#if you know the song that the title comes from youre extremely cool

[sufferboypizza]

I've been working on a byler fic for a couple months now off and on and I wanna start posting it... although I'm kinda scared because I am so afraid of getting unprompted criticism or hate for no reason😭

I'm very proud of it so far though, no spoilers but here's some of the stuff it has/its themes (using this post as a sort of interest check)

• established relationship byler

• mike centric/pov (third person limited) * EDIT: it actually switches pov a few times between mike and will depending on the chapter... I forgot

• protective/angry mike

• small fluffy moments throughout

• also angst (no character deaths)

• takes place after s5 events(?) everything is normal again at least

• repressed trauma surfacing

• troy...

and more because it's still a wip :] current working title is "Cry (Like You Knew)" — I hope some people may look forward to it!!!

[prettyboykatsuki]

wyll whos nice and kind down to his bones but develops a nasty jealousy streak….tugs you back behind some secluded corner of camp to kiss you something fierce when he catches how others at camp look upon you…starts smoking a cigarette

steadily yours | w. ravengard

✮ tags ; jealousy, established relationship, gn!reader, kissing / hickies, alcohol, silly and lovesick wyll

✮ wc ; 2k

✮ a/n ; ive thought about this ask for a week straight. its getting dire.

some minor spoilers for wylls romance like extremely minor and vauge!!! i am only just entering act three so pls dont spoil me but this take place vaugely post game lololol

The Blade of Frontiers is a good man.

This isn't a title he's given himself, but one bestowed upon him. Through tales and songs all across the city and uttered from the very lips of his lover - Wyll Ravengard has always strived to be a good man.

He can't assert this by any measure, but he knows best his own effort. For the sake of the city, for the sake of his people, for the sake of love. He wants very little to himself, and he fights with every ounce of him. His heart is in the city, but his soul is with you. Between these two places, there's no amount of sacrifice or burden he isn't willing to bear.

Part of being a good man is being the master of your own desires. What other men do is none of Wyll's concern, but he's always been adamant about keeping firmly on the straight path. Wyll wants love properly, much like how he wishes the world around him would follow.

Properly, with order and justice and care. That's how Wyll has lived his whole life.

And he's believed of himself that loving that way came easier upon him than it did others, though that was nothing he felt like bragging about. It never felt difficult to abstain from the ugliness of anger or jealousy.

That was before you. And this is after, this is post having your meeting. Wyll has had a relationship or two. Puppy crushes that fizzled off as soon as Wyll's responsibility began to overwhelming. Like, less than love, really. This time it is love, and love is incomparable to any sensation in the world. Not the cut of a blade against his skin, nor the warmth of a sunset. No mortal feeling could really measure to love.

In the aftermath of loving you, Wyll supposes, there is an ugliness within himself that he never really knew about. But maybe it's only normal. What else could there be after he's encountered the most beautiful thing the world has to offer, beyond even gods?

There are three things on Wyll's mind, lately. One, that he loves you more than he thought possible. Two, that he's relieved about the state of affairs. And three, he's very tired of feeling this way.

Not that he's tired of loving you. Things just aren't so busy anymore, and that means there's always people around. The people of the gate love you, and you're more hospitable than you let on. The camp is busy, rife with life every single evening and everyone is always so keen on meeting you.

You're busy, rightly - laughing and drinking. Though you're not much for talking, you do your duties as a host and tell stories when prompted. You seem to enjoy yourself in the well-earned reprieve and you've really do deserve very bit of that love and attention that's come your way.

So, Wyll knows feeling this way is ugly. The jealousy is ugly, and Wyll's not entirely lacking self-awareness about it. Though before he could chalk it up to other things, lately it's impossible. He knows that the Outlanders who come seeking your company have no idea you're engaged - and that they're simply men who desire you for the name you've earned.

A warrior, a hero, a myth - Wyll does not blame them for their curiosity.

But he feels pitiful to be so stirred up about it anyways.

He drinks tonight, though the carafe of wine is mostly full. The others speak amongst themselves. Astarion drifts by him, stands and sways in motion in the cool night air with a smug look on his face that Wyll is too dazed to catch.

Astarion speaks first. The sound is muffled first, impossible to make out in his own mind before a pale hand waves in front of his face.

"You know I'll have to thank your darling later for allowing me to see such a rare sight," Astarion drawls. He's sober, though there's wine in his hand all the same "The Blade of Frontiers, seething with jealousy. A marvel."

"I wouldn't call it seething," Wyll replies, still only half paying attention. His eyes are glued to you. He can't bring himself to look away.

Astarion laughs, a little pity in his voice , though Wyll can't really make out if it's sincere or not.

"But you'll admit you're jealous? My, Ravengard, you've changed." Astarion says. Wyll doesn't bother asking what he means, since it's true in any case "Forgive those poor Outlanders. It's hard enough watching them pine for one half the lovesick couple as is."

Wyll sighs.

"It's fine," Wyll says, though even he can hear how much he doesn't really mean it "It's not like they would know. I suppose many people wear decorative rings these days."

"Gods, this is funny. Just listen to you, I mean really. What a delight. I have half a mind to call the rest over just to witness it in person. Unfortunately I'm not so charitable," Astarion says back to him holding in a laugh "Whatever will you do, Ravengard? Maybe you could kick up a fuss, or pick a fight. People brawl at these things don't they? Oh what a sight that'd be indeed."

Wyll ignores him, but he does heed the advice. He would like to do something about it, though there won't be any brawl. He steels himself, passes an empty cup off to Astarion who makes a shrill laugh as Wyll starts walking himself over the fire.

When he arrives there, the conversation has come to more of a relaxed lull. You notice him even engrossed in conversation, flashing him a smile so beautiful he feels a little blinded.

He gives you one in return, disarmed. The outlander who's been trying to win your attention all night goes to address you again and Wyll is quick to interject.

"Ah, sorry - would you all mind if I borrowed them for a minute?"

You give Wyll a look of surprise, your eyes crystal clear. He feels guilty almost instantly, but continues anyway.

"Is something the matter?" You ask, your voice softened. You've been drinking, from the way your words melt together.

"Nothing serious, just something I wanted to talk to you about in private. That alright? Promise I'll return them before the night is over."

"As long as you promise," Says the very same one Wyll's been trying to tear you away from all evening. You laugh heartily before standing to your feet. You're beaming at him, brilliant - and Wyll goes back to his usual pleasant self as he gives his goodbyes.

He says something about promising before he whisks you off, faithfully ignoring the knowing looks of party.

And he takes you to a quiet corner of the camp, a short trail bridging between the main plot of land. There's some sturdy scenery, and rocks large enough to shield you from the outside and give you privacy.

He's cornering you a bit, admittedly - but you seem happy to see him. As soon as you're alone, you have your arms around his neck. There's a delightful air of excitement around you and Wyll finds himself filling with all the fondness in the world.

The faint sour-sweet of wine lingers off of your lips. Wyll looks at you closely, studies your expression.

"Sorry, sorry," You apologize, suddenly more comfortable. A side of yourself that you only show to him. How funny it makes him feel "I was happy to see you, is all."

"I can see that," Wyll replies, smug - just barely. You bat your lashes, dazed. It's unlike you. Wyll likes it. "I'm happy to see you too. Always."

"Is it something serious?"

Ah. He's caught isn't he? In a way, he's tremendously lucky you're not too sober. He's sure you'll tease him about it later.

"No, I suppose not. It's nothing at all, I just," He stumbles uncertainly at what he should say "Well, I wanted to speak with you."

"You could've joined us!"

Wyll gives you a sideways glance.

"Could I?" He says, before he catches himself. He adds the next words apologetically almost "That outlander you've been conversing all night seemed rather rapt with you. I doubt I could've interjected anywhere without fumbling."

You look like you're processing his words, but it's not as if Wyll is going to let you.

Wyll often says to you that you make him forget himself, and there are moments like these he find that to be more true than ever. It is unlike Wyll - strong and chivalrous, poise and charming - to bear so heavy a feeling in his heart that he has to express it physically.

Only you could make his silver tongue submit to such urgent, base instinct. Wyll kisses you in the most unromantic way he knows. It's not very gentlemanly. A kiss to claim, to sink, to swallow.

He kisses hard, and your lips are faint with the taste of wine. You make a noise of surprise before you melt into his arms. The warmth of his body makes him feel like he's burning to ash. His tongue touches yours, warm and hot nipping at your mouth.

When you pull away, Wyll decides it still isn't enough to curb the jealousy. He lets his teeth drift down to your neck. Sharpened canines that scrape against thin skin. Wyll sucks hard, enough to make all the capilliaries break.

And you sigh - a pretty, welcoming noise. Wyll is marking you. He leaves one after the other, in admittedly visible places. But he's not thinking about, not really.

Not until your voice breaks, the sweetest edge of desire to your words. He's not so debased to do anything to you while you're more than tipsy. He pulls away from you, blinks at you candidly - before the realization dawns on him in full.

By the gods, what's wrong with him? Embarrassment hits him afterwards, abject dread filling him as he peers at the dark marks along your neckline.

Did he really...? Really?

"Wyll," You say, strikingly sober and delighted all of a sudden "Are you...perhaps...jealous?"

He rubs his face on his hand, suddenly flush, turning his expression to one side. He can't deny it at this point can he.

"I wonder if my life will be easier once our wedding is announced in print," He offers sheepishly. You laugh loudly, absolutely elated as you press your forehead to his. He does the same, of course "The ring seems to be no more than decorative to everyone."

"Wyll Ravengard, I would've never guessed in a thousand years you'd drag me here because you were jealous."

"Please forget my uncouth actions at your earliest convenience my love," He says, groaning "I might die of embarrassment otherwise."

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I get jealous over silly things all the time. I tell you as much."

"When you do it it's endearing. I'm meant to be a gentleman, yet in front of you - I lose my wits like I'm a boy no older than seventeen. It's maddening."

"You forget yourself?" You tease, characteristically. He laughs.

"A bit more each day, it seems."

"A little jealousy is healthy, Ravengard. Though, I'm not sure how we're going to return to camp in this state." You say, giving him a suggestive look "Perhaps we have a bit more to talk about here instead, hm?"

"We should be doing such things in a bed. Or a tent." Wyll insists. You chuckle like you know he'll give into you.

"Wouldn't it be more effective if that Outlander you're so jealous of saw me with a post sex glow, along with the hickies."

Wyll feels his skin prick with heat.

"You drive a hard bargain." He comments, voice soft as a whisper. You laugh.

"Maybe you're just an easy sell."

Wyll laughs heartily at that.

"Any one would jump at the chance for something so priceless, Hero of the Gate."

You give Wyll another smile, lovely and genuine - there's nothing smug about it. You kiss him tender, sighing happily into his arms. He finds himself helpless to his own joy.

"Then lets kill time here and head back,"

"Yes," He says, jealousy tucked away for now "Let's do that,"

[k4katsujin]

falling asleep with hobie brown! (sfw)

huge thanks to @michelleart8 for helping me choose

huuhhh title pretty self explanatory lmao

idk if i'll make this with other characters but like

yea :3

(half fully written fic half headcanons ?) (yknow what i'll do both)

bit of hurt comfort towards the hug scene? idk

also reader and hobie are in an implied established relationship

(word count: 250/300)

it was one of the many nights you spent waiting for hobie to come back home. with the two of you being spider people, you had a very few moments together.

but it didn't stop you from being in love.

coming home later than your boyfriend, or at least you thought you did, you took endless precautions to not make any noise. (which tbh doesn't make any sense tbh let's js say you're a quiet person)

just in case, you know, he did come home earlier than you...

the first thing that hit you as soon as you entered your appartment was that the window - which you often left open when you sleep so that your boyfriend could sneak in without waking you up - was closed.

you didn't pay it no mind as you thought it was the wind.

you headed to the bathroom to get into your pyjamas, where actually were one of hobie's old t'-shirts- which smell reminds you of home.

you then go to the kitchen to get a midnight snack, your all time favorite.

as you turned around, you notice the presence of your boyfriend.

"hobie? is something wrong?" you ask as you run to hug him.

he gave in the hug, shoving his head into your shoulder.

"so... tired... " he mutters, "glad i'm home..."

it was no surprise: the pressure of being a spider-person was extremely high. even though hobie tried his best to hide it, but even he needed to let it out sometimes.

(time for hcs bc idk how to truly describe the scene + it'll be easier)

i feel like he takes all the room there is on the bed like he'd be in some starfish position

somehow you're always touching him whether he's the big spoon or with your head on his chest or his arm around your shoulders

if you're scared of storms he would hug you close and confort you

"it's ok honey, it can't hurt you as long as i'm with you"

he plays with your hair when he can't fall asleep and wonders how non black people's hair work

if you're black/ a person of color he'd go like "ooo their hair is so cool :0

he secretely likes being the little spoon but he never asks for it

"ya can't sleep huh? want me to sing a sothing melody for ya?" (don't judge i have no idea how british people talk)

he always asks you if he can move if you're laying on him - if you're asleep he just doesn't

I KNOW HE WOULD CONFORT YOU IF YOU HAD A NIGHTMARE

"y'had a bad dream ? c'mhere i'll comfort you"

he braids your hair when he can't fall asleep

idk i feel like he only feels at peace in smalls moments like this when he's with you

also when the two of you can't sleep he plays you songs on his accoustic guitar (idk i feel like he's been given one when he was a kid and that's how he started learning)

maybe holding hands under the blankets? also you conforting him after a very tiring day he'd have his head on your lap and he'd fall asleep like that

he probably pushed you out of the bed more than once

"what the fuck are you doing on the floor??" but then he'd know it's his fault and js laugh about it

that's all i got for now i think i'm v tired atm i'll probably edit this later or do a part tO but like xdd hope you enjoyed ;3

[m1ssunderstanding]

Understanding Lennon McCartney Rewatch Part 3.3

John having to get high out of his mind because he knows he's invited Paul to come play with him is so so sad. These are the same guys who used to sit facing each other on a bed playing guitars for hours, and now this is them?

Is John calling Paul “Jack Lemon” a reference to “some like it hot”? Because if so, I have questions. Anyway, when your estranged best friend shows up to hang out with you and a bunch of people, talking about being in love again and getting jizzed on is extremely normal and acceptable behavior.

This jam session is so fucking painful though. Paul's doing his best to just push through and get them to actually play something and John's just too far gone.

My theory: there's two reasons he did this. 1. He's avoidant and the last thing he's going to do is let on how bad he needs John in his life and how scared he is that if John gets back with Yoko that that'll be difficult. And 2. He couldn't live with himself if he didn't. If he'd kept it from John that Yoko wanted him back and later John cried to him about how much he missed Yoko or something? Paul can't have that.

John singing a snatch of Yesterday before a take of “Whatever gets you through the Night”??? Did either of them ever write a song where they weren't thinking about the other? Did they ever have a minute of peace without the other rattling the bars of the cage in his brain?

“Hold me Darling, come on, listen to me. I won't do you no harm.” Duh it's about Paul. Oh my gosh.

And with Bless You I'm always so torn. There are so many obvious references to Paul which the doc points out beautifully, but situationally it could also be about Yoko. Maybe it's about both of them in the same way that don't let me down is about both of them.

Anyway the cosmic visuals are gorgeous.

Why'd you have to phrase it like that though? Twice?

Hall of Fame moment. It's a high point for him career-wise and he chose to pull Paul into his spotlight. Not only to sing Paul's song, not only to name-drop him, but to publicly call him an official romantic title. Not “boyfriend” or “ex-wife” which both could've been much more mocking if that's what he was trying to do. But “fiance”. It's official and respected, but it's still got the lustful, unsettled, connotation that something like “husband” lacks.

Johann Weener, everyone. What a loser.

Everyone who still refers to Lennon Remembers like it's the fucking Bible listen to this. It doesn't go on for the next five years, let alone fifty.

John refusing to walk to blocks to sign the papers when George and Paul flew over the ocean. And only on the basis of astrology. He really didn't want the divorce. My heart aches for him. But he made his bed as they say.

I'm putting on my tinfoil hat again here, but I do just have to point out that one of John's first songs, “Hello, Little Girl,” has a line that goes, “you never seem to see me standing there”. And the earliest draft of WISHST, which was started soon after, answers that line. “I saw you standing there.” (Yes, it said you originally, not her). So maybe. Just maybe. That song wasn't just a Paul song, but a song that John knew Paul had put a message in for him. Okay, I apologize for the insanity. On another note, I do wonder if he ever found out what Paul thought of that.

Interviewer: ≈ at this point, do you like writing by yourself, or do you want to write with Paul again?≈ John: ≈well it's a bit of both. It's the same for Paul. We were talking about it a week ago. Okay, cool. So they definitely talked openly and honestly about potentially writing together again.

John, about their partnership, “There was always the feeling that someone was there if you needed it.” Paired with the gayest picture ever taken and then Paul singing “if I can do anything at all, let me help.” Thanks. I hate it.

John was so excited for New Orleans! What happened? I mean I have my theory based on May's book and the sudden shift in behavior. But it's pretty dark.

You know how crazy Paul is about John in interviews now? How he can't seem to keep John's name out of his mouth? John was worse in the seventies. He's promoting his Rock’n’Roll album, talking unprompted and romantically about how he met Paul, when the interviewer reminds him what relationship he's supposed to be romanticizing right now. So John remembers too and dedicates the album to Yoko who he's just got back together with.

Biconic quote.

Interviewer asks, after John's brought him up, if John's pleased with how well Paul's doing. John expresses his relief that Ringo has "found himself a niche" and then

I really do think that last bit sums up a big chunk of how John feels about Paul, and why he feels alright playing dirty against Paul or slagging Paul off. Why it would have been the furthest thing from his mind that Paul actually struggled or was insecure. Why Paul had to remind him, “I'm only a person like you, love.”

What an insane thing to think, let alone say. What if Julian had heard that? I'm pretty sure Julian and Paul weren't in contact, really at all, until the eighties, right? So John's doing better than he is at this point (I mean he's his dad, he should be). John is insecure about every possible thing and compares himself to Paul in every possible way.

Baby. He needed some serious help. The thing that sucks about being ahead of your time is that you also have to live in a world that's behind your needs.

And then. “There's always a friendly tv channel to turn to that's going to make you feel less alone.” I wonder if Paul “Call Me Back Again, John I know you're not that tired from the baby just let me in the fucking door” McCartney heard this? It's possible with how obsessive they were, but it's also impossible with how busy he kept himself.

Okay, here's the first story we've been missing about Paul experiencing negative emotions. And, of course, as always in this doc, it's paired perfectly with “Don't Let it Bring you Down” which is the musical mission statement of Paul's clenched-jawed smile philosophy.

"I tend to get a bit absolute in my statements." Yes, John. Yes you do. Another quote that Big Lennon fans should keep in mind.

John on the three weeks he took to decide if he wanted to continue the band after the first Hamburg trip: The others were mad because we could've been making money. Yeah, John, Paul suddenly had to work in a factory after he'd thrown away an educated, white-collar career (the first in his family) to be in your band. I'd be pissed too if you just didn't even bother to call. Anyway I just hate how casual John is about it. Someone who never had to worry about money is just never going to get that.

John doesn't even remember a ballpark number of how much they were making. Paul remembers exactly bragging to his professors that he was making fifteen a week in Hamburg. Sorry to go on and on about this right before Paris, but to me it's an important difference between them.

Anyway, the fact that Paris was more than just a vacation for them. The fact that – according to Stuart and John at least – they might not have come back. It's dizzying. They really thought about just running off together. I wonder what made them decide to come back and continue the band.

No offense if you do, but I don't personally believe in this stuff. What would the motivation have been for the tarot reader to tell him that? Either way, fuck him.

Gosh the live version of “Call Me Back Again”. You feel it, physically, how bad he wants this phonecall. And the desperation from such a successful man is fantastic. Literally, John, how did it feel to be the only man in the world that could get Paul McCartney to beg? “Pretty baby” “what can I do?” “Boohoohoo babe.” “I tried the operator, but I just can't get through.”

