#and author includes video edits in chapters

[im-not-great-with-names]

Been following this fic series for a while and things seem to be kicking off

And one scene in particular had me picking up my pencil to sketch it out!!! Its a bit spoilery though so I’ll put it under the cut

If anyone’s interested in the fic series its 3rd Life Is The Charm by EmerialynCodeVenice on Ao3, @emerialyncodevenice

Slight edit, but I did come back to darken the shading…?

Eh you know what I mean

[eregyrn-falls]

Tweet link. (Beware: this video of the book has flashing lights and glitching graphics.)

Link to tweet.

Link to Books.disney.com

Did you miss him? Admit it, you missed him.

The demon that terrorized Gravity Falls is back from the great beyond to finally tell his side of the story in The Book of Bill, written by none other than Bill Cipher himself.

Inside, Bill sheds light on his bizarre origins, his sinister effects on human history, the Pines family’s most embarrassing secrets, and the key to overthrowing the world (laid out in a handy step-by-step guide). This chaotic and beautifully illustrated tome contains baffling riddles, uncrackable ciphers, lost Journal 3 pages, ways to cheat death, the meaning of life, and a whole chapter on Silly Straws. But most importantly, The Book of Bill is deeply, deeply cursed.

Beware: This book travels to dimensions meant for older readers.

Alex Hirsch, #1 New York Times bestselling author, resuscitates this infamous villain and invites fans to a Bill’s eye view of the Gravity Falls universe. There are many who believe this book is too dangerous for human hands. But if you can’t resist, beware: Once you make a deal with Bill, it’s not so easily undone . . .

Released: July 23rd, 2024

Pages: 208

ISBN1368092209

9781368092203

Age Range: Adult

Barnes & Noble exclusive edition!

This Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition features a gold foil jacket and includes 16 extra pages of Bill's twisted life advice!

This also displays a link for a "Signed Book", for the same price as the B&N Exclusive. It is a signed copy of the B&N Exclusive edition.

And just to round things off:

Link to tweet.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL. It’s a dremel. Learn the difference at Ranger Henson’s woodworking workshop every other Wednesday at 11 at our Administration Building

That's it for now! I'm sure there will be more later, but time to post this.

[elainsgirl]

if we ignore all the ways the text itself makes it clear elain’s book (with az) is next and just look at the marketing/publicity side, i still don’t see how people can deny that elriel is next:

- the coloring book including the TT scene

- the illustrated dust jackets with nessian and elriel for acofas

- the countless magazine articles saying they believe elriel is next (time, E! news, etc)

- the decision to make the azriel bonus chapter exclusive to BAM but the feysand one to B&N, which has a much larger audience of readers and then reprint the feysand one in the special editions

- interviews where sjm said she’s already started writing elain’s book and had “dreams of ivy choking her” (if we go with their assumption that elain is book 7 and gwynriel is book 6 except you don’t start writing book 7 before book 6 so why would she have been writing elain’s back in 2018ish?)

this is all just off the top of my head so there could be more. and that’s just without analyzing the text, which in itself practically screams elriel!!! i’ve talked with 2 of my friends who are casual readers and none of them even know that gwynriel existed as a possibility bc of how outlandish it was. and if that is how casual readers in 2025 are STILL reacting to gwynriel, there is absolutely no way she would spring a ship that doesn’t exists in canon on her readers! at least mor and emerie was hinted at in acosf so if they get a book together, it at least makes sense bc it was explained on the page in the actual books. i just don’t understand how people can deny both the text and marketing decisions at this point

The second Sjm stopped mentioning Elucien in her videos and became “hush” “hush” about Elains Li - it was ringing bells that elucien is no longer endgame. But you’re completely right, lets *solely* talk about the marketing aspect of this. Buckle in, this is long.

*Before we begin, Let’s make it clear by Acowar/Acofas - Sjm definitely knew what was happening in acotar 4 = acosf and Acotar 5, she herself said both those books lay crumbs and foreshadowing for the future.

The colouring book that did quite well & rated highly on goodreads. It contains all the significant moments @elrielsgarden recently did a post talking about it but lets focus on the elucien/elriel scenes we get.

There is no elucien scene within the coloring book. The closest is this, the scene where Elain is standing next to Lucien. Where his focus is on Nesta and Elains focus elsewhere.

Then Mass chooses to include a scene between elriel: When you look at this scene, what do you remember?

This passage:

as much as antis say this scene is insignificant and means nothing - Sjm, the author herself clearly found it to be important enough to be included within the coloring book.

So, Here Mass included the iconic truthteller scene yet if elucien is endgame - why did she not include a single significant scene between them? Why elriel? It could have been Lucien giving Elain his cloak in acomaf? It could have been a picture of them sitting together when they first talked. Anything YET eluciens get nothing, so what exactly is the point? What marketing technique is this? Why did she want to include an elriel scene but not Elucien.

Moving onto the dust jackets:

Like, come on. You cannot tell me this wasn’t done on purpose, Mass knew what she was doing - so again, if elucien was endgame, why isn’t he apart of this? Why isnt he next to Elain?

You close the book, Nessian land on each other. Elriel land om each other. If Nessian is endgame and this was for a romantic hint/purpose. well. Following that logic - the same reason applies for elriel, another hint at Elains final endgame.

Keeping all of this in mind so far - Let’s look at some interviews from Sjm:

Let’s combine all of these to get a general gist of the spinoffs:

3 spinoffs = 3 novels. It was in acowar where Sjm started writing a story and realised she wanted to explore new characters- There’s a few characters I say Acowar diverts too that are “new”: Vassa, Helion/LoA, Miryam. She also says she planned and researched for Elains book. But the two most important things to me are 1) She knew Nessian were next AND what she wanted for the second novel. The third novel she left the door open for, logically; If the next book is elucien, Mass would have already known who Az ended with therefore knew what the last book would be about, Gwynriel. Vice versa. If Gwynriel is next- she definitely would have known elucien would be acotar 6 YET only 2/3 spinoffs were planned. Then - you may ask who or what the last book could be about? Prequel. Especially with the way HOFAS went, Sjm seems ready to dive into the lore of and history of pre-acotar.

So if Gwynriel was endgame, Gwyn being so important to the plot as Gwynriels claim: She would have been introduced in acowar or even acofas. The books that set up the spinoffs, is she brought in within those books? No. Even by going off on what Sjm has confirmed about the spinoffs, it already logically disproves both elucien and gwynriel.

onto the articles:

E! and Time are good sources that are held highly and people believe. They have an honest reputation for being informed and real as far as news articles can go. Both these articles talk about which couple? Elriel. Here’s the thing: For Gwynriel to work, it has to be next as (Azriels bonus = his pov next) so shouldn’t these articles be talking about him? Yet its Az AND Elain. No Gwyn. They don’t even focus on elucien.

To have these major sources talk about elriel…when the next book is going to be gwynriel is just complicating and confusing for casual readers which are majority of the fandom. Mass nor BB would want that, would they? And this bothers antis as some even lied that these articles mentioned their ships as well (conveniently no proof was given to go w the claim)

Nail on the coffin is the fact Feysands bonus will be reprinted and included in the new editions, the bonus that talks and has a slight focus on Elain. If one was to *only* have read Feysands bonus, be honest. Would you have come to the conclusion that Gwynriel’s book is next?

No and that itself puts an end to Gwynriel. The ship has slowly been sinking this year and this was the final proof- it was never happening. And if you don’t have Gwynriel -> no way for Elucien to happen.

And you’re right, aside from casual readers not clicking onto Gwynriel being next - for ACOTAR specifically, Mass has set up each couple before their book in the same way. They each have had some foundation, attraction, romance, actual tangible connections to the plot BEFORE their books. A gwynriel book will be a messy, retconneed book which is a lot of effort to create AND make sense with the previous series and I just don’t see Mass doing that. If Gwynriel was to happen, there would have been no need for elriel. These books focus on ONE couple. Elucien had angst without elriel. Gwynriel could have been set up to have angst without elriel, so why even create elriel in the first place? As a “red herring” ? But then why would any author go through so much trouble in positivity developing elriel and their plot for 3 consecutive books if they weren’t happening?

When you try to follow Gwynriel/Elucien logic there is a lot of confusion.

I feel like I got off track somewhere - my bad. Point is - by marketing alone and adding all that has happened in regards to the ships it had always pointed towards elriel. Elains book, Az as her Li. At MOST - there’s a speculation on a love triangle between Az, Elain and Lucien - even then who is the focus? Elain. Not Gwynriel.

I think 2024 was the year of elriels’ soft launch. BB and Mass prepping the fandom for an announcement and 2025 will be elriels year. Where everything will come together in a nice neat little bow. 🎀

[yuta-nakamots]

La La Love - P.Jisung (Teaser)

Pairing - Jisung x Visual Director!Female Reader, Jeno x Visual Director!Female Reader

Genre(s) - Fluff (Angst, friends to lovers included in full fic)

Warning(s) - cheating (Jeno), miscommunication, reader and Jeno and Jisung all kinda suck at communicating their feelings lol, one breakup, Jisung is a sadboi who just needs some love and care 

Summary - As a busy visual director, you’ve grown to rely on your Monday night check-ins with Jisung, a quiet friend who has been your gaming buddy for years. What starts as a casual chat about work soon deepens, and perhaps the bond you share turns into something more.

Teaser Word Count - 1.0k

Estimated Release Date - June 12, 2025

Author’s Note - The music video they’re filming is a compilation of the Dream-Verse chapters (1, 2, 3, 4)

Taglist - @k-vanity @cosyhomenet @neocity-net @k-films @dinonuguaegi @tinyzen @fancypeacepersona (send an ask or leave a comment if you’d like to be added!)

Written for the Dream Messenger Collab hosted by @nanasarea. Also part of my NCT Dream: Seven Days Collection. 

Now playing: La La Love - NCT Dream, Rainbow - NCT Dream, Life Is Still Going On - NCT Dream 

You’ve known Park Jisung since middle school, back when his legs were too long for his desk and he always smelled faintly of bubble gum and sheet music. You met in the computer lab after school, bonding over slow-loading RPG games and shared headphones. Even after becoming a trainee and setting his path to become an idol, while yours veered toward film school and production internships, the two of you kept in touch. 

Your chats were like save files you both returned to. Screenshots of weird cafés, game glitches, late-night existential memes. Especially on Mondays. Somewhere along the way, it became tradition to check in at the start of every week. Jisung called it your “Monday Login” as a reference to Mystic Messenger. He used to joke that he was your personal Yoosung. Loyal, sweet, sometimes a little too honest. You never disagreed. 

Which is why it’s not nerves that hit you the morning you walk into SM Entertainment’s main conference room for your first meeting with NCT Dream, it’s disbelief. All these years later, and now you’re officially assigned to help lead the visuals and creative production for their comeback music video. 

The scene of fresh coffee and whiteboard markers hung in the air as you stepped inside. The boys are already seated around the long table, easy and half-slouched in chairs, tossing jokes back and forth as the production crew passes out packets of information.

Jisung notices you first. His eyes are wide, and for a second, he’s thirteen again, long limbs and awkward surprise lighting up his face. Then he recovers, straightening with a quick grin that’s softer than the others’. “You made it,” he says under his breath as you take the seat next to him.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” you murmur, just loud enough for him to hear. His shoulders relax. 

It’s been years, but somehow he still sees you first. Even now, with both of your lives spiraling in different directions, his packed with rehearsals, yours with endless editing timelines, he still comes over to your apartment every few months without fail. No fanfare, no agenda, just Jisung, your couch, a mismatched set of chopsticks, and whatever game you’d left unfinished last time. It was quiet and rare, and you never once took it for granted. 

So seeing him here, in this setting, older, taller, sharper around the edges, but still Jisung, something in your chest folds inward, tender and familiar. You didn’t just get lucky being assigned to NCT Dream. It feels a little bit like the universe remembered, too. 

The members greet you warmly, curious and welcoming, but it’s Jeno who steps forward, hand outstretched. “Nice to meet you,” he says, voice smooth. “I trust we’ll be in good hands with you.”

You shake his hand. It’s brief and professional, but warm. 

The conversation quickly moves into logistics. Shot order, wardrobe coordination, and prop timing. You show them the initial storyboard, flipping through frames you helped draw yourself. You skim over the detailed panels outlining everything from a sunset car ride to a dream sequence and the quiet symbolism of a single, flickering candle. Mark nods thoughtfully, Renjun offers a few notes, and Jeno stays quiet and attentive until the discussion turns to the scene with a candle between Jisung, Haechan, and Jeno, the one where Jisung shields the candle from their advances. “That’s the scene with the candle, right?” Jeno asks, his voice cutting in gently. 

You nod. “Yeah. It’s meant to reflect loyalty, the kind that doesn’t ask to be seen, but stays. It connects everything.”

Mark leans over your shoulder, studying the pages with quiet focus. “The candle…how long does it show up for?”

“Most of the video. It’s passed around a bit,” you glance at Jisung. “But he’s the only one who holds onto it the whole time.”

There’s a short silence, thoughtful, as the group digests the weight of that. “It’s kind of poetic,” Chenle admits. “Like, everyone’s loud and chaotic, but Jisung’s the one who never lets go. He’s the only one savoring the moment.”

You nod. “Exactly. He protects it, even when it’s small, even when no one else notices.” You don’t miss the way Jeno looks over at Jisung, then just a brief glance at you, unreadable but lingering. 

Jisung looks over at you, something unreadable in his expression. “You always did like metaphors,” he mumbles. 

You flash him a quick smile. “And you always underestimated your screen presence.”

“Do I get to drive the vintage car?” Jaemin cuts in, raising a hand like he’s in class. 

“I originally planned for Haechan in the driver’s seat, but that can be changed,” you reply, laughter and shouts rippling through the room.

The group warms up to you quickly, easier than you expected. Maybe it’s because you’re good at what you do. Maybe it’s because Jisung looks at you like he already trusts you, like he’s known you for half your life. Because he has. 

As the meeting wraps, you gather your notes, slipping your storyboard back into your portfolio. You expect the group to disperse and get into hair, makeup, and wardrobe, but Jeno hangs around. “Hey,” catching your attention. “Do you mind if I get your number? In case anything comes up? Choreo tweaks, set requests, candle questions…”

You laugh. “Sure, strictly candle business, though.” You hand him your phone, and the others follow suit, your phone traded around like playing cards. Haechan insists you add emojis next to his name. Jaemin tells you to expect selfie spams, something about wanting female guidance. Jeno quietly types his in, then gives your phone to Jisung. He returns it to you with a barely-there smile. He didn’t need to give you his number. “Are we still good for Monday night check-ins?”

You grin. “Wasn’t planning on changing that.”

And just like that, your childhood friend becomes part of your adult life in a new way. He’s intertwined not just through texts and tradition, but through a project that might mean more than either of you expected.

[melancholy-of-nadia]

love u lately (m) #12 | myg/knj/pjm

title: love u lately​ chapter title: #12 - shift pairing: yoongi x f. reader, namjoon x f. reader, jimin x f. reader (yoonminjoon x f. reader) rating/genre: m (18+) ; smut ; college/university au , pseudo frat! bts; best friends! yoonminjoon friends to lovers; summary: an outro song is defined as a song placed at the end of an album that signals to the listener that this is the wrap up or conclusion of the story told in the album . and while this might be the outro to this part of your life story, you think this is is also kinda like a prelude to a new beginning. a graduation. a move. a shift in relationships. we don't know what the next album of our life entails but having three boyfriends makes the unknown, a little easier. warnings:  LIGHT SMUT, Namjoon sax mention, small FOURSOME scene again, EIFFEL TOWER, random fluff scattered all around, mention of a pool party, kissing, blowjob, multiple orgasms, reader's birthday is 7/9 army day, video call, creampies, multiple positions, dirty talk, pet names, size kink returns, more confessions as always but they're good! playful banter from yoonminjoon note: @daegudrama has been editing this for over a year and if you have not followed her, please do so NOW. She has a SPICY Festa 2023 one shot series that is amazing and is currently working on a BTS x Pokemon fic. Go show some love! total word count: 7.5k (not including the authors notes at the end) drop date:  July 12th, 2024, 1PM PST cross posted on AO3 here ← #11 | Series Masterlist

Overall, your relationship with Namjoon, Yoongi and Jimin progresses well after that night. Is there really a difference between the time before and after being in a polycule for you?

Well, not really. You would say the biggest difference is that it feels like old times when it was just you and them versus the world, and not like the months leading up to that Gamma party last October. The days when you would stick together, and there wasn’t casual dating or hookups causing a rift in your friendship. You guys are more intimate with one another now though, and it's been serendipitous.

After the initial foursome, you all agreed to keep things lowkey, but your best friends (now lovers) don’t exactly know the definition of “lowkey.” From conspicuously holding your hand as they walk you to and from class (taking turns, by the way), it hasn’t gone unnoticed by others on campus. 

Soon after, rumors began circulating, especially coming from a certain salty Gamma boy who got left behind and some snarky Psi Gamma girls who were friends with Jimin’s ex. You’ve heard things in passing like “Y/N, the Beta Tau Sigma slut being passed around the house” or confession account tweets anonymously saying “Y/N is stealing all the finest men on campus for herself. Selfish bitch.”

But these are the same rumors you have been hearing since the beginning, back when you first moved into the BTS house and started hanging out with the guys. But with more concrete evidence now, it’s been more rampant than ever before. However, if you try to defend yourself, you know it will only satisfy those people more, confirming their torment works and continuing to do it until you’re on the brink of insanity.

You don’t blame your boyfriends for their affectionate behavior or for not keeping things more under wraps. 

They just want to show you as much love and care as they can to make up for all the lost time they couldn’t do that.

So when you accidentally snap at them for an unrelated thing after dealing with some harassment in your Instagram DMs, your boyfriends immediately worry about you, especially Yoongi. He is the first to notice the shift in your mood, pulling you aside to talk.

"Hey," Yoongi says softly, his voice filled with concern. "What's up? You've been tense all day."

You sigh, feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders. "Sorry…It's just... the bullshit rumors on the confessions account Instagram. I’ve been getting hit with so many DMs from burner accounts calling me “the Beta Tau Slut”. I’ve blocked a lot of them, but…" You feel your eyes slowly fill with tears of anger, but unwilling to let them fall.

Explaining all of this feelsl so stupid. Namjoon and Jimin join the conversation, their faces mirroring Yoongi's worry. "Babt, we won’t let them get to you," Namjoon says, taking your hand in his. "You know we’re here for you, right?"

"I know," you reply, squeezing his hand. "I’m usually good at ignoring shit like this, but damn… it just won’t stop."

Jimin wraps an arm around you, his warmth comforting. "We’ll handle this together, okay? We won’t let them say shit to bring us down."

Their support makes you feel better, but the constant negativity still lingers in your mind. It isn’t just about ignoring the gossip—it is about reclaiming your narrative and not letting anyone else define you or your relationship.

The next day, Yoongi surprises you with an idea. "Let’s make a statement," he suggests. "We’ll show everyone that we’re proud of what we have."

