#it warrants this kind of effort okay

[hitorimaron]

bonus:

[massiveharmonytiger]

So I think Gabe's portrayal was really intelligently done in the show and I'm pretty dismayed at the negative reactions. I'd argue that TV needs more portrayals of abusers that seem harmless and victims that make efforts to advocate for their own agency because that is what abuse often looks like in the real world. Yes, sometimes abuse is as in your face as with Gabe's introduction in the book version (which the show was still pretty true to, I'll discuss that below) and the other portrayals we've seen on TV, abusers being explicitly threatening or violent, victims cowering and showing visible distress, all that usual, tropey stuff. However, I think more education is needed on all the ways abuse is subtle, because this misunderstanding and this view of abuse as this black and white thing is often the reason so few victims get help, so many abusers get away with it and so many of the people around the victim and abuser, at best, are surprised when the find out what's really been happening, and at worst, defend the abuser because they're so harmless, nice, upstanding, pick your adjective and there's no way they're capable of that.

Source: https://www.domesticshelters.org/articles/identifying-abuse/the-silent-ways-abusers-control

I feel like a lot of the fandom has already fallen into this trap somewhat. Gabe from the TV show is too nonthreatening, bumbling, pathetic, silly, idiotic, nowhere near scary enough to warrant getting petrified by Medusa's head. He doesn't look like an ABUSER. And yet we're confronted with so many markers of abuse in that scene.

Gabe is harmless…

And yet he's verbally abusive to outsiders. The guy that leaves as Percy is arriving has experienced an interaction with Gabe that warrants Percy apologizing for Gabe's actions only for him to apologize back because he gets to leave, Percy doesn't. He's concerned. Sure, Gabe is fat shaming and yelling about eating fruit at the moment. The absurdity of the topic doesn't make it any less inappropriate or abusive btw, because its about the abuser having any excuse to display their dominance and power over you even if the subject matter is batshit. Ever see cases where one person in the relationship (usually a man) will police the other's clothing (usually a woman) because it's too revealing, too tacky, too whatever. That's abuse.

Gabe is harmless…

And yet he's verbally abusive towards Percy. He sarcastically greets him with the cruel nickname "genius" and immediately picks a fight with him. Percy refuses to engage because he knows, from experience, what being goaded looks like. Wrap your head around that. Kids older than him are out there having catfights and making stupid "your mom" jokes, but this infant has so much experience facing conflict, he already knows what steps to take to steer away from that kind of drama and stay in safe territory. He only engages a bit when he hears about Gabe answering Sally's phone. Anyone who's answered a friend or partner's phone before will probably consider Percy's anger and indignation a little bratty and unwarranted. The issue here is that Gabe is someone who ignores boundaries. The issue isn't that he answered Sally's phone, the issue is that he very likely did it without permission. Based on Percy and Sally's reactions (Percy is angry, Sally is resigned), he's someone who's regularly done stuff like look through Sally's phone or purse without her permission. Percy makes it clear that this is not okay, and he gets dismissed. Gabe just answers "whatever's ringin'" and Percy is made to look like the one overreacting. This is what abusers do. They're never in the wrong. And then, the cherry on top of the blue icing, he blames the victim. "What're we doing Percy, every time." Gabe's the one who picked the fight, but by the end of it, Percy's the one being blamed. This is so commonplace and anyone who's been through this knows how maddening it can be. This is such a short interaction but they pack so much into it.

Gabe is harmless…

And yet we find Sally sitting outside in the rain on the balcony, as if she's trying to ground herself after a traumatic experience. As if she's trying to bring herself into the present and not dissociate because when Percy arrives she needs to be there for him. She can deal with the Gabe stuff AFTER Percy is safe. I'll get more into Sally's interaction with Gabe in Part 2 because a lot of people were confused by the fact that she was so firm with him. There's an explanation, I promise.

A lot of people also expressed concern that we wouldn't see Gabe's truly monstrous side before he gets petrified but from what I can see, the shows been making great use of flashbacks and exposition, so I'm pretty sure this will be addressed. Percy and Sally are the heroes. It would be counterintuitive for the show to establish that and then not give them a blatant cause for turning Gabe into stone.

[wongyuseokie]

Drift Away | k.m.g

Summary: You made the biggest mistake of your life, and now, Mingyu is trying his hardest to forget and forgive you, but how long till your infidelity rips you both apart? Besides, it’s not like you’d blame him. You hurt him. You did the one thing you promised never to do.

☆ 18+ minors dni |☀︎fluff | ☁︎ angst | ♕ smut |  ♥ completed works

Word Count: 9321 words

Pairings: Kim Mingyu x Female Reader

Genre/Trope(s)/AUs: Fluff, Smut & Angst, Idol! AU, but like it’s not that important. It just sets the tone, I guess? Like why he stays in a dorm, etc.

Content Warnings: Cheating AU! slut shaming, blaming, crying, fighting. Soonyoung is kind of a dick, but it’s truly very warranted. Chan makes lame jokes, and it’s adorable. Cheol is the best human ever. Insecurities about wealth and fame gap between the reader and Gyu. Mingyu is honestly the bestest boy ever, and the reader makes a terrible choice, but let’s see.

Smut Warnings: Unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), fingering, pussy slapping (like once). Is Mingyu growling a warning? Creampie. I think that’s it.

Authors Note: This fic involves infidelity, I don’t condone it, but I’m aware it’s different for everyone, just know that this is a work of fiction, and you should never feel like you should accept anything, but the best for you 🥺 High key broke my own heart writing this.

Authors Note 2: Thank you so much to @spacequokka​ for beta'ing this angsty mess for me. I love you dearly for this! 💕 also, thank you so much to my fellow emotional mess baby @the-boy-meets-evil​ for helping me edit. Finally, a big thank you to my lovely SVTHub friends for reading this over thank you lovelies, @multi-kpop-fanfics​, @bitchlessdino​ and thank you @onlymingyus​ for the title 💕

Authors Note 3: Also if you’ve seen this fic before, it’s because it was something I’d published once for a different group, but I wanted to revisit and rework it 🩷

Cross Posted to AO3

© wongyuseokie 2023. All rights reserved.

“So, I thought we could go on a road trip, just you and I. I know things haven’t been great, but I thought this could help us reconnect,” you suggested to Mingyu during dinner, and you could see him roll his eyes at you.

“I’m trying to make an effort here,” you mumbled, making Mingyu glare at you.

“Because that’ll make everything you did okay?” Mingyu asked, and you looked down in shame.

“Gyu, it was a mistake,” you defended weakly, sliding your hand over to hold his, making him flinch and move his hand away from you.

“You fucked someone else. I asked you if I was enough, and I wasn’t, so you left to find someone else,” Mingyu snarled, and you sighed.

“You were always gone for months on end–” you started to say, and Mingyu glared at you.

“Do not give me that shit, don’t you fucking dare. Do you realise I could have done the same thing? I know it’s not ideal to have me as your boyfriend, but I could have cheated on you, but I didn’t because I love you,” Mingyu’s voice cracked at the word love.

“I’m sorry,” you apologised.

“‘Sorry’ won’t change any of it,” Mingyu muttered.

“Then why are you still here?” You asked. There was no anger in your voice, just genuine and pure confusion. “Why stay?”

“Because…” Mingyu started to say, pausing to wipe a tear off his face. 

“Because I still fucking love you, like a moron. I want to believe that we can move past this,” Mingyu admitted.

Your heart broke at the sight, and you got up from your seat, walked over to Mingyu and motioned to his lap, and Mingyu nodded slowly. You slid into his lap and wrapped your arms around his neck.

“I’ll do anything. I promise I won’t hurt you again,” you promised, and Mingyu simply stared at you as you held his face in your hands.

“Y/N,” Mingyu stopped you as you moved to kiss him.

“I can’t, not yet, at least,” Mingyu admitted, and you nodded quickly, sliding off his lap.

“Look, I’ll be in the bedroom. I’ve lost my appetite.” Mingyu said, sliding out of his seat and heading upstairs. You felt tears run down your face, and you hated that you were the one crying when you did this.

You wiped your tears away, cleaned up the table, and headed to the bedroom, smiling softly when you noticed Mingyu sitting on the bed, running a towel through his freshly washed hair.

“Can I help you?” Mingyu asked, snapping you out of your daydream.

“Uh, I can take the couch,” you mumbled. “No. You can take the guest room, not the fucking couch. You don’t need to punish yourself. It won’t give me any comfort,” Mingyu spat, “and,” he added, voice softer. “I said we shouldn’t sleep separately because we will get comfortable like that, and then this will be over,” Mingyu added.

“I’m giving you space,” you mumbled. It made Mingyu sigh, drop the towel on the bed and walk over to you.

“You had space when I went on tour, and you fucked someone else, so no. I don’t think space is what we need,” Mingyu explained, and you looked down, unable to look him in the eyes.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” you said dumbly, knowing that you already had hurt him, which made  Mingyu glare at you.

“You broke me. There’s nothing else left to break. However, for some ridiculous reason, I still fucking love you, and I’m trying not to get mad because, despite the fact you slept with someone else, I still want you in my life,” Mingyu said, gritting his teeth.

You stayed still, unsure what to say, unable to look him in the eyes. Mingyu just huffed out in annoyance at your silence.  

“I’m going to bed. You do what you want. That’s what you seem to be good at anyway,” Mingyu scoffed as he moved away from you and moved to lie down on the bed and sleep.

You hopped into the shower once Mingyu started snoring softly, and you prayed that the running water would drown out your sobs. You had done the worst thing possible to the kindest person ever and had the nerve to cry.

You finished quickly and found Mingyu’s shirt hanging on the door and, out of habit, slipped it on once you dried yourself.

Once you exited the shower, you found your spot on the bed next to him, and out of habit again, Mingyu sleepily wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you into his chest.

You heard his soft snores and allowed yourself to fall asleep in his embrace, and just for a minute, imagine that your relationship was fine. Even then, peace was elusive as your mind replayed the day you told Mingyu that you cheated and how broken and devastated he looked.

“Mingyu, sit,” you said, your voice low and emotionless. Mingyu looked concerned but did as you asked and sat down next to you.

“Wait, are you breaking up with me the day after I got back from tour? Because ouch,” Mingyu joked, and you shook your head.

“No, but you might.”

Mingyu’s smile vanished when he noticed the lack of humour in your voice.

“What happened? Are you pregnant? Because if so, we can deal with it,” Mingyu offered, and you simply shook your head, your heart aching at how kind and considerate he was.

“You weren’t here for so long. It was the night after we got into a fight, and it was so fucking stupid–”

Mingyu felt his world fall apart as the words left your mouth. “You didn’t because you said you love me,” Mingyu interrupted, refusing to believe a word, and you looked up at him, eyes red and puffy.

“Was it once?” Mingyu asked, and you nodded.

“It was so fucking stupid,” you choked out, and Mingyu pressed his lips together.

“You know, of all the people in the world, I didn’t think you’d be the one to make me feel like this,” Mingyu choked out, his voice cracking. You tried to reach out and touch his hand, and Mingyu flinched.

“Don’t you fucking dare! When and where?” Mingyu yelled, and you shrank.

“Does it matter?” You asked, and Mingyu glared at you.

“It fucking matters,” he snapped. You nodded.

“His place. I left after it happened. I just felt so guilty,” you explained, your voice cracked with each word. Mingyu nodded.

“Well, you should. I’m glad you had the decency not to defile our bed,” Mingyu spat as he grabbed his bag, stood up, and took a deep breath before speaking again.

“I thought tonight I could make up for all the time I spend away from you. I would have held, touched, and kissed you all night. I would have spent all the time I had making it right, but you decided I wasn’t worth the wait,” Mingyu admitted with a broken sob, a sad smile gracing his handsome face.

“I was lonely,” you admitted weakly, needing to defend yourself. Mingyu scoffed at you.

“You don’t think I get lonely? I fucking do, but I didn’t once cheat because I love you and respect you. Sadly, you can’t say the same,” Mingyu stated.

“Mingyu, I love you. It was a mistake, a stupid fucking mistake. Please, just one more chance. I need you to know how sorry I am,” you begged, and Mingyu sighed.

“I need space from you. For now, I need to let my anger pass because right now, I can’t bear the sight of you,” Mingyu said, and you just stared at him.

Mingyu sighed deeply and pulled you into his arms as you sobbed into his chest.

“I’m so fucking sorry,” you cried, and Mingyu placed a soft kiss on your forehead.

“I will reach out. Just give me some time,” Mingyu promised, a tight smile on his handsome face. You nodded as you watched him walk out the door, and you fell to the ground sobbing.

“Y/N, wake up,” Mingyu said, shaking you awake.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Mingyu asked as he switched on the light and noticed your tear-stained face. You couldn’t bear to look at him, not when he was still concerned about your well-being, not when you had broken his heart.

“Mingyu, I’m so fucking sorry,” you wailed.

“I know.”

You whimpered as the sobs wouldn’t stop. “I just need time,” Mingyu said, and you nodded.  

“Why did you stay? Why didn’t you leave me?” you asked, and Mingyu shrugged.

“It takes a lot more effort to stay and make a relationship work than just to get up and leave. Unless that’s why you cheated? Did you want an out?” Mingyu explained, and you shook your head at his question.

