#if i find/track down/get tagged in the Tumblr post i mentioned

[duskyashe]

NaNoWriMo Day #8

[masterlist] [part two]

Prompt found here

=============‹«⟨←·•·→⟩»›=============

It was summer break, and Danny was lost in the Infinite Realms. He wasn't too worried, now that he'd officially been crowned the High King, his subjects had mostly stopped attacking Amity Park, and he was eager to finally get some exploring done now that he could take a break. Jazz, Sam, and Tucker knew Danny was, his parents thought he was spending the week at Tucker's, and he had Clockwork's promise that Danny would make it home by the end of the week no matter how long he was stuck in the Realms, so he was golden. The only thing he'd forgotten was the map of the Infinite Realms that would tell him where he was and how to get back home, but he'd been working with Wulf on making his own portals, so if he really needed to, he had a way out.

But that was just in case, for now, he was just having fun being lost. There were so many things to see and places to explore! Like where he was exploring currently, it was this old gothic theatre with surrounding alleys, there were hidey-holes and hidden storage rooms, and there was an old fashioned elevator floor, this place had everything!

"Martha, there seems to be someone here," a man's voice came from around the corner ahead of him. Danny froze, not sure what to do. W-was this someone's haunt?! It didn't look occupied when he first found it!

"Oh, the poor dear! I thought Bruce had put an end to theatre shootings, though?" A woman, likely Martha, responded. She sounded genuinely worried and confused as to why he was there, and that... That gave Danny pause. Because that wasn't the normal reaction of a ghost whose haunt had been intruded upon.

The man sighed. "Martha, dear, you know he prefers to go by Batman when wearing the cowl. I've told you before, we should respect our son's wishes."

Their son is Batman?! Does that mean Batman's a ghost?

"I know, I know, but Thomas, that's not the important part! There's someone in the theatre when there shouldn't be! What if they're hurt, or lost, or confused? We need to help them!" Martha exclaimed.

Danny took an unneeded breath and floated forward, a sheepish grin on his face. "Uh, hi there," he said, giving a small wave. In front of him were two gothically dressed ghosts, one male and the other female. The woman, Martha, was wearing a dark green and black striped ball gown, a line of golden buttons decorating the front of the bodice. Thomas, her partner, was wearing a matching green overcoat with black trim, and a matching pair of black dress pants and dress shirt, with a classy top hat, golden buttons, and cufflinks to finish the look. They both had black hair and glowing blue eyes, and both had a small golden bat pinned to their chest above their hearts. They both seemed surprised to see him, maybe they expected him to be hiding somewhere deeper in the theatre?

Martha seemed to come to her senses before Thomas, and was soon hovering right in front of him, pale fingers ghosting over his face and arms with a concerned look on her face. "Oh, you're just a child! You poor dear, you must be so confused! Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking? You certainly don't feel like one of ours, were you visiting Gotham when you died?"

Danny leaned back slightly, flustered and unsure what she was talking about. "I, uh, I've never been to Gotham? I was born and raised in Amity Park? I-I technically died there, too, but that's a bit of a story. Um, what exactly do you mean, I don't feel like one of yours?"

Turned out, if someone highly influential to a city or town died in either a highly traumatic or a sufficiently influential way, they became the spirit of that city or town. Thomas and Martha Wayne were highly respected and looked up to by all of Gotham before they were murdered, and while their deaths weren't exactly traumatic enough at the time for them to have become the spirits of Gotham, they did inspire their son, well known billionaire Bruce Wayne, to become the vigilante and Justice League founder Batman. Once Batman became well known across Gotham, the couple were elevated in status and the previous spirit of Gotham was relieved of their duties. A brief tangent revealed that the spirit of a city or a town had different duties depending on what their city or town needed. For Gotham, and more specifically Thomas and Martha, it was being a beacon of hope and change as well as helping their family's fight to better the city and minimize crime.

"So," Danny said slowly. "Because I'm the protector of Amity Park, does that make me Amity's spirit?"

Thomas shook his head. "It doesn't quite work like that, son. Not every town or every city has a spirit, and a city or town spirit can't be less than fully dead, unlike other powerful positions, such as the High King."

"Not to mention," Martha spoke up, "that as the High King, you can't hold any other ghostly position of power, or else the balance would destabilize, sending all of reality into chaos. As such, the oaths of the High King include the renouncing of any and all former ghostly appointments that might interfere with the balance. It's part of why the Observants never tried taking the throne from Pariah Dark, to be honest."

Danny sat there, thinking over everything he'd just learned. Honestly, he'd learned more about his kingdom, subjects, and the culture that goes with it in one conversation than he had in the entire time he'd been a halfa. "There's so much I don't know, isn't there?" Danny asked after a moment.

Thomas and Martha smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry," Thomas said as he put an arm around Danny's shoulder. "You have time to learn it all, though some of this you really should have learned before making your oaths. I'd like to have words with your guardian, they appear to have been slacking in their duties."

Danny's mind blanked. Guardian? Surely, not his parents. Though. This seemed to be another ghostly thing, so probably—"Clockwork? Or... Maybe Pandora, or Frostbite? I'm... Not actually sure who my guardian is, are they supposed to let me know they're my guardian? Also, how does that work, how does someone become the guardian of a younger ghost?"

"You don't know your own guardian?" Martha cried in disbelief.

"Danny, may I take a look at your core? I feel we'll get more answers that way, but I wouldn't want to impose," Thomas asked gently.

"Why would that be an imposition?" Danny asked.

Martha gently took his hand in hers. "A ghost's core makes up everything that is them, their likes, their dislikes, their personality, their obsession, even their bonds. To let someone look at your core is to trust them with your very soul. Never let someone look at your core unless you trust them with everything you hold dear, alright?"

Shocked, Danny nodded. There was a lot he didn't know. "O-okay, um, yeah, you can look at it, Thomas," he breathed shakily. "I trust you."

Danny did not have a guardian. He had fright-mates in the form of his liminal sister and friends, but he didn't have a guardian or really any other bonds. Thomas raged and Martha cried and the both of them begged him to choose someone to be his guardian. He was a baby ghost, halfa or not, and his core needed the support of a guardian in order to not overwork itself trying to protect him, and end up hurting him instead, potentially permanently. They cautioned him that, with how powerful he already was, his guardian would have to be quite powerful, themselves, like an ancient or a tribe leader. When Danny asked if a city spirit or two would work, they both hugged him so tightly and so warmly that he melted into the embrace, frozen tears falling from his eyes.

"So, does this make me Batman's little brother?" Danny asked with a sniffle sometime later, after the couple agreed to be Danny's guardians.

Martha gasped and put a hand to her mouth, looking to Thomas with mirth in her eyes. "Bruce always wanted a sibling, growing up," she agreed with a laugh.

Thomas smiled at both of them. "Danny even looks the part when he's human!"

=============‹«⟨←·•·→⟩»›=============

Two weeks after Danny's ghostly adoption saw Danny giggling to himself as he walked up the front steps of Wayne Manor with his backpack hanging from his shoulder. He knocked politely and waited for Alfred, the butler and his brother's father figure, to answer. When he did, he took one look at Danny and smirked. "They're in the family media room, master Danny. Would you like some tea?"

Danny grinned and nodded. "You're the man, Alfred. They suspect anything?"

"Not a thing, master Danny. I shall be recording everything via the security cameras, just as the master and madam requested. Nothing will be missed. I'll bring the tea in when things have calmed down," Alfred said as he started walking back to the kitchen.

He suppressed a maniacal laugh. This was going to be awesome.

=============‹«⟨←·•·→⟩»›=============

MWAHAHA!!! I SUCCESSFULLY MANAGED TO WORK IN A WAY OF ADDING ONTO THIS FICLET WITH AN ALREADY EXISTING PROMPT!ヽ⁠(⁠`⁠Д⁠´⁠)⁠ﾉ Now. If someone could find me the post about the spirits of cities, specifically Gotham, that'd be great. I know there IS one, cuz that's what spawned the fic "A Change in Management" over on AO3 (I'll provide a link and proper citing later), I just can't find it (⁠^⁠～⁠^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ

I'm really happy I managed to finish this, because holy heck, my day was just... Really crazy (⁠；⁠^⁠ω⁠^⁠）but it was worth it for y'all (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆

Have a good morning/day/night!

[smileysuh]

the alpha's right hand - TEASER

🌙 staring. Mingyu x afab!Reader

🔮 preview. Mingyu had thought he’d lost you - if even for a moment - and he’s not willing to lose you ever again. He doesn’t want you running into the woods anymore when you’re having emotions, he wants you running to him, and he kisses you as if to say ‘please, never leave.’ He had always thought Seungcheol would be his alpha, but you’d shown up and flipped his world upside down. Mingyu doesn’t care about appeasing his friend anymore- all he cares about is appeasing you- pleasuring you, giving you everything you could ever possibly want, everything you could ever need.

tw/cw. a/b/o au & power structures, mentions of a bad pack past, one mention of child death, blood/childbirth, exhibitionism/outside sex, clothed dry humping, fingering, mutual masturbation, hand job, big dick!Mingyu, pussy stretching, unprotected sex, pullout method, groping, overstimulation, praise, dirty talk, needy!Mingyu, hair pulling, orgasm control, small noncon/impreg thoughts, etc… I pet names: (hers) alpha. (his) Big guy, puppy.

👹 rating.18+ explicit I wc. 14.4k

🍭 aus. a/b/o au, werewolf au, alpha!reader, beta!Mingyu, etc…

☀️ mlist + an. this fic is in the Blood Moon universe, if I end up writing another fic for this au, it will get a masterlist, but until then read cheol here

His pace quickens as he reaches the tree line. It’s harder to track you with the forest smells, but Mingyu does his best, stopping at a few points to take deep breaths. You have a note of citrus in your scent, and Mingyu’s come to enjoy the taste of it on his tongue.

But then, the smell stops, and Mingyu finds himself at the foot of a tree. For the life of him, he can’t figure out which way you’ve gone, and he cusses loudly, kicking the pine.

“What the fuck?” 

Your groggy voice causes Mingyu’s head to snap up, and he peers through the branches- locking eyes with you.

“Alpha?” he calls.

“Mingyu?”

He watches you rub your eyes, sitting up on the branch you must have been laying on. “What are you doing up there?” he asks, relief flooding his system.

“Trying to get a decent sleep until someone kicked my bed- why are you out here attacking trees?” you retort. 

“I thought I’d lost your scent-” he tries to explain, which causes you to laugh.

“You were looking for me?” you ask, beginning to climb down.

“Well.. yeah. You weren’t in the RV.”

“Couldn’t spend a night with those girls,” you respond, jumping the last meter and landing on your feet in front of him. “They gossip too much.”

“Really?” Mingyu cocks his head as he looks at you. “Gossiping about what?”

“First kisses, boys, that sort of thing.” You won’t meet his gaze, and Mingyu realizes immediately what you’re talking about.

“Oh,” he says softly.

“Yeah, oh.” You tug your flannel tighter around your body and Mingyu wants to take you in his arms-

“Wait… alpha, are you jealous?”

READ IT HERE NOW

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Tumblr only allows me to tag 50 people per post, so the number of tag spots is limited, please respond with a reply or in the reblog tags to secure a spot in the tags :)

READ IT HERE NOW

[discworld-heritage-posts]

What do you think you add? Do you think you make a poignant post better when after scrolling down through it we see someone saying it's "official"?

I'm choosing to interpret this ask as a genuine question (albeit one that's been worded a bit rudely) instead of a hate anon, because I wouldn't want to tarnish people's dashboards with hate anons.

Now, to answer your genuine question... The "Discworld Heritage Post" tagline I add to the end of posts has as much validity as I have authority to bestow it: none. Do I think my tagline makes posts better? Of course not! And I certainly don't think I make them official, (and neither my url or my pinned post claim that I do so).

I don't know what reasons other people had to start their own Heritage Posts blogs for other fandoms, but I will gladly tell you mine: I got into Discworld. I discovered the Discworld fandom in Tumblr. And, one day, while scrolling down some Discworld related tags, the idea just popped into my head. After checking that there wasn't a Discworld Heritage Posts blog already, I decided to make one.

I personally follow a few Heritage Posts blogs, and my reason to do so is probably the same as to why many people follow this blog: I wanted to see that kind of content. Tracking tags and being up to date on the most popular posts of a fandom is doable, but doing so for the dozens upon dozens of media I'm into is impossible, so I like to follow some Heritage Posts blogs to get some of those posts directly into my dashboard (it's also worth mentioning that sometimes, some iconic posts are made when people comment stuff on them, and those don't appear in the search tags, so following blogs that post about a certain fandom is the best way to come across some of those collaborative posts, because otherwise you'd rarely get to see them). So yes, I created a blog that, had it already existed, I would have liked to follow. Also, while other blogs with this gimmick usually limit themselves to reblogging, let's call them the "greatest hits", I've said since the beginning that I didn't care about how many notes something had. Be it cool art or a funny or insightful post, if I like it, I send it to my drafts.

However, none of those reasons are the main reason why I made this blog. The main reason is that I did it for myself. After exhausting all the content that showed up in the Popular Posts tab, I couldn't help but think of all the gold and treasure that wasn't there, buried and hidden due to the way Tumblr's search engine works. If you're familiar with the Discworld concept of "lies-to-children", that's what the "top posts of all time" is in Tumblr. A 20k post from 2016 will not be there, but a six month old post with 400 notes will show up. Surely there had been amazing Discworld posts and art posted in 2015 and 2013, but I wasn't going to find most of them unless I expressly went looking for them. And this blog was the perfect excuse to do so. As of replying to this ask, there's nearly 600 posts sitting in my drafts, and if I didn't have this blog I would have never discovered 90% of them. And those are the ones I've seen. I still have dozens of places I haven't searched.

I know that if I reblog a month old post with over 2k notes, a lot of people in the fandom will have already seen it. However, a 2k notes post from 2014, or a drawing with 40 notes from 2012 is something that is less likely to have hit people's dashes recently, or at all. When you come across the "Discworld Heritage Post" tagline in a post, please don't picture me as an uppity monarch performing the Tumblr equivalent of a knighting ceremony, or a stuffy museum curator deigning a piece worthy of being included in an exhibition. Picture me as a kid enthusiastically jumping and flailing my arms around while yelling "holy shit guys check out what I just found!!", because that's how I feel running this blog.

Ultimately, whether one of my posts does better or worse is indifferent to me, because they aren't my posts, or memes, or drawings. I'm just the intermediary. That being said, of course it's not indifferent to me, because more engagement means that was a post many people hadn't seen before, or had forgotten about, and one of my goals was to run a blog that would allow people to find those hidden or long forgotten gems.

When all is said and done, Heritage Post blogs are just another one of Tumblr's gimmicks. If we're not your cup of tea, you're free to ignore or block us. If you want to reblog something and don't want the tagline, you can reblog it directly from OP (or from another reblog if OP has deactivated their account).

[bengiyo]

Why Do I Tag So Many Creators in My Posts? It’s About Respect

Earlier today I was talking with @sophsloveskpop in the notes of a post, and was asked about all of the interaction between blogs in the posts and essays about the shows. I’ve noticed an uptick in new names interacting with posts (and making great posts of their own!) and wanted to talk about why I do it and why I like fandom on Tumblr.