"How?" you ask, curious but hesitant.

"We’ll post about it," Jimin says, determination in his eyes. "Not intended to fuel the rumors, but to show that we’re happy and in love. Let them say what they want. We know the truth." Namjoon and Yoongi nod in agreement. "It’s time we take control of our story," Namjoon adds.

That’s when your three boyfriends post a photo of all three of them kissing your face at once, followed by a photo dump of other moments from that spring semester. 

There is no caption, as the photos really speak for themselves. You receive a downpour of positive comments from people who either already knew about your relationship with Yoongi, Namjoon, and Jimin or familiar faces you have good relationships with that comment their congratulatory messages to you four.

That eases some of the anxiety that has been building up inside you. Seeing the supportive messages and knowing that there are people who genuinely care about you and respect your relationship makes a significant difference. You feel a sense of relief and gratitude wash over you as you read through the kind words. You're glad you have the best boyfriends. They have stood by you, defending your relationship and ensuring you feel loved and cherished despite all odds.

–

"Took you long to come clean, honey pie." Hwasa narrows her eyes at you from the doorway of your room.

“Look I can explain…” You look away in shame, clutching your pillow closely, feeling more anxious than ever. You’ve never had close female friends before, so having to be comforted by one feels scarier than when the guys confronted you about things.

"Explain why you couldn’t tell me why you were snogging with your three guy best friends? I thought we were friends!" She pulls out her phone, pointing to the photo Yoongi had posted as well as Namjoon and Jimin’s.

You really were planning to tell her not long after you made it official with Beta Tau Sigma, but now it feels too late that she found out through several Instagram posts.

“I was scared you would think it’s weird…” "Weird?" She scrunches her face in confusion as she moves closer towards you, her tone serious. "I thought it was pretty fucking… awesome!" Her enthusiasm grows suddenly. "That’s every girl’s fantasy—dating the school’s hottest guys all at once? Trust me, I’ve heard stranger things."

“Really? Like…” You whisper, asking cautiously.

Hwasa sighs, her expression softening as she sits down beside you on the bed. “Like a girl from Psi Gamma doing coke lines with her professor and fucking him after for an A+, or a Mu Chi guy getting his dick up after injecting steroids,” she says with a chuckle. “Trust me, your situation isn’t even close to weird in comparison.”

You have a lot of questions about what she just told you, but you’ll save it for later.

You let out a nervous laugh, relieved by her understanding tone. “I guess you’re right. It’s just all so new to me. I’m so sorry, Hwasa.”

“It’s okay,” Hwasa reassures you, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Like I’ve said a million times before, I got your back. I just feel bad for not being able to protect you from the harassment sooner…”

You sigh. "It’s not your fault Hwasa. But the good thing is that I had my boyfriends with me who have been doing their best and bearing with me through this. They’ve really made me feel what love actually is.”

"And that's why I'm so happy for you. I haven't known them for too long, but they’ve always seemed like great guys. If they make you happy, then I'm all for it." Hwasa joins you on your bed, getting comfortable under your Pompompurin blanket.

You smile, feeling the warmth spread through your chest as you move in for a hug. “Thank you, Hwasa. That means a lot.” After a moment, you pull back and remember your other friends. “Wait..do… Soohyun, Jieun, and Soyoon know?”

Hwasa groans, flopping back on the bed. “Soohyun saw the posts, but she’s still a confused little bird, bless her heart. Jieun, though, she’s sharp. She told me she caught on during that camping trip a few months ago. I thought she was imagining things, but she was spot on.” You blush, realizing you definitely need to talk to Jieun about this. “As for Soyoon, she and I had a bet on whether you’d end up with Namjoon or Yoongi because they seemed like more likely options than Jimin at the time. I was Team Yoongi, by the way. But… I guess we both won, so…” You both burst into laughter.

Hwasa's eyes light up with mischief. “Oh, but Soyoon did not see this coming at all! She was convinced you’d end up with Namjoon only. She told me he couldn't stop yapping about you to her whenever they’d hang out. You should have seen her face when she saw the photos! Her jaw literally dropped. She was in complete shock.”

You giggle, imagining Soyoon’s expression. “I can picture it. I guess I have a lot of explaining to do.”

Hwasa grins, “You do, but take your time. They’ll understand. And if anyone gives you trouble, they’ll have to deal with me first.”

“Thanks, Hwasa. I really do appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” she says, giving your shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Now, you better tell me how this all began. Every detail. Even the nastiest ones! You’ve got liquor in the kitchen, and I can get Hoseok to provide some weed on the house.”

A good smoke session sounds perfect to loosen up and spill everything.

You nod, then yell, “Hoseok!” He comes running from downstairs, looking confused.

“Give us the good stuff,” Hwasa says with a wink, beckoning him to bring the weed he keeps in a closet next to his room.

“As long as I can join for a bit too!” He smirks back at her, which she returns as well.

You both look at them, shaking your head.

Oh god, this is gonna be a long night.

–

Along with dating, other things that you are all initially worried about eventually start to fall into place.

Yoongi ends up finishing the mixtape he’s been working on for the longest time.

He submitted the best one out of all his peers, which means Professor Kang fulfilled his end of the bargain, writing him a letter of recommendation, and sending his mixtape to Mr. Bang. He said he’d never listened to such an innovative and unique collection of music and held Yoongi in high regard.

“Mr. Bang reached out to me!” Yoongi announces excitedly one afternoon in mid-May, holding up his phone for you to see. “He says he wants to do a Zoom call and talk business!”

You take his phone and read the email on the screen: “As I know you are still studying at X City University, it may be difficult for you to relocate to LA on such a short notice for the summer, but I’d like to potentially offer you a 3-month internship with Bighit Records. You can work remotely for now and then come into the LA office for the last few weeks of the internship. We will discuss more during our call. I don’t want to miss out on having a talented individual with growing potential join our label.”

You pause, stunned by the news. “Holy fucking shit, Min Yoongi! I told you that you could do it!” you exclaim, rushing to hug him.

“Like I said before, it’s because you had faith in me and gave me your love as motivation.”

Blushing, you kiss him on the cheek. “Stop, you’re being so cheesy!”

Yoongi laughs, pulling you closer. "Cheesy, but true."

When the other Beta Sigma boys hear the news, they immediately announce they are going to throw Yoongi a party to celebrate his achievement. Hoseok excitedly proclaims he will supply the alcohol, while Taehyung promises to buy the weed.

“We’re going all out tonight!” Hoseok declares, setting alcohol bottles down on the kitchen counter. “Only the best for our future music mogul.” That night is probably one of the most fun parties of the year.

–

Jimin, too, finds his groove. He wasn’t sure what other goals he had besides trying to get his business degree. He knows that either he or his younger brother would have to start running his dad’s bakery one day. But before that, Jimin’s dad wants him to become a prosecutor…which Jimin wasn’t completely keen on doing.

But there is one thing he does like: dancing. Aside from majoring in business, he is minoring in dance just because it lets him have an outlet to explore his long-time passions. Working for a corporation after graduating seems like the next big move, but for someone like Jimin, he thrives in creative environments more than a boring office.

He’s been doing dance covers since high school and uploading them on YouTube.

Recently, a few of his dance performances with Hoseok started gaining recognition. This led to him asking Jimin to perform in the college dance team’s performance for the university’s end-of-the-year culture fest, as well as choreograph it. He was initially nervous, as he hasn’t done something like this in so long, but you and your other two boyfriends attended his rehearsals, supporting him and cheering him on.

After he killed the performance amazingly with his fellow dancers, Jimin has new aspirations in mind.

“I talked to my parents earlier, more specifically my dad,” Jimin says, laying his head on your lap and looking up at you. “Told him I want to take dance seriously and make it my career.”

“Oh? What did he say about that?” you ask curiously, your fingers running gently through his hair.

“He was a little hesitant at first. You know, trying to nicely say it’s not financially stable.” You hum softly at his words, understanding the concern. “But then he said I could work an office job and dance at one of those professional dance studios during my free time. When I’d make enough, I could leave that job and stick to dance.”

You smile down at him, admiration shining in your eyes. “That sounds like a good plan to work towards. At least he’s supportive, even if he’s worried.”

Jimin nods, a small smile playing on his lips. “Yeah, I’m glad he didn’t outright dismiss it. I just need to prove to him—and to myself—that I can make it work.”

“You can do it, Jimin. You’re an amazing dancer. With your talent and determination, there’s no way you won’t succeed,” you say, your voice filled with conviction. “You’ve made it this far after all.”

He reaches up, taking your hand in his and squeezing it gently. “Really? You think I could aim for 1Million Dance Studio?”

“Pfft.” You say, grinning. “You are the Jimin Park, after all. Son of the famed Magnate Bakery’s Hyunsoo Park.”

“This is one of the many reasons I love you, babe. Thank you.” He laughs, an angelic sound that fills the room, and cuddles further into your lap, making you laugh at his clinginess.

–

As for Namjoon, he has switched his study abroad program to the summer instead of the fall semester. Being the (slightly) possessive boyfriend that he is, he can’t bear being away for that long. Especially this early on in the relationship when he is worried other guys would try to get at you. But you reassure him that it won’t happen, Jimin and Yoongi are with you anyway.

Despite you rarely seeing Jaebeom around after he got the biggest hint that you already had… others, Namjoon sometimes worries you’ll sway.

One evening, as you sit together in your cozy living room studying for finals with Taehyung, Jungkook, Hoseok and Jin, Namjoon brings up his concerns. "You’re not gonna randomly break up with me… or all of us while I’m gone right?" he asks, his voice tinged with unease. "What if Jaebeom tries to get at you again? Or Mingyu? I know he’s such an attractive guy and you–"

You interrupt him mid-rant and take his hand in yours, squeezing it reassuringly. "Namjoon, you know I love you. I love Jimin and Yoongi too. You don’t have to worry about anyone else getting in the way. And besides, these Beta guys will keep protecting me too, right guys?"

Taehyung looks up from his notes and grins. "Absolutely! No one's getting past us!"

Jungkook nods vigorously. "We’ve got her back, Namjoon. Always."

Hoseok chimes in, flashing a bright smile. "Yeah, don’t worry. We’ll keep all those weird frat boys, international students, and businessmen away."

Jin, ever the voice of reason, adds, "You’ve got nothing to worry about, Namjoon. It’s literally summer session too, who the fuck is going to be around here anyways."

Namjoon smiles, albeit a bit shyly. "I know, I know. It’s just me being paranoid.” He lets out a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing. "Thanks, guys. I mean it.” 

Taehyung chimes in, hitting you with his elbow, “If anything, our little Honey should be worried that her boyfriend won’t find another pretty girl while he’s in Korea.”

You playfully roll your eyes, nudging Taehyung back. "Oh, please. Namjoon is too obsessed with me, reading books and looking at art to notice anyone else."

"Very offended you would even think I would do that, Tae." Namjoon narrows his eyes at him, smacking him on the shoulder. "I’m only going to Korea to study at Yonsei, and I’m taking a really cool contemporary art class taught by a famous art conservator and historian. Plus, there’s this student organization I want to join that focuses on integrating art and social change. That’s what’s going to keep me busy."

Taehyung laughs, rubbing his shoulder. "Ah! Okay, okay, I get it. Mr. ‘Studious Foo’. Never mind."

Not long after, Yoongi and Jimin come home carrying bags of BB.Q Chicken and a selection of Korean beers they picked up from H-Mart downtown. The enticing aroma of fried chicken fills the room as they unpack the boxes, revealing an array of golden, crispy goodness as well as sides of white radish in cups and french fries. One box contains your favorite: Soy Garlic flavored chicken, a perfect blend of sweet and savory that you always have to make sure Yoongi orders instead of the original flavor. The other box holds Yangnyeom chicken, coated in a vibrant red sauce that provides a sweet and spicy kick that Jungkook and Jimin are obsessed with. You all gather around the dining table, the spread of chicken and cold beers inviting you all to indulge. The clinking of bottles and the sound of laughter fills the room as everyone settles in. Yoongi pours the beer, its crisp, refreshing taste pairing perfectly with the rich flavors of the chicken.

As you start eating, Namjoon begins to share details about his upcoming study abroad program. He speaks animatedly about his itinerary, his eyes lighting up with excitement. 

“That sounds really cool, Joonie,” you say, genuinely happy for him. “You’ve always been so passionate about art and using it to make a difference, so I’m glad you have the chance to discover more about that.”

"Thank you my love," Namjoon says, his smile growing. "It's a dream come true, really. And I promise, I’ll keep in touch as much as I can. Video calls, texts, everything."

Jimin, who has been quietly listening, chimes in, "We'll make sure she’s too busy to even think about other guys, hyung. Don't worry about that."

Yoongi smirks, giving Namjoon a playful nudge. "And we’ll show you proof too.”

These nights—eating delicious food, savoring Korean beers, and sharing laughs and dreams with your closest friends—are moments you cherished deeply. 

However, there is a bittersweet realization looming: Hoseok and Jin are about to graduate. Soon, these carefree gatherings will change. The thought tugs at your heart as you look around the table, capturing the smiles and laughter etched into your memory. You silently vow to hold onto these precious moments, knowing they will become even more precious with time.

– 

About two weeks later, Jin graduated from college. The whole house attends the ceremony, each of you holding flower bouquets or some sort of gift to congratulate him. It is a hot afternoon, sun blazing throughout the 2-hour commencement ceremony while the friends and families sitting on the bleachers are excited and proud.

After the ceremony ends, you all gather down on the soccer field. Jin’s brother, mom, dad, pregnant sister-in-law, and nephew have already arrived to congratulate Jin. 

Namjoon, who has been unusually secretive lately, suddenly opens a decently large case he had brought with him. Upon opening it, he pulls out his old saxophone, the one he hasn’t touched since high school. He immediately starts playing it, a catchy tune filling the air. Everyone turns to him in surprise, especially Hoseok.

"Why on earth did you bring that out after so long?" Hoseok asks, his eyebrow raising in curiosity.

Namjoon grins, positioning the saxophone and taking a deep breath. "It's a bet I made with Jin during his freshman year," he explains. "I told him that if he actually graduated on time, I'd serenade him with the 'Epic Sax Guy' song from the 2010 Eurovision."

The group bursts into laughter, Jin included, who is now shaking his head with a wide smile. "I can't believe you remembered that," He says, amusement clear in his voice.

Namjoon continues to play, and all of you around him can’t help but laugh and cheer, clapping along to the music. Jin is doubled over in laughter, tears streaming down his face as he watches his friend fulfill an old, ridiculous bet.

Jieun approaches you, wearing a white dress under her graduation gown, her eyes filled with concern and curiosity. She glances at your three boyfriends, who are behind you, laughing and teasing Jin. He looks both amused and embarrassed by the attention he's receiving from people around him after Namjoon's serenade.

"You think you'll be okay, Honey?" Jieun asks, her gaze shifting from the boys to you. Her question is gentle, but her eyes are sharp, taking in every detail.

Your cheeks redden. "I still can't believe you caught on to everything months before anyone else, Jieun."

She grins, a twinkle in her eye. "Of course. Nothing gets past me! Just wasn’t sure whether I was understanding things right." She jokes, giving your arm a light squeeze.

You smile at her, feeling a warmth spread through your chest. "But to answer your question, yeah, I think so. We've got a good thing going, and we'll make it work."

Her expression softens, and she steps closer, pulling you into a hug. "I’m glad. I really do think you guys are meant for each other. Just like soulmates."

Soulmates. The word resonates deeply with you. All of the signs from the past just point out to that after all. It just took a little longer for you and them to realize it.

You’re pulled from your thoughts as Jieun continues, shifting the conversation.

"I'll be moving in less than 24 hours to LA to start my first job in entertainment next Monday. You better come down and visit me, alright?" She gently pokes your cheek, making you giggle.

"Oh woah! I will!"

"And don't forget about what I told you back in April. If you’re still interested, I’ll help you get there."

You nod eagerly, feeling a surge of determination, before you're interrupted by Soohyun, Hwasa, and Soyoon, who come over to bombard Jieun with their congratulatory flower bouquets.

As you watch the joyful scene, you can't help but reflect on your own future. After all, your boyfriends had started thinking about their careers, it makes you realize that maybe you should start getting your shit together as well. You are now their girlfriend with the potential to become their wife, which leads you to talk to Jieun, who was a senior in your department, about your future. Your career.

As a psych major and theater minor, her goal is to go into the entertainment industry and become an actress or go into hospitality in this field. And being a business major and psych minor yourself, hearing her stories about her internship from last summer made you realize you want to consider getting into this industry as well. Jimin and Yoongi will be involved in it due to dance and music, and Namjoon will be consequentially also in it due to working in art, so it will make sense. Maybe this is something you will start looking into as you approach your last two years of college.

As the day draws to a close, you find yourself standing with your boyfriends, the warm glow of the setting sun casting a golden hue over the soccer field. Jin’s friends and families surround him, laughter and chatter filling the air. Namjoon wraps an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close.

"Ready to head home and party?" he asks, his voice soft and comforting.

You nod, feeling a sense of contentment settle over you. "Hell yeah!"

++++++++++++

June 21 [Friday]

The sun is scorching as you stand outside feeling the summer heatwave pound down on you. However, your relief for quenching your thirst is suddenly gone as your hand lets go of your iced peach tea. You stare blankly at the building in front of you.

“You’re… going to lease an apartment for all four of us?” You manage to word out, turning back to look at Namjoon and Yoongi in shock.

Namjoon now sports a buzzcut, a new look he wanted to try after seeing how stress-free Sanyawn was with his own buzzcut. The change suits him well, and he looks undeniably hot. He’s wearing a slightly ill-fitted navy blue shirt that shows off his toned arms and a pair of khaki shorts, perfect for the summer heat. His new haircut accentuates his strong jawline and expressive eyes, giving him an edgy yet clean appearance.

Yoongi’s hair has progressively gotten longer, with some locks now cascading down to his shoulders. You were always used to his hair being side-swept or even in a bowl cut, but this new length is more than alluring. Dressed in a loose white linen graphic tee and jorts, Yoongi exudes an effortless cool despite the weather. The longer hair frames his face beautifully, highlighting his sharp features and giving him an almost ethereal doll-like look.

Jimin stands beside you, his hair now a striking blonde. He always talked about dyeing his hair but was hesitant to take the plunge until last week when Jungkook spontaneously decided to help him do it. It could’ve gone really badly, but it turned out incredibly well. He looks prettier than ever, the blonde contrasting perfectly with his warm skin tone. Jimin is wearing a white t-shirt and ripped jeans, a playful and stylish summer outfit that complements his new hair color.

“Uh, I mean, why not? We’re dating after all. Think it would be better for us.” Yoongi shrugs, walking towards the side gate entrance of the apartment complex and going inside. Jimin helps grab your sad, empty plastic cup on the ground and throw it in a nearby bin. You just got it on the way here and were barely halfway done with it. Nonetheless, the three of you follow along behind him on this self-guided apartment tour. 

