#life update~ or I guess questions from the past or whatever

[malewifemanhunter]

[kalims]

pop !

giving them a balloon with a confession in it and running away,

premise. out of confession ideas? sick of the pile of stupid papers crumpled up on the leg of your desk? or perhaps you're just in the 'you only live life once' mindset. since the school year is ending, why not get rid of the annoying feeling of him tingling your mind? (in the form of a balloon, you never said you were gonna stick around!)

characters. all sorted by dorm

content. mc runs away after giving it, based on a tiktok I stumbled across approximately a year ago... mentions of marriage (one sign and some were speeding through the future)

note. savanaclaws part hmmm yummy

heartslabyul

unsurprisingly, riddle gets a lot of bizarre things from students and professors alike. confessions are one thing but having one in this... circular, red, full of helium balloon is certainly a surprise. creative, he'll give them that. if anything he's just confused with it in his arms as you just sort of, shove it in his arms and run away. he recognizes you easily but once cater plucks it out of his grip and shows him the message he just turns red.

trey is the type of guy to accept whatever you give him, honestly. it doesn't matter if you give him the most random of items, he'll take it without a single word of query (unless it's really questionable.) you could hand him a bottle of mustard in class, trey'll just blink and hold onto it patiently. a pair of batteries? thanks he guesses. a red, inflated balloon? he spares you a questioning glance but you're already collecting dust with how fast you ran away so he turns it and resists a smile. clearly spotting the bold letters.

the opposite of clover, cater just doesn't take anything from you unless it piques his interest or is just a casual 'hold onto this for a few' like water or something. things bordering past unusual is what he'd hesitate to take, though less given he trusts you. sometimes he doesn't take it all together simply cause he doesn't feel like it. caters probably updated on everything so when you shove the balloon in his arms and beeline he's pulling out his phone ready to scream his ass off in his dump account. (also gotta magicam this, duh.)

will most likely just dump it on the ground without another thought. or hand it back to you. ace does not care about balloons, he might even pop it in your face. that is, if you stayed for more than a second. he feels more inclined to peer further cause you ran away so fast. you looked embarrassed, and he finds out quickly why you'd proceed to never show up to his face for the following week when he spots it. stares at it dumbly for like, a minute before taking off after you... be scared ig.

added to the top ten best moments of his life note on his phone. deuce silently highlights your name on it with the same angry, red bump on his forehead because he accidentally ran into a pole midst trying to find you around the campus. he had the same idea as ace (twins) which is finding you immediately except once he read the confession he promptly lost all his braincells in the process. so he's very excited, slash embarrassed, slash shy? and can't conjure any logic cause it's just your face.

savanaclaw

jokes on you. you think he's gonna make an effort to catch your stupid balloon? leona just watches it drop to the floor. the effort is only exerted when he's absolutely sure you've run away on your slow legs, he's not bashful—not at all. maybe that's just denial speaking though. he takes one look at the balloon, and pops it with a single dig of his nail. the stare is so brief that you'd doubt if he ever read it at all, when the evidence of your apparent love is now non-existent in the physical world, very much still lingering inside him. leona comes to the predicament that he can't seem to sleep days after.

ruggie is all too familiar with the lack of appreciation some folks hold towards cheaper material gifts. like a luxury jewel, a big, shiny lil' thing ultimately rotting in the closet of some soul cause its the 'price' that counts. he spots the words easily, discerning the black ink. not entirely formed with straight lines, the keen eyes of his spots the wriggles some hold. as though whoever wrote was nervous and he bores an impish grin. (and some back corner of his closet holds no big, pricey jewel, but the deflated balloon is worth all the more to him.)

more likely to leave it on accident. after falling victim to the annoying pranks his other first year 'friends' like to do, with him as the victim apparently. he's more suspicious of it than anything, jack does not want a face full of whipped cream once again. he stares at it like it's an alien and only goes for the initiative to take it into his hands when it rolls and showcases the very bold text, highlighted and straight to the point. jack inevitably ends up accidentally popping it due to the fear that some other person probably saw it, he did not mean to wreck it. atleast not with a messy chain of thoughts, but hey. atleast he got the message...

octavinelle

well versed in catching you in a gentle manner, if you ever slipped (he definitely did not practice.) so azul's reflexes respond quick enough to capture the red little thing with ease. he recognizes it as one of your antics, and he rarely doesn't humor them since it was harmless ones that don't really get under his skin, unlike that of the tweels... the curiosity of looking forward to whatever you had far outweighed any annoyance, and great sevens he might actually combust. ("JADE PREPARE THE LOUNGE—") <- absolutely ready to initiate the plans he had detailed through a script ages ago if this were to ever happen, with a red face. ha, ha.

either clueless, or already got an idea based entirely on the adorably stiff look on your face. jade easily puts two and two together, it's quite funny because he picks it up and doesn't spare a single look. stalking off to find you immediately, and only then does he take a peek as to whatever made the balloon special, right in front of you cause apparently he's gotta witness your raw embarrassment in the flesh?

floyd is likely not interested in the ball in the first place, he thinks you want to play catch so he runs after you with a laugh that... makes you a lot more concerned. he flings it uselessly to the face of some poor soul before he sprint after you, probably traumatizing them when they spot the 'I like you' on it, and when they realize they got it from the resident terrorist whose definition of 'I like you' is 'you're entertaining, I'm gonna keep on playing with you'. (only blinks when you tell him about it, seeing as he isn't close to releasing you anytime soon from his arms.) caught you!

scarabia

sparkles, around the sun... too bright... kalim's blinding everyone else with his obvious joy. almost immediately turns it and it's clear he saw something he really liked cause he has one of those grins, really wide, showing off his teeth and his face scrunches up to the point where you could barely spot the red irises of his eyes. his lips are wobbly too! and he thought the notion was simply too cute... (so much he just had to send it back, so you could feel what he felt too!) except it comes in a hundred times balloons inside your home.

really confused. is this supposed to be a new form of comfort in the era that he hasn't caught up with yet? jamil does nothing much to stop you from running away, yeah. that's your choice but it did strike an inkling of suspicion in him. with the way you aggressively shoved the balloon in his arms before you ran away makes him think it's contents are supposed to be for him only. seeing as you collected dust with that sprint, so he brings it home. and damn, thank god he did because seven forbid if anyone else actually saw the flicker of bashfullness in his expression, hopefully not his warming ears either.

pomefiore

you try to fool him by not rushing up to him, shoving it and then speeding away for once. but instead calmly placing it in his arms and then walking away like it might be the last time yall have a friendship haha (👀) vil sees right through you either way. dare I say he thinks the whole execution is strange, he means, you could literally just walk up to him and say the exact same thing written on the balloon and he would've loved it either way but eh, atleast you got it out!

don't walk into his room cause you will probably the very prominent place the balloon has in his room. rook surprisingly did not put it on a pedestal which is tame for his nature, but it does have a place in the corner of stuff he absolutely adores. you'd think you'd spared yourself from the embarrassment of seeing his reaction cause c'mon, that was a confession. it's nerve-wracking! but NO cause you spy him outside the window of your class and suffer a heart attack (3rd floor btw)

wherever he read that, epel's jaw drops. people would mistake him as someone who escaped from a mental asylum from the way he's gaping at a balloon like he just got told vil schoenheit got canceled on magicam for some controversy (he in fact, did not.) spends so much time staring at it, and the following where he's managed to snap out of it is spent also staring off into the distance *wedding bells ringing*

ignihyde

uuuuhhhhh... either send it to him digitally or shove it inside his room and dip?? if we're going with the latter, idia doesn't even notice until like, a day after cause he's been playing for. and it isn't even him who notices!! it's ortho!!! even if he did find it he would've ignored it, but behold, ortho, who reads the text in a hilariously flat tone. idia thought his brother was professing his love until the boy reveals it was from you. (nearly falls off the chair, then actually falls when he realizes it's been a day. imagine getting ghosted irl haha)

ortho could be the delivery boy if you're too embarrassed lmao. will help you in constructing a more poetic way with words but honestly the "YOU'RE CUTE LETS DATE" gets it done. boy probably doesn't understand why you don't wanna do it yourself, and records the entire thing, reaction of the person? forwarded to you until he leaves. but now you're suffering through wanting to watch, and not because you're too pussy to actually do it.

diasomnia

what... malleus is the equivalent of '???' like he's seen a few of these unique, forms but he never got the purpose of them. so he assumes it's like, some nice gift of human traditions question mark. so he appreciates it either way, he looks content honestly which is funny cause the terrifying wizard looks kinda silly holding that balloon like it's a child. actually you should've just gave him a blank balloon cause once he spots the confession, oh honey. are you fine with early marriage?

if you can't find lilia might as well yeet the balloon in the ceiling. chances are, he's there and he's gonna catch it. there's already a cheeky smile quirking up the ends of his lips, usually he'd have some sort of retaliation on the personal attack you inflicted on his heart but oh dear, it's strangely blank. he's humming, the round thing upside down as he rubs his chin in contemplation. everyone's just scared at the echoing giggles of the already dark hallway.

an attack? AN ATTACK! unlike lilia who knows how to use the figurative words youth joke about all the time, sebek is... hilariously serious about most things, if not so much that it strikes just a teeny tiny concern in your mind. honestly you didn't take much into account, not the fact that he might consider it as an assault or something because you're already speeding away. apparently not having gotten too far cause he catches up easily and holds you up by the back of your collar like a cat. (you'd most likely have to mention the words cause all he registered was the apparent attack, when he does check he goes redder in the face and accidentally drops you. nows your chance to run!!)

*angelic voice singing* silver, my boo boo, I mean what...? felt something soft being squeezed into his arms, he knew it was you but assumed it was a pillow so he just?? used it as a pillow?? under his head now?? most folks would be confused at the sight of the sleepy guy laying on a balloon cause, one, it might pop and startle everyone in vicinity, two, there's words scribbled on it. although cut off since his head is blocking the way, but the 'LIKE YOU' is really obvious. so he wakes up, glances at it and goes back to sleep, except he couldn't cause the balloon actually popped comically the same time he absorbed it in.

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 15, Undermined - Pt. 4

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, self doubt, Bucky doubt

Word Count: 487

Previously On...: Jade confronted you in your lab, trying to get you to convince Bucky to talk to her again. Like, gurl, what?

A/N: Since this part and the previous one are so short, you can have them both today! Feeling generous. Chapter 16 will start tomorrow!

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

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You were uncharacteristically quiet a few days later as you and Bucky were going over some documents for your upcoming mission. In all the time since he’d been on active duty, this would be the first mission the two of you would actually be going on together, and you were looking forward to it as an opportunity to spend some time reforging your bond as friends. Or, at least, you had been until your run in with Jade in your lab.

“Penny for your thoughts, Pocket?” Bucky asked, having taken note of your solemn behavior.

“Hmm?” you inquired, looking up from the document you had most definitely not actually been paying attention to, lost as you were in your own swirling thoughts.

“Something’s goin’ on in that pretty little head of yours,'' Bucky said with a smile. “Care to share with the rest of the class?”

You debated divulging the source of your concern with Bucky. On one hand, Jade remained a sensitive topic between the two of you, but on the other, you so longed to confide in your best friend. “Just something Carthage said to me the other day,” you told him eventually.

Bucky sighed and put down the document he’d been perusing. “Lemme guess- she said something that’s making you question how I feel about you?”

You shrugged, turning away from him so you wouldn’t have to meet his eyes.

“Sweetheart,” he said, placing a large, calloused hand over yours, “she’s trying to make trouble. She sees an opening right now, since you and I technically aren’t together at the moment, and since I refuse to even look at her, she’s gonna do whatever it takes to try and get under your skin, to get you to call it quits for good. She can’t manipulate me no more, so now she’s coming after you. You can’t let her get to you.” The way he said ‘technically’ told you he just saw the current state of your relationship as a temporary formality, a momentary blip in the correct order of things that would eventually be righted with time. It gave you hope.

“Yeah, you’re right,” you said, turning to face him. “She’s just trying to start shit.”

“That’s my girl,” he said with a smile, cuffing your chin. “I know I haven’t given you much cause to believe in me when it comes to how I feel about you of late, but I swear, I’m gonna keep doin’ the work to rebuild that trust until I prove to you just how much I love you. How important you are to me.”

“I know,” you told him, your voice soft. “And I want you to know that I do see the work, and I appreciate it. I’m hopeful that we can get back to where we used to be, eventually.”

“Me, too, darlin’,” Bucky said, returning back to the document he had previously discarded. “Me, too.”

<- Previous Part / Next Chapter ->

[kimvvantae]

the misadventures list; 5 (m)

➜ the night shift can be very wild at times. you’ve witnessed so many strange, concerning and absurd situations happen inside the tiny convenience store that you could make a long list with everything that got you stunned - and the situation that takes the prize of being the weirdest of your list is the night a desperate millionaire, for the sake of saving his fortune, asks you to pretend to be his girlfriend.

pairing: playboy!jimin x (f) reader

genre: smut, comedy (?), fluff • fake dating au

warnings: toxic parents. brief mentions of homofobia. alcohol consumption. explicit sexual content (semi-public sex, oral m&f receiving, throat fucking, unprotected sex, praise kink kinda, cum play, dirty talk). made-up celebrities. me trying to be funny i guess

rating: 18+

word count: 20k

A/N: i can't thank you guys enough for waiting for this update! i know it's been a while but i hope you enjoy this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it!! as always, feedback is MUCH appreciated <3

➜  Chapters: check out masterlist in bio!

« playlist »

It’s almost 6PM.

Jimin is not happy about it.

The change in his expression as he checks the hour on his phone is subtle, but you see it as clear as day. The smile that remained on his lips and vanished from his eyes. He sighs, putting the phone inside his back pocket, and goes back to saying his goodbyes to everyone at the pier.

It makes you forget for a second that you were in the process of saving your own number on Jane’s phone.

You look down once again, fingers hesitating over the keyboard. Damn. You weren’t supposed to be making friends. Jane is the lesser problem right here - she doesn’t know anyone from Jimin’s family except Jimin himself. The problem is that many of Jungkook’s friends are Jimin’s, too, and they asked for your number or your Instagram. Which, sure, isn’t that big of a deal and isn’t something unpredictable either, but hey, your purpose here is to pretend for just three days. You’re supposed to vanish from Jimin’s life right after it’s over. “Vanishing” doesn’t include making friends with his friends.

“What? You forgot your number?” Jane asks, eyeing you. She’s so drunk that it’s obvious that she’s not seeing you really. 

“Yeah, I’m… a little dizzy.” You chuckle awkwardly. That’s a lie, though - you’re not drunk in the slightest. As soon as you noticed that alcohol was making you act weird, you stopped with the cocktails and drank as much water as possible to dissipate it from your system (so much pee). Going to the Park’s private concert drunk is out of question.

Giving in, you type your real number on her phone and hand it back to her. Jane smiles.

“I’m so glad that we met, Y/N! You’re such a great person! For real, like, you have a nice vibe!” Jane says excitedly. Yeah, definitely drunk. “We should meet again before the trip is over!”

It won’t be possible, of course. You’re not free to do whatever you want. But you nod anyway, hoping she won’t remember anything later. “Sure, let’s go out!”

Your little chat is interrupted by Jungkook calling everyone for a group photo. As soon as everyone starts gathering in a spot, you feel Jimin’s hand resting on your waist, pulling you closer to his body. His grip is warm and gentle and heat spreads from the spot he touches. His hair is kind of a mess right now, yet he still manages to look cute. Jimin doesn’t say anything, just sends you a small smile before posing for the camera.

A few clicks later, he leans over to say quietly in your ear: “We really have to go now.”

You nod. Both of you still have to get ready for the concert in a few hours. As Jimin explained, up until now, only his parents’ closest friends arrived; tonight, though, is when the real people will arrive. Not causing a good impression on them is not an option.

You start to make your way out of there, in the midst of saying goodbye to the people you walk past (consciously ignoring the vultures that were around Jimin, though. You ain’t acting nice to them at all). As you both walk past Jungkook, Jimin puts his hand over the younger’s shoulder and sends him a warning gaze. 

“You better sober up,” he says. Jungkook only opens a carefree smirk in response.

“C’mon, I’m not even that drunk yet. Don’t worry.” You’re not so sure about that, though; there’s something kind of psychotic about his silly smile. “See you guys later!”

Instead of arguing, Jimin just sighs.

And finally, you’re walking away from the pier.

It’s quieter now, which honestly is such a relief. The temperature started to cool down a bit. The sun has already disappeared behind the horizon line, yet the sky is still clear, painted in beautiful shades of orange, yellow and pink. You just walk in silence, hands behind your back, feeling a little funny. Since you stayed a long time in the water, it feels as if your body is still floating. It’s been a while since you felt this way.

“Jimin, I wanted to ask you a question…” you say quietly after a while.

After not getting a response, you frown and look around. Jimin isn’t beside you.

He’s a few steps behind, holding his phone to eye level.

“What are you doing?”

Jimin smiles. “Registering the moment.”

You quirk one eyebrow up and walk back to where he stands, a little bit confused. Jimin lets you see his phone for a second.

Your jaw drops.

You stand at the very center of the photo he took, your back turned to him, hair swaying with the wind. The beautiful sight of the evening sky serves as an astonishing background, the last beams of sunlight framing your figure beautifully. It’s breathtaking. He made such a trivial moment become something incredible with a single shot.

“What the hell?!” You exclaim, astonished, making Jimin chuckle. “You’ll send me this, right? This has to go on my Instagram feed!”

“Nope.” He says in a cocky manner, sticking his phone to his chest so you can't see it anymore. “I’m gatekeeping this one.”

“Aw, come on! That’s not fair!” You cross your arms and frown at him. "What are you going to do with this photo anyway?"

"It's my lockscreen already." His eyebrows shoot up in a playful expression. "What makes me remember, you should change yours, too. Why didn't we change it before? Such an amateur mistake!" He swiftly takes your phone from your hand and opens the front camera.

"What are you doing-?"

You gasp softly when Jimin pulls you by the waist, sticking your body to his. "Smile, pretty!"

His act was so sudden that you, indeed, end up cracking a genuine smile - at the same moment his lips touch your cheek tenderly. 

Click.

Jimin steps away and smiles proudly at the photo. "We look like a real couple here. Come on, set it as your lockscreen."

You take the phone back from his hand, feeling a little dizzy.

Oh well.

You literally made out with him in front of everyone just a few hours ago, in the middle of the ocean. Why does the chaste kiss he planted on your cheek still makes your face burn? Is it because now you're alone, not having to pretend to be a couple anymore, that his act felt much more intimate? But… there was no one else around during your first kiss at the beach, either.

It's because you're head over heels for him already.

You shake your head frantically as if to yank these thoughts away from your head. No no no. I'm not falling that easily. I'm a cold hearted bitch. I'm just flattered because he's cute and hot and rich, but it'll go away. Right?

"Yeah, right." You mumble.

"What?" Jimin quirks one eyebrow up.

"What?" You freeze, realizing that you voiced your thoughts out loud. "I-I mean- I want to ask you something."

"Oh." He puts his hands behind his back and starts walking again. You follow him shortly. "What is it?"

You munch the inside of your cheek nervously. "You can not tell me if you don't want to. But… what happened earlier today? That family meeting, I mean. Is there anything I need to know?"

The carefree glint in his eyes immediately disappears. Jimin looks down at his feet. "Oh."

An uncomfortable silence settles between you, only the sounds of the ocean and voices from the other people at the pier lingering. It makes you regret making that question as soon as the words leave your mouth. "You really don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." You say hesitantly after a few seconds. 

"No, it's alright." Jimin reassures, but he's still staring at his feet. He sighs and shakes his head. It's so painful to see him sulking this way whenever his family is mentioned… "Basically, they called me to say that Eunbi's parents are pissed about us."

Your eyes widen in surprise. "Really?" You came prepared to be hated by Jimin's parents, but Eunbi's as well? Shit. As if one billionaire middle aged couple of enemies wasn't enough.

"Really." Jimin nods. You have finally reached the stairs that lead to the street level. This pier is within the resort's property, actually, so you're not that far from the bungalows, and the main building is just a few streets ahead. "They came thinking that the engagement was already settled. Without asking for our opinions, you know. They think that bringing you here is disrespectful to their daughter."

"Oh." You knit your eyebrows. "So… they don't care if you're in an actual relationship. They'd want you to break up so you can get married to someone you barely know… even if you weren't aware of the engagement?"

"Yep. That's exactly how they think." He sighs heavily. 

You go up the stairs in silence. Your brain is working furiously. "This won't put you into real trouble, right?"

Jimin chuckles. "Y/N, the whole point of bringing you here was to put me in trouble. I want to stress them. Just don't worry too much, okay? Worrying will give you wrinkles, and you have to look wonderful tonight."

You're finally standing on the sidewalk, where one of the Park family butlers already waits to take you both back to the bungalow (he's wearing a short sleeved dress shirt, at least. Poor butlers, having to wear suits in the summer!). Your stomach twirls in nervousness. Spending the afternoon so freely made you forget for a bit your actual purpose here.

"You go without me, pretty. I'll get ready at Jungkook's place." 

You turn to him, frowning in a confused expression. "What? Why?"

The happy gleam in his eyes comes back slowly as he steps closer. "I already explained that today is a little more serious, right? More guests arrived, we have to impress people… so I hired a team to take care of you. Hairstylist, makeup artist and stuff. They're already waiting for you."

"Oh." You feel your face burning for some reason. It should be expected of him to do something like that - even obvious, since all the socialites attending are probably getting the same treatment - but still, you can't help but feel a little flustered. "Okay." You change the weight of your body from one leg to another nervously. "So… see you later, I guess?"

Jesus Christ.

He's doing it again.

Standing directly in front of you with his hands behind his back, a mysterious lip tightened smile and mischief in his eyes, watching your every movement with amusement. If your face was hot a few seconds ago, now your entire body is feverish. Will you ever get used to this? The things Jimin makes you feel without even touching you are kind of amazing. Imagine when he actually touch you the way you want the most-

Hey, pervert. Stop.

"I think I've said this a hundred times already… but it's kinda rude to just stand and stare at people." You say, eyebrows knitted - but you can't manage to sound annoyed at all.

Jimin smirks.

"I want to kiss you."

You're so taken aback that your eyes widen.

"Huh?"

"Don't huh at me." He steps even closer - so close that you feel the heat emanating from his body. He rests his hand in the junction of your jaw and your neck, spreading even more heat from that spot. You don't push him away. All this heat is going to make you melt like a popsicle. "Don't try to look innocent right now. You shoved your tongue in my throat not long ago, missy." 

You giggle, avoiding his gaze for a moment. "I already said… I was just method acting."

"Hmm." Jimin nods slowly, biting his bottom lip. The sight makes you weak on the knees. "Sure. So, me kissing you right now means I'm method acting because one of the butlers is watching and we can't look suspicious around them, okay? Because they're my parents' eyes and ears, okay? Not because I want to kiss you." His voice gets lower as he leans in, a faked innocent expression that has you smiling and melting at the same time. "Just to make it clear so there's no misunderstanding. Okay?"

"Okay." You nod.

"Good. I'd hate if you got it all wrong."

Your giggle is muffled by his lips on yours.

Your hands instinctively rest on each side of his waist, while he cups your face with both hands. Oh God… his plump lips are addicting. This kiss is slower and somehow more peaceful than the one you shared in the sea, but it makes your heart race and your senses go crazy nevertheless. Your lips move slowly, in sync with his. You can feel him smiling within the kiss, which causes your knees to feel even weaker. 

He breaks the kiss not too long after, aware that you're standing in the middle of the sidewalk, but not taking his hands off of you. Yet again, he bites his bottom lip, analyzing your features carefully. "Hari will be there. You'll have a lot of territory to mark. Be ready."