“No. I just wanted to feel less lonely,” you explained weakly, and Mingyu sighed.

“I know I still love you. I just can’t trust you yet. I need time to heal,” Mingyu admitted.

“Mingyu?” You said softly, and Mingyu smiled softly back at you, wiped your tears away, and gently placed his lips on yours. It was the first time he had kissed you since the night you told him.

“Give me time,” Mingyu repeated, and you nodded as Mingyu turned off the light and laid back down, and you laid down next to him, feeling him pull you in again. Tighter against him this time, you felt yourself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

You woke up the following day, found Mingyu fast asleep, and smiled when you saw how handsome and calm he looked. You got out of bed and made your way into the shower and then to the kitchen.

“Morning,” you heard Mingyu as you felt his arms wrap around your waist, his lips gently meeting your neck, making you sigh as you melted against his touch.

“Shit, sorry,” Mingyu cursed, pulling away from you.

“Habit, I guess,” Mingyu mumbled, making you pout, not letting his actions affect you too much.

He had every right to be upset.

“So, um. What are you up to today?” you asked as you handed Mingyu a cup of tea.

“I think Seungcheol hyung is coming by to hand me a present of some sort,” Mingyu replied.

Mingyu bit his lip. He wanted to warn you and tell you that the boys deeply resented you for what you did. At the same time, he wanted to see you feel as horrible as he did, so he kept his mouth shut.

“Oh! I’ll get that,” you offered when you heard a knock on the front door, and Mingyu hesitated, hoping to stop you, but he nodded.

You couldn’t hide from the boys; they had been waiting to chew you out since the day they found out. However, Mingyu was glad it was Seungcheol who was headed over. He could trust his hyung to be diplomatic. He could not expect that of Soonyoung or Chan.

“Y/N,” Seungcheol greeted you. The eyes that once held fondness and love for you were now filled with rage and anger.

“Mingyu, good to see you,” Seungcheol said as he embraced him. You wanted to leave the room, unable to hide your shame.

“Y/N, we don’t usually ever get involved in one another’s business, especially not relationships. However, the way Mingyu cried after what you did, you need to understand that none of us are your biggest fans right now,” Seungcheol spoke, and you could only look at the floor, unable to make eye contact out of embarrassment.

Seungcheol wasn’t one to get involved in his members’ love lives, but he knew Mingyu would sugarcoat everything for you, and he wasn’t going to let you think that the rest of Mingyu’s members were okay with you.

“If Mingyu chooses to forgive you, that’s his right and choice. We’ll support him, but I can speak on behalf of the other members. None of us are keen on you right now,” Seungcheol continued to elaborate.

Seungcheol’s words broke your heart; out of all the members, you had grown very close to him and Soonyoung. You knew Soonyoung would probably kill you if he saw you, but Seungcheol could be reasonable.

“I’m sorry,” you muttered, and Seungcheol scoffed.

“Not the one you need to apologise to,” Seungcheol bit back, and Mingyu knew he had to say something now.

God knows you apologised enough times.

“Hyung, um, what did you get me?” Mingyu asked in an attempt to dissipate the tension. Seungcheol smiled as he faced Mingyu.

“I got you a birthday present,” Seungcheol replied, and Mingyu laughed.

“Seven months in advance?” Mingyu asked.

Seungcheol shrugged. “I forget birthdays, except mine, so yeah, it’s an all-expense paid weekend at a fancy hotel, you know, wine, room service, the whole nine yards.” Seungcheol took a breath.

“I got it before all this happened. It was something for you two,” Seungcheol added, his words piercing your heart again.

“Hyung, we can still use it. If not, I can just use it myself, starfish on the bed,” Mingyu interjected, which made Seungcheol smile.

“Anyways. That’s all I came for. I’ll see you in the evening,” Seungcheol said, and Mingyu nodded and saw Seungcheol out.

“Hyung, she’s trying,” Mingyu pleaded once he was outside his front door as he tried to reason with Seungcheol, who simply sighed.

“I don’t doubt it, but she cheated on you,” Seungcheol said.

“She won’t do it again,” Mingyu asserted.

“I hope she doesn’t,” Seungcheol added, smiling sadly at Mingyu, who smiled back.

“Hyung, I love her, and if I can’t make this work, then I’ll leave, but right now, I want to have faith,” Mingyu spoke genuinely, meaning every word.

“Fair enough. Look, just try and keep her away from the studios and dorms for now. I can keep my cool, and so can the others, but Soonyoung will definitely tear her a new one,” Seungcheol warned.

“Yeah. I will. Thank you for the present again,” Mingyu thanked Seungcheol.

“Take care, Gyu.”

“Um, I have rehearsals. I won’t be home until eight. Do you think you’ll be okay?” Mingyu asked, and you nodded.

“Yeah. I have a few meetings, and I have some work to do. Did you want to have dinner?” you asked, and Mingyu nodded slowly.

“I can give you a heads up if I am back in time?” Mingyu suggested, and you nodded, smiling sadly at him.

“They’ll come around, you know?” Mingyu added.

“It’s okay if they don’t. I mean, I wouldn’t blame them, ” you responded.

“They will. I mean. I’m trying,” Mingyu explained.

“Mingyu?”

“Yes?”

“How long will you keep trying for? I’m not asking you to dismiss the fact that you are already doing something that most people wouldn’t consider doing. I want to know because I don’t want to keep holding you down from finding the one.”

“You were the one at one point for me,” Mingyu started, and you felt your throat tighten with emotion.

“Maybe you still are. But to answer your question, I guess I will try until I no longer imagine you underneath another man. Last night when I kissed you, I felt like I was being burned. It hurts to physically love you right now, so if it comes to a point where one day I know I can’t look at you and not hate what you did, then yeah, we can move on,” Mingyu admitted.

“And if we can’t?” you asked, your voice small.

“Then we’re done,” Mingyu said, his tone calm and final.

“I need to go; I’ll message you if I am late,” Mingyu said, and you nodded at him.

“You’re late,” your boss remarked as you walked in, well, ran into the office.

“Sorry,” you said breathlessly. Your boss simply shrugged at you.

“Can I see you? In my office?” He asked before heading back to his office.

You nodded, followed your boss to his office, and waited for him to close the door behind you.

“Please don’t fire me. I can do better,” you begged, your voice cracking.

Your boss shook his head.

“Not here to fire you, but I’m worried,” he explained, and you nodded.

“Relationship problems?” Your boss suggested, and you nodded.

“Do you need to talk to anyone?” Your boss asked kindly, and you shook your head. “It’s my doing,” you explained, and your boss nodded, not pushing it any further.

“Well. I need you to manage this client. You have a natural knack for charming the shit out of fancy clients, so do it well, and we can secure a retainer, and you can secure a wonderful bonus,” your boss explained, and you smiled at him.

“Anything else?” you asked, and your boss shook his head, smiling.

“Thank you so much once again for the meeting. I know it’s late, but we appreciate the effort,” your clients thanked you at the end of the meeting, and you nodded, thanking your million-dollar clients.

You left once they left the conference room and fished out your phone.

“Fuck,” you cursed when you saw it was nine, and you had ten missed calls from Mingyu and several messages. You grabbed your things and tried to drive home as quickly and safely as possible.

“Mingyu, I’m so sorry. I got caught up in work,” you explained hurriedly the second you walked into the apartment, and Mingyu simply hummed.

“I got hungry. I ate without you,” Mingyu deadpanned.

“Y/N?” Mingyu asked, and you turned around to see Mingyu glaring at you.

“Yes?”  

“Where were you?” Mingyu asked as he walked closer to you.

“I was at work. I have a new client, and they wanted to go over so many things,” you explained.

“You sure? Or were you with someone?” Mingyu taunted, and you shook your head at him.

“Mingyu, no, I would never,” you said, and Mingyu scoffed.

“You have,” he bit back.

“Not again,” you said firmly. Mingyu sighed.

“You know, the entire time I was waiting for you. I couldn’t help but think about it. I was wondering if you found someone else. If you were ignoring my phone calls because someone else was making you feel so good that you forgot about me,” Mingyu said.

“I love you, and I know my actions have not matched that, but I would never do what I did again. Ever,” you explained again, and Mingyu sighed.

“I guess I just have to believe you, right?” Mingyu asked with a dark chuckle.

“If you want to go or leave me, then you can,” you offered, and Mingyu shook his head.

“I need to be able to trust you again,” Mingyu explained, and you nodded.

“I was at work. I didn’t meet up with anyone,” you repeated.  

“As I said, I don’t have a choice but to believe you,” Mingyu mumbled, and you frowned.

“Look, how about you join me? We can watch Netflix, and you can eat your dinner. I’ll join you for ice cream?” Mingyu suggested, and you smiled, nodding at him.

You rushed up the stairs to take a shower and change into his shirt quickly. You often forgot they weren’t your clothes; you were so used to wearing them.

Once you were done with your shower, you headed downstairs, grabbed your food, and sat on the couch three spots away from Mingyu, making him smile.

“I won’t bite.”

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Mingyu nodded.

“Just sit next to me.” You smiled and scooted over next to him.

“So, these new clients, what do they do?” Mingyu asked, making you glare at him.

“Are you interrogating me?” You asked, and Mingyu sighed.

“No. I’m asking you because I’m your boyfriend. I want to know about your day. However, your reaction makes me wonder why you’re so defensive,” Mingyu explained, and you pouted, placing your food on the coffee table in front of you and turning to face him.

“I’m so sorry. I  broke your trust and your heart. I won’t do it again,” you apologised.

“Shouldn’t have ever happened,” Mingyu mumbled, and you stayed quiet, knowing you shouldn’t defend yourself.

“Y/N? Why? I know you said you were lonely, but why?” Mingyu asked.

You took a deep breath as you looked up at him, his eyes watery, and you hated that you were the cause of it.

“You remember when you were on tour, we got into this huge fight because you missed three FaceTime calls with me, and you fell asleep on the one you did remember,” you cringed as you recalled the incident.

Nothing you were going to say would make anything that you did okay.

“Right, yes, so you cheated on me because I was inattentive?” Mingyu asked, not a hint of anger in his words, just pure confusion.

“I mean, after that call, we got into a huge fight, and we didn’t even speak for another two days, and I just felt neglected,” you added.

“So one night, when I saw you giggling on a live later, I got annoyed, went to a bar after work, and well, yeah, you know the rest,” you trailed off.

“Do I know him?” Mingyu asked.

“No, I don’t even know him,” you mumbled.

“So you threw it all away for a perfect stranger?” Mingyu asked.

“Tell me. What did he do to you? What did you do to him?” Mingyu asked, and you shook your head.

“Mingyu, I don’t want to hurt you,” you tried to protest, making Mingyu scoff.

“You already have. Tell me,” Mingyu repeated, and you took a deep breath before responding.

“He went down on me, and he then fucked me,” you said quickly, like you were ripping off a band-aid.

“You didn’t go down on him?” He asked.

“No,” you said, your voice small, and Mingyu nodded.

“Did you at least use a condom?” Mingyu asked, and you nodded.

“Did you feel good? Just for that moment? Did you get what you wanted?” Mingyu asked.

“I guess I got the attention I wanted. However, no. I didn’t feel good about it; I hated myself for it,” you admitted.

“Look. I told you I want to work on us and move on from what happened, so I appreciate your honesty. However, you need to understand why I might be suspicious,” Mingyu explained, and you nodded.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something, but I need liquor, wine?” Mingyu asked, and you smiled, nodding at him. Mingyu smiled at you as he got off the couch, headed into the kitchen, and returned a couple of minutes later with a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

“Here you go,” Mingyu said as he handed you a glass and sat down on the couch, this time sitting closer to you.  

“So Seungcheol hyung, he’s throwing a dinner thing next week,” Mingyu explained.

“I can make myself scarce,” you interrupted, and Mingyu smiled softly at you, shaking his head.

“No, he wants you there,” Mingyu said, taking a sip of his drink.

“Why?” you asked, unable to hide the shock in your voice, and Mingyu smiled softly at you,

“Because I want you there,” Mingyu responded, and you downed your glass of wine in response to his comment and placed the glass down before speaking.

“Mingyu, I don’t want to impose. Not in a room full of people who hate me,” you said, hating how weak you sounded when this was all your doing. Mingyu smiled softly at you before taking a sip of his drink.

“No one–okay, aside from Soonyoung–no one hates you,” Mingyu admitted.

“I know I have no right to be upset, not when I did this, but I feel so fucking stupid. I feel stupid for having the audacity to be upset when this is my doing,” you confessed, feeling pathetic for being upset. However, Mingyu smiled softly at you.

“Look. You have a week to decide if you don’t want to go. I won’t force you. However, it would be nice,” Mingyu offered.

“I’ll be there,” you said, your voice still soft, and Mingyu smiled at you.

“Good. Another glass?” Mingyu asked, motioning to your empty glass.

“Yes, please.”

You and Mingyu didn’t speak much, choosing to watch a Netflix series and just be near one another, trying and be normal.

“Mingyu?” You called out his name halfway through an episode, and Mingyu turned to smile at you,

“Yeah?” He responded, eyes still on the screen.