Fundamentally, I think it’s generally good courtesy to acknowledge when someone else has expressed a similar idea to your, or an idea that intrigues you. I think it’s best to tag that person and link to their post so that others can also experience it. It also opens you up to a dialogue with them and others.

People Like Getting Their Flowers

If someone posts an analysis or even a quirky idea that I felt the need to think about, I will mention them in my posts. None of the great content we get on here is necessarily quick to make. I absolutely love all of the gifmakers who fight against Photoshop, Tumblr, and God Himself to post snippets of shows on here for us. I wouldn’t be able to flesh out some of my posts, illustrates points, or otherwise breakup walls of text without @liyazaki, @wanderlust-in-my-soul, @pharawee, or @gabrielokun. Whenever I can’t find the gif I’m looking for through Tumblr’s terrible gif search, I reach out to one of them for permission to use their gifs directly.

Also, many of us just like being acknowledged that someone we wrote meant something to someone else. Every time I get tagged by someone in an essay I’m like:

It’s a Conversation

I don’t think fandom is about being the smartest person or the most correct person. My basic framework I’m writing from is Black Gay Nerd Who Watches a Lot of Stuff. It’s what I’m most familiar with personally, and I find that people have really responded to that.

I’ve been around for a very long time, and have been seeing folks like @so-much-yet-to-learn around the entire time, who often has more specific information about fandom life during the airing of shows. @absolutebl and @heretherebedork have watched more BL than I have, and I’ve seen at least 250 productions. ABL has some of the most comprehensive posts collecting some of the history.

I made so many friends after diving into @shortpplfedup DMs to talk about sustainable urbanism and bonding over our shared geography. Now we run @the-conversation-pod together. Through them I befriended so many others, like @elnotwoods and @kyr-kun-chan.

I’m not a color theory expert, and so I love reading posts from @respectthepetty and others (I think @sliceduplife writes about color too).

We wouldn't even have my favorite show without @isaksbestpillow.

I know what shows are coming because of @clairificusrex.

I don’t know much about music theory, but @iguessitsjustme write some great stuff about the music in these shows.

I don’t always read the body language of hands as closely as someone like @wen-kexing-apologist might.

I am not Asian, and so I like reading from @waitmyturtles, @telomeke-bbs, and @neuroticbookworm. I know that @recentadultburnout and @airenyah offer useful perspective on Thai language.

Sometimes folks are going to narrow down on specific shows and consistently write about them for years on side blogs like @miscellar.

Some people have studied so much and bring specific academic lenses to the genre that I find compelling, like @emotionallychargedtowel.

In many cases, I just vibe with them really hard, like @ginnymoonbeam.

I actually didn’t always post as much as I do, but I try to keep up my Stray Thoughts project so that people can keep track of what I’m watching. I used to write less meta, but then I befriended @waitmyturtles and @lurkingshan. Any time I say anything remotely thoughtful Shan is like:

Also, though, this is Tumblr! It’s easy to tag each other and link to each other’s posts! This is what makes us different from every

Isn’t It Just More Fun?

I don’t enjoy shows passively. I grew up in a family that watched things together. My mom, dad, sister, and I all have differing tastes from each other, but we watched a lot of different things together. My friends and I discussed the things we watched at school.

I’m a big fan of the water cooler approach to TV show distribution, which basically says you want your show to be the show people are talking about on their breaks at work. I always like Film Crit Hulk’s theory that movies (and our dramas) are the proverbial campfires around which we gather to share ourselves with each other.

This is all supposed to be fun, and I have more fun when we interact. I get tagged daily by @blmpff about updates from sets, or when we all need to rush to IG to make sure Fluke Pongsakorn doesn’t cut his hair. When @bl-bam-beyond makes a new set or post they let me know, and they recently rewatched Noah’s Arc! I made friends with @gillianthecat in the last year or so, and it’s been fun seeing her make her way through fandom. I always get excited with @troubled-mind pings me in a post because I know it’s going to give me something to chew on. I didn’t have a genuine appreciation for kink culture until I watched along with @lutawolf. If something funny is happening in fandom I know @benkaaoi is going to tag me. I still get excited when @heukheuk pops up in my mentions.

I know I’ve probably forgotten so many people alone the way here, and I’m sorry if I didn’t mention you.

Tag Because It’s the Right Thing to Do

So seriously, tag people and link to their posts. Try to use the giffmakers specific tags when you’re using the search feature. Fandom is better when we all interact respectfully and enthusiastically with each other. Tumblr is special because it lets us create goofy little essays like this and tag dozens of people just to get their attention.

If you have a cool thought about a show I’m watching, tag me. If you see something funny, tag me in the comments. If you wanna hash out an idea before posting it, DM me. This is Tumblr. Don’t be shy with your thoughts. It’s okay to be wrong on the internet. It’s actually fun to be wrong on the internet about show predictions!

Thank you as always for coming to my post.

[pureforestspirits]

➛ IF THE ATWOW CHARACTERS HAD TUMBLR

featuring! tsireya, lo’ak, neteyam, kiri, ao’nung, rotxo!

just for fun. i couldn’t decide if i wanted to make this a human au, or keep them na’vi… so it’s a mix of both!

TSIREYA - @reefprincessreya 𓇼

she has the most beautiful, aesthetically-pleasing layout you’ll ever see.

username: “reef” because she loves the sea (duh), and “princess” because it’s really pretty + feminine, and she literally is a reef princess after all. finally, her cute nickname “reya”, where the alliteration makes her url extra catchy !

her bio would totally have some beautiful quote.. like, “the way of water has no beginning and no end.” ;)

tsireya does it alllllll. she has her personal tags that she puts on every post to keep organized, and she’ll spend hours on her new themes.

╭ @reefprincessreya

┆sooo happy! our brothers and sisters have

┆returned today, and i finally saw my spirit sister

┆again! she is healthy and well <3

╰ #reya’s life ˚୨୧⋆｡

unlike the rest, who prefer the more private feel of their blog, tsireya shared hers with all her friends who all consistently use tumblr together!

LO'AK - @yooooitsloak

username: he just typed in the first thing that came to mind. 

lo’ak literally made a tumblr account just because of tsireya. 

it’s almost a ghost blog, but he at least took the time to add a pfp (which is a photo of his fav pair of sneakers). 

lo’ak likes every single one of tsireya’s posts. even if there’s only 1 note; it’s lo’ak. 

(we love a supportive boyfriend)

NETEYAM - @burntouteclipse ✰

neteyam is the ultimate aesthetic, educated and sophisticated king for liking tumblr by himself ✊🏻 (no shade to lolo though). like ‘reya, he also has a clean, aesthetically-pleasing layout, but it’s more masculine.

username: just sounds cool, y’know? he also works his ass off and is “burnt out” after all (perfection and golden-childism ain’t easy), and eclipse is just a time of day neteyam really enjoys where he gets to relax and spend time for himself. 

neteyam doesn’t complain much in real life, or let out a lot of his feelings. tumblr is like his peaceful, personal, private corner where he can speak his mind, which he really appreciates. 

i can see him reblogging and following fashion accounts that he likes, as well as occasionally posting a little ramble. ‘teyam’s page is scattered with some little thoughts and feelings here and there between reblogs of cool streetwear clothing and artistic photos/photography (for human neteyam). 

you’ll see him and tsireya interact with each other on occasion! 

╭ @burntouteclipse

┆ accidentally hit my knee earlier today,

╰  and now i can barely run properly. shit

⠀ ╭ @reefprincessreya

⠀ ┆ oh no! i’m sorry to hear. hope you

⠀ ╰ ➤ will feel better soon, ma ‘eylan! ♥︎

⠀ ╭ @burntouteclipse ☆ Original Poster

⠀ ╰ ➤ thank you tsireya

if there’s a girl he likes, neteyam’ll try and see if she has a tumblr. he’ll eventually find it, and enjoys scrolling through her posts + loves reading her little rambles. but he does it from a distance, and doesn’t interact (you’d never know. he’s the epitome of secret admirer). . .

KIRI - @atokirina333 ❀

username: kiri’s a spiritual gal, what can i say? not to mention, she was named after the atokirina, so it’s perfect. there’s also angel numbers!! ofc!!! ps: this url was taken at first, but she tracked down the person and convinced them to give it to her. somehow. 

unlike neteyam who writes ‘n posts small things sometimes… kiri can rant here. don’t get me wrong, she’s not posting paragraphs, but she definitely lets loose when she wants to.

human kiri posts her plants, her crystals, her music vinyls, the desserts she likes baking, her books and posters, literally anything and everything you’d find in her room because it’s all pretty.

what else would you see on her page? poetry. reblogs of quotes and aesthetic photos, and especially pretty photos of nature (kiri and ‘reya’s tumblrs are similar in this sense)!

she and tsireya reblog each other very often! 

AO'NUNG

"what's tumblr?"

ROTXO - @justrotxo

username: he’s just rotxo! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ though when he first joined, his @ was originally “reefboyrotxo”, but he (jokingly) got called out for copying tsireya, so he changed it.

hm, tbh, i don’t really see him as an avid tumblr user!

i have a headcanon that human rotxo'd be a surfer though, so i feel like he’d probably have 1-2 posts of a beautiful sunset + his surfboard, and like one post of a random thought he had. that’s it. his theme would also be blue/teal. 

i feel like he would’ve gotten tumblr because of his friends, and goes on just to see all of their posts. 

he interacts with/likes the posts of everyone in his circle! :) 

. . .

AO'NUNG (continued)

“what’s tumblr?”

it’s a social media app. your sister likes using it.

“oh, ok. whatever.”

neteyam sully uses it too. oh, and his brother lo’ak.

ao’nung is already intrigued at neteyam, but when he hears lo’ak is on there? oh boy.

he immediately signs up, and then gets all of his friends to as well.

soon, lo’ak is flabbergasted at the sudden flood of random anonymous troll asks he receives on his empty blog. 

ao’nung was going to anonymously send something to ‘teyam as well (obviously not to lo’ak’s extent), but after finding and looking through it… he actually secretly likes neteyam’s blog.

after everyone find out it’s him, he still eventually just keeps his tumblr to continue messing with the sullys, and his sister. popping in with a “DELETE THIS 🔥🔥🔥” to show he’s indeed still there, once every few eclipses. 

╭ @reefprincessreya

╰ ➤ ao’nung. rä’ä.

the end!

╭ @pureforestspirits

┆heyy! thanks so much for reading <3  

┆fun fact: i started writing this in my notes

┆app one day at like 4am. the sleep

┆deprivation was worth it, i think.

┆it was really fun to make LMAO

┆

┆all interactions are muuuch appreciated,

┆since i’m still pretty new to posting. thank u!

╰#✺ ࿐ ۫ 

  6 notes  wink wink

© 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒔.

[danshive]

What the heck, Tumblr? I wanted to find an old post I made about crabs, and when I searched my blog for “crab,” it didn’t come up.

So I figured “I guess it’s just looking up tags?” I assumed I didn’t put crab as a tag.

So I manually track down the old post, and oh, look, multiple mentions of crab in the text with “crab” AND “crabs” as tags!

I try not to get too full of myself judging errors and bugs. Programs are complex, full of dependencies, x-factors, and all sorts of nonsense that would beat me up and take my lunch money…

But I was literally searching for one word in a system that uses tags.

I think it’s fair for me to find that absurd.

[anonnie-in-wonderland]

Call Me Crazy...

Rating: T

 Word Count:11.8k 

 Warning(s): anxiety/anxious thoughts, near panic attacks, injury, but also beware the fluff for it is potent

 Summary: When Y/N gets her hands on the newest Samsung phone, she thinks at most she’ll get a little clout with her friends and fewer dropped calls. A direct portal to BTS? Not so much.

 Genre(s): Strangers to Friends to Lovers| Crack Treated Seriously| Fluff| Comedy| Romance| Magical Realism

 Tags: bts x reader | ot7 x reader | poly| FM!POC!reader

 Ch.3:  Don’t Hold Your Breath for a Break

A/N: Hiiii, sorry I’ve been away for so long. 🥺 Life has been pretty stressful. But, I’m back now, new chapter, whoo! I have had this on my mind for a while now, and finally got the chance to incorporate it into this chapter~ I really do hope you enjoy the arrival of the next BTS member to show up, whose dynamics with Y/N are already among my favorites. Also, always feel free to chat with me about this fic if you’d like, I don’t bite and thrive on the engagement! 🤗 I wanna know if anyone wants to guess what is going on or has figured it out yet. This chapter is especially dedicated to the blog who had a super easy tutorial on how to keep your formatting from google docs to tumblr!! Saved me a lot of time. Hehe *PLEASE do not ask about the taglist in this story’s comments*

In the days that followed, Y/N completely fell down a rabbit hole. It felt prudent to look more into BTS, or more specifically, Park Jimin. From a strictly legal perspective and nothing more.

 After all, she was sure his attorneys would be sending a court summons any day now just as soon as they managed to find out her identity and track her down. It was something she lived in fear of.

 Binna was none-the-wiser that the reason she suddenly seemed so attentive about the band’s recent lives was because she wanted to know if they’d mentioned anything. Any clues that would tell Y/N when her days as a free person were coming to an end. 

Honestly, she hadn’t found much. Nothing that would be helpful in allowing her to participate in her own legal defense. Speaking of that, could she even afford an attorney that would be able to stand up against Park Jimin’s? She was sure a global superstar would have the best in the country.

Y/N listlessly scrolled through yet more photos of Jimin—looking for hidden meanings in the recent videos the group had posted was starting to make her feel like she was overreacting at best and paranoid at worst. 

There were pictures of him with a variety of hair colors and outfits, taken over time, and he was flawless in all of them. Even ones she came across where he wasn’t glammed out in full makeup made it obvious he was just one of the lucky ones, naturally born attractive. 

“How many wardrobe malfunctions can one person have throughout their career?” Y/N found herself muttering, spying yet another photo where Jimin’s fancy jacket was sliding down his arm. “Is he allergic to keeping his shirt on his shoulders?”

Though, given how many fan compilations existed that compiled every single moment where Jimin’s shirt or jacket hadn’t quite managed to stay all the way on, it didn’t seem like there were many complaints. Army was swooning and swooning hard if anything. 

But really, being sued within an inch of her life wasn’t even the worst part about it all. If someone saw the “notes” section of her phone, they’d have her committed first, and ask questions later. She’d have her committed, under normal circumstances.

 Because what she had experienced not once, but twice? It went against everything she stood for. Logical, grounded, a firm believer in science and fact. Facts didn’t support phenomena like getting sucked through a mirror and ending up in an idol’s dance studio. 

Facts didn’t support seeing the face of another idol—because she now knew the reason the man in the mirror looked vaguely familiar was because he was another BTS member, Seokjin—instead of her own reflection when she went to brush her teeth. It just…didn’t make sense. 

Science couldn’t support it. It was nuts. Yet it happened to her. And that was the only reason she believed it. Too bad no one else would. Or worse, if and when Jimin announced he’d be pressing charges for assault, and she had confessed beforehand to someone…it would probably be taken as evidence the attack was premeditated.

