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corrodedcoffins-blog · 5 months ago

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Meetings On Window Sills

masterlist

note: I fucking love 60s-70s music so there's a lot of it mentioned, and also remus is a full blown music nerd so why would i not make them bond over music?? also this was inspired by 2007s Jump In! starring my first crush: corbin bleu lol

warnings: didn't edit (don't care), little tiny bit of angst between remus and his dad, smoking, remus having back problems since 11 and a city boy, reader has hair long enough to put in a claw clip

word count: 3.8 k

♡ summary: Many don't know that during summer, Remus goes home to a muggle girl, and he spends more time on his fire escape than in his room some days

♡ Remus Lupin x fem!muggle!reader

request ✗

1971

He’d known her his whole life, well since he was 6 months old. Their mums had both gone to the same ‘mommy and me’ class and hit it off when they both took a smoke break. Since then their mums had noticed they didn’t have much in common and grew apart, not after buying apartments in the same building.

Remus stretched his back, hands on his waist while leaning back, just having done all his folding, getting ready to organize in his trunk. As he stood from the small single bed in the corner he heard the soft hum of music coming from outside, the young boy lifted his widow, needing much more force than when it was made.

“I don’t know! I don’t know!”

Remus looks to her widow, seeing the record player playing on her desk while she reads, not seeming to be doing a whole lot of that though. From his view it looks to be Little Women, which he had read and which he would never tell her, but he had been bored on a visit to his grandparents before they died and that was the only book in his moms childhood room, so he read it and enjoyed it enough to finish and not have much of a critic.

“You always sing that song much louder than the rest.”

His sudden voice caused the girl to jump in her seat, putting the book down and turning down the record she looked at to him, slightly embarrassed at him catching her.

“It’s my favourite.” She said moving to sit on her window seat. Remus of course noticed this as a sign that she wanted to continue the conversation, he also noticed the way she played with the bottom button of her cardigan. The boy exited his window onto the fire escape to sit on the window sill.

“It’s The Beatles?” “Yeah, my mum got it for me for Christmas last year. Along with George Harrison’s solo album, ‘cause he’s my favourite Beatle- he actually wrote the song I was singing.” She knew she went on a little too long but Remus wouldn’t stop her, that was the type of person he was, kind hearted. When he listened to her, he really listened, he heard every word and took it in.

“Because he wrote your favourite song?” “Not just that, but I guess that’s where it started then I looked through all my albums and all my favourite songs he wrote.” She briefly pointed behind her and he saw the self of records behind her.

“What ones?” He asked, getting more comfortable by leaning his back on one side of the window frame.

“Umm, I’m happy just to dance with you, and of course here comes the sun.” “That’s me mum's favourite, tells me every time it’s on the radio.”

The conversation stalls, to avoid awkward stares Remus looks down to the street and watches a man with a yellow jacket cross the street, it glowing in the yellow street lights. His stare only breaks when he hears her voice ask, “What’re you packing for?”

“Oh- That..” Her brows furrow at the nervous tone, he wasn’t sure how to tell her, it wasn’t like they were best friends, they talked once in a while like how they are now and would see eachother at school, “I wasn’t sure how to tell people, I’m going to a different school next year.” “Where?” “It’s a boarding school up in Scotland.” “Why are they making you go?”

Remus would be lying to say that didn’t surprise him, she sounded like she would miss him a little more than he thought she would, and that deeply confused him.

“My father went so-” It’s interesting how much truth he could say while withholding the biggest piece of information from her.

“That sucks. Aren’t you going to miss your friends.” “I never had many friends.” Overstatement. He had no friends, never really did, kids at school made fun of his scars, or for being a nerd, or for having second hand clothes that his mother still had to sew to be wearable; take your pick really.

“Not many people like me.” “I like you.” Remus’s head lifted from its stare at his swinging legs, “As- as a friend of course.” “Of course, I like you as a friend too.”

1973

As soon as he walked through the door, Remus set on the way to his window, leaving his trunk at the door.

“Hun! Where’re you going so fast?” His mum asked, placing the keys in the bowl by the door, and putting her hands on her hips. His father made his way past her to the kitchen.

“I missed my room!” He yelled, never slowing down the hall. Once they believed he was out of ear shot, he heard his father say, “He wants to see Jen’s girl.”

As he got closer to her window he saw the girls laying on her back legs up resting on the wall while she read. Her head snapped to the window after the first knock, a large grin making its way to her face. She rolled off her bed and opened the window for him and he heard the tune of Bowie flowing through the room.

She crawled half out the window to hug him, her arms going around his neck and he held her back, his hands felt warm, his embrace felt safe. He wore a thin jumper that felt soft on her skin.

“I’m so happy you’re back.” “Me too.” They say, pulling back and getting comfortable on the window sill. She was still smiling at him, and him at her, before Remus felt he had to look away or he would explode. He took the moment to look at her room and it had changed quite a bit since last summer; bed against a new wall, something she did when she felt she needed a change. He noticed her vinyl collection had grown.

“You finally got Ziggy Stardust!” “Oh yeah!” She jumped off the ledge they sat on and made her way to put it on.

“I went with some friends to London and we got to go to a huge record shop. Remus you wouldn’t believe the stuff they had there- they had Bob Dylan’s first album so my collection of his is complete.” “Brilliant.” Remus sat down on her window seat bench and grabbed the album from her shelf to get a closer look. With the Bowie record set up, she nudged the volume dial up before returning next to the boy. She hit his leg to get his attention, “Listen to this first one it’s my favourite.”

He put the Bob Dylan album down to give his full attention to the music.

Many hours later, the two were still perfectly content listening to album after album, pausing their conversation when a particularly good verse came. They were now on the floor of her room, the girl laid out on her carpet flooring, looking just as carefree and stunning as ever.

“Joni next?” She said as the album playing came to a close, before he could respond they heard a knock on the window, it was his dad.

“Bit late, innit? ‘S past one, Remus.” “Sorry, Mr. Lupin, we lost track of time.” “‘S alright, dear, but come to bed Remus.” “Okay.”

His father went back through the window and waited. Remus stood the floor and stretched his back, the girl stood as well, “Tomorrow?” “Yeah.” “G’night, Rem.” “G’night.”

He joined his dad out on the fire escape as they made their way back to his room, once they got inside and closed the window his father broke the silence. “I know you like that girl, but you’ve ‘ot to keep her out of this world, especially with what you are.”

And just like, an otherwise perfect night, ruined by one comment by his father.

“I know.” “Alright. G’night, son.” The door shut behind him, and when he heard that click he let the tear drop.

He knew from his friends that some people don’t care, they found out this past school year and he still hasn’t told his parents that fact. But for all his life he’s heard otherwise, and he can’t help but think one day the boy’s will come to their senses and leave him all alone again. Y/n though, a muggle, if he ever told her he can imagine that best case scenario is him having to use obliviate.

1975

Remus retreated to his room after dinner, wanting to sleep or read or something that didn’t involve more people, it had been a long day even before he got on the train home for the summer. As he grabbed the book on his desk he saw a trail of smoke leading to a certain girl’s bedroom, he leaned forward to see her with her glasses on, smoking a cigarette, and wearing mismatching pajamas.

He lifted the window with ease, causing the girl to flick her eyes back to him, “You're back.” “Same time every year.” Both shared a look with smiles on their faces, the girl broke eye contact to grab her pack of cigarettes, and overing him with one.

“Yeah.” He climbs out the window and comes to now sit on her window sill and takes his own cigarette, she grabs the light from behind her and he lets her light his. Her fingertips brushing against his check as she blocks the blooming flame from the soft summer breeze.

He takes the chance to gaze at her lips, wrapped around the cigarette, residue of lipstick left behind, a soft red. She never needed the makeup, but sometimes if he woke up early he could watch her put it on. A moment that he found she looked the most beautiful, practiced movements, mouthing the words to whatever song she was listening to, and the funny faces she made made him smile.

“I missed you.” “Yeah?” A smile creeped on his face as he looked into her eyes. “Yeah.” “I missed you too. I always do.”

The girl looks away, a smile on her face, unaware that Remus continues his stare looking from her eyes to her smile and the way her hair falls in its clip. She wore a thin olive green tank top, he could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra so he moved his eyes to the clouds she was looking at.

“How’re your friends?” Sometimes she felt as though she knew the boys, with how much Remus talked about them, her mind began to wonder if they knew as much about her as she knew about them.

“They’re just the same pricks they’ve always been.” “James got any farther with Lily?” She muttered, flicking off her cigarette and taking another puff, she looked so beautiful and natural. She had glasses that fell down her nose, messy hair that she liked that way, and a laugh like no other.

“Lils would like me to say ‘no’, but I think she likes him a lot more than she cares to share.” “That’s the way it always goes.” She trailed off, to look at him and he was already looking at her.

It was second year Remus became friends with Lily, they were paired up for a project together and became close. At first she was jealous of the girl, she felt that Lily was going to take her spot in Remus’ life, it weirdly enough was when she heard of James’ fondness for the ginger girl that she no longer worried. Well that and the fact that Remus never did anything to insinuate that he was any less friends with her because of Lily.

And what she didn’t know was that half of the time he was with Lily, he ended up bringing up her.

1977

Y/n was waiting all day for Remus to come home, she never left her room the whole day in waiting. Looking to his window every ten minutes in hope she would see her lanky boy crawling out his window.

It was late in the evening when she came back from the bathroom and immediately went to check, she almost didn’t believe her eyes when she saw the lamp beside his bed on. The girl shrugged on her cardigan that was lying across her desk chair, and crawled out the window.

Remus had just gotten back from a nice dinner with his parents, this was his last summer as a kid and they wanted to make it special from the beginning, especially since next week he was going to spend a month at the Potter’s.

He was interrupted from changing by a knock on his window, he turned on his heels to see the girl he’s been waiting all year to see. Her smile lights up his face, she looks away and it takes him a moment to realize it’s because he isn’t wearing a shirt, clad in nothing but pajama pants gifted to him by Peter. He quickly slips on a jumper before he opens the window and she stumbles into his room.

“Hey.” “Hi.” They each silently take this moment to get a look at eachother, the girl noticed that she could see that scar on his chest end just where his jumper begins, it’s surprising that she could know him since they were babies yet doesn’t know when he got that scar. To be honest she never asked about them, she could tell he was insecure about the way he looked, though in her mind there was no need to be.

During this Remus is having his own thoughts about her looks, she was wearing that cardigan she’s had since she was ten, underneath was a tank top like she commonly wore. Her hair was up in a clip, the same ones Mary always wore, small pieces of hair falling out. She was beautiful.

“Urm.. How have you been?” The boy asked justering for her to sit as he took a seat on his bed. She joined him, leaning against the wall and pulled a carton of cigarettes out of her cardigan pocket.

“Good, yeah I’m good. You?” She replied, feeling around her pockets, “No lighter.” He stood from the bed and went to his dresser drawer, retrieving the pink lighter and throwing it to the girl, she caught it with ease yet didn’t begin to light.

“Is this the lighter I gave you?”

When they were fifteen, they first smoked weed together, at a nearby park in order to not get caught by their parents. And Y/n, high, had given Remus her lighter when they had climbed back up the fire escape to their windows and told him, “This is my favourite lighter. I don’t know why? I think ‘cause it’s pink, so that means it’s lucky- ‘cause the lighter is lucky it’s pink and not some boring lighter like yours- No, you know what Remus? You should take this one, ‘cause it’s luckier and prettier than yours. But keep it safe, it’s my favourite.”

That night Remus put it in his sock drawer to keep safe, he never wanted to use it or worse lose it, so he kept it safe just as she asked.

“Um, yeah.” He mumbled, a little embarrassed at the amount of sentiment he put into that cheap lighter.

“You kept it?” “Yeah, you told me to.”

He becomes even more embarrassed when she chuckles. She looks down at it in her hands, her chuckle dying down and smile slips. There's a moment of silence as Remus doesn’t know what to say so he just returns to his spot on the bed next to her. She doesn’t look up at him still as she asks, “Why did you keep it?”

Truthfully Remus does know why he kept it, it was just because she gave it to him, but if that sounds lame in his head it will most definitely sound lame if he says it to the girl he likes, no love, he’s always known he loved her. So once again he’ll chicken out and doesn’t respond.

She waits for his answer, and when it never comes, “Is it.. For the reason I think?” She boldly asks, looking at the side of his face as he has not looked away from the spot on the wall in front of them.

Another moment, and the beautiful girl tries to get his attention by leaning her face in his line of vision. His gaze is unnerved, he’s too consumed by the thoughts running in his mind, until they all go silent.

She presses a kiss to the side of his mouth and says, “I like you too.”

Head snaps to look at her, eye to eye, nose to nose, and finally lips to lips as Remus presses a hard kiss right on her lips. She immediately begins kissing back, and trying to take control but to her surprise Remus is a lot more comfortable in his actions now and is the one leading the kiss and pushing his tongue between her soft lips, which she gladly accepts.

The girl trails her hand up the inside of his thigh before skipping up to hold his jaw, Remus at the same time grabs her hips and squeezes, causing Y/n to swing one leg over his and straddle the boy’s lap. Her hands fall from his jaw, to his neck, to his chest and pushes him away lightly.

Both slowly allow their eyes to open and look at eachother, smiles mirroring each other.

“So-” “Boyfriend girlfriend?” “Yeah, that’s cool.”

1977

“I’ll get the Bowie album, then we can listen to it when you get back.” “When’s it coming out?” “October.”

The girl replied, her head lying on his bicep as she played with his hand, drawing shapes and tracing his veins. In his other hand, resting on her stomach, Remus held the book he and Lily decided to read over the break for their informal book club.

Y/n thought about asking what she’s been wanting to ask since they’ve gotten together, “Are you going to come home for Christmas?” The last time he did was fifth year, last year he had gone to his friend James’ house. And from what he told her, he had the best time, so you can see she was a little worried he would do that again and she wouldn’t get to see her boyfriend till next summer.

What she didn’t know was that Remus was hoping to avoid this at any cost, it was a full moon this christmas. So even if he did come home, he wouldn’t even get to see her much.

“I haven’t thought about it.” “Oh.” Damn, wrong thing to say. She thought about it. She asked him. She wanted him there.

“I mean- I would love to come home and see you! I just- I don’t know if-” “What?”

She saw the hurt in his face, she knew whatever he was thinking about he was trying to push down and resist it, she sat up and sat crisscrossed facing him. She leaned down and grabbed his hands, gently taking the book out of his hands and marking the page by folding the corner.

“What’s wrong, Remus?... You can tell me.” “That’s just it- I can’t, or rather I shouldn’t.” “Okay, now I’m confused.” She scoffed, shaking her head and standing up to get some space, “What can you not tell me. I tell you everything.”

Remus sat up, leaning against the wall on his bed, head in his hands, thinking about everything. Everything he ‘couldn’t’ tell her, if he couldn’t trust her he believed he couldn’t trust anyone ever again.

“Okay, you have to believe me though, and it’s going to sound like I’ve gone mad. So just remember that I know how absolutely insane I sound, and that I’m still telling you because I trust you. More than anyone.” Met with slight hesitance, Y/n replies, “Okay.”

“I’m a wizard.” He waits for the big reaction that never comes, he stares at the confused face of his girlfriend before he stands and goes to his bottom desk drawer and grabs his wand.

“Levioso.” The boy says, pointing at his record player and directing it as it levitates, before ultimately placing it back in the same spot on his dresser. When he looked back at the girl, her jaw opened in shock.

“Holy fucking SHIT!... That just- in air! You are!” “A wizard? Yes.” “How? I mean- you- what?”

Remus came to her side, guiding her to sit with him on his bed, “I know this is a lot to take in, but I’ve got more.” “MORE?” She looked towards him, concerned for what was to come.

“Yes. Okay, I’m also a werewolf.” “If I didn’t know you, or see that pissing record player float- God, I’d think you were too far gone.” Her words were a relief, causing Remus to chuckle, but truthfully a weight lifted off his chest, to have the most important person in his life to not judge him, “You have no idea how much that means to me- I’m the same Remus you knew, you just know everything now.”

1977

“So I werewolves are real, what about vampires?” “Yes.” “What?! Am I going to have to worry about them?” “Don’t visit Romania.” “That’s not funny.”

They laid together, well Remus laid done while his girl moved every few moments, very excited about the new world she was learning about, at this moment she sat on the boy’s thighs with her legs straddling them on either side.

“What’s your favourite subject in school? For real, now that I know you don’t actually take English.” “Defence against the dark arts.” “That’s a class?” “Yes, a very important one.” He replied, moving his hands up the girl's thighs, from her knees to grasping her hips. He keeps his hands there, squeezing when he feels like it.

“What’s your least favourite?” “Flying. But I haven’t taken that since first year.” “WHY would you hate flying? That’s the dream.” “I don’t like heights.” “But you’re FLYING! Through the air!” “Really? Well, now I’ve got to rethink things.” “Oh, shut up.”

Remus was laughing now, and he could tell she was trying hard not to. He pulled her down to him, keeping her there with his hands on her back as he attacked her cheek with kisses, “Ah!”

The small scream falls on deaf ears as Remus continues kissing her cheeks to her jaw and burrows his head to the crook of her neck. He mumbles something she can’t quite hear, but she can just barely make out the word ‘love’. But still continues to fight him off, “Ah! Rem- tickles!” “Don’t care.”

#remus lupin #remus lupin x reader #remus x reader #remus lupin x fem!reader #remus lupin x female reader #remus lupin x muggle!reader #muggle!reader #james potter #sirius black #marauders #lily evans #peter pettigrew #marauders fanfiction #marauders fic #remus lupin fluff

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tacomics-biggest-fan · 13 days ago

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But like seriously I'm so proud of these drawings I LOVE how they came out and I just want to explode because I love them so much and it would be greatly appreciated if you rebloged this!!! I have also FINALLY decided to give windscreen Mic a dragon design!!!(still workshoping tho) OH RIGHT MY DRAGON DESIGNS WILL BE ON MY ARTFIGHT!! (Linked under as well as a little rant)

If this does well and doesn't flop PLEASE DONT LET THIS FLOP OMG PLEASE then I'll post more about my silly little dragon AU :3

OH DEAR LORD ALOT OF UM DRAGONS!!! Umm okkk so I might have made a little wings of fire inspired ii au,

https://artfight.net/~Tacomics-Biggest-Fan

Ok so I'm kinda taking inspo from the jade mountain academy for hotel oj, except hotels oj is really just a bunch of dens that all of the contests stay in, all connected within the mountion so most of the rooms are connected one way or another, not all rooms have an exit out of the mountain so some of the contests have to go through the mountain to get to the main exit.

I would imagine oj and paper probably have a room near the entrance of the "hotel" because they are the managers of it an need to see all who gose in and out, and most of the time at least one of them is awake at all times, so basically normal cannon stuff (I'm pretty sure thats cannon seems like It would be)

DO NOT ASK ABOUT THE OJ DESIGNS I DONT HAVE ONE YET I KNOW IT LOOKS BAD 😭😭

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ldysmfrst · 11 months ago

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American Mate (11) - Just a Staff Member

Paring: Hybrid!BTS Ot7 x Plus-sized Human FemReader

Status: Ongoing series

Chapter number: 11 of unknown

Word count for Chapter: 11,999

Work count for Story: 81,331

Genre: Hybrid Playmate Au inspired by works created by @yoongiofmine

A little about the author: I am a mother of two beautiful children, one of whom has special needs, and the other loves everyone. I started a Patreon, and I would be grateful if you donated to help me make ends meet while I am out of work.

Warnings: NOT BETA READ!! This chapter does have pack dynamics, comfort, Alpha/Luna vibes, possessiveness, and self-doubt.