You hesitated for a second, “Can I, um. Never mind,” you mumbled, swallowed  your words, and Mingyu groaned, pausing the show.

“What?” He asked, looking at you.

“Can I get a bit of the blanket? I’m cold,” you asked, rubbing your palms together as if to prove a point, and Mingyu grinned, lifting the blanket off him and holding it up.

“Come on. You’ll freeze,” Mingyu said, motioning for you to join him under the blanket, and you froze in a different way.

“Y/N, I’m trying here, but you need to meet me halfway. I can grab another blanket for you, but I’d like to share one with my girlfriend,” Mingyu stated, making your heart swell as you nodded and crawled into and curled into his side.

“The new client, they’re designers, they deal with luxury goods, and they need someone to guide them through our consulting process and how we can be an asset to them,” you mumbled, and Mingyu smiled at you, happy to have a normal conversation with you.

“So, fancy rich people?” Mingyu joked, and you nodded.

“I’m aiming to secure a retainer agreement with them,” you explained, and Mingyu nodded,

“Well, make sure you rest in between, okay? Because you always overextend yourself, and I don’t want you burning out,” Mingyu spoke softly, and you smiled fondly at him.

“I won’t,” you promised, and Mingyu smiled, holding out his pinkie to you, “promise?” He asked, and you laughed and laced your finger with his.

“I promise,” you said, and Mingyu smiled, letting go of your hand, and pulled you closer to his side.

“Okay, now can we find out what happens in this episode?” Mingyu asked, and you rolled your eyes at him.

“Gyu, it’s Suits. Harvey Specter will do something that is not viable in reality and save the day,” you explained. The lawyer in you just could not refrain from describing how wrong Suits was.

“You called me Gyu,” Mingyu mumbled.

“Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to,” you apologised, and Mingyu paused the episode and turned to face you, his legs around you as you sat in the space between his legs.

“You know, all of the restraining, the formalities. I get why you’ve held back, but it’s been two months. I’m not mad at you for calling me Gyu. It made me happy. You’ve imposed all these restrictions on yourself, none of which I asked you to do. I’m not blaming or scolding you. I’m simply saying that I want you to be yourself—the funny, unfiltered, loving and frankly unrestrained woman that I fell in love with. I know you’ll say that you hurt me being that, but I just don’t want to dwell anymore,” Mingyu explained, and you nodded.

“Gyu,” you repeated, and Mingyu smiled at you before frowning when he realised you were crying.

“Hey now, why are you crying,” Mingyu asked.

“You’re so fucking, patient. You’re so kind for what I did, and I hate that I’m the one falling apart,” you admitted, and Mingyu smiled at you, wiping a tear off your face.

“In some sick way, I appreciate it because I know you regret what you did. It’d be worse if you acted so normal. If you showed no remorse, then I’d be like fuck. I’m on my way, I guess.” Mingyu confessed, wiping your tears.

“I’m so sorry,” you apologised.

“I know. You’ve said it enough times. So I know you’re sorry, but as I said, I need time, but I don’t want to act or walk around eggshells with you because then one day that will end up blowing up in our faces,” Mingyu explained, and you nodded.

“I don’t deserve you,” you mumbled, and Mingyu sighed and pulled you closer to him.

“You don’t, but I love you. So let me decide if I can do this?” Mingyu said, and you nodded, smiling softly as Mingyu wiped another tear off your face.

“Now, can I watch Harvey Specter save the day?” Mingyu asked, and you smiled at him as he pressed play.

Mingyu adjusted himself so you were lying on his chest as you watched the episode. Mingyu shifted slightly, making his leg brush against your underwear, making you bite your lip, an action that did not go unnoticed by Mingyu.

“What?” Mingyu asked, and you shook your head.

“Nothing,” you mumbled before fixing your eyes back on the screen.

Mingyu smirked, shifting his leg again, and you couldn’t help the soft moan that fell from your lips.

“You liked that?” Mingyu teased, and you sighed, nodding, making him smirk as you both continued to watch Suits.

However, he adjusted himself, and you were sitting between his legs, his large hands tracing small circles on your thigh.

Mingyu suddenly paused the show and asked you to turn around. You did as he asked, and he pulled you into his lap.

“Kiss me,” Mingyu whispered, his hands wrapping around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

You smiled as you touched his lips, groaning immediately when you tasted him for the first time in months. You were kissing him, not just a peck, but a kiss.

You felt him run his tongue along your bottom lip, and he slipped his tongue inside you. You moaned into his mouth and kept kissing him until he slowly pulled away from you.

You were about to apologise in case you went too far, but Mingyu pulled you in for another kiss. You moaned into the kiss as his bulge pressed into your cloth-covered cunt. Mingyu moved quickly and pulled his cock out.

“I need to feel you,” Mingyu muttered against your lips, and you moaned and nodded. Mingyu moved your panties to the side, ran his cock against your folds and pushed into you.

“Fuck,” you choked out, your hands gripping his hair for support.

“You’re so fucking tight. So fucking tight,” Mingyu groaned as he let his cock stretch you open. You moaned as Mingyu guided his cock in and out of you.

He laid back and let you fall on his chest before he picked his pace, thrusting into you relentlessly. The lack of sex between the two of you meant that you both came quickly. You simply continued to kiss him, scared to speak as if it’d ruin the moment.

You rested your head against Mingyu’s chest as you felt him soften inside you, his warmth coating your walls.

“Mingyu?” you asked softly, noticing that your boyfriend’s expression didn’t match yours.

“Did you kiss that guy?” Mingyu asked, and you sighed, climbing off his lap.

“Mingyu, don’t,” you begged, making him scoff at you.

“I did. I’m so sorry,” you apologised, and Mingyu sighed, standing up and pulling his trousers up.

“This was way too quick. I know I initiated it, so I’m not mad at you, but right now, I can’t look at you,” Mingyu admitted, taking a deep breath before delivering the words that made you despise yourself further.

“The entire time I was inside you, all I could think about was the fact that you probably moaned the same way for that other guy. Looking just as fucked out, and that’s not an image I can get over so easily,” Mingyu continued.  

“I’m going to bed,” Mingyu said, not sparing you a glance and heading upstairs.

You decided to stay downstairs the entire night. It would do neither of you any good to be near one another now. You felt terrible. You should have stopped him, but you missed his touch.

You hated how you had become a slave to your instincts.

“Hey. Oh, you’re leaving?” Mingyu asked as he saw you sliding your heels on the following day.

“Yeah. Fancy clients, they call, I answer,” you replied.

“Like that guy in the bar? He snapped, and your face fell.

“Mingyu, I can do this with you after work. You can yell, scream and insult me as much as you need. Just not before work.” Mingyu’s glare intensified.

“Do you think I do it because I enjoy hurting you?” Mingyu asked, and you shook your head at him.

“Mingyu, I need to go,” you said, reaching for the doorknob, and Mingyu scoffed at you.

“Do you have anything you want to say?” Mingyu asked, and you sighed at him.

“I do. But I do not have the time for it now,” you explained, and Mingyu nodded.

“Just think about this as you go to work. Why do you have time for everyone except for me?” Mingyu said before storming upstairs.

“Y/N, well done. The clients are impressed with you, and I think we are getting closer to signing them,” Your boss praised after the meeting.

“Thanks,” you said with no real emotion, and your boss eyed you.

“Okay, what the hell? You should be happy?” your boss asked.

“My personal life is falling apart,” you admitted.

“Well, look. It’s already three. Why don’t you head home? You killed it today so that you can take the afternoon off,” your boss offered, and you thanked him profusely.

“Mingyu, I’m home. Oh,” you called out the second you entered the apartment and froze when you saw some of Mingyu’s members sitting in your living room. You got mixed reactions from all of them.

Seungcheol offered you a weak smile, Wonwoo nodded, Jun blinked a couple of times, and Jihoon looked your way to acknowledge your presence. You were thankful that the older members were discreet.

The same could not be said for the younger members.

“What are you doing here?” Chan asked, earning him a slight nudge from Jun for being disrespectful to someone older than him.

“I live here,” you muttered, and that was all it took for Soonyoung to snap.

“Right, because it’s your house, right?” Soonyoung fired back, knowing well that the building was in Mingyu’s name and not yours.

“I, um,” you stuttered, unsure of how to handle Soonyoung’s words.

“Y/N, why don’t you go to the bedroom? I’ll be done soon?” Mingyu interjected he couldn’t handle another fight with you, and he didn’t fancy seeing Soonyoung rip you to shreds, either. You gave Mingyu a forced smile and headed to his bedroom.

“Hey,” Mingyu said as he sat next to you on the bed.

“They’re uh gone. It’s safe for you to come out,” Mingyu explained, and you nodded.

“Does it bother you?” You asked.

“What bothers me?”

“The wealth gap between us,” you elaborated.

“You’re acting like you’re impoverished,” Mingyu scoffed, and he wasn’t wrong. You could live a very comfortable life without Mingyu’s wealth, but sometimes seeds of insecurity would get planted in your mind, and you’d wonder if you were enough.

“You know, if you dated an idol, she’d make as much money as you,” you said bitterly.

“I don’t say this to be a dick, but no. She wouldn’t. Frankly, what we make is very high. I’m grateful, but unless I’m dating another multimillionaire, then I’d still be earning more in a relationship,” Mingyu explained.

“She’d understand your life,” you offered, and Mingyu frowned.

“She’d understand that there would be lonely nights, weeks and months. She would get it, and she wouldn’t go looking for more when she had enough,” you admitted, feeling ashamed, feeling your voice crack.

“Is that why?” Mingyu asked.

“Why what?”

“Why you cheated,” Mingyu clarified.

“Oh god no, Mingyu, I wish I had a reason why, I don’t. It was dumb, it was stupid, and it’s something I’ll hate myself for doing to you. Nothing I did that night can justify why I did what I did. There’s nothing except a dumb fucking decision,” you rambled, not realising that you were crying until you realised that Mingyu inched closer to you, holding your face in his hands and wiping your tears.

“Don’t hate yourself. I don’t,” Mingyu said quietly.

“Why not?”

“I hate what you did, but to hate you? Fuck, that’s something I don’t think I can do,” Mingyu admitted.

“Soonyoung hyung was way out of line,” Mingyu added, understanding what your spiral was about, and you shook your head and gently moved his hands away from your face.

“No. He wasn’t. He’s protecting you,” you countered, and Mingyu shrugged, not wanting to argue with you.

“It wasn’t just Soonyoung hyung. I was out of line, too. I said some shitty things to you this morning and last night. Having sex with you again, trust me, for the most part, it was good, but the minute you started to moan and get close to cumming. I couldn’t help but think of you doing the same thing for another man,” Mingyu confessed.

“But I shouldn’t have lashed out like that. I should have stopped Soonyoung hyung today,” Mingyu mumbled as you stayed quiet.

“Say something, please?” Mingyu asked.

“You had every right to act the way you did, and Soonyoung wasn’t wrong in expressing his anger,” you said calmly, and Mingyu pouted at you.

“Okay, let’s change the topic. Why did you come back early?” Mingyu asked.

“The meeting went well, and I guess my boss saw me miserable, so he let me come back early,” you admitted with a soft smile.

“Lovely, then I’m ordering food, and we can spend the day together,” Mingyu said, clapping his hands, and you traced circles on his hand.

“Gyu?” You said, making him smile.

“Yes?” He asked. You held out your arms to him, and he smiled, pulling you into his lap for a hug. You held on tightly. It was so fragile, and you were so scared to let go. You pulled away slowly, your lips inches away from his.

“Kiss me,” Mingyu whispered, his lips ghosting yours. You smiled and placed your lips on his. The kiss escalated quickly, as it always did. From being in Mingyu’s lap, you were now lying under him as he kept kissing you. His tongue was deepening the kiss. His hand moved up your body until it landed on the button of your trousers.

“Can I?” Mingyu asked, and you nodded, and that’s all Mingyu needed.

Mingyu undid the button and pushed his hand down your trousers and past your panties. His fingers found your clit, and he started to rub. You moaned into the kiss. Whimpers and pants were leaving your lips as he rubbed your clit.

When he suddenly stopped, you were so scared that the events of last night would occur again. Instead, Mingyu moved away from the kiss, pulled your trousers and panties off, and laid between your legs.

Mingyu moved to let his mouth wrap around your clit, making you buck into his mouth. You wanted to scream his name but were so scared that you’d break this moment if you spoke. Not just for the sake of an incredible orgasm but because you felt as if things between you two could finally be okay.

A sharp slap to your clit took you out of your thoughts.

“Why aren’t you making any noise? Have I lost my touch?” Mingyu growled, and you shook your head.

“No, it’s just, fuck,” you could barely finish your sentence as Mingyu pushed three fingers into you.

You winced slightly at the stretch, slowly letting out a moan as his lips found your clit again. Mingyu licked and flicked your clit while thrusting his fingers in and out of you.

“Fuck, I’m going to cum,” you choked out as you grabbed the sheets. You came and felt Mingyu lick you more. His hands held your shaking legs in place as he licked you through your orgasm.

“Good?” Mingyu asked, moving up your body, capturing your lips with his.

“Yes,” you moaned into the kiss as Mingyu smiled into the kiss.