You throw your head back, laughing. "Sure. You really are enjoying this way too much, huh?"

"I am. Why wouldn't I?" He confesses cheekily, shrugging. He pecks your lips one last time, lingering for a little longer, before finally letting you go. "See you later, pretty."

"See you."

You hope that Jimin doesn't notice that your legs kind of forgot how to walk as you distance yourself from him towards the butler. Because yes, you feel like a poor popsicle melting under the scorching Hawaiian sun. The sun has Jimin's face, which makes you remember the Teletubbies for some reason, earning a quiet giggle from you. The butler eyes you as if you're crazy.

Maybe you are getting crazy.

But to be honest - this insanity is sweeter than any popsicle you could ever taste.

As a kid, you always fantasized about being Mia from The Princess Diaries. Call it escapism if you want - fantasizing about a perfect life while yours was awful - but it was a dream of yours. Imagine: finding out your grandmother is a queen? Going from a regular loser to a crown princess? Who wouldn't want that? 

You haven't thought of that movie in years. Now, as you stand in front of the mirror, it suddenly pops up in your head. Yes, Mia's iconic "transformation" scene.

Except you didn't think you were ugly before, which means right now, you're feeling like a literal goddess.

Maybe that's why God didn't make me rich, you think. Maybe he knew if I looked like this on a daily basis, I would be the most unbearable human being in this world.

"Did you like it?" The hairstylist, Christine, asks, eyeing you expectantly. 

If I liked it?! I look like the hottest bitch you'll ever see in your life! 

But instead of letting everyone see your God complex, you just nod and smile politely. "I loved it!"

Your eyes focus on the mirror again.

Jimin suggested you'd both wear black tonight as an evil joke. Traditionally, the dinner followed by the private concert is a more "informal" event, so everyone should dress accordingly with colorful outfits (you're in Hawaii, after all). Let's wear black. It represents me grieving my freedom, he said jokingly at the mall. You chuckled and thought he was being dramatic back then, but after everything you've witnessed for the past 48 hours, you realize that Jimin wasn't really joking when he said that.

The Yves Saint Lauren dress you two picked is quite simple: a short, strapless and sleeveless dress with a straight neckline. It's perfectly balanced between sexy and elegant: it enhances your curves the right amount, not enough to be considered vulgar by the aunties. Although it's strapless, it doesn't squeeze your boobies up so the uncles won't get "distracted" (ew). It's so simple but fits your body so well that you can't help but stare at your own reflection in awe. Simple black Givenchy sandals complete the outfit. 

Being a (poor) fashion enthusiast, this whole experience is like heaven to you. One thing is to see new collections and judge new trends; another completely different thing is to get to wear a piece from a high fashion house. It's not only about prices and status. This dress is so well cut and woven that it seems to be alive, as if it knows where to be tight and where to be loose. 

Doing your own makeup and hair was never a problem and you could do a pretty good job by yourself, but professionals doing it is on another level. Christine styled your hair back, carefully parting it and tucking it behind your ears, so your face is highlighted. Marco (the makeup artist) made your skin look impeccable, as smooth as baby butt cheeks (it's crazy how makeup can lie, huh?); the winged eyeliner, albeit simple, enhances the natural shape of your eyes. The lashes are subtle and make your eyes appear bigger. He completed the look by placing tiny little glitter dots under the waterline, one for each eye, so they kinda look like shiny tears (you suggested it, by the way, being carried away by the whole "grieving" concept. Talk about drama). He chose a lipstick color close to the natural color of your lips, making them appear shiny, plump and healthy.

And finally - the jewelry.

Mr. Zhou arrived at the bungalow a few minutes ago, carrying a leather, medium sized suitcase. You greet each other politely. Jimin texted saying that he would bring the jewelry you'd wear tonight - and you were anxious all along, because while you planned the outfits, he had already said you'd wear jewelry, but he didn't tell which jewelry; didn't show a single photo of what you'd wear, simply asked you to trust him. Although you learned to trust his fashion sense pretty fast, you don't like surprises at all. What if it's something extravagant that would ruin the look?

"Mr. Jimin picked those pieces from the Park jewelry collection himself," Mr. Zhou explains as he puts white gloves on (oh shit - this is so expensive that he has to wear gloves to touch it?!). "He said they would suit you fine - and I agree."

The chief butler opens the suitcase and takes the biggest black velvet case from inside, opening it.

It takes all of your self control not to gasp.

It's a gorgeous diamond necklace (yes, diamonds, fucking real diamonds!); it looks like a thick chain, actually, and at the center of it, sits a bigger emerald (yes, an emerald, a fucking real emerald!). Inside the box there are also subtle emerald earrings framed by tiny diamonds; since the necklace is already too much, the earrings have to be subtle to accompany them.

“I present you The Serpent’s Eye.” Mr. Zhou explains eloquently. “Tiffany & Co., designed by Paloma Picasso and acquired by the Park family in 2006.” He takes the necklace from the velvet case carefully. "If you'll allow me…" 

"Of course." You say, turning around and facing the mirror again - but you do so hesitantly, because being the fashion enthusiast you are, you recognize the name Paloma Picasso, and the fact that you’re about to have one of her original designs around your neck scares you. You’ve been very well aware that every piece of clothing you wear is worth thousands, but these pieces must be worth much more than everything else combined.

Mr. Zhou stands behind you and places the necklace around your neck, the cool touch of metal and diamonds making you shiver. The necklace sits just above your collarbones. The name of the design is understandable - it indeed resembles a small snake tangled around your neck. He also helps you put the small earrings on.

Finally, Mr. Zhou steps aside. 

"You look astonishing, Miss. Y/N," he says, and honestly, he sounds like he means it.

Yeah, I do, it’s what you want to say - but instead, you say “Thank you.”

It’s exactly what Jimin intended: elegance. If you’re too extravagant, his parents would hate it, and it’d make you look cheap no matter how expensive your clothes actually are. If it’s too simple, it’d look like you have no fashion sense. This look is the perfect balance. Your natural beauty is the focus, everything else just meant to highlight you. 

You look like a celebrity.

You look like them. Like someone’s rich daughter. And yes, it’s conflicting, because you never wanted to look like them - but you can’t deny that you like what you see in the mirror. 

You understand Jimin better now. Of course - he's an old money child, he doesn't know any lifestyle other than this. You're just having a little taste of what this life is. Yet, you can understand why he's so desperate to not lose his portion of the Park family fortune. Who wouldn't want to live such a lavish life? Who wouldn't want to look their absolute best at any opportunity, to wear clothes worth thousands just because they can?

Mr. Zhou looks at the watch on his wrist. “Now that you’re ready, I should take you to the event hall as soon as possible.” 

“Am I late?” You ask in a worried tone.

“Fashionably late. I’m sure everyone will understand. It takes time to look your best.” Mr. Zhou reassures. Why is he being so nice today? “I will wait for you outside, Miss Y/N.”

You nod. As Christine and Marco pack their things, you don’t forget to thank them over and over again for their wonderful job. They seem like pretty nice people, actually, and you'd like to get to know them better, but you have no time to. Two other butlers will assist their exit. You take the small black clutch that literally can only fit your phone and a small lipgloss before walking out of the bungalow where Mr. Zhou already waits.

No golf car today. Instead, that same Mercedes Maybach from yesterday is parked outside. Mr. Zhou politely opens the door for you and helps you get inside the car before taking his place on the driver's seat.

Another wave of nervousness hits your stomach as he turns the car on and finally starts making his way towards the hall - a separate building within the hotel's property, sitting in front of the ocean, not far from the pier. The ride will take probably 5 minutes. You exhale heavily, checking yourself again with the front camera, before tapping Jimin's contact.

you: i'm coming

He replies almost instantly:

jimin: waiting for you outside

Oh. You didn't think he'd already be there. You put the phone inside the clutch again and look out the window, chewing the inside of your cheek.

"Are you nervous, Miss Y/N?" Mr. Zhou asks out of sudden, snapping you back to reality. He keeps the formal tone; his voice is soothing.

"A little bit, I'll admit." You say with a lip tightened smile.

"Tonight, you'll be meeting Jimin's parents' close friends and allies from other companies." He continues. He always speaks as if he's picking his words carefully. "It's quite important to them. It's not just a celebratory event, you see… they reassure their place within society and business today."

You frown slightly. 

Mr. Zhou never talked this much. Although he keeps that formal persona, you see that he's trying to tell you something very specific, just avoiding the direct words to do so.

And yes, you get the message.

"You don’t need to worry, Mr. Zhou.” You say, crossing your arms, your expression hardening like stone in seconds. “I won’t embarrass the Park family in front of their friends.”

You see the butler nodding. “You’re smart.” He remarks. “Intelligence is important if you want to be accepted in the family.”

I would never in a million years want to be part of this family, you think. Instead, you just gulp and grip your arms, trying to ease the growing anger.

Finally, he parks in front of the events building. Yet, instead of immediately going out - and stopping you from opening the door yourself, since you’re already annoyed, Mr. Zhou turns around on his seat to look at you directly.

His expression is serious.

“I don’t want you to take my words badly, Miss Y/N.” He says in a quiet, yet stern voice. “I have been watching over this family even before Jimin was born. I know each of them very well, and I know how dysfunctional they are. When I say you have to be smart around them and watch yourself very carefully, I don’t say it to belittle you; I say it because I know what they would be capable of doing if you offend them somehow.”

“Are you trying to scare me?” You lean forward a bit, getting defensive. “Did they tell you to threaten me?”

“No.” His voice and expression don’t change despite your obvious outrage. “I am warning you because I see that you’re not quite aware of the type of people you’re dealing with. And because you seem like a respectable young lady.” Mr. Zhou’s eyes soften a bit. “I see that Jimin likes you a lot. I’m not quite sure of what your relationship with him really is, and I’d be happy if it’s genuine, because he really needs it in his life. But I know Jimin very well…” Mr. Zhou tilts his head to the side, frowning a bit. “...and I’d hate it if you're somehow harmed because of his immaturity.”

He sends a last significant gaze before finally opening the door.

You just have these short seconds to recover your breath before he opens the door for you. Shit. What he said actually gets you. Call it naivety or whatnot - but you didn’t stop to consider that Jimin’s parents are actually powerful people that could mess up your life if you annoy them enough. But… Jimin wouldn’t have asked for your help if he knew his parents would try anything serious against you, right?

Mr. Zhou knows Jimin better than you do and he just called him immature.

Oh shit.

The butler opens the door and offers his hand for you to walk out of the car. Now, you’re not just nervous - you’re worried. 

Thankfully, the temperature dropped - it's still considerably hot, but much more comfortable than hours ago. You stand up, inhaling the fresh nightly air, and look at the gigantic building in front of you. Important events happen here quite frequently. Large marble stairs lead to the entrance of the hall. There is a gathering of women and men dressed elegantly slowly making their ways inside, greeting each other politely as they walk in, as well as many security guards. You stand on the sidewalk and nervously look around, searching for Jimin.

You spot him before he spots you.

He's standing at the corner, kind of hidden, close to the first steps, absently checking his phone. You already knew what he would be wearing tonight, but to see him in the outfit makes your brain malfunction. 

Obviously, Jimin wears all black: a silk turtleneck under a black glitter Louis Vuitton blazer that fits him marvelously. The turtleneck is tucked into the dress pants. On his feet, leather black boots. His hair is pushed back, a single strand falling on his forehead, and he uses a pair of shades to complete the look. Instead of the usual dangly earrings, he wears small hoops tonight that match the outfit very well. Once again, you're left astonished at how this man is doing basically nothing - just standing there with one of his hands tucked inside the front pocket of his pants, checking his phone with a blank expression - but Gosh, he's gorgeous. His posture is perfect: he has the elegance of a swan, the grandeur of an eagle, and the confident gaze of a tiger about to slash you to pieces. In fact, he looks so good that you even forget the short talk you had with Mr. Zhou a minute ago.

It takes him around three seconds to lift his gaze from the phone and spot you.

It's funny, because you see the exact moment he freezes.

The shades slide down the bridge of his nose. He looks at you with slightly widened eyes and parted lips. It's like he's in shock.

Then, a smile breaks its way and lightens his face.

Jimin shoves the phone inside the pocket of his pants and rushes to you in a second. Nervousness bubbles within your stomach at every step he takes. It doesn’t help that he walks with the stance of a model - he’s definitely doing this on purpose. Handsome men that know they are handsome are the most dangerous type. Jimin is not only very well aware of his appearance, he uses it to his advantage all the time. 

And when he stops in front of you, checking you out from head to toe - it’s like you can’t even breathe.

It’s a different feeling from yesterday. There’s no playfulness in his eyes at all. Only that same electricity hanging in the air you felt earlier today at the yacht - when you sat on his lap, when you kissed. This electricity is getting more and more intense, it’s like you’ll start seeing sparks around you at any moment. Fuck, he didn’t even touch you yet. You don’t know how much longer you can resist…

Honestly, you’re not sure if you want to keep resisting at this point.

Jimin takes your hand and makes you twirl around, earning a soft giggle from you. He bites his bottom lip, that mischievous smirk making you feel weak on the knees.

“Just so you know,” he says in a low voice, putting his hand on your waist, “If I make a fool of myself in front of everyone, I’m blaming you. Because I won’t be paying attention to anything else tonight.”

You giggle again, tentatively touching the lapel of his blazer. It’s beautifully embroidered with circular patterns; you can only see them if you stand close enough, though. Your sight lingers on his lips (for long seconds; they’re so plump and glossy and delicious) before you look into his eyes again. “I could say the same thing, Mr. Park.”

Jimin’s smirk widens and he tilts his head to the side. “I knew The Serpent’s Eye would suit you.” He touches the necklace with his fingertips. The action makes you gulp - this necklace seems to weigh tons and you’ve been painfully aware of it all the time, your anxious brain already making up scenarios of you losing the millionaire design and Jimin’s parents making you pay with your life. 

“Why did you choose it, by the way?” You quirk one eyebrow up in a teasing expression. “Are you calling me a snake? Should I be offended?”

Jimin chuckles. “Of course not. Serpents are astute and smart animals… just like you.” Sir, the actual smooth person here is you, not me. “Not everyone can pull off such an aggressive design. I knew none of my mother’s friends would dare to choose it.”

Jimin hooks your arm around his and slowly starts to guide you towards the stairs. “So your mom lets her friends borrow her jewelry?” You ask. 

“From the family collection, yes.” Jimin nods in a gracious movement. “The most expensive pieces, only to the closest and most important guests. It’s a sign of trust and respect.”

“But your mother surely doesn’t respect me.” You say between gritted teeth, aware of the people around you. 

“Don’t worry, she won’t say a word about it. It’d be weird if the guests noticed that her daughter-in-law isn’t wearing one of the pieces. Like I told you… this event is about appearances. She’d rather die than let people think her family isn’t perfect.”

Daughter-in-law. This makes you shiver. You've been her fake in law for barely 48 hours and it already feels like hell. Imagine being her real in law… Jieun must’ve done some awful things in her past life to deserve this, honestly.

You’re forced to pay attention to your real surroundings before you can overthink more, though, when you realize you’re the center of attention.

This is probably the closest you’ll ever feel to being a celebrity. It’s not unusual to be the center of attention when it’s your birthday, for example. But this… this feels different. You don’t know most of these people, just some familiar faces from earlier today - yet, it seems that they already know you, they measure you up and down, they smile and greet you before you can. Sure… your arm is hooked with one of this event’s hosts, the Park’s youngest son. Yet, you see that people are also actually seeing you. You’re not just Jimin’s accessory.

Is this good? You’re not sure. This means they’ve heard from you somehow. In the span of less than 48 hours, these unknown people have been talking about you.

They approach you with curious smiles; they greet you and Jimin, make some shallow - almost diplomatic - comment about the weather or how long they haven’t seen Jimin or about the outfits or I’ve heard a lot about you, Y/N! (how the hell did they hear a lot about you in such a short time, though?) or you make a gorgeous couple! (you know they’re not lying about this bit; you do look gorgeous). They do not look at you disapprovingly, so you can confirm that the outfit choice was indeed appropriate for the event, albeit dramatic.

“You’re great at this, did you know that?” Jimin compliments after yet another middle aged couple walks away, leaning a bit closer to your ear so only you can hear. “You even remember their names.”

“I have a good memory,” you say between a gritted-teeth smile. “Also, working on customer service teaches you a few things.”

“Really? You weren’t this charming when we met at that convenience store.” He says in a teasing way, cocking an eyebrow up.

“First of all, I met you sitting on the floor behind a fridge. You looked like a freak.” He lets a giggle at that. “Second, I’ve moonlighted as a waitress many times. And event hostess. Never any event of this level, of course.” 

The last sentence was spoken in a quieter tone. Once again, you’re a bit scared of how Jimin - and everyone else - don’t seem to be bothered by the absolutely luxurious environment around. The immense hall is decorated in similar white and cream tones from the dinner yesterday (there’s a reason for that; Jimin’s parents are celebrating their 30th anniversary, the Pearl anniversary, apparently). Even waiters and waitresses, walking around with silver platters in hands and pretty smiles on their faces, wear cream uniforms. There are literal cascades of white lilies and roses so beautifully entangled that you’re intrigued at how they managed to arrange that. The round dinner tables are also decorated with white flowers at the center. There is a massive ice sculpture of an open oyster with a pearl in it at the entrance of the hall; the presence of pearls and oysters is almost everywhere in the decoration. The hostesses and waitresses even have small oyster shaped pins on their hair. At the very front, there is a stage; it’s barely lit yet, but you can see musicians discreetly preparing their instruments for the concert later. Professional photographers walk around the hall, recording and taking pictures of anything remarkable.

It’s jaw-dropping.

You feel weird inside.

It doesn’t matter that you look like them; you don’t feel like them. You don’t belong in this place, and it feels that everyone will notice it too if you do the slightest thing wrong. It’s clear in the way you’re astonished (outraged) at how someone can spend so much money on flowers (do you even know how much a single bouquet costs? Can you imagine thousands of flowers?!) while these people walk around with hundreds of thousands of dollars hanging from their ears or around their necks, and to them it’s just another weekend.

Oh boy. Mr. Zhou was kinda right. You will have to be very careful not to embarrass Jimin or his family in front of these people.

You walk around with your arm hooked around Jimin’s for a while, making silly small talk with the guests. Jimin quietly whispers who they are and their importance as they approach. It’s always some over the top shit like Biggest LG Shareholder or Co-Founder of This Very Famous Car Brand or CEO of This Very Rich Food Company and it makes your stomach drop every time. It seems that half of the country’s GDP is hanging around in this hall. A bunch of old guys with their (1) same age, but full of obvious cosmetic procedure wives or (2) much younger wives that of course married them out of true love.

Jimin complimented you earlier, but it’s him who deserves the most compliments. He’s really good at this. It’s so easy for him to engage in a superficial but polite conversation. Hello! I acknowledge your presence here! I am thankful that you came but I do not care enough to talk more than two minutes with you! Yes the weather is nice! See you later! All that with the prettiest smile and most genuine fake laughter you’ve ever seen (sounds contradictory but that’s exactly that). And they all fall for that. He’s so unbearably charming.

Which makes you wonder.

Jimin said that the whole purpose of bringing you to Hawaii was to upset his parents. But… he’s not really acting like someone willing to do that. Of course - maybe he knows that if he goes too far, his parents might really cut him off of their sweet sweet money fountain. Yet, it doesn’t match with what he stated earlier. Does he really want to piss his parents off? Or does he want to play the good boy so his parents leave him alone with this engagement thing? Those are opposites, he can’t want both.

Does he even know what he wants?

You’re unsure.

Shit, maybe I shouldn’t have accepted this insanity, the little anxious voice in your head says. Maybe he really is too immature and is about to fuck me up. 

Jimin gives a little pat on the hand that holds his arm and smiles. 

“We’re doing really well, pretty. I’m relieved that you’re here.” He says quietly. “This kind of event always stresses me out, but you’re making this easier.”

Don’t go around saying cute shit like that while I doubt you!

You avoid his gaze and sip a little bit more of the champagne you picked earlier from a waiter. “It doesn’t look like you’re stressed at all.” He shrugs.

“I’m method acting, too. Kinda used to it at this point.”

And there it is. That quiet sadness in his eyes.

Goddamnit.

All the questions in your head crumble to the ground, and you immediately want to comfort him like a baby.

That’s not a baby. It’s a grown ass man. Get yourself together. 

The voice in your head is angrier now - and she’s kinda right, to be honest.

Jimin sighs and pats your hand again. 

“Okay, we’ve wandered around enough. Food will be served soon… so we have to get seated.” He doesn’t even try to pretend he doesn’t despise the idea of having to sit with his family for another torturously long dinner. 

“Okay.” You nod, placing the now empty champagne glass on another waiter’s platter. You inhale, trying to gather more confidence. “Let’s go.”

So, you start walking towards the table at the front of the stage - the most important one where everyone can see from all directions. 

They’re already there, surrounded by their closest friends.

At every step, you try to gather more and more anger within yourself - this anger will fuel your confidence and muffle the nervousness (in theory). Fuck this middle aged billionaire couple. Fuck their matching cream outfits - Mr. Park Hyunjun wears a very traditional (read: boring) cream suit, while Mrs. Park Eunji wears a long, flowy dress with blue details in it and beautifully embroidered with silver patterns that seem to remember a soft breeze. A beautiful pearl necklace adorns her neck and modest cleavage. Their outfits are very “age appropriate” and posh, indeed, and they are an attractive couple, but everything about them is so painfully traditional.

Also fuck the way they look at you two with disapproval.

Another nauseatingly fake scene unfolds in front of your eyes - Mrs. Eunji giggles and side hugs Jimin, gushing over how handsome he looks (she can’t hide the obvious distaste for his black outfit, though). 

“What an… interesting choice,” she says, touching the embroidery on his blazer with her fingertips. “Rather dramatic, I’d say.”

Jimin smiles. “Everyone looks good in black, you know. Also, I didn’t want to stand out.” 

Bullshit. No one else is wearing black because it goes against the dress code. The way he said it so innocently would make any unsuspecting ears believe him, but his mom is certainly not one of those - neither are you. 

“Of course, black can make anyone look presentable at least. Y/N is live proof, isn’t she?”

She eyes you from head to toe and smiles sweetly.

Holy fucking shit. I hate her. I hate her. I hate her.

Her tone. The way she looks at you. Her awful Tom Ford perfume that makes you want to vomit as she approaches and - gasp - side hugs you too, like a good and loving mother-in-law. You smile and give her some soft pats on her back, but God, you can’t act as well as her at all - although you force yourself to do your best, well aware that all eyes and ears are focused on the Park family.

“You look astonishing tonight, Mrs. Park,” you say between gritted teeth. “This color really suits you.” Cream is boring. Like old paper. You almost smell like mold, too, rattlesnake.

“I’m glad you think so.” She’s not glad you think so. “See, me and Elie spent a long time choosing the color palette for this dress… he did such a wonderful job in the end.” She widens her eyes slightly. “Oh! My apologies, you can’t possibly know who I’m talking about…”

“Elie Saab.” You promptly say. Of course Elie Saab himself designed a dress for her. “Yes, I know his work.”

“Really?” She raises one eyebrow and this small movement spreads anger through your system. So much disdain, and she just said a word. “I didn’t think you’d know such a highly regarded fashion house, since you seem so… humble.” She has the audacity to eye you up and down with disgust again. “A wonderful trait to have, you see! Our Jimin definitely needs someone in his life to teach him some humility.”

In all honesty, you don’t even know how to respond to this.

Your wanted reaction is to reach for the nearest fork and stab her face with it. Which is, unfortunately, socially inappropriate. You also think of calling her by the ugliest names in existence, which, unfortunately is also socially inappropriate (won’t take you to jail, at least).

