#THAT FIGHT SCENE FUCKS ME UP TO THIS DAY!! happy to know I'm not alone oh my goodness

[the-stove-is-divorced]

What is your favorite scene in Invincible?

Personally, I was extremely hooked by the eighth episode in season one. GOOD LORD I rewatched Mark and Nolan's fight at least 50 times. I love how Mark's desperate denial, anger and slow acceptance of how things actually were is shown on his face the whole time. Everything happens so fast he doesn't have a choice but to react in the moment and process later. The people in the subway die beacuse he wasn't strong enough. His father started this whole mess because he was getting antsy about Mark not getting powers and his mission breathing down his neck. Maybe if Mark had developed his powers faster, he would have been stronger and able to stop his dad. If he had taken his training more seriously, he would have been more capable and less people would have died.

Was his whole life a lie, the years spent admiring his father worthless? The now downturned family pictures a constant reminder of what his life should have continued to be like. How many nights does Mark spend awake thinking about this, replaying his greatest, most painful loss over and over again?

Shower thoughts. They come and haunt me for the rest of the day. Week. Month. Year. Send help-

OH MY?? WHAT A LOVELY QUESTION! ⸜(*ˊᗜˋ*)⸝

But funny enough, that scene is actually one of my favorites! I can confirm it will never stop haunting you. You will be consumed by the pure what the fuckery of that scene and all it's delightful implications forevermore. Like oh my goodness, it is such a good fight scene! It's incredibly well animated, first of all. Like hello, give those animators a raise and a paid vacation. But then complimenting the animation is the VA's and writing! Also deserving of a raise and vacation. They absolutely cooked here, it's so scrumptious it's actually sickening.

There's such a masterful display of dread and horror building as Mark's own world, how he views his father, how he thinks about heroism, his power, his blood, is being completely will forever be changed! The way he views his own father will forever tainted by Nolan's completely willing displays of such egregious cruelties.

Literally everything you said above is something I'm sure Mark thinks about constantly, and how could you not? It's horrific to witness in general, but so insidiously personal as his own father slaughters innocents while insisting it's his fault. The massive amount of guilt that falls upon Mark's shoulders has got to be insane. And he almost died himself! By his father's hand! When the show switched between Nolan beating him bloody to Nolan proudly holding a young Mark up after a home run? Bro, I was sobbing.

And YES! How do you comprehend that the same father who said he loved you, that loved a planet enough to protect it, who saved countless of lives, who was proud of you, raised you, helped you, is also the same person who slaughtered thousands and blamed you for not joining him in planetary colonization, killing with his bare hands and insist it's Mark's fault, all while Mark is struggling between saving the victims, fighting Nolan, and trying to survive Nolan, himself. INSANE!

What makes it so much worse is just before this Mark kinda got what he wanted, if he was fighting side by side with his Dad! He still was feeling hopeless about how impactful he's supposed to be, but in that moment he was helping his Dad fight some beast together. And then it completely unravels.

And speaking of unraveling, the s2 scene as Mark is held by the neck from Nolan, whose screaming at him why he cares about an entirely different civilization being destroyed after just showing Mark he meant every single word about replacing his family entirely? I was gagged. I was screaming at the TV. I was sobbing on the floor. That lives in my head rent free every single second of my life. There is no escape. It felt like looking at a healing, deadly wound that just barely cost a victim's life, one that still aches on bad days and could make one wince if straining, and then tearing it open with a rusty knife. Oh my god. Nolan confirming everything he told Mark in s1 and then holding him by the fucking neck, and screaming at him?

Tysm for the asks!! ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡ I fucking love this show so much. Mark my beloved and Nolan my beloathed.

[hongjoongspoetry]

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Part 3 – You Know You're On My Mind

⛸️ Summary: Would you rather A) represent Seoul at the Spring Championship, B) find the answer as to why Mingi was ignoring you or C) stay in your shared flat for the winter holidays? How smart of you to go with option D) none of the above.

⛸️ Genres/Tropes: College AU, non-idol AU, rivals to lovers but it's more like one-sided resentment, hockey AU, figure skating AU, angst!!!

⛸️ Warnings/Tags: Female reader, no use of (Y/N), explicit language, brief alcohol consumption, petnames (princess, beans), a lot of tears and crying, probably incorrect use of hockey terms, fist fight, blood, verbal fight, Mingi is really mean but also aware he's being a douche, Dasom is a good friend, more side characters!!!

⛸️ Wordcount: 16.6K

⛸️ Author's note: I freaking love angst 😈 Hence why I've looked forward to the third part of Cold Hands, Warm Hearts! A warning, I have absolutely ZERO knowledge about hockey so the things you'll read concerning the hockey game may or may not be wrong idk. I've tried watching a lot of hockey games on YouTube, but they move so fucking fast I can barely wrap my head around what's happening lmaooo.

I also wanted to write my own comments for the chapter (something I should have done since the first part tbh), but I've been home with a fever for some days now and I honestly can barely sit up, let alone write extra stuff so I'm sadly skipping out on that. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this part and don't be shy to tell me your thoughts 🩷

AO3 Masterpost Moodboard Click on me!

This is all fiction and not meant to represent any idols involved in any way or form. This work is NSFW and not appropriate for minors as it contains explicit scenes, not just sexual content but descriptions of both physical and verbal fights,  as well as adult language. Minors and ageless blogs, please, refrain from reading or interacting with this work or my blog!!!

December 9th, 2024. 

The day was marked in Mingi’s little red calendar he kept away in his backpack — not that he needed the reminder, the day was practically burned into his mind — and the fanciest suit he owned was ironed three nights prior with the help of his best friend and roommate, Jeong Yunho. One would think it was an important day — as to explain why he woke up at a presentable hour with enough time to spare for a few errands and a brunch with his roommate — an exam determining his final grade or something to do with his hockey, but no it was just the day of your competition. 

Currently sitting in a sandwich shop, thumbs twirling and eyes set on the flower shop across the street, Mingi contemplated whether bringing a bouquet  — maybe roses or those tulips, they were quite popular nowadays — would be too much or not at all. The two parts of his brain clashed and before he could make a decision Yunho came back with their orders, a teriyaki chicken sandwich for Mingi while he ordered something nasty looking with a really fancy and long name that Mingi couldn’t bother remembering. 

“There you go.” Yunho settled in the seat across Mingi and dove right into his food, letting out a moan of approval. “Best sandwich in town, no kidding.”

“Do girls like flowers?”

Caught mid bite, cheeks coated with crumbs and mayonnaise, Yunho looked up at Mingi who already had his eyes set on him with a seriousness that rarely outshone his happy and goofy exterior. 

“Uhm, I suppose. I mean the girls I’ve given flowers to liked the gesture. Why? You looking to impress someone, Mings?” A teasing smile quirked at the edge of his lips. “Is it a quick fuck?”

“Dude?!” Mingi hissed and quickly threw a glance around the room making sure no one overheard their convo and labeled them as creeps.

“Oh, come on, we’ve talked about worse things than some sex deets.”

“It was a simple question, Yunho-ya. Do flowers equal happy girls? Yes or no?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, cool.”

Sensing this wasn’t a topic Mingi was all too keen to talk about, Yunho gave him some space and took another bite of his sandwich. Then he remembered their conversation three days ago and how Mingi begged him to help him iron his suit and teach him how to properly handle a tie, and if that wasn’t enough of a reason then he could always use the we’ve-been-friends-since-diapers card and pry whatever information he wanted out of him.

“Is this about that figure skating girl?”

“Absolutely not… Do you think she’d like roses or tulips?”

Mouth full of bacon, tomato, lettuce and bread, Yunho mumbled out a barely audible answer. “Roses. Definitely roses.”

“I’m just saying if Hyunjin brings you roses I’ll jump in front of the ice resurfacer!” 

Keeho laid flat on your bed, legs dangling in the air and chin propped on both palms as his eyes burned holes on your back. While rummaging through your closet you threw a random shirt over your shoulder, purposely aiming it at him and you knew it was a success as he let out a surprised ‘ack’.

“That’s what you get for being noisy,” Dasom chirped and rolled over him, her feet hitting your pillow and arms reaching the end of your bed.

“You guys promised to help me pack! I’m so going to be late.” 

An empty duffel bag sat on your bed beside the entanglement of limbs that were your friends. Despite waking up a whole twelve hours before your planned departure, you were running late or would be if you didn’t leave in the next fifteen minutes.

“Fine, but I’m just helping because I know you’ll make it big one day and I can use it to be a multimillionaire influencer. Yoon Keeho, best friend of the South Korean Olympic figure skater. It has a nice ring to it, no?”

Another shirt hit him in the face, this one coming straight out of the dirtied piles of clothes in the corner.

“No more throwing shirts!”

“Up we go, Kyo.” 

Dasom repositioned to sit criss-crossed in front of your bag and began neatly placing necessary things inside; towel, spare change of clothes, bobby pins, hairspray, your skates. 

“Where’s your suit?” She asked while zipping the bag.

“My coach still has it. Something about seeing it before the comp would bring bad luck or whatever. Like it’s a competition not a wedding and Keeho, get out I need to change.”

“I bet a round of lamb skewers Hyunjin is proposing after the comp– I’m leaving, I’m leaving, put that down!”

As the door closed you quickly stripped and threw on a sweatsuit bearing the logo of Tiny University printed on the front and back. Knowing you were practically working on autopilot while your nerves skyrocketed, Dasom didn’t want to step out of bounds and send you into a potential spiral of panic and stress but she was also very curious, and her greed won over her morals. With a soft call of your name she asked the million dollar question. 

“Did you only invite Hyunjin?”

You froze with your hands in your hair, a bobby pin between your fingers and an extra in your mouth as your gaze fell on her. Flashing you a derpy yet reassuring smile that warmed you up like the sun on a summer afternoon filled with sugary strawberries and pink lemonade. 

“No… Not just Hyunjin, I actually invited Mingi too, but I… don’t know why.” 

You plopped down beside her and played with your fingers. It all felt so silly and you didn’t even have the time to think about him or Hyunjin or anything boy related overall. Not that it was a bad thing, in fact it was great, but that meant your mind was completely occupied of nailing your choreo, imaging everything that could go wrong and to not let anything go fucking wrong. 

“Maybe it just felt right,” she whispered, as if the words were made of steel and you were of twigs that would break at the slightest contact.

Sighing, you nodded and fell back on your bed with Dasom in tow. There wasn’t much left to say. You couldn’t remember what drunk-you thought when inviting Mingi nor did you want to know. All you knew was that your heart did that little leap thing before violently kicking at your rib cage when he said he’d be there and that was concerning but not more so than your competition taking place in a few hours. 

If Mingi showed up, great.

If he didn’t then that was great too, is what you forced yourself into believing.

Mingi stood before a body-length mirror and kept running his hand through his neatly made hair. Yunho placed a palm over Mingi’s shoulder and the shifting motion immediately subdued only to proceed as the hand withdrew. 

“Stop moving around dude, you’re making me nervous!” 

Taking a step back, Yunho quietly assessed Mingi, searching for creases in his black suit or stray hairs standing up funny. There were no faults, his tall friend — that was still slightly shorter than himself — looked perfect appearance wise. It was the slight twitch of his finger and sweat collecting at the nape of his neck that gave him away.

“Why are you so nervous, Mingi-ya? It’s just a figure skating competition, nothing more nothing less.”

Taking a hold of the perfectly wrapped bouquet of heart-colored roses he paid a good penny for, Mingi pouted and shrugged his shoulders as if a toddler being put on the spot for doing something bad.

 “I don’t know.”

“You want me to come with?”

Yunho, dressed in an old tattered shirt and bright red basketball shorts with his naturally dark hair growing at the roots and taking on the look of pudding, was ready to drop everything and jump in his brand new suit planned for their graduation if that’s what Mingi needed.

“No, no. I’ll be fine, it’s just… Don’t you think it’s too much? Flowers, a suit? It’s a figure skating competition not a wedding.”

“Does it matter? Personally, if it were me, I’d rather see the girl I invited put in the effort even if it means wearing nice clothes over something raggedy. This shows you care.”

“I guess…”

Mingi jumped as Yunho reassuringly landed his hands on his shoulders, giving him an encouraging squeeze and smiling so his cheeks puffed up. “Come on, let’s get that tie fixed and then I’ll give you a lift.”

“Ah, the privileges of not having a driver’s license.”

“You mean the privileges of being a passenger princess?”

“Yah, Yunho-ya!” Came the whine as Mingi followed his friend like a kicked puppy on a rainy Monday morning. 

The arena was packed and while it wasn’t an unusual sight for Mingi — always being a witness of how the bleachers slowly filled up during his warm ups —  it was weird seeing it from an outside perspective. Everything seemed so much smaller and compact compared to when he was on the ice squinting past the blinding headlights to barely even catch a glimpse of the audience. Other than practice and hockey game, Mingi had no reason to visit the arena. There was no other sport that piqued his interest enough to stand in line, pay an overpriced entry fee and freeze his ass off on a plastic chair. He’d usually just enter through the changing rooms and skip all that yet there he was, all glammed up and standing behind a family wearing shirts with the name of some random chick printed in big bold letters. 

Thinking about it, Mingi couldn’t actually give less of a fuck about figure skating and months ago he didn’t care who represented Seoul or if they were even capabale to compete with the other cities. 

“All my friends are going to be there.”

“Nice friends you have.”

“We are friends,” you said matter-of-factly, your ‘S’ coming out with a lisp. “Alllll my friends are going.”

“You want me to come to your competition princess?”

“You’ll come?!”

You slinked your arm through his and squished it against your chest, cheek pressed to his bicep as you looked at him. One would believe Mingi hung up each and every single star individually in your name for you to look at him that way.

“Yeah,” he whispered, “I’ll be there.”

It was your stupid yet endearing eyes that did it all. The little shining glint that completely vexed him and before he knew it, the promise slipped off his tongue and was spoken into existence. Mingi didn’t get to indulge more in the memory of the beauty that was your face as the lights dimmed and an enthusiastic voice boomed through the speakers, welcoming everyone and announcing the start of the preliminary that would determine the female representative of Seoul at the annual Spring Championship. 

Honestly, Mingi didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t know a lot of things; how long this would be, what time your performance would start, was he supposed to find you after or before they announced the winner? It also didn’t help that he was sweating through his dress shirt despite the freezing temperature inside. 

Performance after performance passed and he was yet to catch sight of you. Honestly speaking, Mingi was growing impatient. The numbers weren’t anything extraordinary — he had seen you do much better even when ending on your rear — and he wasn’t here to watch some mediocre ladies flip around to classical music. The weight of his phone burned in his suit pocket and he was itching to reach for it. He was three taps away from dialing Yunho and making the taller man pick him up again. Oblivious to the curious and soft eyes peering at the bouquet in his lap, Mingi stared at the ice rink with a far away look on his face and bottom lip caught between his teeth. 

“Those are beautiful,” a voice came from his left. It was comforting and full of kindness. 

Snapping his head towards the person, Mingi faced a woman looking old enough to be his mom. The compliment pulled at the corners of his lips and soon a full blown boxy smile took over his face as his eyes creased into crescent moons. 

“Thank you.”

Mingi contemplated whether to hand her the darned flowers and leave while you still hadn’t caught sight of him, that way his money wouldn’t go to waste and the flowers wouldn’t end up in the bin outside the venue.

“I’m Chaeryeong’s mom.”

“Song Mingi,” he curtly answered with a little bow of his head.

“Are those for your girlfriend?”

As kind as this woman looked she sure was twice the amount noisy.

“No, they are for a… friend. She’s competing today.”

“Oh, when is she up?”

At the sight of his uncertainty, she handed Mingi a pamphlet with several numbers followed by first- and last names of the competitors. Quickly scanning the sheet of paper he landed on your name in last place and with the twenty-ninth performer taking her starting pose right as Mingi looked back up again. The urge to squish his face against the pamphlet was immense. 

“She’s last.”

“Oh! That’s Hoseok’s kid. She’s amazing and if it weren’t for my Chaeryeongie I’d root for her.”

Pride swelled in his chest and heat nipped at his cheeks. He tried suppressing the fond smile forcing its way out but failed.

“It’s actually my first time watching her perform but yeah, she’s pretty… p-pretty cool!”

“Really? Well, it’s better late than never.”

Why Mingi was getting flustered was beyond him. Not wanting to think about it and eventually fall down a rabbit hole he always did when thinking of you, he nodded and took the praise with the lady leaving a pat on his shoulder.

“Mmm, you’re smiling! Are you sure she’s just a friend?”

Mingi lowered his chin and avoided the teasing eyes of Chaeryeong’s mom. No way was he talking about girl problems with a random lady at a figure skating competition. 

“Would you spare my seat? I just need to go to the restroom.”

“Of course, son.”

With one last bow he ran up the stairs leading to the main hall and straight for the male restroom which  — to his delight  — was empty. Mingi released a breath of unease and stopped by the sink hoping to wash away the sweat collected on his hands. Looking at his reflection in the oblong mirror, he pursed his lips and splashed cold water on his face before lightly slapping his cheeks.

“It’s easy. We hand her the flowers, tell her she did great and then we leave.”

Mingi couldn’t remember the last time he was this nervous over talking to a girl. Thinking about it, he talked to you all the time. Yes, most of it was hidden behind jokes and teasing remarks, but it still counted as talking.

“Welcoming our last performer of the night…”

The booming voice of the announcer echoed through the whole building and with a quick ‘shit’ falling from his lips, Mingi dried his hands off his expensive pants and ran back into the arena receiving weird stares from other people, but he wasn’t about to miss the start of your performance after waiting for over two hours. In sync with you gliding out on the ice he flew past the double doored entrance and caught himself on the metal railing. Mingi realized there was no need to go back to his previous spot, not when he had a great view of the whole ice rink from where he stood and a great look of you posing in the middle, one arm elegantly thrown over your head and the other following the length of your figure and stopping midthigh.

Stunning, gorgeous, beautiful, angelic, breathtaking, enchanting, marvelous and other adjectives wouldn’t do the justice to describe how truly captivating you looked. 

The first thing that caught his attention was your costume. It was a long sleeved dress transitioning from dark to light blue with sparkly beads going down your chest, across your abdomen and arms in a tilted motion as if the foam of multiple waves. Your costume had a tiny skirt which Mingi was sure would swirl prettily when pirouetting and twirling in the air. The upper part of your dress took on the shape of a heart and went down your back in a v-form leaving your collars, shoulders and back completely exposed. Your hair was styled in a sturdy updo matching the elegance of your suit and while Mingi couldn’t see your make-up, he assumed it would reflect the colors of your dress and accentuate your facial features in just the right way.

The starting notes of your chosen song erupted from the speakers and Mingi’s breath got caught in his throat as you glided across the ice, his heart beating in rhythm to your every landed jump. You moved with grace and for once the teasing nickname he reserved just for you had no malice objective behind it. You surrendered yourself to the music and allowed it to guide you, your body resembled the elements of nature and became an entity that was no longer your own. Moving like the ripples of a wind, flowing and rising as though you were water yet curving fiercely as a controlled fire and flourishing like a sunflower yearning for light.

It was beautiful. You were beautiful. 

Mingi would rather have spent two hours watching you skate than those other amateurs and he was slightly bitter your number only lasted for four minutes. 240 seconds of no breathing or thinking, just existing to admire you as if you were a painting exhibited in the most famous art museum in the world.

As you were entering the last moments of your performance, the music picked up and you mentally prepared yourself to do the main stunt. There was no turning back now and with confidence pumping in your veins, you inhaled and propelled yourself off the ice. Time slowed down and magically you could somehow hear the amazed gasps of the audience. Your body spun, and spun and spun and you felt the start of gravity doing its work. As if caught in a sense of Déjà Vu, the sharp point of your skates chipped the ice and threw your landing off course, and before you knew it, you landed on the outer side of your thigh. The crowd gasped again, the tone much more horrible than a few seconds ago, and all you wanted to do was continue to lay on the cold surface, but the show was yet to be over. In hopes of saving your score, you recovered with a double-axel which wasn’t nearly as appealing as the one you failed, but at least you landed it.

The performance ended with you posing in the middle — much like you practiced — and waiting for the last piano notes to run out. Despite your big fail the arena erupted in chaos of applause and whistles. Thanking the spectators with three respectful bows — each facing a different side — you skated off the ice with shaky legs and a heart hammering in your ears falling right in the arms of your coach. Mingi didn’t move until you rounded the corner towards the locker rooms and disappeared from his sight. 

