#and videos of him shooting a bow on his instagram

[berry-s0da]

I’ll never forget how we got a school shooting threat back on high school and nobody did anything about it because mother fucker was depressed and it would be “discriminatory and intolerant” to not put up with a 20 year old psychopath that terrorized a bunch of 16-17 year olds

[observeowl]

Second Chance | Chapter 4 - Strangers Now

Series masterlist

You missed drawing the string back to your face and seeing the arrow hit the yellow centre; what you didn’t miss was having to wake up at 5 am in the morning to travel to school and set up the boards. You remember selling your bow immediately after graduating, there’s no time to shoot, and places to shoot aren’t as common as a basketball court or football field. You took an arrow from the quiver and loaded it once more before releasing your breath with it. Once you saw the arrow hitting the centre, you placed your bow down. 

Clint stared at your grouping from next to you. “You’ve improved over the week.” He clapped in shock before nudging your side. “Tell me, who is the new coach you got outside?” 

Clint was the captain of the Archery team, and he often coached new members up to a certain standard before the actual coach came in. Thanks to his teaching, you learnt a lot more about Archery. You never knew that to shoot competitively, you’d have to own so much equipment. He was kind enough to teach you what each of them is for when other members approach you for certain things since you were the logistics director. Truthfully, you only took up this role because you wanted to be able to put something in your resume. 

“So, what did you and Nat talk about?” Clint asked as you were pulling your arrow out of the board. 

“What? We didn’t talk at all.” 

“Nat asked me where you were two days ago. Did you guys miss each other?” 

“I have nothing to talk to her about.” You collected all your arrows and returned to the shooting line to prepare. 

“What happened? I thought you were always happy to hear anything about Nat?” 

“Well, now I don’t. Is there a problem?” You glared at him. “I’m shooting now. Could you not bother me?” Clint was shocked at your words. You were usually so non-confrontational and soft, never daring to say no to others. 

“Did Nat make you angry?” 

Just then, an evil plan hatched in your head. “Why don’t you ask her?” 

After you were done with training, you lugged your heavy backpack and waited for Andrew. He was bringing you on a date to a cafe nearby within walking distance, but when he heard you were going for training, he offered to bring his car along so you didn’t have to carry the heavy backpack. 

After the party, Andrew started texting you, and he revealed that he was in the same Management Accounting class as you. He was sitting behind you all along, and you didn’t really notice him because you were always on your phone once you found your seat until the class started. Camellia and Diana were always the ones who did the interacting while you sat there like a loner.  

When you saw his notification from your home screen, you immediately went to text Camellia. You were freaking out that someone actually asked you on a date. After not being in the dating game for so long, you kinda lost touch with what you’re supposed to do. In actual fact, Camellia had no experience in dating as well, so she was worse than you. But she’s the one you would rely on to cheer you on. You had other friends throughout middle and high school, but she was the only one you opened up to within a year. She took care of you and showed you many things that opened your world. You had her to thank for making you more confident in trying new things. 

“Hi, sorry for making you wait. I was a bit nervous, so I left the dorm late.” Andrew helped me put my back in the trunk before opening the passenger side door for me. 

“That makes both of us.” You all started chuckling before making a move. He turned on the radio, and Taylor Swift happened to be playing. You learned that he had been to a Taylor Swift concert and admitted there was explosive energy all around. Seeing people’s Instagram videos of concerts made you dream of attending some sort of concert and experiencing it yourself, but you were too shy to go alone, and all your friends have different tastes from you. 

“We should go together one day.” He said. 

“What?” You asked, confused. 

“To a concert. Whichever one you want. From your question, I can tell that you’ve never been to one. Do you want to go?” You nodded your head and smiled. You’ll take this chance to experience all the things you never did. 

“We’re here.” He parked the car by the roadside before entering the cafe. It has a very vintage decor inside and a clear theme of typewriter here. “Apparently, we can use the typewriter here too. I can ask the owner for the papers.” 

He found a place to sit, and you looked through the menu for something to eat before settling for some aglio olio. You continued the conversation from earlier, and he was really relaxing to be with.

===

After learning what you said to Clint, Nat was furious that you decided to taunt her despite being in this situation. Clint was none the wiser and continued asking for answers about what happened between you two that Natasha couldn’t provide. The sudden switch between you and Nat has left him very confused. He didn’t know you two had gotten close enough to hate each other. He was about to get a headache from watching the two of you interacting with him as a messenger. 

Thanks to Clint, she knows where you’re headed, and after much searching like a mad woman looking through the windows of all the cafes nearby, she finally found you chatting with Andrew. Rage filled her eyes when she saw you so happy with him.

She opened the door harshly, and the windchime alerted everyone inside of her arrival. You watched her storm closer and didn’t get to say anything as she pulled your arm. “Get up!” She was stronger than you and was making her way out with you as fast as she came in. 

“Hey! What are you doing?” Andrew rushed out behind you after seeing you getting dragged out by Natasha. “Let her go!” 

“This is between me and her, you don’t interrupt.” Natasha glared at Andrew, who was grabbing her wrist. “Let go while I’m asking nicely.” 

“No! You’re the one that is forcefully taking away my date.” Andrew didn’t heed her advice, and she expertly flipped him onto the ground while still having one arm on you. He didn’t know that Natasha had a black belt in Judo and Taekwondo. 

“Natasha, stop it! Andrew, Andrew, it’s okay. I’ll come and find you later.” You tried to prevent the situation from getting worse than it is. Natasha pulled you away when you tried to check that he was alright. She dragged you quite a few streets down, and you were sick of her leading the way without telling you anything. She always thought that whatever she said goes because she was earning more between you two. “Enough!” You released your hands from her grip. “Just say what you want and get over it!” Your shouting has caused people around to look at the commotion. 

“Why did you tell Clint to find me for answers?” 

“I don’t know what kind of story to tell him, so I figured you could do the talking.” You shrugged your shoulders. “You always make the decision.” 

“I do not!” She insisted. 

“So then, why did you drag me away from Andrew? Couldn’t you find me another time?” You argued and pointed to the street where you were dragged from. 

“Don’t change the subject! What do you expect me to tell Clint?”

“I don’t know! Anything! That we don’t see eye to eye?“ You snapped. You were getting more frustrated talking to her. “I’m trying to live my life here without you. Stop bothering me, and don’t look for me. We are just strangers.” You told her with conviction and left her there to deal with everything. 

After texting Andrew, you realised he was still waiting at the cafe and picked up your pace a little. You couldn’t be more apologetic when you arrived for causing such trouble and embarrassment for him. 

“It’s okay.” He shook his head. “I have to ask, though, who is she?” He was surprisingly understanding. 

“She just, she used to be a friend.” You struggled to come up with an answer. “Let me pay for the food. That’s the least I can do to repay you.”

“No, it’s alright. I brought you here today, so I’ll pay. But I guess I’ll allow you to pay for the next one.” 

“That’s a promise.” 

Series masterlist

@gemz5 @natsxwife

@dyslexic-dreamer @unexpected-character @eternalnight410

@leenasayeed @oh-thats-sad @skz-xii @gay-frogs-dancing-around

@justspance

[airgiodslv]

Jeff Satur Cinematic Universe - A WIP Primer

aka, Jeffcest. This is a work-in-progress, compiling info for the JeFFFFFFFFest 2024 exchange. Please feel free to add and amend!

Overview: Jeff Satur's music videos tell stories with interesting characters. Over time, some of those characters have reappeared and begun interacting with each other. Here are a few of the most common you’ll run into!

Sunshine - gifset by perths

Sunshine made his first appearance in the Dum Dum MV. He has blue hair and “Sunshine Moonshine Love Die” tattooed on his neck and chest. Sunshine later appeared in the Space Shuttle No. 8 Asia Tour Promo Trailer in a pale blond wig alongside another Jeff.

When Jeff was called on to do a sexy version of Dum Dum on Chuang Asia, he said he was too shy and that he would have “another [him]” perform it instead; he performed as Sunshine. During Space Shuttle No. 8 in Bangkok concerts, he had a body double in Sunshine’s wig onstage with him, and sang ‘Stranger’ to him. Sunshine also appeared in projections during the concerts, along with the quote:

Sunshine noun.  a god who honestly feels emotions, never lies to themselves, and will stay forever in your soul.

Jeff confirmed that Sunshine and Moonshine are different characters with similar appearances. In Dum Dum, one of them has a metal attachment over his arm when they appear onscreen together. There’s a third Jeff, sometimes referred to as ‘Businessman Jeff’, who is killed and then gasps back to life at the end of the video.

Ghost & Husband - gifset by guzhufuren

Also called Clone, Ghost appears as the titular character in the Ghost MV, who is revealed to be a clone of another Jeff (commonly ‘Husband’ or ‘Military Jeff’). Clone/Ghost has implants down his spine. He was captured by the military (specifically, Military Jeff) and freed by Military Jeff's Wife at the end of the video.

In the Yellow Leaf MV, it’s revealed that Clone/Ghost doesn’t age. He still has the same appearance many decades later, after Husband has died. Husband/Military Jeff is implied to have spent time during the Ghost MV in outer space (there’s a rocket launch at the beginning of the video). There's a love triangle between Husband, Clone, and their Wife (she accepts a different wedding/engagement ring from each of them).

Rain God - gifset by laurenkmyers

Jeff held a fanart contest for Halloween 2023, and the winning entry depicted him as a rain god. He posted a photo/video shoot on his Instagram dressed to match the fanart. There was a joke on the Black Tie set that Jeff was a rain god, because the rain for the courtyard scene began when it was time to film and ended once they finished shooting it.

Black Tie - gifset by guzhufuren

Jeff in Black Tie is sometimes referred to as ‘Black’ or 'Red' depending on what he's wearing. He has a bow tie tattooed across his throat. He appears in black-and-white when alone, and in color when shown with other people–which includes his own reflections in mirrors. He may also be able to control other people's movements when they're shown 'mirroring' him.

Lucid - gifset by guzhufuren

Lucid is the titular character in the Lucid MV. He might be one of the fae folk, or a lost boy from Neverland. He appears injured and wild in someone’s bedroom…or possibly their dream. He has long hair and anachronistic clothes, with a cut across the bridge of his nose. At the end of the video he’s seen at the base of a tree (possibly dead), almost completely covered in flowers.

Steal the Show - gifset by whitecerberus

Jeff appeared along with Shaun in the Steal the Show MV. They have a passionate rivalry and/or flirtation. There’s a lot of imagery in this video, including Jeff hanging off a giant birdcage which Shaun is separately seen trapped inside. This character has been referred to as ‘Thief’ and ‘Passion.’ Shaun’s character is referred to as ‘Reason.’

00008 - gifset by guzhufuren

In an effort to give his fans heart palpitations, Jeff released the Dum Dum Unchained Live MV. He appears chained on his knees in a basement or warehouse, wearing a lace blindfold, with finger-shaped bruises around his neck. There are additional bruises all over him, and a tattoo that reads ‘00008’ below his left collarbone. The number is now believed to refer to Jeff’s first album, Space Shuttle No. 8.

SS8 - gifset by guzhufuren

The Space Shuttle No. 8 Asia Tour came with its own promo trailer, in which a dark-haired Jeff and a pale-haired Sunshine (from Dum Dum) face off on a train in outer space, which has “departed the Saturn hemisphere” and is “now en route into the unknown.” On the train are references to many of Jeff’s previous songs and videos, including Highway (a flower), Loop (a clock), Lucid (a flower crown), Black Tie (a photo on the front page of a newspaper with the headline “Jeff Satur: Escape…From Earth!”), Complicated (a bloody hammer), Fade (a record player), and Comedy (playing in the background).

Other Jeffs

During the Space Shuttle No. 8 in Bangkok concerts, Jeff wore a black feather cape that spread into wings for his cover of ‘Feeling Good.’ (You can see a glimpse of Bird Jeff, as well as his body double Sunshine, in this Est Cola video.)

The Fade MV shows him being reincarnated through several different time periods, always connected to the same person, up to the present day. (In the present, his name is Jeff, and hers is Trinity.)

The Scar MV with bodyslam shows him levitating into the scene, and at the end he crosses into a portal. There’s a lot of imagery in this video as well.

For his Siam Halloween Concert 2023, Jeff dressed up as a vampire, in a corset with blue contact lenses and fangs.

During The Kingdoms concert, he was referred to as the ‘King of Darkness’, mentioned being in hell, and was shown in promotional materials and projections with a (small) eagle.

Additional Jeffs include (but are not limited to) the astronaut in a space bar in the Far MV with Silvy, the caged fallen angel in Law of Attraction from Call Me By Fire, the imprisoned/enthralled therapy patient in Animal World from Call Me By Fire, and the bystander caught up in gang-related violence in the Complicated MV.

[haveihitanerve]

The avengers have a joined instagram/tiktok account and they all have control of it and here are some ideas I have of what they would post

Bucky is dedicated to documenting every ‘on your left’ interaction between Steve and Sam, in the first video Sam laughs and rolls his eyes, but the eighteenth video Sam drops what he’s holding and fucking decks captain America 

There’s a video of Peter going around the compound with Wanda asking her what everyone is thinking. Bucky and tony are glaring at each other in the kitchen and Bucky is thinking ‘where’s my fucking flying car tony?’ And tony is going through his grocery list

There’s an entire album of videos dedicated to the avengers falling. Sam’s wings fail. Clint’s arrow line snaps. Tony’s thrusters give out. Thor loses his balance while flying. Etc. 

Bucky created a montage of Sam practice flying where he just eats shit every time

Pepper released the footage of tony attempting to fly

Tony videoed Rhodes learning to fly

Peter posts candid pictures every chance he gets- Bucky mid sneeze, Sam tripping down the stairs, Steve laughing so hard milk is shooting out of his nose, Tony face planting, Clint falling out of a vent, Nat looking amazing

There’s so many pictures of the avengers asleep but in the weirdest places

A montage of videos showing tony climbing onto a counter during arguments to be taller than his opponent

A video without sound of the original six avengers sitting/laying in one persons room even though they all have their own, talking (it’s Tony’s because there’s a poster of every avenger on the wall except iron man)

Peter videoing Steve marching into the kitchen at five am holding an iron man action figure and snapping its neck in front of Tony because he ate his last donut

A video of Thor making toast and jumping when it’s ready with Wii music playing

Clint, Tony and Bucky in a broken elevator together, Tony’s trying to fix it while Bucky and Clint are singing elevator music

Thor and Steve and tony training

Tony helping Peter with his homework

A series of clips of Morgan running and jumping into every avengers arms

A video of Bucky and Sam holding Peter between them by his arms and legs, sprinting away from tony

Spiderman being frustrated and punching a hole in the concrete wall, a zoom in on Steve’s wide eyed face and then moved to Tony’s disappointed face

Wanda cooking 

Them doing TikTok trends

Dressing as each other for Halloween and having the glam bot music playing as they each show off their costumes and there’s one where they all actually wear the others costumes (Thor has the iron man helmet sitting awkwardly on top of his head, one foot wedged into the boot, Steve is standing in a too small shirt, holding a bow backwards, Clint has a cape that’s so heavy he’s falling backwards, Tony looks like a dwarf in captain americas suit, the shield balanced on his head, nat looks flawless in purple shorts and a large gray shirt, Bruce is wrapping himself in a blanket over his very tight black widow fit) and then there’s the one where they didn’t trade outfits (Tony in a off blue shirt with a badly painted star on it and a rectangle thats blue and red taped to his arm, Steve is wearing red underwear with two eye holes cut in on his head and just a red shirt and pants with lightbulbs in his hands, Thor is holding a stick, wearing a black crop top and tights, Clint has red curtains draped over his back and a hard hat on that’s badly spray painted silver, Natasha painted herself green, Bruce is holding a tiny toy bow, wearing swim goggles and a too tight vest)

A race between Bucky and Peter recorded by Sam that ends with at least three holes in the walls, two vases smashed, blood on the floor, an unconscious clint, Bucky screaming, Peter falling off the balcony laughing, and Tony’s depressed face. 