But all you can do is keep that smile plastered on your face and anger in your eyes.

This level of contempt is not unusual. 

Alpha High taught you to get used to it. The giggles, side glances, or straight up offenses spoken out loud so everyone could laugh at your expense, too. It taught you to accept it silently, because you knew no one would stand up for you; you didn’t have enough money or a heavy surname to back you up. You weren’t important enough. Who cared if you had an excellent academic performance? It wasn’t as cool as having a summer manor in Greece anyway.

You hate that no clever response comes to your mind. You hate that you can just stand there and awkwardly look at her - this woman that made you feel cheap even though you have diamonds sitting around your neck. You hate that, deep down, you’re feeling as cornered as you were as a defenseless fifteen year old standing on the school hallway.

Not a fun feeling at all.

And things just start getting progressively worse.

Before even Jimin gets time to say something, another couple approaches - and your blood freezes. You’ve seen them yesterday at the reception dinner and earlier today, now feeling a little stupid that you didn’t make the simple connection. They’re followed shortly by another person, a much familiar and hated face. 

Eunbi’s parents, apparently; Mr. and Mrs. Jeong.

Now that you look at the three of them, the silly part of your brain wonders who Eunbi inherited her beauty from, because they don’t share much of it with her, let’s say. They’re impeccably well dressed, of course, but their daughter’s beauty steals all the attention. She wears a rosé pink minidress (is it MiuMiu?) with a straight neckline and thin straps. On her ears, diamond earrings that seem to resemble raindrops; around her neck, a diamond choker necklace. Everything combed with the subtle makeup gives her a young, cute look.

You measure each other up and down like two rival lions about to fight. Complete opposites, black and pink. 

The tension is so extreme that it’s almost visible - like some kind of fog.

Jimin is the one to break the ice, stepping closer to greet the couple, and you do the same, glad that you don’t have to look at Mrs. Rattlesnake even for five seconds - though this other lady also hates you, apparently. It’s kind of amazing how Jimin can act like the heavy tension isn’t there at all.

The seven of you stand there smiling for long and silent five seconds. It looks like a smiling contest. You can’t tell who’s angrier.

“So… Y/N, right?” Mrs. Jeong says. She looks like an eggplant, some part of your brain remarks silently, almost making you (very inappropriately) giggle. “It’s such a surprise that you and our Eunbi were classmates. We would’ve never guessed.”

If that’s even possible - your anger levels increase. It might’ve sounded like a pretty normal thing to say, but her tone and the way she measured you up and down makes it clear that what she really meant was we would’ve never guessed that a nobody like you also studied in Alpha High.

“We were surprised, too.” Eunbi says before you can, smiling sweetly. “We haven’t seen each other in years.”

“This is a great excuse for you to come with us to a day at the Spa tomorrow, isn’t it, Mrs. Park?” Eunbi’s mom says, eyeing the other woman knowingly.

“Of course! Y/N and Eunbi must have a lot to catch up after all these years, right? Y/N, you have to come with us tomorrow.” Rattlesnake hisses- (oops) says.

You look at the two other women with uneasiness.

First of all, this doesn’t sound like an invite, but a summon. You simply know you can’t say no. Second of all - these three despise you, they wouldn’t want you there if they didn’t have second intentions. What do they actually want?

You want to say no thanks, but it feels like you’re handcuffed in this situation.

“Sure. It sounds refreshing,” you finally agree with a painful smile. It didn’t even happen yet, but you know tomorrow is already ruined. Don’t let these bastards get to your head, your inner voice advises; don’t show weakness. You can deal with them.

Yeah, right.

You notice that, surprisingly, Eunbi looks very uncomfortable with the whole idea; she avoids her mother’s gaze and looks down, smile faltering a bit. She doesn’t want to be around you as much as you don’t want to be around her, apparently. At least you can agree on something.

Your thoughts are interrupted by Mr. Park stepping closer once again, placing his hand on his wife’s back. “Dear, dinner’s ready and about to be served. We should take our places.” 

“Of course. I’m sure all of us are hungry enough.” She turns around to the other guests to announce it loudly, and somehow all the nearly one hundred people manage to hear it, walking to their respective seats.

Respective seats.

The seats are all charted - something you only saw in movies before, but you should’ve expected it at this point. Coming closer to the round table, you notice that over every beautiful white and blue porcelain plate, there is an elegant tag name in golden lettering on top of it. Mr. and Mrs. Park; Hyungsik and his wife sit by Mr. Park’s seat, while Jimin’s place is by his mother…

And by Jimin’s seat…

You freeze. Jimin freezes, too.

Jeong Eunbi’s name tag.

Feeling your stomach drop, you look around, searching for your own name tag - but there’s none to be seen, and it’s getting increasingly embarrassing as everyone else sits down while you and Jimin remain standing.

Your throat gets dry.

“She’d rather die than let people think her family isn’t perfect,” Jimin said as you walked inside the hall. This made you think she wouldn’t want to embarrass you.

Oh, Jimin. How wrong you were.

“Hm, there must be a mistake.” Jimin speaks up. The smile is still there, but his eyes hardened and his breath gets deeper as the visible anger fills him. “Where is Y/N’s seat?”

“Oh! Jimin, dear… this is a bit unpleasant,” his mother says, stepping closer with clasped hands and (fake) apologetic eyes. “You know that we planned this event months prior… the charting was already made long ago. We didn’t know Y/N would be here today. Unfortunately, there was no time to tell the catering staff to provide one more seat at our table.”

Funny how your legs start feeling cold all of sudden.

It’s the second time you’re at a loss of words tonight, this time much worse than before. You grip Jimin’s arm just a little tighter, feeling how the situation is starting to get people’s attention. Mrs. Park isn’t trying to be quiet right now. Your legs are cold, but your neck and face suddenly warm up with embarrassment as the guests on the main table whisper among each other in confusion.

“We found a vacant seat, of course, right over there, Y/N,” Mrs. Park continues - for fuck’s sake, she just continues - pointing over to the other side of the hall. “With the Kim family. You’ll love them, I know it!”

Your brain can’t process a coherent sentence. 

With the corner of your eye, you notice Eunbi standing a few steps away awkwardly. She has the decency to look embarrassed, at least. Everyone else at the table is already seated.

You’re… you’re supposed to be their daughter-in-law. Their younger son’s girlfriend, the first girl he ever brought over. Yet… they refuse to let you sit by Jimin’s side on the main table, the hosts table, and want you to sit alone on the back so they can set up Jimin and Eunbi. And they’re doing it publicly.

This is the type of humiliation you wouldn’t expect from an adult, a mature person. But it’s happening nevertheless, and you want to sink and disappear. You can’t think of a quirky comeback, a way out that would make you feel less humiliated - even though Jimin isn’t even your real boyfriend and these people aren’t your real in-laws. This trip feels like a mistake, like a bad idea, like Mr. Zhou was absolutely right in his warning.

You’re so overwhelmed by this sour feeling that you don’t notice how Jimin’s smile disappears.

He sighs heavily, looking at his feet, jaw clenched.

“Okay.” He looks up at you - and you’re taken aback, because you’ve never seen Jimin angry before. “Y/N, let’s go back to our room.”

And he starts walking away, taking you along by the hand.

“What? Jimin- where’re you going?” Mrs. Park says, making Jimin stop. “Dinner’s about to be served.”

You see the warning in her eyes and gritted teeth and hardened smile, but for once, Jimin doesn’t play along. Doesn’t smile. Doesn’t speak louder, but when he does speak, it’s in a hard and serious tone.

“If Y/N doesn’t have a place here, neither do I. I don’t see why we should stay in this situation.” He doesn’t bother to whisper, aware that he has the table’s attention. “Now, if you’ll excuse us...” 

Oh shit. He’s angry and offended. Jimin turns around again, holding your hand tightly. 

In the midst of all the bad feelings, this is so satisfying. You’re simply happy that Jimin didn’t leave you on your own, didn’t lower his head to his parents. He stood up for you and is genuinely pissed! His mother is still babbling - she for sure didn’t expect Jimin to want to leave like this - and even Mr. Park got up from his seat; Eunbi is pale, her parents watch in disapproval, similar to Jimin’s older brother, who glares at him as if he did something wrong.

“Wait, Jimin, please,” someone else says, which catches both yours and Jimin’s attention: Mr. Hwang. He’s gotten up and looks between you and Mrs. Park cautiously. “I am sure we can solve this situation very easily. There’s no need to miss this amazing night.”

Mrs. Hwang also gets up; her eyes are widened with worry and an uneasy smile. “I am sure everyone at this table can move a little so Y/N can sit with us.” Murmurs of agreement echo around, much to the Park’s displeasure. “Waiter, please? Could you assist us?”

You and Jimin eye each other as Mrs. Hwang politely asks a nearby waiter to bring another chair, while the guests start getting up with no protest to open a little spot by Jimin’s side. In no time, there is one more chair at the table; another waitress hushes to bring a new set of plates and cutlery. 

“See? It’s done! Not a big problem at all.” Mr. Hwang says happily; the guests at the table also seem content. 

“I guess we can all sit now, right, Jimin?” His wife says. “We all would hate it if this lovely young lady missed the concert.” And to your surprise - the table agrees.

You look at Jimin again. He doesn’t look happy - not at all - but it seems that he softened up a bit because of the Hwang couple; same goes for you. If this was a competition for Best Middle Aged Couple, the Hwangs would’ve won it by far.

He raises an eyebrow at you - a question. You shrug and nod in small movements. Although you’d rather not be here, at least Mrs. Park looks infuriated that her silly little plan didn’t work and she in fact caused a ridiculous scene. Her attempt at embarrassing you completely backfired.

Jimin sighs heavily and, instead of saying anything, walks back to the table once again. The guests sigh in relief; Eunbi looks even more awkward; the Parks are fuming. Jimin pushes the chair for you to sit, and as you do, a little spark of victory fills your chest. 

“I’m glad this is solved,” Mrs. Park says, glaring at you as if she wants to stab you with the nearest knife, a lip tightened smile. “I hate unforeseen events.”

You are the unforeseen event. About to be the worst she could ever imagine.

“It’s alright, Mrs. Park. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes.” You say sweetly. Jimin does his best not to laugh; she definitely wants to stab you. 

Me 1 x 0 Rattlesnake

A win, at last.

Everyone at the table does their best to forget The Seat Incident for the sake of a good mood. 

Lighthearted conversations. Good (amazing) food. The band plays soft background music. Understandably so, neither you and Jimin talk much - he is still visibly upset; chooses to just respond whenever someone mentions him or makes quiet comments in your ear from time to time. You, on the other hand, don’t talk much because the person sitting by your left side is Eunbi and you’d honestly rather swallow nails than willingly have a conversation with her.

All things considered, everything is going alright. They’re asking fewer questions than yesterday, which is great, so you can focus on whatever the name of this thing you’re eating is - taking small bites and chewing slowly so you don’t look impolite and desperate for food. Your stomach twirls every time you hear Jimin’s parents' voices, though, which makes you enjoy the taste less.

You’re doing great, you mentally pat yourself on the back. A few more hours and you’ll be back in your room. Just get this over with. 

After pretty much everyone is done eating - your stomach is so full that the dress becomes uncomfortably tight -, Mr. Park gets up from the chair and softly clicks the side of a knife on a crystal glass, enough to call everyone’s attention. You notice when a waiter swiftly places a mic on the table for him.

The band stops. Everyone goes silent. Mr. Park Hyunjun takes the mic, a soft smile adorning his features, as the spotlight focuses on him.

“Good evening once again, my friends.” His deep and elegant voice echoes softly through the speakers. The whole hall greets him back. “I hope everyone enjoyed this amazing dinner prepared by Chef Mauro Bianchi. Mr. Mauro, it is a pleasure to have you with us once again.”

A round of applause. An aggressively Italian man with a cook outfit politely bows and smiles as the spotlight focuses on him in the back of the hall, close to the kitchen doors. Of course Mr. Park only acknowledges the worldwide famous, I-don’t-know-how-many-Michelin-stars holder Chef, but not the entirety of the staff that helped organize and serve everyone. 

“As most of the friends present here already know, me and my dear wife prepare this event every year not only as a celebration of our union, but also as a celebration of all the many achievements and challenges we win throughout the year.” He makes a dramatic pause, his eyes scanning the crowd to make sure everyone is paying attention - and everyone indeed is; despite your hatred for the man, you can’t deny that with this level of oratory, he could’ve easily been a news anchor.

He offers his hand to help his wife get up from the chair as another round of applause echoes. Mrs. Rattlesnake has a pretty smile, you have to admit. Once again - yeah, they do look great together, and otherwise you’d think this is all too sweet, but there’s just something inherently wrong with this scene… too poised, robotic - trained to detail.

“And past year was indeed one of the most significant of our lives. After much work, Aurum ranked fifth place as one of the biggest steel companies in the world. We’ve achieved heights my parents would’ve never imagined.” He continues. More applause. What does it even have to do with his marriage? “Unity. This is the word for our 30th anniversary. Everything we’ve made and built, we did together - and I’m sure we wouldn’t have gotten this far if we were apart.” Oh, so your fortune was “achieved” because of your wife? I thought it was because of the already rich company your dad left on your hands. 

“And the oyster, my friends, is the perfect symbol of unity; it summons up our life as a couple very well.” He looks at his wife sweetly. You have trouble telling if Mrs. Rattlesnake’s glossy eyes are fake or not. “An oyster. Two shells, pressed together - working together to create the most beautiful pearl. And our pearls, our jewels - the biggest gift this marriage brought us both - is our two sons.”

My God.

You want to vomit.

The applause is a bit louder now as the spotlight focuses on both Jimin and Hyungsik. Both of them smile and wave to the public. If you hadn’t spent the most uncomfortable hours of your life around this family, you would’ve fallen for Mr. Park’s sweet words - but hell no. I mean, it might be true about Hyungsik - but Jimin? The dear son they very publicly disrespected only barely an hour ago, by ignoring his partner? The dear son they mock constantly, scold, disrespect, and want to force into an arranged marriage against his will?

These people genuinely make you sick.

You’re a bit surprised as Jimin grabs your hand under the tablecloth, where no one can see. You take it and squeeze softly. He wants to vomit as much as you do.

“You two are live proof of our love, and we are so proud to know you’re our children.” The applause continues as Mr. Park speaks this time. Kind of funny how he says that while Jimin himself stated that he sees his parents once a year. That’s not the behavior of someone that cares this much. 

“Unity. Family. Love. Friendship. It’s what we’ve been harvesting together for the past 30 years, and I couldn’t be more happy and grateful.” He squeezes his wife’s hand sweetly. “Now, let us celebrate together, my dear friends.”

The lights go off while the hall applauds; the band starts playing again, way louder this time - a melody you’re familiar with - and when all the spotlights focus on the stage-

You gasp loudly.

“What the-?!” You whisper in utter shock. Jimin chuckles.

The woman standing on the stage is… is Kim Gain.

Like, why are you even surprised at this point? What, you thought the Parks would’ve hired a bar singer for their super expensive wedding anniversary? But even so, you didn’t expect to be seeing the 90s love songs’ legend Kim fucking Gain standing a few meters away from you, wearing a gorgeous long silver dress, her beautiful and powerful voice filling the hall as she sings her all-time smash hit Flower Hill. This woman doesn’t even do concerts anymore! You can’t even imagine the insane amount of money they must’ve paid her to do a private concert. 

She sings looking directly at the main couple, and God- despite the age, her voice sounds even better live than recorded. It makes you forget for a while all of tonight’s awful events. You quietly hum along to the lyrics of Flower Hill word by word - it’s impossible to not know this song, not only because it’s a classic, but because it’s your mother’s favorite song and she hammered it into your head.

Your memories are as clear as the blue sky; your mother played her CD over and over again - this song specifically - while she prepared lunch. You helped her peel the boiled eggs, standing on a stool so you’d get tall enough to reach the sink, while she cut cabbage swiftly. You both sang along to Flower Hill. Even your father would hum along eventually as he put the dried bowls on their respective cabinets.

It’s a good childhood memory. One of the few. You remember thinking that your mother looked so beautiful when she wasn’t frowning and angry at you.

And all of sudden - sadness hits you like a truck.

Funny how being humiliated in front of these people didn’t even get close to making you cry the way just thinking of your mother does.

You sigh and look down, that familiar heavy thing growing in your chest, stubborn tears that you blink away before they can even come. Shit shit shit. Don’t you dare to cry here, Y/N, you scold yourself harshly. But goddammit- Mrs. Kim Gain sings really well, and when the chorus hits, you always melt away.

It’s moments like this that remind you that you are, in fact, not indifferent. And you are, in fact, far more hurt that you can put into words.

It’s your turn to squeeze Jimin’s hand for comfort.

He eyes you quietly, confused - but chooses to not make any comment.

You elbow Jimin’s side, eyes squinted, as if unsure of what you’re seeing.

“What?” He asks, relaxing on the chair next to yours, now sitting on a table at the external part of the hall. Finally some cool night air; from the external part, you have a wonderful view of the immense garden that goes down the hill directly to the sea. You can see the pier down there; it’s full of parked yachts - much more than during the day - but there’s some in the distance as well, shining against the otherwise pitch black sea like little stars.

“Am I crazy,” you say after sipping more champagne from the glass, “or that’s Kim Minju?”

You discreetly point to a certain girl standing inside the hall. She’s tall and gorgeous, wearing a green sundress. You’re not really into idols - you don’t have time to keep up with celebrities at all - but even someone like you can recognize Kim Minju, the new “it” girl from the new “it” group everyone’s been talking about lately.

Jimin squints his eyes as well, and when he sees who you’re pointing at, he nods. “Yep, it’s her.”

You raise one eyebrow up. “Why are your parents friends with teenage celebrities?”

“They’re friends with her mother.” Jimin sips from his own glass of champagne. He took his blazer off and rolled the shirt up to his elbows, looking much more relaxed now that he can finally stay away from his family. 

Kim Gain finished her concert, which meant people were allowed to just hang around and talk again, while the band kept playing background music. You decided to leave the main table as soon as you could, finding this almost-hidden table at the external balcony (you’re glad it’s this hidden, because it’s getting hard to sit all lady-like with your feet hurting like this. These Givenchy sandals were way too expensive to be this uncomfortable to wear).  Jungkook was hanging out with you two minutes ago, but suddenly something “very important” happened and he had to leave (in other words: some hot girl passed by and he went after her).

“And her mother is…?”

“One of MNET’s biggest shareholders, basically. Why do you think Minju is the most popular member? Her mother pays for her to be the center, to have the best clothes… this kind of thing.” He speaks in a low voice, aware of the people around. “Most popular idols are only popular because their families pay for their popularity.”

“Oh.” Makes sense. You look him up and down, the hint of a playful smile on your lips. “You could’ve asked your parents for help in this area, Jimin. You would’ve made a great idol.”

Jimin chuckles and pushes his hair back. “I know, right? But I don’t think I would survive a day in this life. I mean- a dating ban?” He scowls. “Just no.”

You chuckle too, resting your chin on your palm. You’ve only been sipping champagne - though they’re serving other interesting drinks, too -, afraid to get even slightly intoxicated and embarrass yourself (and Jimin) in front of these people. Even so, this champagne is starting to make you feel a little funny inside. Maybe I should stop.

“How do you even know this dating ban thing is real?” You raise one eyebrow at him. Jimin huffs.

“I had a thing with this idol girl for a while.” He says nonchalantly - then interrupts himself, as if he just realized he said something he shouldn’t. He eyes you apologetically.

“I don’t care if you talk about other girls.” You assure, rolling your eyes. And you actually don’t. It’s not like you have anything real going on for you to care. (You’re quietly blaming your rage fit against Hari earlier today on the alcohol).

“Really?”

“Yeah. Why would I?”

Jimin looks at you in silence.

“Kinda hoped you’d be jealous.”

You laugh it off, furiously ignoring the butterflies in your stomach. “Just tell the story, Jimin.”

He seems dramatically disappointed, which makes you giggle again. Jimin sips more champagne and tilts his head.

 “So… me and this girl. Whenever we went out together, we had to literally - I mean literally - hide. Wearing masks, sunglasses, hoodies, all this stuff. At the beginning it was kind of fun, but then it got unbearable. Her manager kept calling her all the time to know where she was. One time, a paparazzi caught us and I had to pay them a shitton of money to not release the photos.”

“Why didn’t she pay for it? Or her company?” You ask, genuinely curious. 

“Because her company didn’t know. She didn’t tell them, scared of getting punished or whatever. And she didn’t have the amount they asked for. So I paid for it.” He shrugs. “Then I broke up with her. I mean, I wasn’t doing anything wrong, why did I have to hide?”

“Yeah, sounds like a strict life. I don’t think I could take it, either.”

You notice the way Jimin’s eyes glint with playfulness again; a mischievous smirk adorns his lips. He comes even closer to you and looks around, making sure the people aren’t paying attention to the conversation. 

“Back on the topic of Kim Minju,” he says in that quiet tone that means gossip. “Her mother is lesbian.”

Your eyes widen slightly. “Really? How do you know?”

“I know a lot of things about a lot of people.” He discreetly points to an elegant woman standing near Kim Minju - maybe just a bit younger than Mrs. Park. “That one.” You squint your eyes to analyze her. “She’s been ‘single’ for around ten years, since her divorce with Minju’s father. She’s, like… the most famous closeted lesbian I’ve ever seen. In terms of how much people I know she fucked, she must be only behind Mr. Junghoon.”

Your eyes widen even more. “Jungkook’s dad?!”

Jimin nods vehemently. “Yep. He must’ve fucked at least half of this hall. All those pretty younger wives.”

You eye Junghoon - standing in the middle of the hall, laughing at something someone said. “Like father, like son, I guess.” Jimin chuckles at this. “I mean, he is very hot for his age.”

“That’s not even the craziest person here.” Jimin narrows his eyes, looking for someone into the crowd. You find yourself entertained by his sudden will to spill people’s lives on you - it even makes you forget how much your feet hurt for a while. When he finds them, he elbows your side lightly. “That couple over there? The Kwons?”

You take around three seconds to find them- a middle aged couple, a bit older than Jimin’s parents, perhaps. They seemed very polite (considering you talked for less than two minutes).

“Yeah?”

“They host massive orgies.” You look at Jimin in pure shock. He looks back at you with his eyebrows raised in that I know, girl expression. “They have a mansion in Malibu only for this purpose. They invite dozens of people to participate.”

You sip more champagne. That conservative looking couple host orgies? They look like the type of people that think women showing their ankles is a sin. Appearances really mean nothing around here! “Were you ever invited?”

“Thank God no. And I wouldn’t go anyway. Not into voyeurism.” Jimin makes a disgusted scowl. “But I know some people that went there. They’re pretty creepy, actually. Just… stay away from them, okay?”

“Noted.” You’ve watched enough documentaries about how rich people can be creepy to know Jimin isn’t kidding.

“There’s also, let’s see… oh! Jinwoo, over there.” He points to a man in his early thirties that you briefly greeted earlier today. “His marriage was arranged, too. I heard he has a severe humiliation kink. He likes to be treated like shit by women.” You cover your mouth with your hand, trying to hide the bubbling giggle. Not to kinkshame anyone, but wow. “But his wife is not into it at all. From what I’ve heard, they even live in separate houses. So Jinwoo has to pay women to satisfy him.”

“I wouldn’t think that of him… he looks like the type that calls women females.” You remark. 

“People around here look nothing like they actually are.” Jimin sips more champagne. You expectantly wait for him to tell you more - (1) because you like gossiping (2) because this is the most fun you’ve had the entire night. “Oh! Minho and Krystal. Over there.”