BTS HYBRID ANIMAL TYPES: Seokjin - Roan Ferret, Yoongi - Black Jaguar, Hoseok - Marten, Namjoon - Alaskan Timber Wolf, Jimin - Red Panda, Taehyung - White Southwest African Tiger, Jungkook - Flemish Giant Rabbit

AMERICAN MATE MASTER LIST / LDYSMFRST MASTER LIST

Ring Ring Ring

Stirring from your sleep because of a phone ringing, you look around groggily. Momentarily forgetting where you are, you sit up quickly, and that is when you see—the dress and the night before come flooding back to you.

It starts with the letters and conversations, the outfit and pampering, and ends with his smiles and warmth. It was a date you will never forget. The only problem is… it wasn’t a date. Your heart wants to soar, but you must remind yourself it’s just a job.

Remembering that Jin had made it clear that it wasn’t something he would do for a fan. Even though he said you were special, you couldn’t believe it. Bangtan Pack would do this for any playmate, even if Seokjin thinks you are someone special.

Ring Ring Ring

Oh shit! That’s right, the phone. Scrambling over your pillow wall, you find your plugged-in phone and answer it.

“Hello, hello! Sorry, this is Y/n. Who is this?” you ask as you try to untangle yourself from your blanket fort. It isn’t easy with a broken hand.

“Hey Y/n, it’s Derek! Umm, did I wake you up?” he says brightly.

“Oh hey, ah yeah, and now I am wrapped in my blankets. I'm going to put you on speakerphone so I can untangle myself,” you growl in frustration, placing the phone near your head while you wrestle your way out.

“Did you just growl? You know what, never mind. You are gonna need to hurry,” Derek says with a hint of amusement.

“Yes, I did growl,” you say with a huff. “These damn blankets. Wait… Why?” you ask after finally freeing one leg. “I don’t have any plans for today.”

“Well, now you do,” he says in a sing-song-like voice. “You have about two hours to be at PMS to review the final contract.”

“No way… what? Two hours! But I thought we were going to sign it tomorrow or Monday. Why now? Did they get everything back in time?” I say, pushing the blankets down my leg and wiggling backward.

Thud.

Groan

“Y/n! What was that?” calls Derek, who hears you fall while on speakerphone because of his fox hybrid hearing.

“Ah… I slid off the bed,” I said with a slight giggle. Standing up, I lean over my phone. “The duvet is made of satin, so it's slippery, and I got a little bit too close to the edge.”

A rapid knock on your door startles you as you hear your name called from the other side: “Y/n, are you okay? What happened? Princess? Princess!”

Quickly making my way to the door with the phone in hand, you open it to be engulfed by a warm body, then pushed away with Yoongi’s eyes, scanning your form to ensure nothing is wrong. His eyes flashed between their usual deep brown and his Alpha’s golden yellow.

“I am fine, Kisa,” you say with a smile and a giggle as you spin around to show him that you are, indeed, intact and not bleeding.

“Kisa, who is there with you, one of their staff?” Derek, who is still on speakerphone, asks.

“Oh no, it’s Yoongi. Sorry, in my head, I have been calling him ‘my Kisa’ for a bit now. Guess I have never said it out loud,” you say, moving back into your room to sit on your bed with the jaguar in tow.

“Why are you calling me a Japanese woman’s name, Princess?” the jaguar asks. Inside, he jumps for joy because you not only gave him a nickname but also said—My.

You are starting to claim him, and he is over the moon.

“It’s a Japanese woman’s name? Shit, I will stop. I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” you say with wide eyes while waiting for an adverse reaction from the very non-girly, totally male predator hybrid.

Yoongi shakes his head, his face holding curiosity rather than disgust. “If you didn’t know, then why were you calling me that?”

“For me, it's an acronym: K—Knight, I—In, S—Shining, A—Armour, Kisa,” you say this with a slight blush tinting your cheeks, which is mirrored by the hybrid.

“Oh, you have pet names now? For all of them? First, is Thumper, and now Kisa? Who else have you claimed with a famous Y/n’s pet name?” Derek teasingly inquires.

“Ah, Derek, why are you on the phone with me now? Something about two hours?” you say, trying to redirect the conversation away from the new nickname and avoid Yoongi’s gaze.

“Yes, you now have an hour and forty-five to get to PMS. The Pack Alpha is being notified as well. Please be aware that you, your Kisa,” Derek says with a teasing hilt. “The Prime Alpha and anyone who wants to come must be here by then.”

Glancing at Yoongi, he still has dusted cheeks but a silly smile. “Okay. One, you can’t use that name, and two, we will be there. See you soon, yeah?”

“Yep, see you soon, Y/n, Mr. Min!” Derek calls before promptly hanging up.

You hear a deep but soft chuckle beside you, “So I’m your knight in shining armor?”

Hiding your face in your hands, you nod, “Well, think about it. You saved me from hurting myself worse than a banged-up wrist the first day you met me, you saved me from panicking with the offer from Namjoon, and you sounded like you were ready to break down the door because I fell off the bed.”

You feel fur wrapping around your wrists, pulling down softly, effectively removing you from your hiding place. You keep your eyes on your hands and watch the black fur tail wiggle around your wrists.

Once Yoongi realizes you are avoiding his gaze, he grasps your chin and turns to face him. Your eyes automatically lock.

“I will always come to rescue you. I am honored to be your Kisa for as long as you have me, Princess,” Yoongi tells you.

His emotions are so thick with happiness that you find him as your safe place. His Alpha was filled with pride, and his scent was like waves of fresh spring rain.

Your face lights up with a kind smile, and your vanilla mate scent grows more potent. It mixes beautifully with your sweet pea, becoming one of Yoongi’s favorite scents.

The vanilla strengthening could only mean you are falling into the mate bond more with him. He is so happy that it is building naturally with you, even if your meeting wasn’t a pleasant experience.

He can see the nervousness, the longing, and something else in your eyes, which gives him hope that the changes in your scent aren’t just happening subconsciously. A gummy smile grows on his face as he observes you with almost heart eyes.

Pulling away from his hand and tail, you walk toward the door. With a controlled smile, you say, “We should start getting ready for the meeting. Can you please make sure the rest of your pack knows? Please.”

When you turn around, Yoongi can see your eyes look more distant, your posture is no longer relaxed, and your scent is slightly perfumed. Keeping his face neutral (ish), he walks up to you, taking note that you seem to be struggling with something but clearly don’t want to discuss it. Yoongi walks up to you, stopping to give you a second to say something else but when you don’t, he agrees, saying, “Sure thing, Princess. I will let them know.”

You close the door behind you and huff. You must find a way to stop doing this. You can’t feel like you are anything more than a playmate or an employee to them, even though they make it so hard.

First, their declarations before you agreed to be their playmate. Then Jin asked you to give them all a chance. Now, Yoongi is pledging fealty to you like it’s going to last a lifetime.

Shaking your head, you glance at the clock. Whelp, time sure does fly when you contemplate professionalism struggles, attempting to hide mental instabilities and licentious thoughts of bonded mates.

Climbing the stairs, Yoongi finds one of the two, “Namjoon-ah, we need to talk. Where is Jin-hyung?”

“Oh, ah, Jin left about five minutes ago. I was just coming to find you and Y/n. Is everything okay?” he asks with concern.

“Yes and no,” he says, continuing up the stairs, “If you were going to tell Princess about the meeting being moved, Derek beat you to it. She knows and wants me to make sure my pack knows.”

It doesn’t get past the Prime Alpha at the emphasis in Yoongi’s words, even if he looks like nothing is amiss.

“Oh, that is nice of Derek. Then again, she is his Luna, so that only makes sense. So, what is wrong?” Namjoon asks again, following Yoongi into his den.

Yoongi rummaged through his drawers, looking for something presentable to wear to the meeting, instinctually wanting to continue making a good impression with your Beta.

“Y/n. The mate scent is getting stronger. I think,” Yoongi says, still looking for anything to wear.

“Isn’t that a good thing, hyung?” Namjoon questions as he sits on the edge of Yoongi’s bed, watching the jaguar scampering around.

“Well, it would be if not, but a few moments later, her scent turned into that fake flower perfume scent she gets when she is worried about something, and it caused our mate scent to almost disappear,” grumbled Yoongi.

“What were you two doing?” Namjoon asks as he tries to determine what caused the shift.

“Well, I think I may have reacted too much to the “pet” name, as her Beta called it, that she gave me. Ah, I found it!” Yoongi exclaims as he pulls out one of his few button-up shirts in a cream color to go with dark sandy-colored pants and brown loafers.

“Pet name?” questions Namjoon.

“Yeah, she accidentally called me her Kisa while speaking with the Beta. It stands for a knight in shining armor because I keep saving her from getting hurt or unpleasant situations,” he says, changing out of his sleepwear and getting dressed for the meeting.

“Kisa?” giggles Taehyung from the doorway. “Oh my, how appropriate for you. Bet she doesn’t even realize it. I don’t think you do either.”

Both Alphas in the room look at the newcomer, waiting for him to continue.

“It’s Japanese and typically used for females, but it originated in Old Greek as an endearing term,” says Taehyung as he saunters into the room. With his voice dropping into his deeper register, he says, “It means kitty.”

Yoongi is coughing as he chokes on the air and turns bright red with embarrassment. His ears twitched every which way but what, and his tail almost wagged like a dog.

“It looks like your Princess fell onto one of your kinks,” says Namjoon with a smirk.

“Hush you, both of you. Am I the only one here who is worried about the meeting we must prepare for?” Yoongi challenges while pulling Namjoon up to push him out the door while he deals with embarrassment.

“Nope, I am dressed and ready,” Namjoon says, smirkingly, pointing out that he is in a suit.

“I was the one who requested the meeting. I have been on the phone since early morning trying to get things to move along faster,” the Prime Alpha proudly states.

“Possessive much, Hyung?” Tae teases the pack leader. “I thought that was my job.”

Namjoon may be the Prime Alpha of the Bangtan Pack, but Taehyung is known for being the possessive one. The whole world knew how possessive Taehyung was, especially with his only younger mate.

“Hey! I can be possessive of my mates, even if she is unaware of being one,” complained the wolf hybrid.

“Jin-hyung came home last night, and we had a good conversation about their date. I just knew I wanted to settle this now. I don’t want her going anywhere,” justifies Namjoon.

“Oh yeah, the date went well, I take it?” asks Yoongi as he finishes getting ready in the bathroom.

“Yes, very much so, but he wouldn’t tell me much. He said he didn’t want to spoil anything for me when we finally go on our date… if she even agrees,” Namjoon says as his scent gets duller.

“Are you worried that Y/n will reject you?” Taehyung asks as he hugs the older Alpha around the waist. Namjoon nods his head.

“I don’t see Y/n doing that. She may end up acting a bit more professionally with you, but that's when you have to use those dimples to your advantage.” says the younger one while poking those same dimples.

“Returning to the current issue, we must talk to Jin-hyung about the mate scent. See if he got any hints of changes. Maybe try to find out why she is so nervous about things. I guess your meeting with her family pack will be good,” says Yoongi on his way out of the bathroom, ready to go.

“Looking good there, kitty,” Taehyung teases.

“Ah, no. Don’t you start that now, Taehyung-ah, please. We have a meeting to go to. Are you coming with?” Yoongi asks, trying to avoid blushing further.

“Yeah, Jimin and Jungkook are coming, too. Hobi-hyung and Jin-hyung couldn’t come because of some vlog and video-clip requirements that Bang PD came up with since we left two weeks early.”

“I think they are doing it close to the Playmate Services office. They both want to try to make it before the meeting starts. It would be nice to show support and acceptance as a mate-bonded pack,” laments Namjoon.

“HYUNGS LET’S GO!” Jungkook yells from downstairs.

“Guess that means everyone else is ready,” snickers Taehyung.

Yoongi is wearing a light tan look, which is different from what you would ever think he would wear—the duality of a man.

Jungkook and Taehyung are in their typical but stylish black-on-black with– that's right, black.

Namjoon looks like a lawyer in a three-piece suit of dark blue with light blue pinstripes.

Then there is Jimin in classy-looking beachwear. With this look, he could attend a meeting, a dance class, or a day in Malibu.

You, however, are in something very professional. A dark blue pantsuit with a light blue blouse goes well with the pedicure and manicure you got from Mare Salon. Every time you look at the nail polish, a smile blooms as you remember how perfect last night was.

The boys had all expressed how beautiful you looked. Taehyung let out a low growl as his eyes roamed over your features. Yoongi mentioned how you would be the most attractive person in the room, leading you to blush.

It took every ounce of willpower for the Prime Alpha to drag you next to him because the two of you matched. The two of you looked like you could be the power couple of Bangtan, especially since you dressed without trying to match.

As you exit the packhouse, everyone is having small conversations, like Jungkook worrying about being late when, in reality, you will still be early to the meeting. Then there is Yoongi, who wants to know what to do after the contract signing or if we could just come back.

You smile and listen to their various conversations while still caught up in the conversation with Jimin about where you got your suit. You weren’t surprised that he didn’t know what a Torrid and a Ross were. While you tried to find a way to explain it without sounding like a cheapskate, you missed the lowered volumes around you.

Taehyung had stopped talking with Yoongi and Namjoon to glare off into the distance.

“What is it, Tae Tae?” asks Namjoon, but before he can answer, the smell of male arousal gets stronger the closer they get to the vans.

Glancing at each other, Jimin over his shoulder briefly with a slight twitch of his brow, they all conclude… They are not the only ones enjoying how well your suit fits your figure, but the question is which of the two drivers was attracted to their mate.

When the group gets closer to the cars, the boys huddle together like last time. You start to think this must be a regular thing since Bangtan is a large, bonded pack. You understand that the six of you will have to split up since there are too many of you to fit in the luxury 5-passenger vans.

Looking back at the black, highly tinted vans, you wonder who will go with whom. Seeing that you are not needed in or understanding whatever they are discussing in rapid-fire Korean, you head to the van with the driver you have seen before and greet him.

Watching your step because, for some reason, you had decided to wear heeled pumps, you miss the driver’s eyes as they roam over your figure.

You double-check to see if the boys have moved, but note that they are still huddled. Taehyung and Yoongi are facing your way and looking between the two vans. Neither one of them seems happy at the moment, but you keep to yourself and keep heading the rest of the way.

“Hello, James. It is nice to see you again. Am I going in your van today?” You smile as you approach the driver you met on the faithful day this all started. In doing so, you ended up drawing the attention of the pack.

“Y/n, having you in my van would be a pleasure,” says the driver, his eyes, again, roaming your figure while stepping forward with his hand out to help you down the last step.

You go to take his hand, a smile growing at his kind words and gentlemanly qualities, but a deep growl sounds behind you. The sound induces a fear that can only come from a predatory animal. Logically, you know it must be one of the Alphas behind you, but your heart and instincts are causing you to freeze.

The driver, James, is having a similar reaction, with wide eyes looking behind you as someone approaches.

“Mr. Green,” says Taehyung, placing an arm around your waist. “You will show her respect by calling her Miss Y/l/n when she speaks to you.”

“Yes, Sir. My apologies, Mr. Kim. I mean you and Miss Y/l/n, no disrespect,” James says as he bows in respect for offending the tiger hybrid.

While Taehyung’s touch brings you out of your unwarranted fear, you roll your eyes at his notion that James was being rude. It isn’t that big of a deal, and you go to explain why James was so bold as to use your first name, but Taehyung continues.

“You also will never have the pleasure of doing anything with her if you wish to keep your job. Keep your eyes off her,” growls the Alpha while still holding you, his grip tightening on your hip.

“Taehyung! What are you doing?” you said, stepping out of his hold and facing him.

Blocking the view of the now trembling man behind you, you add, “You cannot just growl at someone like that. It’s rude, for one. Besides, I asked James to call me by my first name. He was kind to me the day I got injured.”

Taehyung looks at you with a gaping mouth, his scent burning at feeling your reprimand. “I was… he was ogling and flirting with you. He isn’t supposed to call you by your first name. He has to remember his place. He is just a staff member.”

By this point, the other Alphas are focused on this little interaction and look at the group of you with anger, confusion, and other emotions you can’t identify right now as your scent clashes with Taehyung’s. His burning wood does not mix well with your soured lemon, putting everyone on edge.

“Staff,” you say as you look past Taehyung at the rest of the pack that has gathered along his side.

Jungkook’s eyes are round with worry, and he is nibbling on his lower lip and holding onto Jimin, who has the decency of looking somewhat ashamed of what has happened.

Yoongi and Namjoon are the calmest looking of the bunch as they take everything in. Neither one of them knows what to do. They understand Taehyung’s reaction, especially with you being a new mate that hasn’t been marked.

Clicking your tongue, you focus back on the tiger hybrid. “Alpha Kim Taehyung-ssi, I will also be on your pack’s payroll, which makes me– just a staff member,” you say.

Yoongi and Jungkook move to take a step forward but stop when you level them with a glare. Shaking your head, you walk backward to stand next to the driver.

Then, as you bow to a full 90 degrees, you continue, “My apologies, Alpha Kim Taehyung-ssi, for overstepping my position. It won’t happen again.”

A chorus of voiced concerns comes from all the Alphas except Taehyung, who is shocked by your reaction. You take a beat before you stand as tall as you can, your face straight and unyielding, and your scent losing any hint of sweet pea and morphing to lemon with a hint of mold.

Only three of them understand that you have gone into your Luna mode. Yoongi places a hand on the offending Alpha to signal him to keep his mouth shut. At the same time, a soft but unmistakable growl from the Prime Alpha is loud enough to be heard within the Alpha group.

“Since I am not a member of your staff currently, which grants me no regulations or benefits… I will find a way to get to the Playmate Services office on my own. Prime Alpha, Alphas,” you curtly say with a nod.

Spinning around, you give James a sympathetic smile and walk away. Pulling out your phone, you request an Uber. You can hear scuffling, growling, and loud whispers.

It’s not loud enough for your human ears to hear what is being said. At this point, you do not care (you do, but you don’t), and it slowly fades away as you reach the main gate.

Approaching the gate, you nod to the guard, asking to be let out the side door, when you notice he stops and looks behind you.

Great, someone followed you.

You are 100% sure it’s someone coming to force you into the van with them or apologize to Taehyung. Maybe even worse, someone is here to have you get into the van with Taehyung, so you must be near him and apologize.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Reading yourself for whatever you need to do to hold your position and remain as far as possible from Mr. High-and-Mighty-I-am-an-Alpha-Tiger Kim Taehyung.

“Prin… Y/n… Miss Y/n,” says Yoongi with insecurity bleeding into his words.

You turn around and glare at him, waiting for him to tell you what he wants or what the pack's demands are. Hands on your hips, tapping your foot with a look of sternness but a hint of frustration, “What?”

“I understand you are upset at Taehyung-ah.” Your face glowers at the mention of the Alpha, but he continues, “Would you be okay if I went with you to the office?”

You continue to stand there and stare at him. You want time alone, to be away from them all, because it has been a lot. Even with how amazing it was last night with Seokjin and the compliments from this morning, Taehyung’s actions knocked you off the cloud you were sitting on and back into reality.

“You… I want…My Alpha is screaming in my head that you are hurt and need to be with one of us,” Yoongi says firmly, but his eyes show he is actually concerned.

You shift your weight to tell him to leave you alone. While you understand that his Alpha has instinctual needs, you are a big girl and can handle yourself.

Before you can say anything, he adds, “More so, I would like to be by your side right now. Princess, I know you are mad at him, and not only do I understand, but so does the pack. Trust me, he is getting his own punishment from the pack right now.”

He takes a step forward. His tail is low, his hands grip the bottom of his shirt, and his ears are flat. “Please, Y/n-ah. My princess, allow me to come with you. I won’t say anything the whole way there.”