“But…what about Beta Tau Sigma? The house?” Your words sound sad. “Are we not living there even after Seokjin and Hoseok graduate?”

You were only there for a little less than a year, but managed to become so much closer to the guys who you’d only share a few words with and maybe some small talk prior to living with them. What’s going to happen to them now? The house being two stories and having 4 rooms made it rather expensive to live in, especially in the area you are in. With 8 people living in it, there wasn’t much difficulty in getting the bills paid, and still having enough for other things like tuition and whatever fun stuff we had. 

You’ve been working in the library since your freshman year, and while you didn’t talk about it much, the guys had jobs to contribute to the costs as well. Namjoon works at a local art gallery near campus with San Yawn. Jimin works at the Admissions building and does campus tours to visiting students (which usually always charms them to enroll). Yoongi does freelance producing work for some studios in the area. Taehyung works late nights at a jazz club while Jungkook works reception at the gym. Hoseok is a dance instructor at a local community center and Jin… Jin doesn’t work. His rich parents have been really supportive to help provide for the other expenses.

“They’re planning to move out sometime in January. Jin just graduated and Hoseok is graduating in December. They don’t know if they’ll still be around, so Taehyung and Jungkook won’t be able to cover all the costs on their own. They’re looking to rent an apartment here too.” Namjoon adds.

A silence falls as the reality of things changing settles in.

“Can’t believe this is the end of Beta Tau Sigma…” Jimin mumbles, which doesn’t go unheard by the rest of you guys.

“For now. If things start looking good for us post-grad, maybe we’ll rent a new house together that’s even bigger. It was feeling a bit cramped in the last few months, not gonna lie.” Namjoon puts an arm around you, “But for now, we need some privacy…” He smirks at you, which makes your eyes roll.

“What he wants to say is that we can’t fuck you on the kitchen table at the BTS house.” Yoongi bluntly says, making you choke on your spit. Namjoon and Jimin begin to hit your back, which makes it worse with multiple hits.

“Hyung!” Namjoon and Jimin yell at the older man, who shrugs. 

“Oh my god…” It’s an understatement to say you are feeling half nervous and half horny at the thought of being fucked on every surface of your new home by your three boyfriends. Are you even going to survive that?

After a couple of months of being together, most of those times you’ve taken turns having sex with all three of them. At times, maybe one boyfriend would be in the room watching you and another getting it on. But as they mentioned, it’s not particularly easy to have sex as a group when you live with 4 other guys. Keeping quiet is not a simple task. You could’ve sworn you overhead Taehyung saying to Jimin and Jungkook that he got off of the sounds you and the guys were making one of those nights. And maybe you haven’t been able to look him in the eye since!

“You guys know I’m up for anything,” you say with a grin, giving them a thumbs-up, which earns you bashful smiles in return.

"Give it a few weeks while Namjoon is away, and you're all ours," Jimin teases, winking mischievously. “You know what an Eiffel tower is?”

“I–”

"H-Hey, that's not fair!" Namjoon protests, though his smile betrays his playful spirit.

After Jimin’s teasing comment, you all decide it is time to go check out the new apartment. 

Upon entering the place itself, you are greeted by a spacious living room with large windows that let in plenty of natural light. The kitchen is modern and sleek, and there are three bedrooms, one for each of your boyfriends. The best part is the balcony overlooking the pool, a perfect spot for late-night talks and relaxing evenings.

“This place is beautiful!” you exclaim, twirling around in the living room. “You guys did great!”

“We thought you’d like it,” Namjoon says, grinning proudly.

“We should start moving in right away,” Yoongi suggests, already planning how to arrange the furniture. “Makes things easier before we start to get busy this summer.”

You nod excitedly in response, which makes him lean in close to you and kiss your temple.

A part of your heart breaks knowing that you won’t be back at that house on a daily, but no matter what, you’re ready for a new beginning with your soulmates.

–

Over the next couple of days, you all work together to move in. It’s a whirlwind of unpacking boxes, arranging furniture, and hanging up decorations. Namjoon proves to be surprisingly meticulous, insisting on organizing the bookshelf by genre. Jimin and Yoongi spend hours setting up a cozy corner with bean bags and a record player.

Finally, with everything in place, you all decide to celebrate with a pool party with friends at the apartment complex. The sun is shining, and the air is filled with the sounds of laughter and splashing water. 

This is truly what life is.

“Uugh~” 

“Fuck baby, stay still while I fuck your tiny pussy.” Namjoon whispers as he lifts your ass to thrust at a better angle. You are currently trying to balance yourself with your noodle arm on the couch as Yoongi enters in and out of your mouth and you use your other hand to pleasure Jimin’s cock. 

You were enjoying the party not long ago, and then once it ended, they immediately came back in with you, locked the door and closed the blinds. You guess the black swimsuit you bought really enticed them through the day. 

Now you’re being overstimulated to the brim. Your body is going to ache tomorrow for sure.

“This fucking bikini… Were you trying to kill us?” Yoongi chuckles, his hips are moving more frantically now, chasing his orgasm with little regard for how obvious his movements are. 

“So fucking slutty wearing that in front of the guys.” Namjoon moans quietly. “Let me breed you before I leave you to Yoongi and Jimin.” He snickers, making you whine as your cheeks heat up. Not long after the first couple of times with Namjoon, you found out he has a size kink, a breeding kink, and a slight degradation kink. It’s so interesting to see the contrast from being a golden retriever on a normal daily basis.

Namjoon pulls out and snaps his hips back into you, burying himself inside you over and over again, his movements make your brain go fuzzy as he uses his knee to push your legs further apart, from this angle he reaches deeper inside you, his fat tip prodding at your cervix. He presses his large hand right above your womb to feel himself moving inside, the feeling sends you over the edge as well, and your walls squeeze him, robbing him of all breath. 

“Shit..” Is all he manages as his climax hits him unexpectedly, you feel him spill inside you painting your walls white. Yoongi follows, making you swallow the cum as Jimin paints your tits with his own.

+++++++++++++

July 9th [Monday]

A few weeks later, Namjoon is in Korea, settling into his study abroad program. It has been years since he was last in Korea, back when he was just a kid before he moved to the US. Now, as he overlooks the sprawling Seoul skyline from his dorm window, he can’t help but think about how much his life has changed since then—especially after meeting you, his next-door neighbor. He often daydreamed about bringing you here one day, showing you all the places that meant so much to him. He’d start with Ilsan, his hometown, then Daegu, where Yoongi was from, and finally, Busan, where Jimin’s mom currently lives.

But those daydreams will have to wait. 

For now, he has to focus on his studies and then think of the future. Namjoon opens his planner, filling it with various assignments he has received for the semester. He makes a note to visit the National Museum of Korea in the coming days for one of his assignments. As he glances at the date, he suddenly realizes something important.

“July 10th here… Wait… July 9th. It’s baby’s birthday in the States,” he muttered to himself. “Damn, I was so busy getting settled here that I almost forgot.” Just as he is about to panic, his phone buzzes with a video call notification. It’s you.

Wasting no time, he answers the call, looking forward to seeing your face after a few days of not seeing it virtually.

But it isn’t your face, it’s Jimin’s.

“Hi Hyung! You didn’t wish our baby happy birthday earlier so…” He switches the camera view, showing Namjoon what appears to be you, receiving backshots from Jimin as you suck on Yoongi’s dick. “We wanted to show you what you were missing.”

Eiffel Tower.

Namjoon's eyes widen as he watches the video. He can’t believe what he is seeing, but a small smile creeps onto his face.

Jimin passes the phone over to Yoongi, who holds the phone close to your face, showing his dick going in and out of your mouth.

“Fuck…” Namjoon's hand slowly inches inside his sweatpants, palming his cock slightly.

“Baby, show your daddy how good you’re taking me,” Yoongi said seductively.

You smile playfully, your eyes locked with Namjoon's eyes on the phone. You slowly take Yoongi's dick deeper into your mouth, swallowing and pulling back before starting all over again. Jimin and Yoongi sigh contentedly, their eyes never leaving yours.

Namjoon watches, mesmerized by the sight. His heart races as he stares at the beauty of your body, your lips wrapped around Yoongi's dick. 

He feels a wave of longing and desire wash over him, making him pull out his own dick to stroke it as he watches you be taken by his two best friends.

The sound of your moans and their groans fill his ears as he continues to watch. His mind races with thoughts of the three of you together. 

Jimin and Yoongi's bodies move in perfect harmony with each other, their sweaty skin slapping against your soft lips. Namjoon's own cock twitches in his hand, unable to hold back his own arousal any longer. He wonders if the three of you are thinking of him as he watches, if you are fucking with the intention of sharing your pleasure with him.

Namjoon eyes widen as Yoongi sets the phone down, propping it up so Namjoon can get a full view of you being fucked and Yoongi making out with Jimin.

He can see your body arching, Yoongi's dick sliding in and out of you as you reach down to stroke Jimin's dick. Jimin moans into Yoongi's mouth, his own hand moving faster on his own cock. The sight of you pleasuring the two of them is more than Namjoon can take. 

He begins stroking himself faster, desperate for an orgasm.

As you begin to scream, Yoongi and Jimin follow suit, their orgasms filling the air. You collapse onto the bed, panting, as the three of them kiss and cuddle. Namjoon's own orgasm hits him like a freight train, his eyes locked onto the screen as he comes, his body shuddering with pleasure.

Fuck.

He needs to get through this semester abroad, make connections, come home and take care of you all for the rest of your lives.

“Happy birthday, baby.” He huffs before you wave with the laziest and most fucked out smile ever.

“I m-miss you.” You say before Yoongi ends the call to continue whatever he and Jimin have planned for your birthday night.

++++++++++++

September 6th [Friday]

“What are your thoughts on having kids?”

You nearly choke on your water, sputtering and coughing as you set the glass down. 

“Kim Namjoon!?” you manage to say, eyes wide with surprise. It hasn’t even been a full week since Namjoon returned from Korea, and here he is, bringing up such a huge question out of nowhere.

Namjoon looks at you with a calm, thoughtful expression, leaning back on the couch with Jimin and Yoongi on either of his sides, eating snacks while catching up on One Piece. “I’ve just been thinking a lot, especially after being away. I mean, it’s not like I’m saying we should have kids right now… or ever, but... I’m curious about your thoughts on it.”

You blink, still processing the sudden shift in conversation. “Well, honestly, I don’t really want to have kids…”

You’ve never had motherly instincts or felt like a caretaking figure. You have a younger sibling, but you’re only a few years apart in age, similar to Jimin and his brother or Namjoon and his sister, so it doesn’t require you to take on much responsibility. Plus, the things you’ve read online about pregnancy heavily scare you. You refuse to do it.

Silence proceeds, making you a little nervous. “I… Uh, could we opt for cats?” You suggest, giggling awkwardly.

“Okay but…” You start, knowing you’re gonna regret even saying this. “Maybe… just maybe… I’ll consider having one child. You guys just have to rock paper scissors that.”

Namjoon chuckles, his eyes softening. “If that’s what you want, sure. As long as we get three and we each get to name them.”

Yoongi smirks, leaning back. “I call for naming one Gyul!” You remember it means Tangerine in Korean, and it fits Yoongi’s vibe perfectly.

Jimin’s face lights up. “I’ll go with Marimo, like the moss ball,” he adds, making you laugh at the thought of a fluffy cat named after a plant.

You take a deep breath, feeling a bit more at ease. “Okay but…” you start, knowing you’re going to regret even saying this. “Maybe… just maybe… I’ll consider having one child. You guys just have to rock paper scissors for that.”

“Really?!” Namjoon’s eyes widen, excited by the potential.

The room erupts in laughter, the tension dissipating. “Rock paper scissors to decide who gets the honor, huh?” Yoongi grins, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “I guess that’s one way to settle it.”

“Let’s decide now!” Jimin’s competitive nature kicks in, and he’s already positioning his hand for the game.

“Wait, wait!” You laugh, holding up your hands. “We’re still in college! Let’s give it several years for us to get settled with everything and our careers–”

“What about marriage? That can happen sooner right?” Yoongi’s eyes gleam with curiosity and a hint of excitement.

You blink, taken aback. “Marriage?”

You’re not gonna lie. You have thought about this one.

It would be difficult to get married to all three of them in a country where polyamory isn’t…legal. And there’s also the whole thing with Namjoon, Yoongi and Jimin’s parents being Korean and religious. That would most certainly give some or even all of their families heart attacks. So what were you thinking would be a good solution to this.

Legally marry only one of them.

And surprisingly you already have someone in mind for this.

“Your face is telling us you have thought about it.” Namjoon chuckles.

“What!? No way.” After cleaning the spill from earlier, you turn to sit on the loveseat, holding your bag of Lay’s Sea Salt & Vinegar chips with your glass of wine. These are your go-to snacks after all… well right after the Banana Kick Korean Cheetos that your local H-mart ran out of.

“So who did you have in mind, or are we also playing rock, paper, scissors for this?” Jimin wiggles his eyebrows playfully.

“I have someone in mind, but I’m not gonna say yet!” You say, then eat your chips. “I don’t think I’ll change my mind, but you can always try to win me over…perhaps.”

Namjoon chuckles, leaning forward. “You’re really going to keep us in suspense, huh?”

Yoongi smirks, nudging Namjoon. “Better step up your game, Joon. Looks like you’ve got some competition.” He gestures to himself and Jimin.

Jimin laughs, popping a cheese ball into his mouth. “Challenge accepted. Just wait and see, Y/N.”

Is this really going to be another virginity race with them? 

You roll your eyes at their silliness. "I do not want to see this turn into a competition again, guys. So let’s just go with the flow. This is a democracy!" you declare, trying to maintain a light-hearted atmosphere about this before they start a fight over this.

Namjoon leans back comfortably on the couch, his expression thoughtful. "Fair enough," he concedes, a hint of mischief dancing in his eyes. "But you know we're all going to do our best to win you over for this."

Yoongi chuckles softly, leaning in closer. "That's right. We'll make sure you know why we're the best choice," he says with a playful smirk.

Jimin nods eagerly, reaching for the wine bottle on the coffee table to refill his glass. "You can count on it," he chimes in, his gaze lingering on you with affection.

Outside, the last rays of sunlight filter through the curtains, painting fleeting patterns on the floor. The evening breeze rustles the leaves outside, a gentle reminder that time continues to move on. Inside, amidst the comfortable familiarity of your new shared space with your boyfriends, you take a moment to savor the scene, knowing there’s more to this love story with your soulmates for years to come.

–

Fin.

–

–

–

Hi everyone. I just want to thank you all for reading this fic since it was released almost one year ago, August 29th, 2023. As I mentioned before, I had actually thought up this fic on May 29, 2020 and fleshed it out a little more on May 26, 2021. I have a whole character chart on activities/personalities/etc and the first half of chapter 1 up until Yoongi and Reader got ready to go to the Gamma Party. Though, I never got to writing more than that as I ended up getting hired for my first job after college not long after. Last year I got laid off from said job, but there were many issues that had me on thin ice and burnout. Sometimes I wonder if I should've stayed longer and carried on with it. But nonetheless, this leads me to a lot of great small opportunities I’ve found in the past year through networking and meeting amazing people in the music industry. It also gave me time to be like, “I guess maybe I could go back to writing this fic now that I have too much time on my hands…”

I have written fics in the past, but never managed to finish any series. Well, there was an Attack on Titan fic with several thousands of reads on Wattpad, but i will not comment on this further haha.  So this was truly my return to writing. It’s funny because I had initially not planned the fic to end up this way. Yoonminjoon have been my bias line for the last 4 years, so I knew that’s the delusional focus I wanted. But definitely had various drafts and plans that could’ve gone differently. But to spoil you on some of those initial ideas…

The original fic plan had more emphasis on Jaebeom throughout the story as  (somewhat) an antagonist that would be dating Reader until Yoonminjoon would realize their feelings throughout the story and eventually snatch her away not long after the first 4 chapaters. Jaebeom was my GOT7 bias for a long time before I fell out of the fandom.

not an initial idea but aside from the poly / fwb stuff, there were a lot of events in this fic based on things that happen to me when i was in college a few years ago. i somehow had a pretty wholesome experience, but did have many guy friends than girl friends in college so that did help me in relationship dynamic writing

Other notes I had from 2020 drafts: [Joon, Jimin, Tae and Y/N work at Joon’s family coffee shop on the weekends. Yoongi goes back home sometimes to help his mom at their family restaurant, but mostly works as an underground composer and sells beats. Hobi works on campus in the library. Jin is...rich. Koo works at a chicken place.] Obviously most of this did not happen in this fic, as mentioned earlier in this chapter with changed job responsibilities. Though the one job mainly mentioned in the story was Reader working in the library.

Had more smoking, (light) drugs, etc. use involved. It’s mainly alcohol and weed, but even then it wasn’t heavily done which makes me want to go back and add more of this later on.

Not really initial notes but age/year timeline in this fic for anyone confused

Seniors: Jin, Hoseok (graduated high school early)

Juniors: Namjoon, Yoongi

Sophomores: Reader, Jimin, Taehyung, Jungkoo

Jimin cheating on Irene to get with Reader

I really wanted to do this because I wanted Irene to be more involved in the story, but that would make it too messy and dragged out. I would’ve had to make this story like 25 chapters if that were the case. 

Also I don’t personally think Jimin would cheat on his gf in this fic or irl, so I didn’t want to write him like that. I had to break them up before he could do anything else.

Jackson 

was supposed to be a bigger character in the series… but i accidentally did reduce him to “Jackson the party host”... but at least he’s Hoseok’s close friend  and show up often

Jin

I wanted to tie in more of the frat activities and dynamics in this fic as BTS is an unofficial frat on campus and he’s the leader of it, but I honestly don’t think was too important and could take away from the actual story

Jin was supposed to kick out Reader from the house as her relationships with her best friends got too messy and complex, though he didn’t want to do it.

Jihyo

Jihyo was supposed to date Namjoon longer and break up with him during the party where Reader ran into Yeonjun. Timeline should’ve been: Namjoon is at the TXT frat party with Jihyo -> Namjoon fights Yeonjun to protect reader -> Reader is shocked and upset -> Jihyo is confused and Namjoon comes clean about his feelings for Reader -> Break Up -> Namjoon confesses to Reader 

I also wanted Jihyo to send the “confession” text to Reader regarding what Namjoon said at the Gamma Party much sooner, so when she saw Namjoon at the TXT frat party, she would know everything. But I couldn’t find a way to tie it in earlier during her fight with Yoonmin. Very messy stuff.

I thought Jihyo was the best choice as Namjoon’s side “love” interest in 2020/2021, but once all the Namjoon and Soyoon friendship photos started coming out, I kinda of abandoned Jihyo and changed my focus to Soyoon.