Said couple is standing quite far, talking to Jimin’s brother and his wife. They must be in their early thirties, too; an attractive couple that haven’t stepped away from each other the whole time. You briefly remember thinking they looked cute together.

“Yeah?”

“They’re in a forced marriage, too. Minho is gay.”

You pause. “They look genuine.”

“They’re not.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I met him in a bar last year in Berlin. He hit on me. Insistently. He’s friends with my brother, so I turned him down. But yeah, I saw him with other guys there.”

You look back at Minho in silence.

Oh.

This one’s kinda sad.

“So… he was forced into marrying a woman even though he’s gay.” You reason out loud. “Does his family know?”

“Probably not. At least, they pretend they don’t.” Jimin sips more champagne with a sour expression.

“That’s fucked up in so many levels.” You’re starting to get angry just talking about it. “He’s trapped with this woman, having to pretend his entire life? All for the sake of appearances? What, are we stuck in the XVIII century and nobody told me?”

“I told you that’s how things work around here.” He says, staring at the bubbles in his champagne glass.

And he actually told you. In your third encounter, back at the convenience store. But you didn’t believe him. It felt too far from your reality to be taken seriously. Now, though - after finding out that most of these pristine looking people, the “role models” of society are in secret what they most demonize - you truly realize how awful everything is. This much hypocrisy feels repulsive, overwhelming.

Is this how Jimin has been feeling his entire life?

“What about you, Jimin?” you ask quietly, any hint of playfulness gone from your face and voice.

“What about me?”

“What if you’re stuck in this situation? I mean, I remember what you told me back then. What if you want to marry a guy? Your parents would be against it… are you going to end like Minho? Having to pretend for the rest of your life? Can you accept this?”

Jimin sighs and hangs his head back, closing his eyes. You hate it because for a moment all you can look at is his half parted plump lips and your brain malfunctions for a sec.

“Let’s not talk about me, please?” He asks in a whiny, raspy voice.

“Why not? I’m worried about you. Can’t I be worried?” You put one hand on your hip, somehow starting to feel offended.

“No, you can’t.” He still hasn’t opened his eyes.

Yeah, you’re offended now. “Okay, then. I’m sorry for caring.”

Jimin looks at you with half opened eyes.

His voice drops.

“Don’t do this to me.”

“What?” You raise one eyebrow up.

“Act like you actually care.”

“Why do you think I’m acting?” You slightly push the empty champagne glass away, so nothing is between you two. Because he’s quieter, you unconsciously drop your voice, too.

“You said so. Method acting.” 

You’re getting tired of this “method acting” thing. You inhale heavily. “Well, I’m not acting right now.”

Jimin drops his eyes to his own empty champagne glass, drumming his fingers on the table softly. He makes a small pout. His lips are so damn attractive. “You know, I’m conflicted about you.”

“Please elaborate.”

“I know I shouldn’t be expecting anything real from you at all, since I hired you to be here. But why do I feel that something real is going on?” He looks up at you again. “But then, sometimes, I feel like it’s not? I don’t know what to think of you.”

Holy Shit.

He went straight to the point.

You feel goosebumps on your spine (though you try to blame it on the cool breeze hitting your back, not on Jimin’s piercing gaze, of course). It’s kind of creepy how Jimin can balance being silly and cute in a moment and then boom - painfully straightforward a second later. He didn’t beat around the bush at all.

And yeah, you get what he meant.

You can’t tell if something real is going on. It’s way too early to say something “real” - whatever it is - is happening; you barely even know Jimin. At the same time he doesn’t know if you’re serious, you don’t know if he is being serious; many times, it feels like he’s acting, putting up a character around you. The way you’re rapidly getting attached to him is scary - what if you’re getting attached to a character? What if you’re surprised by Jimin’s real persona in the worst way possible?

You have no idea about any of that.

What you know, though - something that is very real, is almost visible - is the undeniable attraction you feel for each other.

This isn’t deep. You don’t have to think much about it.

And right now - with the alcohol subtly fogging your judgment and making you feel hot inside; the accumulated tension - you don’t really want to fight back anymore. You don’t want to think of consequences. All you can think of is his pretty plump lips.

You smirk, resting your face on your palm again. You see how this single look of yours affects him. You’re not the only one that can do this, Jimin.

“You know,” your voice is very quiet right now; half lidded eyes that stare back at him with the same intensity. “Knowing everything isn’t fun. I think it’s better this way.”

You’re still in public, but it’s like everyone else becomes distant. 

Jimin smirks, too.

“Let’s play a game, then.” He says all of sudden, getting even closer to you, on the edge of his seat. “I’ll ask a few questions. You can answer them or not.”

You feel his hand on your leg, under the tablecloth.

This makes you widen your eyes, surprised, looking around discreetly. “What are you doing?”

“You said your feet hurt, pretty.” Oh shit. That mischievous tone, playful smile, glinting eyes. You’re a popsicle melting under his heat. You cover your mouth with your hand, trying not to giggle, as Jimin rests your left leg over his own legs. “Free massage.”

You’re kind of hidden - your leg is fully under the tablecloth - but you still look around frantically, trying not to make any weird face. “Jimin- they’ll see us.”

Jimin clicks his tongue at the same time he swiftly unbuckles your sandal and places it on the floor. Your heart beats faster with adrenaline - if any auntie sees this, they might want to arrest me! “They’re not paying attention to us.”

Indeed, no one is. Mr. and Mrs. Park are having a dance in the center of the hall; most of the crowd surrounds them. The place became dimly lit as the spotlight focuses only on the couple as they sway to a romantic tune and everyone watches them.

You’re about to make another complaint, but as both of his hands hold your aching foot, pressing it - you have to fight back what would be an obscene moan. It feels too good. Jimin chuckles.

“So, back on the game.” It’s criminal how he acts like he’s doing nothing wrong as his hands massage your foot. “Did you want to hook up with Hoseok?”

This comes so out of the blue that you freeze. “What made you think that?”

“I saw the way you looked at each other.”

Well. It’s not like Hoseok tried to pretend when he first saw you. “No. He’s hot, but no.”

Jimin nods. He seems satisfied with the answer. His hands work around your feet miraculously, pressing on the right spots, easing the pain. 

They go a bit up. On your ankles now.

Oh God.

“Did you want to hook up with Jungkook?” Still not looking at you.

“No.” You chuckle. “What got into you? Are you jealous?”

“I don’t know, am I?” He raises his eyebrows and shrugs, making you smile. “I’d only be jealous if something real was going on between us, right?”

His hands are traveling up your leg, still massaging as they do. You gulp heavily. Your heart beats faster.

“Right.”

Your thigh.

You gasp quietly as, in a sudden movement, he pushes you even closer to his body. The chair scratches on the floor. You’re glad the music is loud enough to mask the noise. 

His hands are warm. His smirk widens.

Jimin massages your thigh slowly. You don’t make any attempt to stop him. His hands are resting just a little distant from the hem of your dress. 

You want them to be under it. 

Yes, you are very much aware of all the people standing around, the things they’d think if they notice what is going on. But Jimin’s hands are on your thigh and you feel hotter inside every minute and his delicious lips are right there and holy fuck he’s enjoying torturing you as much as you enjoy being tortured and- you don’t even remember what you were worrying about a second ago.

“You’re so soft.” He says in a quiet, sultry voice that makes your insides quiver. “Are you feeling better now, pretty?”

“Mmmh-hmm” you say quietly as your breath gets deeper - which makes Jimin smile even more. “You’re good at this, did you know that? You have a hidden talent.”

He chuckles darkly, lifting his eyes to meet yours. “I could show you what else I can do with this talent of mine.”

His fingers - slowly, hesitantly - travel just a bit upwards, while he eyes you tentatively. He sees no disapproval or discomfort in your expression, which only ignites his excitement. He smirks and shakes his head slightly. 

“I’m actually going insane because of you, Y/N.” The smirk in his voice makes yet another goosebump run through your system. In response, you tilt your head to the side, eyeing him innocently.

“Why? I’m not doing anything.” You bite the tip of your tongue while smiling, which makes Jimin gulp.

Oh, the electricity. It almost sparks in the air with the power of a lightning. And to think you were trying to act all chaste not long ago, gaslighting yourself into thinking that doing anything with him would be equivalent as “selling yourself”.

Who fucking cares?

“Last question.” He says quietly, leaning even closer to you until his lips are right by your ear, sending shivers of excitement down your body. 

“Will you let finally let me fuck you?”

The words get stuck in your throat.

Jimin hasn’t been this obscenely straightforward up until now. It makes your mouth water, your heart beat faster. His voice wasn’t demanding. It was pleading. Like he was desperate for you and couldn’t take it anymore.

And that’s your last straw.

You lean away just enough to look at him. Fuck, he’s got pleading eyes, too. Your panties feel humid, you remember the last time you had sex was three months ago, you feel his warm hand on your thigh, dangerously close to your intimacy. 

You smile and, in a swift movement, move your leg away from his hand.

Jimin looks confused for a moment, his smile faltering, as you take the sandal and put it on your foot once again. He looks even more confused - maybe thinking you got offended? - when you get up and adjust your dress.

Then you look at him.

“Excuse me. I need to go to the toilet.”

Without looking back, you take the clutch from the table and make your way inside the hall.

The main couple is still having their moment in the middle of the hall - and for the first time you’re thankful to them, because no one even bats an eye as you discreetly make your way to the restroom. The dim lights hide you, not even waiters or security guards or photographers notice you. 

As you get into the black marble restroom - completely empty - you have around five seconds to look at your reflection in the mirror before Jimin walks in and shuts the door.

His lips on yours shut you mid-giggle.

Jimin grabs the back of your neck and glues his body on yours with the other hand as he hungrily kisses you - the kiss tastes like the cherry from your lipgloss and expensive champagne. You grab both sides of his neck as Jimin and you stumble to one of the stalls and you close the door clumsily. Holy fucking shit, it’s getting hot. The kiss is deep and desperate and full of desire. 

“Fuck, Y/N,” he says in a breathy voice that makes you smile seductively. “Why you gotta do this to me?”

You unconsciously squeeze your thighs on one another as he leaves a wet kiss on your neck; you grab his shoulders for support. “I’m not doing anything yet.”

He chuckles darkly against your skin, his hot breath increases your temperature even more. His hand travels down your back to squeeze your ass, making you gasp lightly. He leaves one more wet kiss, and another, and another.

Jimin leans away so he can look at you. His lips are reddish, wet and a bit swollen. 

“You don’t need to.” He parts your legs with his own. Your insides bubble with excitement. “Look at you… all dolled up. The prettiest of all of them out there.” He licks his lips slowly. “I want to make a mess of you, Y/N. I want to see how pretty you look with your hair and makeup ruined by me.”

His knee presses on your intimacy, making you involuntarily sigh; the pressure is still too soft, not even close to satisfying the raging fire inside your body, but it already makes you gulp and breath heavier. God, you want this man inside of you. You need him. 

Jimin notices your change in expression and his smirk widens as he moves his knee against you, making you sigh again. You kiss him eagerly. There’s still music out there, but all you can hear is the kissing sounds and breaths and Jimin’s deep humm of approval.

“This is the face I wanted to see the most.” He whispers on your lips, his leg pressed against you, his hands caressing your waist and hips. “Let me make you feel good, pretty… please?” He pecks your lips. “Hmm?” He bites your bottom lip lightly, passing his tongue on it right after. “Can I fuck you now?”

Shit shit shit. It’s embarrassing how you already feel this wet while you barely even started. Were you this much touch starved? Or is it because you’ve been wanting this as much as him since the beginning?

You kiss him again.

“Not here.” you whisper in a breathy voice.

Jimin nods. It’s obvious. Anyone could walk in at any moment.

Back to your shared bungalow? It’s too far from here - only five minutes by car, yes, but you don’t think you can wait this long. Not to mention Mr. Zhou would be the one to drive you both back and you don’t want to look at that old man’s face before having sex.

Inside some car? But which car? This place is full of butlers and security guards, anyone would notice what’s going on. Just no.

As you’re about to ask where you could head to - Jimin’s eyes glint in that way that tells you he had an idea. 

His smirk widens.

He steps back and grabs your hand with a boyish, playful expression.

“Let’s go.”

You have time to grab the forgotten clutch from over the sink before Jimin drags you out of the restroom - luckily, the hall is still dimly lit and there aren’t many people back here. Discreetly, you two make your way towards the back exit - avoiding butlers and photographers at the main entrance - stepping out of the hall towards the stairs.

You finally realize where Jimin is heading to when you get to the sidewalk and he takes a turn to the left.

The pier.

Dozens of parked and empty yachts just around the corner.

You’re both laughing childishly as you run towards the pier - stopping only so you can yank those sandals off; who the hell could run in stilettos? - not caring to look back, feeling excitement and just the sheer joy of doing something you know you shouldn’t. The pier is quiet, there aren’t many people around; most yachts are dark. Jimin doesn’t drop your hand as he squints his eyes trying to find a specific one. When he does, he sprints towards it, dragging you along.

Jungkook’s yacht.

Completely dark. Cleaners, bartenders, all the staff are long gone, having finished their shifts long ago. 

There is a security guard standing in front of the entrance stairs, though.

He frowns as you two approach.

“Hey!” Jimin says in a happy voice. “You’re… Steven, right? Remember me? We were here earlier today.”

By the looks of it, his name is Steven, and he looks shocked that Jimin remembers it. “Good evening, sir. Did you need something?”

“You see, Steven, I might have forgotten something very important in the yacht.” Jimin says. You want to laugh. “I’d like to go check it out.”

“Of course, sir. Tell me what it is, I can ask another guard to check it for you-“

Jimin steps closer.

“No, Steven. I need to check it out. It’s kind of personal, you know?”

Steven eyes you and Jimin back and forth. 

The penny drops. His frown deepens. You’re not even embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t let you in.” He says in a mix of hesitance and annoyance. “This is private property.”

“I know, Steven, and I’m glad my friend hired such a diligent security guard. You’re very professional.” Jimin is a bastard, isn’t he? “I promise I won’t get you in trouble. Just let me check, okay?”

Steven looks around. “I’m sorry, sir… I really can’t.” 

Jimin nods.

He drops your hand for the first time, reaching for the inside of his back pocket. 

You watch with your jaw dropped as he opens his wallet and puts a stack of money on Steven’s hand.

Jimin casually walks around with stacks of money in his wallet.

The security guard’s eyes are as widened as yours. That much money must be double - shit, triple - of what he’ll get for this shift. You see as his annoyance dissolves and his resolve to not let you in disappears.

“It’s a really tiny thing I’m looking for, so it’ll take, I don’t know… an hour?” Jimin looks back at you up and down and reaches for his wallet again. He takes another stack just as big and puts it on Steven’s hand. “Two hours, actually, to check the whole place.”

Steven gulps. It seems he’s furiously fighting against his work ethic - but the money on his hand is heavier. 

Steven steps aside, finally giving up. “Okay, sir.”

Jimin smiles and grabs your hand again. “Make sure to keep the other guards away, okay? Thank you so much!”

You two sprint up the stairs - you have time to mumble an embarrassed “thank you” - towards the deck.

The yacht is completely dark, except for some emergency lights. Jimin guides you around it. You know there are actual bedrooms here, but both of you are way too impatient to go up one more flight of stairs - so before you can even process what’s happening, Jimin has thrown you against the bar counter and is kissing you again.

You drop the sandals and the clutch on the wooden floor before entangling your arms around Jimin’s neck. He presses his body on yours so hard that you lean back, your back hits the counter. And to think you were right here a few hours ago, surrounded by a bunch of people; it’s a completely different vibe with the lights off, silent, the darkness of the sea around you. 

It’s your turn to squeeze Jimin’s ass, which makes him chuckle against your lips. He leans away for a moment and seems to be searching for something; with a click of his, the glass top of the counter lits up - there are red led lights under it. Both him and you are painted red. 

Jimin looks at you with hungry eyes, out of breath. That damn smirk.

“You have no idea how much I’ve been wanting this, pretty.” He pushes you closer again, grabbing your hair and leaving noisy kisses on your neck.

“I think I do.” You say cockily. You’ve been aching for him all this time - and it’ even embarrassing to admit it to yourself -; it’s embarrassing that Jimin is everything you learned to hate (filthy rich, arrogant, a fuck boy) from your past experiences, but shit, you’ve been wondering how he would feel inside of you all this time, you’ve been craving him since that night in your tiny apartment… and you’ve been wondering if he fucks as good as he talks.

Your hand bravely travels to his front. You rest your palm on his crotch, gently pressing it - earning a soft sigh from him. He’s stone hard. It makes you chuckle cockily against his ear, and the sensual sound sends shivers down Jimin’s spine. 

“No, no, no… you don’t really know.” His lips are on your ear as he speaks quietly and deeply. While one of his hands are still tightly entangled in your hair, the other travels down your back - which already almost makes you melt - to rest on your ass; in a slow but unhesitant movement, he grabs the hem of your dress and pulls it up to your hips, fully exposing your ass. “Ever since that time at the store…” he massages your asscheeks with both palms and squeezes it gently. You lick his neck in response. “When you looked at me with such disdain… you were reading a fucking text book behind that counter, looking at me as if you were so much better than me… I imagined fucking you over that same counter, pretty.” Goosebumps. He grabs one of your thighs and you instinctively wrap it around his waist; when he humps his clothed core against yours, you can’t fight back a soft moan. “I imagined fucking you over and over again. Such a hard-working girl…” He humps again, stronger this time. “So pretty…”

Your impatient fingers search for the lapel of his blazer, and you help him take it off, dropping it on the floor; you grab his face with both hands and your lips are pressed again in a hot dance, while he still humps slowly and sensually; each rub on your clothed clit sends electricity and heat through your veins. Your lower part is almost totally uncovered, except for the black lace thong you wear, and the cool ocean breeze makes the tiny hairs on your body raise. Everything is red and hot. Some sane part of your brain registers that if there’s anyone inside the neighbor yachts, they will totally see what’s happening - and it only adds to the excitement.

Jimin breaks the kiss and leans back slightly with half lidded eyes. His lips are shiny and stained with your lipgloss. He’s so sexy that the vision itself makes you feel pleasure.

He grips your ass tightly and watches intently as his movements make your breath get deeper each time, makes you sigh and moan softly. His breathing is deeper, too; his Adam’s apple moves when he gulps. He licks his bottom lip sensually, feeling the taste of your sweet lipgloss. He keeps you glued to his body as both of you move your hips against each other, rubbing your clothed intimacies to a more urgent pace; there are already droplets of sweat starting to cover his forehead. 

“You’re so fucking hot.” He whispers, watching you whimper. 

“Touch me.” Your voice sounds strangled and slightly out of breath, which makes Jimin smile darkly. “Please.”

“Baby, you don’t need to beg.” He’s so visibly proud of himself and excited that he’s almost glowing more than the red led lights. The hand that supported your leg swiftly travels to your front and he unashamedly presses it on your clothed core, feeling the lace with his fingertips and the wetness underneath. The smile widens. “I’m going to give you anything you want tonight. Anything.”

Your head drops back when he starts to move his fingers in circular movements over your clit. He watches your every reaction intently with that same darkened gaze and smile. With the other hand, he grabs the back of your neck and once again glues his lips to your ear: 

“I want to hear you moan for me, baby.”

He says as his fingers slip under the fabric of the thong.

You shiver and an obscene whimper leaves your lips when his cool fingers make contact with your warm, wet intimacy. He hums in approval - and the deep sound makes your legs shake -, feeling your arousal, before once again putting pressure on your clit and moving his fingers in provocative circles. That’s a man that knows what to do with a clit, by the way. You entrance tightens around nothing.

“You like that?” He whispers. You nod, eyes closed, lips half parted. “Hmmm…” is all you can say. His smile widens.

Instinctively, you start to buck your hips, following the movement of his hand. He increases the speed of his movements, noticing your eagerness. You feel the fire spreading from your core down your legs and stomach.

With a quiet chuckle, he suddenly wraps his other arm around your waist. You let a surprised gasp as Jimin lifts you from the ground with ease and makes you sit over the counter (you hadn’t realized that Jimin is that strong, which is kind of hot).

He stands between your legs and kisses you again. Your fingers run through his smooth hair; he massages your thighs, back and ass. You softly bite his delicious bottom lip, and it’s sick how you know he’s smiling before even opening your eyes.

“You want me so bad, baby. It’s kind of cute.” He breathes amidst a quiet chuckle. 

“You’re talking too much.” 

He chuckles again as his fingers search for the zipper on the back of your dress. “I can’t shut up when you’re around.” The quiet sound of the zipper somehow sounds loud right now. “I want you to pay attention to me and only me.”

“You have all of my attention now. Let’s see if you deserve it.” Jimin finds it sickening how you sound innocent and sweet as you say this, gazing at him with the most daring eyes he’s ever seen. He shakes his head in disbelief.

“Yeah, let’s see.”

Usually, you’d worry about taking the dress off, scared to damage it somehow, but as Jimin helps you lift it and put it over your head, you couldn’t care less. You’re not wearing a bra. Your chest is fully exposed; you rest your hands back on the counter, gazing at Jimin sweetly, as he almost drools over your body. 

“Fuck, you’re perfect.” He breathes heavily, mesmerized. Without wasting a second, he cups your breasts with both hands and squeezes them gently, earning a hum of approval from you. He kisses your neck, making his way down - slow, wet, loud kisses -, tasting you; you grip and massage his smooth hair, pulling it softly in ways that make him shiver.

When he hungrily mouths one of your hardened nipples, you bite your bottom lip and a soft moan escapes. Just the vision of his plump lips wrapped around your nipple makes you wetter. He swirls his warm, wet tongue around it, while his hand still works on your other breast, massaging it in delicious movements. He sucks your nipple, making a loud noise, before biting it gently - earning a hiss from you.

“I like that sound.” He says against your skin, looking up at you with a smile. “God, you’re delicious.” He kisses a spot on your stomach, under your breast. “You smell so good…” Another kiss. Lower this time. “I want to eat you.”

You giggle, biting your lip provocatively - as if his actions aren’t making you go insane. “Then do it.”

It’s his turn to laugh as he shakes his head; his smile is angelical - even though, right now, with the red light painting his face as he helps you position your feet on the counter - your hands supporting the weight of your body as you lean back slightly, totally spread and exposed for him -, he looks like a hungry demon.

God. You never had sex in such an open place before. The ocean breeze hits your body, making you shiver, at the same time that you’re burning from the inside, trembling in expectation. Jimin takes the hem of your thong and helps you take it off slowly, well aware of how painful making you wait is. He drops the last piece of clothing to the floor before grabbing the insides of your thighs, spreading you even more.

You’re naked and open over a bar counter, where anyone from the neighboring yachts can see you, with a million dollar necklace around your neck - and you’ve never been so aroused before.

Jimin licks his lips, eyes locked on your cunt. “You’re so wet for me, baby.” You bite your bottom lip hard when his fingers press on your clit in circular movements again for some moments before spreading your pussy lips with his index and pointed finger. “I can’t wait to be inside of you.”

He wraps his lips on your clit.

You throw your head back and actually moan this time.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck - his plump lips around your clit feel like heaven, much better than what your dirty mind could think of. He sucks softly and licks you, from your entrance to your clit again, flicking his tongue over it (once again - that’s a man that knows what to do with a clit). His warm, wet muscle moving against your most sensitive part makes waves of heat and raw pleasure run through your body, completely clouding your mind, as your fingers grip his hair and moans and hisses escape through your lips. Your sounds of pleasure, the wet noises he makes as he sucks you and the ocean waves create the most obscene and beautiful symphony you’ve ever heard.

