#if you don’t want it then work towards establishing a ‘neutral’ event

[berlinini]

Is AFHF a one of a kind, stand-alone, annual event that Louis happens to be headlining (for now) or is it a fancy, extra special Louis tour show?

Because on one hand you had the festival account posting stories all day up until the headliner took stage.

On the other hand you have Louis making a special IG post that only features pictures of his performance.

I get wanting to separate his performance/ his involvement as an artist in the festival and not as an organizer, but the festival doesn’t stand on its own without him so it makes no sense. Why are they ignoring him on the official accounts.

I am genuinely puzzled. I’m of course not surprised by the legendary inability of his team to do something well but I’m curious about Louis’ angle here.

[azullumi]

"baby, stay beside me a little longer" ; aventurine

premise — how you spend your day with him.

pairing — aventurine (w/ gender-neutral reader)

tags — established relationship, fluff, domestic, not proofread, text messages, 1.7k words ; headcanons

tagging — @toorurs (hi, we don't mention the event fics we have to do hahaha)

note — i miss him and i had the urge to write skincare aventurine. 3 DAYS LEFT UNTIL HIS BANNER

morning

As sunlight streams through the window accompanied with the gentle chirping of the birds outside, there’s no guarantee that one of you always wakes up first before the other. Sometimes it’s him that wakes up first and sometimes it’s you—it occasionally depends if one of you has plans later on or has a free day.

“What’s on your schedule for today?” You ask him, watching him as he buttons his shirt. Daylight illuminates the room and the sound of leaves rustling outside as the breeze flies past fills your morning, albeit you are still laying in bed, not having the desire to move. Aventurine is the opposite of your state right at this moment—already fresh out of his bath (the faint scent of his soap clings to his skin), dressing into his work clothes, though his hair is still messy. Honey-dyed locks tousled, with some strands sticking to the back of his neck and some on his face.

“I have a client to interview this afternoon. It was scheduled for next week but they changed it to today.” There was a hint of frustration in his tone as he spoke. You could immediately tell that the reschedule caused some issues with his plans so you didn’t press on any further. “Will you be home late tonight then?”

“No, I don’t think so. I’ll be home early.”

“What do you want to eat for dinner?” You say, remembering that you had no plans for today so you’ll just be staying home the whole time. Aventurine puts on his blazer, humming as he thought for a moment, before he answers: “I was thinking of taking you out tonight.”

You beam a smile at him, watching as he fixes the mess out of his hair and sprays perfume on himself soon after, knowing that the scent of it will follow you while he’s gone. “Oh, really? Where?” However, he doesn’t answer but instead, walks towards you and bends down to your level to give you a quick peck on your lips.

“You’ll see.”

He’ll often ask for your help in tying his tie. He knows how to do it, even much better than you, but he prefers the messy work of your hands than his own. Some of his co-workers would point out how his tie looks messy as if he did it in a rush and while he may laugh and nod, he won’t do anything about it. To him, it’s a reminder of you.

MORNING LAZINESS. It just happens but it’s not always that it does—you’re there besides him still too sleepy and grumbling on not wanting to leave the bed yet and how could he refuse? Sure, your hold on him is not that tight and he could easily slip out of your grasp, and sure, you may be close to falling asleep again and you won’t notice if he leaves but your skin is warm and close, your hands are soft on his, and the sound of your breathing comforts him. How could he?

noon

Your middays are often spent separately—both of you accomplishing your own sets of responsibilities. Aventurine would occasionally send you messages asking if you have had lunch already, asking what you’re doing, and telling you about how everything is going for him. Although the conversation doesn’t last that long, always being interfered with by either someone or something.

Your phone buzzes and the screen lights up as you receive a new notification. You were expecting a nonsense reminder from one of your apps but instead, it was a message and it was from none other than your lover, Aventurine.

However, on rare occasions that the both of you are at home and have no set plans for the day, he’ll spend his time together with you. You want to go on a spontaneous date? Sure, he was going to ask you out anyways. Feeling lazy and just want to be in bed the whole day? That’s fine, he wasn’t planning on doing anything. . You want to do something together but not want to go out? Perhaps you can bake and try out this new recipe, that is if you have the needed ingredients at your home.

evening

Evenings are saved for the both of you, which means nothing related to work. It’s the only time of the day where you and he are free from any of your responsibilities—unless, of course, he still has some things to do but that rarely happens. He’ll often come home with a gift or a bouquet of flowers that you like; he’ll only answer you with, “Just because,” if ever you would ask him what’s the occasion. It’s just something that he does, something that you should get used to.

However, there are moments where you have to spend your night alone as he has to come home late and there are moments that you’ll wait for him and he’ll come home to find you asleep on the sofa. A pang of guilt hits him as he crouches in front of you, brushing a few strands away from your face and whispering an apology that only the moon could hear. He’ll carry you to bed soon after.

The way you spend your evenings with him can vary—it could be a game night between you two which will become heated due to how competitive the both of you can be, or a movie night wherein looking for what to watch can take a longer time than the movie itself, or just something simple and relaxing for the both of you.

“You always have so many interesting stories to tell.”

“Is it bad?” You answer him, worry lingering in your voice. You were telling him of how your day went and how you saw something fascinating when you went out earlier, and he was sitting behind you, drying your hair since you had just taken a bath. You could feel his fingers run through your hair, the dryer in hand as he pointed the nozzle towards the crown of your head. The air blowing from it feels warm—just enough to not feel like it’s going to burn off your scalp—and combined with the gentleness of his hand, it all feels comforting, soothing.

“No, it’s not. I just feel bad and perhaps,” He turns off the dryer and places it down beside him, “I also feel guilty.”

You immediately turn to him, eyebrows knitted as your expression warps into a mix of surprise and concern: “But why?”

He hesitates, averting away from your gaze, “I don’t have much to tell you, I don’t have exciting or interesting stories to say.” He’s afraid you’ll find him boring, that you’ll get tired of him but what he doesn’t realize is that you won’t, and you never will.

“That's completely okay. You don't need to have something to say all the time.” You’re fine with it—even if you have to sit in silence with him, even if the days are becoming repetitive and tiring, as long as you’re with him, as long as you feel his hand in yours, it will all be fine. You touch the side of his cheek, “I’m just happy to spend time with you and talk about anything, or nothing at all. How has your day been?”

He turns his head to look at you—an alluring pair of vibrant and pristine hues, a pool of clear and vivid richness hidden in the depths of his eyes meets your gaze once more; “Nothing much happened. I met some clients and helped them, had a short meeting, and just did my work.”

“You didn’t go to the casino?”

“I was planning to but I wanted to see you more.”

A soft laugh escapes from your lips: “Is that so?” And he only hums as an answer, leaning forward to snake his arms around your waist and pull you closer to him before he buries his face in the crook of your shoulder. And you swear you hear him whisper the words, “I love you.”

Most likely has a nighttime skincare routine which he does with you (there’s no way his skin is that flawless and fair for no reason like you’re telling me that’s genetics???). He’ll be coming out of the bathroom with a clay mask or sheet mask on his face and he can’t speak because he doesn’t want to mess up the placement of the product and he’ll help you in putting yours on. The both of you on the bed with your robes on, hair either pushed back or tied, and there’s a pair of cucumber slices on your eyes along with a mask on your face.

He has trouble sleeping and it takes a lot for him to fall asleep—he’ll tire himself out, going on late night runs, exercise, drinking anything that could help him feel sleepy, anything. He’ll often spend his time tossing and turning while in bed and perhaps even counting sheep in his mind but somehow, just listening to your voice or the sound of your breathing makes it all easy for him. He’ll listen to you talk and tell stories and he’ll feel his eyes getting heavier in each second, as a warm and soft feeling envelops him like a blanket, and your voice will turn into a distant lullaby that guides him into slumber.

He wouldn’t even notice that he’s falling asleep in each second but maybe you do, maybe you’ll see the way he relaxes as his eyes threaten to close and his breathing comes steady, and maybe that’s why your voice keeps on getting softer until it turns into humming as you stroke his hair gently. He’ll apologize in the morning, telling you that perhaps he was so tired and he didn’t mean to fall asleep but you’ll assure him that it’s all okay.

Through the mundane things, in the boring days and the exciting ones, in days that you and him argue, in days that it all feels unbearable and suffocating, in every single moment with you, he’ll love you (tear him apart from skin to bones, see him for his heart, and you’ll notice your name carved into it).

© azullumi — do not plagiarize, copy, repost, nor translate any of my works.

[fizzydrink698]

acting up | hyunjin + jisung

pairing: han jisung/reader/hwang hyunjin

word count: 4.9k

genre: established relationship, poly, college au

warnings: member x member activity; d/s dynamics (sub!jisung, switch!hyunjin, softdom!reader); oral sex (m receiving, m giving); semi-public sex; outdoors sex; safeword discussions; a hand goes over a mouth but no breathplay intentions; reassuring jisung that he is in fact wuved

summary:

“I’ve been missing you all week,” Jisung told you, voice going breathy. “Thinking about the two of you.”

Hyunjin took a step towards the two of you on the bed. “What were you thinking about?”

Jisung turned to look at Hyunjin, twisting his body in such a way that his legs widened just a little further, inviting him closer. “What we can do tonight, now that we’re all free. Everything you two can do to me.”

part of the six month anniversary drabble event!

prompt: 4. “quit it or i’ll bite.”

You were just adding the finishing touches to your hair when Jisung finally came home, practically bursting through the door as he hollered out a greeting.

“We’re in the bedroom!” Hyunjin shouted back, as you were about to open your mouth to say the exact same thing.

You heard Jisung’s quick, eager footsteps in the hallway. “Bedroom? Before we’ve even had dinner? Fuck, yes, I’m up for…”

Jisung threw open the bedroom door, and stopped in his tracks. Whatever he was expecting to find, it was definitely not you in full formalwear, stood by the mirror while Hyunjin wandered around the room half-dressed, undone tie hanging around his neck.

“What is this?” Jisung whined, dropping his bag by the door. “Where are–oh, fuck. Changbin’s party thing.”

“We were just about to message you,” Hyunjin said, coming up behind you to check his reflection as he did up his tie. “The cab’s coming in less than an hour.”

Jisung groaned dramatically, wandering over to the bed and promptly collapsing onto it face-first. You just managed to make out a very muffled, very petulant sigh. “Can we just…not?”

You paused, glancing up to meet Hyunjin’s eyes in the mirror.

To some extent, you sympathised. You knew how hard Jisung had been working all week, how many hours he had put into his studies, all the late nights he had spent holed up in the studio. More than once, you had woken up to find him slipping into bed beside the two of you at some ungodly hour in the morning, exhausted and mumbling about how much he was looking forward to the weekend when he could just relax with his two favourite people.

But Changbin had given you the tickets weeks ago, had pulled a ludicrous number of strings to get the three of you on the guestlist for this exclusive event – a fundraising gala, set up by his family.

Bailing now would just be rude – especially when you had been the one to ask for the tickets in the first place.

So, after a brief exchange of looks with Hyunjin, you made your way over to the bed and sat beside Jisung. “It’s only going to be a few hours. It’s at some really cool rich-person mansion. Changbin says there’s, like, ballrooms and gazebos and everything. And a hedge maze. Come on, tell me you don’t want to see the rich-person hedge maze.”

Jisung turned onto his side, looking up at you, and his mouth opened to respond.

But then he stopped, as his gaze slowly slid down the length of your body, taking in your outfit.

His eyes flickered to Hyunjin, still stood by the mirror adjusting his tie, and you watch as he does the same to him – eyes lingering on the curve of Hyunjin’s ass in those tight dress pants.

“…You two look nice,” Jisung finally said, tearing his eyes away from Hyunjin to look up at you once more.

You raised an eyebrow. “Thank you.”

“Really nice,” he repeated, pushing himself up into a seated position, mirroring you almost exactly.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Hyunjin turn around. The tone in Jisung’s voice was very, very easy to catch.

You fixed him with a neutral, cool look. “Jisung–”

Jisung’s eyes lowered to your mouth. “I missed you both today.”

“We missed you too,” you replied. It was the truth.

His eyes are wide, innocent, completely at odds with the devious way his mouth parted, tongue slipping out to wet his bottom lip. His hand moved to his thigh, in a motion carefully calculated to look entirely thoughtless. He didn’t miss the way it drew your attention to his lap, to the faintest outline of his dick in his sweatpants.

And now that you were looking, he let his hand wander upwards just a few more inches.

You could feel Hyunjin’s eyes on the both of you as he watched from across the room, waiting to see how this situation would unfold.

“I’ve been missing you all week,” Jisung told you, voice going breathy. “Thinking about the two of you.”

Hyunjin took a step towards the two of you on the bed. “What were you thinking about?”

Jisung turned to look at Hyunjin, twisting his body in such a way that his legs widened just a little further, inviting him closer. “What we can do tonight, now that we’re all free. Everything you two can do to me.”

You tilted your head, eyeing him carefully, even as his words sparked something deep in your gut.

“Han Jisung, are you trying to seduce your way out of going to this party?”

Jisung blinked at your use of his full name, glancing back to you. There was not the slightest trace of shame in his expression, as a smirk played at the corners of his mouth. “Is it working?”

You lifted your hand up to cradle Jisung’s jaw, bringing your thumb across to drag along that pouty bottom lip. You could feel Jisung’s breath against your skin, feel the way his gasped at the contact, at the way your attention had zeroed in on where your thumb rested.

Slowly, your gaze drifted up to meet his stare.

And then you rolled your eyes.

“Go get dressed.”

The first strike happened barely a half-hour into the gala.

You were stood with Changbin and his friends, attempting to make conversation. You weren’t the best at small-talk – Hyunjin was by far the most charming out of the three of you, and he was off on the other side of the room, catching up with some old friends. Jisung himself could make an excellent first impression with strangers if he set his mind to it, but he was uncharacteristically quiet by your side, hand pressed into the small of your back.

And then, as you listened politely to some guy – you think Changbin had introduced him as Yeosang? – playfully roast his friend for his wardrobe choices, you felt Jisung’s hand move.

You felt it slide all the way down to your ass, shamelessly cupping one cheek and squeezing.

You fought the urge to tense, instead turning just slightly to give Jisung the sternest of side-eyes, reminding him silently that you were in public, surrounded by obnoxiously rich strangers, and this was not the time.

Jisung met your gaze, smiling innocently.

And pinched your asscheek.

At this, you jolted, catching the attention of Changbin’s very wealthy, very influential friends – who were dangerously close to seeing your boyfriend groping you right in front of them.

You faked some kind of excuse about a violent shiver, laughing off their concern as you turned to pat Jisung’s shoulder – and very subtly and very firmly pried his hand away from your backside.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him pout, and immediately lift his hand again to touch you. This time, you were wise to his antics, and stepped to the side, just out of his reach.

You didn’t catch the way his hand stilled in mid-air, before slowly retreating, hanging limply by his side.

And you didn’t catch the brief falter of his smile, as you turned away from him to keep up with the conversation around you.

The second strike happened while you were in the bathroom. You returned to your table to find Jisung pouting over his dinner and Hyunjin with a disconcertingly stern expression on his face. You sent him a questioning look as you sat down, but all he did was give you a brief head-shake – and a very pointed look at his phone.

You took the hint, fishing your own phone out discreetly while Jisung was distracted by the arrival of dessert, to find a series of screenshots sent over by Hyunjin.

Jisung: u look REALLY hot tonight

Hyunjin: thank you, sungie.

Hyunjin: now what do you want?

Jisung: u ;)

Hyunjin: you can have as much of me as you want when we get home, babe

Jisung: but i'm so hornyyy

Jisung: i want u so much, jinnie. i missed u

Hyunjin: i know you have. i missed you too

Jisung: what part of me did u miss the most?

Hyunjin: jisung stop trying to sext me and eat your rich people food

Jisung: i missed your mouth

Hyunjin: jisung

Jisung: i keep thinking about last weekend

Jisung: fuck jinnie please.

Jisung: i’ve basically been hard all fucking night my dick HURTS jinnie

Hyunjin: how sad for you

Jisung: please

Jisung: this place is huge we can find somewhere no one can hear ;)

Jisung: no one will notice if we sneak off

Hyunjin: SOMEONE will definitely notice

Jisung: r u telling me you need permission to fuck ur boyfriend now?

Hyunjin: stop being a brat and eat your food

Your jaw clenched, reading over Jisung’s teasing words, his desperate pleas, and that final jab of a comment right at the end.

You send a response to Hyunjin, frowning as you did so.

You: i didn’t think he’d be this upset about tonight

Hyunjin’s response was almost immediate.

Hyunjin: we’ll talk to him when we get home

You glanced up, meaning to catch Hyunjin’s attention – and instead, found yourself locking eyes with Jisung as he stared at you across the table.

You tried to school your expression into something passably neutral, even as the grip around your phone tightened.

Jisung’s face was similarly blank, as he scooped up a spoonful of ice-cream and slowly slid it into his mouth, letting his lips drag along the smooth metal, sucking the spoon clean as he held eye contact the entire time.

And then dropped his spoon back into the bowl and turned away, striking up a conversation with the neighbour to his left - leaving you staring after him, eyes wide.

Yeah. Yeah, he was upset.

The third and final strike began when you declined his invitation to dance.

You had your reasons. Your feet still hurt from standing around making small talk. You were very embarrassingly bad at dancing, especially in comparison to your boyfriends – both of whom were astonishingly graceful on the dancefloor.

Hyunjin also declined. Maybe because he wanted to stick with you, instead of abandoning you to sit alone and watch on. Maybe because he was still wary from that text conversation, and was suspicious that Jisung would take any opportunity dancing offered to make a move – a wandering hand here, a coincidental grind of his ass there.

But upon both of your polite rejections, Jisung’s expression soured, and he spat out the words that sealed his fate.

“Fine, fuck me for wanting to spend some fucking time with you, right?”

You blinked, jaw dropping slightly in shock. Beside you, Hyunjin looked thunderstruck.

But Jisung paid you no attention. Instead, he turned on his heel, leaving the two of you as he wandered across the room. You barely managed to follow his movements, watching as he approached Changbin’s table, sliding himself easily into the small circle of rich-boy friends Changbin had spent most of the night with.

Hyunjin tensed by your side. “Is he…?”

You sighed. “He’s been stressed all week. Blowing up at us was…probably inevitable.”

“Still…” Hyunjin trailed off, and for the briefest moment, he looked so painfully sad.

And you refused to let that stand.

Even from a distance, you saw Jisung’s sudden shift in attitude around Changbin and his friends. Like a light switch had suddenly been flipped, Jisung was bright, charismatic, an easy grin on his face as he made jokes and charmed each and every person at that table – a compete 180 from the quiet, awkward guy at your side just a few hours ago.

And then you saw him glance back over his shoulder, at you and Hyunjin, his captive audience of two.

Before turning away.

You watched on, thoughtful, as the final part of the plan you had been concocting in your mind clicked into place.

“So, he wants to spend some time with us,” you muttered. There was no judgement in your tone, no anger. Just a simple statement of fact – a neutral observation.

But it was enough to induce the smallest of smirks out of Hyunjin.

“He does,” Hyunjin said, agreeing.

You turned to him, and felt a smile creep onto your face.