Soyoon

Soyoon takes on the side girl best friend role that Jihyo would’ve eventually had

Soyoon was supposed to date Namjoon briefly, but it was too messy to write in, so I just made Reader have initial suspicions before the truth came out in Ch 8

Reader and Namjoon weren’t supposed to sleep together after the Yeonjun fight. Soyoon was supposed to act as a wingman for Joon so he could apologize to Reader and then they would have their first time in the library. But I wrote things definitely so it wouldn’t end up like that.

Jungkook 

Jungkook was supposed to be closer and more clingy to Reader. They have a close relationship, but I felt that it interfered with other things in the story, so I left it with the mention that he had a little crush on her and would hang out with her often.

Jungkook is the end game if Reader didn’t end up with Yoonminjoon. (hehe)

Namjoon

If there was only one end game from Yoonminjoon, it would’ve been Namjoon for obvious reasons.

If Reader ran into Namjoon right after her fight with yoonmin, that would’ve changed everything and lead him to be end game. I discussed with Rae about these through texts after I dropped Ch 8.

Yoongi

Initially planned for him to not be caught so soon by Jimin, but honestly, didn’t want to drag it out and didn’t know how to tie it better

Should’ve been more Yoongi smut scenes

I don’t know when or if I’ll ever write another series as it’s very time consuming. But for the LUL universe, I still have the LA LA LOST YOU prequel with Reader’s relationship with Yeonjun almost done. IDC (i don’t care) is another series I’ve been thinking of releasing filled with WHAT IFs~ (...Reader picked Namjoon, Reader picked Yoongi, Reader picked Jimin, Reader picks everyone in Beta Tau Sigma?, Reader slept with Jaebeom at the party, etc.). But all of that will have to wait. Let me know your thoughts in the meantime though!

Until then, thank you for all your support, and hopefully we meet again.

With luv, @melancholy-of-nadia

➸ let me know what you think OR join the taglist for future works! ➸ love u lately series masterlist

[hellishattempt]

𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 - false positive

cr 101strk on twitter, src from pin

🢥 summary : celebrity!au jjk men and rumours swirling around your established relationship, wc 2.4k 🢥 series includes : choso, fushiguro toji, geto suguru, gojo satoru and nanami kento, part two of five 🢥 content : celebrity!au, female reader, mostly angst, some fluff, married, body dysphoria, pregnancy, photoshopping / body editing, miscarriage, sickness, blood, fake newspaper used, paps being an ass, lying, use of pet names, suggestive content if you squint so hard your eyes are almost closed, i hate winter so this is set in like summer, jasper simping for nanami the entire time, the ending is what it is, not proofread we die like robins /ref

. . . BEING MARRIED TO AN AUTHOR has its perks, especially when you're a reader yourself. you always got to read the first drafts, and the second, and the final drafts before anyone else, including your husband's editors. nanami claimed that if it wasn't good enough for his wife, then it wasn't good enough to be published. you always thought that was a bit extreme, but you loved his writings either way. however, sometimes it was hard to find the time to read the latest chapter he sent you, because your job drained you. you were an influencer, and had currently signed a promotional deal with koh gen do, a popular japanese makeup brand. recently, you were barely home, busy with photoshoots and videos for koh gen do, on top of the content you had to make yourself.

neither of you really liked the limelight, nanami especially. you were young and naive when you joined social media, rising quickly to popularity. it was something you enjoyed, and you still do enjoy it, but it felt more like a tiring obligation than an aspiring career. you blame the paparazzi, nanami blames societal expectations, although he's not the paparazzi's biggest fan either. throughout your dating, and going on six year marriage, you and nanami have had your fair share of scandals. this one had to take the cake, however.

you were out, doing one of the last rounds of photoshoots for your endorsement deal. nanami was home, trying to churn out the latest chapter on his to-do list. he wasn't very successful. the mostly blank document had two words on it: CHAPTER THIRTY in the fancy font you had selected to be chapter headers. any attempt to write after that failed. every paragraph had been written, rewritten and deleted. so the buzz of his phone was a welcomed distraction.

it was an article post from red sun times, a relatively newer newspaper company in japan. nanami preferred them because they were quieter, at least compared to japan newsline or tokyoto sistership news. but the article title cause a deep frown to wrinkle nanami's sculpted face.

. . . "IS NANAMI KENTO'S WIFE PREGNANT?" was in big bold print on your phone screen. you didn't see it right away, but your makeup artist did. she got your hairstylist's attention, who read it just before your phone shut off. they both began to pepper you with compliments.

"congratulations, nanami okaa-san!" aki, your makeup artist beamed. your eyes widened at the term. 'okaa-san' literally translated to 'mother' of which, you were not. she should've used 'oka-san', which meant wife literally, and ma'am respectfully. "you look so skinny, i couldn't even tell!"

"yes, congratulations! how did nanami-san respond?" your hairstylist added, smile wide on his face. "better yet, how did your families react? oh, i bet they were overjoyed."

you sat there confused, racking your brain over what the two were referring to. "wh-what? what are you talking about?"

they stared at you with blank faces, their excitement slowly fading into a confused expression that matched yours.

"y-your pregnancy," aki stuttered out, as though it was obvious.

"pregnancy? i'm... i'm not pregnant," you stated, getting out of your chair. "who told you i was pregnant?"

"we just saw the news flash on your phone," your hairstylist defended, gesturing to your phone. "there was an article from red sun times and the title read: is nanami kento's wife pregnant?"

"i'm not pregnant," you repeated, growing in frustration. the fucking nerve. "do i look pregnant?" you snapped, causing the pair to furiously shake their heads and protest the article. you scoffed, grabbing your phone and your bag, storming out of the dressing room. the directory of photography called after you as you exited the studio, but you paid no attention to him.

safe inside your car, you opened the article. you also had a slew of texts and missed calls from your husband, but you didn't have the patience for him right now. the article was crudely written, at best. red sun times had been losing subscribers and readers lately, and this seemed like a last ditch effort to get their subscriptions up again. it didn't make sense to you, however. neither you nor nanami were a-lister names in the celebrity world. nanami didn't even consider himself a celebrity. sure, you both had a hefty fan base, but it was nothing compared to some of the other celebrities of japan, like the model gojo satoru or the mma fighter fushiguro toji.

it didn't matter, anyways. it wasn't the words of the article that hurt. it was the pictures. all them were of you with nanami on your latest outing. your anniversary was coming up, and nanami always got really sweet around that time, taking you out on dates on the days leading up to your anniversary. your anniversary was in three days, and a couple of days ago, nanami had taken you to a strawberry farm where you each filled a bucket's worth of strawberries, that were then all eaten on the picnic following the farm. the picnic spot was the riverside where he had proposed about seven years ago. you had an amazing time, and fell a little bit more in love with your caring husband. his sensible attention to detail, his doting words, his thoughtful actions, all of it made the date, and your relationship, perfect. now this article and its malicious pictures tainted that saccharine memory.

. . . THE IMAGES HAD CLEARLY BEEN EDITED. that's what your logical brain was trying to scream at you, but your emotions weren't listening. a small bump had been added to your stomach in each photo, your hips had been wider, and in a couple, your breasts had even been adjusted, as though they were full with milk. you felt sick. it was so hard to tell the difference between what was edited and what wasn't. did you really look like that? did red sun times even have to adjust these photos? "you look so skinny, i couldn't even tell!" the words of your makeup artist bounced around your pounding head. if you were so skinny, why did she still assume you were pregnant?

you had tried so hard that day to look pretty for your husband, wearing his favorite yellow sundress of yours, with the sweetheart neckline and puffy sleeves. nanami always said he preferred your natural look, but you had still glossed your lips, tinted your cheeks a faint pink and dusted your nose with highlighter. you had tied your hair up with a soft yellow ribbon, curling the loose strands. you had checked your reflection at least fifteen times before deeming yourself fit for the day. you had looked good in the mirror, so why didn't you look like that in these photos?

tears threatened at your eyes, but you swallowed them with the lump in your throat. you were almost home now, and you were sure that nanami had seen the article. he loved the red sun times because they didn't do stupid stuff like this. guess they just lost another reader.

"darling?" nanami's voice rang out as you entered your home. he walked into your vision, looking worried. you hadn't answered your phone at all, hadn't even read any of his texts. "oh, koibito..." his voice softened as you raised your head to meet his gaze.

you look so despondent with your watery eyes, and sullen posture. you hadn't even removed your shoes before he had scooped you into his arms and you were sobbing into his shoulder. you don't know how long you stood there in the foyer of your home, everything silent except for your choked breathing. there was a dark blemish on his wool sweater now, but nanami waved it off when you tried to apologize.

he guided you to the living room, helping you sit on the grey sofa that you had bought together six years ago. nanami worked wordlessly as he removed your shoes and coat; he took your phone and bag, placing them on the stand by the front door. a high pitched whistle echoed from the kitchen, and moments later he returned with a cup of steaming sencha, your favorite kind of tea. you felt so pathetic, sitting there sniffling while your husband tended to you.

when he returned for the final time, nanami had changed into a black t-shirt, and sat on the leather ottoman opposite from you. his elbows rested on his knees as nanami watched you sip the tea he had made you. he didn't speak, but only because he couldn't find the right words.

nanami prided himself on his syntax and vocabulary. he was the type of person who always said the right thing at the right time, it's why being an author was the only career option he cared for. but here, you sat in a stifled silence. he knew he should say something, but what? what were you were supposed to say in a situation like this? you were clearly distressed, and it was nanami's role as your husband to offer you words of encouragement, but his tongue was dry.

if nanami was honest, he almost wanted there to be some truth to the article. you hadn't exactly been trying for kids, but you hadn't not been trying. kids was something you both knew you wanted, but you hadn't discussed it in further detail. reading further into the article and viewing the photos made it clear that it wasn't true, at all. nanami knew almost immediately that when you saw this, you were going to breakdown, and he would be there to pick you up. so he ordered your favorite ramen, made your favorite tea and held you in his arms until you had calmed down.

nanami knew that you would believe the edits, that you would see yourself like that. despite how much he praised your body, you hated it, and he hated that. anytime you made some side comment about your stomach or thighs, it almost started a fight. he loathed the way you saw yourself, and nothing he argued stuck with you.

in the last few months, however, nanami was starting to see some progress. you stared less in the mirror with your meticulous eyes, pinching flaps of your skin between your fingers. you began to buy less healthier foods, and stopped mentioning the stupid diet you had placed yourself on. you wore clothes that you specifically avoided unless you had nothing else to wear, because of the way they displayed your figure. he knew that this article had erased all of that progress.

"i'm sorry, nani" you croaked, curling your knees into your chest.

"shh, no, koibito," nanami disregarded your apology. "you don't ever have to apologize about your emotions, especially not to me." he moved from the ottoman to take the spot next to you, pulling your small frame into his. one hand held yours while the other stroked your hair amorously. "the article was cruel, and any person with a heart would be reacting the same as you. don't worry, i've already called their editor and he said he doesn't know why the piece was published when it wasn't supposed to. it's being removed as we speak."

your heart welled at his words. he was so patient and understanding. moments like these made you love nanami more. and it gave you the confidence to tell him the truth.

"kento," you began, pulling away from him slowly. you used his given name over your nickname, nani, for him. you only used it during fights or confessions. he immediately perked up. "i..." you sighed. words were always nanami's thing, not yours. "i'm not upset about the photos."

"oh?"

"okay, well, i am, but for a different reason than you think."

"and what reason is that, koibito?" his tone was emotionless, as if he hadn't decided how to respond yet.

"i know you think it's because i'm always stressing about my body and the way it looks, and you're worried because i haven't been fretting over how i look as much, right? well, that's because i was pregnant, and i decided i couldn't care about that when i had bigger concerns, like the tiny life in my stomach." it became harder to speak, your sentences broken by tears and sobs.

"...was?" nanami's voice cracked, and his misty eyes matched yours.

you nodded, "was. i... i had a miscarriage."

"w-when?"

"about a week ago. i was about a month and a half along."

"you mean that time you canceled girl's night because you were sick? you told me that it was just your period, and you sent me out to get you stuff from the store." nanami's brows furrowed.

"yeah, that's.. that's right." you took a breath to steady yourself. "there was just blood everywhere, and i was a wreck and i didn't have the courage to tell you. i know how badly you want kids of our own, and i just didn't want to hurt you."

"hurt me? baby, you were the one hurting, and i just played it off like it was normal. i feel terrible."

"you couldn't have known," you reassured him. "but that article, and those photos, it just tore me apart all over again. that's how i should look, that's how i want to look, but i lost that part of me, that part of us."

nanami didn't respond at first, just reached back out for you. you both sat there, quiet sniffles and crying the only sound in your home. he continued to comfort you, even though you felt like you should be offering him comfort. after all, nanami is learning that you were pregnant and now no longer pregnant all at once.

"koibito," he murmured after a while. "i want you to know that i love you no matter what. i don't care how you look or how you don't look. you're my wife, and i didn't marry you because of your body and figure. i married you because i fell in love with your laugh, your smile, your unpredictable personality, and all the other beautiful things about you. i'm always going to support you and love you. and if you want to be pregnant, then i'm happy to oblige."

you laughed despite your sadness, swatting at him playfully, which elicited a "what? i'm serious!" from nanami.

"shut up," you muttered, still chuckling. he smiled, happy to see that you were laughing along with him. nanami pressed a kiss to your temple, humming an "i love you" against your skin.

you snuggled deeper into him, craning your neck to meet his eyes. "i wanna be a mom, nani."

he wrapped both arms around you, meeting your gaze. "then a mom you shall be, my koibito."

[lokinightfury]

Fivela Secret Valentine

Once again I'm blown away by the sheer talent and incredible generosity of the people who have been putting all the work into yet another gift exchange. We still have a few submissions left as the deadline approaches, but I wanted to shout out some of the amazing works before I start the nerdy (fun) bit of breaking everything down. Thanks again to @fivela-secret-gift-exchange for organising, and I'm so happy you got to take part this time and didn't have to take a back seat to organise it all!

Everything has now been posted, and we have seventeen (wow!) fics and four non-fic submissions, which can all be found here. The authors will be revealed on March 28th, until then all works are anonymous, so go show them some love!

Non-fic works

We have some very talented video editors within our community, who have put together the following:

Mastermind (gift for @clumsybookworm18) G rated

Fever Dream Hallucinations (gift for @rowan-555) not rated

Then for artwork we have a stunning graphic novella, All I Need (gift for @ifellinto-fantasy) M rated

And a series of fan arts based on a previous Secret Santa. We can't make any promises, but you can make me a drink (gift for @hansodax inspired by her fic Fancy Nancy) M rated

Fics

So far we have over 140k words posted, and some of the multi-chapter pieces are still WIP. An insane wordcount!

G rated:

The Twins (gift for @silverywolf14)

In Her Eyes (gift for @littleleopardseal)

T rated:

Sincerely Yours (gift for @howdoioperateher)

Is Your Drama Going to Have an Intermission Soon? I Need to Pee (gift for @stephsageek) This fic also includes art work :)

Just like the Rain (gift for @deadinsideserpent)

Trying Not To Fall For You (gift for @monfivela)

Secrets Keep Us Close (gift for @just-b-wilde)

M rated:

The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret (gift for @marygeldingm93)

Until Again (gift for @seasphynx) This also has a gorgeous edit that goes with it here

One Wrong Turn (gift for @little-moony)

Time For Change (gift for @inadequate-all-along)

E rated:

I Hear You Like Drawing, Here's My JPEG (gift for @gaishnik) This has artwork to go with it :)

These Dreams Are Made of You (gift for @okay-letsbestill)

Indentation (gift for @lokinightfury) This also has artwork in the fic and an incredible 'taylist' to go with it here made by @ssmhhh in collab with the author

illicit affairs (gift for @ssmhhh)

Chaos and Control (gift for @kitsuneudon743)

Five's Favourite Place (gift for @shegoesonandon)

Be Mine (gift for @tardis-jpeg)

[xiaokuer-schmetterling]

ZOMG TODAY I LEARNED THERE'S A JAPANESE STAGE PLAY ADAPTATION OF MDZS. WITH A LIVE STREAM. FOR MY BIRTHDAY ???!!!

from https://l-tike.zaiko.io/e/mdzsstage (full machine translation & original text from website included below the cut)

streaming event:

sun 4/6 11:30am JST => sat 4/5 10:30pm EDT

sun 4/6 5pm JST => sun 4/6 4am EDT

TICKET PRICES (as of 2025-02-21)

sunday. 2025-04-06. 1130 JST -> JP¥3,687 (all purchase taxes& fees included) => USD $24.70

sunday. 2025-04-06. 1700 JST -> JP ¥4,753 (all purchase taxes& fees included) => USD $31.84

*Please note that you will only be able to watch the streamed footage at the same time as the performance, and will not be able to watch it after the performance has ended.

----------

what does ticket purchase site look like? (iphone chrome browser btw)

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btw. i live in florida, usa. so that's the currency and time zone i converted to! resources used to make this post: google translate & currency conversion and world time zones converter (https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html)

----------

Event date

04/06 (Sun) 11:30 – LATE JST

Event type

Stage/Show

Stage play "The Master of Diabolism" Encounter Edition April 6th (Sunday) Final Day Performance (Full View) Kyoto Theater

Streaming-Stream date

04/06 (Sun) 11:30 JST

Stage play "The Master of Diabolism" Encounter Edition April 6th (Sunday) Final Night Performance (Switching) Kyoto Theater

Streaming-Stream date

04/06 (Sun) 17:00 JST

[Notes]

〇The stage play "The Founder of Diabolism" Encounter Edition will only be streamed live. There will be no catch-up or archived streaming.

*Please note that you can only watch the streaming video at the same time as the performance, and you will not be able to watch it after the performance has ended.

〇The stage play "The Founder of Diabolism" Encounter Edition will not be released on Blu-ray/DVD.

[Official stage website]

https://stage.mdzs.jp/

[Introduction]

The global mega-hit fantasy novel "The Master of Diabolism" has finally been adapted for the stage!

The original work is the BL fantasy novel "The Master of Diabolism" by author Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, which was serialized on a Chinese online novel site from October 2015 to March 2016.

The story is set in a fictional ancient China where magicians exterminate demons and evil spirits. The detailed and epic story depicting the turbulent fate of two people bound by a strong bond and the charming characters have been well received, and the novel has been translated and published overseas. It has been developed

into a variety of media mixes such as radio dramas, manga, anime, and live-action dramas, and the video works have been viewed more than 15 billion times in total. It has caused a social phenomenon in Asian countries, and its popularity has not stopped, and it is now explosively popular all over the world.

In Japan, the live-action drama version of "The Untamed" (subtitled version) was broadcast in March 2020, the anime "The Master of Diabolism" (subtitled and dubbed versions) was broadcast, the radio drama was distributed, the original novel was translated and published, and the Japanese version of the manga will be serialized in 2024, and it has been a hot topic of conversation.

Now, it has finally been decided that the story will be adapted into a stage play, a world first.

The subtitle of this first stage production of "The Master of Diabolism" is "Encounter Edition," and it depicts a profound world view and complex human drama.