 Sure, they’d have to prove how she got in. But…but still! She couldn’t risk it. Wouldn’t. Which meant her phone was her only safe secret-keeper. They were co-conspirators in it all. 

Speaking of the damned cursed thing… trying to outright return it hadn’t worked, even though she had the receipt and everything! She still remembered the bizarre events that day.

Y/N was almost out of breath by the time she entered the phone store, embarrassingly worked up in front of the few strangers milling around inside. She got a few curious, side-long glances, and then they went back to perusing the inventory.

“Welcome!” Called an employee already speaking to other customers. “Someone will assist you shortly.”

Y/N gave a short, affirmative nod, trying not to come off anxious as she glanced around. Everything looked…the same as the night she had bought the phone. Shiny new models on display, the monitor above their heads playing a loop of advertisements for different Samsung products, and everything neatly put away and organized. Absently, she began to think over the store’s layout, and the fact that it could have a strong subconscious effect on the consumer. Organization of inventory could actually play a role in whether or not someone wanted to buy something.

But, putting that aside, the store didn’t look like the kind of place that would sell someone a phone that would ruin their life. Looks could be deceiving, though. Who knew what was actually afoot?

“Oh, can I help you, miss?” A middle-aged woman wearing the store’s polo top came over with a tag that said her name was Hayoung asked in an attentive tone.

Y/N was quick to nod. “I’m here to make a return, actually. I bought a phone from your store not long ago.”

“Was the item not to your liking?” Hayoung asked, guiding her over to an available station.

The university student glanced down at the phone in question, which she’d placed back in the original purchase box. “You could…say that.” She mumbled. “I’ve thought about it, and I really don’t need anything even half this fancy.” Telling the woman she thought the phone might have it in for her was out of the question. “So I’d like to exchange it for something simpler.”

Hayoung dutifully accepted the box, scanning the barcode and then lifting up the lid. Y/N had anticipated a smooth return in which she’d flash her receipt, maybe some ID, and have the exchange completed in no time. But when Hayoung’s brow furrowed, she knew she wouldn’t like whatever the saleswoman was going to say.

“Is…is something wrong?”

“Well,” she paused, “Are you sure you purchased your phone here? From this store? I know we’ve had models similar to this in stock before, but this one’s just not ringing up.”

“Really?” Y/N shook her head, rummaging around in her purse. “I don’t see how that could be. I have the receipt if that helps…” 

She then proceeded to go through her small purse, searching the exact spot she knew she had folded and placed the receipt. “Um, hold on a minute please,” Hayoung waited expectantly as Y/N kept looking, growing increasingly more frustrated as she turned the contents of her purse inside out hunting for the receipt. 

No, no way was she ever that careless. She had made sure she put it into her purse before leaving the apartment, and she didn’t exactly care that much in it to begin with! It was all zipped up tight, so how could it have fallen out?!

It took several more long, awkward moments of searching futilely in vein for her to realize it was true. The receipt was no where to be found. Trying to fight down the flush of defeat crossing her cheeks, Y/N cleared her throat, speaking diplomatically, “I’m sorry, I don’t seem to have my receipt on hand after all. I guess I’ll just…try to search it out and return when I do.”

“Oh, there’s no need. Our system can search for and find the purchase if you happen to have the card on hand.”

Y/N wanted to slump over in defeat, “Actually my friend bought it…”

“Oh,” Hayoung tilted her head, “Do you happen to know the account number used?”

Y/N mentally wondered if Binna was free. She shouldn’t be in class right now, right? So it would be okay to quickly give her a call and get this sorted out. She had to leave the store without this phone. That was a must!

 “H-Hold on please!” It was a little embarrassing, snatching the phone she had been trying to return from its box and powering it on. In anticipation of making the return, Y/N had thought to wipe it and remove the SIM card chip, but then recalled hearing it was best to do that at the store when the transaction was complete, in case there was something forgotten on the phone that still needed to be retrieved.

Hastily scrolling down the admittedly short contacts’ list, Y/N located Binna’s number and pressed the button to dial. The phone rang three times, and she anxiously tapped her foot as she waited to see if her friend would pick up. ‘Please, Bin. Come on. Please.’

Of course, as it always was when she needed something to work out, it didn’t quite go smoothly. Binna hadn’t picked up, and she had ended up ending the call right before it switched to voice mail. Typing out a text message asking for the information she needed, Y/N had glared spitefully down at the phone.

“Do you recall the name of the clerk who sold you the phone?” Hayoung asked gently. 

Y/N thought it over, the sales associate’s face floating to mind. “Yes, his name was Suk-kyu.”

“Hmm, that name doesn’t sound familiar.” Hayoung shook her head. “I’ve been employed here three years and never heard anyone go by that name,”

It was unlike her, but Y/N felt she was entitled to a bit of out of character behavior when her jaw actually dropped. “You’re kidding…”

But, Hayoung assured her, she was not. She didn’t think they had ever carried the exclusive Army Edition of the phone. She didn’t know who Suk-kyu was, and Y/N couldn’t find her receipt, the only bit of evidence that might have been able to successfully lift the burden of the phone from her person. She had left the store, apologizing for wasting the patient woman’s time, and feeling like she was at least partially going crazy. 

Needless to say, Y/N had been…anxious about the phone since then. A bit scared, even. A fear she had no choice but to shoulder in silence for the time being. There wasn’t much she could do but continue searching high and low for the receipt and hope it turned up soon.

 In the meantime, she didn’t let on that anything was wrong, using the phone like before, though limiting that to when it was really necessary. No more playing around with it or downloading apps. Nope, she didn’t want to risk getting too attached to the thing. 

The only thing she did besides make calls was research. Things she never would have thought about looking up before. Like, unexplained phenomena with electronics, most of which led to completely wild conspiracy theories or dead ends.

Y/N had been so engrossed in breaking her brain over what to do, she jumped when the apartment door swung open, turning around on the coach to see Binna march in, a few grocery bags in her hands. Keys in her mouth, she gently kicked the door closed, humming to herself until she happened to look up and spot Y/N.

“Oh!” Binna hustled into the small kitchen to set her bags down, then her keys. “Y/N, didn’t expect to see you here right now. You’ve got class today, right?”

“It was canceled…” she sighed, sliding down the couch cushions and placing her phone on the coffee table. “The professor’s out sick with the flu.”

Binna winced in sympathy. “Yikes, poor guy…”

“Yeah,” Y/N took great care not to get sick, so she hadn’t so much as had a cold in years, but she still remembered times when she was a child in bed with chills, body aches and a fever. Once she had even had pneumonia, her mother forced to call out from work and nurse her back to health. “He just wanted us to go over the assignment we’ve been working on since the start of the semester. You know, take this as independent study time basically. But…”

“Buuut, knowing you,” Binna smiled, “You’ve already taken the initiative and gotten a head start a long time ago, so you’re ahead of everyone else.”

“Done, actually,” Y/N confirmed, not afraid to admit to her efficiency. 

Her roommate made a noise of encouragement as she began to put the groceries away. It didn’t look like much. A loaf of bread, some bottles of sauce they’d been running low on, some eggs and a carton of milk.

 “That’s great, since it actually kind of works out. Chin-Mae and Min Su invited me to check out this new steak house that just opened up. I heard reservations are booked out for weeks already, but thanks to Min Su’s connections, we can go this evening. What do you say?” Binna wiggled her eyebrows, trying to entice Y/N. 

“Alright, I’m in,” she agreed.

“Because I’m sure they won’t mind adding just one more to our party, especially if that person is you…” Binna continued to ramble.

“Bin, did you hear me?” Y/N clucked, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I said I’m in.”

Eyes round as the eggs she had put away, Binna blinked, nodded, and finally broke out into an ear to ear grin. “Oh, wow, that’s new. I m-mean not that it isn’t great you wanna join us, but…”

“What?” Y/N felt a little defensiveness creeping up on her, and she probably didn’t do the best job completely hiding it from her tone. “You made the invite, and you said Min Su and Chin-Mae would be fine with it. Did you not…really want me to come along?”

They thought she would kill the mood, the nasty little whisper entered her head unbidden. They thought she was so stuffy and boring.

“What, Y/N, no!” Binna immediately denied, “I’m really glad you can make it,” she shot over to the couch, wrapping her arms around her friend’s neck from behind as she bent over for the hug. “It’s true you normally put up a little more resistance when we ask you to come somewhere. You stay so busy, so I was a little surprised is all. But I’m glad you’re agreeing.”

Y/N’s tense shoulders relaxed, and she mentally sighed to herself, feeling silly. Of course, of course her friends wanted her there. And this was Binna, who struggled to have a bad thought about anybody. Secretly resentful definitely wasn’t her style. 

But with the stress she had been under, and the dread she’d done her best not to give into, Y/N could admit her nerves had been on edge. “Yeah, sorry about that…” she laughed weakly, reaching up and patting one of the arms looped around her neck. “I don’t know where that came from, but I’m happy to eat a little steak if Min Su’s recommending it.” The man had the best luck finding good places to eat, or stores that sold exactly what you were looking for but probably overlooked. 

“Good girl,” Binna uncoiled her arms and leaned back against the couch itself. “That’s the spirit. And hey, I heard from some of the girls in the campus’ BTS fan club that one of the guys on campus might be related to one of the waiters who might have catered the food on the set of a music video for Taehyung!”

She said it in a breathy squeal, and Y/N couldn’t help but smile indulgently. She was almost sure she knew which one Taehyung was, but she still wouldn’t put money on it. It might just as soon be someone else. Maybe Namjoon? 

She’d gotten more familiar with their names but as most of her time perusing videos and photos had been spent investigating Jimin, she wasn’t entirely sure on the others’ faces. Well, besides Jin and J-Hope. 

“Nice,” she said, letting Binna get all her gushing out as she texted Chin-Mae just to make sure it really was okay if she tagged along. Stupid to be anxious about feeling unsure if everyone really wanted her to come, but better to be safe than sorry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was impressed the minute they walked through the door. Min Su stopped trying to sneak an arm around Chin-Mae’s waist and immediately went over to talk to the maître d. The two men spoke cordially, the head waiter confirmed their reservation, and then they were led to their table with a flourish. 

Binna was practically bouncing on her heels, squealing under her breath. “Can you believe this place?” she whispered excitedly, “I feel like a movie star, coming here.”

The restaurant was definitely lavish, so she understood where her friend was coming from. The tables were polished stained oak, and lit by a candle to provide ambiance, and the floors were a gorgeous brown tile that Y/N suspected to be marble. 

The restaurant was done in a mixture of black, gold with high beam wood ceilings and low atmospheric lighting. They walked past a bar, long and oval, with shimmering glasses the team of bartender would pull down as they did impressive tricks to wow the gathered guests. 

“It’s one of the hottest spots in Gangnam right now,” Chin-Mae commented as they sat down. The table comfortably fit the four of them, and everyone got settled as a young woman hurried over, handing them menus and introducing herself. 

“This is so cool,” Binna exclaimed, still wiggling in place. She shook Y/N’s arm. She was all done up with some icy blue eye shadow that matched her aqua dress, and a more subtle plum shade of lipstick. 

Her hair was secured in a complicated twist by a pin she recognized from the last time they had gone shopping together. Y/N adjusted the shawl draped over her shoulders, pulling down her own strapless dress. Binna had helped her pick accessories, which were mostly shades of amber or gold, and apply some light makeup. 

Y/N chuckled, nodding as she scanned the menu, trying her best to ignore the listed prices. She had come fully prepared to pay her own way, but Min Su insisted the meal was going to be on him. It must have been nice.

 The perks of being from an affluent family, she supposed. The guy was already well on his way to being a successful lawyer, following the family tradition. He had moved all the way from his hometown in China to come and work on his master’s degree at one of the top universities in Korea, just for a change of pace. “Thanks again for letting us crash your date night, guys.” Binna beamed.

“Please,” Chin-Mae scoffed lightly, not looking up from his menu. “What was I supposed to do all evening? Talk to him?”

Min Su pouted, but it didn’t diminish the fond glow in his eyes as he leaned over his boyfriend’s shoulder and whispered something in his ear that gave Chin-Mae pause.

 Their friend cut a sharp look at his partner, smacking his thigh and then proceeding to ignore the man who was happily leaning into him and commenting on the menu. Yeah, nothing new there. Min Su was totally gone on Chin-Mae, as always.

 There was nothing about Chin-Mae’s bluntness or dismissive attitude in public that ever put him off. If anything, the mean behavior only served to make Min Su try harder. Though, she and Binna both knew Chin-Mae wouldn’t be with someone this long if he wasn’t just as serious about them.

 He was just a straight shooter, raised in a family that wasn’t completely accepting of who he was, and unfortunately awkward and out of his depth about how to handle someone as affectionate and doting as the man he happened to fall in love with.

 They were well suited in that regard. Min Su was patient and persistent enough to shower Chin-Mae in all the attention he needed to overcome the lingering doubts about being worthy of such deep love and devotion. 

Y/N was perfectly fine, pursuing the path she was. Career goals first, everything else second. But sometimes, watching them, a little envy did ignite.

 It must have been nice to find something like that, and she was truly happy for them. It didn’t seem likely she’d have time in the near future to go out and chase it for herself, of course. And she wasn’t really worried about it. 

“So, what’ll it be for you guys?” Y/N cleared her throat, interrupting the warm and cozy silence they’d all been existing in.

“Ohh, I think I’m gonna have the smoked chicken and spinach salad, and a side of the fried mushrooms,” Binna announced, tongue poking out in concentration as her finger followed where the items she wanted were on the menu.

“You’re going so easy on him.” Chin-Mae remarked. “I’m getting the iron skillet trout,” he squinted, leaning further into the menu. Min Su only smiled, plucking the reading glasses from Chin Mae’s breast pocket that he had forgotten to put on and placing them on his face for him.

 The absent-minded pat he got on the hand for it made the law student’s whole face light up. “And the chicken fried steak. That okay, babe?” He might not have looked it, exactly, but Chin-Mae had a healthy appetite. And if they were coming to such an exclusive restaurant for the first time, it wasn’t surprising he wouldn’t be keen to hold back.

Min Su was nodding encouragingly before Chin-Mae had even fully gotten the question out of his mouth. “And what about you, Y/N?”

She clammed up slightly, having been looking at the menu, mentally ruling out what seemed too expensive, or wasn’t quite her taste. “Uh, the pot roast sounds like a filling entree.”

“And?” Chin-Mae prodded, interlocking his hands together and leaning on them.

“And nothing,” Y/N shook her head. “It comes with two sides, that’s more than enough.”

“Boo,” Her friend hissed dramatically. “Fine. If neither one of you is going to take advantage of this, then I guess it’s up to me.”

Their waitress returned with a tray of drinks at precisely that moment, and as she set them down in front of the correct person, everyone began telling her their orders, which she jotted down without missing a beat.

 Only Min Su had actually ordered any steak, but, given the price of a 24 oz there was just no way she felt comfortable doing that to the poor guy, even if he was a good sport about it and more than capable of handling a large bill. 