Sam and tony created a collection of Steve’s reaction to modern movies

Natasha and Clint filming the gangs reaction during horror movie night

A Clint documentary of him scaring his fellow avengers

Natasha recorded a time lapse of the boys creating a pillow fort and the greatest mind on earth yelling ‘no girls allowed in the fort they have cooties!’ Only for Bucky to nail him in the face with a pillow

Tony and Steve sneaking into Fury's office continually going ‘shhh!’ To each other as they press gemstones onto his eye patch

Fury wearing the bedazzled eye patch

Arm wrestling matches

Thor yeeting tony

Them playing football and tony tackling captain America to the ground only for Thor to lift him by his feet and spin and throw him into a tree but Peter catches him with a web, shoots Thor in the face and catches the ball and scores a touchdown

A compound wide game of water balloon fight

A city wide game of freeze tag

Tony and Thor giggling like children while drawing on Steve’s shield. 

Lifting mjolnir competition

Thors hair blowing majestically in the wind (recorded by peter) with ‘loreal paris, because you're worth it’ playing over top

Pictures taken perfectly just before people lean in to kiss each other, do they actually kiss? The fans will never know

A picture of the avengers that gets increasingly more concerning the longer you look at it- clint dangling from the ceiling, mouth duck taped shut, peter just floating mid air with a concerned look on his face, thor holding a decapitated captain america behind his back, a foot thats just barely in frame but at a height that is not possible for a foot to be at, tony’s head somehow poking through the floor, steve wearing a shirt inside out but in actuality hes shirtless and has stitches, sam is a blur in the background, bucky missing an arm, nat juggling eyeballs? etc

A video of captain america applying makeup and then it cuts to him looking like tony stark and walking around the city and is later revealed to actually have been loki pretending to be cap pretending to be tony

A comp of everyone mimicking each others languages

A ‘road trip’ to everyone's home countries- cut to everyone shivering in russia while bucky and nat grin

Peter throwing out modern slang and having snapshots of steve and buckys  faces every time

A video of Sam and Bucky having a sandcastle building competition with Peter

A handstand competition video between Sam Peter Bucky Steve and Clint(Peter wins)

A picture of the avengers eating ice cream

A collection of people’s faces after Spider-Man drops down behind them 

A collection of the avengers faces after tony/steve told an old/ dad joke

A picture of Thor passed out on the couch, seven phones on his stomach, face and thighs because he’s the god of thunder/lightning and works as a wireless charger

A video of Peter stealing Tony’s flip phone and being like ‘hehe I’m gonna prank call so many people’ only to discover it only has one singular contact

Peter recording a dark compound and creeping up the stairs going “🎶if you’re here to murder me clap your hands🎶” and then there’s clapping and a perfectly cut Peter scream

A picture of tony asleep, Morgan and Peter curled up on top of him, also asleep

A muted video of tony screaming at Steve and Sam and Bucky and the caption is ‘Morgan swore’

A picture of tony looking chastised while fury is looking down at him, completely done

A video, recorded by nat, of her sneaking into the kitchen at three am to find bukcy, peter, and sam sitting and standing on the counter, the fridge, and the table respectively, rapping hamilton

A picture of peter and sam placing magnets on an asleep buckys arm, followed by a picture of peter and sam sprinting away from a very angry looking bucky

A muted video of a fight going on between all avengers with ominous music playing and the caption ‘the next civil war’..... Except the ‘fight’ is a tickle fight

Anyway thats all i got, feel free to add more i would love to read ‘em.

[speakrd]

Elon Musk Quotes Today Circa 02 November 2023

1. "Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!" - Context: Elon Musk posted a video of himself walking into Twitter headquarters holding a sink. This quote is from his tweet. 2. "Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape." - Context: Elon Musk wrote this statement when he bought Twitter, expressing his belief that the platform should not become chaotic and unregulated. 3. "X will be an 'everything app'." - Context: Elon Musk has expressed his ambition for Twitter (referred to as X in the article) to become a comprehensive app similar to China's WeChat, combining shopping, banking, and social media. SOURCE: Elon Musk’s Unrecognizable App https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/11/elon-musk-year-twitter-x/675870/ 1. "There was a time when I was posting on Instagram, but I found myself doing selfies and I’m, like, ‘What the hell is wrong with me?'" Context: Elon Musk explains why he deleted his Instagram account and stopped posting on the platform. He realized that he was becoming too vain and questioned his behavior of taking selfies for likes. 2. "Why am I posing for selfies to get likes?" Context: Musk reflects on his actions of posing for selfies on Instagram and questions the motivation behind seeking validation through likes. 3. "I am concerned that Instagram actually leads to more unhappiness, not less, in the sense that it just looks like everyone is just having a great time and is way better looking than they really are." Context: Musk expresses his concern about the negative impact of Instagram on people's happiness. He believes that the platform creates an illusion of everyone having a perfect life and appearance, which can lead to feelings of inadequacy and unhappiness. 4. "I think it can make you kind of depressed." Context: Musk shares his belief that Instagram has the potential to contribute to feelings of depression due to the constant comparison and unrealistic standards portrayed on the platform. SOURCE: Elon Musk left Instagram because he started taking too many selfies:... https://pagesix.com/2023/11/01/celebrity-news/elon-musk-left-instagram-because-he-started-taking-too-many-selfies/ 1. "In my opinion, he fundamentally hates humanity. He’s doing things that erode the fabric of civilization, getting DAs elected who refuse to prosecute crime. That’s part of the problem in San Francisco and LA and other cities." Context: Elon Musk criticized George Soros for bankrolling progressive, soft-on-crime prosecutors and accused him of eroding the fabric of civilization. 2. "Once you get to city and state district attorneys, the value for money is extremely good. Soros realized you don’t actually need to change the laws; you just need to change how they’re enforced." Context: Elon Musk explained his theory for why George Soros focuses on local races instead of national campaigns, suggesting that changing how laws are enforced is more effective than changing the laws themselves. 3. "Twitter was fundamentally controlled by the far left" and functioned as an "information weapon" for radical progressives at the expense of other viewpoints. Context: Elon Musk explained his rationale behind buying Twitter and claimed that the platform had a corrosive effect on society, being biased towards the far left and suppressing other viewpoints. SOURCE: Elon Musk says George Soros 'fundamentally hates humanity,' erodes... https://nypost.com/2023/11/01/business/elon-musk-slams-george-soros-on-the-joe-rogan-experience/ SOURCE: We should listen to Elon Musk’s concerns about AI, says Rishi Sunak https://www.politico.eu/article/we-should-listen-to-elon-musks-concerns-about-ai-says-rishi-sunak/ 1. "Yeah, you built it like this just for fun?" - Elon Musk agrees with Joe Rogan's comment about the dent in the CyberTruck after shooting it with a compound bow. Context: Elon Musk is responding to Joe Rogan's observation about the dent in the CyberTruck, implying that it was intentionally designed that way. 2. "Trucks are supposed to be tough." - Musk responds to Rogan's question about the durability of the CyberTruck. Context: Elon Musk is defending the durability of the CyberTruck by stating that trucks are expected to be tough. 4. "Designed for Bladerunner." - Musk suggests that the CyberTruck was designed with inspiration from the movie Blade Runner. Context: Elon Musk is indicating that the design of the CyberTruck draws inspiration from the futuristic aesthetics of the movie Blade Runner. SOURCE: Dear Elon Musk, Let's Clear Up A Few Things About 'Blade Runner' And The Cybertruck https://www.theautopian.com/dear-elon-musk-lets-clear-up-a-few-things-about-blade-runner-and-the-cybertruck/ 1. "Italy actually was willing to let us use the Coliseum. I was like, well, can’t turn that down. Then I was like, well, if it’s going to be in the Coliseum, I like UFC and everything, but we don’t have tons of ads in UFC branding on the Coliseum 'cause it’s a place of great history. You don’t want to have it be all like NASCAR. And then Zuck pulled out." Context: Elon Musk explains why negotiations broke down for the fight with Mark Zuckerberg. 2. " accused me of not being serious, and I said, ‘Listen, at the end of the day, I’ll fight you any place, anywhere, under any rules.’” Context: Elon Musk responds to Mark Zuckerberg accusing him of not being serious about the fight. 3. “I’m like 50% heavier than him. I’ve got my patented 'walrus' move. I just lie on him. A walrus doesn’t need martial arts training because it’s really big.” Context: Elon Musk dismisses the notion that Mark Zuckerberg's jiu-jitsu experience would give him an advantage in a fight. SOURCE: Elon Musk Says It's Mark Zuckerberg's Fault MMA Fight Didn't Happen https://www.tmz.com/2023/11/01/elon-musk-tells-joe-rogan-mark-zuckerberg-fault-mma-fight-never-happened/ Read the full article

[amjustagirl]

when the sun loves the moon: chapter 8 

chapters: one.~ two.~ three.~ four.~ five.~ six.~ seven.~ eight.~ 

pairing: bokuto koutaro x f! reader genre: romance, fluff warnings: one (1) non-explicit bedroom scene  wc: 5.8k

It’s long past dawn when you wake. 

Morning light streams through the gap in the curtains, drizzles in like honey, comforting like a warm cup of tea. Your body reacts before your mind, tensing up as you recall the events of last night until your brain kicks in, reminding your feral self to breathe, to trust. It goes against every instinct you have, learnt from flailing against bullies in the sandbox to shooting retorts from the hip like a revolver, your words your bullets against cocky boys in university, at work.

No one’s ever been on your team. Well except your mum, and you thought Kou was (he wasn’t, for a while) though now he swears on everything he has that he’s on yours (and always will be).

You’re undecided whether to trust him. 

You peel away the blankets, getting up to brush your teeth, cleaning your molars, incisors, readying them for an inevitable battle before you splash water on your face. Shadows streaked beneath puffy eyes, you try to smear them away. It doesn’t work. You’re a wreck.

It’s unfair that Bokuto, on the other hand, looks far from a wreck. He grins at you, straight white teeth, dazzling smile. 

“Good morning, baby!” 

You croak back an approximation of a good morning to you, too. He doesn’t look put out by your lack of enthusiasm, sits on the bottom of the bed, feet kicking out, heels bouncing against the carpeted floor. He looks too excited, it’s too early for this, you’re barely awake, your heart still feeling as if you shoved it into the dishwasher and then the dryer for good measure – 

“I fixed the problem, baby!” 

He says it as if he’s fixed some household appliance, not some relationship-ending obstacle that’s larger than both of you combined. But he’s grinning, white teeth straight, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes as he beckons you over. 

You stay by the toilet sink, clutching it for dear life. 

“You fixed the problem”, you echo. Your brain a blank slate now, nothing’s whirring. It staggers to a stop. “I – what. How.” 

 “I told the world the truth”, he says simply, as if honesty is the answer to every problem. 

“It can’t be as simple as – wait. What?!” His words finally hit you like a runaway bullet train, leaving you flat on the tracks. 

“Bokuto Koutaro –“ you ground out. 

“Don’t say my full name like that, you sound like my mum –“ 

“What. Did. You. Do?!” 

It turns out that for all Ono-san’s flaws, he’s managed to turn Bokuto Koutaro into someone – something, a product that’s appealing to a wide audience, a golden boy to everyone – not just to you. Mr. Popular indeed, and Kou plays that up unknowingly with his good nature and boyish good looks. The world loves him even as it hates you, and he harnesses it to his advantage. 

The result? 

An Instagram story, roughly thirty minutes long, shot in Shoyo’s room while you were sound asleep.

He starts by thanking everyone for their support, the V-league trophy shining in his hand as congratulations roll in from his fans. Then he sighs, and when someone takes the bait, asking him why he seems so down despite the glorious victory the night before, he whispers that he’s got a secret to share, and with a too-wide smile, declares that he’s madly in love, though he refuses to say with who. 

You’re about to karate chop him across the back of his head because that’s exactly what you were afraid about but then the video diverts your attention, as his recorded self begins to lament about mean comments on fan websites, taking care to refer to the names of said sites, before entreating his fans, his supporters to be kind, to be good and bowing his head to ask them to be happy for him. 

You flick to the offending fan sites. The comment threads have exploded, the cavalry activated, and most of the rude comments have been quashed to a measly corner, everyone defending your right to privacy, your right to decency and respect. This is – this is so weird and you’re not sure that what’s on the screen is real because you’ve only known the world to be cruel, the world to be unkind. 

You’re wrong after all.

“I’m on your team”, Kou murmurs, breaking you from your state of near hysteria. “Me and Shoyo and ‘Tsumu – he said Kaiyo helped, and Omi and Meian – all of us. They helped me with what to say, Shoyo helped shoot it and – and I hope you’re okay with it.”

Your stomach rumbles, the one organ that’s still operating amidst all this turmoil. 

“Kou”, you say. “Would you like to grab brunch with my mom?” 

Your mum replies so quickly to your text that you half suspect her thumb was just glued to the screen, and her head is outside the door when the lift door slides open and you and Kou walk towards your childhood home. You can see her itching to pinch his cheeks, but restrains herself when you shoot her a warning look. 

“Hello auntie”, he chirps. “Sorry I’m here empty handed - ”

“Not at all! Come in, come in. You must be hungry after all that excitement last night”. 

She bustles him in, leaving you outside still struggling with your shoes. You sulk, crossing your arms. She’s obviously already chosen her favourite, offering him a mountain of french toast drizzled with honey that would make his nutritionist weep, but he thanks her sweetly and fills his plate, calls her auntie when she insists. 

“Do I get any breakfast at all”, you grouse. “Me - y’know? Your daughter. The fruit of your womb, your own kid - not the first guy I bring home.”

Bokuto perks up. If he had a tail, it’d have wagged itself off his bottom by now.  “Eh - eh? You mean I’m the first guy you’ve ever brought home?” 