“I have an idea.”

It was relatively easy to steal Jisung away from Changbin’s group. You and Hyunjin each grabbed an arm, so apologetic as you informed them that something had come up and “we just need to steal him for a few minutes, sorry about this!”

The only slight hitch had been Changbin’s hesitant reminder. “OK, but you guys know the auction starts soon, right?”

“Yeah, we know,” you smiled at him, pleasantly, keeping eye contact.

Changbin’s brow furrowed for a split-second, before the faintest glint of realisation appeared in his eyes. “...I see.”

Your smile widened, but you said nothing as you frogmarched Jisung away.

As soon as you were out of earshot, he asked the obvious question.

“What’s going on?”

You made sure to whisper in his ear very clearly. “We just want to spend some time with you, babe.”

Unlike Hyunjin, you never used ‘babe’ as a casual term of endearment.

Only under very specific circumstances, when you were in a very specific mood, did you use the term ‘babe’.

And you felt Jisung practically vibrate in your grip with delight, with excitement, with fucking glee at the sound of it. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you hissed.

The three of you passed through the ostentatious doors leading into and out of the main hall, making your way past the handful of people scattered about the hallway. Jisung’s steps grew less and less sure the further you walked, almost stopping entirely when the two of you led him outside.

“What are we...” he trailed off, confused as you continued on through the cool night air, turning away from the main path to instead head for the manor grounds.

You shrugged. “We wanted to see that hedge maze, remember?”

Jisung shot you the most incredulous stare, but to his credit, made no objections as the three of you approached the maze.

Hyunjin was the one to take the lead as soon as you entered the maze, navigating left and right, occasionally stopping to check the two of you were still following. The maze was dimly lit by a distant floodlight, allowing just enough light for you to notice the wary expression on Jisung’s face.

Hyunjin finally comes to a stop after rounding a final corner, slowly turning to look back at you. “You think this is deep enough?”

You looked around, brow furrowing in thought. “...Yeah, I think so. Everyone’s going to be busy with the auction. This is probably the best time, honestly.”

Jisung just stared at the both of you, so incredibly lost. “...What the fuck are you guys talking about?”

You and Hyunjin exchange one long, knowing look - and then you begin.

“So, you think we don’t want to spend time with you,” you stated, folding your arms over your chest.

Jisung glanced between the two of you, all but twitching in anticipation.

“...Uh, well...I mean, I...”

You tilted your head. “Even though you also know how much we love you. Right?”

Jisung nodded, for once looking just a little bit guilty. “...Yes.”

You turned to Hyunjin, expression very carefully kept neutral. “That doesn’t make much sense to me, Jinnie. What about you?”

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, eyes sliding over to Jisung to fix him with a look. “No. To me, it sounds like Jisung’s been thinking with his dick this whole night.”

“Exactly,” you said, turning back to Jisung. “Is that what you’ve been doing, babe?”

If Jisung had any shame, he would have flushed at your blunt words.

He did not.

“...Maybe,” he admitted.

At least he was honest.

You tilted your head, finally allowing yourself to smile. “Well, because we love you so much, we decided to let you have your own way.”

You watched him blink, confusion slowly making way for a sudden realisation. “…What? Like…here? Outside?”

“You were the one who wanted to sneak away,” Hyunjin reminded him.

“But…” Jisung trailed off.

You understood his hesitation.

As much as the hedge kept you tucked out of sight, there was still a certain vulnerability that the outdoors provided. And the absence of any walls meant particularly loud sounds would...carry.

“I guess you better be quiet, then,” you said, crossing your arms – but you let just the tiniest glimpse of concern into your expression. “Are you OK with this?”

Jisung blinked, lips parting in shock.

And then, very furiously, he nodded. “Yes. Fuck yes.”

“Good. Hyunjin, are you OK with this?”

Hyunjin glances over at you, and his grin is almost catlike. “Absolutely.”

“Perfect. Why don’t you get started?”

The words had barely left your mouth before Hyunjin crossed the space between them in an instant, grabbing Jisung by the back of the head and pressing his mouth to his. Jisung melts instantly, whining against his mouth as his arms wrapped around Hyunjin’s waist, hands fisting in his suit jacket, as he allowed Hyunjin to push him up against the hedge wall.

There was always something intoxicating about Jisung’s enthusiasm, his breathless passion as he threw himself head-first into any scene.

You took a few steps closer, and allowed your hand to trail up the side of Jisung’s thigh.

At the first moment of contact, Jisung turned his head to look at you, allowing Hyunjin to shift his focus to his cheek, his jaw, to his neck.

Your hand continued to slide up Jisung’s leg, and on impulse, you leaned in to peck a chaste little kiss on Jisung’s parted lips.

“Attention back on Hyunjin, babe,” you chastised him. “He’s the one making all this effort for you.”

And as if by command, Hyunjin punctuated your statement with a sharp nip to Jisung’s neck, and Jisung yelps. Loudly.

You dug your fingers into his thigh, hard, and jeered. “I thought I said you need to be quiet, babe.”

Jisung’s eyes are dark, breath already heavy, and you weren’t sure if it was the result of your words or just a reaction to the way Hyunjin’s mouth had sealed tightly over that sensitive spot on his neck, sucking hard enough to mark.

Jisung let out a shaky – but admittedly quiet – breath, and murmured. “Sorry.”

You rolled your eyes. “No, you’re not.”

He didn’t argue this, eyes closing.

Hyunjin withdrew from Jisung’s neck, pulling back just far enough to admire his handiwork, before leaning back in to mouth at the rest of him – making his way up and down the column of Jisung’s neck, from jaw to collarbone. He shifted his weight slightly, stepping in closer, rocking his thigh into Jisung.

And then he chuckled, turning his face away from Jisung to glance at you. “He’s so fucking hard already.”

“Of course he is,” you replied with a shrug.

Jisung whined, pressing against Hyunjin’s thigh, chasing after that friction.

“You’ve been working so hard this week, haven’t you?” You asked, hand slipping between Hyunjin and Jisung to slip under Jisung’s shirt, fingertips trailing across the soft skin just above his waistband. “I bet you had to force yourself not to think about us, huh? Too distracting?”

“Y-yeah…” Jisung admitted, breathy. “Fuck…”

“I bet you slipped up, though. Didn’t you? Did you get hard in your studio, babe? Did you have to hide it from Chan and Changbin?”

Jisung’s cheeks flushed even darker, and you had your answer.

You laughed, delighted, and slid your hand down even further, sandwiched between Hyunjin’s thigh and Jisung’s crotch.

Fuck, Hyunjin was right. Jisung was rock-hard, his tight dress pants straining to hold him in. You palmed him through them, savouring his little noises of pleasure and frustration as you did so.

“What do you think about, babe? Do you think about sitting down in that little studio chair and watching me ride you? Do you think about Jinnie bending you over the soundboard and fucking you into it?”

Jisung whined at your words. “N-no, but…now I will. Fuck.”

“Oops,” you smirked. “Sorry.”

You followed your apology with a gentle but firm squeeze of your hand, and Jisung choked.

“Maybe he’ll cum in his pants,” Hyunjin mused, eyes dark but gleaming so brightly with amusement. “He’s desperate enough for it.”

“He definitely is. Just look at him.”

Jisung moaned at that, and almost immediately bit down on his lip hard, muffling his own sounds.

You heaved a dramatic sigh. “But I guess it would be hard to explain away the mess.”

“And that suit was expensive. It’d be a shame to ruin it,” Hyunjin reminded you.

“True,” you said, sighing again, and reluctantly withdrew your hand. “Fine. Maybe another day.”

Hyunjin grinned at your words, and his hands wandered down to Jisung’s belt buckle. “Want me to do the honours, or you?”

“You can, Jinnie. I love watching you work.”

Hyunjin paused, gaze dropped to eye the grassy floor with a certain amount of distaste. “Speaking of expensive suits getting ruined...”

“The ground’s dry, Jinnie, you’ll be fine,” you reassured him, before smirking. “Besides, I thought you liked it a little dirty?”

Hyunjin shot you a look, but had no reply. If you looked closely, you could make out the flush of his cheeks in the dim light.

Jisung’s eyes struggled to open, curiosity piqued by the vague nature of your statement. “W-what?”

And then he watched Hyunjin finally drop to his knees in front of him, hands reaching up to undo his belt, and Jisung’s jaw dropped. “Oh, fuck…”

Hyunjin’s grin widened at the dawning realisation in Jisung’s response, concerns over his suit already forgotten, and he looked up, batting his eyes innocently as he unzipped Jisung’s fly. “I thought you liked this, babe. I thought you missed this.”

“Oh, fuck,” Jisung repeated, now very much aware of what was about to happen, equal parts horny and horrified.

You leaned in, reaffirming his dread. “Remember, babe. Quiet. You don’t want them to hear you out there, do you?”

Jisung’s eyes flickered up to meet your stare, pupils blown so wide from lust that his eyes had practically turned black.

You gave him another peck, this time on the cheek, right as Hyunjin reached inside of Jisung’s underwear and brought out his dick.

You chuckled lowly, right in Jisung’s ear. “Oh, look at that. You’re so fucking hard, babe. Does it hurt?”

If Jisung had any kind of response to that question, it promptly died in his throat the second Hyunjin opened his mouth and kitten-licked the tip, right along his slit. Instead, the broken groan that left Jisung’s mouth was his loudest yet – and was enough to give you pause.

“Jisung,” you said slowly, the first time you had spoken his name properly since this had all started. “Do you remember your safeword signal for when you can’t speak?”

He nodded, recognition flickering in his eyes.

“Can you tell me it?”

His mouth dropped open, but all that came out was another groan as Hyunjin licked one long stripe up him, and he closed his eyes.

You frowned. “Jisung, babe, you have to say it in words, or I’m telling Hyunjin to stop.”

Jisung whined, finally turning to look at you, and you almost wanted to laugh at the pout on his face at the idea of Hyunjin stopping. “…Th-three squeezes on the leg.”

“Good boy,” you said, and Jisung’s eyes fluttered shut again at your praise. “Because I think you’re going to need it.”

Hyunjin glanced up at you, and with one nod from you, he opened his mouth wide and finally slid Jisung into his mouth.

Jisung’s moan was choked, loud – and lasted for about a split-second before you slapped your hand over his mouth, muffling the sound entirely.

Jisung’s eyes snapped open, staring at you as you kept your hand clamped over his mouth, leaving just enough space under his nose to breathe relatively comfortably.

“I’m starting to think you want people to hear what we’re doing to you,” you mused, and Jisung’s eyes promptly rolled back into his head at your words – moaning into your hand with every breath. “But let’s try not to get kicked out of this party, shall we?”

You glanced down, always happy to watch Hyunjin work. He was a glorious sight, cheeks already flushed as he worked his way back and forth on Jisung’s dick, inching deeper and deeper with every try. You knew that when he finally hit the base, you would just be able to make out the faintest hint of Jisung’s tip bulging in Hyunjin’s throat.

“Look at him, Sungie,” you said, tone gentle and teasing – but still very much an order. Jisung’s eyes blearily opened, doing his best to follow your directions as he tilted his head to look down, and promptly groaned again at the sight of him. “Look how gorgeous our boy is.”

Hyunjin’s eyes flickered up to meet yours at the sound of your words, eyes almost black as they burned into you.

You watched his cheeks suddenly hollow out, and Jisung bucked his hips into him, forcing Hyunjin to draw back for a moment before he choked. Jisung’s hand very shakily reached for Hyunjin’s head, and you couldn’t help but smile at his clumsy stroking of Hyunjin’s hair – clearly an attempt at apologising.

It didn’t stop him from making the same mistake again just a few minutes later, bucking into Hyunjin again, and this time, Hyunjin withdrew entirely to splutter.

“Quit it,” Hyunjin gasped. “Or I’ll bite.”

Hyunjin’s words, raspy and dripping with threat, had an immediate and astounding effect on Jisung. You felt the mindless stream of noises he made, the sharp whimpers as he lost himself in Hyunjin, hands scrambling for something to ground himself, something to hold. One hand found its way around you, gripping your hip tightly. You stilled for a moment, in case he was about to deliver those three squeezes, but all he did was hold on tight as Hyunjin finally took him in all the way into his throat.

You watched Hyunjin bring up one hand to shove against Jisung’s hip, pinning him against the hedge to keep him still, and Jisung practically went feral – shaking and whimpering into your hand as he got closer, closer.

“That’s it,” you cooed, moving your head to kiss just under his ear. “Fuck, you’re so gorgeous, Sungie. Look at you.”

You knew exactly what your praise was doing to him, watching as Jisung’s noises got louder and more desperate, the way his face scrunched up.

And through your fingers came the muffled, almost pathetic whimper of “p-please, please…let me…”

You were always a sucker for begging, and Jisung always did it so sweetly.

“OK, Sungie,” you whispered, leaning so closely into him that you were almost nuzzling his neck. “You can cum for us.”

Jisung moaned – the sound desperate, almost pained – and his fingers dug into your hip so tightly, you knew they were going to leave bruises. Your mouth descended on his neck, sucking a dark purple mark into the skin – a twin to Hyunjin’s on the other side of his neck.

Hyunjin’s head bobbed even faster, almost at a breakneck pace as he spurred Jisung on, letting out his own groans as he did so – and within seconds, Jisung came with a final, broken moan.

You barely had the sense to grab him as he went boneless, threatening to collapse entirely as Hyunjin did his best to swallow him down. You staggered just a little under his weight, propping him up against the hedge with great effort, and removed your hand from his mouth. You slid it over to his cheek, cradling it gently as he panted – breath barely ruffling the strands of hair sticking to the sheen of sweat across his face.

You stroked your thumb over his cheekbone, and pressed a kiss into the side of his head as he came down from his high. “Good boy. You did so well, Sungie. So well.”

Jisung was still wordless, eyes closed, breathing heavily. You carefully picked out an errant twig tangled in his hair, unable to keep yourself from smiling.

With an obscenely wet noise, Hyunjin pulled away from Jisung’s rapidly softening dick, cheeks red with exertion, the entire lower half of his face smeared with saliva and various other bodily fluids.

You beckoned him to you, inviting him into this quasi-group-hug, and pressed a kiss to the side of his head too. “And you. Fuck me, Jinnie, you were perfect.”

“M-mhm,” Jisung mumbled in agreement next to you, not quite able to form proper words yet.

Despite the mess of his face and hair, and the heaviness of his panting, Hyunjin managed to shrug. “I try.”

Something at the corner of his mouth caught your attention, and it took you a second to realise what it was – a few lingering traces of Jisung, slowly sliding down Hyunjin’s chin.

You leant in, using your thumb to gently wipe it away, before pausing. Glancing over at Jisung, you couldn’t help but smile as you lifted your thumb up to your mouth, sucking it clean.

Jisung groaned at the sight, and you didn’t miss the exhausted little twitch of interest from his dick as he did so.

“Fuck. You two are going to kill me one day, I swear.”

[alexthedragon190]

(new design) This bean appeared in some posts already, so maybe it’s time to introduce them properly. Here’s Alexees WildBurst, my self insert as the journalist (I'm not giving her the hat to not torture myself drawing it every time). Her age hasn’t been established yet but she’s somewhere in her (early?) 20s. They basically do the same dumb things that I did when I played the game. Funny fact, I went with the black coat for her, because my first playthrough was on the 4th savefile and getting it automaticly at the beginning made me attached to that coat color.

(Some bits of this info might change, if her personality gets modified)

Personality traits and known facts:

- Getting to know her is a long process, since she doesn’t like talking about her life or work

- Refused to grow up mentally a long time ago and acting childish brings her a lot of joy

- Constantly feels like she’s being judged for all the little, stupid things that make her feel happy

- There's no way she isn't hiding something..., but how the heck do you get the truth outta this thing?

- „Rarely” has some small episodes of just being serious to death

- Ocassionally breaks the 4th wall, because why not (usually doesn't even realise she does)

- When she gets mad or frustrated she tends to swear in Polish

- Tries to help Filbo as much as it's possible and replace Liz in all her duties the best she can, but still doesn't feel like she's preforming well enough

- Has some minor problems with falling asleep

- Accidentally tammed an Eggler and now takes it everywhere she goes. It sits in her snackpack most of the time (probably feels safe hidden inside it like it's it's shell) but comes out when it wants to check out what's going on outside or to get some pets

- A few weeks after the events of Snacktooth she just vanished and was never seen again

Relationships:

Likes:

Eggabell – Alexees really likes her, but is uncertain about what Eggabell thinks of her. Nevertheless she tries as hard as she can to have at least a good relationship with her. For some unexplained reason Alexees really strives for her attention, and often visits her in the Frosted Peak to at least chat a little, or if she found anything interesting during Bugsnax hunts, show it to her.

Filbo – He’s one of very few people who according to Alexees don’t judge her. She really appreciates him for his struggles and hard work. She’s sorry for the situations he’s often put in, after all being in charge of EVERYTHING is a lot to take in. If only it’s possible she would like to help him out and be included in managing all of the mess happening around the town. Their relationship is purely platonic.

Tolerates:

Gramble – Her relationship with Gramble is nothing really special. She feels like even though Gramble knows she doesn’t eat Bugsnax, he still doesn’t trust her completly. Well, she can’t blame him, she wouldn’t trust herself either… They’re not friends, nor enemies and that’s enough.

Wambus – Their relationship is more of a deal. Alexees just trades caught Bugsnax for sauces to eat and use in hunts. In Alexees’ opinion Wambus grows the absolute best ketchup she has ever eaten in her life. Of course if she wants to she can stop by and have a chat with him, but they usually don’t have much stuff to talk about. Besides, Alexees doesn’t want to distract him form his work too much. Getting the job done is after all very important to him.

Shelda – Many people find Sheldas rumbling annoying, but for Alexees it’s not as much of a problem. Listening to her prophecies all the time sooner or later probably would lead her to insanity, but when Shelda keeps it casual, she’s really nice to talk to. They’re mostly neutral towards each other.

Dislikes:

Beffica – She deffinetly does NOT support Beff’s doings. It’s just not morally okay with her to mess around with other people’s private life, no matter the reason. She has some secrets herself, which she doesn’t want anyone to know. However Alexees doesn’t let Beffica know she dislikes her. A conflict between them could result in Beffica exposing her. That would make her reputation absolutely doomed.

Fears:

Snorpy – It’s not exactly fear, but more like an uncomfortable feeling. Since she met him for the first time Alexees feels like he’s judging her every move. She’s scared he might find out or even already knows some of her secrets, though she’s not scared of him telling them to others. If he keeps most of his theories to himself, her secrets also should be relatively safe with him. Aside from that she really likes Snorpy as a person and can relate to him in some ways.

Floofty – It’s not really surprising, is it? Her fear towards Floofty concentrates over similar reasons as her fear to Snorpy, it’s also their judgemental way of thinking. An additional thing to all of this is also Floofty’s habit of staying up really late. Alexees likes the night time, because the town is all quiet and she can just drift away looking at the stars, but Floofty constantly being around really bugs her.

(goodness it’s so long - -", also sorry for any mistakes of typos) (how do you English?)