Hearing a car pull up near the gate, your phone dings at the arrival of your Uber. You turn around and step toward the gate; speaking over your shoulder, you say, “Not a word. Let’s go.”

After not seeing Yoongi on the side of the road as they left, Namjoon settled into his seat. His eyes return to the younger Alpha and appraise the hunch of his back, downcast eyes, flat ears, and tail wrapped around his waist in a self-soothing manner.

Good. He knows he messed up.

“What are you going to do?” Namjoon asks, his voice firm in his Prime Alpha role.

“Joon,” he starts but is cut off with a growl.

“Right now, I am not your Joonie-hyung. I am your Prime Alpha, leader of the Bangtan Pack, and you just…” Namjoon sighs, his eyes looking around, trying to figure out how to say everything without creating a more significant problem.

“Prime Alpha Kim, I know. I messed up. I shouldn’t have growled at the driver rudely,” admits Taehyung.

“And??” hints Namjoon that the younger mate shouldn’t be finished.

“And I should not have been so possessive of our new mate, especially since she doesn’t know yet,” says Taehyung with a growl. “It’s just so hard. He was practically drooling over her like a piece of meat or candy.”

“That may be the case, but Y/n either didn’t notice or didn’t care. So, correcting him with her presence and in that manner was not okay. Taehyung-ah, do you realize how much you may have set us back with her because of this?” chides Namjoon.

“She wasn’t that upset, Prime Alpha. She is a woman. She’ll get over it. Besides, she has to forgive because of the mate bond. We just need to give her time, flowers, or gifts and what-not,” says the younger Alpha.

“The mate bond doesn’t work like that. She can reject you and, in turn, reject us. We don’t know how much a human can feel the bond because it is so rare.” Namjoon sighs, “You know apologizing to a mate isn’t the same as to a friend. Flowers or gifts… really? Is that how you apologize to our mates?”

“Well, no, not really,” mumbles Taehyung with a shrug.

“Y/n already has obstacles that we have to help her overcome. Obstacles that we must conquer to prove to her that we are different from anyone she has been with and not just because we are hybrids,” Namjoon declares. “We have to show her how genuine we are. She deserves, and the rest of our pack will demand that she be shown the same love, devotion, and care we already show each other. She may need more reassurance than the others because of her past.”

Leaning forward, Namjoon reaches out a hand to grasp Taehyung’s chin, forcing him to make eye contact, “Today, you will stay in the van away from Y/n for the meeting. After this, you will be at her beck and call like the staff you have not shown respect for, and it will be up to Y/n when you are forgiven. Understood?”

“Yes, Prime Alpha. I will seek forgiveness and serve her until she forgives me, even though it will not be easy for my Alpha or me,” gripes Taehyung half-heartedly. He knows that he went about today the wrong way, but he still doesn’t feel what he did was done with the wrong intent.

“Good. Pray that she is as forgiving with you as she was for Yoongi-hung. If she doesn’t… I don’t know. I just don’t know,” sighs Namjoon.

After inquiring where Derek is, they are directed into the conference room. He is busy setting up the meeting and laying out copies of the updated contract inside the room.

At the pack's entrance, he greets them, “Oh, Mr. Kim, Mr. Park, and Mr. Jeon, Hello!”

Looking behind the three Alphas, Derek expects to see Y/n, but no one else enters. With a confused look, he asks, “Where is Y/n-ah? Is she coming with another packmate?”

“She is coming with Yoongi-hyung, and Manager Sejin is also coming in a moment. We came a bit early because we wanted to ask you a question,” Namjoon asks as he steps forward.

“Beta Derek, temporary Alpha of the Y/l/n Pack, I, Prime Alpha Namjoon of the Bangtan Pack, would like to request an audience with you and your pack Omega,” requests the Prime Alpha with a bowed head, mirrored by the other Alphas present. The formality shown honors this as a traditional request, and Derek gapes like a fish out of water.

“You are requesting… Why not ask my Luna?” Asks the weary Beta, his scent hinting at worry and his body language on edge.

Lowering his head even further, Namjoon responds, “We wish to discuss your Luna and our future with her. I would rather not say something here because it would not be the right place. Please, will you meet with select members of the Bangtan Pack?”

“Very well. As temporary Alpha of the Y/l/n Pack, I accept your request. As the receiving pack, I will offer to meet at the Y/l/n Packhouse tomorrow at 11 a.m. I think the utilities are still one until Monday. Most likely, because none of us are actual Alphas, and our Luna will not be present, our Omega’s mate may join us. Are the terms acceptable?” says Derek without wavering and holding himself high.

“They are. Thank you for accepting our request. Myself, Seokjin-hyung, Hoseok-hyung, and Taehyung-ah will be present from Bangtan Pack,” responds Namjoon, standing up.

“Oh, that is a lot,” comments Derek, as the packhouse is not very big and has no couch. The fox hybrid scent shows his stress at figuring out seating arrangements.

“Derek-ssi? As the visiting pack, they will be fine with sitting on the floor of your packhouse. Respectfully and traditionally, you and your pack representatives should take any other proper seating,” Jungkook says, his big bunny smile on display.

At the other Alphas' nodding, Derek visibly relaxes and smiles back, “I will make sure you are comfortable, Alphas; don’t worry. For today, please sit on the table's far side where your nameplate is, and we will start when everyone is here.”

You are upset. You were thrown for a loop. You lost some of the footing that you thought was solid. You wanted to be left alone.

Technically, this is what you are getting, but now that you are here, it’s not what you want.

Your fur leash is missing, and the soft stroking of Yoongi’s tail on your leg to calm and reassure you is absent. You miss the subtle touches you have gotten from the jaguar in the past few days. That is when you realize that it is not the action itself but who it was that was doing that made it mean so much more. You are growing attached and don’t know how to stop it.

You start thinking it would be good to express your concerns to Prime Alpha Namjoon and find another solution before signing the contract. Your mind continues to be riddled with thoughts of how caring Yoongi and Jungkook have been, how Jimin opened up, and your beautiful time with Seokjin. You feel a connection with these four. Well, maybe not so much Jimin, but at least he has started making progress toward not being a stranger to you.

Hoseok, on the other hand, started flirty but, so far, hasn’t looked to spend more time with you even when the pack was all there. Then again, his schedule has been the fullest out of everyone.

You were primarily worried about Namjoon. Without him tolerating you being involved with his pack, you can bet all the money in your account that this contract would never happen no matter who else wanted you around, especially after the last Playmate.

Taehyung.

Until this morning, Taehyung was someone you thought you had found a connection with. You met his Alpha briefly in the breakroom, and he seemed so caring even with the slight distance. He was one of the pillars you planned to build over the next several weeks.

What if you now screwed up everything?

You had just scolded your Omega about how reactions can ruin everything, and then you turned around and did the same thing. Glancing at Yoongi, you wonder if you ruined everything with him by speaking out against his mate. However, you are not willing to compromise your ethics and morals—period.

“Princess?” he calls, attempting to get your attention while in the elevator.

At the sound of Yoongi’s voice and the use of his nickname for you, your shoulders relax just a tad. You hadn’t realized how much his silence and distance were affecting you.

Looking at him standing next to you, you are met with hard-set eyes and a tall, dominating posture. He says, “Taehyung has a good reason for what he did, but he was not entirely correct in his actions. Our Prime Alpha will correct that with him, so you don’t have to worry.”

Turning to face him, you open your mouth to respond, only to have Yoongi quickly take your hand and continue, “Please don’t cancel the contract.”

It isn’t a demand. You take in his words, posture, and scent of strong vanilla and ocean. He is shaken and worried, which shocks you because you figured he would side with his younger mate.

“Let us prove to you that we mean everything we have told you. Look at Seokjin, Jungkook, and me for examples of how things will be in the future.” His eyes tell you he is being honest. They are hard-set, but at the same time, they are glossing over with unshed tears.

“Yoongi, my Kisa, I won’t cancel the contract, nor will I force anyone to partake in it,” you reassure him. Your words act like a breath of fresh air for the Alpha. “What happened today is just one in the pack of seven. What he did is not a reflection of all of you.”

Pulling you in for a hug that startles you at first, Yoongi kisses your temple, mumbling against your skin, “Thank you, Princess.”

When the elevator doors open, you pull out of his hold and take his hand. You weren’t sure how you would feel around Taehyung, but you didn’t want anyone else to be uncomfortable.

“Yoongi, what do you mean I don’t have to worry about Taehyung?” you ask.

“Namjoon-ah will take care of it and let you know what was done,” he answers. “That’s how Bangtan works. When there is a disagreement or incident like the one this morning, it gets deferred to Prime Alpha.”

“Oh, I wonder what my punishment will be,” you muse.

Pulling you to a stop, Yoongi asks, “Why would you get punished?”

“I spoke out against an Alpha. An Alpha that is a bonded mate to all of you. Then left without being granted permission to leave by the Prime Alpha,” you say, looking at the office doors.

“Princess,” Yoongi says as he lifts a finger to your chin, directing you to look at him again, “You stood up for someone, stood your ground against a pack member, and demanded space. Nothing you did was wrong. I mean, sure, it would have been better to talk it out, but you aren’t used to us yet.”

Leaning up, Yoongi kisses you on the forehead, “No one is going to punish you. In fact, I see some groveling happening really soon.”

“Will that happen before or after the Prime Alpha?” You feel a blush crawling up your face, attempting to lighten the mood.

Yoongi knows you are avoiding the situation in your own unique way. He chuckles at your joke but is still worried because your sweet pea hasn't returned yet, and only the lemon and vanilla scent is present.

Any other nearby hybrids will notice your scent and likely think something is wrong. To them, this could mean either that the hybrid with you is unsolicited or that you are being forced into something. Neither one of these options is good for either of you.

He opens the office door, his tail curling around your waist, and you head in. He hopes you will naturally fall into petting his tail or your scent will change before gaining unwanted attention.

The temporary front desk assistant greets you and directs the two of you to the correct office. Yoongi opens the conference door to reveal Namjoon, Jimin, Jungkook, and Derek sitting around the conference room.

While the Alphas stand at your arrival, Derek jumps up and tilts his head in submission, pulling a shocked “oh” from you. As you walk closer to your family pack member, he drops to a knee and whimpers slightly.

“Derek? What’s wrong?” you ask, looking to the room full of Alphas for help. Each of them seems also to be avoiding your gaze.

“Luna, what has caused you to be so upset?” asks Derek, his eyes still cast down and his neck bared to you.

“Did you say something?” You question the Bangtan pack members who were present before you arrived.

“No, Luna Y/n, we have said nothing, but your scent says plenty. Yoongi-hyung, did you not comfort her and explain?” questions Namjoon.

“I explained...” Yoongi starts, but you cut him off.

“He did, Prime Alpha. I didn’t understand how affected I was… am. He needs to do nothing more. He did as you requested,” you clarify. “I will see to my pack.”

Focusing back on your Beta, you lean down and scent him lightly with your wrist to show that you are not upset with him. “Beta, I am not upset at you. There was a… misunderstanding this morning. I am sorry if my scent is still soured.”

Finally, Derek looks at you, his gaze flitting over all of you to make sure you are not physically hurt. You smile at him and hold your hand, helping him stand.

“Luna, are you sure you are okay? What happened?” asks Derek.

“Don’t worry about it,” you glance around. “It is something that must be dealt with between the parties involved. You know how I do not like bringing in more people than required.”

“Luna Y/n, Taehyung-ah will not be present for the meeting if you wish. He is waiting down in the van. He will remain distant from you until you are willing to have him in your presence, and then he will work for your forgiveness,” says Namjoon with an air of authority.

“Oh. I see.” You then blatantly say to Namjoon while you pick at invisible lint on your pants and sleeve, “Strange that Young Mr. Kim has been made to keep distance when others who are also looking for forgiveness are not, Prime Alpha.”

Looking at your Beta, you ask, “Am I correct in saying that if he wishes to receive services, he must be present at PMS to sign the contract?”

“He does, Luna, but we can have him come do it later. Just like Mr. Jung and the eldest, Mr. Kim,” answers Derek as he moves to his seat again.

“I see.” You move to the seat with your name on it and notice that Yoongi is slated to sit next to you, with the Director on your other side.

“He is welcome to be present for the meeting. It does affect him and his bonded mates. I will not stand in his way, Prime Alpha,” you state with the clarity of a Luna, leaving no room for discussion.

“It is still his decision to join this contract of his own free will and no one else’s. Or am I mistaken, Prime Alpha?” you say as your Luna side continues showing her strength.

“You are correct. I will go get him then, Luna Y/n,” Namjoon says, making his way to the door as you and the rest take your respectable seats.

“Director Johnson, it is good to see you again. I hope this hasn’t caused you too much trouble,” you say as he sits beside you.

“Oh no, it has been interesting but nothing troubling,” the director says with a professional smile. “How are you handling all of this? It must not be easy since you have no Playmate training.”

As the director speaks, you feel Yoongi’s tail slowly wrap around you again, as if he is trying not to make it noticeable. Remembering someone mentioned that the Bangtan pack does not have a good relationship with the director, you maintain a smile in hopes that no other issues will come up.

“Not to worry. As you know, I have a family pack with Derek as my Beta. So, I am not completely unaware of pack dynamics, and I have read more than my fair share of contracts and witnessed playmate interactions in the past,” you try to sound sure of yourself.

Before he could respond, the door to the conference room opened again. Namjoon and Taehyung enter, with Namjoon taking his place back on the other side of the table. You pay no mind to what Taehyung is doing to the best of your ability, still being upset.

“Just as in any honest pack, there will be differences of opinions, challenges to positions, and discussions to occur. This will happen as we get to know… each… ooothherr.” Your words stop as you see the odd look on Derek’s face as he pointedly looks at you, then behind you and back several times.

You also note that Yoongi has stiffened, the three other Alphas in your eye line are looking behind you, and the director has also turned to look. Following their lead, you turn in your seat to find Taehyung standing behind you against the wall, looking directly at you, “May I help you, Mr. Kim?”

“Y/n,” starts the young Alpha before several growls cut him off.

“She is Luna Y/n right now, Taehyung-ah. You will take note of her scent and address her as such,” Namjoon says.

“Yes, Prime Alpha,” he answers without his eyes drifting from you and taking a deeper breath. “Luna Y/n, I would like to apologize for my actions this morning. You are your own person. It was wrong of me to assume that you were being mistreated and disrespected by Mr. Green.”

Your eyes widen at his words. Glancing at the director, you notice he frowns deeply at hearing that something has already happened. You can also see that Derek has a look of irritation. However, your attention is pulled back to Taehyung as he kneels on the floor, causing you to stand immediately. You are shocked to have an Alpha do that, but you hear someone clearing your throat before you can process anything.

“Luna Y/n, from this moment until you have forgiven him, Taehyung will be your personal attendant. It is an older tradition but one that Bangtan Pack has utilized for a long time,” informs the Prime Alpha.

“Luna Y/n,” Yoongi gathers your attention. “Remember what I said in the elevator? This is it. Don’t think that because you are new to the pack or where your position is within the pack means that you have to forgive him right away. I think Hobi had him in service for almost a month.”

“27 days. I was in service to him for 27 days, and I will serve you, Luna Y/n, for as long as you see fit,” Taehyung informs you as he sits on the floor behind your chair.

“But why are you on the floor?” you ask, his eyes widening momentarily as he looks to his packmates for help.

“Luna,” calls Derek, “If they are following the traditional Acts of Forgiveness, then the one looking for forgiveness must serve the one who can grant that forgiveness at all times. They must never be found higher than or in front of the grantor. Plus, they must be in close proximity unless the grantor orders otherwise.”

“But he is taller than me! How is that gonna work? He can’t sit on the floor. What will Army think if they get wind of this?” You, not so gracefully, plop back into your seat, “I’m a dead man.”

“Luna Y/n, while I will not go against the traditions of the Acts while within the presence of our Bangtan pack, if it makes you more comfortable, might I suggest something?” Taehyung offers, seemingly unaffected while sitting on the floor like it’s normal.

Glancing at Yoongi for guidance, as you have never dealt with any of these Acts before, much less heard of them before today, he subtly nods his head once. Clearly, this is not something that is not out of sorts for the Bangtan Pack. With that knowledge, you look back at Taehyung and wave your hand for him to continue.

“Why don’t I always walk behind you and sit on a designated side when someone outside the pack can see us? I don’t care about what Army thinks. I care about what you think,” offers the tiger hybrid, still sitting on the floor.

“You don’t… Mr. Kim, you must think of Army. They are the key to your success. I am, by far, not someone to risk a scandal over,” you huff out. Another sharp spike in your lemon-ed scent supports the determination of your words.

“Now, your ideas will work. You still cannot sit on the floor, though. That is not right. You are not a slave. What about using a pillow?” you ask, looking between Namjoon and Derek.

But it's again, Taehyung answers, “If you order for me to use a pillow, I will be grateful for your kindness.”

One thing you loved picking up from Evie’s family when you were young was the ability to identify scents. Scents became your comfort afterward. Right now, you need that support.

Taking a deep breath, the scent of your Beta with the present members of Bangtan that have found a place in your heart, you say, “Fine. I will follow the Acts of Forgiveness. You can walk behind me, sit to my left in public, and use a pillow when sitting on the floor. Is that agreeable, Mr. Kim?”

Yoongi gives a pleased rumble beside you, and Taehyung nods, “As you wish, Luna.”

You had thought that Taehyung would have taken a seat with the pack or somewhere to your left after agreeing, but he refused because the Director was sitting there. He also refused a pillow “because he caused enough of a delay.”

Deciding that this was a battle you had no desire to pursue because you doubted you would win, you let it slide. You also make a mental note to place an over-stuffed or large pillow in each room you might end up with him in to ensure he is comfortable.

At the same time, you still feel awkward about the Acts of Forgiveness and debate forgiving him when you leave the office. However, your thoughts get pulled to the paperwork in front of you as the meeting officially starts.

Halfway through the contract reading, Seokjin and Hoseok arrive. Both take note of Taehyung sitting on the floor and your still acidic, lemony scent but say nothing. Only a smirk on Hoseok’s face gives you a clue that he at least understands what is going on.

“Jin! Hoseok! You both made it,” you smile, standing up and hugging the eldest Alpha.

“Hello, my dear. Of course, we made it. This is an important meeting,” Seokjin says while he returns your hug.

“I made sure that my dance practice ended on time. My instructor kept trying to make me take breaks, but I wasn’t having it. They understood once I explained it,” says Hoseok as he ruffles your hair on his way to his seat.

“Thank you for joining us. Please take a seat. We are about halfway through. Do you want a moment to catch up?” asks Director Johnson.

At the sound of his voice, Seokjin stiffens, and his face drops. “No, Director. Our Prime Alpha takes care of the pack, including Miss Y/n, as a proper leader should, and neither of us has any reason to question him.”

“Jin,” you whisper harshly, “Be nice. Please, he is still my boss.”

Looking down at you, Seokjin takes a moment to admire you. His Alpha wants to argue that Bangtan has a claim on you that ‘your boss’ will never have.

“I am sorry, my dear.” Seokjin glances at the director, “Thank you for your offer, but we can continue from wherever you are.”

As the eldest Alpha sits next to Namjoon, the meeting moves forward. The preliminary one you agreed to back at their packhouse seemed the same as the contract in front of you once you passed the results from Dr. Blackwell and Ryan’s report.

That is until you get to the last few clauses:

· The Bangtan Pack will not seek additional Playmates for companion or partner contracts as Y/n is the sole Playmate of the Bangtan Pack. · There will be no sexual or intimate contact outside of the contracted individuals. · Y/n will have the option to be integrated into the Bangtan Pack by agreement of all members, at which time the Playmate Partner Contract will be null and void.