He’s looking at you with those googly, sparkly eyes that makes you want to melt but you are not going to do so in front of your mom. “Maybe”, you say gruffly, swallowing your share of french toast. “Ma, don’t - where was I supposed to find time in school or during work to date?!”

“It’s okay, at least you finally brought this lovely boy back.” She reaches out, pinches his cheek like you know she’s been itching to the minute Kou walked into the apartment. Bokuto grins at her good-naturedly, taking his cheek pinching in stride, accustomed to it by the grace of having two older sisters and a bevy of aunts.  

“I’ll try my best to make sure I’m the only boy you bring back”, he tells you and you can just see your mother swoon. You’d very much like to join her in said swoon but you can’t, so you just slip your hand into his under the kitchen table, and squeeze it tightly. Then you have to let go immediately to stop your mom from whipping out all the accursed baby photos - 

“Mom! No one needs to see that - “ 

“Look, wasn’t she such a cute baby? She never wanted to wear clothes, just used to run around the house without pants -” 

“You seriously don’t need to embarrass me, mum - ” 

“She was always so fierce, even when she was just a toddler, she would pee on anyone that she didn’t like - “

“Right, okay mum that’s enough - “ 

“Auntie, can I see more please?” 

“Bo, please don’t encourage her - “

“Baby, baby, I’m your Kou -” 

“Not anymore, you’re not.”

He pouts until your mother offers him another plate of french toast, perking up when she whispers the magic word bacon, and the minute your back is turned to put your plate in the sink, they’re exchanging numbers. 

“You don’t need to get her number, she’s embarrassed me enough”, you complain half heartedly after you finally manage to extract yourself from your mother’s clutches, though she sends you off with a tupperware full of leftovers and a stage whispered - “hold on tight to this one and ask him next time whether I can squeeze his biceps, they’re the size of my face” to which you hissed “you have his number, ask your weird questions yourself!” - that Bokuto gamely pretended to not overhear. 

“I like your mum!” he says later. “She’s great!” 

“She is”, you admit. “Despite her propensity for embarrassing me -” 

“The baby photos were really cute by the way”, he laughs. 

You roll your eyes. “Both of you are just gonna ruin my reputation but yes, that notwithstanding - she’s an amazing mum.” You kick a stray pebble that committed the grave sin of being in your way. “I don’t know how she managed to do it all herself when dad walked out on us, holding a job to pay the bills while making sure I turned out somewhat okay. I guess that’s why we’re so close - cos it’s always been just me and her against the world.”

“Not anymore”, he says, stopping you in your tracks by leaning his head heavily on your shoulder, pulling you into his broad chest. 

“Kou - what are you doing! Wait - oi! Don’t do this in public!”

He doesn’t let go of you despite your protests.

“It’s not just you and your mum against the world anymore. I’m gonna show you that I’m on your team too.”

You scrabble against his bicep that’s caging you into his form (your mum is right, his biceps are indeed magnificent but you’re never telling her that), twisting until you meet his gaze, face to face. 

“You - You’re amazing too, did I tell you that? This morning was - I don’t - I don’t know how to thank you.”

(for standing up for me. for teaching me that there’s kindness in the world for me too) 

He blushes bright pink at your praise, hiding his heated cheeks in your hair. “You don’t have to thank me. I love you so much, baby”, he noses through your hair to press his lips to your forehead. “Wanna make sure you and the whole world knows it.”

“I think they already do”, you chuckle lightly, swaying in his embrace. “I guess it’s my turn to let the world I love you too.”

When Bokuto says he wants the whole world to know he loves you, he really means to shout it from the top of every rooftop in Osaka and tell everyone on the street who’d bother to listen to him. He follows up the first instagram story with another, more detailed rendition of the threats you both received, the nasty comments, the script written with the help of Ono-san and Kuroo. It’s a hit, garnering so much sympathy and support for your relationship that he has to later plead with his fans not to go after the maker of said threats (you and he both agreed that Yuki’s just a child, she doesn’t deserve to go through trial by fire with an angry mob). 

Finally convinced, you allow him to post a photo of you on his Instagram. 

'I'm on her team' he captions it simply. Both the Internet and your mother swoons. 

The rest of the season passes with little incident, though for some reason (Kuroo and Kenma are behind it, you’re sure), Bokuto’s schedule fills up with interviews with the rest of the Jackals (Omi tries to tap out by pretending he has a cold, but gets pulled back in anyway) and the questions are designed specifically to allow him to ramble on and on about you. 

It’s some silly game where each of the participants have to either answer the question they draw from a jar (rigged, you’re sure) or eat some ghost pepper (you sure hope there’s a vat of milk backstage) when Bokuto’s asked to spill a secret that the world doesn’t know. 

“I’m in love”, he chirps. “Does that count?” 

(your sweet, sunshine boy) 

Miya Atsumu scoffs. “As if the world doesn’t already know that.”

“You’re one to talk when you spend all your time talking about your wife and kids like a fishmonger in the wet market -” 

“You’re such a kill-joy, Omi-kun - you should talk about your darling Azumi-chan, light of your life, the only one who can make this grump actually smile - ”

“I’m going to kill you with the help of Kaiyo, you watch your back tonight -”

“My darling wife would never hurt me -” 

“I’ll bribe your twin to poison your food - 

The interviewer smiles indulgently at them all. Probably sedated with horse tranquiliser or something, because most interviewers would have fled from this clown house by now. “Congratulations, Bokuto-kun. I’m sure our viewers are very happy for you!” 

He bounces in his seat, enthusiasm beading from every pore. “Yeah - she’s the best! Patient and so smart and funny and brave and fierce -” 

“Is marriage on the cards for you soon?” the interviewer cuts in.   

Bokuto leans his elbow on Atsumu’s shoulder to prop up his chin, a dreamy expression on his face. 

“Marriage...” he trails off.  

Atsumu reaches around to snap his fingers at him. “Earth to Bo-kun - yeah y’know marriage? That thing you do with the ring - “ 

Sakusa scowls, still sore from bickering with Atsumu. “From what I understand from Kaiyo, you didn’t even propose with a ring, just rocked up at her door after you knocked her up - “

Bokuto pays the squabbling duo no mind, rockets right off his chair, back ramrod straight. The interviewer makes a discreet motion to the cameraman to capture every movement of the irrepressible man. 

“I need to get a ring! Tsum-tsum, d’you think Kaiyo would have any recommendations?”

“Good that you’re asking Kaiyo, she’s probably the only Miya who can be trusted, not this damn idiot -”

Atsumu hollers, shoving Bokuto off to scrabble at Sakusa’s chair. “Oi! Who’re ya callin’ an idiot!!” 

Kenma sighs, eyeing the exasperated PR managers who’re attempting to get Bokuto to sit back down. “That’s another part of the interview that we’ll need to edit out.”

Kuroo just smirks over his clipboard. He’s enjoying this far too much. “We could always do a blooper reel. Makes for great entertainment!”

Despite Kenma’s practised slouch of nonchalance, they both crowd into your office to show you the video. “I actually have work to do, unlike some of you”, you inform Kuroo sourly when he sprawls on your desk. 

“You’ll thank me after watching this video of the love of your life - it’s gonna go viral.” He sing songs,  batting your hand away when you try to shove him off your papers, shoving the phone in your face instead. 

Your face feels like it’s been baked by the sun by the time the video ends. 

“I’ve said before there’s a desk in our Osaka office that could have your name on it.” Kenma says, expression deceptively neutral. “If you want.” 

“If you wait a week more before you move to Osaka, I’ll win the bet with Kenma”, Kuroo whispers.

That - even though you spit your outrage whilst he swears he’ll split the prize with you, that motivates you out of spite to move that very weekend back to Osaka, luggage in tow, without a place to stay. Your mother sends you off with her love and a tupperware full of homemade miso that you’re apparently meant to make something edible for ‘that lovely boy that I’ll hopefully call my son someday’ - to which you replied “mum, you know he’s the better cook”, ignoring the fact that she clearly saw that damn video and a bullet train ride later, you find yourself on Bokuto’s doorstep at exactly eleven o’clock on Saturday night. 

You ring the doorbell and after two minutes of waiting, you debate the wisdom of trying to surprise your boyfriend who’s known to sleep very soundly after a long day of practice (he drools, he snores, but you still love him so) and consider whether your arms can withstand lugging all your bags to a hotel for the night when the door swings open. 

Bokuto, all sculpted biceps and carved thighs stares down at you, mouth agape, towel wrapped loosely around his waist. 

“Surprise?” You say feebly. His biceps are indeed magnificent.

“Baby”, he breathes, blinking. “What are you doing here? I thought you were only visiting me next week? Not that it’s a bad surprise - it’s  a good surprise! I’m just - I thought - ”

“I moved back to Osaka”, you interrupt. He continues to stare at you. 

You’re sweaty even though it’s freezing tonight, your arms ache, you had to shove your way through a whole bunch of tourists with too-large cameras and too-slow a stride to make your way to your boyfriend’s apartment, and you’d really not like to get him arrested for public indecency because if that towel slips any lower, someone is going to call the police - 

(the police should also arrest you, because your thoughts are also exceedingly indecent and immoral and not same for public consumption)

 “If it’s not a good time, I can go find a hotel - “ 

“No!” At that, he finally springs into action, collecting all your bags up effortlessly, lifting them with one arm. Is that how he trains his biceps to look that good? 

“Come in - you can stay, I just - it’s a good surprise baby - ”

Your tupperware of miso teleports itself into the fridge and your luggage finds itself piled in a corner of the living room. The cacti in the balcony sway, waving at you - welcome back. The moon is round and full, placid, implacable. You wonder if she envies you tonight. 

“I won’t be here long”, you tell him. “I’ll move out once I find an apartment to rent -” 

“Don’t!” he exclaims, spinning around so fast he nearly spills the tea that he’s brewing for you. “Move in with me, baby - I’m a good housemate, I’ll cook, I’ll clean - I’ll go get your favourite set of sheets right now so we can change the bed - ”

“Okay, okay”, you laugh, at his boyish enthusiasm, and he prances over to your seat, crowding you against the dining table, punctuating your breath with kisses until the tea grows cold “But there’s really no need to change the sheets - they’re fine as they are now.”

“Are they?” He backs you against the counter, a predatory gleam in his eye. 

You find that it’s a good thing he had the forethought to take out fresh sheets, because he follows you into the shower even though his towel is still damp and well - 

“I guess we really do need new sheets”, you pant, as he noses at you, running large, warm palms over your marked back, making sure you’re not dead yet (though you will be if he goes another round which from the look of things, might be possible - help).

“I’ll carry you if you can’t walk tomorrow”, he grins wolfishly, pulling you back in his lap, gearing up for the next round of the night. 

It’s been exactly seventy three days since you’ve moved in, your clothes snugly tucked into the wardrobe beside his, the box of miso you brought with you washed and empty, its contents used up in countless stir fries and soups that he prepares for dinner and bento boxes for you to bring to work. You’ve added a couple of leafy friends to his menagerie of cacti, there’s an extra desk you’ve set up for your work, and he’s never thought his apartment could look more welcoming, could feel more like home. 

He knows he’s impulsive, he knows he’s been described as over-eager, but when he passes a tiny jewelry shop run by an smiling obaa-san that reminds him of your mother, when his eye is drawn towards a silver platinum ring with pearls inlaid - delicate yet so strong, just like you. He knows it’s the one. So he buys it on the spot, brings it home, tucks it in his sock drawer that only he digs into, because it’s a mess undecipherable to you, and all that’s left to do is to ask. 

Easier said than done. 

“Will you marry me?” 

“Absolutely not.” 

Atsumu looks up from his phone, scrolling through the never-ending treasure trove of pictures of his family. “Try that again, with more feeling this time.”

Bokuto huffs, knees aching from the cold floor. “I put plenty of feeling into that!” 

“For once, I agree with Miya”, Omi pipes up, leaning against the lockers. “You just sound constipated.”

“I’m just nervous”, Bokuto whines. “What if she says no?” 

“She’s not gonna say no!” Shoyo fans him with a towel that seems suspiciously like Kiyoomi’s (Hinata, get your dirty mitts off my face towel or I’ll send that video of yours to Kageyama), his most ardent supporter til the end. 

“But what if she does - ”

“She’s put up with you for so long, do you seriously think she’s going to say no?” 

Bokuto gasps, hand pressed to heart. “Omi-omi - I knew you were my friend -” 

“ - I regret ever saying that.” Kiyoomi snaps his locker shut and proceeds to seek refuge in the toilet. It’s quieter there. 

Akaashi just looks at him when he asks if he can practice his proposal, his eyebrow doing that weird scrunch thing it does as if it’s trying to imitate a caterpillar wriggling out of its cocoon in spring. Kuroo whips out his camera, and when he guffaws please, go right ahead, there are far too many red flags to ignore and he rather not give Kuroo blackmail material on a silver platter. 

Kenma doesn’t even pick up his call. Neither does Tsukishima. 

By the time the first match of the season rolls around, the ring has been sitting in its box for a month. He keeps putting the proposal off because - one, he hasn’t practised proposing enough yet, and two, he hasn’t found the perfect yakiniku place to pop the question yet, and three - 

You might say no. Oh gods, he really hopes you don’t. 

So when the microphone is in his hand after the first win of the season (because he managed to score the most points in the match, and his teammates shoved him right in front), he really doesn’t know what possesses him to respond to a question about what he’s hoping to achieve this season. The correct answer is to say - to win the V-league championship trophy again, but for some reason his tongue betrays him, and forgets years of PR training and conditioning in one fell swoop. 

“I wanna get married”, he says, and the interviewer reels back, hell, the entire arena shudders, but everyone stays silent from shock. 

Shoyo is probably the only one who reacts, the wings in his heels allowing him to sprint to his bag, emerge with the velvet box. He passes it to him wordlessly as the interviewer finally comes to his senses. 

“Bokuto-senshu”, he clears his throat. “Do you have good news to share with all of us?” 

“I hope so”, he says, before clutching the box and dashing towards the stands where you sit, flanked by Kaiyo and Yua. They part like the sea and he falls forward on one knee. 

“Hi baby”, he says. 

You sweep his sweaty hair from his forehead, with a gentle, warm hand, and your smile shines brighter than anything in the sky. “Hi Kou. You have a question for me?” 

“Yeah”, he replies, a grin already growing on his face, stupid and loud and earnest. 

“Go on then”, you urge, and he has to resist the urge to lunge at you, cover you with kisses. 

“I wanna be on your team forever”, he says, snapping the box open. Then for good measure, because he has manners, knows how to be polite, he adds - 

“Please?”

His fingers are trembling too much to pick up the ring, so you do it for him, slipping it onto your fourth finger. It catches the light. 

“You were always on my team”, you cupping his face to whisper against his lips. “Or to put it more clearly - yes Kou, of course I’ll marry you.”