[vvienne]

XICHENG FIC RECS

hold my hands by Snooze (Chiruka)

Transplanting a core into a new person isn’t without repercussions. One year after the events at Guanyin Temple, Jiang Cheng found himself once again faced with the possibility of losing everything he had. Reconciling with his brother, learning to let Jin Ling go, and dealing with his blooming emotions toward the First Jade of Gusu — will Jiang Cheng accomplish what he wants before time runs out?

it all passes someday by screamlet

A week before the anniversary of Wei Wuxian’s death, there was a commotion outside Lan Wangji’s house.

*

Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji over the years.

The Unlikely Expression of Love by manamune

When everything has settled, when everyone else has moved on with their lives and their friends, Jiang Cheng has a realization which shouldn’t actually be a surprise:

He’s lonely.

Indigo, lavender, and violet (I don't wanna be red) by ohwhatevrewhatevr

It, in the pale colors of the late morning, is the closest to perfect Jiang Cheng will ever reach. He strokes Lan XiChen's hair and presses a light kiss to where his ribbon and hair meet. The sky is a pale blue, and the pastels of flowers and clouds are spread out through the window, a brilliant world waiting for them, them in the gentian house, safe from stronger breezes - there is the clutter of birds fluttering and chirping outside. It is a warm, perfect, spring morning.

Jiang Cheng and Lan XiChen have been together for an year. In which, no one ever really gets over things, Jiang Cheng has the misfortune of interacting with his brother, the juniors help out with the proposal, and there's a marriage.

Altitude by starknjarvis 

When Jin Ling lures Jiang Cheng to the Cloud Recesses under false pretenses, he finds himself out of place among this new family Wei Wuxian has formed.

Lan Xichen, at least, seems pleased to have his company.

Perhaps there is still a chance for Jiang Cheng to make amends and move forward.

[Modao Zushi Online] GLITCH REPORT: My Brother Got Chased Down And %$@*$&@ By Gusu Dungeon Boss??? by oh_fudgecakes

Modao Zushi Online is a virtual reality MMORPG. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian are top ranking players in its new server, currently tied with their arch-nemesis from their previous server, Wen Chao. In an attempt to defeat him, they take on the Gusu Dungeon Boss, Zewu-jun, to win the reward of a legendary weapon. Ever the cheat, Wei Wuxian tries to take advantage of a glitch to defeat the seemingly undefeatable boss. It backfires. Jiang Cheng gets fucked by a boss monster.

He can't get enough.

Meanwhile, Lan Xichen, the unwitting staff member in charge of controlling Zewu-jun, absolutely did not sign up to be pulled into a secret virtual reality fling with a player. Mod Ji, who has to deal with Wei Wuxian's incessant glitch reporting of his brother's sex life, is long-suffering.

Mulberry by xxdz

Jiang Cheng grits his teeth and pushes harder. He feels like torn silk, the embroidery needle sinking in again and again and again; patiently, desperately, endlessly trying to make something beautiful out of something broken.

Jiang Cheng builds his sect, learns embroidery, and raises his nephew.

we can raise a little family by lanyon

“Well, brother,” says Wei Wuxian, leaning against the outside of Jiang Cheng’s chambers. “I had heard that you and Xichen went on a night hunt and came back with a baby, which is not the order I’d choose to do things in…”

In which Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen acquire a baby of unknown origin, and are the very last to know what it means.

Beyond the Impossible by Silverine

Summoned by Lan Qiren, Jiang Wanyin goes to the Cloud Recesses to drop his nephew Jin Ling, expecting to discuss relevant matters with his old master. Instead, he's asked to take with him no other than Sect Leader Lan himself, all the way back to Lotus Pier. If the reason why he accepted such an outrageous task is indeed a mystery, he's about to be surprised by how this entire trip, their encounters, and his warm company, suddenly feel fated.

Incrementally by xxdz

Jiang Cheng is trapped in a day on repeat where he begins by waking in Zewu Jun’s bed at dawn and ends by dying painfully at dusk.

It’s getting very irritating, and he has the sneaking suspicion that his chances to solve his own murder are rapidly running out. Soon, his death will be much more permanent.

All in all, worst birthday ever.

Audience of One by WinterDreams

“Then let an established star go first,” Lan Xichen interrupts again before Lan Wangji can give a stubborn reply. Both men twist toward Lan Xichen, and he smiles at Wei Wuxian’s tilted head. “If I publicly date a man for awhile first, your engagement shouldn’t receive as much backlash.”

Or, that AU where everyone is famous in some way or another, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have been dating in private for years, and Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng pretend to date publicly for their brothers' sake.

A Bit of Ruthlessness by jirluvien

When Jiang Cheng hears that Lan Xichen went into seclusion following Jin Guangyao’s death, it’s almost as if he can see the grabby hands of a restless ghost, reaching out for something to keep him company. For something warm and living and devastated. And as history has proved time and time again, the Lans are perfect victims when it comes to giving in to ghosts.Yeah, no. Not on Jiang Cheng’s fucking watch.A story about grief, determination, unexpected friendships, abandoned watchtowers, and letters. So many letters.

All Tied Up In You by Clearpearls

Yet again, the night had come to this:

Jiang Cheng on the floor, kneeling, Zidian wrapped around his wrists.

Alone.

Thank You, and I'm Sorry by Hamliet

Jin GuangYao might be dead, but his story is not. Taking advantage of the chaos he instigated, someone makes an attempt on the life of the young new leader of the Jin Sect. When Jiang Cheng takes Jin Ling to the Cloud Recesses to have him study while he attempts to work with Wei WuXian and his husband Lan WangJi to eliminate the threat, he encounters a mourning Lan XiChen, lovestruck teenagers, and a persistent corpse--and both pairs of brothers find themselves struggling to move on.

saturn's rings (don't be a heartbreaker) by iskendaris

Set after the seige of burial mounds, Yunmeng rebuilds as they hold the first Discussion Conference at Lotus Pier. Sometimes the night is a gift, a refuge for loneliness. "So stern, Sect Leader Jiang," Lan Xichen murmured, "So glacial... What will it take to melt that icy exterior? What can I say?"

"Nothing. There's nothing you can say or offer."

reciprocity by jukeboxhound

There’s a pause before Lan Xichen says, in a tone that’s a little more neutral, “I would like to paint on you.”

“…What?”

“Of course, if you say ‘yes’ but then change your mind at any point, for any reason, you need only say so and I will stop immediately,” he adds.

Well, silver lining: Jiang Cheng is feeling much more awake than he was a moment ago.

Talent Hunt Crew Finds Angry Guy Shouting On College Campus, Recruits Him For Vocal Projection Abilities by oh_fudgecakes

Jiang Cheng, resident Angry Guy and heir to a conglomerate empire, has never been the apple of his father’s eye. Quashed under the shadow of his brilliant brother, the music prodigy Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng sees his chance to turn things around when he is recruited by the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt. One problem: he can’t sing to save his goddamn life.

As he struggles to develop his nascent singing abilities, Jiang Cheng finds himself sucked into the whirlwind drama of reality TV, helped along by his adoring siblings, his irritable vocal coach Wen Qing, and strangely enough, the unfairly attractive host of the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt, Lan Xichen. Somewhere in the glare of the stage lights and an unexpected first love, Jiang Cheng stumbles upon the thing he was searching for all along: the courage to dream — and to attempt the impossible.

Marginal Costs by ohwhatevrewhatevr

“You think you know what you want, Er-Ge,” A-Yao says. “But you should consider what you’re willing to give first,” he says wryly, taking Lan XiChen’s chess piece with slim, skilled fingers.

Lan XiChen looks up at A-Yao’s concentrated expression and the hint of contentment on his face that he is special enough to be allowed to see.

“It’s not just one decision, but the lead up to many more. One decision decides what else you’re going to have to pay, and each time you have to ask yourself, ignoring the sunk costs, if this time it’s worth it as well.”

When his sworn brother looks up at him with those clear, amber eyes, waiting, Lan XiChen feels the pull and gives in: he asks.

“Are you happy being in love?”

(First half is two sad sworn brothers talking, internally mourning how unfortunate their other sworn brother’s death was :/ and second half is when a mopey boy in blue meets an angsty boy in purple whilst chasing a demonic cultivator, and a lil bit of sexy dual cultivation happens.)

Somewhat Tender by theherocomplex

There is no defense against kindness; it has always undone him.

I didn't expect you to be lonely (too) by bettydice (BettyKnight)

Jiang Cheng's life is a mess, he's a mess, and he doesn't miss his brother at all. So when his sister gifts him ten sessions with a massage therapist, who turns out to be someone he was crushing on for a hot minute as a teenager and is still as hot as ever... yeah, that might as well happen. It won't have to mean anything.

This feels intimate to Jiang Cheng in a way that's probably very inappropriate and maybe even pathetic. Nobody touches him like this, right where he’s hurt the most. There's no one who handles him so gently, so carefully.

It's the gentleness that's his undoing, he thinks. He would be able to deal better with it if it was painful.

Life for Rent by yodasyoyo

“Yeah well. You’re not taking me seriously. This guy is my soulmate!”

“Soulmate.” Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Just because you don’t believe in them—”

“I believe in them!” Jiang Cheng says. “I’ve never denied they exist.”

“Just last week you said that it was an evolutionary quirk that had been used by greetings card companies, movie makers, and corporations to exploit lonely and vulnerable people.”

“And I stand by it! That doesn’t mean that soulmates aren’t real. Just incredibly unlikely and probably pointless.

-

Or:

Xicheng vs Soulmates. Fight!

Halfway Around the World by theherocomplex

Normally, Jiang Cheng would be seething, jaw clenched tight, if someone sounded like that while they were talking, but — Lan Xichen has the trick of always making you feel like you're in on the joke, whatever the joke is. That you're laughing together.

Whelmed by yodasyoyo

For months now Jiang Cheng’s been idly fantasizing about how it would be if something were to come between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. Mostly those daydreams have been simple enough — they break up (probably because Lan Zhan is boring or Wei Ying is annoying), Wei Ying is sad for a couple of days (Jiang Cheng’s willing to allow some space for feelings, he isn't a total monster), but then Wei Ying realizes he’s better off, he gets over it, and Jiang Cheng gets his brother back.

Unfortunately the fantasy version of events has only proven partially true, so far. They've broken up. Wei Ying has been sad.

Now weeks have passed, though — and Wei Ying is still sad, every. Single. Day.

It’s like Jiang Cheng's stuck in a looping GIF, and it’s driving him insane.

Or:

Jiang Cheng plots, Lan Huan pines, and, unfortunately for Lan Qiren, Wangxian are inevitable.

[ichayalovesyou]

Does the SNW Finale Teaser Mean an Alternate Universe?

I don’t think there’s as much evidence that the show is going that direction as people act like there is (or, might want there to be).

Okay, first off, I wanna clarify that it is possible, that they’re gonna make SNW an alternate universe. I just don’t think that’s what’s gonna happen, and I would actually really dislike it if they did. But I’ll get into the latter after we lay down some facts.

We know two major plot points from the teasers for A Quality of Mercy. There are things that we DO know, and things we DON’T know.

We know that there is a skirmish at the Federation Neutral Zone border with what we assume to be Romulans based on their weaponry and the fact that we don’t get to see their faces.

That being said it could be a red herring and/or the ultimate end result of the combat we get glimpses of that they can’t confirm it was the Romulans on the record without starting another war. So effectively, what we see later in Balance of Terror remains true, no one has (legally/officially/technically) encountered or at least seen the Romulans since the Romulan War. It’s a technicality pre-TOS Star Trek has used before. It could be a hit and run.

The second is Mat Al Salal (I think that’s how it’s spelt), the boy from Pike’s future, one of the two cadets he wasn’t/will not be able to save. Pike obviously wants to do something, change things, save him somehow, alter the future for this kid’s sake if not for his own.

But, we still don’t know if he can, or what will happen if he tries. What if Pike trying to save Mat gets him killed in the skirmish? What if what he does during the skirmish only makes Mat more deadset on joining Starfleet even if Chris deliberately discourages him? If Mat dies or doesn’t join Starfleet, does a different cadet join that same class and die in his stead? If Pike ensures that entire class is a student short, does that change what happens to him? Will two students still die even if the class is smaller? There’s no way to know!

The reason I don’t like the idea of Strange New Worlds breaking off into an alternate timeline is that it feels… empty, like a cop out, pointless. Both on a story level and on a meta/real world level.

One of the big themes of Strange New Worlds has been coping/adapting to what you can’t change, and changing what you can when you can. I feel as though Pike dodging what appears to be the inevitable with no consequences to himself or the Enterprise crew, undercuts that message.

Part of Spock (and everyone else’s) character development would be smudged out of the main narrative and that doesn’t sit right with me. It feels like they’re building an explanation as to why things are how they are between characters in TOS through the show through SNW.

Then in regards to a real life sense it feels like letting the “haters” for lack of a better term, win. It’s like if the showrunners decided “hey, some people hated TNG/DS9/VOY, do you know what’s fix it? Making the show like it never happened!” which would severely water down the narrative/message of those shows, almost as badly as claiming it was all a dream!

It’s not like the Kelvin timeline where the character dynamics were rebuilt from the ground up. Based on a fundamental change in historical events before any of the characters ever met. It’d feel like a serious lack of payoff for what things seem to be building toward if all that character development vanished into a divergent timeline (also how would there be a double of the Enterprise and why would that change their character/story arcs now?)

The reason that it works for the Kelvin timeline is that there’s a well established sequence of events so it’s cool to see how things play out differently. If SNW broke off into another timeline we’d have no primary timeline to compare/contrast to which takes a lot of the fun out of it. You know how everyone collectively disregards Enterprise being a “holodeck simulation” because it was such a shitty, hollow move? Yeah that!

So, suffice to say, I’d be a bit peeved if they went the alternate timeline route. And I think it’s a testament to how interesting a concept Pike’s character arc is if that is one of the most boring options!

[kcatta-wodahs]

Making Lore Out of the Angel Event

Im the definition of 'its not that deep but I'm going to dig a hole to make it that deep'

In this case its me making it that deep because otherwise this event is upsetting so I'm making some dark lore theories to make it make sense to me.

I'll have a lot of spoilers below. For the event and everything I know, which is up to like lesson 32 I think.

Basically, TLDR; this was an attack by Michael/their Father on Devildom. Simeon and Diavolo have successfully negated the threat by turning it into a game.

TLDR Thesis; The Celestial Realm is governed through careful mind control. The Demon Bros are not "avatars" because of being demons- they have been cursed by their Father to suffer as no other demon nor angel has to.

First we hear direct from Michael, and he's giving these bangles that appear to brainwash the main cast.

This was an attempt by their Father to bring them back under his control. By control, I mean this literally.

I've felt for a long time that the way the Celestial Realm seems to be run is... shady. It's a utopia to outside appearances only, and those who have been most deeply embroiled in the Great Celestial War know this.

The Great Celestial War was over free will, rather than the specifics of Lilith's situation. She was the catalyst for a long-time-coming revolt against the rulers of the Celestial Realm.

My logic for this:

The reason for Lilith's expulsion goes against the current action plan of the Celestial Realm. Peace between the realms? Sure, but their Father is bound to realize that you put angels, humans, and demons together you're going to end up with more angels like Lilith, who fall for other races. Why would he accept this truce if he lost his favored children over an issue that is very similar? Did he have a change of heart? Heavens no.

Luke's behaviour towards the demon's seems case-and-point. Luke is not the strange one out of the angelic transfer students- Simeon is. Not only that, Simeon is chosen not in an attempt to promote peace, but to protect Luke from being influenced. (Which is, again, the whole point\of the exchange program.)

That time we went to the Celestial Realm for real - Lucifer was worried. Scared, even. This can be explained by, you know, the War and Lilith.. but I wonder if it may be more sinister. Like perhaps being brainwashed.

Diavolo and Barbatos weren’t required to wear bangles to become less “demon-like” for the “party”. This is because the bangles were a ploy to get the brothers back.

My theory is that when an angel begins to show signs of rebellion or questioning the divine order, they are forcibly stopped. Michael is that enforcer, and these 'gifts' are a method of stopping them.

The bangles cause a person to act *perfectly angelic* against their free will. The people affected become all smiles and sunshine, so clearly nothing could be wrong with it, right? They’re happy, right?

No. Very not right, and we can see that through Satan.

Poor Satan is always the exception to the rule of the Brothers, as his circumstances are different from everyone else's.

In this case though, he's the one who provides insight on this mind control. 

Let me remind you of the quotes Satan gives us during this time:

“I feel worked up.” “I don’t feel like myself at all.”

“It feels like something foreign is forcing my heart to be calm.” “Like my heart... becoming tranquil.”

Satan has never been an angel. He has never experienced this before. He has something the other brothers don’t: self-reflection. Satan can tell the difference between his feelings and feelings that are being imposed upon him. He tells you what he feels - “worked up” and “not like himself” and he is not smiling during this. He’s clearly unhappy, even though an angel might say he should feel unburdened by losing his anger.

He even mentions this.

“Normally, that wouldn’t seem like something bad, right?” “Something isn’t right.” “Maybe you shouldn’t come near me when I’m in this state.”

Satan is under the effects of the bangle, being forced to act angelic, but he can tell something “isn’t right.” He clearly shows that he thinks this is a “bad” thing, not because being calm is bad, but because it’s not “normal”. And can I remind you that he’s the Avatar of Wrath? The Sin that is most likely to be dangerous to be around - and yet it’s only when his anger is forcibly quelled that he thinks you should stay away from him. He knows that this is not something to desire. He knows that it is not happiness.

“I can’t concentrate on reading today.”

I mean, he’s obviously going through a lot, so that’s fair. But I have the theory that if he were to try and research this condition he wouldn’t be able to either. I have a theory about the Garden of Eden. My theory is about Paradise.

Remember when Eve ate the fruit? Do you know what that fruit was? Sin?

No. That fruit was knowledge.

Specifically, knowledge of good and evil. Now, why would this knowledge be something to keep from those under the control of the Celestial Realm? It sounds rather like they might be able to then make their own decisions of what is right and wrong.

Satan has known this from the beginning. Knowledge is power. The Ruler of the Celestial Realm, the other demons’ Father, knows this, too.

Why are there no other Avatars?

Sin was not something inherent to Devildom. Sin is a judgement sent from the Celestial Realm. There are no other Avatars because they are a wholly angelic creation. There are other posts that have examined the Sins as outlets, and how each of the brothers are attempting to find ways to allow themselves to express their sin so it does not overtake them.

From the get-go, we are shown that these Sins are a defining point for the brothers, but we’re also shown that they cause more trouble than anything else. Again, part-and-parcel of being a demon, right?

So why aren’t other demons like this?

Look at Diavolo and Barbatos, or even just the background demons who work across Devildom. Look at No. 2. They are all far more complex, and could even be considered normal. No. 2 is specifically meant to be based off of Mammon and his greed, but is much more rounded when we interact with it.

If Diavolo is meant to be the ruler of demonkind -- the paragon of what a demon should be -- then why would he not be the epitome of all of these Sins in one? What is Diavolo, instead?

Diavolo is accepting.

Hold up a moment here. What? Sorry y’all but it sounds to me like Mr. Demon Daddy King trusts his son enough to pass the kingdom on to him... so that must mean that Diavolo is behaving as a demon should.