As they sat, sipping their champagne and waiting on the food, something Y/N had been putting off thinking about started floating through her mind. Ever since the whole Jimin fiasco, despite her deep diving and frantic searching, nothing had turned up that indicated anyone was coming after her. 

But she just wasn’t willing to believe she’d gotten away that easily. She almost killed a celebrity. And, due to that, she’d really wanted to seek legal advice from Min Su, under the guise of some far-fetched hypothetical, of course. Her friends weren’t onto her, and she couldn’t give them a reason to be. 

She just had to find a way to casually broach the topic…

“Oh,” Binna gasped from her side, drawing the whole table’s attention to herself. She was carefully scrolling her phone with a freshly manicured nail, scowling slightly. It was so rare that Binna displayed any actual disdain, it had Y/N a bit curious. 

“What’s wrong, Bin?”

“It’s nothing,” she replied immediately, then paused. “Well it’s not nothing but, it’s just…I really wished we lived in a world that respected idols as people, you know? Some people call themselves fans and act like famous people aren’t allowed to have any boundaries.” She then went on to describe how there’d been another sasaeng incident reported on a news site she followed to keep up with celebrity gossip. 

Apparently, it was a pretty serious one, and crazed ‘fans’ had attacked an actress a well-known idol was reported to be dating. Her bodyguard had fended them off, but the actress still went to the hospital with some injuries. 

Y/N perked up slightly, but Min Su and Chin-Mae were thankfully too engrossed in listening to Binna rant to notice. It would be much easier to bring up her question using the information Binna had just provided them as a pretext.

 It was about time she had a stroke of good luck. Stopping to think it over, Y/N cringed. Not that she wasn’t sympathetic to the poor woman who had been harmed because of someone’s delusions. But it just…presented an opportunity she had to take, and….

‘Oh, why am I trying to rationalize it to myself?! I should just ask the question before the subject changes.’

 That decided, she opened her mouth and spoke, doing her best to make it seem as casual as possible. “So Min Su, you’re practically a lawyer. What kind of charges could that person face? Attacking a celebrity and inflicting bodily harm isn’t the same as harassing them for a photo.”

 Y/N silently patted herself on the back, sitting from her glass with an expression carefully schooled to look only mildly interested. Inside was another matter. She was rocking back in forth, heart hammering and eyes wide, waiting for an answer with baited breath.

“Hmm, well, I’ve mostly studied corporate law.” He admitted, playing with a ring on his index finger, “But I do know that given the severity, it’s likely both the actress and the company she’s represented under will press charges. Things are also moving faster these days, prosecuting people who do things like that.” 

Y/N swallowed, eyes fixated on Min Su’s thoughtful expression. “There were also witnesses, so it’s very likely to result in a conviction.” Yes, there had been a witness in her case too. Well, J-Hope had only seen her fleetingly. Maybe. Hopefully not. But if she was on any camera then…it was most definitely over for her.

 “The court could go light on them if it was a first offense…they might be sentenced to a large fine and community service…” Okay, Y/N thought. It would probably drain her savings, but it was still possible to bounce back and have a future, right? She could still put it in the past and become a CEO one day, right?! “Then again, it was a premeditated attack. Jail time is also a strong possibility.”

Her heart sank back down to her feet. Jail. What successful CEO in Korea had been to jail before graduating, and for assaulting an idol no less. 

‘I. Am. Done.’

“What’s the matter, Y/N?” Binna giggled, “You look like you smelled a rotten egg. But I guess hearing about how far some crazy people will go is pretty disgusting, isn’t it? I don’t think I’ll have much sympathy for them, whatever happens.”

“…Yeah…” Y/N said once her words came unstuck. That was another thing. Her sweet friend was going to think she was a criminal. She had known Binna since high school, having shared a homeroom class with her. They were vague acquaintances then, friendly enough to speak from time to time but by no means close enough to hang out between classes or after school. 

In fact, admittedly, Y/N used to wonder if Binna’s perky personality was just an act. It had to be, in her cynical rationalizing, because who was really that upbeat, in high school? 

Later on, she would realize she was just projecting, and once she stopped doing that was when she truly came to appreciate Binna for all that she was, steadfast and supportive. Although they didn’t become close, didn’t become friends, until meeting at orientation when arriving at Korea University. 

“They knew the consequences before they did it.” Chin-Mae joined in, swishing the last of his champagne around before drinking it down. “It’s stupid to think your life won’t be impacted when you run wild like that.”

Except, Y/N wanted to wail. She hadn’t known. She wasn’t a sasaeng, and she knew she had assaulted someone but at the same time she hadn’t really done anything wrong. Except maybe buy a cursed magical phone, that somehow was behind all this.

…Yeah, she’d just keep that thought to herself. 

“Well,” Y/N smiled, “Thanks for giving your input.” She told Min Su, who nodded, humming with a cheerful ‘no problem’.

A cartoony chime went off, and Binna groaned as she stared down at her phone, “Nooo,” she sighed, sounding truly remorseful. “Right now?”

“What’s happening?” Chin-Mae raised a brow.

“Jimin is going live!” She whined, “And normally I’d watch but I’m having such a great time with all of you, and I don’t want to be rude…”

“It’s fine, go ahead.” Y/N said, forcing a smile. “We know how addicted to that stuff you are.” Really, she wanted the floor to swallow her into the abyss. She knew the minute she heard that sound what was going on. If her phone had been turned on, they would have heard the same noise coming from her purse too.

She had made an account on several apps BTS often broadcasted their lives to, and set an alert for just that occasion. There were a couple of false alarms she hadn’t tuned into once she saw they weren’t from the person she was basically stalking at this point. But this was it. The big moment. 

He hadn’t done a solo live since the accident…but Binna said his members had mentioned that he had a small accident while practicing and was recovering well. 

All of Army was behind him, sending him tons of well wishes from all over the world. It was sweet, but she wondered how fast they would turn if they knew she was behind their beloved idol’s injuries. 

“Yeah, what Y/N said,” Chin-Mae rolled his eyes. “Check on your man,” he joked.

Binna giggled, flashing them a cute heart. “He’s not my man,” she replied playfully, “I’d have to get in line for that. Plus, I’m really more of an OT7, you know? It’s really hard to stick with one bias.”

 Nonetheless, when she began to watch, since Y/N couldn’t exactly whip out her phone and do the same without raising suspicion, she subtly leaned closer to at least listen.

Of course, Binna was always more astute than she let on. “Oh, did you wanna see too?” She angled the screen so they could both see before Y/N even had the chance to protest. 

And the live was just starting, the exact same idol she had seen what felt like a lifetime ago was sitting in a room by himself. It looked like he was on a couch, legs crossed, looking small in his soft oversized sweater and giving the camera a cute wave. “Hi, everyone,” his sweet voice said. “Thank you for waiting on me!”

Gushing comments poured in, cheering him and welcoming him back, asking him what he’d been up to, and telling him he looked good. Jimin tilted his head, a coy, secretive smile appearing on his shiny lips. Y/N couldn’t tell if he was wearing gloss or if they always looked like that.

 She had been a bit too preoccupied the one and only time she had the opportunity to see them in person. He had dyed his hair a different color, though. It was now a shade of strawberry blonde that complimented his angelic features well.

 “Well, I haven’t been up to much. Just resting, really.” he explained. “Even on days when I felt better and tried to join practices, the members just shooed me away.” He laughed. “Oh, but look at this!” He reached down, his head dipping out of screen for a minute, popping up seconds later holding a little pot. “Taehyung got me this ‘get well’ plant!” He showed them a cute little sapling.

Binna cooed, Y/N glancing at her then refocusing on his words. Who knew when a hidden meaning would pop up.

“I don’t know how well I’ll be able to take care of it; I’m not sure if I have a green thumb. But I’ll try my best!”

Comments came pouring in again, people saying he was going to enter his plant dad era, because collecting succulents could be addicting.

 Other people gushed at the sweetness of the VMin friendship, whatever that was, and yet more people reminded Jimin that he looked really good. Yet one comment in particular seemed to catch his eye, and he squinted, seemingly intrigued. 

“Hmm? You wish you were a plant so I could take care of you?” He repeated. “You don’t have to be a plant for me to want to take care of you.” The statement was very matter-of-fact, “You’re Army. I’ll always watch over Army.”

Binna sounded like she released a tiny sniffle. “Is he not just the sweetest?” She asked, nudging Y/N a bit. “Since you’re new to BTS, have you chosen a bias yet?”

Y/N wished she could tell her the real reason behind her sudden interest, but that was kind of out of the question. “No, not yet…”

“Y/N’s a BTS fan now?” Chin-Mae asked, “Since when?”

“Pretty recent.” Binna replied.

Y/N was only half listening to her friends, mostly focusing on Jimin’s chatter. Someone was still insisting they wanted to be his plant, and he looked nothing short of amused. 

“Okay, if you insist. Should I start a garden then?” He asked his fans. Y/N watched, stunned, as his bright eyes narrowed into a practiced and very effective smolder. She had seen it in pictures before, but in real time it was really something else, “It’ll be full of so many pretty flowers, and you’ll all bloom just for me, right?” The heady purr of his words sent a shocked shiver right down her spine. 

Binna swooned, while Y/N felt her breath hitch. ‘What… the…hell…was that?!’ A flirty throwaway line like that had never had that effect on her before.

 But then, thinking back, he had flirted with her in the dance studio too. She’d just been too worried to pay attention. Clearly, the man was an old hand at the art of duality, going from wholesome to heathen in five seconds flat. That was…dangerous. 

Binna seemed to already know how she felt, leaning into her with a sigh. “That, Y/N, is what happens when Jimin turns from angel to demon.” Her friend explained. “I’d say you’ll get used to it, but odds are you probably won’t.”

Jimin then went back to amicably speaking to everyone, as if he hadn’t just teased fans within an inch of their lives. The conversation moved on, and he was speaking about upcoming projects he was excited about or a funny habit that he had noticed in his band member. All normal, non-threatening stuff. Y/N was almost thinking she could relax. Almost. 

“What? You want to tell me a secret?” Jimin was reading another comment. “Okay, I’m listening…”

Y/N quirked a brow at the comment. “Sometimes I dream about you.” it read.

The idol grinned, replying casually. “Sometimes I miss Army so much I end up thinking about all of you in the middle of the day.” Y/N’s blood ran cold as he looked intensely at the screen. “It’s almost like you’re there…”

That was it. The sign she was waiting for! He was talking to her. 

“I…” Y/N stumbled to her feet, startling Binna. “Need the bathroom, I’ll be back.”

“Oh, okay.” Her friend said slowly, setting down her phone. “Is anything wrong? You don’t…look so good suddenly.”

‘You wouldn’t either in my shoes,’ she thought miserably. ‘Park Jimin is going to sue me within an inch of my life.’

“It’s alright,” she held a hand to her stomach, selling the illusion of sudden nausea. “Just…lady problems.” She said lamely.

Poor Binna didn’t even question it; she nodded, eyes full of sympathy. “Well text if you need anything.” She squeezed Y/N’s hand. “I’ve got a few extra tampons in my purse.” she whispered discreetly. Really, Binna was too good of a friend for her. 

Y/N rounded the corner in a hurry, blindly guessing where the bathrooms might be located. She passed their waitress, rolling out a cart that she was pretty sure contained their meals. Everything looked delicious, and of course she couldn’t even enjoy the great evening Min Su had generously provided. All because she was screwed. 

She hustled into a bathroom as fancy as the rest of the steak house, and so spacious there would probably be an echo. She hustled over to the sink, activating the handless system by shoving her trembling fingers under it. As she splashed her face with warm water, the dread twisting up her stomach gave way to deja vu. 

‘This is just like…the event at the internship.’ The wild day that would be the beginning of the end of her life. Removing her hands from the water, she gently pressed the pad of her thumb up to her eye, tapping it a few times.

 Her makeup was well done, but it still felt like she could see bags. ‘At least it can’t get worse.’ She assumed. After all, what was worse than this? The dumb phone was put away in her clutch, turned off, and back at the table.

 The very least she could do was fake a smile so she didn’t ruin everyone’s meal, and enjoy what might be her last chance to experience this. They probably didn’t serve many steakhouse dinners where she was going. 

That thought firmly in mind, Y/N squared her shoulders and prepared to march back out, tightly gripping her clutch at her side. Wait, her clutch?!

Binna must have handed it over to her, assuming she might need it. She had said to text if she needed anything, and Y/N couldn’t exactly do that without a phone. Well, at least it was off. Y/N wasn’t totally sure what kind of phenomenon had disrupted her life, but it all started with that phone. 

No sooner had she backed away from the mirror than a wave of dizziness overtook her, sending her keeling forward. Instinctively, she clutched the sink to maintain her balance, almost screaming out when she looked up as the dizzy feeling passed. 

The mirror in front of her was the same as always, a reflection of her wide, mortified eyes. But the long glossy mirror that made up the entire wall of the bathroom at the entrance of the restroom? 

A reflection of another room, just like before. “No…” she whispered, not ready to admit that it was happening again. What was worse? All of it being real, or her losing her mind? “Not again…!”

She clenched her eyes shut, then attempted to get her feet moving. She would keep her head down and hurry right on past, to the exit. That was the plan at least. And she was making good progress to move without falling over in her modest heels, but the minute she actually got closer to the mirrors, a strange feeling overwhelmed her. 

Almost like a compulsion to stop. Y/N felt like she was watching a scene in a movie, watching a victim wander down the hall of a haunted house, towards the homicidal attacker lying in wait.

 Her feet were making her move on her own! Her fingertips reached out, and yet she had no control. She had to touch the mirror, see if that room on the other side was real. But deep down, she knew the answer before her fingers made contact.

It was a strange emotion somewhere between surprise resignation when she wobbled onto a floor that was not marble and found her eyes darting around a room that was not the steak house. 

Pressing against the mirror desperately, she confirmed what a large part of her had assumed. There was no give to the mirror, apparently no way back from the time being. Was she even still in Gangnam?

Her senses were feeding her all kinds of information, and frankly, it was starting to overwhelm her. The raw scents of sweat, male musk, and ammonia could only mean one thing, and it was further proven when she peered around the blind corner of a painted brick wall, only to see two people exercising. 

Well, one was doing stretches, and with the way he hopped up, he had just finished. An older man in a tank top and sweats had pads strapped to his hands, and Y/N watched closely, not even daring to breathe, as the younger man sat down and laced boxing gloves onto his taped hands. 

He stood up, and who she assumed was his trainer got into a defensive stance while the younger man hopped around nimbly. Y/N watched, wide-eyed as they began to train, the guy in the black hoodie practicing blocking, jabbing and dodging.

 It was clear he had put a lot of dedication into this. Y/N was never much of a sports person, but she knew the result of hard-work when she saw it. His moves were fluid, and instead of slowing down, they got quicker the more he went at it. 

Somehow, it never felt like a good time to draw their attention to herself, go wobbling over in her dinner attire, and ask for directions back to the High Tower SteakHouse. She had a few other options, of course, like calling Binna. Or maybe Chin-Mae…but how did she explain it? 

She had gone to the restroom for a few minutes and wound up in a completely different location without leaving the restaurant?! Then again, it meant they would really have no choice but to believe her. 