There’s a roar of approval from the audience when he kisses you to seal the deal, but he doesn’t hear it. The world doesn’t exist when there’s you, there’s you, there’s you - 

“I guess we don’t need to announce the engagement since you’ve pretty much declared it to  the world”, you remark when he has to come up for air. 

He looks around. 

The coach looks amused. Shoyo’s tearing up, sobbing into his towel. Omi’s mouth is doing the weird thing where he tries to pretend he’s not smiling but he really is. Atsumu is leading the rest of his teammates in hollering and hooting at the two of you. Kuroo gives a little wave from a seat to the left, camera out and filming the whole thing. Akaashi’s gonna flip ‘cos he couldn’t make it today, and so missed the event, Tsukishima’s gonna snark that he’s glad he did. 

“Let’s give them even more to talk about”, he says, pulling you in for yet another hungry kiss that’s probably not appropriate for public consumption, but he’s done hiding his love for you, clinging onto you until Ono-san comes over, apologetically pulling him away. 

He backflips and whoops when he’s back with his team, stares longingly at where you’re seated and before he leaves the building, the entire proposal goes viral, and congratulations start pouring in from family, friends and fans. Your mother and mother in law are united in their horror when you tell them flippantly that you wouldn’t mind eloping next week, Bokuto nodding his head happily behind you, imagining a future where he gets to call you his wife – that has a nice ring to it –

“You need to have a wedding!” your mother gasps, and your mother in law starts recounting the number of people they do need to invite (the Bokuto clan is fairly large) and they both volunteer to plan your wedding jointly since neither you nor Bokuto can be trusted. 

“Fine”, you shrug. “But if it gets overboard, we’re gonna go to the nearest Shinto shrine, sign the papers and elope.”

Bokuto perks up. “Ooh – can we go for yakiniku after?”

You do in fact run away from the stuffy wedding banquet held in a hotel that’s far too grand with chandeliers and wait staff in waistcoats once all the toasts are done, holing up in Bokuto’s favourite yakiniku place in Tokyo with your closest friends – the MSBY boys, the Fukurodani team, Akaashi, Kuroo, Kenma, even Tsukishima cracks a smile, that old grump and the night doesn’t end until everyone’s stuffed to the gills with barbequed meat and overflowing with beer. 

“We’re married”, he says, ring clinking against his glass mug when he finds you, hidden in a corner booth, resting from the excitement of the festivities of the day. Your shoes are off, the train of your gown tucked underneath you, makeup smeared from laughing and crying but he thinks you’re the most beautiful person in the world, nay - in the entire universe. 

“We are”, you say lightly, scooting over to let him squeeze in next to you. “Do you regret it already?” 

He looks at you as if you’ve grown two heads, but then bursts into a grin when he realizes you’re teasing him. “Never”, he vows.  “I’m gonna be on your team for life.”

(yellow sunshine lights up the dark, grey earth. your boy, your boy - who’s pure gold, who is your world.)

“It’s a good team to be on.” 

His grin softens into a smile that’s too full of love for you. “The very best”, he says simply. 

You lean your head against the plane of his shoulder, humming, content. You wonder if the sun and the moon envies you now. You feel sorry for them. 

A decade at your job, but you’re still not accustomed to doing interviews. 

That’s always been Kou’s thing, even after he hung up his boots and retired from playing professional volleyball, joining the men’s national junior team as an assistant coach. He charms his interviewers and fans alike with quotable responses and boyish enthusiasm, his antics and answers genuine, undeniably him. 

You, on the other hand, work in jobs that don’t require you to be the public face of anything – you draft contracts for heaven’s sake, there’s nothing interesting about that. But when Kenma drops you a call and has the courtesy to ask if you’d mind being interviewed by some business magazine for their cover on young and upcoming female legal counsels, you say yes anyway because well – he’s always been a good boss and hardly asks you for much, so what’s this to you. 

The interviewer’s some young journalism student, freshly hired out of school, and she’s nervous, asking you about your career trajectory, the difficulties of working in a male-dominated field, the challenges you’ve faced along the way. You provide her with neat, colourless responses that wouldn’t get either you or Kenma in trouble, though you stare at her with enough contempt to make rattlesnakes flee when she asks about your husband, your Kou. 

“Do you ask the professional men you interview about their wives?” you bite, voice chilling enough to freeze her blood. 

“N-no I – uh – it was one of the questions my boss sent me with – “

You exhale a sigh, gaze softening as she backtracks, pen clutched in her arm, clearly panicking. 

“It’s tiring sometimes y’know? To always have people wondering whether I got my job because of who my husband knows, or to explain to people that no my husband doesn’t mind that I kept my job even after marriage and kids because he supports my choices – we’re a team and we support each other. That’s what a marriage is about y’know? My marriage isn’t diametrically opposed to my career.”

Your interviewer’s gaping at you, possibly because it’s the first genuine answer you’ve given her this morning. 

“I don’t mean to be rude but um – I think our readers would like to know how you seem to do it all then. You’re married to a former pro athlete, you have three kids under the age of seven and you have a demanding job. How do you manage?” 

“I have an understanding boss”, you say dryly, and you’re sure Kuroo’s going to send you and Kenma a barrage of memes that he thinks makes him cool when the interview is published. “But I also have a very understanding husband who thinks the best job in the world is being a dad to our three boys – our home is pretty chaotic most of the time, and when he’s busy with work, we’re lucky enough to have the grandparents step in. They’re always itching to spend more time with our three little monsters. We make a great team – him and I.”

She giggles. “You’re a lucky woman, then.”

Your eyes crinkle at the corners. “I am. I wish everyone is blessed with someone as wonderful as my Kou.”

The door clatters open, sunlight spills in. 

“Baby!” 

“Though he does have a bad habit of interrupting my work to drag me out for lunch”, you add, and your interviewer laughs again, immediately charmed when Bokuto strides in, baby strapped to his chest, a booming hey hey hey as he greets her. She looks star struck, though it’s only natural you suppose – he still looks incredibly striking, black and white hair still defying gravity, chest broad though his midsection is just a smidge softer (more of him to love, you tell him when he pouts), eyes bright, still pure gold. 

“She always skips lunch when she gets too engrossed with work, gotta remind her to eat”, he says in a stage whisper, disarming her with his charm immediately. She looks like she’s about to melt into a puddle when the baby gurgles and he coos, smacks a hearty, wet kiss to his little son’s cheek.  

“I won’t keep you then”, the interviewer bows, clutching her notebook and recorder. 

“Only if you’ve gotten everything you need from me”, you tell her, frowning, but she waves you off, thanking you for your time before scuttling off like a scared rabbit. 

You turn to Bokuto. “Kou, sweetie – “ 

“I missed you”, he pouts, before holding out Kousuke to you, all of nine months, happily drooling over his papa’s chest. “We missed you and you know if I don’t drag you out for lunch, you’ll sit at your desk and eat or worse, not eat and that’s not healthy –“ 

“Fine, fine. Let’s go for lunch then”, you take your youngest son in your arms, peppering kisses to his pink cheeks, as he squeals and waves his fist. You look around, expecting to see your older sons. “And – “

“Kouichi has a play-date with Sachiko, remember? Omi’s taking them out to some museum cos he got free tickets, and it’s his day off. And Kouji is off on an excursion with the pre-school to the zoo.” 

“So it’s just you, me and the little man here?” Kousuke tries his valiant best to eat his fist, giggles good-naturedly when he fails. 

“Just one little monster instead of three”, he laughs and you pinch his cheek. 

“Exactly how long were you standing there eavesdropping on me?!”

Bokuto doesn’t seem one bit ashamed, just chuckles low and sweet, pulling both you and the baby into his arms. “I’m just happy you still think I’m wonderful”, he says, smile still full of sunshine and love, even after years of marriage and kids, of sharing a life, of building a home together. 

“You are”, you reply. 

You’ve known from the time you’ve met him that Bokuto Koutaro’s a good man with a kind heart. Over the years, he’s shown you that there’s goodness in this world – beauty, happiness, kindness, too. You see it in the way he teaches your sons to be good, to be kind themselves without even thinking, reminding them to say hi to that quiet child in their pre-school, because everyone deserves a friend, to wave and say hello to the old lady down the street because she’s lonely, to bring treats to share with their friends. 

“You’re the best man I’ve ever known”,  you add, your words earnest, true.  

“I uh – “, he stumbles a little as little Kousuke squawks before he steadies himself, chuckling down at you. Tears line his lash line like pearls, shining like moonlight. 

“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?”

He says it even though the moon is somewhere on the other side of the world, a running joke between you two to refer to his fumbled first confession of love – but it’s tender, heartfelt, a phrase that you know he now says when his too-big heart is too full of love for you. 

You smile back at him, a lesson you’ve learnt from the sun. 

“I could die happy”, you say, and then you echo your words to him, said all those years ago. “Or, to put it more clearly – I love you too, Kou.”

m.list.~ taglist.~

a/n: and we’ve come to the end of bo’s tale! i hope you enjoyed it, and if you do, pls do send some love or your thoughts!!! love hearing from you guys <3 

[cyantomatos]

Kinktober - Day 9

Day 9 of the Kinktober list provided by @the-purity-pen

This is another...loose interpretation of the prompt. There’s lingerie involved in boudoir shoots, and that was where my brain immediately went, so we get this. Also, @emmikmil​ was the friend that originally helped me with picking the prompts after I spun the wheel, and while she knew about the boudoir aspect, she didn’t know about the surprise ending. I didn’t know about the surprise ending until partway through the fic though. So...surprise!

Prompt: Hate/Angry Sex || Lingerie || Forced orgasm (consensual)

Character: Benny Miller

Benny was…really easy to make happy. That wasn’t to call him simple, far from it. He was amazingly smart, and he enjoyed seeing the shocked expressions on peoples faces when he showed it. Everyone assumed because he acted like a human golden retriever and fought for a living that he had to be dumb, and he liked proving them wrong.

Still, it was incredibly easy to please him.

You’d wanted to do a boudoir photo shoot for a while, longer even than you’d known Benny. When a local studio you followed on Instagram announced a sale that happened to coincide nicely with trying to decide on a gift for your 3 year anniversary, you couldn’t pass it up.

It was...really embarrassing at first. Logically, you knew there was nothing to be embarrassed about. This was the photographer's job, and you’d seen on their Insta that they worked with people of all different shapes and sizes. You’d just never been one to be super comfortable in your body, so the first thirty-ish minutes were mostly spent getting you comfortable being mostly naked in front of a total stranger.

After that, you loved it. You laughed with the photographer, a lovely person named Ashton, over stories of reactions they had seen. Often clients took videos of reactions they got if the photos were taken for gifts, and they almost always cut off in ways that suggested the giftee very much enjoyed the gifts.

They also had stories of people that had come in hoping to overcome their insecurities, and left with a newfound love of the bodies that had gotten them this far. There’d been a lot of smiles and laughter and tears in that studio, and the stories helped you get out of your head and just enjoy yourself.

When the photos were finally done with editing - nothing major, lighting corrections and the like, never any physical changes to you - you had them compiled into an album and wrapped it up with a pretty pink bow.

On the night of your anniversary the two of you went out to a nice dinner, and both of you insisted your presents had to be given in private. You knew why yours wasn’t a public present, but part of you wondered why Benny insisted on his being given at home.

You were too excited when the two of you returned home to wait long enough to change out of your fancy clothes, so you settled on the couch in your fancy clothes.

He raised a brow at the box when you handed it to him, but you knew the moment he realized what it was. His face dropped, eyes going wide and jaw going slack as he flipped through the pages.

You knew exactly what he was seeing; you on your back in a large bed, your body strategically covered with silk sheets. A shot in a mirror of you from behind, kneeling in a chair covered in white furs, your hands tangled in your own hair. A side shot back in the bed, your chest braced on the sheets and your lace covered ass in the air as you did your best attempt at a sexy stare from beneath your hair. The foggy glass of a shower door, just blurry enough to provide modesty, your hands braced against it.

It went on like that, and honestly it had been a while since your boyfriend sat still for that long. He finally looked up at you partway through the book, the same look of shock still plastered on his face. The silence was starting to make you nervous, and you looked down at your lap as your fingers fidgeted with the hem of your dress.

“I-I know it’s not really a traditional anniversary gift, but I thought you’d like it, and-” You were cut off as he surged forward. His hands cupped the back of your head as he pressed you back against the arm of the couch, practically slamming his lips against yours.

Almost an hour later, when Benny had finally worked out all of his energy on you and the two of you lay panting in bed, he nuzzled into your neck and mumbled against your skin. “Best present ever, baby. I’m totally taking some of those on trips.”

You giggle as he suddenly sits up, sliding out of bed and stumbling around the room butt ass naked. He finally finds what he’s looking for, his pants crumpled in the corner where they’d been thrown, and digs around in the pockets for a second.

When he comes back he’s hiding whatever he grabbed behind his back, and you don’t think you’ve ever seen him so nervous before. Finally, after he seems to psyche himself up for a moment he holds out a small velvet box and you gasp.

He gestures for you to take it and you open it to find a small, glittering ring, nestled in the soft silk. When you look up at him, speechless, he just gives you a shy smile and shrugs, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck.

“I guess my idea seems kinda unoriginal now, doesn’t it?”

[solliewriter]

Archery for Writers

In this post, I'll basically tell you the small stuff: e.g., what your archer will complain about to other archers, how different bows sound, what it's like shooting in the rain or snow, finding the goddamn arrows, etc. I’m also going into technical details and will discuss the legendary Robin Hood shot.

If you want a good basic primer, T.S. Strange on Instagram did a pretty good job https://www.instagram.com/p/COat-W1rQ7o/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

But, if you're ready for beyond the basics, I've got you covered.

To be clear, my knowledge of archery is primarily Western traditional archery. PLEASE research the history of the type of bow you choose as they’re all unique. There’s a reason why Mongolian bows are so different than English longbows.

I have primarily shot in thick, brushy forest (not parks, actual wilderness), so when you read, that I'm talking about that setting unless specified. My favored bow is a reflex/deflex, which is basically a recurve/longbow hybrid. I have also been doing archery for as long as I can remember, so yes I know how to shoot.

SOUNDS

Different bows make different sounds. Recurve bows are loud. They make this twangy sound when you use them, unless you put a silencer on the string. This silencer is usually a fluff-type thing that is woven around and through the string. The silencer doesn't make them perfectly silent. It's more of a muffler than a silencer.

Longbows are quieter, but they still make noise. It's short, grunt-like hum that usually only the archer and their immediate compatriots can hear.

For Your Character (FYC): a recurve archer and a longbow archer will very likely pester each other about noise.