“Can I?” Mingyu asked, and you nodded, knowing what he wanted, as he pulled his shirt off and threw his shorts across the room as he lined his thick length against your cunt and pushed in.

“Fuck,” Mingyu groaned as he started to thrust into you.

“Baby, you’re so tight, and it’s been so long. I won’t last,” Mingyu groaned as he played with your clit.

“Cum, Mingyu,” you encouraged as Mingyu started to pound into you harder, making you squeal in pleasure as you came around him. Mingyu groaned as his orgasm followed soon after yours.

Mingyu pulled you in for another kiss before moving his lips away and pulling out of you.

“No, don’t just stay with me,” Mingyu said, pulling you back into his arms.

“Gyu?” He hummed.

“I love you,” you said, and Mingyu sighed, placing a kiss on your forehead. It stung when he didn’t say it back, but you couldn’t take it.

You’d do anything to make it right.

“Do I look okay?” You asked later that week as you stepped out of the bathroom wearing a simple black dress. Mingyu smiled at you.

“They’ll love you no matter what,” Mingyu offered casually, and you froze.

“I mean. Uh,” Mingyu fumbled, and you gave him a small smile at walked over to him.

“I know.” Mingyu sighed, placing a kiss on your forehead.

“You look lovely, and you know I’ll always think that, but please don’t go in expecting too much tonight,” Mingyu offered.

“I know,” you said with a sad smile, and Mingyu pouted slightly. He almost hated that he felt terrible for you, especially since you brought this upon yourself.

“Let’s go?” Mingyu asked.

The entire car ride to the dorm was quiet. You were both too nervous.

“Hey, look, they might be vicious. It’s just that they care for me, so they’ll get defensive,” Mingyu explained, and you nodded.

“Yeah. I’ll be brave,” you said, grinning.

Mingyu nodded at your comment. He knew you deserved their anger and resentment, but it didn’t mean that it made it easier for him to hear it. Mingyu hated watching you sink with every insult or backhanded comment that was thrown your way.

Mingyu knocked on the door while you prayed that one of the older members would open the door.

“Y/N, Mingyu, glad you two could make it,” Seungcheol said, smiling at Mingyu and nodding in your direction.

“Come in. There are drinks and appetisers being served now,” Mingyu nodded, guiding you into their dorm.

“Go sit, look Wonwoo hyung won’t bite. I’ll be there in a minute.” You tried to plead with him, but you knew that you had lost any upper hand you may have once had.

“May I sit?” You asked Wonwoo, who simply nodded. You sat down cautiously.

“Can I get you a drink?” Wonwoo asked.

“Careful, hyung. Alcohol is the reason she’s in this predicament,” Soonyoung muttered, and Wonwoo shot him a glare. While Wonwoo was beyond upset with you, he didn’t approve of Soonyoung’s behaviour either.

“Okay, I’m here. What did I miss?” Mingyu asked, sliding next to you.

“Nothing, Gyu,” you mumbled, curling into his side, and Mingyu simply stared at his hyungs, hoping one of them would tell him what transpired.

“Alright, let me get you a drink, gin and tonic, right?” Mingyu asked as he stood up and headed back into the kitchen before you could stop him.

“Alright, here you go,” Mingyu returned, thankfully, quickly as he handed you your drink.

“Oh, Mingyu, are you excited about your project? You’ll be co-writing with Yuri for her solo?” Jun asked in an attempt to ease the tension in the room.

“Actually, yeah. She texted me about the song. I think it’ll be really cool. I’m meeting her at her studio next week,” Mingyu responded, and you loved seeing how lively he looked when he spoke about his work.

“What’s the song about?” You asked, and you saw Mingyu freeze for a second.

“Heartbreak and betrayal,” Mingyu mumbled, and you simply took another sip of your drink.

“I mean, we should really thank you, Y/N. You gave Mingyu such amazing inspiration,” Soonyoung remarked sarcastically, and you cringed.

“Y/N, I left my planner in my room last week. Do you think you could get it?” Mingyu asked, and you nodded quickly, running away from the living room and upstairs to Mingyu’s bedroom, trying your hardest not to break down on your way.

You knew there was no planner, but you were grateful to Mingyu for giving you a reason to leave.

Back in the living room, Mingyu was trying his hardest to reason with Soonyoung.

“Hyung, I’m trying to fix things with her, but it won't work if you keep saying things like that. She’s sorry,” Mingyu pleaded, and Soonyoung scoffed.

“Cheaters don’t change, and to her credit, I can see she’s sorry, but you don’t deserve that, and I don’t know why you’re putting up with it. You could have anyone else, and you're choosing the one who broke your heart.”

“Hey.”

You heard a voice call, turned around to see Chan, and quickly wiped your face.

“Shit, you’re crying,” Chan muttered, closing the door behind him.

“No, uh, just allergies.” Chan laughed.

“Yeah, right,” Chan scoffed, and you sighed.

“Why are you here?” You asked, and Chan shrugged.

“Well, hyung sent me, and Soonyoung hyung is having a talk with Mingyu hyung. So you’ve got me,” Chan explained.  

“Can I ask you something?”

“Why? I mean, did he ever upset you or ignore you? Is there something we don’t know?” Chan asked.

“I was lonely. It’s not an excuse at all. We were fighting so much. I just wanted something to numb the pain.” Chan nodded.

“Alcohol would have been a better solution, literally. It’s a solution,” Chan joked as you let out a tearful chuckle.

“Yay, you smiled,” Chan cheered.

“Don’t you hate me?” You asked, and Chan shook his head.

“No. I’ll always be upset, but hyung isn’t a baby. He doesn’t need me to coddle him or fight for him. I’m not mean, but sometimes I can lash out, and even I can say that Soonyoung hyung took it too far. You’ve always made hyung happy, and if being with you makes him happy and he forgives you, then I think we should all make peace with it.” Chan offered.

“Chan, I need to talk to her,” a voice interrupted as you saw Mingyu enter the room.

“Sure,” Chan said, waving at you as he left the room.

“He forgave you?” Mingyu asked.

“No, but he said if I make you happy, then he’ll make his peace with it,” you explained.

“Fuck, well, this doesn’t make what I’m about to do next any easier,” Mingyu mumbled, and you knew. It was over. He tried and couldn’t, and you didn’t blame him.

“I’ll pack my things by the end of the day tomorrow,”  you said as you tried to get up, and Mingyu held your wrist gently.

“No, you keep that apartment. I want to have a fresh start. Most of my things are here anyway,” Mingyu countered.

“I can’t forgive you,” Mingyu admitted, and you simply nodded, eyes trained on the carpeted floor.

“Mingyu?” You whispered his name, and he looked at you.

“I’m so sorry,” you apologised.

“I can drive you back,” Mingyu offered, and you shook your head.

“No, I’ll take a cab,” you mumbled. Mingyu nodded and turned around.

“Then leave. I can’t pretend anymore,” Mingyu breathed out, and you could hear how shaky his voice was.

You placed your hand on his shoulder, squeezing it and left.

“Thank you for everything,” you said tearfully as you practically ran out of his bedroom and out of the dorms.

“Y/N!” Soonyoung ran after you, his hand on your wrist. The rest of the boys were confused for two reasons, one being that you left without Mingyu and the second that Soonyoung was the one that ran after you.

You were standing outside the dorm as Soonyoung held you in place.

“What the hell happened? Where are you going?” He asked.

“Home. Mingyu broke up with me, so I’m going home,” you admitted, and Soonyoung frowned.

“Did my comments do this?” Soonyoung asked, and you shook your head.

“No, we were bound to end. I should go,” you said sadly. Soonyoung sighed.

“I’m sorry it turned out this way,” Soonyoung apologised.

“Goodbye,” you said to Soonyoung.

That night when you got home, you couldn’t cry. You just felt numb. You felt nothing. You felt dead inside.

For the next week, you called off work, thankfully your clients had gone on a holiday and wouldn’t be back for two weeks. You took a week off. It wasn’t a lot, but it would be enough for you to start over.

You did every cliché there was. You went for a facial, went for a spa day. You drank and watched crappy movies with ice cream. Drank until you fell asleep. Every night you went to bed alone and hoped for a text from him.

You just needed to know that he was okay. You knew he felt every emotion deeply, and you didn’t want your stupidity to hurt him anymore.

One night after downing half a bottle of wine, you found it in you to dial his number. You sighed in relief when you realised he hadn’t blocked you.

“Y/N, it’s three in the morning?” Mingyu groaned, and that’s when you broke all the tears that never fell.

They all fell the minute you heard his voice.

“Y/N?” Mingyu said, more awake and concerned about your heavy breathing.

“Are you okay?” You mumbled, your voice breaking with every word.

“Y/N, fuck. Are you at home? Are you okay?” You sighed.

“Yeah. I just, I’m sorry, Mingyu.” Mingyu sighed before hanging up.

“Jesus, fuck,” you yelped when you saw Mingyu sitting in your kitchen the following day. You looked around the house.

“You cleaned up?” You asked, and Mingyu nodded.

“Most people change the locks when their ex moves out,” Mingyu joked, and you frowned.

“The house is under your name,” you said, giving a lame excuse, and Mingyu sighed.

“Am I okay? You called me yesterday to ask me that?” Mingyu asked, and you groaned. “Do you even care? You walked away,” Mingyu continued, raising his voice at you, and you just stared at him.

“You broke up with me,” you said, confused, and Mingyu nodded.

“I fought for us when you cheated, and you didn’t even fucking try,” Mingyu cried out.

“Gyu,” you started to say. Mingyu glared at you.

“Don’t Gyu me, I’m not yours,” Mingyu snapped, and you nodded.

“I saw the way you tried so hard to love me again. It broke you, and I want you to be happy, so I didn’t fight because you deserve better,” you yelled back, and Mingyu scoffed.

“You remember how I told you I’d be working on a song with Yuri?” Mingyu asked, and you nodded slowly, unsure why he randomly brought it up.

“We were in the studio, I think this was two nights after we broke up, and I think right before we wrapped up our session, she kissed me,” Mingyu explained.

“Oh.”

“I kissed her back,” Mingyu clarified.

“Okay.”

“But I couldn’t do it. Her lips, the kiss it all felt foreign to me. It wasn’t what I’m used to, and more importantly. It’s not what I want,” Mingyu added.

“She kissed you?” You repeated, feeling tears threaten to spill over.

“While you’re entitled to your feelings. I really hope you realise that getting mad at me for this will be beyond hypocritical,” Mingyu stated.

“I’m not. Just wow, she fits into your world. Better than I ever could,” you said weakly, and Mingyu scoffed as he stood up, moving closer to you,

“No. You can feel shitty for cheating on me, but I will not ever let you think you don’t belong in this world,” Mingyu said, and you pouted.

“I hurt you,” you choked out, your voice breaking.

“Yeah, and it fucking sucked. It still does, but one week. One week was enough to make me realise I don’t want to be without you. So we’re going to get through this,” Mingyu declared, determined, and you started to sob, and Mingyu took you into his arms, holding you tight.

“We’re going to hit reset. We will go on a first date again, and I will learn to trust you again. Clean slate,” Mingyu said, holding you close.

You nodded. Chances like these rarely come by, so you weren’t going to waste them.

“Oh and also, no more apologising. I’m not trying to rewrite history, but if you keep apologising, I won’t ever get past it. So let’s just start over, okay?” Mingyu explained, and you nodded tearfully.

“Reset?” You asked.

“Reset.”

“We’ll do this the right way,” Mingyu said, and you shook your head.

“No. I will. I’ll love you the way I should have,” you said, making him grin at you as you hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go.

You’d be damned if you lost him again.

[vickyvicarious]

I found Miss Westenra in seemingly gay spirits. Her mother was present, and in a few seconds I made up my mind that she was trying all she knew to mislead her mother and prevent her from being anxious. I have no doubt she guesses, if she does not know, what need of caution there is. We lunched alone, and as we all exerted ourselves to be cheerful, we got, as some kind of reward for our labours, some real cheerfulness amongst us. Then Mrs. Westenra went to lie down, and Lucy was left with me. We went into her boudoir, and till we got there her gaiety remained, for the servants were coming and going. As soon as the door was closed, however, the mask fell from her face, and she sank down into a chair with a great sigh, and hid her eyes with her hand.

The way that Lucy keeps up the cheerful act until they are fully alone means that she's not confiding in anyone in her house. We already knew she wasn't admitting her poor health to her mother, but the servants also seem to warrant the same act. Maybe this is because she doesn't trust them not to report back to her mother, or because she has trouble admitting her illness to anyone who doesn't confront her about it first (Mina, at least due to the graveyard sleepwalking, and Arthur both fit this bill). Regardless, it means that she gets almost no time to relax in her own home. She has to pretend everything is okay unless she's completely alone, and the way she immediately wilts here shows just how heavy a burden that is on her as she feels worse and worse.

