieved smile as he sat down in front of the television.

You soon drifted off to sleep, every little mumble, little breath was heard across the room by him. He struggled to shake the thoughts of you, after all that’s what was keeping him up in the first place. He’d only made his situation worse, he couldn’t fall in love with you no matter how attractive he thought you were. Every time he shut his eyes he saw you, and now you were across the room the thought was haunting him. So he laid across the sofa awake, into the hours of the early morning until he just couldn’t keep them open anymore. Even in his dreams, the pictures of you danced like paintings across his brain.

┈ ・꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ୨୧ ꒱ ・┈

Of course leaving your professors house hungover at 8am on a Thursday morning, wasn’t the proudest moment of your life, it certainly was an experience. You’d never been mortified of your own actions, god knows what you said to him, you couldn’t remember blurting anything you shouldn’t of. However as you showed up to your lectures for the next 3 weeks he didn’t talk to you, nor did he help you with your project or take you to any cafés for your mentoring.

Your one to one sessions now took place in his office, to him it was easier to make the difference between love interest and student in there. You could tell the difference, he wasn’t as friendly, he was ice cold and this only made you more embarrassed.

After a few weeks you finally mustered up the courage to ask him.

“Why are you being so different with me?” You asked confidently, watching him avoid making eye contact and ignore the question as if he never heard it. “You owe me an explanation.”

“Do I? I’m just trying to maintain a professional relationship with you.” He shrugged continuing to check through your sketchbook, you couldn’t look at him without beginning to shake, the confidence in your voice wavering.

“What do you mean by that?” You retorted, confused to why that was suddenly so serious, when had HE ever been unprofessional, after all weren’t you the problem?

“I mean what happened those few weeks ago, was wrong. I’m your lecturer nothing more.” He placed his palm on the desk looking at you with a serious glare, eyes wavering suspiciously.

“Changmin?” You were hesitant to ask, “Do you have feelings for me?”

There was silence, you wished you could swallow your words back into your head but you were too late. He stared at you with a panicked expression, then one of disappointment before beginning to speak.

“I can’t Y/n, you’re just a student. You’re my student, I don’t want to lose my-”

He knew he was hurting himself with his own words, it was so clear he’d been pushing himself away from what he wanted and that was you.

You interrupted him with a kiss, it took a moment before he reciprocated standing up straight and pushing your back into the wall behind you. It was passionate desperate, as if every emotion, anger, frustration, love that was so forbidden - he’d just let it go. He couldn’t fight it anymore.

Pulling his face away from yours, you looked at him with teary eyes, all the emotions bursting out as your own feelings began to conflict.

“I’m sorry. That should have never happened.” He quickly backed away, holding his lips. You shook your head violently not able to produce a coherent sentence.

“No. I’m in… I can’t say it. Don’t hate me.” You still couldn’t think of the words, you didn’t want to frighten him or push him away. You were scared he wouldn’t be able to love you back, he’d hold his career over you.

However that singular tear that fell from your eye, was gently wiped away by his thumb. Wrapping his arms around your head and bringing you to his chest. He sat himself on the desk, lifting you on to his knee to comfort you.

“It’s okay, I’m in love with you too.” He whispered into your ear, only causing you to sob more as his own tears were wiped away by a hearty chuckle. “I guess we’ll have to figure out the work stuff before I can fully be able to love you like I want to though."

You smiled up at him in the ambient lighting, as he rocked you in his arms against the warmth of his chest you were content. The dimples in his cheeks sending your stomach swarming with butterflies, as you pushed your glasses up his nose for him.

That’s how you accidentally fell in love with your art professor.

┈ ・꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ୨୧ ꒱ ・┈

[restinslices]

Hello! I don’t care about which format, just whatever works for you!

I’m not sure any of them would mind tbh but imma still try and give them different reactions slightly

Bi-Han has heard of vampires before, but he’s never actually met one and he wasn’t sure how he felt. Vampires came with many complications and if they decided to backstab you, there was a good chance the victim wasn’t seeing the next day. Maybe Bi-Han was worried about this because he’s done his fair share of stabbing people in the back. Maybe he was just being paranoid. He didn’t know what it was but when he found out, he started to distance himself a bit and I wouldn’t be surprised if he said some not so kind words when he found out.

Bi-Han would be very conflicted. His strategist way of thinking would say “keep them close enough so you can watch them. A vampire would be an excellent ally” but the boyfriend part of him would say “they’re your partner. Don’t be an asshole”. He’d land on keeping them close enough so he wouldn’t lose them and letting his brain figure out what to do next as time passed.

Bi-Han wouldn’t be bothered by things like seeing his partner feeding. I don’t think he’d wanna watch the whole thing but if he caught the end of it, he wouldn’t be too bothered. If it was his enemies though, he’d take delight in watching them be torn apart and being used for food. Feeding on him is definitely not happening. He hates feeling like a juice box or like a leech is always on him, so the answer is no. The weaknesses might bother him simply because he thinks they’re stupid. Sunlight? Yeah, now he knew why they lived in an area that was never that bright and why they always did things at night but it was still bothersome. Way more bothersome since he knew what was up. He’s not sure why. Either way, he’d definitely use their strengths and abilities to his advantage. He likes them so it’s not like he’s just using them, but now there’s no hiding things like their super strength so they can unleash it all now. He needs all the help he can get when it comes to the war that’s coming.

Bi-Han isn’t sure about becoming a vampire though. His partner has offered and he’s always said no. Not because he doesn’t want it though. The strength, speed, flight, and all that other shit sounds great. It’d give him a huge boost. But the weaknesses is something he’s not sure he could deal with. Plus, he doesn’t know if he’d stay a cyromancer. He’s grown up with these powers and he doesn’t want them taken away. He doesn’t care what he’d get in return. His answer will stay no, but if he finds out his powers won’t be affected or they’ll be stronger, then there’s a huge chance he might say yes.

He keeps them around for multiple reasons. He’s not a complete asshole and is just using them, but he does have a bigger plot.

Kuai Liang isn’t necessarily shocked. I think Kuai Liang is smart enough to pick up on certain hints but he didn’t let himself believe them. His idea of vampires is skewed by the scary stories his father used to tell but his partner doesn’t match those stories. Vampires are supposed to be horrifying and blood sucking creatures. His partner wasn’t like that. They made jokes and laughed and got in close quarters with people without murdering them. So when they confess to being a vampire, he doesn’t believe them until they show proof.

Kuai Liang, like his brothers, is conflicted now. He’s not sure if he should distance himself in case they turn out to be some manipulative freak that’s tricked him this whole time, or stay close to them. After all, he never sensed any treachery and they didn’t have to confess at all but this could’ve been apart of whatever game they were playing. He’d especially be on edge if this was around the same time Bi-Han was revealed to be a traitor. He’d slowly get closer to them again. He would need time to think and time to watch how his partner reacted. He definitely wasn’t expecting them to be sad but understanding. Thankfully though, at some point they’d be back to normal.

Kuai Liang makes sure to be careful around them now. He doesn’t use his pyromancy when he’s close to them, since fire can kill any person but it’s especially dangerous for vampires. When it comes to feeding, he’s not helping out much. The whole luring people thing just isn’t for him and honestly it’s not his job. You can eat however many enemies you want but when it comes to normal people living their lives? He will not be participating. Besides that, now that he knows the quirks they had has something to do with their condition, it’s weirdly calming. He has answers for everything now. For example, he likes that he knows why they’re so against morning dates. At first it was just something he thought was a bit peculiar. Now he knows the real reason and he likes not being in the dark. After thought; no he’s not being drank from. His blood probably burns their mouth.

Kuai Liang does not want the bite. It’s a definite no. Kuai Liang is someone that is comforted by death. It’s an ending everyone is supposed to experience and after death he hopes he can be reunited with his father and anyone else he’s lost (or the people he will inevitably lose because this is Mortal Kombat). A life that has no ending is unnatural to him and it would defeat the whole purpose of living. You live and hope you make your mark so you’re remembered. There’s no point on doing that if you’ll never leave.

He’s a bit suspicious at first but once that suspicion ends, it’s back to normal for him.

Tomas has only heard of vampires through stories and the media so his idea of them is also skewed. I don’t think he’s as suspicious as Kuai Liang though. He’s mostly confused. Why lie to him? How long have they been alive? Why choose him as a boyfriend? What other abilities do vampires have? Have they ever used their abilities on him? Did they ever think about about drinking from him? It quickly becomes a game of 20 questions and that’s not even enough to fill his curiosity. He had to know how much he thought he knew was true and how much was fiction. He had to know why he got picked to be their boyfriend out of everyone, especially if they’ve been alive for thousands of years.

Tomas doesn’t pull away as much. Sure, he needs a minute to think but he does that by their side. There’s no real point in pulling away. They might leave and he didn’t want that. The best course of action was to think about what he wanted while still being near them and asking for space on days where he needed it. At some point he’d decide he still wanted them and they’d go back to normal. He’d probably come to this conclusion quicker than the other two. Tomas mainly care for if he feels appreciated and loved. He doesn’t care much for species or other trivial things.

Tomas is mainly fascinated with having a vampire partner. I mean, come on! They can fly! He can too but that’s not the point. Vampires have such interesting powers and they can differ depending on who it is. He’s gonna ask 50 million questions with little to no shame. He’s just very curious and he’s especially curious about how they even became a vampire. If it was traumatizing then he’ll drop it until they’re ready to share. As for feeding, he doesn’t ask. He knows it’s probably random humans being drank from and he doesn’t really wanna know about that. When it comes to drinking from him, the answer is no. I know I’ve said no for all of the, but I don’t think any of them would like being someone’s source of food. Plus it would tire them out and they have to be at their peak at all times.

Tomas isn’t sure if he wants the bite. He’s someone who is also comforted by death and the idea he’ll see his lost loved ones at some point. At the same time being a vampire would be cool and it’d let him spend forever with the person he loves. The answer would be no at first, but as he gets older he knows he has to make a choice. He’s just not sure what that choice will be. He’d give himself a time limit. Something like “I have to make a definite decision by the time I’m 40”.

Adjusts to it easier than the others. He has 100+ questions to ask but it’s Tomas so who’s bothered?

Overall, they still care for their partner and end up keeping them around even if it’s for different reasons. These men have magic. A set of fangs may spook them but they’ll get over it

[dangans-ur-ronpas]

Chapter 9

oh god oh fuck he's back

SEE HERE FOR GENERAL WARNINGS AND FIC SUMMARY

Some pre-chapter notes:

Hey Byakuya I'm glad you had your little reconciliation moment. We're still in a killing game though so don't forget

There is not as much of a focus on the other chars...trying to change that for the future because they're just as fun to write

Toko, girl...I do love Toko as a character but as a person she does some questionable stuff. This hasn't changed for this fic

@moonlighttogami betaread this!!