In addition, a talented cast and staff have come together to mark a new chapter in the media mix development of "The Founder of Diabolism." The script and direction are by Ise Naohiro, who is active in a wide range of fields, mainly in the theater. The music is by Sakabe Tsuyoshi, who has worked in a wide range of genres, including theater, television, and film. In addition, Gearous, who has worked on many illustrations for "The Founder of Diabolism" in the past, has participated as the main illustrator to create new visuals for the stage. The character designs will be produced in collaboration with the production committee for the stage production of "The Founder of Diabolism."

The lead character, Wei Wu-Xian, will be played by Shunya Kaneko, who made his debut as a child actor in "Big! Tensai Terebi-kun" and has since appeared in such films as "Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga" and "Perfect Proposal", making this his stage debut. The role of Lan Wangji will be played by Hirose Tomoki (Touken Ranbu the Movie, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Kimetsu no Yaiba Part 2 Kizuna, etc.), who is active in a variety of fields including stage and film. The cast also includes a range of actors, from fresh faces to experienced and talented actors, such as Wada Takuma (stage show Touken Ranbu, MANKAI STAGE A3!, etc.), Komatsu Junya (Kamen Rider Revise, stage show Romeo & Juliet, etc.), Tamura Shogo (Dancing☆Star PreCure The Stage, Touken Ranbu the Musical, etc.), and Murata Mitsuru (Attack on Titan -The Musical-, HUNTER×HUNTER THE STAGE 2, etc.).

This production is brought to you by Sony Music Solutions Inc., which has been developing the TV drama, anime, and manga of "The Founder of Diabolism" in Japan, and Marvelous Inc., which has produced numerous stage productions.

Look forward to the stage production of "The Founder of Diabolism," which is full of charms that can only be experienced in live entertainment, such as the powerful sword fights unfolding before your eyes.

[Story]

The world is an age of tyranny by the Qishan Wen clan, and the people suffer.

The Gusu Lan clan, Yunmeng Jiang clan, Lanling Jin clan, Qinghe Nie clan and other immortal ascetics join forces and succeed in defeating the Wen clan. Among them, Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch, made a great contribution, but he was feared by the people because he was involved in the powerful demon arts, and eventually he was ruined. Then, thirteen years later,

Wei Wuxian, who was revived by magic, encounters a strange incident and is reunited with his fateful partner, Lan Wangji of the Gusu Lan clan. As he investigates the incident, he approaches the truth of what happened thirteen years ago - the story of the turbulent destiny of these two people begins.

[Staff]

Original work: "The Master of Diabolism" by Mo Xiang Tong Shu

Script and direction: Naohiro Ise Music: Tsuyoshi Sakabe Main illustrator: Gearous

[Cast]

Wei Wuxian (played by Junya Kaneko) Lan Wangji (played by Tomoki Hirose)

Jiang Cheng (played by Takuma Wada) Lan Xichen (played by Junya Komatsu)

Jin Ling (Jin Lin): Shogo Tamura

Lan Si-Zhui (played by Ando Yumeka) Lan Jingyi (played by Tsuchiya Naotake)

Nie Huaisang (voiced by Yasui Kazuma) Jin Zi Xuan (voiced by Takeshi Naoki)

Lan Qi Ren (voiced by Mitsuru Murata)

ⒸStage "The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" Production Committee

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, a contracted author of Jinjiang Literature City

----------

Event date

04/06 (Sun) 11:30 – LATE JST

Event type

Stage/Show

舞台『魔道祖師』邂逅編　4月6日(日)千秋楽　昼公演（全景）　京都劇場

Streaming

Stream date

04/06 (Sun) 11:30JST

舞台『魔道祖師』邂逅編　4月6日(日)千秋楽　夜公演（スイッチング）　京都劇場

Streaming

Stream date

04/06 (Sun) 17:00JST

【注意事項】

〇舞台『魔道祖師』邂逅編の配信はライブ配信のみです。見逃し配信・アーカイブ配信はございません。

　※公演と同じタイミングでしか配信映像をご視聴いただけず、公演終了後にはご視聴できませんのでご注意ください

〇舞台『魔道祖師』邂逅編はBlu-ray/DVDの発��はございません。

【舞台公式サイト】

https://stage.mdzs.jp/

【Introduction】

世界的メガヒットファンタジー小説『魔道祖師』、ついに舞台化決定！

原作は、作家・墨香銅臭（モーシャントンシウ）により、中国のオンライン小説サイトにて2015年10月から2016年3月にかけて連載されたBLファンタジー小説『魔道祖師』。

物語の舞台は、法術を使う者が妖魔や邪鬼を退治する架空の古代中国。強い絆で結ばれた2人の激動の運命を描いた緻密で壮大なストーリーと魅力的なキャラクターが反響を呼び、海外でも小説が翻訳、出版された。

ラジオドラマ、漫画、アニメ、実写ドラマなど様々なメディアミックスを展開し、映像作品はシリーズ累計150億回再生超。アジア各国で社会現象を巻き起こし、その人気はとどまることを知らず今では世界中で爆発的な人気を誇る。

日本では、2020年3月に実写ドラマ版「陳情令」（字幕版）が放送され、アニメ「魔道祖師」（字幕版・吹替版）放送、ラジオドラマ配信、原作小説和訳出版、さらに2024年には日本版漫画の連載開始と、たびたび大きな話題となっている。

そしてこのたび、ついに世界初のコンテンツとなる舞台化が決定。

舞台『魔道祖師』の第一弾となる本作の副題には“邂逅編（かいこうへん）”と銘打ち、重厚な世界観と複雑な人間ドラマを描き出す。

また、『魔道祖師』のメディアミックス展開に新たな1ページを刻むにあたり、実力派スタッフ・キャストが集結。脚本・演出は、舞台を中心にマルチに活動する伊勢直弘。音楽は、舞台やテレビ、映画と幅広いジャンルを手掛ける坂部 剛が務める。さらに、舞台用にビジュアルを新調するため、これまでにも『魔道祖師』のイラストを数多く手掛けているGearousがメインイラストレーターとして参加。舞台『魔道祖師』製作委員会と共同で、キャラクターデザインの制作を手掛ける。

主人公・魏無羨（ウェイ･ウーシエン）を演じるのは、『大！天才てれびくん』で子役デビュー後、『ウルトラマントリガー NEW GENERATION TIGA 』、『パーフェクトプロポーズ』などの映像出演を重ね、今回が初舞台となる金子隼也。藍忘機（ラン・ワンジー）役は、舞台や映画など様々な場で活躍する廣瀬智紀（『映画刀剣乱舞』、舞台「鬼滅の刃」其ノ弐 絆 等）がダブル主演として務めるほか、和田琢磨（舞台『刀剣乱舞』、MANKAI STAGE『A3!』等）、小松準弥（「仮面ライダーリバイス」、舞台「ロミオ&ジュリエット」等）、田村升吾（『Dancing☆Star プリキュア』The Stage、ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』等）、村田 充（「進撃の巨人」-The Musical-、 『HUNTER×HUNTER』THE STAGE 2 等）など俳優陣はフレッシュな顔ぶれから経験豊富な実力派までが勢揃い。

これまで日本で『魔道祖師』のドラマ・アニメ・漫画を展開している株式会社ソニー・ミュージックソリューションズと、数々の舞台作品を手掛ける株式会社マーベラスが共同でお届けする本作。

目の前で繰り広げられる迫力満点の殺陣など、ライブエンタテインメントでしか体感できない魅力が詰まった舞台『魔道祖師』をお楽しみに。

【Story】

世は岐山温（きざんウェン）氏が暴虐の限りを尽くし、民が苦しみにあえぐ時代。

姑蘇藍（こそラン）氏・雲夢江（うんむジャン）氏・蘭陵金（らんりょうジン）氏・清河聶（せいがニエ）氏をはじめとする仙門の修行者らは力をあわせ、温氏の討伐に成功する。

なかでも夷陵老祖（いりょうろうそ）である魏無羨（ウェイ・ウーシエン）は貢献を果たしたが、強大な力を持つ鬼道に手を染めたがゆえに人々に恐れられ、やがて身の破滅を招いてしまう。

そして十三年後。

呪術によって蘇った魏無羨は怪事件に出くわし、宿命の相手、姑蘇藍氏の藍忘機（ラン・ワンジー）と再会する。

事件を追ううちに十三年前の真相に迫ることとなり―――

2人の激動の運命をめぐる物語が始まる。

【Staff】

原作：『魔道祖師』墨香銅臭

脚本・演出：伊勢直弘　音楽：坂部 剛　メインイラストレーター：Gearous

【Cast】

魏無羨（ウェイ・ウーシエン） 役：金子隼也　　　藍忘機（ラン・ワンジー） 役：廣瀬智紀

江澄（ジャン・チョン） 役：和田琢磨　　　藍曦臣（ラン・シーチェン） 役：小松準弥

金凌 役（ジン・リン）：田村升吾

藍思追（ラン・スージュイ） 役：安藤夢叶　　　藍景儀（ラン・ジンイー） 役：土屋直武

聶懐桑（ニエ・ホワイサン） 役：安井一真　　　金子軒（ジン・ズーシュエン） 役：武子直輝

藍啓仁（ラン・チーレン） 役：村田 充

ほか

Ⓒ舞台『魔道祖師』製作委員会

改編自晋江文学城簽約作者墨香銅臭同名小説

[kitsuneheart]

"On the Courtship of Hedgehogs" chapter 2 notes

Read chapter 2 here!

*****

Do not take this to mean you should view friendships as a "first step" to a relationship. 

Jules and Bernie say fuck your Friendzone bullshit.

*****

many hedgehogs—your authors included—begin flirting months or years before they pair up

There’s this adorable moment in Archie Sonic #76 when Jules recognizes Bernie as “that girl I used to debate against in school,” and I had to reference it here.

*****

Her clients chose the store, and she picked up a little extra shopping on the way.

Not mentioned in the story yet, but there is not a single matching plate or piece of silverware at Rouge and Shadow’s place. It’s all stolen, one piece at a time, just to ruin someone’s perfect place settings.

*****

Amy's eyes flicked to the book, then back to Rouge. "Eh, I watched the movies. Good homo-romantic pining, but no payoff."

Nerdy readers might have figured out that what Rouge stole was a signed first edition of “The Fellowship of the Ring.” A full signed LOTR trilogy was sold at auction in 2015 for £287,700. Rouge stole just one for the giggles.

*****

"Now, let's not assume it's because he's focused on Shadow," Rouge reassured, ripping the cork from her already-open bottle and taking a direct swig from the Chateau Lafite before slamming it back down. 

Depending on which vintage Rouge stole, this bottle of wine could be worth around $230,000.

*****

Bless that girl for bringing book five of the Solarian Chronicles, it was the one Rouge had been missing from her own reader. 

The Solarian Chronicles are a reference to the 2006 Sonic game.

*****

"He called me a porcupine!" Sonic pushed up to his knees, gesturing down his body. "Do I look like a porcupine to you!?"

A human called me a POSSUM. I am NOT a POSSUM!

*****

A shiver went up the blue hedgehog's back, skin bunching, fur and quills rippling under Shadow's touch.

Ever seen videos of what a hairless cat’s back does when you tough it? That’s what’s happening to Sonic.

*****

Ask Rouge to give you brushies or something.

The author wishes to suggest the opposite. 

That said....

*****

"Well," Shadow mused, flicking a twig into the distance, "if you've been noticing my backside, then you admit you're falling behind."

Sonic chuffed. "Or maybe I'm just there for the view."

This was one of those moments when the characters decided to just have their own little conversation in my head, and I was just frantically writing down what they said.

*****

And Stone, stand-up guy that he was (indebted to Sonic and his family's testimony after the whole metal knockoff thing as he was),

In my idea for the Metal Sonic story, Stone joins the team after he looks at some remains of Metal Sonic and recognizes parts inspired by Robotnik’s work, but clearly just ripping it off. Stone is Not Pleased at the abuse of Ivo’s legacy, and manages to do enough to solve the problem that GUN allows him to go back to the Mean Bean, but under a very strict Mobian-enforced house arrest. Stone would certainly betray the trust placed in him if he discovered some method of bringing the Doctor back, but, as of yet, that hasn’t happened.

*****

That was the same look they shared before Maddie restricted the three semi-animal kids to the property, back during the rabies scare three years ago. 

I spend more time than is healthy wondering how Maddie handles the Mobians’ medical care. Earth foxes can be given a rabies vaccine, but would it be safe to give Tails? Could post-exposure prophylaxis stop the spread of the sickness in the kids? Can Mobians even GET rabies? For this disease, she would definitely play it safe.

*****

I’ll become a real sexpert!

Travis insists he’s a “sexpert,” but if there’s a degree on his wall, I haven’t seen it.

*****

Wow, did Mobians go to Heaven?

All Dog Mobians do.

*****

"Bark bark!" Ozzy replied. <You cut off my balls! Personally!>

Like...she probably did. It’s a routine procedure. There’s no ethical standard for vets that says they can’t treat their own animals, unlike human doctors and their families. She probably tossed her puppy’s puppies right in the garbage.

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Fic Author Self-Rec

I was tagged by @qqueenofhades mwah dear!

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love. ❤

I know what I would pick for the five if I was being fully honest - it's the same five I've repeatedly picked before (Reincarnation AU, Hades!Buck AU, Zombie Apocalypse AU, Ghost!Buck AU, and Hades!Eddie AU). But I wanted to challenge myself and pick five fics from this year, 2024, since it is the end of the year and it would be nice to look back on it.

I wrote far more fanfic than I planned (728,600 words), including a threesome collection and a rarepair (77k words for a Midsomer Murders fic what is wrong with me). I had hoped to surprise post my big Xedgin fic as a new year's gift but that ended up not happening, alas. I haven't forgotten it though and while I am now 100% focused on my original novels I promise to find time to post it.

Anyway enough navel-gazing, here are my five favorite fics from this year!

Racing with the Brakes Cut

My Fast & Furious AU that I wrote in a burst of inspiration after I was made to marathon the series with friends. I had a lot of fun writing it. There's a very particular feel to the first F&F film - a vibe of Los Angeles in the dog days of summer, a sense of desperate people living in the beautiful grit of the city, a feeling of messy found family, and a particular brand of homoeroticism, that I wanted to capture. I like to think I succeeded.

Held Up a Lightning Rod (Wonder Why I'm Struck)

THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO JUST BE A FUN SUGAR BABY AU. I predicted it would be around 60k words and it turned out double that number. But I'm really proud of how I wove seasons one through four into this canon and ended up incorporating Buck and Eddie's alternate relationship into the canon. This is also a fic I posted chapter by chapter and the responses I got from everyone along the way were delightful. I think this might be one of my most popular fics, actually. I just had a blast writing it and responding to everyone's comments, it really felt like a community, and that's what fic and fandom are all about.

Connected the Dots in Reverse (But Still Completed the Picture)

This is a Ghost Files/Unsolved AU and that proved to be a challenge. How do you capture the feeling of watching a video in a written work? How do you replicate the banter and the humorous editing? I also had to watch the entire two series over again to pick what locations and quotes I wanted to incorporate into the fic, so that was a lot. But I had a lot of fun writing it. It was especially fun to get to lean into Eddie's sassy, goofy, Buck-enabling side.

The Blood Between My Teeth is My Own

I am so proud of myself that this was only 32k. YAY, ME! I love the 118 as werewolves, and it was great to finally dive into that with a fic that had a proper plot. It was fun to explore Eddie's personal issues through the lens of lycanthropy, and I enjoyed depicting werewolves as properly monstrous rather than just big wolves or slightly-transformed humans. I wrote this in the span of about 72 hours and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I’m Not Breathing Unless I’m Giving You CPR

YES I KNOW THIS IS FROM 2023 BUT BEAR WITH ME. I wrote this fic as an experiment and was extremely nervous about its reception. I didn't think most people would read it or enjoy it. But if you look at my stats page for 2023, it has the most hits, second-most kudos, second-most bookmarks, and second-most comments. I'm floored, absolutely floored. Over the last year I've repeatedly gotten really lovely comments from people talking about how this fic has affected them, and it's really meant more than I can say. Especially as I dive into my novels which feature characters who are various levels of disaster and do often mess up, or are hard to love, or who make wrong or bad choices, or are mentally unwell, it's so encouraging to know that this darker fic that I really was nervous about has been so loved.

Tagging @extasiswings @tripleaxeldiaz @peridotglimmer @givemeunicorns and @princessfbi. No pressure but I hope as this (terrible) year comes to a close you all have a chance to look with pride at some of your writing!

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Due to flare ups, I’ve been thinking more about my relationship with my disabilities and my relationship with God — any good resources/book you can recommend?

Hey there, sending love and solidarity as you go through flare ups and as you explore all this <3

You came to the right place — disability theology is one of my great passions! Here are my recs for you. If anyone has more resources to add on or insights for anon, please share!

For starters...

First, you might enjoy wandering through my #disability theology tag over on my other blog, which includes excerpts from various disability theologians.

Or reading through / praying with the disability text prayers I shared here last July for Disability Pride Month, which were written by a variety of disabled folks.

Since it's Lent, Unbound's Disabling Lent: An Anti-Ableist Lenten Devotional is timely!

___

Memoirs Exploring Christian Faith & Chronic Pain / Illness

My Body and Other Crumbling Empires, Lyndsey Medford (2023)

This memoir connects faith, chronic illness (especially autoimmune disorders), and the sickness at the heart of Western Empire / the Protestant work ethic.

How can we learn to work with instead of against our bodies? How can we rebuild our world to treat all bodies with the love and gentleness they deserve? .

This Here Flesh, Cole Arthur Riley (2022)

An incredibly beautiful book, poetic and searing...explores the goodness of embodied life and intersections between disability (particularly chronic illness), Blackness, queerness, womanhood, and more.

Each chapter focuses on a different emotion (anger, joy, lament, love...) to teach us how to honor and listen to what we feel in our bodies.

CW for accounts of sexual assault and other forms of and abuse and trauma, as well as accounts of antiblack racism. .

Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved, Kate Bowler (2018)

If you've been steeped in any kind of prosperity gospel, "if you pray hard enough you'll be healed" type Christianity, I highly recommend this book.

Bowler writes with gentle honesty about how her chronic pain and then cancer compelled her to move away from that kind of harmful Christianity into a faith with room for doubt, grief, and a God that holds her in her suffering.

___

Disability Theology — Books, Podcasts, Videos

Disability: The Inclusive Church Resource edited by Bob Callighan (2014)

If you're interested in the perspectives of various disabled Christians, I love the range of voices they brought into this text! A great intro to how theology and church life impact disabled persons and how our churches must re-form themselves with disabled persons at the center. .

My Disabled AND Blessed YouTube series

I've got multiple YouTube videos that draw from various disability theologians!

I especially recommend my introduction to reading the Bible with a disability lens — stressing how different biblical authors hold different views around disability; so what's God's overall message? — and my video on Luke 14's parable of the banquet!

If you have questions about or struggle with the Gospels' healing narratives, I also recommend my livestream on that topic. .