I'm really happy that she is able to confide in Jack. Again, maybe it's simply that Arthur already figured her out and now that things have come this far, there's no point in hiding - or maybe it's because she is closer to Arthur and Jack than anyone else living in her own house. Both are quite sad in different ways, but at the least it means she can finally get some comfort by being honest about her difficulties. And she does seem to be making the effort to confide as fully as possible - she tells him about the sleepwalking in Whitby, the dreams, the sleep she wants to resist, the trouble breathing... pretty much everything (at least that she knows about). It is an effort, even now - that's made clear when she says she hates talking about herself, but she does it anyway because she knows Arthur is worried for her, and she wants to ease his worries. (Of course, she's also scared and in pain herself, but Lucy places those concerns below others' feelings.)

I also like how it's made clear that this is all consensual. Arthur said previously that Lucy was reluctant to involve Jack at first, but that she agreed. And we see here that she's still a bit reluctant to do the act of telling him, but she's definitely willing to be fully honest with him. More than that, she gives express permission to let Arthur in on all the details of her illness and treatment. For now, at least, all three of them are on the same page of working together to help Lucy.

[wayliparker-co]

call me when you get a second - chapter four 🫧

never change me and you

Max raises her eyebrows at the two of them as they approach. “Ready, lovebirds?” She says, leaning back against the door so it opens, just a crack. It’s obvious that she knows what their answer is - she’s already practically forcing them out of the diner, for God’s sake - but they give her a nod anyway, lest she rip their heads off for not gracing her with an answer.

The evening air is heavy with late summer humidity, hanging over them like a tangible thing, and before Will pushes him away in an effort to stay cool, Mike leans over to whisper into the shell of his ear, “Wanna come over tonight?”

Will jerks away, cheeks bright pink, and Mike doesn’t think his question warrants that kind of reaction, but he supposes it may have been a bit out of the blue. Will looks at him for a moment - eyes bouncing just about everywhere on Mike’s face before settling, for just a split second, on his eyes - and then a shy smile grows on his face as he ducks his head down and away from Mike. It’s quiet, almost silent, so Mike can see more than hear the word okay on his lips.

playlist🫧

[changingplumbob]

Villareal: Chapter 6, Part 5

Joey's night concludes and preparation for family brunch begins.

CW: Moderate sim spice. Content Warning Guide

Luna (mummy) and Devin (mama) use some German and Italian. Bambino/s (Italian) Male child/children Buongiorno (Italian) Good morning Caro (Italian) Dear Nonna/Nonno (Italian) Grandfather/Grandmother Piccolo (Italian) Little one Zia/Zio (Italian) Aunt/Uncle

Joey wakes up with a start. He’s lying on his bedroom floor?

Marianna: Are you okay?

Joey: Marianna? What happened? We were just…

Joey pushes himself up feeling very confused. He was just at the nightclub. He’s used to the quickness of loading screens but this was something different. His genius mind is telling him to remain calm and gather facts but his paranoid trait is panicking.

Marianna: See I’ve never actually teleported someone with me before, I think I had the calibration off so you kind of passed out

Joey: Passed out? Yeah but- did you say teleport?

Marianna: Yes, I hope you’re okay. I was just reading your mind and I saw your photos and I hoped you might want one of real me

Joey: Reading... my... mind?

Marianna: It’s a thing we can do

Joey: Who is we?

Marianna: Oh you know… aliens

Joey is taken aback. Aliens? He always knew they were real but the research on their abilities was spotty at best. Unsurprisingly they didn’t exactly offer themselves up for tests. And he’d just…

Joey: Oh please tell me I’m not pregnant. I can’t be pregnant

Marianna: What? No! I’m not one of those ones. I was left in a carrier myself, I wouldn’t do that to a kid. I just… I know I’m a bit older than the other women in the photos…

She looks at the wall and folds in on herself a bit.

Joey: You’re saying… you read my mind, and know that me and the watcher need to keep track of my numbers with photos… and you teleported us here… because you were nervous that I wouldn’t want a photo of you

Marianna: I thought… you seemed to enjoy our time together so… you might want a photo of what I actually look like

Joey: I’ve never seen an alien before, at least not that I know of. But if you felt enough of a connection when we were woohooing, I’d be honoured to see the real you

Marianna: *smiling* Don’t freak out

Joey tries his best to keep his face straight as Marianna stretches. She changes from the human outfit into a cozy sleepwear number in alien form. It happened so fast Joey isn’t sure he actually saw the change happen. He has so many questions! But he has to remember this is stressful for her to.

Joey: You look amazing. Your eyes are spectacular. Your skin… you were glowing earlier right?

Marianna: *giggles* yes. When our emotions get strong it can be hard to hide and you just… made me feel all kinds of things

Joey: Likewise

He grabs his camera out and gets a shot of her to join the others.

Joey: I’m glad you didn’t mind read about my photos and decide to teleport me into an incinerator

Marianna: *giggles* No! Your mind… You make love but you respect the ones you’re with. Not incinerator worthy

Joey smiles and moves towards her, taking one of her hands and sliding her closer to him.

Joey: I don’t suppose you in any way used your alien powers on the dating app

Marianna: *blushing* Maybe. But I swear I didn’t coerce you in person, and I double checked your mind before-

Joey cuts her off with a kiss. She puts her arms around his neck and relaxes into him. She may not have been his typical type but seeing her, talking to her, everything that happened in that nightclub was what he wanted. Heck, he was glad she thought him worth messing with an app for.

Marianna: Why

Joey: Hmm?

Marianna: Why are you glad about that

Joey: Oh, mind reading. I guess I’m flattered my profile was attractive enough to warrant your effort. Can I give you a proper thanks?

Marianna: You did in the club

Joey: *whispers* Read my mind. You’ll see I can do better if you'd like to go again

Smiling Marianna uncurls herself from him and lets him unbutton her shirt and slide her pants off.

Joey: How did you change outfits anyway

Marianna: Oh that outfit was connected to my disguise. Remove the disguise and I can be wearing something else entirely

On his knees now Joey looks up at her.

Joey: Call me biased but I think you look breathtaking wearing nothing at all

Before she can reply Joey pulls her close and lets his mouth go to work. He is intrigued with the noises she makes. He thought he’d heard most of what women could sound like but the alien tone of her voice was something new. When she seems wet enough he stands up and she helps him out of his clothes. He thinks about what they could do next…

Marianna: The third option sounds good

Joey: *laughs* Try to stop reading my mind and just be in the moment

Joey hadn’t thought he’d be interested in woohoo with an alien but his time with Marianna was making him rethink his stance. A woman is a woman after all, and Marianna certainly had experience. He tried to hold out but with those alien vocals she got him to release even quicker than the last time.

Marianna: *softly* don’t worry, I take it as a compliment

Giving him a final kiss Marianna begins to redress while Joey cleans up. Unfortunately his paranoid brain still hasn’t settled down.

Marianna: Joey, I haven’t impregnated you. Relax

Joey: Is it okay if I like, tell people…

Marianna: *laughs* You’ll have a photo of me on your wall, I’m fairly sure they’ll believe you woohoo’d an alien

Joey walks her to the front door and watches her go, again somehow missing her changing back into her human disguise even though he never took his eyes off her. Pondering the events of the night he locks up and heads to bed, hoping he’ll be able to get enough sleep to put in an appearance at family brunch.

The sun rises alongside Luna and Devin. In the room next to theirs two toddlers yawn and greet the day, racing each other to their potties.

While Luna tackles some chores that need doing Devin and Joey pull together to prepare brunch. While Joey works on bagels Devin sorts out place settings.

Devin: Did you have a good night

Joey: I did! I woohoo’d an alien

Devin: *dubiously* How much did you drink

Joey: I’m serious! I’ll show you the photo later

Devin: It’s not an in action shot is it? Because I love you but there are limits

Joey: No! But it’s got me thinking, there must be other occults out there

Devin: Focus on the *Joey spills stuff* food…

Joey: Don’t panic, I’ll clean it up

Devin: I’ll give you a hand when I’m finished this

Joey: But like I was saying, since aliens do exist on earth some of the other stories must be true

Devin: What stories? Some of us spent our time learning Shakespeare not becoming cryptozoologists

Joey: I wouldn’t woohoo bigfoot! Unless you know bigfoot had a hot human woman form... But if I could land a mermaid, a vampire and say… a werewolf, then I could be the most experienced sim in game! Like how many other sims could claim that achievement?

Devin: Dream big little brother. How’s your game coming

Joey: Slowly, I’ve put the beta out and I’m waiting for reports from play testers. Should be ready for a final polish after brunch though

Devin: If you need someone who doesn’t understand video games to test I’m happy to help

Joey: *laughs* That’s not a terrible idea sis

Devin: It’s my idea, of course it’s great

The sound of wobbly footsteps can be heard in the corridor, the twins are up.

Joey: Uh oh, here comes trouble

Devin: Buongiorno bambinos! Did you not feel like sleeping in

Alfred: No mama. We be awake for family

Rilian: Yes. Nonno and Nonna coming?

Devin: Absolutely. Did you two get dressed all by yourselves

The twins beam and chatter over each other excitedly before sitting down by the counters and spending time on their tablets.

Devin: That’s the table set. I’ve pushed the high chairs into the hall so we can all fit. Alfred, Rilian, are you okay with sitting on the bench?

Twins: *too engrossed in screens to reply*

Devin: I’ll take that as yes. Are your bagels finished yet

Joey: Not just yet. Trust the process, they’ll be good

Devin walks over to her sons hoping that they’ll listen more the closer she is to them.

Devin: Any requests for breakfast?

Alfred: Cereal!

Devin: Caro we have cereal when we don’t have guests. On Sundays we get nice breakfasts. Rilian?

But Devin’s picky eater is ignoring the question about food.

Devin: Mama could make… omelettes, French toast, pancakes-

Alfred: Yes!

Devin: Pancakes, si? Oh looks like Zio Joey has finished making bagels for us. What do we say?

Alfred: Thank you Zio Joey

Rilian: Thanks Zio

Devin: That’s my bambinos. Mama is so proud of you remembering your manners

Rilian: Mama tell Mummy?

Devin: Si, I will tell Mummy

Joey: When did this stereo break? I swear it was working when I left last night

Devin: I figured you’d probably be the best one to fix it

Joey: *starts fixing* And what if I get electrocuted?

Devin: You know tech, you’ll be fine

Rilian: Go Zio Joey!

Alfred: Zio can do!

Joey: I suppose. Gosh I hope Deanna is getting better at her robots, she got fried last time I visited

Devin: She enjoys tinkering, I guess some zaps are the price to pay. Okay bambinos, mama’s going to make the pancakes

Previous ... Next

[anne-bsd-bibliophile]

Getting all the April Fool's Day badges feels kind of like this achievement in The Stanley Parable:

Tumblr Staff: Boop someone one time? Is that all you think these badges are worth? No no no no no. I can't just give these merits away for such little effort. A measly boop. Now, suppose you were to boop 314 times, I would say that's the kind of effort that warrants recognition. I have to say I'm still not feeling the satisfaction of witnessing true effort for a noble cause. No, no, no, no. I'm still not feeling it. I want this trophy to have meant something. It has to be a true reward for valiant effort. I want to see some hustle, Tumblr User! I want to see commitment a willingness to go all the way no matter the cost. Why don't you go boop other Tumblr Users 1,000 times! Oh, great, now go boop a few times on this blog over here. Excellent! I think we're getting somewhere. Now that blog that spammed you with boops! Let's give it ten boops or so. Now back to the first blog. Let's see, how about you boop, well, I don't know, a blog you've never heard of before? Alright, give more boops to your mutuals. I'm really feeling it now! I think we're getting somewhere! Okay, now go to a reblog in this post over here and boop them. Yes! This is great! You're putting it all on the line Tumblr User! I like that! All right, let's keep it up. Go give a few more boops on Neil Gaiman's blog. We've almost got it! Now the blog that booped you before, do that one again! Finish it off, five boops on any blog you think you might not have given a boop to yet. Yes! We did it! Oh wow, that felt amazing. Oh you really earned it Tumblr User, nothing could hold you back. Yes I'm very proud of how far we've come today.

[cuephrase]

20 questions for writers

tysm for the tag @crows-murder!!

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

seven, but two of those are site skins

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

51,455, which is. so little. omg

3. what fandoms do you write for?

rn, exclusively batfam. i've also posted fic for bnha, and while i do think there's a solid chance i'll post more my hero fic in the future, idk when. i've also written for tmnt, voltron, and spn, but most of those never left my notebooks lmao

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

penance - ghost!robins au where tim dies + meets ghost!jason, and metric tons of emotional devastation ensue. MCD tagged bc yk. tim wakes up dead.

adds up to less - my sole bnha fic, platonic bakudeku that spans from childhood to after their fight post-all might vs. afo, centered around the fact that izuku knows katsuki's mom is abusive

despite all his efforts - whumptober fill for solitary confinement, dami and dick!bats and pain

bile is sweeter - whumptober fill for safety net, dick & tim where tim gets seriously injured on patrol. ambiguous ending as a standalone, but also ended up becoming the prelude to penance.

i know (do you know?) - whumptober fill for delirium, jason & dick, jason & bruce, bruce & dick sick!fic where jason is sick and bruce and dick are at odds but trying not to be.