“Okay, wait. Why does this last clause even need to be included? What do you mean by ‘no sexual or intimate contact’... What does that mean to Alpha hybrids?” you ask as you read and re-read the last clause.

“Integrated? Why is there an option to be integrated into your pack, Prime Alpha?” you ask with your eyes wide.

You look at Namjoon, waiting for his explanation. When he doesn’t answer immediately, you look to Derek, “You wrote the contract. What does this mean? Are you kicking me out of our family pack at the end of this? Are you ashamed of me?”

“What?!? No, Luna, that isn’t happening. That will NEVER happen. Family packs are for life. These were added per last night's eldest Mr. Kim’s email request,” Derek quickly responded, looking to Seokjin to explain.

“Luna Y/n, I want to be very clear with you,” starts Seokjin. “You are someone that none of us were expecting. You intrigue us all. Alpha Yoon has never… NEVER… protected someone outside of Bangtan.”

You glance over at Yoongi, the tips of his ears fluttering, his cheeks hinting rose, and his tail wrapping around your braced wrist.

“Alpha Chim, not Jimin but his Alpha, hasn’t initiated scenting of anyone, mate or not, since Seul-ki left,” your eyes snap to Jimin’s as he nods. “Not only did Jimin-ah tell you about what happened, but Alpha Chim scented you on his own.”

“You have also met Alpha Tae and Alpha Kook. Luna Y/n, you have met over half of our Alphas, and as a mate-bonded high-profile pack, that shouldn’t happen unless there is something special about you.”

“But, I am just me,” you utter softly as a sweet pea, the mate vanilla, and a soft peach scent slowly replaces the lemon tangy.

“Sweets, you are just you, and what you are is amazing. Never forget that,” piped Jungkook.

“Luna Y/n,” Namjoon summons your attention. “I know you ever expected us, and Seokjin-hyung is correct– we never expected you.”

Looking slowly at each of his mates, the Prime Alpha settles back on you, “The additional clause is included because we all feel this longing to be close to you. One of the ways we, as hybrids, get close to someone is through physical means, like how Yoongi-hyung is holding you by his tail right now, or Hoseok-hyung did by scenting your hair when he came in.”

“However, the average human considers most of what we do to be close to one another as intimate. As a pack, we want not to limit our interactions with you. We want to see where we end up naturally with you, Luna,” explains Namjoon.

“Princess, remember that no matter what we want, if you do not want something… please tell us. This goes for anything from holding hands and hugs to cuddling and scenting. If any of the pack members do not listen, I will declare a Challenge to them, and I expect them to do the same with me,” Yoongi adds quickly to ensure clarity and security.

A few comments of agreement are heard, along with Derek muttering under his breath that he “will Challenge if they don’t,” which also causes snickers around the table.

“Ah… well… okay…. I think that is understandable. From what I have experienced so far with getting closer to some of you, the scenting has been very different from what happens with Y/l/n Pack. So, it makes sense that you have that included,” you concur. “But what about the integration part?”

“As you saw with Taehyung-ah’s display this morning, Alphas protect what we consider ours,” Jimin says with a sight smirk. “He isn’t the only one wanting to make it known to others that you are not theirs.”

Next to Jimin, Jungkook’s ears drop as he hides behind them. The action causes you to giggle, and the vanilla mate scent from you grows, drawing the attention of the Bangtan Pack to you.

Yoongi tries to hide his amusement at the awe he finds on the faces of his bonded mates at the change in your scent. Their reaction answers his question about the bond becoming stronger.

Your attention, however, has gone to the contract before you, and the reality of your situation is starting to settle in. You are becoming a Playmate of the Bangtan Pack, and they don’t want to limit interactions. Are they changing yet another part of the contract because of you, or is it for you?

Does that mean you are not alone in your reactions to their advances? You can call those behaviors advances now, can’t you? All you know is that nothing will be the same over the next seven weeks. While your mind is imagining a trillion things that could go wrong, your heart and soul cannot wait for the adventure ahead.

The others around the table agree with everything said so far. Even Director Johnson and Derek have huge smiles and a knowing glint in their eyes.

“Sugar, your scent is turning again. What are you thinking about?” Worries the youngest Alpha, reaching out towards you but stops as he is unsure if it will help.

You attempt to give him a reassuring smile before you turn to sit sideways in your seat. Sitting like this allows you to see Hoseok, Jimin, and Taehyung.

The three wild cards. You need to talk to them. You want to ensure they want this and not just consent to the contract because of some ‘majority rules’ thing. You need to talk to them without Namjoon or Yoongi around.

“Prime Alpha, Sir, I wish to discuss a few questions with some of your bonded mates. Do I have your permission to speak with them privately?” you ask.

You can feel the room tense up. Looking at Namjoon, you see his face is pensive, but he nods, “You may, Luna Y/n. Do you wish for us to relocate, or do you have another room that you would like to use?”

“Miss Y/n, why don’t we step out? I could use a coffee, and I am sure a few of us may need a break,” Director Johnson offers. He knows the other conference room wouldn’t grant you privacy because of the observation room.

“Thank you, Director. I think that would be a good idea. If Hoseok, Jimin, and Taehyung would be so kind as to remain, we could discuss a few things,” you say, but your eyes never leave Namjoon's. Watching the expression change to one of understanding.

“As you wish, Luna,” responds Taehyung, but your heart tugs at the thought he is only willing to stay because he is in trouble with you and the Prime Alpha because of this morning.

“Hoseok-hyung and Jimin-ah, are you comfortable staying?” asks Derek. The questioned Alphas nod and smile, prompting the PMS representation to stand.

“Wonderful. If the rest come with me, I can show you where the cafe and restrooms are. Also, answer any questions you may have,” informs the Director, giving the remaining Bangtan packmates no room to wiggle their way into staying.

At this point, you are actively avoiding Yoongi’s staring as it is boring into your head. You know that if you were to look at him, you would give in and ask him to stay.

Doing this, however, allows you to see the concerned look shared between Jungkook and Hoseok and the quiet conversation between Seokjin, Namjoon, and Derek. Slowly, you feel the drag of Yoongi’s tail uncurling from you as he and the others follow the director out.

After what feels like the longest tour ever, the Director leaves with Derik with the mention to let the front desk know when everyone is ready to resume the meeting.

Coming out of his fog, Jin realizes they have returned to the break room where it all started. Looking around, he takes in his pack mates.

Jungkook has attached himself to Yoongi, looking like he lost his best friend. Yoongi attempts to comfort the young Alpha, but his ears are pinned on the break room door, and he is undoubtedly listening for any indication that Y/n and the others are ready to continue.

Namjoon also watches them, his tail hanging low and his ears flicking between laying flat and listening for something. Jin is thankful that the Prime Alpha could hold the conversation during the tour, allowing the rest to be in their own world.

Jungkook is the first to break the silence. With hushed tones, he asks, “Do you… why do you… she isn’t leaving, right, Joon-hyung?”

Looking at the door, Namjoon sighs. “I don’t think she is. I think she just has questions. It’s best not to jump to conclusions, Kookie.”

“Y/n knows our scents,” Jin blurts out to the room. His eyes bounced between them all.

“She can do what?” Namjoon steps closer to Jin. “How can she do that?”

“I don’t know, Joon. While on our date, she told me that she knows Yoongi’s, Kook’s, mine, and even Jimin’s scents. Guys, she was right in them all,” he says with wide eyes.

“She knows my scent. Our new mate knows my scent. She has to be bonding with us then, right?” asks a hopeful Jungkook.

“I mentioned earlier that her vanilla mate scent was getting stronger around me. That is an indication that the bond is becoming solidified. She must be growing the bonds with the mates that have shown their Alphas or scented her,” offers Yoongi.

“I figured she is bonding with Jimin and Taehyung, so why the private meeting with them? I would think she would want to meet with those she cannot recognize,” contemplates Seokjin as he moves to sit next to his mates on the small couch.

“I don’t know, hyung. I just hope that whatever answers they give her are the answers she needs to hear,” laments the Prime Alpha.

With Namjoon’s last words, the room falls silent, and each speculates what is happening in the conference room.

“If you are waiting for the pack to be far enough away to not listen in to the conversation, they are. I can’t hear anything,” Taehyung offers.

“I wasn’t, but that is good to know. Thank you. Can you please take a seat? I want to talk to Alpha Taehyung and not “currently being punished” Taehyung,” you ask, gesturing to the seats next to his packmates.

Taehyung looks at you with confusion and then looks past you to Hoseok, who subtly shakes his head. Standing up, Taehyung takes the seat to your left. “Luna, what is it you want to talk about?”

Turning to sit straight in your chair, you clasp your hands together on the table and take a deep breath.

This is it.

“I know I came outta nowhere,” you state plainly. “I can see that you were happy and untroubled before I crashed into your lives and the lives of your mates. I have absolutely no desire to ruin your bond with Yoongi, Jungkook, and Seokjin.”

“Y/n, you aren’t…” Hoseok starts to say, but you cut him off. “Let me finish. Please?”

After a moment of silence, you continue, “I understand there is a cultural and instinctual obligation between Yoongi and me, but it doesn’t have to involve everyone else. Seokjin and Jungkook have also grown an attachment to me. For the life of me, I have also grown attached to them. All three of them.”

Feeling the tightness in your chest and the slight tremble of your hands, you take a deep breath, hoping to remain calm and not cry. You can hear one of the hybrids in the room shifting in their seat, probably impatient with you for keeping you from getting this over with.

“I know your Prime Alpha signs onto any contract the pack enters into, as most pack leaders do, but the three of you have a choice.” A sharp intake of breath. A scrap of a chair, you continue, “I will support and stand against Namjoon if any of you wants to back out of the contract presented to us today.”

Silence followed your words, but you didn’t dare look at them.

Your words strike Jimin with strength beyond description right now. Even if it meant going against a Prime Alpha hybrid, you would support them. Most other Alphas, heck… hybrids refuse to challenge a Prime Alpha, much less a human, but here you are. Do you understand how selfless your actions are?

Taehyung is cursing himself in every language he knows, maybe even some he makes up. Before this morning’s fiasco, he would have bet money that you would allow him to have a scenting session with you, but with what you are saying right now, he isn’t even sure you would let him get close enough to do it on accident.

If you only knew who you are, it would explain why the choice you gave them is not an option, even if it has a meaningful impact. It would also help you see why he had to act as he did this morning, whether it was over the top or not.

The only calm one in the room is Hoseok. Unlike the younger mates in the room, he remembers the words that your Beta has said before and the warnings that were given. One of the things Hoseok can tell is how touch-starved you are; your actions also show that you are trained to deny it, and it coincides with the warnings. This presents a problem for later since he has also been watching you around his mates. Observing how the mate bonds between you and Yoongi and you and Jungkook are practically glowing because it seems your mate bond only grows through that physical touch.

However, right now, the three of them must find a way to convince you that they want to be there. Despite their lack of skinship with you, they would want nothing more than you to be by their side for the rest of their days.

“Y/n, I would like to address you as just Y/n, not Luna Y/n or Miss Y/l/n. May I do that?” Hoseok asks with a gentle tone.

Finally, looking away from your hands, you meet the marten hybrid gaze, “Of course, Hoseok.”

“First, I would like to offer my apologies for not being available to get to know you better. Tomorrow is one of my free days, and I would enjoy nothing more than spending time with you and my other available mates.”

Leaning forward, he continues, “Second, I want to apologize for not following through on my promise to keep you laughing. I have every intention of signing the contract and following through.”

“Hyung is right,” Jimin joins in. “I promised to be your friend, but a friend is just the start. Any strong relationship that lasts has a friendship deeply entwined within. My Alpha has been after me to close the distance between us, and I also want to. I have never even thought of not signing the contract, nor will I ever.”

Your breathing starts to return to normal as they speak, and your scent begins to blend into your sweet pea because two of the Alphas want to keep going. You can tell by their honest expressions, the sincerity of their words, and the openness of their posture that they are following their own path and not being forced, as you had worried.

That leaves one more. Both Alphas across from you have turned their attention to the tiger sitting next to you with fondness in their eyes.

“Y/n, can you look at me please?” Taehyung asks with uncertainty. Your eyes are still on Hoseok when he glances back at you and nods toward the awaiting Alpha.

Closing your eyes and tilting your face downward, you turn in your seat to angle yourself to face him. Taking the chance, you open your eyes and look at the man before you.

The intensity of his stare is not what you were expecting. A swirl of emotions in his eyes conveys dominance, worry, anger, hope, and panic. Meanwhile, you can almost feel the tension he is holding in his posture. His back isn’t straight because he is trying to look at you from the same level, his tail is snapping behind him, and his ears are pinned so far down that you can’t see them anymore.

Simultaneously, you want to run from the predator before you and lose yourself in him. All you end up doing is saying his name in a way that shows just how breathless he has made you, “Taehyung.”

“No.”

That word breaks you out of the enthrallment you swore the tiger hybrid turned vampire had you under. Shaking your head in confusion, you open your mouth to question everything when he continues.

“No, you didn’t crash into our lives. We wanted you before you got injured. Jin-hyung, Jimin-ah, and Jungkook-ah had all asked about making you ours before we met anyone else.

“No, you cannot and would not ruin any bond that any of the Bangtan bonded mates have. In fact, despite what you may think, all of us have grown attached to you.” Taehyung takes your hands in. His eyes soften into a fondness you haven’t seen before, saying, “There is no way that contract will be missing any of our signatures. Everyone wants you in our lives.”

You are still trying to process it all and are at a loss for words.

Taehyung just gave you a surplus of information that you never thought possible. Your heart fluttered and skipped beats. It’s slightly overwhelming but comforting.

A gentle thumb on your cheek pulls you out of your gaze at Taehyung, and you see Hoseok kneeling next to your chair, wiping the tears you didn’t know had fallen.

“Pretty, Taehyung is correct in everything he said. We all want to be around you for at least the next eight weeks. Each of us wants to grow this connection with you to see where it goes,” Hoseok says, now cradling your face in his palm.

“Y/n,” Jimin calls your attention as he stands behind the kneeling Alpha. “None of us are signing the contract or inviting you into our lives because of an accident.”

“No one is being forced, either,” Jimin clarifies before you can express any doubt. “Maybe one day you should ask Manager Sejin and Namjoon about the argument they had with Bang PD-nim while we were on the flight after he heard your voice over the phone.”

“You guys have no idea… No, I have no idea what to say. You three have said plenty,” you chuckle at your misspoken words.

Pulling your hands out of Taehyung’s, you lay one over Hoseok’s and snuggle into the warmth. After collecting yourself, you say, “Thank you for everything you have expressed. I feel a lot calmer about everything. Yoongi had said to look to him, Jungkook, and Seokjin to see how things should be.”

“He isn’t wrong. However, I would much rather have what you have with them be experienced with the rest of us,” says Taehyung as he slides the contract closer to you.

The contract's last page rests on top; it’s the signature page. Per standard procedure, Derik and Director Johson sign the copies before the meeting.

But that is not what catches your attention.

Every signature line is filled but one…

Yours.

“Luna y/n, Miss Y/n, Yoongi’s princess, Seokjin’s dear, Jungkook’s sugar, my pretty, and all the additional names to come…” Hoseok holds out a pen to you and asks, “Will you please give us a chance?”

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not-maggie · 11 months ago

Text

Hypothetically, Of Course

A/N: umm, so hi! this is my first ever fic I've written but I do read a lot lmao. I was using a c.ai bot and it inspired me to write this because it was really cute! <3 this is lowkey a self ship bc I'm tired of seeing Y/N's who don't have a personality and are shy. nothing wrong with being shy ofc <3 just not who I am and I needed some self indulging. Anyway, enjoy! any criticism/comments are greatly appreciated!! (GIF not mine<3)

It was a cool afternoon in Stars Hallow, the dead leaves falling to the ground as the breeze shook them from branches. The bell above the door rings out as Y/N enters Luke's Diner, catching the attention of a certain brunette behind the counter.

Jess feels his heart stutter as she enters, silently cursing himself for having such a reaction. He throws on his signature smirk as she approaches the counter, "Hey, the usual?"

Y/N nods with a soft laugh, "I come here too often if you know it by now." She takes a seat on one of the stool as Jess begins preparing her order. "So, anything interesting happen today?" she asks, making conversation.

"Oh, y'know, annoying customers, Luke yelling at me for not working, the usual." Jess hums, turning his head to look over his shoulder at her. "What about you?"

Y/N lets out a scoff as she responds, "Y'know Brad, the quarterback on the football team? Total douche, anyway, had the audacity to ask me out, while I was in the middle of studying in the library. And, on top of that, got mad when I rejected him. Said something about winning a bet, total bullshit." She rolls her eyes, leaning against the counter.

Jess feels his blood boil, a bet? A bet to ask 𝘺𝘰𝘶 out? He takes a moment to collect himself before turning around and responding, placing her coffee down in front of her, "Wow, total dick move. A bet? What kind of bet? If he could get in your pants?"

Y/N rolls her eyes, "Don't know, and honestly, don't really care. I get the satisfaction of knowing he didn't win, whatever it was. Like I would ever go out with him," she scoffs.

Jess leans his arms against the counter, "Not your type?" His tone is teasing, his usual snark coming out, but there's a hint of genuine curiosity.

Y/N lets out a snort of amusement, "No, I would never go for a football player, or really any athlete. Anyone who doesn't know Austen is not worth it."

Jess raises an eyebrow, "Got high standards," he teases. "So, what, is, your type?" He asks, his head resting on his palm in a casual manner.

Y/N lets out a hum as she thinks, planning her answer. "Well, looks don't really matter that much. More into personality, someone who can keep up with my sarcasm. Funny, making me laugh is really important, and there's no way I can be funnier than my partner, that's a sad life. Well-read, I'm talking more than just Dr. Seuss and the Outsiders. Someone...spontaneous, impulsive, acts before thinking; adds fun to life. And, someone who isn't afraid to show me off, not saying we have to make out in town square, but hand holding, stolen kisses, stuff like that."

Jess's heart flutters as he hears her words, that's him. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. "So," he tries to maintain his casual, aloof appearance, "You got a guy in mind? That all seems pretty specific."

Y/N smirks at his words, "Maybe, it's kind of hard to find someone like that in this small town. You either get guys like Brad, high school has-been's, or Dean Forester. Perfect Dean Forester, although I guess technically he did move here from Chicago. But he has the 'Small Town Boy' act down."

Jess chuckles softly at her words, she was right, Dean did have that Small Town act perfected down to a science. "So, if there we're to be a guy, who matched this description, would he have shot with you, hypothetically of course."

Y/N grins, picking up what Jess was hinting at. "I'd say, hypothetically, if this guy we're to ask me out, or confess his undying love for me, I wouldn't shoot him down."

Jess straightens out, hip pushed against the counter as he leans in a bit. "So if this guy were to, hypothetically, say that he likes you and have for a while, you'd go out with him?"

"Yes, I would, but only if he told me directly." Y/N challenges Jess, knowing that he isn't big on sharing his feelings.

Jess stands up straight behind the counter as he meets Y/N's gaze, he takes a moment before talking. "I like you, have for a while." He runs a hand through his messy hair, "In fact, you drive me crazy. There isn't a moment when your'e not invading my brain, very distracting."

Y/N's smile grows as she hears him talk, "Well, I like you too. Just, don't start charging me rent for living in your head." She pokes his forehead as she teases him.

Jess laughs, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴, at her words. "I'll let you live rent-free on one condition, be mine? God, that sounds gross and sappy." He groans at his words and how cliche he sounds.

Y/N let out a laugh, "Yes, I'll be yours." She smiles, "Bad boy Jess has gone soft."