Barbatos doesn’t question Diavolo’s choices. Nobody does. He’s an all around popular ruler. Devildom seems to be quite.. the opposite of what we’ve been trained to expect, huh? Trained by who exactly?

What are the Demon Brothers?

Cursed. They don’t act like other demons because they’re not like other demons. When they rebelled against their Father, they were punished for this act, but I posit that the punishment and the exile were two different acts. Their Father knew that leaving the Celestial Realm was not punishment to those who desired free will. So instead, he gave them Sin. Something that Demons are not normally bound to.

But how would the brothers know this? They only know what they’ve been taught by angels about demons. Surely these new, pressing desires come from turning into demons..? 

So, why was this not taken seriously?

Short answer: it was. But in the way that aligns with Diavolo’s ultimate goals.

Diavolo wants peace. 

Let’s Talk About Simeon

Simeon is an enigma and a half isn’t he?

Simeon is close with Michael, closer than Luke in any case. Now, I’ll be honest, I can’t remember if it was a fanfiction I read that said this or if it was canon so uh - forgive me. But Simeon was chosen to accompany Luke as an exchange student so that Luke would get some education. Simeon says this is to help relations, as Diavolo wants, but of course that’s what you would say as a sleeper agent?

Now, don’t get sad. Because we love Simeon here and we support him.

Simeon is wise and neutral. He seems to support the brothers, and even still wishes to foster a relationship with them. This could be seen as an attempt to bring them back, or some such, but I like to think that Simeon knows what’s wrong with the Celestial Realm.

Simeon, however, doesn’t think that a revolt can solve it. Simeon is working with Diavolo to create a form of peace - and has been transparent about the fact that Michael chose him to prevent Luke from being corrupted. I like to think he’s also been transparent with Diavolo about Michael’s actual goal. 

Simeon believes that the races should co-exist and love freely. How could love be evil, after all? Whether or not this is a new concept to him (because of his falling for you) or if this is just who he is, I’ll leave up to you and your preferences, but since he is now no longer undateable, it is established that he does not believe love between angels and humans to be bad - as his Father did with Lilith.

What happened, then?

My theory is that Simeon told Diavolo that Michael had given him a task - to give these bangles to the brothers to remind them of the joy they were missing by disobeying the Divine Order. Either that, or to brainwash them into coming back home. 

Simeon’s position would be revealed to Michael if he didn’t give the brothers the bangles, but he does not want to instigate another war either. So he told Diavolo Michael’s plan. 

Diavolo wants peace, and he knows that with time, the brothers can overcome this mind control as they had in the past - especially with his help. 

So thus comes the “party”. 

An excuse to make the bangles seem like a “harmless” gift, that had only gone wrong because of strange magical interference, when really they had done exactly what they were supposed to.

And a wonderful way to maintain peace while leaving the Celestial Realm to stew in their own pots. 

Simeon gets to maintain his facade for everyone - and put on a show for Michael as being loyal. He also gets to show Luke that perhaps being wholly angelic isn’t the way for some people, letting him learn a little more about peaceful coexistence. Nothing happens to ruin Diavolo’s grand plan for peace, and he gets to learn more about the curse that is set upon his friends - One that he hopes to be able to break someday, so they can live their lives unfettered by their Father.

[bangtanloverboys]

kitten fever // myg

summary - min yoongi wants to be a daddy, but not in the way that you quite expect

pairing - cat hybrid!yoongi x gender neutral!reader

genre - fluff; hybrid au, established relationship au

word count - 7.5k

warning - yoongi being an absolute softie, hinted hybrid discrimination, YOONGI WITH A KITTY, yoongi and yn being domestic, KITTENS, overwhelming love for kittens, yoongi calling himself daddy

author’s note - this is for the bts ghostie dynamite dads event “new dad yoongi”, but make it new cat dad. i snuggled my kitties a lot writing this bc i love them and they are my inspiration for this. anything cat related on my blog is inspired by my own cats, enjoy. i may post a baby photo of one of them bc that’s how i imagine the kitty in this 

2:54 am read the small digital clock in the corner of the room. Yoongi couldn’t sleep. He turned his head over to you, still curled up into his side. Pressing a kiss to the crown of your head, he gently peeled your arm off of him and got out of bed. You let out a soft whine at the loss of his warmth, patting the empty space in a sleepy attempt to find him. He shook his head and chuckled at you, placing another kiss to your head and made his way over to the desk. Seating himself in the wheelie chair, he opened the laptop and typed away into the search bar. 

‘Newborn Kittens’.

He honestly wasn’t sure what was going through his head, but he was feeling something deep down inside. The feeling started sometime a little after you had adopted him and it had only grown stronger when the two of you had gotten together. Originally he thought that was the feeling, the need to be with you. You were his mate and you were it for him; he loved you with every little fiber in his being. But there was still something missing in Yoongi’s heart, and that is what it was.

He really wanted to be a dad. 

Not for like human babies though, no. He didn’t think that either of you were ready for that yet, not for a while. But he really wanted to care and love for something as his own, which has slowly led him down the rabbit hole of kitten videos. Volume set to low, he played videos and listened to the small innocent newborns cry and whine at the new world they were in. The cries resonated deep in Yoongi’s heart. He wanted to care for, guide, and love on a kitten so badly. The only thing is he had to convince you about it. 

After about an hour of him watching and holding back tears over the newborns, he let out a yawn. He exited the tab and cleared the browsing history, an extra precaution he’d taken to make sure you accidentally stumble across it. He didn’t know why he was so nervous about asking you, maybe it’s cause you never talked about having another pet or an actual animal? He vaguely remembered you mentioning the reason you got a hybrid in the first place. You wanted someone to talk to and to keep you in check, which Yoongi thought he did a pretty good job of. You were a bit of an idiot sometimes, but you were his idiot now. His idiot that he had no idea how to tell he wanted to have a baby kitten. 

He quietly tiptoed back over to the bed and carefully slotted himself to lay next to you, once again. You sleepily register the bed dipping next to you, turning over and wrapping your arms back around him; holding him even tighter so he can’t leave you again. He let out a low chuckle at your action, letting you mold yourself against him. With another kiss to the top of your head, Yoongi let his eyes slowly fall shut. Dreaming of the kittens he wanted so badly. 

You woke up earlier than Yoongi the following morning, which was strange, seeing how normally he’s the first to rise. As of lately though, he’s been sleeping in more. You didn’t mind, the past few times he slept in, he had the warmest smile on his face. It was so blissful and it always pulled at your heartstrings to see him look so soft. But whenever he woke up, he acted distant. Like he was holding his breath around you. You don’t know what led him to start acting like this, you tried talking to him about it, you really did. Everytime you brought it up, he acted like it was nothing and dismissed the issue or said he was in a funk. So you’ve taken a back seat, waiting for him to either truly tell you what’s going on or for him to pull himself out of his self-proclaimed funk. With a small sigh passing your lips, you kissed his cheek and gave one of his little ears a scratch, you pulled yourself out of bed to get started on your morning routine. 

With a yawn, you padded down the hallway of your small apartment towards the kitchen. Glancing at the calendar pinned to the fridge, you let out a low groan. Today, you had a lot of paperwork that you could thankfully do at home, but that didn’t help the fact you just wanted a lazy day to cuddle with your boyfriend. But you have work to do, then you can cuddle Yoongi to your heart's content. Quickly, you fashioned a breakfast milkshake; consisting of your last banana, an egg, milk, and some chocolate sauce. The roar of the blender must’ve woken up Yoongi, as soon as you turned it off, you heard his heavy footsteps get closer and closer. You don’t turn to look behind you as two arms and a tail wrap around your waist. 

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” You smiled as he buried his head into your neck. 

“Morning,” he grumbled, his hot breath sending shivers down your spine. 

You stop from finishing your shake to lean into him, nuzzling your cheek against his messy dark hair. “You sleep alright? I thought I felt you get up in the middle of the night.”

“I’m good, just. . . had trouble sleeping last night,” You felt him shift behind you, readjusting himself so his chin is now resting on your shoulder, watching you finish making your shake, “decided to have a wikipedia deep dive to try and bore myself to sleep.”

“Aw, I’m glad you were able to get some sleep though.” You said as you pulled out a metal straw from your utensil drawer into your finished banana-chocolate milkshake. However, Yoongi doesn’t loosen his grip on you. Carefully, you manage to twist yourself around in his arms to look at him. His face is still puffy from sleep, his eyes are blinking lazily as you give him a chaste kiss. “Sleepy kitty.” Upon saying that phrase, you felt Yoongi’s arms stiffen around you. It was only for a moment, then he relaxed and nuzzled his nose to brush against your cheek before letting his arms slip from around you. You don’t let the way Yoongi tensed up at your words, but elect not to bring it up. It’s too early.  

“What do you have planned for today?” Yoongi asked, stifling a yawn as he went to make himself some coffee. 

“Just paperwork,” you huffed as you siphoned through the utensils to find your precious metal straw. “You got anything? Besides taking a cat nap.” You smiled as you took a sip of your shake. 

Yoongi shook his head as he concentrated on his coffee making task, “I got nothing.”

“Maybe when I’m done, we can watch a movie?” You suggested, as you leaned against the countertop. 

“Mm, sounds good.” He responded as he mixed in his coffee creamer. Satisfied with his stirring, he turned back to face you. “There’s a few things I’ve found that I think you might like”, he said as he brought the mug to his lips. 

The small conversation fell and the two of you got started on your routines. You handed Yoongi your glass for him to clean then went to your bathroom to start the day. You couldn’t get over how he froze around you at the little nickname you bestowed on him. Sleepy kitty. Did he not like that? He never had any objections to your pet names previous to this. You couldn’t just chalk it up to it being one of his ‘moods’ because this was a constant thing now. You needed to talk to him, maybe before the movie.

Yoongi on the other hand, felt like banging his head into a wall. How could he be so stupid to have such a blatant reaction to the pet name?! He supposes it has everything to do with the dream he had after he had finally fallen asleep after an hour long cat video binge at such an ungodly hour. He had dreamt of a small tabby kitten, probably no more than 4 weeks old. It was snuggling into his shoulder while he slept, swiping at his tail while he sat and worked, nibbling on his ears- God even just reminiscing about the dream had his heart aching again. 

Shaking his head, tried to push past the consuming thoughts of kittens, refusing to give into his instincts. He focused all his energy into cleaning the dishes; totally not imagining the small cup he was washing as a small kitten, scrubbing it delicately and making sure not to go too hard on it’s small fragile head-

Yoongi dropped the cup in the sink, the plastic banging against the other dishes ringing in his ears as he held his head. He was going to lose it, he knows it. To his concern there’s only one solution to this issue: get a kitten and take care of it. Digging the heels of his palm into his eyes, he let out a deep sigh. There was no other choice he had, he had to talk to you about his kitten fever. 

Finishing up the last of what was in the sink, he dried off his hands and made his way back over to the room. You had already gotten to work, judging by how you barely acknowledged him as he walked in. Walking over to the bed, Yoongi stretched himself over the messed up covers. This was how the two of you did spend most of your days when you were allowed to work from home; with him laying down and watching you work. Resting his cheek on his folded arms, Yoongi kept his eyes on you. Trying his damndest not to let his mind wander from you and to imagining you working with a small kitten on your lap. Your hand caressing its small body while it meows loudly at you as you play with it- He let out a groan, burying his face in his arms to try and escape the mental image he created. 

Hearing him, you turn in your chair to face him, “Yoongi, are you okay?”

Peeking from behind his elbows, concern is written all over your face. He shut his eyes and sat up, “Y/N. . . Can I talk to you?” Your brows furrowed together, a look of panic dashes through your eyes as you nod. Taking a deep breath, he stood up from where he sat and walked over to your desk, leaning against it. “I-,” he started, “I want kittens.”

His admission out in the air, he closed his eyes, fearing your reaction. But no sound of rejection came from you. Opening one eye to peep at you, you were confused. Yoongi could also see the gears turning in your head as you thought of something, anything to respond to him.

“Yoongi, I-I don’t think we’re-”

“Not like that!” He stopped you, seeing how you didn’t quite understand what he was talking about. “I mean like, actual kittens. . . Cats. . .” He explained.

Your mouth parted, “Oooh.” The dots connected, Yoongi’s sudden mood changes started to make sense; especially this morning’s when you called him kitty. All this because he wanted to father kittens? “How long have you been thinking about this?”

“Hmm?”

“How long have you wanted kittens, Yoongi?” You questioned.

Bashfully, he looked to his feet, “I don’t know. . . Since we got together, I suppose?”

Your eyebrows shot up into your hairline, “That long?! Why haven’t you told me, baby?” You went to grab his hands, holding them in yours.

“You never said anything about wanting kids, animal or not so I just. . . didn’t say anything.” He responded, keeping his eyes on your interlocked hands. 

“Yoongi, look at me.” He raised his head to meet your gaze, “Human babies I never really thought much on, but kittens? I love kittens so much, of course I’d want to have them with you.”

“Really?” He felt like his eyes were going to pop right out of their sockets “You mean it? I can-We can get a kitten? A baby?” Yoongi couldn’t believe his ears; his vision started to blur as tears welled up in them. The blurry outline of you nodded as you stood, pulling him into a hug as the happy tears fell from his face. 

You cooed at him as you wrapped your arms around his neck, his face burying itself in your neck. “Aww, we can definitely get a kitten. I think having one might be a wonderful little addition to our family, don’t you think?” Yoongi only cried harder in response. You stroked the hairs at the back of his neck, soothing him from his happy tears. “I’ll take that as a yes, I’ll get all my work done today and tomorrow we can go to a shelter and adopt. Okay?” With a nod of his head and a couple sniffles, he pulled away from the hug. You moved your hand to lay it on his cheek, wiping away the remaining tears from his cheeks. “Let me finish this up okay? You do research on some kitten supplies and shelters nearby?”

With that, Yoongi immediately got to work on researching products (within your established budget) and found a shelter a few blocks away from your apartment building. You thanked whatever deity that was watching over you that allowed your apartment to put in a notice for a new pet so last minute. Normally you’d have no qualms about waiting a few days, but the way Yoongi had been keeping this to himself, you didn’t want him to wait any longer. He deserved to be a proud father of a little fur baby. 

All night long, you could feel Yoongi’s excitement radiate from him as he tossed and turned in the bed all night. You could hear him even giggle to himself, whispering how he’s going to be a dad. The words squeezed your heart as you turned to wrap your arms around him, partially to keep him still but also because you were happy that he was so happy about this step for the both of you. Maybe him a little more than you though.

You woke up to an empty bed, you patted around Yoongi’s side, noting it was cold. You were puzzled for a moment, wondering where he might be when the smell of bacon flooded your nose. You let out a light chuckle as you got out of bed, and shuffled down the hallway to see Yoongi in the kitchen, buzzing as he cooked breakfast. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d mistake you for a dog hybrid for being this excited.” You chuckled as you sat down at the table. He narrowed his eyes at you before returning to cooking. Normally Yoongi never went all out with breakfast unless it was a special occasion, you suppose that today might as well be a special occasion, it being the day he finally gets to become a dad. “Did you get any sleep?” You asked as he put some bacon and toast on a couple plates. 

“Enough,” he answered, placing a plate in front of you on the table. You rolled your eyes at his response, you should’ve figured he didn’t get much; but at least he got some of it. “Gotta get used to not sleeping all throughout the night.”

“Yoongi, it’s a kitten. Not an actual baby.” You chortled as you took a bite of bacon, “It’s not gonna wake us up in the middle of the night crying.”

“Yeah, but kittens in a new environment often are excited and don’t sleep much the first night or so.” He responded as he sat down in front of you, “While I’m not a full cat, you should remember how restless I was when you first got me.”

You do remember. He stayed up all night the first few days, getting a feel of your apartment; sniffing around and making some noise, but after that he started to settle in and get comfortable in his new home. “Yes, but cats don’t whine every few hours to be fed.”

“Touche,” he bowed his head in defeat before going to take a bite out of his toast. 

You watched him as he ate, nibbling a bit on your breakfast as you did. As you continued to eat, you noticed he was getting more and more fidgety. Figuring how he wasn’t very upfront with you about getting a kitten, he was waiting on your word to get ready to find a shelter. You smirked a bit as you took a few more bites of your toast before pushing your plate away. “Alright, ready to go?” Before you even finished, Yoongi jumped from his seat and kissed your cheek. You barked out a laugh as your hybrid dashed down the hallways towards the bedroom in a blur of black and white. 

Deciding to take it upon yourself, you cleared the table, seeing how Yoongi was too excited to focus on anything else. You shook your head as you picked up his abandoned breakfast on the table; if he was too excited to sleep, you should’ve figured he’d be too excited to eat. Better make sure the second that kitten crosses the threshold of your apartment that you feed him before he forgets completely to eat. As you finished up in the kitchen, said hybrid came back, “What are you doing?! Why aren’t you getting dressed?!” He exasperated at you, still dressed in pajamas, while he was all nicely dressed. 

“I’m sorry that I want to make a nice impression on the newcomer, when they arrive.” You chuckled as you walked up to him, ruffling his hair. “I’ll get dressed. You finish up here.” In a flash, he was at the sink, furiously scrubbing the pans and plates. You laughed at him again, you wonder how he’s going to react when you tell him that you’re not even gonna stop at the shelter first, seeing how you should get the products first before the kitten steps it’s paws in the apartment. No matter how eager Yoongi was, you needed a litter box first. Kitten second. 

Once you’re dressed and down the hall, your overly eager feline partner was frantically checking himself in the hallway mirror. Letting out a chuckle as he made his hair and ears look as neat as possible. You held up your keys, the jingling catching his attention, he beamed as you moved to put your shoes on and get out of the door.

“What kind should we get? I looked at some of the ones at the shelter and there’s this pretty ragdoll, she’s all white and fluffy- Ooh! There’s this siamese kitten that just had the most beautiful eyes-”

“Yoongi,” you cut off his rambling as you approached your car. “I love you, I really do and I’m excited that you’re excited. But don’t overthink it, let’s just go to the shelter first and see who speaks out to you more. Okay?” 

You watched as he bashfully scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry.” He chuckled nervously.

“Don’t apologize, baby. Now come on, we gotta get going.” You hopped in the car, Yoongi followed behind you, climbing into the backseat. The two of you sit in silence as you drive off, your hybrid humming happily as he stared out the window. It’s only when you pull up to the pet store does Yoongi let out a low groan. 

“This isn’t the shelter!”

You grabbed his hand as he pouted his lips at you, “I know. But we need litter, food, and toys. I don’t want to forget that on the way home.” You pressed a kiss to his knuckles as he dropped his pout. 

“Fine,” he sighed as he unbuckled and got out, clearly unhappy with the decision, but realizing it was the right one either way. 

“You’re acting more like a moody teen than a father to be, you sure you’re ready?” You raised a brow at him, which quickly had him standing up straighter.

“Yes, I am.” He gave a firm nod as he spoke, “Now come on, the fast we get the supplies, the faster we can get the baby.” He took your hand in his and led you into the store. 

You let Yoongi take the lead pushing the cart through the aisles as you searched for the supplies you needed. You could feel stares from other customers as Yoongi was looking at the different types of kitten litter and which one would be best. You felt like they were judging you for bringing your hybrid to the pet store, like you were going to make him actually use the items that were meant for his animal counterpart. 