5. do you respond to comments?

yes!! i love responding to comments. i am really behind atm, bc 1) penance got way more attention than i expected and 2) the comments are so frickin kind and like i short-circuit.

planning on responding to some more tonight, i want to try and wrestle my inbox away from hitting a like critical mass point

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hmmm. i think it depends, especially on how you interpret the end of 'bile is sweeter', but my gut instinct is 'despite all of his efforts'.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

mmmm. none of them? jk jk, kind of. i think they're all bittersweet is the thing. maybe 'penance'? or ik(dyk)? actually no, it's def 'penance'. neither of them end super fluffy, (or fluffy at all? fuzzy at best), but like i personally think, as hard won as it is, 'penance' has a happy ending.

8. do you get hate on fics?

i have not yet!! shockingly.

9. do you write smut? If so, what kind?

cuephrase on ao3 does not have any smut posted

10. do you write crossovers?

no, at least not yet. i don't think i will?

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of 🤞

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope!! i don't think i've written anything popular enough to warrant a translation haha

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

not yet!! i think it would be super fun tho

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

uh. hmm. i don't know if i have one?? ships rank pretty low on my overall interest, relationships that stick with me forever and a day are siblings lmao. but okay.

overall, like regardless of fandom it's probs a tie between kyo/tohru from fruits basket and kabakura/koyanagi from wotakoi.

rn my top ship is timkon, no contest. love those two very much. platonic or romantic i am sat.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

any of them? all of them? i have one fic with like actual words written, everything else is percolating in my mind. i have a decent track record of finishing stuff i start...but starting is difficult. i'm trying to work on that tho!! i really love writing and every time i sweet talk myself into it i'm like omg why don't we do this more often. baby cue would be horrified at how little i write.

16. What are your writing strengths?

making people cry. at the ripe-old age of 7 i decided the best writing was the kind that elicited a physical reaction, which to me was either tears or laughter and i don't think i'm funny. so bringing the pain it was.

and dialogue. i'm super picky about my dialogue and i act out convos + read exchanges out loud. i worry sometimes that i like have too many "blah blah bla-" type lines, but like when people are arguing, nobody is getting out full sentences lmao. there's a balance to it, for sure tho

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

setting/description. i have the worst White Room Syndrome ever i fear. like, okay, so writing for me typically feels like i'm watching something play out and just recording what i see, and uh what i see is usually characters interacting. sometimes they're interacting with their environment but ehhhhh. so i have to make a conscious effort to have my writing not be talking heads interspersed with chekhov's guns

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i don't do it. too paranoid about it being wrong. i don't mind it when someone else does it, but if i was going to do it foreign language dialogue would probably be written like "<This is not English>." with a note at the beginning that dialogue in <> is X language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i was going to say tmnt, but then i remembered i wrote warrior cats fic way before i knew what fic was omg. stopppppp. i was like eight, i think? but like. consciously knew that i was writing fanfic? tmnt.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

hmmmm. this is probs a tie between 'penance' and 'ik(dyk)' rn, the former was just so much fun to write and the latter features robin!jason and dick bonding which i'm particularly fond of rn hehe this was sm fun!! no pressure tagging @androxys @librarylexicon @tevyaa, @coyote-nebula, @motleyfam and anyone else who sees this and wants to play!!

[idv-brainrot-go-brr]

what if.. reader that always has a mask on and is really stoic around others so everybody is suspicious of them (naib, orpheus) but it turns out theyre just socially awkward and dont like interacting with people 😭😭

The terrifying prospect of being perceived

A/N: I have no idea if I did this right tbh I am so sorry Pairing: none

Additional Info: Reader is socially awkward

Content: manor games, awkwardly hanging out in the same house as like 40 other people

Chapter 1/1

Word count: 1.6k

"Maybe they're mentally disabled"

An interesting theory. However, unfortunately, it was entirely false. It really was incredible to see how much bullshit your fellow players could come up with to explain something as simple as not wanting to hang out with them. Did the Embalmer ever get these questions? Probably not. Everyone just automatically assumed it was part of his profession. What about the Postman? Was he ever questioned for his silence?

Of course not. Just you.

All the rumours and talks behind somebody's back did nothing to make you like anyone here any more than you did currently. Which was to say you didn't like anyone here. In fact, if they were to stay 60 meters away from you at any given moment, that would truly be paradise.

Some were worse than others. The gardener was fairly friendly towards everyone. Emma was undoubtedly one of the most tolerable people here but still, her friendliness seemed almost unnerving. On top of that, it would probably only be a matter of time until she too decided you were weird for one reason or another. So really, there was no point in investing copious amounts of social energy into a platonic relationship that would fall apart in the end anyway. Really it was... useless. But she was an okay person, you supposed. Then there was the Seer. He was also okay personality-wise but... but he was just creepy as hell. How do you make an animal your eyes? How do you see through an animal? He was worse than that priestess lady even. At least she just talked about occult things, he actually pulled them off! But both of them at least minded their own business.

No, the real nuisances of this place were the overly nosy, overly suspicious ones. Meaning more specifically: Naib and Orpheus.

It was like they were addicted to staring at you for no reason. What had you ever done to warrant this kind of treatment?

If it was only the rumours, the stares or the side glances that they thought you didn't notice, if it was just that it would have been fine. Unpleasant, but not that big of a deal. However, at some point, you realised that it hadn't stopped there. No. You were being followed. What was initially assumed to be just standard levels of paranoia, that you simply develop automatically after being stuck in a life-and-death game for so long, turned out to be a very real circumstance. Certain members of the manor were shadowing you. This realisation was, quite frankly, incredibly disturbing and led to everything getting worse. You became progressively more paranoid and so you spoke less, interacted with people less, and barely showed your face around them. The more you tried to go into seclusion, the more suspicious you looked to the other inhabitants, and the more of an effort would be made to observe you, follow you, and question you. In the end, neither of you tried to hide it anymore. You only showed up to acquire food and participate in games and certain people would openly follow you when ever you went somewhere.

Seriously, did they do this to Aesop too? Unfortunately, you weren't around enough to really pay attention to it, but they probably did, didn't they? So cruel. This was precisely why you didn't want to be around them in the first place. All you could get out of hanging out with other people was judgement, shame and discrimination. There was nothing wrong with you physically, nothing that would justifiably warrant their suspicion. It wasn't like you'd shown up with blood stains on your clothing. Still, you could feel their eyes on you all the time. It made you feel less like a circus animal, and apparently gave them all the more reason to treat you like one.

This uncomfortable stalemate of avoidance of suspicion went on until one day you had a match. You were scheduled with the Psychologist, the Novelist and the Acrobat. However, right before the match was supposed to start, the Patient asked to switch places with you so he could be with Ada. You saw no issue with that and happily skipped out on having to socialize, instead, you went up to your room again. You always kept the door locked, no matter if you were inside or not. Now laying on your bed and peacefully reading a book, the knowledge that no one could disturb you gave you a feeling of safety. That was, of course, until you heard quiet scratching noises coming from the door. Before you actually realised what was going on, the door opened to reveal the Mercenary. You both looked at each other, shocked. He had picked the lock expecting you to be in the middle of a match. Still, despite having the absolute nerve to do that, he was still the one who asked: "What are you doing here?"

"This is my room," you responded, "I have every right to be here. The question is what are you doing here?!" Perhaps after such a long time, the issue was ready to boil over the top. "I want to see what you're hiding," he answered, honestly. You snapped your book shut and sat up. The book was placed on the nightstand and even though you didn't yet stand up, you didn't feel safe laying down anymore.

"I'm not hiding anything, I live here!" you replied. For the first time in so long, your stoic facade of never seeming involved, interested or intrigued began to crack. You were angry. People don't like angry people, and without a doubt would they use this against you to turn you into an overly emotionally crazy person. So you tried to stay calm most of the time, but there was only so much one can take, especially if their room was just broken into.

"If you're not hiding anything then why do you act so suspicious?"

"I'm not acting suspicious! I have done nothing to you people. Nothing!" your voice cracked. Great. Just when you thought the situation couldn't possibly make you look any more pathetic. "I don't like people's eyes on me. I don't like to be looked at. It feels like I'm on display. Like everyone looks at me like an animal. And I always think they see all of my flaws. And if they don't see any then they'll find some," you explained, finally. "And somehow to all of you this is some sort of unforgivable crime. I already try to stay out of your sight as much as possible. What more do you want me to do god damn it?"

Naib remained quiet. He sat on the chair across your room. You don't remember inviting him in, but at least he was no longer blocking the door, which prompted you to walk over to it and close it initially, but you didn't retreat back to the bed. You stood by the door just in case you'd need to make a sudden escape or something.

Naib remained quiet. He sat on that chair, across from you, and looked around your room. It was mostly empty. Safe for a few personal items like clothing or books there was nothing in here. Most certainly nothing suspicious. This went on for what felt like hours but could have really only been a couple of minutes, maybe even just a few seconds. Time dragged on seemingly endlessly.

"We thought," he began finally "that you might be spying on us for the other fraction. "Sure. And I would make it this obvious because then of course no one would know. Brilliant detective work." you responded and aggressively opened the door again, wide enough for a person to fit through. You took a step back and motioned towards it with your arm. He got up again, and the closer he got to the door the more you retreated, keeping a rather large amount of distance between the two of you at all times. He closed the door on his way out. God. That was terrifying.

In order to ensure your own peace and quiet you took the chair he'd sat on earlier that day and used it to keep the door in place. if one was unable to push down the door's handle, then no one would be able to enter even if they did manage to pick the lock. You skipped dinner that night for good measure, even though you tried to sleep early. You ended up not sleeping at all until dawn. Consequently, you didn't go to breakfast either, and it wasn't until the gardener knocked on your door around noon that you interacted with another human being. The patient, the seer, the magician and she had a match today. Since Emil had taken your place yesterday, it only made sense if you'd take his place today. Fair enough.

You didn't come out of your room until the match was supposed to start, and to your confusion, you found that the Mercenary had traded places with the Magician. Overall, the match was... strange. All of your teammates made an actual effort to keep you alive, and so even though you got chaired twice, you ended up managing all four people to escape. When was the last time that happened? Usually, you'd just end up being left for the wolves. They were so friendly with you today? Why? Did they want something? Did they feel guilty?

You accepted their friendliness only very hesitantly, and although most people still gave you cold stares or suspicious looks, you also found that some had magically warmed up to you more. It was odd.

These people were odd. All this time you thought you were the strange one here, but now look at them.

But hey, at least the Mercenary's presence didn't feel as threatening anymore. So that was something, wasn't it?

[midnightsun-if]

hi, just read that anon saying scarlet is your favorite. just wanted to say that i really admire and respect how polite you handled that and that you are not obligated to listen to us readers about any demands/statements, especially those that can sound harmful. we really appreciate you giving your time and effort for such an amazing project and thank you for all your hard work 🩷

I try my best to be as polite as possible when it comes to interacting with you all; for a variety of reasons:

I don’t know if the person who sent the message is simply having a bad day. A couple of harsher toned messages I’ve gotten in the past is due to this reason and I’ve gotten private messages to apologize after the fact — I’m not necessarily saying that it makes it okay, but it is something I completely understand. I’ve had bad days too and have taken out my frustrations on people and/or things that didn’t deserve it. So, I get having bad days and having something just push you over the edge. (I don’t know what all of your lives are like on the other side of the screen — that doesn’t give people a free pass to say whatever they want to me, of course — which is why I typically try not to add onto whatever stress you could already be facing.)

I am absolutely awful at reading tone through text — unless it’s absolutely obvious — so what could be a neutral and/or slightly positive message could have a perceived tone of being harsher than what was meant. So, my typical default anyway, is to be understanding (unless I’m having a bad day like I mentioned before). It’s also why I tend to over explain things in hopes that I can just explain my side if there had been a miscommunication.

Unless it’s warranted — meaning I’m finally tired of constantly dealing with the negativity — I’ll tend to lean towards positivity and hopefully break the cycle of harshness in general; it’s not why any of you signed up for when first following this blog nor is it something I truly enjoy being around.

And I do feel obligated to listen to you all. You’re part of the reason I’m even able to make posts on here and have an audience that’ll respond back. Does that mean I’ll agree? Or that acquiesce to the demands/requests? No. That doesn’t mean that I won’t at least listen, however. Or try to, in any case.

I appreciate each and every one of you — for your patience, for your continued support, for your wonderful messages and asks… I’m truly grateful that you all are willing to interact with me and I try my best to interact with you all to the best of my abilities; I’m not always perfect, as you can notice, but I’ll never stop trying to be there for you all!

Thank you for this kind message! 💜💜💜

[kidgetrash]

Kidge One-Shot - Just The Way You Are

Character:  Keith Kogane, Pidge Gunderson/Katie Holt

Pairings:  Keith/Pidge

Warnings!:  None, really. Confused Pidge? That's unusual enough to warrant a warning, right?

Summary:  Pidge gets some misleading information which leads her to a complete conundrum!

A/N: this is what I was working on while I waited for the poll results! I can't remember the last time I was able to churn out this many one-shots!

‘What does that even mean?!’  Pidge paused the video yet again and referenced one of the many other tabs she had open.  She was a genius, she knew what she knew, but she was at a complete loss.  ‘Why can’t you all just get together and turn in some decent quiznaking research?!’