“Fuck-“ you manage to breathe out somehow. If he weren’t busy sucking your clit, he would’ve smirked cockily. “Feel so good, baby…”

He leans away for a moment, actually smirking this time. His lips are so wet that the sight makes you more wet. “Shit, if you call me like that again, I will cum in my pants.”

This makes you smile - but your smile goes away quickly as he carefully introduces two fingers inside of you, making you moan and bite your bottom lip. You’re so wet that they slide in easily - but you’re also very tight due to not being penetrated in a while, which makes Jimin move slowly. He watches your cunt with the attention of a professional. Fuck, he might be a pro at this, actually.

He curls his fingers inside of you slowly, making you lose your breath; Jimin pays attention to your every reaction. “You like that, pretty?”

“Y-Yeah,” you moan, nodding, still biting your bottom lip. Jimin looks up at you with a fog in his eyes.

“You look so fucking hot right now, Y/N.” Somehow, the way he calls your name in that low tone instead of pretty sends goosebumps down your spine. He keeps eye contact while his fingers keep moving inside of you. He starts pulling them in and out, and you close your eyes for a moment, feeling shockwaves of pleasure every time he does so. Your breath gets shallow and quick, and out of instinct, you start bucking your hips, following his movements.

He mouths your clit once again while his fingers are still busy, making you moan louder. “R-Right there, Jimin-“ you stutter in a breathless voice. “Just like that…”

You don’t need to ask twice - he keeps hitting the same spot as his mouth works on your clit, sucking and flicking his tongue over it, slurping all of your juices. You grip his hair for dear life, incapable of doing anything but moan and hiss and sweat, feeling your legs shake. You also think Jimin looks so fucking hot right now - head between your legs, hair an absolute mess (your fault), wet lips and the hungriest eyes you’ve ever seen in your life.

It might be because you’ve been touch starved for a while, or because Jimin eats pussy too well, or because you’ve been dreaming of this moment with him - but you already feel the orgasm building up. “Don’t fucking stop,” you beg him - and he obeys, sucking and licking mercilessly; maybe even Steven down there can hear the squelching noise your pussy makes every time his fingers move, or your moans that make Jimin feel the hardest he’s ever been. A small pool of your juices forms on the glass under you, dripping from your entrance. Jimin works on your cunt like his life depends on it. You feel the overwhelming heat building up in your stomach, your body shaking, your lungs failing-

You grip Jimin’s hair hard and yank him away from your pussy as the orgasm hits (you pulled so hard that it hurt his scalp - and he loved it); he also loved how tight you clenched his fingers as the orgasm made you convulse, just imagining how it would feel to be inside you. He watches you with pride, all covered in sweat and helpless, your face contorted in pleasure. 

He takes his fingers out of you slowly, standing straight again to press his lips on yours - and you don’t care to taste yourself on his lips. Your legs are still weak and trembling when one of his arms once again wraps around your waist and he helps you stand up on the floor, never breaking apart.

“Baby, I need you around me.” He whispers between kisses - and it almost sounds like a whimper, which makes your legs even weaker. “Will you get on your knees for me? Hmm?”

It’s your turn to obey promptly - Jimin ate you out so good that he deserves it. Without saying anything, and still keeping eye contact, you get on your knees, batting your lashes prettily at him while your fingers work on his belt. Jimin takes some strands of hair away from your face, mesmerized; ever since you first met, he always looked at you in a way that made you feel attractive, and right now it has just increased tenfold.

Jimin unzips his pants and frees his cock from his black boxers. You gulp at the sight of his girthy, veiny cock; he’s stone hard, pulsating, and you wonder exactly how long he’s been hard already. He pumps himself slowly, while you once again lock eyes. 

“Shit- you look even better than I imagined.” He says in a low, breathy tone. Just the fact that your usually fierce and unbashful persona is obediently kneeled down in front of his dick, looking up at him with sweet round eyes (you’re too good at this), eyes clouded still recovering from your high, almost sends him over the edge. 

You stick your tongue out and lick his pink tip, immediately earning a hiss of pleasure. Your lips wrap around the tip and you suck gently at first, teasing him, never breaking eye contact, while he still pumps himself. Jimin gulps, licking his wet lips; the sight itself makes you tighten your pussy around nothing. 

“Open your mouth for me.” He says - and this time it doesn’t sound like he’s asking, meaning he’s more desperate. You promptly do so, sticking your tongue out again. He slaps his cock against your tongue, hissing - and it’s fucking evil how you’re smiling right now, he thinks - while his other hand grips the hair at the top of your head firmly.

He pushes in. Fuck - he’s big and fat and you gag around him, but at the same time, he tastes delicious, if it even makes sense. Jimin closes his eyes and throws his head back, starting to roll his hips against your face, as his hand still keeps your head in place and your lips tighten around his cock. 

“Shit– you look so good with my cock stuffed down your throat,” he hisses, increasing the speed of his thrusts. Drool and spit drip from the corners of your mouth, you gag and whimper, but it’s the daring gaze locked on his that tells Jimin he can just keep going. “So obedient, baby, taking me like a big girl… fuck– I want to cum all over your face.”

You hum with his dick in your mouth, sending vibrations that make him groan with pleasure. His balls slap on your chin every time he thrusts, and you keep your lips tightened around him, trying to give him the pressure he needs. There’s something sensual about you being naked while he’s still fully clothed - and you never thought you’d feel this way for anyone. He looks so hot with sweat covering his forehead, strands of hair falling over eyes, half lidded eyes and parted lips in a face of pure pleasure; fuck, you’d let him fuck your throat whenever he wanted, you’d suck him forever if it meant you would have this sight every time you did it.

His grunts and moans and hisses make you melt every time, even though his movements become more and more uncomfortable as he stuffs himself in your throat in quick thrusts that make you whimper and feel tears grow in your eyes. As if sensing this, Jimin yanks you off his cock and you gasp for air. He smiles at how messy you look right now, with drool dripping from your mouth and a thin layer of sweat over your forehead. 

“C’mere,” he breathes out, helping you get up and hurriedly guiding you towards a nearby sun lounger. Closer to the yacht’s balcony, the ocean breeze hits your body harder, making you shiver. “How do you want me to fuck you, hm?”

Without saying a word, you smile devilishly before getting on your fours for him; you arch your back and purr like a cat, ass up, chest touching the lounger. You're still smiling and biting your lip when you look at him from over your shoulder, mesmerized by the sight of your stretched pussy.

Jimin steps closer and massages your asscheek before slapping hard, earning you a soft hiss. “You’re amazing. Can’t stop saying that. You’re perfect, baby.” He grips your hip with one hand while the other guides his cock to your entrance, getting the tip wetter with your juices. “You’re so good that you make me wanna fuck you raw, baby.”

Truth is - you didn’t even think of protection, and you couldn’t care less in this moment, as wrong as it is - but God, when Jimin finally pushes in, stretching your pussy as both of you moan in pleasure, you couldn’t be more thankful that his cock is uncovered so you can feel his skin purely.

Your breathing fails and you grip the fabric of the lounger tight, adjusting to the pressure and the slight pain it causes. Jimin pushes balls deep in, slowly at first, throwing his head back in delight. “Your pussy is so fucking tight, pretty…”

He starts to thrust in and out, making you moan each time with the glorious friction you desired so much. “Fuck– f-feel so good, Jimin…” you purr, arching your back even more. He grips both sides of your hips firmly, increasing speed with each thrust; the sound of skin hitting skin repeatedly is everything you can hear beside yours and Jimin’s moans and grunts.

Every nerve in your body seems to be on fire. His cock punches deep into your pussy, pushing you closer and closer to actual insanity as your mind becomes incapable of noticing anything but the feeling of him hammering inside of you over and over again, his strong grip on your hips, stuffing you even better than you had fantasized. Sweat covers all of your body now, and the necklace hurts your collarbones since you’re pressed against the lounger, but you couldn’t care less right now. 

“I love hearing you moan, pretty.” He sounds out of breath and sexy. You gasp in surprise when, suddenly, he grips your hair and pulls it, forcing your head back. It burns your scalp; you hiss in pain, but the pain mixes with the overwhelming pleasure and somehow doubles it. “Fuck– this pussy’s all mine. You’re all mine.”

You never thought Jimin was the possessive type, but people babble whatever comes to their minds when they fuck, right? That’s why, mindlessly, you have the audacity to agree: “Y-Yeah, baby, I’m all yours– ah!”

He pulls your hair even harder at the same time he takes it all out just to slam himself balls deep in again in a way that lets you see stars and drool. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck– he’s merciless, relentless in his quick pace, ruthless in the way he grips you and spanks your ass - but, at the same time, his mouth is full of praises, grunting how good you feel or how pretty you are.

You whine in protest when he pulls out entirely without warning. “Turn around, I want to watch you getting fucked.”

Once again, you do as he said without complaints - but instead of immediately laying back again, your hurried fingers unbutton his shirt and you make him take it off, which Jimin does gladly, since the fabric was already glued to his body due to how much he was sweating. You lay back; Jimin grabs your legs and puts both knees over his shoulders.

He takes his cock with one hand while the other holds one of your thighs, slapping it on your clit a few times. You watch his face distort with pleasure when he pushes inside of you again. Jimin picks a fast pace from the beginning, holding both of your thighs, focused as if he’s on a mission; all you can do is moan and whimper helplessly, massaging your own breasts while Jimin drives both of you closer to your highs.

He watches the way your tits bounce with each thrust, your face covered with sweat, the way not even the ruined makeup makes you look ugly - and the fact that you’re wearing anything but diamonds somehow arouses him even more. You clench around him, pushing Jimin closer and closer to the edge. Neither of you are worrying about being quiet right now, and you can only hope that the ocean will be your ally in muffling your desperate moans.

But you’re suddenly forced to worry about it.

The sound of voices and steps yank both of you back to reality at the same time. 

Jimin stops moving. You and him look to the stairs barely five meters away at the same time.

Two voices coming closer.

“Sir, please-” you hear. It’s Steven’s voice - worried, almost freaked out.

And the second voice-

“B-But I’m sure I left it here somewhere…”

You both recognize it instantly.

A very drunk Jungkook.

You look back at Jimin with horror, eyes open wide, as he lets go of your legs and lays on top of you instead, shushing you. 

“Sir, please,” Steven’s panicked voice echoes again. “As I told you, the upper floors were waxed… you can’t go upstairs, it’ll ruin your shoes,” yeah, he came up with a smart excuse. But Jungkook keeps babbling about losing something, too drunk to understand.

If he comes upstairs, he’ll immediately see you. You’re not in a hidden spot at all. You want to get up and hurry away-

But then you look at Jimin again and he’s smirking devilishly.

He thrusts again, sending bolts of pleasure through your body.

Before you can moan - he covers your mouth with his hand.

Your eyes talk. Are you seriously doing this?

His eyes talk back. Yeah.

He thrusts again.

And again.

Your eyes roll back, you entangle your legs around his waist. Fuck, these men down there could come upstairs at any moment. They can hear you if you’re loud enough. If they come upstairs and see you in this situation, you don’t know if you’ll get over the embarrassment. But Jimin’s cock is stuffing you so deep and so good. He hits your spot again, and again, and again, and his dick is thick and heavy, and he could tear you open that you wouldn’t mind - so you don’t push Jimin away. No, you tighten your legs around him because don’t he dare stop; you grip his back, you bite your bottom lip in an attempt to keep quiet, but the fact that Jimin can still hear your muffled moans against his hand makes it hard for him to endure this much longer.

He hides his face on your neck in an attempt to muffle his own moans, biting your shoulder in a torturous slower pace now - if he goes too hard, the sound of skin hitting skin will be heard from the floor below. A part of your mind registers that Steven is desperately trying to lead Jungkook out of the yacht, while all the other parts are focused on Jimin’s member inside of you, his weight over your body, his teeth sinked on your shoulder. You can’t stop, neither does he. It’s like you’re in some type of trance.

After long, torturous minutes, you hear the voices going away.

Jimin is ruthless.

He lets go of your mouth and supports his body with his forearms on both sides of your face, pounding in despair; neither of you can take this much longer, it’s getting painful.

“F-Fuck, pretty, you did so well-” he somehow manages to breathe out, smirking in boyish excitement. “Such an obedient girl, hmpf, keeping quiet while I fuck you good…”

“Oh my God–” you whimper, feeling the second - and more intense - orgasm building up in the pit of your stomach. “D-Don’t fucking stop, Jimin–”

“Yes, baby, I’ll make you cum again–” he swiftly leans away and places one leg over his shoulder again, spreading you in an even better angle. “You deserve it, baby- shit, shit, shit–”

He punches inside of you over and over and over again until your walls are clenched and convulsing and your toes curl and your eyes roll and you grip the fabric of the lounger tight and your whole body shakes in an explosive orgasm. You’re breathless, weak; it was an almost out of body experience. Did you ever cum this hard before? You don’t think so.

And it’s not time to think of yourself, actually, because when your brain starts recovering from the high, you realize that Jimin had pulled out and is pumping his cock desperately, trying to reach his high. You grab his wrist, stopping him, and - Jimin almost loses it - you meow: “C’mere, come in my mouth.”

You sit up and he kneels over you until his member is on your face and, without wasting a second, you put it all into your mouth until you feel him in your throat, sucking him eagerly. Jimin moans and grips your hair while you pump your head over his length, producing loud suction noises. You just want him to cum as hard and good as he made you.

“Fuck– fuck, Y/N, I’m coming–” he warns in pant, pulling his cock out of your mouth.

You still keep it open, though, sticking your tongue out, as Jimin blows his load on you. You feel his hot seed dripping on your face, feel it on your lips and tongue. You patiently wait until he’s milked dry. Then, you open your eyes.

Jimin’s hair is an absolute mess. He’s all sweaty, panting heavily, face flushed, shaking slightly; you’ve never seen him look so glorious.

He opens a tired smirk.

And, with your gaze locked with his, you lick your lips and swallow.

It’s like he came again just seeing you do this.

“You’re gonna be the death of me, Y/N.” He shakes his head in disbelief.

It is your turn to chuckle.

Yeah.

Maybe you will.

You let cum drip on a million dollar necklace.

[homestuckreplay]

JOHN EGBERT BANGING OUT THE TUNES APRIL 21, 2009?!

After our adventures in John's bedroom and living room these past days, we now get a glimpse into his father's study. Unsurprisingly this room is also filled with harlequins, but this time the more businesslike monochrome harlequins, almost veering into mime territory. There's also a copy of 'The Serious Jester' on the desk. From this we could guess that this is where John's dad does the serious part of clowning - filing his taxes or whatever - if it weren't for the next line.

There is also a CAN OF PEANUTS on the desk. Ha ha, oh DAD. You won't be falling for THAT one again any time soon. A severe peanut allergy is a terrible affliction to cope with.

AGAIN?? Is this suggesting that John's dad, through carelessness at best, has been leaving peanuts around the house to potentially poison his son with? Can we infer that his ceaseless cake baking is a sort of Russian roulette, where most cakes are perfectly safe but there's a small chance any one could have peanuts blended in? Is the divide between John and his father that John does whimsical, ridiculous pranks while his father does 'serious' pranks that endanger people's lives? When are we going to meet this evil clown?!

A father without a pipe is like a strapping roughneck without a toothpick. That is to say, HE IS A RATHER PISS-POOR EXCUSE FOR A ROUGHNECK IF YOU ASK ME.

This is the THIRD time an opinion like this has been voiced by the narration - first the tire swing, then the fire, and now the father, all trappings of the suburban lifestyle in which John seems to live. The narrator explicitly calls themself 'me' here too, suggesting a distinct entity instead of a disembodied narration. Are we reading this from the point of view of an entity who is keeping John homestuck, forcing him to partake in all the trappings of home life? And does this have anything to do with Sburb - as someone pointed out on Discord last night, it's only one letter away from Suburb?

I think that captchaloguing a captchalogue card should cause John to open a portal to the astral plane like with bags of holding in D&D.

But the most exciting part of this update is John playing the piano on page 77 - complete with a song playing inside the animation! The song is Showtime by Kevin Regamey and Malcolm Brown, and it's a very pleasant listen. John is a skilled piano player!! Which means that sooner than expected, I'm getting an answer to my question of 'what is John good at'. I can't believe there hasn't been a single mention of music in this comic until now, and suddenly John busts out this simple but lightweight, airy, carefree melody that he's clearly practiced loads before. What other secrets is this kid hiding from us?

The caption on this animation is even more intriguing - '(Pages including sound will be preceded by [S] in the command.)' Is music going to become a regular part of the comic? Is John playing music going to become relevant to the plot, so we'll get to hear more of his songs, or will music be worked into the story in other ways? This is treading new ground, moving Homestuck further away from a 'traditional' comic, which only makes me more curious about where it'll go next.

[minecraftbookshelf]

Traffic Life Scars: Ethoslab

All updates will be made to this post specifically as we get new seasons and new final deaths.

Welcome to my series of MS Paint diagrams following the headcanon/concept that every minecraft death leaves a scar, and while most of those do not continue past the end of the server, the final deaths leave permanent marks on the cubito. (And also some other deaths that have significant impact on the story, the cubito, or both, these are extremely rare.) I did take some creative license with the deaths, mostly in the sense of figuring out how to handle Fall Damage in a slightly more realistic context, as well as figuring out approximately where final blows would land based on the respective positioning of the cubitos in question. This project has also shown some interesting patterns in how some of them tend to die. On with the show!

The fact that Etho isn't even the worst off.

Third Life: Etho died to fire damage dealt by Impulse during the Battle of Dogwarts. I chose the location based off the direction the attack that initially caught him on fire came from.

Last Life: Joel killed Etho before dying himself when the later-game red lifers banded together to take out him and Grian. Etho struggled with his shield during that confrontation, which let Joel get enough hits in to kill him before being killed immediately after by Scott. I placed that injury as a glancing blow off the top rim of his shield.

Double Life: Etho and Joel died to a lava-trapped nether portal. The scars are from the lava flow. Etho died first, so his scars are a bit more prominent than Joel's.

Limited Life: Etho (like so, so many other people this season) died to fall damage. He was fighting the Mean Gills on the edge of the Bad Boy Manor and lost his balance. The "camera angle" of the ground as he fell is pretty much how i decided where the impact probably was.

Secret Life: Scar killed him by catching up and passing him via enderpearl as he fled to "die in my home." A combination of the high ground and whatever Scar was on that session got Scar the win very quickly. The scar for this one is a sword strike that lines up almost perfectly with the scar Etho already had that is part of his skin. (The Kakashi Scar) At least that one will be covered by the mask. I guess.

-

[Bdoubleo100] [Bigbst4tz2] [Geminitay] [GoodTimesWithScar] [Grian] [ImpulseSV] [InTheLittleWood] [LDShadowlady] [Mumbo Jumbo] [PearlescentMoon] [Rendog] [Skizzleman] [Smajor1995] [Smallishbeans] [SolidarityGaming] [TangoTek] [ZombieCleo]

SERIES TAG

[burnthoneydrops]

can you do a isaac mcadoo of colin trying so hard to wingman for him with the reader who is friends with keeley and colin being (adorably) bad at it but obviously she likes isaac?

Flirting 101 (i.m. x fem!reader)

pairing: isaac mcadoo x fem!reader

word count:

warnings: alcohol, use of y/n, language (maybe)

a/n: awww i loved writing this so much!! all the boys are my favourite so writing for different ones is so much fun! thank you for the request and i hope you like it!!

“Babe, come on! I promise it’s just the restaurant, it’ll be chill!” Keeley’s been begging you to come to a Richmond night with her for the past 20 minutes. 

“Those boys do not know how to be chill,” you shoot back, shutting your laptop, “besides, you just want me to go so you can not-so-subtly push me into Isaac at some point”. 

“What?! I would never! What kind of friend do you think I am?” Keeley tries to look offended but it’s not long before her facade breaks and she laughs. 

“Case in point,” you roll your eyes, putting your laptop in your bag and getting out of your chair. You were thankful to Keeley for getting you a job at her PR firm, as you were one of her best friends, but it was moments like this that made you regret saying yes. You would say you were her best friend, but you do not need the backlash from Rebecca on that, so you settle for being one of them. 

“But you have that pretty top that would be perfect! You know, the black one with the fancy sleeves?” She gestures across her arms in case you forgot where sleeves go. 

“Ugh, fine! But if you try and pull something or it gets super loud or whatever, we’re leaving,” you look her directly in the eye. 

Keeley squeals, gripping you in a tight hug and jumping up and down. “I swear, it’s gonna be fun”. 

To your surprise, you’re sitting at a corner table in Ola’s and everything seems to be going pretty well. Keeley hasn’t really left your side; except for when she ran towards the entrance to trap Rebecca in a bear hug and drag her over to your table. Roy and Jamie were sitting at a table across the aisle from you, and Richard and Dani looked like they were in a very deep conversation about something you didn’t even want to try and guess. You sense a presence walking up beside you and notice Colin placing his beer down on your table. 

“Good evening ladies,” he addresses the table. “Oi, Y/N, didn’t expect to see you here”. 

“Oh, well Keeley basically begged me to come so-” 

“I did not beg!” 

“The security cameras at KJPR beg to differ,” you turn to look at her and she’s quick to shut up.

“Well anyway,” Colin starts, bringing the attention back to him, “could I maybe get you lot a drink? Round on me?” 

The three of you nod before each listing off your preferred drinks. As Rebecca tells Colin what she’d like, you look around the room and catch Isaac’s eyes. He seems to be intently staring at your table and you give him a small smile and a wave before he shakes out of his trance and clears his throat. You shake it off, not wanting to give yourself false hope that he was staring because of you and turn back to the group at hand. 

“Alright, I’ll be right back,” Colin smiles before he leaves to go place the orders. 

“Well that was awfully nice of him,” Keeley comments. 

“A little out of the blue, but yes,” Rebecca adds. 

You eye Keeley suspiciously, making her raise her eyebrows at you. “What?” she questions. 

“I’m not sure you had nothing to do with that”. 

Keeley grabs your hands, keeping them in place on the table, “people are allowed to do nice things for you just because”. 

You don’t have time to argue with her before Colin returns with the drinks, placing them down on the table in front of you. You all thank him again before he heads off back to his seat next to Isaac and the two begin to whisper. Before you can think about it too long, Rebecca grabs your attention again. 

“So, any news to update me on ladies? How’s life at KJPR?” 

“Oh it’s great! Working with your best friend always makes things better of course-” 

“I thought I was your best friend!” Rebecca interrupts Keeley. 

“I’m allowed to have more than one,” Keeley reassures her. 

“But the whole point of your best friend is that one person is the best. That’s literally what best means-” 

The two are interrupted by another drink being put down on the table. This time it’s Isaac, looking as uncomfortable as ever, standing like a plank at the table’s side. 

“This is for you,” he looks at your forehead, not quite making eye contact as he pushes the drink closer to you. It’s the same one you had told Colin about, though you weren’t even halfway done with that one and you weren’t going to question how Isaac had gotten it so fast. 

“Oh, thanks Isaac,” you reply awkwardly, gripping the glass and moving it that little bit extra away from the edge of the table. You try to suppress how warm your cheeks feel, but you know it’s pretty obvious just by the way Keeley and Rebecca are acting out of your peripheral vision. He nods and walks away and you want to slam your head on the table with how awkward you just were. 

“Oh my god you have to go talk to him,” Keeley exclaims. 

“No, I am absolutely not doing that!” You lean your head on your crossed arms so you’re looking down at your lap. 

“He bought you a drink, babes, that’s like flirting 101!” 

“No! Jesus Christ that interaction was awkward enough, I don’t need to make it worse”. 

“Come on! Woman up for God’s sake!” Rebecca laughs, kicking you under the table. 