“Can I help you with anything?” You both turned your head to see a young woman in a blue vest standing there, a confused expression on her face. 

“Actually yes, what brand of litter would you recommend? I’ve read all the reviews but, I’m curious about your opinion?” Yoongi rambled off as he stood, walking to get closer to the employee. “We’re going to adopt a kitten later today and this is both of our first times owning a cat.”

“Oh!” The employee's eyes widened and nodded, now understanding the situation instead of assuming the worst. “Well what age are you looking to adopt?”

“Not sure, I was thinking maybe four to six weeks?” He said as the worker’s eyes examined the wall of litter in front of her. 

“Hmm,” she stepped down and pulled out a medium sized pink box. “This brand is what I’ve seen the best reviews on, anyone with a kitten seems to like it before going on to other litter.” She handed it over to Yoongi, who was bowing his head as he accepted the box. 

“Thank you very much!” He replied, gracious for the help. 

“No problem, anything else I can help you with?” She responded with a grin of her own as she looked between the two of you. 

Yoongi glanced over his shoulder to you, waiting to see if you needed anything at all. You shook your head, “No. Thank you for the offer though, I think we got it.”

Yoongi thanked the employee again before turning to put the box of litter in the cart. “Got litter, got the litter box, food, what else?”

“Toys and a collar?” You noticed that was something lacking from your growing collection of cat necessities. Looking up to Yoongi, you see him with his lips pursed in thought as he stared down into the cart. “Something wrong with that?”

“Toys no,” he said, moving to push the cart forward towards the cat toy aisle. “Collar, I don’t know. I mean, it’s going to be indoors anyways. Does it even really need it?” 

He did have a point, a collar was to ensure that if it got lost you’ll be contacted as soon as it’s found. But considering how it is going to be inside all the time, and with Yoongi always around too, did you really need it? “You’re right, but we don’t know. Why don’t we skip the collar today, and get it when we know for sure. Does that sound good?”

You followed close behind him as he turned into the next aisle, thinking of what you said. “Yeah, sounds good. Just don’t want to make any unnecessary purchases.” You stopped in front of a small wall of colorful toys and stretching posts. Your eyes shifted towards him as he closely examined each and every toy in front of him. “There a limit on how many toys we can get?”

“Let’s start with three,” you laughed lightly as you moved to stand beside him, looking over the different options. “We do need a scratching post, so let’s get this one,” you move to grab a long cardboard scratcher and put it in the cart, “because we don’t need the little baby scratching up the furniture.”

“No we do not,” Yoongi returned with a chuckle, reaching out to grab a small pack of toys in the shape of mice. “These look fun.” 

“What are you gonna play with it too?” You elbowed him gently as he tossed them into the wagon. 

“I just might.” He teased as his attention went back to the wall of toys, he reached forward and grabbed a small plush octopus. He gave it a little shake and it chimed, his eyes immediately lit right up and placed it right next to the other toys. 

“I’m beginning to think those toys are for you more than the kitten,” you joked as Yoongi moved to push the cart out of the aisle and towards check out. He scrunched his nose up at you but didn’t deny your statement. 

Once at the check out, Yoongi put all the items up on the conveyor belt while you went up to the cashier, who was eyeing Yoongi carefully as he checked out each item.Not liking the way he was looking at your hybrid, you cleared your throat, directing his attention back to you. You knew there was still some judgement towards hybrids being out and about in public, but that shouldn’t matter because he was with you. His owner. 

“Did you find everything alright?” The cashier huffed as he bagged your items, going over the register to double check that he scanned everything. 

“Yup!” You gave him a tight smile, not wanting him to give away your displeasure at his behavior. You just wanted out of this pet store now. Yoongi, on the other hand, must’ve sensed your uneasiness and in an instant he stood right next to you, giving your hand a reassuring squeeze. Letting out a shaking breath, you returned his squeeze before finishing up your purchase. It certainly was a small hit to your bank account but this was worth it, it was for Yoongi. 

You both gave a quick thank you to the worker before you made your leave, cart full of brand new kitten supplies. As you were loading up the car, Yoongi placed a hand on your shoulder. “You okay?”

“I didn’t like those eyes on us, on you.” You muttered as you shut the trunk closed. 

“Y/N look at me,” he placed his hand on your cheek. “It’s alright, I can deal with a couple of staring strangers. But you’re with me that’s all that matters.” He smiled as his thumb caressed your cheek.

You stood there for a moment, letting him sooth your anxieties before you pulled away. “Okay, now let’s go get that kitten. No sadness today, this is supposed to be a happy time.” Soon as the words left your mouth, Yoongi’s entire demeanor shifted; going from a caring partner, to an excited child with only a few words. 

 “Right! Let’s go!!” With that, Yoongi gave you a chaste kiss before jumping into the passenger side door. 

The drive to the shelter wasn’t that long, and Yoongi was bouncing up and down in his seat like a child on his way to Toys R Us. It was cute though, seeing him this excited. You don’t think you’ve seen him this giddy; you’ve seen him happy of course, but not this kind of emotion. It looked good on him, you hoped he manages to keep it going as the kitten grows old. 

“We’re here!!” Yoongi announced ecstatically as you pulled up in the parking lot. The hybrid waited patiently as he could as you got out of the car, his eyes locked on the door of the small building. It was a bit on the smaller side, but it was a bit more of a homey feeling to it. Something that you thought would be good seeing how this will be the new addition to your family.

Soon as you stepped forward towards him, he bounded ahead of you, eager to get through the door. “Hurry up!” He whined as you leisurely took your time walking up the path to the door. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” you huffed as you finally managed to get to the front door. Yoongi was grinning so hard his cheek muscles were sore, but that didn’t matter. It was finally happening. He was gonna be a dad! 

Door to the shelter opened, he followed you as you stepped inside, glancing around at the posters of various cats and dogs on the wall. He stared at them while a volunteer at the front desk asked to help you. He moved his head to pay attention to the conversation, but little meows echoed from the door where the volunteer entered from. His hand instantly grabbed yours as he heard the little cries; not coming from his computer, but from actual kittens. 

His attention was brought back to you at the sound of your laughter. “You ready, Yoon?” He nodded his head so hard, you feared his head might pop off. Your shoulders shook with another laugh as you looked back to the volunteer, “Can we see them now?”

“Of course!” She answered as she took a few steps back towards the door, holding it open for the two of you. Yoongi followed after her quickly, tugging you along with your hand still tightly grasped in his. The smell of all the other animals filled Yoongi’s senses as they walked down a short hallway. He could hear the sounds of them as well, all calling for the attention of the new people that they no doubt smelled. Soon enough, they approached a door marked CATS, Yoongi felt your eyes on him as the volunteer opened the door and walked in. 

“You ready to be a dad, Yoongi?” Your voice was soft as you squeezed his hand. All he could do was nod as you entered. 

The scent hit him first, the smell of fur and cat food, and litter boxes. Not the most pleasant thing in the world, but at that very moment, it was better than roses to him. Then the sound of dozens of cats meowing away filled his eardrums and he felt his smile get wider as he glanced around the small room. There was a small cat tree in the middle of the room, with silver kennels on either side of it. Some of the doors were open, the felines who inhabited them wandered about the room. The rest of them remained closed, but that didn’t stop them from sticking out their paws between the wires, going out to grab the other volunteers in the room. 

“So all our kittens are about four to six weeks old, all siblings are in the same kennel. Feel free to open them up if you want,” she explained as she walked over to another male volunteer to talk to him. “All their names are on that white board, by the way!” 

There was a small brush against Yoongi’s pant leg. Glancing down, he made eye contact with an orange tabby cat; rubbing it’s head against his calf. The creature looked up and meowed at him, curious about the two new strangers who came in. Ever so slowly, Yoongi knelt down petting it’s head and letting it keen into his hand. Above, he could hear you coo as at the sight before getting distracted with another cat that came up to you. 

Yoongi felt like he was going to cry, he had to only take one home? When there’s so many here that all need homes? He was so close to just begging you to take them all home, but he knew that that wouldn’t be a good idea. Taking a deep breath, he got back up to his feet and walked over to one of the kennels and peered in, looking at the small fluff balls curl together for warmth. Carefully, he moved to open the wire door without waking any of them, but it appears his presence was enough to wake them because sure enough, small mewls added into the already noisy room as he opened the door completely. 

“Hi,” his voice was barely a whisper as he reached in and let the kitten sniff at him, getting adjusted to his scent before moving to touch any of them. A small white kitten with the bluest eyes reached up to grab at his fingers, its small claws digging into his skin. “Ow,” he feigned with a chuckle as he lowered his head to scratch at the fur balls ears. “You’re a curious one, aren’t you.” He lilted as he turned his attention to another kitten. This one was black, but strangely enough has small light grey stripes decorated its body. It was a bit more separated from the rest of the litter, smaller too. Intrigued, he moved his hand over to it and let the kitten sniff it. When it seemed to accept him, he let his hand curl around its small body, lifting it out of the cage and into his arms.

“You found someone, Yoongi?” He heard you ask as you approach him, a small gasp leaving your lips when you see the tiny creature in his arms. “Oh my goodness! Aren’t you precious!” You melted as you reached your finger out to stroke its head. 

“I see you’ve found the runt of the litter,” the volunteer noted as she walked over to you both, a smile on her face. “She’s all healthy, so if she’s the one you want, she’s ready to go home with you.”

Yoongi could feel your eyes on him, looking for an answer on if this was the one you were going to take home. He stared down at the small cat in his arms, who’s big eyes stared right back at him. He could feel it deep in his heart, this was the one. This was his baby. “Yeah, it’s her.”

“Okay, babe.” You kissed his cheek before looking back to the kitten still in his arms. “Hi baby, you almost match your daddy.” You giggled as you gave her one last scratch before confirming with the volunteer that you’ll be taking that one home. 

With a smile, she nodded, asking you to follow her to finish up the paperwork while telling another volunteer to help Yoongi with getting her ready to leave. He readjusted the kitten in his arms so she was now laying against his chest, rather than in his arms. The other volunteer held a cardboard carrier with an old towel in it out. Yoongi was hesitant at first, not quite ready to let his new found child out of his arms just yet. 

“Come on, buddy. She’s gonna be okay,” he encouraged Yoongi as he reached for the cat. Holding back the urge to swipe at him and carry the cat out in his arms, he knew you wouldn’t want him to make a scene. So he complied, letting him take the kitten from him and into the carrier. The volunteer handed it over to him; but instead of holding it by the handle, he held it by the bottom in both hands. Not wanting to jostle her around before getting to the car. 

The volunteer escorted him back out to the lobby, where you were finishing up. “Yoongi, what are you gonna name her?” You asked. The question caught him off guard, he didn’t know what he was gonna name his kitten. He’s wanted one for how long and he never thought of one? He quickly racked his brain for names, not wanting it to sound too cheesy or weird but none came to mind. 

“I, uh,” he was embarrassed at the predicament. But you merely laughed at him before placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“It’s just for the chip she got, I’ll just put down Min for now alright?” You looked to him for his permission. He nodded, the two of you will figure out a better name to call her in the meantime. But at least she’s got a nickname on her. 

Paperwork all done, and a car full of new cat stuff. The two of you drove back to your apartment, and all the while Yoongi was flinching with every confused little meow that came from the white box on his lap. Unable to take it anymore, he cracked open the carrier a bit, just enough to stick his hand in and sooth her of both his and her anxieties about the drive. You rolled your eyes at the action, mumbling something under your breath about coddling her before she’s even gotten to the house. But Yoongi couldn’t help it! He hated hearing the small and scared whimpers, he couldn’t just do nothing!

When the drive finally came to a stop, you handed Yoongi the key to the apartment. “Put her in our room, close the door and come back here to help me with the rest of the stuff. Okay?” You instructed, to which Yoongi followed to the T. Well almost to the T.

Once he got into the house, he opened up the carrier and pulled out the kitten. “This is your new home.” He started as he walked around, showing her the place. “This is the living room and the kitchen area, we’re out here a lot. Don’t try to scratch up the couch please, or Y/N is gonna kill us both.” He chuckled as he made his way down the hall, pointing at different photos and giving a story. “This is the bedroom, where we sleep. You can sleep here too.” He went on and he placed her down on the ground. “Now you can explore while we go get your things.” He said, but didn’t move. Watching how the kitten sniffed around the new place, getting a feel of it. A smile on his face, he slowly started backing out of the room, closing it behind him.

He rushed back out of the door, but before he made it to your car, he ran into you, an annoyed look on your face. “You got distracted with the kitty, didn’t you?” Yoongi looked down at the ground, feeling a bit guilty for putting the baby before his partner but thankfully you seemed to understand. “Fine, just get the cat litter. Couldn’t carry it all by myself.” You jerked your head in the direction of the car. Nodding, he ran down to go get the rest of the things.

Setting the majority of the cat stuff down, you quietly started towards the bedroom. Cracking open the door, you don’t see anything just yet. You push the door open a bit more, still nothing but there is a small little lump of poop on the floor, stinking up the whole room. “Gah,” you gagged as you quickly went to the kitchen to grab some paper towels and cleaner. “Knew I should’ve told him to get the kitty litter ready first,” you muttered to yourself as you cleaned up the little troublemaker’s poop. After being sure to toss it in a trashcan in the bathroom, you began looking for the little one.

Laying flat on the ground, you peered under your bed. The small outline of the kitten was seen in the middle of the bed, out of reach for you to grab. “Aww, come here baby. No ones gonna hurt you.” You stretched your arm out under the bed, the tips of your fingers barely grazing her soft fur. You could feel her lower her nose to your hand, sniffing you out before rubbing her head against your palm. 

“What are you doing?” You heard Yoongi’s voice called out from above you.

“She hid under the bed,” you explained as you pulled your arm out from underneath the space. 

Yoongi pursed his lips in thought as he leaned down, taking his turn to reach under the bed. “Come here baby, come on.” He made kissy noises, trying to lure her out. “Come to daddy.” But to no avail, she didn’t come out. 

Disappointment was written across his face as he sat up. “Aww, don’t be upset Yoon. She;s just scared. She’s in a new place,” you placed your hand on his cheek. “Why don’t we set up her stuff, maybe she’ll come out then.”

Begrudgingly, he agreed. You set up all the stuff in the room first, just to get her accompanied to the new place before the rest of the apartment. You had Yoongi handle setting up her litter box and opening up her toys while you set up her food and water. Cat stuff thoroughly thrown about the place, you saw small little paws peek out from underneath the bed. 

“Yoongi,” you nudged your hybrid to look at where you were pointing. 

Instantly, he began to lower himself to the ground, not breaking eye contact with her as she watched him slowly go down and down until he was laying flat on his stomach. Taking a few tentative steps, she got closer to him. Sniffing at his ear which twitched at the close proximity of her black little nose. “Those are my ears,” he stated simply as she started to swat at them and his hair. “Hey,” he chuckled, lifting his head away from her paws. “Don’t hurt daddy.”

“You’re really gonna stick with daddy?” 

“Got a problem with that?”

“Not at all,” you raised your hands in defense, not wanting to argue with him. He moved back to sit on the ground next to you and watch as the kitten curiously bounded around the room. She looked up at you before making slow steps over, before putting her paws on your thighs. You looked up at Yoongi who looked nearly green with envy. “Guess we know who her favorite is.” You teased. 

“No no no no,” he said as he leaned over before picking up the cat, plopping her on his lap. “She’s gonna be a daddy’s girl, if it’s the last thing I do.” You would’ve thought she would’ve hated being moved by force and would’ve jumped away, but she didn’t. She snuggled herself deeper into his lap and started purring. Now it’s your turn to be jealous.

“No fair,” you grumbled as you leaned forward to pet her again.

Yoongi only stuck his tongue out at you before turning his attention back down to the cat. “Moonlight.”

“What was that?”

“Her name is Moonlight. Moonie for short,” he said, his eyes never leaving her as he let his hand stroke her.

You leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the kitten. “Welcome to the family, Moonie.”

The rest of the day is spent with you and Yoongi on the ground, playing with her, completely ignoring the rest of the world. You took a lot of videos of her playing around Yoongi’s tail. It was precious to see how well he was with her; jumping into his new role as a cat dad. It warmed your heart. With each of her squeaky meows,  Yoogni would respond with one of his own; his deep voice making a low meow, sounding nothing at all like a cat. Yet she still responded, meowing back only louder and more pitchy.

As they continued to play, it became painfully obvious that Yoongi definitely bought those small mouse toys for him because he was playing around with them a lot more than her. Moonlight on the other hand, was approaching your bed. Pouncing on it in an attempt to climb up top. With a laugh, you helped her up onto the mattress, watching her as she waddled about the uneasy surface. 

Your stomach growled, hungry for some food. “I’m gonna go make something real quick.” You got up and kissed the top of Yoongi’s head before walking out of the room and towards the kitchen. You made a quick sandwich to refuel before getting back to playing. As you ate, you thought of how well this was going to be. Granted it was only the first day, but this was going to be good. Just by the look on Yoongi’s face you could tell. He was absolutely in love with that small little ball of fur, his baby. Your baby. 

Finishing up your little sandwich, you made your way back to the bedroom. It was quiet, you didn’t hear any more rustling or mewling. Brows furrowed, you opened the door and the sight you saw before you melted you. Yoongi laid curled up in the middle of the bed, similar to how he did when he first got comfortable with you when you got him. Moonlight was tucked close to his chest with an arm draped over her, fast asleep.

On your tiptoes, you made your way over to the bed to lay opposite of Yoongi. They both stirred as the mattress dipped beneath your weight, but both remained with eyes closed. You let your arm drape over Yoongi’s side, effectively sandwiching Moonlight between the two of you. There the three of your laid, tired smiles on your faces as you warmed the new addition of the family between you.

[thanksjro]

More Than Meets the Eye #33: In Which I Write the Word ‘Quantum‘ 19 Times

Dang, I forgot what happened at the end of the last issue. It was pretty important, too, but I don’t have time to reread. Maybe the establishing shot can help me out?

Oh, that’s right, Rewind happened!

Everyone’s pretty jazzed that Rewind is here, non-exploded, and supposedly alive. Megatron carries this ridiculously small man over to a table, while Skids is busy admonishing Nightbeat for trying to put the pieces of this mystery together.

That’s one of the two first canonically, openly gay Transformers, Megatron. You bet your ass he’s important.

Nightbeat’s dragged Nautica over to look at that poster for Crosscut’s play they saw last issue. Together, they discover something interesting, and it’s not that Nightbeat’s chin has elongated to the point of absurdity. On this future ship, the play was completed and produced a mere few weeks after the initial launch of the Lost Light.

While this is going on, Rewind wakes up and asks Skids what the hell is going on. Skids, likely not wanting to poke at farm-fresh trauma, glosses over the fact that everyone on this ship was violently murdered, and that they found Rewind blacked out inside the hollowed torso of his brother-in-law.

…This is a dark story line.

You see, the joke here is that “Dark Cybertron” sucked major chrome.