A short static echoed in the hall as the AUX was rather harshly unplugged from your phone, making you lose your footing and fall on your ass.

The ice beneath was hard and cold, and it numbed your whole left leg except for the burning pain that flared up in your backside. You had to physically hold back tears as you stood back up on shaky legs.

“Majestic as always, princess, but I’ll have to deduct ten points for that eye captivating fall.” 

A chorus of laughter and gloves pounding against the plexiglas averted your attention for a split second, and the picture of an audience watching wasn’t much of an imagination as the whole hockey team stood by the entrance of the rink. 

Mingi sighed at the memory and stalked back to his seat where the kind family and bouquet of roses waited on him. 

“You missed her performance!” Chaeryeong’s mom exclaimed and handed him the flowers.

Mingi smiled shyly, then scratched the back of his neck. “Ah no, I watched from up there.” He turned and pointed at the spot he was standing in not even thirty seconds ago. “It was a better view so yeah…”

Chaeryeong’s mom smiled tenderly with a knowing gleam in her eyes. “What a relief! You got me worried for a minute but I should’ve known you wouldn’t miss it.”

“She was amazing,” Mingi stated and received a smug look from the woman.

“Mmm, I told you so. It’s a shame she fell. Well, we’re going out for a breather but we’ll be back so please save our seats for us.”

You sat in one of the locker rooms, head in your hands and feet tapping on the floor. The performance couldn’t have been more perfect, all for it to go to shit in the end.

All the hours, sweat and energy put into practice was a waste and you didn’t have to wait for the winner to be announced to know whether it was true or not. It was ironic really, despite being in a competitive sport, you hated the concept of competitions. The idea that there could only be one winner always got to your head like a parasite planting eggs of anxiety. Your number was great, but your fall made the other girls as good if not better and that really got you spiraling. 

Not to mention neither of your parents could make it, the timing clashing with their working schedules besides driving back and forth from your hometown was too exhausting for one day. Keeho and Dasom weren’t there either, occupied with work or school projects making it unreasonable for you to be angry with them. You also didn’t spot Hyunjin or Mingi in the audience which wasn’t that much of a surprise as you could barely make out the people in the front row, but nonetheless, the lack of support was weighing on you. That’s why in these situations, you were so grateful for Mr. Jung. Not only being your coach, but for stepping up as a ten man army of supporters.

A series of knocks snapped you out of your thoughts followed by Mr. Jung’s voice on the other side.

“You ready, star? They are announcing the winner.”

“Oh, look! I think they are announcing the winner!” Chaeryeong’s mom exclaimed as she sat back down in her seat.

The competing figure skaters went back out on the ice in a neat row, all dressed in various shimmering suits creating a palette of multiple colors. The whole crowd quieted down as the announcer asked for silence and simultaneously caught everyone’s attention. Not Mingi’s though, no his eyes were set on you who — together with the other girls — lined up behind the host. 

Hands trembling and breath caught in your throat, you didn’t allow yourself to think of anything. You felt like your head was underwater. It wasn’t scary or suffocating, but not a great feeling either as you couldn’t hear anything clearly thanks to the blood pumping in your ears. Somehow you could make out the distant voice of the man holding the mic, but no words were being registered. Focusing on the white translucent puffs of your short inhales and exhales, you didn’t hear the thick voice announcing the winner. It all happened incredibly fast. One second everyone was at the edge of their seats — you imagined them to be nibbling their nails like in the cartoons — and the next thing you know, the whole arena exploded in cheers. You were so out of it you hadn’t even heard the announcement of the winner. Although it didn’t matter, because a second later the call for a girl who wasn’t you sounded through the speakers as she was welcomed up on the podium. 

“Everyone! A round of applause for Seoul's representative of the Spring Championship 2025!”

You felt yourself sink deeper and deeper into the ocean as a booming wave of applause and whistles scattered around, shaking you to the core. Tears sprung to your eyes and you silently thanked the makeup artist for using waterproof cosmetics, the last thing you needed was for everyone to notice your emotional breakdown. The winner skated up to the host and he rewarded her with a bouquet of various flowers and a sash reading ‘Seoul Representative 2025’ in gold letters. You imagined him to be wishing her good luck and words of encouragement before letting her shine in the light of attention and praise.

After bowing to the girls, judges and audience you skated out of the rink and threw yourself in Mr. Jung’s embrace who patiently waited by the open board door. His heart smile didn’t hold quite reach its natural form and came out more pained than what he’d like to and his creased eyes mirrored your own sad expression. The flashes of a dozen cameras quickly annoyed you as well as the sound of the gadgets going off and you tried your best ignoring them, but each flicker was like a stab to your heart.

You were supposed to be the winner. The camera was supposed to be on you, not on that girl.

“It’s alright, starshine. Winning is not always guaranteed,” he whispered and hugged you tighter as you started crying harder, hot tears soaking his shirt. 

He stayed with you a while inside the locker room. The silence and your occasional sniffles were the only sources of sound, besides the light chattering noise outside. 

“I’m still proud of you.”

The simple sentence brought another fresh set of tears to your eyes and you hung your head in defeat, and slight embarrassment. 

“I know you think it’s not fair and that you should be the winner of tonight's event, but that would have been too easy and that’s just not something life is… We’ll break down and start again.”

Mr. Jung had always been exceptional at shifting between being a serious and humorous coach, but the current words spoken came from someone who had experienced failure before. From one loser to another, his little words of wisdom helped you get on your feet even if you felt like you were at the lowest point of your adult life. It would still take days to get over your disappointing performance, but you’d be alright. With a pat to your head, he ushered you to wash the blue feelings off. 

While you did that, Mingi found himself once again in the bathroom, wet hands combing through strands of hair in an attempt to look less disheveled and more like he had his shit together (he did in fact not have his shit together). He sniffed the collar of his suit jacket and then his armpits, and as he didn’t detect the smell of sweat, but the aroma of his favorite cologne — that smelled of bergamot and lavender — he straightened the jacket and went out to accomplish his mission or rather plan B. 

Instead of congratulating you, like he initially planned to, he’d do something else — and what that was, he had yet to figure out — but from his own experience, he’d known better than to give you praise, especially after losing by a few points. 

Skipping two steps down the stairs, he stopped by the see-through doors instead of continuing down the hallway with several changing rooms. Mingi didn’t know what room you were assigned to and even if he did, he wasn’t planning on barging in while you were possibly getting dressed or showering. The vision of a soapy you sent heat rushing to his head, both of them, but were quickly discarded as you came out. 

You looked different from the girl twirling on the ice minutes ago. Wet hair and dressed in comfy clothes, no fancy make up or extravagant details, but a solemn expression and puffy eyes. It didn’t matter though because you were still beautiful, he thought and fixed his tie out of sheer anxiety, and opened the door. Your name swayed at the tip of his tongue and was just in need of a small push to reach your ears. Eyes entirely focused on you, Mingi missed the boy walking towards him and slinking through the opening created by the taller man.

“Thanks, bud.” Hyunjin didn’t spare Mingi another glance as he headed straight for you. 

At a loss for words and frozen in place, Mingi just watched you fall comfortably in Hyunjin’s arms and as if a masochist he stood rooted and felt his heart squeeze painfully as you melted in his hold, your sobs filling the bleak silence taking residue in Mingi’s head. 

One, two, three and four seconds later, Mingi headed home, hands stuffed in his pockets and roses left in the trashcan by the smoking area outside. Thinking back to it, he should’ve given them to Chaeyeon’s mom — or whatever her name was — at least then they’d be rotting away on someone’s kitchen table and not in a random bin on the streets of Seoul.

Entering the shared apartment with Yunho nowhere in sight — something Mingi was grateful for — he stripped out of the expensive clothes and pushed them to the back of his closet, saving his future-self from a painful reminder of what did and didn’t happen. Somewhere in the rational part of his mind, he knew not to be angry with you, but the other part, the selfish and angry one, put the entire blame on you. If there was one thing hated more than losing, it was to be made into a fool.

“I can’t believe I lost,” you said and downed a shot of soju. 

Hyunjin quickly snatched the soju bottle from beside you before you could pour yourself another shot, your sixth one to be exact.

You frowned and placed your palms against your heated cheeks. “I’m never figure skating again.”

After the little meet up with Hyunjin, he requested (more like demanded) on treating you to food, and while you insisted he admitted he’d do it either way if you lost or won. That was how you ended up in a meat house, sitting around a table for two as Hyunjin grilled the food. 

“Don’t be silly. If you give up now you’ll never win.”

You rolled your eyes and the frown turned even deeper. Gazing down at the sizzling meat, your mouth watered and stomach rumbled impatiently. You could already taste the savory flavors just by looking at it. 

“I can’t believe you dragged me here looking like this.” 

Hyunjin raised a brow, genuinely not understanding what you meant. To him you looked just fine in a pair of leggings and hoodie, and it didn’t matter that your hair was still wet or your face bare of makeup because you were perfect.

“What’s wrong with the way you look? I think you’re cute.”

A fire lightened in your core and rose up to your cheeks, ears and neck, and the air in the restaurant changed too, suddenly feeling as if you were a chicken sitting in an oven. As your heart didn’t do its usual badum-badum-badum, you realized the effect Hyunjin had on you didn’t appear. You were surprisingly calm. Unbothered even and instead of buzzing with joy you were counting down the seconds until it was time to leave. 

Not to get you wrong, you loved his company. You’d been dreaming of days like these since the first time you laid eyes on him and now that you had it, all you wanted was nothing more than to jump in bed and just go into hibernation, and forget about the world.

Something was telling you though, that even if you were eating meat and celebrating your win, you still wouldn’t feel the spirit of a winner. Deep inside, you knew the root of it. The reason as to why a gray cloud hovered over you — besides losing — and it all led back to the absence of a certain hockey player.

“Here, try this.” Hyunjin gently hand fed you a piece of beef and other fillings wrapped in lettuce. “It’s good, huh?”

“You good there, princess?”

You reeled back, momentarily stunned by the unexpected presence. Mingi grinned at your reaction and sat back. Very satisfied with his work. As he readied his own computer, you took in his appearance and found yourself growing more irritated. There was no denying that he was attractive. Thick pink lips, a straight and sharp nose and a very prominent jaw. His brown eyes were surprisingly relaxed and didn’t resemble those of a fox. The boy was even blessed with not one, but two moles. His knitted sweater was an ugly shade of moss green but it looked good on him, much to your dismay. 

You sighed and sucked through your teeth, “Why are you here?”

Why wasn’t he there?

It was as if the universe was out to get you. 

First, you lost a spot at the Spring Championship. Then you failed an assignment that took a month of your life to get done, and if that wasn’t enough, the representative face of Seoul at next year’s championship was plastered all over town. She was even on the newspaper thrown in your mailbox, which you hadn’t subscribed to! If it weren’t for your personal duo of Chip and Dale, you’d skip school just to avoid it all. 

To say, you were feeling down right shit would be an understatement, and everyone around you could feel it. That was probably why Mr. Jung canceled a whole week’s worth of practice and you couldn’t have been more relieved.

Figure skating was the last thing you needed right now.

Besides your friends and coach giving you space or peppering you with love, there was another person to be added in that equation. Hyunjin made sure to spend more time with you, always asking to go out for lunch or a stroll in the park that usually ended up with window shopping and eating ice cream. 

“Felix and Changbin have been dying to meet you, you know,” Hyunjin stated as he scooped a spoon of chocolate ice cream.

“Really?” 

You remembered Changbin solely by his Halloween party and you pushed aside the other memories that came along with that night. The other boy, Felix, you knew a little next to nothing about. 

“Yeah, they haven’t stopped pestering me about it, especially Changbin.”

“Mmm, have you been talking about me, Hyunjin-ah?” 

The black haired boy grew red at the teasing and nearly choked on the plastic spoon. 

“Wh-what!” 

It was the first time you’d ever seen him flustered and it sure was a different sight from his usual composed self. Your chuckle filtered between the giggles and chatter of multiple friend groups. It was a surprise to see so many people outside in the snow. Hyunjin eventually calmed down and returned to his natural skin color, and he proceeded with caution at his next question, slightly afraid to walk straight into another teasing trap.

“They are going to watch that hockey game… if you want, it would be a great time to meet them.”

Truth to be told, you had completely forgotten about that sport and it had everything to do with Mingi, the only connection you had to the hockey team of your university. The last time you saw him was a few days before your performance and you hadn’t seen him since, at one moment you thought he disappeared to another country, but Keeho’s confirmation of seeing him on campus debunked that theory. It wasn’t that weird though, considering you hadn’t stepped foot in the ice rink and didn’t share any classes with him, courtesy of majoring in two completely different studies.

You wouldn’t say it to anyone, not even Dasom, but the less you saw of him, the more bored you got. Obviously, you didn’t miss his irksome comments or that stupid pet name he’d use at any given moment, yet the days seemed to go slower without the pain in the ass of a man. Going to that hockey game would maybe change that, and what better excuse than to go with Hyunjin?

“Of course! I mean,” you cleared your throat. “Of course, I’ll check if I’m free and then I’ll let ya know.”

“Great. It’s next Friday and, unluckily, I pulled the short straw so I’ll be driving… So if you can and want, there's space in my car.”

Parting your mouth to answer, the left side of your brain suddenly halted all your speech function as you caught sight of a familiar figure. 

In the many places of Seoul, he just had to be in the same park as you. Wearing a blue tracksuit with the slogan of a wolf on the front and running sneakers adorning his feet, told you he was out on a late night run. It was quite unfair how even with his hair sticking to his nape and sweat trickling down the sides of his face, Mingi still looked great.

You and Mingi had never been friends — that much you knew — but for him to just run past you without as much as a nod of acknowledgement had you questioning if something was wrong. His exhausted eyes morphed into a nasty glare as they landed on you, which served as a nail in the coffin to your theories.

“Was that Song Mingi?” Hyunjin asked from beside you.

“Yeah. Yeah, it was.”

“What’s wrong, bean?”

Laying upside down on your bed with feet tucked beneath your pillow and your head a few inches from the edge apparently wasn’t a normal thing to do if Dasom assumed something was going on.

“Nothing, everything is perfectly fine.” 

Everything was perfectly fine if you ignored the fact that Mingi was angry with you and was intentionally avoiding you like the plague.

“Mmmm.” 

Dasom fell back and mimicked your position, arms thrown out and eyes locked on the ceiling. Some days were like that, spent doing absolutely nothing. Wrapped in big fuzzy blankets laying in either her or your bed, getting lost in space or scrolling endlessly through tiktok until the clock struck the early hours of the morning.

“You still going to that game?”

You huffed, “Yeah. I promised Hyunjin I’d go and he wants to introduce me to some of his friends in return. Is Hongjoong still coming over?”

“He hasn’t rain checked on me yet, so I think so.” She drummed her fingers against her shorts-clad thighs. “Isn’t the game at eight?”

“Yup.”

“Cool. Cool.”

You slid down to the floor, brows furrowed and lips titled. “What time is it?”

“Now?”

“Yes, Dasom. Now.”

“Hmmm, it’s currently seven-thirty.”

“It’s seven-thirty!?”

The blood rushed up to your head at your abrupt movement and the whole room spun as black spots clouded your vision. Left with no choice you laid back down and clutched your skull as you tried taking control of your own body again, all while assessing the situation. The game started at eight and you had approximately thirty minutes to get changed and figure out a way to get there before then. The messages Hyunjin sent you earlier today flashed in your mind and you were starting to regret turning down his offer to pick you up, at least then you wouldn’t risk being late and embarrassing yourself in front of his friends.

“Okay, I’m jumping in the shower real quick while you put together an outfit for me that doesn’t scream ‘I spent five minutes on this’ as I walk through the doors.”

Jumping to her feet with an imaginary tail wagging left and right, she saluted. A determined yet excited look on her face. Besides writing poetry in the dim light of your fridge at three AM, Dasom had a big passion for fashion and would always play dress up with you during your childhood days. 

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am!”

A trail of water followed from the bathroom to the bedroom and stopped below your feet. You stood with a towel wrapped around your bare body as you watched Dasom finalizing your outfit. The clothes on your bed were a baggy gray sweatshirt with bold letters spelling out ‘TORONTO’ — borrowed from Keeho and never returned — and a pair of blue jeans. It didn’t give too much, but was still appropriate for where you were going.

“Okay, go put it on. Have you figured out a way to get there?”

Shimmying on the clothes you heaved out a breath. “Nope.”

“Want me to call Kyo?”

“It’s a Friday so I’m sure he’s pre-gaming with Jiung and the others.”

“That’s true… I mean I could always give you a ride on my bike?”

You laughed at that. The bike in question was bright purple, almost lilac-ish with shimmering tinsel handels and star shaped wheel clips. It was cute, but embarrassing at the same time. Plus it would be a shit-show, you sitting on the carrier holding on for dear life while Dasom would do her best not to run people over. She was not the most trusted driver, hence the lack of a driver’s license (that she’s tried for five times and failed every single one).

“As much as I love you, I’d rather be late than arrive on that oddity and risk a broken arm or leg.”

“Hmpf, well if you don’t appreciate Melody then you can walk there!” She crossed her arms and pouted, her lower lip jutting in a show of feigned hurt.

“I don’t really mean it, Dae-Dae, I love youuuuu! I’ll come back with something nice to make up for it.”

The sour golden retriever-looking girl immediately brightened at the mention of a treat and wrapped her arms around you, her chin digging above your sternum. 

“Can you buy those shrimp chips that I like?” 

“Deal! I seriously gotta go now, I’ll text you when I get there. Kisses and hugs and all that bullshit!”

For once you were grateful not having a car as the parking lot was packed with them and other vehicles. It must have been a big deal if some people just blatantly abandoned their cars on the sidewalk, yellow tickets flapping on their windshields. The match was in full swing and it was everything you could expect of a hockey game. Red and blue blurs of jerseys zoomed past you, the sound of blades against ice, the livid roar of the crowd, cutting blows of a whistle, sticks cracking against the puck sounding like thunder and the thump as an opponent was checked against the boards. Seeing the bleachers full of people wasn’t something you expected when you crossed the entrance. The sides were divided into two parts — red and blue — and while you weren’t about to backstab your own university by sitting with the ‘enemy’ you found no empty seats between the Blue Wolf supporters. The other side wasn’t anything better except for the few vacant seats here and there, and more nude chests and faces covered in paint. 

This was everything but your scenery. 

Staring through the plexiglas you tried spotting the familiar mop of black and white hair you hadn’t seen since God knows when. You gave up as you quickly realized the gear covered almost the entirety of their faces and body proportions, making everyone look identical to one another, the only thing differentiating them being the numbers and colors of their jerseys that did little to help as you didn’t even know his. A pair of hands suddenly grabbed your shoulders and you jumped at the unexpected touch, hastily turning to see who the culprit was and coming face to face with a grinning Hyunjin.

“Boo!”

“Don’t do that!”

His beautiful laugh reached your ears and emitted a chuckle of your own. He coaxed you into his body and enfolded you in a warm embrace that you reciprocated, chin on his shoulder and arms going around his waist. It was first when the hug broke that you could finally take in his full appearance. His whole attire — suit pants, a tucked in turtleneck and leather boots — were completely black except for the long and expensive-looking jean coat and red beanie showing support for the opposing team.

“Let’s go, I have to introduce you to some of my friends.”

Without missing a beat he took your hand in his and intertwined your fingers as he gently maneuvered you through the crowd. Every few seconds you flinched as the people jumped up from their seats, cheering or groaning at what was happening down below.

From across the rink in the bench area adjacent to the ice, the red and blue players filled the booths closest to their goalkeepers. The game was in full swing with both teams scoring a point each and neither willing to let up on their explosive paces. The substitute players were all buzzing from excitement or nerves — probably a combination of both — as they shouted encouraging words to the starting lineup. Like the remaining defencemen of the blue team, Mingi sat in the middle with his hockey stick high up in the air and shoulders squishing against his fellow position players, but his eyes weren’t trained on the puck flying from one player to another. No, they were set on the pair of figure skaters on the other side of the rink. More precisely, he was focused on their interlocked hands and the subtle exchange of smiles.