“Ok! But only because that hurt,” you rub your shin before grabbing a napkin and a pen out of your bag. “But once I do this, I’m leaving,” you announce to the two of them and Keeley nods, getting ready to follow you out. 

You scribble a note and your phone number onto the napkin, quickly standing up and pushing your chair back before making your way over to the table Isaac was sitting at. You drop the napkin in front of him, not even checking if it actually landed on the table, thank him quietly for the drink once again and bolt out of there. 

If you wanted my number, you could have just asked :) 

+**-***-***-****

-Y/N

“You did it!” Keeley cheers as she closes the door to Ola’s behind her, following you to the car. She’s a giggling mess beside you, and it doesn’t take long before you join her, hoping you did the right thing.

[sonkitty]

The Sideburns Scheme Post #10

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 1, The Arrival, storming out

This post was last updated 08/07/2024.

Due to how this part of the episode is structured, this post requires a different format than usual to start.

I am going to start with a specific sequence but cover several things after that sequence in the rest of the post.

This sequence is very important and very special. It is going to demonstrate several game mechanics to the audience in a tutorial.

I strongly believe in my guesses that there are 2 fake Crowleys in this sequence.

Crowley is going to walk from the threshold of his private meeting room with Aziraphale, into the main bookshop first floor area, through the bookshop's overall threshold, and into the street, stopping specifically at the center of the street.

Let's begin.

When leaving the room, Crowley's sideburns have become longer than being in the room but not as long as when he encountered Gabriel. I strongly suspect this fake is Gabriel.

Then there is a cut.

This fake Crowley—who is probably Aziraphale—stiffly walks his way past a cardboard box with visibly long sideburns that are likely to be the same length as when Presumably Actual Crowley encountered Gabriel as shown earlier in the episode.

Then there is another cut.

Now we have a blurry Crowley. This version does not show us enough to guess the sideburn length. Instead, the sequence focuses on an avoided plate of Eccles cakes while a right hand picks up Crowley's sunglasses. This draft previously noted him as a possible fake, but by this point, I do think it is Crowley. I will explain that in further detail later.

Then there is another cut.

A human walks past Now Presumably Actual Crowley. His sideburns are shorter than the Aziraphale-Crowley but not as short as when he initially entered the bookshop. He has passed the bookshop's threshold.

Then there is another cut.

Now Crowley's left profile view almost looks like it matches his left profile view before he entered the bookshop with the left sideburn. It seems to be a little longer still.

If the sideburns had not fully shortened in the preceding cut, they have here when Crowley is going to tighten his face in anger. I'll go over this part in more detail in the Earthly Objects section, along with the complex window scene that follows it.

...

Sideburns Check

Okay, so this storming out sequence told us the story was blatantly lying to us but not because the sideburns changed in length. It's other things detailed in the Earthly Objects section.

When first trying to figure out the sideburns, I saw this sequence, made a post about it, thought it over, and grew exasperated. How else am I supposed to figure out how the sideburns work if I know the story is so blatantly lying on things that are not the sideburns? That's the trick to it right there. The answer is in the question. There is no other way to know. If I want to keep playing the sideburns game—because I sincerely think someone or something in the story wants me to find their meaning, I have to believe there was a hidden message within the lie that was true. This sequence just told me some important things about how the sideburns work. It was a sideburns tutorial.

Proximity to Gabriel will make the sideburns longer. Proximity to humans, or a private space with Aziraphale, will make the sideburns shorter. There can be a length in between the two types with distance involving the thresholds of the bookshop.

Playing the game without that assumption makes the game much, much harder.

Reaching that conclusion took several days of just plain thinking, trying to make more posts, and otherwise living my life. I had to go back and thoroughly update my initial post.

The longer sideburns in the lie are also a clue that Gabriel was there after all, in whatever really happened.

Here is what it takes playing the whole game of season 2 to understand even more. There is an invisible supernatural border between Aziraphale's bookshop and Crowley's car when the car is parked across the street. The bookshop is Aziraphale's home. The car is Crowley's home.

Because this border exists as a human-dominant space, Crowley's sideburns will shorten to the length they usually are around humans once he has reached the proper distance—currently the center of the street—between these two special, supernatural places.

This border will disappear—or expand as a radius—at the end of episode 4 when Crowley visibly crosses the bookshop threshold and walks with Aziraphale all the way to his car while they both hold cardboard boxes of Crowley's plants. As noted in my main sideburns post, I think that's from the shared loan of the homes to form a special connection. After all I have been through with my limited progress in the Rainbow Connection for The Pocket Trick, I am all the more convinced. At my best guesses going over my archive here on Tumblr, I came up with the word "connection" in my main sideburns post a little over a month before I found The Pocket Trick, then took another few weeks to find the Rainbow Connection in The Pocket Trick's Pocket Chain existed.

After the border expands, Crowley has to drive far enough away and give the sideburns enough time to shorten to the desired length for being read as human in the street again.

The story demonstrates such an action with episode 5 showing him arriving back from a drive. A player has to give into the admittedly questionable chronology of the story for that conclusion as well.

...

Brighter Red Streak Check

For Gabriel-Crowley starting off the sequence, I cannot find the brighter red streak of hair.

For Aziraphale-Crowley, there is something lighter in shade compared to the rest of the hair above the center of his left eye, but that's not the same thing as being more saturated in red.

For Crowley exiting the bookshop, it is mostly gone. It is only when he is about to stop in the street that I can finally see something that looks like more saturated red in the same general area I found it before he entered the bookshop. That is the only thing that might be the streak, and it is small. The above image is not brightened. When I tried to brighten an image to check, that part looked even less plausible to be the streak.

After that, I cannot find it.

...

Hairstyle Changes

The hair changes quite a bit during the whole thing.

For Gabriel-Crowley, the middle area of the front goes up and to his right some. There's something like a curl behind it on the top of the head.

For Aziraphale-Crowley, the style is more tidy. The front top swoops up and back.

For Actual Crowley, the style looks similar to before he entered but darker and with the tendrils on top positioned a little differently. I like this one too. It is very distracting in trying to make this post because I like it so much.

When Crowley's face tightens in anger, the cut ensures not being able to see if the brighter red streak is there.

After that, his hair looks to be losing its stronger red saturation before the lightning itself is actually released. It looks more relaxed too.

From what can be seen, the hair is getting darker.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects | Earthly Objects Study - Windows Part 1 | Earthly Objects Study - Crowley's Sunglasses)

Whoa, there is a lot happening with Earthly Objects here.

So, the way I interpret the storming out sequence to right before a human passes by Crowley past the bookshop's threshold is that is basic rule-breaking in Earthly Objects on purpose.

It might not be, but that's how I like to think of it in the way I play the game as an audience member. Plus, I can name a place where I think the rule-breaking ends and the rule-following starts.

Aziraphale—or Crowley as Aziraphale—is in the chair. Gabriel-Crowley touches the door on the push plate, and somebody picks up those sunglasses. So, there are touches.

However, the main earthly objects meant to be noticed are the cardboard box and the plate of Eccles cakes because they were both left untouched with the box also being unquestioned. Dialogue is lacking when the fakes are on screen.

As I said in my main first post about Crowley and Muriel, Actual Crowley is a top tier player in Earthly Objects who is incredibly deliberate in what he touches, especially with his hands. He's also someone who tends to ask questions.

This part is not the Metatron editing the Book of Life. This part is Crowley, Aziraphale, and Gabriel collectively working together for their edit in the story through breaking the rules of the game, Earthly Objects. That rule-breaking then informs the audience of the lie.

When Crowley is leaving the bookshop, two fingers are touching the sunglasses. That is not enough to earn credit for touching them as an accessory yet. That is the end of the rule-breaking.

A human passes by, and then he is touching the sunglasses with at least three fingers. So, rule-following has started. The rule-breaking edit ended, and we have entered the main draft of the story.

By hiding the thumb, that helped put the sunglasses into Accessory Mode too and earning a point for that touch.

Crowley angrily mutters, "Just breathe, that's what humans do...then they count to ten before they do anything stupid!" The number "ten" is a dialogue point. That is Crowley's second point in this solo set.

Now here's where things get even more weird and tricky, but thanks to the annoying, difficult pocket mechanics that are so silly and emphasize a human presence in The Pocket Trick, I have a stronger belief in this ridiculous theory.

Crowley is creating a very specific context to allow him to earn a point by touching the sunglasses with his face.

Once he reaches the center of the street and stopped, the sideburns are shortened to the desired length for human spaces. He is being read as human. Humans use sunglasses as accessories. While pockets are what tend to use lighting as clues, in the cut where he is stopping, there is extra light on his left sunglasses lens that could very well be a clue about the sideburns, this incoming touch, and a couple of pockets of hair shown by toward the end of the cut. There is a lightning imprint visible on the forehead yet again.

Crowley tightens his face in anger. The cut itself focuses on the act, and the subtitles note he grunts. The eyebrows lower for an active touch on the top of the rims of his sunglasses and the cheeks rise for an active touch on the bottom of the rims of his sunglasses.

When Nina sees Crowley, she refers to him as "that bloke," so there is even further confirmation that yes, here is a human looking at Crowley and seeing him as human after he has done that particular touch.

So, a benefit to the short sideburns is that it allows him a face touch on the sunglasses in this special context. That doesn't seem like much, but it's valuable to Crowley because, if this theory is right, he does it two more times during Good Omens 2. That would make 3 face touches in a game with a Rule of Three.

He plays this game like it is a competition. He is likely the top tier player because he makes choices like this one: short sideburns for a slight advantage in earning 3 special accessory points across the game during the entire season.

...

Moving on, it is time for the story's first complex window scene!

These scenes have three steps, and this part is the game's initial tutorial on those steps.

The steps are:

Step 1: The looker looks.

Step 2: The window sees.

Step 3: The looker is seen clearly behind the window pane with at least some of the window frame visible.

When Nina gets Maggie to look, there is a shared blur between the two. That blur is the main one that made me think they mean pass or share in the game. When Maggie looks, she is known to have been attending to her tea, but if she is touching an earthly object, the touch itself is not on screen. She is at the threshold of the window touch with this particular look.

There will be more complex window scenes that will do the same thing to help further confirm this threshold component. For instance, in the next one, Maggie is doing a self-touch with her hand in her mouth and then actually removes the touch during the look. This threshold component is important because of figuring out the steps Crowley is following in The Window Trick without knowing whatever further advanced pocket mechanics might be involved.

For the window seeing, that would be the cut with Maggie and Nina shown from the back while Crowley is seen through the window. Generally, these parts make sure a window frame is somewhere in the cut.

Maggie is seen behind the window pane when the lightning shoots out. While it is a little blurry because of the lightning, that blur is not the same type as what the game uses for the passes and shares, so I think she is still considered to be seen clearly enough to earn the point for looking. The reflection of Crowley's lower body is in the window pane with his lightning.

While Maggie and Nina are looking, Crowley is still busy earning his own solo points, which the game focuses on when not focusing on Maggie and Nina.

I think it goes that one set is the hopping on the ground is point #1 as a touch. Shouting the number "Ten!" is point #2 through dialogue. The lightning actually hitting the coffee shop twice is point #3 as a touch.

The lightning earns its own 3 points with 3 different touches on the door. I eventually took that sequence as a clue about the Rule of Three in Earthly Objects.

For Crowley's next set, his lightning is channeling out of his own neck and striking him. There are actually three specific points on his body where the lightning is channeling out from him, like little nodes. I'm hoping I'm not supposed to count how many are doing what where because I won't do that, and it's mainly communicating the lightning is striking him for a point here.

Maggie will remind the audience in the dialogue that lightning striking someone or something is what lightning does on Earth. Hence, that is how Crowley earns that point.

With Maggie finally forced to see Crowley, the surrounding Soho people react oddly, almost in tune with her. They were moving when she first saw Crowley, but in the next cut, almost everyone is stopped and looking at Crowley. They see him release the lightning. Maggie says she thinks he was struck by lightning—which technically he was because of his own lightning striking him. As if in response, everyone in the street moves on as if nothing happened.

Another theoretical point for Crowley is bringing his teeth together in a chomp. The rules for supernatural beings and self-touches are very confusing because they look like they don't exist for various reasons, but Crowley's play especially suggests there is something like requiring an earthly object touch in several instances for him. This chomp would be one such time. Crowley can do it because of the lightning striking him. The chomp is so fast, I can only ever see it going frame by frame, but I don't think he gets a second point any other way, even with whatever he is doing with pockets.

The third point would then be Crowley letting the smoke hit him as he grunts.

UPDATE START (for this part):

For the Tied Hands, while I have not fully figured out retying mechanics, I have found an assortment of patterns that suggest retying actually happens every time a threshold is crossed. A clasp at a lapel edge is the easiest clue to find that retying is possibly happening, but it's not actually required every time. The clasps can align with other edges, as can actual thumb joints, especially Crowley's already significant left thumb CMC joint for the touches in The Pocket Trick.

Among those patterns were some I noted in a previous draft of this post. This tutorial has a findable word puzzle of "smoke and mirrors" to conclude an instance of retying. Reflections were involved as part of it.

These patterns also suggest that both Gabriel-Crowley and Aziraphale-Crowley still had to manage both the Tied Hands and the Belt Head.

Gabriel-Crowley shows the face of Crowley's watch. As the cut progresses, multiple lights can be found to his right and above his right ear, suiting an angel. I can't see a tassel clearly touching the Belt Head, but I can tell that such a thing is plausible given the position and movement of this character. A clasp actually does strike a lapel edge.

Aziraphale-Crowley also receives right-side Overhead Lights. He aligns his actual right thumb CMC joint along a jacket edge near a lapel. That's another theoretical sign of retying.

UPDATE END (for this part).

Regarding whatever else is going on with pockets, Gabriel-Crowley has pockets existing while visually in the door frame before leaving. After he closes the door and starts walking, the tie strands switch though as they switch, only one of the clasps is visible. As he keeps moving and does another two switches, both clasps are not visible.

Aziraphale-Crowley makes a few pockets with his arms as he walks.

Now onto the blurry Crowley who I finally think is Crowley. Crowley makes a pocket with the left arm, then more pockets with the legs, waist, and dark horse statue holding the sunglasses. The left hand does end up in a pocket between the body and dark horse statue as the sunglasses are grabbed, creating even more pockets within. In this pocket itself, the left thumb CMC joint lines up with an edge of the rug in the background.

The camera work is giving heavy focus to the dark horse statue with the sunglasses on it and to the plate of Eccles cakes. At the start of the cut, the strongest light behind Crowley is to his left and above his left ear. Lights can be found on the sunglasses themselves. Pocket trickery uses lighting as clues. All of these factors combined are why I finally think this blurry Crowley is Crowley.

When Crowley is exiting the bookshop, the tie strands are visibly off his chest before pulling back in as his arm obscures them. They looked about to switch, but he hides confirmation of if that happened with his right hand and blurred movement.

After that, the pocket mechanics finally let up a little bit to give the face touch on the sunglasses and the complex window scene the focus they deserve for what they are. The scene does show at least one human pocket-user glance in his direction during that face touch.

Crowley creates a pocket with his legs after he is done hopping and the lightning is shooting out from him. In his angered grunt of letting the smoke hit him, his right hand aligns with the jacket, so that an actual thumb joint is at an edge before re-tying of the Tied Hands is done.

Usually, when I refer to a thumb joint, I am specifically referring to the carpometacarpal joint (CMC joint)—but in this case, the thumb joint would actually be the metacarpophalangeal joint. The MCP joint is within the thumb itself whereas the CMC joint is what connects the thumb to the rest of the hand. I had to look up this thumb stuff. I don't magically know these things.

Further into the movement, the left thumb is visually over the assumed lapel area and avoiding a visual touch on the actual tie strands.

The pocket made with his legs opens to reveal little bit of reflected red light from the road. The CMC joint of the thumb is visually touching a different reflection of red light.

The Belt Head is partly visible between the smoke and likely has a tassel tip near it.

Yet another pocket is formed in the process with the left arm and torso of the jacket. As Crowley's position changes, that pocket opens. The left thumb tip is carefully managed to visually touch the edge of the jacket torso while a pocket is created using the left thumb, left arm, and torso. This pocket includes a red light that is not a reflection found on the road.

There is another red light by the right arm. So, this one is not reflected from the road, but these two red lights by the arms exist as a visual mirror to the camera. A human helps separate the red lights of the car by the right arm by being pocketed between those red lights and having their foot visually touch behind part of Crowley's arm.

I'm assuming these are all factors that help get the job done for retying: "smoke and mirrors".

So, given how much pocket care is being done, yes, I do believe the Tied Hands needed retying after all and required considerable effort to get it done.

I'll go over Muriel later where the phrase "earthly object" is at last uttered in the story after these tutorials the game is giving.

...

Story Commentary

For the record, I am going to use the phrase "appearance swap" and not "body swap" because I actually do believe Neil Gaiman on saying so here.

Unfortunately, I did not save a lot of valuable posts I skimmed or just read when I was first trying to understand what was happening in Good Omens 2 and not knowing I would eventually be making posts of my own. I'm not the first person to think that Crowley was Gabriel leaving the room, but I have long since lost the link and took a long time to come around to that idea.

Likewise, I didn't have another link where someone speculated Aziraphale is later trying to grab Gabriel's hand as if about to do an appearance swap when about to do the little miracle to hide Gabriel. I found the post in a reblogged form, but its original post has been deleted. Still, I at least had those things in the back of my mind when eventually figuring this sequence must indeed include some fake Crowleys involving appearance swaps.

The main reason I eventually accepted the idea of the fake Aziraphale was comparing the stiff walk he does in this episode compared to the stiff walk he does at the end of season 1:

They were close enough for me because the shoulders don't move as much compared to Crowley's usual walk. Gabriel-Crowley emphasized the shoulder movement for contrast in the preceding cut. This particular Tumblr post and a couple of comments for it helped point out the stiffness in season 1: Crowley's signature swagger walk.

I suspect that cardboard box was touched and questioned. Somebody might have even eaten some Eccles cakes. Crowley was willing to help Gabriel sooner with understanding the situation better through whatever he learned about the box. I don't know if Muriel was literally on Earth, but they seem to have had a big role in whatever happened because I sincerely believe Crowley has a deep trust in Muriel. I assume Muriel earned it. Beelzebub may have a had a role in things as well.

As I have said in another post, I theorize the original draft had a Big Miracle where the Book of Life was put in the matchbox. It might be more elaborate than that because of so many other things that happened after, but I suspect at least that much.

Still, such things are not in this draft of the story. Whatever really happened has been hidden from the audience for now and replaced with this obvious lie.

Recognizing the fake Crowleys—especially Aziraphale—is crucial because it is extremely important to understand that Aziraphale knows about the sideburns even if Aziraphale never explicitly comments on their changing length. Without believing Aziraphale knows, the sideburns game is, again, much harder.

The lightning itself might be a cover for whatever really happened or part of an elaborate set up for what is going to happen.

It shot out multiple times. Generally, it went upward, spread somewhat in the back and to Crowley's left to do its thing to the coffee shop. It most assuredly did not strike toward the bookshop.

Regardless of its intention, this type of thing is what I love to see in fiction with my favorite characters. I love the anger and the release of actual lightning power. I live for that stuff.

When Maggie and Nina are starting to realize they are locked in, there is a figure that looks meant to be Crowley that can be seen as blurry near the car through the window. The figure has reddish hair and dark clothing. A previous draft of this post remarked that this figure could be another fake. I don't think it is.

The red is questionable since Crowley's hair looked darkened through the smoke with the camera in front of him in the street. The hair will be dark in the next scene later, which admittedly takes place at night. A hopeful clue I have is that the darkened hair was most notable on Crowley's right. The hair on his left tends to be lighter and more saturated in general during Good Omens 2, so that might be the same intent here. All other clues, in my opinion, suggest that this Crowley is indeed Crowley.

A past draft of this post remarked more on the color of the car, but I realize the car itself has different parts of it with different colors and shades. It seems more black when the lightning shot out and more blue through the window in this segment. If such colors mean anything in particular, it's beyond me to figure it out.

I used to think it was related to the fake Crowleys shown earlier, such as also being fake, but given everything else, I don't think that anymore.

...

Muriel

(For reference: Bookend Buddies - Crowley and Muriel (Part 2))

Well, now that we've had tutorials, it's time to learn the name of the game—the Big One that is. I don't think the word "sideburns" is ever said in Good Omens 2. I just made up "Sideburns Scheme" after awhile, but given the word play for pocket mechanics, it might be a name I was supposed to find too. Back to the one I initially meant, Uriel will eventually say "earthly object".

After Nina and Maggie realize their phones are dead, the story cuts to Heaven. The scene starts with Michael and Uriel, leading to the arrival of Saraqael and Muriel.

As noted in other posts, thumb tips are relevant to Door Mode. It is my guess that given how the game works—especially with Crowley's sunglasses in The Sunglasses Trick and pockets in The Pocket Trick, a thumb tip could be like a password to activate whatever is in the matchbox.

Saraqael is even giving a clue to an audience member playing Earthly Objects that's possible by actively adjusting their hands to hide their own right thumb before Muriel reveals the matchbox. Thanks Saraqael!

Muriel brings out the matchbox from behind a folder. A thumb tip is visible, but there is a little shadow added to it, I assume to help cast doubt given how the rest of the scene goes. Muriel seems to be a hidden pocket expert and is making a pocket with their legs, among other things happening in the framing, so that likely contributes too.

At first, Uriel uses the phrase "material object" to describe the matchbox Muriel shows to all of them. Well, I assume it's Uriel. The subtitles technically say "Saraqael", but it sounds more like Uriel to me.

Muriel is holding the matchbox with their index, middle, and ring fingers. The touch is avoiding the palm and the pinky. The thumb is nearby and keeping the thumb tip off the matchbox.

Michael had their legs crossed early in the scene, but the legs are uncrossed by the time Muriel steps forward to place the matchbox on the desk.

When the matchbox is set down, Muriel's right thumb is touching a corner, ensuring the thumb tip is not actually touching the matchbox. Meanwhile, the pinky tip is touching the side with the quote from the Book of Job. The subtitles do not inform the audience of the following. In my opinion, the sound that object makes is that of a disguised magical book, possibly a heavy one at that.

Another interesting thing I'm noticing as I type this post is that Muriel avoids having their digits touch their reflections. By this point in the story, Crowley has actually shown his index finger touch its reflection on his phone and a thumb tip touching its reflection during The Perfect Entrance Trick.

Still, the sound effect is part of why I think the Book of Life is in that matchbox. I also suspect Muriel's methodical touch is why that sound is heard with Muriel's touch but not what will happen with Michael's various touches.

Someone or something turns that matchbox around without us seeing it because the Job quote side was facing away from Michael when Muriel set the matchbox down. It is facing toward Michael when Michael touches it. By this point of my play in the game with my latest update on this post, I think the matchbox turned itself around due to how it wanted to be seen by Michael.

Michael touches the matchbox at the top with their index finger. The object does not react.

Michael nervously uses both index fingers, so that the left one holds the object from the top and the right shoves the inner box to Michael's left. Michael's thumb tip is actually visible and even touched by Michael's hand at one point within a pocket formed between the matchbox and Michael's hands. That's still not enough. The object does not react.

Michael nervously does another touch looking similar in reverse but not quite the same. The right index finger holds the matchbox from the top as the left index finger pushes the inner box to Michael's right. The pocket formed between hands and matchbox have the left thumb tip notably away from the touch and the right thumb generally hidden with maybe a right thumb joint visible. The object does not react.

With another last nervous effort, both index fingers work together to shove the inner box back into the outer box. The thumb is shown to be clearly aligned off the matchbox and by the bottom of the index finger in a cut. In the next cut, the right thumb might be visually over the matchbox, but it is understood to be not touching the matchbox because of its previously shown position. The object does not react.