It was impossible for her to have gone anywhere far when they all saw her leave for the bathroom. Maybe she could sneak out while they were distracted and then call when she was outside the gym, not standing around all conspicuous.

Y/N was weighing the merits of her plan when she heard an excited yell, whipping her head around and watching the trainer give his client a few congratulatory pats on the back, apparently satisfied with the work he’d put in for the day. 

They began speaking lowly to themselves, and Y/N paled when she noticed the only door out of the room she could spot was behind them…. The corner she was standing behind seemed to be where the water fountains and locker rooms were located. 

Hiding out in there was another option, but it didn’t exactly appeal when she would have to keep checking to see when the gym was empty. Right now it was just the two of them, but what if more people came in? 

They’d have questions about someone being dressed like she was, right? Then again she could also be found out just staying put where she was. Ugh…it was beyond frustrating. 

Her luck was completely shot, huh?

A little hope returned when the trainer waved at the young man and then began heading for the exit. She assumed they were done for the day, and the second guy would be done soon too. But not so, because then she’d actually be lucky. 

As soon as his trainer had cleared the room, he gave a loud sigh, beginning to shimmy out of his hoodie. Y/N didn’t think she was close enough to make the door in the small moment he had his vision obstructed, but she was close enough to get an eyeful.

 If his training earlier hadn’t tipped her off that he was dedicated, his physique would have. He was all hard lines, though the minuscule glimpse of a thin waist when his shirt rode up with his hoodie was impressive too.

 She could see a full sleeve of tattoos decorating one arm, and coupled with his longish two-toned hair, a deep brown that gave way to a raging red, he was kind of…hard to look at. Distracting in a way she didn’t anticipate. She didn’t get distracted, not usually.  

He, on the other hand, got straight to business. Oblivious of her presence, he walked right over to the large, hanging punching bag and began to hit it. But he wasn’t just hitting it. Again, Y/N was no boxing aficionado, but she knew he knew what he was doing. 

His strikes were always controlled, his breathing never ragged the way she could guess hers would be. He pivoted on his back foot, and she knew that the small movement put more power into his strikes.

 He was hitting the bag like it owed him money, grunting occasionally, the muscles in his arms and shoulders flexing in his t-shirt. At some point, Y/N figured he would stop. He would either head out the door, or into the locker room, and that was when she would flee. 

Hopefully, wherever the cruel cosmic entity that thought her life was a joke had dumped her, it wasn’t very far from the restaurant. Then again, shouldn’t she have gotten a worried text by now? 

She’d been gone for a while. Or, maybe Binna had actually come to check on her and seen that she had disappeared entirely. Y/N could imagine the freak out as Binna flailed her way back to the table and informed Min Su and Chin-Mae that somehow, someway, she’d been kidnapped. 

What was her life lately, she thought miserably. With nothing to really do but scroll her phone or continue to watch the mystery man go at it, she turned to checking what news was trending for the day. Normally, she at least kept up with news involving the business world, if nothing else.

 The celebrity gossip blogs she left to Binna, BTS investment notwithstanding. Stocks were up at several companies she had an interest in working at after graduation—assuming she made it with her life in chaos lately—so that was good.

 A CEO had resigned from his post at a company she had almost interned at but decided not to at the last minute off a strange feeling. Some scandal involving embezzlement. So she dodged a bullet there.

 And, lastly, BTS’ Jungkook had endorsed some new sports brand, and now merchandise was selling out faster than it could be restocked. The article included a picture of Jungkook, posing in shorts and a t-shirt next to a mountain of different athletic gear for various sports. 

Wait. Y/N could have swallowed her tongue. Wait. That man, the man in the picture and the one boxing…were the same person?!

Feeling like she may just be sick, Y/N did a quick check, and really took in the boxer. That was undoubtedly the idol pictured in the article. 

Not only was she going to jail for assaulting one BTS member (albeit on accident) a fact that she had managed to forget up until that moment, she got pulled back into the same thing that got her in trouble before, and ended up crossing paths with another one?! 

Once it came out what happened between her and Park Jimin, there was no possible way people would believe she wasn’t a sasaeng. The circumstantial evidence just kept getting more and more damning. 

Jungkook. Jungkook. What did she know about Jungkook? Admittedly not much, considering all her focus had really been on Jimin for obvious reasons. She knew…that Binna said he was the youngest in the boy group. He was multitalented, and here her friend swore she wasn’t exaggerating or anything.

 According to her, he was like some kind of Barbie of idols, he could do it all. Those weren’t her exact words, but it was the gist. Jungkook also had a habit of being a little shy around members of the opposite sex, or so it was claimed. 

Y/N personally had always thought all idols had to be manufacturing some parts of their personalities for public consumption. Who knew which parts? None of the scraps of information she had been fed told her anything about whether he was liable to press charges for stalking him or not.

Then again, he was an idol, and knowing that, Y/N had to assume he had gone out of his way to book private gym time, hence why the spacious work out room was empty save for him. Which meant him catching her was going to lead to a world of trouble. 

How good were her odds if she just booked it for the exit the minute he went back to the locker room? Or if he left, she’d wait a little bit to be sure he had cleared the building, then she’d leave too. Waiting…yep…that’s all she could do. If she wasn’t in a dress, and didn’t find the idea so dirty, she would slump over on the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jungkook caught the punching bag as it swung back from his last strike, finally feeling satisfied with his boxing for the time being. His limbs had that good burn that he liked, and his heart rate was up, despite his controlled breathing. But he wasn’t ready to leave just yet, so he decided to switch from boxing to something new. After a break.

Unlacing his boxing gloves, he found his gym bag and rummaged inside for his water bottle. Sitting down on a mat, he took a few sips, trying not to gulp it down too fast. His bottle was empty in no time, despite his attempts at moderation, and refilling before he resumed working out didn’t seem like a bad idea. 

His footsteps echoing in the big empty gym was probably his imagination, but the weird sight when he rounded the corner? That he was pretty sure was real. Leaning against the wall, a woman…no, a girl, dressed up like she had somewhere important to be was nodding off. He froze, staring, all kinds of thoughts flying through his head. 

Who was she? How’d she get in? When did she get in? Was she dangerous? Did he need to call for back up? Jungkook had purposely began training at this gym because it was exclusive. As his fame had grown, unfortunately he had to stop using more easy to find public gyms.

 The one at HYBE was an option, but sometimes he wanted something…quieter. Trainees who came in meant well, and they tried to be respectful besides giving him friendly greetings, but they couldn’t help but gawk, and that made it awkward when he was trying to get in the zone. Here, he had thought, was perfect.

But maybe he was rushing to conclusions. He didn’t know anything about the situation besides a girl in a nice dress was falling asleep by the water fountains while standing up. Her head slumped forward, then snapped up quickly as she jolted awake, eyes wide and alert. 

That was when they locked gazes, and his loose, sore muscles tensed right up. She, on the other hand, curled away like she was facing a thug in an alley. It was bemusing; yeah he’d bulked up a lot in the last several years after he got serious about training. Jungkook never considered himself all that intimidating, though. 

“Are you… staff?” he asked, since it didn’t seem like she was going to speak up first. Not with the way she kept looking like the guillotine was coming down on her head any moment. 

It took a reasonably long time for her to compose herself and answer, which was another pretty big tip off that something was not right. He was ready to whip out his phone and call security. Or at least he would be, if he hadn’t put it on do not disturb and left it in his bag. 

“This is all a misunderstanding, really,” she warbled, her hands slapped the wall behind her like she was trying to steady herself. “I didn’t…I didn’t mean to be here.”

“What?” Jungkook was definitely growing suspicious. No one who wasn’t up to something just answered like that.

“I was just going to wait until you left and I guess I started to nod off…” she ran a shaky hand through her hair, disturbing it a little. “But really, please, if you’ll pretend you never saw me, I promise, I’ll be on my way.”

He backed away quickly as she lurched forward, but before he could tell her not to do anything funny, she bowed very formally, and the idol watched, perplexed. When he didn’t respond in any way, she resumed her upright position, then tried to brush by him with her head down. 

Though, when he noticed the phone clenched tight in her fist, he acted without thinking. Something his hyungs had told him to be careful of doing in the past. At least they weren’t around to scold him.

“Hey,” he seized her wrist, and she stopped in her tracks, though he wasn’t expecting her reaction at all. Her eyes took in the hand on her like she could just flay it off with the intensity of her stare alone, and then she met his eyes head-on, hers surprisingly stony. “Your phone…”

“What about it?” she tried tugging her hand away, but he wasn’t ready to let go just yet. Not until he got some answers. He liked this gym. He wanted to keep using this gym, and at the thought that his privacy was being invaded yet again, and he would have to find somewhere else, yet again, he was getting a little worked up. 

“That’s an Army phone, a Galaxy Z Flip 4: Army Edition.”

Her eyes widened, and then she scoffed, shaking her head. “Yeah, I guess you would know. But to tell you the truth, though I can admire your band’s marketability, this phone itself has been nothing but problems. This is just the latest one. Now, please, let go.” There was some bite in her tone now, her voice surprisingly stern. 

When she tugged again, he acquiesced, something she probably didn’t expect, since she stumbled before catching herself. And when she felt her cellphone tugged right out of her hand? She rounded on him, scowling. “That belongs to me.” She held her hand out, clearly expecting it back.

“Why are you here? This is a private gym, and you don’t sound like you’re staff.”

She snatched for the phone, but he held it away, using his speed to his advantage. “Are you Army?”

“What? No,” she sounded offended by the notion, which in turn offended him. Then again, a true Army wouldn’t do this to him. Wouldn’t invade his space. “And what does that matter?”

“You’re not Army but you’ve got a phone that’s a rare exclusive. Only Army would want to own something like this. And if you’d go this far, you might be a sasaeng.” 

Here, she did pause in trying to retrieve her phone, a bit red in the face under her makeup. “Please, between my class schedule and internship, who would even have the time? The people who think stalking and harassing idols is worth jeopardizing their future for really need…” Surprisingly, the girl tried to jump for the phone like she wasn’t in heels, but he held it above his head, which meant it was way above hers, “…a hobby!”

“So I won’t find pictures you secretly took on this?” Jungkook squinted, not convinced. 

“No!” She hissed, jumping again, “Now who’s invading whose privacy, you…you muscle-headed, bunny-eyed brute!” 

He was so taken aback, he faltered, and with one last pounce, the mystery girl had snatched the phone, though not without a cost.

 Before she could even yell out in triumph, her heel wobbled and her foot rolled. Jungkook watched in slow motion, wincing in automatic sympathy as she went down. 

Time sped up as she cried out, on the ground and clutching her ankle in a dress too nice to be touching the bare gym floor. He stood over her, carefully watching her face at first. He could tell she was in pain, but attempting not to show the extent.

 Something about that alone…took him back to his early days. A wave of nostalgia he didn’t want to feel washed over him. He would hide his exhaustion, sometimes even hide injuries sustained while on stage until the end of a performance, until he couldn’t hide it anymore, just to avoid worrying his hyungs.

 And when they caught him, like they inevitably always did, he’d cry, apologize, worry they would resent him. It didn’t make sense to everyone, probably only to those who had experience firsthand with the feeling. Not wanting to let others down, wanting to live up to everyone’s expectations, struggling with the fact that they were still human.

The girl gingerly tried to shift her injured ankle, and that alone seemed to send a fresh wave of pain throbbing through it. With the way she bit her lip and clenched her eyes to stifle the cry he could just tell. 

And even though Jungkook had been concerned about a million things regarding her appearance, including that she might be another delusional ‘fan’, no one could fake pain that expertly. Plus, she’d have to be some actress to make her ankle swell on command.

 It was probably stupid of him to drop his guard, even for a second, but he found himself dropping to his knees, almost reaching out, and then hesitating. She stared up at him through her lashes, her own eyes as guarded as his had been, but wavering as she focused on ignoring her obvious injury. “I need…I need to call my friend.”

Making up his mind, Jungkook loosely grasped her foot by the heel, ignoring her half-hearted attempts to swat his hand away. He extended her leg, careful not to hurt her as he manipulated her foot to get a better idea of how bad it was. “You rolled it pretty hard.” He finally concluded.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Jungkook briefly met eyes with her again, but she stubbornly looked away. “I wonder how that happened.”

Guilt hit him pretty fast. Yeah. Even if he thought she was an intruder, he should have just called security and let them handle it. They were never far, and there was no way she could have stopped him. Not by physically overpowering at least. 

“Hang on,” he told her, setting her foot down and getting back on his feet. “I can help.”

“That’s a nice gesture,” she ground out, failing to hide a wince, “But really, I have my phone, so I can just call my fri—” she grabbed it and opened it, only for her face to fall. “Really? Now?” He heard her grumble irritably.

Noticing his quizzical face, turned a blank screen to him. “It’s dead.” She deadpanned. 

“Okay, then let me help.”

Jungkook didn’t know this stranger by any stretch of the imagination, but he had anticipated what her response would be. It probably sounded something like “no”, since she seemed disinclined to take his help.

 Was she always like this, so stubborn? Was it some kind of pride thing? He had been there, too; his hyungs really had their hands full with him over the years, didn’t they? 

Retrieving the first aid kit Jimin had gifted him some time back, he made a brisk return to find the girl in much the same position he had left her, staring sulkily at her injured ankle. She looked up when he approached, but didn’t say a word. 

“You might have to take off your shoe.” he informed her.

He waited to get a response, the big plastic kit held by his side. Jungkook wondered if she just planned to ignore him, and if he should take her silence as consent and proceed, but that didn’t feel right. Finally, she mumbled, “…This is really happening…isn’t it?”

Nodding slowly, he popped the kit open and examined its contents, locating the roll of compression wrap. While he did that, he noticed her leaning forward, trying to unstrap her heel without moving in a way that would hurt her foot even more. 

Jungkook had never worn heels, but he always thought anyone who did without falling over must have some hidden talent. Hers weren’t as tall as some, but she was still plucking at the strap with building frustration. 

Guessing she wanted it over and done with just as bad as he did, the idol seized the heel of her foot again, bringing her leg out and reaching for the buckle himself.

If he expected a beaming smile and a grateful attitude, he’d be sorely mistaken. She gave him the stink eye. “I can do at least this much.”

“Maybe, but I can do it faster.” He shrugged, already loosening the heel and sliding it off while holding her foot steady. From so close, and without the shoe in the way, he could really see just how fast the ankle had discolored and swollen. Again, he wrestled with the guilt, absently reaching for the wrap. “So,” he began by holding her ankle at a ninety-degree angle, “Who are you? Because this doesn’t mean I forgot…”

“Believe me, I’m someone who doesn’t want to be here anymore than you want me to be here. I didn’t have a choice, not that you’d ever believe me…” she huffed. “But, because legal repercussions are probably unavoidable, I’ll start by being cooperative. Maybe when they review all this, that’ll work in my favor.” It sounded like she was talking to herself, not him, but then she cleared her throat and extended her hand. “My name is L/N Y/N.”

Jungkook didn’t expect such a strange introduction, and the attempt at a handshake reminded him of Namjoon-hyung. He grasped her palm very briefly, barely holding on to it long enough for their hands to go up and down, but she didn’t seem inclined to want to hold onto him either.