Reporter at the Wings over America tour: No John Lennon, no George Harrison, and no Ringo Starr, just Paul McCartney. And for everyone here tonight, that seemed to be plenty! Obviously he's loving this praise after all the negative press. Anyone would, and Paul needs it more than most people actually. But I bet part of him is like “stop. Don't say it like that, they already hate me enough as it is.”

How many times has John admitted that he finds Paul attractive? “It was no surprise, you know, when the kids – girls saw him, they go ‘ooh! Ooh!’ right away, you know?”

“I know it's true. It's all because of you.” Playing over this? Are you kidding me? Anyway I've never seen the picture version of this, so I thought I'd screenshot it.

But actually, in a way, the original written lyrics to Now and Then are less depressing than what he sang on the demo. “I know it's true, I'm still in love with you, and if I make it through, it's all because of you,” is obviously sad because they're both married to other people. But at least in that version, John's saying his own personal resilience to life's struggles comes from his relationship with Paul, which is nice. Whereas when John, who is sliding into a self-hating deep depression I'm comparing himself to Paul's phenomenal success, sings “it's all because of you” in a general sense, it almost feels like a callback to the ‘I'm shit and I couldn't do anything but be a Beatle (and ride Paul's boat)’ quote. Which is heartbreaking. I wish he could've recognized his own genius.

But yeah either way it's enough to make your heart heavy. If anyone needs a good cry, just go to the last five minutes of this. That should've been the now and then music video, but Paul's too scared of feelings. Which. You know. Considering how much it affects me, I can't even imagine how much it affects him. So he gets a pass.

“Why must we be alone? It's real love. It's real.”

[gollancz]

Why I'm Not Allowed On Twitter Unsupervised Any More: A Photo Essay

Key Notes:

Since this was posted I discovered that the books had briefly been available in the UK under the name Peter Beagle rather than Peter S. Beagle in the mid-90s, which is why they didn't show up on the British Library search

The article by Tor.com @torbooks: Peter S. Beagle Has Finally Regained the Rights to His Body of Work

If you want our gorgeous limited edition, I believe there are still a handful left (except for the US and Canada, sorry lads), and you can get it here. I'm not kidding when I say I got a little teary-eyed when these showed up.

[Image Description: A tweet thread from the Gollancz twitter dated 20th July 2022, which goes as follows -

Tweet 1: You may have seen that we're printing a Brand New Edition of The Last Unicorn. We're very excited! I was asked to tweet about it. I wasn't asked to do it quite like this, but I also wasn't asked NOT to do it like this, and I have the twitter login so whose fault is that? (Thread emoji, and gif from the film Scream reading 'The Call is coming from inside the house!')

Tweet 2: Imagine, if you will, you are a small child in the UK during the late 80s/early 90s. You might look a bit like this, or you might have had parents who didn't choose suffering (ask my mum about The Saga of the Hat) (an image of a small girl approximately 3 years old wearing a blue dress and a big white hat)

Tweet 3: Imagine you have a cool older cousin, one who, as you get age, introduces you to fantasy films like Ladyhawk and The Princess Bride and has a post the whole family knows as 'the vampire and the naked lady'. She's extremely responsible for the way you turn out as an adult.

Tweet 4: One year, for your birthday, this cousin buys you a video. It's the first video that is yours, not to share. It has a bright yellow cover. The butterfly scares you. But you watch it on a loop. You don't realise how special it is, but it's a seed that burrows into your brain. (An image of a VHS of The Last Unicorn)

Tweet 5: A decade or so later, in your teens, you rediscover it. None of your friends have heard of it, despite also being fantasy-inclined. That's odd, you think. Is this an outlandishly weird title? Then you get older and you realise: no, it isn't. (Principal Skinner meme reading 'Am I out of touch? No, it's the people who don't know about The Last Unicorn who are wrong')

Tweet 6: Time and tech march on, you get a DVD of the film. You realise it's got Christopher Lee in it! And Angela Lansbury! Your mum tries to get you to listen to songs by America other than the soundtrack, but the only one that really sticks is the other one they did about a horse. (Gif of Walter White from Breaking Bad singing along to Horse With No Name)

Tweet 7: You realise that the film is based on a book. Like The Princess Bride, which you've also read (after spending longer than you're proud of trying to find an unabridged edition). 'Neat,' you think, 'I'll have to read that!'

Tweet 8: And then you can't find it. Because, as mentioned previously, you're in the UK. The Last Unicorn was published for the first time in 1968. But, if you look at the British Library's National Bibliography (super neat resource btw), that was, uh, about it. (screenshot of the search results from the National Bibliography showing four editions of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, one from Gollancz in 2022, one from IDW in 2019, one from Tachyon Publications in 2018, and one from Bodley Head in 1968)

Tweet 9: The Tachyon edition is the unfinished first draft of the story. The IDW edition is a gorgeous graphic novel. But in terms of the novel? I don't know how many reprints it had (if anyone knows, I'd love to find out), but there's a good chance it went out of print in the 70s.

Tweet 10: The film, however, was released in 1982. Although it didn't make it to the UK until 1986. Conservative estimates could put that between 10 and 15 years since the book was last available in the UK. This gives you a generation in the UK who only know the story through the film! (A screenshot of the IMDB page showing the different release dates for The Last Unicorn around the world)

Tweet 11: The screenplay was written by Peter S. Beagle, and made by the legendary animation directors Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass. That's right, the guys behind Thundercats and 2 out of the 3 films based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Tweet 12: The Book has been in print in the USA (and possibly all of North America) constantly since its publication, so it seems baffling that people in the UK haven't heard of it. As the internet became more prominent, however, it became easier to just... import a copy of the book.

Tweet 13: But! This also isn't quite as simple as you think. You see, until last year the rights to The Last Unicorn were tied up in legal limbo. And the US edition of the book contained changes that Peter wasn't happy with. (Link to the Tor.com article about the rights)

Tweet 14: Back to you, the 80s/90s kid, who is now an adult, happy that unicorns are A Thing again and you're living your best life. You're very easy to buy presents for. Your partner despairs of unicorns. You get a job working in books about magic and space. (unicorn emoji and photograph of a collection of unicorn memorabilia, including three different versions of The Last Unicorn)

Tweet 15: You mention that one day you would like to publish The Last Unicorn. That if you did, you would like to do a really beautiful edition of it. And you would like it to be purple. Because since the film is what you know, you associate it with purple.

Tweet 16: And, after taking a very circuitous route, here we are! This is the original text, that was first published in 1968. Reading it after you have only seen the film is the strangest experience - like being introduced to a very dear friend that you have never met before.

Tweet 17: Peter's screenplay kept the voice of the story so well, you can hear the characters when you read the book. But now there's so much more depth, softness and warmth to it. The butterfly doesn't seem so scary any more. And, it's beautiful. And it's purple. (Image of a hardback edition of The Last Unicorn, with a black base, purple background, and a linocut image of the unicorn in her wood. On the black cover underneath is a foiled unicorn with the moon and butterfly, the page edges are sprayed purple, and the endpapers are black with silver butterflies)

Tweet 18: Anyway, I've taken you on a three day trip that could have been done in a single tweet, but that's what happens when you let me drive. This edition is the limited exclusive one only available through the Gollancz Emporium and you can preorder here: (link to Gollancz Emporium)

Tweet 19: But there is also a standard edition available through all booksellers! You'll be getting the author's preferred text, with an introduction from Patrick Rothfuss. There's also a brand new audiobook and it will be available in eBook for the first time ever.

Tweet 20: It's like going from famine to feast, and I wasn't able to talk about this for months so now I am able to talk about it, I'm going to make the social media team cry. UNICORNS. SPECIAL EDITION. PURPLE. The End.

Tweet 21: Additional behind the scenes bonus detail - I did take this cover to the art meaning while wearing a unicorn onesie.

Tweet 22: The comms team wrestling me away from the twitter account: (gif of Ross from Friends shouting 'Stop typing! Stop typing!')

End ID]

[dairyminki]

Acquiescence || j.wy

PAIRING — jung wooyoung x fem!reader ... GENRE — fluff, angst, strangers to lovers ... WARNING/S — major character death, mentions and descriptions of hospital, pet names, reader has achromatopsia, mild profanities ... WC — 7.7k

AUTHOR'S NOTE — i had this fic idea hiding in my drafts with only the title finished bcos i felt like it wasn't the right time for me to write it just yet, so i let it sit. and just when i thought this story will never see the light, stormy august happened, i got all angsty, and i was able to pour all my emotions on this fic. and now, i'm posting it for sad september, yay! anyway, special thanks to @hotteoki and @jaehunnyy for beta-reading this one ^^

SYNOPSIS — a life painted in shades of black, white, and gray, sparks a certain yearning for something brand new deep inside of you. but what if that 'something brand new' comes in the form of a boy and his camera? will his presence be able to alter the monotonous world you live in into a world where the colors of the rainbow are freely dancing?

*reblogs and feedbacks are highly appreciated! ♡

— ☁️

ac·qui·es·cence

: the reluctant acceptance of something without protest.

achro·​ma·​top·​sia

: a visual defect that is marked by total color blindness in which the colors of the spectrum are seen as tones of white, gray, and black, by poor visual acuity, and by extreme sensitivity to bright light

☁️.... playlist!

To you, it was peaceful.

How the scratchy sound of the pencil's nib against your sketchbook was the only thing you could hear, how the hues of black, gray, and white were the only ones that filled your vision, and how it was only the smell of fresh grass that lingered in the cool morning air.

But at the same time, it was depressing.

How those were the only things that constantly stimulated your senses. Always the same every morning, unless it were to rain.

You don't think any word was fitting enough to describe what you currently feel. Deep inside you, there's a yearning for something brand new. To alter the monotonous life you have in exchange for a life filled with an endless spark of delirium or one where the world before your eyes appears bright-colored.

Sitting on one of the wooden benches found in the hospital's garden inevitably makes your thoughts and emotions fly around. Sometimes, it's the feeling of hope budding inside your chest, but most times it was the heavy weight of despair forming over your head like a gloomy gray cloud.

Gray.

Now that is a shade you know by heart. A shade you've grown to appreciate that if anyone asks you what your favorite color is, gray would be your automatic answer.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, and many others, are colors you could only wish and dream to see. When people around you talk about how blue the sky is, or how an evergreen tree looks, it makes you wonder deeply how on earth they look like. Are they as pretty as your favorite color? Or are they something more? Something that'd get you marveling hard and for long.

"Y/N? Y/N~?" You hear the familiar voice calling your name in a sing-song. When you turn your head around, you catch sight of shoe-clad feet before you see the face of your lovely nurse from day one—Nurse Aliah.

"There you are!" She exclaims, walking towards you with a huge smile on her face which you mimic as you close your sketchbook.

"Time's up for me already?" You ask, a bit dejected.

As much as you've grown to treat your hospital room as your home, that doesn't mean you've grown to love staring at the mundane four walls and smelling the overpowering scent of antiseptic and cleaning agents clouding your senses.

"Why? Don't feel like going back yet?" Nurse Aliah asks, making you scoot over so she can sit beside you.

Replying with a mere nod of your head, she sighs, patting you gently on the back. Then, she takes a glance at her wristwatch, saying, "I suppose I could give you half an hour more. I mean no one has to know, right?" She sends you a playful wink.

"That's more than enough, thank you."

"No problem at all, darling. But before I go, can I have a little peek at your sketches?" Nurse Aliah asks, gesturing at the sketchbook on your lap which you immediately hide behind you.

"No!" You laugh. "No peeking until I finish it."

Your answer got her frowning, but she stood nonetheless, muttering a sulky 'fine.'

"The sun's about to reach its peak in a little while, so put your cap on, alright?" She reminds, prompting you to nod your head before she finally leaves the garden.

With Nurse Aliah gone, you grab your cap beside you, wearing it, before you find yourself admiring your surroundings once more, taking in deep breaths as if the earth's air supply was about to run out, and then you're opening your sketchbook and diving back inside the world of art.

Sketching different things brings you peace—if some feel anxious leaving their houses without their phones or watches on, for you it's the same when you leave your mechanical pencil or any of your sketchbooks and drawing pads behind.

Art enables you to cope with all the imperfections you were forced to carry with you ever since you were born to walk the earth with your tiny feet.

You might not be able to see and appreciate colors as much as everyone does, but you do love being able to weave lines, shapes, and patterns from the tip of your pencil.

Click!

Your grip on the pencil loosens when you hear the sound of a camera shutter and someone cursing. Looking to your left, you see a male who looks the same age as you, holding a camera in his hand—his hair is quite long, he has styled fringes framing the sides of his face, and he is smiling sheepishly at you.

"Did you…just take a picture of me?" You asked, squinting your eyes at him and tilting your head to the side. You see him swallow, his Adam's apple bobbing, all the while he lowers his camera.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" He exclaims—his voice, pitchy. Then he proceeds to ramble aloud, "I didn't mean to startle you, I was just taking a look around, trying to find anything pretty to capture, and then I saw you, and I…I'm sorry."

"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to take someone's photo without asking their permission?" By now you were standing, approaching the male and his camera. When you stick out a hand, he instantly gives his camera to you and you find yourself staring at a picture of yourself on the screen.

What he did was rude, yes, but you can't help but be in awe at the way he was able to capture you looking so immersed in your drawing—your furrowed brows and your tongue darting out of your slightly opened mouth because you're concentrating hard.

"I should be mad but, it's actually a pretty photo," You say, slightly abashed.

The male in front of you chuckles. Then he asks, "So, does that mean I get to keep this pretty picture of you?"

At the mention of the word 'pretty,' you feel your cheeks heat up. Coughing out loud and not meeting him in the eyes, you reply, "Only if you're not some creepy stalker, then I suppose you can."

"I'm not! I actually did it for a school project."

Hearing him say that made your ears perk.

"Oh, really? What's it about?" You can't help but ask, not being able to hold back with your natural curiosity for things.

"Nothing much, really," He starts. "We were just told to visit someplace we hadn't been to before and then capture something that catches our eye. Once we can do that, we will be asked to share about it in class."

After he explains, you find yourself asking him more.

"What else did you take a picture of?"

"You…were the first really." He answers with his free hand rubbing at his nape. As for you, his answer got your cheeks even hotter.

"Oh." You end up saying, not really knowing how to respond further. Luckily, he opens up another topic, and later on you're back sitting on the bench you previously sat on, but with him beside you.

"So you're telling me you've never been to a hospital before?"

"Nu-uh. Never," He answers, fiddling with the buttons of his camera. "Uhm, how about you? Did you…"

You knew what he meant despite him not fully voicing it out. Thank goodness you didn't see that one thing you really hate, in his eyes, though—pity.

"Been here since I was five," You say as you stare up at the sky. The gray-looking sky that always accompanied you whenever you were out here in the garden.

"What are you here for?" You could gather a hint of hesitance in his voice, most probably not wanting to pry considering you've only just met. But he's just like you, curious.

"I'm color-blind," You begin. And just when you were about to tell him more, you heard someone calling you.

"Y/N!"

You turn your head and see Nurse Aliah approaching you. From a distance, you could already see the questioning in her gaze.

"I—ah, unfortunately, have to go now," You say, picking up your sketchbook and standing up.

"Oh."

"Yeah, um, I'm grateful I was able to cross paths with you today," You tell him with all honesty. And you think you see him bite back a smile.

"The way you say it, makes it sound like, us, meeting was something big."

"Well, maybe it is," You grinned at him. "I'm Y/N, by the way." You say, extending a hand for a handshake which he immediately accepts.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N. I'm Wooyoung," He responds before you wave at him goodbye and run towards Nurse Aliah with a smile still lingering on your face and her look of questioning not fading away in the slightest.

"Who was that?" She asks as the both of you start to walk back inside the hospital.

"Hmm, just someone who thinks I'm pretty."

—

The following day, you asked Nurse Aliah if you could go out again. When she asked you why, you simply told her that the fresh air and the calming surroundings got you more motivated to finish sketching, and not because you were kind of hoping for a certain long-haired male to find his way back to the garden, no, not at all.

Well, not that you were going to admit and let her know anyway.

You fell into the same routine as yesterday without any difficulty. By now, the subject you were trying to draw was getting more defined. Just a little more shadings here and-

"Smile!"

Instead of smiling as the chirpy voice told you to do so, you think your caught-off-guard face was what the camera was able to capture.

"You could've warned me!" You exclaim after a few moments of just blinking and nothing but your mind trying to register the sound of the shutter that went off earlier and the laughter of the newcomer.

The very reason why you wanted to escape the stuffy walls of the hospital again.

"I take pride in my candid shots, though." Wooyoung pouts.

"You only started taking pictures yesterday!" You point out.

"Okay, and?"

"Ugh, just let me see the picture," You say, though it sounds more like a demand. A demand that Wooyoung refuses to follow through.

"No, this one is for my eyes only." Wooyoung sticks his tongue out at you and then,, later on has this shit-eating grin on his face.

In the end, you give up trying to get the camera from him. The moment you decide to set your focus back on your drawing, silence envelops you two—not the awkward kind though. It was more like those silence that'll have you sighing in relief, and everything else around you sounding like calming waves.

And amidst the silence was Wooyoung near a flower bush with his camera out. You don't know what colors the flowers are in but you do remember Nurse Aliah telling you they are called Chrysanthemums and that they smell sweet.

"Wooyoung," You say after a minute of just staring at him snapping a couple of photos of the said flower. "What color are those flowers?" You ask.

Without taking his peering eyes off the viewfinder, he answers, "They're purple!"

Purple—you know they're the color of grapes, your favorite fruit. You've wondered since then if purple was anything like how the fruit tasted.

"How about your hair, Woo?"

Woo—that's new, and the way the nickname rolled off your tongue actually felt nice.

"It's black, probably just the way you see it!" He answers, and then you see him finally lowering his camera and smiling to himself while he walks back toward you on the bench.

"Were you able to capture something pretty?" You ask him as soon as he drops his weight on the bench, his shoulder touching yours.

"I did. It's quite a lot. But…" Wooyoung trails off, and then he's looking at you with a cheeky grin. "...they're not as pretty as you though."

At that remark, you feel heat rush towards your face, however, you don't look away from his gaze, just yet. Your thoughts begin to wander again, as you think of what the color of his eyes are and if they're the same as yours, or the color of the shirt he's wearing, and his camera too. You could've asked those questions aloud but you didn't.

Instead, you ask, "If I were a color, what color would I be, Woo?"

Wooyoung briefly seemed to appear as if he was in deep thought, with his head tilting to the side, his eyes roaming all over you, and his lips pursing.

"That's a question I can't answer after just a day of knowing you, Y/N." He answers truthfully. "How about I'll get back to you after a month?" He proposes.

A month could be awfully long for some, and short for others who are patient enough. You're not sure which one of the two are you, although you still nod your head at Wooyoung.

And a month? Sure, you could wait. Time flies fast these days, after all.

—

Days turned to weeks, and by now, you've grown accustomed and comfortable with Wooyoung's presence.

He was just the right amount of loud, funny, and kind, that even your Nurse Aliah has opened up to him already.

"You smile a lot nowadays," Nurse Aliah comments one time while you're resting inside your room and she's replacing your newly emptied bowl of grapes with a fresh set.

"Is it bad?" You ask as you stare at the ceiling, not really thinking of anything—just the little joke Wooyoung told you a day ago repeatedly tickling your head.

You hear the clinking of the fruit bowl for the last time before you hear the rustling of your bed sheet.

"It's not bad per se, but…"

Her unsaid words send the all too familiar sinking feeling creeping its way back into your chest. A feeling you've tried so hard to push to the back of your mind, only for it to resurface once again.

"Don't," You plead in a small voice, eyes closed. When you open them again, you're looking straight at her, hot tears lingering in the corner of your eyes. You tried hard to blink them back.

But when was the last time you let them fall? When was the last time you allowed yourself to feel sadness? When was the last time you willingly set hope free and embraced despair?

"Alright, I…I just want to let you know today will be the last time you'll be able to go out Y/N. Tomorrow, Dr. Lee will be here to check on you."