Content warning tags: Monokuma shows up to move the plot. I'm not sure what to tag this one with to be honest...canon compliance stressful events I guess?

< previous - from start - next >

“So you guys are…like, better now?”

It’s Asahina who asks this, walking boldly up to where he’s sitting at breakfast the next morning. He raises an eyebrow at her, setting down the piece of toast that Makoto had delivered him.

“What on earth do you mean?” He asks right back. He has the feeling of eyes, following his every movement. It’s annoying, but he supposes it makes sense; being locked up in a building with no new information meant the common masses would be slavering for entertainment. Relationship drama, or gossip thereof, was one way to sate that need.

“Oh, you know…you guys seemed like you were arguing before,” She says casually, rocking on her heels. “Like, you would leave any time he was in the same room, you wouldn’t talk to him, and he stopped bringing you breakfast…” She trails off, voice ending in a pointed lilt.

“I don’t know what assumptions you’re making, but I’m not interested in feeding your delusions.” He replies coolly. Let them draw their own conclusions. “Why not bother Makoto about this?”

“What do you think they’re doing?” She jerks her chin behind her. Makoto is surrounded on all sides by Yasuhiro, Owada…and Ishimaru, who for some reason seemed oddly friendly, especially with Owada. The weight of three, overbearing personalities seemed to be physically crushing the boy, as he tries to avoid Mondo’s belting, burlish questions by ducking into his cereal.

He wonders if Makoto was looking at him, probably making pleading eyes for assistance, and purposely looks away. He quietly congratulates himself for his forward thinking; after waking up some time before seven (warm and tangled up in sheets and limbs, and with his internal clock thrown entirely off-course), he immediately kicked Makoto out, shoving the groggy boy bodily out of his room, specifically to avoid drawing this kind of unnecessary speculation.

(He worried, afterwards, about whether he had inadvertently ruined their recently repaired deal. But then Makoto said ‘good morning’ when he entered the cafeteria, and then brought him breakfast as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. And suddenly, it felt somewhat foolish of him to have been concerned in the first place.)

“Like I said. Draw your own conclusions.” He hums, lifting up his mug for a sip of coffee. It was bitter and watery, but there’s some slight improvement from before; his constant hassling of Ishimaru must have yielded results. “Is that all? Can you leave now?”

Asahina wanders off, apparently annoyed that he won’t reveal anything more. With her absence, he suddenly becomes aware of a presence behind him, and as he sets down his mug, he manages to identify the person by smell. 

In the time since becoming blind, it seemed that his nose had sharpened, though that wasn’t necessarily a pleasant adjustment. He sighs, “What, Fukawa.”

The shuffling footsteps that had been inching steadily closer to him stop, then scurry off. What a strange one. He suspected that she was of the same crowd as Fujisaki, an admirer that has confused expected appreciation of superiority for romantic infatuation. For the time being, she was still relatively harmless, and somewhat useful in how attentive she was, cleaning up after him at mealtimes. He could have Makoto chase her off later…somehow or another.

Breakfast was drawing to a close. People began putting away their dishes, meandering towards the exit. Byakuya stands up and begins walking towards the library, and not long after he enters the hallway does he hear the sound of footsteps, sneakers squeaking to catch up to him, and allows himself a small smile.

___

Ding dong, bing bong.

He pauses outside of his room door, looking up in the direction of the sound. How odd, but he didn’t think it was ten PM already…he’d been very careful to have Makoto pay attention to the time on his wristwatch, so that they would leave the library with ample time to spare. He glances over his shoulder, and sees Makoto standing in the middle of the hallway, staring confusedly at the nearest speaker.

“Ahem! School announcement, school announcement.” Monokuma’s voice grates from the speakerphone. “Nighttime is quickly approaching, but before it arrives... All students, please gather in the gym immediately. Emergency! Emergency!”

This…could only spell trouble.

Around them, their peers were beginning to peek out of their rooms. Some of them seemed to be trembling. A clamor of anxiety was beginning to build, people voicing their worry for what could be coming next.

“I-It’s not a b-b-body, right?” He hears someone stutter behind him, along with the sound of audible counting.

“No. We’re all accounted for.” Kirigiri's voice cuts through the hubbub. “But we better get moving. It’s not a good idea to defy him here and now.”

Her words help snap people into action. He walks on ahead, ignoring Makoto, who had begun to drift over to him. He still needed to maintain some semblance of normality, after all, and having the other boy hover over him too much would grow too annoying. That conversation from breakfast was still on his mind.

The gymnasium is the same as he last remembers it, save for the removal of Enoshima’s body. From what he can tell, even the floorboards that had been pierced through have been replaced. How meticulous. He wonders if it was Monokuma that took care of the repair, and is struck by the sudden ridiculous image of the bear toddling around with a box of tools and some wooden blanks before wondering if there was something wrong with his head beyond his eyesight.

Speaking of Monokuma, the insufferable toy wasn’t here yet. The others murmur among each other, uneasy and on edge.

“What could he possibly want?” Ishimaru wonders aloud. His unusually relaxed, easygoing demeanor from earlier today was gone, replaced with the stiff, high-energy nervousness that he usually displayed around Monokuma.

“Indeed. What might await us this time?” Celeste hums, calm as ever.

Nothing good, I’m sure. He thinks to himself. But really, there was only one possibility that was in his mind.

“It’s likely a new motive.” He says, and at that, a hush falls over the group. They all knew what that meant.

“A-a-a-” Yamada trembles where he stands. “A new motive?!”

“Nooo…not again!” Yasuhiro moans, hands fisting in his own hair. “And not after the earthquakes last night!”

The ripple of anxiety that had been running through the group is interrupted by confusion. “...Earthquakes?” Makoto asks.

“Yeah! There was, like, a lot of rumbling last night.” The clairvoyant nods emphatically, hair bouncing like the branches of a tree. “I was sitting around in the main hall last night, meditating, when I suddenly heard a lot of, like, loud booms and stuff. I totally thought it was construction or something at first.”

“Construction…?” Asahina tilts her head. “Would it be the mastermind trying to build something?”

“I mean, I don’t know if it was construction for sure. It was just, like, kinda loud, you know?” He waves his hands, as if trying to support just how ‘loud’ it was by movement alone. “Like, I’m surprised no one else heard it!”

“The rooms are all soundproof.” Kirigiri interjects now. “Most of the rest of us were in our rooms by ten o’clock.”

“Y-yeah, I know, but- wait, does this make me seem suspicious? But no one’s even dead!” The few shreds of interesting information he had to offer were gone, and now all he spewed were inane words again. “I just lost track of time and was staring off into space! Serious!”

They continue to prattle on, and Byakuya tunes them out. Construction noises…he’s not sure what it could imply. Nothing good, surely, if there’s been no sign of the rescue that Asahina had talked about earlier, then that meant the mastermind’s domain extended past the mere limits of the school - the noises Yasuhiro heard were also supportive of that.

“Hey hey heyy, everyone!! What’s everyone talkin’ about?”

A voice pierces the air, and they turn just in time to see Monokuma vaulting onto the podium. It’s a cartoonish sight, but Byakuya feels tense, an uneasy chill building at the base of his neck. And judging by the sudden stilling of the others around him, it seemed that he wasn’t alone in this reaction.

“What Hiro heard wasn't the sound of construction...but it could have been an explosion!” The thing laughs. “Or maybe a machine gun! Puhuhu...That can kinda sound like construction in a way!”

“What are you talking about…?” Makoto asks, and Monokuma rolls over in another fit of giggles.

“Ah-ah-ah! You won’t get that out of me so easily! You might as well try gutting me for stuffing first!” It wags a paw at them. “It’s a secret little secret, y’hear?? And speaking of secrets…”

It digs behind its back for a moment, and seemingly out of nowhere, produces a stack of what looks like large, blank, white cards, fanned out in its paws like a blackjack hand. “Ta-dah!!”

Byakuya fights the urge to squint. Subtly, he steps quietly over to Makoto’s side. “What’s it holding,” He hisses quietly.

“Envelopes…with our names on them?” As Makoto responds in a whisper, Monokuma tosses the envelopes, and they scatter over the floor.

“Everyone pick up yours!” The headmaster orders, and a few people hesitantly obey. “If you don’t, you’ll regret it~!”

Damn. Byakuya stares at the mess of papers scattered around them. He could crawl on hands and knees for a million years, and never find it… “Why should we?” He snarks, glaring at Monokuma. “What’s this all about, anyways?”

“Ohh, good question, little heir!” The bear nods, like a pleased teacher contemplating an enthusiastic student’s question. “Well, if you don’t want to hurry and grab your envelope just yet, I suppose I’ll give you an explanation. You see, I’m a bit bored these days…every single day is so blah and humbug, you know? I’m suuuree you understand!” It waddles, kicking at a few of the envelopes at its feet. “Gosh, it’s got me so frustrated, I’m about to start tugging all my threads out…that’s how bad I want some stimulation, y’hear?! Something rife with danger and intrigue!!”

With those words, Byakuya feels that dread, cold and dripping, crawling down his back. Somewhere behind him, Owada snarls. “The fuck’re you getting at? Spit it out!”

“Patient, be paa-tient! Goodness, it’s not good to be so angry all the time!” Monokuma shakes its head. “But I’m a good headmaster, so I suppose I’ll just go ahead and be frank for my eager lil’ students. Y’see, it’s taking too long for another blackened to show up, and I’m getting so, so, sosososo bored…so, I’ve come up with a new way to motivate you all!” It twirls, and gestures once more towards the envelopes. “This time, I’ve collected up some of everyone’s most embarrassing memories and secrets! And I wrote them up and put them into pretty little envelopes for you all to read through!”

The chill in his back turns icy, and his gaze flicks down to the envelopes scattered on the hardwood floor. Around him, he can hear others diving for their envelopes, snatching them up hurriedly - but he can’t move. Even if he tries, he won’t find it - he can only hope that Makoto had found his, and wouldn’t betray him by reading it. Or else…

And others have started reading already. He hears gasps, terror, disbelief, the crumpling of paper. Before him, Monokuma looks up, tilting its face in an impression of curiosity.

“Oh? What’s this? Not moving?” It reaches out and pats at his knee, and he takes an involuntary step back, disgusted. “What, are you Jesus or something? Free of sin? You think you have no dark or dirty secrets to hide?”

Ironically, it was this stupid taunt that brought him back from his growing panic. Calm down, he snaps at himself. He’d do himself no favors making a fool of himself here.

He forces his face into a sneer. “I’m not the kind of person to be moved to kill by such a pathetic motive.” He says loudly, so everyone else could hear. “You’ll have to do better to make me participate in such a miserable excuse for a game.”

“Still not impressed, I see? Such a shame…” Monokuma looks down, apparently unhappy by this declaration. “And I worked so hard on these too…oh well. Whether or not you look at it matters, if you don’t mind someone else reading it…right, Miss Fukawa?” 