SIGHT, pt1

You can shoot blind. Sorta. No, you can't put on a blindfold and still hit your target, but you can and will extrapolate what you see. As mentioned, I've done almost all of my shooting in the forest, in the mountains. Visibility is  less than perfect. You have to aim through hundreds of branches, and the likelihood of hitting a branch and sending your arrow flying into No Man's Land is very likely as a beginner and amateur. Shooting through the forest isn't like in Lord of the Rings or Hunger Games, unless that forest is a well maintained park with marked trails made by things other than deer and bear. (FYI, bear trails are perfect for humans.) Half the time, if you move an inch the wrong way, your arrow will be way off target. Missing by an inch means missing by several feet, which is really far in archery.

More than once, you see your target at one angle, but can't shoot it at another. I've experienced this frequently because my Viking sized dad will pick targets that I, his 5'2" daughter, am too short to see. I have to stand on tip toes to see his target, then lower myself into almost a crouch to shoot. I still hit the target.

FYC: Besides the obvious banter that comes from discussing height differences, there are a few other things to note. In the forest, it can be hard to find two good angles to shoot something. This can lead to frustration, complaining, attempts to get the other archer out of the way, and etc.

SIGHT, pt 2

I’m talking about recurve/longbows, so there are no actual sights to look through. 

This is where things are controversial. There’s a gap shooting and an instinctive shooting. Gap shooters guess the distance, then aim. Instinctive shooters just sorta ... wing it.

I’m not going to throw shade at either method. But here’s a key reason why one would use one style or another: gap shooting is largely ineffective in mountainous, forested terrain when you can’t really see much. So, if you have an archer from a prairie and an archer from the mountains, it’s likely they use different aiming styles.

Side note: Flu-flu shots are unique and fun shots that use big feathery arrows. You shoot nearly straight up in hopes of getting your arrow on top of the target rather than straight toward it. When doing this, you can either look at the target or look at your arrow angle, but you can't do both at the same time. You have to shoot blind. Flu-flu shots aren't good for killing creatures, but they are pure fun. This is a good example of using instinctive shooting rather than gap shooting. Also, flu-flu shots are prone to being highly effective by the wind, and it’s very easy to get them stuck in a tree for all eternity. There’s a shooting area my roving family calls “The Valley of Lost Flu-Flu’s.” It’s called this for very good reason.

SMELLS

Bows don't smell, unless you've just added beeswax to the string (strings fray, wax stops that). Arrows smell for about a day after you paint them and glue them.

Leather, however, smells and remains smelly forever. I personally like the smell (though I suppose I'm actually smelling the oil, not the leather). It's very hard to describe, partially because I have so many memories involved. Unfortunately, I have to leave this to you. Just note, leather from armguards, quivers, and pouches don't smell the same as couches and your typical urbanite materials. Find your hippie friend and ask them to make you a leather bracelet or something. That'll teach you the smell.

FYC: Your archer will have very strong memories associated with the smell of leather and beeswax. They will be warm fuzzy memories.

TOUCH, aka shooting in the cold weather

All right, it's cold, and your character is wearing a big coat. Big, puffy sleeves to fit all those layers beneath. No biggie, just nock the arrow, draw, and shoot ...

FWAP!

The string hits the character's coat sleeve. The arrow goes about ten feet before falling limp to the ground like a sad puppy.

To fix this, you need to tie a thick band around your character's sleeve. Easy peasy.

Now, your OC tries shooting again. Unfortunately, it’s been raining, so to their dismay, they've noticed that their turkey fletchings (standard in the western US states) have flattened and shrunk. It looks like there is barely any fletching at all. Fear not, the arrow will still fly. It'll just make aiming a bit harder, but not terribly worse. Those fletchings are just stabilizers.

Your OC goes home. When they take off their shooting glove/tab, they notice their fingers are yellow. Oh no! Don't worry, your OC is not sick, the dye has just come off the leather in the rain. It'll wash off, but it'll probably happen every time the leather gets wet for the next few months unless your OC makes a new glove/tab that isn't dyed.

LEFTIE VS RIGHTIE

It is extremely uncommon to find a left-handed archer. This is because even if someone’s right-handed doing their day-to-day things, it doesn’t mean they’re going to be right-handed for archery.

In archery, whether you shoot left or right handed is determined by your eye dominance. Most people are right-eyed dominant, so much so it’s very hard for a left-eye dominant archer (such as myself) to find new bows. And I mean really hard. Go anywhere and there’s a severe shortage of left-dominant archery gear simply because it’s that rare (hah I’m special- jk).

BOWS

There are manufactured bows (lame), and there are good bows. Yes, there’s a huge difference.

I’m not sure of the technical terms, but here’s my experience.

Manufactured bows, i.e., the cheap bows you find at a renaissance fair, are typically made from a type of plastic. Good traditional bows, from almost any country, are custom-made from wood that the bowyer (bow-maker) has shaped, treated, and glued.

Bows are a lot like musical instruments. Essentially, manufactured bows (or guitars, violins, etc.) are poor quality because they’re made of cheap materials which make the shooting quality less than superb (more on that later), and because they aren’t given the attention they need, which makes them of lesser quality because they’re just ... eh. Special treatment makes for a better bow.

Like musical instruments, there are a lot of different types. Most websites say there are only four (recurve, longbow, compound, and crossbow), but that’s not quite true. These acknowledge the four general shapes of a bow, but not the subtypes. For example, Mongolian bows are recurves, but tend to be shorter than Western recurves because Mongolian recurves are meant to be shot on horseback.

SHOOTING QUALITY 

So, what is it like shooting a good bow?

Again, I’m speaking from experience with recurves, longbows, and reflexes.

A good bow has good speed. It moves the arrow faster than slower. This is a relative scale because recurves shoot arrows faster than longbows, and reflex/deflex tend to shoot faster than longbows but slower than recurves.

WEIGHT

Is it possible for people to have pulled 100 pounds of weight in a bow back in the olden days, or are people just confused?

Yes, it’s possible.

My dad, who used to do archery once or twice a week, had a 100 pound bow that he shot fairly regularly. That was before his shoulder injuries and, y’know, age. 

Also note that he’s practically a Viking.

I pulled 50 pounds at 28 inches when I was doing it regularly, although now I probably have to go back to 45 pounds.

BASIC SHOOTING FORM

This is going to be heavily effected by your character’s culture, bow, and upbringing.

There’s the English, upright stance for shooting a longbow. The archer stands very straight, and their pull hand goes to anywhere between the lip and the ear.

There’s the forest stance, which is my own, and that’s slightly bent over to avoid string-slaps, finger to cheekbone. Also, I made up the forest stance, so don’t Google it.

Then there’s Walt Wilhem, who, due to physical disability, had to shoot from the hip and was still one of the best archers in the world. Watch the video of him and his brother:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np8u69YfSA8

THE ROBIN HOOD SHOT

This is actually very attainable. I’ve done it six times. My dad has done it about 30 times. I have a friend who did it about 25 times.

In order for this situation to realistically happen (if you’re writing something unrealistic, you really shouldn’t bother reading all of this), the character needs to prep a few things.

1. Years of experience. At least six, and that’s assuming your archer shoots at least seven hours a week, without missing an hour.

 2. At six years the archer might get a few Robin Hood shots. Very likely, it’ll be at a shorter distance and the arrow they’re shooting will be cross-wise instead of straight down the shaft.

3. At ten years, it’s quite likely your Robin Hood has shot straight down the shaft a few times.

4. Your Robin Hood must seek to improve every week.

SOME QUICK TIPS

unless you’re Walt Wilhem, you always pull from your back, not your arm

you never fire an arrow

back quivers are quieter and more mobile than hip quivers (suck it hipsters)

it takes practice and long fingers, but it’s quite doable to hold both a bow and an arrow in one hand while shooting

there is a system for very fast nocking 

beginners have no clue what this system is and so take several minutes to nock their arrow.

contrast, it takes a second for an experienced archer.

someone who doesn’t take long to aim is often called a snap shooter, and this isn’t exactly complimentary.

This ought to take you far in your journey of writing an archer. I’ve been sitting on this post for about a year now, but still need to add to it. PLEASE google the following in case I don’t get to sharing the info.

arrow breakage

bow breaking

materials for arrows

types of wood for bows

types of wood for arrows

arrow spine weight

bow tuning

bow shelfs

different forms

holding a bow

stringing a bow

bow at rest

temperatures + bows

fletching types

aerodynamics 

quivers

moving around

how to find the goddamn arrows

[imomomi]

Meeting the MSBY Black Jackals

AN: This is a repost of an old story I wrote as requested by @ericaelind​. Also, this story actually inspired FIO, so it’s super sweet someone remembered it. 🥺🥺🥺

         Y/N leaned against the wall outside the locker rooms, pulling her phone out to flick through Instagram. She wasn’t one to post much on her public account, but her private one was filled with photos dating back to high-school. Huffing lightly in amusement at a video of a baby babbling gibberish to his father, she jumped at the sudden onset of noise coming out of the locker room. A blonde popped up beside her, resting one arm on the wall as he leaned over her. Miya Atsumu. The bane of Kiyoomi’s existence, but secretly his favorite teammate.

          “Who are ya?” he asked.

          “L/N Y/N,” she answered. When he didn’t say anything, she looked back down at her phone, sending a quick message to her mother. Atsumu lingered, looking at her curiously. Shooting him a look—what did he want—she sighed loudly.

          “Look, fangirls aren’t really allowed around the locker-room. Just head down the hall. If security sees ya, you’ll be in trouble.”

          “There’s a bit of a misunderstanding, Miya-san.”

          “Seriously sweetheart, beat it,” he said, smiling broadly. Y/N could feel her annoyance grow. Kiyoomi was lingering on purpose—was he really going to let her deal with this on her own. Normally, he’d take a few minutes to change, but he had already been gone 15 minuets.

          “I’m not here for you.”

          “That’s nice but you still don’t have the right to hang ‘round our locker room. Think about how uncomfortable the other boys will be.”  His mocking grin had her flushing at the implication.

          “Yoomi told me to wait here. He said he would only be a minuet,” shuffling slightly to get away from his towering form, she bowed lowly, “I apologize if I cause any discomfort.”

          “Yoomi? Who the hell is that?”

          “Sakusa Kiyoomi?”

          “Omi-omi told ya to wait here? What drugs are you on?”

          “I wish I knew,” she muttered to herself. Another person appeared over his shoulder and Y/N shifted farther away. Perhaps, this was a bad idea, she thought. Staring up at Bokuto Koutarou’s grinning face, she decided it was probably for the best that she didn’t know any of Kiyoomi’s teammates. There were only two of them so far and the air around her already felt chaotic.

          “Who’s this?” Bokuto asked, eagerly.

          “Some fangirl. Said Omi-omi told her to wait here.”

          “A fan!” Bokuto shouted, shoving Atsumu out of the way, “Do you wanna a picture? Though, you know you’re not supposed to sneak around here.”

          “Umm, I really think that there’s a mis-“

          “Who is that?” Hinata asked. Y/N ‘s face was an impossible shade of red at this point as she was jostled by Bokuto into a photo she didn’t even want. Hinata bounded up to her excitedly, ignoring Atsumu’s warnings that they should call security and pulled out a marker asking if she wanted an autograph. She didn’t even know what he would sign. She was dressed in all black, nothing but her phone and car keys in her pocket.

          Hinata reached for her hand, pen hovering over her skin before he shrugged and signed his name.

          “This is my first game you know,” Hinata said bouncing on his heels, “I didn’t think we’d be meeting fans already.”

          “I’m not a fan,” she muttered. The stark kanji of his name smeared across her skin. She rubbed at it, shuddering as it remained without a smudge on her hand. A hand grabbed hers, turning it over to inspect the new mark. Kiyoomi.

          “You really are all idiots,” he hissed, turning to glower at his teammates. “Can’t keep your hands to yourself at all, can you?”

          “It’ll wash out,” she said, softly. He eyed the kanji with a heavy glare as if it personally offended him. Knowing Kiyoomi, some aspect of it probably did. That or he wished it had been him to sign his name instead.

          “With bleach, maybe,” he mused. She tugged her hand from his grip, reaching over to a frozen Hinata and snatching the marker from his hand. She scribbled over the mark, crossing out Hinata’s name with a grimace.

          “Don’t you have alcohol wipes or something?”

          “In my locker,” he answered.

          “Go get them.”

          “I was serious about the bleach. You’re already contaminated. I can’t have you coming home like this.”

          “I swear to god, Kiyoomi, I’ll sneeze on you,” she jeered.

          “What the hell is going on?” Atsumu asked, looking between them in near horror. Y/N scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. Maybe she wasn’t making the best first impression, but she had already been accused of being a fangirl, harassed into a picture, and forcibly given an autograph she didn’t even want. No wonder Kiyoomi had been hesitant to introduce her to his new teammates. In college, they’d known each for years before they actually got together and she’d known the players on his team when they had been just friends.

          “Nothing, I’m going to the bathroom to wash this off. Good luck with the game.”

          “She’s my fiancée,” Kiyoomi said, blocking her path of escape. “She wanted to meet you all, but she was overseas for business and then Hinata came, so the timing was never right.”

          There’s a collective choking from his teammates that are gathered in the hallway. She could feel the amusement radiating from Kiyoomi. Most likely he had kept it hidden just to enjoy this moment. His sense of humor often involved sharp wit and upending people’s expectations. This mess served him perfectly, a carefully guarded fact about his life, his unwitting fiancée making it worse, and the general stupidity of his teammates. There was a desperate need to laugh bubbling up in his chest.

          “Bullshit,” Atsumu called out.

          “Woah, Omi-san, she’s really pretty,” Hinata gushed over Atsumu’s disbelief. Y/N flushed under the sudden attention thrown her way, waving awkwardly at Hinata and Bokuto.

          “Nice to meet you, Bokuto-san, Hinata-san,” she muttered, bowing shallowly.

          “Bullshit, ya must’ve hired her or something,” Atsumu cut in, pointing an accusing finger in her direction. There wasn’t any real heat behind the words.

          “Gross,” she and Kiyoomi said in unison, cringing at the idea. Y/N raised her left hand, holding it out so Atsumu could inspect the diamond ring. Atsumu jerked her hand forward, inspecting it with a level of detail she didn’t think he was capable of. He shot Kiyoomi and impressed look. Y/N didn’t have the heart to tell him that the ring was her grandmother’s. The first time Kiyoomi had proposed she said no—not because she didn’t want to marry him, but the question was asked so suddenly, she though that he was joking. His proposal had been delivered with a straight face in the midst of them watching some American crime drama.

          “Couldn’t wait until after the game to spring this on us?”

          “Don’t think too hard, Miya,” Kiyoomi said.

          “You’ve been hiding a secret girlfriend for the last two months,” Atsumu said.

          “In his defense, it’s not really a secret. Everyone in college knew we were together,” Y/N interjected. If they looked through Kiyoomi’s social media pages, she was somewhere there in the background of his photos caught doing something stupid or just generally ugly. According to Kiyoomi those were the best kinds of photos.

          “I didn’t even go to college,” Atsumu protested.