Not being able to stop the dam from breaking, you just nod your head to whatever Nurse Aliah is saying. You feel her caress your hair before the door to your room closes with a thud.

Tears spilled—rolling down the apples of your cheeks until they're gliding past your lips, enabling you to taste their saltiness. And then you're sitting up, pulling your leg close to your chest with your head resting on the wall as you stare at the window.

You sigh. Feeling all the energy you possess going down the drain.

You suddenly remember all the things the younger you had to suffer through just because you weren't normal just like how everyone was. You remember how you'd run into things and tripped over them because everything seemed dark and dull. You remember how other kids would play outside at the playground while their parents would sit there on the benches and talk about how the sun looked so bright.

You've never directly looked at the sunlight. It hurt your eyes, even until now. Hence, every time you go out, you always wear a cap on your head just to shield your eyes from the light radiated by the sun. Anyone else would've worn sunglasses to deal with that, and you've tried—once. After that, you came to Nurse Aliah, crying, because you felt suffocated while wearing them. And that continued until you were older—any type of glasses having the same effect on you.

Childhood for you was tough. Luckily, Nurse Aliah was there to somehow make it less hard for you to deal with the world and reality. Making you smile, laugh, and enjoy the little things—Nurse Aliah was your only family. She contributed to igniting the spark of hope inside you.

And now, there's Wooyoung—his smile, his raucous laughter, and the way he sweeps his fringes to the side out of habit. Just Wooyoung and the click of his camera, his camera roll that's probably full of your stolen shots now. Just Wooyoung trying to peek at whatever you're drawing while you're so adamant not to show him. Just Wooyoung discreetly picking out a random flower from the bush and putting it behind your ear.

It sends a rush of warmth all over you—something warmer than what you get when you're spending time with Nurse Aliah. No, Wooyoung's was something else.

You place your right hand on your chest, and there it is. The faint sound of your heart beating, increasing, as your mind gets filled more by the said male.

It feels foreign, but it's nice. Really nice.

And with that, you know you're ready to face another day with the open sky and Wooyoung's presence keeping you intact and aground.

—

After all the crying you've done, you felt light and at ease. As you walk out into the hallways and down to the ground floor, you find yourself greeting more people you encounter along the way. You can't help but notice the smile sticking to your lips, and surprisingly, it didn't hurt you with how wide it was.

Your smile only seems to get brighter when you spot Wooyoung's familiar figure outside. He's by the same bench you two sit on with his back facing you.

Giggling, you were eager to reach where he stood.

But then it happens.

Just when you were about to run and shout his name, it happened.

Instead of shouting his name, you find yourself gasping for air, feeling as if your throat was closing in on you. With your heart irregularly beating painfully against your chest you drop to the ground, feeling faint and cold with sweat.

You don't register much about what happened next but swore you heard screams around you and the last-minute turning and running Wooyoung made toward you.

Blurry grayness was the last thing you saw before everything turned black.

—

There were voices around you and the sound of a machine.

Fluttering your eyes open, you recognize you are in your room—lying on a bed with a few tubes connected to your body, and then gently shifting your eyes to the door where the sound came from, you see a familiar back and your Nurse Aliah, talking in low voices. Though, not low enough, seeing as they awoke you.

Nurse Aliah notices your awoken state first, you see her whisper something to Wooyoung before she attends to your side.

"Hey, darling," She began in a soft voice, almost lulling. When her fingers brushed through your hair, you swore sleep was tempting you to go back into its arms once again. But you stopped yourself.

"How are we feeling?" Nurse Aliah asks. You find yourself clearing your dry throat, unable to answer. You give her an okay sign, instead.

Immediately, she gets a glass of water from your bedside table. She gently guides you to a sitting position, before she hands the drink to you.

"I'm glad you're awake, Y/N. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go call Dr. Lee. Meanwhile, you can go ahead and talk with your lover boy over there. Sounds good?"

You could only roll your eyes at her, shooing her away.

Wooyoung instantly came to your side after the door closed. He pulls out a chair for him to sit on and then just stares at you. You find yourself looking down at the empty glass in your hand, with the silence the male was giving you.

You can't figure out if he's angry, sad, or disappointed. If he only sees you as a weak and undesirable thing he no longer wants anything to do with.

"What's my pretty girl thinking, hmm?" Wooyoung asks, gently taking the glass out of your hold, and replacing it with his hands.

Wooyoung's hands felt warm against your slightly cold ones and you liked it.

"I'm thinking that I'm sorry, I'm sorry for not telling you," You answer truthfully, now finding the courage to reciprocate his gaze on you. But then, a gasp leaves you when you see how puffy his eyes are.

"Have you been crying?" You ask, pulling your hands from him and cupping his face. Your thumbs trace the bags of his eyes while Wooyoung leans into your touch.

"If I did, what's my pretty girl going to do about it?" Wooyoung asks with a small chuckle, in an attempt to lighten up the mood inside the four walls.

"Am I really still pretty to you, Woo?" You asked in a weak voice, tone laced with disbelief.

"Y/N, y'know that's a stupid question, right? Love, you'll forever be pretty in my eyes, and I—y'know yourself I'm good at finding pretty things, right? That's how I found you."

"Woo…"

"If you think that me, seeing you like this will change anything, then you're so wrong for that."

"Woo-"

"Is it shitty of me if I say that I'm in love with you, right now?"

You're caught off guard when Wooyoung starts crying, his tears wetting your fingers. With him breaking down in front of you, you can't help but cry as well, pulling his head to your chest in hopes that your heartbeat was loud enough for him to hear that it was actually screaming his name.

"I don't want you wasting your tears on me, please…" Your voice was croaky after a while, tears having dried on your cheeks, while Wooyoung's sobs still hadn't subsided.

"I don't know about you but I'm not feeling funny enough to laugh right now," He answers with a chuckle and you laugh as well, still cradling his head against you.

If you could, and if you only knew how, you'd lessen the pain he's feeling.

Absorbing all the pain coursing through him until you become numb, you'll do so. And if you could control time you would love to rewind it to the time he took a photo of you without permission.

If you acted coldly towards him and sent him away, would you still find yourselves in this position?

Will Wooyoung still weave his way into your fragile heart and your colorless life?

Will you still find yourself falling in love at the last minute with him?

You don't know.

But you do know you feel the same way as him.

Who knew that that delicate heart of yours was still capable of welcoming a powerful force called love inside?

—

Most of your days were filled with your doctor and nurse checking up on you at every possible chance. The wheelchair has become your friend, and instead of getting out into the garden and finding Wooyoung, the tables turned. Wooyoung, being the one who found his way to your hospital room, started constantly visiting you with a different set of flowers every day to adorn the lonely vase sitting atop your bedside table.

Unlike the other days though, this time, he was kind of late. Even Nurse Aliah didn't get to peek inside after the early morning check-up she did on you today. It was strange, you think.

Starting to feel bored, you decided to take a quick look at your finished drawings and the letters you wrote slipped into one of the pages of your sketchbook

Then, you hear the door to your room opening. Instead of Nurse Aliah, though, Wooyoung's adorable peeking head was the one you saw.

"Woo!" You exclaim, putting a sweet smile on his face as he welcomes himself in.

Immediately, you open your arms for him, and he fits in perfectly when he engulfs you in a soft hug. You feel his lips against your temple, and if you could, you'd choose to stay in this position, just basking in all the warmth he could offer and all the kisses he'd get to spoil you with.

"I have a surprise for you."

"What is it?" You whisper back at him. Then, he's pulling away, a hesitant look on his face.

You looked at him, confused, asking, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong! It's just that, Nurse Aliah told me you're not really fond of these, but, I was hoping if…" Wooyoung trails off, and then he takes something out of the small bag that he brought with him. "...can you please, wear them for me, just this time?"

In his hand was a case, and when he opened it, you saw a pair of glasses.

Your breath hitches.

"Is this—h-how were you able to—Woo, I-"

Unbeknownst to you, you were panicking, and Wooyoung was doing all his best to calm you off the overwhelming feeling encapsulating you.

When you've calmed down, he proceeds to ask again, "Will you wear them for me, love?" in a much softer voice.

You nod your head, tears brushing your cheeks, while smiling hard and mumbling a few yeses.

"Thank you, my pretty girl," Wooyoung says, showering you with butterfly kisses, prompting giggles out of you.

"Are you ready?" Wooyoung asks before you take the glasses out of its case. Nodding eagerly as a reply, you put them on, unable to control the blinking of your eyes as they adjust.

An immense feeling grows in your chest, your words stuck in your throat when you finally get to look at Wooyoung and see what his gorgeous eyes are colored in. When you asked him what color they were, he told you they were brown, the same as yours.

Minutes later, as soon as Wooyoung sees you're all set, he pulls you up from your bed, helps you wear your shoes, and then guides you every step until you're sitting in your wheelchair.

Turns out it was blue—your wheelchair. And blue is such a pretty color, you think. Though, after seeing the color of Wooyoung's eyes, you think nothing could ever compare with it.

—

It was your first time being able to see the garden with the stars present, twinkling up above.

Wearing the special glasses that Wooyoung has gifted you, you can't help but cry at the overwhelming colors filling your vision.

Wooyoung and Nurse Aliah told you that it won't make you see all the colors the world is painted in, but at least it was no longer just black, white, and gray—the three same colors your world was revolving in.

Another surprise welcomes you hard when you notice the transformation the garden had to go through with all the fairy lights hanging from each tree.

Green—a color you know that dominates the earth. You are so delighted to be able to see such a refreshing and tranquil color. A color you wouldn't mind looking at forever.

"Did you do all of this for me?" You ask Wooyoung in between shivers, that the latter had to stop wheeling you from behind for a minute. He crouches down in front of you, tightening the jacket around you, and sensing that it isn't enough to shield you from the cold nightly breeze, he takes off his own and puts it on you.

"Hmm, though I did ask Nurse Aliah and a few others for help. Do I look like I could pull off this surprise by myself?"

"Of course not." You playfully scoff.

"I know I asked, but I can't help but feel offended."

Laughter filled the rest of the path you took toward the very bright evergreen tree in the far distance. The sound of the crickets and the luminous moonlight accompanied you two as well.

"Is that—are we having a picnic?" You gasped, spotting a blanket lying over the green grass, a basket, and a set of empty plates over it. You think you even see a bottle of your favorite drink peeking out of the basket.

"Yes, we are, pretty." Wooyoung responds, but then something else catches your attention that you almost want to abandon your wheelchair and just say, 'fuck it,' and run.

You realize that not only fairy lights hang from the evergreen tree, but also pictures.

When you get nearer, you feel your heartbeat becoming louder. And when the wheelchair halts—Wooyoung carrying you afterward towards the area he set for you two—you were able to see the pictures much closer.

At first, all you see were the different flowers Wooyoung captured in his camera—they were a myriad of colors; pink, blue, red, and purple.

You found purple to be the loveliest.

"Is that—?" You turn your head to Woooyoung as your finger points to a certain picture of two people.

Wooyoung only nods.

It was a picture of you and your Nurse Aliah. Bright smiles graced your lips. Your arms were around each other and you were wearing your cap which surprisingly is colored purple as well.

Maybe, Nurse Aliah knew that purple was bound to replace gray as your favorite color in the long run, and the color didn't disappoint you at the very least.

"Thank you," You tell Wooyoung as he puts you down on the blanket. Everything looks magical. Like a scene pulled out from a movie, a scene you didn't expect to live out.

And just when you thought Wooyoung's surprise had reached its end, you thought wrong when he handed you a photo album. Well, it looked more identical to a scrapbook, with your name on the cover formed using cutout magazine letters.

When you open it, you see a short letter written on the first page with what seems to be Wooyoung's penmanship. From his penmanship alone, you could identify what his personality is like. And you thought it was endearing.

However, when you flipped to the next page, your eyes widened, breath hitching as your gaze stayed fixed on the very first picture pasted on.

It was that picture Wooyoung took that got you so caught off guard. The one he so adamantly tried to hide from you.

One of the candid photos he took pride in—you with your eyes staring wide at the camera, your mouth ajar, the pencil you were holding slipping out of your grip mid-air.

You were quite shy to admit it but you now understand why Wooyoung said it was for his eyes only.

It was a pretty picture.

—

Deeper into the night, Wooyoung finds himself running his fingers through your hair while you're laying your head on his lap, watching the stars dance in the endless obsidian sky.

Having you close like this, he gets to realize how frail you appear to be, one touch and he fears you'll break. A second of looking away from you and he's afraid you'll slip away from the clutch he has on you.

But then, there was your smile, ever blinding, and it made him think there was nothing wrong. That this was simply a storm passing by and that tomorrow a rainbow shall greet him from the bluish sky.

"Ask me again, Y/N," He asks after a while of comfortable silence, you merely humming back, eyes questioning him with what he means by that.

"Ask me the same question you asked me a month ago."

And just like that, bliss danced in your irises, but then you sat up a little bit too fast that it worried Wooyoung for a bit. However, the joy in your face never seemed to fade, and that was enough to reassure him that you didn't experience any pain of some sort.

"What color am I to you, Woo?" You paraphrased the question you dropped on him a month ago, one he couldn't answer yet. But now, he thinks he got it all memorized.

"My dear Y/N, if you were a color," He starts, leaning in towards you, his hands cupping your face and then he's resting his forehead against yours. "You'd be every color in the rainbow."

To Wooyoung, you were purple—a color that's meant for uniqueness and the artistic side of life, which you surely have running in your blood. Purple was a color that could relax the overall senses, which is why it's no surprise to him that it was now your favorite color.

Although, he believes you're also blue—not the feeling, though. Blue was a perfect color to describe your calm demeanor to others. Just like the feeling one gets from looking at the sky—breathtaking, pure, serene, and easy to look at. Wooyoung thinks he gets all of that just from a single glance at you.

But then you're also green. Softness and growth. In the short amount of time, he got the privilege to spend with you, he knows you've become more open to everything. You've once told him about what your past looked like and to be honest? He thinks you've started to learn to let go of the painful parts that once scarred you—like a leaf falling from the tree and letting the air carry it to anywhere it'd take it.

Yellow and orange are colors that represent joy and energy—you exude both. Wooyoung sees a certain glow in you, and he thinks Nurse Aliah will agree with him if he claims that the energy you possess is one of a kind, something that needs to be shared with everyone else.

A glow that gravitates people towards you.

And maybe that was one of the reasons that made Wooyoung stumble his way to you that very day you two first met.

Will you end up believing him if he said that that project was something he was forced to do? Wooyoung had never even touched a single camera until that day. And looking at how bright his world looks right now in front of him, he's glad he decided to do it.

"And lastly, you're red. You radiate passion and warmth, Y/N," Wooyoung tells you, never breaking away his gaze from you, and not caring if he ends up cross-eyed.

"You are love itself, and every day I wake up beyond grateful that I'm one of those people whom you've decided to share a piece of yourself with."

"Woo…" You say, already sniffling, while he's now finding it hard to see through his tears.

"Can I…Can I kiss you?" He asks, his hands shaking.

"You'll probably be my first and last-"

Wooyoung cuts you off with the tender feeling of his lips capturing yours in a kiss that was messy and frantic at first, like time was chasing you away, and was salty with all the tears. But then, every brush of your lips against his' turns into something sweet, making his insides flutter and his heart beat like he just ran a mile. Wooyoung feels warm all over as one of his hands found your waist, the other delicately holding your chin, and if he could wish for one thing, he would love to wish for this moment right here to stop as it is.

But the thing is, he can't.

He knows any moment now, an endless slumber shall find you. And if he can, he would like not to waste any remaining second he's got with you left.

"Woo, I'm tired," Wooyoung hears you say in a small voice after a while, a yawn escaping your lips and your eyes getting droopy.

He gently lifts you, placing you on his lap while letting your head rest in the crook of his neck. And then he's wrapping his arms around your body layered with jackets, cradling you like a baby.

"Woo?" He hears you speak once again. He hums back in response.

"Look at me, please?" You plead in a soft voice which almost breaks his heart there and then. But he looks at you, and when he does, he thinks he saw your eyes shine with the littlest spark it could still muster to show.

"Your eyes are really pretty," You say. Wooyoung looks away, fearing you'll see him cry. And he doesn't want you to go after seeing him in that state. Instead, he hugs you a little tighter.

"The sky is a witness to how grateful I am to have crossed paths with you, I hope you know…just how lucky I am and how happy I feel right now," You say with a contented sigh, and based on the way your cheek moved against his skin, he knows you're smiling right now.

But it turns out you weren't finished.

"My life was dull and repetitively the same until you came along with all your colors. Thank you for letting me feel how love feels like, I love you…and I'd like to believe I'll still do until we meet again."

That was the last time he heard your voice drifting in the wind before the chirping of the crickets increased tenfold.

"I love you, too, always, my pretty girl." Wooyoung gets to say before his entire body stills, your last intake of breath reaching his ears and your last exhale fanning his neck.

And then he's shaking, another batch of tears washing over him as he cries silently, slowly rocking your body with his, back and forth, and dropping soft kisses on the top of your head.

I don't want you wasting your tears on me, please.

He hears at the back of his head, bringing him back to the moment he saw you so fragile-looking for the first time.

Wooyoung actually got to talk with your doctor, Dr. Lee, that day. Dr. Lee had told him that it was considered a miracle, how you lasted for a month when he thought you'd only have a week left after the both of you saw the latest condition of your heart—only seeming to get weaker as each day passed.

Now, Wooyoung wasn't one to assume things, but he would like to think that you held out for him, all because you wanted to ask what color you were to him.

"If I were a color, what color would I be, Woo?"

"That's a question I can't answer after just a day of knowing you, Y/N." He answers truthfully. "How about I'll get back to you after a month?"

And you did wait for a month. Wooyoung would like to say it was a stupid reason but, he's glad you asked him that. And he's even glad that you were able to hear his answer to your question before you closed your eyes.

Somehow, it brought him peace.

—

Entering your room, Wooyoung feels nothing but emptiness, the joyful energy you once radiated, is now nowhere to be found—but the memories he got to share with you linger on.

Earlier, he volunteered to tidy your room and your things when Nurse Aliah asked, and now as he's walking near your bedside table, he spots something peeking out of the sketchbook you always used to carry with you to the garden. The sketchbook you didn't let him take a peek even once.

Wooyoung grabs it, and he lets out a sound of surprise when something falls out of the pages, dropping onto the floor. Crouching down, he picks up the bunch of paper and sees there are two drawings and two handwritten letters.

He takes the drawing you made for him—a sketch of him while he's holding the camera to his face—and the letter addressed to him. Then, he puts the ones that are for Nurse Aliah back on the table.

Wooyoung takes his time admiring every stroke and shade you've made while sitting on your bed.

Now he understands why you wouldn't let him peek even just a tiny bit.

Wooyoung feels his heart soaring because you drew him.

And it was a pretty drawing.

Wooyoung sniffs, putting the drawing on the bed and picking up the letter you wrote for him this time.

Frankly, he isn't sure if he's ready to read it, especially since your passing is still fresh in his mind and his heart is still hurting.

But then again, when will he ever be brave enough to read it alone? Wooyoung thinks reading it inside the room you once resided in will ease him even just a little bit, although he can't promise that he won't cry again.

And so, after a deep exhale, he opens your letter.

One look at the first line and Wooyoung finds himself breaking down for the nth time.

My dearest Woo,

Hi! I'll be honest with you, I wasn't really sure how to start this letter, but then I thought, what if I told you a story first? You like stories right? I hope you do. Anyway, here it goes.

Once upon a time, there was a little fairy. Now, this fairy was unlike any other fairy—she didn't have wings. (I know what you're probably thinking; why is she a fairy if she doesn't have wings? But cut me some slack, will you? This is probably why I should stick to drawing, which I hope you saw first, by the way.) Since she didn't have wings, she couldn't fly. And because she couldn't fly, she felt like she was always left behind, always feeling like an outcast that she almost resented herself for being born. Why wasn't she like normal fairies? She always finds herself asking.