There’s a squeak. Byakuya’s head jerks to the right, where he remembers seeing Fukawa last. Sure enough, the girl is hastily shoving something back into an envelope - one of two envelopes, that she has clutched in her hands-

He’s crossed the space between them before he’s even aware of what’s happening, and grabs the envelope out of her hands, fingers crumpling the paper. Before him, Fukawa flinches and cows, shrinking down. “U-um, I didn’t-I was just…”

He glares, and her words die out. Behind him, Monokuma cackles. “Puhuhu! Oh, that’s too good!” It rolls on the floor with laughter, feet kicking merrily. “This is just like a reality drama! …But, it’s not what I’m after.”

The toy wiggles its legs for a moment, then toddles back onto its feet. “Everyone! You have twenty-four hours! If no one is blackened by then, I’ll reveal everyone’s secret to the whole, wide world! Wouldn’t that be so embarrassing??”

“We’d never kill over something like this!” Makoto’s voice pipes up. He’s standing there, hands clenched at his sides. “Sure, this is something I’d rather not want people to know, but…it’s not something to take someone else’s life over!”

There’s a brief pause, and then a small chorus of agreement. “He’s right!” Ishimaru shouts. “Your plan is doomed from the start! No one’s going to murder someone for this kind of thing!”

“Oh, is that what you really think?” The air in the room seems to chill by several degrees. Monokuma’s voice, previously playful and lighthearted, suddenly takes a sinister tone. “Well…whatever! If that’s the case, I’ll be revealing anyone’s secrets in twenty-four hours anyways, to make myself feel a little better. Everyone…farenotwell!”

And he turns, waddles off, and disappears into the depths of the gym.

__

In the end, they decide to simply ignore it.

Perhaps ‘ignore’ is the wrong turn of phrase here. Byakuya thinks bitterly, as he watches the other begin walking out. In truth, they had hesitantly tried suggesting sharing secrets now, to eliminate the motive, but several (including himself) were strongly opposed to the idea.

In the end, Ishimaru sent them off with a hesitant, awkward suggestion to ‘not act too hastily’, which was about as much as he could offer in this situation. Byakuya grabs Fukawa’s shoulder as she begins to leave, feeling his skin crawl at the very touch of her.

“Ah- huh?! Um…” Her head jerks, between him and the door, and begins squirming in her shoes. “M-mister Byakuya…”

“Give me your envelope.” He says coldly, and she freezes. “Well?”

“U-um…I can’t…” He grabs it from her hand, and she squeals. “W-wait-! L-let me prepare my h-heart-”

“Makoto.” He turns to the boy standing a ways behind him. “Come here.”

Makoto trots over, and Byakuya thrusts both envelopes in his face. “Which one?”

“Uh…” He hesitates for a moment, then points to the one that Byakuya had already been holding.

Byakuya shoves Fukawa’s envelope back towards her, and she fumbles for it a little too late. It flutters to the ground. “Stay away from me.” He spits. “And if I hear any whisper about the contents of this envelope, I’ll make you regret ever being born. Do you understand?”

He turns before she can respond, marching towards the door. Makoto’s footsteps dog after him.

“H-hey, wasn’t that a little…harsh?” He asks, quietly. Byakuya shakes his head.

“Hardly.” He grits out. If anything, he should have been harsher. His hand is still clenched tight around the envelope, the edges digging into his palm. The fury from earlier simmers; he could hardly believe the audacity that girl had dared to have.

He doesn’t even know what was written in his own envelope, and he doesn’t think he’s interested in reading it either. At the very surface level, it would be something about the blood competition that his family had held for the title of heir, and the lengths he had gone through to win it. If the mastermind had been really scouring for something embarrassing, he supposes it could detail about how he once spent a period of his life disguised as Polaris, though that was hard information to come by. Either one would be annoying to deal with once revealed, but it wouldn’t kill him. It was hardly the worst thing a Togami has done in the course of history, and as heir, any such information would be suppressed before it could reach any important ears.

But, it would be considered a blunder on my part. A blot on his perfect record. He chews at the inside of his cheek, feeling the raw and bloody flesh from the other day run over the grooves of his teeth. To allow such a thing to happen would reflect poorly upon him, draw doubt onto his position.

It’s not like killing was the better option, however.

He sighs, and stuffs the paper into his pocket. Better to put it out of his mind for now; if time runs out and it gets revealed, he’ll just have to figure out a way to deal with it then. He’s gotten out of tighter spots. And no matter how much he and Makoto had smoothed things over, he still couldn’t trust the boy to the degree of having him read it out to him, especially if it was a secret that could affect the family name.

For the time being, it was time to go to bed, and mull it over in his sleep.

< previous - from start - next >

[homeofhousechickens]

My 15 week old chickens don’t like treats, why is that? My previous flock went crazy for treats and would demolish them but these guys only take a nibble or two of things like fruits and pasta before leaving. They eat their chicken food and plants they find while foraging so I’m not worried, just confused. The only treats they accept are mealworms, they love those. What chicken doesn’t like snacks?

Sometimes flocks can get weird about treats. Chickens don't necessarily need treats if they have a good feed but it can be a bit sad if they don't want them. I would suggest making sure you offer treats at the same time every day. Chickens love routine and in the security of that routine they might be willing to try new things. Or you could just offer the treats in their run or yard a few hours after you feed them to see if they will try it. Chickens are extremely competitive so if one of them starts showing interest in the snacks they will all quickly change their mind about ignoring it in my experience.

[solarwynd]

see i know there's tens of people commenting same shit on members'lives but i still think at one point you can simply choose to answer some good ones and ignore the rest.

I know jm's no of lives are way too less than jk's but when he comes live he just reads some here and there comments, then even of he reads about any member he always has something positive to say about them like always and he includes all the seven members in his every live meaning he talks about all 7 of them.

but jk? Man's gonna read weardest cmnt like "jeon jimin" and will act dense like what was the need to read that comment two times on two lives? Then he also read a cmnt saying "when are you going to live with taehyung" and he was like "me....?? You mean when i was going to live with taehyung?" And just laughed it off like what is that reaction even? He's never clear with his reactions always giving some vague answers so people can create their own interpretation out of it. Now comapre it to jm's lives he reads decent comments and answers pretty much straight like when someone asked him "if jk made him ramyeon" jm is like "no" or"not yet" something. And that one time he started reading that chocolate factory joke (idk what it is) but left it middle when he understood what it means. He doesn't feed any y/n(like when ppl says you're mine he goes I'm my own or similar type of things he's done many times), nor DeLuSiOnAl shippers nor anyone else. He's straight with his answers and his things.

if after 10 yrs you're still relying on shippers then you're simply not an artist bro.

I mean it just comes down to jimin just being more mature than jk is really and people don’t give that to his credit because he’s cute and comes off as playful but he is. He’s the type of person I’d go to for insightful advice or a heart to heart. Jk isn’t. He’s self serving and surface level. You even get this from the interviews he’s done. But I’ve come to the thought that maybe that’s the way he feels he can connect with fans best which is on a superficial level because that works best for him. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Jimin’s also just very real, for lack of a better word. He’s already said that he doesn’t necessarily owe the members or the fan’s anything in an interview and I’m glad he’s set that boundary. he’s carved out a very beyonce type work ethic and dynamic and I love that for him. Just trying to be the best artist he can be showing love to the fans in a natural sincere way and keeping his own peace of mind by not being on socmed 25/8 and focusing on him.

[joels-shitty-puns]

hi a!

i’m back with another “gentle reminders” ask. it goes in line with one of my personal goals this year of trying to work on my kindness and how i show that kindness to others.

the beginning of a new year is always a bit tough for many people, for many reasons but at the scale of the fandom, i have noticed some negativity starting to spread. maybe it’s bound to happen on any social media but i always considered tumblr to be different, to be over the kind of discourse you could find on other apps. this place has been a true haven for many of us and i would like to keep it that way, so i thought, as a way to counterbalance this negativity, i could compensate with a nice message for one of the driving forces in the fandom: our dear writers.

i would like to begin by saying thank you.  thank you for dedicating your time, your energy, your love and sharing pieces of yourself with us. the fandom wouldn’t be what it is without you: just like a body needs a brain or a heart to function properly, fandoms need writers like they need others contributing. thank you for offering diversity, engaging with different tropes and characters to reach as many readers as possible. i will admit, some things proposed are not my cup of tea but i know they can be enjoyed by others, the same way some of my favorite fics wouldn’t necessarily attract others. so thank you for giving a chance to everyone to find what they enjoy, to discover, to learn, to cry, to laugh, to love and to be able to do so in an open, safe space. thank you for interacting with us as well. thank you for responding to our questions, sharing snippets when we get impatient, teasing us with your new ideas and making life a little more fun and exciting every day. and of course, thank you for doing all of this for free. for expecting so little in return when you give us so much.

now a few things i want you to remember: 

although we’re all thankful for having access to your art, your first fan should be yourself. write what you enjoy, write that self-indulgent fic, write your favorite trope, an improbable duo or crossover because you’ve always wanted to. do it for yourself. in the same way, have fun with it. writing is a hobby, it’s not your job, it’s not supposed to be a chore. so do what makes you happy. don’t worry about updating fics, about being slow, about posting too much or too little. some things might take time, some might need an hour to be posted but in the end, they all matter just the same. they’re worth being read and cherished and we will appreciate them. whether you have thousands of notes or barely a few hundreds, you have your place here. you’re still an amazing writer, you’re still an artist regardless of the stats. 

whether i've had time to binge-read your stories or just discovered you. thank you. i love you. i’m grateful for you. i see and appreciate your work. your efforts. you.  i’m sorry if you’ve ever been received with negativity but i hope this can make up for some of it.  you deserve nothing but kindness and appreciation and i hope you know how much you matter here.

sending you all my love,

anna 💗

ANNA!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺 You're gonna make me cry. This was so sweet and meaningful. I needed this ❤️ thank you. The same goes to you as well. I hope you know how amazing you are. I love seeing you pop up on my feed. ❤️ You're important and wonderful and what you're doing here with these messages is so kind and special. Thank you.

I love you ❤️

[glitterandmoondustofficial]

And Onto Further Stillness

Chapter 9

Notes:

Characters: Yrelia, Gale Rating: Mature Warnings: Language, sexual themes Notes: this started out as something lighthearted and funny but I decided to add a little ✨drama✨ in this and the next chapter lol

Yrelia sat in the cold autumn rain. She wore her hunting gear and her bow was within quick reach. Gale had tried to convince her to stay in bed with him, and she had very deeply, intensely wanted to do so. Especially when he looked at her so softly with his pretty brown eyes. However! Her hunting group had planned this for days.