Megatron reminds everyone that they’re still in grave danger every moment they stay aboard this ship, but Skids is more concerned with Rewind’s mental health. Which is sweet, but maybe not the thing to prioritize in such a precarious situation.

Rewind takes the fact that Megatron is an Autobot now pretty friggin’ well, as well as the introduction of gender into his species. That is, until Nightbeat, the king of social graces, saunters up to the scene to ask Rewind what the hell happened to the ship. He does get his answers, despite Rewind being horrified to the point of speechlessness.

Over at the hole in the wall, Nautica and Riptide are taking a gander at the quantum drums, which house the quantum foam for the quantum engines so quantum jumps can happen.

As Nautica explains the process by which quantum travel works, she realizes that the answer to what happened to everyone who disappeared was right in front of them this whole time.

Quantum, quantum, quantum- doesn’t even sound like a word anymore, does it?

The data slug Rewind made corroborates this theory, showing a series of events that definitely didn’t happen to the Lost Light we’ve been following throughout this story so far. The data slug contains this Rewind’s version of dead Rewind’s “Little Victories”, the travelogue that was never completed, where the question “are you happy?” revealed just how emotionally unhealthy most of the crew is. I’d like to imagine this Rewind’s film is called “Small Achievements”, or perhaps “Dear Fucking Lord, We’ve Been on this Trip for Three Hours and the Captain Has Been Killed by a Goddamned Soul-Vampire”, or maybe even “Where the FUCK is Our Therapist”.

The DJD came into the equation by way of someone having led them to the Lost Light. We get a flashback panel of the gorefest, in which Tarn appears to have learned how to fly, given the angle he’s coming from.

Because Rewind’s big thing in this series is being the guy who records stuff, the DJD take the opportunity to make some movies of their visit to the space yacht.

James, why do you keep getting Rewind involved with snuff films? I’m starting to get concerned.

Now, the thing about Rewind is that he’s almost always accompanied by his other half. Where is Chromedome, anyway?

He’s dead, that’s where.

Turns out, when you tell the DJD that you won’t do the thing they want you to do, they have a habit of doing nasty things in retaliation. Chromedome got stabbed in the friggin’ visor with his own finger needles, because Vos enjoys ironic deaths, I suppose. There’s some other stuff that’s implied to have happened, but we’ll get to that once we learn a little more about the DJD themselves.

While Rewind recounts the grisly tale of his husband’s demise, Riptide notes that the quantum foam has begun to spread at a remarkable rate. This is a bad thing, because that shit can and will explode, given half the chance, and this wreck is floating right above a potentially-inhabited planet.

Though I could have sworn we established that this planet was a Smartplanet, and therefore very much populated by students and staff. I don’t know. Maybe we conveniently forgot that, so we could make this a learning moment for Megatron.

Jiminy Christmas, Megs, do you even listen to yourself?

Skids, who has had a very long day of finding corpses and learning about quantum theory, snaps at Megatron, telling him that in order to actually be an Autobot, you have to have a little frickin’ compassion for those outside of your peer group.

Which is sort of contradictory to the Aequitas trials, the Killswitch debacle, the POW situation back on Cybertron, and whatever the fuck Prowl’s whole deal is, but maybe Skids is speaking about his own, personal relationship with being an Autobot. Hopefully so, otherwise he needs a class on critical thinking, STAT.

Never mind all of that though, because the problem just got a lot worse- the quantum foam has expanded to a point where any holes in the stuff are too small for the Rod Pod to get through. We’re going to have to get creative if we want to save the day.

Luckily, we’ve got a quantum duplicate of just about the tiniest little dude in the franchise here to do the job. Now we just need another, equally tiny little man, so the quantum drums can be shut off at the same time. Nautica commits more microaggressions, and this gives Getaway inspiration for a witty quip, which in turn gives Skids a brilliant idea.

The gang heads down to Brainstorm’s lab, to look for the mass displacement gun that was used for treating Ultra Magnus’s nanocon infestation back in the 2012 Annual. While they search, Nautica explains just why the hell the Lost Light disappeared in the first place. You see, quantum duplication acts on the Cain Instinct— it’s fine, as long as the duplicates don’t perceive each other. However, the moment contact is made, it says “oh man, guess I’m gonna have to end you” to one of the duplicates. The contact in this case happened when the Coffin Rodimus was brought aboard the ship.

Anything that wasn’t aboard the Lost Light at the point of the takeoff/explosion was never duplicated, and thus wasn’t erased from reality once shit started going to hell. This is why the Rod Pod is still around, and why the remaining cast are— well, the remaining cast.

While this conversation is going on, Nautica and Nightbeat uncover yet another dead body; it’s Brainstorm, and he’s a little underdressed.

…Someone run a paternity test, I think Cyclonus might be the father.

Also, Brainstorm’s a double agent.

Fucked up.

Getaway is furious that a Decepticon has been living on the same ship as him for the last six months, right under his proverbial nose. Even Megatron’s surprised, stating that Brainstorm isn’t usually who the recruiters aim for.

So, no mass displacement gun, and now they’re aware of the fact that there’s a traitor on the ship who’s had access to a LOT of weapon tech. It’s at this point that Megatron decides to stop lying by omission and tells everyone that he can mass-displace, since he used to turn into a handgun.

Smashcut to Megatron and Rewind floating out in space, the former now not much taller than the latter, as they traverse the web of quantum foam to get to the drums. Nautica instructs them from the Rod Pod. If this works, anything produced or connected to the quantum engine will be neutralized, and maybe we’ll even get the other Lost Light back! YAAAAAY!!!

Y’all really let this man go out there to fuckin’ kill himself for the greater good, didn’t you?

Rewind is honestly pretty chill with ceasing to be, seeing as he watched 200/+ people die today, including his long-time spouse.

Jesus. I’d say get him a therapist, but in order to do that, we’re going to have to wipe him off the map anyway.

Rewind asks Megatron if the Chromedome that isn’t his and his duplicate are still together. And I mean…

Luckily, Megatron has the good sense to lie.

With that, they flip the switches, and deactivate the drums.

And that’s a series wrap on Rewind! Congrats to Mr. James Roberts for the esteemed honor of burying the same gay twice!

Later on, everyone is back inside the Rod Pod, as their disappeared shipmates return from being nonexistent. Chromedome pops back in, and Skids is on him like a shark, telling him to go on the roof. Skids doesn’t even try to explain why. Which, fair. How the hell do you explain to someone that their dead husband’s quantum duplicate survived both a terrorist splinter cell attack, and the laws of quantum sci-fi bullshit crashing down on his tiny, tiny body, and that he’s right there on the roof waiting for them?

Welp, there goes the Chromedome/Dominus endgame. Shame, that.

Looks like Chromedome finally hit the threshold for having earned Roberts’ pity, and won’t be directly targeted by the plot for a little while. This isn’t something you see very often, so let’s really soak this in.

…Someone had to have told Rewind what happened to the other Rewind, right? I wonder what that conversation was like.

Back inside the ship, Blaster gets word that the Lost Light has reappeared. As they navigate towards it, Megatron requests that an encrypted call be made to Rodimus, to discuss the Brainstorm problem.

In the interim, Ravage is offered the opportunity to be a part of the crew, so he doesn’t have to keep skulking around in the shadows. We don’t get an answer from him, as our focus shifts over to Nightbeat and Nautica.

Nightbeaaaaaaaaaat, stop stating the themes of the comic verbatim! People are going to start thinking you’re a shonen anime protagonist!

Nightbeat’s somehow managed to keep ahold of the briefcase that they found on the other Lost Light. Unless Brainstorm’s boyfriend is in there, I don’t think this one was the work of Huey Lewis and the News’ hit single from the Back to the Future soundtrack.

Over on the Lost Light, specifically in Swerve’s, Brainstorm’s making his way through the crowd, briefcase held gentle like hamburger as he goes. He makes it to the bar, where Atomizer tells him he can’t have his briefcase in here. Brainstorm has what most would accept to be a healthy response to being told “no.”

It’s what I would do.

[thepapergirlandthespiegelman]

Castlevania Season 4: I’m not mad, just disappointed

Season 4 is poorly written fanfiction, which is...better than a lot of things could be, I guess.

Spoilers below the cut.

Content warning: trauma, sexual assault, psychological manipulation

The Gods Have Had a Change of Heart

Or, “Season 3 Blocked and Ignored”

Season 3 felt like the fabric of the universe had been twisted just to inflict additional pain. Season 4 overcompensates in the other direction; trauma evaporates, and good things happen for no other reason than to make our favorite characters happy.

The Season 3 finale left two characters in particular totally devastated: Alucard and Hector. Alucard is violently betrayed in a horrifying sexual assault by the first two people he’s spoken to since Trevor and Sypha left. He ends up killing them in self-defense and puts their bodies on stakes outside the castle, alluding to his father’s habit of doing so and potentially hinting at a turn toward evil. Hector is seduced by Lenore and then enslaved using a magic ring.

Yet at the start of Season 4, it’s as if these things never happened. Alucard is troubled, but not totally devastated, certainly not evil. Taka and Sumi are referenced in exactly one conversation with new character, Greta, in which she says the rather tactless throwaway line, “I had a boyfriend and girlfriend at the same time once. But they never tried to kill me.” Hector is nominally imprisoned, but immediately seems highly agentic, perhaps even more so than before. He studies, lays traps, and makes secret plans with other people. Furthermore, his relationship with Lenore is completely transformed. From falling to his knees in abject horror and despair at being enslaved, he suddenly switches to light banter, in what is apparently a basically okay, mutually enjoyed romantic/sexual relationship. Manipulative, selfish Lenore is now a sympathetic character struggling to reconcile her own role and feelings with Carmilla’s plans.

The events of season 3 happened, remaining canon in the most basic, literal sense. But the emotional weight attached to them has disappeared into thin air.

Not gonna lie, I did breathe a sigh of relief when I saw that Alucard and Hector were okay. I’m soft-hearted! I don’t like seeing characters I like suffer! I mean, conflict is important, and I can deal with (or even enjoy in a certain sense) seeing characters suffer if it makes sense and serves a narrative purpose. But as far as I can tell, the season 3 finale was nothing more than lurid, meaningless violence. I probably wouldn’t have continued watching the show if it devolved into nothing more than finding novel ways to torture the characters.

Still, it doesn’t feel quite right to pretend like nothing happened either. Or, really, not that nothing happened, but that those things didn’t matter, didn’t hurt, didn’t leave lasting scars. That’s...almost kind of worse.

But, I thought, I can sort of forgive this sudden shift in the stars, given that there may have been some sort of change in creative direction relating to Ellis’ decreased involvement with the show.* Plus, season 3 was insanity. It’s not like it was full of great writing choices, so if we quietly ignore some of them, maybe that’s for the best.

*I only later learned that Netflix actually chose to continue with Ellis’ season 4 scripts. It is not lost on me that maybe Ellis doesn’t know how to write about the lasting effects of traumatic sexual experiences or how power dynamics can make a sexual relationship problematic because he doesn’t understand that those things exist.

Characters Being Nobody and Nothing Happening

Pretty Pictures, Not Much Else

Unfortunately, the disconnect between seasons 3 and 4 isn’t the only problem with this season. Although I felt that season 4 was a bit less boring than season 3 (I particularly enjoyed some of the earlier episodes of season 4), it suffers from the same basic problems of Characters Being Nobody and Nothing Happening.

None of the characters experience any significant development, let alone any sort of coherent arc. Sypha has changed slightly, becoming more rough and jaded. I did really like the scene where she talks about becoming the kind of person who says “shit.” I think it really speaks to how entering into a relationship with someone means taking on aspects of their lifestyle, and how that can change you in ways that you can’t predict and therefore can’t exactly “agree” to. Sometimes those changes are good, sometimes they’re bad, sometimes they’re neutral, and sometimes it’s difficult to know. But you have to accept that you’re sacrificing some aspects of the person that you could have been if you chose to live completely independently, or with someone else.

Trevor really hasn’t changed since season 1 when he first decided to take up the mantle of hero again. Likewise with Alucard. Hector and Lenore change, as previously noted, but that change is sudden, jarring, and occurs completely off screen in between seasons 3 and 4. Carmilla dies as exactly as she lived: bitter, angry, and violent. Saint Germain just kind of...gets fucked over in a nonsensical subplot, which is its own whole can of worms.

We also get several new characters in season 4, none of whom have developed personalities or motives, nor do they develop any of those things over the course of the season: Greta, Zamfir, Varney, Ratko.

And nobody. Does. Anything.

Trevor and Sypha spend the entire season trying to explore and aid Targoviste, which comes to absolutely nothing. They’re unable to help anyone, Zamfir dies, and they end up just jumping through a magic portal to the actually relevant subplot in the finale. Carmilla literally does little more than draw maps until she’s ultimately killed. Hector plays a minor role in Saint Germain’s extraction of Dracula from Hell; otherwise, he and Lenore basically just exchange banter. Saint Germain does sort of do some stuff? But it’s often unclear how he’s made his connections, who the people who are helping him are, or what exactly he’s doing in terms of his magic beyond “whatever it takes to get back to his lover.”

Sure, there are fight scenes, but they feel meaningless. There’s no context, no stakes. There’s also a LOT of dialogue, and it is. Not well written. Exposition is embarrassingly clumsy at times, and the philosophical musings are cliche at best, muddled and confusing at worst. There’s just not all that much going on.

That is, except for Isaac. But more on him in a second.

What Kind of Show Is This?

When the plot line adapted from Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse ended with season 2, the show struggled to establish a new identity.

Despite nominally dealing with themes like whether humanity is inherently good or evil and how to cope with wrongdoing and loss, seasons 1 and 2 ultimately boiled down to a pretty generic action-adventure/fantasy plot with found family/power of friendship elements. Main characters Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard don’t really wrestle with big philosophical questions or suffer any major defeats. They know that they have to take down Dracula for the good of the world, and they work together as a team to do it, with a little character development relating to their various backstories sprinkled in.

Then season 3 happened, and things got weird. The trio is broken up for what feels like a pretty trivial reason—Alucard has to protect the castle and Belmont hold, I guess? And the result of that decision is that the dynamics for the three main characters are completely unbalanced.

Ellis openly admits that he basically went feral with the writing of season 3, and it shows. The messaging in seasons 1 and 2 was cliche, but consistent. The message of season 3? Anyone’s guess.

Season 4 reversed the darkening of tone from season 3, but shares its inability to pick a story and tell it.

Isaac is the Main Character

Always has been.

While I can’t say that his character or arc are perfect, I can say that he actually has a character and an arc. He starts off motivated by his fierce loyalty to Dracula, then has to struggle to find his purpose once Dracula is gone. He goes from subservient to agentic. He goes from fully endorsing the genocide of humanity and not caring about his own life to seeing some worth in humans and genuinely wanting to live. He has an interesting moment that deepens our understanding of what night creatures are, while also serving as an exploration of the meaning of one’s fundamental nature. Most importantly, these changes happen naturally over the course of the show. They never feel forced or out of the blue, and while I feel like even more could have been done with Isaac’s character, there’s a lot to appreciate about what is there.

If there’s any thread holding Castlevania as a single, coherent work together, it’s Isaac. Not only is his character the best executed and the most coherent over the course of the show, his character explores themes that are larger than himself and relevant to the show as a whole, like those mentioned earlier: misanthropy versus a belief in the value of humanity; the ability to go beyond one’s “nature” or initial circumstances; and how to respond to being wronged or losing something important to you. Exploring the individual lives of characters is great, but really good writing usually requires going beyond that to reflect on broader questions and ideas. Isaac is the only character here that serves that larger purpose.

Sorry...I Just Don’t Buy It

The season 4 finale is crazy, although in a different way from season 3′s.

Varney being Death makes no sense on several different levels. I’m not going to spend a lot of time picking that particular plot twist apart, but I will talk about why I think it doesn’t work at the largest scale, and how I think season 4 might have been done better.

Last minute twists with zero foreshadowing are rarely a good idea, and this is no exception. Why introduce this “Death” entity at the last minute to be the most important battle of the season? The finale of the entire show, even? Besides the lack of logic or emotional buildup, this robs the show of the opportunity to make use of the antagonists that it already has. Since Dracula died, Carmilla has been the obvious choice for a new big bad. Why hasn’t she done more?

Season 4 feels crowded with characters and plot lines that amount to nothing. Why not bring some of these characters together? If Carmilla is the main antagonist, how come she never meets any of the protagonists (except Hector, who is a pretty minor player in this ecosystem) or even affects them in any way?

Season 4 feels like maybe it was trying to make something out of season 3 and the model that it presented, but it ultimately fails to do so. The writers throw the trio back together at the end anyway, so why not have them rejoin sooner and work together? Maybe Sypha and Trevor’s past experience with Saint Germain could have helped Alucard and Greta piece together what he was plotting sooner, rather than all four of them being completely blindsided by it in the penultimate episode. (Sypha and Trevor know that someone is trying to resurrect Dracula, but they fail to find out any actual detail about the plans, despite their supposed attempts.) Have characters actually do stuff, figure stuff out, advance the plot!

Likewise, maybe Carmilla becomes aware of Saint Germain’s scheming, sees it as a threat, and tries to take him down. Maybe she tries to get involved and somehow use alchemy or the Infinite Corridor to her own benefit. What does it look like when power-hungry Carmilla, who wants to rule the world, finds out there’s an entire multiverse out there? That could easily set her up to be a foil to Saint Germain, causing him to realize that what he’s doing is wrong.

What actually ended up happening in the show feels disjointed and often empty. In particular, most of the events that happen in the last two episodes just don’t really work for me. I didn’t like Trevor suddenly sacrificing himself to this random, new, super powerful enemy, or how the gems and dagger that he found just happened to be the perfect weapon to kill this new enemy, or how he inexplicably returns from the dead.

This kind of thing is what I mean when I say that this season feels like fanfiction. Trevor comes back from the dead for no discernible reason other than that it would really suck if he died. Greta as a character seems to literally only exist to be Alucard’s girlfriend and support him so that he doesn’t have to continue to be alone and potentially turn evil. Alucard’s trauma from Taka and Sumi and Hector’s trauma from Lenore are both conveniently erased. Even Dracula and Lisa are resurrected somehow and get their happy ending. And it’s like, I guess I prefer deus ex machina to the opposite (Does that have a name? When everything is going well but then something terrible happens for no reason other than to make things worse for the characters?), but they’re both bad writing.

God. This isn’t even getting into what happened with the Council of Sisters. And I don’t even really like those characters, but that doesn’t mean I want to see their characters handled poorly.

I’m not sorry that I watched until the end, but I can’t in good faith recommend the show as a whole. If you’ve yet to watch Castlevania, just stop at the end of season 2. While there are some shining moments in seasons 3 and 4 (4 more than 3), it’s just really not worth it.

[huihuiheart]

Love Potion #9 - Hyunjin

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Stray Kids Masterlist

Part of my Valentines Day Drabble Event 

74.“I love the sweet, romantic, gentle sex, babe, but I also just want you to throw me down and make me scream. Y’know?”

Pairing: Hyunjin x Gender Neutral Reader

Genre: Suggestive, implied smut, fluff

Warnings: Implied smut, implied rough sex, light dom/sub themes

Notes: I thought this would be rather short and sweet, but I got a little bit carried away.......don’t at me okay......it’s Hyunjin and the drink talked about was one of the best I’ve ever had. 