Right when she thought all hope was lost for her, she met this boy. A boy who had no wings but was still able to fly. Of course, the fairy was in awe and disbelief, and so, she asked the boy, "How are you able to fly without wings?"

The boy grins at her and says, "Wings? Who says they're the only thing that could make you fly when pixie dust exists?"

"Pixie dust? What is that?" The fairy asks, and then the boy shows him a bag filled with golden-colored dust, which he pours into her hands.

"Sprinkle it all over you and think happy thoughts, then you'll be able to fly just like me," The boy says, and without hesitation, the fairy follows his words.

And when she did, she found her tiny feet slowly lifting off the ground. "I'm flying!" She exclaimed with great joy. After that, she became friends with the boy and together they soared to greater heights. But nothing ever lasts, don't they? Soon, the boy had to leave her, but before he left, he gave her another bag of pixie dust and promised to come back looking for her as long as she continued to think happy thoughts.

However, the time came when the pixie dust ran out, and the fairy had lost her glow and was unable to think of happy thoughts. In the end, her life ended before she could even know if the boy didn't really plan on coming back, or if he simply wasn't able to find her. The end.

Whew, what a story!

I don't know if it made sense to you, Woo. But I think, what I'm trying to say is, I want to make things lighter by saying that, in that story, the fairy was me, and you were the boy who gave me hope. Although, I'd also like to believe that our ending will be slightly different from theirs. We both know that I don't have much time left, we do. And which is why, I'm hoping that before I rest, I'll still be with you long enough to let you feel how much I adore and appreciate you.

The thing is, being born with achromatopsia was already sufferable enough for my younger self. And then, imagine, my doctor comes in one day and tells me I also have problems with my heart and that my days are numbered.

Of course, I became miserable, who wouldn't? I felt like the world caved in on me. During that time, I only had Nurse Aliah and I even shut her out. I thought life was so unfair, because why did I have to go through something I didn't even wish to have while other people my age were living the life I could've lived?

But of course with Nurse Aliah not giving up on me and encouraging me to do the same, I outgrew that phase, or so I thought.

I was a work in progress when lo and behold, you jumpscared me with your camera and affinity for the word pretty. Have I told you how giddy it makes me feel and how blushy I get when you call me that? No? Well, now you know.

Wooyoung, despite all the loudness and wonderful chaos you entailed, you became my peace. Just like how the scratchy sound of the pencil's nib against my sketchbook brought me comfort, so did the sound of your camera shutter.

Did you know that right before the moment you decided to enter my life, I was deeply yearning for something brand new? Well, that yearning was fulfilled, because that something brand new, became you, Wooyoung. In case you haven't realized yet. (But of course, I know you do!)

By the time you read this, I'm probably, well, gone…but I'd like to think I'll be among the stars twinkling in the night sky, trying to get your attention by shining the brightest while you're staring out of your window. (Please, say hi back to me!)

Just like what I said, don't waste your tears again on me, okay? My dear Wooyoung, promise me you'll only smile when you think of me, please. I don't want to cause my favorite people any form of sadness or any kind of pain.

Truth is, I…I don't really wanna go. After meeting you, I suddenly wasn't sure if I was ready to leave everything, especially you, behind, just yet.

But then again, we can never always have what we want right? It's bittersweet, but that's life for you. I'm just so, so glad that this weak heart of mine was still able to beat for you.

I love you, more than you'll ever know.

Forever and always your pretty girl,

Y/N

P.S. When will you ever show me those pictures you've taken of me, huh?

— ☁️

[hootbon]

Heyo! Your TADC freakshow AU is super cool, so I decided to draw my OC Jolly if she was in the freakshow AU! I sketched two designs for her, one based off her main design and one based off her TADC design. (also TW for self-harm near the end of the relationships section)

Main design freakshow version- based on melted candy, slight inspiration from Changed and other transfur games. has muted colors more like the other freak show members. poster title would be The Molten Beast

TADC design freakshow version- inspired by the song artist Femtanyl and the animator Aimkid. has a more cartoony design and very bright colors, meant to look very out-of-place. leans very heavily into the disembodiment and candy gore aspects of both original and TADC designs. poster title would be The Butcher or The Confectioner, haven't decided yet.

Relationships- most characters either REALLY hate her or are barely able to tolerate her, besides Jax who would likely think she's just "kinda cool". Jolly is mostly chill towards everyone except Caine, who she has a burning hatred towards for seemingly no reason, and Jax, who she really likes. probably too much. Jolly doesn't pay much attention to Kaufmo or Gangle, and anyone she has a positive attitude towards is for pretty shallow reasons. She thinks Kinger is "a silly lil dude", she thinks Ragatha is pretty, thinks Pomni is cute, thinks of Bubble as "a stupid little goof" (positive), and she thinks Zooble looks really cool. Jolly never pays much attention to how people act or how they feel and is very insensitive, which is why virtually nobody likes her. Jolly is completely insane, however her sheer lack of care is what saves her from abstracting as she just doesn't care about anything enough for something to cause her to abstract. If Jax were to abstract, it might make her pretty emotional, but not enough to have any chance of abstracting. This, combined with her creepy face and the fact that she (SH TW) often cuts herself for fun and makes constant remarks about how her blood tastes good, has made it so most of the other freak show members find her extremely weird and/or gross.

Drawing showing Jolly's fully colored regular design and also Jax as a bonus / yes i know the waist looks funky im still learning anatomy and stuff

Jolly's TADC design

ok wow that was a lot, and i still have so much more info I've come up with, I'm way too obsessed with this. but I hope you like this!!

Oh I LOVE them 🥹, I’m so happy you think my au is cool, they seem so interesting!! I would love to hear more 🫵

[itsclydebitches]

I'm just adding my voice to the growing choir but yeah, I don't think Trent is going to out Collin:

It would be an extreme moment of regression. I mean, this guy gave up decades of high-profile journalism due to his distaste for how the job was making him compromise his ethics. He's not gonna just turn around and out a player after that.

(Headcanon-y side-note, but Trent is HEAVILY queer coded and based on my personal readings of his character he's someone who would not just respect Collin, but understand him.)

I've been noticing that each episode has a small "Don't print that" moment where Trent seems legitimately open to keeping the club's personal secrets. The ones that, frankly, have no bearing on football and thus the public has no right to them (changing manicurists, diarrhea, etc.) None of these scenes have implied that he's merely humoring his worried friends and planning to air all the dirty laundry when they're least expecting it. A player kissing another man in an alley on their night off absolutely counts as 'Personal and none of the book's business.'

Outside of the book, how would Trent publish this? He doesn't seem to be doing freelance. It's possible he could pass the tip off to someone else, but we haven't seen any journalist buddies he's friendly with and giving that to a stranger (from the audience's perspective) would feel like even more of a betrayal. You're not just outing him, but using someone who we can't trust to spin the story in an empathetic light, as Trent did with Ted's panic attacks?

Trent doesn't snap a photo of them, despite having the time to get one (they're oblivious). He doesn't write anything in his notebook. He doesn't interrupt and hound them for a quote like he might have in season 1-2. He just walks off, looking contemplative/a bit worried.

So I don't think Trent is going to out Collin, but I do think he might try and do something about it. Meaning, this episode has shown that Collin is, well... pretty bad at keeping his sexuality a secret. He's sneaking out of his boyfriend's house, trying not to draw attention to himself, but then he hits a whole bunch of trash cans while leaving. I got a huge spike of anxiety when he looked at his phone with the other guys standing right there, given that a selfie, kissy emoji, and "thirst" are all pretty damning texts. He's obviously kissing right next to the main road, just a street or so down from where half the club is eating dinner, in a remarkably lit area. And though he tries to deflect a lot - fine he's gay for Zava too, this is my wingman, story about trying to seduce women - it comes across as trying too hard to anyone who's paying attention. Because, you know, Collin is trying very hard, despite his missteps.

The point is that Collin is constantly on the cusp of being outed. If the story doesn't have that happen next episode (that would put a damper on Richmond's win streak) I think Trent is going to step in somehow in an effort to provide damage control - or at least try to, even if he winds up being too late. The use of "Everybody Knows," while obviously a pertinent title, is also a list of how all these awful things have already come to pass - "That's how it goes" - and contains such gems as,

"Everybody knows you've been discreet But there were so many people you just had to meet Without your clothes Everybody knows"

(The context here is cheating, but for a background snippet of a song I think the general vibe of bad things + lovers + not being discreet wins out.)

So Trent may try to step in, even if it comes to naught. After all, if he spotted them it's only a matter of time until someone else does too. Collin is lucky it was Trent who saw them and not someone else.

Cue the emphasis on how much he's changed as a journalist (Collin wouldn't have been lucky a year ago), viewers get a cool new relationship between characters who haven't interacted yet, as well as the canonizing of Trent as a queer man without giving him a coming out story because frankly a 50ish character doesn't (necessarily) need that. He's already got the "vibe" 🌈😎

[aprillikesthings]

oh god oh god

HEY GUESS WHAT I'm down to the last two episodes of She-Ra in my rewatch

On a related note, should you desire to read them all starting from s1ep1 for some godforsaken reason, here's the link. Please be amused at my claims that I would not do this for every episode and my repeated attempts to cut back on how much I copy/paste dialogue and/or explain the entire plot instead of just making jokes and commentary

If, somehow, you are New Here, I've been rewatching all of the 2018 She-Ra, ostensibly for fic-writing reasons as I had forgotten huge quantities of the plot. I have since become deeply obsessed, as one does.

I make a lot of adult jokes, random asides, references to other things, commentary, and a lot of cursing and crying. I love Catradora and I love Catra especially and have a tendency to add a screenshot every time they so much as look at each other. It seems silly to warn for spoilers at this point, but yeah, this is a RE-watch. It's just that I forgot a lot of it because I watched it the first time as it was coming out (pun intended). The shit I did remember is so fucking random tho lol

The last time I tried to do a two-parter in one post the number of times I had to reblog it because tumblr only allows 30 images per post got real stupid, so while I do still assume I will have to reblog multiple times per episode, I'm doing each episode separately.

HERE WE GOOOOO

s5 ep12 Heart (pt 1)

jfc i'm full of adrenaline lol

Also I have a beer, it's a citrus IPA because I live in Portland and it's required by law

(not really I just genuinely like them. that and IPA's that taste like gnawing on a douglas fir. also fruit sours.)

LOL I was so anxious I looked away from this post and consumed most of my beer this is gonna be hilarious

ALSO my goal is to finish these two episodes before the Easter Vigil service tomorrow night at 8pm

Theoretically I should be able to watch two episodes of TV in a day and a half, right? AHAHA

Bow should play Wonderwall

she always looks so soft with her hair down

but also having that thing just floating in front of your chest like that has gotta feel weird

ON A RELATED NOTE I know I made the joke in the last episode about how many people have the failsafe as a tattoo but the PROBLEM is that now I literally LIVE with a tattoo artist whose work I like--I already have two tattoos they've done, here and here, and the temptation is extremely high?? but I don't have any other obvious fandom-related tattoos (unless you count the title of a Björk song) so it feels weird to start with this one???? Like I don't have any LoTR or BBC Sherlock or SU or K/DA tattoos (to list off a bunch of fandoms I was devastatingly obsessed with at the time) so getting one for THIS fandom feels kinda weird. But like, also, if I got it kinda small on one wrist it would look kinda cool and be a nice loud DID U KNOW I'M GAY kinda thing. Gyahhh.

She's struggling to do She-Ra, and I'm sitting here YELLING because IT'S BECAUSE CATRA LEFT and UGH I want to murder Shadow Weaver

(eyyyy I won't have to, ha ha oh god)

Oh she manages to transform anyway. Without making any noise or glowing lights, just pop, She-Ra

awwww but also lol

related aside but like, every culture that figured out bows and arrows invented at least one kind of string instrument. Literally archers just fidgeting with their bows and going "oh this makes a nice sound, what if I put more strings on this thing." So many different places and cultures invented things like a guitar or like a harp or like a violin. But also I want to know who the FUCK figured out the hurdy-gurdy??? oh my god I just looked up the hurdy-gurdy and I'm cracking up because one of the earliest depictions of it is from the 1100's, in the Santiago de Compostela cathedral. A place I have been. Because I did the Camino last year.

oh right plot

I would like to take a moment and be grateful for the people who put together the transcripts on the fandom wiki for saving me typing up long bits of lore-heavy dialogue

She-Ra: "Prime is getting closer every day to figuring out how to access the Heart of Etheria. If he succeeds, he can use it to destroy worlds, galaxies, maybe even the entire universe. The Failsafe is our only chance at stopping him."

"His hold over them grows stronger every day they're chipped. If we don't free them now, we might lose them forever. Prime holds every advantage in this fight. He'll be ready for us. But we have a plan. Entrapta?" Entrapta: "I finally succeeded in cracking Prime's signal pattern. If I get access to his Spire network, I can use it to broadcast a jamming frequency that will disable all of the chips on Etheria, freeing everyone at once!" She-Ra: I need you all to get Entrapta to the Spire and keep Prime's forces distracted while she jams the signal."

"We're going to make sure that Prime can never hurt anyone ever again. We're ending this today. For good."

oh lord so Shadow Weaver is still there, sulking and looking away, and she looks over at her and starts almost losing She-Ra and being Adora again

have I mentioned how much I hate Shadow Weaver >:(

Adora goes outside...and looks around. I know who she's looking for. *sobs into a pillow*

NO. she's LOOKING for her GIRLFRIEND

I made that joke and then Glimmer literally says "Any sign of Catra?" I have to remember that at this point in the story literally everyone knows how in love they both are. Except them. Of course.

Adora: "She's not coming back." ;_;

Adora: I mean you don't have to come with me this could be dangerous Bow: the fuck are you talking about of course we're going

And she turns into She-Ra again, roll intro

Okay so they go to the Crystal Castle thing where Light Hope was

it doesn't look so good

but also that's creepy

anyway they tell the hologram (not Light Hope, the other one) that they're looking for the Heart of Etheria and that they're Friends of Mara. She-Ra gets scanned and then a door opens into a passageway. Bow and Glimmer take her hands and they walk into the hall but:

she's still looking for someone

I have to deal with another episode and change of her looking for Catra ghghggh this hurts meeeee

OH SO OF COURSE they literally switch to showing us Catra

bahaha okay so she sits up and looks behind her kind of sadly, and Melog just skids to a stop so hard they throw Catra off

And Melog looks at Catra like she's fucking nuts. Catra's like, wtf is wrong with you??? and Melog looks back like BITCH WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??? Catra what did you think was going to happen when you got a therapy animal that can literally read your moods. Melog knows you're being a dumbass and has NO reason to pretend to believe your surface "I don't give a shit" act!!

Melog does airplane ears at that. And then just pounces Catra.

Time for pressure! Just like a real therapy animal. Big weighted blanket!

oh shit I forgot about this bit

Catra just immediately starts crying.

Catra: "You saw what happened! Adora chose Shadow Weaver, okay? Not me!"

*sobs into hands* you useless fucking dumbass that is your abysmally low self-esteem talking literally every living semi-sentient thing in the galaxy knows Adora's in love with you EXCEPT YOU

I can get frustrated with AU fics where these two both pull this "but what if she doesn't like me back" thing for ages while everyone around them is face-palming in frustration, but like. You have to admit. It's accurate to canon.

(It's also accurate to lesbians in general, lbh. Either fucking on the first date or doing the "but what if she's not into me" thing for months-to-years. Sometimes both, including in some of the fics I've written, heyooooo.)

Melog purrs and licks her face. A clone approaches and they both go invisible and then follow it.

MEANWHILE

the rest of the rebellion is attacking Horde Prime's ship thing

Wrong Hordak helps Entrapta get into the spire. The whole point of this fight (which I didn't bother screenshotting lol) is to give Entrapta time to disconnect everyone's chips from Horde Prime.

Lol once inside Entrapta does another one of those "holy shit this stuff looks so cool...OMG FOCUS" things

Back at the Crystal Castle Glimmers like "omg are you scared" and She-Ra says "No, I just hope this works." Liar.

Bow: "It'll be okay. And when we get back, it'll be a whole new world."

this poor girl. she's so heartbroken.

(meanwhile the plot of my fic-in-progress is literally them breaking up. (not forever.) but it's hilarious of me to get SO UPSET over this scene when I'm going to force them to repeat it. like it's a mutual decision in my fic but it doesn't make it hurt any less.)

PFFT I unpaused it, and IMMEDIATELY:

I just said OH SHIT out loud lol

oh god I saw someone talking about this in a youtube video right around when I started my rewatch

It's a hologram, she's not actually there. And Catra goes through multiple other ages, including her kid self, being chipped on Horde Prime's ship, when they were Horde cadets, etc; before going back to looking like she does now.

Adora's sharp little gasp of shock here

Adora goes to touch Catra's hand and the hologram disappears

(good lord she's beautiful here)

And I think I agree with the youtube video: Adora knew she was upset about Catra running off, but this is the moment she specifically realizes she's in love, and it breaks her heart into tiny pieces.

(Hah, I actually say a very similar thing in part of my fic that they mention in the video--that previous to this, she refused to let herself want this or even think about it. "I didn't even realize this was something I could want.")

BUT ALSO so like is this a remnant of Light Hope's programming that tortured them with childhood flashbacks in season one (in order to drive them apart) or what

LOL NO

I know I made this joke before but I'm suing Nate for emotional damages

She-Ra: "We need to be careful. It looks like this place can still project memories."

oof

A still-invisible Catra follows the clone to where Horde Prime's ship is and is visibly terrified and shaking. A clone who might be Hordak turns around with that white in his eyes that means Prime is using him to see, and Catra just tries to be quiet and not move but she's obviously triggered, and I mean that in the literal PTSD sense.

Horde Prime (via Hordak?): "My brothers. The time has come at last. No longer shall She-Ra stand in my way."

oh okay so Horde Prime's actual ship is still in space (just orbiting Etheria I assume) and the planet-side thing is him speaking through one of the clones via the hive mind.

"Begin the acquisition process!"

are they just gonna straight-up drill into it?

apparently yes

the whole area lights up with that sickening green light, including all the lines that characters kept noticing on the ground that looked like some combo of circuit boards and First Ones' writing.

meanwhile, Adora keeps slipping out of being She-Ra for split seconds and is clearly stressing The Fuck Out and possibly walking in the wrong direction in her distress, only to walk into another memory/hologram.

And I've predictably hit the image limit, but 13:30 to go which is better than last night pfft okay gonna reblog

[randomvarious]

1990s IDM Playlist

Alright! Now we’re finally getting somewhere with this 1990s IDM playlist! Not so much on the Spotify end of things, because their IDM selection isn’t very good at all, but with YouTube, I was able to add a handful of some really great and extremely slept-on songs.

But first, Spotify: with this update, I added one song, and it comes courtesy of a guy from Manchester, UK called Jega, who made his debut in 1996 with an EP called Phlax. And that release’s title track, which also appeared on a 1997 compilation from Skam Records that was simply called Skampler, is fantastic. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles and bleeps and bloops that IDM tracks typically have, but it’s this piece of sci-fi-futuristic electro-intensity that comes with warped and reverberating layers of strings and a sharp and crisp drumbeat. It’s one of Jega’s most popular songs too, having netted over 108K plays on Spotify.

Jega - “Phlax”

And now, YouTube: I ended up adding seven different songs to this thing, all of which aren’t on Spotify at all, and five of them are made by who I consider to be quite possibly the most underrated IDM producer of all time, London’s Simon Pyke, better known as Freeform, but also known as Nudge. Pyke’s released a bunch of stuff on different stalwart IDM labels throughout his career, including Warp, Skam, Quatermass, Sub Rosa, Worm Interface, and Sprawl Imprint, but he’s also contributed a bunch of complete stunners to compilations as well. And the YouTube play counts for the ones I added today happen to be appallingly low, with “Dice” being the highest at 55 plays, and “Duplo” being the lowest at just 10 plays. It’s hard to pick an absolute favorite out of all of these Pyke adds too, but “Duplo” just might be the one. He really has a tendency to make some of the wildest, most innovative, densest, and uniquely breathtaking IDM that you’ll ever hear in your life. I swear on it. Bear witness to this absolute genius 🤯.