So! Damn the rain! Damn the cold! Damn…no, not damn her wonderful, loving, sweet fiancé who would be given so many kisses and hugs and definitely a good ride so he gets cutely tongue tied and unable to speak properly.

She felt herself start to smile as she thought of Gale. Oh, she loved him so so so much. Her heart was so full of passion and love and kindness. Her stomach was also full most of the time. His insistence on feeding her wonderful meals was a definite improvement from her previous life. She had tried so many new foods in her new city, even Gale was impressed by her ability to try new things.

She made a note to watch what he ate more thoroughly, noting when to add some nutrients to his diet that he may be lacking.

“Yrelia,” the elven archer, Zintra, said from beside her. “Why are you grinning? It’s fucking miserable out and we’ve barely seen anything.”

“Oh, no particular reason,” she said and cleared her throat.

“She’s probably thinking about her fiancé,” Marigold, the halfling, teased. “Such a wonderful romance,” she sighed wistfully. “To have a fiancé who would wait on me hand and foot! That’s the dream!”

Yrelia snorted. “He doesn’t wait on me hand and foot.”

“No, he just cooks for you almost every meal,” Zintra said.

“And gives you massages,” Marigold added.

“Draws you baths.”

“Commissions custom clothes for you.”

“Regularly buys you bouquets.”

“And-”

“Alright. I get it. I’m spoiled,” Yrelia said while trying and failing to hide her grin.

“And yet so down to earth!” Marigold teased and the three women giggled.

“You know,” Tomas, a human who was the same age as Yrelia, cut in. “There is something that we never hear about.”

Yrelia’s nose twitched. “I don’t need to talk about every aspect of my relationship,” she said to him. She had always had a, not necessarily bad feeling about him, but maybe a slightly uncomfortable feeling about him.

She stuck with Zintra and Marigold. They clicked almost instantly and were, honestly, a giggling trio of women who shot better than anyone else. Tomas was one of the three humans in the group. He was married, supposedly, although Yrelia wasn’t sure if he was happily married. He never spoke of his life at home, mostly focusing on trying to outdo the other members of the group. Which she respected. Some people simply want to keep their personal life personal.

Yrelia was the one who overly loved talking about her amazing, sweet, unmatched in affection fiancé.

“True,” he said and sat next to Yrelia. Yrelia scooted closer to Zintra, who patted her knee. “But I find it curious that you don’t talk about your sex life. Why is that?”

Yrelia was too annoyed to be flustered. She rolled her eyes, huffed, and didn’t respond.

“Tomas,” Marigold scoffed. “That’s inappropriate. Why are you always so interested in everyone else’s sex life? Be interested in your own.”

He shrugged in response and Yrelia hoped that was the end of that conversation.

The rest of the morning was mostly uneventful. Not a single deer came by the group but Yrelia did manage to bag a turkey. She was sure Gale would be pleased with it despite Yrelia promising a deer.

She made her way back home; wet, dirty, and with her turkey in hand. She opened the door into her tower and immediately kicked off her boots.

“Gale! I’m home!” She called.

“Ah! My love!” She heard Gale say from the study. He walked out of the study and towards her. “I see you’ve brought home dinner!”

“It’s not much, unfortunately.” She accepted his kisses on her wet cheeks with a grin. “Just a small turkey. I’m sure we can invite your mother and Lily and the boys over for dinner tomorrow to help us eat it.”

“A marvelous idea, Lia,” he said and kissed her cheeks again. “And don’t sell yourself short. You were out in the dreadfully cold rain to bring this home. I am thoroughly impressed with you and your skill once more.”

She giggled and accepted his kiss on her lips. “Alright, sweet talker,” she said and kissed him. “Let’s take this into the kitchen quickly. I am in desperate need of a hot bath.”

Gale grinned and kissed her nose in response.

“Darling,” Gale called from their bedroom. Yrelia hummed in response. She sipped her white wine (that Gale poured for her) in her hot bubble bath (that Gale prepared for her) and relaxed as her shoulders were massaged (by a pair of gossamer hands that Gale conjured for her). “I believe you’ll need to restring your bow soon!”

Yrelia grinned. “I do! You’re learning fast,” she said into her wine glass. “We’ll do it together.” So much had happened since the last time she showed him how to string a bow she wouldn’t be surprised if even Gale of Waterdeep had forgotten how to do so.

“No need to rush, love,” he said. “At least finish your glass of wine before exiting the tub. I still must unpack your bag and hang your hunting gear to dry by the fire.”

“Oh, I’m definitely not rushing,” she said with a grin. She rolled her shoulders when the conjured hands pressed on a rather annoying knot.

She sank further into the tub, smiling at the honeysuckle and lavender scent. She decided that she would take a nap after this bath and require that her darling future husband take one with her.

When her glass of wine was finished and she was thoroughly warm and relaxed, she stood up. The gossamer hands disappeared and she watched as Gale walked into the room. He held out his hand for her to take as she left the tub. She kissed him with a smile. “You’re far too good to me,” she said and kissed him again.

“Nonsense,” he whispered to her lips. He pressed his lips to hers in a very sweet kiss before pulling away. “You deserve everything I have to offer and even more. Now,” he said and grabbed a towel to wrap around her. “I have unpacked your bag and put everything in its proper place, your bow is ready to be restrung, your coat and pants are hanging by the fire to dry, your underclothes are in the laundry hamper, and,” he said and kissed her nose, “the bed is ready for your nap.”

She grinned and kissed him. “Take one with me?”

“Absolutely. I would never abandon you.” She giggled in response.

Yrelia stood in her robe by her side of her amazing and soft and luxurious bed. She hummed as she braided her hair for her nap. She looked to her nightstand and blinked. “Beloved, what’s this?” She asked and picked up a red bottle filled with an unknown liquid.

Gale walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “It was in your pack so I assumed you knew.”

“I’ve never seen it before.” They went silent before looking at each other and then back at the bottle. She rotated it in her hands, looking for a label. She found a small one and brought it to their eye level. “Moon Water? What’s that?”

“It’s a potion and enchanted tea shop,” he answered and gently took the bottle from her hands. “Nothing extraordinary comes from that shop. It’s owned by the family of a wizard who died many years ago and they are using her recipes to make watered down potions and weak teas.” Yrelia grinned and kissed his cheek. “Quite curious how this ended up in your pack.”

“Someone must have slipped it in while I was out today.” He hummed and broke the wax seal. “Gale?”

“I’m intrigued,” he said and uncorked the bottle. “Why would someone give you a potion? And what could it be?”

She shrugged. “No clue. I hope it’s not poisonous.”

“If it is then whoever did this is going to be dealing with a very angry wizard.” He brought the potion to his nose and sniffed. He instantly recoiled and Yrelia’s eyes widened.

“Gale?!” She turned swiftly and grabbed his biceps with an incredibly worried expression. “Gale, what is it?”

He blinked and looked at her with a stunned expression and a…blush on his cheeks. He corked the bottle and handed it to her. “It’s…an aphrodisiac.”

She stared at him. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, not sure if she heard him right or if he was teasing her or if he was one hundred percent serious. “It’s a what?”

“It’s an aphrodisiac,” he repeated and a familiar anxious crease in his brow formed.

Yrelia looked at the bottle and then back to his anxious face. “Someone put a…love potion in my pack?” She said, absolutely bewildered.

He cringed. “Erm, not love.”

“Someone put a sex potion in my pack?” Her bewilderment changed to annoyance in a second. She huffed. “The fucking nerve of some people. How gods damned inappropriate,” she grumbled. She turned her attention back to Gale. “You knew that from a quick sniff?”

“I, um, I am very good at what I do,” he said and shifted uncomfortably.

Her brows knit together. “Beloved, what’s wrong?”

“Lia…do you…talk about our sex life to other people?”

Her brows twitched. “No. I keep that between the two of us,” she responded. “Please don’t feel self conscious, Gale.”

His face twitched. “Why would I be self conscious? This is a completely normal potion to find in myfiancée’s pack,” he said flatly.

“Gale.” She took his face in her hands. “You have nothing to worry about. Even if I did talk about you in bed I would only have good things to say.” She kissed him chastely. “Trust me?”

“I do,” he said and covered her hands with his. “More than anyone. Forgive me, I let my self doubt drown you out momentarily.”

“There’s absolutely nothing to forgive.” She kissed him again. He relaxed against her lips. She pulled away and rested her forehead against his. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He kissed her forehead. “Incredibly and quite annoyingly curious as to why that was in your pack.”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure,” she said. “But I think I might have an idea.”

“You do?” He pulled away and looked at her.

Yrelia took the opportunity to sit on the bed. Gale followed her and sat next to her. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. She smiled at him before sighing. “One of the men is always trying to…learn about everyone’s sex lives.”

Gale’s face scrunched in disgust. “Why? That’s inappropriate. Why is he still part of the group?”

“I don’t know. It is. And because he’s the one who formed the group,” she answered. “The theory is that he’s unsatisfied with his marriage so…”

“So he decides to buy an aphrodisiac and subtly slip it into a colleague’s bag?”

“I guess he thinks that since I refuse to talk about sex that I have nothing good to say about it. Which is not the case, of course. I just don’t think I should share that information with people outside my bedroom.” She leaned in and nuzzled his jaw.

“I can’t say I like that, Lia,” he said with a huff. “Someone harassing you like that…”

“Is it harassment?”

“Yes.” She smiled at his bluntness. “I won’t stop you from continuing to go with this hunting party but, admittedly, I’m on edge now that I know this is happening.”

“I know. I appreciate it,” she said and kissed his jaw.

“I know that you can handle anything that comes to you,” he continued. “But…” he trailed off looking increasingly uncomfortable.

Yrelia hummed. She took his hand into hers and squeezed it. “Would it make you feel better if you came with me next time?”

Gale blinked, clearly not expecting her to ask that. “You would like me to go with you?”

She let out a short laugh. “Why wouldn’t I?” She kissed his cheek. “The next time we go out is exactly a tenday from now. You won’t have to do anything, just sit with me. It will be like before, when you were trying to flirt with me.”

“I wasn’t trying to flirt with you,” he argued. “I wasflirting with you.” Yrelia snorted. She went to kiss his cheek but he turned his head. Their lips met and she grinned. “I love you,” he murmured. “Very, very much. I’ll go with you.”

Yrelia rubbed her nose against his. “Then it’s a date.” They kissed. She wrapped his arms around his neck with a grin and pulled him as she laid down. “You owe me a nap,” she said to his lips.

He hummed, trailing kisses down her jaw. “I do,” he said and kissed her neck. She tilted her head, giving him more skin to kiss. “And yet somehow I have the impression that you don’t want to nap at the moment.” He nipped at her skin.

She hummed in approval, playing with the hem of his shirt. “No, I very clearly want a nap,” she said lightly and tugged on his shirt. He pulled away and let her take off his shirt. She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck and accepted his slow kiss. His hands found the belt around her robe and untied it.