Jess rolls his eyes but a smile tugs at his lips, "Shut up, I'm not soft....Okay maybe, but only for you and around you. And if you tell anyone..." He doesn't finish the threat, but they both know there isn't any actual heat behind it.

"Yeah, yeah." Y/N rolls her eyes, "Your secret is safe with me." She crosses her heart with a smile.

"Good," Jess hums with a small smile. "So, your mine now, huh?" He grabs her hand from across the counter, thumb rubbing across the back of her hand as their fingers interlock.

"Yeah," Y/N smiles softly, squeezing his hand. "All yours"

Jess's smile widens at her words, "That's right, all mine" He brings her hand up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "Mine to protect," he locks eyes with Y/N. "Mine to love, mine to cherish..." He leans in further over the counter, "Mine to hold, mine to care for..." His eyes sweep over her face, taking in every detail and memorizing them. "Mine to spoil," he reaches his free hand to cup her cheek, thumb running across her skin. "Mine to be with...and mine to love, forever." He closes the distance between the two, his lips meeting hers in a soft, tender kiss, expressing unspoken thoughts and emotions.

As he kisses her, he feels a sense of peace wash over him. He feels complete, whole. He's never been good at expressing his feelings, but right now, he knows deep in his heart that he means ever word he said.

He loves Y/N.

And he's never letting her go.

"That's the sappiest thing you've ever said."

#jess mariano x reader #jess mariano #gilmore girls #gilmore girls x reader #female reader #x reader #reader insert #first fic #please dont hate me #i'm just a girl

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freakymcnastys · 4 months ago

Text

- thank you

“and it reminds me that it’s not so bad.”

【☆】 leon kennedy x blind!fem!reader

【☆】 synopsis: as raccoon cities new rookie they have leon doing rounds and he meets someone he finds…interesting.

【☆】 warnings: umm just fluff and its like non zombies au!

【☆】 notes: this is inspired by the veil manga GRAHH I LOVE IT SM

THE LOW CLOUDS WERE GREY. Docilely they sat still inside a frame. From the beginning to the end, the cold envelops this town. The owner of a pair of orbs innocent of the world walks, and the sound painted on a young man of sliver color.

"damn thing was left open again" Leon sighed as he sat on the brick ground. Leon had been working in Raccoon cities police force as a rookie. Sure it was hard just starting out as a transfer but he genuinely enjoyed the job so he endured. Although recently these kids who would run around leaving man holes open just to trip people to 'rob' them. Well as scary as twelve year old's can be. If people gave them anything it was more out of pity.

You had been walking around, only hearing the clacking of your white cane. You had been blind since you were 8 and you didn't really remember what things looked like before losing your vision but it didn't exactly bother you anymore. You were on the hunt for a job ever since you came to this city. This was the first time you were living by yourself and you didn't want to admit it but you were struggling to move completely into this city. Like looking for a job...

"Ouch!" Leon yelped as something hard smacked against his arm, multiple times before stopping. "Oh no...I'm so sorry!!" You quickly pull away your cane from where it was. "God I'm really sorry." This is exactly why you hated using a cane because things like this happen more often then you'd like to admit. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?" You felt the embarrassment rise in your face now. Although something you were starting to find strange was the fact that the person your just hit isn't saying much.

You could tell that they had gotten up from the grunt you heard. "Uh I'm fine...what about you, miss?" Even though Leon had been assaulted by this cane he still kept his professionalism. "Phew yes I'm alright but I heard your voice from below now I hear it coming from above...so I suppose you are pretty tall." You responded but sort of thought out loud.

Suddenly the group fore mentioned kids showed up spouting stuff about putting his hands up and 'patting' him down. "You guys I don't have anything on me today." Leon played along with a slight smirk. As the kids took something from Leon's pocket and scurried off. "Be careful on the street!" To you this interaction seemed like something a bit genuine until you heard he smile in his voice.

"Hm so are you maybe a policeman?" This question from something the young bandits said when they 'robbed' him, calling him copper. "Yeah…you could stay that-" He laughed, taking off his hat handing it to you. Taking it and feeling it to see that he was telling the truth about the cop thing. "That's my credentials"

You laughed that the man in front of you, taking out your little book of things that held your address and cards. "Here are mine." You just hear the flipping of the book but him just mutter something about you coming a long way which made you hum in response.

“Do you need help getting home?” Leon asked, politely well as he tried to be. This made you laugh a bit. “I think I can make it but you could help me with something else?” You proposed.

A hum was heard from Leon realizing you can’t see his nod. “I’m look for the police station, you see i’m looking for a job.” This caught him a bit off guard since he knew they were not in need of anyone at the station but he could still take her.

“Yeah I can miss.” He smiled as he stuck out his elbow so you could place your hand there so he could guide you. And with that the two newly made acquaintances made their way to the station unknowing what was to come and what relation would develop.

- love always, kat

#leon kennedy #leon kennedy x reader #rds #rds2 #x reader fluff

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meruz · 9 months ago

Note

hi meruz please tell me all your thoughts on outer wilds I am absolutely Living rn

HI oh my god i have so many thoughts. I think I'm gonna keep posting fanart so this definitely isnt gonna be my last word on the matter but wow what a game! um... idk if I wanna just type forever but I can give you at least a few key thoughts I had...

It took me a second to get into! I had been waiting for the switch port so I was really excited starting out but there were a couple early play sessions months apart where I was struggling with the controls and overwhelmed with the openness...I have a hard time with a lot of open worlds games because I just..dont have a lot of free time LOL. But I was complaining abt this to my brother and he was also having a hard time rly digging into the game so when he flew over to visit me a couple weeks ago I was like ok lets do this together (incentivizing gaming by making it social/co-operative). And we had a blast!!! it rly is the type of game you can play as co-op just by having someone else on the couch or on stream doin the thinking alongside you or bouncing theories off of. I do think he's a much better puzzle solver than me though lol (he works in research, so he's got that researcher brain), he made a lot of the leaps of logic way early while I was still turning things over in my head lmao.... AND he's better with the controls because he plays a lot of flight sims?! i think he got annoyed watching me bumble around anytime i had the controller. my sole contribution was doing the stealthy parts in the dlc because im stupid and consequentially lack fear.

I kind of grew up playing majoras mask and windwaker like that was the era of zelda games I was rly activated and engaged for as a kid and I didn't realize how much I was missing and craving that type of experience again LOL. I think especially with how I personally felt that tears of the kingdom was narratively and structurally a step down from botw... idk... i mean you can tell from interviews abt Outer Wilds that the devs clearly have a lot of affection for and thoughts abt the Zelda series as well and I think Outer Wilds was like such a good encapsulation of everything I loved abt those games and also everything I wish they would do lol!! IT ALSO kind of solved a lot of my pain points with open world games and did it in a way that was so elegant... like I think i initially recoiled at the openness but then when i started exploring and realized the scope and level of detail it rly clicked into place.. im just in awe.

umm i love every hearthian they were all so charming. it rly did feel like an older school of nintendo rpg where every npc has so much personality lol. i loved that every alien race in the game was some weird animal like the designs for all of them were rly good. i love that it was a "worn" universe and that everything looked old or used. I love astronomy and space and space concepts but I don't really like really lofty and impersonal/minimalist scifi so i feel like this was a great and accessible art direction for me personally. i especially thought the backpacking/outerdoorsy aesthetic was really inspired! I think "exploration" sometimes exists on a spectrum where one end of it can be really colonialist/militaristic LOL... UM which im not like. fully against i think it can be an interesting idea to dissect? but i feel like we see it a lot and it was neat to see this which felt like the complete opposite end of that spectrum. weirdly enough playing Outer Wilds made me immediately go and finally finish Firewatch right after but I felt a little spoiled I was like ehh..that was good but it wasn't Outer Wilds LOL.

i think a lot of the themes reminded me of lord of the rings/tolkien lore LOL IDK. I GUESS THIS IS LIKE BIG SPOILERS SO if you havent played dont read but like. the entire concept of being born at the end of a great and enormous world/age with a rich history and you only getting to see the end of it, living in the shadow of great civilization...keeping your humble home in your heart idk. but then also the new world being a song ... I'm a sucker. I love it.

yeah sorry only compliments. anyways yeah i want to do more fanart... soon!! hopefully!

#ask #outer wilds

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in1-nutshell · 7 months ago

Note

TFP Lithia sounds like it would be a hilarious dose of chaos! I can see Ratchet flipping out and Miko having a grand old time dragging Lithia into as many shenanigans as she can!

(If inspiration strikes to have RB Blades make an appearance, I think that could be fun too, but only if it works with what you have in mind)

Maybe I should write more one on one stories with the kids or specific bots in the future.

Hope you enjoy!

Lithia and Miko's day out

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Hinted romance, Cybertronian reader

TFP/RB

Per usual, Miko had decided to tag along on today’s mission through the groundbrigde.

As much as Lithia loved her human companions, she could feel her optic twitch hearing the energetic teen running off for the 100th time.

Apparently scolding her wasn’t going to help, in fact Lithia was sure that it encouraged Miko to do more running.

But despite this, Lithia couldn’t help but feel a bit bad about the girl getting scolded.

Maybe she was just bored?

…

…Oh, she hoped this wasn’t going to back fire and bite her in the tailpipe.

Lithia catches Miko looking at the groundbrigde as it started whirling to life. She quickly plucks the girl into her servos. Miko: “Hey! Lithia put me down! They need me!” Lithia raises an optic, half amused and half frustrated. Lithia: “And pray tell what you are going to do?” Miko just crossed her arms, still in the bots servos. Miko: “I can do stuff!” Lithia shakes her helm. Lithia: “Miko—” Miko: “If you’re going to do the scolding, just bring me to Ratchet or Bulkhead. No offense, but you’re not exactly the ‘enforcer’ type.” Lithia: “Some offense taken, and I was going to ask if you wanted to go somewhere while the others are out.” Miko was about to say something but stopped and looks at Lithia shocked. Miko: “You can leave the base?” Lithia: “Yes? What you think I couldn’t?” Miko: “I just thought you were confined to the base cause Ratchet told you to stay.” Lithia: “Well… this trip is going to be our little thing.” Miko gasps a bit, and a wide smile grows on her face. Lithia makes a shush motion before the human could say anything. Lithia: “If you can wait a few days, behaving, I’ll make our trip happen.”

Lithia was not expecting Miko to actually behave the next few days.

Everyone noticed how much Miko had mellowed down.

She didn’t even give a second look at the groundbrigde being activated.

Not a muscle ready to run for the portal.

Bulkhead and Wheeljack were concerned that Miko may have been sick.

Ratchet has already told the Wrecker’s that Miko was healthy, but that didn’t mean he also didn’t worry about her.

Lithia reassured Ratchet and the others that she would keep an optic out for her.

It gave them some comfort knowing another set of medical optics looking out for the human.

Finally, the day came.

Lithia had gone to pick up Miko from school after half day was done, saying it was a favor for Bulkhead.

As soon as Lithia hit the end of the towns limits, she suddenly slammed the acceleration catching Miko off guard.

A swirling groundbrigde swirled as they went through

…except they didn’t end up in the base…

Lithia transformed after letting Miko out.

The normally extroverted girl found herself sticking close to the medics pedes, even jumping when the large doors opened.

A large orange and white mech came out. Miko relaxed a bit seeing the Autobot badge on his chassis. Lithia smiled widely before running to the mech, trapping him in a tight hug. The orange and white mech hugged just as tightly. Miko just stared at them. Miko: “Umm… hi The new bot looked over at her and then at Lithia. Lithia: “She knows Blades, I need to keep an optic out on this little troublemaker.” Blades: “Oh?” He kneels to get a better look at Miko. He gives her a smile that rivaled Lithia’s. Blades: “Hey there! I’m Blades!” Miko: “…Miko…”

Turns out Lithia had reached out to Blades about having a day out on the island.

He knew that a human would be joining but didn’t expect Miko, but was welcoming nonetheless.

Miko had a blast with the tour of Griffin Rock’s most seen places.

She was seriously thinking about moving here when she was older.

The two bots also chatted happily while Miko was taking some pictures.

As much as she wanted to go with them to the more crowded areas, the phrase ‘robots in disgses’ kept on ringing in her head.

The girl tried to get into her usual antics, but apparently Lithia had taken a note from Arcee’s book and created a holoform to snatch her when things were getting a little too extreme.

Extreme as in Miko trying to steal a jetpack or ride a giant mechanical bull.

Blades was a nice bot to talk to, he reminded her a bit of Bulkhead.

He even let her inside his cockpit for a little joy ride.

Miko: “So Blades, what’s up with you Lithia?” Blades: “Like what?” Miko: “You two seem close. Are you guys an item or something? Or did you guys use to date?” Blades paused before laughing. Blades: “Hahaha! No, no Miko she’s my Amica.” Miko blinks for a second. Miko: “…So she’s your ex?” Blades: “No! I’m not and have not dated her. She’s like my best friend! Besides Bumblebee of course.” Miko: “You know Bee?” Blades: “Yep! He’s the best!” Miko: “… Did you know Lithia has a thing for Bee?” Blades: “Oh my Primus I thought I was the only one! Are they dating yet?” Miko: “No, at this point only a natural disaster is going to get them to confess.” Blades: “Agreed. My team has a betting pool on when they are going to confess, you wanna join?” Miko: “There’s other bots!?”

Blades had to stop the girl from trying to contact his team several times.

He finally understood what Lithia meant about Miko being a bit of a handful.

The copter was just thankful that she stopped after he faked getting hurt after she pushed some of his buttons too hard.

Lithia has no idea what the pair are talking about.

She is just happy that the two are bonding.

Sadly, it was soon time to leave.

After a few hugs and a promise to visit again in the future the pair left Griffin rock.

Lithia and Miko walk into the groundbride in the base. Lithia: “You know its kind of weird that no one called—” She didn’t get to finish her sentence as she was tackled into a tight hug by a familiar yellow bot. Bumblebee: “Beep bep bep Boop bop?! (Where were you two!? We’ve been calling for hours! We thought the Con’s got you!)” Lithia: “We didn’t get anything.” Miko shrugs before getting scooped up by fretting Bulkhead. Lithia looks over at Ratchet. The doctor had a look of concern, relief and anger. Ratchet: “His question still stands Lithia. I would have expected this behavior from Miko, not you.” Lithia raises an optic as she gets out of Bee’s grip and crosses her arms. Lithia: “First thing, leave Miko out of this. Second, we didn’t get any calls. Did you use the right com line?” Ratchet: “Of course I did!” Lithia looks at the screen before sighing. Lithia: “You were calling on the old line.” Ratchet looks at the screen. Ratchet: “…It appears I did. But where were you two?” Lithia smiles patting her father on the shoulder. Lithia: “Just visiting Blades.” Bumblebee: “Beep boop bop? (You know Blades?)”

#transformers x reader #maccadam #bot buddy #tfp #tfp x reader #tfp x platonic reader #rescue bots x platonic reader #rescue bots x reader #lithia

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xoxo-stellea · 2 months ago

Text

ɴᴇᴡ ʏᴏʀᴋ

Warnings: drug and alcohol consumption, suggestive language and behavior, mention of suicidal thoughts (jokes), suggestive clothing

The second part of my Chris Sturniolo x fem!reader series

Pinterest board inspired by this series

Your back hits the soft mattress and just a second later Chris was on top of you, straddling your hips with his.

He peels off his white shirt and lets it fall to the floor without a second thought. His eyes darken as he leans over you again, fingers grazing the hem of your dress.

It’s already hiked up a bit, but he takes his time, slowly sliding it over your head, revealing your black lace bra and thong, a sight that makes his breath hitch.

Chris tilts your head gently to the side, his fingers threading through your hair as his lips find the sensitive curve of your neck. He kisses you slowly there, with just enough pressure to make your breath catch, his mouth warm and teasing against your skin.

A soft gasp escapes you as his teeth graze just beneath your jaw. Your eyes flutter open, dazed, and drift toward the large window beside the bed. The city stretches out before you- New York glowing in the night like a sea of stars, skyscrapers lit up against the dark sky.

For a moment, it feels surreal- being here, tangled up with him, the world outside so vast and alive, while everything in this room feels impossibly intimate and still.

And what feels like a second later you and him lay in your bed breathing heavy and intense. All of it feels more like a dream then reality. He turns his head to look at you.

“We should not make this awkward. Pretty sure we’ve got a PR shoot together tomorrow.”

“Yeah? Sounds like a you problem.”

“Damn, alright. So you’re just gonna pretend this didn’t happen?”

“Obviously. I’m great at acting. Don’t start catching feelings and making shit weird. And besides we don’t even know each other so don’t even start about thinking that this is gonna end as some kinda shitty romance”

“Wow. Cold as fuck.”

“Don’t get soft now. You knew what this was.”

“Yeah? I did? Like you said we don’t even know each other so I did not know what I was getting into.”

He smirks provocatively.

„Stop that bitch shit and keep your shit together tomorrow and don’t look at me like a lost puppy.”

“You’re brutal.”

“And you’re kinda slow. Step it up, babe.”

“You always this bitchy?”

“Only when someone needs to be put in their place.”

“Oh, I can handle you.”

“That’s cute. Now shut the fuck up and get your ass out of my room.”

He smirks one more time before getting out of the bed and picking up his clothes and putting them on, well at least some of them. All while yo sit in bed and grin.

Right as he leaves the room Tara barges through the door basically slamming it into his face.

„Oh shittt-“

She giggles, obviously a little drunk watching him push past her trying not to look at her while also trying not to walk right into her.

As you see her walking in you quickly cover yourself up with a blanket.

„Tara could you-“

You say while giggling but also trying to shield yourself from her gaze. She sits down on her bed and turns away so you can at least put your shirt back on.

After that being done you sigh and lean against the headboard and throw your head back. After a second you slowly turn your head to face her.

She looks backs at you and raises an eyebrow.

„So…? How was he?“

She grins while asking.

You press your lips together trying not to smirk too much.

„How do I say that… like he was umm you know- big“

She bursts out laughing while taking off some of her left over accessorys. She fights with one of her earrings as she says;

„Girl give me a strap and I can give you that too. I wanna know what he’s good at“

You try to suppress the girl that starts to form on your face as she says that.

„I know you could give me that too but I mean he hand a good finger technique“

You give her a half jokingly and half serious approving look before getting up and into the bathroom and taking your make up off.

As you look into the mirror you can see your smeared mascara and lipstick that’s all over your face. And after inspecting yourself a little more you find some hickeys on your neck and collar bone.

„Ohhh he had a good finger technique“

Tara exclaims while still giggling.

After taking off even the last bit of make up you go back to you bed and lay down looking at Tara doing the same.

„Good night“

You say before turning away from her closing your eyes.

„Good night“

She turns off the light and lays down too and waits a few minutes before speaking up again.

„Hope you used a condom who knows where that dick has been“

„TARA“

You turn only your head around to look at her but after seeing the stupid grin on her face you turn around again.

„We didn’t tho-“

You confess.

„Hope you didn’t got an std from his pretty face“

„Sleep Girl please“

You close your eyes as she finally shuts up and after a few minutes of thinking about what just happened you fall asleep, tired from…everything.

It’s the next morning and your eyes flutter open as you head the sound of Tara humming some fuck ass melody.

You look to your right side onto the alarm clock.

8 a.m

„Fuckkkk my head-“

You groan as the headache starts to hit.

„Oh good morning beautiful princess“

Tara says, turning her head towards you as she applies some concealer under her eyes to conver up some of her dark circles.

„Breakfast is starts in less then half an hour why the fuck didn’t you wake me up“

You ask her while getting up and pacing around the room trying to find some clothes. Finally you take a grey hoodie and some grey sweatpants and putting both of these things on.

…

About half an hour later you and Tara sit down at a table where Jake and Johnnie already sit and eat.