The other two YouTube adds come from a pair of other IDM entities: The Black Dog, who remix German duo Alter Ego’s “Tanks Ahead”—a hypnotically enthralling song with just a little over 4,600 plays that first appeared on Frankfurt label Harthouse’s Dark Hearts - Volume 1 compilation in 1995—and nebulous Autechre side project Gescom’s “Keynell 1,″ which has a number of uploads on YouTube, but only one as it appears exactly on that aforementioned Skampler album.

Alter Ego - “Tanks Ahead (Black Dog Mix)” Gescom - “Keynell 1″ Freeform - “Dice” Freeform - “Fyonk” Freeform - “Flumps” Nudge - “Skewer (You’re So Human)” Nudge - “Duplo”

This playlist is also on YouTube Music.

So, while I understand people’s preference for Spotify, because it’s a way more convenient platform for streaming music, know that if you choose that one, you really will be missing out on some of the greatest IDM that’s ever been made, because I don’t have a single Freeform or Nudge track on it. They’re all over on YouTube. The Spotify playlist is at 14 songs and 75 minutes, but the YouTube one is at 34 songs and 3 and a half hours! That’s more than double!

Enjoy!

More to come, eventually. Stay tuned!

Like what you hear? Follow me on Spotify and YouTube for more cool playlists and uploads!  

[flowerboycaleb]

february was a really good month for music!!! i enjoyed so many projects from both artists i've loved for a long time and some i haven't enjoyed in the past at all. there were a few disappointing ones too, one album in particular spawning some of the most irritating discourse in a long time, but i'm trying to look at the positives!! here are my thoughts on some of the most notable projects that dropped this month!!! to check out my thoughts on some of the songs that dropped this month click here!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

What Now - Brittany Howard

🥇 ALBUM OF THE MONTH

◇ genre: psychedelic soul

When Brittany Howard dropped her first solo record, Jaime, back in 2019, I was absolutely obsessed with it. The shift from the blues rock-centric sound of her other work to the world of psychedelic soul worked extremely well. However, as with most new music I was obsessed with during that time, it feels like it was so long ago. I think the pandemic made me sort of forget a lot of these albums I once loved. For some subconscious reason, I don't revisit many of the new records I loved from late 2019 to early 2020. Jaime was unfortunately one of them. When I heard this new album was on the way, I was excited and listened to like one of the singles, but nothing more. When I finally sat down to listen to What Now, it felt like meeting up with an old friend and hitting it off almost immediately.

The opener "Earth Sign" shook me to my core on my first listen. It's spacey, slow-building, but when Howard emphatically sings that third "out thereeee" in the third verse it acts like a call to arms for the drums to come booming in. Such a cool moment moment. The next track "I Don't" is one of the more straightforward psychedelic soul cuts on the album and it's so gorgeous. I can't get enough of it. The title track picks up the pace a bit and is almost funk rock. I adore Howard's fuzzy guitar on this song. It's probably also a good time to mention how the rest of the musicians on this project do an amazing job. "Another Day" and "Prove It to You" are really interesting detours into a more dance direction. They simultaneously sound out of place while also fitting right in. I would love to hear these sounds be explored further on future albums. The album's home stretch kicks off with "Samson" which might be Howard's most intimate moment from a musical standpoint. Very bare guitar parts, organ, and some saxophones peppered in. Stunningly beautiful. She immediately fires back up for "Patience" which features some of my favorite instrumentation across the whole record. Mixing together those funky basslines and guitar licks before shifting into some sweeping keyboards on the later half of the track. "Every Color in Blue" is a phenomenal final note. Again, mixing together some subtle jazz instrumentation with Howard's awe-inspiring vocals. You just have to hear this. I've listened to this album a ton since it dropped. I'm still uncovering new things I didn't appreciate on the last listen. Please don't let this album fly under your radar!!

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

SCRAPYARD - Quadeca

◇ genres: art pop, experimental hip hop, electronic

I'll be honest, I didn't know who Quadeca was before his last album I Didn't Mean to Haunt You. I learned after the fact that he was a YouTuber and that many were shocked he had made an album that good. The quality for "YouTuber music" is nearly in the dirt, but that record kind of pushed Quadeca out of the label of "YouTuber music." I enjoyed the album a good bit, although I found him to be a bit overhyped by many following its release. I don't know if that's where my lack of knowledge on Quadeca comes into play, but it's just how I felt. Then comes SCRAPYARD and I'm forced to eat the biggest crow ever. This new mixtape from Quadeca has him showcasing his range as not just a producer, but a rapper, lyricist, and multi-instrumentalist as well. Opener "Dustcutter" is an emo-rap track with elements of art pop mixed in and it's amazing. His exasperated, frantic delivery at various points throughout the track creates this very anxious tension that feels almost palpable. The next track, "A la carte" with brakence, picks up the pace a bit and the two work very well together. "Pretty Privilege" veers heavily into the art pop and it's so great. Hits pretty close to home as someone who has struggled with body image issues and Quadeca handles these themes in a tactful way. "Easier" shows another switch-up as he delves into some folktronica. He shows so much more depth as an artist here and to think this is the "scrapyard." One of the more no-frills hip hop tracks here is "Guess Who?" and it's a fun listen. The final three tracks are extremely poignant and offer some of the most intimate moments on the record. "U Tried That Thing Where Ur Human" reminds me a bit of a Xiu Xiu track except a bit less ... Xiu Xiu. "Guide Dog" is a really emotional indie folk cut and one that grows on me over reoccurring listens. "Texas Blue" is the most I've enjoyed a Kevin Abstract feature since like high school. Quadeca and Abstract have an incredible chemistry here. It really feels like the perfect way to end this project. Quadeca, I'm sorry for thinking you were overhyped. This SCRAPYARD mixtape is exceptional and I can't wait to hear what you do next.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Where we've been, Where we go from here - Friko

◇ genre: indie rock

Many reviewers have drawn a clear line of influence from Where we've been, Where we go from here and indie rock of the 2000s. Those reviewers would be absolutely correct too. If you told me this was an indie rock staple of that era with a Pitchfork Best New Music review to its name, I might believe you. However, this is a band's debut album in the year 2024. One of the most exciting in recent memory, made even more so by Friko being relatively unknown before this project. It's like it appeared out of thin air. Randomly here's one of the most polished indie rock albums in a while that puts a modern twist on an old formula. An old formula that I have a soft spot for, for better or for worse. Even by the opener, "Where We've Been," I knew this album was something special, at least for me. Vocalist and guitarist Niko Kapetan absolutely steals the show here. His voice is shaky, but effortlessly melodic. "Crimson to Chrome" has one of the most memorable choruses I've heard in a minute, it's been stuck in my head for days. Drummer Bailey Minzenberger really kills it here too. The energy keeps up on the next track "Crashing Through." Those first three tracks alone are a hell of a statement for a debut record. "Chemical" veers into the post-punk and shows the band's range very well. Even when the band get a bit quieter like on "Until I'm With You Again," there's still just this ... energy to it all. Friko sound so confident here, like they know they're gonna be a big name in the genre in a very short time. I hope I'm right about that because this album is amazing. I was a bit floored by how much I enjoyed this. Incredibly excited to see what Friko have in store for us next.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

PHASOR - Helado Negro

◇ genres: indietronica, neo-psychedelia

Similarly to Brittany Howard, Roberto Carlos Lange's music has escaped me over the last few years. I enjoyed his 2019 album This Is How You Smile, but I just kind of lost track of him. However, I saw his new album PHASOR getting some buzz and I decided to check it out. I'm glad I did! It's a gorgeous album full of sweet, borderline ambient songs. "I Just Want to Wake Up With You" is such a simple song, but it's so enjoyable. The repetition of the chorus never feels irritating because the production and instrumentation are so nice. It almost feels like you're swimming and the little synth flourishes remind me of early electronic music from the 70's. The whole album is full of stuff like that too. It's such an easy listen. Each song just breezes past you so gently. It doesn't demand your attention, but if you decide to give it some you will be rewarded. "Out There" sounds so cool and more complex than some of the other songs here while not losing the subtlety of the album. "Best For You and Me" is similar in this aspect too with its driving piano chords and fuzzy synths bubbling up underneath Lange's soft vocals. The most raucous track here is the opener "LFO (Lupe Finds Olivieros)" which is a cool mix of indie rock with the rest of the album's spacey synth work. This album has really grown on me over multiple listens. It's so easy to throw on whenever. It fits nearly every mood and doesn't overstay its welcome at all. It's also reminded me to go back and revisit more of his work from the past! 

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She - Chelsea Wolfe

◇ genres: darkwave, post-industrial

Chelsea Wolfe is a name that sounded vaguely familiar to me before I listened to her new record She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She, but I'm pretty sure I've never heard any of her stuff before this. Upon listening, I have a strong desire to dive into her back catalog. This album is excellently produced and wonderfully written. These songs are dark and often chilling. Both due to Wolfe's unique vocals and the production. You're thrown right into it with "Whispers In The Echo Chamber" as Wolfe sings about seeing things "beyond reality" and the dark synths really accentuate that feeling. The song eventually builds into a big industrial burst with a ripping guitar part towards the end of the track. I loved the range presented here and it's present across the whole album. Wolfe shines in both the softer moments and the louder moments. "House of Self-Undoing" is more straight-forward industrial rock. Even amidst the wild drums and guitars, Wolfe's vocals stand out. The lyricism here strikes a nice balance between substance and style. The majority of the tracks here have at least one lyric that is razor sharp despite the ethereal vocals. "The Liminal" is a really great trip-hop cut and an unexpected, but welcome change of pace after the slow-burning "Tunnel Lights." As was "Eyes Like Nightshade" which blends elements from dance music into this dark world Wolfe is creating. It's such an easy album to get sucked into. Even with the sonic shifts, these songs immerse you in their weird world. The album ends with one of its most fiery moments, "Dusk," as Wolfe aptly sings "and I will go through the fire" as the heavy industrial guitars and drums almost drown her out. I really loved this album. Wolfe managed to balance both the chaos and relative tranquility on the album just by her performance alone. Really need to listen to more of her stuff!

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

All Life Long - Kali Malone

◇ genres: drone, holy minimalism

My first introduction to Kali Malone's work was through her 2022 album Living Torch. A really interesting two part, 33-minute drone piece that had a really dark atmosphere to it. Her last album, Does Spring Hide Its Joy, was way more expansive at three hours. I had to listen to it over multiple days. It played on a lot of the themes of the previous, except grander. This new album is trimmed down a bit, but it has some of her strongest material. Opening the album with the choral "Passage Through the Spheres" is a very interesting choice. It doesn't really sound like much of the album musically, but it sets the tone very well. All Life Long sounds like the album art suggests. Everything feels cold. Maybe not the standing the snow kind of cold, but a really strong, uncomfortable chill. The title track, split into versions both for organ and voice, is a big highlight here. Malone's plodding organ on the former feels like you're stepping into somewhere you shouldn't be. It sounds haunted. "No Sun to Burn (for Brass)" lightens the mood just a bit and is a really striking minimalist composition. "Prisoned on Watery Shore" is a mellow drone cut and it keeps you hooked the whole time. Just by the first four tracks Malone has taken us down so many avenues and flexed her range as a composer. I love the dark droney synths and little organ flourishes on "Fastened Maze." I do like when Malone works with a brass quintet and the choirs, but they really shine with the drone stuff. She's so good at creating distinct atmospheres in each of her compositions. All Life Long might be my favorite project of Malone's yet. The majority of the songs here are really well composed and evoked some kind of reaction from me. Not sure if I would recommend starting with it if you're new to Malone's work, I would say Living Torch is still the best entry point, but definitely give this a listen after.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Prelude to Ecstasy - The Last Dinner Party

◇ genre: indie rock, glam rock, pop rock

I mentioned this in my singles & songs post from last month, but I have been loving the singles leading up to this album. Even if the entire debut from the London glam rock band didn't live up to the hype those songs gave me, I would still be pretty satisfied. Luckily, Prelude to Ecstasy is a really good debut. The band dives into themes of gender, generational trauma, and toxic relationships accompanied by some catchy, cathartic songwriting. The best example of this is the band's biggest hit thus far, "Nothing Matters." I touched on it briefly in the aforementioned post from last month, but I just adore that song. One of the most well-crafted rock songs of the decade so far. That chorus sticks with you for days. I wish I could be a bit contrarian and say that the biggest hit isn't the best song, but I just can't here. That isn't to say the rest of the material here is weak, far from it, this album is loaded with great songs. "Burn Alive" veers into a more post-punk sound which fits the band so well. The lyrics discuss turning pain into art and lead vocalist Abigail Morris has defined it as the band's "mission statement." Very strong start to the record. I wrote about how great "Caesar on a TV Screen" was last month, but I enjoyed it even more in the context of the album. "Sinner" is another great example of the band's glam rock sound. It sounds so classic, but not in the extra-derivative Greta Van Fleet way. They use these sounds from the past and put their own spin on it. All in all, this is a very strong debut album. Occasionally the band can drift into the generic, but those moments are few and far between. They're even more forgivable when you compare them to what other new stuff is playing on your local alternative station. I'll definitely take it over any son of Mumford.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Loss of Life - MGMT

◇ genre: neo-psychedelia

Nearly 6 years removed from their stellar previous album, Little Dark Age, MGMT have finally returned with Loss of Life. An album that sees them leaning away from the synth-heavy sound of the previous in favor of a more organic sound. Guitars and the occasional piano are usually the driving force behind these songs. The psychedelia present through all of their work is also here which is to be expected. The album opens with "Loss of Life Pt. 2," which features some of the most electronic instrumentation across the whole record and a lot of it would be reprised for the closing title track. Lead single "Mother Nature" follows it and it really was the perfect choice for a lead single. It introduces this "era" of the band perfectly. More organic instrumentation, more mature lyrics, while still having those hooks that really stick with you. I think this is one of the best songs the band have ever made and while a lot of the songs following don't reach those heights, plenty come very close. "People In The Streets" follows the same formula as that song, but way more mellow. I love the bass on this track, it's so prevalent in the mix. The next track "Bubblegum Dog" is almost glam rock and they pull off that sound pretty well. The lyrics feel like a meditation on the creative process and moving forward. Interesting themes that I'm interested in hearing from them at this stage in their career. A lot of the songs here, as good as most of them are, just leave me wanting a little bit more. I often found myself wanting the band to take a few more risks and get a bit wilder on the musical front. I feel like you could've explored these more mature themes while also getting a bit crazier with it. As this album dropped only last week, I don't feel like my opinions on it are fully formed. Maybe I'll enjoy it more over more listens as the year rolls on. For the most part, Loss of Life is a really good return for the band and an interesting release in their discography.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Still - Erika de Casier

◇ genre: contemporary r&b

Erika de Casier had been on my radar for years, but I never got around to listening to any of her albums in full. I was inspired to listen to her new album due to her incredible single from last month, "Lucky." A really sleek, atmospheric drum and bass cut with a killer hook and production that still wows me even after multiple listens. It's probably still my favorite track on the album, but that's not to say there aren't other amazing tracks on Still. The reggaetón undertones of "Home Alone" were a very welcome surprise. "ice" is has a very funky bassline and a nice feature from They Hate Change. "Believe It" has a subtle bit of trip-hop thrown in and some of my favorite hooks on the whole record. The album's sounds are deceptively eclectic as de Casier blends them together so well. The incredible production across Still can sometimes be to its detriment. On a few tracks, the production feels let down by some weak songwriting. Not bad by any means, but I just wish there was a bit more of an edge to them. de Casier is a very good pop songwriter and pretty much every track has a good hook, chorus, etc., but it doesn't leave much of an impact beyond that. "Ex-Girlfriend" and "Twice" are examples of this. Really nice beats, but I feel like they never reach the heights they have the potential to. Even with those gripes, Still is a really well-crafted record and there is no shortage of great stuff here.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Other Rooms - Adriaan de Roover

◇ genres: ambient, electroacoustic

I don't know much about Adriaan de Roover at all. I found this album on the front page of Bandcamp and decided to check it out because the genres looked appealing. Sometimes you need a good ambient album and Other Rooms is a satisfying listen. There are some gorgeous ambient soundscapes on this project with some glitchy moments peppered in. In fact, the album starts off with one of those moments. "Yet" has these prickly, glitchy synths throughout, yet an almost eerie wave of noise accompanies them. It creates a really cool dynamic. If you're just looking for some good ol' ambient, check out the tracks "Homebound" and "Dank U." My favorite piece here is the title track. It features some nice ambient synth-work alongside these distant choir-like vocals and some chilling piano chords thrown in. The backend of the tracks turns to something far more sinister with one of the most outwardly unsettling dark warbles. There always feels like there's something underneath a lot of the songs. I just wish it was a bit more fleshed out. At just under 30-minutes in length, I feel like there was a bit more to explore. Still definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a good ambient album with a decent amount of depth to dive into.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud (not available) YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Club Shy - Shygirl

◇ genres: house, dance-pop

There's not really much to say about this new Shygirl EP except that it's a really strong, concise collection of house and dance-pop tracks. A bit of a detour from the sound of her previous album Nymph, but it works so well. She works with a ton of different producers here and it's incredible how cohesive it all sounds. Every track hits and there's very rarely a dull moment. "4eva" and "thicc" are probably the biggest highlights here for me. I'm a total, anti-social geek that doesn't go to clubs, but those songs make me want to. If you need a quick collection of thumping club songs, look no further.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Unwired Detour - Asian Glow

◇ genres: noise pop, indietronica

I've listened to a decent amount of Asian Glow's work over the last few years. They've been involved in some pretty interesting projects throughout the decade so far both on their own and with other noisy/shoegaze artists such as Weatherday and Parannoul. They played bass on the latter's After the Night live album which was one of my favorites last year. However, it seems as though the Asian Glow project is coming to an end with Unwired Detour. They announced on their Bandcamp that this would be the "last album [they'll] ever release for Asian Glow." It doesn't feel like your typical "final album" though, at least to me. I'm sure it has a lot more personal significance for the artist, but this just sounds like an extremely promising album from a young artist and one that could be a stepping stone to much greater heights.

The album features some really good noise pop/indietronica tracks with some having more of a rock edge than others. "Ashes" is one of my favorite cuts here because of that rock edge. It also feels like one of the more lively tracks here from a production standpoint. I feel the same way about "Kuroitamago #2" and "Faucet." This album is at its best when they cut loose a bit. A lot of these songs are really good, but the production feels like a big barrier preventing them from reaching that next level. Like on the opener "Down in the sink" which is just begging to be free from the Wall of Sound production style. I still think on the whole this project is worth checking out. I also am excited to hear whatever comes next from the artist formerly known as Asian Glow.

listen here: Apple Music (not available) Spotify (not available) Bandcamp SoundCloud (not available) YouTube (not available) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2093 - Yeat

◇ genres: industrial hip hop, experimental hip hop, trap

I haven't really been crazy about a lot of Yeat's music, but 2093 is probably his strongest album to date. There are so many really cool ideas here and there are some awesome moments here from a production standpoint. However, it would be even better if it were reigned in and shortened by maybe even 20 minutes. He commits to the concept of 2093 and being in the future, but that kinda wears thin when multiple songs hammer that concept home over and over again. On the whole it can be a very tiresome listen made somewhat worthwhile due to a large number of highlights. "Morë" and "U Should Know" are my two favorite tracks on the album if just for the beats alone. They sound so cool and the former dives into the industrial hip hop sound really well. Yeat's bars are pretty nice for the most part, he's not my favorite rapper and often he never surpasses the "this is fine" territory, but he works within these songs very well. I'll always be a sucker for reoccurring lyrical themes across an album. Lil Wayne locked in for his verse on "Lyfestylë" which makes it another standout. I really had a difficult time getting into the later half of the album, but the penultimate track "If We Being Rëal" brought me back into it. There is a really, really solid album within 2093. If you took the cream of the crop and maybe saved the rest for a deluxe edition, you would be absolutely golden.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp (not available) SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

TANGK - IDLES

◇ genre: art rock, post-punk

IDLES decided to switch things up going into their fifth studio album, partially stepping away from the raucous energy of their previous work in favor of something softer, less aggressive. They enlist the help of Nigel Godrich and frequent collaborator Kenny Beats for the bulk of production duties here. Godrich especially has heaps of experience in the art rock world mainly through his production work on every Radiohead studio album besides Pablo Honey. The production really is one of the standout things about TANGK, unfortunately I don't really know if IDLES is the best at making the most of it. This isn't a bad album by any means and I do warm up to it bit by bit after every listen, but I can't help but feel like a lot of this is underwhelming. I'm all for bands expanding their sound and trying different things, but I feel like IDLES lose a good bit of their charm by going into this direction. The best moments on the album are the ones reminiscent of the wild energy of their previous work. Especially "Dancers", a collab with LCD Soundsystem and a track that somehow flew under my radar last year. That swinging chorus rules so hard. "Hall & Oates" is another massive highlight for a lot of the same reasons. "Gift Horse" is awesome too and shows the band kinda leaning further towards dance-punk.