A red light and the loud blaring of the goal horn went off in the arena as the opposing team managed to hurl the puck behind the blue goalkeeper and Mingi could argue it was how he felt on the inside seeing you together. The big crowd jumped from their seats, waving their red merch and screaming words Mingi couldn’t hear over the angry voice of his coach.

“Matthew, what the hell are you doing?!”

“Wow… This is really annoying. We’re only ten minutes into the first period and we’ve already received two points,” Jungkook fumed.

It was weird that neither Mingi or Jungkook were a part of the starting lineup, considering they were up against one of the better teams of the season. Trusting that their coach was making the right decision of keeping them off the ice, Mingi didn’t try persuading him to be put in. There were still two and a half periods left of the game, leaving plenty of time for Mingi to change the course of the match if needed to. It also gave him more time to keep an eye on you and simmer in his own rage, if he just hadn’t lost you in the three seconds he looked away. Frantically searching the bleachers for a girl with a blue scarf wrapped around her neck, you were nowhere to be seen.

“Song!”

The abrupt call of his name snapped him out of his search and he was met with the beetroot red face of his coach. 

“Are you deaf?!”

“Nu-uh. No, sir!”

“Then get off your ass, you’re going in.” As Mingi stood up, his coach threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in closer. “Remember what we talked about. There are scouts watching and they’ve heard great things about this Song Mingi, so show them you’re not all talk, yeah?”

Mingi pushed in his mouth guard and nodded determinedly.

Coach patted him encouragingly and gave one last pat on his helmet for luck.

“Good, get in there and put a stop to their number three.”  

Everything turned to background noise as Mingi leaped over the board and his blades slashed against the cool surface. There was only him and his defending zone, and the fact that you were somewhere in the crowd, probably watching him or getting cozy with that stupid figure skater. The grip around his hockey stick tightened at the image and he hated the effect you still had on him. He should’ve been worrying about being on top of his game and impressing the scouts, and not what you were up to.

Mingi and Matthew held the blue line and passed the puck between each other as the remaining blue players skated around in the offensive zone, searching for an opening to get the puck handed to them. As Mingi slid the puck to Matthew, the bigger defender quickly hurled it to the next player only for the pass to be cut off. 

Going backwards, Mingi immediately retreated home while putting pressure on the puck carrier and simultaneously keeping him from having a clear view of the net. He skillfully managed to push the opposing player (without physical contact) to the side in the defensive zone. He quickly realized that he was closed off and sent the puck diagonally backwards to another red player who moved with such speed, Mingi knew he wouldn't be able to stop the additional player in time. Protests erupted from the bench as all fourteen substitute players had a hunch of what was going to happen.

To his aid came Matthew and the two defensemen managed to shut down a possible counterattack. As the remaining players entered the defending zone, the puck was still in the possession of the red team. It landed in the hold of their number three, who was a few diagonal meters from Mingi. The winger locked gazes with the blue defender and sent him a smug smirk, tauntingly saying ‘watch this’ as he winded his hockey stick up to his shoulder and readied himself for a slapshot.

Losing all control of his body, Mingi changed the trajectory of his movements and skated almost backwards while getting in number three’s sight of line. Mingi waited for the perfect timing and when the red player rushed forward to skate past him, Mingi jutted out his hip, flipping the opponent over him and stealing the puck in the process. Cheers erupted in the arena and Mingi soared at the jumbled praises and roars of encouragement.

“This is Felix and that’s Changbin, they attend TOP University. Lix-ie, Bin-ie, this is the friend I’ve been telling you about,” Hyunjin introduced you as the crowd calmed down.

The two guys weren’t dressed in anything over the top, basic hoodies and joggers or a pair of jeans with small accessories showing their support for the Red Tigers which made you feel out of place with Keeho’s blue scarf wrapped around your neck. You recognized one of them as the guy who hosted that halloween party; buffy build, a triangle shaped head, but kind features.  

“Hey.” 

The deep voice that greeted you didn’t match the sunshine-face of the other boy beside Changbin. A sprinkle of freckles covered his nose and cheeks, his eyes crinkling as he offered you a sun-like smile that matched the color of his hair.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” you gently said and sat in the spot beside the sunshine-boy.

“It’s great to finally see the girl this one’s been obsessing about,” Changbin butted in with a teasing grin and earned himself a slap on the thigh by Felix.

“Just ignore him, he loves to tease.”

“Ah, that’s okay. I know banter when I hear it,” you smiled reassuringly and looked at the game below. 

One would think that because ice was your dome, you’d easily understand other winter sports, but you were truly having trouble keeping up with whatever was going on in the newly polished rink. The puck was traveling a hundred miles an hour and the skaters were freakishly fast, you could barely keep up with who was attacking and who was defending. It seemed like the moment one team scored, the other was immediately taking back a point. On top of all, you had zero knowledge about the rules. To say you were surprised when a — what looked to be dangerous and illegal — tackle occurred, would be an understatement. You expected at least someone to jump out of sheer anger, but no one batted an eye. They just kept watching and the players resumed as if it were the most normal thing of the day.

“Do you want to die?” Chan growled as he bumped shoulders with Mingi, getting all up in the defenseman’s face.

The chants of the Blue Wolves’ fans sent another surge of adrenaline through Mingi’s veins, not that he needed it, but gave him an ego boost to return the cockiness to the max.

“I should be asking you that. Don’t think you can get past us just like that. I’ll shut you down, Chan-hyung.”

In any other circumstance and in a conversation with quite literally anyone else, the use of honorific wouldn’t have been out of place, but hearing it come from Mingi wasn’t an indication of respect. It was a ploy to humiliate him and a way to set the tone of the game. In other words, telling him not to expect an easy win. Chan didn’t think anything less.

“I’d like to see you try.”

Mingi scoffed, a smirk of triumph playing across his lips. “I already did and guess what, hyung. I’ll do it again and again, and again. You will not get past me. I’ll knock you down until your ass makes a dent on the ice.”

Returning the ever-so-kind favor of butting shoulders, Mingi pushed past him and stopped right behind his center, ready to receive the puck or defend if the odds played out in the red team’s favor.

“I’m sorry about what happened at the preliminaries,” Felix smiled empathically and placed a hand on your shoulder for support. “If it makes you feel better, I thought you were perfect and deserved to win.” 

You forced a smile at the reminder of the event. The wound was still fresh and even though Felix didn’t have any ill intentions with bringing it up, it still didn’t spare you from the bitter taste of winning — if it could even be considered a victory — second place.

“Thank you, but the jury is rarely ever wrong.”

“Tell me about it,” he started and focused momentarily on the game again. “It still doesn’t change my opinion on who should’ve won though.”

Before you could thank him again and express your gratitude to his kindness, Hyunjin joined the conversation. “Oh, I see you’ve found yourself a new figure skating partner.” 

Glancing from Felix to Hyunjin and back to Felix again, you pointed at the freckled boy. “You’re a figure skater too?”

“Yup, I've been training with Jin-ie since elementary school. A tick would be easier to shake off than him.”

“Oh, don’t be like that, everyone practically begged you to sit beside them but no, little Lixie the new student decided it would be best to annoy Hyunjin-ie in the back.” 

With a witty remark waiting on the tip of his tongue, Felix parted his lips, but was interrupted by Changbin abruptly standing up, hands clasped around his mouth and shouting, “Come on Chan! Don’t let him get away with that!”

Glancing down at the rink, you noticed number three in the red team was pushed against the border with a blue guy towering over him. Both guys seemed to be communicating through their eyes and if it weren’t for their teammates getting in between, you were sure a full on fist fight would’ve taken place in front of everyone.

“You’d think Chan was his boyfriend and not mine,” Felix said to you — more so screamed over the loud cheers and hollers of distress — and watched an agitated Changbin slump back down in his seat, eyes following the flying puck kissing the net of the red goalkeeper.

“Boyfriend?” 

“Ah, right, of course Hyunjin wouldn’t talk about his friends. Anyways I’m dating number three in the red team, maybe you’ve heard of him. Bang Chan or Christopher, whatever seems fitting.”

Your mouth turned into an ‘o’ as the puzzle pieces clasped together. Felix never stopped smiling and even chuckled at your reaction. He found you endearing and understood why Hyunjin wouldn’t stop talking about you during their study sessions. 

“I take it, you know him?”

“Mmmm, I wouldn’t say I know him but we had a brief encounter at a halloween party.”

“Ah, that’s cool. The world is really small, isn’t it?”

The buzzer beat you to an answer, indicating that the twenty minutes of the second period were out. 

“Oh, and that’s halftime,” Felix said and stood up to stretch. 

Changbin shot him a deadly stare, as if the figure skater cursed out his entire family. “You know it’s not called that. It’s an intermission!”

“Eh, we don’t keep up with all that in Australia. Halftime is halftime in whatever sport you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were Australian,” you admitted.

“What, really?” He said in English and then switched back to Korean. “All the people I meet point out I speak with an accent so I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”

“Yeah, now that you’ve said it I can actually hear like the faintest accent. Oh, that’s embarrassing of me.” You sheepishly smiled and scratched the back of your head.

“Nah, not really. Anyway, Bin-ie and I are gonna get some snacks, you guys want anything?”

“I’m alright, thank you though.”

Felix threw you a thumbs up and looked at Hyunjin for his reply.

“Yeah, surprise me with something good.”

“Gotcha! We’ll be back like a lil’ before they start if we don’t get held up by the bathrooms. Changbin sure does love to take his time there.”

As the duo followed the crowd out, you and Hyunjin fell into a comfortable silence and listened to the chatter of the people around you. For being your first time at a hockey game, you weren’t bored at all, despite being oblivious to the set of rules. Keeho did say something about fights being legal and you sincerely hoped to avoid that. The sport on ice you were aware of was so less violent, flashy and fast paced. It was so different from your figure skating which was more or less art or a story being conveyed by body language. 

Nonetheless, you were still having a good time, even though much of it was spent getting acquainted with Hyunjin’s friends.

“So… what do you think of the game so far?”

Snapping from the ice taken over by a bunch of kids chasing each other and falling on their rears, you hummed and looked back at Hyunjin who already had his eyes on you.

“It’s interesting. I mean, it’s nothing like figure skating, obviously, but it’s cool… Do you guys always do this? Watch hockey?”

“Mmm, not always, but whenever Chan has a game we try to show our support just like he does whenever Lix or I have anything going on with our figure skating.”

“That’s sweet of you. That’s actually really cute,” you gushed and the thought reminded you of your own friend group. How Keeho and Dasom showed up at your competitions or the many times you and Keeho attended Dasom’s poetry slam.

Hyunjin leaned closer to you, a playful smile across his features. “I don’t like being called cute, but considering it’s coming from you I’ll let it slide.”

Taken back by the almost flirtatious side of Hyunjin, you bashfully looked away and cheekily covered your mouth, hiding the way your smile expanded at his comment. Hyunjin, attentive as always, took notice of the action and chuckled.

“How, uhm…” 

You leaned back in your seat and braided your fingers together as the change of topic went from cheerful to sullen.

“I didn’t want to ask in front of those two, but yeah… How you holding up?”

Still trying to hold up your happy expression, you faced him and tilted your head, and Hyunjin had to physically hold back from planting a kiss on your cute nose. 

“I’ve been alright. There’s not much I can do to be honest and I don’t want to dwell on it more than necessary, you know?”

“That’s understandable. Why think about the things that make you feel bad?”

“Exactly. I’ve decided to focus on the more happier things in life.” You grimaced as a hockey player tripped and smacked head first into the plastic glass. “Even if that is watching people get concussions for just 13.000 won.”

Hyunjin burst out laughing, elegantly covering his mouth with the back of his hand and tipping his head backwards. A laugh of your own lingered with his and the multiple cheers in the air. 

“Three for three, Jeon Jungkook does it again! The nimble winger of the Blue Wolves can’t be stopped!” 

The announcement sounded through the arena a few seconds after the red lights flashed behind the Tiger’s goal and buzzer erupted, nearly rupturing your eardrums. Jungkook was really on a blast tonight, you thought as you followed his retreating figure, making a mental note of remembering his jersey number. Although you had yet to find Mingi, you felt proud for at least figuring out Jungkook and Chan, completely dismissing the fact that you barely knew a handful of players on the ice.

“You’re doing great out there, Kookie.” Mingi dunked him on the back as they retreated to the neutral zone. “Make that into five out of five and I’ll treat you to some lamb skewers.”

The smirk stretched across Jungkook’s face could only be described as menacingly and with  him in his element, Mingi knew they weren’t going to go down without a fight. 

“Add steamed dumplings into the mix and I’ll double it.”

As the referee held the puck in the air between the red and blue centers, the rest of the players prepared themselves for another brawl over who put the puck behind the opposing net. Mingi was warm all over, and the extra weight of pads and equipment was taking a toll on his body, as well as defending his home base, but each time a player was stopped, the pride was enough to resurrect his energy. Glancing slightly to the side, everything moved in slow motion as he briefly made eye contact with the supporters of both teams. Some were screaming at him out of happiness and others with harmless distaste, angry at his ability to shut down the reds’ plays and advances. Moving further up the rows, it was like a headlight lit up a spot in the crowd, and suddenly, amongst the hundreds of people, he could make you out like a tulip in the middle of a meadow.

The hold around his stick tightened seeing you squished between pretty boy and an unrecognizable face, and Mingi promised he didn’t care. He didn’t care as pretty boy whispered something in your ear and he definitely didn’t care as you flung your head backward, and let out what probably was the most angelic laughter known to heaven. Smoke erupted from his nostrils and the moment the puck was in possession of the red team, the vibrant colored jerseys irked him like a matador irritatnig a bull. As the puck was in play, all sound ceased to exist and Mingi zeroed in on the players advancing forward. 

Mingi would describe it as being underwater with all the noise distant and his movement sluggish no matter how hard he tried to lift his limbs, and if  he wasn’t so aware of his surroundings, Mingi would certainly think he was losing one of his five senses. 

See, although ice hockey was a sport all about seeing and physical contact, hearing was an important part too and if Mingi wasn’t revolted by your presence, he wouldn’t have missed the referee signaling an offside, and he wouldn’t have skated into the first player daring to cross the blue line that separated the defending and neutral zone.

The referee immediately blew his whistle and fully extended his right arm, fist clenched and eyes set on the defenseman, and time turned back to normal as a pop-like sound burst in Mingi’s ears. He barely managed to realize what happened when another body collide against his, pushing him straight into the boards. Chaous ensued as multiple players got involved trying to easen the situation, but the damage was already done and Mingi was sent to the penalty box — purposely avoiding the heavy gazes of the blue bench — along with whichever guy flew into him.

He cursed out loud as he slumped down on the bench. This was embarrassing on so many levels. It was one thing to ram into someone as payback, but lashing out for no apparent reason and after the whistle was (almost) unacceptable. He wanted to laugh at his stupidity; so much for not caring. 

“What happened?” You asked no one in particular, surprised at the sudden turn of events.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. Ah, that Song Mingi, always up to no good,” Changbin grumbled, more so to himself than you. 

You snapped your eyes to the plastic enclosure the blue player was sent off to and sunk your teeth into your bottom lip. Through the year you had known Mingi, you’d never guess he could really use his size and strength to quite literally floor another person. Hockey was a rough sport, that wasn’t news to you, and considering Mingi could use his strength to his advantage, it was probably why he was so sought after. You couldn’t shake away this feeling of awareness. Just now realizing how… big Mingi actually was and you didn't know whether it was relief or pride, knowing that of all the times you pushed him over the edge, never once did he raise a finger at you out of anger or spite. 

Mingi may have been an asshole with 70% height and muscle, but he wasn’t a bad guy. 

“That’s called roughing,” Felix started explaining. “It’s like… I wouldn’t say it’s an illegal move, but if done out of motive or in a way to really hurt the other player, it could lead to a minor penalty — a timeout — or game misconduct. But it all depends on how bad the situation is.”

“So he won’t play until the end of the game?”

“Nah, he’ll probably be out in like a few minutes,” Hyunjin answered for you and clapped as the red team scored, evening out the score board to five-five.

“Then the blue team will be a player short up until then?.”

“Pretty much,” Felix confirmed and popped a chip in his mouth.

You didn’t see how that could be fair, but then again, ice hockey wasn’t your forthe and as no one in the crowd was making a fuss over Mingi’s penalty — except for pointing out his poor judgment — you didn’t say much else, but hum in agreement. For twelve minutes, you didn’t pay attention to what was happening on the ice, only applauding when the crowd did and slumped back in your seat as the supporters groaned in disappointment. Your full attention was set on the lone player in the plastic box. 

Worry, confusion and pity circled your mind and you wondered if this was how everyone felt seeing the placement of your figure skating competition. As soon as the thought made home in your head, you shooed it away, reminding yourself to focus on the happy things and not everything that was blue. 

Forcing your eyes from Mingi, the most blue thing in the arena (both clothing and emotion wise) you zoned out and the players blurred into small vivid spots twirling on the ice like flies above a bowl of fruit. You didn’t understand where the worry came from or why it decided to take shelter in your stomach. It probably wasn’t Mingi’s first rodeo in the penalty box and wouldn’t be the last on either, and you recognized his sudden outburst as the one you saw a glimpse of at the party, right before you left him with that blonde police officer. 

Mingi never lashed out in anger and if he did, you were never on the receiving end of it despite giving him back a tenfold of insults he greeted you with. Seeing him quite literally floor a guy his size, made your guts twist in discomfort. It was an emotion that didn’t look good on him at all. 

The game was growing more intense with each minute passing and the atmosphere amongst the audience was also getting rowdier as the teams were practically neck and neck, neither willing to let up. The second Mingi stepped foot on the ice again, the whole arena blew up with cheers. It was like the almost extinguished torch of hope re-awakened into a bright and lively fire, and you too held onto the light of hope that the Blue Wolves would take it home, definitely because of your loyalty to Tiny University and not the growing affection for a certain defender in said school. 

The puck was flying from one side of the rink to the other in just a matter of seconds with all players, excluding the goalkeepers, circling around and cashing the rubber like stone. 

“Here, wanna help me hold this up?”

You didn’t know how you missed the big sign leaning against Felix’s legs, but you did. With a nod of agreement, you both took hold of each side of the white cardboard cutout and quickly looked at the glittery blue writing on it. 

I am Chan’s #1 fan. 

“Don’t judge, I made it like last second.” A blush kissed his cheeks and his eyes squeezed into crescent moons as you read the corny line.

“No, no! I think it’s cute.”

With ten seconds left of the game everyone in the arena stood up which made you and Felix raise the sign even higher. When everyone thought the game would end in a tie, a player from the defending line of the blue team somehow managed to steal the puck from two red players and sent it hurling across the rink, right in the sanctuary of his teammate’s stick who calculatedly launched it towards the red goal and past its keeper. The buzzer went off and chaos ensued. From what you could see all the Blue Wolves players crowded the scorer and dunked the defender who sent the winning assist, while the fans raised the volume through the roof. Whistling, cheers, laughter, even some old fashion booing circulated the arena.

Not all that upset with the outcome of the game, Felix applauded and turned to his friend who seemed to be quite butthurt. “Song really is crazy good, isn’t he Bin-ie?”

“Whatever, he’s lucky Jake sprained his ankle and couldn’t play today or he’d have them all eating ice. Ha! Get it, cause they’re playing on i–”

The rest of the conversation was tuned out as you focused on the celebrating team, trying to catch sight of eighty-nine. Your eyes traveled from one bulky player to another and then, as if your prayers were answered, the player came right into view. 

Mingi walked beside a shorter guy clad in blue and you assumed it was Chan by the sole way he pointed up at you and the other guys. Your suspicion was confirmed as the helmet was removed and Chan’s face was illuminated by the strong lights. You could just make out the faint movement of his mouth, saying something to the giant beside him. 

“Good to know your girl is cheering for the right team, Mings.”

Mingi followed the invisible line leading to where you stood and scanned the group of friends. He immediately recognized Hyunjin and the buff one, and he didn’t even manage to take a proper look at the third boy as his eyes found yours. Beautiful as ever, he thought and admired as much of you as possible. Your face, clothes, make-up and everything about you was perfect, and the passive aggressive comment was almost brushed to the side until he zeroed in on the paper in your hands. It was in that moment that the rose-tinted glasses slipped down his nose, jealousy quick to seep into every corner of his existence and he remembered why he’d been avoiding you for weeks.