He pulled away and stared down at her as her robe fell to either side of her. “You’re beautiful,” he breathed. “Absolutely gorgeous.”

A soft smile formed on her lips. “Trying to sweet talk me?”

“Simply stating facts, my lady. You deserve to be told very frequently how absolutely stunning you are.” He kissed her nose. “And I am very willing to do so. I will tell you until my tongue tires.”

She hummed and pulled him in close. “Not too tired I hope.”

He kissed her in response.

“Out of curiosity and nothing more,” Yrelia said as she laid in bed after her nap, her naked body covered in bite marks and bruises from her lover’s mouth. He hummed in response and raised his brow as he shrugged on his very luxurious embroidered robe. “What does that potion do?”

“Well,” he started. “It was fairly weak, keep in mind,” he began to explain. “So, not much. If it had been a potion of regular strength, based on the smell, it would have delayed orgasm for myself or if you had drunk it made you more receptive to stimulation.” Yrelia blinked and cocked her head. “They usually last an hour but that one wouldn’t have. It probably would have lasted, I’d say twenty minutes to be generous, and the effects wouldn’t have been nearly as intense.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “I’m sure some people have fun with it,” she said and Gale hummed like he briefly considered it. She sat up and stretched. Her bare feet hit the dark wood floors of her bedroom. Nearly two months of living in her new home and she still could barely believe that she lived here. Somewhere with sturdy furniture and expensive bedding and a fiancé who very seriously asked if she had ever had caviar and if she’d like to.

“What a face,” Gale said. She looked over at him and saw his soft smile. “What’s on your mind?”

“That your floors are nice.”

“They’re yours, as well.”

“That’s what I’m thinking about, too.” She picked her robe off the ground. She wrapped it around herself and walked towards him. “It seems I still have trouble believing that I’m here.” She smiled when he kissed her forehead.

“I understand. I don’t claim to fully know what your life was like, but I know it was a large change in your lifestyle to join me.” He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. “And every day I’m grateful that you did. Multiple times a day in fact. Nearly every moment of the day.”

“Well, how could I not?” She casually rested her arms on his shoulders. “I love you,” she said with a smile. “There was nothing more that I wanted than for us to be together. I didn’t care where we were or where we would go, as long as we were together.” She kissed his chin softly, happily feeling his beard upon her lips.

“I felt the same,” he said and dipped his head down to nuzzle her nose. “If you had asked me to go back to your farm then I would have done it.”

She laughed. “Gale the farmer? She teased. “You’d help me birth lambs and feed the pig?”

“I’m positive I would be quite good at it. With you as a careful and gentle teacher, of course.”

She giggled. “You’d give all this up for me?”

“Without a doubt. We would have to have our own marital house, of course, but I’d leave all this behind just to wake up to your nearly untamable bedhead everyday.”

She kissed his chin again and then his lips. “I think this was the best choice for us,” she said. “It’s taking time for me to get used to it, but this is the happiest I’ve ever been. I know that if we had gone back to my farm that…” she trailed off and the smile on her lips faded. He kissed her forehead. “We would be together, so I would’ve been happy, but here?” She smiled again and accepted his kiss.

Yrelia wrapped her arms around his back. They embraced. A long, strong, and tight embrace. She breathed him in, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

Here she could grow and flourish. Here she could make new friends and form new bonds. She could live her life so very comfortably, with Gale doing everything within his power to make her life easy. She was able to cook him meals with brand new ingredients that she would have never been able to afford. She could ask for a kiss whenever she wanted, and even if he was on the other side of the tower he’d do a little jog right to her lips. She could make flower crowns and he’d kneel before her as she placed it on his head. She could nap now. She could rest. If she just wanted to take a day to relax she could, Gale would just smile at her and take care of everything.

Waterdeep was where she was meant to be.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I’m overjoyed that we’re here together.” He pulled away and cupped her face in his hands. “I would marry you at this very moment if I could.”

She smiled. “We can always elope, beloved.”

“We can,” he said and kissed her nose. “Alas, we have already sent out the “save the dates”, my mother, Lily, and Tara would end both of our lives if we did so, and, if I’m being completely honest, I would very much like to see you in a wedding gown.”

She laughed. “All true, I suppose, but if you change your mind, know that I would absolutely do it.”

“I will keep that wonderful thought in mind.” He kissed her nose again. “Now,” he started again after some moments of nuzzling her nose. “Tell me, what would you like for dinner? I was thinking that…”

Yrelia smiled softly as Gale pulled her from their bedroom, listing what he thought he could make them for dinner. She listened intently, happily making comments when needed. She wrapped her arm around his and walked with him around their tower, sighing contentedly and without a care as she listened to her love talk.

Next chapter

[voraciousvore]

The Half-Blood Giant (39/51)

***Contains soft, safe, unwilling vore***

Chapter 39: A Wolf among Sheep

As much as Hunter would just love to lay down and bask in the sublime feeling of Hannah crawling around in his digestive system, he needed to go to class. He couldn’t raise suspicions by ditching class, after all. He stood up and felt the small weight in his belly topple over with his motion. He was amazed that he could feel every subtle gesture and movement of his cherished human prisoner from within. He hoped, with time and forced proximity, Hannah would get to know him and learn to accept him. Maybe even love him. 

Hannah cooperated and stayed quiet in his stomach, even when she was jostled around when the giant walked or shifted. She was petrified that Hunter would make good on his threats to digest her or harm Hector. Besides, she didn’t think anybody would be able to hear her pleas for help on the outside. She felt like she was in a waking nightmare, with the living flesh churning, pulsing, and gurgling around her. Everything was hot, putrid, sopping wet, squishy, and alive with sound and movement. As nervous and uneasy as she had been living with giants, she never believed that one of her classmates would go so far as to devour her. The whole situation was so ghastly. 

She wished she wasn’t in total blackness, yet at the same time she didn’t necessarily want to have burned into her memory visions of the interior of the wrinkly pink sack encompassing her. The bones, clothing, and food floating in the bubbling puddle with her eventually disintegrated and disappeared into the next stage of digestion. Hannah was grateful to be alive, and not torn apart by teeth or acid, yet she was unsure how long she’d have to endure this abysmal torture. 

Unfortunately for poor Hannah, Hunter had no intention to let her out anytime soon. With her inside, he wasn’t plagued with hunger. He was satisfied and full, and he loved the sublime feeling. His magic could hold out indefinitely when he felt so refreshed: He theorized he could keep her alive for several days, if not weeks, in his belly, if he was so inclined. He’d have to let her out occasionally to feed and water her, at the minimum, since he doubted she’d be able to survive on food and fluids he ingested himself. 

Hunter’s intention wasn’t to be excessively cruel. He wasn’t trying to punish or torture her. He just couldn’t resist the temptation her divinely flavored flesh offered. He was designed to eat humans, so having a human within him felt right. He would let her out when he felt like it, perhaps afterschool in a secluded area. Besides, he still wanted to interact with her, pet her, kiss her, admire her, show her how much he adored her. Once she understood she belonged to him, maybe she’d forget about Hector and learn to love him instead. He’d be her provider, her benevolent captor, and take care of her every need. She wouldn’t have to worry about school or the stresses of life any longer. He would be her entire world. 

After a few hours of stewing in his belly, Hannah had reached her wit’s end. She had a mental breakdown during lunch, when Hunter ate more food and a slew of masticated slop rained down on her. The giant drank some milk and the cold liquid drained into his stomach, drenching her. While the temperature provided some relief from the heat, being soaked in saliva-infused milk was not fun. Hannah started to cry again at her misfortune. 

“Hunter, I can’t take this anymore! Please! Let me out! Throw me up or something!” she wailed. “I’m going insane! How long are you going to keep me in here and torture me like this?” 

“As long as I please,” Hunter’s voice boomed back. The deafening volume made her flinch as the sound reverberated through the spacious cavity. 

“Take pity on me! Help me! I thought you cared about me! Let me out!” Hannah begged hysterically, her supplications rising to a fever pitch. “I’ll do anything! Please!” 

“Shut up,” Hunter warned. He didn’t want her making too much noise, even if her voice was barely discernible even with his own hearing. He wasn’t going to take any risks. 

Hannah was past the point of reason, however. She continued to scream and cry and beg. Hunter grit his teeth. He didn’t want to do this to her, but he didn’t have much of a choice, if she defied him. With a flick of his fingers, he reduced the potency of the protective spell, not enough to kill the poor girl but sufficient for her to experience the dangers of his digestive system. Hannah gasped as the air grew thinner and the acid stung her skin and burned her eyes and nose. Hunter clenched his stomach around her, and Hannah shrieked as the fleshy walls collapsed on her and squeezed her. 

“Stop!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, even as her senses began to fade into gray static. “Alright! I get it!” Hunter restored the spell to full potency and relaxed his belly back to its default state. Hannah labored to breathe as her wits came rushing back. She knew she was entirely at Hunter’s mercy. He could kill her at any moment. She maintained an obedient hush. 

“There, that’s much better,” Hunter praised. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it? You don’t have to do anything. Just stay quiet.” Hannah didn’t respond. She was beyond terrified as she realized how close she was to dying. Hunter finished his lunch as if nothing had happened and went to his last class of the day. 

The disappearance of the three human students that Hunter ingested did not go unnoticed. There wasn’t a large number of human students at the school, so all the humans knew each other. Hector’s friends were concerned that he never returned to the dorm after school, especially when his girlfriend came looking for him. He didn’t show up to his classes either. The human girls noticed that Amber was missing too, and hadn’t gone to her classes. Hannah had been seen that morning, but her teachers noted her absence. With the ugly history of human students going missing, Milton didn’t hesitate. He called the police. 

Ray and Joey were sent to investigate, since they had been critical in solving the case with the missing students in the past. The first thing they did was check the security cameras. The cameras didn’t cover the entire campus, but they did guard the entrance with the big metal gate. The footage didn’t show any unwelcome strangers entering the school grounds in the timeframe of the disappearances, nor did the missing students leave. Thus, Joey reasoned that either the students were still on campus somewhere, or if there was foul play involved, somebody who worked at or attended the school was responsible. 

Milton was disturbed by this revelation, but he doubted anyone on his staff would be so cold-blooded as to steal or kill a human student. Hopefully, the humans were still alive and well on campus. Joey and Ray did some investigating to find out where each student was last seen. All the students had attended their classes yesterday, through the end of the day. However, Hector and Amber had disappeared afterwards. Through interviews with the human students, Joey and Ray discovered the connection between Hannah and Hector, and that Hannah had been looking for her boyfriend yesterday after school. Thus, he had gone missing somewhere between the end of the school day and when he was supposed to meet his girlfriend after school. 