IDLES really thrive with that rough around the edges sound. Not all of their forays away from it are bad, in fact, none of them are really. Many just feel kinda boring.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Drop 7 - Little Simz

◇ genres: UK hip hop, electronic dance music

It breaks my heart to write this, but Drop 7 was underwhelming. Little Simz is one of my favorite artists going today and her last three studio albums are absolutely incredible. Her 2021 album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert was my favorite album of that year and I would give it a very prestigious 10/10 score!! I was so hyped for this EP once she started teasing it on social media. The snippets showed her venturing into some more electronic production and I was intrigued. Unfortunately, those experiments don't really come together to make a great EP. There are some really good moments though. The opener "Mood Swings" is great and shows her feeling right at home with this style. The next track "Fever" is also one of the better cuts here, but it highlights a big issue I have with this project. Her typical incredible flows and lyricism aren't really present here across this EP. Most of the time her bars feel like an afterthought and oftentimes there isn't much else to carry the tracks on any other front besides that. One of the only exceptions is "SOS" which is a nice tribal house track that makes me want to dive into the genre more. I'm trying not to be too harsh on this EP because it's obvious she uses the Drop EPs to experiment and test out ideas, but Drop 7 left a lot to be desired. I don't think this journey into electronic/house music is a bad idea, but I just hope it can be fleshed out properly on her next full-length project.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp (not available) SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Vultures 1 - Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign

◇ genres: pop rap, trap, alternative r&b

It feels pointless to dive into Kanye's weird, antisemitic antics over the last year or so. He obviously doesn't care and his ardent supporters don't either. "Separate the art from the artist!" they cry meanwhile said artist is making light of his antics in the art itself. Thus making it impossible to separate it from him. So that begs the question ... why do people still cling to him? Does the man who just a few months ago uttered the phrase "Jesus Christ, Hitler, Ye — third party, sponsor that" still make good music? Maybe if the beats go hard enough you can forgive and forget as he boasts about still being "the king" despite his vile antics? Unfortunately for the Kanye fans, this might be his worst album to date. No longer can they use the shield of "but he still makes good music!" I've tried to write about how I feel about this album over and over again, but it's so frustrating. Pretty much every song has a fair amount of bullshit thrown in which makes the whole thing unenjoyable. "Stars" is a decent opener until Kanye says "Keep a few Jews on the staff now" as if it somehow absolves him of his past remarks. "Keys to My Life" has a cool beat, but Kanye's verses are some of the weakest of his career. "Talking" probably has the least amount of bullshit and it can be a bit touching at times. "Back to Me" ranks among the worst things Kanye's ever touched. Everything about it irritates me, I don't even enjoy the Freddie Gibbs feature. The same can be said about "Hoodrat." "Do It" isn't offensively bad, but it bores me to tears. "Burn" is just pathetic as Kanye tries to get a quick nostalgia pop because the beat and his flow are sort of reminiscent of The College Dropout era, y'know when he made good music. "Fuk Sumn" and "Carnival" are the most enjoyable tracks here, but I can't see myself ever really going back to them. The title track isn't good and is proof Kanye has lost pretty much all of his sauce. The last two tracks, "Problematic" and "King," are embarrassing. The former where Kanye refers to his current wife as a "reference" to his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and the latter where he says he's "still the king!" despite people rightfully calling out his behavior. These over-the-top egotistical bars would at least be a little bit forgivable if the songs were any good, but they aren't. I almost forgot to mention this is a collab with Ty Dolla $ign and while he has some decent moments (his verse on "Talking" is a genuine highlight), as he says on the track "Paid," he's "just here to get paid." Vultures 1 has to be one of the worst albums by an artist of Kanye West's standing. Someone responsible for making some of the most influential music of the last two decades having a fall from grace this hard and fast would be sad if he weren't such a massive piece of shit. My apologies for going in on this album, but if you know me you will know that I used to be a massive fan of this man's music. I own like half of his discography on vinyl and I stuck with him through so much bullshit. I'm catching up on my Kanye hate after many years of being a delusional dickrider of his. He's making it easy too, not just with his antisemitism, but with this bad record too.

listen here: don't, listen to something good instead ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Slut Pop Miami - Kim Petras

◇ genres: dance-pop, house, electropop

I really am rooting for Kim Petras. I thought she was making some cool stuff near the end of the 2010s, but I just haven't been able to get into anything she's dropped lately. Especially these Slut Pop projects. It was already uncomfortable how often Petras collaborated with alleged sexual abuser Dr. Luke, but releasing a bunch of hypersexual bangers produced by him is just very uncomfortable and tone deaf on many different levels.

listen here: don't, listen to Club Shy for ur house and dance-pop fix this month ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ thanks for reading <3

[kangaracha]

i tried to goad people into asking me the ao3 questions like five times this month so i'm just gonna treat myself and answer em

How many words have you written this year? 247, 190

How many works did you publish this year? four

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? nevermore! and not just for wordcount either, though maybe a little bit because i've spent so much time with it. i'm just extremely pleased with the world building i've done and the complexity and depth of the plot and how i've gotten so far into it and i don't feel like i've become wayward yet, which is what usually happens even before i reach this point. i'm so pleased. i'm so excited to reach 200k and see where i'm up to and what's ahead.

What work of yours has the most hits? linger, which is funny because just like the ghosts it was about it haunts me

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? to go beyond your borders, considering it's hard to get readers to come to something that's nearly completely original and it's just my silly little mental health fic, the audience that it gathered in the short time i was actually updating it regularly was really surprising and i love them

Favorite title you used oh lyre lyre for sure, i went to great lengths to ensure that title made a modicum of sense for that fic

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? hahahahaha stray kids all day. nevermore is skz cinematic universe so of course every chapter title is a lyric

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? so much gen fic, so little time. original fiction pairings.

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? HMMMMMMMMMMMM from my original fic, leo/nes. they're funny.

What work was the quickest to write? queenmaker is the quickest to write, takes like an hour per chapter if that. in terms of strictly ao3 fics, lyre lyre was the fever dream of a few days.

What work took you the longest to write? well i started nevermore on the 4th of march and as of the 29th it is disgustingly far from being finished at 140k so i just don't know if i can say anything else. nevermore doesn't actually take long to write though really, it's just that it's a 300k kind of project. relevant to word count though, the unpublished pirate fic is actually probably the thing that's taking the longest, and my original all that is good/holy.

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? not counting every single novel i have sitting around, it's around 15, but a very casual 15 because i just go with the vibe to the extreme and with no intention to really finish any of them except like two of em

What’s your longest work of the year? hehe nevermore at 139, 583

What’s your shortest work of the year? apart from the cheeky 3 sentence fic the other day, overwinter at 1278

What WIP are you taking into next year with you? nevermore

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? oh. Angst.

Your favorite character to write this year? hehehehe lee minho

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? Y/N for queenmaker

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? more gen fic please, tired of romance. if i had to pick one, angie/raihan from to go beyond your borders

Which work of yours have you reread the most? to go beyond your borders, although i am about to start a full edit of nevermore which is uh no mean feat.

How many kudos in total did you get this year? 202

Which work has the most comments? nevermore by a mile

Did you do any collaborative works this year? you know what they all ditched me to collaborate on their own, and they didn't even post the fic. can you believe it.

Did you write any gifts this year? uhhhh yes, it isn't gifted on ao3 but lyre lyre was for rain and i believe overwinter was for zom mom? keeps? one of those two

Did you receive any gifts this year? yesssss i received neverwas from keeps for my birthday and it was really cool and if you read anything on this list honestly make it that one, it stands alone and it's really weird and vibey

What’s your most common category? Gen

What do you listen to while writing? liked songs or a specific fic playlist on spotify on repeat. usually kpop only these days but it depends what i'm working on.

Favorite work you wrote this year? nevermore

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? oh my god. out of 240k? yeah no worries i'll just pull it up. um. uhhhh. uhhhhhhh.

Biggest surprise while writing this year? oh that i finished nanowrimo and that if i didn't work such a physically demanding job it would have been easy. if i had all my time spare in that month i would have done 80-100k, when before this year i couldn't get past 25k a month. realising i had that capability just sitting there was crazy.

[fandomanimatic-tournament]

Fandom song animatic tournament: Bracket 2 Side A

The Killing Kind - Marianas Trench

"I know, I know, I know, I know, I know I know my love can be the killing kind Here and now, if this is it Can't get out from under it Nevermore to leave here Nevermore to leave here My love is the killing kind"

Touch-Tone Telephone - Lemon Demon

"I try to call you every day I'm rehearsing what to say when the truth comes out (of my very own mouth) I've been working on a unified theory If I make it through tonight, everybody's gonna hear me out 'Cause I'm the right one On my touch-tone, touch-tone telephone I'm the only one On your AM, AM radio"

Remember that we're voting on how Iconic they are for ANIMATICS, not for the song itself. In order to make things fair, the tone and mood of the song should not affect how iconic it is (for example, a serious song should not be considered more iconic than a joke song just because it's serious)

Propaganda and animatic links of the songs under the cut:

The Killing Kind - Marianas Trench

Propaganda:

it has the repitition and escalation that makes for extremely cool animatics. really good song for those 'show the entire span of this media' animatics. WHAT IF I WAS WRONG FOR NEVER MOVING I, DIDN'T REALIZE WHO'S GONE

Animatics with the song:

The Magnus Archives

The Magnus Archives

Twisted Wonderland

Warrior Cats Ashfur PMV

Touch-Tone Telephone - Lemon Demon

Propaganda:

Lemon Demon 👌

Animatics with the song:

Invader Zim

The Magicians

The Magnus Archives

Generation Loss

Warrior Cats Mapleshade Animatic

Please be cautious and read the title, description and warning cards on the animatic videos if you decide to watch them. If you've got specific triggers I'd recommend even more caution when watching animatics of fandoms you don't know, since sometimes canon-typical themes don't get warnings.

Please keep in mind that I don't know all the media and fandoms of the animatics provided as examples and I don't have the time (nor the will) to research them all. Don't come into my notes or my ask box complaining about them being included, I will simply block you. If a ship animatic included is about an adult and a minor, do tell me and I'll take it out of the post

ALSO keep in mind that I don't know all the artists submitted; in fact, even if I do know them I do not know absolutely nothing about them as people (I do not have twitter nor tiktok) and I could not POSSIBLY have the time to research ALL of the artists' controversies and what came of them so PLEASE don't flood my inbox with the artists' entire crime list.

[fiercynn]

patpran fic playlist: “traffic was slow for the crash years”, a fake dating au

so my bad buddy fake dating fic, traffic was slow for the crash years, is going to be finishing up soon, and i decided i wanted to share my playlist for it! it’s my first time making a playlist specifically for a fic – usually i just have general fandom playlists that i listen to while i write – so this was a lot of fun for me. (it is not spoilery for the forthcoming last chapter, except in that the fic will have a happy ending lol)

you can listen to the playlist either on spotify or youtube, but i wanted to share some of my commentary about why i chose each song here! one caveat is that of all the languages here, i only speak english and spanish, so for the thai, hindustanti (hindi/urdu) (i am south indian lolsob), and korean songs i’m basically going off of the lyric translations into english i could find online (which i've linked to).

1. “crash years”, the new pornographers [lyrics]: the song where the title and all the chapter titles comes from! i'm going to be honest: i don’t really know what the song means, and i doubt it has anything to do with the story i'm trying to tell in the fic. i just really really like the song and its mood, and the lyric snippets that i've used for titles seemed thematic to me! lol

2. "main rahoon ya na rahoon | whether i remain or not", armaan & amaal malik [lyrics]: a little flowery for pran but i love the melancholy unrequited pining mood for his high school years

3. “keeping tabs”, niki [lyrics]: a song about wondering if the person you’re pining over (such as, yk, the rival/friend you had to leave behind when you were shipped off to boarding school for three years) even remembers you or cares about you, and also you’re trying to convince yourself that you hate them. seriously look at the lyrics for this one. extremely pran-coded

4. “เพื่อนเล่น ไม่เล่นเพื่อน | just being friendly”, tilly birds feat. milli [lyrics]: i know this is now a my school president song, but it was a patpran song for me first, so much so that my friend @scribescribe & i made a patpran fanvid/edit to it in 2022! it's just so perfect for them, and i see this as being the mood right after patpran meet again at uni, and pran wondering how he's back in this weird not-friend/crush place again

5. “รักกันจนตาย | love you until i die”, season five ft. jlis [lyrics]: this is the song that the engineering crew play at the concert in chapter 3! pat chooses it because he thinks it’s a fun song to celebrate a new “relationship”, to sell their lie to everyone better. poor pran

6. “เหตุผลที่ไม่อยากเป็นเพื่อนเธอ | the reason i don’t want to be your friend”, so cool [lyrics]: the song that architecture plays in chapter 3; pran chooses it because it’s got basically the same meaning as “just friends” and he needs an outlet. poor pran

7. “one damn good mistake”, miss benny [lyrics]: pat pov for when they start hooking up in chapter 4…i don’t think pat actually thinks what they’re doing is wrong or a mistake, but the mood of this feels much more pat than pran, like he finds the secrecy exciting

8. “lie to me”, abigail barlow & ariza [lyrics]: pran pov for chapter 4. pran's really going through it

9. “october”, alessia cara [lyrics]: pran in chapter 6 when he thinks about the inevitable “break-up”… 😭

10. “애 | mixtape: oh”, stray kids [lyrics]: pat when he realizes his feelings in chapter 7!!! now he’s really going through it

11. “stay”, onewe & oneus [lyrics]: pat after his confession in chapter 7 :( he misses pran so much :(

12. “rearview”, run river north [lyrics]: okay firstly run river north is one of my favorite bands, you should check out their other work. but yeah this duet feels very patpran post-breakup in upcoming chapter 8; they both want each other, but for a while pran convinces himself that it can’t work. (i promise i chose this song before remembering that one of the lyrics was “tapping on your window” sldkfkdj)

13. "พร้อม | ready", mints [lyrics]: more pat pining after the break-up

14. “one of us”, abba [lyrics]: if you know me you will not be surprised that i snuck an abba song in here lol. the reason for breaking up doesn’t match, but the mood of pran in chapter 8 regretting the breakup does, right? one of my top pining songs of all time tbh

15. “fin del mundo | end of the world”, jesse & joy [lyrics]: jesse & joy are also among my favorite artists, listen to their stuff too! it’s so cute and such a ride or die song, befitting of the end of chapter 8. patpran are better as a TEAM, they can be anywhere/handle anything as long as they’re together!!!!

16. “grow up together”, starmaxx [lyrics]: i'm getting repetitive but you should DEFINITELY check out starmaxx’s other stuff, it’s all awesome and most of it is actually more dance-y pop. but this is such a lovely and gentle song about lifetime love that i thought it was a good mood for the epilogue! patpran 4eva

[taeyongdoyoung]

summary: tired of his friends minho and chan rubbing their happiness in his face, changbin decides to see for himself what’s so special about hybrids. his best friend and roommate hyunjin follows his example soon enough. only they both get something they didn’t bargain for...

pairing: human owner!changbin x bunny hybrid!reader x human owner!hyunjin x fox hybrid!jeongin

genre: angst, fluff

warnings: rich bin & obsessive hyun (basically canon 🤭), swearing, mentions of past abuse, jealousy, unrequited feelings, yelling, chasing kink, kissing, trust issues (alexa play the weeknd), cuddling, strength kink, lots of misunderstandings, making out, crying, unresolved tension, sleeping pills, inappropriate jokes about eating people, half-naked hyunin (yes, that’s a warning in itself), angry changbin, infidelity, manipulation/corruption, implied drugging

author’s note: the title is inspired by the neighbourhood’s nervous (i used it to symbolize the lack of healthy communication going on) and the story itself takes place in the same universe as sharing my heart fic and in the holes paws of my sweater fic; there are some song references in italics so keep an eye out��😉

word count: 7.7k

part two

Changbin's POV

Changbin was a curious man. Especially after his closest friends Chan and Minho kept talking to him about their hybrid partners and how lovely they were. Changbin had had a couple of relationships in the past but things had never gotten serious. He was longing for someone to come home to and cuddle after a long day. And no, his roommate Hyunjin (aka the biggest physical touch hater) didn't count. Changbin wished he could confide in someone the way Chan did with Seungmin or Minho with Jisung, Felix and their girlfriend (that lucky bastard). He was craving that special feeling he heard so much about from his friends. Which is how Changbin ended up at the hybrid shelter.

"Can I help with something? What kind of hybrid are you looking for?" the man working there asked.

"Um...I don't really have anything particular in mind."

"That's alright. Why don't you look around and let me know if something catches your eye."

Changbin nodded and started marveling at the variety of beautiful creatures residing at the shelter. He knew that he couldn't adopt more than one hybrid (he could technically afford it but he was too busy with work and he was aware that hybrids required a lot of attention and affection) so he hoped that they all found a caring home someday.

Soon enough, his stare met the nervous eyes of a bunny hybrid. She had the most adorable pout and the fluffiest tail. Changbin wasn't the type to believe in fairytale stuff like love at first sight but seeing her was enough to overwhelm him with the most intense urge to take her away and protect her.

"Hi, what's your name?"

"Y/N," she replied. "Are you looking to adopt?"

Changbin confirmed his intentions.

"Found anything to your liking?" the bunny hybrid kept up the conversation.

"Yeah...you."

Reader's POV

Your eyes widened in shock. You'd spent so long at the shelter that you had abandonded the foolish desire (hope) to get adopted long ago. You couldn't believe what you were hearing.

"You...want to adopt...me?" you had to make sure.

The man nodded calmly.

"How do you feel about that?"

You didn't want to show your true emotions (them being extreme excitement and intense joy) out of fear that he'd change his mind. So you tried to play it cool.

"That's fine, I guess," you shrugged, when in reality you were bursting with impatience. You would finally get a real home!

"Great, then I'll go deal with the paperwork," the man said confidently. "I'm Changbin, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," you gave him a small smile.

Soon enough you were inside Changbin's home. No, it was your home now, too. This would take some time getting used to.

"This is the living room, this is the gym, this is the kitchen, this is the music studio, this is my room, this is my friend Hyunjin's room, this is the bathroom and this will be your room," Changbin began showing you around the house.

"Wow, that's a lot of rooms," you were amazed.

"I'll show you the pool later," he smirked.

The what now? Had you died and ended up in heaven? This seemed too good to be true.

"So, um, what exactly are your...expectations of me?" you asked nervously.

"What do you mean?" Changbin seemed confused.

"I mean...what do I have to do in return? For you to let me stay here."

Changbin blinked in shock.

"You don't have to do anything, cupcake. I just...want you to be happy and make yourself at home, yeah?"

You were definitely dreaming.