          “I can tell,” Y/N said. Kiyoomi snorted behind her, turning the sound into a cough as soon as everyone turned to look at him.

          “Wait, Omi-kun is getting married. We’re going to the wedding, right?” Bokuto shouted, bouncing on his heels.

         “I wanna be Best Man,” Hinata said, matching the excitement. Hinata was the newest addition to the Black Jackals. Fresh off the plane from a two-year stint as a beach volleyball player in Brasil, he’d impressed everyone at tryouts. From what Kiyoomi had said, he was a beast on the court.

         “No. I don’t even know you,” Kiyoomi shot down immediately. “I met you a month ago.”

         “I’m the obvious choice,” Atsumu muttered, eyes still narrowed in her direction, “He’s known me longest.”

         “I don’t think beating you at nationals in high school counts,” Y/N said, laughing lightly.

         “I guess, I should say sorry to ya,” he muttered, “Didn’t know that Omi-omi had a girl at home. I’ve been messing with him since he joined the team.”

         “I’ve been messing with him since I met him, so I’m sure he likes you better than me at this point.”

         “I hate both of you,” Kiyoomi muttered, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.  His chin rested on top of her head. The weight of him was a familiar and pleasant sensation. Today was the first game of the season. Kiyoomi had spent the last two days watching videos of his opponents, trying to figure out their playing styles and ticks. He was nervous, she could feel it in the slight tremor to his body, but the hug told her something else too. Normally, Kiyoomi shied away from public affection. Crowds made him anxious, interviews were something he avoided, and he was laughingly awkward when it came to interacting with fans. The fact that he felt comfortable enough around his teammates to show the softer side of himself, that craved touch as any person did, filled her with warmth.

         Seeing his teammates teasing him loosened the knot of worry she normally carried with her. They’d take care of him when she couldn’t.

[sweetestofchaos]

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕟 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ➺ 𝐉𝐚𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐨𝐦 ➺ 𝟙,𝟠𝟝𝟚

Trope: Friends to Lovers Waring(s): SFW. Interracial Relationship. Slight Angst. Mentions of Pregnancy. Gender Revel. Jealous!Jaebeom.  Chapter(s): 5 of 6 Description: After the confession, you, and your friend decide to start dating. You move into together and pregnancy hormones start to take over. Paring(s): Jaebeom & Fem!Reader Others: Masterlist Taglist: @thatoneoldergroupstan @chrisellesism​

This chapter will be split into two parts since it’s so long. Expect the SMUT in part two!​

Previous // Next

News of GOT7 breaking up was all over the place, everyone was on edge, but Jaebeom made sure at the end of the day you understood that GOT7 leaving JYP was not your fault. After seven long years with the company, the guys wanted to do more without having someone tell them no. Since Jaebeom told you about the group leaving, he also convinced you to come to the Golden Disk awards with him and the guys. You fought against it, pointing out that your pregnancy would be announced and Jaebeom just smiled. He was always a privet person and it shocked you that Jaebeom wanted to announce your pregnancy in such a grand way. ‘I want to give our baby birds one last gift, so they know that everything will be okay.’ Those were Jaebeom’s words that convinced you to go to the award show with him and rest of GOT7.

The fans know that you are a friend of the group thanks to Instagram and other social outlets. You share some bits of your life with those who have added you simply because you know GOT7. The fans have made videos and fan fiction about you, hell they have even shipped you with every single member of GOT7. Jaebeom knows that his fans will be happy for him and that they will support him, but he is worried that they will try to bully you into sharing more of your life with them once the announcement is made. Jaebeom is excited and nervus about tonight’s big reveal and he cannot wait for it to end.

Looking at the clock you chew on the inside of your cheek. Jaebeom left the house early to get himself ready with the rest of GOT7. A car should be here within the next few minutes to pick you up and take you to the award show to meet up with Jaebeom and the guys. You look at yourself in the mirror and admire your hard work. You decided to get box braids for the award show and you have them pinned up neatly into a bun at the back of your head, creating a crown effect; a medium sized silver hair piece with sapphires and pearls in the shape of a branch sits in the front middle of the bun. Your makeup is simple, nude colors with a hint of silver and royal blue. You smile at your reflection and glance over at the gorgeous Italian lace ivory colored long sleeved dress that was designed by Seo Seung Yeon, hanging up on the bedroom door. You would love to wear the dress to the award show, but sadly Jaebeom’s two out of five cats Nora and Cake make that impossible.

A car horn beeps from outside and you carefully grab the dress, making sure to grab your purse and face mask as well. You hurry out the house, locking the door behind you before you put the mask on. You jump in the back seat of the car and hang the dress on the little hook. “Annyeonghaseyo.” You greet the driver with a small bow of your head, and he pulls off nodding back to you. Pulling your phone from your jean pocket, you shoot the guys a message in the group chat letting them know you should be there within the hour. Bambam quickly responds letting you know where to go and what to do once you get there. The car ride is mostly quiet, the driver putting on the radio at your request to pass the time.

The driver pulls up at your drop off location and you thank him before you shoot a text to GOT7’s manager. You get out of the car with your dress in your arms and smile when you see the older man, known as GOT7’s manager jogs up to you. He leads you inside of the building where the award show will be held and shows you to the dressing room. Going inside, you carefully change into your dress and double check your hair and makeup. Folding your clothing, you set it in one of the plastic bags and write your name on it before you set it in a locker. Reaching into your purse you pull out an azure-colored handkerchief and shove it between your boobs with a giggle. Stepping into your ivory heels, you smooth your hands over your growing stomach and smile when you look at yourself in the full-length mirror. The dress has a sweetheart neckline and is form fitting with a semi mermaid style, drawling all eyes right to your stomach for whoever is looking.

Stepping out of the room you smile at the manager, and he leads you back outside to where GOT7 is being kept. “Knock! Knock!” You step into the tent and the guys all comment on your dress, but it is Jaebeom who makes you blush.

Walking over to you, Jaebeom takes hold of your hand and makes you spin around before he presses his lips to your temple. “You look perfect…like a queen.” Jaebeom admires your dress, and you smile seeing that he has noticed your sapphire hair clip. “Blue looks good on you babe.”

“I think you mean us. Blue looks good on us.” Reaching into your dress, you smile at Jaebeom’s large eyes and pull the handkerchief free before you tuck it neatly into the breast pocket of his jacket. Jaebeom’s hand rest on your stomach and you place your hands on top of his.

“Y/N…please tell me you’re saying what I think you’re saying?” Jaebeom’s voice comes out a little higher than normal and all the guys look to see what’s going on. “Y/N?” You can see the tears starting to form in Jaebeom’s eyes and you laugh nodding your head.

“Hey! No crying. No crying!” You wave at the guys and Jackson hurries over with a box of tissues.

“What did you say to him?” Jackson asks looking confused as he pats at Jaebeom’s eyes trying not to ruin his makeup.

Jaebeom shakes his head as a sob passes his lips and he pulls Jackson into a tight hug. “It’s a boy,” Jaebeom cries and the guys all start to cheer. Jackson’s eyes mist over, and he tries not to cry as the makeup artist comes over laughing. “S-sorry nonna,” Jaebeom and Jack both apologize, but the older woman laughs while shaking her head.

“These are happy tears; they are okay for now.”

<><><><><><><> 

Standing on the side of the stage, you smile as GOT7 skip down the stage with their Best Album award in their hand. You laugh as the guys all joke around and give their acceptance speeches. Jaebeom is the last the speak and your heart pounds in your chest as he starts.

“I want to thank our baby birds for always being there for us. Without you we wouldn’t be here! I know that things have not always been perfect, and we have all faced many difficulties with each other, but know that GOT7 isn’t going anywhere.” Jaebeom glances at you on the side stage and you wave your hand while holding your stomach.

“Life happens to all of us, we all have to sit down at some point and make hard decisions. One of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make came to me a few months ago and after much thought I decided to share it all with you.” The guys all clap and pat Jaebeom on his back, they wrap their arms around each other’s waist and Jaebeom smiles, his face flushing before he laughs. “Ahgase…iGOT7…” Jaebeom takes a deep breath and Mark squeeze the back of Jaebeom’s neck laughing. “I hope you all welcome the newest and smallest member of GOT7 with opens arms.” Jaebeom reaches up to his jacket pocket and pulls the azure handkerchief out, “He will be here late May.” The guys all scream and shout jumping around with each other making you laugh as you rub your stomach lovingly.

<><><><><><><> 

“You look beautiful,” The hand on your lower back startled you as you pull your eyes from GOT7 on stage preforming. Turning your head, you look at Namjoon of BTS and he pulls you into a light hug being mindful of your stomach. “Why are we just now finding out about baby Lim?”

“The company didn’t want the guys to say anything since we aren’t married.”

Namjoon nods his head understanding and sighs, “Well the cats out the bag now. Does that mean the guys are leaving JYP?”

“Yeah, but you didn’t hear that from me.” Namjoon laughs and when someone calls his name he turns slightly. You both look over to see Jimin heading your way with his arms wide open.

“Momma Lim! You are stunning,” Jimin gushes as he wraps his arms around your waist and presses his cheeks to yours. “It’s like that dress was designed just for you. So beautiful!” Jimin takes hold of your hand, and you giggle as he spins you around. In doing so you noticed that GOT7 is finished with their set, and they are coming off the stage. Jaebeom’s face is blank, and you bite your lip as he walks over to you. “Hyung why have you kept Y/N noona hidden away? She is breathtaking!” Jimin pouts behind his mask as he motions to your dress and Jaebeom gives him a tight smile as he wraps an arm around your waist.

“Y/N has been busy; I have no reason to hide her away.”

“Noona!” Jimin grabs your hand and you over at him. “Come with me, I know the other guys would love to see you.”

“Y/N is pregnant, she shouldn’t be walking around so much,” Namjoon points out and Jimin frowns behind his mask. “Would you mind if we bring the others by your room later? Jimin is right, they would love to see you again.” Namjoon looks at you with a raised brow in question and Jaebeom squeezes your hip before he cuts in.

“Your room is close by us, yes? We can stop by on the way before we head home.” Jaebeom looks at the rest of GOT7 making sure they are okay with that, and everyone nods their heads. “We won’t stay too long, with COVID I don’t want to expose my love too much.”

You can feel the heat creeping its way around your face at Jaebeom’s sudden term of endearment. You know that he’s doing this to warn the other guys to leave you alone, but from the looks on Jimin and Namjoon’s face they have no idea. Keeping his hand on your lower back, Jaebeom keeps you by his side as you all follow behind a giddy Jimin to BTS’s room.

“You don’t have to be so condescending jagi,” You pat Jaebeom butt light as you walk and Bambam wolf whistles from behind you.

“Wha! What are you two doing?” Jackson whisper yells and you laugh.

“He needed a good spanking,” You state and Jaebeom scarf with a roll of his eyes.

[roo-bastmoon]

i’m little doubtful about jikook lately bc no content would you be a doll and reassure me 🤒

Sure, Nonie!

Now, I can't reassure you that they are a couple because I don't have proof of that.

But even though it's been a really, really rough year (especially for Jimin), they've shown us they still care for each other.

Here's what I recall:

There were some sweet moments in the Seoul concert, like hugs and touching each other's necks with cold hands and Jungkook bowing his head so Jimin could straighten his bangs and Jungkook whispering (probably nothing) into Jimin's ear to make him laugh.

There was being together on the couples' holiday of White Day, at the restaurant with friends, where Jungkook wore Jimin's hat with Jimin's name on it.

EDITED TO ADD: Jimin got moons tattooed down his spine. Later, Jungkook got his tiger tattoo covered up and has what appears to be a sun/eclipse tattoo, which hints at their sun-and-moon-duo ship name.

Before the Grammy's, there was Jungkook running to Jimin's room after quarantine, where Jimin exclaimed "JUNGKOOK-AH!" and they embraced.

During the Grammy's, they reassured each other in their in-ears not to be nervous, and playfully touched their shoes together during Trevor's bit, and Jungkook and Jimin shared an inside joke in the Vlive afterward about the champagne tasting bitter (a line from a show they both watched).

At the hotel in Vegas, on Instagram, Jungkook straight up said to a fan: "Keep being jealous; I'll keep holding Jiminie."

EDITED TO ADD: When an Army asked Jungkook how to impress their crush, his response was exactly what happened in Jikook's TOKYO trip: hold hands, eat food, go to an amusement park.

There was the Vegas Concert, where Jungkook squeezed Jimin's ass and screamed "I LOVE YOU!" into his face and gave him finger-hearts and possessively grabbed his waist to spin him around and carried him out of the stadium like a bride. They went back to the hotel in the same car all four nights, and for at least two nights were reported going to a Korean BBQ place, at least once sitting off alone together, drinking and singing songs to each other.

There was the Vegas Vlive, when Jungkook and Jimin spoke softly to each other and shook hands while discussing their (somewhat ruined) joint-diet and exercise plans (because Jimin ate and had hurt his foot). Jungkook walked in the room and immediately and silently tapped Hobi right off the sofa so he could take his place to sit next to Jimin. Then he slapped Jimin's thigh as he settled in close. He gushed about how happy he was to soon have Jimin as his boxing partner. He remembered Jimin's grandmother's birth date.

They came back to Korea and Jimin waited so they could leave in the same car.

In late April, in response to a fan's question, there was Jungkook screaming on his Instagram about Jimin: "HE IS MINE!"

Then there was a drought from late April until almost June. All during Jimin's (neglected) OST and news of his insurance premiums going missing and doxxing and "apartment seizure" it was like Jimin was nowhere to be found and his members had forgotten his name. I got really worried about the complete silence. Around this time, there was a behind the scenes photo shoot that showed Jimin looking closed off and downright angry and upset...and he didn't look at JK hardly at all (but he did at one point reach to hug him, thinking that was the photo concept). So I got pretty worried for a while and wasn't sure how to read into things.

Then it was all business for the White House visit. But afterward, they went out to an arcade in DC with Hobi and HER and had fun drinking and playing games. I believe it was said they also went out to play golf with Hobi and Tae but I didn't see video of it.

There were the performances in June, not all of which were filmed, but K-Army in attendance said they changed up choreography in order to sing romantic lyrics at each other and stared lovingly at each other and typical Jikookery all throughout. (This was mentioned by multiple separate accounts online, so I don't classify it the same way I do rumors of Jikook celebrating Left & Right at a steakhouse together, or being affectionate at a private party, as so far has no evidence has come to light about those things.)

Festa Dinner Vlive was released in June but filmed months prior. Jungkook absolutely took the piss out of Jimin because he shared some of his solo work with Hobi and Yoongi. He also sort of bullied Jimin out of crying. Jimin suggested the team consult Jikook about the design of their group tattoo. He mentioned that a straight line would imply a connection.

Jungkook got his tattoos touched up and it looks like the JM on his hand was refreshed. To date, Jungkook is the only other member to share a 7 tattoo with a straight line in the center like Jimin's finger tattoo, and he got his 7 tattoo placed where Jimin's Youth is behind the ear. They both were later seen wearing the same bracelet styled by Jungkook's tattoo artist.