However, the officers couldn’t tell if the connection was coincidental or not. They couldn’t establish a clear link between Hector, Hannah, and Amber beyond the fact that they were all humans. Where did Amber fit in? Reportedly, she had stayed in the library after school to study, but nobody had accompanied her there or seen her after that. The librarian had left early, before the end of classes, so she hadn’t seen the student at all. Her story was corroborated by the cameras.  

During the interviews, Joey asked the students if there was anyone who might want to harm any of the humans. Inevitably, Hunter’s name came up. Many of the students reported that he seemed to stare at Hannah a lot, and he’d bullied her during class. He was also seen with Hector more than was typical. He was characterized as a human-hater, an outcast, a beast who was dangerous and universally feared among the human population. They had never seen him with Amber, though. Joey puzzled over how she fit into the story. 

He brought up Hunter to Milton, and the principal blanched. “Oh, Hunter... I hope he’s not responsible for all this.” 

Joey tilted his head. “What do you mean?” 

“He’s been prone to behavioral problems and violent altercations with other students, both human and giant. He grabbed Hannah during class without her permission and frightened her. He also threatened to eat Mr. Pablo.” 

“What?” Ray exclaimed, bristling with anger. Pedro hadn’t mentioned any of this to him. 

“Can we interview him?” Joey asked. Milton nodded and went to fetch the student. When the principal returned, the two officers were startled by the absolute unit of a giant that trailed behind him. Hunter was massive, easily thirty feet taller than Milton, who was already a very big giant in his own right. But the teenager wasn’t just absurdly tall: He was broad and muscular as well. He bled off a hostile, sullen aura. When he saw the officers in the room, he stopped in his tracks. 

“What’s all this about?” Hunter demanded to know, squinting his cold eyes. Ray glared back at him. 

“Have a seat, Hunter,” Joey requested. “We just have a few questions for you.” Hunter slowly sank into a chair, tension in his back and limbs. He gripped the armrests of his chair with meaty hands. 

“What’s your relationship with Hector and Hannah?” Joey began. 

Hunter’s features betrayed some nervous energy, but he recovered quickly. “They’re my classmates.” He didn’t offer any more information, lapsing into his characteristic reticent attitude. 

Joey beckoned with his hand, slightly exasperated. “And...?” 

“I’m not especially close to either of them. I don’t fraternize with humans if I can help it.” As he spoke, his hand trailed down to his belly, which audibly whined. “I’m sure Principal Henderson has told you, I don’t like humans. I did pick up Hannah and mess with her during class, but it was nothing personal. I didn’t know her at the time.” 

“Why would you do something like that?” Ray questioned. 

Hunter shrugged. “I just wanted to prove a point related to the lesson. I did apologize to her later. We haven’t had a problem since.” 

“What about Hector?” 

“I met him though Hannah. We’ve been on friendly terms. Hector has always been nice to me.” Technically not a complete lie. 

“Do you know a student named Amber?” 

Hunter stared blankly. “Who?” 

“Small human girl with long ginger hair?” 

“Doesn’t ring a bell.” 

“Hm. Okay.” Joey scribbled some notes on his scratchpad. 

“Can I go now?” Hunter asked with an edge of impatience. 

“One more question.” Joey leaned forward, pushing up his glasses and clasping his hands together. “Where were you yesterday after class?” 

“I went to the cafeteria, took a walk around campus, and retired to my dorm to do homework and sleep,” Hunter answered smoothly. “Nothing special.” 

Joey gave him a penetrating gaze before excusing him. Hunter got up out of his chair and lumbered off. Joey had an unsettling feeling in his gut as he watched the hulking brute of a teenager leave the room. That boy was trouble. “You need to keep a close eye on him, Mr. Henderson,” he remarked. “There’s something off about that kid.” Milton nodded. As much as he hated to admit it, Joey was right. 

Once Hunter was out of earshot of the office, he pressed his fist into his gut angrily. “Be quiet, you stupid bitch,” he muttered gruffly. She’d almost exposed him with all the racket she was making. He halted in his tracks when he heard a high-pitched squeak at his feet. Hunter had been so angry, he hadn’t been paying any attention to where he was stepping. He looked down to see Pedro staring up at him with wide eyes. Hunter froze, hoping Pedro hadn’t noticed him talking to Hannah. 

“What are you looking at?” he growled. Pedro’s face turned pasty and he scurried out of Hunter’s path, back to his own office. Hunter kept walking, pushing his knuckles harder into his abdomen and squeezing his insides. He glanced around to make sure he was alone this time. “Just for that, Hannah, I’m not letting you out for the rest of the day. Unless you decide to be quiet and obedient. Then, MAYBE I’ll consider it.” 

Pedro continued to his office, shaking. Hunter scared him. The teenager seemed like he was becoming more and more unhinged by the day. He perked up when he heard the familiar bass rumble of Ray’s voice echoing down the hall from Milton’s office. He followed the heartening sound to its handsome source.  

“Hey, Ray! You’re here early!” Pedro chirped to announce his presence. He looked over at the other officer. “Joey? You’re here too? Did something happen?” 

“Pedro! Just the person we wanted to see!” Ray replied with enthusiasm as he scooped his little boyfriend off the floor. He deposited him in his lap, petting him gently on the side of his face. “Did you hear about the missing students?” 

“No!” Pedro cried. “Students have gone missing? How horrible!” 

Joey leaned over, examining Pedro closely. “You work with the human students, right?” Pedro confirmed with a nod. “The students missing are Hector, Hannah, and Amber. Do you know them, or what they may have in common?” 

“Yes, I’ve spoken to each student,” Pedro confirmed. “Hector and Hannah are in a romantic relationship together. I don’t think they were in the same friend group as Amber, but the human students are a close-knit community, so they all knew each other.” 

Joey listened carefully, but Pedro hadn’t told him any new information. “What about that giant student, Hunter?” 

Pedro shuddered at the mention of his name. “He’s a scary guy.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me he threatened to eat you?” Ray interjected sternly. 

Pedro flushed. “I-I didn’t want you to worry.” He sighed. “He’s a troubled loner. Mentally and emotionally unstable. I wouldn’t put it past him to hurt someone if he snapped...” He gulped at the though of those giant hands breaking a human in half like a twig. 

“Did he ever interact with Amber, as far as you know?” Joey asked. 

“Yes, actually,” Pedro informed the officers. “He stomped in the bike lane and knocked her off her bike.” 

Joey and Ray exchanged glances. “So he was lying,” Ray said. He looked down at Pedro. “Hunter claimed not to know her.” 

“He might not know her name,” Pedro pointed out. “Just because he bullied her once doesn’t mean he knows who she is.” 

“Do you think... he might be responsible for the disappearances?” Ray inquired. 

“I could see him doing... something like that,” Pedro admitted, huddling into the safety of Ray’s curled fingers in his lap. He hated the thought of a giant harming little humans. 

“It’s possible,” Joey agreed. “But we don’t have any evidence to prove it or know for sure. We’ll have to keep investigating.” 

Chapter 40

Chapter 1

[blueknightdg]

Giving Adrien the Butterfly miraculous huh? I still want Grubby to be a villain, but not initially being a super powered villain would be interesting.

I was thinking of him being the first actual villain that gets usurped by Lila to cement her role as hero, but maybe instead it was Emily that was a dying woman desperately trying to have a son that painted her as a villain that was “defeated” by Lila and have the peahen taken by her.

Sooo

Hm…

Grubby is a villain but he is a behind the scenes kind of villain that is publicly sponsoring Lila but really wants revenge because he blames her for Emily finally passing and puts pressure on Adrien because she gave up everything to have him so he should at least live up to her legacy, right?

Emily wasn’t necessarily evil but she did have gray morals.

I want the hero’s (the actual good guys fighting Lila) to have the least amount of Miraculi at the start.

Hm..

Well it’s more like people have miraculous but not necessarily working together or know who each other are.

Not all missing miraculous is in use or used for good.

Some are small villains or heroes on their own.

Lila has her own minions teammates she has do things for her or in her place when she has to control the amok. She can’t always be in the same place with a copy as it is draining.

She can’t handle two miraculi for long and has to do on and off sometimes.

How Adrien and Marinette team up?

Working on it.

I still don’t have a name for the AU.

Maybe something to do with struggle? Marinette fighting a battle that will end in her death? Maybe she doesn’t necessarily die?

Lila is the “heroine” (main villainess)

Grubby is her “sponsor” (secondary villain)

Marinette is the “villainess” (actual heroine)

I’m calling Gabriel “Grubby” and no one can stop me.

Chloe is a “heroine” with a different miraculous as the bee wasn’t lost and is sponsored by her father, the mayor. She doesn’t know how to use her powers very well and is often doing nothing but taking selfies and doing ads.

Sometimes she has to do promotions with Lila and they hate each other.

Chloe hasn’t figured out she can demand the kwami to do things surprisingly. She simply doesn’t try to talk to them majority of the time. She has someone else feed the kwami and avoid each other as much as they physically can.

[mariacallous]

It’s so nice that everything’s back to normal at the office now, isn’t it? If “normal” means mass layoffs, empty office buildings, confusing return-to-office policies, AI panic, and the whiplash-y feeling that just when employees were starting to redraw some boundaries between work and home, an economic downturn has forced society to fret even more about work. Managers are channeling this too by emphasizing “efficiency”—at least if they’re not among the many managers Mark Zuckerberg has laid off in his quest for, well, efficiency.

In this sense, Simone Stolzoff’s new book couldn’t be better-timed. The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work posits that we—and Americans, especially—have fetishized work to the point that we’ve lost our identities to it. “For white-collar professionals, jobs have become akin to a religious identity: In addition to a paycheck, they provide meaning, community, and a sense of purpose,” says Stolzoff, a designer who has worked at IDEO and written for The Atlantic, Quartz, and WIRED.

The book kicks off with a parable about an MBA type urging a fisherman to scale his business into a global operation. The fisherman replies that he already has what the MBA is promising he could achieve in the long term: enough success to feed himself and his family, as well as plenty of time for leisure. The MBA is, of course, befuddled. It’s a tiny but meaningful story that goes down as easy as an oyster; the book makes a tasty meal of snackable tales and anecdotes. 

The Good Enough Job, which I’ve been reading this week, also includes reporting on the decline of organized religion, the rise of always-online work culture, and our willingness to use work as a means of self-actualization. It all adds up to a stark portrait of a society truly obsessed with work. That’s risky, Stolzoff says, especially in light of the recent layoffs in the tech sector. I talked with him about our relationship to work and whether it’s possible to achieve any kind of work-life equilibrium in the modern era. The book comes out in the US on May 23. 

WIRED: Why is office work so weird right now? Assuming you agree that it is, in fact, weird. 

Simone Stolzoff: Yeah. I’m reminded of when I worked as a summer camp counselor growing up and during our training the camp’s director always said, “Kids’ biggest fear is that no one is in control.” And I think that is happening for office workers right now, without a clear mandate or a clear vision of what the future of the workplace looks like. It feels like everything is in flux. Managers are dealing with their own uncertainty around the reevaluation of the role of work in their lives while they’re also trying to be leaders and speak with confidence about a future that no one can really predict.