Word Count: 693

Hyunjin’s hands would have been all over you throughout the entire evening had you both been in different circumstances. You’d dressed up specially for him, something he knew and more than appreciated. His eyes constantly drifting over your form, getting drunk off your appearance. 

Unfortunately for Hyunjin, he had to wait until later to show you just how much he appreciated how delectable you looked tonight considering you two had plans out of the house for the evening. 

You had been dragging the evening out further just to tease him more too. Having insisted on you both getting a dessert from the restaurant you’d miraculously managed to get reservations at, on Valentine's Day no less. Taking his hand after you both finally finished there, and leading him out of the classy establishment...not to the car to go home, however. 

No, to Hyunjin’s dismay you’d lead him down towards a little cafe down the way that you knew was open 24/7 for the university students in the area. Something you have certainly taken advantage of before. Tonight, though, your goal was simply to test Hyunjin, already having in mind what you wanted. You were playing it off though, as simply wanting to introduce him to a special drink from their Valentine's Day lineup. Your recent favorite from their shop, which Hyunjin had already heard plenty about. 

Despite all your efforts, however, Hyunjin was too wrapped around your finger to notice that this was all a ploy. More than happy to simply slip his arm around your waist and allow you to indulge yourself in the Love Potion #9 Rosé. It is a tea-based drink, but a specialty brew in a cream base instead of water. Hints of chocolate and raspberry filling the air around you as you carefully held the cup in your hands, Hyunjin holding his own and finally tasting the drink you’d been raving about for the past week. 

Now that you both walked back to the car you practically shuddered at the thoughts of what the night would hold. Glancing at Hyunjin again, watching as he drove with one hand, the other occasionally bringing his cup up to sip at the drink, your gut only further twisted in desire. Knowing that your precious Love Potion tea would taste so much better with hints of Hyunjin mixed in, something you’d get a taste of very soon. 

Being as devoted to you as he was, Hyunjin did not quite have in mind the same thing as you did though. His touch tender and kisses sweet, and as pleasing as those were, it was not what you had been hoping for after trying to work him up all evening. Letting out a shaky sigh you call to him, he simply hums against your neck where he’s been peppering kisses, unwilling to separate from you now. 

“Hyunjin.” You call again, fingers weaving into his hair to gently tug him away enough to look at his face, and earning you a gasp,  “I love the sweet, romantic, gentle sex, babe, but I also just want you to throw me down and make me scream. Y’know?”

Hyunjin licks his lips, quirking up a brow, “Oh, so that’s what you’ve been playing at all night, huh? And here I was giving you the benefit of the doubt and thinking it was just you wanting a nice, slow, romantic evening. I should have known you were just being a tease again.”

You chuckle, smirking at him, “You’re right, I was being a tease again. Are you going to do something about it? Or are you still too soft for that?”

Hyunjin’s eyes darken, growling something under his break about wondering where this brat in you had suddenly come from. Especially after your brat had been making much more frequent appearances lately. Before, backing you towards the bed and playfully tossing you back onto it.

“You know I was going to be soft tonight, after such a sweet night with you love...but now I think I have some much better ideas in mind. I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into though because you’re in for a long night.”

[cotccotc]

┈┈ 𝐬𝐤𝐳 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬/𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 *:･ﾟ

✩ ot8 reaction headcannon, 2.5k words (eek sorry)

✩ genre/s: **fluff**, humor, established relationship, ot8 x gender neutral!reader

✩ warning/s: MOBILE TUMBLR HATES ME (some gifs & author’s note might not appear),,,, my terrible sense of humor/commentary, a couple of them are suggestive if you  s q u i n t

✩ a/n: idk if the concept makes any sense but it does in my mind \_( ‘-’ )_/ also seungmin’s part is the exact same kinda similar to a brief scenario in my txt soobin “brightest blue” fic... but it’s fineee. also i’m sorry that some are longer than others! enjoy :))

chan:

chan is definitely extremely interested in the music you listen to.

in fact, sometimes he’d probably insist that you show him your current playlist from start to finish lol.

i can imagine y’all hanging out at the dorms, maybe even mid-cuddle, listening to some of your recent favorites.

but there’s this ONE SONG--

your absolute JAM

you get up from your seat or the bed and start completely jamming out.

he stays where he is so he can watch you have the time of your life.

i guess nobody told him you’re a professional lip syncer… awk...

you grab a hairbrush and hold it up like it’s a microphone.

honestly you’re thriving,,

he’s kinda stunned. not in a bad way, but he’s just so mezmorized by how cute (and maybe a lil sexy) you are when you dance like no one’s watching.

there’s a particularly awesome beat drop toward the end of the song, which leads you to do some equally awesome head banging.

he’s cackling at this point, which drives you to act even sillier.

*ending pose*

once the song ends and you’re trying to catch your breath, he slowly starts clapping for you.

“the song was great, but the performance was even better,” he’d say, coming off a bit sarcastic. but he means well!

you start to get a bit self-conscious and shy as you put yourself together again.

he’ll try to comfort you, standing up to wrap you in a hug.

“don’t be embarrassed!” (cue soft chan),

“baby that was awesome”,

“you should join a rock band!”, etc.

overall, he’d love it when you share your music taste, and this event will probably set off a chain reaction of similar jam sessions in the future.

minho:

ok so we all know minho’s a cat person, blah blah blah...

but what if you got super excited about a really cute dog?

let’s say you’re on a walk at a park, holding hands, and talking.

all of a sudden you see someone walking their dog…

and when i tell you this is the cutest, tiniest dog on the face of the earth,,,

you immediately stop walking and squeeze minho’s hand. you point to the dog and start freaking out because it’s so cute.

he’d say something silly like, “what are you talking about? it looks like a rat.”

you disregard it because you’re just so excited about this puppy!

“can we pet it?” you ask.

“... fine” he replies, smiling at you, despite his attempts to act uninterested.

y’all go over to the woman walking her dog and ask if you can pet the puppy. when she says you can pet him, you immediately sit on the ground, ready to have the best puppy playdate of your life.

minho’s still standing, watching you with loving eyes.

of course, you start talking to the puppy as if he’s a baby. minho laughs, trying to stifle all the uwus emanating from his heart

the puppy climbs onto your lap and licks your face just a little bit.

you look up at minho with wide eyes, saying “awww, isn’t he so cute!”

he’d playfully roll his eyes because why would he cheat on cats like that…

then you tug on his hand, motioning for him to sit with you. he does, reluctantly.

you place the puppy on his lap to see what happens.

the dog loves him! (of course, because what living thing wouldn’t love lee minho?)

the puppy is licking minho all over as he makes faces of disgust and struggles to pull him away.

you laugh out loud, happier than ever at the two very good boys in front of you.

he smiles again, completely endeared with your excitement despite being covered in puppy spit...

so, it doesn’t matter what kinds of animals you two prefer, since you’re the cutest thing he’s ever seen. (aww)

changbin:

i feel like changbin is the type to not be ashamed of/shy about showing you the songs he’s writing.

...except for right now.

he just got home from the studio, dropping his bag onto a table… but some papers fall out.

you attempt to grab the papers, but changbin stops you and grabs them himself instead with a subtle hint of nervousness.

pretty suspicious if you ask me.

“what’s up?” you ask, a bit confused about what just happened.

he’d try to play it off like nothing suspicious was going on, but you know his poker face.

it’s too cute not to notice.

he likes to play all tough but you (and everyone else tbh) know him better than that.

you go to grab the papers, but he steps away. you try again… and again, and again, and again.

you become increasingly more frustrated and impatient with each attempt, until changbin holds them up high in the air where you can’t reach them. he has a look on his face that says ‘haha! gotcha!’

you’ve never done this much jumping in your life.

but you’re not a quitter.

“okay… i give up,” you say, returning to a stationary position and placing your arms around his neck.

however, just as he lowers his hands to your waist, you snatch the papers!

“AHA!” you exclaim.

all he can say is “damn it!” as you scramble to the couch with the papers in your hand. you sit facing away from him, attempting to speed-read the lyrics sprawled across the pages.

he follows you to the couch, trying to take the papers back from behind.

“binnie, these are so good!!”

“thanks… but were they worth betraying your innocent boyfriend?”

“yes. every word.” you finally hand him back the papers with a smirk.

he’d curse under his breath, ditching the papers in favor of tickling you instead.

what a terrible punishment!

hyunjin:

we all know hyunjin is a drama queen,,

you can be a bit of a dramatic person yourself (who isn’t?).

so when you lose your favorite sweater, you’re immediately going on a wild goose chase around the dorms, because that’s where you had it last.

you’re practically talking to yourself. double checking everywhere you’d been. retracing your steps like a mad person.

you need this sweater!!

you let out a little “urgh!” as you begin getting frustrated.

hyunjin would ask what’s wrong, and when you tell him, he’d GASP.

he’d be like:

“have you checked under the bed?”

“the couch?”

“what about over here?”

“over there?”

this boy will not REST until the sweater is back in your possession, wasting no time in matching your level of concern/dramatics...

… if not exceeding it.

y’all have practically torn the whole room apart at this point.

until finally, you find it in a random drawer (of course smh)

“I FOUND IT!” you’d exclaim, flopping onto the bed and putting the sweater on,

to which you’d receive a “YAY!” in return

tired and leaning against a wall, he’d say something like, “thank GOD! now, why do you need it so bad?”

and you’d simply and softly respond, “... i got chilly~”

he wouldn’t give a verbal response, but his face would go from relaxed to ‘bruh’.

you knew he’d be shocked at your statement, but you choose to tease him instead with a smile.

he would then opt to tackle you in the bed, fumbling with the covers and vowing to make you as warm as humanly possible.

jisung:

jisung definitely loves showing you the music he’s been working on, just like changbin.

except… this time, the lyrics aren’t necessarily what you’re used to hearing.

you can tell jisung’s a bit nervous as he presses play, choosing to keep his eyes on the floor as he nods his head to the rap.

you’re listening intently, as curious and excited as you are every other time…

but then you realize that it’s about you……

the lyrics talk about letting someone into his life and his longing to be even closer to that person than he is now.

therefore,,,,   u w u

you giggle, which prompts him to look up at you almost immediately with anticipation about your reaction.

you decide to wait until the end of the song to react, but you can already feel the excitement bubbling up inside of you.

the song ends, and you’re sitting in silence alongside jisung. “so… what did you think?”

“well… i think…” you trail off, looking into jisung’s eyes.

with a bit of a squeal you leap up from your seat and essentially attack him.

you straddle his legs (don’t get any *ideas* this is FLUFF for goodness sake) and wrap your arms around his neck, locking him into a big hug.

“i love it, baby. so, so, so, much,” you respond quickly and genuinely.

he laughs, his arms wrapping around you.

he’d probably remark, “you scared me for a second!”

you laugh in response, apologizing for your delayed reaction.

deep down, he’d feel so relieved that you liked the song and its sentiment.

he’d also be so happy to have you, his overexcited sweetheart, in his arms.

however, at the surface, he’d prefer to tease you. “next time, don’t make me wait so long!”

felix:

ok so y’all send memes and tik toks back and forth all day every day. it’s just protocal.

also,,, you could literally be in the same room, and he’d still just start sending you tik toks he’d saved just to send to you and see your reaction.

but there’s this   o n e

you can’t quite explain why but when you watch the tik tok that your boyfriend sent you from across the couch, you laugh harder than you’ve ever laughed before.

whatever humor you may have, this tik tok completely encompasses it in a beautiful, stupid way.

before you know it, you begin cackling.

felix knows that you’ve always been a bit embarrassed of your laugh (who isn’t, right?), so when you start letting loose he’s a bit caught off guard.

still, he joins in (at a smaller scale, of couse).

he always wants to see you happy, but this is a whole new level of cuteness in his eyes.

your laughter subsides a bit...

until you decide to watch the tik tok again.

believe it or not, it’s even funnier the second time!

you double over, laughing so hard that no sound is even coming out of your mouth.

“are you okay?!” he’d ask, laughing harder now at your actions.

he’d put his arms around you so he could hold you up.

you’d mouth out a “no” in response.

there are practically tears forming at the corners of your eyes.

he’d continue looking down at you with a beaming smile, holding you up until your laughter comes to a full stop.

“was it really that funny? i can’t even make you laugh like this.”

you’re almost dazed, your stomach hurting (in the best way possible). you try to steady your breathing.

after a few seconds of recovery, he’d whisper in your ear with a deep, silly voice...

“...wanna watch it again?”

it’s safe to say you won’t fully recover for a while.

seungmin:

on days off, you watch dramas with seungmin to take both of your minds off of work/school/whatever’s been keeping you busy.

however… of course you can’t go a whole episode without laughing hysterically, and it’s all because of seungmin.

it could be the most dramatic, intense, or heartbreaking scene in the show but he would make it into a full blown impersonation comedy routine.

ESPECIALLY if the drama is in a foreign language.

this boy will reinact all of the subs in the stupidest way possible.

but, today he’s a bit exhausted, snuggling up against you and not saying much.

our boys work too hard :((   (but wbk)

...so you decide to take his place.

you start off kind of hesitantly, waiting to see if he’d even react. when the main characters start to have an argument, you begin reading the subtitles in a silly voice.

you hear a soft giggle from your boyfriend has be tightens his arm’s grip around your waist.

you begin to use different voices for each of the two characters, alternating between a nasly, high pitched one and a lower one with voice cracks. this makes seungmin laugh harder, going from a giggle to his usual open-mouthed chuckle.

he’s so cute >_< ,,anyways…

as the scene intensifies, so does the volume of your impersonations.

“yOu’Ve bEtRaYeD mE!”

“BuT yOu LiEd tO mE!”

at this point seungmin is cackling despite his heavy eyes and unwillingness to move. he’d be so caught up in your routine that he’d forget he was even tired.

you look up at him to see that big smile and those sparkly eyes you love so much, which motivates you to be even goofier!

you sit up, leaving seungmin’s grasp. you begin making hand gestures to match your overdramatic tone.

the scene comes to a climax, in which you recite the final line with more ferver and fake passion than ever before. you finish it off with a fist in the air for ~emphasis~.

as you hold this pose, you hear your loyal audience member begin to cheer for you. he claps, whisper-shouting “ahh” to create fake crowd noises.

“what a show!” he would commend you with an expression of sarcastic awe on his face.

you’re really glad you decided to cheer him up…

but not nearly as glad as he is to have you with him on a day like this.

jeongin:

jeongin’s smile could literally melt anyone’s heart. everybody knows this.

i don’t care who you are, if you see jeongin smile, you either smile or cry and there are no other options.

i don’t make the rules.

so, when he shows you the ‘lovestay’ version of his latest dance practice, you’re bound to go insane with adoration.

as soon as his solo comes up and the camera zooms in on his sweet, smiling face, you give his cheek a little poke

you say, “that’s you!”

“shut up,” he’d respond, giggling.

“wait, i missed something,” you say with a sense of urgency. you take the phone from his hands, rewinding a few seconds.

he’d roll his eyes at you, getting a bit shy.

you resume the video until the boy in the video holds up a finger heart, at which point you press pause.

“look how cute!” you exclaim, looking up at jeongin and pointing back and forth between him and the screen.

“stop it!” he’s blushing (and you’re screaming internally at how cute he is) as he tries to refrain from making a big smile.

you poke his side, resulting in a small fit of laughter that forces his bright grin to peek out.

he swats your hand away, putting his arm around you

(partly to show his affection and partly to make you hold still)

you place your head onto his shoulder, resuming the video for the final time. “you’re too cute. i can’t help it.”

“but you’re the cutest...” he murmurs, almost inaudibly to someone who isn’t as close to him as you are now.

heat rises in your face.

you: “...stop…”

him: “hah!”

touché...

©️ cotccotc 2020 ~ all rights reserved. do not repost my work on tumblr or other platforms.

[dom--minnie]

Three is a Party (fluff, smut, angst)

Teaser | approx. 8k words

"But I always say... three's a party!" Andy Warhol

Summary: Secrets aren't meant to be held in relationships. Unfortunately, Felix currently holds three. One is let out with no problem. The second creates complications no one could have forseen. The third, well he isn't the only holder of that secret.

Content: established reader and felix, non-idol au, felix wears skirts, felix is very nervous, threesome, switch! reader, switch! felix, dom! chan, mutual pining, slight lack of communication, threesome arrangments with kink and safeword discussion, daddy kink (SORRY IT JUST WORKS TOO WELL FOR CHAN), unprotected sex, protected sex, piv, M x M intimacy, size kink, strength kink, hand kink, finger sucking, praise kink, pet names, breeding kink, voyeurism, accidental confessions, polyamory negotiations, chan is a bit of a dummy about it

a/n: me? writing plot? it will happen sometimes hah. i doubt anyone will but lemme know if i should tag you when this is posted 💕

Release date: late march/early april

I AM NOT ASSUMING ANY SEXUALITY NOR RELATIONSHIPS OF THE STRAY KIDS MEMBERS. THIS IS ALL FICTION AND FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THIS DOES NOT REPRESENT THE ACTIONS OR FEELINGS OF LEE FELIX OR BANG CHAN OF STRAY KIDS AND JYP ENTERTAINMENT

Dinner is chilled but slowly is more and more tense as each bite brings you closer the main event that you all know is there. No one is going to bring it up and instead you all watch each other. Chan has a certain... look on his face sometimes that you're not sure what it means. Regardless of that, it's his actions after that confuse you more.

He looks at Felix or you when you speak and the look overtakes his face. After a few moments he seems to realize it, pull back and settle into a more neutral expression. It's a cycle you watch at least 6 times.

Felix spends most of the dinner just looking incredibly happy. One of his closest friends and significant other in place with a wonderful dinner and flowing conversation.

His freckles are more prominent in the dimmer lighting and he looks simply ethereal. Who needs the lights on when Felix's smile is better than the sun?

Eventually it ends. Plates are clean and heavy looks exchanged. Chan's hand comes to rest on your knee but Felix pulls you by the wrist towards him.

When you stand he looks so small that you just can't help but put your hand in his hair. He looks up at you with wide eyes and you lean in. Adorably sweet, he leans back to let you lead.

A light bite on his lower lip from your canines then you give him what he wants. The look from before, wide eyed and asking, he wants his hair to be pulled. One of your hands goes threads through the hair on the back of his head then pulls. He gasps and you pull away.

Lips now more red than pink and eyes pulling you in to their widened depths. There's an audience here with you. You go around the table and Chan stands to meet you.

"Can we kiss you?" You ask, standing mere centimetres away.

He should say no. He should say no, saynosaynosay-

"Yes."

You surge forward and the kiss is heavy as soon as it begins. Felix comes up behind you and rests his hands on your hips with his hot breaths fanning over your ear.

You step away and Felix switches your places to kiss Chan, the older man having no chance to catch his breath.

Felix is panting when he pulls back and you chuckle in his ear about his clear desperation. Your hands go around to his chest and rub the material of his shirt onto his hardened nipples. Chan's hands have lifted his shirt the slightest bit and sit on the bare skin of his hips.

You become distracted by them for a moment and nearly drool when you think about them in your mouth. Chan lets out a small laugh breath and you make eye contact when you look up.