“Y/N…” he repeated. 

“As for what I’m doing here…well, again, it’s not something any sane person would believe.” She switched her focus to watching him meticulously wrap her ankle. It was pretty careful care for someone that could have been stalking him, but he had already started, and if he was going to do it, his sense of perfectionism said he had to do it right. 

“Are you…insane?”

“Excuse me?” She didn’t look very amused, but he guessed it wasn’t exactly a polite question.

“You said a sane person wouldn’t believe you…” he explained. 

“I am not insane,” Y/N rubbed a hand to her forehead. “I just feel like I am lately,” she whispered. “I was dining out with some friends, in the restaurant bathroom and then…”

Jungkook waited while he secured the wrap with some bandage clips and closed his first aid kit. “And then?”

“It’s going to sound insane,” she finished matter-of-factly, “You’re going to call me a liar and accuse me of stalking you, then we’ll be right back where we started.”

Jungkook was torn between still wanting to contact security, but also experiencing some curiosity he couldn’t quite tamp down. “Do you have proof?” It didn’t sound like she did. 

“Proof?” Y/N repeated, arching a brow as if he had just said something strange.

“You’re not even going to try to make me believe you?” he goaded. 

“Sure, help me up and I’ll hobble right over to the mirror. You’ll see exactly how I got here and this whole think’ll be cleared up just like that.” Her tone was so sugary the sarcasm was evident. 

Jungkook figured he had indulged this for this long…why not go all the way. Offering her a hand, he warned her to brace herself, and then pulled her up with ease. “Okay.”

“Okay?” She said warily, trying not to show him how much she was utilizing the wall for support. 

“Okay,” Jungkook nodded, “Show me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Idols were weird. Y/N wasn’t sure if it was just the fact that they lived in a completely ‘different world’ from normal people or what, but she hadn’t expected her first extended run-in with some world-famous celebrity to go like this. 

Park Jimin was one thing; he’d been concussed, so that was enough to make him loopy. She hadn’t expected anything out of his mouth to make sense. But this guy, Jean Jungkook? 

Totally different. He wasn’t suffering a head injury, for one. And he had seemed angry at first, but still handled her appearance in much the same way a mean boy on the playground would in elementary school. Playing keep away with her phone, really?

He’d even treated her with decency when she tripped and sprained her ankle. God, that was yet another thing she was going to have to deal with. Sprained her ankle! Sprained! How was she supposed to get around campus quickly? It was huge. Though she supposed that wasn’t a concern at present. 

The idol’s strange demand was at the forefront of her mind, seeing as he was right behind her while she hobbled slowly to the mirror, her heel in one hand and her phone in the other. 

She must have looked like a suffering pigeon, doing a funny little hop. But she refused to let him touch her after she got her bearings. It was humiliating enough to have someone see her make a fool of herself and get injured to boot, idol or no idol. Well actually, his status made it even worse. 

And he was watching her oh so closely as she made it to the mirror, taking a deep breath and turned around to look at him with some difficulty. “Here it is.” She said flatly. “How I got in, and how I probably would be able to get out, if life felt like cutting me a break.”

He stepped around her, staring at her incredulously like she knew he would. She would look at herself that way in his position. Jungkook pressed against the mirror with the flat of his hand, one good time, as if to confirm it was solid. “You used the mirror? What, like magic? Like a drama?”

“You’re the one who said you wanted proof; I never said it would satisfy you.” she retorted. “I barely understand it myself, but what I’m saying is the only truth I have to cling to.” Her chin dipped, “No matter how implausible it is…” 

She knew she would get the same result he had when she pushed on the mirror, but as if to confirm her fate was truly sealed, Y/N tried anyway. When her hand went right through, the cool glass giving way to cool nothingness, she yelled, pitching forward.

Jungkook made a noise, something startled, and she glanced at him to confirm he was seeing what was happening. His bulging eyes made it evident that he was. Yes! Y/N jerked her arm away too fast, and in doing so almost fell back on her ass, if not for the lightning reflexes of the idol who moved to extend an arm around her waist.

 Y/N got her bearings, smoothed a hand over her shirt and her racing heart, and tried to hold back her tears. He could see. He could really see. The weeks of going crazy in silence, holding it all in, and someone else…could see.

“Your arm went through the glass,” he breathed.

“More than my arm’s gone through.” Y/N spoke with more confidence, now that there was no way he could deny it. “That’s…how I got here.”

The idol once again moved forward, pressing both hands against the mirror. Nothing. “How?” He wondered.

“I don’t know.” Y/N replied, “It’s been happening since…since I got this phone. So that’s my only theory, that the events are connected.” She held up the dead device and wiggled it around. “Not that that’s a story anyone would believe if I got caught breaking and entering.” 

The idol appeared to be thinking, worrying his lip piercing with his tongue, “Unless they saw it.”

Y/N squared her shoulders, eyeing him up and down. He fidgeted, looking small somehow, despite being fairly tall with a healthy amount of muscle. From close up it was even easier to see than watching him from behind the wall. 

“It might come as a surprise for you to know, not everyone would be as cavalier as you about all this. In fact, I’d go as far as saying your reaction was a bit…strange. Has anyone told you that you’re odd?”

  ‘Nice going, Y/N.’ She thought bitterly, ‘That was over the top blunt. You’re not trying to make an enemy out of the very first person to be witnessing the crazy with you.’

Luckily, the idol didn’t look overly offended. Jungkook pursed his lips, big eyes sheepish as he rubbed his head. “Uh-huh, my hyung.” he said thoughtfully.

“Well…” Y/N gestured vaguely. “Now that you’ve seen what I’ve seen, you know about as much as I do. Would it be too much trouble to ask if I could…go?” Pointing a thumb toward the mirror like she was about to miss her cab would seem dumb if he didn’t know. 

“Oh, right,” Jungkook’s tapped the mirror again. “You’re going back to where you came from.”

“Ideally,” Y/N frowned, “I’ve been gone a long time. There’s no way my friends aren’t concerned about that. And when they can’t find me who knows what they’ll think.”

Somewhat afraid the give they had both witnessed was a one-off, Y/N pressed her hand to the mirror once again, happy when it rippled and went right through. It might have been too late to salvage the evening with her friends, but at least she could salvage her reputation.

[hellsite-detective]

*sighs in relief* (anon looking for the red blog with a blue eye pfp)

My most notable post, and the one this blog reblogged multiple times that brought our paths across each other, was a "do you love the color of the sky" post, but I made it extra long. Like, several times as long as the original. It was evil, I know. It was for April Fools. The blog I'm looking for reblogged it from me en masses, a good 20-40 times in a row. That's what made me take notice of them. Most of the time I just reblogged posts, but that one was a special occasion. I also had a bunch of back and forth posts with a different mutual, tagged #homeskillet, which might be unique enough to be of use? Oh, and one of my most popular posts was a Awsten from the band Waterparks that I edited to have transparent hair so it would change color with your blog theme (made that for a friend). Maybe that would help? The blog I'm looking for never reblogged that post, but it still might be worth something?

My old blog used to be ftinally (currently on anon because my new url is extremely similar, but I've had too many bad experiences with sending asks off anon and then getting a bunch of hateful asks in response that I'm wary of attaching my url to asks).

The title of my blog was "don't write yourself off yet", like the Jimmy Eat World song. It was only deleted around September/October, so the trail isn't too cold yet. Hopefully some of that information is useful? Thank you so much for looking into this!

finally... a lead. first thing was first, i saw the mention of "do you love the color of the sky" and jumped for joy. see, i'm very close with Madame Curator, @hellsite-hall-of-fame. and dare i say she is the Queen of the Sky. i went to her and asked for any extra long color of the sky posts, to which she sent me two different variants. however, neither of these were gettin' me where i needed to go. luckily, i was provided a blog name i could track! doin' quite a bit of diggin' i managed to stumble across the aformentioned Awsten post. now, i know that i was told that the missing person hadn't reblogged this one, but at least i could confirm this was what i was lookin' for.

so, i went down to my ol' pal, Google, to see if they knew anything about "tumblr ftinally." and they handed me a whole laundry list of links. it was time to meticulously check every single one of these. i was hopin' to stumble across the color of the sky image that my client had mentioned. unfortunately, i wasn't findin' the color of the sky post. however, i went back to the Awsten post and thought i might be able to use that as a lead. problem was, that wasn't gonna do me much good. usin' the Wayback Machine and searchin' for the blog's address also wasn't doin' me much good, and i was gettin' worried this was gonna be a dead end.

i hate to do this again, but is it possible you have any defining characteristics of that color of the sky post you made? any accompanying text, tags you may have used, or even original image files and could reverse image search? and of course, feel free to message me this information in private if it's too personal to share in an ask, or not mention it at all if you're not comfortable!

additionally, when you say "red blog" do you mean the blog had a red theme, or the blue eye was on a red background in the actual image? that also may help to narrow the search!

i will not give up on you, anon. i will find your mutual if it's the last thing i do!

Post Case: Under Investigation

[miyanotes]

Interest Check: 15-Minute Daily Writing Challenge

Who: Best for fiction writers working on their first draft, but anybody who writes is free to join

What: A writing challenge to write as much as you can in at least 15 minutes every day for a month. (This is inspired by that video, which kept going around, of a guy who taught himself to draw for no reason by drawing ten minutes a day for a month.)

When: The entire month of January 2024

Where: You can write and set sprint timers on whatever platform you prefer. But there will also be one universal sprinting room, which will be hosted on ohwrite.co, where you can sprint and write with other Tumblr users.

How: Set a timer for 15 minutes and write as much as you can during that time. You can extend that time if you want, but the minimum is 15 minutes.

After writing, make a brief log post about it on Tumblr. You can mention how many words you wrote and how the sprint went for you. Anything will do. The point is just to keep track of your progress and make it feel tangible. You will then tag the post with this event’s tag (which I am yet to decide on).

How is this different from NaNoWriMo?

This challenge has no obligatory word count goal. I’ve always found NaNoWriMo daunting because of the 50k requirement, so I never really committed to it. The point of this challenge is simply to get into the habit of writing and to make any progress, no matter how little.

As a college student with crippling ADHD, just sitting down to write is a difficult task. I always make excuses by saying I’m busy with school stuff, yet I can squeeze some time in to doom scroll on Tumblr. And when I do start writing, I also find it hard to stay focused.

Yesterday, I tried sprinting for 15 minutes, just writing down scenes as they play out in my mind with no regard for style and technique, and I actually managed to write 300+ words. Not much since it was only for 15 minutes, but it’s at least something.

I have been putting off writing my novel because my worldbuilding and outline aren’t done yet. Others may be okay with that, but knowing myself, waiting for all those stuff to be perfect before even starting would result in the novel never getting written for the next 5-10 years. And I can’t wait that long.

As such, to motivate myself and keep myself accountable, I plan to host a writing challenge. But first, I want to know if others will be interested in this… I could just proceed doing the challenge on my own (in fact I’ve already started), but I think it will be more fun to do it with others.

[star-crypts]

cw/tw - port mafia dazai (15-16) internal monologue, violent thoughts/imagery, suicidal ideation, hints to self harm/cutting, depressive themes, grotesque descriptions of harming others, mori is mentioned but only addressed as “the doctor” (bsd/dazai typical maybe?)

author’s note — i wrote this about a year ago when i was pondering on getting back into writing. i have a lot to improve on, but i hope to try posting my blurbs online once more as i had used to back in 2021 on another site. thank you for tagging along if you find this interesting! my idea when i had wrote this was how i imagined dazai’s thoughts when he was younger and much much more depressed. he lived a very violent youth, to assume he wouldn’t have violent thoughts would be unrealistic, so i wanted to lean into that a little. (also i’m fairly new to using tumblr so please be gracious)

filth.

filth clung to him more than anything else had in his life. it clung to his shoulders when he draped the black wings of his coat over them, making him assume the similar appearance of a raven. it clung to his arms when they’re stinging like nettles and aching for days on end. it clung to his bandages wound so tightly around his skin he felt like he was going to suffocate. “but don’t take them off.” the voice urged, dripped with malice and the smell of rot in his hot breath. “i don’t want to see you in your sorry state” a doctor that wove his words into the young demon prodigy’s head like stitches over a bleeding gash. toxins that will never fan out even if he were to crack his head repeatedly against the concrete stairs that led to the train station that he was planning to kill himself on. “soon.” he’d utter to himself. “soon. or maybe now.”

everytime he walked to the train station to board for a new mission he would linger at the steps. and then he would linger at the tracks as he awaited the sounds of the clacking. he’d stare down for an eternity right at the edge.

at the edge of the precipice.

i wish i could just shove that doctor down it and watch him scream and plead. i’d watch it with such pleasure. i’d not regret a single thing. i want to see his head rolling and his face contorting with the clacks of the train til there’s blood spewing onto this filthy inhumane body of mine. my body feels as if it were filled with restless maggots that want to break free of the confines of my veins. squirming maggots. i will never be clean. and i may just want it that way. i want to be full of this endless squirming til the very end as i watch his body and face become unrecognizable.

i want to kill myself right after.

out of spite.

the train came fast and loud in front of him, grounding him back into the reality of this dull train station. he stepped inside as if he wasn’t just fantasizing of his superior’s head being ripped from his shoulders by the force of the train rolling across the tracks like a limp ragdoll.

[awsteb]

possible indicators of stolen gifs

(this isn't about going to the gif menu which automatically sources the gif underneath the image itself, this is about downloading and later uploading the image in a completely separate post.) (@gerardwaist's post reminded me to make a proper compilation of information which i've been meaning to do for a bit now because i'm tired so ty kit)

odd or inconsistent resolution - most people make gifs that are 540px wide for single-row gifs, 268px for 2 per row and 176px for 3 per row (as these are the resolutions that the gifs will be displayed on most people's devices when viewing the post in the dash). people who've stolen gifs often don't line gifs up correctly and this can result in oddly pixelated/small or clear/large looking gifs.

generally inconsistent gif style - this is pretty easy to spot, if gifs vary greatly in quality, size and colouring they may not all belong to the op (this is because the maximum image size on tumblr has increased massively over its existence; gifs from before 2012ish often being small with a low frame rate while most after 2017ish are very clean and smooth.)

captions with no source/information - the majority of seasoned gifmakers use the text part of their gif post as a place to denote what the gifset is about, source videos and/or add a relevant passage/quote. stolen gifs are usually accompanied by "reactions" to the gifs rather than information about them.

over-tagging or no tagging at all - since what most people who steal gifs want is engagement, they often over-tag said gifs with things that aren't particularly relevant to the actual content in the post (most people who've been on tumblr a while don't do this because tags are a way to find specific content, not just a way to get your stuff in front of more people. you'll probably get grilled for this).

also, most gifmakers tag their gifs as something along the lines of "my gifs" or another signature tag in order to find their ops later (for example mine is "candy.gif").

new or half-empty account - as i mentioned, a lot of this has to do with how long someone has been on tumblr. gifmaking is a very tumblr-based thing, people who have brand new or semi-active accounts probably aren't gifmakers.

watermarks (i.e. text stating the creator's username) that don't match the url - this can always be because the user has changed their url after making the gif, but if there are other indicators that the gif isn't theirs then it probably isn't.

the post itself isn't about the gif(s) - it may be a diary-type text post, fanfiction etc accompanied by a gif of the character they're talking about. plenty of people source these nowadays but there's always a few who don't get it.

either reply or send a quick message/ask to the person letting them know that they shouldn't repost someone else's gifs without permission and if possible track down the original post(s) to reblog and/or let the gifmaker know. a lot of people genuinely don't know the etiquette around fanmade content online so it's safest to let them know and give them a chance to right themselves before being particularly mean or judgemental.