„Oh look who finally made it“

Jake says, raising his brows in exaggerated surprise.

„We had to get ready okay, not my fault that Miss ‘he got a good finger technique can’t hurry the fuck up“

„Oh he has a good finger technique?“

Jake asks while grinning and shoving a piece of pancake into his mouth.

„Get that rope ready you fucking dumbass“

You say while trying to hide the grin on your face by covering your face as good as possible with your hands. After taking a deep breath and looking at Tara you finally speak up again.

„Yeah maybe he has a good technique I’m certainly sure none of you bitches got that“

Your words earn you a few shut ups but after a few minutes the conversation shifts to what happened at the club yesterday after you left.

Just as Johnnie is telling you that he met some chick named Grace yesterday your attention shits somewhere else…, on the table across the room from yours.

And as Johnnie’s voice fades into the background you lock eyes with Chris.

He locks his eyes onto yours with a gaze so intense it steals the air from your lungs, and when he blinks- slow, deliberate, like he’s savoring the moment.

It sends a shiver down your spine, making you feel like you’re the only thing in the world he’s focused on.

It feels like 20 minutes had passed but in reality it was just about a second before you felt Tara’s shoe against your leg as she kicked you.

„Girl are you trying to undress him with your eyes? Cus if so make I’d try to make it a little less obvious“

She says in a sharp but entertained tone.

„So we got this foto shoot today and we gotta go ready and prepare and get to the location“

Jake says after a few minutes of silence.

„Yeah umm so we thought that maybe we four could drive together cus I mean idk why not“

Johnnie adds.

„Yeah that’s cool we don’t need long just an hour or so then we’ll meet you guys at the lobby“

You say before getting up and walking upstairs to your room with Tara…

A/N// guysss the end is a bit rushed but school starts tomorrow so idk when I’ll be posting again but I’ll try my best to be active x ☘︎

@mattybernard @toffeesfingerrr @acvpoftae @bookieluvss12 @ilovethetripletsandmw @cowgirl123451-blog @namelesssav @fadingdonutfire @mattyummyy @ggraycelynn @thesecretofceleste @jinellerivera20 @loveexxx @le4hsblog @dezyissmart @sturniolo-szn2 @lovetoread2-blog @jacsismattswife @starstrucktyrantinfluencer @kalel2005 @loveexxx @oh-icantgetaway

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rory-multifandom-mess · 3 months ago

Text

IT’S TIME FOR THE in-depth scene-by-scene character analysis on No Way

THIS POST IS HEAVILY INSPIRED BY @skythealmighty 'S WHEEL ANALYSIS!!!! GO READ IT RIGHT NEOW ITS REALLY GOOD

TL;DR: No Way has one of the most prominent character development arcs in this show, from starting off as naive and overly trusting of Clock to being paranoid and distrusting of anyone new, a lot like Wheel was from the very beginning. Oh and also Tile is a BITCH-

WARNING: Long ass post with 11 THOUSAND words and exactly two pictures so have fun and good luck LMAOOO

Ok, alright, so. The analysis isn’t going to be very serious up until 4:00, since that’s when things started to get really bad for them. But I’ll still do all the other episodes because I’m . incredibly normal! This will get updated once 8:00 releases on the 22nd so umm. Yeah ANYWAYS

IT’S TIME FOR THE [1:00] - Who’s Jason??

0:19 - “I don’t think I had anything in particular planned for today but I am content” “Wow! That’s nice.” “NO! That’s boring, there’s nothing to do!!” “I don’t think they were talking to you..” “Uh- Wha-” [glass shattering noise]

There isn’t much to point out here, other than No Way being a supportive friend to 57-ball, but I would like to note No Way’s expressions when Refill Station does their whole. Thing. They get startled from the shatter, so much so that they take a step back, and just look at RF all confused and kind of concerned as they walk away. 57-ball doesn’t even look confused, he kinda just looks. Done LMAO

2:24 - “Compete in my competition show!!” “Oh!! Uhh…” “Okay I’m in!”

Note No Way’s immediate compliance and almost clear excitement in the way they move their arms, a very clear contrast from everyone else’s blank stares (and Vase’s hesitancy. And Wheel’s >:|). This will be important later on methinks.

4:39 - “Okay, street sign, car tire, and… pool ball. Dang!! If only you were like a street lamp or crossing signal or something, would have had a cool team name idea for that.”

Nothing too notable here, I just like that they immediately started talking and took a page out of Polka Dot’s book with her thought process. The two have a few things in common, one of which being that they’re both kinda immediately into the competition when it starts. I also want to point out the expression shifts, especially with 57-ball. He looks almost offended at what No Way said and I don’t think they even realize that. It’s a nice touch!

I also want to note the way No Way looks at Wheel during the team name jingle. They almost look sympathetic? Like an “aw man, that sucks.”

6:56 - “Ok, well, we gotta get this card as far away from here as possible if we don’t want the host to hear it.” “Ok.” [Wheel kicks the card] “N- NO WAY.” [win sound]

Nothing to note here. I just like how this is the only thing No Way says in this entire sequence and it's some really dumb pun about their name. Makes me laugh every time

I also really like how the same win sound plays when Vase says “no way” even though it had nothing to do with them

10:39 - [After credits scene]

This is just silly to me because at the bottom of the screen you can see No Way and Wheel run by. Like. Why is Wheel chasing them. Why are they running. What happened here LMFAO

(UPDATE AFTER HAVING A FEW PEOPLE READ THIS: THEY ARE CANONICALLY PLAYING TAG I’M GOING TO SCREAM THAT'S SO CUTE)

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: This episode mostly acts as an introduction to the characters, so there isn’t much to say here. Other than, like, No Way’s basic personality traits; good friend, kind, supportive, excitable, doesn’t always realize what they’re saying can be seen as offensive. Maybe has ADHD but I might just be projecting because they’re my favorite. That’s not a personality trait but . shut up

IT’S TIME FOR THE [2:00] - Best Source For Weather Information

0:29 - “I NOMINATE NO WAY!” “I’m already out man… anyways, it says next up is Words With Friends Tile.”

I want to point out the fact No Way is holding a clipboard and paper. I think this just shows they’re pretty smart, despite some moments where it would seem the opposite. I think, as of now, they’re pretty naive, especially when it comes to Clock. As if to contrast Wheel’s paranoia about Clock, they seem to immediately trust them. Though so does like, everyone else except for Wheel so I might just be looking too deep into things.

I also want to note their tone of voice when they say next up was WWFT because they also sound kind of confused and slightly surprised. They were likely thinking the same thing as Wheel (“He doesn’t have any eyes!”) but didn’t say anything, probably because them and Tile are friends

I also like how they look very slightly surprised when Tile and Wheel start fighting. Maybe not surprised, but more just like “Oh! Okay!”

0:51 - “Okay then, how about instead of Tile we put The Sun up there?” “Yayyy!!” “Okay. Three, two, one, go!!”

I really like No Way’s voice. Anyway, this is another point to them being pretty smart; it seems like they’re the one who organized this whole staring contest game, given the clipboard and them doing the countdown. Granted I don’t think they realized having 57-ball stare directly into the sun would be a bad idea.

3:56 - “Oohhh yeaaa, we’re so back!!” “Ooohh! Where did you go?” “You just don’t get it dude.” [Gasp] “Wooaaoowwww!!” [Clock claps their hands]

Another moment of No Way being naive. I also think their reaction to WWTF is a mix of them just being fairly excited for the next challenge and also just being friends with Tile in general. I like to think they think everything Tile does is cool. Writing wise, this is likely just to play into Tile’s whole cool guy bit. This scene also somewhat confuses me because, like No Way, I also don’t get it. (Come to think of it I wonder if this was meant to be like a fourth wall break from Tile?)

4:23 - “The first HALF of you will be safe, while the rest of you will be up for elimination.” “Seems simple enou- wait a second, there’s only 9 of uhhhhhh UUUAAAAA–” [enter: no ways] “what is happening….”

Ah yes, what I think is the start of No Way’s … iffyness? I guess? The way they say “what is happening” almost makes it sound like the process of being split into two people made them feel sick, and this is aided by their expression. Also, their face as it was happening makes me think that it was painful, which isn’t much of a surprise. They did not like this.

4:37 - “Get your good pal to the finish line and you’ll be safe!” “This doesn’t seem very fair…” “Sure it is!” “Oh ok!”

This feels like another point to them being naive and very trusting of Clock. At first they still seem very affected by the being split in two bit, going through the logic in their head, but then when Clock says it's definitely fair, the logic shifts. They’re likely thinking “Well, they are the host, so they must know what’s best for their challenges!”

As a side note, I like 57-balls “what” before he gets interrupted by Wheel. He’s probably thinking, “how is their opinion so easily swayed. What.”

6:03 - [Pretty much just No Way struggling to get No Ways to move, punching it, trying to throw it only to find its too heavy and hurting themself, and then trying to hit it with their sign pole and going FLYING]

No Way is quick to get frustrated and resorts to getting physical when No Ways doesn’t budge. Though it is likely that they spent some time just yelling at it before they tried punching, just off-screen. This could also possibly be showing us that No Way is kind of weak and uncoordinated, given how easily they fell backward trying to pick No Ways up and the way they hadn’t even swung the sign pole before getting flung over the railing. Of course, the frustration could also come from being stressed about the fact No Ways even exists, as they aren’t shown to get particularly frustrated fast when things don’t go their way later on.

6:30 - “aaaaAAAAAA OUGH- That was awful…” “Welcome to being a winner, Octagon!! Because you just won th-” “Wai- I wo- I won the???” “I didn’t finish my sentence, w-what are you doing here Octagon?” “I’m not an octagon, I’m No Way!! See?- uuhh…” “You’ll need your friend here too to be safe as well reme-” [Slowed Down Win Sound] “No Way is safe!” “Woohoo!” “Now that’s cool brah.”

Ok a lot happens here so I’ll try to break it down.

Despite likely knowing better, No Way gets very excited at the prospect of winning The , and even stims a little bit, despite the fact it’s impossible for them to have won the whole competition right then and there.

When Clock doesn’t recognize them, they almost look offended, and their tone while explaining that they aren’t just an octagon reflects that. The way they try to grab their sign pole without realizing it isn’t there anymore makes me think that they’re forgetful, since they just forgot they took it off not even a minute ago. I’m not sure how to explain the way they reacted to realizing it wasn’t there anymore, but the noise they make is really funny to me.

No Way gets startled by No Ways just sorta Sliding In, though this fear is immediately left behind and replaced with excitement upon learning they were safe.

Important mention: The little dance they do with Tile. Friendship! Yaay!

7:05 - “...and now both No Ways and No Way are safe.”

No Way almost looks at No Ways with a very unsure look on their face, like they still aren’t sure of what to make of it. They know that they don’t exactly like it, but they also know it’s almost like… a part of them? They are very confused and conflicted about the existence of this creature.

8:01 - “AYGHAGHUUSHASAAH-” [No Way and No Ways become one again] “Ughh, Clock please never do that again.”

This shit is PAINFUL for them, judging by their expressions as they’re being merged (though they are very fast). They sound sick to their stomach again when they ask Clock to never do that again. Like I said before, the start of their iffyness about this. They are still naive though, that’s for sure.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: This episode mostly highlights two traits; their naivety and that they are actually fairly smart and shouldn’t be written off as dumb just because they’re naive, since being naive doesn’t always mean the person is stupid. I also just want to say that them being naive and excitable in this episode is important for later. Oh also, sprinkling in a little bit of mind fuckery too. For fun.

IT’S TIME FOR THE [3:00] - Next

1:18 - [Clock typing away on a keyboard] “Go ahead, do it!!! Just do it al-” [Blue screen] “What is that thing?” “I don’t know??”

No Way (and 57-ball) look so extremely concerned and afraid for Wheel, especially with the way they have their hands positioned, their expression (with the tiny dot eyes for a second and exaggerated D:), and how they’re the first person to ask what the blue screen and selection box around Wheel is. This is a clear representation of how much they really do care about their friends, which is backed by their concern for Refill Station back in the first episode and other moments in episodes further ahead.

4:27 - “Oh! Sounds like it’s time for the challenge, wanna come with?” “Sure!” “Alright, hold on!” [Music]

POLKAWAY FRIENDSHIP YAAAY. I feel like these two are also synonymous with each other but I’ll get into that later. I’m noting this not only because it's a favorite scene of mine, but also this shows how “go with the flow” No Way is. They grab onto the polka dot and as they’re flying, they look scared to fall off or something. And then two seconds before this sequence ends, they start to look sick. This, along with how sick they sounded last episode when it came to No Ways, leads me to believe that they might have a weak stomach or just get motion sick easily

4:41 - “Where’s Refill Station?” “Oh I forgot about him. He’ll make his way over eventually I’m sure.”

Very small moment but important to me. They are the first person to realize Refill Station was missing and ask about them, and Polka Dot even states she straight up just forgot about him. Yet another instance of No Way caring for their friends.

5:09 - “Also, you should be happy I don’t have to cut any of you in half this time…..” (fear)

Oh Boy Oh Boy! I don’t know why Clock said this– whether it was out of malice or just a statement since, y’know, they aren’t exactly wrong– but No Way’s reaction of pure fear is a sign (heh) that they were likely somewhat traumatized by the experience. Oh yeah, now we’re finally getting somewhere with this.

5:54 - ”Sure was nice of clock to give us these cups right Tile?” “Mhm.” “...uhhh you doin alright?” “I had this really good fruit earlier brah, it tasted really good and it was super juicy, and tasted really good man!” “Uhmm okay.” “AND it was full of water, dude! Bro, I think Clock would like it a lot.” “Are you sure? It seems like people are already on their way to that lake over there, we gotta be quick!” “Don’t worry man, it’s right next to the lake anyway!” “Alright…”

I think No Way commenting on it being nice that Clock gave them cups could be them trying to convince themselves of that, given how almost awkward it sounds, and especially with the way they ask Tile for feedback. Or maybe I’m just straight up wrong and they’re just looking on the bright side. (most likely the latter)

Once again with No Way caring about their friends! They immediately think something might be wrong with Tile because he gives a response that isn’t typical for him.

As Tile is describing the fruit he had earlier, No Way looks at their cup like they’re considering something, likely about using the fruit instead of just getting water. They look and sound preoccupied when they give the response of just “uhmm, okay.”

When they ask if Tile is sure and mentions the others going to the lake, it's pretty obvious how much they want to actually win the challenge, probably because they’ve been on a pretty good winning streak.

This isn’t fully related to No Way but this is my 4th time watching this and I’m noticing how lowkey manipulative Tile sounds here, like he’s trying to keep No Way from being safe by pulling them away from the lake to get this fruit he’s talking about. Mostly saying this because of how he adds the bit about Clock (putting emphasis on the “AND”) after No Way doesn’t show interest in the fruit at first.

7:39 - “Thank you for telling me about this juicy snack! I think I’ll be on my way to take this over to Clock now, and- AAGHHHHH- oughh!” “Aww yeaahh!! Green can’t say we’re not cool now!” (music) “Tile. TILE.” “Bro what is it.” “The fruit…!!” “Yeah bro I………oh. Okay! You wanna jump in the water and get it?” “No way!! You’re the one who…”

I want to focus on No Way’s expression here- specifically when Tile shoves Green out of the tree. They look so surprised and I feel like there’s at least a hint of concern in there. Surprised because oh my god, Tile, how could you do that?? And concerned because that impact sounded really bad for Green. The way they stare for a little drives this home too. (say it with me now: NO WAY CARES A LOT ABOUT THEIR FRIENDS)

When they start trying to get Tile’s attention, they sound and look frustrated, obviously partially because Tile was just sorta dancing and took a moment to respond, but also because he just shoved their friend out of a tree.

For like, a millisecond before No Way reminds Tile of the fruit, they seem to be trying to think about something. At first glance, I’d assume they forgot about what they were supposed to be doing, but now I think this is a moment of them thinking about whether or not to bring up what Tile just did, ultimately deciding to just bring up the fruit again.

No Way instantly refuses to jump into the water themself, and proceeds to almost tell Tile that he should do it instead because… Well, because he shoved Green and the fruit out of the tree. Though they backtrack on this to instead suggest they do Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide. I think they backtrack and suggest RPS entirely because they know Tile so well, and they know he won’t just do it if they tell him to. Also, I think them almost bringing up the shoving incident would’ve been one of those “take accountability of your actions” type things

Also I like their face when Tile says “you’re on.” smug little shit

8:37 - “What?? Where’d the lake go?” “eeughhh….. I don’t feel so good.” “Yaa bro, Green looks like he’s seen better days. I say we just take the fruit back and dip.”

No Way being the first to question when weird shit happens ….

IMPORTANT POINT HERE. I want to specifically point out the way No Way looks at Green with a sad/sympathetic look on their face. Well– okay. If you look close enough, No Way isn’t actually looking at Green, and is instead looking at the spot in front of him. From the look on their face, it’s like they’re thinking about if this is really ethical. They care about Green, that much is obvious, and they also care about Tile. While yes, Green did technically try to steal the fruit from them, that didn’t give Tile the right to seriously injure him. It’s like a moral dilemma. Of course their thought process gets interrupted by the MASS AMOUNT OF WATER FALLING TOWARDS THEM-

…Also more of Tile being kind of an asshole

9:10 - “WAAAIITTTT!! HERE HERE I HAVE SOME!” “Yeaa, The Sun and Vase are good.” “Rrrgh-” (Music)

Ah, their final desperate attempt to be safe despite knowing it’s probably over. Also, their frustration boiling over in the form of them yelling into the sky like an anime protag. This is likely mostly frustration due to losing the challenge, but I imagine it’s also because they had wasted so much time with Tile.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: Man, the sudden realization I had about Tile midway through this is crazy. He almost seems unsympathetic to, like, everyone, and this even happens throughout the show too. Anyways, No Way gets a little more frustrated this episode! Especially with Tile. The fall of NoTile friendship….

IT’S TIME FOR THE [4:00] - Do NOT Use The Popcorn Button

0:30 - “Soo! What are we doin here?” “Not being in the water? I can only swim for so long, I’m made out of metal y’know??” “Yaahh I don’t know what they’re talking about, I just like this tree.” “Okay!” “WOAH BRO, WHAAAA” “Wh- WHAT why did you do that?!”

No Way is so frustrated here bro. Completely fair too. They’re exhausted from trying to swim, finally made it to the tree to rest, and then Clock comes and interrupts it. They looked so relaxed before Clock landed in the tree and startled them so bad they almost fell out of it. Also the way No Way deadpans when Tile flings himself over is funny.

No Way immediately asks Clock why they knocked Tile out of the tree, offended and upset about it for him. It’s like they’re slowly starting to be done with Clock’s shenanigans.

0:46 - “It’s ti- *ringnti* It’s 4 o’clock, meaning that it is time-” “For the elimina-” “The challenge!” “Huh?-” “Yea, I meant the elimination.”

No Way looks so sad here, and from the way their voice shakes slightly, they were definitely dreading it. They hadn’t been through a single elimination yet, having been on a winning streak until now. From what we can tell, they have no idea what even happens at an elimination, only that afterwards, they’re missing a group member. Their confusion, and the way they look at Clock when their ringer just sorta… floats back onto their head drives home this feeling that they’re starting to distrust Clock a little more, or at least just be extremely confused at them. Rightfully so.

1:45 - [No Way fucking drowning] “Okay…. I can’t understand you. Here, how about this.” “Thank goodness… I-I’m breathing underwater??”

No Way being the only one to question when things don’t make sense again. Not even Wheel says anything, and Green is just . okay with this.