As the whole affair concludes, we at last hear Uriel say, "That's definitely an earthly object." That is our key phrase, merely missing its plural form. The name of the game we've been watching at play in this story is Earthly Objects. All of that touching was a clue that Earthly Objects is a game based on touching. The matchbox was touched properly to remain an "earthly object" and theoretically not touched properly for Door Mode to fully activate and reveal whatever supernatural object it is actually hiding.

The scene in Heaven ends shortly thereafter with Uriel remarking they think "he" went to Earth. One would guess Uriel means Gabriel, but it is Crowley shown on Earth in the next cut.

That transition allows this Muriel scene to act as a front bookend to another Crowley scene. In fact, the next Crowley will scene will have the next touch of The Sunglasses Trick. This incoming touch will be the first of the Triple that eventually becomes a Single. As such, this scene is yet another bookend connection to the Threshold Tricks overall.

...

That's it for this post. Sometimes I edit my posts, FYI.

...

Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme

...

Past version of this post:

Post #10 (angry lightning)

[revuestarlight-pbta]

Revue Starlight PbtA Playbooks

Hello, everyone! I've moved stuff from the Revue TTRPG onto its own blog, to keep everything neat and orderly.

You might guess from all of the updates I've been writing that I've been really excited to work and think about this RPG. I hope that everyone can look forward to it, and that I can create a system that can allow everyone to create their own Revue Starlight stories with friends, whether with existing or original characters.

The TTRPG will be a Powered by the Apocalypse system, following a long and storied legacy of narratively-focused RPGs that enable robust collaborative storytelling. To help facilitate the portrayal of unique characters, it utilizes what are called Playbooks. (You might consider them an analogue of "classes" from other RPGs, whether on the tabletop or on a video game.) However, these Playbooks don't represent how you look on the outside, or what your weapons of choice might be. Instead, they define a character archetype, highlighting your character's core emotional conflict. For this TTRPG, the question they ask is: "Why did your character become a Stage Girl?"

Playbooks can shift between sessions as your character advances, signifying your character's growth and how a new core emotional conflict may come into focus for them. Stage Girls are too varied and complex to be defined by any one thing, after all.

Here's some examples of some Playbooks I've written up so far! (Everything subject to change.)

The Challenger

The path to becoming a Stage Girl wasn’t handed down to you in your youth. Maybe you discovered it later in life, or your family expected you to tread a different path. You seek to defy those forces who seek to dictate your life’s path for you so that you can take hold of the reins of fate yourself.

You might have a variety of different opinions on the world of theater you’ve found yourself in based on your unique outsider’s perspective. Maybe you aspire to be just like the greats, hoping to, one day, fit in with all of the people you looked up to when you started this journey. On the other hand, you might see the flaws in the restrictive, antiquated system, and aim to prove by example that it can be changed for the better.

Examples of Challengers are: Aijo Karen, Hoshimi Junna

The Exile

You’re running away from something. You were already smitten with theater back then, too, but you were in a different troupe, or maybe even a different country. However, one day, something changed: perhaps tragedy struck, or you failed at the moment when it mattered most. Whatever may have happened, you’ve spirited yourself away somewhere else where no one remembers your greatest shame.

You’re still working to pursue your goals no matter what, but your past haunts you. You’ve found new friends and family, but the fact that the people you left behind are still living their own lives scares you. You might hope to one day reconcile with the people in your past, or perhaps prove once and for all that you don’t need them to live your life.

Examples of Exiles are: Takachiho Stella, Yumeoji Fumi

The Guardian

Though it is you who stands upon the stage, you know that there are better reasons to act than just your own self-interest. You have taken on a Charge, which consists of the people or things you’ve sworn to protect—perhaps the members of your class, a childhood friend, or a memory that’s on the verge of fading away.

If your Charge consists of people, you may sometimes stand behind them to support them. Other times, you may stand by their side to work alongside them. Other times still, you may stand against them—because no one else will help them realize the errors of their ways.

If your Charge is a thing or idea, you’re likely one of its last bastions. It needs protecting—otherwise, you wouldn’t be a Guardian, after all. It’s your reason to be a Stage Girl, and you won’t hesitate to sacrifice yourself to protect it… or, perhaps, others.

Examples of Guardians are: Daiba Nana, Ogami Shiro, Tomoe Tamao

The Trailblazer

Forget what anyone else says about being a Stage Girl—you’ve become one just because it’s fun! Others train day in and day out to be at the top of their field, but compared to them, you live more in the moment. What’s wrong with that? Those stuffy girls with all of their high standards never catch a break, while you spend your time expressing yourself and having fun with the people you love most. It’s certainly more exciting than whatever you were doing before!

However, being a Stage Girl isn’t always fun and games. When hardships arise, you might find yourself questioning why you chose this life without much of a strong external force to tie you to it, relying on only your fickle whim and motivation to drive you forward. You may be searching for such a reason to stay—or, rather, pushing back against those who try to tell you that you need a better one. At times, however, you might ask yourself the most difficult question: is your personality the true you, or just a glib facade?

Examples of Trailblazers are: Otsuki Aruru, Otonashi Ichie

[humanitys-strongest-bamf]

"get me a damned matcha" | Chapter 12: May I

{{ Chapter 11: April I | Chapter 13: June II }} Chapter Directory

i giggled while writing this

if you wanna get tagged for updates, fill out this form here!

✧ pairing ➼ levi ackerman x fem!reader, college x coffee shop x roommates!au ✧ summary ➼ After you find yourself plagued with misfortune due to struggles in your personal and family life, you find yourself needing to move last minute. As a junior in undergrad with little money and little social support, you considered yourself lucky when you found a sublease that was close to campus and was relatively cheap. Unfortunately, it seemed that your roommate did not seem to be so excited regarding your presence. ✧ content/warnings ➼ fluff, slowburn, mutual pining, idiots in love, negative self-talk, reader being angsty ✧ word count ➼ ~5.3k

"You're still up?"

The time was currently 6am. The last time you checked the time, it was 1am. You didn't intend to stay up all night writing some paper you couldn't give a shit about, but given the fact that it was due in less than 12 hours as well as the fact that you didn't get started on this paper until roughly 10 hours ago, it was inevitable. You were three energy drinks in with eyebags rapidly forming as you tried to force yourself to stay awake.

You sniffled from the mild cold you had been fighting through, but otherwise didn't respond to Levi's question. You were slow to react as Levi walked up to you and immediately shut your laptop in front of you.

"Levi!" you yelled out with panic in your voice. "I'm not in the mood!"

You erratically shooed him away from your computer before opening it up again.

The sudden movement made you shiver. Your face was flushed, your breath was hot, and you felt extremely cold. Your body was covered in cold sweats, yet you still tried to truck your way through this assignment.

You felt your roommate place the back of his hand onto your forehead.

"You have a fever."

You shrugged him off of you.

"It's mild. I'm fine."

You didn't even have to look up to tell that Levi was scowling at you.

"Feels more than mild. You're a fucking furnace."

"You're so dramatic-" 

You were interrupted with a sneeze. Although you had brought your elbow up in time for you to sneeze into that instead of the open air, you still saw Levi flinch back from it.

"Sorry," you mumbled.

"Go to bed."

"This paper's due in less than 12 hours," you said as you rapidly shook your head. "And I'm taking the kids on a field trip this weekend and-"

"And who's fault is it for procrastinating?" Levi asked, not letting you finish whatever rationalization you were trying to come up with.

You frowned at him before sticking your tongue out at him, which had become your way of telling him to fuck off when you were being stubborn and defiant.

"Tch," he tutted in disapproval before gently flicking your forehead. "You're so annoying."

You pouted at him as you waved his hand away.

"Go to bed," he repeated. "I'll wake you up in a few hours so you can get it in on time."

He looked you intently in the eye.

"Deal?"

You glared at him for a few seconds before finally groaning and beginning to get up.

"I guess," you grumbled, making your way past him and into your bedroom to catch up on the sleep that you had neglected to give your body for the past few days.

~~~~~

"You still getting over that cold?"

You rubbed your head in an attempt to soothe your incoming headache as Gunther checked up on you.

"On the recovering end, but-"

"WHO'S READY TO TURN UP AT THE AMUSEMENT PARK?!" Oluo ran into the room and obnoxiously announced both his presence and the surprise field trip that you were planning for the freshmen.

Your headache was hitting you with full force now.

"I'm going to kill him if he gets any louder," you groaned.

"Just walk it off," Gunther said as he gave you a pat on your shoulder before heading towards the other officers.

You scoffed at the irony of his comment. You were currently trapped in front of your laptop screen crunching out the numbers to make this trip happen, so it's not like you'd be doing any walking any time soon. 

The screen glared into your eyes, making you squint as you scrolled through the spreadsheet of the spendings and earnings that the Honors Society had made throughout the year. You were trying to figure out a budget for going to the nearby amusement park as a special trip for your club successfully making its way through its first year of inception. 

You knew you didn't have to go to this extreme. You could have just settled with the zoo or another social at the local arcade or bowling alley, but you wanted it to feel special. You were a social club after all. Your entire purpose for existing was to give the stray students a place to belong and connect. You felt obligated to put more effort into making the year end with a blast. 

Since you didn't collect membership dues, all of your revenue came from fundraising and donations. You were looking through the seventh fundraiser that you've held this year and the numbers were adding up much slower than you had hoped. You weren't sure if you'd have enough for the trip.

You heard two sets of footsteps approaching you and saw Sasha and Connie walking up with a packet in hand. They had worked together to compile a money chart for the most recent fundraiser that you weren't able to attend because you had been laboring away at your most recent assignments.

The frown on your face grew as you flipped through the packet.

"That's it?" you asked, your disappointment apparent on your face.

With the bullshit that had happened in April right after spring break and the fact that you were so behind on your paper right as you conveniently caught a cold, you didn't get to help out as much with the fundraiser and, as usual, you were met with disappointment.

"Did we not make enough?" Sasha asked hesitantly.

You remained quiet as you flipped through the packet. She was right. You didn't make enough. You'd be short by a decent amount if you wanted to acquire everything you had planned to get for this trip. You'd have to improvise.

You looked up towards her and shot her a small smile. 

"We'll make it work. You did good."

Your smile quickly faded as soon as they turned around to walk away. All this really meant was that you were going to have to do some finagling to get the funds you needed. What was most important was the bus to and from the amusement park, the tickets, and food. You weren't short by too much, so you'd be able to make it work as long as you remained determined.

You sighed as you set the packet to the side and began typing the numbers into the spreadsheet. You had put too much effort into creating this little support group to give up on it now.

~~~~~

You had to pull some strings in the background, but you made it work.

"Go nuts," you said as you began passing out tickets to everyone. "Meet back here like 30 minutes before the park closes."

Most of the members took the tickets and immediately ran off into the amusement park, going for the more popular roller coasters that already had an obnoxiously long line forming around it. Soon, it was just you and the other officers.

Even they wandered off eventually.

You weren't too interested in the bigger rides and you didn't have it in you to be a buzzkill, so you just elected to hang out at the food court in the shade while everyone else decided to get thrown around up in the air. 

Since you weren't having that great of a time, you found yourself much more annoyed than usual regarding this type of thing. Although it had gotten better, you still felt a social obligation to the people around you. However, you were now also somewhat aware of how unnecessary that obligation can be, which further poured salt into that wound. 

By the time lunch came around, the inside of the food court got annoyingly crowded, so you chose to sit at the outside plaza, finding an empty table towards the outside so that you'd be able to get up and leave whenever without having to swim through an entire crowd.

It was getting quite warm, so you had taken off the thin flannel that you were wearing in the morning, leaving you in only a tank top, shorts, and sandals—although you were quickly regretting the sandals, realizing that wearing gym shoes would have probably saved the strain on your feet given how much you were walking today. You were working your way through a cheap hotdog, with a slushie on the side to try to cool yourself down.

You almost jumped up in surprise when someone suddenly decided to sit next to you. Just as you were about to turn to them and try to figure out who was so audacious to sit this close to you without permission, you recognized some familiarities.

You recognized their body posture from the way they leaned with their elbows on the table. You recognized their pale, yet smooth complexion, as if your fingers would just glide over their skin if you touched them. You recognized that musky, deep scent that you smelled every day in the bathroom. You recognized their raven-colored hair that fell neatly into an undercut. Most of all, you recognized those intense gray eyes that were looking right into yours. 

You were momentarily at a loss for words as you looked straight at Levi.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

He held that same disinterested expression on his face as he looked at you.

"Could ask you the same thing. Pretty big field trip for a club event."

You frowned at him as you slipped at your slushie, which was half melted at this point. 

"Yeah, well...missed the event last year because of-"

You paused, trying to recall the shitshow that happened last year. This was technically the first year that your club has been off the ground, but you remembered trying to do a bit of fundraising for a kickstarter event that never came to pass because the world decided to stick its middle finger in your face. That money technically went to waste when things went to shit.

You made eye contact with Levi and some sort of mutual understanding formed in that moment between the two of you. He knew what you were referring to, and he wasn't going to expect you to talk about it.

"-so we had extra funds that I put towards a bigger event."

You didn't mention that you technically did the math wrong and ended up short on the funding, but in the end, everyone was able to chip in a bit and you were able to find a few deals that lowered the overall cost of everything, so you were able to make it work.

"...let them enjoy being undergrads."

That concept was lost on Levi. He never had a good undergrad experience. The only good experiences he'd know of were the ones he'd hear about peripherally. He never experienced any of it, but he knew that students never shut up about the glorification of their college experience.

However, he did get where you were coming from. You were wanting to let them enjoy being kids while they still could—something that was robbed from the both of you. 

"Your turn," you said as you nudged him.

He gave you an annoyed look, knowing that you were mocking the structure of the conversation the two of you had last month during the power outage.

"Got some friends in town."

You snorted.

"You have friends?"

He tutted in disapproval, scowling at you. His eyes flashed over towards both Isabel and Farlan, who just got off one of the more exhilarating rollercoasters.

You had never seen them before, but you were able to deduce that they were the friends that Levi was referring to.

"They yours?"

He silently watched as Isabel ran around excitedly, ready to get onto the ride again, while Farlan looked like he was still recovering from getting thrown around in the air.

"Met Farlan pretty soon after my shitty uncle died," Levi began explaining. "Picked up Isabel a few years later."

You were facing their direction, but you were glancing over at Levi. He was much more caring than he had let on. Part of you even wished that he had stayed an asshole. Then you wouldn't have to deal with whatever weird dynamic had formed between the two of you. 

You quickly realized that the two people he had come to the park with were who he had referred to a few months ago as his found family. He had mentioned that the death of a parent figure and the presence of a shitty relative didn't mean that you had to be lonely.

You bit on the inside of your cheek as you felt a dull feeling of envy and jealousy arise within your chest. You didn't have that "found family" and you didn't have anyone that really fit the definition for that either. A prime example was the fact that you had been separated from your friends for at least an hour now and they haven't even bothered to check up on you. If things went the way they usually did, they probably wouldn't even think about where you might be until it was time to leave and they needed you to organize the trip home.

"Must be nice," you grumbled under your breath.

Levi raised an eyebrow at you.

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Nothing," you said as you clenched your jaw and began to get up. "I need to go meet up with...someone."

You said that last word quietly. All of your friends had run off, so there wasn't actually anyone that you had to meet. Sure, you could text Petra and figure out where they were, but that wouldn't really make you feel any better. You still felt like an Other. 

You were already somewhat grumpy from not wanting to deal with the crowds and the lines leading up to the rides, but now you were considerably more so. You were trapped within your own head. Seeing Levi with Isabel and Farlan brought out deep feelings of envy that made you want to rip your hair out in anger. You weren't sure who exactly you were angry at, but you knew that you harbored deep resentment regarding the topic.

Levi watched as you walked away, being able to immediately tell that your mood had soured. He wasn't able to completely piece together what was going on through your head, but he figured it likely had something to do with why you were sitting on your own when you had originally come with a considerably sized group. 

He began to push himself up to go after you, but was immediately distracted as he heard both Isabel and Farlan call out to him from across the plaza.

In that split second in which his attention was pulled away, you had already disappeared into the crowd.