‘What are you looking at?’  Pidge turned as her boyfriend, Keith, came into her office, various shiny packages sitting around her desk that were, probably literally, alien to him, but he was used to that.

‘Nothing!’  She slammed the lid of her laptop closed, the floating screens disappearing a moment later.

‘Yeah, that’s totally not suspicious.’  He sat in the chair opposite her and gave her a lopsided smile.  ‘So…what are you stuck on?’

‘If I wanted to tell you I wouldn’t have freaked out when you walked in.’  She wrinkled her nose indignantly.  ‘Just leave me to it, okay?’

He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as his face slipped to one as serious as hers.  ‘It’s not often you’re stumped on…well, anything, if I’m completely honest.  Must be one doozy of a problem.’

‘Doozy?’  She looked up at him over her glasses.  ‘You’ve been hanging with Space Dad too often.  Or my dad.’  She started pulling the packages towards her.  ‘Anyway, this isn’t techy stuff it’s…personal stuff.  Techy stuff I can deal with.’

‘Now you’ve got me curious.  Personal stuff you can’t tell me about then.’  He sat back, knowing this wasn’t as imperative as he had first worried it may be, which meant he might yet be able to get it out of her with a little gentle coaxing.  ‘Is it a girl thing?’

She huffed out a sigh.  ‘Yes, and no.  I mean, yes it is a girl thing, but not a reproductive system thing.’  He chuckled to himself, making her frown again.  ‘What’s so funny?’

‘You aren’t normally shy about this kind of thing.  You’re practical, I love that about you.  I also love the fact you can shut Lance up and make him clear a room by simply bringing up the topic.  But, I don’t like when you have a personal issue that you don’t want to share because it means I can’t help you.’

She groaned and leant on her desk, giving him a serious look.  ‘Okay.  Do you know what a C12 eyelash is?’

He blinked twice.  ‘A what?’

‘A C12 eyelash.  Hard angled eyebrows?  Heavy upper lip?  Highlighting?  Double flick, slept-in smudge, or classic bar eyeliner?’  She tipped out the little packages on the desktop to reveal various packages of makeup.  ‘How about foundation shades?  What type of skin do I have?  Because I sweat a lot but does that mean my face is greasy?  Because I didn’t think I had greasy skin but now I’m questioning everything!’

Keith was silent for a moment, unsure exactly of what had brought this on but certain he was missing something.  ‘Why do you have so much makeup?’

‘Because we’re dating and Lance told me a girl should make an effort when she’s dating someone, and Allura agreed that appearance was important and that I should look after myself more and dress…better.  Then Coran told me I’d be undesirable by Altean standards because I looked too much like the gender I’m dating and then I thought maybe I need a makeover or a complete overhaul because I have no idea what I’m doing and…’

Keith had by now got up and come around the desk to her side, spinning the chair so she faced him as he crouched.  ‘Babe, slow down.  Why does it matter what everyone else said?’

She looked into his violet eyes as her breathing started to slow after her outburst.  ‘Because…because…’  She pulled a face.  ‘Because they know more than me about this stuff.  I don’t know about…relationships, or dating, or any of that stuff.’

Keith laughed softly as he reached up and caressed her cheek.  ‘Katie, I don’t want you to listen to a single word anyone else tells you about our relationship, because it’s just that; ours.  I don’t care if you’re wearing makeup, or fancy clothes, and I wouldn’t have asked you to be with me if I didn’t find you attractive, and I do.  You’re beautiful to me.  Just the way you are.’

Pidge closed her eyes and leaned into his hand.  She hadn’t realised that such simple words from the right person could mean so much or have such a positive effect on her.  She sighed heavily before raising her lids and looking at Keith once again.  ‘Thank you.’  She murmured.  ‘Because I could not guarantee what the hell I would have looked like for our date later if I’d been let loose on my face with this stuff.’

‘Speaking of the date,’ Keith gave her a raised eyebrow.  ‘How about we extend our date to more than dinner?’

She narrowed her eyes at him.  ‘What did you have in mind?’

‘Teaching Lance to keep his opinions to himself.  Once he’s asleep, I suggest we give him an impromptu makeover, Pidge and Keith style.’

Pidge’s face lit up in a grin before throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.  ‘This is going to be the best date ever!’

[rosaline-black]

reader asks remus out before the full moon and he isn’t feeling well so he rejects her and after the full moon he’s heartbroken but gets her back

ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ - ʀᴇᴍᴜꜱ ʟᴜᴘɪɴ

Category: Remus!lupin x Fem!reader

Word count: 2k ish words

Warnings: self deprecating Remus, mean Remus!! But lots of confessional fluff :)

»»————-　♡　————-««

It had taken months. Months after months of waiting, pining to finally grow the courage to even stand before Remus's door. Today was supposed to be the day where you confessed to him, poured out your heart and admitted how you had harboured the most all-consuming crush on your friend for the past three years. But like most things, it most definitely did not go to plan.

The tell-tale sign should have been how grumpy Remus had been at breakfast. He'd gotten in a habit of buttering your toast for you since he was worried you would forget to eat. However, this morning he did no such thing. He could hardly look at anyone, his eyes firmly glued to the pages of his book.

He always made an effort to start a conversation with at least you, yet today there was nothing. Why did you think seeking him out would warrant a mood change?

Despite all the signs of a negative response to your confession, you still stood with your hand readied in a fist to knock on the door to Remus's chambers. With a couple of whispers of self-motivation, you allowed your knuckles to connect to the hardwood before you. After a tense thirty seconds, you were about to knock again when a gruff enter was called out into the chilled autumn air.

The door opened with a flick of Remus's weak wrist, and the first thing you noticed when your eyes finally strayed to your crush was his current condition. To put it bluntly, he looked awful. His hair was slick with sweat, his eyes sported deep purple bags and his skin was a ghostly beige.

"Christ Remus are you okay?"

Before even one finger could reach him he waved you off rather aggressively, his arm striking out in a motion to signal you don't take another step. You were frozen.

"What do you want?" His voice startled you. It was ever so cold like you were a mere stranger. Not the girl who had been there for Remus through every bump in the road.

"I came to tell you something... but I'm more concerned about your health... Remus are you quite sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine... really y/n can you just tell me whatever is you want to tell me I want... I want to be alone"

Well, you assumed that made sense right? Everyone had off days, everyone had those days where they just want to bury themselves under a thousand blankets and not speak to a soul. And now the more you thought about it, Remus did have his moods more than anyone else you knew. Allowing his shoddy reasons to add up in your brain, you replied with a nod before taking a tentative step towards him. Now it was your turn to sweat. This moment had been playing on your mind for three years.

Today could be the day you ruin one of your highest-valued friendships. Every time that thought slithered to the forefront of your mind; you were reminded of the guy that Remus was. Kind, nurturing and most importantly, understanding. Maybe if he did let you know that those romantic feelings were one-sided you could finally move on and allow your affections to rest elsewhere. At least you knew he would do it kindly... right?

Clearing your throat and finally looking up at the adorable boy before you, all buried in knit jumpers and chocolate wrappers, you abandoned to little prompt you'd written with the help of James. You'd let this one just come from the heart.

"so there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while I... well I..." with a humourless laugh you shook off your nerves "I really like you Remus... not just as a friend... as more than that... and I have for a while now... I just can't go another day pretending that"-

"Shut up”

What?

At first, you were convinced maybe you were hearing things. Surely he hadn't stopped your love confession with shut up. Not your Remus.

"w-what?"

His eyes were cast down angrily, like even looking at you was a chore he was too disgusted to try.

"I said shut up... I don't want to hear it okay..."

"Remus-"

"Are you deaf? y/n just get out..." Hot tears rolled down your cheeks as the volume at which he was speaking increased "Seriously get out..."

With one final sob from you and that painful yell from Remus, you took this as your queue to concede to his demands. Maybe he wasn't your Remus after all, maybe he never was.

»»————-　♡　————-««

Remus reckoned that if you did a study on werewolves vs Cornish pixies, pixies would make better companions. He had never felt as awful as he did right now. It had been a week since your conversation, the most one-sided conversation in history. The full moon had come and gone, but the tremendous guilt he held only grew.

Despite his actions towards you, Remus had been in love with you since your first year at Hogwarts. He remembered the clumsy bundle of hair and wide smiles that wouldn't take no for answer when it came to befriending him. He knew then he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you. Keyword wanted.

Dreams had plagued Remus since first year. Dreams where he would transform and it would be too late for you to flee, the disgust evident on your face before he mauls you, just like the monster he truly was deep down.

Remus never told you about his affliction. Not because he didn't trust you, but because he knew how much you cared. He knew you'd want to be there through every bump in the road and that included transformations. He wanted nothing less than for those nightmares to become a reality.

So the exhaustion of his upcoming transformation, his fear of letting you get too close and all over protectiveness he had for you resulted in his reaction to your confession that day. As he said, he’d never felt worse.

That brought us to our current moment. The marauders crowded around Remus as he recounted that interaction for the fifth time that week. The group could sympathise with both sides. Remus had never been good with relationships platonic or romantic. But if there was one thing they were in no doubt about that would be his feelings for you.

"Look Moony you've got to win her back..." Sirius ordered, his arms crossed and his brows furrowed as he thought up some extravagant way he could win back your heart.

"I never had her In the first place pads..."

All of them groaned at his self-loathing. It had become customary for Remus to resign himself from all the nice things he could have. In his mind, his affliction meant he didn't deserve them. They thought that was bullshit.

"Come on Remus don't be dense... y/n has liked you since... well since forever..." Peter chimed in.

"And yeah she might not be yours physically but mentally I think she is... the number of guys I've watched her turn down all because of you..." James stated massaging his temples out of frustration.

A huff left Remus's lips as he shook his head out of pure disbelief. Did you like him that much? Him? I mean you had told him yourself, but he still thought it preposterous.

"don't you want to be with her Remus?"

"Of course, I do!"

The three smirked at their friend's outburst. If the way he spoke about you wasn't enough to confirm his love for you, it was the constant longing stares. For someone who was categorised as a scary werewolf, he sure did resemble a kicked puppy.

"Well bloody tell her..."

"Fine... fine I will..."

Sirius clapped his hands together before throwing an arm around his friend "Right so this is what we're going to do..."

»»————-　♡　————-««

Sombre would be a good way to describe your mood over the past week. You skipped more classes this week than you had throughout the entirety of your schooling career. A straight up rejection would of been manageable, sure you'd still be devastated but you could move on. But the person who had told you to shut up, glared at you like you were scum was not the boy you knew.

The worst part about all of it was that you still missed him. Those honey eyes and the scent of coco. That dimple beside his mouth when he’d concede to a lopsided smile. And most importantly that voice, the deep gruff that coated his vocal chords in the morning and that higher lilt that he sung out when he got particularly passionate about a certain topic. You adored him, every single part of him. But he hated you.

Knock knock

“Lily piss off I want to be alone…”

Knock knock

You groaned even louder burying your swollen eyes in your pillow “Lily please I told you I’d come out when I was ready…”

Knock knock

“Lily please-“

“S’not Lily…”

Heart stilling. Time seemed to stop for a moment, your head raising, as your red-tinted eyes zoned in on the door, but more importantly the figure that must of been standing behind it. Do you tell him to fuck off? Tell him how angry he had made you? Let him know that you’d never felt so betrayed and hurt. However, before you got the chance to lay any of those words upon your tongue the door swung open and those honey eyes met your own.

Tulips in hand, a scruffy piece of paper and the most desperate face you ever did see stood before you.

“I’m so sorry…”

Remus must of noticed the state you were in. Used tissues coated every surface in reach, empty chocolate bar wrappers and even a half drunken bottle of fire-whiskey. Let’s just say you’d definitely been doing better before.

“You were really mean Remus…”

You let your eyes meet his once more, attempting not to cry again. You failed.

“I know I was… merlin I was such a prick… and yunno what… you have every right to never speak to me again but…” Remus had never been good with words, you could tell his mind was battling with saying the right thing. You nodded silently in attempt to comfort him and it seemed to do the trick. Pulling the scrappy piece of paper to eye level, Remus took a shaky breath and continued.

“I… I have loved you since the first time I met you… when you nearly threw me onto the tracks at the train station by how hard you hugged me… and then I fell in love with you again in second year when you made it your duty to always tie my tie for me since I always forgot…”

Another shaky breath.

“… in third year I noticed how you would only laugh like a complete idiot around me and it made me want to kiss you and be sick at the same time because… because shit you’re everything to me y/n…”

Now you were full blown sobbing, purposely as quietly as possible, you didn’t want to miss a word that slipped past his lips.

“Well then why… why did you tell me to get out…”

“Because I don’t deserve you… there’s a lot about me you don’t know and… I know you won’t care… but I do…” He seemed resigned to rejection. Like there was no conceivable way you two could be together. One thing he didn’t account for however was your stubbornness.

Rising to your feet, you took tentative steps towards him. Your fingers ghosted his cardigan covered biceps as they traveled to his rose dusted cheeks.

“Do I get a say in any of this? Remus I couldn’t think of any singular thing that could make me love you any less…” That doubt crept behind his eyes and you made him look at you before whispering “Not one thing…”

There was a comfortable silence as you basked in one an others presence.