Before he could send you a sharp (and unjustified) glare, he redirected his anger to the guy beside him. 

“Oh, don’t be like that. She was the one to look at me first.

Mingi wasn’t a violent person, he really wasn’t, but there was no acceptable excuse for why he did what he did. 

As if born ready for this day, Mingi used his teeth to tear off his gloves and pounced on Chan. One hand grabbed around the collar of his red jersey as the other was colliding with his cheek. He managed to get in two more punches — the first successfully collided with Chan’s jaw and the second just barely missed the bone of his nose — before Chan used his own limbs to defend himself. The red winger grabbed hold of Mingi’s helmet and snatched it off his head, and seized the chance to send a fist flying in his face, returning the punches he received from the blue defender. Red bruises quickly littered across their knuckles and warm blood covered their skin, the thick liquid pouring from both Chan’s nose and Mingi’s lip.

The crowd was going wild, the whistles of the referees were being ignored and it didn’t take long before the remaining players of each team were trying to separate the two brutes. 

“Oh my God!” 

Felix and Changbin flinched at your gasp. 

“He’s fucking crazy. Hey! What the hell?!” Changbin jumped between the seats and rocketed down towards the ice with the rest of you hot on his heels.

The silence was deafening. Everyone was curious as to what was going on and why a fight ensued now that the game was over, usually the nose breaking happened on ice and not off. Whispers and rumors spread like a wildfire, some claimed it was the aftermath of adrenaline while others thought of something more extreme like hard drugs taking over. Nonetheless, the crowd riled them on, clearly finding joy in the brawl. You weren’t anywhere near when the referees and teammates broke them up, Mingi being forcefully sent towards the locker room as Chan stayed laying on the ground, crimson face and teeth no longer pearly white.

“What the hell, Mingi,” you muttered under your breath and slipped through the mass of people, running to where you assumed he’d be. 

Your head was working a hundred miles an hour with the images of Mingi hunched over Chan, fists violently beating the blonde and a lot of blood covering his face. You were sure you’d never get them out of your head and you shuddered at the amount of red that ran down Chan’s nose. For the sake of the giant asshole you grew attached to, you hoped it wouldn’t put a stop to his career, both school- and sportwise. It would by far be his dumbest decision yet. For what even?

A group of reporters stood outside a door you assumed was reserved for the Blue Wolves and if that wasn’t enough of a give away then it was the loud cheers and victory singing echoing out to the hallway. In reality you wanted nothing more than to barge inside and interrupt their celebration — how they could celebrate after that bloodbath was still something you couldn’t wrap your head around — but you did no such thing. The moment the door opened you pushed the reporters aside and flew in with your head first, paying no mind to the perverse wolf whistles and cheers of the adrenaline drunken boys. You didn’t even bother with them as your eyes scanned the room that smelled of sweat and axe deodorant for him. Jungkook, seemingly the most normal one there (which spoke volumes), quickly understood why you were there and approached you with no teasing glint or malice in his gaze.

“Try looking by the abandoned gym on the ground floor. There’s a vending machine there we usually go to so I assume if he’s taken off somewhere it should be there.” 

You wasted no time in turning on your heel and practically sprinting down the route you repeated like a mantra. First floor. Abandoned gym. Vending machine. First floor. Abandoned gym. Vending machine.

Lo and behold, he was right there and if it weren’t for the worry growing in your belly you’d go back upstairs and reward the playboy with a big smooch to his rosy lips. 

Mingi sat down on the floor, legs up to his chest and forearms folded on his knees. His sweaty forehead was leaning against the skin of his arm and an anxious rhythm of his heart beat in his chest. It was hard to miss the red on his knuckles. Inhaling a shaky breath as if it would steady your own heart, your feet stopped before him falling right in his line of sight. Surprised at the unexpected company, Mingi looked up and got a first row ticket of the concern swimming in your eyes. You didn’t know what to expect going after him, but the annoyed — almost disgusted — scoff he let out cut through you like a knife and twisted as he looked back down. Despite the act of annoyance aimed at you, Mingi wasn’t actually that annoyed with you but rather with himself because after everything he still had the urge to reach for your touch and he hated it. His jaw clenched at the circumstance and his nails dug in the palms of his hands. You weren’t even supposed to be here, it made everything ten times harder than it should’ve been.

Having had enough of his pity party Mingi and the weight of your gaze judging him, he pushed up from his position and walked right past you. No hello, no second glances, just walking as if you were a ghost he couldn’t see let alone feel. His movements halted when you latched onto one of his wrists, knowing that if he truly wanted to get away he’d shake you off like a ragdoll and be on his merry way. Although he was with his back facing you, the fact that he stood  rooted to the ground was the approval you seeked to continue with your winged attempt at getting him to speak.

“Mingi, what the hell was that?” 

The two of you weren’t heavy on the use of honorifics, but hearing you spit his name out like that surely sent a shiver down his spine. You weren’t pissed off, he noticed, you were actually worried and it was quite amusing. The nerve you had of showing up after that fiasco to interrogate him about his actions. Who the hell did you think you were?

“Huh? Why did you do that?” Shaking his arm, you tried again. “Can you please say something? I’m worried for you and your silence isn’t helping, please just say something.”

Mingi didn’t budge and you were starting to lose it. The avoidance wasn't enough, now he was blatantly ignoring your attempt at helping too.

“What is your problem?! I’m trying to help you, something’s obviously happened so why won’t you tell me!”

Ripping his wrist out of your hold, he turned around and it took every particle in you not to cower at his sharp eyes staring you down. 

“You want to know what my problem is?” His loud voice bounced off the walls and punched you right in the gut. 

There was so much anger in his gaze, his tone and his body. Everything screamed of anger and you didn’t even know why you were on the receiving end of his emotions. You were just trying to help.

“You! You are my fucking problem!”

“What?”

“As if you don’t know what you’re doing. Acting all nice and cutesy like we are friends, like you’re interested in ever befriending me which now that I think about is so stupid because you and I? What a joke. We’re a fucking joke!”

“What are you even talking about?!”

Mingi scoffed again. He looked to the side, tongue poking the inside of his cheek. There were so many thoughts going through his head and all he could think about was what words to use to hurt you the most. To make you feel the hurt he did.

“First, you invite me to your stupid competition and then you come to my game sitting with him! Was this all a game, huh? To get back at me for all the dumb shit I did to you because if it is then wow, you’ve really proven yourself to be more shallow and boneless than I ever thought. I mean, you’re really going out of your way to get under my skin and act like a fucking–”

Mingi closed his eyes and clamped his mouth shut, the veins on his neck were more prominent than ever and his face was almost identical to the red color of Dasom’s hair. He really needed to calm down before he said something he’d regret. Not that it mattered, the damage was already done and he knew the aftermath was already biting him in the ass. Shit, the look of your glossy eyes was quick to make his inside burn with remorse.

Each insult was a poisoned arrow aimed at your heart. The words physically hurt you more than ever before and you weren’t aware just how mean Mingi could be. Your previous bickering never stooped on a level this low before and it brought tears to your eyes but even that wasn't enough to stop his rant. Not wanting to be caught vulnerable in front of the guy who was practically stepping on you with his shoes, you quickly wiped away the tears that managed to escape.

Mingi knew he was taking his frustration out on you and he knew it wasn’t fair because you hadn’t done anything wrong. It all kept piling on his shoulders. All the instances he saw you two together; the joint practices, your embarrassed giggles any time Hyunjin breathed, watching him console you in the hallways like a poor reenactment of a romcom, sitting so close together at his game, shoulders touching a little too close for Mingi’s liking… If that stupid piece of cardboard was a bomb waiting to be activated, then Chan was the flame that set everything off. 

“Oh, great. This is really great now you’re fucking crying too. You think some tears are going to make me feel bad? They won’t, I don’t care anymore okay? I’m done with you and your fucking shit. So go back to your prince fucking charming and don’t even bother looking for me, you hear? I’m fucking done!” 

You shrunk back at his unwavering and stern voice. Having nothing more to say Mingi stormed away, blood boiling and hands shaking as the final words set in. The last you saw of him before gut-wrenching sobs wrecked your body was the door slamming up against the wall and back the doorframe so hard the walls vibrated. And later that same night when Mingi got home, he wouldn’t even be surprised if you decided to never look at him again, let alone speak with him. 

Different emotions tore you apart and it was hard to make sense of anything that happened in the past ten minutes. The questions — what, why, how — were endless and you wanted to go home, preferably dig a hole in your bed and not come out until better days, whenever that would be you didn’t know. Tears burned your cheeks like lava and snot tickled your nose, dropping off your chin and onto your shirt. With the already wet sleeve of your sweater you wiped everything off your face, not in the right mind to care about what Keeho would say about his precious shirt. Like a baby cub seeking its momma bear for comfort, you retreated home yearning for the closest touch of a mother you could find.

“You have reached the voicemail of Choi Dasom. Please leave a message after the beep.”

After the fifth attempted call, you gave up and continued trudging home. Dark clouds hovered over Seoul and the light pelts of rain quickly became a downpour. Being picked up on Dasom’s bike didn’t seem like such a bad idea anymore.

Unlocking the front door of your shared apartment you were greeted with Hongjoong and Dasom sitting awfully close on the couch. They jumped apart as you harshly dropped the keys in the fruit bowl and froze at the sight of you; bawling, wet and shivering. Skipping the formalities you wasted no time diving in the shower and by the time you ventured back out, Hongjoong was nowhere to be seen as if the boy was never there to begin with and you couldn’t have been more relieved. You’ve had enough boys for the next ten years of your life.

“Beans?” 

It was probably the dumbest thing to cry about, but your lips still quivered and the tears you just managed to stop surfaced at the nickname. The girl caught you in her arms and you buried your head in her shoulder as your cries got louder. Dasom offered you solace with gentle rubs to your back and patiently waited until your labored breathing became even. 

“Let’s get you to bed,” she whispered and slowly guided you to your bedroom. 

Attentive as always she helped you get under the covers and shuffled in beside you to which you immediately buried your face in her bosom, her hand slank under your neck and connected with the other at the back of your head. You lay there in each other’s presence and listened to the coexisting beat of your hearts. Dasom didn’t try coaxing the troubles out of you and you heaved out a big breath. A wave of exhaustion washed over you at the constant tears and after waking up from passing out of exhaustion, you knew you’d be a victim of an unbearable headache and heavy feet. The whisper of your name was loud in the silent room and you hummed in reply, letting the other girl know you were in fact awake.

“You wanna talk about it?”

The most obvious thing would be to talk about it; talk about why you burst through the door, face wet and not entirely because of the rain. Your mom always told you to never sleep with an empty stomach, a busy mind or a heavy heart and while you didn’t appreciate the advice at the minute, future-you would (hopefully) think back to this moment and thank you for your courage. Dasom followed in tow as you sat up criss-crossed, taking your hands in hers and giving them comforting squeezes every once in a while. By the time she was pulled through the story of your evening — meeting Changbin and Felix, having a good time with Hyunjin, to seeing Mingi beat the living shit out of Chan and then him lashing out on you — the clock struck somewhere between two and three in the morning, courtesy of a few short crying breaks in between. Glancing up at your friend who was still digesting the events, you felt lighter at the thought of having your very own sun sharing warmth and hope wherever she went.

“He likes you,” she eventually said, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You sniffled and wiped at your nose again, hands falling to play with the bedsheet. 

“He doesn’t.”

“How do you know who I’m talking about?”

You thought you ran out of tears hours ago but were proven wrong as a new batch stung your eyes and eventually trickled down your sore cheeks. Dasom pulled you in another soul crushing hug and held the back of your head, nails gently massaging your scalp.

“Why are you crying, bean?”

Through tears and her thick cardigan you replied. “Because we aren’t talking about Hyunjin, are we? He’s the one we should be talking about.”

“But we aren’t and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

It felt wrong crying over someone who held no significance in your life just a few months ago. The same guy who riled you up like it was his daily dose of sunshine and who set it as his life mission to have you curse him out. The guy who called you stupidly cute nicknames and walked you home at night, offering up his jacket to keep you warm and safe from colds. The guy who didn't turn up to your competition and then lived in your head like an annoying song playing on repeat refusing to disappear. The same guy who shook you to your core with his angry words and fiery gaze.

“Why am I like this?”

“Like what?” 

Dasom wasn’t foolish. She knew what you were going through and could only hope you’d come to terms with the unknown feelings rather than to be the one revealing the reason behind your heartbreak. 

“Drawn to a guy who’s mean and an asshole when I have the perfect one right there, waiting and catering to my every need.”

“I know I’m supposed to hate him for the things he’s said to you and I do, I really do bean…. so if you think I won’t at least glare him down in the hallways then I’m revoking your position as my best friend… But I’m going to be completely honest with you, bean because that’s what you deserve. I think something else must have triggered him to lash out, it couldn’t just have been because you were simply sitting beside Hyunjin.”

She gently played with your hair as the words sank in.

“He really hurt me.”

“I know, bubs and I’m so sorry. Know that nothing excuses that behavior.”

“Then why do I still think of him even when he’s shit. Why won’t my brain let me be happy with Hyunjin?” You broke from the huge and fell back on the bed, hands gripping the sheets as if they held all the answers to your questions. 

“Hyunjin is safe. We all like the safe and predictable, right?” 

Your nod of agreement spurred her on. 

“But Mingi, oh Mingi, is exciting. He drives you crazy, keeps you on your toes and throws you off course yet you can’t ever really get enough of him no matter how much it annoys you. I see it and I’ve been seeing it for months now and I promise this is the most objective version of me speaking right now.”

“But I like Hyunjin,” you whined, refusing to accept your own feelings.

“And you like me and Kyo too,” Dasom whispered softly, like a breeze passing through a field. “But we don’t fall in Mingi’s category.”

The days leading up to the holidays were spent within the four walls of your room waiting for the time to pass until you’d take your suitcase and haul ass across the country, definitely not because you were afraid to stumble across the very person you were avoiding. After the not so pleasant discovery you didn’t know what to make of yourself or your feelings. You couldn’t just phone him and proclaim your undying love because last time you checked, he explicitly made it clear he wanted nothing to do with you. You from a few months ago would throw a party big enough to think it was for a quinceanera or a sweet sixteen celebration with this information, but the present-you acted like Bella Swan during the disappearance of Edward Cullen just a tad bit less depressing.

Dasom was the first to leave. Her parents surprised her with a vacation to Jeju-island and her flight left the first morning of winter break. Keeho was still in the city but with college out of the way, he took on more working hours than usual. His immediate family lived in Canada and the plane ticket would be more expensive than the salary he’d get over the next two weeks. With your two friends unavailable you passed time thinking about the one who shall not be named and realized how unfortunate the whole situation was. You also realized you probably wouldn’t act upon your feelings as you didn’t with Hyunjin and would just let them flow until evaporating into thin air. 

Speaking of Hyunjin, you and him still texted back and forth albeit the conversations were slow and not nearly as exciting as you once found them to be. Your sudden disappearance at the hockey game was covered with a quick lie of ‘not feeling well’, which he immediately believed because, why wouldn’t he? Christmas wasn't anything special. It started with an early message of Hyunjin wishing you a Merry Christmas attached with a selfie of him in a Santa hat and fake beard, and the rest of the day was spent inside with your family watching movies and drinking hot cocoa. 

The new year was welcomed on the couch where a bump would sooner or later be formed and that alone was enough to explain the excitement level in the household. You all went to sleep a little after midnight and as you laid in your childhood bedroom, feet almost sticking out of the small bed, you mindlessly scrolled down the explore section of Instagram. A pang of sadness struck you at the picture staring back at you through the screen. It was a post of Mingi and his friend — the golden retriever looking one — posing on a snowy mountain both clad in skiing gear. The taller of the two had an arm slung over Mingi’s shoulder who, in return, sported a boyish grin and held up a peace sign. The split lip had healed perfectly and the only indicator of him being in a fight was the slight plum colored mark under his eye (courtesy of a nice punch delivered to his nose). At least someone was happy with you out of their lives. 

Angry, sad and just tired, you exited the app and shoved your phone under the pillow drowning out your scream. You didn’t even know why his post landed on your feed. Wasn’t the explore page supposed to show videos of millennials doing cringy trends and not the most recent activity of the dude that shit all over you.

This continued on for days. While you were decomposing in your room he was updating his Instagram account as if a celebrity. Pictures and videos of him clubbing until the early hours of the morning, pretty girls and tables full of alcohol captured in short stories and then a complete 180; sharing clips of him flying down snowy mountains, doing stunts and whatnot.

If he was so upset with you, why were you the one wasting days self wallowing? It wasn’t like you could party away the worry. Your hometown was the size of a nut meaning A) you knew everyone and their mother, and B) every person in a ten mile radius was well-over the age of forty and the closest thing that came as a party would be the retirement home down the street. Then again, playing bingo with the grannies was better than binge watching gut-wrenching dramas. At least you’d be clearing your ‘to watch-list’.

The weeks passed in a blur and, before you knew it, you were back in the comfort of your apartment with two days to spare until classes started rolling again. Dasom would be home the day after and Keeho was either passed out in his apartment or working his second shift of the day, leaving you to unpack the chaos sealed inside your suitcase. Swirls of snow beat violently against the windows, turning the outside world into a winter wonderland. The heavy weather picked up on your journey home and as you traveled halfway back to Seoul, the ground was slowly being covered in white flakes. You only got so far with your unpacking when a series of knocks rattled against the front door. 

“What’s uuuuup?!” Keeho screeched as you opened the door and an equally excited Dasom rolled in with her red large suitcase. 

“What are you doing here?!” 

They pulled you into a hug. Keeho’s loudness and Dasom’s giggles warmed up the place in no time and you immediately felt better.

“Surprise!”

“I hate you guys!” You exclaimed and squeezed their waists, head resting on Keeho’s shoulder with Dasom’s nose buried against your chest.

“Don’t lie, we know you love us. Now let’s get this bitch started!”

Scurrying to the kitchen Keeho brought back three animated cups; one with Naruto, Totoro and–

“You’re not drinking beer from the cup plastered with a picture of my dead cat!”

“Of course not, that one’s yours. Mine’s the Naruto one and Dasom gets Totoro, for obvious reasons.”

Said girl skipped quickly to the pantry and pulled out multiple bags of snacks. The huge smile on her face got you all curious.

“What’s got you all happy?”

“Nothing, I've just missed you guys! Jeju was fun but it would’ve been better with you there,” she pouted and poured the snacks into separate bowls.

“Pfft, don’t listen to her. She’s been texting that Cruella de Vil boy all winter break.”

Her smile grew and grew until it was a full blown grin and you squealed in delight, genuinely happy for your friend despite the green monster gnawing at the back of your head. 

“Tell me everything, c’mon!”

“Ah, ah, ah!” The fun and what would be the start of a girls’ night was interrupted by Keeho. “I should be the one asking you that, little miss I’m in love with my greatest enemy.”

Gasping, you turned to Dasom. “You told him?!”

“So it’s true?!” 

He leaned towards you and nearly snickered as your hands covered your mouth — if it weren’t for the serious circumstance — and stared at him with wide eyes. You walked right into his trap and as you told him everything that happened — the good and the bad — Dasom threw her hand out, palm facing upward..

“Pay up, pretty boy!”

“They aren’t even together!”

Dasom, a feral little chihuahua, jumped on him and a wrestling match took place in the middle of the living room. You couldn’t find it in you to be mad or upset. Leaning back against your arms, you watched them with a smile tugging at your lips. This is what you missed back in your childhood home. As much as you loved your family, the one you built in the heart of Seoul was very dear to you.

The ding of your phone snapped you out of your love-struck daze.

Hyunjin [07:16 PM] you back home yet?

You [07:16 PM] yeah, arrived a few hours ago

Hyunjin  [07:16 PM] im glad

Hyunjin  [07:16 PM] how was it?

You [07:17 PM] Good to see the family again but God did I miss my bed

You [07:17 PM] What were you up to?

Hyunjin [07:17 PM] yeah no kiddin ik exactly what u mean

Hyunjin [07:17 PM] Nothing much, did a lot of practice on the choreo w Iseul

You [07:17 PM] Ohhhh how’s that coming along?