By the time he looked up again, you were gone.

~~~~~

Several hours later, you were still alone. 

You currently found yourself sitting on the grass near the lake at the edge of the park near the Ferris Wheel. There were less people here and you could watch the setting sun in peace.

Although it seemed peaceful on the outside, your thoughts were anything but that. You had still yet to hear a single word from any of your friends, and you were too stubborn to be the one that reached out first. You were absolutely sick of it. You were sick of the pitiful looks that they'd give you. You were sick of how they seemed to give absolutely zero shits until something reminded them of what happened last year and they suddenly began talking to you with feigned compassion. 

It didn't feel like they actually cared. It felt like they just wanted to make it seem like they cared regardless of whether their actions were actually helping or not, and at the time, you were much too timid and passive to call them out on it. Meeting up with them would have probably made you feel even worse, but that didn't make being on your own for hours on what was supposed to be a fun trip any less miserable.

You glanced over your shoulder as you heard footsteps approaching. You were off the path. No one should have been casually passing you. 

You sighed to yourself as you noticed that it was Levi walking towards you. The last thing you wanted to deal with right now was a snarky comment from him. You were already feeling incredibly insecure and dejected from the fact that no one stuck around with you or reached out to you.

You had told him that you had to meet up with someone and yet you still found yourself sitting here alone, and he was able to see that. You felt your entire body tense as you prepared for some sassy retort from him—but nothing of the sort occurred.

Levi walked up to you and stopped right behind you. He was able to tell the minute that you had gotten up from that table in the food plaza that you were upset and that your mood was off. Part of him had hoped that giving you some space would have helped you sort through your thoughts, but seeing you here now made him realize that that wasn't the case. Part of him scolded himself for not looking for you earlier.

He had been keeping an eye out for you all day, wanting to approach if he saw you, but he didn't. He could've simply shot a text your way to figure out where you were, but he didn't, and he was pissed that he didn't.

You heard him shuffling around before you saw him hand you something out of the corner of your eye. You looked over and saw him holding a Ferris Wheel ticket between his index and middle finger. You looked up at him without saying anything, questioning what he was doing.

"Farlan and Isabel conveniently forgot they're both scared of heights."

You knew that was a lie. You had seen the both of them get off of one of the more intense rides. While Farlan had looked like he needed time to reorient himself afterwards, Isabel looked like she was having the time of her life. Levi had specifically gotten the ticket for you.

You slowly reached out to take the ticket and saw that he had one for himself as well.

"And you're not?"

Levi grunted without confirming or denying, and you looked down at the ticket as you slowly stood up. You saw the timestamp that indicated that the ticket was printed roughly five minutes ago. 

What a fucking liar.

While your thoughts were harsh, the corner of your lips tugged up slightly at the thought that he went out of his way to get tickets for the two of you without you asking. 

The two of you walked in comfortable silence to the entrance of the ride. There wasn't much of a line since the kids and families had generally cleared out for the night. 

He let you climb into the cart first before he got in himself, sitting next to you. The cart was open, with no ceilings or windows, unlike most of the Ferris Wheel rides that had a cabin within an enclosed space. Had you not seen Isabel and Farlan get off a ride yourself, you could've believed Levi's comment about them both being scared of heights, with how open the cart seemed.

You looked off towards the setting sun as the two of you began to get lifted up into the air. The sky was beginning to darken, showing a dark purple hue as the sun continued to disappear underneath the horizon. You listened to the quiet whirring of the motor that slowly spun the wheel up, vaguely hearing Levi shuffling around behind you.

You glanced back at him and saw him leaning on the edge of the cart, propping his elbow up. The breeze gently swept through his hair. Although it was warm earlier today, it was now cool enough that he had put on a thin jacket. The fading sunlight seemed to focus only on his facial features and you couldn't really peel your eyes off him.

"Kids piss you off?" 

His question forced you out of the slight daze that you found yourself in while looking over at him. 

"What?"

You had questioned him, but you figured out pretty quickly afterwards what it was that he was referring to. He was referring to the freshmen that you technically threw this event for. That part was fine. The annoying part was that he was able to tell that you were upset.

You weren't trying to mask in front of him or anything, but the fact that he knew still weirded you out. He had seen you fully break down in front of him before, and he was likely the only person in the world that could talk to you when you're upset without sounding like they were hopping in on a pity party. 

Most of all, the fact that he was asking you about it instead of leaving you on your own to sort through your emotions meant that he cared about how you were doing, and that still weirded you out to this day. 

"...not really," you eventually responded, pausing for a few seconds to think of what to say. "I think I just saw you and your friends and..."

You trailed off.

"And?"

A dejected look appeared in your eyes as you felt your heart throb and a lump form in your throat. You were quiet for a long while, ruminating over all the deeply rooted insecurities in your head over your inability to form connections. 

His eyes briefly flashed down as he saw you clench your fist.

"...I don't have that," you said quietly.

Levi didn't really comment, opting to simply listen.

"I don't...think I've ever had anyone that I could actually depend on or would drive out to see me or anyone that I could call close, not to mention that 'found family' we were talking about before..."

You trailed off as your negative self-talk overtook you. No one around you actually wanted you around. They weren't even that willing to tolerate you anymore and dragged you around like an extraneous limb, and likely would have left long ago if you weren't so insistent on keeping this silly club together. You were just alone.

You were quiet for so long that by the time you looked up at Levi again, the two of you were almost to the top.

"...and don't you dare mention Petra or Oluo or-"

"I wasn't going to."

Levi didn't ever get to really see your interactions with your "friends", but from the amount of times that he found you stranded with no one else to go to but him, he was able to tell that they really weren't reliable as friends. The social reciprocity wasn't there. He would've cut them off long ago if he was in your shoes, but he also couldn't blame you for keeping them around. It felt better than just being alone.

They were "professionally friendly" at best. Petra will occasionally do a bit more for you, like getting you a low-quality Starbucks Matcha when you were upset or letting you vent to her at your apartment, but even she always seemed somewhat disengaged unless you put in an almost aggressive effort to engage with her.

"I know you said that I didn't have to be lonely, but," you spoke quietly, looking down towards your feet, "I just don't really have anyone I can reliably call or expect to be there, other than-"

You suddenly stopped talking as an equally comforting and unnerving thought came up in your head. You glanced up at Levi right into his silvery eyes, which were looking straight into yours.

"-you."

As you matched his intense gaze, you realized that Levi really has been there for you time and time again. Every time you texted him that you needed him to pick you up, he was always there, no matter how busy he was. He was there when you were depressed after your aunt decided to shit on your entire life, or when you were in the middle of the street having an anxiety attack. He was there to pick you up when you were down.

He even went searching through the entire town for you in the middle of the night to make sure that you were safe.

Levi Ackerman, who hated parties and loud crowds of people, had come to a party with you, electing to spend a night in an environment he absolutely hated just to make sure that you'd be able to come home and that nothing happened to you.

Levi Ackerman, who had driven to the outskirts of town to rescue you from your borderline abusive ex-boyfriend before talking you through a storm that kept you on edge, was consistently there for you, no matter how inconvenient or shitty the situation was.

He has always been there.

"Yeah?" he asked quietly.

You couldn't read the look in his eyes. You couldn't tell what he was thinking.

You weren't sure at what point he went from leaning on the edges of the cart to leaning towards you. You weren't sure at what point you went from gazing dejectedly at your feet to leaning towards him while staring intently into his eyes.

Your faces were close. The night breeze seemed to almost be pushing you towards him, sweeping your hair above your eyes. The sun had completely set and the night lights on the Ferris Wheel were the only thing providing you with illumination. The light fell perfectly on his face, reflecting off of his eyes that seemed to almost glimmer. He was the only thing you could see.

You could almost feel his fingers on yours. Your hands were so close that you felt like any little movement would result in your fingers brushing up against him. 

Your breath got caught in your throat as you felt your face heating up as your heart rate began rapidly speeding up. 

For the first time, you saw the person in front of you as not just your roommate—and not even as just your friend, either.

Your eyes flashed down to his lips, which were slightly parted. You imagined how soft they must have felt or how gentle they would feel against yours-

Am I tempted...to kiss him?! you thought to yourself as you caught your mind wandering. 

Your eyes went back up to his gaze and you saw that he was looking at you in a way that you've never noticed before. His normally disinterested and occasionally judgey expression was nowhere to be seen. His gaze was soft, maybe even compassionate, as the frown lines on his forehead relaxed.

If you had paid more attention, you'd realize that he had been looking at you in this way for a while. You were just never this close enough to notice it.

The two of you looked into each other's eyes for an undetermined length of time, exchanging silent messages that neither of you were able to fully read. 

You could almost feel his breath on yours. You could imagine how his lips would feel on yours and how gentle he would be when he finally planted his lips on yours and how his touch would send chills through your body. You could almost visualize the way he'd cup the side of your face as he slowly kissed you, full of affection and compassion.

One of you moved closer, it was unclear who. 

Your own lips parted as you felt your breathing grow unsteady. You had never thought you'd see Levi Ackerman, who was the absolute bane of your existence, in this way, and you had never thought that his pull would be as strong as it was.

Just as you were about to take the plunge and plant your lips on his, an obnoxiously loud ring came from your phone as someone called.

You immediately cleared your throat and averted your gaze from him as you pulled away. He followed suit and awkwardly shuffled to the opposite side of the bench. 

You scowled at your phone as you saw the caller.

"What?" you snapped into the phone, more than grumpy that you had gotten interrupted. 

You listened to Oluo on the other line, who was ironically sounding somewhat panicked over where you were, although it was only because the buses were leaving soon and you were nowhere to be found. 

"Shit," you muttered as you checked the time on your watch. The buses were set to leave in ten minutes. You had lost track of time on the Ferris Wheel ride, while you were questioning the nature of your relationship with your roommate.

By the time you were off the phone, the ride was over and the two of you found yourselves at the exit. 

You slowly put your phone back into your pocket as you looked back up at Levi's eyes, which now set your heart rate through the roof every time you saw them look intensely into yours.

"...I guess I'll see you at home?" you said hesitantly as you gave him an awkward smile.

He watched as you began to turn away.

"...See you," he responded quietly.

Both of your bodies were stiff, as if you were unsure of how to behave around one another after your exchange.

Even after you had fully walked away from him, you still felt that tension. You couldn't help but glance back at him as he walked away towards the parking lot on the other side of the park. You still felt that draw to him, even though he was far enough now that you could barely see him.

Levi was on your mind for the entirety of the bus ride home. You barely processed your friends talking about some dumb ride they had struggled getting onto or the excited freshmen yapping about how they really needed a field trip after their first successful year of college. The entire time, you could only think of him and the imagined feeling of his lips on yours.

Recalling that memory of your faces being inches from each other as you moved in to plant your lips on his brought another blush to your face.

It weirded you out.

You couldn't have possibly caught feelings for your roommate.

You were so close to going through with kissing him. You couldn't believe that the temptation to kiss him was even there, but you found yourself disappointed that you didn't. 

You bit on your bottom lip in anxiety as you pulled out your phone, wanting to shoot him a text about it. You weren't sure what you wanted to say, but you felt like you had to say something to acknowledge that the whole thing even happened. 

Your thumb hovered over the keyboard.

What if he doesn't feel the same way?

The excitement turned into anxiety as your stomach churned. What if you were on the verge of making a horrible mistake that would destroy the friendship you had finally formed with your roommate?

You figured it would be best to address this in person, so you finally put your phone back into your pocket, intending to bring this up once you finally got home.

However, upon getting home, not a single word of this exchange came out of either of your mouths, leaving your almost kiss up in the air to eventually fade away as a distant memory.

oluo being an absolute cockbloooooooock #: @levisbrat25 @gothgril69 @sckerman @berrijam @notgoodforlife @meowjaa @averysmolbear @roseofdarknessblog @bejewelledd @hhighkey @ayame236 @sad-darksoul @velouria17 @kamyru @l1zk4 @layenacreates @lamees004 @whoami-72 @highgoon69 @chaotic-on-main @levishotgf @nube55 @chosos-mascara @heichoucleanfreak @svftackerman @alexkibutsuji

[seraphirism]

Hello there again! (●’◡’●)ﾉ I’m the anon that asked about Falin and wanted to thank you for your detailed explanation on her!! I knew she was a bit of creep from what Google translate told me (someday I’ll evolve to actually understanding jp) but not that much of one. Like geez, I knew Akuneko showed the ugliness of humanity but I didn’t think they’d go that far. >~< As much as I’d hate to say it, I’m a little sad she wasn’t utilized more as a sub-villain. Then again, I guess we’ll probably be seeing her in some flashbacks maybe (holding out hope) of elf man.

Speaking of elf man, I’m actually terrified of whatever Studio Wasabi is going to release late August (╥_╥). I really really hope they let Belen become a butler though but that brings up the question of who the other two butlers are gonna be. We haven’t had any hints about them but then again they did the same with Teddy and Hanamaru so who knows. Maybe they’ll all be some kind of fantasy related race? Or something akin to that assuming elf man is gonna be one of the four…ahhhh!! So many questions!! But please Studip Wasabi, let our butlers be happy I say!

Side note but if Belen really does become one of Aruji’s butlers then I hope he still has his cat ears

hii, I hope you’re doing well 💖! and thank you for the feedback \(//∇//)\!!

and yes! i second that sentiment wholeheartedly! see, none of the villains in aknk are written in a half-baked manner; if they are villains, they do more than enough to deserve their titles.

[unlike media, especially these days, that have villains that kill a man on screen to show how terrible they are, have little to no backstory, just a pretty face (so fans can spend money on them and romanticise them), aknk antagonists are not like that.

you end up hating them (because their crimes are truly inexcusable in every way possible), yet you can’t help being intrigued by them. ]

why was Falin so entranced with beauty that she kidnapped people that fit her criteria and sold them? what prompted this? it wasn’t love for money or material. not to mention, she grew up in an ordinary village. why did she become the way she is?

why was Fubuki so lost in his greed for power and wanting to get ahead of the Grobaner family? with him we can make guesses (unlike Falin) but it’s still not explained—we don’t know his childhood, whether he had authoritarian parents that forced him to be this way or an event that changed everything in his life. why did he want to create enhanced humans so badly that he was willing to experiment and kill children and in the end to find an alternative for the devil butlers with Grobaner family so he could get ahead of them?

anyway, you get the gist! all antagonists in this game are really interesting.

that’s I wanted both Fubuki and Falin’s past shown in detail so we could get to understand why they were the way they are! unfortunately, we won’t end up getting too much information about Falin; but Fubuki is alive and i don’t believe his story is over just yet.

[also, it’s so funny that both of them had met canonically and Falin had proposed to him but he rejected her 😭]

I’m also holding hope that when elf guy’s backstory gets explained, we will get information about Falin! since there are earlier survivors (her captives) who managed to escape; we might get their perspective.

there is no doubt in my mind that elf guy is getting playable; like i can already imagine his initial ssrs, his interaction with Aruji/us, how he’s going to be in Halloween event (if he gets playable by then?)

but with Belen, my heart is unsure 😭 I really want him to become playable. though if does become playable, studio wasabi will make sure to break our hearts with each update before making him playable.

I used to think that the writers of aknk add some soft content in the main story after each really sad/upsetting main story episodes. but um considering we got the stuff with Lato and then Boschi’s whole chapter right after, hehe I’m not so sure 😃

i think you have a good guess going with the next coming butlers (excluding elf guy) being from some fantasy race. we’re kinda slowly getting focus on the Western region, the one governed by the green-haired elf looking guy, Elboa.

considering the last two chapters were focused on and in East (Falin and Fubuki both being from East), it shouldn’t be unlikely that with subtle focus on the West in chapter 4, that we will be delving in it in the coming chapters.

so to spice things up, the writers might add non-humans to our long list of butlers ✨! I hope they do, it will make things interesting since we’ll get a focus on the respective regions the fantasy-races are from, how different they are from humans and so on!

[bestie, with all love, i don’t think those cat ears are staying 😭💗 i want them to stay too! because it gives Belen this distinctive appearance from the rest and with how much we’ve seen him with them, the cat ears should be a part of him. but he didn’t have them before his demon took over him.]

and i kinda did some research on Belen’s demon, Beleth, and he has a cat-like appearance.

so i think Belen might have Miyaji’s case going with him. where he’ll get those cat ears and tail wherever MC/Aruji summons his demon for him or wherever he is under the control of his demon (that’s happening now.). otherwise, he’ll have his normal appearance since he is human. that’s totally my guess though.

but it’s entirely possible that his cat ears might stay when he wakes up later because he had them for so long and all (?)

the other butlers don’t have their features change under the influence of their demons (besides having a red hue surrounding their one eye and the black hue surrounding them) or when Aruji summons their demon for them besides Miyaji. with Miyaji, later during his arc, when he loses control to his demon, he’ll also have his animal ears too (i think at least!)

but i can’t wait for Belen! he’s going to be so adorable (๑>◡<๑)!

with elf guy (god, if i have to call him elf guy one more time, I’ll —) I do have a gist of how he’ll be like. but with Belen, while we do have flashbacks that show his personality, I’m not sure that’s exactly how he’ll be like when he wakes up.

he’s been sleeping for 2000+ years in this state where his demon has full control over him (and we do know demons try to weaken the butlers by showing them nightmares or showing them good dreams so they can lose their grip on reality and yield to their demon). so when Belen wakes up, he’s going to have gone through hell 😭 so I think he won’t exactly be the cute, reliable person he was before his demon took control of him.

i think he might even have problem with communicating, even basic tasks like eating and walking to a certain extent at least. he hasn’t performed them in 2000+ years. yes, he was frozen in time but they should show some signs of having trouble with his daily tasks etc (please studio wasabi, I’m begging you 🥺)

that would make for some very interesting content too! from being the reliable older-brother-figure to now having trouble with everything and relying on people around you. I hope after his case is wrapped up (he’s woken up and all) we get some focus on his life in the devil’s palace and his interaction with everyone (like a 5.5 chapter?).

[i forgot to add; i also don’t understand Japanese, in case if I’m giving the impression that i do! i understand it like at an N5 level but i studied it at home. that’s why i hope i don’t give the impression that my explanations have no chance of being wrong somewhere; i rely on deepl and other tools like that too 😭 i hope we both end up learning it completely someday somewhere in the future…]

anyway, it was lovely talking to you, anon (*≧∀≦*)💞!! i can’t wait for the next update (and I’ll talk everyone’s ears off on tumblr) so let me know your thoughts when you get around to reading it ✨! i might post an explanation of the updates for people who don’t have the time to read the main story update.

i am manifesting those cat-ears on Belen 😀 and for him to become a butler; if they don’t, we’re going to raid studio wasabi’s headquarters by dawn ✨/j and i need more content about Falin! in elf guy’s content, we better get information about her.

have a wonderful day, anon (*^▽^*)💖! looking forward to your thoughts on the main story (whenever it drops!)

[golden444manifest]

Learn from my mistakes

Entry Level Finance Associate Edition ✨

This past year has taught me so much about myself. I bumped my head so many times. However, this has shaped the professional I am today. Here are some topics I had to learn the hard way.

First and fore most write everything down

You will have a lot of information thrown at you and it’s nearly impossible to retain it if you don't write it down. It’s also proven that writing things down is beneficial.

It helps you to process and clarify your thoughts.

It frees up your mind to create more ideas.

Provides a foundation of knowledge that can be built upon.

Helps with forgetfulness, you can access the information when you need it and you don’t have to remember it.

Practice active communication

Give your manager an update before they ask you for one.

Keep up with your email - it’s not fun if people have to track you down. Everyone’s time is important.

Figure out a method to keep up with your emails. I personally practice inbox zero and I work out of my flagged emails folder. More information here.

Seek outside educational sources

Book knowledge will only get you so far.

Don’t be afraid to google things. I bet money your superiors still do it.

Take LinkedIn Learning courses in areas that you lack. - I took a few, how-to-take effective meeting notes, business communications foundation and how to think strategically.

Stay up to date with Finance trends and emerging regulations.

If your employer provides outside resources, take advantage of them! They are there for you for free!

Run your own race

Everyone brings something unique to the table. Try to find out what you bring.

I don’t shy away from responsibility. I'm an extremely hard worker and if you drop something on my desk, I will figure it out.

Remember you are enough and you contribute something valuable to your team.

Get organized!

Here’s my post on my organization system. Extra tips include:

Learn to wrap up your day - Meaning make a habit of shutting down your computer everyday. This forces you to wrap up items you are in progress of and helps you to keep track of them. It also feels good to be able to start your day fresh.

Get a planner - Physical or digital whatever your preference is. Get into the habit of using it every day to log important dates and tasks.

Keep you calendar updated - You don’t want to miss important meetings.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

They do not expect you to know everything. In fact they expect you to know the bare minimum.

Ask questions, but try not to ask the same question over and over.

Get Grammarly Premium!!!

This has saved my life and lifted so much stress off my shoulders. No more am I spending the entire day working on an email and second-guessing myself. I run everything through Grammarly before I send out anything and save so much time.

Closing

If no one has told you today, you are amazing, and you are capable of fantastic things! Once you get the basics down, you will be unstoppable. 😉

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. This year, I felt I had no one to go to because I was the only black girl on my team, and we were very scarce in the Finance department. We can all win together.🤞🏾

[adrift-in-thyme]

Is anyone gonna else point out how casually Wild talked about his own death and getting back up again? I thought it was hilarious.

But now we know just a bit more on how much he's told the chain, they know he died. But he didn't go into the very specific details given Legend didn't know who Mipha was when he started to tease Wild about having her diary.

I love that too! Our boy’s really over there just like, “yup I died and came back to life. I’m pretty darn cool.” XD

His whole energy in the update is great. He’s so happy that Twi’s alive again that he’s practically bouncing off the walls. And his teasing little brother attitude is more prominent than I think we’ve ever seen. It feels like I’m playing botw again, cracking up at whatever snarky remarks Wild answers the npcs with lol

And that’s so true! I guess now we know he was telling the truth in this panel

Makes me wonder if one of the Chain asked him about his scars. I can’t imagine them prying much, given their own experiences, but maybe one of them pulled him aside and asked gently? Or maybe Wild just alluded to it early on. From his behavior in botw it seems he doesn’t put much energy into hiding things (looking at you Mr. “Yeah random npc I’m the Hero, the Chosen One, the Bearer of the Master Sword. Any more questions?”). So it doesn’t surprise me that he’d let it slip that he’s already had a run in with death.

(He probably joked about it lol)

Mipha, however, is much more personal than his own death. He basically faced death and conquered it. But the ghosts of his past, the fractured memories of people he once knew (and maybe even loved)? They inflict too much pain for him to face just yet.

[yazzydream]

Gonna be here for a while so, right off the bat for any Jujutsu Kaisen viewers:

I tag #jjk spoilers for the sake of anime-onlys. That tag refers to content that could spoil things that have only happened in the manga so far.

I tag #jjk season 2 for official stuff related to season 2 of the anime.

I also tag #jjk manga for just general jjk manga edits, manga caps, etc. Lots of overlap with #jjk spoilers, obviously, but not only.

That's the important stuff for now. Will update if I think of anything else.

Oh right, there's the general #my jjk for anything about jjk I post about, including thoughts, gifs, caps, news, whatever.

I also try to tag ships in general. That goes for all my fandom reblogs/stuff so people can avoid them. Though, I don't always remember, feel free to dm me if you want me to tag something.

JJK Meta/rambling thoughts/theories

Gojo is a pretty boy, and I'm ok with that

Summarizing Domains

The Six Eyes (I have a better understanding of JJK now, so forgive any inaccuracies from baby Yazzy. 🐣)

Questions I'd like answered in JJK

Season 2 Episode Predictions

JJK Character Popularity Polls (thoughts)

Yuji as a protagonist

Women in JJK (I go off a little in the tags)

Prison Realm thoughts

How JJK will end *SPOILERS FOR ALL*

Character playlists

Mamaguro was a Zen'in

Jujutsu Kaisen Timeline (thoughts)

Three Great Families sigals/mon

Tankobon vol. 24-26 | 27 | 28-29

Speculating What the 16-Registered Special Grade Curses Are

Gojo's Past arc I'm excited to seeing animated

Shibuya Incident arc I'm excited to seeing animated: Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3

Popularity of the Culling Game arc characters

Toji Fushiguro is the key to saving the human race

Phantom Parade extra lore + trivia | Nanami

Snow camellias on the cover of vol. 26

Season 3 adaptation guess

Culling Game arc I'm excited to see animated

JJK Translations

2021 Valentine's Results Announcement

Yuichi Nakamura (Satoru Gojo) interview

Aya Endo (Shoko Ieiri) interview

My students are watching

Geto's Massacre Incident Report

LINE stickers (manga ver.)

LINE stickers Demaecan collab

LINE stickers [animated] Irasutoya collab

"SPECIALZ" OP4 lyrics translation

See #my translations to see all my translations, including the dialogue I've gif-ed.

Extra information/lists

Season 1 References

All the times characters in JJK have lost a hand or arm

Identifying everything on the "SPECIALZ" album cover

Similar names

Characters with siblings

Identifying the Higher-ups

Gege's style of casually dropping terms, phrases, info that becomes important/prominent later: A small collection

JJK comic extras not reprinted in tankobon

Gojo movie 0, season 1, season 2 character designs

"more than words" ED4 real-life Shibuya locations

Gojo appearances post-sealing

Phantom Parade extra trivia

[thegeminisage]

sigh. tng update time. tuesday we did "sarek" and last night i sadly watched "menage a troi" on my own.

sarek: the fact that they mentioned his "son's wedding" once near the beginning and never clarified distracted me for the entire episode until i could google it. and google gave me no answers except to say that he married saavik in some semi-canonical novel. i hate that because saavik was his student (i guess aos had him right after all...) and also because of whatever horrible and weird thing they had going on in search for spock. WHICH BY THE WAY BROKE PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED CANON don't get me started

anyway, aside from that, this episode fucking ruled

i love the concept of vulcan dementia just being vulcan emotionalism. i wonder if it's genetic. i wonder if spock would've gotten it had he lived longer. i kind of wish spock had been the one following sarek around containing his emotions even though i wouldn't wish that fate on him cuz then i would've gotten to see him :(

less thrilled about the new wife. they could have had someone else play amanda if her real actress wasn't available (and she wasn't dead, i checked). if people live for like 150 years in the future there simply wasn't long enough for her to die and for sarek to have gotten remarried, especially if vulcans bond for life (which i guess was implied in some interpretations of amok time but not canonized).

actually, if sarek had once been bonded to someone as spock was to t'pring, how did HE wind up with a human wife...did he get remarried so quickly because of pon farr or does that wind down as vulcans get older...so many questions which will never be answered

anyway, i loved the sudden bursts of anger, it was so fun. uh except for beverly hitting her kid but it wasnt Her so we can move past it. especially thrilled with riker and picard almost getting into it

SAREK CRYING? ok king. i wish we had gotten to see spock cry and not in that deleted tmp scene

i loved picard's nerdery of him also. that makes the mind meld very fun. the rituals are literally intricate. also, "we shall always have the best parts of each other inside of us" i HOPE THATS TRUE FOR SPOCK AND KIRK AND BONES. i read an excerpt from a novel. well. i don't want to talk about it

anyway, picard calling out to spock and amanda...maybe i did well up a little at the mention of spock's name. who can say!!!!!

menage a troi: SSSSSSSSSSSIGH

ok, so i grabbed this one by myself because the summary looked bad and we're trying to finish s3 before chr*stmas fucks up all our social plans. no matter how bad the summary was, the actual episode was WORSE

i have three good things to say about this episode actually. the first was that i like that deanna yelled at her mom again, although this time i know better than to expect it to stick. the second was that i LOOOOVED deanna and riker's little date outfits. extremely charming. and finally i loved when lwaxana handed riker that horrible looking vegetable and he ate it with only mild reluctance. king is literally down to clown.

the rest of this ep was garbage. i know we didn't actually see any sex happen but i feel like they implied pretty heavily that the ferengi fucked her, possibly even multiple times. and like it's funny! ha ha ha look at the crazy situations this eccentric lady gets into! ha ha ha look at her and deanna having to run around naked!

somehow, this was the worst lwaxana episode yet. idk why i actually expected them to do a little better in s3. like, if i was gene roddenberry and they did this to my WIFE on MY SHOW. but you can put even odds on it being his idea or him getting off to it. his horrible little fetish fuel.

cherry on top was lwaxana's self-sacrifice at the end where she stays behind to let deanna escape sex slavery or whatever. which one felt like a classic narcissist parent thing and two wasn't even real - it was an excuse for picard to do badly-acted poetry on the bridge to pretend to be her jealous lover to get them to let her go. and then after all that she goes right back to sexually harassing HIM. because it's funny! ha ha ha!

anyway, it's a shame they had wes's little arc as the b plot of this episode because it was fine and feels important continuity wise, and yet every list on earth will rightfully suggest this episode get skipped because it fucking sucks.

tonight, the last two episodes of season 3 - "transfigurations" and "best of both worlds part i." i already know picard gets BORGED in the finale because i've known that since i was a baby and i am WAITING!!! they fucjing blue balled me in the first borg ep and i am MORE than ready for some brainwashed cyborg action. palette cleanser after lwaxana troi episodes.

[sihtricfedaraaahvicius]

personal rant/update under the cut

since about two weeks I'm taking less medication for my adhd. not because I want to, but because I was taking too much. I took a pill every two hours, and I continued that after I switched meds because it's same brand and basically the same dose too. But somehow I started to have unpleasant side effects like being dizzy and having terrible flare ups in my face. I've experienced the flares really badly during the a few moments at the Paris con, but I thought it was just nerves and excitement and what not. But it continued at the most random times when I was at home, doing fuck all, and I figured something was wrong. Apparently the flares are a sign of an overdose, so with a lot of struggling I cut down the amount I take and I have only experienced a flare up once the past two weeks, which is great. when I'm at work and at home moving around (read; not stuck in my head and actively moving without too much going on around me) I'm fine with taking less pills a day. But I am noticing in the evening that my lovely adhd demon is taking over again, and makes me feel like utter shit and question everything I do, especially when it comes to creativity. meaning; this blog. I love writing, but it's been hard lately as I struggle to make a good story (or so it seems to me) and even wonder if people still even care when it's not just a brainless smut fic, no matter how fun those are. and I knew a few of you do care, which is amazing, but these late night thoughts are gnawing and I am comparing my work to others and feeling I am not that good, or not that creative or I just have a bad way with words, whatever. I know it's all in my head, but this is the dark side of having adhd; the self hatred and self doubt. the knowing you are truly different and lacking some stuff up in the head. the wanting to cry for no reason at all because you're stuck in a body with something that is constantly fighting you and screaming at you to (self) sabotage everything in your life. and as much as I love poking fun at myself/my adhd, sometimes (often) it still eats me alive. and that is why I have been posting less lately, and I am sorry for that. I just fear people will hate every new thing I put out right now, for no reason at all. I know people will say don't be sorry, but that too is my adhd talking, so I had to say sorry. I do not need to take a break from here, as that will only make me spiral more. I write a lot, actually, and have a bunch of fics nearly ready to go, but I just hate half of what I wrote.

I'm not sure what the actual point of this post was but I guess this page is sometimes my diary too, so, uh... yeah. sorry again.