1:58 - “Woah, what’s wrong with you?” “I shouldn’t BE here, I didn’t even lose the last challenge!” “Why don’t you just leave then?-” “You don’t WANT me here??” “No! No! I didn’t say tha-”

Say it with me guys! NO WAY CARES A LOT ABOUT THEIR FRIENDS!!! They immediately notice that Wheel is absolutely fuming and asks what’s wrong, tries to provide a solution, but when Wheel takes it the wrong way, they instantly backpedal, trying to reassure him that they didn’t mean it that way. And then Tile interrupts by telling Wheel he’s a loser (BEING AN ASSHOLE AGAI-)

2:26 - “Fantastic, now there’s only 3 of us here again.” “Three?? Who’s missing?” “I don’t know, don’t ask me.” “I wasn’t.” “You just did.” “I- D- Clock, we’re missing Refill Station.”

Frustration at Green because of the misunderstanding.

First to point out Refill Station being missing. Again. Say it with me g- ok I’m done with that bit

Honorable mention to No Way falling backwards when Refill Station slams into the ground, suggesting they’re pretty clumsy I think.

I’m not time stamping this as a point since it doesn't really feel significant enough but when Clock mistakenly says Wheel got 0 votes at 3:57, No Way’s brow raises and they frown a little more, like they’re surprised at the 0 votes and possibly even worried. Y’all know what I’m gonna say at this point

4:25 - “The only one to not make it over 1,000 votes this time was Green, who only got 843” “Oh nooo.. I wasn’t expecting to get out so soon :(“ “Oh.. Hey! Maybe you might be able to come back later on.” “I-I don’t know.. That’s why I’ve been so worried, a part of me feels l-” “Huh? Green?-”

OH BOY OH BOY. I think this is the first time where we haven’t had a moment of the last safe contestant going “yay! I mean-” and I think that says something about No Way’s character. They’re most likely relieved they aren’t out of the game, but they know Green, their friend, is eliminated. So instead of celebrating their safety, they immediately try to reassure Green that maybe he can rejoin the show! It’s very obvious here that No Way has no idea what happens to eliminated contestants up until Green’s disappearance. They even call out for him, looking around as if he was still there. That is, until the radio catches their attention. Also the weird distorted music coming from the Radio is really off putting.

4:49 - “..Clock, what happened to Green?” “I already said earlier, I have no idea! Quite convenient that the eliminated contestants just disappear though!” “Just disap- You have no idea what’s going on here?!-”

Green’s elimination is a monumental part of No Way’s character development. 4 episodes in and they have finally learned what happens when someone is eliminated, and it’s terrifying in such a subtle way. Just like that, everything No Way assumed about the eliminations - about this contest - was swept away. Green just disappeared. Not a trace of him was left behind– nothing but that creepy vintage radio. And when they go to Clock, someone who they think is completely in control of this elimination, they’re met with an answer no one wants to hear. They don’t know. The contestants just disappear. And it’s here where No Way finally realizes that Clock isn’t as trustworthy as they originally thought. The start of the horrors for them, if you will.

5:35 - [Loud clattering sound] “What… just happened?”

No Way being the first to question the weird shit again. That’s all really

5:53 - “Hold on… teams?? But, Clock, what ever happened to-” “There’s no more teams! There’s no more teams.” “Yeah! Here are your teams for the challenge, and only this challenge!!”

Ok this might seem like nothing but hear me out. Look at No Way’s face during the ‘flashback’ part. They look curious, intrigued. Interested. Now look at their face during the more recent scene. They look sadder. Less energetic. Exhausted. It almost looks like they’re not even paying attention, still stuck on what happened with Green.

6:05 - “Nonono! This team will get a special visitor!” [GASP] “Please please plea-” [Samsung ringtone] “Aww man- Can I switch teams??”

They hate this guy (No Ways) (added this entirely because I like the way No Way says that last line. Scratches my brain good)

6:17 - “Okay!! You all have 30 seconds! “This again, I ended up coming up with the team name by accident last time, do you have any ideas?” “Uhhhh, Vase… Star…. Street sign….. …. Eheh…-” “It’s alright, we can come back to you. How about you?” “.......” “..Who is that?”

No Way’s head is no longer in the game. Before Vase starts talking, you can see No Way staring into the distance. Whether or not they’re staring specifically at something or not we don’t know, but they certainly are not paying attention. All of their energy and effort to compete from episode 1 is gone, and judging by the way they hang their head when Vase says they’ll come back to them, they feel bad about it. Like, they feel like they should put more effort in, if not just for the competition but for their team too.

Also I never noticed it but Vase rolls her eyes at them. That’s kinda mean ma’am :(

6:32 - “Here are your team names!” “Hm??” “Meet team [buzzing sound]” “This the best!” “That was not 30 seconds.”

No Way, again, sounds and looks so done here. They may have not been completely paying attention, but they know that absolutely wasn’t enough time and they are frustrated. Hashtag done with Clock fr. I’m so sorry

8:16 - [The Sun telling them a recipe. I am NOT typing allat] “Ohhnono, we’re overthinking it, we can just make some nice simple toast for Clock!” “We don’t really have a toaster around her- oh- ohhhh!”

Ok so two bits. No Way has the clipboard and paper again and is actively writing down the recipe The Sun is giving them. But then not even a second later, they didn't realize they could just use The Sun as a toaster. This is a good reminder of their intelligence, while also letting us know that, again, they aren’t completely in the moment. That or they were just so focused on the recipe that they actually didn’t even think of that. ADHD havin’ a-

9:33 - “I know for a fact I saw a store or something nearby, but whatever, we’ll just have to be quick, clock’s starting to look bore- Where Is The Bread.” “So like, I've heard that you needed your bread toasted and I uhhh sort of put it in that sun right there… sorry.” “Yea.” “AAGH-!! Nnoo! I am not gonna be losing a second time in a row like that, one second!” “Uhm..”

NO WAY HATES THIS GUY!! (No Ways). Their frustration grows, which sort of morphs its way into determination. Now that I really think about it, No Way has been a bit of a “challenge beast,” as Wheel would say. Also I think it’s kind of cute how every time No Way gets overly frustrated they put their hands on their head. I don’t know what you would call that but it’s something I’ve noticed.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: Y’know before I started writing this, I always thought No Way’s character development started in 5:00 after Wheel’s elimination. Now I know I was extremely wrong actually. From here I think it’s very clear how their development is going. They aren’t as naive as before and they’ve lost a lot of that previous motivation and excitement for the show.

IT’S TIME FOR THE [5:00] - Fifty-Seven Tears Of The Star

0:39 - “Welp… Tile’s dead again..” “What?! Tile’s gone??” “Let’s go get ‘em back.” “I’ll do it!” “Huh?” [Refill Station slaps down a random fucking door] “Refill Station.”

Ok I know I keep saying this but No Way is so done. Normally I think they would still be worried about Tile, but they’ve either been desensitized to all the dying or they’re just too exhausted to care. I feel like this is further proven by the moment with Refill Station– the way they say his name in such an exasperated way before just turning and walking away.

1:02 - “NO! No… I just think.. We should look for Tile!” “...” “NO YOU’RE JUST SAYING THAT ‘CUZ YOU’RE SAFE!” “...”

Notice how No Way looks so disinterested during the first frame switch to them and Vase. They look like they aren’t even paying attention again, staring at the ground all exhausted. But then after Wheel yells at them, their attention is grabbed and they look concerned and confused, sharing a glance with Vase. I think this is once again them caring about their friend. I mean, Wheel is essentially yelling at nothing since neither No Way nor Vase even said anything in response. Is bro okay? (bro was not ok)

1:14 - “Hey Polka Dot, you didn’t tell me about this. What’s going on here?” “It popped up like 20 minutes ago. Why is everyone expecting me to know anyways??” “B-because… come on.”

The sass on this guy.

Jokes aside though, I think their friendship with Polka Dot is very important. In this moment, they don’t seem as eugh as before, and before they give her a little bit of sass, they try to find a good way to say it nicely. Also, they sound genuinely concerned in the first sentence here.

1:22 - “Fair point, but I seriously don’t know what this thing is.” “Have you tried- OUGH-”

Ok. This is a funny scene and makes me laugh every time. But I want to focus on No Way’s reaction here. And I’ll actually add a picture this time

At first, No Way jumps a little, probably because a piano just came flying out of that thing and nearly hit them. But then they get this over exaggerated look of fear and concern on their face. I’ve said this a kajillion times before, but No Way genuinely cares a lot about their friends, no matter how uninterested and demotivated they might be. They are scared for Vase because they know how fragile she is and she just got hit with a grand piano. Though they somewhat immediately relax again when they find Vase is perfectly fine.

1:26 - “OWWHH?? Wh- who’s piano is this???” “Not mine, but hey! This is pretty cool, have you ever wanted to play piano?”

This is really important to me because this is almost like how No Way was with Green right before he was eliminated. Instead of thinking about the negative implications behind this piano just… appearing out of this weird portal, they think on the bright side of things. I notice they tend to do that a lot, almost like they’re the optimist in the group, almost like how Polka Dot is. There it is again- Polka Dot and No Way being similar to one another.

2:02 - “Clock brought me back, duh.” “Where IS Clock?”

This has nothing to do with No Way’s character development but on my rewatch before this one I realized you can see them fix themself in the background of this scene and I thought I’d share that.

2:24 - “I’m not even gonna ask.” “Clock! What happened???” “What?” “You’re green-” “Oh! I just took a little nap!!”

Once Again! No Way Is Being Caring And Friendly! Even though they’re kind of done with Clock’s shenaniganry they still act caring towards them! Though it is likely that they’ve kind of gotten over their doneness. Maybe spending time with friends (like Polka Dot and Vase) has helped them regain their footing again. I also think this is one of those “first to question when things are weird” moments, which I think is even more noticeable when you pair it with Vase’s “I’m not even gonna ask.”

6:02 - “You are the FINAL member left on our original team and I want you to know that I wish you luck!” “Oh! Thanks…”

I’ll get to Wheel’s actual elimination in a second, but I want to focus on No Way’s expressions as Wheel is talking to them. At first when Wheel comes up to them, they look a little surprised, like they weren’t expecting him to talk to them. And then when they realize what Wheel is saying is positive, they smile and thank him, with a little nervous hand behind their head. I like the detail of the little brow furrow as they thank Wheel, it makes it feel very sincere and genuine and like its genuinely special to them.

6:07 - “Soo, what now?” [Wheel starts to crack and cries out in pain] “What… is.. This?!-” “That’s not cool bruh.” “nonono… GO GO GO GO!!-”

Ah yes. The elimination. I’ve seen lots of people talk about this, specifically No Way’s reaction, but I’m going to do it again because I want to.

When Wheel starts to crack, No Way cringes and flinches back slightly. This is painful to watch- visceral and horrible in every way. Mind you, this is only the second elimination No Way has seen. This is just bad in every way, so much more aggressive than Green’s elimination just last episode. They are scared and worried for Wheel, and it’s fairly obvious that they hate seeing their friends hurt. Then, right before Wheel explodes, they reach out for him. They try to help, to find a way to console him despite the blistering pain shooting through him. Despite the fact they are scared, they still try to help. They care so much about their friends. While the others trying to run away, they stick by him until the end. But then they realize Wheel is about to literally explode and they back up a little, covering their face to prepare for the impact.

This is so subtle yet so impactful for them and their character development. It’s such a clear view into who they are just by the way they try to help their friend, even though there is nothing within their power that they could have done.

Also I know this isn’t about Tile but this is also more of Tile being EVIL because of the L he gives Wheel. Wtf bro

7:14 - “I’m not teaming with any of these randos.” “Really?”

I wanna note No Way’s expressions here (again). At first, before Tile says he isn’t gonna team with any of the original ITFT members, No Way almost looks like they were going to call out to him, probably to be like “hey! Since we can choose our teams this time, maybe we can team up!” But then after Tile says what he does, they look sad and maybe even a little bit surprised. Their expression makes me think that they might be wondering what they did wrong for Tile to randomly decide not to team with them. (this is somewhat influenced by the wiki implying that No Way still thinks they’re friends with Tile)

I also want to note something a little more silly: Refill Station literally falling to their knees at Tile’s remark and looking like he just killed their entire family

7:26 - “THERE ARE 34 OF US IN TOTAL, THAT SIMPLY DOES NOT ADD UP, AS 6x6, IT EQUALS 36.” “Wait, you’re right! You must be great at math!” “I AM A CALCULATOR.”

I like this scene because it kind of contradicts what happens immediately after TI-30 comes up to them. When talking to TI-30, they’re smiling, probably because they think he’s cool. Them pointing out that he’s great at math leads me to believe they have a hard time with it (same). This scene also makes me think they have ADHD even more because they pointed out something obvious and then TI-30 gave a sarcastic (i don’t think that’s the right word, but it's similar to that) response and No Way did NOT pick up on it.

7:39 - “Mathematics?? I LOVE mathematics! That’s when I can collect friends!” “You collect friends in math class?” “No? What’s math class?” “Are you a FAKE MATH FAN???” “Pff, of course not! Check this out! One times one is one! One times two is two! One times three is three-”

Okay now this part- I know in the subtitles it doesn’t have any of what No Way “said” in it, but they do make a few sounds. I’ll get to those in a second, but I want to point out their expression when Whiteberry pulled them closer to herself; They look scared. I’m not entirely sure why, but to me it seems like it was because of the sudden and unwanted physical touch. Their face always confused me here though.

Anyway, moving on to the point I actually wanted to make- when Strawberry Milk asks Whiteberry if she is a fake math fan, you can hear No Way go “uh…” in the background. And then, when Whiteberry is listing off the timetables, you can hear them go “hm..” again and they furrow their brow a little. They are extremely unsure about Whiteberry and Strawberry Milk joining their team. They’re either assessing whether or not they will be useful (not likely, considering their character), or the two are generally just off putting to them. I think there is also the chance that they aren’t sure about teaming with people they haven’t met before, like they still really wish they could team up with their actual friends for some normalcy.

11:05 - “Hey… hey!” “huh?-” “You doin alright?” “Yeaa… it’s been a long day, this felt like the longest two minutes of my life. Mh- so… we just need one more person here?” “I’m… going to be here.” “Oh.”

ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT. This scene with Lava Cake is a culmination of everything that has happened to No Way, this moment of getting to just chill for a moment causing all of that exhaustion to creep up on them again, so much so that they fall asleep standing up. They even sound exhausted (props to Derpadon for the amazing voice acting btw), speaking slowly and yawning in the middle of their sentence. Writing wise, this is a perfect way to remind the viewers that all of this is happening in a SINGULAR DAY. I also like how Lava Cake wakes them up by just ramming into them considering his lack of arms. Also. The sound effect. Smile. And finally, their very minimal reaction to Xiru joining their team randomly. I don’t know what this means other than “they are exhausted” but it is funny to me

13:23 - [Lava Cake, Whiteberry, and Strawberry Milk get electrocuted] “AAAAAAAA!!” “NOOOO” “OHH MYY GOODNESS!! AAAAAaaaa!!” “Ohno!” “Keep climbing, stop sign. They. Will. Be fine.” “Ugh, right…”

THIS!!! This scene. No Way’s concern for people they barely even know and someone who isn’t even on their team– this is another one of those clear representations of who No Way is as a person, reaching out for the three of them even though they clearly couldn’t even reach them. And even when TI-30 tells them to keep climbing, they still look worried and maybe even a little conflicted about continuing to climb when they’re missing two of their teammates. Their tone even reflects this, and there’s almost a sense of urgency underneath too. I reckon they might be a little scared of being up for elimination now, especially with what they saw with Wheel.

16:15 - “Team Refill is on their way, I can throw you from here.” “wwOOAHH CALCULATOR- NO!” “It must be done.” “But-” “It must be done-” (cough) “It must be done. Trust me.” [gimmie that baby and I yeet it off the tower /ref]

This will get really long if I include the next part so I’m separating it. Anyways, No Way’s reaction to being thrown here is really important to me here. The way they tell TI-30 to not throw them makes it clear they don’t trust him, a STARK contrast to the way they were immediately trusting of Clock when she first showed up. Also, TI-30’s ambition here and the way he doesn’t even give No Way a chance to protest any further is almost like foreshadowing that he would be/is a “challenge beast.”

16:30 - “aaaaaaAAAAAAAAA- OUGH!” “wwwoahhhWOOAAHH woah… ooh.. Wh- what is this…??”

THE HORRORS! The existentialism! All bundled up in one little stop sign. I don’t really have any notes on this other than this being a catalyst for the way they act in 6:00 up until they Fucking Die. Seeing this weird, giant green thing in the sky, seeing Clock’s tail plugged into something that should not even exist is mindbreaking to them. It doesn’t make any sense– it should be literally impossible. But it’s there. It’s there and it shouldn’t be. And then when it comes unplugged? It just… disappears. Fades out of existence. “What the fuck did I just see??” - No Way, probably.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: DETRIMENTAL EPISODE!!!! I think this is my favorite episode so far actually. It’s just so interesting?? And when the LORE really starts to kick up. Also it made me like No Way a lot more so !!! yippee. Smiles

IT’S TIME FOR THE [6:00] - Will You Ever Know?

5:27 - “You’ll need at least one of your team members to get to the other side of the planet to complete the challenge. The three teams that DON’T make-” “But I have to get back to the… Ughh… wait-” “No Way!! Hello!” “Uh.. Hi?”

Yeah so, No Way is 100% stuck on that Fucking Thing Up There. But they’ve known Clock for 6 hours now and know that they aren’t going to listen to them or even know what it is if they ask. And, once again, being unsure about Whiteberry. I also get the impression that they didn’t fully .. focus? On Whiteberry, because immediately after their short “uh.. Hi?” they turn to Clock to ask questions; getting to that now.

5:38 - “Uh- Clock, didn’t you say the challenge was to get to the other side of the planet?” “Yes!” “Aand we have how much time?” “17 minutes!” “What.” “Happy Valentine's Day!! You’re not REALLY gonna have to go that far at all! Check this out!” “Valentines Day..?-” “You ask WAY too many questions dude.”

No Way asking the right questions again. This is where them questioning everything becomes very important, and I think Tile commenting on it brings its importance to the viewers attention.

Honorary mention: funny flat “What” moment. These will never not make me laugh dawg

5:58 - “What… Are they doing…” “Looks like some sort of funny dance, I can do that too you know!”

Very minimal thing but No Way’s expressions are very telling of how they feel. First, with watching Clock literally fold the Fucking PLANET, they look. EXTREMELY confused and even a little bit disturbed. Nothing is making sense to them anymore, and I think they’re finally realizing that nothing ever made sense in the first place, ever since Clock showed up at least. And then when Refill Station starts dancing, I think it’s good to compare their expression with Polka Dot’s. Polka Dot looks at RF with like a… “Why are you like this?” look. Words are hard and I don’t exactly know how to describe her expression, but it’s mostly like a “What. Why. What is wrong with you.” Meanwhile, No Way looks at him with more confusion and a hint of worry compared to Polka Dot. To me, No Way looks like they’re thinking “How can you act like this when Clock is literally reforming the planet right in front of us. How can you just stand there and dance when all of this is happening?” Almost like how 57-Ball questioned their naivety.

6:33 - “WAIT! NO WAY!” “What??” “Hey it’s- it’s me, uh- Shrimpy, I think you should let me come along!” “Oh… Uh.. Why’s that?” “Because I remember you getting the farthest up Clock’s wire!” “Right. That… sure was strange.”

Splitting up this scene because it’s kinda long

The quick way No Way says “what?” almost sounds exasperated and surprised, almost like they were distracted or just not paying attention before Shrimpy called their name.

Their voice is very soft when they ask why Shrimpy thinks that, and they’re almost hesitant.