[mandalhoerian]

bruh my comment was too long to post under the new chapter so i’m sending an ask. saw the ao3 notif and scheduled to read it this fine evening, good thing i was like “lemme scroll on tumblr and see what’s up” because SJFKDJLXBZB the face i made when i saw i was tagged and followed BY YOU? also ma’am 🤚🏻wdym nobody comments like i do. like what do you mean. i have a concerning relationship with receiving praise so i advise you to stfu (affectionately).

my poor girl vera can’t catch a break, loss after loss after loss in such a short period. i just want to give her lots and lots of hugs (consensually). on another note i love that she clocked ada’s intentions right away bc capcom wtf is that writing. one person taking down a whole organization is like sending only one person to save president’s kidnapped daughter (laugh track). let me tell you i have been waiting for this 🤌🏻 vera and ada interacting 🤌🏻 leon being there all charming and naive and trusting people easily 🤌🏻 shai you just get the dynamics of all the characters *so right* 🤌🏻

sorry for the excessive amount of parentheses and emojis let me just find another obnoxiously annoying emoji to spam about the intimacy between leon and vera. 🤧 it’s this one but i’m wiping my snot away from crying about it. the small touches between the two are so tender in this fucked up world 🤧 vera’s hand on his forearm… leon collecting her in his arms, comforting her 🤧 his arm on her shoulder 🤧 i could cry and get a headache from thinking about them. i’m so serious.

(gnawing at the bars of my enclosure) JILL VALENTINE MENTION???? VERA KNOWS HER? WHAT IS THE LORE? I NEED TO KNOW.

how does one end a delirious comment. uhhh. so yeah. i love nttd and vera so much and i’m so happy that it’s back babyyyy.

Ofc I followed!!!! I don't remember why I didn't in the first place like but like ???? ur making it sound like I'm some big shot but like pls im a loser who's writing oc fanfiction on the internet and is so lucky and grateful to get people invested in it!!!!! AND YES nobody comments like you do! You're the dream of a fanfiction author ON GOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH

ramble below to keep your dashboards clean:

I think we talked about this over on ao3 but honestly re2r's ada just doesn't make sense to me. The FBI cover is logical (when you first think about it), but the way she's immediately pulling a gun on Annette the minute they see her and DECLARING her intentions isn't. She then proceeds to reveal her target is Annette, and then her going with the FBI thing becomes less logical, bc why would Annette hand over the G-Virus sample to the feds, either? It's entirely a shock factor thing revolved around Leon, she's only fooling him -- or maybe, she's fooled Ben like this, too, and was forced to stick to her cover when shit went down, we don't know 😭 why did they do my girl ada like that... (ngl re4r ada supremacy. period.)

But either way, un-truths she would throw as a bone to a "civilian" like Leon would of course be caught by Vera, nugget by nugget, while still making her think "mayhaps the FBI is misinformed????" -- I didn't want to ruin that fine line by Ada going on about Annette making the virus and her being the most dangerous of all "g-virus g-virus g-virus" or whatever because 1) WHY WOULD A SPY DO THAT???? 2) it would surely make Vera go "yeah NOPE" 💀💀

it's so much fun for them to try sussing each other out, Light and L mind games over there while Leon is happily frolicking. not one thought behind those eyes 😭

ALSO LIKE YES THE TOUCHES!!!!!! It's Leon initiating all of them for me 👹👹👹 physical touch taking over when words can't. my favorite thing of all UGGHHHHHHHH THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME IN MY MISERY

ALSO totally not going "actually 🤓☝" as I'm saying this because it's been HALF A WHOLE YEAR + the fic is over 100K words -- Vera knows Jill from post!mansion incident - pre!outbreak, in that ephemeral "investigation" phase of Jill's. I do mention it in the fic that Vera supplies information to Jill (as around that time she's trying to get rid of the weight of all she knows and trying to pass on the "hero's job" to someone else) and they exchange their findings while trying to be careful not to get caught by ppl Umbrella put on Jill's tail. I think I wrote it in passing that Vera was disguised as a secretary and sat back-to-back with Jill on a booth in one of those occasions? She's loosely connected to re3r by having a brief appearance in carlos' police station section in my head, entrusting Jill to him and all and promising to meet up with them in the station once she talks to her dad about it ☹

"delirious comment" WDYM ITS MY LIFEBLOOD THANK YOU 😭

[tackytigerfic]

Did I dream this or did u mention having a time travel wip?? May have gotten u confused for someone else and I am afraid of false hope

I sometimes wonder if I've dreamt it myself since i've been writing it for so long, but yes I am - or sort of, anyway. Mine is a multiverse fic and involves using a sort of time-turner to move through other possible worlds.

In this fic, Harry never defeated Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts, and seven years on he is still fighting a fully-fledged war. In 6th year Harry found Draco crying in the bathroom and convinced him to join the Order, and Harry and Draco became close friends. Then, a year later, Draco and Narcissa disappeared. Now, after years on the run in France, Draco is back and he wants to join the Order again - Harry, understandably, has trust issues, but Draco promises he can get Harry inside information on the Death Eaters. He comes back to Order HQ and he and Harry have to learn how to navigate their fractured friendship despite everything that has changed between them in the last seven years.

Meanwhile, Lucius Malfoy has kidnapped Narcissa and is using a magical timeline-hopping device to escape with her. He has quite literally taken her out of their world. Draco is desperate to find her, and he and Harry start visiting other timelines to try to track the Malfoys down. On one such trip, however, things go badly wrong, and they find themselves back in their own timeline with a broken time-hopping device and they have also inconveniently managed to bring back another Draco from a different timeline - only in the other Draco's world, Harry defeated Voldemort in the Battle, and he and Harry are very close friends, which means he's confident that his version of Harry is going to come looking for him pretty soon. (Spoiler alert: he does - and so Harry and Draco decide to get Potter and Malfoy from the other universe to help them learn how to defeat Voldemort)

Really hoping to finish it in the next few months. It's currently almost 140k with maybe ten to fifteen more scenes to write.

I hope this is the one you're thinking of! If not, apologies for the long rambling explanation 😂

If you're interested, I post snippets under the tag tacky's fth (i think i used to post under another tag but I can't remember it and of course tumblr's search function isn't helping!)

[aces-fav-husband]

His Legacy (Prologue)

One Piece Male Reader Insert

Synopsis: Ace always worried about his little brother, even with the knowledge that his days were limited. Which is why you weren’t surprised when he asked if you could take his place as Luffy’s protector. As much as you didn’t want to admit it, you couldn’t help but feel honored that he chose you to carry on his legacy. And you’ll do everything in your power to not let your deceased friend down.

Masterlist

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol, drinking

A/N: Okay wooo I’m finally posting it to Tumblr! You can find the original fanfic up on Quotev. It’s also posted to Wattpad.

Word count: 4.2k

“My days are limited. We both know that, (Name). Which is why I need you to look after Luffy when I’m gone.”

        If someone had asked you a few years ago if you would ever look after your best friend’s brother, you would’ve shot them between the eyes for mocking your loneliness like that. But this wasn’t a few years ago. This was right now. The present. 

        Just a week ago, Ace had asked you to accompany him on a trip to the Grand Line. That’s where this all started. 

—————————————————————

        Ace had invited you to travel with him for a few days to track down Blackbeard. You were slightly confused at first. That whole ordeal was something personal to him and had absolutely nothing to do with you, but you had tagged along anyway. You never questioned Ace- although you weren’t part of Whitebeard’s crew, Ace still frequently sought you out for companionship. He had actually brought you to Whitebeard’s ship a few times in an attempt to get you to join him, much to Whitebeard’s amusement. 

        You thought you were both going to part ways, with him wanting to meet up with his brother and you having to go collect payment at your usual rendezvous point outside of Rain Base, but you were met with surprise when Ace called you on your transponder snail just one day later, summoning you to his side. 

        “There’s someone I want you to meet!” He had told you joyfully, snail imitating his excited smile. “Come find me as soon as you’re done!”

        Even though you hated traveling through the arid desert of Alabasta, you had done it anyway, and without complaint. You were fast, even with the large bags of Berries and jugs of water hung over your broad back. It had only taken you a little under a day to track down Ace through the vivre card he had provided you. By the time you got close to the camp, the setting sun had painted the desert in beautiful golds and reds. You weren’t quite sure what to expect, but to show your good faith, you set aside a good amount of your Berries for the younger pirate- 400,000 of your 750,000, just over half. What pirate wouldn’t want money? 

        Approaching the small camp where Ace was located, you groaned in irritation when you realized that there were more than two people waiting for you, but after mulling over it for a second, it made sense. Why wouldn’t a captain take his crew with him? Along with Ace and who you assumed was his brother, Luffy, you could make out two animals (which you admittedly were looking forward to seeing) and five other people, who were chatting and laughing, filling the serene desert with sound. 

        “Yo! Ace!” You barked, waving an arm in an attempt to catch his attention. “I’m here!” 

        “Speak of the devil!” You heard Ace laugh as he walked Luffy up with him to meet you. “I was just talking about you! I was expecting you to get here sooner, though. How’d it go?” 

        “I would’ve gotten here sooner if we weren’t in this damned desert.” You grunted in response before smirking as you added on, “But I got more than I was expecting. He was uncharacteristically generous this time around, that bastard.”

        “Who’s this? Is this the guy that you called earlier?” Luffy asked his older brother, head cocked to the side. 

        Ace laughed before slinging his free arm over your shoulders and guiding you to the camp. It was definitely an interesting group, that was for sure. A camel and a deer were sitting around a fire, and along with Luffy, there was a girl with blue hair that gave you a polite smile, an awkward tanned teenager with a long nose, some blonde guy who was cooking, a redhead with short hair, and a green haired man with three swords who paid you no mind. 

        As you scanned over them, you noticed that a few of them were somewhat surprised and excited with your sudden appearance, especially Luffy. He was practically bouncing out of his skin, a wide smile plastered on his face. 

        His brother had really been talking you up to be someone great, so of course Luffy wanted to meet you. As soon as Luffy and Ace had time to talk, you were brought up. Constantly. Any time Ace could bring you into the conversation, he would, and that impressed Luffy all the more. He had never seen his brother so connected with another person that wasn’t him or Sabo. Ace respected you and thought highly of you, so of course Luffy would take an interest in you.

       “This is who I was just talking about,” Ace explained, ruffling your hair with a proud smile. “My friend! Reverite (Name)!” 

        You didn’t bother fixing your hair. It was already a mess from the desert winds. As you bowed and said a polite, “Nice to meet you,” you heard some gasps. 

        “Wait, (Name)? As in, Dark Stalker (Name)?? The mercenary? That (Name)?” The redhead cried. “That’s the guy you’ve been talking about this whole time!?”

        “Mercenary?!” You heard a high-pitched voice squeak out, having come from the trembling lips of the long-nosed teen. “This is the same guy who cries when he sees puppies and bakes cakes for grannies? There’s no way in hell!”  

        “Luffy, how do you know so many powerful people?! Is this guy also your brother!?” The chef exclaimed, turning to the aforementioned boy for an answer. 

        “This my first time meeting him!” He laughed cheekily, stars shining in his eyes as he looked at you. “But he’s just as cool as Ace said! A mercenary and his best friend!” 

        “Ace talks about you a lot, Luffy!” You smiled at him, rising up from your bow with an outstretched hand. “I feel like I’ve known you since you were a kid! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” 

        “Its nice to meet you too!” Luffy yelled, grabbing your outstretched hand and shaking it with vigor. “Did you really kill a Sea King with one punch? Did you really kill seven people with one bullet?” 

        You were completely taken aback by this sweet boy’s reaction. Never, not once in your life, has anyone been this excited to meet you, and for the first time, no less. You didn’t know exactly what Ace had told them about you, but it was clear that he made you sound good. Luffy filled your heart with the same warm acceptance that Ace has given you for the past three years. As he bombarded you with questions about your feets, you came to the conclusion that you undoubtedly liked him. 

        An embarrassed blush spread across your cheeks. You didn’t really know how to reply to all of his rapid fire questions. Your awkward gaze met with Ace’s amused eyes. Your eyes flicked back from him to Luffy, silently begging him for help. You had experience with younger siblings, but yours weren’t this bad and you didn’t know how to deal with it. 

        Luckily for you, Ace decided to take pity on you and bail you out. “Oh, (Name), didn’t you bring a gift with you?” 

        You didn’t tell him that you were going to bring a gift, but he knew you well. You were a stickler for first impressions, and you always made sure that it was a positive experience for whoever you met. That’s what got you so far in the mercenary business- you made that first impression count.  

        You pounced on that opportunity that Ace gave you. Everyone’s attention was on you and Luffy had finally quieted, interest peaked. You gave him a large, toothy smile, flashing all your sharp teeth before handing one of your bags of Berries to him. “I did! I usually prefer buying actual gifts for people, but since I came here on short notice… I hope you’re okay with this. It should be 400,000 Berry.” 

        “400,000 Berry?!” Luffy and the redhead exclaimed in excitement. “You must be super rich!”  

        Ace laughed heartily and slapped your back as the young crew stared on in shock and delight. “He really did pay you well this time!” 

        “Isn’t it shocking? I don’t think I’ve ever gotten more than 500,000 from that cheap bastard, especially not from an escort job!” You replied with a laugh, slinging your arm over his shoulder. 

        “Is this really for us? Really? And you’re just giving it to us?” The redhead asked as she figured through the bag of money that she snatched from Luffy, looking as though she were about to burst into tears. Any caution she had towards you seemed to have been thrown towards the wind and replaced with excitement. 

        “I have nothing else to do with it than give it away.” You replied sincerely before plopping down on the warm sand and shrugging off your last few bags of Berry and water jugs. “Normally, it goes to Ace, since he has a real talent for blowing his money.” 

        Ace followed you down and gave you a playful punch to the shoulder. “Don’t say that! You can’t embarrass me in front of my kid brother!” 

        You pulled the brim of his hat down, a shit-eating grin crossing your face. “Don’t hurt your poor sugar daddy. I’ll cut you off and laugh at you the next time you need money.” 

        “This is nice and all,” the swordsman interrupted as Ace fixed his hat, an untrusting look on his grumpy face. “But I couldn’t help but notice that you came from the same direction we’re heading. Which happens to be Rain Base.” 