Hyunjin [07:17 PM] it’s good but nowhere near perfect

You scoffed at the reply.

You [07:17 PM] I’m sure you’ll get it down in no time

Keeho harshly grabbed your shoulders, peering down at the screen but not comprehending any of the words.

“And who are you texting?” 

“Hyunjin.”

“Hyunjin!” Dasom sang, already tipsy from the soju she downed while you were busy typing away.

“And what does Mr. Popular want?"

Hyunjin [07:19 PM] wanna help me practice? 

Author's note pt.2: There's one thing I'd like to say regarding this chapter. When it comes to significant others, situation ships, partners, etc do not ever let anyone speak to you in a condescending matter. It doesn't matter how upset they are or what you've done for them to explode, you should never, and I really mean NEVER let anyone talk down to you. The only reason I didn't make MC obliterate Mingi is for the sake of the story, otherwise I'd have her drag him along the streets of Seoul like a dog, lmao. Anyway, if anyone speaks to you like Mingi did to MC in their fighting scene, please either leave/break up or put them in their place. You deserve to be treated with respect and love as much as anyone else.

© HONGJOONGSPOETRY 2024 - All rights reserved. Copying, editing, reposting or translating my work is not allowed.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

03/20/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys; Samba BTS; Con; YouWear50Well; AdoptOurCrew; RhysRadness; FanSpotlights; Articles; LoveNotes; DailyDarby/Tonight's Taika

== Rhys Darby ==

Rhys Darby turns 50 today (the 21st, so technically tomorrow for those of us in the US)!! He graced us with some new Selfie's in Aotearoa!

== Samba Schutte BTS ==

Good Calypso Samba put a lot of videos up today. I made posts for them, so I'll link them here. Literally only 1 picture and 14 videos. The man is a lunatic and I love it.

Video 1: Dream Sequence BTS!

Video 2: "Any other burning questions?"

Video 3: Samba & Madeleine & Vico BTS!

Video 4: Leslie & Nat BTS

Video 5: Zheng Plank Scene Takes

Video 6: Explosion Explanation - Earplugs In!

Video 7: Zheng Planking Stede BTS

Video 8: Samba on the Zipline BTS

Video 9: Revenge Crew Running on the Beach

Video 10: Canons BTS: "Let's try doing away with the pull line, cause I think that's just going to be a fucking disaster"

Video 11: Canon Fire: No sound

Video 12: What Explosions Felt Like

Video 13: "That's How The Pros Do It"

Video 14: More Canon Fire / Plank Walking Stede BTS

= Con O'Neill =

Con's show, Happy Valey haws been nominated for a BAFTA! Bafta TV Awards 2024: The List of Nominations

== You Wear 50 Well ==

Rhys Darby's 50th! There were so many well wishes going around for our lovely captain's birthday! Several crewmates were kind enough to allow me to add their dedications to our captain to the recap tonight! @wanderingnomad @lucybluetiful @PaulineKnip @ourflagmeansfanfiction @eros_the_artist @kaddele

= Tumblr Highlights! =

Our tumblr crewmates had lots of dedications as well!

= @brainfugk =

= @bizarrelittlemew =

= @kiwistede =

= @snejpowa =

= @stjernegaupe =

== Adopt Our Crew ==

The votes are in! Anton vs Louise was darn close! Now it's the final round! Stede Vs Anton! looks like Stede's in the lead!

== Fan Spotlight ==

Our darling crewmate @iamadequate1's #MaxMadness replacement is down to the final round! We're down to Our Flag Means Death vs Coyote Vs Acme!

= Cast Cards =

Thank you our dear @melvisik for tonight's new cast card! Christopher Corbin, while only in the show for a very small amount of time, he made a huge impact! "I'm no prostitute, mate!"

== Articles ==

Coyote vs ACME Interview

= Love Notes =

Hey lovelies! Today's been amazing! Definitely been a lot of engagement and we're getting to celebrate our lovely captain! Soooo many people signed the 50th birthday Kudoboard that ended tonight ( and the Taika Kudoboard that ended yesterday). So many crewmates stepped out of their comfort zone and put themselves out there, and I just want to say how proud of you I am. I know it's hard to put yourself out there in case you can get hurt, but you still did it for the good of something / someone you love, and you should be proud of that! I hope you're getting some joy out of these days. I know it can be a bit of a double edged sword because we miss Stede and Ed and the whole Revenge crew so much. It's reminding a lot of folks of the gravy basket. Just a gentle reminder that things aren't over. Even if we're not fighting full force right now-- it's not over. It'll never be over. So many people are behind us, and so many other shows have gotten renewed later, sometimes years laters. I know you've heard it all before, but this isn't the end. If you feel up for it, take these days that are for celebrating, and even if you do it just with yourself, do something to celebrate the things and people you love. If you're feeling alone and have discord, feel free to join us on the #RhysDarbyFaction server tomorrow. We'll be doing a lot of group stuff to try and keep some of the love going. If you're not-- reach out to any of your crew. We're here, and we care and we want you all to be okay. Remember to lean on each other, you're all such kind, resilient, and wonderful people and kindness is what keeps this world moving in the right direction. Our crewmate @ourflagmeansfanfiction made a lovely picture that felt appropriate for tonight. You are strong, and beautiful, and we're all gonna get through this together. Night crew <3

= Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika =

Tonight's theme is microphones!

Daily Darby Courtesy of @celluloidbroomcloset Tonight's Taika Courtesy of @agaywithcoffee

[amiizuki]

it will be forever funny to me how the flashback portraits of Wittebrothers made Caleb seem like he's had packing peanuts for a brain

(this post ended up becoming quite lengthy, and so did the tags somehow, because I kinda devolved into a rant closer to the end of writing this whole thing, so bear with me here)

so we know that Philip and Caleb became orphans when both of them were still kids. after that, they ended up in Gravesfield and, to fit in with everyone else who lived there, picked up witch hunting and started thinking that witches are pure evil. Caleb knew perfectly well that he's the only family Philip's had left and that he even may be his his only friend, since, judging by the portraits, they've only ever hung out with each other and we don't know if those two ever made any other actual friends.

until one day, during a witch hunt he and Philip were both a part in (something Caleb seemed happy to do, judging by his smirk there), he met a witch – Evelyn – someone he's been taught to hate and want dead by the townsfolk. someone who, again, in his mind, should be evil.

but he just suddenly does a 180 and goes "damn, you can make fire with your hands, you're actually pretty cool"

and then a few days (?) of talking to her later, he's running off to live with her in the Demon Realm, while simultaneously not giving a single fuck about the brother he's abandoning.

(he even runs off with a smile, with a literal :D face, I fucking can't lmao)

Philip ends up seeing Caleb get dragged off through a weird portal and later follows along, thinking something like "no, my brother wouldn't just up and abandon me without saying anything. he probably got captured by that witch we saw together that one time! she probably used some demon magic to bewitch Caleb and took him through that portal to kill him or worse! I gotta go save him!". and, after spending god knows how long in that realm, searching endlessly for his missing older brother, he eventually finds him. but he also finds that Caleb is not only perfectly okay and not hurt in the slightest, he's also peacefully walking together with the same witch who "captured" him, even holding hands with her.

and when enraged Philip tries to attack Evelyn, to protect Caleb from the witch who took him from his home, from his brother, still thinking that Caleb's under her control, Caleb just... gives him a hug and goes on to introduce the witch as his new wife to him (I'm assuming that portrait is the same day as the other three, if not the same scene), also adding on top of that that they're having a child. all as if nothing happened. treating the whole thing like everything's perfectly okay and just another normal day, fully ignoring the fact that he threw his brother away with no care or thought, leaving him completely alone, a full orphan, now with zero actual family left (in TTT, during their backstory, it's said that "Caleb did his best to take care of his younger brother", meaning that either they never got adopted in Gravesfield, or whoever adopted them didn't give a shit about the two, so they still mostly had to fend for themselves), all to go smash some random 5 out of 10 witchussy he talked to, like, 3 times. no fucking wonder Philip killed him!

(btw, jokes aside, it didn't seem like he intended to kill Caleb, because in that portrait where he's ready to kill with a knife in his hand, he's facing forward, while Caleb is actually to his left. so it just looks to me like Philip was gonna try to kill Evelyn again, and Caleb either jumped in front of her to protect her and got accidentally stabbed or he attacked Philip back, to, again, protect Evelyn, and Philip ended up winning that fight. but that's just my theory)

my brother in literal christ and literal titan – why in the FUCK are you just hugging it out with a smile on your face??? you ran off while giving absolutely no warning to anyone, especially your younger brother! why do you think he's here and actively trying to attack you and your new wife? you're not even trying to address the fact that you left him! at least when Luz ran off to a different realm without warning, she had a "I'm still at the camp" cover, so Camila wouldn't worry that much about where her daughter is, and even then she still felt bad for leaving her mother and planned to go back home once summer was over. this chucklefuck, on the other hand, just permanently portaled away to the Boiling Isles, knocked up a witch and fully settled down there, walking around with a big ol' smile and no care in the world. "Philip who? never heard of him"

the only thing that would sorta make this situation seem better (as in, not make Caleb seem like an overly naive ignorant brick), in my opinion, is if they added one more portrait – after the one where he meets the witch, but before the one where he leaves. in that portrait, Caleb would look like he's trying his best to convince Philip that witches aren't actually evil, and perhaps even try to get him to go live with them in the Demon Realm, all the while Philip's looking at him with either disagreement/disappointment/disgust or just rolling his eyes and full on ignoring him, while sharpening his witch hunt tools or something. then it would look like Caleb at least tried to make his brother change his mind, like he tried to offer him a chance to go with them. but no. with the way the portraits look in the final version it just seems like Caleb was fully on-board with killing witches since he was young, even pulling his younger brother along to think the same way, Philip also thought that Caleb was perfectly fine with killing witches, but once he actually meets a real witch (assuming they've never met one before) he instantly pulls an uno reverse card and just runs off with her, without so much as telling his brother beforehand.

I'm not trying to say that "Belos should've been redeemed, because he's the victim here and Caleb is bad and it's all his fault". he still murdered his brother and went on to manipulate everyone on Boiling Isles for centuries, with his end goal being the death of all witches, while simultaneously being stuck in the loop of "denial" and "bargaining" stages of grief – repeatedly trying and failing to recreate a perfect copy of Caleb, but also killing each one that came out wrong or went against him. Belos not being redeemed in the end was the right choice (ignoring the "Belos was always le bad" from King's dad), I agree with that. frankly, if he actually got redeemed in the end, I'd probably be seething for the next 3 to 5 years, like how I did after the Diamonds' "redemptions" in SU (yes I'm still pissed about that lol). I'm just saying that, from what was shown to us, Caleb didn't seem like that good of a person either, not as bad as Belos ended up being, but still not that great. and, once again, seemingly had a raisin for a brain.

(off topic, but during Masha's retelling of Wittebane's backstory, their "sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got upset" line was so fucking cringe, it gave me a fever for 3 days the first time I watched the episode)

k, rant over, I dunno what else to add

TL;DR: I think Caleb was dumb as a brick, because, from what was shown to us in their backstory, he seemed to have run off to Demon Realm and abandon Philip without telling him anything beforehand. when Philip came to BI to look for his brother, who he assumed was under control of the witch who "took" him, since he thought his last living family member wouldn't just abandon him, and when he eventually found him, and it turned out he wasn't in any danger at all, Caleb just brushed the whole "I left you for witchussy" thing under the rug and pretended everything was and is perfectly fine, even though it clearly isn't. rip bozo

[suengmi]

ot8 skz prompt!

you cry when they barely raised their voice at you (but not in a too angsty way, they were just playing around w you) and they comfort you

also HAPPY LATE BDAY 🎉 (im gonna rob you for all ur seungmin and jisung pcs)

hehe thank you anon!! i went to see moulin rouge live and just had a kpop trade day/night with my bestie i was like "i'll swap u any of these two lee knows... for that mingi"

BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE MY SEUNGMIN ONES I'LL FIGHT YOU BARK i got like 26 different seungmin ones with 11 doubles... it's not enough, funnily bangchan is actually my ult in skz alkjsdlaksjd leave me alone seungmin got me WHIPPED

ANYWAYS!! warnings under the cut, i added pics for comedic effect. idk why my writing always goes humour, anyways i worked v hard on this!! and as always,i messed around with the prompt a did a few hurt!skz/you raising your voice at them hehe enjoy!!!

in alphabetical order

all non idol!au, all gn!, as always kinda proofread and lapslock

you're laying on the couch, nose stuffy and filled with tissues. you were always sensitive when you were sick, your head feeling like it's spinning and your body betraying you anytime you tried to stand up. chan was always a caregiver, he loved taking care of the people he adored. not one day went by where he didn't ask if you needed help or needed anything, you could always reassure him that his presence was enough, much to his scoffing.

☆⌒ヽ bangchan

warnings/other: living together, established relationship

you needed help to go to the shower, the steam would probably help. plus, you hadn't showered in two days due to how sick you were.

"babe?" you called out, voice weak.

"baabe?" you squeaked once again, trying to lift yourself from the couch. "baaaaabe?" and nothing, but you can hear him tip toeing around somewhere, the clunking sound of a bottle hitting the bathroom floor.

"babe!" you half yell, still trying to push your self from the couch.

chan rounds the corner, eyes frowning as he taps on the side of his headphone, "what?!" he screams at you, eyes scrunching and brows furrowed.

you burst into tears, suddenly feeling like you're in trouble for wanting help. "i'm sorry, i didn't know you were busy." you can barely speak, voice raspy and quiet.

"what?" he speaks again, pulling his headphones to rest on the back of his neck. this time his voice more gentle. he sees the tears forming in your eyes and immediately comes to your side. "what's wrong?"

"don't yell at me." you say through tears, hands coming to rub your eyes.

"shit," he curses, rubbing the sides of your arms, "sorry, i had my head phones on, i was running you a bath."

"oh," you sob, still letting yourself cry your hands dropping to your lap, "i thought you were angry at me."

"oh my god," he says pushing your messy hair out of your eyes while wiping the last of your tears. he sighs, "i just couldn't hear you silly."

"i've run you a bath, do you wanna have one together?" he stops and gives you a sniff, "you need one."

you frown, using the last of your strength to push him away, but it fails. "yes please..."

--

you're balls deep in your game, you've never been so focused on a game in your life. it's the final battle fight of the last of us 2, you wipe away tears at the scene before you folding out, feeling conflicted as the characters fight in the water.

☆⌒ヽ felix

warnings/other: living together, established relationship, cussing

"ahh!" you yell a bit too loud as you feels more tears form, "this is fucked up, fuck you both, fuck off this is so unfair."

"what did you say to me?" felix says, turning from his pc to look at you. "did you just tell me to fuck off?"

"what?" you turn to felix, eyes back darting back to the screen for a moment, still in the middle of the battle.

"what the hell? why did you tell me to fuck off?" felix says as he scrunches his nose, clearly upset and confused. "what the fuck?"

"no! oh my god, no." you scrambled to pause the game, getting to your feet to stand by felix, "no, no, i was talking to the game!"

"you lyin'?"

you roll your eyes, "why would i say that to you? ellie is fighting abby, and i'm telling them both to fuck off, not you!"

"oh," he says, pleasantly surprised, "valid then."

you press a gentle kiss to his forehead, he looks up at you still kinda upset. "baby, if i were to ever tell you to fuck off it'd be because you ate the last of the bread."

he smiles, eyes crinkling into moons, "oh that's true."

"you wanna watch?"

he scoffs, "god no, i already cried at that a month ago. hell no."

--

"get back here!" changbin screams, running across the field to catch you.

☆⌒ヽ changbin (LMAO THE PIC)

warnings/other: new relationship, play fighting

"no, no!" you yell back, a grin on your lips, you dart around the edge of the tree, seemingly hidden (well, you think at least.)

dating changbin had been a whirlwind, he was kind, funny, silly in the best ways and so cared for you like no one had. it had only been a month, but you were so damn in love with him, even though you were still getting to know him. everyday you were excited to find out more about him, it was never enough.

there's a silence in the air, your eyes dart around the edge of the tree. after a moment or two, a voice screams suddenly, "got you!"

"ah!" you scream, feeling hands aggressively wrap themselves around your waist. you had always been a scaredy-cat, any loud sound would startle you and send you into a frightened mess.

"all mine!" he said as he pulled you to the ground, arms still wrapped around your waist.

you feel trapped, his large arms wrapping around you. you can feel the anxiety in your chest, flight taking it's hold over freeze.

"changbin! that really scared me!" you cry out, but he's relentless.

"too bad, i win!" he chuckles loudly, pushing you to lay on your back, his muscles bulging as he pins you there. he slowly loses his smile when he meets your upset scowl, mouth turned down at the sides.

"baby, no-" he says searching your face, "i'm so sorry, was that too much?"

"yes," you say in a low tone, wrapping your arms around his neck. "i get startled easily,"

"i didn't know, i'm sorry." he apologises again, lifting you up to deepen the hug. you melt into his frame, enjoying being engulfed by your boyfriend, though pocket sized, he seemed much bigger than you in moments like this.

this is your chance to get him back, you smile into his neck before pressing a sharp bite down on his collarbone.

"hey!"

--

usually, hyunjin was the patient one.

☆⌒ヽ hyunjin

warnings/other: living together, established relationship

he would always happy to wait for you when you were getting ready, always be okay with you needed to run back inside and pee because you would probably forget and always, he would always wait for you to tell him what you wanted or how you felt, never pushy once.

you were upset, getting fired from your job. it wasn't your fault, just the reality of the job market right now. 'no more funds.' they had said. you were floundering., wallowing in self pity (and rightfully so.)

when hyunjin arrives home, it's ten oclock at night. you're sitting on the couch, balled in a blanket. the lights are off, black smoke seeming to surround your nest of pillows, the only light on your face was from the tv.

"hey beautiful-" hyunjin says cheerily before being met with your tired eyes, black rings around the bottom. "what's wrong?

"nothing." you scoff, hiding more of yourself.

"babe-" he says softly, kicking his shoes off and dropping his bag. he comes to your side immediately, hands rubbing up and down your side. you say nothing, shifting away from his touch.

he sighs, "you wanna tell me what's wrong?" he seems tired.

"no." you say lowly, turning up the tv volume.

"are you... sure?"

you say nothing as you kick him with your foot, still wallowing and watching the tv.

"fine, be like that." he scowls, voice slightly raised as he shakes his head. he shuffles to the kitchen counter, gripping the soda left on the bench top. he takes a sip, looking back at you, clearly annoyed. "i'm not in the mood."

hyunjin was never one to raise his voice, never had he done that to you. he patience seemed to have be worn thin this time.

"no i didn't-" you sigh, trying to gather your words.

'i have bad days too you know, it's not just you."

you sit up, blanket falling down the back of you. he's right, he's always right. "that was not cool, i'm sorry."

you look over him with sad eyes. he's now leaning over the counter, hands digging into his scalp.

you get up from the couch, readjusting the blanket over yourself as you shuffle to his side. you bump your head into his shoulder, looking up at him with wide eyes. "i love you."

"i love you too," he sighs, leaning his head on yours.

you sit like that for a moment before he speaks. "i got fired."

"no way same."

you both look at each and laugh in disbelief, how on earth did this happen?

--

jeongin was so cute, so damn cute. he reminded you of how cute he was every time he did, well, basically anything. but sometimes, he was really secretive. you didn't know why, until you had come to his house the first time. you hadn't been together long, but you were over joyed when he invited you over for dinner.

☆⌒ヽ jeongin

warnings/other: fresh relationship, not smutty but heavy descriptions and mentions of hentai lmao, pg i guess

"bone app the teeth!" he chimed, placing down the bolognaise he had made. it looked and smelled delicious, and you loved the cute frog bowls he had put them in. it made him that much cuter.

"eee! it looks so yummy." you squealed, "wait gotta pee."

"okay, down the hall to the left" he said plopping himself down, proud of his masterpiece. he sat up, making sure to clarify. "oh not the second door, the first one!"

you didn't hear the last part as hurriedly made your way down the hall. you looked at two doors, two seemingly the same. 'i think he said the second?'

you open the door in a hurry, being met with a large pillow of an anime woman, giant boobs out and her legs parting in display. you just stand there in shock, taking in the sight before you.