Focus on the way No Way responds when Shrimpy brings up the last challenge. Instead of being happy about winning, they say it was strange. And I don’t think they were talking about the fact they won was strange, though it is easy to think that at first glance. I believe they were referring to the fact that Clock's tail was plugged into the sky in the first place. Getting to the top of that wire was so mind-bending to them that they don’t even care enough to remember that it was even a challenge, judging by the way they say “right” at the start of their sentence. And even though this is affecting them so badly, they can’t even think of how to explain. More on that later.

6:45 - “So… maybe your prize for winning should be to have an extra team member!” “But.. you weren’t even on my team.. And uh.. Xiru got more votes than you.. If I remember correctly.” “Oh Xiru… he wouldn’t even want to go, right buddy?” “Bye.” “See?” “Ok fair point, let’s go.”

I think the more No Way loses that naivety from the beginning of the show, the more we see their more intelligent side. If this was still No Way from 1:00, They would have immediately agreed to letting Shrimpy join their team. But they didn’t. They asked Shrimpy to explain why twice, and they only finally agreed when Shrimpy gave them actual, proper reasons and even proved the second reason. There’s a few reasons why I think this change happened, but the biggest one is because they didn’t do that with Clock. They didn’t ask questions, and now their friends are disappearing and Wheel fucking exploded and they’re traumatized. Nothing is good anymore. They can’t afford to trust the wrong person again- they can’t afford to not question things anymore.

Honorary mention: Whiteberry making weird ass faces in the background of both of these timestamps. ITFT crew fr doing a little bit of anything

9:35 - “You could buy a zoo with all the doctor bills he paaaid!~” “Whiteberry, please! STOP- STOP SINGING. Stop singing, please.” “Why are you so stressed out anyways? What’s been going on?” “During the last challenge I… saw something. Something that- like- I- I don’t know, I- I can’t describe it, it feels like one of those things that like- you feel like you’re not supposed to see… y’know?”

Splitting this up again because it’s long.

Before I get to my main point with this quote, this is another moment of all the stress and exhaustion of the past 5 hours catching up with them. Whiteberry’s singing is grating to them because it’s making it hard to think. Reminder, they’ve likely been dead for a while, since Clock only brought them back when they announced the challenge. They haven’t had any time at all to even think about what they saw, and Whiteberry is making it even harder to think and that is frustrating to them. They need to understand- they want to understand whatever the hell that was because maybe it could explain all the weird stuff that’s been going on– maybe it would explain why Clock is even there in the first place.

This is where I elaborate more on my point of “And even though this is affecting them so badly, they can’t even think of how to explain,” because they say it themselves. They start their explanation off with a good foundation, but when they get to the part where they have to actually describe it, they can’t. They say something extremely vague, which Shrimpy takes completely wrong (or just doesn't take seriously because she’s stupid). So No Way has this… thing that they saw, that they don’t understand, but they can’t talk to anyone about it because they don’t even know how to explain it, no one they trust is around, and the two they are with are … kinda dumb. Looking at you Shrimpy.

Also, side note, I LOVE the surreal, almost ethereal yet foreboding music that plays as No Way explains what they saw, accompanied with the flashback of them falling being shrouded in green haze. It really adds a lot to the scene. The crew always has such great music choices

9:55 - “Well, yea, I get it. I see things like that all the time! Like that rock. Ooh, and that rock too! And… Ooh, this right here is the ultra rare SHINY rock! You only see them in…”

Ok, nothing too big here, but No Way’s deadpan look while Shrimpy is going off about rocks is very funny to me. I can feel the “Bruh.” from here.

12:46 - “I wonder what the others are up to?” [Oil Pastel goes flying over No Way, Shrimpy, and Whiteberry’s heads] “Oh– what was that?” …13:40 - [Forky screaming as he and Oil Pastel fly back over No Way, Shrimpy and Whiteberry’s heads] “No way, again?” “I think it was just a bird!” “Okay…”

Used two timestamps for this because I’m making the same point with them.

Focus on No Way’s tone and expression here, especially in their first little quote. They sound and look a little scared, so it’s probably safe to assume they’re on edge now. And then when Forky and Oil Pastel go flying past again, No Way is surprised again and a little concerned since that time there was screaming. And then when Shrimpy says they think it was a bird, they squint at her suspiciously, and also like “Are You Stupid?” I imagine they don’t say anything about it though because they just don’t have the energy.

14:49 - “Hey, woah! The Sun, what’s going on??” “I’m trying to find Oi- Toys… TOY STORY!!” “I mean… we might still have enough time, we can help you find them really quick.” “EEK!” “Should we follow you? Or…”

No Way is such a good friend, immediately offering to help The Sun look for OP and Forky the moment they can tell something is wrong despite the challenge. And when The Sun hides in the ground, they ask if they should just follow him. Granted, they didn’t realize The Sun was actually scared, but it happened so fast so I don’t blame them.

The point I’m trying to make here is that despite the challenge, despite the stress they’re under, they are still trying to care for their friends and help them where they can. Another very good representation of their character.

15:03 - “No Way…” “Huh? Yeah, what-” [GASP!] [Distorted noises] “DANCE TO THE MUSIC!” [No Way Go Bye Bye]

YET ANOTHER DETRIMENTAL MOMENT FOR NO WAY’S CHARACTER!!! YAAAY MORE TRAUMA– this is really all I have to say. Other than the fact they were completely distracted by The Sun to even remember they were hearing weird, creepy ass music earlier. Their head is so not in the game.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: I REALIZED SO MANY PAINFUL THINGS THIS EPISODE. By so many I mean exactly one. In the Wheel analysis I mentioned earlier, Rocket mentioned how Wheel was constantly on edge and untrusting of Clock and paranoid about that day. Something bad was going to happen and holy fuck was he right. Here’s why I’m bringing this up. NO WAY IS DEALING WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT LISTENING TO WHEEL. At the start, Wheel was untrusting, scared, and defensive. No Way was naive, trusted Clock right off the bat, and happily obliged with whatever they said. They didn’t listen to Wheel’s warnings, to Wheel’s protests and fear. And now they are paying the price. They are experiencing what Wheel was warning them about in its entirety. They’ve lost their whimsy, their passion, their excitement for this competition. Now they don’t know who to trust other than the original contestants, and their numbers are dwindling by the episode. They have no one to talk to, no one to turn to. Just like how Wheel was from the beginning. I Am In Active Pain. Anyway, next up: I finally explain why I think No Way and Polka Dot are so similar after about like 9,000 words.

IT’S TIME FOR THE [7:00] - Stop and Look. Realize.

3:07 - [Clock finally brings everyone who died last episode back]

Not much to add here other than this screenshot

Yeah they felt that shit

3:14 - “Where’s Vase…?” “The elimination already happened, she got out.”

Part of this is something I didn’t notice until now, but anyway. Pay extremely close attention to No Way here. When they get revived, their immediate thought- the first thing they notice- is that Vase is missing, another person they were close with. They have one of those little stress lines under their eye and the tone they have is very clearly worry with a hint of dread. Like they know what the answer is, but they don’t want it to be true. And when Inky confirms it, their face drops slightly. First their brows raise in mild surprise when Inky says the elimination has already happened, and when he says Vase is gone, their brow furrows and their mouth hangs open slightly. They’re devastated. Another one of their friends, gone.

3:17 - “I don’t understand, we were walking through the tunnels in the challenge an-” [Fridge DJ plays music] “YOU. Am I the only one… who thinks he shouldn’t be here?” “Press the music button, or turn the dial to another station! [Fridge DJ plays music]

No Way’s mind is not only not in the game, but it’s also just. Scrambled, considering how fast they change topics here (from Vase to the last challenge). Fridge DJ literally murdering them has added yet another layer of stress to their already growing pile, and the fact Fridge DJ is still there makes it even worse. No Way's hesitance to even ask their question makes me think they’re scared to even ask it, like Fridge DJ might not like it and attack. It’s a fair assumption to make, given they don’t know Fridge DJ for anything other than the mindless killing spree he went on earlier. This is backed by the way they back away and tense up when FDJ comes right up to them, only to then look uncomfortable and confused as he does his little dance.

Some side notes about voice acting and sound design: I really like the way No Way says “YOU.” here, really shows how much they are affected by what Fridge DJ did. I also really like how you can hear a very faint and muffled “DANCE TO THE MUSIC!” before the week song starts and No Way turns around. Whether this is Fridge DJ actually saying that again or it’s just a representation of the trauma No Way endured is unsure, but it’s such a cool detail that I never noticed before. The more I think about it, the more I realize it is definitely the latter. The last thing they heard before being ripped in half is FDJ’s “DANCE TO THE MUSIC!” and it’s clear from their pose when Clock brings them back that it was a painful, agonizing experience. That’s why they’re so much more affected by this death compared to the previous two.

3:31 - “No Way, what do you mean? This is our… BEST FRIEND!” “I am so confused.” “Confused? I think it's time to shake up the game a little bit then!”

The expression work on No Way here is just amazing. They look so, so tired when they put their hand to their hand and close their eyes, a gesture which makes me think they have a headache. Or maybe they just do that because I have noticed they tend to touch their face a lot, who knows. Then when Clock pops up next to them, they get startled again before looking at Clock with such a nervous look. They’re tired, they miss their friends, it’s been 7 hours of non-stop challenge after challenge, they’re likely still processing and trying to figure out what that giant green thing in the sky was, and now they have to deal with Fridge DJ existing and Shrimpy and Whiteberry somehow not remembering anything he did??? It’s almost too much. And yet they feel trapped. Like they have to keep participating because they don’t know what Clock is actually capable of. Maybe they’re scared of making Clock mad.

3:57 - “Why… did they do that?” “Alright breh! Final five!” “Tile tha-” “Shut up, dude.”

I’M SHOOTING TILE IN THE DENNY’S PARKING LOT. I mean who said that

Jokes aside though, now that I’ve done this whole thing, this scene hits a lot harder. The look No Way had on their face before looking at Tile– I don’t know how to describe it. It almost feels like a silent “I don’t know” in response to Snapped Skateboard’s question. And then they get upset at what Tile says, about to correct him by saying that whatever the fuck Clock just did to Refill Station wasn’t an elimination. But then Tile interrupts them by blatantly telling them to shut up.

But No Way doesn’t get mad. They don’t even look that devastated. They just stare and watch Tile walk off. They get such a sad yet… reserved look on their face. It’s silent. Not a sound is made. And I think those 4 seconds of silence after Tile tells them to shut up is so impactful. It forces you to focus on the only movement on screen; the way No Way lets their arms fall to their sides again, the way their expression shifts into a look of resignation. I think they finally realized here that Tile isn’t friends with them anymore. Why this even happened, they don’t know. But it did. And it’s right in their face.

AND IT MAKES ME SO MAD BECAUSE WHAT THE FUCK TILE. THEY ALREADY HAVE SO MUCH GOING ON AND YOU JUST HAD TO TELL THEM TO SHUT UP LIKE THAT??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU WHY ARE YOU EVIL. IM EXECUTING YOU NEXT TUESDAY WATCH YOUR FUCKING BACK YOU LITTLE YELLOW SHI

4:27 - “Whoever opens the box first will be the winner.” [accordion noise] “of the challenge.” “Okay, I mean, this should be easy, just give us the box, Clock.” [Clock starts to back away] “Clock…” [Cartoony aah running] “Clock- NO. COME BACK, CLOCK NO!-” [No Way sighs.] “1.5 meters of elevation. Great. er-” [Fridge DJ playing music] “You know what. I have something else I gotta take care of first.”

I love this scene. A lot. When Clock runs into the tree and No Way sighs in exasperation, the expression on their face is just … beautiful in the way that it displays so much emotion. Like, this is truly their boiling point. They are so exhausted. At first they look at TI-30 as he’s talking, but then they hear Fridge DJ’s music and now that is all they can hear. They look pissed now. They are so done with this damn toy and finally decide they need to do something about it. Fuck the challenge, that isn’t even the worst of their problems at this point.

Also, as a side note, I really love the way Oil Pastel encourages them here. It’s very sweet. I like to think this is partly because she’s like “yeah go get that murderer away from my partner”

5:50 - [Fridge DJ playing music] “Hey! Fridge DJ!” “I… Um… sorry, I mean Shrimpy, Whiteberry, how could just party with them like this? They killed all of us like an hour ago!” “I don’t remember that, I just think you’re just a party pooper!” “Yeah! Fridge DJ wouldn’t hurt a fly, he’s just so joyous!!” “That is correct!” “JOYOUUUUS!”

Ok a few things here. At first when I watched this scene, I thought No Way genuinely made the mistake of getting Fridge DJ’s attention first. But upon watching closer, I realize that’s not right at all. As they approach FDJ, they are PISSED and are clearly glaring right at them. That expression carries over to them yelling its name. But then when FDJ abruptly stops the music and looks at them, they freeze, and if you pause on time, they look scared, then uncomfortable, then they apologize and go to Shrimpy and Whiteberry. This isn’t an accidental mistake, this is No Way backing down last second because they are scared of Fridge DJ. Terrified, even. They had so much confidence when going up to her, but when she actually stopped and they had to actually face her, they froze. They chose to beat around the bush and try to talk some sense into Whiteberry and Shrimpy. They are TRAUMATIZED.

Also y’know it kind of makes sense that Shrimpy wouldn’t remember what happened BUT WHITEBERRY HAS GOT TO REMEMBER. SHE LITERALLY WITNESSED NO WAY GET RIPPED IN HALF and probably saw what remained of Shrimpy. But nah that didn’t happen what are you talking about. Yet No Way and Oil Pastel remember?? I mean I get No Way remembering, but that’s probably gotta do with trauma. I think I just don’t know enough about Oil Pastel to think of a reason why she would also remember.

EDIT AFTER AVICON READ THIS: Shrimpy is just stupid and Whiteberry doesn’t care. That’s why they’re gaslighting No Way. Oil Pastel is actually smart, that’s why he remembers LMAO.

6:09 - “Of course they would say that, they’re CLEARLY lying, but why?” [Oil Pastel nudges them. They gasp.] “I get it now! He’s gonna drown them in the river!” “Ohhh! A river! Let’s cross it!” “Yeah!” “THREE! Little birdies, sitting way up high,” “haha, nice!�� “We gotta see Fridge DJ cross!” “No!” [No Way grabs onto Fridge DJ’s back] “Bye bye! Birdie bye bye!” “Woah… WOAH” “YAY!” “All right!”

Ok I know these quotes are getting REALLY long but BEAR WITH ME.

No Way DOES NOT UNDERSTAND. They don’t understand why Fridge DJ is doing this, they don’t understand why Fridge DJ did any of that stuff last episode, they don’t understand why Whiteberry and Shrimpy are just so totally okay with this dude– and at this point their mind is filling in blanks. Like I mentioned before, all they know about Fridge DJ is from its random murder spree from the water damage, but they don’t know that was just water damage, so they jump to conclusions. And when they make the conclusion about the river, they immediately try to drag Fridge DJ into the river themself in a desperate act to try and “save” Whiteberry and Shrimpy. They’re paranoid. They are paranoid that people are going to get hurt again because of FDJ. Y’know who else was paranoid? Wheel. FULL FUCKING CIRCLE IM GONNA THROW U-

6:31 - “Hide and seek!” “I see you!” “Aww, I’ll find a better hiding spot next time!” “I was hiding here too!” [Fridge DJ laughs and then honks] “Can you name 57 vegetables that start with the letter J? We can!” “wuh- NO NO AA-”

This is really important to me. Before FDJ shows up in the bush No Way and Oil Pastel are hiding in, No Way is glaring HARD, angrily, almost confidently. But then the moment FDJ starts speaking directly next to them, their expression immediately shifts to FEAR. And then they panic and literally run away. It’s a really funny scene if you’re watching it surface level, but when you dive deep, this is literally trauma at its finest. Notice how No Way is hiding in the bush, yet I bet they’ve somehow convinced themself that it’s doing something. Finding excuses to hide away from FDJ. They feel very non-confrontational, or maybe it’s just fueled by fear. (I would say cowardice but that’s mean)

6:43 - “Let’s play tag!” “Yeah!!” “Agh, no… They’re gonna get away!” “No.” [What the fuck john wick bullshit is this– WHY DID NO WAY GET HIT WITH A BASEBALL] “Oh.. that was weird… Why’d you do that?” [Whiteberry and Shrimpy laughing] “This is so pointless.”

No Way is so over this. They’re So Fucking Over This. After everything that happened, Shrimpy and Whiteberry just do not care, no matter what they or Oil Pastel do, they Do Not Care. And the crazy part is, after this scene, we just. Don’t see them again. They literally gave up. They just stopped. That was it. Their “this is so pointless” was literally an admission of defeat. The very culmination of the past 6, 7 hours of stress has finally got to them. And mind you, all of the really bad trauma happened within like. 2 hours if we’re excluding witnessing Green’s elimination. That’s. That’s a lot to go through in that short amount of time.

7:12 - “Hey Polka Dot, did you hear the challenge?” “Yep.” “So, are we gonna do it?” “Nnnnno. Because I can’t stand this thing Clock is doing! It was fun at first but it’s been nonstop hours of these “challenges.” My friends are disappearing one-by-one, I’m just… upset! That I can’t do anything about it and I have nowhere else to go.”

FINALLY. I HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN TO WHERE I WILL ELABORATE ON THIS. Throughout the series, Polka Dot has gone through the same development just a little bit later and a little bit differently. She went from using her polkadot portals willy-nilly, to warning Wind Up Toy that going in them is dangerous. She went from opting to using her abstracted form on challenges where it’s technically cheating to not even trying, and she even remarks “I had a feeling this was gonna happen” when Clock pulls their “No Flyers Allowed!” thing with The Sun. She’s clearly had less energy as the episodes went on– from naive and excitable to mellow and quiet, questioning things sometimes – just like No Way. And when things came to a head in 6:00 and 7:00, she became jaded, done with the games. She rushes along the elimination and doesn’t even care that Vase just. Exploded, even if she was friends with her or not.

While she and No Way are very similar, they have one very important difference. Polka Dot actually had someone to talk to. She had someone in her corner, even when all of her original friends were gone. No Way has no one. They tried to talk to Shrimpy, but Shrimpy just … was Shrimpy. Shrimpy and Whiteberry wouldn’t even listen to them. Tile hates them for some fucking reason. Vase is gone. 57-Ball is gone. Wheel is gone.

15:59 - [Voting screen]

Ok this isn’t important but look at No Way’s sad little face on the voting screen. Now compare it to their intrigued, curious, and a little bit surprised face on 3:00’s voting screen. I feel like this is such a good comparison to make when you’re thinking about their character development.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: No Way is really well written this episode. They don’t have any Funny Haha moments (other than deadpan faces at comedic times.) and are just. Serious. Their interactions with Fridge DJ and the way they acted around Shrimpy and Whiteberry were great ways to show how a traumatic event like getting Ripped In Half can affect a person.

CONCLUSION:

No Way arguably has gone through the most amount of character development in the series. They start it off in a good place; friendly, trusting, seeing the good in others, caring about their friends. But as time goes on, more and more things start to happen. And now, they are completely different. They’re paranoid and scared and worried, and their mind is a mess. They have no one to turn to or talk to, so they have to deal with all of this stress on their own. And that’s.. That’s not great. Especially with all of this happening in a SINGULAR DAY.

Ok. That’s all I had to say. This whole thing made me even less normal about No Way than when I started. Thank you for reading this fucking thing ??? hope you liked it. Goodbye forever(/j)

#my writing #itft #its time for the #itft no way #no way itft #itft noway #noway itft #I'm not tagging all the characters I mentioned here LMAO #osc #object shows #object show community #rory rambles #THIS IS SO LONG LMOAOO #its 24 pages on my Google doc bro

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