        The group turned to you, odd expressions on their faces. You nodded, not seeing any point in lying- despite being someone who works underground, word had gone around of your little side job. “I did. There’s a merchant there who hires me to help him export food and water outside of the city.” You frowned, “He told me he got mixed up with some gang- probably Baroque Works, if I had to guess- and his business was in danger. He had too many people relying on his exports and no one could help him, so that’s where I came in. But why are you heading to Rain Base? It’s dangerous for a couple of rookies such as yourselves.” 

        You watched as the group stiffened as the mention of Baroque Works. The blue haired girl especially looked tense, and with a frustrated, disgusted look on her face, she spat out, “Crocodile…” 

         Ace shared a look with you- awkward. You had made this whole thing awkward with your lack of tact. You sheepishly rubbed the back of your neck. “Oh, uh…” you trailed off, not really knowing what to say. You had not been expecting the Straw Hats to recognize the name of the organization, much less know the name of the ringleader. “Are you guys here to kill him, then?” You tried, wanting to get rid of the awkward tension. 

        “We’re going to kick his ass,” Luffy replied- no, declared- with unwavering determination and confidence, “and we’re going to help Vivi! Because that’s what friends do!”

        His crew matched his expression. They were willing to do whatever they could to help Vivi, that much you could see. Your respect for them increased tenfold in that moment. Luffy really was Ace’s brother, blood or not. 

        You laughed. 

        It wasn’t that you were laughing because the idea was ridiculous, oh no. 

        Luffy had deflated at the sound of your laughter. It pissed him off a little. It pissed him off even more when he saw Ace smiling besides you. He opened his mouth, ready to fight, but- 

        “I believe in you, Luffy.”

        “Huh?”

        “I believe you,” you smiled. It wasn’t malicious in the slightest. “If you say you’re gonna beat his ass, then I believe you. Your confidence makes me happy- I have a soft spot for people like you!” You elbowed Ace, who was grinning pridefully behind you. “You guys are so similar, it’s crazy. That’s exactly what you said to me a few years ago, remember?” 

        All the tension disappeared. You were being sincere, that Luffy could tell. You believed in them. You believed in him. He couldn’t help but laugh along with you. Luffy shouldn’t have doubted Ace’s judgement- you were a good person and you deserved the respect that Ace had for you.       

 ———

        After settling down, Luffy had introduced you to everyone in his crew. They were nice people- they had a good balance of respect for Luffy to follow him as a captain and love for him to reel him in as a friend. You decided to stay the night with the Straw Hats and leave in the morning before they left for Yuba. They had warmed up to you fairly quickly, which pleasantly surprised you. People normally take a long time to relax in your presence, but these teens took to you quite quickly. You liked them a lot. 

        Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper wouldn’t leave your side, listening intently to your stories of travel across the Grand Line; your fights with mighty Sea Kings, the strangest islands and animals you had ever seen, and long-lasting battles with evil Marines had them completely enraptured. They laughed as you and Ace acted out a particularly stupid fight the two of you had on a Marine ship, which ended in victory for you and Ace. After a few drinks, Zoro had joined in as well, asking questions about your techniques and you managed to counter certain attacks. Vivi and Sanji joined once dinner was finished and served, relaxing and laughing along with the rest of the crew. 

        Nami enjoyed you and Ace distracting the crew, allowing her to get some free time. She listened to you talk as she once again fingered through the Berries you had given them. Vivi was a lot more comfortable around you now that she had gotten to know you, which made you happy. She confided in you, asking if you would listen to her troubles, and you did, giving her all your attention as she explained the true extent of everything and how she had met the Straw Hats. Vivi was brave, and you told her that. 

        All in all, you’d say that you had become friends with the Straw Hats that night. You were happy. 

       “Are you guys going to bed already?” You heard Ace ask from behind you. You were leaning up against his back, enjoying his warmth as you threw back another cup of booze. 

        “Yeah,” you heard Nami reply, “Zoro and Luffy passed out already, and it’s late anyway. We need to get moving tomorrow.” 

        Zoro challenged you, betting (your) money that he could drink more than you. The poor fool didn’t know what he had gotten himself into until it was too late. Luffy, on the other hand, was simply tired from traveling through the desert all day. You chuckled. 

        “Goodnight,” you and Ace chimed. 

        “We’re probably going to stay up a bit longer, but we’ll join you shortly.” Ace explained nonchalantly. “(Name) has insomnia and I don’t want him to be lonely.” 

        “Are you sure? Vivi said it can be dangerous at night.” Nami replied, slightly concerned.

        “We’ll be fine,” you brushed her off, “We can fend for ourselves for a night.” 

        That seemed to do the trick. Nami gave you both one last concerned look before she crawled into her shared tent with Vivi. You and Ace spent a few moments basking in the calmness of the night. Soft snores could be heard from the pile of bodies snuggled up to Chopper.

        You felt Ace shift behind you, trying to lean more into you. You couldn’t help but let a sly smile slip onto your face as you put a bit of distance between the two of you. You could see him panic internally as he whipped his head around, worried that he had done something wrong, only to be met with a charming smile and open arms. Your legs were crossed over each other, creating the perfect spot for him to sit in. He wasted no time as he crawled over to you, sitting in your lap and resting his face in the crook of your neck, relaxing against you. 

        He listened to your steady heartbeat as you wrapped your arms around him, providing him with the security he craved in that moment. He was stressed. He had been hunting Teach for a while now, yet he remained as evasive as ever. Ace was starting to worry that he wouldn’t be able to catch him- that maybe Teach slipped into the underworld, never to be seen again. And even more worrisome, he feared that Whitebeard would be disappointed in him if he were to show up without news of Teach’s defeat. He hated the thought of disappointing his father. 

       Ace was a cocky, confident dumbass (and a stubborn shithead), but you got to see what was beyond that. The clingy side of him that was desperate for reassurance. Only you got to see this. He could truly be vulnerable in your presence. He felt whole when he was with you- he didn’t have to constantly be strong or prove himself to you. 

        Ace didn’t react when he felt you remove his hat, nor when you leaned back onto the log behind you. No words were exchanged between the two of you, the fingers running through his hair doing the talking instead. 

        You’ll be alright. Just relax for tonight. 

        Thank you. 

        You loved moments like these. Despite your rather cutthroat profession, you were a sensitive man. You were also a selfish man, grabbing at these fleeting moments with Ace whenever you could. You both had reputations that you had to maintain, after all. It would probably ruin you both if anyone found out that you were a couple of sentimental fools, but as Ace drifted off in your arms, you couldn’t find it in you to care. 

—————————————————————        

        Which led you back to this moment. You two had left Alabasta earlier that day, bidding farewell to the young pirates, before setting off to this close by island. You inwardly cringed at the thought of your best friend dying, but you had to admit to yourself that it was likely true. Now him taking you with him to meet Luffy and refusing to let you part ways so soon made sense to you.

         Both of you had known that karma was going to catch up to one, if not both of you one day, with the way you were living your lives. You were both impulsive and self-destructive. On top of that, to anyone who was paying attention to the world knew a great shift was coming, and soon, thanks to all the pirates part of the Worst Generation and whatever was happening within the Navy. Whether or not that shift was for the worst, you didn’t know, but you didn’t think you would both be there to witness it. 

        “(Name)!” Ace snapped you out of your trance. “You don’t want me to get down on the ground and beg you, do you?”

        Although Ace’s tone was relaxed and playful, you could tell that he was on edge. That he needed an answer and that answer had to be “yes.” Because if not you, who else? You didn’t truly belong to a crew, or an organization, or anything, for that matter. You didn’t have anyone to hold you back from fulfilling Ace’s wish. 

        You let out a deep sign, fiddling with one of the many rings on your fingers (a nervous tick of yours). “Alright, you win, Ace. You know I can’t say no to you. If- if- something happens to you, I’ll make sure Luffy will be safe. I swear.” 

        Ace immediately perked up upon your agreement and let out a joyous laugh, bringing you in for a side hug. You punched him lightly, offering a smile just as large as his. Although this request of his brought you a great deal of stress and made you even more worried for his inevitable fight with Blackbeard, you couldn’t help but feel happy to have him by your side at this exact moment. Once you parted ways, it would likely the last time you guys would see each other for a while. “Where would I be without you, (Name)?” 

        “Nowhere good, that’s for sure.” You joked. Whatever the future held, you didn’t care in this moment. All the mattered was that you and Ace were together and at peace. “How about we get some dinner, my treat? Pick any place you’d like and order as much as you want. I sure as hell won’t stop you!”

        The both of you laughed and talked together as you made your way into the nearby town, ready to bar hop until dawn. Luckily for you, you still had that 350,000 Berry you got in Alabasta, so you had plenty to blow on Ace and his tremendous appetite. 

        You could hear doors slam and lock as the two of you strolled through town, though it bothered neither of you. The chains on your pants jingled in tune with the sharp sounds of gasps. They might not have recognized you, but the mark of Whitebeard’s infamous Jolly Rodger was inked into Ace’s back, giving anyone with common sense enough of a reason to leave the two of you alone. 

        Ace slung an arm over your shoulders and pointed to one of the few bars that were still open. “Let’s go there. I’ve heard some good things about this bar- they gotta have some good grub!” 

        “As you wish.” You agreed, giving him a large, toothy grin. 

        The bar cleared out almost immediately as the two of you set foot inside. Men twice your size were cowering in the far corners of the bar, some of them giving you stares full of resentment and disgust. You could hear a few of them call Ace names under their breath, but neither of you paid any mind. They could hate him all they wanted, but they wouldn’t do anything to either of you. They couldn’t do anything. 

        Night started to pass quickly as soon as you started eating and drinking. Ace packed away his eighth plate of roasted pork, tearing into the tender flesh as voracious as a starved dog, while you worked on your second keg of beer. Your laughter filled the bar, flowing like alcohol as you each took turns to tell jokes and stories. 

        The two of you repeated this process for the next few hours, bar hopping, cleaning out all their food and alcohol, then moving onto the next place until early dawn light blinded you both. You had eaten and drank as much as the bar owners allowed before inevitably making you pay and kicking you out. At the end of the night, you had spent well over half your money, but you couldn’t be happier. There’s no one you’d rather blow money on than Ace. 

        Soft pink and purple light flooded the sky, covering you and Ace in its beautiful glow. You were both laying on the sandy beach, drunk as can be, giggling for a reason you both had forgotten. You couldn’t have asked for a better night with him, and you hoped Ace felt the same way. 

         Ace watched the sunrise with you in a comfortable silence, both of you trying to fight off the buzz from the alcohol. Eventually, the sun got too bright for your eyes, and you broke the silence with a groan. Ace chuckled, then sat up, stretching and cracking his back. He offered you a hand, which you quickly took, and he helped you to your feet. 

        “I think it’s time we part ways for now.” Ace commented sadly, cheeks still flushed from the alcohol.

        “I agree,” you muttered, offering him a  smile. “I need to get back to the New World. Got a job.” 

         You offered you hand to Ace for a handshake, but were instead pulled into a hug. His touch lingered for a few moments too long before he pulled away. You finally let the weight of his request sink in as he walked over to his Strider. He wanted you to watch over Luffy. His only living brother. You turned away as Ace got into his boat, drunken tears starting to pool at the corner of your eyes. What an honor it was. You silently vowed to whatever god would listen that Luffy would never be killed as long as you were around.

        You missed the longing look he threw you from over his shoulder before he left.

[clover-mouse]

hey hey!! how are you? :]

You mentioned doing some nsfw art on a seperate blog and i wanted to give a suggestion. Maybe you should do a Patreon!! Personally Id love to be your patron because I absolutely adore your art!!!! I constantly go on your blog to get inspiration because everything is so cozy and soft and I just feel so comfy after seeing your work<33

Also I think Patreon would be a good idea because Tumblr isnt,, great with nsfw stuff unfortunately :')

Ps. I ordered a tattoo commission from you awhile ago and I STILL haven't found the time to get it done ahh!! but once I will I'll send you the results.. whenever that will be auuuuu

Take care!!

- forest

hi hello! i've been kinda snailing along but im ok!

i've been considering making a patreon for a while now actually! made an account and stuff, but the idea of committing to it has been pretty intimidating to me :') i think it'd be good for me if i could actually commit to it, but i rly don't have the best track record with sticking to things long term. i worry i wouldn't be able to see it through at the expense of my patrons.

so um honestly i'm a little ok with things getting taken down or whatnot, making a dedicated mature content account would be more of an experiment than anything! so if i find i like to do it but have trouble with tumblr as a platform i might move to someplace else. or if i end up drawing nudity but not rly anything sexually explicit i could just post it here with appropriate tags (pretty sure anyway, not sure how finicky the policy on that is here)

either way, i do appreciate that you'd be interested in seeing me make a patreon !! and that tattoo was a real treat to design, i'm still really pleased with the result :•) thank u again for that, and for the message!

[bookwyrminspiration]

like i want to draw them SO BAD but i made the mistake of not writing down their appearances so i really only know kihrin is just a white dude but make it ethereal, teraeth has black skin and green eyes (but is it actually like fantasy race black skin and what are his facial features like and does dude have hair an-), and janel has??? dark skin?? and is so buff. or at least if she isn't i'm making it so. i do not know what her hair looks like although i could sess out a face but i DO know the joratese in general are dark-skinned and have facial markings that are similar to horse patterns (which reminds me of vitiligo) and she does have those even if she isn't ethnically? she was raised joratese she is joratese. etc etc. too scared to venture into the tags to see if there is any fanart for fear of spoilers. don't even know where to BEGIN for pulling culture to figure out a general direction of things. deepest pain

A classic a chorus of dragons experience. Don't worry, no one's who read the books knows what anyone looks like really. Except for Skye I think. But I swear most people are fumbling through their imaginings of everyone.

Some books in-depth and repeatedly describe character appearances (like kotlc, where we basically get a new description multiple times a book) and others they will mention the details Once and never again. So you never know if you should've been taking notes until you're in it. A Chorus of Dragons has some good detail when it's there, but it's not there frequently.

I was trying to mentally keep track for art purposes myself, and fun fact! We don't learn Teraeths hair is "sleek" until about 320 pages into book 4! And it is only mentioned that one time!

I do have a better grasp on the main four now thanks to crowdsourcing the information and going back for reference. So to answer just a few of your questions: Teraeth has long, sleek black hair (though several people like to imagine him with locs) and is describes as having angular, handsome features. I'm like 80% certain he has a long straight nose, but I couldn't tell you what page or book that's from. Janel has smooth chestnut skin like a horse, but without markings. She just has the black hands and feet. hair is like a mohawk but long and braided back, sides of her head naturally bald. She also wears a lot of jewelry as a display of masculinity.

Also, not much to worry about with the tags. There isn't an active fandom on tumblr; there's a few people who've read the series who might post about it or interact with a post once in a blue moon, but there is a severe drought of fic and art and all that. You can find a few people with some searching, but most active place is the discord. There's no art posted on tumblr right now, but you can find about 2 pieces if you google it, neither of which are spoilers. There's been a few art pieces in the discord recently though! And once you finish memory of souls you can read the one (1) fic on ao3, as that's set about right after it! Right now the tag is like 99% these asks.

So I think you can see why I'm so thrilled to have a mutual reading it. I swear once a week at least the discord is talking about how badly we want to get others to read the series and how underappreciated it is

but! back to your point! deepest pain </3