"helloooo." you said curiously, stepping into the bedroom. on the light stand there was a figurine. her boobs were seemingly wet, the short skirt she had lifted up behind her, thong busting out. a few more adornments, mostly lewd plastered the room.

"babe?" he called out as he walked down the hall. his eyes met with your curious ones, a smirk slapped across your face.

"babe!" he yelled, pulling you back by your arms. "i said first door! why didn't you listen!?"

"ow!" you said in surprise, feeling a lump of guilt building in your throat. he had never yelled at you before and it scared you. "i'm sorry i didn't hear you."

he sighed shaking his head, "i told you not to go in my room!"

"stop yelling at me..." you mumbled, wincing away from him.

quickly he pulled you out of his room, accidentally slamming the door behind him, it made you jump.

"jeongin-" you started but the lump in your throat grow. "i just got the wrong door, don't yell at me."

you stood in silence for a moment before he spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck, an unsure grin on his face, "i just didn't want you to see yet, i'm sorry i yelled."

you turn back to him, eyes tracing his face. he'd been caught. "theeee hentai?" you smirked, standing on your tippy toes.

jeogin's face burnt red, ears tingling with embarrassment. he scrambled to say something, but nothing came out. just splutters of words.

you laugh, "do you seriously think i'd be upset about that?"

"i don't know..." he says under his breath, looking everywhere but you.

"hm," you ponder, finger on your chin, "i don't know how i'd look in a thong, i might not have the ass for it."

jeongin looks like he's going to burst, his expression surprised and embarrassed by your words.

you sigh, taking his hand in yours, "it's fine but don't ever yell at me again, okay?"

"okay..." he says looking to the ground, feeling stupidly sorry for his actions.

"besides," you begin, smiling at him, "maybe you'd look better in a skirt and thong."

--

"wake up!" is all you hear as you jolt upwards, your forehead sweaty and breath heavy coming from your chest.

☆⌒ヽ jisung

warnings/other: living together, established relationship, mentions of nightmares and knives (not bad i promise lol)

you had a nightmare, which didn't happen often. the dreams you usually had were just an information dump of your day mixed in with people you had thought about, but this felt real, the feeling of fright still tingling in your body.

you look over at jisung, his eyes sleepy but still looking at yours.

"hey, you okay?" he speaks, voice raspy.

"no!" you yelp, busting into tears, still feeling shaken by your nightmare. "you were following me, telling me you were going to kill me! why were you yelling?"

"what?" jisung says in a confused tone, hand coming to your shoulder to stable himself.

you shrug his hand off, "you were going to kill me, why would you do that?"

"what are you talking about?" he mumbles, sitting half upward.

"in my dream," you begin by taking a deep breath, "you were chasing me with a knife, it was so scary."

"i'm... sorry?" he says, still so confused, "i didn't mean to?"

"oh," you breath out, tears slowly stopping. "i still cant believe you'd do that. i'm... damn."

"i'm sorry i tried to kill you in your dream. it was wrong of me...?" he mumbles again, eyes trying to find sleep.

"yeah, yeah it was." you breathe out, "don't do that again."

"okay... i won't." he sleepily sighs, his body falling back to the pillow. "i can't believe... i did that, what a ...dog act from me. asshole."

"absolute dog act, you dick." you finish before you feel your body laying back, waiting for sleep to capture you.

"so wrong of me, i'm such an idiot." he mutters, his lips pressing against the pillow, already falling asleep.

--

you scoff, eyes slowly closing your tiredness overtaking you. "damn right."

aussie slang: dog act if you don't know lol

"c'mon, just let me see." you yell through the crack of his changing room, attention turning from your phone. "i'm sure it's fine."

☆⌒ヽ lee know

warnings/other: close friends who like each other, uh lee know half naked??? spicy lee know, play fighting

"it's not." he says from the change room. you can hear his sighs through the curtain, frustration in them whenever he tries on another piece.

"do you need help?" you start, sliding yourself to the other side of the bench in front of the changing room.

"no!" he fumbles, dropping another item.

you sigh, hand slipping to grab onto the curtain, "i'm coming in!"

"no-!"

you're instantly met with his crotch, boxers tight across his hips, and you can see that. yes, the outline of that. your brows raise, certainly surprised with the view in front of you. his boxers had the kittens on them, cute little kittens of all colours and a pink background. you loved it, you can't deny.

"uh..." you start, not knowing what to do. you'd liked lee know for a while, so you can't say you're entirely horrified. you slowly raise your eyes to his, confusion and annoyance on his face.

you just sit there, his eyes burning into yours, just both staring at each other before he pushes on your face, leading you to fall back off of the bench. "don't do that!"

"ack!" you fall back yelping back hitting the ground with a thud, "i'm sorry i just wanted to help!"

he raises his voice slightly, anger present in his tone, "yeah, well i'm fucking naked!"

you feel bad, you've pushed a boundary and you didn't even realise you had been edging on it. "i'm sorry." you choke out, feeling bad for invading his privacy. you were close but not that close, yet.

you just lay there, ashamed of yourself for what you did, not thinking about his boundaries. after a minute he comes out, you're still laying on the ground in defeat.

he purses his lips in anger as he grabs the side of your ear, wrenching it towards him.

"ah shit!" you screech, laughter behind your words, "i'm sorry! aha i'm sorry! stop it!"

"you done?" he says through his teeth, still pulling on your ear.

"haha yes! it tickles and hurts!" you giggle, mouthing ouch a few times. he gives you a final tug before he finally let's go of your ear.

you get to your feet, rubbing the side of your ear. you both walk in silence before he halts you, eyes glaring into your own.

"if you wanna see me naked just say so, at least i can put better boxers on."

it was your turn to go red in the face, but you smirk instead, hiding your face, "i like those ones."

"really?" he questions, pondering your words, but seems impatient in his tone. "i'll wear em for you this weekend then, you staying over or not?"

you nod hurriedly, instantly agreeing to his plans.

"aw," he stops, clearly enjoying your agreeance and the new realm of flirting with you, "cat got your tongue?

you smack him on the arm, "stop!"

--

"do these look good?" seungmin asks, raising the brown frames to his face. no, no they don't. they absoutely don't. you try to hold in a laugh, your hand coming to your mouth.

☆⌒ヽ seungmin lalsdjka that pic always gets me

warnings/other: established relationship, seungmin thinks he's funny

"umm... maybe?"

he sighs, raising them a bit. "how about now?"

"uh," you begin, trying to hold in your laugh, "sure?"

passive aggressively he throws them back on the rack, turning on his heel to walk to the next section. you follow behind him, you can sense he's getting frustrated trying to find the right sunglasses. his vision wasn't the best without his glasses, so he needed your help trying them on. no contacts in today.

"hmm," he ponders, picking up anther pair. they're so ugly, rectangle and frames way too dark. no one would suit them, that's probably why they're on sale.

"um... maybe?"

"you already said that!" he says, frustration in his voice. "if you're not going to help, just leave."

you feel kind of hurt at his tone, but continue to follow behind him. you can't help but feel the anxiety in your chest, he wanted your advice but never listened anyways so you thought it best to be quiet.

suddenly he turns to look at you, feeling the awkward tension he's created. he throws his hands in the air. "what?!"

"hey don't yell," you start, wincing a bit at his words, "i just don't think those suited you..."

he takes the sight of you in, realising he's upset you, "shit- i'm sorry baby, i'm just annoyed i can't find a good pair. this is so hard."

you grab his hands and bring them to your chest, your eyes looking up at him, "thank you for apologising, you don't gotta be so mean."

he bends down to press a kiss on your lips, it's gentle with apology laced in it. he takes in a sharp breath before leaning back, "okay, which ones?"

"circle, definitely."

he turns to face the other section, hand gently melding to yours. the pair he picks up are just as ugly as the others.

"no," you begin interrupting him. you let go of his hand and pick up a dark circle frame pair of simple sunglasses, "these one's."

"really?" he questions, brows raised.

"just try them."

he sighs, bringing the frames to sit on his ears. "yes or no?"

"oh definitely, these are the ones. you gotta trust me."

he pouts and rolls his eyes, "oookay."

--

a/n: i had so much fun writing this!!!! hope you enjoy!!!!

<33

[nvoirs]

I fricken love how you write!! I don’t read normally but been getting into these Leon x f!reader fics because.. well… I am more into the angst as in injured and bleeding. I was wondering if you were willing to write one?? I have been drawing scenes from fics I have asked for as practice to drawing Leon💖💖💖💖

Thank you so much for liking the way I write hehe I do appreciate It a lot! Has not been proofread I'll do that when I get home x

There was to much blood, It covered your hands, your torso and Leon's hands. Being shot in the stomach was unexpected knowing the fact you had a bulletproof vest on. But to your guessing, the one you were wearing was slightly faulty.

The pain was excruciating and you were becoming light headed by the second. Leon's voice just a mere whisper like that of an angel. You just admired his pretty face. The way his dark hair shone in the bedazzling light, and his sapphire orbs were just to die for. Realisation hit you that you were not going to make it. You wouldn't be able to live a life with Leon, marry Leon, start a family with Leon. You internally cried when you thought about Leon sitting by your grave everyday, but one day he'd leave forever, leave you behind and never look back. He'd probably find another beautiful woman to settle down with. Marry her and have his children with her. It was a selfish thought but you couldn't help it.

Salty tears pricked at your lash line as you quietly sobbed. "Hey! Don't cry baby your going to be fine, listen to me."

Leon cupped your frail face in his rough hands, years of practice with an assort of weapons but they felt at home to you. He teared of a piece of his t-shirt he was wearing underneath and began pressing on your bullet wound. You wailed in pain, and gripped his arm tightly.

Whispering under your breath, Leon couldn't hear so he leaned in closer to hear your beloved request. "Leon forget It, you can't save me I'm losing to much blood."

Leon looked at you shocked, one hand still pressing against your gaping wound the other clasping your sweaty, clammy one.

"Are you crazy?" His voice was surprisingly quiet, he sounded scared. Leon S. Kennedy never sounded scared, he was the bravest person you knew, fighting bioweapon after bioweapon the DSO's golden boy that everyone looked up to. That's why you fell for him, the love of your life you loved him to bits and you didn't want to leave him alone in this cruel, god forsaken world.

"Leon please." You pleaded. Your warm blood trickled down Leon's trembling hands the rag he made fully soaked in your crimson blood.

"Please kiss me one last time." Leon stared at you tears silently falling down his cheeks but he complied. Leaning down to your collapsed body and pressing a sweet kiss to your lips. You could feel the scratch of his stubble, and you couldn't help but smile within the kiss. Even through all the pain, Leon was still a remedy to you. You felt the pain ease when he kissed you.

"I fucking love you, you aren't dying." His gruff voice was one of sorrow. He already knew he couldn't save you. Medics were arriving on the scene soon, but they were to late. By the time they had arrived Leon held your body in silence, dried blood covering his hands his eyes puffy and raw from crying so much.

"You're to late."

Leon did attend your funeral but he was an absolute mess. A flask of alcohol clutched in his hand, you hated when he drank telling him of saying he'd hurt his liver. But you, you'd hurt his heart the vital organ that beated just for you. His face red and raw from crying privately, but no one said anything. Leon was mourning you, his tousled, unkempt hair a mess on his head and he had gone days without shaving.

After everyone had left the service Leon sat in front of your grave and just spoke. "I bought the house we were going to live in." He swallowed thickly as if he was expecting an answer. He imagined what you would have said, "I'm so happy for you Leon." He blinked twice when he imagined your voice in his ears. It was like you were really here sat beside him head on his shoulder.

Leon didn't really believe in God, he was never the religious type. But now that you were gone he just knew a place called heaven is where you live now. You would have sought it out like the angel you were, and he closed his eyes as he imagined you living peacefully up there. You adorned a long white dress, and you smiled and waved at him when you caught each others eyes.

"Yeah thanks." His small smile would be a start to his journey to heal.

[necroromantics]

You have NO idea how quickly I've become invested on knowing this Nina x Kate brain rot situation- I needa know all the details!!

*Sips whole cup of milk 'cause I'm not a fan of tea*

Honestly I started thinking about it as a joke, but Ive been thinking about them all fucking day now bro its making me go nuts. I looove my lil rarepair. Im gonna use this ask as an excuse to ramble a bit about them…

- Theyre the epitome of femme x butch lesbian love. Kate is very masculine, dresses grungy, baggy clothes, video games, barely showers. Meanwhile Nina is very feminine, loves to dress up, takes care of her appearance, scene kid

- She drags her gross lil girlfriend EVERYWHERE and loves to show her off. Kate hates crowds, hates people, hates cities and public places. But she does it just to make Nina happy

- Nina will make sure Kates eating, drinking water, oh she worries about her wellbeing so much. They do basic hygiene together like brushing their teeth and showering, it makes things easier on Kate since shes been so long without ever caring about any of that stuff

- Nina loves to take care of Kate, and Kate loves to take care of her little ball of sunshine.

- Yknow the “cool stoic x crazy happy girl” trope? Thats them

- Theyre drive around in some beat up pick up truck singing alone to whatever emo pop punk song Nina chooses

- Kate holds Ninas bags when they go shopping

- And Nina walks around at night freely with her guard dog privileges (Kate would bite the head off of anyone who hurts her)

- When Kate comes back from missions bloody and bruised, Nina patches her up… And tries to hide how hot she thinks it is…

- Nina just loves weird freaks, and Kate is the perfect example of this

- I just cant imagine Nina happy with some guy. Kate is the perfect balance for her, they both help each other grow in so many ways, they’d both understand and be there for each other

- And most importantly, they’d be each others best friends. Kate would listen to aaallll Ninas gossip, and even share some of her own. Nina would absolutely adore watching Kate play her old horror games, and ask a bunch of questions about them that Kate has all the answers to

- Theyd explore abandoned buildings together, binge watch movies, hangout at the park late at night, play Minecraft together (Kate would fight off the mobs while Nina picks flowers)

- Very underrated ship I will do Gods work and bring it to light in the fandom 🔥

[slowlydifferentbluebird]

"I need to know"

Dreamcatcher Yoohyeon X GN!Reader

Genre: Angst

Warning: the reader is an asshole, mention of sex

"Where have you been?", a voice has asked behind your shoulders. The time was firm and cold. You turned your head back just to meet the furious eyes of Yoohyeon. "Hi Yoohye-", your calm greeting was interrupted by her voice, hints of rage in her tone this time. "It's fucking 3 AM, where have you been?".

Being the manager of dreamcatcher was fun, maybe chaotic and difficult, but definitely fun the majority of the time. The girls were a bunch of crackheads, and you loved them for that reason. Sure, sometimes they were a bit... peculiar, but they were amazing people. In particular you had a very close friendship with Yoo, even if lately she has kinda been a pain in the ass.

"I don't think that really matters", you answered with nonchalance, shrugging your shoulders. "You're my fucking manager, I have to know where are you", she argumented, her fists clenching at your smug. She hated when you were such an asshole. You instead tilted your head, offering her your best smirk. "Ah, really? I thought I was your manager...and you best friend", you crossed your arm, without losing the smirk. "Another reason for me to know where the fuck you have been".

This last sentence was almost shouted, and the change of volume made you flinch, not out of fear, but of surprise. You were ready to piss her off a lot more with you answers, but a third voice joined the party.

"What is happening here? It's 3 AM, both of you should be sleeping in this moment", JiU said, barging in the room, her voice still sleepy, her arms hugging herself, already missing the warmth of her bed. "Sorry, if we have woke you up, JiU, but Yoohyeon is acting crazy as usual", you blurted out, clearly searching troubles.

"YOU PIECE OF SH-", only Jiu's hand stopped Yoohyeon by addressing you with the right name. "Enough, the others are sleeping, go in your room", the older girl ordered to her member, fighting her protests just by her gaze. JiU, was usually a very soft and kind leader, but there were times, like this one, where her words were the rules.