My friend Laura's Autistic Liberation Theology Podcast (you can listen wherever you get podcasts)

Laura explores scripture through the lens of an autistic trans person who uses a wheelchair and has multiple chronic & mental illnesses.

I especially recommend their episode on "the Gethsemane of things," which takes an honest look at pain and where God is in our suffering. (Most of Laura's eps don't have transcripts, but I shared an abridged version of this ep on my podcast and it has a transcript)

"I am not your ornamental prophet" is also a great episode for thinking about what pressures are put on disabled persons and how to construct boundaries for yourself .

The Mad and Crip Theology Podcast

This podcast interviews the authors who are published in the Mad and Crip Theology journal, which is really cool! You can watch episodes with captions on YouTube, or listen wherever you get podcasts.

A good starter episode: this one "on Queer and Crip Sexuality and the Disabled Christ" .

Some eps of Blessed Are the Binary Breakers

While my own podcast largely centers trans perspectives, disability comes up frequently as well! Each ep has a transcript. These are the disability-focused ones:

"No End to Transphobia without Uprooting Ableism — exploring embedded forms of oppression"

"Our Pride Is Not a Sin — a Queer and Disabled Christian Lens"

"Goodness Embodied — an intersex, nonbinary first human and a disabled risen Christ"

"Marginalized Bodies as Spectacle and the good news in Jesus's disabling wounds"

"Eli and the prophet Elijah"

“Secular” books that helped shape my own theology

What Can a Body Do? How We Meet the Built World, Sara Hendren (2020)

Fantastic book digging into recent disability history, present, and future with focus on the “misfit” theory of disability where body and world interact with each other disharmoniously, and the creativity disabled people employ to make them more harmonious  .

Exile and Pride, Eli Clare (1999)

One of my favorite books of all time. Connects disability, queerness, rural life, trauma, and more. Clare is one of the originators of the concept of the “bodymind” (though he talks about that more in one of his later books)

___

Wanting even more resources? Here's my google doc with aaaaall the disability theology stuff — plus some helpful disability 101 stuff to share with loved ones!

Praying for comfort, wisdom, and community support for you as you journey! Please feel free to drop by again with any questions that come up or to share any insights you've gained any time <3

[thehandmaidenofcreativity]

Pining Idiots (college edition)

Chapter 10: When I say party shenanigans, I mean SHENANIGANS

WC: 6,811; Rating: 18+

Read Chapter 9 here!

Chan and Seungmin attend game night to round out the perfect day. With the change in the dynamics of their relationship, a few things feel distinctly different as the night goes on. Everyone has a great time, and many of them are able to follow through on their own agendas.

Author's Note:

Like Halloween night, this party (and entire chapter) will not follow Chan or Seungmin's perspective so that you can get a better picture of everything going on and a little insight into both of their thoughts at times.

Additionally, this chapter kind of sets up several potential side stories that I may write within this au, as was one of the inital intentions when we discussed writing this fic. Hyunsung was the only original little bonus work, but as I wrote more and more, we realized there are a lot of things we'd like to see with these characters.

⋆⭒˚｡✧｡˚⭒⋆

When Chan and Seungmin arrive at Seonghwa and Hongjoong’s apartment, they’re met with a chorus of cheers. Everyone offers them hugs and congratulations as if they’d just gotten engaged rather than just had their first date. Chan is a bit taken aback, and Seungmin probably would’ve been embarrassed in any other circumstance, but they’re both so incredibly happy to finally be together, especially after such a successful first date, that they welcome all the attention. 

Hyunjin and Felix whisk Seungmin off to a corner to pump him for information. They pepper him with questions about what they did and how he was/is feeling. He’s laughing, struggling to escape Hyunjin’s grip on his hand only to be swept into Felix’s arms. “Okay, okay, chill guys.”

Felix nuzzles his face into Seungmin’s neck with a big smile. “Then answer our questions, Seungminnie!”

“At least tell us if you guys –” Hyunjin not-so-subtly checks to see how close others in the room are before continuing quietly “– had sex yet.”

Seungmin’s blush is immediate and deep. He tells them about his afternoon with Chan, including a brief description of their love-making, ‘cause that’s the only thing he could call it. The three of them are all giggles as they celebrate Seungmin finally getting to be with Chan the way he’s always wanted. 

In the kitchen, Chan is giving a similar, though slightly less detailed, account of the date to Jisung and San.

“Oh a pottery date!” Jisung whips his phone out and starts looking something up. “Hyunjin is super into drawing and painting. Maybe I should take him to one of those places where you paint pottery or something.”

“Don’t you think you should actually ask him out before you start planning dates?” Chan teases. 

Jisung pouts, but San speaks before he can. “I was going to recommend one of those wine and canvas places, but I guess that might be less fun when you’re underaged.”

Hongjoong comes up beside him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “You can actually do that pretty easily at home; Seonghwa was actually talking about making a party of it sometime soon. You just buy the stuff and follow a Bob Ross video.”

“Is that why you have that painting in your bathroom now?”

“Yeah, he did pretty good, didn’t he?” Hongjoong’s smile is full of love and pride. He turns to Chan and Jisung. “You guys should take a look at it! And if you’re interested, tell Hwa; it’ll make him happy to know people would be down if he hosted it.”

They agree and start making their way out, drinks in hand. Chan goes to hand Seungmin a drink while Jisung goes to check out the painting. Wooyoung grabs Jisung before he hits the hallway, though, yelling about how it’s time to really get the party started and having everyone gather around him.

“You realize, once again, that this is not your house and thus not your party, right?” Hongjoong interjects as he enters the room. 

“I realize no such thing,” Wooyoung pouts. “Seonghwa hyung, you want me to take over, don’t you?”

The grimace on his face seems to show that Wooyoung’s whining isn’t hitting the mark. “Woo, you should just relax and have fun. Hosting is more than announcing games; if you took over, I’d want you to handle everything, like restocking and cleaning up messes. You can have one night of not being the center of attention.”

“But hosting is fun!” Wooyoung is still pouting. “You should get to relax! I’ll handle everything.” 

Hongjoong gives Seonghwa a smile and a thumbs up behind Wooyoung’s back. Seonghwa smiles gently at Wooyoung. “You’ll really handle everything, including clean up?”

“Yes!” When Seonghwa assents, Wooyoung asks him to go get as many green legos as he can. When he returns, he has a container with color-coded compartments, making it easy for Wooyoung to check the approximate amount. 

“Okay, so here’s how this works,” Wooyoung begins, handing the container back to Seonghwa. “Hwa’s going to give you ten legos to use as your dollars. You also get 3 penalty shots to hand out if someone rejects your challenge. If you’re all down, we can just make tally marks on our arms when you give them to keep track.”

“The penalty shots are going to be blueberry soju until it runs out, ‘cause I don’t want any of that shit left in my house by the end of the night,” Hongjoong adds. 

There are a few laughs and murmurs of agreement. 

Wooyoung continues. “Whoever has the most ‘money’ by the end of the night wins. The game supersedes any other games we’re playing or whatever, so some might get put on hold while shit’s goin’ down.”

Everyone collects their legos then group up throughout the apartment to talk and start smaller games. Once the last person gets theirs, Minho announces that it’s time for the first challenge of the night. 

“Wooyoung is going to strip down to his underwear and run around the building.” He wiggles his eyebrows at Wooyoung, holding a lego out to him. “Right?”

Wooyoung just smiles and starts stripping. 

“I figured there’d be more drinking before Woo took his clothes off, but honestly, I don’t know why,” Jongho laughs. 

Several of them go outside with him to witness, while others just look down out the window. When they come back inside, Wooyoung looking quite pleased with himself, Yunho offers him another lego to keep his clothes off. No one else offers any challenges while activities pick up. A group starts playing beer pong while another starts a game of Uno. As expected, Wooyoung establishes a few house rules for the game - kisses to make the skip sting less, one drink on a draw two, two drinks on a draw four, a shot if you fail to say uno. 

Seungmin relaxes happily on the couch, watching Chan and Felix get adorably competitive playing Uno, playing with the rings on Hyunjin’s fingers while he animatedly explains the model he’s building for a class. Yunho sits in rapt attention until Yeosang comes up to challenge him to switch clothes with Hongjoong; theirs is the most drastic height difference of the group.

While they change, Seungmin goes to sit behind Chan, legs bracketing his body and arms wrapping around his middle. Hyunjin sits beside Jisung, who is laying another draw four down, to Felix’s dismay. Changbin giggles and whispers something to Felix. 

“Got a challenge for ya, Jisungie.” Felix rarely looks so devious when he smiles. “Have you ever heard of a 69 push up?”

Jisung rolls his eyes. “Lame, Bin, you know I’ll be able to knock ‘em out easy.” He flexes his impressive arms to punctuate his point. 

“We know you can handle push ups, Ji; the question is, how will you handle them when you’re lowering your face into Hyunjin’s crotch.” Hyunjin chokes on his drink, sputtering, when Changbin says this. 

Felix gives him a vaguely apologetic and pleading look. “You’ll help with his challenge, right Jinnie?”

When he recovers, Felix comes to whisper in Hyunjin’s ear. He agrees, likely not wanting to watch Jisung ‘69’ someone else. With his agreement, Jisung’s cheeks heat up, but he doesn’t back down. Uno pauses as Yunho and Hongjoong emerge from the bedroom. Hongjoong is absolutely swimming in Yunho’s jeans and t-shirt; the shirt was already oversized on Yunho, so it’s nearly at Hongjoong’s knees, the neck wide enough to show off his collarbone as it sits askew with sleeves reaching his elbows. The pants drag along the ground by a few inches. Yunho, on the other hand, is lucky that Hongjoong hadn’t opted for skinny jeans tonight, or he wouldn’t have been able to get his pants all the way on. As it is, he looks like he’s prepared to walk through a 12-inch flood. The shirt is tight and small enough that it looks like a crop top.

Yunho’s bare midriff inspires several wolf whistles and catcalls. When it settles down again, Changbin makes sure no one forgot Jisung’s challenge. Hyunjin lays down on the ground, and Jisung props himself over him in push-up position. He needs to do 15 push-ups, but on number 8, Felix pops up and sits on Jisung’s back, the surprise of it nearly making him face plant onto Hyunjin’s junk. 

Hyunjin lets out a laughing sigh as Jisung yells about dirty tricks. He finishes the set, but with Felix wiggling on the last one, he struggles a bit and ends up gently pressing his face into Hyunjin’s crotch for a second before he can push back up. Felix hops off, and Jisung scrambles back, face and ears burning red as he apologizes to Hyunjin. 

For his part, Hyunjin is giggling. “It’s okay, Jisung, though typically guys kiss my face before they kiss my dick.”

This does nothing for Jisung’s embarrassment, his eyes go wide and his mouth drops open. The rest of the group laughs along with Hyunjin, who has clearly gotten bolder after a couple drinks. Seungmin gives Chan a squeeze as they watch Hyunjin lean forward, taking Jisung’s cheeks between his hands, and pull him in for a kiss. 

Jisung still looks a little stunned afterward, but pulls himself together quickly. He stands, giving Hyunjin a hand and a cocky grin. “Do you wanna go get another drink?” They head off to the kitchen, smiling and giggling at each other as Jisung wraps an arm around Hyunjin’s waist.

⋆⭒˚｡✧｡˚⭒⋆

With this, it seems the challenges are picking up, because San and Yunho amble over; San plops himself next to Minho with a smile. “Can I kiss you for a dollar?”

Minho raises an eyebrow at him and glances over at Jeongin. “Like a peck or for how long?”

All eyes turn to Wooyoung, who preens with all the attention on him. “Let’s say kisses need to be 5 seconds or more!”

In lieu of a verbal answer, Minho grabs San by the nape of his neck and drags him in for a kiss. San’s hand lands on Minho’s chest, kneading into it gently. After several seconds, Chan finally just counts ‘4, 5’ out loud to signal an end to the kiss. Minho pulls back with a very satisfied look on his face as he smooths where his shirt that was rumpled under San’s grasp. Yunho drops a lego into San’s hand that he passes over to Minho.

Seungmin realizes he would’ve read way too much into Chan’s interference prior to their confessions. On the other end, Chan is just feeling relieved seeing the smile that Jeongin gives both San and Minho. 

“Well, that was hot as hell,” Wooyoung announces before turning to Changbin. “Make out with me for a dollar?”

Changbin grins and holds out his palm. Wooyoung slams a lego into it; he grabs onto Changbin’s hand and drags him over to the couch. Reminiscent of Jeongin and San’s first kiss, Wooyoung straddles Changbin and starts kissing him, much to Jongho and Yeosang’s dismay as they’d already been occupying the couch. 

Deciding that it’s time he really participates and ready to get away from Wooyoung’s enthusiasm, Jongho approaches Yunho. “I’ve got a challenge for you: post a picture of your toes on Instagram with the caption ‘first one’s free, next is $100.’”

As Yunho considers, Mingi steps in. “If you’re gonna do that, you’d better make ‘em look nice.” He looks around, noticing the big smile on Hyunjin’s face after hearing the challenge. “Hyuni, I’ll give you a dollar if you lotion his feet before he posts.”

A chorus of laughs and sounds of disgust fill the air as Hyunjin and Yunho shake hands in agreement. Yunho, much less put off by the couple making out on the couch than Jongho, plops down right next to them, leaning into Wooyoung as he takes his sock off. 

Wooyoung’s retaliation is sitting back on Changbin’s lap and grabbing Yunho’s face to plant a smacking kiss on his cheek after proclaiming, “Oh Yuyu, don’t be jealous; I’ll kiss you, too.” He turns so he can sit sideways across Changbin’s thighs and watch the action. 

Seonghwa materializes beside them to hand Hyunjin a bottle of lotion. Yunho’s socks come off, and Hyunjin gets to work. On the second foot, he pretends he’s going to take a bite before he applies the lotion. Luckily, Minho snapped a picture at just the right moment so that it looked like he actually did it. When he finishes, Yunho takes his own picture and posts it. Several of them make sure to go comment under the photo, some positive, some negative. 

Seonghwa taps Wooyoung on the shoulder then tips his head toward the kitchen and his eyes light up. He leaves and comes back with a few boxes in his hands. “Since all other games have stopped, I think it’s time for a tournament!” Seonghwa pulls out one of those huge sticky note pads that teachers use and puts one up on the wall. It has a bracket already drawn onto it.

After taking a better look at the boxes, Yeosang says more than asks, “The pepero game?”

“How did you determine seeds?” Jeongin asks.

Wooyoung smiles, probably happy that there doesn’t appear to be any push back on playing. “Easy, age order.”

“Ah yes!” Jisung claps his hands, grabbing a stick and handing it to Jeongin. “That means first up is the baby and our resident grandpa.”

Chan sucks a breath in sharply, eyes to the ceiling, while Minho and Changbin laugh. maniacally.

Jeongin puts the cookie between his teeth and steps up to put his hands on Chan’s shoulders. Chan sighs and starts biting. Ultimately, his lovely, plush lips are his downfall, and he loses the game, but Seungmin is sure to give him a kiss and promises to win the whole tournament in his honor.

To do so, when the second round begins – 8 matches going simultaneously – Seungmin starts off strong. He offers Hongjoong a dollar to let him win. The junior is very easily swayed, but Mingi, like a devil over his shoulder, says that he should take a kiss instead of a dollar. 

“You know what, that seems like a great idea.” Hongjoong grins at them before winking at Seungmin. “I’ve heard great things after all. I’ll take the dollar and a kiss.”

Seungmin and Mingi both blush at that.

“Better decide quick before other people finish and notice us not playing.”

Seungmin drops the lego into Hongjoong’s waiting palm. Then he leans in and kisses him. He does his best to live up to his reputation, and it seems like he succeeds when he pulls back to see the slightly dazed smile on Hongjoong’s face. And with that, Seungmin’s on to round 3.

Minho wins his match against Felix and sees that he’ll be facing Seungmin next while Changbin’s victory over Mingi pits him against San. He sidles up to Changbin, mischief in his eyes. He gets up close to his ear and whispers, “Did ya see how San won?”

Changbin jumps with a yell. “Damn it, Minho. I’m getting you a collar with a bell.”

“Kinky.”

“Oh my god, stop,” Changbin laughs. “Why does it matter how he won?”

Minho boops him on the nose. “It matters, ‘cause that’s how I want you to lose.”

“Why would I do that?” When Minho holds up a dollar, he shrugs. “Okay, how’d he win?”

“When they got close, Woo decided to stick his tongue down his throat. That makes at least 4 of us who have kissed him tonight. Did you see Innie’s face after I did?”

Changbin glances over at their youngest friend. “He definitely didn’t seem unhappy about it.”

“So, I wanna test a theory.” When Changbin looks like he’s going to interrupt him, he puts his hand over his mouth. “You know I won’t play any games that’ll hurt him. If it looks like it might, I’ll stop and talk to him. But until then, let’s see how many people we can get to kiss San tonight.”

Just then, Yunho bursts out laughing; Mingi reads over his shoulder and follows suit. After the third time they’re asked, Yunho explains that he’s already gotten two requests for more feet pics, one has already sent a payment through.

“Oh my god, Yunho delete the post!” Seonghwa laughs.

“No, leave it up!” Wooyoung yells immediately. “Make that money, make purse, baby!”

Jongho waves a dollar in front of Yunho’s face. “Split the money with me since I made you make the post from the start. And I’m with Woo, leave it up and see how much we can make.”

“We?” Yunho side eyes him. “I never agreed to splitting it or actually sending more pics.”

Jongho gives him a flat look. “But you’re going to, aren’t you?”

Wooyoung claps his hands and raises his voice then. “While Yunho thinks that over, the show must go on! Time for round three, bitches!”

Minho shoots a look at Changbin, nodding back when he salutes him. He steps up to Seungmin with a grin. “So I heard you say you’re winning this whole thing for Channie?”

“Yeah,” Seungmin laughs. “Wanna forfeit to help me?”

Minho makes a face. “Nah, I only cheat at games for me.”

Seungmin cocks his head and gives him one of those smiles that’s downturned at the edges. “Fair enough.”

When they begin, they’re both careful and slow; Seungmin is trying to figure out how to ensure his victory when Minho surges toward his face and his tongue is suddenly in his mouth. He’s probably less startled than he should be, but considering how the night’s gone thus far, Seungmin expects many more kisses from people who aren’t his boyfriend tonight; so he goes with it, wrapping his arms around Minho’s waist and drawing him in. To his delight, the move does seem to surprise Minho, who lets out a cute little squeak. 

“What’s wrong, Minho,” Seungmin giggles, tightening his grip. “Thought you wanted to kiss.”

“Watch yourself, Kim Seungmin,” Minho narrows his eyes at him. “Or you’re gonna get what you ask for, and you can’t handle me.”