“Okay…” it came out as an almost giddy sigh, but your ears caught it.

“Okay?”

“Okay… please can I kiss you now?”

“You could’ve kissed me six years ago dummy”

[showtoonzfan]

I hate what happened to Loona and Blitzo's relationship because it went from Loona being a cold daughter, easily embarrassed by her father's affection, to her being an abuser who verbally and physically assaults Blitzo if he even breathes around her. It was painfully uncomfortable to watch Loona abuse Blitzo despite him doing nothing to warrant it, considering he's nice to her and showers her in love.  However, since Loona is traumatized, her abusive behavior is excused, and Blitzo is supposed to endure her mistreatment because she's his daughter. We’re supposed to like Loona but hate Stella despite both being awful abusive people. It's okay for Loona to be abusive because she's a "traumatized victim" who "doesn't know how to express her love" for Blitzo without abusing him, while Stella is just a spoiled, cruel bitch, who enjoys tormenting Stolas. It's incredible how abuse is acceptable in one situation yet considered wrong in another when it should be bad in both, regardless of the reason.

I agree, especially on Loona. It makes me gag to say it but, Loona actually had potential at first despite mainly being furry eye candy. According to Viv Hellhounds are under the imps, making them the lowest class, and having Blitz (another low class demon) adopt her and take her in from a horrible place where her kind is treated as nothing but labor could have been an intriguing story. The two could have connected, and Blitz could have earned her trust and have like a “it’s you and me against the world”- dynamic, the only problem is that not only did Loona apparently need to be an unlikable angsty teen trope who was just moody and on her phone 24/7, but she had to hate Blitz and treat him like shit. The thing that pisses me off is that the show never explains why Loona disliked Blitz in the first place. It makes no sense, and despite her perspective of being in a toxic environment for 17 years, Blitz was the one to literally take her OUT of said toxic environment and shower her with love. I’m not saying Loona needs to bow down to Blitz and idolize him for just adopting her, but I AM asking for it to actually make sense on why she treats him the way she does because I legit see no reason why aside from “she’s supposed to be an angsty teen!”- since that’s all Loona is good for according to Viv. The recent episode however just threw her potential out the window cause now she’s physically abusive to him? And it’s not funny, she’s not a teenager, (though I don’t blame people for assuming that since Viv can’t write her as the full grown adult she is) she’s this grown up woman beating up on her adoptive father for no damn reason. And I’m sick of fans saying “B-BUT SHE HAS TRUAMA, SHE GREW UP IN A TOXIC PLACE FOR YEARS!”- because it’s becoming fucking Steven Universe all over again. Just because Lapis went through trauma and was stuck in a mirror for years, doesn’t excuse her to put someone else (Jasper) through the same trauma SHE went through, and treat someone who actually put the effort in to change like utter shit. (Peridot). Just because you decide to share that a character like Loona has trauma at the last minute, doesn’t mean she gets off Scott free for treating the person who’s been nothing but nice to her like crap. Just because you went through trauma and trauma itself CAN turn people sour, doesn’t mean that makes it okay.

[optimismxmagicism]

when the fog clears, when the war ends, when the monsters are vanquished, it is caer pelyn that stands. shimmering amid the mountains at sunrise, an idyllic, rustic reminder of what it means to be free from strife and the noise of the world. here, each day is fulfilling, full of simple comforts, and your magic grows and grows. as years pass, you understand the meaning behind your teacher's words — that the peace of home is to be cherished, and kept from all harm.

those who understand and stand with your heart will know when you have done nothing to warrant rebuke. this is the comprehension you crave: a sympathetic ear, the tenderness of one who will listen. a hand reaches out and ruffles cardinal-red locks of boyish fire. rest your weary head upon this boundless heart, and let the comfort of their endearment wash clean the sands of guilt.

seed of nature, like the ancients before you, your life is everchanging. before long, the world will turn its own hunger upon you.the summer days are long and still. which path will you grasp with all your might?

Two paths stand before the mage, both ever so lovely. Both so very familiar. Past and future. Hope and desire. What is the path the little star, still finding his own light, will choose?

Standing before one door, he sees his future. Joy, enlightenment, passion and hope. That which he reaches out for with all his heart, with the strength gained from all the love he was blessed to receive. This path felt like light. The smell of nature tickling his nose, it was ever so beautiful and ever so welcoming.

Standing before the other door, he sees his past. A comforting hand, warm and gentle. Bringing with her kindness and understanding no matter how hard the world had been to him. The feeling of being understood even when nobody else would listen. A pillar of strength when alone he would’ve crumbled. The reason the little flame in his heart was never snuffed out.

“What.. is it that I truly want?”

To be loved.. to be understood.. that is what he desired, yes. A save haven to return to when everything hurt too much, when everything was too hard. But.. she was suffering then too, wasn’t she? As he grew older, he started to understand more and more of the world. Her warmth, her love.. she gave it unconditionally, even if it chipped away at her own heart.

The gratitude he feels, the sheer amount of love he received despite everything they went through… to keep taking would be selfish. It would mean consuming her warmth until nothing would be left. And the guilt in his heart… it meant that his choice was a difficult one, wasn’t it? To take that away would be to take away someone else’s right to be upset with him. No, he deserves their ire. Letting go of that in a moment of pure self indulgence… would that be what she wanted for him? No, all her effort, all her strength, all her love… it was all to help him grow.

“Thank you…”

For just one moment, in this world where nobody could see, he cried. He leaned into the warmth one more time, and let his tears flow, freed of the masquerade of smiles he wore so often. “Thank you so much… for everything…” For her understanding… for her strength… her wisdom, her love… her hope… all of it, the boy will carry within him until the day he breathes his last.

“But… I’ll be okay now. I’m stronger now.. I’ll show you.”

With a shaky breath, he turned to the other path. The one of his future. He would grow.. he would learn.. he would be happy. That was all she ever wanted for him, right? Happiness.. and to him, happiness existed to be shared. It was his turn to be strong. To take the light she gave him, the light his master taught him to nurture. To allow it to grow, beautiful and bright, so he may give back to everyone who made him who he was today.

A beautiful dancer in red, who gave him the strength to live…

A man with the spirit of a tiger, who gave him the chance to take his first steps..

A woman of steel, who inspired within him what it meant to fight…

A great sage, who gave him a chance to nurture the star shining within his heart..

All of them… they were so very precious in his heart. He’s finally strong enough to give back. He would live the happiest life imaginable, he would see so many beautiful sights, eat so many gorgeous foods, he would share all the joy he found with everyone.

“Watch over me… okay? I’ll make you all proud.”

And with a genuine, grateful smile, the boy walked towards his future.

[bowsnbots]

Another long day is finally wrapping up at Light Labs. The commissions keep rolling in, and the Light Family is happy to keep the Robot Masters coming. After all these years, the process of making a new machine is only somewhat easier; Thomas still feels the effort of a hard day's work settling in, making his arms sore and his head ache.

As Auto brings the rest of their tools away, Doctor Light takes a moment to actually take a seat, situating himself in front of his laptop. Idle scrolling ensues... might as well check his emails.

Spam... trash. Spam... trash. Ad from the local pizza joint... archive. There's only one email that stands out among the crowd of bot spam (something he briefly wonders if he should build a Robot Master to combat); a response from one Jae Iffany. Despite the dull buzz of the workday, his eyes light up as he notices.

"Ah, Rock! Your friend—"

His words are quickly cut short by the distinct crack of... a firearm outside. Light fumbles over himself for a moment, briefly wondering if his senses were betraying him. Maybe a fuse blew. Alas...

...Rock's mad dash back to the work room, with his armor activating around him, confirms his worries. Light is happy for the protection, as the Blue Bomber strategically positions himself between the front door and his father, but the usual sorrows of seeing his son with a weapon of his own pointed at the door causes his stomach to twist.

Light quickly makes his way to the main computer, flipping through surveillance footage. His eyes narrow as he flips between cameras.

"Who's it look like?" Rock asks as he locks into position. "Wily? Bass?"

It... takes Light a moment to respond. Several, in fact. The sound of an old-fashioned full-on gun sort of disqualifies those two. As does the strange yellow goop splattered around the remains of the Mets and Wall Cannons protecting Light Labs. A Devil robot? No, it almost looks like...

The door flies open before he can finish his thought. Rock's voice calls out first—

"HOLD IT—!"

...Then the unfamiliar southern drawl.

"HEY, HEY!" The... puddle yells back as Rock readjusts his aim downward. "BEEN SHOT AT ENOUGH TRY'NA GET HERE, THANK YA VERY MUCH!"

Rock's aim... doesn't falter, but he does risk a glance back at his father. His look of 'what am I looking at?' is unfortunately met with one of Light's own.

"Real rude of ya t' shoot at a fella lookin' fer information." The Vigilante continues, pausing to readjust his gloves. "Y'got a warrant for them there turrets? I oughtta bring ya both in myself!"

A silence hangs in the air for a moment; even the combined brainpower of humanity's savior a dozen times over and the father of modern robotics isn't enough to figure out what's going on right now.

"Um... s... sorry?" Rock tilts his head. "Mr., um... Devil Robot...?"

"TH' HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME, BOY!? A DEVIL!? I AIN'T THE ONE WHO JUST TRIED TA' SHOOT THE HELL OUTTA SOME POOR, WEENIE MOUNT-LESS CHEESESLIME—"

"O-Okay, I'm sorry, Mr. Cheeseslime!" Rock finally raises his hands in a mock surrender, taking a step back as if The Vigilante's screaming was physically pushing him back.

"Apology accepted, kid!"

...Oh, okay.

Mr. Cheeseslime quickly sticks a hand in his own body, something the causes Rock and Doctor Light both to flinch, before fishing out a worn piece of paper. A Wanted Poster, which was clear as day...

"Either of ya seen this feller?"

Rock squints at the poster; even Light risks getting closer to check it out. The name, Omino, nor any of the... five aliases listed are familiar to him. Man jumps out at both of them, but the picture doesn't look like any Robot Master these two have seen. Nor is the image of the Mii, who looks kind of... evil? Is that really what he looks like?

The two exchange glances once more, with both shaking their heads a moment later in mutual understanding.

"I'm sorry, sir. I've seen a lot of people, but, um... not that one." Rock responds first, scratching the back of his helmet nervously. "Not that I remember, at least..."

"That's quite the bounty you've placed on him." Light observes more calmly, leaning in to see it more closely.

The Vigilante practically starts glowing red, prompting Light to back off.

"I'D DOUBLE IT, IF I HAD TH' MONEY!" He exclaims. "BASTARD STOLE MY WEENIE MOUNT! AND NOW IT'S SUIN' FER WORKMAN'S COMPENSATION!"

...Rrrrrrrright.

"Well, thank you for checking in with us." Light is not at all thankful for this visit, but maybe it'll make Vigert leave sooner. "We'll watch our cameras for any sign of this Omino character, and reach out if we see him."

"Thank ya kindly! Here's my phone number." The Vigilante pulls a live carrier pigeon out and holds it out for one of them to take. Rock does. He looks horrified. "Make yer message out to The Vigilante if ya see 'im!"

With a wave, The Vigilante makes his way out through the front door and the smoking remains of Light Labs' defense grid. Leaving Doctor Light and Rock standing dumbfounded in the doorway.

"...Dad, he registered as organic."

Light just places a hand on his shoulder.

"I think it's best we both get some rest and forget this ever happened."

Leaving Jae's email open and unanswered on his desk... tomorrow for sure.

[burning-sol]

hmmm also i think in my little self indulgent world like.. okay. so. not many humans permanently move to heaven as angels move to earth because its kind offf liek. not very person friendly.

big thing is that its REALLY bright there during the day, and everything gets so washed out that the range in values you can see is incredibly limited. angels can see just fine, but to be a human living there it can get very nauseating very quickly.

however!! there are a lot of establishments that have dimmed/dimmable areas for people to hang out, and all human apartments have been built to better adjust to our needs.

(the funniest thing is when a person has been living there so long they dont realise all their clothing looks abnormally stark in colour because those are the ones that show up bette r in that lighting)

as for nighttime, night time gets REALLY dark. like. pitch black. but you can see sooo many stars and galaxies its REALLY pretty. if there was a reason to visit it would be for that ^ ^

also there is the issue of like. clouds. being in the sky. i mean, breathing isnt an issue, ur fine. but navigating the place beyond the main islands is kind of a pain. the largest cloud islands end up being where most of the infastructure for people is since you can just walk around and it takes minimal travel to get around.. but basically, humans cant rlly go to a lot of the fun little islands on their own because they're literally so small and dont have enough practical purpose to warrant public transport.

the public transport are sky buses btw. that fly through the air. they're pretty cool. but again, youre kind of limited in terms of where u can go.

AND THE ISLANDS MOVE... SO LIKE..... YEAH....

theres likely not going be incredibly major changes to the infastructure there if theres not even a large enough population of people there to warrant it, but that not to say that there isnt an effort to make things more accessible. but like the pool of people living there is relatively small, youre kind of a weirdo if u live in heaven permanently.

like yeah im going to live in the place where you can fall to ur death if ur not careful and its so bright you might actually damage your eyes if youre not wary. normal and well adjusted behaviour.