Yoohyeon just gave you a deathly gaze, before storming out of your room. "Thank you, JiU", you said, with an happy smile, but the girl didn't have the same expression. "Don't thank me, do better! For the others and for yourself", she suggested, patting your arm with a sad smile, before returning in her room, leaving you alone with your doubts.

~~~

A day passed and another night arrived. It was a busy day, but chill day luckily, especially because you interacted with everyone except Yoo. You could say that it was a cold war, but honestly for you it was more like peace for yourself. A peace that won't have longed much more.

An hand knocked on your half-open door and a familiar face with a lot of blue hair appeared at the doorstep. "Hey, can we talk...?", she asked, the strees clear in her voice. You looked at her for a couple of seconds, in silence, thinking about that proposal. "No, sorry, I'm kinda tired", you gave her an apologetic smile before going back to scroll tiktok.

You know that she needed to talk with you and that she had very good intentions, but you were simply not ready. You were sure that even the most pacific discussion between you two could turn into hell eventually. You characters just didn't match in that sense.

She bited her lips, trying her best to keep the calm, as her leader suggested her few hours before. "Please, baby, I...need to know", she said, emotions exploding between every words and that scene almost made you pity her. She was your bestfriend and you hated to see her so in pain. You regretted every second of the time you made that silly choice. The choice of having sex with her.

You and Yoohyeon have had chemistry since your first day of work as their manager. And over the years you really created a strong bond, and there was clearly something more than friendship in your plans. The problem was that she had this giant crush on you, and maybe even more, and you were attracted just by her body. So, during a night of cuddles with too much skinship you just made the step. You promised yourself that it was just a one night stand, nothing more, your friendship was more important than sex, but how could you say not to her, when she appears in your room at night wearing just her lingerie? So made that mistake again...and again...and again...till we reached this point.

"There's nothing to know, Yoo", you lied, trying to avoid her other pain, but you can't really lie to someone who knows you better than yourself. "There's a lot I want, no, I have to know", she said, finally moving from the door to your bed, standing in front of you. "I have to know what's happening to you, to us...and where you have fucking been the last night, and all the other times you just disappear", at this point this was an interrogation.

And you hated that. You hated when someone try to make you talk when you're not in the right mood and Yoo was doing that when she knew well that it was something that got your nerve. "Do you want to know? Well, I won't tell you a shit", you snapped, getting on your feet, facing her. But she didn't move, she standed her ground.

"Were you fucking other girls?". It was a whisper, a calm whisper, her voice so low that gave you goosebumps. Her face was a mirror of your emotions, and in the moment your brain was fucked up, so you just opened and closed the mouth without making a sound.

"Tell me truth: am I right?", she asked once again. Honestly you were tired of lying and hiding the truth, you were giving the worst of yourself. You just sighed and lowered your head, looking at the ground. That silence was more important than a thousands words.

That silence made Yoohyeon smile, than laugh, then cry. A desperate cry. She was shouting and weeping and sobbing. She started to hit you, unable to express her anger and sadness with her words. And honestly she didn't have words for you, how could you have done that right to her? How could you be the same person who made her feel in love and giggling like a kid at night?

You didn't move, you just stayed still, accepting her hits and shouts, until eventually the other girls came in the room to take her away. You don't know if you would be ever able to forget the heart-wrecking look she gave you before disappear in the hall.

That frame was the only thing that lingered in your mind until something really cold hit your cheek. You looked at your side, just to meet Dong placing an ice pack on your face, probably Yoo slapped you and you didn't even notice that. You gave her an apologetic look, murmuring a small "thank you", but she just caressed your back sweetly.

"That went bad", she commented, giving you the ice pack. "Yeah", you hummed, interwining your fingers with her. "Did she know...", she asked, worried. Considering the rumours and screams coming from the other room, you could talk freely. "Nope, she doesn't know anything about us", you reassured her. "Good, see you later. I'll wait you in my room", she said, before giving a kiss on the cheek and going to check on her friend.

Zazá

[y-rhywbeth2]

Assorted thoughts about Astarion's epilogue that I have only seen in video because patch 4 broke my save files and I have to replay the whole thing to get there.

From what I've seen everyone's good endings seem a little... overly good and free of consequence? But at the same time I haven't seen everything with my own eyes and everyone deserves to be happy, so whatever. If I want angst, there's fic.

Sooo... is it that unromanced Astarion disappeared after the scene at the docks and nobody could find him, or did you assholes just not try? I will be generous and assume the former.

Stop stabbing the table you little gremlin. ...although I'd probably enjoy doing that, if I could get away with it.

I still hate that outfit with the ruff.

Not surprised Larian is doubling down on the "no cure" angle. I don't really care if Astarion remains a vampire or if he goes the cure route, so long as he's happy - although I do think in his shoes I'd look for some way to day-walk anyway, on practical grounds alone.

Hiding a knife behind his back while asking an unromanced Durge if they're showing any signs of being under Bhaal's control... I adore a pragmatic bastard.

---"I could've told you that [you can kill people in a socially acceptable manner]" ---"You realise I don't actually pay attention when you talk, right?" ^This is why I both love him with all my soul and also want to push him off a roof.^

Delighted and validated by Astarion feeding by taking jobs as a bounty hunter or something like that. That was 100% what Vel was suggesting to him post game. Like "Hey, have you considered bounty hunting? if my memories of killing people for fun and profit, and the last month or two of everyone suddenly celebrating instead of getting mad when I murder has taught me anything; if you eat the people the majority want dead, you can have all the blood and money you can get your teeth into and nobody will have a problem with it."

And then there's Ascended Astarion... who I will put under a read more to save space and for those who'd like to avoid the uglier side of endings.

So I don't think Larian read the supplement Van RIchten's Guide to Vampires (it's from 1992, but as far as I know it's also still the most comprehensive write up of D&D vampire lore, and some of it still looks to apply here (or at least, it can).)

But the first thing I thought of, watching him constantly turn into a bat, is that it reminded me of the vampire psychological development stages. Stage one is where a vampire is drunk on their shiny new powers and just will not stop showing them off. (Stage two is the "find out" stage of the fuck around process, where the vampire discovers they're not as invincible as they believed and descends into full blown, paranoid monstrosity.)

Then "I will be watching." "I/We need to eavesdrop on everybody."... Oh, the paranoia. How's that thing where the curse of vampirism is twisting the trauma and fear going for you, my dude?

"I'll never forget the time we spent together, though. And I know you'll never forget about me. Until next time, darling." ...might be his expression or the datamined epilogues where he still wants his ex, but that feels like a threat to me? Might just be a jab after being dumped...

And, oh yeah, we're definitely looking at vampire bride/groom tier stuff here: Just sit on the decorative pedestal I built for you and look pretty until I'm in the mood to take you down and play with you. Stop complaining about how you're bored and want freedom!

The PC isn't weak by any measure, they could become a rival.. AA isn't my ending of choice, but I am morbidly fascinated with the concept of Tav and Astarion as toxic vampire divorcees: Two angry, powerful "lovers to enemies" vampire lords "sharing" territory; passing the centuries obsessing over each other; fighting each other; sometimes maybe hate-fucking, and generally making their bad relationship everyone's problem.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

starting a tag game for writers

Hi, it's Asmi! Okay, so, I've seen so many people afraid to start/continue writing because they're afraid it'll be garbage. And it's so sad how much joy and creativity is getting lost because of that fear. I've written utter shit before, and looking back on it is actually hilarious, and also, it's a reminder of how far I've come as a writer.

I really, really want people to be less afraid of the written word and of creating, and to get rid of that aura of mystery and elitism that often covers the writing process. Writing is messy and it's hell and it's torture. And it's amazing.

So here's the tag game:

Give me three lines/paragraphs that you've written that you love [fiction, non-fiction, from different works or the same, from completed stories or poems or WIPs, from yesterday or ten years ago] that you love. If that seems hard, even one will do. It doesn't have to be perfect. It can just be something silly that gives you joy.

And give me three lines/paragraphs that you've written that you dislike and find shitty. Anything at all as long as you wrote it. If you think it's ridiculous or absolute fucking garbage, even better! That's the point of this game. To see that we all write good things and bad things. Yeah? You can do this. And remember that both these categories are subjective.

I'll start. It's not as scary as it seems, I promise.

Things I've written that I find shitty:

The first man grabbed him by his collar, pinned him against the wall of the cave in which they were standing, and spat, “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done before. If the Queen’s not in the graveyard tonight, King Baza’s going to plan a most delightful execution for you. And even if he doesn’t, you being his nephew and all, I will arrange an accidental blowing up of your house when you are, tragically, inside.” [discount wall slam scene courtesy of 2016 Asmi, you're welcome]

“Overreacting?” said Dextor in disbelief, staring at Jay like, ‘What is wrong with you, dude?’ [sigh. my serious-scene-writing left a lot to be desired.]

“Don’t go,” I said, fighting tears. “Please, don’t leave me, too! You’re all I have left.” Strange thoughts for a child, but I meant every word. She looked at me with anguish. “I am sorry, Phil. Believe me, you are all I have, too, and this hurts me more than it does you. You’re like my son.” [I'm hysterical rereading this melodramatic shit, which was NOT the intended effect]

Things that I've written that I love:

He dropped the books onto a nearby chair and pulled her into his arms as he’d been longing to do all day, the smell of blueberries and hair product and her. The books she was holding were pressed against his chest, and he didn’t care. Why did he need to love the stars when he could love her, why did he need to look up at the sky for answers when they were right there in his arms? [I love this because when I first wrote it, I thought it was romantic, but I realised later that the boy, Ant, is aroace, and it doesn't change a thing about this scene, except that their love is platonic]

"Maybe being happy is the best that we can do. Maybe that’s more than most people manage, anyway.” They stood in front of the entrance, over puddles that reflected all the broken skyscrapers and the colours of the street and the grey-yellow sky. “Whatever you do with your parents,” she said. “Don’t let your guilt get in the way of doing ballet. It’s not wrong to be happy. It’s not.” [This is from the book I finished and I published, and I just really like this paragraph. It's not my favourite, but it makes me smile.]

The last you may leave wherever you please, wherever it is birds land to die. [A line from a poem I wrote in 2022, I like the rhythm]

(It took effort to find ones that I wanted to share, oof. If you find this difficult just know you're not alone. I usually like my writing, but turns out it's hard to take something you created and go hey, look, I'm proud of this. But we can do it.)

Alright, of course anyone who sees this is welcome to join, and tag the writers you know so we can all be uh writerly together :") but to start it off, no pressure tags @howmanyholesinswisscheese, @1800ineedshelp, @queermarzipan, @thescholarlystrumpet, @madfangirlontheloose.

Oh, and also tagging @neil-gaiman, @dduane, @drchucktingle just because maybe if you see this and join in, new writers will find comfort in knowing their role models have ups and downs, good and bad days too :")

Have a lovely day, everyone, and keep writing.

[bitbybitwrites]

This Ficlet Friday sounds like so much fun!

How about 1. 'I leave you alone for five minutes...' for Klaine?

Here ya go! Thanks for the prompt, @annepi-blog!

You can read it either on A03, or below the pretty picture! 😊

To play, click here

The clangs and shrieks of the alarm system at Christie's Auction House filled the corridors, echoing through the mostly empty building.  They were just as loud as the beating of Kurt and Blaine's hearts as they raced down corridor after corridor while they attempted to escape.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Kurt growled through his teeth as he ran, slipping slightly on the polished marble floor as he turned another corner.  “I leave you alone for five minutes . . . FIVE MINUTES, Blaine.  What on earth did you do?”

Blaine at least had the common decency to look a little sheepish.   "I'm sorry, Kurt.  It's just. . .”

"Just what?  Just what, Blaine?"  Kurt shouted as they zipped into a nearby storage closet where they had stashed some vital equipment a few days prior.  We had ONE goal, well, two goals, for this job.  That was it.  Remember?  It was supposed to be quick and easy—just in and out."

The two jewel thieves quickly shrugged out of their black overalls, flipping them around so that the bright blue interior of the garments now showed on the outside.  Basically, they were returning to the ones of the custodial service staff that they had worn once they reported in for work earlier that evening.

The day billionaire Santana Lopez approached them to "procure" one particular Bulgari emerald and diamond flower brooch and its matching emerald ring for her, Kurt knew then and there he should have turned the job down.  Apparently, they were intended as engagement presents for her lover, Brittany Pierce.  Ms. Lopez saw the young heiress had fallen in love with the pieces when they had toured the auction house the week prior.  Ms. Lopez wanted to keep her girlfriend happy, so Kurt and Blaine's company was contacted, and their services were hired for the evening.

Kurt always swore that Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry collection was sacred and sacrosanct—totally out of reach as a career goal.  In his heart of hearts, he knew it wasn't a job they should have taken, but they needed the money, so Kurt folded.  He thought he could at least get close enough to salivate and gaze upon the beauty of that collection, even though they only had the job of stealing the brooch and ring combination out of it for Ms. Lopez.

Blaine shoved his curls back into the baseball cap he had worn when reporting to work that evening.  "I didn't mean to trip the alarm, Kurt.  It was an accident.  I swear."

The puppy dog eyes. 

Oh god, Blaine turned on the puppy dog eyes because he knew Kurt couldn’t stay mad at him when he did that.

Kurt jammed his cap on his head, pulling it low over his eyes as he sighed in defeat.  “I know you didn’t mean to, sweetheart.  And I’m sorry I yelled.  It’s just . . . We needed this to go off without any problems."

Blaine nodded as he bent over to grab one of the bottles of "cleaning chemicals" from one corner of the closet and began spreading it around the tiny space, taking care not to spill any on him or Kurt.  "I know, I know, Kurt.  I'm really am sorry.”

A hiss and a crackle were heard in both of their ears as their communication pieces popped to life:

“As much as I love listening to my two favorite gays fight AND make up in the span of five minutes, can we all get a move on?”

Kurt sighed again.  “Yes, Artie,  we’re on it.  What's happening out there?"

"And what's the ETA of the cops?" Blaine said as he fumbled around in his pockets for his lighter.

“Puck's trying to stall by causing a scene because the po-po are ALREADY THERE . . . so can we all get a move on and set this bitch aflame?”

“Can we not use the terms, 'po-po' and ‘set this bitch aflame'?   I think you've been watching too many movies, Artie," Kurt pleaded as Blaine snorted.  He did just that,  grabbing a mop and pushing Kurt out the door as he tossed the lighter back into the room, the flame igniting the chemical-soaked contents within.

They followed Artie's directions down individual hallways empty of custodial staff until they found a staircase.  They followed it down to the lobby, blending in with the other night staff taking the same route out of the building.

As they approached the exit, the men could see a handful of others waiting to leave,  the cops eying everyone warily.  The head security guard was swearing up a storm at the people gathered.

“What the hell happened?” he yelled.  “And will someone turn off that goddamned alarm?!”

As the ear-splitting cacophony ceased, the workers shook their heads, staring at one another, many unsure of how to explain the  mess to their superior.

“Um . . . I think it was me, sir?" Blaine meekly waved his hand.

“Goddamn it, Davis.”

“It was an accident, Mr. Puckerman." Kurt chimed in, his hands still clutching a dirty rag and spray bottle.  We were just cleaning the 4th-floor gallery and . . .”

“I kind of nudged one of the paintings with my mop," Blaine held up the offensive article gingerly, a pained expression on his face.  "And it fell of the wall."

"We fixed it right away, though.  It's all straight and everything now." Kurt tried to reassure the head of security.  "Promise."

"I don't give a rat's ass about your promises, Turner," Puckerman glared darkly at Kurt.  “This is the third strike for you two.  Turn in your badges.  You’re fired.”

“Aww, but sir, it really was an accident . .” Blaine pleaded.

“Yeah, you can’t just get rid of us for that," Kurt piped up with a frown.  Some of the surrounding custodial staff began to agree, a growing sound of discontent rising among them all.

"Oh well, you see, I can, and just did," Puckerman shouted, holding his hand out for their ID badges.  Both men unclipped them from their jumpsuits and handed them over as ordered.  "Go and clean out your lockers, “ Puckerman barked at the two, who flinched and stepped away quickly.

Before Kurt and Blaine could say any more in their defense, yet another alarm began to sound, and a red light began to flash.  The assembled crowd began to rush to the front door despite the police presence in front of them.

“Fuck!” Puckerman shouted.  “That’s the fire alarm.  Everybody out!”

The chaos that ensued as policemen hustled people out as quickly as possible gave Blaine and Kurt the out they were looking for.  They easily slipped away and into the night.

Once they felt they were far enough away, Kurt and Blaine removed their jumpsuits, discarding them in a dumpster they had allocated for the occasion.  They knew that the next day's early garbage pick up would bring it straight to an incinerator, their tracks quite easily covered once the contents all went up in smoke.

A few subway stops later, they finally were back home in Brooklyn.  Kurt groaned as he collapsed onto the couch.  He reached into his shirt, pulled a padded drawstring pouch hanging around his neck, and dropped it on the coffee table beside him.  Kurt quickly pulled a pillow over his head as Blaine perched on the couch beside him.

"God, that was exhausting.  We're back home, Artie.  Go ahead and wire Noah the cash for the loud and dramatic scene at the exit.  Oh, and drop Ms. Lopez a line.  See where she wants to do the exchange, but remind her that nothing changes hands until we see the rest of our payment in our account."

"You got it, boss," their tech guru chimed in before signing off for the night.

Kurt reached in, removed his earpiece, and tossed it toward the table.  He heard a soft clatter, confirming that it hit its mark instead of the floor.

"What a night," Kurt sighed, his voice still muffled from the pillow.  "I think I am ready for a shower, cheesecake, and bed."

"Well, before that . .”

Kurt felt the weight of the couch shift as Blaine stood up and got off the couch, only to move somewhere nearby, judging by the soft, close rustle of his clothing.  When Kurt peeked out from under the decorative pillow to see Blaine, down on one knee before him, a small silk bundle in his hands.

“B . . . Blaine?"  Kurt said, eying the small package warily as he sat up.  The cushion slid from his hands, softly landing on the floor at his boyfriend's feet.  His heart began to thump loudly in his chest. 

This couldn’t be.

Could it?

Blaine took a deep breath, a soft smile gracing his features.  “Kurt.  I . . .  fuck, I know this isn't conventional and all . . because of what we do.  But ever since I met you, you've been this brilliant, beautiful force of nature that's just barrelled into my life and swept me off my feet.  I love you so so much.  I . . would love to have you by my side for the rest of my days.  Will you marry me?”

Blaine gently unwrapped the small item in the palm of his hand.  As the silk fell away, Kurt could spy a necklace of pale inscribed circles linked to an impressive gold chain.

“Blaine . . . is that what I think it is?”

Blaine nodded.  “The Edith Head Ivory Disc Necklace . . . " he confirmed.  “From the auction house.  I . . . I know it's your favorite piece from Elizabeth Taylor's collection.  And there's no way we could have afforded to bid for it in the auction itself.  Everything there will go for millions of dollars we don't have.  But this . .”

Kurt trembled as he reached out a hand, his fingertips reverently stroking the ivory discs rimmed with gold.  “Blaine . . you stole this?  For me?”

“Sweetheart, I’d steal the moon and the stars for you if you wanted them.”

“Blaine . . “

After he let the scrap of silk slip to the floor, Blaine gently unclasped the necklace, holding it out to his boyfriend.

“Kurt, I know it isn’t an engagement ring, but, well, you haven't actually answered my question. . .”

"Oh god," Kurt said, tears streaming down his cheeks.  Yes, yes, you incredible man.  I'll marry you!"

Blaine grinned from ear to ear as he leaned forward and gently fastened the necklace around Kurt's neck.  Capturing Kurt's face in his hands, Blaine softly kissed his new fiancee joyously.

“Blaine  . . .”

“Yes, Kurt?”

“Is this the reason why the alarms went off tonight?”

Blaine pulled away, blushing. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.  “Um, yeah, " Another apologetic expression crossed Blaine's face.  "I kind of miscalculated my angles, and then my hand slipped and. . . God, such an rookie mistake . .I promise not to do it again."

Kurt pulled Blaine up and back onto the couch in a sitting position.  He swung one leg and easily positioned himself in his fiancée's lap, straddling Blaine.  Slowly, Kurt undid a few buttons on his shirt, pushing the clothing back so the gold necklace lay flat against his chest.  Kurt trailed his fingers lightly against his skin, tracing the shining collar with his fingertips before unbuttoning the rest of his shirt.  Blaine watched, his eyes darkening and his hands gripping Kurt's waist tightly.

"Oh, sweetheart," Kurt purred as the shirt fell to the floor behind him. I'll hold you to that."  He leaned forward to nip at Blaine's neck, grinding his hips in a downward motion. Blaine groaned in response as he clutched Kurt closer. His breath hitched as Kurt whispered in his ear, "You're lucky I love you a lot more than I do pretty, shiny things."

*********

END NOTE:

If you caught it, the Edith Head Ivory Disc Necklace was a deliberate choice, if we all remember one of the deleted scenes from the show :)

[jinxxedmisery]

I did a quick little sketch (by quick, I mean it took me like 2 hours lol) I still struggle with feet and shoes...

I just saw a pose on pinterest and thought omg, what if Astarion and my tav... but he's biting their thigh 🤭

Ofc, I had to name it.. thirst... and I added the "Happy" symbol to kind of cover a sketch I did on the same page... You know... it wasn't originally supposed to be just one piece, I was practicing poses and I liked this one way too much to just leave it or risk messing up when I redrew it.

This is entirely self indulgent.. and intended to be Spawn Astarion because he's so babygirl 🥰😘😍

🤣 also I don't think I posted but I got through the Cazador fight not too long ago.. and

Spoilers and dumb ramble ahead:

For most of my day, I sat there wondering how the fuck I would beat that bastard... he was one shotting Shadowheart with his fucking lightning bolt, then sending his gas minions after the survivors. Astarion being in the ritual made it 10× more difficult.. so... I cheated... and fuck... It should have been obvious...

I LITERALLY FORGOT FOR THE ENTIRE FUCKING DAY THAT VAMPIRES ARE WEAK TO SUNLIGHT.. I blame Astarion and his parasite as well as Alucard for that one honestly.. the day walker thing kind of made me forget that omfg immunity to daylight is an exception, not the rule..

So I felt stupid.. once I got that, it was so much easier.. oh and almost constantly had Astarion in stealth kill mode until Cazadick was gone.

Also side note.. the VA for Cazador is perfect.. Like they really sells the "I'm a pathetic little worm, and your worst nightmare, fear me while I bitch and cry" LOL and again that's a compliment.. Larian really succeeded in making an evil character extremely grating and hatable which again, a good thing, not a bad thing.