At Hobi's solo album party, they made each other laugh while getting their makeup done and then at one point Jungkook rested his hand on Jimin's hand as they shared a giggle, and another time he rested his hand on Jimin's back while they talked with a mutual acquaintance.

It doesn't really mean much of anything, but Jungkook played In The Seom a lot, and he added to his own group players with usernames like KookminAreDating and Jimin'sLittleFinger. He did this even though KookminAreDating was only on level 99 and all the other players he added were on level 300. The handle KookminAreDating also popped up a few times, like on a post about their (stylist-chosen) black/white unisex wedding rings. The handle got a lot of pressure so it changed to Jaksal, and Jaksal made a cute edit on twitter of the song Okinawa, which Jimin then recommended weeks later on WeVerse. Again, this isn't really Jikookery, so much as tangent-related stuff that could imply that they continue to monitor everything online, as JK said in one of his Vlives.

During the announcement about the Busan expo, they shared a little moment where they found each other's eyes and softly smiled while taking off their masks. (You'd think if Jikook were fanservice pushed by Hybe, then as the favored sons of Busan, they'd at least be placed beside each other for photo ops during that ceremony but nope, it was OT7 all the way.) Later it was shared in the news that Jimin's dad and Jungkook's dad had spoken about the expo opportunity with each other and with their sons.

So that's what I remember, off the top of my head. Please note that I had two major surgeries for uterine cancer this year (I'm in remission and doing well now, no worries!) and the anesthesia kind of scrambled my ability to make short-term memories, so if I got anything wrong or forgot something, I'm really sorry. I'm not trying to be shady. Blogs like Stormblessed have a really great chronological catalogue if you want specific dates and details.

But from what I can tell, in 2022 there were no real big, loud, over-the-top flirty moments (unless you count the Vegas Concert, which was after all a performance, and had skinship and silliness between lots of members). But there are quiet moments--gentle touches, soft tones, mentions of making plans together. And the members around them have treated Jikook no differently than they always had.

Older Armys tell me that in 2020, Jikookers were really freaking out due to lack of content and apparent distance. Then Memories came out and it was revealed Jikookery was happening aplenty. It's likely the same thing will happen now, with Memories 2021 allaying some of the fears Jikookers had last year. Maybe next year, Memories or a docu-series or other content will give us a better picture of Jikook this year.

As of right now, I can honestly say I've noticed a shift between Jikook. Or rather, I've noticed they are sharing less and less with us (which doesn't mean it's not there--but it also doesn't mean it IS there). I think it's normal (and even a sign of intelligence) for fans to doubt and to question what they are seeing. But I would recommend you just hang on. We haven't seen even half the picture yet. There could be more moments of exclusive intimacy that we don't know about right now. At the very least, they are still warm and caring toward each other. So let's keep an open mind and enjoy what we have as it comes.

[jaehotbuns]

idolboyfriend!mark

♡ 2.6k, fluff  =^._.^= ∫

you first met Mark on a Nature Republic photo shoot where your friend was a hair stylist 

she called you frantically because the SM staff caught multiple employees from each department posting on their personal social media stories the location and whereabouts of the members and dismissed them from the site

they were shooting at an island in the middle of nowhere which you were conveniently writing a thesis on different landscapes of South Korea 

you had no experience of styling other people and only did it for yourself but you knew you couldn’t leave your friend deserted so you came to help in any way that you could

half of the staff were fired on the spot so they immediately pushed you towards the members to prepare them for their next shoot after threatening legal action if you decided to act as stupidly as the other stylists did 

you saw your friend quickly adjusting the collar of theHawaiian shirt that was roughly put on Jaehyun and she gave you an apologetic look and mouthed a ‘thank you’

you were assigned at styling Mark’s hair, which you were scared of because you had never styled a man’s hair before never mind a celebrity but you squared your shoulders and hoped for the best

he was already used to the chaos but he was slightly concerned at how well you would perform considering that your eyebrows were furrowed and had sweat rolling down your temples as you scrunched the ends of his hair with mousse to create beachy waves

every stylist that he met was always either professional and stoic or overly friendly to try and get with the members romantically but he tried to suppress his laughter when he saw your distressed face under your medical mask

in such a stressful and hectic situation, he would never talk to the staff to help them focus but he couldn’t help but strike up a conversation with you

you looked younger than him too so he felt more comfortable

“first time?” he asked with a smile on his face as he looked up at you

your hands stopped in the middle of combing the fluffy mousse through his hair and your face dropped slightly, “you could tell?”

Mark covered his laugh with his hand as he didn’t want to discourage you but couldn’t help but chuckle at the cute expression on your face 

“yeah,” he answered but then realized that it came out meaner than he had intended

“but you’re doing a great job! Keep going!” He tried to encourage you by motioning with his hands to continue

you patted his hair into place for finishing touches but you pouted under your mask when you realized, “how would you know? You can’t even see it” 

there were no mirrors in sight except for the hand mirrors that stylists held on their belt

he choked on his saliva out of embarrassment and rubbed his hand awkwardly on the back of his neck

“well let’s see then!” He exclaimed and you begrudgingly gave him the hand mirror to see 

you were bracing yourself in case he thought you made his hair into a bird’s nest and demanded you to be fired on the spot but he let a “wahh” escape his mouth as he admired the hairstyle 

“this actually looks great!” He said a little too excitedly 

“we were both expecting it to look bad then, huh?” You joked but really you were relieved that he thought it didn’t look atrocious 

Mark shook his head to deny but you held his shoulders in place to not disrupt his hair 

his face went pink and you realized that you just touched a client, a very influential client 

you lifted your hands off of him quickly and stepped back so that he could stand up from his chair and go in front of the cameras to prepare for the shoot

“thank you” he said and you both exchanged bows before awkwardly getting back to work 

you stayed on the set with your friend for the rest of the day until the sun went down and the sky turned a bright pink from the previous ocean blue 

luckily, that was the last hair and clothes change that NCT needed and everyone started to pack up after the photographer and managers shouted “thank you for your work” and everyone bowed and clapped to each other 

while each member started to load into their vans to get back to the city for their next schedule, Mark ran up to you and asked if you were apart of the SM staff or were for hire from another beauty boutique

“oh, I just came last minute,” you said 

“I’m not actually licensed for this I came to help”

he let out a disappointed “oh” and decided not to take your number down since it was unprofessional and knew that after the fiasco today that there could be anyone around to expose him if he did 

“good night, see you around,” he said in hopes that he would see you again

you doubted that he would see you around but you repeated what he said and waved at him as he ran into the van 

the other members were confused as to why he ran off to greet you and were ready to tease him since they noticed that you were his type physically 

but he knew that they were about to so he lied and said that he forgot to take a bracelet from you and pretended to fall asleep so that they couldn’t question him further

you thought about that was a once in a lifetime experience until 2 weeks later the campaign was a hit and everyone was fawning over Mark specifically since he looked like boyfriend material in a white button up shirt and blue jeans with messy beach hair 

your friend called to tell you that she recommended you as a freelance hair stylist after they asked her who did Mark’s hair 

as a broke college student living in another country you took the offer but felt guilty getting an amazing job with no credentials so you got licensed at a beauty school within 2 months 

the next time you saw Mark was on the Punch music video set 

he had everything on except makeup and hair 

you were taken aback at how different he looked with the leather pieces, chain jewelry, and overall bad boy vibes

he was sitting in front of the dressing room vanities and his face lit up when he saw you stand behind him with your cart of hair products and tools 

usually he’d stay still in his chair but this time he turned around to face you, “hey! I thought you said you weren’t even licensed?”

“I decided to after getting offered a job” you smiled 

he turned around and looked at you through the mirror’s reflection, “or did you come back because of me?” 

you coughed through your mask and felt the heat creep from your neck all the way to your cheeks and temples

Mark smiled to himself when he saw your bright red face and was even more excited for the music video shoot knowing that the stylist he thought was cute would be doing his hair on a regular basis and could see him act cool on stage

to not let you out of his sights again, Mark pulled his phone off of the vanity table in front of him and went straight to his Instagram search page, “can I have your Insta by the way?” 

you were combing the translucent gel through his hair when you tilted your head out of curiosity of why he would want your socials 

“I send what kind of hairstyles and concepts I’d like to try to stylists on here,” he said 

in actuality Mark wasn’t one of the idols that really cared of how his stylists dressed him like Johnny or Jaehyun but he wanted an excuse so that his interest in you was too obvious

“oh sure,” you spelled out your Instagram handle and you saw him follow you right away

for the rest of the shoot for the two days that it took place, Mark would admire you every time you came up to him between scenes to wipe the sweat off his forehead and to spray his hair with setting mist 

although you were a fan of the group, you didn’t want to make them uncomfortable so you invested all of your focus on making them look their best

Mark appreciated that; you weren’t completely cold and professional but you also didn’t cross any boundaries by asking him about his personal life or interviewing him like some new stylists did 

when you got home you decided to look at Mark’s profile and saw that he was only following his family, friends from Vancouver, idols friends, and a few celebrities that he looked up to 

you were the only staff member that he was following other than his managers

but you didn’t think for a second Mark liked you

even though during promotions he would text you on his time off about your day and ask you about yourself 

“because I don’t want to be to formal” was his excuse to his unofficial game of 21 questions 

even though after promotions when he was on his break, he’d ask you to go shopping with him “to get some inspiration from uh hair stuff” 

at one point he was bold enough to ask you to go to a cafe because he said he felt like you two were friends at one point

behind the scenes, Johnny caught on quickly at how Mark was on his phone more often when he’d usually just use it to play mobile games or listen to music 

“I don’t think you left the bracelet with the pretty stylist,” Johnny would tease Mark one day when he saw him re-reading your texts and smiling to himself 

“you left your heart,” he’d say and slap himself on the knee from laughing too hard at his own joke

“can you get out of my room?” Mark would retort in embarrassment but it was worse for him from there

Johnny told both floors that Mark had a big fat crush on the young stylist and was flirting with them 24/7 

Mark wasn’t really the type to get in his feelings 

sure he’d find different celebrities or employees that he’d work with attractive but he knew it was for business or that they’d just be really good friends in the industry 

but you felt like home 

like he could imagine that if he was back in Vancouver that you two would meet at a library or something and he’d ask you for a coffee after you asked him to watch your bag to go to the washroom 

that was what he’d imagine before he went to sleep at night anyways 

half of the time he’d stay up thinking about asking you out officially and keeping your relationship as a secret and the other half of the time he’d kick his blankets scolding himself for even thinking that because it would put both of your careers on the line and he didn’t want you to feel the burden of dating in secret

you also had feelings for Mark but thought that he was just friendly and flirty 

even if he did have feelings for you, you thought that it would be best to just stay as friends because you didn’t want to get in the way of his career

one day Mark couldn’t take it anymore and went to the convenient store by himself instead of riding bikes with Haechan and Renjun like he originally planned to 

they noticed that he didn’t get embarrassed or annoyed at the teasing anymore and just kept to himself so they followed him to the store and found him outside on a bench with a beer in his hand

both of them sat beside him and Haechan grabbed the beer and took a swig, “just tell her” 

Mark placed his elbows on his knees and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, “I don’t want to ruin it for us… Or for her”

Renjun placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, “if you both have strong feelings for each other then it’ll always work out in the end” 

Mark shook his head although he appreciated the support, “what if the stress gets us to break up? What if I make it awkward for her at work?” 

Haechan stopped him and told him sternly, “I see the way you two look at each other and I know that she’d accept if you asked. If the press or pressure causes you to break up then at least you tried.” 

Renjun added on more gently, “do you just want to continue suffering forever? What if she’s waiting for you too?” 

Mark didn’t want to think about it any longer and as a lightweight, the 2 cans of beer in his system were already giving him courage

if he had another night to think about it, he’d probably never confess to you so he decided in his tipsy state to confess right then 

with urgency, he told you to meet you at Hangang River right away 

“thank you guys,” he said while standing up too quickly 

he stumbled a little bit before starting to walk towards the meeting place, “I can do it!”

“you can do it!” Renjun laughed while holding up too fists to show his support

Haechan on the other hand held up his phone and started to record Mark walking clumsily towards the river, “don’t mess up loser!” 

you were finishing up on your readings when you got Mark’s text 

it sounded like he was going to confess but you shook the thought out of your head at the thought of a global star asking you out 

“probably wants to de-stress with a friend,” you thought before putting on a hoodie and jeans before walking to Hangang

when you arrived you could smell a mixture of beer and mint in his breath

His face was flushed pink which was a result of the alcohol and the 2.2km he had just walked

“why did you call me out all of a sudden?” You asked 

“will you go out with me?” He said a little bit too loudly

you quickly looked around to make sure that no one was within a kilometre near you too and asked in a hushed voice, “what?”

“I like you!” He nearly shouted, not aware of his volume due to the nervousness of the chance of rejection

“I tried not to like you ever since I met you but I can’t get you out of my head,” he avoided your gaze and couldn’t believe how cheesy he sounded

Mark continued regardless, “I know that we have to date in secret if you do like me but I promise to protect you and I won’t regret my decision if anything happens. So uh-”

“yes,” you grinned. “I’ll go out with you”

he was surprised at how you accepted with ease, “oh wow I wasn’t expecting this. Thank you for listening to me talk on haha, I don’t even know what to say I-”

to stop his blabbering you held onto his arms to steady yourself for when you went on your tippy toes to peck him on the lips

“that’s not fair” he pouted

“what’s not fair?”

“that’s it?” He murmured under his breath 

“then get some more” you teased

his hands cupped the sides of your face and bent his neck down to reach your height

your hand wrapped around his waist to pull him into a hug while his warm lips pressed onto yours

[grays-gibberish]

sakuatsu drabble fic ft. genderfluid atsumu

(i used he/she/they pronouns interchangeably for atsumu in this and just he/him for kiyoomi)

1k words - no beta - reblogs appreciated

@chaotic-trash-can ik u wanted to read this so here :) hope u like it bestie

staring at the wall of products kiyoomi racks his brain to remember what atsumu said they needed. all the colors are starting to blur together due to him staring at them intensely for the past few minutes. letting out a sigh he grabs his phone from his back pocket and pulls up atsumu’s contact. typing out a quick ‘what one did u want again?’ and pressing send, kiyoomi goes back to looking at the wall, trying to see if he can remember the makeup his partner wants.

tapping his phone against his mask, kiyoomi glances sidelong at the cashier who was looking at him curiously, probably wondering why this man had been standing in the same place for the last ten minutes. he turns away hoping she won’t recognize him just as his phone buzzes with a notification.