"Let's go get comfortable."

"Come on, baby boy, follow him."

Chan smirks when Felix lets out a whine at the petname. Felix's ears are likely to be a permanent red tonight and you certainly don't mind.

"Yes, you're our baby boy tonight, aren't you?" You tease.

Chan's face twitches ahead of you but he doesn't say anything and you let him be. The door clicks open and shut, Chan moves and suddenly you're pinned against the door. You whimper at the change and he hums. The other door clicks while Felix changes. Not even that noise can make you look away from Chan's hungry gaze, it has begun.

[mojjisxng]

dance, baby! | prince!niki au

requested

pairing- niki x gender neutral reader (there is a mention of a dress, but anyone can wear dresses, not just girls, sooo yeah)

genre- fluff, angst if you zoom in with a microscope, forbidden love

warnings- literally one swear word (if that counts lmao)

word count- 1.5k

a/n- correct me if i’m wrong, but this is the best piece of writing i have ever done, probably because i spent a bunch of time on it. i feel really proud of this au, so it would be very very very appreciated if you gave it some love🥺😘 -issy❤️

mellifluous sounds from the string orchestra rose in volume, from a soft murmur up to a clarion call, which seemed to penetrate every nook and cranny of the Ume Kingdom; the ball was about to begin.

for palace servants like you, the annual new year’s ball is a taxing and mind-numbing event. the truth of the matter is that you had to rush from handing out drinks, to taking guests’ overcoats, to then clean up after everybody, all the while being treated like shit by most attendees. however, there was an upside; you were actually allowed to wear A GOWN this year. the dress appeared to gleam every time the dazzling lights of the ballroom caught it, and it’s blush pink satin with intricate gold detailing soft to the touch. although you felt gorgeous in your new getup, the wisps of hair falling from your updo due to the labours of your work, got on your nerves nearly as much as the pompous guests and the clanging music that hurt your overworked brain. after about two and a half hours of attending to the royal family and their acquaintances, you finally found a slot of time to stand and take in the jovial atmosphere of the party. weeeeell that was until you felt a faint tap on your shoulder….

now, the beloved prince niki was on the opposite end of the ballroom to you at the start of the ball, where he had to interact with all of his parents’ ‘friends’ (more like people they can use to boost the status of their kingdom). these tight-lipped exchanges usually surrounded the topic of arranged marriages, as an irritated niki had to listen to a plethora of noblemen’s daughters blether away about how great they were. all the poor boy wanted to do was let loose a bit and dance, but he knew he’d get severely scolded by his parents. you see, rumours circulated (very true rumours in fact) that niki had a passion for dancing and would always be seen leaping down the grand palace halls- giving him the immensely unfortunate sobriquet, ‘the pirouetting prince’. when he eventually escaped the clutches of the desperate and power-hungry party-goers, niki sprinted with superhuman speed to a secluded corner of the room. that’s when he laid eyes on you; not for the first time though. in actuality, you and niki had established an unexpected bond, which had started when you were mopping the floors of the palace’s spacious corridors and happened to trip right onto niki’s patent leather shoes. you thought he was going to yell at you, just as any other member of the royal family would, yet the kid only started howling with laughter. you were utterly shocked by his easygoing behaviour, mainly because you always thought that he purported the same air of regality as his strong headed parents, even at such a young age. nevertheless, that’s how your friendship, aaaand maybe some other feelings blossomed. this led to secret conversations away from the prying and disapproving eyes of the other staff, the monarch, and his wife. sometimes you two would sneak out of the palace to go on late night adventures in the city, strolling along the cherry blossom avenues, too engrossed in your own little world to care about anything else.

all of the air left niki’s lungs as soon as he saw your ethereal figure in the distance. even though your hairdo was as good as ruined, you had sweat lining your brow and your resting bitch face was at its highest level of ‘i want to die and i also want all of you to die’, he thought you exuded the most magnificent energy in the room. even the classical music, which honestly constantly ground on his gears sounded marvellous when he looked upon you. so he bounded over to you like a puppy to their favourite human, and lightly patted your shoulder.

you pivoted around when you felt the tap on your shoulder, and was faced with a dashing prince niki. a deep blush immediately tainted your cheeks and crept down your neck, at the realisation that niki was talking to you in public.

“h-hey prince niki, do you require my service?,” you stuttered.

“uhhhh yeah i do require your service,” he mocked your politeness, “i require you to come and dance with me. what’s with the formalities all of a sudden?”

“well i didn’t expect you to come and talk to me with all these people around; you know that your parents don’t like that we’re friends.” in fact, the king and queen despised that he was friends with a lowly, working-class servant like you.

“anyways, i can’t dance with you, i have a job to do unlike you,” you continued with a hint of jealous spite in your voice.

niki shot back with nonchalance as he grabbed your wrist and tugged you along behind him, “well i’m the prince, the future ruler of the Ume Kingdom, so what i say goes, which means you’re going to put that tray down and dance with me.”

and that was that.

gracefully, you and niki almost floated around the dance floor in time to the bounding waltz that enriched your ears. what you failed to notice as the both of you stared into each other’s love struck orbs, was the king muttering to his guards, commanding them to separate his son from you. it was a good thing that niki detected the shifty and brisk movements of the palace guards just in time to instruct you to run. swiftly, the pair of you manoeuvred through the swarm of people, bolted into the vast, luscious gardens and made your way to the centre of the hedge maze, built on the wishes of a five year old niki many moons ago.

when you reached the middle of the colossal maze, you both fell onto a marble bench, catching your breaths as though you had ran a marathon. finally, your heart rate decreased and you turned to face niki, who was already observing your every move, “niki, when they find us, i am soooo going to get fired, maybe even exiled. i’m terrified of losing you at the best of times, never mind us being caught interacting right in front of a bevy of your female suitors!”

“yeah i’m scared too, but even though i’m afraid, i strongly believe that we should do our best with the situation; let’s just try. it should be obvious by now that i like you, i like you a lot, so i think that we should change their outdated attitudes on the relationship between stupid social class and love,” niki declared with conviction.

“i like you a whole lot too, but it’s not that easy. maybe your parents are right to judge, i’m just a poor scullery maid, who has no parents and nothing to offer,” you replied dejectedly.

“listen to me y/n, you are the most fair and precious person i have ever laid eyes on. you are intellectual, generous and you have the best sense of humour that even the jesters are jealous of-”

“wait- are you calling me a clown?” you teased.

“n-no i didn’t mean it like that. i told you to just listen didn’t i? i’m not finished. you’re eyes hold the andromeda within them, you’re lips outshine the loveliness of the roses in these very gardens and the brightness of your cheek would shame those stars up there.”

the poetic words that spouted from the boy in front of you brought a tear to your glittering eyes. no words could leave your mouth, too choked up to utter a word, so you engulfed him in the warmest hug niki had ever experienced and smashed your pouty lips onto his porcelain cheek. that was confirmation enough of your feelings towards niki. even so, he whispered words of comforting optimism into your fluffy hair, “we don’t need the approval of anyone, we should be able to run for our hearts, run for our lives, run for our dreams.” he paused to press a tiny kiss to the crown of your head, but continued with all the solemnity he could muster, “we can make this work, we will make this work.”

so as the new year materialised into view, the young lovers could be seen under the pale moonlight and twinkling constellations, huddling close to avoid the light pinches of the winter zephyr and dreaming of their future together.

[phoenixyfriend]

The IzuTobi Prequel

Prequel to this post, which I’ve taken to calling the “Red Eyes = Spouse Material” AU.

WARNING: contains a reference to worries/fears of sexual coercion.

Like, okay, they did not know that Tobirama had red eyes at first. They weren't close enough on the river for Izuna to see, since he didn't have Sharingan yet, while Tajima and Madara were looking at their respective opponents, not Tobirama.

Then, once they were in their early teens, and Izuna already had his Sharingan, they met on the battlefield for the first time, and Izuna saw Tobirama's eyes. Sure, Tobirama wouldn't meet his gaze, but Izuna could still see him.

And Izuna, as is only natural, went to Madara to ask 'hey uhhhhhhhhh one of our enemies is actually Amaterasu-blessed, what do.'

And Madara's just like '!!!!!' because hey actually this is great news everybody knows that the first step upon meeting an unmarried stranger with red eyes is to figure out who the best person to court them is, they can get a marriage alliance out of this to end the bloodshed and child death! Even the Elders can't argue against having a clan marriage to an Amaterasu-blessed indivi--

They object.

Well, Tajima objects.

Madara and Izuna bring the issue to him, both pretty excited about doing the whole "arranged engagement in the early teens, actual marriage at twenty or so" thing as a way to stop killing kids but Nope! For a variety of reasons, most of which boil down on Tajima's side to "the Senju have killed three of my children, I have no interest in taking in one of their own," the plan is shot down.

Madara and Izuna are naturally devastated but keep an eye out for like. A chance. To slip the info to Tobirama or Hashirama so they're at least aware of the possibility for when Tajima dies, in case Butsuma is more open to it?

I can't decide if they actually manage to set up a Secret Meeting prior to their dads' deaths, but I'm leaning towards 'no.'

(In this plot, Izuna is still wary of the Senju, but much more open to the idea of peace on account of Auspicious Omens Are Here.)

Anyway, Tajima dies first, I think, and Madara's first act as Clan Head is to send Hashirama a request by hawk for a private meeting. Hashirama is still only heir, not Clan Head, but Butsuma is ill (infected wound, I think), so Hashirama has the option of accepting this.

They meet, and Madara explains that he can sway most of the clan into an alliance--not just an armistice, but an actual alliance, possibly even establish that village they talked about as kids--if they can marry Tobirama into the Uchiha.

"Does it have to be Tobirama?" Hashirama asks, because he's not the best brother, but he's good enough to know that Tobirama hates the idea of getting married.

"Yes," Madara says, and then explains that it's all in the eyes, that this is a deeply spiritual thing to the clan and while some of the more militant elders may object, most of the clan will take the red eyes as a sign that this is intended to happen.

And Hashirama is quiet, and then asks if a marriage would require Tobirama to sire any children.

"We're not going to try to steal a kekkei genkai."

"That's not it."

"...wait, does he prefer men? We can--we can make that happen. If it's... hell, in that case it might work better, he could marry me or Izuna, direct connection to the main house, skip the issue of heirs and--"

"No, that's not... not it. But it makes me feel better to know that. I'll have to run it past him."

Tobirama is VERY ace and Hashirama had strict plans to respect that so he's trying to feel out if consummation would be required, or if a kiss for the wedding and then cohabitation would be enough.

Internal logic is "I want peace but not at the expense of handing my brother over for coerced marital rape where he thinks he can't say no without restarting the war."

He manages to get the agreement that the Uchiha weren't looking to pressure Tobirama into any sex-related things, though Madara still thinks it's a matter of Bloodline Protection and that Hashirama is worried about, like, someone trying to steal surplus semen or something.

Hashirama goes home and outlines it to Tobirama, who is very ??? about the whole thing but willing to at least consider it after Hashirama explains the basic requirements and how he confirmed that sexual relations aren't necessary. Hashirama floats it past Butsuma as a Theoretical Exercise, and is shot down.

So, Hashirama sends Madara a letter to the effect of "Our esteemed Clan Head says no, but we'll keep it in mind [insert veiled implication that Butsuma's dying anyway here]."

Madara and Hashirama have always kinda held back against each other, but now Tobirama and Izuna are also holding back the teensiest bit, just enough that nobody can be sure (and tell Butsuma or and Elder about it).

Well, Touka notices, but her first resort is "ask Tobirama to his face" and second resort is "bother Hashirama about it" so she gets the rundown on how Madara and Izuna are angling to get a political marriage with Tobirama since his eyes are Apparently a spiritual matter to the Uchiha as a whole.

Obviously, Butsuma dies, and Hashirama then immediately sends Madara a letter like "HEY so I'm Clan Head now, here's a nice inn located in neutral territory, bring your brother and an advisor, I'll do the same, let's hammer out a contract ASAP."

So it's Hashirama, Tobirama, and Touka on one side, Madara, Izuna, and Hikaku on the other.

Tobirama explains that he refuses to engage in sexual relations with anyone he marries (internally he's thinking that he might eventually take interest if he gets comfortable enough, but overall the entire concept is a little disgusting to him, and he doesn't want anyone to think they can convince him to do it, so he takes a hardline stance during the marriage contract negotiation process), but is open to his marriage partner engaging in an extramarital affair for a period of time in order to secure an heir.

"I promise we're not trying to steal your--" "Madara. Look at me. I do not like sex, and have never had any intention to engage in the activity with anyone, Uchiha or Senju or any clan at all. I had no plans for marriage, ever. The only reason I am opening myself to this one is because I value the opportunity for peace." "...oh."

So, you know, that's out in the open now, but it actually makes it easier to negotiate because they now know why he's uncomfortable with the idea of marriage, so other things (like the cohabitation and dowry and whatnot) can be discussed without people getting resentful about the other party not trusting them with genetic material. Hashirama and Madara get really excited about the whole village idea again, in part because Hashirama wants his brother to be able to visit Really Easily.

At one point they ask Tobirama who he wants to marry, if there's anyone he's interested in? Male or female? What ages is he comfortable with? Main line would be most politically expedient, but--

And he's just like "I know Izuna best, as my rival, and I've taken note of enough recently to know he's not a terrible person, at least as far as any shinobi can be 'good.' If Izuna is open to it, then I would like to discuss what cohabitation would look like between us. Should our expectations of daily life line up well enough, then I imagine that would be optimal."

Izuna's torn, because Amaterasu-blessed, but also he'd kind of been hoping for a Real Marriage with Affection and Children. Touka loudly suggests they take a recess and let Tobirama and Izuna talk in private for a bit.

Izuna manages to get across his personal worries, and Tobirama laughs and says that he actually loves children and was planning to take on plenty of students. "If you don't like the option of the extramarital affair for a child, we could always adopt. As for affection... I've been told I cling like an eel in my sleep, if that suggests anything."

"So if I grew enough feelings that I wanted, like... a good morning kiss or something..." "Quite frankly, my feelings on kissing in general are pretty neutral. It's a little strange, but I could engage with it, once a rapport is built. Heavy petting is distasteful, however, and anything past that..."

And Izuna listens to all that like "Oh. Okay, I will be able to Acquire Cuddles."

Then they discuss the whole 'what do we anticipate out of cohabitation' thing, like pets and cleanliness standards and what spare rooms are for and what goes on in the basement and allergies. It matches up... not perfectly, really, but close enough that they can make it work. They shake hands like the nerds they are and call their families back in and say they've decided it'll work so let's get that paperwork drawn up and start planning a wedding.

Aaaaaaaaaaand then Zetsu kills Izuna and convinces Madara that it was Tobirama's fault so he loses the plot (or, well, finds the canon plot, really).

I'm happy to imagine Tobirama and Izuna on a couch in their house, Izuna halfway asleep and leaning his head on Tobirama's shoulder, while Tobirama's got on a pair of glasses and is reading a book.

Just. Really domestic.

Cutesy.

IDK I feel like they just end up as pleasant roommates who don't necessarily ignore each other, but are well aware of the fact that they entered into this arrangement with non-romance expectations, and they're both okay with that.

They take dinner together, talk shop, try to engage with each other's hobbies, go to events as each other's default plus-one...

It’s Nice

[yukidragon]

When chapter 1 first came out Toby made a twitlonger to answer some questions people may have and here's what he said about the connection between Undertale and Deltarune.

"What you're seeing here is not the world of UNDERTALE. UNDERTALE's world and ending are the same as however you left them. If everyone was happy in your ending, the people in the UNDERTALE world will still be happy. So, please don't worry about those characters, and that world. It will remain untouched".

He also said, "To rephrase that, DELTARUNE's world is a different one. With different characters, that have lived different lives. A whole new story will happen... I don't know what you call this kind of game. It's just a game you can play after you complete UNDERTALE, if you want to. That's all".

This means that the Genocide ending of Undertale has no relation to Deltarune, especially considering the fact that not everyone has done/wants to do a Genocide run. So it wouldn't make sense for Chara to be involved at all since they only wanted to erase the world and move on the next (presumably another game) because of the events that took place during the Genocide route.

Obviously Kris is their own person struggling against the control of the player, that being even more evident in the Snowgrave route and certain reactions they have towards actions the player makes throught the main game. But to shifting the blame onto a character from another game is pretty redundant and misses the point of Deltarune's theme of choices not mattering that being your choices and Kris's choices.

I know that you don't like Chara and have a lot of issues with them and I'm not going to go into a rant on whether or not they're "evil" but cmon. Trying to make them out as "The big bad" in Deltarune is pretty unnecessary.

Hang on, who said I don’t like Chara?

I’m pretty sure I’ve said repeatedly that I’m a Chara fan? I mean, why else would I get so deep into character analysis of them and co-work on an ask blog centered around her?

You can enjoy a fictional character but still think they did bad things and theorize that they had ill-intentions. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.

Anyway, onto the part about Deltarune... I’m aware of Toby’s statement. I’m also aware that Toby has established that this is a multiverse by creating Deltarune in the first place. How I interpreted his statement, and Deltarune’s existence in general, was that everyone’s personal interpretation of their own playthrough and the story they made with Frisk and the others is canon. There are worlds where players chose genocide, pacifist, neutral, or even abandoning the run in perpetuity.

Personally, I think that’s fantastic. It means people are free to read into the game, its events, and its characters in the way that most resonates with them and that’s absolutely valid.

I think it’s absolutely true that the player has a part to play in Deltarune, similarly to how they play a part in Undertale. The control the player has over Kris is definitely a plot point.

However, there are also blatant references to Chara in Kris’ story. From Kris’ appearance, their brandishing a knife, glowing red eyes, their love of chocolate, and even having possession of a red soul... These are things that are revealed in Undertale. There’s no way these references are unintentional given the references to other characters and plotlines from Undertale.

Does this mean Chara is the final boss? No. I don’t even think that’ll be the case. My personal opinion is that Chara is tied to Kris in some way. Whether that means Kris is Chara (or an amalgamation of Chara and Frisk), Chara is influencing Kris, or there’s some other connection, we don’t know yet. There’s only two chapters of the story so far, nowhere near enough to tell us the ending to the story.

From what I’ve interpreted of Chara’s actions in Undertale, as well as events in a genocide run, it leads me to a theory that Deltarune is the world moved on from a genocide run. A genocide run. Not to say that every single Undertale world has a genocide run, but it’s possible that after one game - one world - finished on genocide, that specific Chara moved onto the next world and that world is Deltarune.

Am I married to this theory? Oh heavens no. There’s not enough of the story for this to be anything more than speculation at this point. There’s plenty of other theories floating around online and inside my noggin. I just find this one to be the most appealing to me. I fully expect it to be proven wrong and find that Toby intended to take things into a different direction.

I just like this theory because, well, I am a Chara fan. I’m interested in seeing their story continue and learning more about them. I might be decently confident in my personal interpretation about them from Undertale, but I’m hardly an expert. I’m just a rainbow cat putting a puzzle together that’s missing at least half the pieces and guessing what the picture actually is.

If you don’t agree with that theory, that’s absolutely fine. Your interpretation of what’s going on sounds valid to me.