Hyunjin's POV

Hyunjin was a possessive man. Especially after his best friend (who was also the guy he was crushing on) adopted the bunny hybrid Y/N. Hyunjin was haunted by questions filled with self-doubt. Wasn't he a good enough roommate to Changbin? Wouldn't he make a wonderful boyfriend? Why did Changbin have to replace him so easily with this...bunny girl (albeit a very beautiful one)? Hyunjin was also a hopeless romantic. He kept fantasizing about the perfect relationship and making playlists about love. He would draw figures stuck to each other in an affectionate embrace. He would often dream about his ideal type. And all his dreams had a face. Changbin. Changbin. Changbin.

"So you just decided to take her home without asking me?" Hyunjin scoffed.

"I already told you I had been thinking about adopting for a while now," Changbin defended his choice.

"Thinking about something and actually doing it are two very different things," Hyunjin groaned in annoyance.

"Why are you acting like this? Y/N is so nice."

Nice. What a terrible word. Hyunjin could be nice, too. Why didn't Changbin see how much he liked him?

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes.

"She deserves a loving home. Every hybrid does."

"So I suppose you wouldn't mind if I adopted a hybrid myself?" Hyunjin said as a joke. He just wanted to make Changbin as jealous as he was.

"Fine by me!" Changbin shrugged.

"FINE!" Hyunjin yelled and grabbed his jacket, already heading out.

"FINE!" Changbin shouted after him.

And that is how Hyunjin ended up at the shelter. He had no previous knowledge about them. Sure, he had heard some basic facts from Chan and Minho, but still. Hyunjin didn't even know what he was looking for. He just took one look at the mischievous fox hybrid and felt an immediate connection.

"Do you wanna get out of here?"

"What's in it for me?" the fox hybrid raised his eyebrows.

Hyunjin hadn't planned that far.

"Uh, having a warm bed and a proper home not good enough for ya?"

"I've seen far worse than the conditions at this shelter," the hybrid replied darkly.

Well, shit. What could Hyunjin possibly offer?

"Unlimited food? A bunny hybrid friend to play with? Cool clothes?"

"You had me at food."

Jeongin's POV

Jeongin was a hungry man. Especially after his former owners abandoned him in the most cruel way. Jeongin had practically been starving for ages. So the opportunity given to him by Hyunjin wasn't one he could resist. But Jeongin had lied. It wasn't the food that had him interested the most.

"How could you adopt a fox hybrid?" Changbin yelled at Hyunjin. "Foxes eat bunnies, it's common knowledge!"

"He's a hybrid, not an actual fox, you idiot!" Hyunjin screamed back.

"You're so fucking irresponsible!"

"At least I informed you about my plans instead of telling you post-factum!"

Humans. So loud...And dramatic.

"I promise I won't eat the bunny hybrid," Jeongin raised his hand politely and did his best to look as amiable as possible.

Changbin nodded thoughtfully.

"You better prove it."

"He will," Hyunjin defended his hybrid's honour.

"Then, I guess he can stay," Changbin acquiesced. "But if I get any complaints from my precious bunny, he's out."

Jeongin promised he wouldn't eat her. But he made no other promises.

When he met her for the first time, it was like all his fantasies had come true. Oh, she was so adorable and helpless he wanted to ruin her.

Reader's POV

You fearfully hid behind Changbin's back when your eyes met with the fox hybrid's. As if a human could defend you against this...dangerous predator.

"Relax, cupcake," Changbin murmured. "Hyunjin will keep him under control. Right, Hyunjin?"

"Sure, don't worry about it," Hyunjin responded.

You sneaked a peak uneasily. The fox hybrid was so handsome, you had to admit. It was as if nature itself had designed him to be alluring enough for prey like...well, you.

"My name is Jeongin," he introduced himself. "I hope we get along, bunny."

You sensed shudders running down your skin. The way he said that last word...It was almost menacing. And yet his innocent face was in stark contrast with the goosebumps he was giving you. It was deeply confusing. And despite the promise of danger, you were already aching for more. To hear his voice again.

"I'm Y/N," you blurted out. "N-nice to m-meet you."

You felt so pathetic, stammering like a fool.

"It's a beautiful name," Jeongin smiled. Saccharine sweet. "Y/N."

"Um...thanks," you mumbled.

"It wasn't a compliment, just the truth. I promised these nice hyungs I won't eat you. It is only right I make the same promise to you, don't you think?"

You nodded, almost in a daze. Empty words. You were too nervous to speak. He had said he wouldn't eat you. But why did you have the feeling he was capable of so much worse?

Your earlier suspicions were correct. This whole thing was too good to be true.

Changbin's POV

Changbin was a cautious man. Which is why, despite Jeongin's sparkly eyes and his profound promises, he didn't want to leave him alone with Y/N. Yet. He knew it was most likely just prejudice, considering two of Minho's partners were cat hybrids, while his third was a hamster hybrid and they were all living in peace. No casualties. But still, he couldn't help but be a little overprotective when it came to his precious bunny. Which is why he created this whole schedule thing. When Changbin had to go out, Hyunjin would stay with the two hybrids. Or vice versa.

"How are you liking this place so far?" Changbin asked Y/N one day, around a month after he adopted her.

"Oh, it's great, but not much different from the shelter. No offense," she responded.

"What do you mean?" he pouted.

"I mean...I don't get to go out."

Shit. Fuck. Changbin couldn't believe he had forgotten about that. Of course she wanted to go out, she was a bunny hybrid!

"I'm so sorry, it totally slipped my mind!" he apologized sincerely. "Do you wanna join me for a run in the park?"

"I would love that!" she squealed excitedly and gave Changbin a quick but deeply grateful hug.

When in the park, Y/N completely transformed. She seemed more carefree and energized. Practically glowing. It was refreshing to see her this way. When she was inside, it was as if she had a hidden worry behind her eyes that she couldn't quite seem to shake.

"Can you do me a favour, Binnie?"

"Sure, anything."

"Can you...like chase me?"

"You want me to chase you?" Changbin smirked.

"Yeah."

"You do know I work out...like a LOT," he said confidently.

"I know," she smiled in anticipation.

"Go ahead, then. I’ll give you a headstart. Run."

Reader's POV

And run you did. It was such a rush. You felt so free and happy. A surge of adrenaline was coursing through your veins as you kept running faster than ever before. After a couple of minutes, you felt your energy levels decreasing. And you slowed down, allowing yourself to be captured by Changbin's strong arms.

"Caught you," he announced proudly.

"You did," you smiled fondly.

"Do I get a reward as the winner in this race?" Changbin teased.

"What do you want?" you asked.

"A kiss?" Changbin said as a joke.

But you weren't in the mood for playing around. After he had done as you asked and chased you so nicely, you felt like it was only fair to give the man what he desired. So, you wrapped your hands around the back of his neck and kissed him eagerly, taking him by surprise. He tasted like summer and salt and freedom.

"Woah," he whispered after you broke the kiss. "I was just messing around."

"You didn't like it?" you blinked dejectedly, your lips forming into a pout.

"No, no, I loved it, but I...hope you didn't do anything you didn't want to do just because I said so."

"Trust me, Bin, I wanted that kiss. Perhaps more than you did."

"Wanna bet?"

"I would but I don't believe feelings can be measured. Degrees of comparison would be irrelevant. Thus, it would be difficult to determine the winner in an unbiased manner."

"Smartass," Changbin flicked your nose gently. "So where does that leave us? Do you...wanna be my girlfriend or something?"

"Sounds nice," you grinned, burying your head into his chest.

"Let me take you out, then."

"You already did, silly. We're at the park. The park is out."

"Fair point, girlfriend," Changbin chuckled and hugged you.

Hyunjin's POV

Hyunjin was a jealous man. Especially after he found out that his crush had started dating the bunny hybrid he'd adopted a while ago. However, she was too pure and kind-hearted Hyunjin didn't have the heart to be mad at her. The way she looked at him with those sparkly eyes...Hyunjin was almost tempted to steal her away from Changbin. Nah, he wouldn't. Unless...

Other than jealousy, Hyun's mind was consumed by thoughts of wanting to prove himself to Changbin. He wanted his crush to view him as responsible. As an adult. Which is why, he made it his mission to turn Jeongin into the sweetest, most obedient angel. He wanted to rely on the fox hybrid and make sure that Y/N would be safe around him. If that could be achieved, then maybe Changbin could rely on Hyunjin, as well. After a month of getting closer to Jeongin, Hyunjin was hopeful that the younger man would behave well.

One afternoon, while Changbin was working, Hyunjin decided to test his fox hybrid. He knew it was against Changbin's rules to leave the two hybrids alone and it was kinda risky, but he hoped it would be worth it.

"You'll be good, yeah?" Hyunjin made sure.

"Yes, hyung, don't worry about me," Jeongin blinked innocently.

"I'm not worried about you, little fox," Hyunjin ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "I'm worried about Y/N over there."

"I thought you didn't like her," Jeongin smiled mischievously.

"It's not that I don't like her," Hyunjin defended his previous words. "I just like Changbin more."

Hyunjin had confided in Jeongin about his feelings for Changbin. He had no idea why. Something about the fox hybrid made Hyun want to trust him. Like no one else before.

"Where do I stand in your pyramid of affections?" Jeongin wanted to know.

"You're climbing up steadily," Hyunjin admitted. "Okay, I'll head out. Don't eat the bunny."

"Relax, hyung, I have no use of doing that. You and Changbin-hyung gave me a home. I wouldn't do anything THAT reckless."

Hyunjin's eyes narrowed. Jeongin was kinda strange. Did he only do things that were of use to him? Oh, well. He would worry about that some other time.

Jeongin's POV

Jeongin was a patient man. He had waited so long for an opportunity to be alone with Y/N. He couldn't let it go to waste. He wouldn't be stopped by the fact that Changbin was now her boyfriend. He would still use this chance to get closer to her. As a fellow hybrid, he was sure she would understand his feelings better than anyone.

"Hi, bunny," Jeongin greeted her.

Y/N shuddered and wrapped her arms around her own waist as if to shield herself from the fox hybrid.

"Shh, I won't hurt you. I just want to talk. Is that alright with you?"

She nodded reluctantly.

"I wanted to tell you about my past life. About how my former owners abused me, both physically and mentally, made me feel like the scum of the earth, and then abandoned me on the street. Like I was worth less than nothing. Which is why I strongly distrust humans. Of course, Changbin-hyung and Hyunjin-hyung seem nice. Different. I'm not saying all this shit to scare you. It's just a warning. If they ever hurt you, I want you to come to me, yeah?"

"Why would they hurt me?" Y/N asked. "They...seem so caring."

"I don't know, bunny. Why do you think humans do anything? For fun. Because it gives them pleasure to torment others. Makes them feel superior."

"We're half-human, too," she reminded him.

"I hate that half."

"I don't," Y/N said softly. "It's still...a part of us."

"You're...not what I expected," Jeongin mused out loud.

"What did you expect? A scared little bunny who does nothing but tremble in fear at the sight of the big bad...fox."

She pronounced that last word in an almost challenging way. As if to remind Jeongin he was just that. A fox. Not a wolf.

"No. I expected you would share my distrust of humans. Didn't you hate every second of being locked up in that shelter? Waiting, begging, praying for a better life. Better food, warmer bed, safer home. Didn't you yearn for...more?"

"I did. And here we are now. Isn't it good enough for you?"

"Do you want the ugly truth or a pretty lie?" Jeongin inquired.

"Whatever you choose to share."

"It's good enough for now," Jeongin grinned mysteriously and climbed into her bed.

Reader's POV

"W-what are you doing, Jeongin?" you asked in terror when you saw Jeongin moving closer towards you and started crawling back.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. Yet."

"What does that mean?" you whimpered.

"It means I'll take my sweet time ruining you."

"It'll be a lot harder than you think," you tried to put on a brave face. "It won't be that easy to tempt me."

"Oh, bunny. Imma make it look so easy," Jeongin leaned in and caressed your cheek with his cold index finger.

You wanted to push him away. You really did. But it was as if you were frozen into place by the inexplicable magic of his intense stare.

He laughed like a maniac and lowered his finger.

"For today, I just want to hold you. Will you let me?"

"You want to cuddle?" you raised your eyebrows in suspicion. The request seemed innocent enough.

"Nothing more, nothing less," Jeongin vowed.

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

"I expect you to give me a chance."

"Why bother asking me, though? You're so much stronger than me, physically," you observed, your voice tinted with longing.

"I don't want to take anything by force. Not from you, bun."

"Hold me, then. If you catch me," you stuck your tongue out at him and jumped from the bed, running towards the door. Opening it quickly, your sprinted down the corridor, randomly entering room after room. Luckily, Changbin's home was big enough to prolong the chase. However, you soon grew bored with it and decided to let Jeongin catch you. Running was no fun for you without the sweet surrender of being cuddled.

"Do you like it that much? The chase?" Jeongin read you like an open book, as he wrapped his firm arms around you in a tight grip.

"I like being captured more," you confessed.

"Why?"

"Why what?" you played dumb as he pulled you towards your room, where you both landed back on the bed, still holding onto each other for dear life.

"Why do you like being captured more?"

"Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't like it if it was a stranger. But with you...and Changbin, I feel safe. I don't know."

"Tsk, you were doing so well and then you had to fuck it up by mentioning another man's name while you're in my arms."

"He's my boyfriend, Jeongin," you reminded him.

Jeongin grinned and looked at the half-open door. Changbin was just...standing there.

"Speak of the devil."

Changbin's POV

Changbin was an angry man. Especially when someone touched something that was his.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he snapped at his girlfriend and Jeongin.

"We were just cuddling," Y/N explained.

"You expect me to believe that?" Changbin was fuming with rage.

"It's the truth," Jeongin shrugged.

"Yeah, well, I don't buy it," he hissed and stormed out of the room but not before he could hear Y/N telling Jeongin:

"I'll go talk to him, you stay out of it."

She caught up with Changbin soon enough and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist, thus, hugging him from behind. Despite his anger mere seconds ago, Changbin couldn't bear the thought of pushing her away. She seemed so fragile and soft-hearted.

"I promise you nothing happened, Binnie. Don't you trust me?" she whispered and he could practically hear the pout in her voice.

"I trust you. It's Jeongin I don't trust," Changbin responded.

"Why not?"

"Just a feeling. I don't want him to steal you away from me."

"He won't," Y/N promised. "My heart will always belong with you."

Changbin turned around to face his adorable girlfriend.

"Yeah?"

"Of course. You're my hero, you saved me and gave me a home and-"

"Is it just that, though?" Changbin asked. "If I hadn't adopted you, would you not fall for me?"

"How else would we have met?" she chuckled sadly.

"It's a hypothetical situation, cupcake."

"Whether we met at a park or a restaurant or another planet, I would have still fallen for you. You make me feel safe and free. And you're so beautiful and warm, how could anyone not fall for you is beyond me."

Changbin smiled proudly and his cheeks flushed with colour.

"You mean that?"

"I don't say or do things I don't want to."

Changbin's mood suddenly turned sour again.

"Is that why you cuddled Jeongin? You wanted to do it so badly you had to do so behind my back?"

"He asked politely. And it was purely platonic, I don't get why you're upset."

"I'm not upset, I'm mad. I want to be the only one that gets to cuddle you."

"Isn't that a bit greedy? I believe everyone in our house deserves cuddles, no?"

"I hate it," Changbin groaned. "But I'll try to live with it because I trust you and treasure you. And I don't want something so silly to stand between us."

Reader's POV

Jeongin was wrong. Not all humans were like his previous owners. His warnings were useless. And you were certain that Changbin wouldn't hurt you. He was so sweet and kind and understanding. You couldn't ask for a better boyfriend.

Jeongin was also wrong about another thing. You couldn't possibly imagine hating your human half. Humans like Changbin had hearts of pure gold and smiles full of sun. He was making your days brighter and you couldn't imagine your life without him.

And thirdly, even though you didn't know what Jeongin meant with all that talk about ruining you, you were determined to make it difficult for him. Changbin gave you the truest happiness you had ever experienced and the last thing you wanted to do was something that would take that happiness away from you.

You were sitting in Changbin's lap on the couch in the living room, playing with his gorgeous dark hair.

"I'm sorry," he murmured gently, rubbing his nose against your neck.

"For what?" your brows furrowed.

"For behaving like a jealous ass."

"You don't have to apologize, Bin. I'm just glad we talked."

He smiled fondly at you and placed his hand on your cheek.

"You're an angel," he spoke tenderly.

"Nah, I'm just a bunny hybrid," you giggled.

"Same thing," Changbin replied and pulled you into a deep kiss, the thumb of his right hand simultaneously caressing your chin, while his left hand was gripping your waist. You were running your fingers through his hair, while your other hand was holding onto the back of his neck. Changbin started kissing you more hungrily and you wanted to give him everything you had so that he would never starve again. You became so lost in the feeling you didn't hear the door unlocking. It was Hyunjin's voice that caused you to pull apart from Changbin.

"Ugh, keep it private, guys," he whined loudly. "The living room is a shared space!"

"Hey, you have no right to complain!" Changbin scolded him. You were confused. What had Hyunjin done? "I can't believe you left Y/N alone with Jeongin!" Oh. That.

"He didn't eat her, so mission accomplished. Can't you just praise me for training Jeongin so well?"

Changbin glared at Hyunjin.

"You were willing to risk my girlfriend getting eaten so that I would fucking praise you? I swear, Hyunjin, I don't know why we're friends sometimes."

Hyunjin flinched as if struck by Changbin's harsh words. You could see the tears starting to form in his beautiful eyes. You felt so bad. Honestly, you didn't mind being left alone with Jeongin, so you didn't see why this was such a big deal to Changbin. So, you decided to interfere.

"I'm okay, Bin. Hyunjin made the right call. It was bound to happen eventually. You can't stay inside to guard me 24/7 and put your entire lives on hold just because of some stereotypes."

"Oh, so you're taking Hyunjin's side now?" Changbin scoffed.

"I'm not taking anyone's side," you explained yourself. "I just think it's more sensible for us all to trust each other if we intend to continue living in the same home."

"Changbin made it abundantly clear he doesn't know why he's friends with me. I suppose that also means I'm no longer welcome here, so I guess I'll move out. Don't worry, I'm taking Jeongin with me."

"Hyunjin, wait!" you exclaimed but Hyunjin was already running towards his room, presumably to start packing his bags. "Talk to him, Changbin! He's your best friend!"

You figured it was the use of his full name that scared him out of his mind, as he immediately rushed after Hyunjin.

Hyunjin's POV

Hyunjin was sitting on his bed, crying. He couldn't bear the thought to start packing. Also, he was lowkey hoping he wouldn't have to. Even though it was immensely painful to watch Changbin with another, it would be even more painful to lose his best friend. He could bottle up his feelings for him, but he couldn't imagine their entire friendship ending. Luckily, his prayers were answered soon enough. He heard a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" Changbin asked.

"It's open," Hyunjin called out, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to hide his tears. It was useless. Changbin knew him better than anyone.

"Have you been crying?" he inquired, even though the answer was obvious.

"I just need some time, I'll gather my-"

"Don't," Changbin interrupted him half-sentence. "I don't want you to move out."

"Yeah?" Hyunjin mumbled doubtfully.

"Of course not, dumbass. The reason I give you so much shit about being responsible is because I want what's best for you. Not because I don't trust you. I'm sorry I said the thing about not knowing why we're friends. It wasn't true. You are so dear to me, so funny and gentle and hard-working. I couldn't imagine a better best friend. I never meant to hurt you, though."

Hyunjin, who generally disliked any physical contact, couldn't resist the urge to hug his friend tightly. Changbin patted his pack comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have left Jeongin alone with Y/N without talking to you first."

"It's alright," Changbin waved him off. "They just cuddled."

"Without us?" Hyunjin exclaimed dramatically, putting a hand on his heart.

"I know, right? That's exactly what I thought!" Changbin chuckled and high-fived his friend.

"The audacity of these hybrids," Hyunjin complained as a joke. "We give them a wonderful home and they don't even bother to invite us for cuddles!"