Just yesterday someone told me, “I am a manager and my employees are coming to me and being forthright about the fact that they’re updating their LinkedIn profiles and their resumes.” She has been telling them that she’s doing the same. Increased uncertainty has led to much more open communication about the fact that even jobs that felt stable, are not necessarily such. But this also speaks to the fact that no one really knows what the future of work holds and people are making it up as they go along.

It sounds like a continuation of the pandemic, in the sense that this has all led to some people being their most vulnerable and transparent at the workplace. 

It’s a combination of both the pandemic and the economic climate. An employee at YouTube was telling me about how Alphabet is making workers come into the office three days a week. And she said that on the one hand she thinks it’s bullshit and that the company is just trying to justify the capital expenditures that they’ve made on offices. But she also admitted it makes sense because morale is low and employee workplace culture is nonexistent and coming back to the office is really one of the better ways managers have found to facilitate a more collectivist identity.

You write about “workism,” a phrase coined by Derek Thompson from The Atlantic. How does it play into the current workplace dynamic? 

The basic idea that Derek laid out is that workism is treating work akin to a religious identity. It’s looking to work not just for a paycheck but also for a community, a sense of identity and purpose and meaning in your life. 

There are a few risks to that. One is that it’s just not a burden our jobs are designed to bear. When we look to work for transcendence, it creates these massive expectations, and jobs can’t always deliver on those expectations. A second risk is that over-investing in just one aspect of who we are is risky because those other aspects of our life might be underinvested in. We’re not just workers, we’re also friends, siblings, parents, neighbors, and citizens. As so many people found out during the pandemic, if your job is your sole source of identity and you lose it—what’s left?

You argue that workism is generationally distinctive and write about your own Italian family and how your grandparents worked to live—and the emphasis was really on live. They had structure to their days, but there was that long break in the middle of the day where they went home and ate orecchiette with the family. Work-as-a-religion seems relatively new, or at least industrial age new.

There are many possible explanations of how we got here—economic explanations, historical explanations, political and cultural explanations. The one I focus on in the book is this huge objective value that Americans give to the workplace. You know, we’re an incredibly individualistic country, where we treat CEOs as celebrities and we plaster “Always do what you love” on the walls of our coworking spaces. There’s this push toward wanting work to be our means of self-actualization.

You can pair that with some historical trends, for example the decline of organized religion over the course of the past 40 years, which has left a spiritual void in many American lives. You look at policy decisions in this country, the way that we tie health care to full-time employment for so many people. You look at the historical factors, how our country was founded and the way capitalism and the Protestant work ethic were the two strands entwined to form our country’s DNA. 

And what we’ve found is that, unlike our peer nations, like France and Germany, where at-work time has steadily decreased since the beginning of the 20th century, certain subsets of Americans are working more than ever. And this is a historical anomaly. In the past, the richer a person or a country was, the less they worked, because they could afford not to.

Of course, the majority of people not just in the US but in the world do not work to self-actualize, they work to survive. Wages have been stagnant for the past 40 years, so they’ve had to work harder to buy the same loaf of bread. But the argument of my book is that regardless of what type of job you’re in, we now all live in this culture of productivity and thinking our self-worth is somehow tied to our output at work.

The danger of that, you write, is that we end up taking work events quite personally if they don’t go right. 

Totally, yeah. There is research around the value of what researchers call self-complexity, or just kind of cultivating different aspects of who we are. This also makes sense intuitively, right? If you’re rising and falling with the professional successes in your life, then one piece of negative feedback, one comment from a coworker can throw your life into a funk. But if you’ve cultivated other aspects of who you are, then maybe you’re having a bad day at the office but you feel like you have a very supportive partner or you’re having a good day with that recreational softball team you play on, then there are other aspects of your life that make you feel whole and aren’t predicated on market forces or what your manager or boss says.

The tricky question is where to draw the line. We need money to survive in this world. But as you write, work can be incredibly paternalistic and often exploits people who are most dutiful and hard-working. Is there a formula for finding the right amount to invest in work?

If there was one main question driving the book, it’s how to balance the pursuit of meaningful work without letting work take over your life. I’m not anti-work. We work more hours than we spend doing just about anything else in our lives, so how we spend that time matters. But I also think that the more we can be clear-headed about work’s role in our lives and understand that fundamentally it’s an economic relationship, the better.

We’ve been told that jobs are meant to be callings and vocations, and thinking of it as an exchange of your time and your labor for money is not the most sexy thing in the world. But I actually think that a more transactional approach to work can liberate both employers and employees. It frees employers to focus on setting clear expectations about what good work looks like, and it frees employees to, for example, advocate for fair compensation. More broadly, it frees employees to treat work as a living and not the entirety of their lives.

This is something that so many tech workers in particular have discovered recently, especially at companies like Meta and Twitter and Microsoft and other places that have had layoffs. I’ve spoken to so many employees that say, basically, “I used to think this was my life’s work, my dream job, and the past year has shown me that this is just a job.”

I’m trying to introduce the framework of the “good enough” job. For one person that could mean working in a particular industry or having a certain job title, and for another it’s getting off work at a certain hour so you can pick your kids up from elementary school. Rather than thinking about work as this endless pursuit of perfection, it’s more about having an approach that allows you to understand that what you do for work is not the entirety of who you are as a person.

[yocioon]

⠀⠀⠀ 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 : 𝟑𝟓𝟎𝐙 , 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄

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꒰ ★̶̲ ꒱⠀yes, i do indeed make selfships with my favorite idols. if that’s a problem then gtfo cus TRUST they would not give two fucks bro. it ain’t hurting anyone. me doing this shit is the same thing as people writing “x reader” or “y/n” fanfics since “y/n” LITERALLY means your name, aka you. we’re all here to be corny and cringey, and to escape from the reality we live, so stfu abt it or leave. i promise no one gives a shit.

꒰ ★̶̲ ꒱⠀i don't necessarily mind if my works are posted on other platforms, as long as proper credit is given (ex: tiktok). i also don't mind translations either considering the fact i speak spanish myself. however, if i find a work of mine posted to a different platform, or even on here, without any proper credit, then there will be a problem.

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꒰ ♡ ꒱⠀𝐈 𝑫𝑶 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 . . . fem!readers. masc!readers. smut. dom!reader. switch!reader. (maybe) sub!reader. size differences. unprotected sex. dumbification. spitting. choking. alcohol consumption. drug usage. exhibitionism. voyeurism. violence. gore. praise. corruption. spanking. (pussy) slapping. threesome/polyamorous dynamics. cunnilingus. blow/handjob. degradation. age gap (only when reader and idol are both 20+). cheating. hate fucking. free use (with reassurance).

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꒰ ♡ ꒱⠀this is indeed a multifandom blog, so you will see a wide variety of different groups being written for in here. furthermore, i will start off/mainly write for groups i’m more versed with like bts, ateez, and p1harmony.

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⠀❝⠀⠀⌗⠀INTERACTIONS .ᐟ

꒰ ♰ ꒱⠀i block anyone and everyone i deem a weirdo. mutual or not. you write smut for minors? blocked. you write stepcest? blocked. you write yandere? BLOCKED. i genuinely do not give an everlasting fuck. just because this is fictional writing, doesn’t mean you be an absolute weirdo. and using the “dark content” excuse is as lame as middle school white boys defending grape jokes with “dark humor”.

꒰ ♰ ꒱⠀𝐃𝐎 𝑵𝑶𝑻 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓 . . . wattpad writers/new tumblr users that come from wattpad (y'all r so unoriginal i cant fathom). you write for anything that’s listed in my “i do not write for”. men/male identifying people (this is literally a lesbian account). white people. dsmp fans. stray kids fans (specifically bangchan fans). leia apologists (black swan). kids under 16 (you're a freshman and i'm a young adult, so it makes me a tad bit uncomfortable). racists. white celebrity stans. homophobes. transphobes. fatphobes. ableists. yandere lovers. he/him lesbian haters (kys fr).

⠀genderfluid/nonbinary lesbian haters (kys ×2). female-identifying venom simps (he's literally fucking gay, you're weird). straight female-identifying BL/yaoi readers. coryxkenshin haters (you deserve absolutely nothing). you age up minors to write smut for them. miles morales antis. you anti any of my favs.

꒰ ♰ ꒱⠀my dms are always open, mutuals or not. i’m also always open to being mutuals, meaning you can ask to be mutuals in my inbox, idm. if we’re already mutuals and you feel like i’m not interacting with you enough please do let me know, my bpd ass will assume i’m annoying you and go ghost sometimes so just be aware.

꒰ ♰ ꒱⠀if you’d like to talk more outside of tumblr then you’re always free to ask for my discord. whether it be thru my inbox, or dms, doesn’t matter. though, discord is the only social i will allow for people to ask for. yes, i have my instagram linked but that doesn’t mean i will follow you on it. i never check notifs anyways. only close mutuals will be accepted thru there.

꒰ ♰ ꒱⠀i may come across mean, or as a bitch (i am one). but, trust guys that’s only when you’re a freak or weirdo. i’m nice 55% of the time i swear. just don’t be braindead or dense on beyoncé’s internet and we’ll be fine.

© 𝐘𝓞𝐂𝐈𝓞𝓞𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑⠀♱⠀mature discretion advised. all rights reserved. do not plagiarize or steal works.

[constantreadermk]

This is gonna be a hate post. Yep. My tumblr feed is still scarce. Trying to find some good blogs and not cringe along the way, sadly I have standards this time and zero tolerance for the things I don’t like to know and see. Yeah sure it sounds bad, echo chambering is bad yada yada, I’m very aware, but I just want to have a good time looking through my feed, I have enough of big stress in real life goddammit, so… if I can get rid of some small things that stress me out and escape for awhile, we’ll, I’m gonna do that. Although I still feel like I’m closing myself up for good discourse…. But then again I often want discourse and when I do - I’ll find it anyway. So far my biggest cringe points are: 1. Progressive talk over inclusion and victim contests on sexism and racism and trans-non-binary, whatever, Lord, how I hate that, I don’t even want to go into details on this, they are ruining the the things I love, all fandoms are compromised with this bullshit (cause initially the wokies mostly came from tumblr fandoms and I watched it happen like in slow motion a tragedy unfolding over the years, and here we go, now I have to filter my content severely just to cut this shit out, 2. Top/bottom discourse in fandom. Yes, it IS important to me who’s on top. Cause guess what, ff writers _always_ link the sex position to the character traits (I’ve read tons of ff, don’t even start), and it’s always certain (not necessarily always the same) character traits and a certain dynamic. I _also_ want a certain dynamic, so i AM looking for a certain positions in M and R rated ff. Its personal preferences and those matter. No, I really don’t want to know how it “doesn’t matter because in real life it doesn’t matter” (it does and you know it does, cause authors DO link character traits to the sex position and fanfiction is NOT real life my friends), and I really don’t want to be educated about not being progressive enough, or whatever.