Seungmin rolls his eyes with a smile. He risks dropping a quick peck on Minho’s lips before he bolts away from his grasp. Minho laughs and turns to find out the state of the tournament. He’s pleased to see San advanced, assuming Changbin followed through. That makes his next target Yeosang, though he’s barely even properly met him. Luckily, Changbin has a solution. The two of them step up to either side of Wooyoung wearing matching grins.

“I don’t know what this is, gentlemen,” Wooyoung looks back and forth between them before wrapping an arm around their waists. “But I’m very about it. However, I’m in the middle of hosting a tournament, so maybe we should talk in a bit.”

Minho smirks. “What an intriguing prospect. We should talk about this later, but for now, we need your help before the next round begins.”

Wooyoung raises an eyebrow at him. “Go on.”

“We’ve decided to try to get everyone here to kiss San tonight. Can you get Yeosang to throw their match to kiss him?”

“Is that how he beat you, Binnie?”

“Yep.”

Wooyoung laughs. “Me too. I’m not sure Sangie is gonna be down to cheat at the game, but I feel like San might do it so each of his rounds for sure ends in a kiss.” He skips over to get San on board.

“An ‘intriguing prospect,’ hyung?” Changbin cocks his head at Minho, his tongue darting out before he pulls his lower lip between his teeth. 

Minho steps in close to him, lips grazing Changbin’s ear when he leans in close. “It’s not like we haven’t considered it before.”

Across the room, Wooyoung starts the next round. Seungmin places his hands on Jeongin’s waist as they start. As they get close, he squeezes gently; Jeongin jerks at the touch, causing his lip to make contact. Seungmin celebrates his win as Jeongin accuses him of cheating. They look to Wooyoung to make the call.

“I didn’t see any cheating,” he says truthfully, as he’d been watching as San grabbed and dipped Yeosang like they were dancing, then kissed him passionately. Seungmin could’ve done anything, and he would’ve been none the wiser; his level of drunkenness doesn’t lend well to multitasking. “Seungmin wins! Final round: Yeosangie vs. Seungminnie. Let’s go!”

Yeosang is still swooning just a little after the kiss. Seungmin ops for going the way he did with Hongjoong, offering a dollar for the win. He doesn’t have much time to consider as Wooyoung is loudly repeating ‘let’s go’ until they put the cookie between their teeth. Yeosang ends up shying back, allowing Seungmin to win. 

Chan scoops him up in a celebratory hug. Seungmin holds on tightly. “Told you I’d win for you, babe.” Chan blushes deeply as he nuzzles his head into the crook of his neck.

⋆⭒˚｡✧｡˚⭒⋆

“Alright, you guys are adorable, blah, blah. I need you both to kiss San.” Minho narrows his eyes at both of them in turn. 

Seungmin smirks as Chan sputters, “Why would you need us to do that?”

“Why wouldn’t you want to do it?” 

“Well, I mean, to start, we’re dating now.”

“That didn’t stop Seungmin from sticking his tongue in my mouth like 5 minutes ago.” 

Chan swings his head around to look at Seungmin with wide eyes. Seungmin shrugs. “He kissed me first; how else was I supposed to assert my dominance?”

He and Minho both cackle as Chan looks bewildered. “I don’t know how much I like you two getting along now. Seems like it’ll be bad for my health.”

“Don’t worry, Channie,” Minho pats his cheeks. “I won’t steal your man. Anyway, San has kissed the most people at this party, so I decided I want to get him to kiss everyone here. So you’ll do it? I’m willing to pay.”

“Sure, but I still don’t understand why,” Seungmin shrugs. He holds out his palm and Minho drops a couple dollars into it and flounces away. He leans in close to his boyfriend, speaking softly. “I guess we didn’t actually talk about our comfort levels with things like kissing our friends for games and stuff. I didn’t make you uncomfortable, did I? We don’t have to kiss San.”

“No, baby, it’s okay.” Chan kisses his cheek. “I know you’re comfortable with that kind of thing, and I am, too. I’m not really concerned about it when it’s, like, party games… If you’re wanting to kiss people in another context, we can discuss that another day.”

“Baby, huh?” Seungmin teases, smiling wide at the blush creeping up Chan’s chest. He wraps his arms around Chan’s neck, resting his forehead against his, as Chan’s take their place around his waist. “I’m not interested in kissing anyone besides you outside of games. Except maybe Seonghwa, ‘cause Felix says his kiss game is, like, god-tier, and I feel like I should experience it.”

“You’re such a brat,” Chan laughs before capturing Seungmin’s lips with his own. They’re in their own world for a minute until Minho hip checks Chan, breaking their kiss.

“I said kiss San, not each other. If you’re not going to, give me my legos back.”

“Keep your pants on, we’ll get to him.” 

Minho narrows his eyes at them. "Actually, I have a better idea. Carry on.”

Seungmin looks back at Chan. “That’s not a good sign, is it?” Chan shakes his head with a laugh. 

In no time, Changbin, Jeongin, and San are in front of them. “Minho said they’ve already agreed and taken their payment, so you’re all good. Right, guys?”

At their agreement, San takes a step closer to them, sneaking a glance at Jeongin, who looks like he’s holding in a laugh. “So I’ve never actually kissed two people at once, do we just go for it?”

Chan and Seungmin’s heads whip around to find Minho coming toward them with a shit-eating grin. “You guys wanted to keep kissing each other, right? Also, Woo says threeway kisses should be at least 7 seconds since there’s more people involved. Hop to it.”

Wooyoung slips in between Minho and Changbin, an arm around each of their shoulders. “Yes, at least 7. Also, why am I so naked and other people aren’t? Sannie, Channie, I’ll give you both dollars if you take your shirts off, too. I know what San’s got going on, –” he throws a wink in San's direction before looking Chan up and down– “and you’re clearly nothing to sneeze at, so leggo.”

Chan and San blush furiously while the rest of them start laughing. Seungmin encourages Chan to submit to Wooyoung’s will; when he starts pulling at the hem of his shirt, Chan allows him to take it off of him. 

Across the room comes an exasperated “fuck, man!” from Jisung. He makes his way over, Hyunjin, Mingi, and Juyeon on his tail. He puts a dollar in Changbin’s waiting hand, then digs his wallet out of his pocket and throws in an actual 5 dollar bill. “Where’s your shirt, Chan? Bin didn’t get you to take it off, did he?”

“You said you guys were done betting about whether or not I’ll keep my shirt on!”

“I did no such thing.” Jisung crosses his arms over his chest with a smug look on his face. “I simply acknowledged that you did not approve and agreed to stop making it happen.”

Chan rolls his eyes, but before he can respond, an also shirtless San leans in and whispers to him and Seungmin. “Minho and Jeongin are threatening to start a chant if we don’t kiss, and we already have a small crowd now. Should we get it over with?”

Seungmin brings a hand to his chest. “Kissing me is something you want to just ‘get over with?’ Maybe we should let them chant so everyone can come witness your hardship.”

San lets out an adorable whine, turning pleading eyes on Chan. “How do you deal with all these menaces?”

Chan smiles at him half fond, half apologetic. “Minnie, I assume you’re okay with this threeway kiss nonsense? Come here before everyone gathers around to watch.”

It’s kind of awkward, but not as bad as any of them thought it would be. Kissing to avoid additional attention ends up failing, though, as Changbin starts a slow but loud count for them, and everyone near them follows along. When they hit the 7th count and break apart, even Seungmin is feeling a little embarrassed in the midst of all the hooting and hollering. 

Luckily, a distraction comes in the form of a shout from Hongjoong. “Absolutely not! If you wanna make a fire, it has to be outside!”

“But that’s against the spirit of the challenge” Jongho faux whines as they walk into the room.

“I don’t care, you can’t set a fire in my house!”

“Okay, okay, no fire. Where’s Woo?” Jongho looks around until he finds him in the crowd. “Let’s go outside.” 

Obviously, Wooyoung immediately agrees and heads toward the door, but Seonghwa catches him around the waist. “Oh no, if you’re going outside, you need to put pants on first. Joongie, no fire outside either, please. We don’t need someone calling the police or something.”

“I will put pants on, if you give kisses,” Wooyoung gives Seonghwa a big smile that widens even further when Seonghwa smacks a kiss on his lips without question. “I actually meant kisses for Sannie, but I’m happy I get one, too.”

Seonghwa sighs. When Wooyoung refuses to put pants on in return for his kiss, he ends up giving San one as well. With the promise of no fire-related challenges, a few people follow them outside to see what his challenge ends up being. It’s simple, laying in the street for 60 consecutive seconds. He only has to restart twice because of cars. 

While they wait, Yeosang is challenged to set off his car alarm the next time a person walks by; it ends up coinciding with Wooyoung’s success, so it goes off as he’s standing up. To everyone’s surprise, what turns out to be a goose comes flying out of the guy’s arm, its honking drowning out whatever he’s yelling. 

“Is that a fucking goose?” Wooyoung yells as it lands near him and starts waddling away. 

“Gerald!” The guy starts running toward him, stumbling a bit. “Help me catch him!”

Without question, Wooyoung is running after the goose with this stranger. 

“I always knew Woo would be outsmarted by a goose one day.” Yunho’s comment was met with a few solemn nods. 

“Jyunyangie, isn’t that Eric?” Felix directs his boyfriend away from himself to look at the man running around with Wooyoung. 

He squints into the distance. “Huh, it is. Eric! Leave the goose and come inside!”

Shockingly, Eric immediately stops and shouts, “But how am I going to get it drunk if I can’t catch it?”

“I don’t think you need to get it drunk, bud!” Juyeon calls, rolling his eyes. “Come back inside with us, and you can get a person drunk instead!” He tilts his head in contemplation. “Is it okay for me to invite him to join us? I could always take him home or back to wherever he wandered away from.”

“Nah, I’m sure it’s fine,” Yunho says. “Especially considering he and Woo are literally going to be best friends by the time they reach us.”

They watch as the two of them make their way back up the street, arm in arm, words flying between them at a mile a minute. Challenges complete, everyone heads back inside. They’re met with the glorious sight of Mingi and Hyunjin giving San and Changbin, respectively, lap dances to the wonderful musical stylings of Seungmin, who is showing off his fantastic rap skills. 

“My man, why have you not invited me to a party here before?” Eric asks as he takes it all in, not noticing the way the rest of the outside crew’s faces range from amused to shocked. Wooyoung takes him into the kitchen to get a drink. 

As Seungmin wraps up, Minho lays a hand on the nape of Hyunjin’s neck, slowly guiding his head toward San’s. Hyunjin’s movements slow to a stop as their lips meet. Mingi gets distracted by the scene as he moves to get out of Changbin’s space, losing track of his actions and turning to just sit in Changbin’s lap. Changbin’s laugh rings out as his hands land on Mingi’s hips. 

-

Minho sits beside Changbin with a smile. “Just a few more to go now: Yunho, Jongho, Felix, and Juyeon.”

“Oh, flag on the play there, Min,” Changbin squeezes Mingi’s sides, shocking a squeak out of him, but effectively drawing his attention away from the couple making out. “Aren’t San and Jongho cousins?”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Mingi looks between the two of them. “Why?”

“Just saving Minho from asking a dude to kiss his cousin.” Mingi still looks very confused. “Don’t worry your pretty head about it. Look, your boyfriend is back, and I think he’d rather you sit on his lap than mine.”

The way Mingi’s face lights up when Changbin says ‘your boyfriend’ is incredibly endearing. He skips his way over to Yunho, slapping Hyunjin on the butt along the way as the other extricates himself from San’s lap. 

“Well, they’re adorable.” Changbin smiles at his retreating form before turning his attention back to Minho as Chan slides into the seat next to him, snuggling up. “I feel like you’ve gotta be running out of tricks if you’re just pushing people’s faces together at this point. What’s your next play?”

“Why don’t you suggest another game?” Jeongin suggests as he sits on the arm of the couch. “How many do you have left?”

“Wait, are you in on this whole thing, too?” Chan looks up at him, surprised.

Jeongin shrugs, but his smirk says that he is. Seeing Minho hold up three fingers, he says, “Let’s play Suck and Blow.”

“Tell Woo, he’s in charge.”

Before Minho can even finish the sentence, Changbin is blowing all their eardrums, yelling for Wooyoung. A moment later, the man in question plants himself in Changbin’s lap, arms, wrapping around his neck and throwing his legs over Minho’s. He wiggles his brows at the two of them. “You trying to get out of here?”

“Not quite yet. Time for a new game,” Minho smirks. 

Wooyoung’s pout turns back into a grin in record time. They hash out the details while Chan and Changbin go off to find Seungmin and Felix. Hyunjin has found them as well, arms wrapped around Seungmin’s neck, leaning into him. 

Changbin steals a glance over at Chan, happy to see the smile on his face. “Guess it’s a lot easier to see them like that now, huh?”

“So much, Bin,” Chan laughs. “I’ve spent so much time being jealous and anxious about him, but now I’m just happy he has Seungmin, and that he helped me to have him, too. What about you? Is something really happening there with Woo, Min, and you?”

“I’m sure nothing tonight, at least,” Changbin’s ears are turning red. “You know how much they’ve both had to drink.”

“Hmm,” Chan smiles. “A great non-answer there.”

“Channie hyung!” Hyunjin wraps around Chan instead the second they reach him. 

Chan is laughing as he holds tight to his waist. “Does this mean I’m completely forgiven?”

Hyunjin giggles and kisses him full on the mouth. “Yes! ‘Cause you wouldn’t help me with Jisung if you thought I was a cheater, and you love our Seungminnie.” He turns to Seungmin, beaming. “Minnie, you were right; his lips are so soft! Can I kiss him again?”

Seungmin, Felix, and Changbin are laughing as Chan’s blush spreads down to his chest, nearly glowing pink. Seungmin catches Chan’s eye and gives him a gentle smile. “Whatever makes you happy, baby.”

“Yay!” Hyunjin air kisses at Seungmin before turning back to latch onto Chan’s mouth, the latter starting with a small squeak, but returning the kiss nonetheless. 

Changbin’s eyes are tearing with his laughter. “Hyunjin, I’m pretty sure he was talking to Chan.”

“Nah, he got it right,” Seungmin shrugs. He raises his voice a tick. “Though I wonder, –”

“Wait!” Felix interrupts, grabbing Seungmin’s shoulders and turning him so that they’re face to face. He pulls a couple dollars out of his pocket and comically pulls open the front pocket of Seungmin’s pants to drop them inside. “I still haven’t gotten to kiss you, yet!” 

With his ‘payment,’ Felix clearly is on Hyunjin’s level and assumes it’s a done deal. His hands land on either side of Seungmin’s face, pulling him in for a soft press of his lips. 

“You gave him multiple dollars for – oh.” Before Changbin can finish his sentence, Felix is diving back in, kissing him as if his life depends on it. Chan and Hyunjin pull apart, watching as Seungmin’s hand finds its way into Felix’s hair while the other pins him against himself, spread across his lower back. He pulls at Felix’s blue locks just a bit, and they all hear his answering moan, muffled by their lips.

“Well damn, Felix,” the goose guy, Eric, says as he approaches. “Juyeon, does your boyfriend have a boyfriend? That’s hot.”

Juyeon good-naturedly slaps him on the back of his head. “You’ve heard of Seungmin, Lix’s old roommate.”

“Yo, the guy Kev hooked up with the monster co–” 

The elbow to his ribs keeps Eric from finishing his sentence, and once again, everyone’s laughing, including Seungmin and Felix. 

“Get your money’s worth?” Seungmin smirks.

Felix kisses him one last time, short and sweet, before bouncing into his boyfriend’s arms. “Yes, thank you Seungminnie! Having fun so far, Eric?”

“Gather ‘round, everybody!” Wooyoung shouts from his spot near the couch. “Time for another game!”

“Oh!” Changbin remembers why he was looking for Felix in the first place. He puts his hand out to block Felix and Juyeon from moving toward the party master. “Will you both drop the card and kiss San for a dollar?”

The couple looks at each other. “Sure?” Juyeon accepts the legos, and they join the others to listen to Wooyoung split them into teams. He tells them they’ll play best of three, he and Minho are team captains. He heavily implies that there’s a bet riding on one of their victories, though those who are in the know recognize it as an unnecessary diversion technique. Juyeon and Felix set up on either side of San. In the first round, Juyeon lets the card fall, bringing them to the final two needing to kiss for Minho’s little game. Felix goes next, playfully nipping at San’s lip when they part; Minho and Jeongin’s brows both raise at that, though Jeongin only smirks when he sees the resulting smile on San’s face. 

“For fuck’s sake,” Yunho throws his hands up. “I wanna play! Switch me.” 

Juyeon trades places with him, and when he’s about to pass the card to San, Yunho turns his head to blow the card aside, grabs San, and dips him low as he kisses him, like he’s in a movie or something.

Cheering erupts from Wooyoung, Minho, and Changbin, setting off most of the rest of the room. Jeongin walks over and drops nearly all of the legos he started with into Minho’s hand. He then grabs San, dragging him over to an armchair; Jeongin sits and pulls him down into his lap, devilish smile on his face as he draws him close and starts to whisper in his ear. 

⋆⭒˚｡✧｡˚⭒⋆

A group decides to play again, for real this time, while Minho, Changbin, and Wooyoung slink off to the kitchen. Chan takes a page out of Jeongin’s book, pulling Seungmin onto his lap on the couch; he nuzzles his head into Seungmin’s chest, arms coming around his slim waist like a belt. “Are you having fun, Minnie?”

“Yeah. Honestly, this has been so much better than most of the parties we’ve been to this year.” Seungmin’s smile is nothing short of lovely. The alcohol and excitement leaves a pretty blush across his cheeks that Chan wants to kiss every inch of. He doesn’t notice Seungmin examining his own face, thinking nearly the exact same thing. “And not just because I know that when all the games are over, I’ll still get to kiss you. Whenever I want.”

Their eyes connect then, the magnetic pull between them becoming irresistible, luring them in until their lips meet. Despite the abundance of (mostly) platonic kissing tonight, it feels like it’s been a lifetime since the end of their date when they last kissed like this. As if their bodies had been waiting to recognize home in the form of the other’s lips. 

A while later, someone knocks into them, breaking the spell. Minho clearly bumped them on purpose, based on his expression. “Seungmin-ah, I think your Hyunjinnie is looking for you, and I need to borrow Channie hyung.”

When Seungmin finds Hyunjin, standing between Jisung’s thighs as the latter sits on the kitchen counter, heads together, voices low, he realizes that Minho had just been getting rid of him. Still, Hyunjin could be spacey when drunk, so it’s possible he had been looking for Seungmin at some point. 

“Hey Jinnie, Jisung,” he ventures. “Were you looking for me, by chance?”

“Minnie!” Hyunjin draws out his name for a few seconds. “Isn’t Jisungie so handsome? And he kisses as well as Chan. We’re so lucky.”

Jisung is torn between being embarrassed and proud. Hyunjin just looks so happy and comfortable. Seungmin feels a certain warmth in his chest. “We are. What about you, Ji, feeling lucky?”

“Incredibly.” Jisung leans toward Seungmin, stage whispering his next thought. “Honestly, this seems like a dream. Is he real?”