"Hey, since when are you such a big fan of cuddling?" Changbin eyed him suspiciously.

"Since you."

Changbin's POV

Changbin didn't want to ask Hyunjin what he meant by that. It was too late for that now. Changbin had spent too long pining after Hyunjin. But his best friend had been clueless when it came to Changbin's feelings for Hyun. Therefore, he had done the only thing he possibly could - he moved on. And now that he was genuinely happy with Y/N, Changbin didn't want to go to the time when he felt so helpless, quietly crushing on his roommate. He'd been so pathetic back then. But he had a lovely girlfriend now. So Changbin was determined that he wouldn't let Hyunjin's words confuse him.

"Don't you dare think about packing your stuff, alright?" Changbin swiftly changed the subject.

"You're stuck with me, hyung," Hyunjin replied, staring at him in such an affectionate way Changbin wasn't sure what to do. If only he'd done so before he'd gotten with Y/N. No! Changbin couldn't afford to have such thoughts.

But Hyunjin seemed intent on making it extremely difficult for Changbin to suppress his feelings. Feelings he thought he'd gotten over. Hyunjin pulled Changbin by the hand and buried his head into Changbin's chest.

"I missed this. Just us two," he slurred.

"Don't say shit like that," Changbin swallowed nervously.

"Why not? It's true," Hyunjin confessed.

"Y/N and Jeongin are...wonderful."

"I never said they weren't. I just said I missed having you all to myself."

Changbin shook his head. Where were these words back then?

"Hyun, please, don't do this to me," Changbin said seriously.

"I'm not doing anything," Hyunjin blinked innocently.

"Let go," he whispered weakly.

"I won't. If you want to get rid of me so badly, you'll have to push me away."

Changbin couldn't do that. He wanted to be even closer. No, this was wrong. He had a girlfriend. He couldn't do that to her. Changbin gently removed Hyunjin's hand from his wrist and took a step back.

"I'll...go check on Y/N."

"Of course you will," Hyunjin sighed wistfully.

Hyunjin's POV

Hyunjin was a spontaneous man. So, when Changbin remained blind to Hyunjin's hints, he quickly made up his mind what to do next. He was so tired of being invisible to the one man he aspired to have so desperately. He needed to win his heart one way or another. And he knew just the thing that might help him succeed.

Hyunjin entered Jeongin's room in a hurry.

"Sorry, forgot to knock," Hyunjin said instead of greeting.

"It's fine," Jeongin shrugged and paused the video he was watching. "What's up?"

"I fucking hate Changbin!" Hyunjin groaned.

"No, you don't," Jeongin replied coldly. He already knew him so well, it always amazed Hyunjin. Were his emotions that transparent to everyone but Changbin?

"You're right and I fucking hate that, too," Hyunjin cried out dramatically and sat down on the bed next to the younger man. "What am I supposed to do?"

"The wisest thing would be to just confess to Changbin-hyung and end your misery," Jeongin suggested.

"I'd rather die," Hyunjin shuddered.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Jeongin glared at him sceptically.

"How about...I kiss you?" Hyunjin blurted out randomly.

"You want me to be your fucking rebound?" Jeongin hissed in disbelief.

"Not exactly a rebound. I just want to kiss you and somehow get caught by Changbin so I'll make him jealous."

"Hm, that doesn't sound too bad," Jeongin acquisced. "But we'll have to practice beforehand to make it believable. If our first kiss is directly in front of Changbin, it may look awkward and he'll know we're faking it."

"You're so smart!" Hyunjin exclaimed and leaned his head towards Jeongin. But the fox hybrid was quick to place a hand between their lips before they collided.

"I don't do anything for free, hyung," Jeongin grinned devilishly.

"You're so pretty, Innie, will you please let me kiss you?" Hyunjin was practically begging.

"Compliments will get you nowhere. What will you give me if I let you kiss me?"

"Anything you want," Hyunjin promised without thinking.

"Hm...can you get me some pills against insomnia? I've had troubles falling asleep during the past week," Jeongin explained sadly.

"Of course I can! Even if we don't kiss, I'll get them for you 'cause you're precious to me and sleep is very important and I want you to be healthy and feel safe and-"

Jeongin's POV

Jeongin thought that Hyunjin was too loud and talkative sometimes. So naturally, he had to shut him up as fast as possible. Therefore, he interrupted him mid-sentence and crashed their lips together. Hyunjin was taken aback but quickly eased into the kiss and placed his palms on Jeongin's cheeks. The fox hybrid bit on the human's tongue greedily and pulled his hair. Hyunjin didn't seem to mind and let the younger man tease him as he pleased. Jeongin was so hungry. Eventually, they pulled back from each other, gasping for air.

"Oops. Guess I kissed you first," Jeongin lifted his shoulders, pretending to be surprised by his own actions.

"Guess you did," Hyunjin chuckled. "Wanna go again?"

"Later. I'm kinda hungry and super tired right now," Jeongin said, subtly reminding Hyunjin of his earlier promise.

"Oh, okay," Hyunjin mumbled, a little disappointed. "I'll go get those sleeping pills you asked for rightaway."

"Ah, yeah," Jeongin played it cool as if he'd forgotten all about them. "Thanks, hyung."

"No problem. I'll be back soon, alright? Do you want me to get you something to eat, as well?"

"I'll find something in the fridge," Jeongin reassured him.

"Cool, cool," Hyunjin scratched the back of his head anxiously. "See you later."

"Bye, hyung," Jeongin waved at him as he was leaving the room.

Finally. His sleepy face immediately turned energetic, as he rushed into the kitchen. When he opened the fridge, he was extremely overjoyed to find some fried chicken left from yesterday. He couldn't even be bothered with heating it up. Forgetting everything about manners, Jeongin stuffed his mouth full.

"What are you up to?" his alone time with the delicious food was interrupted by Y/N's soft voice.

"I'm eating. Obviously," Jeongin snapped at her. He wasn't himself when he was hungry.

"Gee, relax, I was just trying to make conversation," Y/N pouted adorably.

"I'm sorry, bunny," Jeongin murmured apologetically. "Wanna join?"

"You're willing to share food...with me?"

"I don't share food with anyone. I was asking if you would like to be eaten by me?"

"You're messing with me, right?" Y/N asked in horror.

"Duh," Jeongin rolled his eyes. "If I had such intentions, I would have eaten you the night we first met."

"I suppose I should be flattered I still haven't become your meal?" she joked.

"I don't particularly enjoy eating creatures that can talk. Kinda kills my appetite," Jeongin confessed.

"Does that mean you've tried...eating someone who talks?" Y/N gasped.

"I'm joking," Jeongin smiled innocently. "Or am I?" His eyes darkened once again, causing her to shudder.

"You're so weird," she shook her head in amusement.

"Bad weird or good weird?" Jeongin wanted to know the bunny hybrid's honest opinion of him.

"Hybrids and people are neither entirely bad nor good. Besides, those are human categories. I don't care about them," Y/N shrugged. "You're funny weird. That's all I meant."

"I can live with that," Jeongin nodded, lost in thought.

Reader's POV

One evening, you were bored out of your mind. Your incredible boyfriend Changbin still hadn't returned home. He was so hard-working and you admired him for that but you missed him immensely and wished you could spend more time with him. So, after staying inside your room all day, reading books and daydreaming about Bin, you wanted a change of scenery. So, you entered the living room, intending to watch some TV. However, you were greeted with a sight you hadn't expected in the slightest. Jeongin and Hyunjin were making out on the couch. Their hands were all over each other and even their shirts were off! You were too shocked you couldn't speak. And yet, they somehow felt your presence.

"Oh, hi, Y/N," Hyunjin welcomed you calmly.

"Um, hi, Hyun," you mumbled nervously. "Hi, Jeongin."

"Hi, bunny," Jeongin grinned wickedly and you could swear he did that on purpose! He wanted to annoy you and make you curious to know what his lips tasted like. But it wouldn't work! You were going to stay loyal to Changbin and-

"Last time you cuddled Innie without me," Hyunjin pouted dramatically. "Care to fix that?"

"Changbin hates it when I cuddle other men," you explained.

"Aw, damn," Hyunjin sounded pretty bummed out about that. You started to feel bad for him. Hyunjin looked like a decent guy who deserved cuddles. But if you agreed to this, it would also mean having to cuddle Jeongin again. And for some reason, you wanted to avoid that. You didn't like how it made you feel. You wanted to forget about it.

"How about a pillow fight?" Jeongin suggested cleverly.

You couldn't say no to that and grabbed the nearest pillow, using it to attack Jeongin's head and take out your frustration with him...on him. However, he was a dangerous opponent and wasted no time going easy on you. Instead, he also took a pillow and hit your belly with it. Hyunjin, the poor angel, decided to stay out of it and not pick a side. Meanwhile, you and Jeongin were at each other's throats like animals. Well...half-animals, anyhow. Soon enough, you felt exhaustion creeping in and Jeongin took advantage of your momentary weakness to grab your wrists tight enough so that you would drop the pillow. You gave in, letting him pull you into a hug. Hyunjin, who had been making out with Jeongin mere minutes ago, seemed confused by the turn of events.

"So greedy," he muttered under his breath and enveloped the three of you into an unexpected group hug. You melted into their embrace, feeling so warm and fuzzy on the inside. "Y/N, you should watch more romcoms. A proper pillow fight inevitably ends in cuddles. Jeongin used that knowledge against you."

"Jeongin doesn't watch romcoms," you scoffed.

"She's right, I don't," Jeongin admitted.

"So, how did you know your suggestion would result in...well, this?" Hyunjin eyed the fox hybrid suspiciously.

"Pure instinct," he grinned wickedly.

Soon enough, you ended up with your head resting in Jeongin's lap, while he was stroking your hair softly, and your legs curled up in Hyunjin's lap, as he was petting your fluffy tail gently. It was so safe and comforting you were starting to doze off when you heard some noise. However, in your sleepy state, you weren't fast enough to jump from the compromising position you'd found yourself in. Again.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Changbin yelled angrily.

Your eyes flew wide open and you blinked on confusion, scanning your surroundings. Yeah, the fact that Hyunjin and Jeongin were half-naked probably didn't work in your best favour. You gulped anxiously and pushed yourself off the couch and closer to your boyfriend.

"Bin, I swear to you, we were only cuddling. I mean, me with Jeongin and Hyunjin. These two were having a full-blown making out session!"

Great job, Y/N. Rat them out to defend your innocence. You mentally scolded yourself for being so quick to throw your poor cuddle buddies under the bus.

"They were doing WHAT?" For some reason Changbin appeared even angrier. Wait, what?

"Yeah, Jeongin's my boyfriend now! You got a problem with that?" Hyunjin snapped at Changbin.

Hold on a second. Was...Hyunjin trying to make Changbin jealous?! By getting together with Jeongin?! You were so lost right now.

"Since when?" Changbin asked. He was not buying it.

Jeongin was weirdly quiet in the midst of it all.

"Since now," Hyunjin lied.

"Since never," Jeongin denied Hyunjin's words at the same time.

"Get your story straight," Changbin groaned.

"Unlike my sexuality," Hyunjin joked.

"Not the right time, Hyun," Changbin sighed loudly. "I don't care what you two have going on." You'd thought that Changbin would never lie to you. But he just did. He was obviously fuming. And you were pretty sure it had more to do with Hyunjin and Jeongin making out than it did with you cuddling them. Still, he was making an effort to act unbothered, you'd give him that. "But why did you get Y/N involved? She's my girlfriend."

"She came to us willingly," Jeongin, that sly fox, said.

"I told you we were just cuddling," you were starting to tear up. You hated being accused wrongfully. "It's a misunderstanding!"

"I feel so betrayed, you guys should have talked to me first," Changbin was still mad.

You were already sobbing. It was so unfair! Changbin clearly had some unresolved feelings for Hyunjin that needed to be addressed. And yet, he was painting you as the villain? The injustice!

"My silly bunny, can't you see he's messing around?" Jeongin interfered. "He's not actually mad at you."

"Is this true?" you asked Changbin.

"Um, yeah, cupcake. I know you didn't do anything wrong. I told you I trust you, didn't I? I was just making a joke-"

"A joke?" you cried out. "Do you think my feelings are a joke?"

"Of course not, darling. I just said I'm not mad at you."

"Well, good for you. Because I am! I'm mad at both of you!" you turned to Hyunjin, as well.

"What did I do?" Hyunjin blinked in surprise.

"Because no one is mentioning the elephant in the room!" you lifted your arms up in frustration. "Changbin and Hyunjin obviously have feelings for each other and you're both too blind to fucking see it and just talk to each other. And you decided that adopting two unsuspecting hybrids to help you move on would be a brilliant idea. Well, guess what? I'm not a pet."

And with that, you stormed out of the living room, hurried into your own and locked it on the inside.

Hyunjin's POV

Hyunjin had never heard silence so loud and uncomfortable.

"I need some fresh air," Changbin groaned and grabbed his leather jacket. "I'll go out for a bit."

"You should talk to him, like Y/N said," Jeongin suggested to Hyunjin. "Look where not communicating got us all."

"You're right," Hyunjin quickly put on his shirt and hurried outside. He managed to catch up with Changbin and grabbed his wrist before he'd gone too far. Changbin turned around to face Hyunjin. He was still angry. But Hyunjin couldn't help but be attracted to him even more.

"Is it true? What Y/N said..."

"It's true. I've had a crush on you for ages," Hyunjin confessed. It seemed so easy now. Why had it taken him so long? "That's...why I adopted Jeongin and why I made out with him in the living room. I wanted to make you jealous."

"Funny way of showing you have feelings for me, don't you think?" Changbin spat out sarcastically. "You could have just told me. Before I got together with Y/N."

"I know. It's all my fault," Hyunjin looked down in shame.

"It's not entirely your fault. Because I'm such a hypocrite, you know? I'm not angry at Y/N for cuddling you. I'm angry at you for kissing Jeongin."

"Why? You...you can't possibly..." Hyunjin refused to believe it. It seemed too good to be true. And at the same time, it was a tragedy.

"Because I should have kissed you first," Changbin blurted out, lifted himself up on his toes and crashed his lips against Hyunjin's.

Changbin's POV

Changbin knew it was wrong. He knew Y/N deserved better. But his mouth seemed to have a mind of its own, choosing to go after Hyunjin's. He couldn't think straight. Oh, the irony. Changbin pulled Hyunjin's hair aggressively and Hyunjin was generous enough to lower his head even more. He was kissing him back. Thank the universe.

"What will we do?" Hyunjin asked desperately when they finally broke away from each other. "About Y/N and Jeongin..."

"We tell them the truth. It's only fair."

"No more lies," Hyunjin nodded.

"No more lies," Changbin confirmed.

"If we're lucky, they might be willing to share," Hyunjin teased.

"Do you think we deserve that?" Changbin was doubtful. He'd fucked up big time. He wasn't sure he deserved Y/N's forgiveness. He thought he never deserved her in the first place.

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Hyunjin shared his belief. "Even assholes like us."

Changbin chuckled sadly.

"Why are we such fools?" he wondered out loud. "We could have avoided this situation altogether if we'd just talked to each other."

"Y/N was right. Communication is pretty important," Hyunjin pointed out.

"Us men are idiots," Changbin shook his head.

"I couldn't agree more."

Jeongin's POV

Jeongin couldn't bear the sounds of Y/N sobbing. All alone in her room. She didn't deserve that. He had to make it stop.

"Can I come in?" he knocked on her door. "It's just me. Changbin and Hyunjin are out."

He didn't expect her to let him in so easily. She must have felt pretty lonely. Y/N unlocked the door and returned to her bed, still crying.

"Talk to me. Please." Jeongin pleaded but his serious tone suggested he wasn't asking.

"I thought Changbin loved me. Guess I was just deluding myself," she laughed but there was no amusement in her voice.

Jeongin debated whether he should tell her the truth. Changbin did love her. But he also loved Hyunjin. People were complicated like that. But the truth was never on Jeongin's side.

"I warned you humans were only going to hurt you," Jeongin responded coldly.

"Changbin didn't hurt me," Y/N shook her head in denial. "I hurt myself believing I was special."

"But you are special, bun. You have no idea how special you are," Jeongin spoke sincerely.

"I am?" she sniffed in disbelief.

"How can I prove it to you?"

"Just hold me," Y/N begged.

Jeongin pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tightly.

"I'm right here, bunny. You're safe with me," he promised.

"Thank you, Jeongin," she mumbled. "I feel much better already."

"I'll get you some water, you must be pretty dehydrated from all that crying," Jeongin observed.

"That'd be nice."

Jeongin went into the kitchen and poured a glass of water. Then, he took a couple of the sleeping pills Hyunjin had bought from his pocket, crushed them up with a knife and slipped them inside the glass. He used a spoon to make them dissolve quickly. Soon enough, he returned to her room, handing her the glass.

"Thanks," she whispered and gulped the water thirstily without thinking. All of it. Then, suddenly- "I'm exhausted. Will you tuck me in?"

"Of course," Jeongin pulled the blanket on top of Y/N. "All cosy and warm."

"Mmm," she murmured mindlessly, already beginning to doze off.

"Sleep well, bunny," Jeongin smiled devilishly as her consciousness faded into darkness.

To be continued...

[kaylor]

Idk if Taylor has always always been this literal in terms of the concept and the name of the album (maybe with speak now) idk i guess each album gets a bit of that but to me her entire explanation of this one being “this album is about those thoughts you have at midnight so my album is gonna be named midnights and in every single song i will used the word midnight, even tho sonically the album doesn’t make any fucking sense and it doesn’t look or even hear as an bum, because this album is set at midnight. It will come out at midnight because that’s the concept of the alb-“ and the fact that she claimed it’s a concept album, I’m crying laughing.

yeah i mean she's always been pretty literal with album titles tbh, like reputation was very on the nose but was just cool enough to work. lover/daylight again very basic on the nose, even though you have to respect the implications of referring to both yourself and your partner as Lovers on an album full of wedding imagery. it's still a bad album title but the implications.... 😈

folklore, 1989 and red, in that order, i think are her best album titles. folklore is exceptional because she is literally turning her life experiences into stories, warping them and disconnecting them from herself, but making them part of her own mythology anyway. no one will ever know the truth behind any of these stories, and no one ever should. they're folklore now, they're up to interpretation, and every swiftie will have a different version of taylor swift folklore in their minds. genius.

1989 is super cool because it's so mysterious, it gives nothing away beyond hey this music is inspired by 80s pop but it's also about myself but it's also not about myself anymore. it's like. this album is about rebirth, not as a person, but as an artist. the metanarrative about moving to new york to become herself + immediately solidifying her position as a pop behemoth, chefs fucking kiss.

red is great because, well, does it even need saying. the joni mitchell inspiration. the lipstick. the synesthetic emotional state of a fresh breakup. the literal colors in autumn. it shouldn't work, it should be super overdone, but it fucking works!!

on the flip side there's evermore, which to me is such a nothingtitle. it's very much a "we have all these b sides we have to call it something" vibe. no hate to evermore, there's some amazing tracks, but it's not an album it's a collection of songs. speak now is... fine i guess? very funny to title your album with a command to speak now when the album is full of songs you wrote because you did not speak then. again no hate to speak now because it's got many of my favorite songs on it, but it is only loosely cohesive as a unit because it's just a coming of age album. i would have to sit down and have a proper think about what i would have titled it.

and while we're here we may as well talk about fearless and self titled too. fearless is a good album title, it's very 2008, it's exactly what an 18 year old should be feeling, it perfectly captures the album. nothing groundbreaking, just decent and appropriate. i personally find it extremely boring for artists to name an album after themselves. i think it's uninspired, i think it's lazy, i think it should be illegal for artists to do this. i don't care how much you reinvented yourself or whatever, it's BORING. do better.

and then there's fucking Midnights. maybe the laziest concept ever conceived. it's literally just "i wrote a bunch of songs about my feelings" okay what's new? "i'm almost topless in the photoshoot" incredible no notes. but is the album interesting? hardly.