[hologramcowboy]

Hi!! Idk if this is weird but i saw you mentioned once that you work out and I wanted to ask some advice. My New Year’s resolution is to work out more. Im not necessarily trying to lose an excessive amount of weight, as I’m at a normal/healthy weight, just want to start a new hobby and be more healthy. I’ve never really been a “workout girly” lol, I’ve worked out a few times in my life, but never consistently. I was just wondering if you had any tips for a beginner, or how to create my own exercise routine, or any exercises for a beginner. Thanks for any advice and happy holidays!☺️

Not weird at all. I love your resolution. ♥️ It's a very healthy one that will benefit your mind, body and spirit.

First and foremost I would recommend priming your environment because it will, in turn, prime your mind.

What I mean is: Post pictures of your ideal body in places you can easily see them. This includes your phone or laptop/pc wallpaper. Just ensure they are images that make you feel good and remind you to exercise,e are not meant to pressure you but rather promot your mind towards your set goal so be careful that it doesn't become something toxic, if it feels off to you just avoid this step. Same goes for everything else I wrote, we're all different.

Move the treats and sweets some place where they are complicated to reach. Notice I didn't day stop eating them, it's important to enjoy the good things in life, just be balanced. If you tend to overeat then make it harder to reach certain foods and set days when you indulge because those are also important.

Set up and area in your home specifically dedicated to work outs and decorate it accordingly.

Ensure your workout clothes, gear and post workout stuff are all easily reachable and preferably somewhere in sight.

Select workout clothes that are fun to you, that you look forward to flaunting.

Prepare a playlist of songs that get you moving, songs you can't resist. Be careful about the lyrics as whatever your hear also affects your subconscious so pick motivating songs with positive lyrics, feed your mind energy basically.

Do a short warm up. Doesn't have to be crazy just ensure you warm up.

Start with small workouts, 5-7 minutes of HIIT should do the trick(you can find so many on Youtube, for example, Lucy Wyndham is a great one), it will raise your heart rhythm and then switch intensity which creates excess post oxygen consumption and this will ensure that looong after your workout your body will be burning even more calories than you did during your workout so you will be raising your metabolic rate. These workouts are actually more effective then drawn out ones.

You don't necessarily need to use equipment, in fact, the best HIIT exercises rely on engaging your core and muscles and require no equipment.

Commit to doing the exercises daily (they are short and easy to include throughout your day so if you feel like doing more go for it) and rest during the weekend. Reward yourself each time you finish a workout, this is important because it conditiones your brain to associate workouts with pleasure rather than pain.

Consider possibly using a printed tracker or a task app and always note the session you complete. Those little victories will energize you.

Hydrate properly. This is key.

First few days even a 7 minute workout will seem challenging if you are a beginner but they will go by very fast and, in no time, you will feel more confident, in shape and your strength and endurance will increase. Your body will feel fit and your mood and energy will improve.

Over time, if you feel inspired to, you can increase the duration but keep in mind that exhausting the body isn't necessary as you can burn more calories by doing a HIIT than by engaging in long work outs precisely because of the heart rhythm thing.

You could also consider jump rope and, if you do, then I would recommend 15-30 minutes per day if weight loss is your goal.

If you love music you could consider searching for choreographies of your favorite songs and commiting to learning those as opposes to doing a regular work out. Bonus is you get new moves to show off during parties.

Swimming and especially pool exercises are fantastic.

Basically any activity that raises your heart rate for at least 30 seconds and then lowers it will help you get in shape so consider what you naturally love to do, maybe you prefer rising a bike or hiking, whatever works for you commit to incorporating that at least 3 times per week and do it for as long as you feel inspired to.

If you plan on losing weight then keep in mind that diet plays an important role so choose healthy foods. I do see you've written you're already at an ideal size so continuous seven minute AMRAPs (as many rounds/reps as possible), HIIT and 20 sec fully engaged 10 sec rest moves (tabata) will help you increase flexibility, strength and endurance and obviously will benefit your mind, heart, muscles and joints not just increase your metabolic rate.

Remember to stretch afterwards.

Have a fallback routine for those days where you don't really feel up to complete certain workouts. For example, I love to use small weights and incorporate self defense moves in my work out when I am uninspired on what to do or can't pick. Also, some days I have long sessions, others I stick to small workouts, it depends on how busy I am and how much energy to burn off I have but please know you should increase duration gradually once your body is ready and also, as mentioned previously short workouts can be even more effective when done right.

Post workout, it helps if you develop a self care routine that will have you looking forward to successfully completing the work out so you can then enjoy those relaxed, self care moments.

If you feel more inspired when doing things with others then consider creating a mini group and working out together, try online over Zoom if covid has you under restrictions.

Some online platforms and trainers offer free workout sessions within their online communities so you also have that as an option.

If there's something particular you want to reach, let's say if you are actor looking to develop a certain body then I would recommend hiring a trainer that will design specific session for you but please know you can absolutely work out from home, without spending money and be just as effective. It's all in how commited you are.

Finally, I would also suggest hypnosis, more specifically work out focused ones as it helps prime your mind and if you aren't into that then simply remember everything you tell yourself influences your body so choose to think empowering thoughts about working out because that instructs your brain into developing the preference. So if, let's say, you hate working out or feel like it's hard then "self hypnotize" yourself by only carefully focusing on thoughts like " the benefits of this far out weigh the effort", "I'm going to feel fantastic while enjoying this and even better after", "My body is incredibly capable", " I deeply appreciate where I am right now body wise and I look forward to the improvements that are coming" etc. because how you choose to filter the experience greatly impacts your body's ability to reach homeostasis and access deeper resources.

I guess I should have just distilled the whole post into one single suggestion: Have fun! 🤣 Because the more engaged you are the better the experience.

It's up to you how often you exercise and how long but I would recommend starting with a daily short work out and then expanding into a more personalized routine once you are comfortable.

Important: There will be days when you need rest and self care more than working out so please ensure you follow your own body's rhythm.

Disclaimer: If you have particular medical issues please consult your doctor before engaging in a particular work out.

Oh and almost forgot, for the ladies, if you are blessed chest wise like I am, then please ensure you buy sports bras that offer high support.

That's all that comes to mind right now, I had replied to this post earlier and had written it much better but Tumblr gave me the "ate your post" error and didn't save any draft but hopefully this is also clear. If not, feel free to let me know.

[slickshoesareyoucrazy]

Wife Guys

In the Before Times, before I left the old blog, I read this article about Wife Guys, and there's no way I can find it now, but I wrote a post attached to the article, which was written about a small group of celebrity men who built an image at least partially on how much they loved and adored their wives. So I wrote this as an agreement/response. Back then...like last September when I could still tolerate a blog with 1500ish followers:

This isn’t just a Celebrity Straight Man trend. This has been going on with Regular Joe Straight Men for at least the same amount of time, at least since social media has been common in people’s lives. About 10 years ago when J and I were still on Facebook, what I think was the leading Performative Social Media of the time, we had contact with some folks we’d have normally naturally faded away from: elementary school classmates and co-workers from previous jobs…you know. Before social media, not in a necessarily callous way, but in just a That’s Life sort of way, we’d have naturally not thought much about those people, particularly in our everyday lives, but because of Facebook (and now Instagram, Twitter, etc.), these people WERE in our everyday lives to a degree. (This isn’t a post about social media control, but yeah, I know you can block and unfollow people or choose not to friend them, or whatever…but here in Anonymousland it’s different than places where people know that your first grade classmate you ate lunch with or the person who worked at the desk next to you for 5 years ignored or blocked you with intention…that’s a different post). So we got to see men perform I Love My Wife a lot on Facebook. And we got to see the wives feed this too.

Wife Guy: Look at my gorgeous wife! <photo of her playing with kids, patting a dog, from a long time ago, carrying groceries, flipping him the bird, whatever>

Wife Guy: My wife made the best dinner tonight! <photo of hamburger helper or crockpot chili or something...not that there's anything wrong with eating that stuff or making that stuff...maybe it's his favorite and that's a valid favorite and celebrating everyday shit is what I'm all about, but the point is...the dinner doesn't matter...what matters is MY WIFE>

Wife Herself: Look at what Wife Guy got me for my birthday/our anniversary/something! <photo of jewelry, a big floral arrangement, fancy dinner out, concert tickets, a fucking car, whatever...again, the point isn't the shit she got, it's that I'm Married To Wife Guy Who Loves His Wife>

I admit I posted stuff on Facebook when I was still there that was positive about J too, just like I do here. But J’s not a social media guy. Shit, he’s not even a very verbal guy, usually. And like…friends of mine who knew J and I were happy; saw us in person being happy…started to doubt J’s love for me because he wasn’t being a Wife Guy on Facebook. I don’t want to generalize in reverse here. I’m sure some of these Celebrity Wife Guys and Facebook Regular Joe Wife Guys did/do love their wives for real. I gush about J all the time and that’s real for me. I love him and I tell him to his face all the time but sometimes that’s not enough for me and I get on here and write about it for other people and then I make up imaginary people and project J and me onto them. Like…I’m A Lot Sometimes, and I get that. I’m a sappy romantic. I eat this shit up! I really do. I literally run on it! No joke. So maybe there are some guys out there like me. Fair. Not trying to be a generalizing asshole here, I promise. And maybe there’s a part of me who wants to believe these dudes are sincere because I am, because I like sincerity, because I’m a hopeful optimist, because I AM that sappy romantic who runs on this kind of stuff (when it’s real), because who doesn’t want it to be true, right? But in my personal experience and what this article brings up about the Celebrity Guys Who Do This Shit? Wife Guys actually seem like they are the ones who maybe don’t even like their wives. And they are trying to convince other people in their lives, the general public (if they’re famous), or even THEMSELVES that they do for some kind of credit or gain. Hell, the celeb dudes are getting money and talk show bookings and formal publishing contracts and shit from it but even the Regular Joe Wife Guys are getting Credits. Feminist Man Credits. My Wife’s Family and Friends Adore Me Credits. I’m Making Other Husbands Look Bad Credits. And they are cashing them in. Believe me. But of the guys we know who did it? Divorced, divorced, divorced, divorced now. 4/4 divorced. J though? Who never posts shit about me? We’re still going strong headed into our 20th year together. The real shit is…most hetero guys who are married *and don’t make a goddam fuss about it for public (whatever your definition of public is) consumption* DO love their wives (and families/kids/etc.). J does. My best guy friends do. They don’t usually talk about it all the time though. Most of them are too busy actually loving their wives to talk about it all the time, I’m pretty sure.