Hyunjin giggles, swaying on his feet a little. Seungmin almost wonders if he did it on purpose so that Jisung would return his hands to his hips. Seungmin leaves them to it, wandering back out into the living room. Chan and Minho have been replaced by Seonghwa and Hongjoong on the couch. 

It’s nearing 4 a.m., and it seems like people are starting to clear out. San and Jeongin pulled an Irish goodbye a while ago, as did Jongho. Felix and Juyeon head home with promises of texts when they arrive home. A bit later, Yunho, Mingi, Yeosang, and surprisingly, Eric say their goodbyes; Eric has heart eyes, following Yeosang right out the door. Seungmin accepts a kiss on the cheek from Seonghwa as his group finally makes their way to the door, Wooyoung in tow. Hyunjin bemoans not getting to kiss Seonghwa tonight until Jisung reminds him that they can kiss a little more to make up for it. 

⋆⭒˚｡✧｡˚⭒⋆

[emo-eyemakeup-evildude]

The end of Astorvember 2024!

We have officially made it to the last two days of Astorvember, or as they were called last year AU Days:

29. Defier of Prophecy (Alternate Universes) 30. The Future of Hyrule (Post-Calamity)

As always feel free to engage with the themes literally or figuratively; make a piece of art that depicts the prompt or make a post promoting your own AUs, however you want to engage with the prompts.

Sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated, whether you made posts, interacted, or lurked. I'm consistently amazed with the longevity, depth, and creativity of this fandom for a little cardboard ratman who was onscreen for five seconds and then died. I have so many plans for the next year, as well as ideas for next year's Astorvember.

Moving on to more zine things, I'm officially extending the submission deadline through February 1st. I want to give everyone plenty of time to complete their new submissions and collect older works to be submitted (I may or may not also be scheming, more info to come). Unfortunately for Astor, November is extremely busy for most folks. I want the zine to have a truly astronomical amount of submissions, so keep them coming!

FAQ under the cut, and thanks again to everyone for making the official second Astorvember so much fun.

Q: What is the maximum number of images per submission? A: No limits for now. The full, digital zine will have much looser limitations (I'm fully prepared to be proven wrong on this, but for now no limits) but for the curated, printed version I ask that you submit a shortened version in the same vein as NSFW works having a censored companion piece for the SFW editions (optional, you can also opt to have your piece removed from certain versions, but no piece will be removed from the full version). As always, no changes will be made without author/artist permission, but keep an eye out for follow up emails. Repetitive or superfluous images may be removed in the event that y'all actually find a number of images I'm unable to handle.

Q: Can I submit digital submissions such as videos and gifs? A: Yes, tentatively. The full, free version of the zine will be published as a PDF, and I may be able to embed gifs, videos, or hyperlinks. Digital extras outside of the main zine were always welcome as a category of submission, so go ahead and submit them. If you want these submissions to be included in the physical zine, please include a thumbnail and summary.

Q: Can I submit a craft to the zine? A: Yes, and there are two ways to do so. You can submit pictures of the craft, and feel free to include a short essay on why you made it, how, when, anything else you'd like to include (under 2500 words). Or you can submit a tutorial for how to make your craft.

Q: Is 2500 words a hard limit? A: No, if your work is a little over go ahead and submit it as is and I'll let you know if it needs to be shortened. The word limit was primarily intended to discourage submissions of full novel-length fics. If you want to submit a fic that's longer than 2500 words, choose your favorite chapter and include where readers can find the rest of it such as links to Tumblr, AO3, or other sites.

Q: I don't have anything serious to submit, can I submit memes/jokes? A: Absolutely! Memes and jokes are more than welcome. As a matter of fact, I would like to write an essay on the top Astor fandom shitpost extravaganzas of the past four years. If you have a favorite Astor meme such as the egg thing (2020) or the egg thing (2024) or Astor Thursday or the White Boy Bracket or any other absurdity, submit it. Include a summary of the event from your POV, where you were when it happened, screenshots, or just what event you would like me to write about.

Q: What can I submit? A: TL;DR writing under 2500 words (ficlets, fic excepts, essays, poems, etc), visual art roughly the size of a half a sheet of printer paper or smaller (drawings, photographs, etc), miscellaneous works such as sheet music, craft tutorials, physical merch, and others subject to approval. Full info above (or here). Submissions are now being accepted until 11:59 pm CDT on February 1st.

Q: How do I submit? A: Email propheciesofdoomzine@yahoo.com and include: -The work's title -The name you would like to be credited as (screen name, url, or nickname preferred over legal name) -Is the work potentially NSFW and if so what content warnings apply Again, more info above (or here).

Q: How many submissions are you looking for? A: As many as y'all got! No limit, go wild.

Q: Can I submit more than one piece? A: Submit as many pieces as you want. Seriously, no limit.

Q: Who can submit works? A: Anyone! Submissions are very specifically and intentionally open to anyone and everyone instead of taking applications and selecting artists to create a piece specifically for the zine.

Q: Can I submit works I've already posted? A: Yes, this zine is intended to be a collection and celebration of the last four years of the fandom. All works are welcome, no matter how old they are or how many people have seen them. This also very much includes pieces from this or last year's Astorvember.

Q: Can I post the piece I submitted? A: Yes, if you want. You can post it, say it was submitted to the zine, post it and don't say it was submitted, or keep the whole thing secret. You can change your mind and post it after submissions close, before the zine is released, whatever you want.

Q: Are original characters/self ships welcome? A: Yes, so many fan works about Astor are full of original characters and the zine would not be complete without them. All original characters are welcome, very specifically including self insert and self ship characters. They are so welcome that we're making a yearbook page dedicated to original characters.

Q: How do I submit an original character to the zine yearbook page? A: Submit a simple school picture style portrait (feel free to make it silly) of your oc with: -Their name -Their relation to Astor (mentor, family, friend, significant other, weird dogs, etc) -The name you would like to be credited as and/or what fic or au they're from if applicable -A senior quote/superlative (if you want) And again, just to be clear, self insert and self ship characters are very much included in this!

Q: Mr. President there's been a second yearbook page. A: So many people have joked about Astor being a mass original character due to his lack of background and character development that if enough people submit the above for their fanon version of Astor we'll do an Oops! All Astors version of the yearbook page.

Q: Will there be physical merch? A: Possibly, still working out logistics. Proposals for physical merch are one of the categories of submissions, email propheciesofdoomzine@yahoo.com with ideas for things like pins, stickers, keychains, etc. Handmade items are welcome and encouraged if you have the time!

Q: Is NSFW content allowed? A: Yes, both art and writing. All submissions that include violence, gore, nudity, sex, etc will be marked as such. In the event that a physical zine is made there will be curated versions including a safe for work version. When you submit your works please include any potential content warnings. We'll be in contact if any works might need additional warnings. That said, no works will be censored. As mentioned above they will be clearly marked in the full version and omitted from the safe for work version. If you would like to submit a censored version of your work for the safe for work version, you may.

Q: I still have a question. A: Send me an ask, a message, email the submissions email, send a flock of birds to follow me around, reach me in my dreams, whatever. If you need something clarified or reiterated, go ahead and ask. If you're unsure about your submission, go ahead and ask. If there's a secret third thing, go ahead and ask.

[lexisbethrothed]

Jack and the Cuckoo-clock heart: Let's talk about it, one last time.

This is my last installment of Malzieu's bizarre creation, following the two previous ones.

PART 3: THINGS THAT AREN'T TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH

The ambiguous description and depiction of Acacia’s complexion

I read on an random article of the movie that Mathias Malzieu, the author of the book and the vocalist of Dionysus (a French rock band that contributed heavily on the films soundtrack), who also voices Jack in the French Version of the film, based his character Jack of himself and Acacia as Olivia Ruiz (who also voices the character), his ex-partner of 7 years.

I do not remember ever encountering the exact skin tone of Acacia in the book, but I felt like she was white washed in the movie. In the music video,Tais-toi mon Coeur (performed by Mathias Malzieu and Olivia Ruiz), she was depicted similar to Olivia herself: a little more tan. However, in the cover art of the book, Acacia would be light skinned.

Only her dark brown eyes, hair, red dress, small nose, and small stature were descriptive of her appearance. All of Acacia’s features, apart from the comically tiny nose (I think Mathias wanted to create a pixie character therefore that feature) including being myopic, are literally OLIVIA I have no idea why exactly, but I found it odd that she wasn't tan in depiction all throughout , especially when the muse was literally…the voice actress. So why not make her tan? I dunno, HAHA.

EDIT: So I did look up pictures of Olivia, I don't know if it's tge lighting but I think her skintone would be either lightly tanned or warmly fair. I guess her character's skin being ambiguous just might be understandable just for that. Maybe I was just noticing the undertone of Acacia’s skin in the movie and book cover: cool fair. I wished it was warmer.

The resemblance of Jack's biological mother and Acacia

Mathias recalled that Olivia had a disturbing resemblance to his late mother, which shocked his family. I noticed that in the movie, his biological mother and Acacia had similar features.

I wanted to say as well that it was just the same face syndrome that happens in stylistic animations. However, I observed other characters, and they were all unique. Different noses, lips, expressions, height, and body.

But these two women were oddly similar.

Probably their most similar features were youthful features (petite stature, small noses, wide spaced doll eyes), their hair, and this is rather by association, but the color red.

In a way, I think Jack had a Freudian thing. He was attracted to someone who eerily resembles his mother, and in the book, he describes her perfectly by detail. Just from the first chapter, his mother seemed to be a very young mother, at best, a teen.

The Snow and the Red Coats

Speaking of his mom and Acacia, notice how the scenes of his biological mother climbing up the hill in a red coat mirrored Acacia also in a red coat,climbing up to save Jack.

His mother’s warmth, probably visually symbolized by her red coat and warm tones, tried to keep him in her womb just in time to be delivered. Madeleine ultimately saved him, and his mother (movie), with a heavy heart but a made-up mind, left her in the care of Madeleine.

In my opinion, it mirrors heavily with Jack's death, too. Acacia came to save him, though Jack had already made up his mind. Nonetheless, she gave him enough warmth to keep him alive. Here, he takes the opportunity to succeed in his dream to be with her and share their first and last kiss. Jack dies, and in my mind, reunited with Madeleine again up in heaven.

There are more mirroring here beside those, such as both of the women cried frozen droplets of tears, pain and anguish (Jack's mother in labor and Acacia losing Jack), I discussed this above but both of them are almost uncanny (the bun, the hairstyle and its color, the lips, and the face), and running out of time.

Madeleine and Jack were tethered.

Madeleine's influence was heavy in both adaptations, especially in the book. He would think about her a lot, imagine that her and Acacia would get along, and …even when he was with Acacia, he would think of her (the book had a scene that probably inspired that weird flashes of Madeleine when he tried to kiss Acacia). The book’s plot showed this relationship to be a classic relationship of parental attachment, where Jack would find it hard to make choices on his own, even forming a substantially fulfilling romantic relationship. I am glad that the book ended with him (though ambiguous) having a chance to grow up without her. But, I still prefer the movie.

In the movie, his heart was really taken very seriously because it WAS serious (I still have a grudge against the book about it being a placebo attachment) and while Jack already did whatever he wanted, her influence does affect a lot of his choices. Still, he was able to form new bonds, and even his relationship with Acacia was okay (significantly in the movie). Breaking the three rules gave him the freedom to choose, but he wasn't exactly equipped to deal with his emotions. Yes, he was well off on his own but didn't have much guidance as his handicap was unique.

The gut punch of Madeleine dying was more than just a loved one or a savior dying. It was the ultimate death to what she left behind to keep him alive, his mechanical heart. I like that the film portrayed it like that. Acacia may have been his north star, but Madeleine was his home. Now, she was gone.

On Madeleine's part, a lot of her love as a mother came from broken dreams and genuine love altogether. She suffered miscarriage and was told that she could never bear any children again. Therefore, Jack was God's gift to her, and of course, she would want him protected at all costs. She already lost her first and second chance of motherhood. Jack was everything to her. Maybe it was true what Joe said in the film. She really might have died from a broken heart. Madeleine was said to be arrested before, and for sure, she could've survived, but I think her fear got the absolute best of her. I have been told before that any mother who loves her child would go crazy wondering if they're alright, even if they stepped out the door to go to school. Jack was Madeleine's greatest dream come true.

It's very sad but poetically beautiful. I like to think that Madeleine was Jack's heart all along, and Jack was hers. Yeah. Cry about it.

The Warm and The Cold

Jack was born on the coldest day on Earth, raised in Edinburgh, a cold town, and most of his childhood on screen had a colder and even harsher contrast atmosphere. In Granada, Spain, it was warm and maybe for more contrast, The Extraordinarium was set as a circus by the desert, and Acacia's colors were stark red, contrasting Edinburgh’s bluish tones and blending well with the warm tinted atmosphere in Spain.

In hindsight, the symbolism of contrasting elements could suggest Jack's circumstances, Edinburgh kept him locked up in the dark, and Granada set him free into the light.

But there is also one more contrast. In Jack's eyes, the people in his life, especially Madeleine and Acacia, are also seen in different lighting. I noticed that even when Madeleine has gray muted tones, her scenes would show her in warmer light, signifying her comforting and nurturing aura as Jack's mother (albeit adoptive). Joe would be shown as dark and blue, even with warm light. Acacia is shown in warm lighting in his imagination, or whenever they are getting close but interestingly, she has scenes where she would blend well in cold blue tones, like when she was floating thinking about her first love. It might be because Jack sees her like a shooting star or a spark, who belongs in the dark blue sky to shine, far away from his grasp. Even by the end, her red coat, though it stood out, felt cold. Speaking of the ending, the transition from the bright cold snow that suddenly invited warm, almost twinkling, rays of sun as he died was beautiful. In a way, it goes to show that his freedom from life was way warmer than his only pursuit of finding Acacia.

The use of bizarre animation for metaphorical senses

The book is a figure-of-speech vomit. Everything is fantastically and overtly expressed with metaphors, imaginative similes and personifications, and a whole lot more literary devices I could not list down here. It would make sense that it should be adapted in animated form. Out of all the visual metaphors, I loved the floating to indicate the feeling of being in love and the use of thorns for Acacia's defensive nature. The most iconic use is the paper cut out scenes, describing the excitement of adventure, Acacia’s pixie depictions and her infamous Malaguena performance, and the use of the harmonica train

The use of birds

If Coraline used bugs, Jack and the Cuckoo-clock heart used birds, this is much more apparent in the book and dialogues instead of the visual.

Such as:

●Jack was described as a little white bird by Madeleine on the day he was born.

● Acacia was associated with a sprite. Joe was compared to a raven.

●Brigitte Heim is apparently an evil ostrich, according to Jack.

●His heart is specifically a cuckoo clock heart.

●In the book, a carrier pigeon was given to Jack before he escaped the police, of which he used to write letters to his family in Edinburgh.

●Arthur's gift to Jack, which are eggs that remind him of his ex wife.

There are a lot of bird elements, literally the intro of the movie is a red bird that froze and landed on the bun of Jack's mother while she was climbing up the hill.

In some way, I think birds are a way to symbolize Jack's yearning for freedom, to be able to choose according to his wants. Book Jack was basically handicapped and babied by his adoptive mother, suffered bullying and torment by Joe, and even in his relationship with Acacia, he was trapped and complied to her wishes and neglecting his own wants. It wasn't until the end where he was able to break free from these chains, his heart was replaced and his mother’s death set him free to make his own choices without fear, his love for Acacia gave him the motivation however their relationship was not meant to be, but that gave him a chance to live authentically.

In the movie, his actions did set him free and was able to truly live authentically with his own choices, even with such harsh hindrances and fears. I really think the movie did him a lot more justice when it came to his freedom of will. He faced life head-on with fears that didn't hold him back. He was much more sympathetic in the film, making me cheer him on despite the sad ending I knew he’ll get. The book made me want him to leave Acacia, and live for himself, as he was really in a toxic relationship, like a bird who was set free from a cage then caged again the minute it found a new owner.

Here are the other parts!

[hydra-husbands]

Hydra Husbands 10 years anniversary event

Here we are hitting the 10 years mark since Brock and Jack made themselves known to us in CAWS and filled our minds and imaginations with their stories.

Starting today, 25 February 2024 for one year long, we will celebrate this couple through fanfiction, fanart, sharing and remembering how we discovered them and why we adore to write and create about their lives.

Useful Details:

Among the fanfiction, fanart - including edits, drawings, comic strips, I encourage you to edit videos, do podcasts, knit, stitch, crochet, Funko design and everything flying in the beautiful creative world - remembering and sharing here what made us board this ship is encourage through inbox, tagging his blog, dropping lines and any way you feel like making yourself known.

You can post the content on Tumblr and use the tag #hydrahusbands10years and/or tag @hydra-husbands

You can also submit the work as anonymous if you wish so.

For all kind of questions feel free to inbox me here or on @rip1009

What content doesn't fit the event?

Any content in which the main ship (aka Hydra Husbands) isn't the main ship. Since this is a Hydra Husbands event, the works are featuring Brock and Jack as the main stars of the events. If your work contains HTP, dead dove elements, please tag them accordingly.

2. Can I write in my main language?

Yes, go for it!

3. How long does the fic has to be?

As long as you want to. We're here to have fun and not to stress. There's no minimum or maximum words or chapters.

4. I have an old story fitting the event, can I post it?

As long it wasn't posted before somewhere else, go for it.

5. I found a story and it fits the event and I want to translate it. Can I?

First and foremost, get in contact with the author of that story and discuss about it, ask for permission.

6. What can I write, draw, compose about, what's the theme?

Our theme is the Hydra Husbands, one legendary couple that parachuted in our lives in the spring of 2024. Write, edit, draw about them.

AUs are embraced and encouraged and that means from coffee shop AUs to the fantastic merge/mix/mash of the movies Frank Grillo and Callan Mulvey starred (you want Milan o meet Alvey? go with it).

7. Can I participate with more than one creation?

Absolutely, if you can and have time and inspiration, go for it.

As I mentioned, for any kind of questions, feel free to inbox ♥

*there is also a little discord server dedicated to the Hydra Husbands so feel free to inbox if you wish to join the fun there as well ♥

[duckbang]

The Sycamore Lab Poketube Channel

Chapter 6: About the Kalos Crisis...

Chapter Summary:

Sawyer's in Anistar, and with time on his hand he decided to make this for us If you have any issue with the content in this video, please contact Gym Leader Olympia, Kalos Champion Diantha, and/or Hoenn Co-Champion Steven Stone. Everything in this final cut has been added with their permission, including any expressed opinions. Turns out they don't mind it. Video by: Sawyer Edited by: Trevor, with inputs from the aforementioned authorities Channel run by: Cosette, Mairin, Trevor, Sawyer. Questions? Drop them in the comments below. we can't guarantee to answer everything but we'll try

Warnings: none

! Please note that all my works are currently only visible to logged in users !

Link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/60437380/chapters/167895670