‘atsumu🧡: the light purple one of the brand i have at home’

sending back an thumbs up before looking up at the self again, kiyoomi finds the eyeshadow this time.

walking up to the register he sees a bottle of a filtered water brand he likes, so he grabs it. then he sees a candy bar astumu likes, and hoping to see her smile, he grabs that too.

setting his items on the counter he glaces at the magazines to see if the tabloids have started harassing someone he knows again.

the face of his partner smiles at him from the magazine closest to him. kiyoomi’s heart skips a beat before he reads the headline and let’s out sigh of relief.

‘STAR VOLLEYBALL PLAYER ATSUMU MIYA COMES OUT AS GENDERFLUID IN INSTAGRAM MAKEUP TUTORIAL; fans outpouring support almost matching gigantic support from brother osamu miya and volleyball teammates!’

he’s about to turn away before his own name pops out at him from the bottom corner of the page.

‘KIYOOMI SAKUSA SPOTTED LEAVING LUNCH MEETUP WITH THE MIYA SIBLINGS; possible romantic meetup with partner and in-law? but which miya is he dating?’

grumbling about how the new editor of volleyball now is too much of a gossip, koyomi turns back to the cashier to hear her talking to him.

“-getting some makeup for your girlfriend? that’s really sweet...”

she trails off and kiyoomi can see the moment the girl recognizes him. her eyes flick to the magazine then back to him, she makes an ‘o’ with her mouth, her hands that were previously scanning his items stop moving, and then her eyes go wide and face flushes.

“i’m so sorry, oh my gosh. please forgive my rudeness.” she bows low, practically laying across the counter between them.

kiyoomi doesn’t know how to respond to her so he gives a curt nod with a small hum and hopes she understands.

she finishes checking out his things with shaking hands and fumbles with the bag, before shoving it at him. she mutters another apology and a ‘thank you for you patronage, please come again’ and then kiyoomi is out the door.

he walks to his car and quickly looks around to make sure no one has seen him before getting in. once he’s in the car he practically melts into the seat with a sigh. reaching for the hand sanitizer he drops the bag into the seat next to him.

once his hands are clean to his satisfaction, kiyoomi is starting the car and pealing out of the parking lot, making his way to atsumu’s apartment.

~ ~ ~

“the media is saying what about you?” atsumu asks as he leans forward, looking at kiyoomi through the mirror she was previously using to apply the purple eyeshadow.

“that because i went to lunch with you and osamu i’m apparently married to one of you and the other is my in-law. the media just needs to decide who.” kiyoomi says as he watches atsumu go back to his makeup.

“well they’re not wrong that your with one of us, i wonder which one they think it is though?” they say with a laugh.

“i can see what the internet thinks right now,” he says before pulling his phone from his pocket.

kiyoomi types away as atsumu puts the final touches to her makeup. atsumu sees kiyoomi’s eyebrows shoot up and turns around in their chair to see what’s the matter. he opens his mouth to ask what’s wrong but before she can say anything kiyoomi shoves his phone into atsumu’s face with an odd expression.

an artist’s rendition of her brother and her boyfriend making out appears before his eyes. the title of the article hangs above the picture in bold; ‘10 REASONS KIYOOMI SAKUSA IS DATING OSAMU MIYA AND 2 REASONS HE’S DATING ATSUMU MIYA; we asked our fans who they think it is and the answer is at the end of the article!’

atsumu snatches the phone and furiously scrolls to the end to find the fan poll on who they think kiyoomi is dating. the numbers for their brother heavily outweigh the numbers for themself. atsumu looks back up to kiyoomi to see his reaction, and with a start realizes the weird expression on his face was actually kiyoomi trying to hold back a laugh.

“oh you little shit, you think this is funny!”

“...a bit,”

“that’s it, i can’t stand the idea of people thinking you do things- things like this-“ atsumu gestured to the drawing. “with my brother!”

kiyoomi let out a snort, then looked away hurriedly when atsumu glared at him.

“i seem to remember a certain someone saying he was- and i quote- “moved and inspired” by my coming out before bed the other night. well how about you make your own coming out video- preferably with who you’re dating too. hmm, how does that sound?” atsumu asked, a drop of venom finding its way into his voice. atsumu moves to sit at the bench in front of the light they have set up for filming and photography.

“i remember saying no such thing.” kiyoomi says, but sits down on the bench next to his partner, with a smile nonetheless.

[stylesnews]

HARRY STYLES wore a dress. You may well know that already even if you don’t follow fashion or music closely. Photos of the British singer in the custom Gucci frock—snapped for the cover of Vogue—swarmed the internet a few weeks ago, sending his brigade of fans into a tizzy. Scads of tweets and online articles recycled the images. And while most of the coverage lauded Mr. Styles for his beguiling, gender-bending outfit, some conservative pundits including Candace Owens predictably wrung their hands, interpreting the hubbub as a death knell for the so-called “manly man.” The cover itself was a landmark: Mr. Styles is the first man to grace the cover of Vogue solo. Think of the instantly collectible issue as a coronation of sorts, confirming that the 26-year-old singer is now officially style-royalty.

Mr. Styles, who rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction before going solo, has been a fashion provocateur for several years now. A muse to Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, he consistently wears the label’s rather unisex wares such as tapestry print trousers, lithe loafers and pussy-bow blouses. (Representatives for the artist did not respond to a request for comment for this story and, through a representative, his stylist Harry Lambert declined to comment.)

On Instagram, feverish fan accounts like @Hsfashionarchive (which has over 100,000 followers) vie to identify whatever Mr. Styles is photographed wearing, from whimsically wide floral pants by British designer Steven Stokey Daley to a candy-colored necklace by New York jewelers Eliou. This year Mr. Styles topped the “Power Dressers” list on Lyst, a fashion-focused search platform, reflecting the strong correlation between his clothing choices and what online shoppers seek. Camilla Clarkson, communications director at Lyst, noted that Mr. Styles’s “non-binary style” helps drive his popularity, particularly with a younger generation that liberally shops across gender lines.

Some older observers, however, regard Mr. Styles’s fashion choices through a “been there, seen that” lens. “It’s kind of like this year’s version of rock-star packaging or something,” said Vincent Boucher, 67, a lecturer at Parsons School of Design in New York. As precursors, Mr. Boucher pointed to Kurt Cobain, Mick Jagger and David Bowie, all of whom donned dresses decades ago, nimbly crossing gender lines. (I’d add to that list the lesser-known, openly gay disco singer Sylvester, who frequently vacillated between men’s and women’s clothing—see the video for his 1978 number-one hit, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real).”)

Mr. Styles’s Vogue cover elicited little more than “a shrug” from Andrew Groves, 52, a fashion professor at Westminster University in London. As Prof. Groves pointed out, when Bowie wore a dress in the early ‘70s, it was “really provocative because it was outside society’s norms.”

Even if Prof. Groves considers Mr. Styles’s floor-length dress unworthy of controversy, it did cause a several-day stir here in America that broke down largely along partisan lines. Alarmed conservative pundits tweeted lengthy screeds including Candace Owens, 31, a conservative voice who decried the “steady feminization of our men.”

Meanwhile, on her Instagram a few days later, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Mr. Styles’s Vogue shoot “wonderful” and confronted the criticisms: “Perhaps for some people it provokes some anger or insecurity around masculinity/femininity/etc. If it does, then maybe that’s part of the point. Sit with that reaction and think about it, examine it, explore it, engage it, and grow with it.”

Most male stars still avoid the risks associated with dressing too fashionably. Days after Mr. Styles’s Vogue cover was released, George Clooney graced the cover of GQ Magazine. The ensuing social-media conversation focused not on his (strategically inoffensive) clothes but on the affable star’s anecdotes. Mr. Clooney, in his immaculate knit polo and Ray-Ban sunglasses, surely looked great to many men of a certain age. But his look was hardly innovative, unlike those embraced by Mr. Styles and other dynamic, contemporary style icons like A$AP Rocky, Tyler the Creator and Jaden Smith.

Thanks in part to the internet and social media, which have given him an arguably wider sphere of influence than earlier gender-bending-fashion icons like Bowie or Cobain, Mr. Styles is turning receptive fans onto novel ways of dressing. “He’s a pioneer, really,” said Jordan O’Brien, 28, of Penngrove, Calif. Mr. O’Brien creates men’s-fashion videos, one of which, titled, “Recreating Harry Styles Iconic Outfits,” has been viewed over 123,000 times on YouTube. It shows Mr. O’Brien loosely following in his idol’s footsteps by wearing outfits like a lavender suit with a mesh-shirt.

Mr. O’Brien and other admirers I spoke with can’t afford the big-ticket Gucci and Bode clothes Mr. Styles endorses. Nor are they really interested in adopting his most avant-garde outfits. Instead, they attempt to channel the essence of his style and his flexible attitude. “I love how he breaks the boundaries,” of men’s fashion and shows that “people can wear whatever they want,” said Mr. O’Brien.

Kyle Jordan, 23, a barista in Barrington, N.J., studies Pinterest pages dedicated to Mr. Styles’s outfits. He’s adopted the singer’s penchant for broader pants and boxy button-ups and now has his eye on a pearl necklace which has for years been Mr. Styles’s signature. Lyst’s Ms. Clarkson noted that whenever Mr. Styles wears a given item—be it pearls, or a blue suit, or a yellow bucket hat—her site registers a jump in search inquiries for comparable items.

A rainbow-patchworked J.W. Anderson cardigan that Mr. Styles wore on the “Today” show in February is probably the item his fans have tried most zealously to duplicate. The technicolor sweater became an internet sensation, shared particularly widely on TikTok. But at $1,560 it was well outside most fans’ budgets, its idiosyncrasy extreme enough that good facsimiles were hard to find. So, in a rare instance in which a luxury fashion label bowed to the masses, J.W. Anderson released the pattern online so fans could knit their own version; cardiganed Styles copycats began posting their homemade iterations en masse. As for the original sweater? It’s heading to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London—acknowledged as a piece of fashion history.

[uwukpop]

if you love me; let me go [2] : kim doyoung

genre : fluff, angst, smut (in future chapters?)

pairing : kim doyoung x y/n (reader), NCT 127 featuring!

description : you knew that being with him would be the biggest risk that you'd ever take, but there was something about him that made you want to stay, no matter what consequences you had ahead of you.

word count : 1,000

a/n : 2nd chapter! thank you for all the love and support on the first chapter, i honestly didn't expect anyone to see it and actually like it lmaoo so thank you everyone so far <3

chapter 1

(y/n): do0_nct wants to send you a message.

"Oh god", you breathed out, your cheeks flushing a deep red. Why was I so affected by a man that I've never even spoken to? More so, why was he messaging me? Hands shaking slightly, you unlock your phone and reopen Instagram, tapping on the DM icon in the corner. There it was, 1 message request staring you back in the face. "Here goes nothing." You whispered to yourself, before opening the chat thread.

Hey! I hope this is the correct Y/N, and hopefully by now you know about us hahaha. We've seen your work and honestly it's amazing, we can't wait to work with you. :) - Doyoung

You read the message over and over again, before a laugh escaped your parted lips. Then it hit you. They took the time to research you and your work, which is something that not many of your previous clients have been bothered to do. The thought makes you smile, and you can feel a small bit of the anxiety related to meeting these 10 men melt away. Gathering the courage to respond, you take a deep breath and begin typing back.

Heyy Doyoung! You messaged me as soon as my agent told me about the job, I'm really excited for this one! I'll be honest, I don't know much about you or your friends, but I'll be sure to research before Saturday. Thank you for the compliment, I hope our shoot is also a good one that I can add to my portfolio. Your manager has my number, so you can contact me via them or through here if you have any questions before the big day. Can't wait to meet you soon! - Y/N :)

You read over the message once, before pressing send, cursing yourself for rambling. You're surprised when he opens the message straight away, as if he was waiting for your response. You shook your head to dismiss the thought and watched the screen as the writing bubbles popped up, before another message came through.

We can't wait to meet you too! I'll let you know when we arrive <3

The fact that he included a heart in his message made yours skip a beat, and a small smile creep upon your lips. You liked the message before closing the chat, and Instagram all together. Opening Google first, you typed NCT 127 into the space bar, before clicking onto an information page. You learned about the remaining members, as well as the 3 that don't have Instagram, Taeil, Jungwoo and Haechan. Satisfied that you know more than enough about them all, including their blood types and zodiac signs, you open YouTube and type in their name. After a few hours, you find yourself being able to recognise each individual member in each music video, despite their everchanging hair colours. Your eyes kept trailing back to Doyoung whenever you saw him, and now Saturday can't come quick enough.

Time skip - Saturday morning

You woke up early in the morning after tossing and turning all night, desperate to get ready and look good for the shoot with NCT 127. Doyoung had kept his promise, and had messaged you on Thursday when they had arrived from Korea. The fact that he, a celebrity, remembered the tiniest thing made your heart ache. You could admit that you were developing a huge crush on him, without even needing to meet. You had spent the past few days doing more research and watching more videos about the boys, in order to feel more comfortable around them when you finally do meet. And today was the day! You got showered and put on a cute sundress, then did your hair and some simple makeup. You spent the rest of your morning making sure all of your equipment was ready, before jumping in your car and heading to the venue where the shoot would take place.

20 minutes later, you arrived and met Amelie outside, where she helped you carry all of your equipment inside. "How are you feeling about today?" She asked, placing the last of your belongings down and then passing you an iced coffee. She really was the best agent ever! "I'm very nervous." You admitted, chuckling slightly. She chuckled as well, patting you on your shoulder. "It'll be fine! They're an amazing group of guys." You nodded and smiled, about to respond when the back door opened and you see the 10 men that you had been waiting to meet walk in. Immediately, your eyes locked onto those deep brown ones that you had obsessed over for the past few days. Doyoung. He's here, in the flesh. You were about to freak out, when the hand that was still on your shoulder squeezed the slightest bit, bringing you back to reality. You glanced at Amelie, who was grinning back at you, then at Doyoung, who had greeted all the staff and was now making his way over to you.

"Y/N! Hey!" He smiled widely, and you swear you saw his eyes shimmer. You smiled back and bowed, a form of respect as you had learned over your days of research. "Hi, Doyoung!" He chuckled and pulled you into a hug, startling you with his confidence. You snapped out of it quickly and wrapped your arms around his torso, your head going to the side of his neck. You felt him squeeze you back and you had to admit, he smelt really good. After a few seconds, he let you go and stepped back, a small blush painted on his cheeks. By now, the rest of the members had joined you both, and you took your turn in greeting them all. To say that you were nervous is a crazy idea, they seem like the most friendly and comforting group of guys that you've ever met. "Shall we get started on the shoot?" You ask, and they all nod. "Then let's get to it!"

[chrisevansluv]

If we continue with the topic of likes on Instagram, then let's notice that he liked the video of Chris H. The one on which his son shoots a bow. This is so cute 🥺💔

The merit this has tho??

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CXoOpdPoeXS/?utm_medium=copy_link

If it had been me, even if I had practiced for months, I'd probably have shot him right on the nape