The heartbreak I felt though afterwards when Astarion screams and cries.. God.. the second I got to this scene, I KNEW I couldn't let him ascend, doing so would be so cruel.. and yes.. this is ascended Astarion slander, I don't like my men too domineering.. maybe a little bit, but not enough to like kill innocent children and eat their hands or some shit lmfao (Doing a durge run too.. where I'm going to ascend Astarion and be a horrible bastard that eats babies) and I don't like that he loses the genuine feelings he has for tav/durge and becomes what he sought to destroy, an abuser.

Now.. the graveyard scene... I had tears in my eyes.. Honestly, the reason I love Astarion so much is because he is quite relatable. I will not go into detail, but I was.. SAed and abused as a kid. And honestly.. Seeing the bit where he scratched out his death date, made me feel hope.. for myself... For my own healing.. it truly meant so much seeing another survivor of abuse begin anew, find themselves again... even though I have done that already myself for the most part, I've found purpose, passions, love, heartbreak, etc and I've found some level of beauty in the life. I related quite a lot to the line about sex feeling tainted.. I am at a point where it no longer feels as terrible, I feel genuine enjoyment in it... (Can't do casual sex though.. That would trigger me into a ptsd attack) And I think part of that was letting myself go at my own pace, making sure my partners knew, and having control and the ability to consent and revoke consent at any point. Emotional attachment helped a great deal too.

I've rambled on enough.. but... Let me end this off by saying, If you went through unspeakable horrors at the hands of those who you thought were supposed to protect you, You are not alone, Even if you do not see it now, there is light at the end of the tunnel, keep on living, keep trying to find joy in little things. It does get better, what was done to you was horrible and you did not deserve it. I promise, you will see better days. You will be happy again, even if you feel like the pain will never end, there is always moments of calm.... live for those... live for your pets, live for your friends, the people around you, live for that cute thing you just ordered, live for that movie or TV series you're excited about watching... even the next patch for bg3.. or more Astarion content if that's your reason right now... and take it one day at a time. You will be okay.

If you need to vent out some shit, I'll listen, I may not know what to say or be able to offer comfort, but I will always lend an ear, even to a total stranger if they need it.

That's all from me, goodbye, until my next post.. whenever that will be ❤🖤❤🖤

[suffarustuffaru]

Okay, this is a random request, but Sean Chiplock (Subaru voice actor for the English dub) is gonna be at a comic con I’m going to in 2 days and I want to get an autograph but I haven’t decided yet what quote to get along with the signature.

So what are your fav re:zero quotes said by Subaru (that I could realistically get written on a print)?

I’ve only just started reading the light novels as well (though I am tempted to get “you are an amazing guy, Natsuki Subaru”, because I know the context of the scene even if I haven’t read it yet ahaha) but since it’s the dub voice actor it’d probably make more sense to get a quote he’s actually already voiced (and since season 3 isn’t out yet).

So anyway, now I’m just rambling, but any suggestions?

YOOOOOO i hope you have fun at the con anon!! :DD and i hope you get to see other rezero fans there if that is something you want. !!

im definitely fond of the rezero dub and sean chiplocks performance as subaru is one of the standouts fr. and of course the "youre an amazing guy" quote is SO GOOD i hope youve had a good time with reading the light novels :o but trueee gotta save that quote for After season three...

alright so i have some quotes for you :3 you can shorten them or paraphrase them or something as you see fit <3 i tried hard to find quotes by like. googling. or consulting fellow rezero mutuals. or by pirating rezero english dub HAH

"My name is Subaru Natsuki! Not only am I totally clueless, but I'm also broke beyond compare! Nice to meet ya!" / "My name is Subaru Natsuki, son of Kenichi Natsuki! I can do anything, and I will do anything! 'Cause your son's just that awesome!" this is The quote of all time fr.

"Take care." :,))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) not directly from subaru but like We All Know the significance of this quote + its easy to write down ;-;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

"Tell me your name." / "I want you to tell me what your name is." this is from @eiese who is fucking hilarious so like. this is the quote for when subaru asks for emilias name at the end of arc 1 right? so just. imagine this quote... next to chiplock's signature... HAH....

"Let's start from zero!" not a quote thats always said by subaru of course across the many rezero media but it is just So Iconic :,)))) <333

"I will always believe in you." / "Believe in you." so simple but so real <3

"No matter how silly it is, you can talk about tomorrow because you have a tomorrow."

"As long as I have life, all I can do is fight with all my might."

"You are demonically inspired!" not necessarily a subaru line but it is similarly subaru related and iconic imo <3

"Choose me." :,)))))))))

"If bringing happiness to other people is one of the main reasons you wanna work so hard, then let your number one help you." <3

"Emilia - I am your knight. Yours and yours alone."

"Who says dunderhead these days?" a silly one but <3

"What happens in the beginning or middle isn't what matters. It's the end that counts." said by naoko and said again by subaru ;-;;;;;;

anyway thats all the quotes i came up with alsdjfl if i come up with more before your con ill reblog this pfft. i hope these helped or at least gave you ideas!! have a good time at your con once again :o

[stormblessed95]

Alone: FACE by Jimin

Can we talk about how heartbreakingly beautiful this song is? And sad? And fucking relatable in a way that aches so much?

Lyrics:

Trans from Jimins FACE live talking about Alone...

What he shared in a Hybe Interview about Alone here too

There was so much happening and changing for them during that vacation too. Jin was leaving, Jimin had emergency surgery and covid, they were planning their group hiatus. They were on a break, but still had so many things to do and sort through on their own and that had to be so challenging. Especially amid all the quarantine rules too. Honestly, this song encapsulates depression and the honest struggle it is, even when things in your life are in general, really good. That emptiness just sits with you always, even when you are in the moment, happy. Or when things are going well. And you know that deep down, you are still just pretending to be okay. And you don't know how to handle those feelings at all. For anyone else who recongizes that feeling, you aren't alone. Not really. For those who don't, I hope you never do. ❤️💜 I'm glad he has reassured us that he is actually doing better now and that he has worked through these feelings. I love him so much and love that he shared this with us too. In such a beautiful song.

And because I'm me. I'm back to relating it to book scenes. I brought up Kaladin last time for SMFPT2 lol and imma do it again! The way that this song fits just those all encompassing feelings of darkness and despair and where do I even go from here type feelings. Kaladin, who struggles so much with depression and PTSD and the mental health rep that is portrayed so well in this series and dealing with the after affects of so much war and fighting.... I think this song, fits this scene so well it hurts. And I like to think that how Adolin and Syl were there for Kal, the members were there for Jimin in similar ways. Ways that Jimin needed. In fact, I know they were. They love each other all so much and are always there to support each other no matter what.

Spoilers for Rhythm of War and Trigger warnings for thoughts of suicide below

"Because I miss the members too, and secretly wanting to be comforted" - Jimin

"Nobody pushed him, though he wished that one of them would. But these days, they had their own lives" - Kaladin

And me too sometimes. Let's be honest. Lol "only one way out" tears at my soul. Same with the way Jimin talks about just feeling the loneliness too.

And because I'm already here and sharing and indulging my book obsession. This artist on Twitter illustrated that above scene in the most perfect series of art on Twitter and I'm IN LOVE

Open the thread for the other 3 parts if you want. It's worth it if you do. And you made it this far in the post. This song (and this scene) break my heart. And I love the song, and Jimin and the fact that he gifted this song and this feeling to us, to share. To know we aren't actually... alone... in the way this feels sometimes.

Thanks for letting me mash my obsessions together again. ❤️

[isleofdarkness]

CHAPTER 7 IS DONE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THIS IS SO GREAT!?!?!!!? You've put so much love and effort into this chapter and I admire that so much, your writing it's just amazing <3333

“ He had their same curly hair, cut short by choice and not to make it harder to grab in a fight. ” “ Riah was a child, not a weapon. How relieving that was. ” “ At least there was one of the four Mother Mim hadn't been able to hurt. ” KAJSKAJDKAKKAKSA HIM :((((

Mary :(((

Mara has gone through so much I want to give her the biggest hug and never let go. She had to fight her little sibling's dead body, had to stop sleeping because of the nightmares she had about it, couldn't even get near her little brother, has to live with the constant fear of something horrible happening to the two siblings she has left and just can't get a fucking break. God, I just need her to be happy.

I love them so much it physically pains me. They were never able to meet Riah, their brother, not even glance at him. It was the first time Molly got to see him and it was in a fucking hospital and then these motherfucking stupidass Auradon guards go and point a fucking gun at cos, a child.

That fight scene was great, I love how you incorporate Molly's disability into it. Also, Maverick's fighting style is just terrifying and I'm so here for it.

“ And then, as Isle kids seemed to be good at, that fear turned to anger. And that anger turned into action. ” This line is fucking amazing.

I know I said this before but I will say it again, I absolutely LOVE the way the Exiled Gods look, just amazing character design. “ If Ben had seen her on the opposing side of a battle, he would have turned and run in the other direction and he wasn’t afraid to admit it. ” Exactly.

I absolutely love the way you write Jay, he is so ignored in canon even if he's one of the main four and that bothers me to no end because he's such an interesting character to explore. Your writing makes him so much justice.

“ Even now, knowing she'd been sent to steal his lamp, Jay liked Lydia. The two of them were pretty alike in both personality and what they'd been through. Besides, she'd patched him up often enough for the two of them to feel kind of friendly. ” Oh, I love them. The whole relationship of understanding between Jay, Lydia, Ace and Misha (don't know if I'm missing someone) is so interesting. They've gone through very fucked up similar stuff so they're there for each other even if they're not as familiar or get along that well (at least at first).

AAAAAAAAAAAAA I HATE JAFAR SO MUCH WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM

KAJSKAKSAKDJKAJA Jay and Evie, poor babies :((((

“ Everyone in the room was pretty pointedly focused on Mordred, who was barely awake. They were all taking care not to turn Jay's crisis into a spectacle. ” They're so respectful to him and I love that.

Mal is getting so desperate about Maverick's mysteriousness and the whole Endless thing, glad to know we're not alone in this and she's gonna have to figure it all out like we did (/lh, figuring it out is so much fun)

I love the Hearts siblings so much, you write them so well and way better than canon could ever do (I'm sorry but I'm hating everything Descendants is doing with Wonderland. Someone please go and take permanent custody of them.)

Is Jay and Ace's relationship a queerplatonic one? If so I love you so much for that, we need more queerplatonic representation.

DUDE, that was so fucking amazing. You're so great. I fear the day I run out of words to tell you how incredible your whole AU is.

I'm so glad this is finally done! Now I can work on part 2, then chapter eight! Mate, it gets so much worse-

Why am I saying that last sentence like it's a good thing?

Riah's great relationship with Hades is actually why Mara didn't freak out at the idea of having an "actual adult" (adult over thirty) in their lives. She doesn't trust him- she doesn't trust anyone- but she's willing to be in his general vicinity. She knows that he probably won't try to hurt Molly, especially with his wife and twelve-year-old child in the house.

And she accidentally called him "dad" the other day, but she refuses to acknowledge that. Yes, Hades was so happy he later spent an entire hour talking to Persephone about it.

Mara can barely even say Mary's name, can't even hear it in reference to blood without going into a panic attack. She's survived the past fifteen years by refusing to even think about Riah. At this point, Molly is the only sibling Mara can safely have. There a reason she and Molly live in the Wilds, because even Mim stays out of the Wilds but there's also nothing there that will hurt Molly as long as Mara's alive. She doesn't even have to be on the island, her being alive in general is enough to protect Molly from the Wilds. She's really just survived these part years just pretending she only has one sibling, the one sibling she's allowed to have. And then someone pointed a gun at Molly's fucking head (Molly is immortal but STILL)

Facilier is trying to get her to do therapy but he's an adult so she refuses to be alone in a room with him. But gods, she needs therapy.

Molly; I'm seven and this is ridiculous

On the Isle, you work with what you have. Molly has an advantage in that co's tiny and blind, so people underestimate cos and, because Blind people tend to not attack people with their canes due to needing those, no one assumes that co's going to attack anyone with cos cane, let alone that said cane is actually made to be used in a fight because Mara takes no chances. Maverick's fighting style is unique in that she can move like Regan MacNeil and no one expects her to be able to move like that, so she leans into that element of surprise and the fact that no one is trained to fight someone who can do that. (And Justice's fighting style is unique because she had 1500 pounds to put behind an attack and absolutely no one is ready to fight someone who not only has superstrength but who puts a weight like that behind every attack. She's the one person who can effectively do that because throwing herself off-balance actually gives her a massive advantage.) You have no idea how long I've been waiting to say this.

Thank you.

The Exiled Gods are so fun because they know what their advantages are and they play to those. Justice, 7'6 and built like Stoik the Vast, made her armour as terrifying as physically possible by adding spikes and that skull plate and that stuff. Seeing a regular opponent wearing a skull faceplate is already intimidating, but seeing Justice Olympian wearing a skull faceplate? She's had enemies see her and literally turn around and run away after seeing her in battle. Dawn, so dark she melts into the shadows, sticks to the darkness. Not only does it make her harder to see in a fight, but it's also extremely intimidating. She steps out of the shadows and it looks like the shadows created her. Hati is small but extremely fast, very agile, and hard to get a hold on. When someone on the Isle has little or no armour, that sends a message to enemies that they're like Hati is- fast, agile, the kind of fighter where armour would just weigh them down and get in the way. Few people are like that so few people are trained to fight someone like that, making these people a wildcard in battle. Someone like Hati, who wears absolutely zero armour other than her silk clothes? That's terrifying. And then these are the Exiled Gods, they only come here once every two years and most people have never actually seen them before. Fewer have seen them fight. On an island where everyone knows everyone, unknowns like the Exiled Gods are frightening in general. And in battle? Oh boy. Oh boy.

I really hate how Descendants was written because the writers don't know how to write. The point of the cast is to bring in characters who all have something unique to contribute- when you have a large cast, like me and Descendants, you have to get creative because every single main or supporting character needs to bring something unique, otherwise there's no point in including the character. Jay has things he can, in theory, bring to the table- he's a prodigy thief, he's extremely fast and acrobatic, he can do parkour (believe me, parkour is an extremely useful skill in a fight,) his father is a con man and he clearly taught Jay some tricks with how Jay uses his charm, he's extremely attractive and very charismatic, his father is an ACTUAL DJINN- there's so much Jay can bring to the table. But did he ever really have any plot relevance? The tourney thing could be scrapped because is contributed basically nothing to the plot (which is poor writing but we won't get into that,) Jay himself really doesn't contribute to the plot in a unique way (literally any of them could make an impulsive choice, the ROAR thing isn't extremely important because Lonnie was already a character, etc.) The only thing he really contributed that I would struggle to give to another character is his motivational speeches, but, rather than expand on that as making Jay kind of the rock of the group, the one who reminds them that they've got this if they just stick together, who helps them when they feel hopeless, that never really matters again until the second movie, and then it never matters again after that. Jay isn't just a well of missed opportunities, he's a whole water table of missed opportunities. Look at how they wasted my boy

There's also Rose and Diego, but they're more on the sidelines, Rose being a package deal with Ace and Diego usually being busy managing the second largest territory on the Isle. Plus Evie, but she's newer and she's only joined the group because her "husband" is there. They never even really verbally agreed to the dynamic, it just kind of happened. They all protect each other because they've all got some serious weight behind their names (Lydia, the ruthless murderer who's saved thousands of lives. Jay, the prodigy thief with a heart of gold, second to Mal fucking Briar, helping her run one of the most notorious gangs on the Isle. Evie, to whom Maverick Fucking Mim owes a favour, Jay's second if something were to happen to Mal, absolutely lethal in a fight, married to Ace of Hearts. Diego, ruler of the second largest territory on the Isle, lover of Harriet Hook, who owns the largest territory, Ginny Gothel, who created and who runs the Silver Cross, and Anthony Tremaine, who has connections to Maverick Mim herself. Ace and Rose, the terror twins who kill and maim without mercy, former members of the Underlands gang, the Red King and the High Princess of Hearts, one of whom controls your actual blood and one of whom no one knows what she can do, but if she's even half as lethal as her sibling then it's time to panic. Mischa Rasputin, immortal, one of the oldest children of the Isle with a healing ability, who kept three sisters alive with their father trying to murder them constantly, with connections to everyone who's anyone because the oldest children of the Isle stick together.) Just... don't mess with any of them. It'll be bad.

Jafar is really just the worst.

Jay and Evie are so sweet.

Seriously. Maverick was ready to need to "influence" people to mind their own business but she didn't need to, everyone just did that on their own.

Mal is this close to murdering Maverick and the only thing that's stopping her is that she's fairly sure Maverick is actually In Charge on the Isle because she's seen Maverick "give orders" to Harriet (they were Harriet's orders, Maverick just said them.) The only reason Maverick hasn't done anything about that is because she's over twenty so, if she dies, she can just go and be Destiny and the natural order will be mostly unscathed. She doesn't want to, but at least reality wouldn't collapse in on itself.

I love the whole Underland idea and I think Disney should've done that. Underland goes so much better with the Isle than Wonderland. If they wanted Red to be some Big Bad, she really should've been from Underland. Because any Isle kid from Underland would be a massive threat, it's in their genetic memory. Their ancestors survived Bandersnatchers (which sounds like a term... well, probably shouldn't say that) and the Jabberwocky. Underland people are terrifying. If Red is going to be an actual Villain, it would take far less work if she was from Underland, not Wonderland. Because Underland is terrifying. (Also, the name Red? From a queen? No, that's a nickname. Just like Rose and Ace are short for Rosabella and Aleksandr, I think Red is just a nickname due to her red hair. Give her a good, regal name, Disney. I'll even give you one- it's tacky, but it makes more sense than just Red- try Royal. Ruby. Rosalie. Rosalind. Ramona. Rosemary. Rebecca. These are just off the top of my head. Also, wouldn't it make sense for the Queen to name her daughter something similar to Rose with how much she loves roses? Also-)

That's the word! The term queerplatonic doesn't really exist on the Isle, but it's the only one that fits in certain situations like Jay and Ace's relationship. Evie and Ace are also in a QPR, they're basically only married for tax benefits (and keeping the Evil Queen off Evie's back benefits.) And you're right, QPRs need more represntation.

I hope that never happens because I absolutely love getting your reviews! You're excellent. Really, this made my day. Thank you so much!

[fandomworld9728]

Only Love Can Hurt Like This - Chapter 4:

"Come on Angie. Stop your mopin' and party with me. It'll make ya feel better~"

This wasn't working. Angel came out with Cherri as a way to distract himself from the pain and all this new free time. Usually, the Sinner would be hanging out with Luci on his rare days off. However, that wasn't an option anymore.

"I'm sorry Cherri. You know I love seein' ya, but I don't think I'm up for this scene tonight."

"Alright. Talk to me, bitch. What's got your party breaks on and stuck?"

"...You know how most hellborns hate us Sinners? Well, he told me that I was restorin' his faith in Sinners. Then I go and pull shit like this!"

"Holy shit..." Lightly rubbing her best friend's back, the cyclops hadn't realized just how happy this guy had made him.

"I don't know what to do Cherri. The pain and guilt are eatin' me alive. Especially since he confided in me."

"Then get your ass over there and be with this guy."

"But Valentino-"

"Fuck Valentino."

"Cherri Bomb!"

She tried so hard not to laugh at the scandalized sounding gasp that came from the spider demon. This shit was serious, and her bestie needed her. She could laugh about it later.

"This guy, Luci, makes you happy, yeah? Like for real happy. And probably has the power or connections to get you out of this crap ass deal. so, just go for it."

"The whole point of leaving was so he wouldn't get mixed up in my shitty problems! And one of the best things about him was that he respected my decision to handle this myself..."

It was wonderful. Luci would always remind Angel that he would help him with anything. All he had to do was ask. But at the same time, he trusted him to handle himself. Believed that he could take care of himself. The only time the other demon would cross that line was if Angel was in major trouble.

For the first time in years, Angel truly felt like himself again. For once, someone saw him as more than just the porn star or the fun party guy. He could just be... Anthony.

"Then all I got left to offer is getting fucked up enough to forget about it all for tonight."

Why not? No different from what he usually did to cope with it all. What was one more night of self-destruction?

~

"Lucifer. You need to get out of bed. It's been a week. I mean, I'm glad you aren't completely neglecting yourself, but you need to bathe. And change your bedding."

Dirty dishes and old take-out containers littered around the large bedroom told Asmodeus that the king was at the very least eating. While that was a good sign, not leaving bed for a week... It was like Lilith had left him all over again.

Which meant he had been right. Lucifer had fallen again. All the signs were there, yet the other Sins wouldn't believe him. If they saw the mess their brother was right now, they'd finally get it through their thick, stubborn skulls. But that wasn't important right now.

Right now, his baby brother needed him. If this demon had meant so much to him to warrant this reaction, why had he let go so easily? The Sin of Lust was tempted to find out who this guy was and demand answers. Why had he hurt Lucifer so badly? Though that investigation could wait. First thing's first. Getting this man a bath.

That task had been easier than he had thought it would be. After Lilith left the fallen angel at least had some fight left in him to try and be stubborn about being 'babied' and wanting to just be alone to wallow in his own misery. What happened to his brother?

Clean and dressed in a fresh pair of clothes, Lucifer finally spoke up while Asmodeus was towel drying his hair. That was a good sign that they were on the right track.

"He didn't know that I was the King of Hell, Oz. He didn't care about my position within Hell. H-He actually knew, cared about, and wanted just me."

Ah. That's why this is hitting him so hard. "I am so sorry Lulu. Do you know why he broke things off so suddenly?"

"No. All he said was that he couldn't see me anymore."

"Well, you don't need him baby. You are Lucifer fucking Morningstar. The King of Hell. The Sin of Pride. The best person I have ever met. An adorable, loveable dork. A badass who can get anyone he wants."

"Thank you, Ozzie. But... I don't want anyone else. I want him. He's just so... you know?"

Oh, he knows. The Sin of Lust had his own troubles in the love department. He knew exactly what his fellow Sin was trying to say.

"Who is this guy anyways?"

"Anth- ... A-Angel Dust."

"The porn star? Never thought you'd fall for a guy like that. He must be something special for you to lose yourself because of a Sinner."

"Yeah. He really is."

It was going to be a long and hard road to recovery, but Asmodeus would be with him every step of the way.

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