#not one specific to a project or anything

[teaboot]

I've never had a cat before and I'm hoping to get one soon. Do you have any advice?

Treat a new cat as you would a new roommate. Give them space and time to settle, establish a pattern and a rhythm, and in time they may choose to become friends and spend time with you. Dont force a friendship.

Use simple words and repetition to establish communication. Words like breakfast, treat, snack, lunch, supper, dinner, food, and eat all basically mean, "I am feeding you; expect to be fed", but it's a lot for a little guy to remember. I just say "Dinner" when I mean "cat food is coming", and so my boy knows exactly what I mean when I say it. As a plus, using only one word for snack time means he has no idea what the other words mean, so I can talk about food in front of him without ruling him up.

Pay attention to body language. Cats all have different personalities, and you'll learn their likes, dislikes, and messages over time this way. Son boy here loves anything with plumbing but dislikes getting wet- his favourite blanket to chew and snuggle goes on his favourite chair, and he gives me a specific gesture when he wants me to kneel down so he can jump onto my shoulder.

Read into problematic behaviour. Cats pee in weird places when they're hurting, in distress, or have insufficient of unclean litter box space. Biting, attacking feet , and knocking things off tables often means they're understimulated and need you to play with them, or at least need some kind of enrichment or puzzle to tackle. Tail flicking can be frustration or irritation. Purring is usually good, but may also be self-soothing behaviour to alleviate pain, encourage healing, and relieve anxiety, like over-grooming.

Like children, "bad" behaviour isn't malicious- it usually means there's something you aren't seeing.

Learn how your cat expresses love. Loads of people think cats are uncaring, cruel, and indifferent, but the truth is, they're just not dogs. Spending time near you, showing an interest in tools you're using or projects you're working on, sitting the way you sit, laying on their back, rubbing on your legs, wiping their face on your shoes when you get home- these are signs that your cat is enamored with you. You're their family, they feel safe and protected around you, they're curious about things you enjoy and want everyone to know you're family.

Set reasonable expectations. Again, cats are not dogs.We bred dogs to desire our approval- cats walked into our lives themselves. They have no human-programmed need to fulfill a duty or perform a task to your standards.

Training cats to do tricks isn't as hard as people say, but the willingness or interest in doing the trick is more heavily reliant on personality and mood. Some cats will refuse all but the most basic requests- I'm lucky in that Ollie understands and is willing to do several, provided I don't abuse his trust and he's not crowded or overwhelmed or just bored of doing it over and over in a short period.

Ollie, for example, knows Up to stand on his back legs and hold my hand, Down to get to a surface I indicate, Out to emerge from a closed space, Come to find me where I am, Help? when I'm offering to let him use me as an elevator, Dinner when I understand he's hungry and am getting food, and when I put on his collar he knows to climb into his carrier 'cause we're going somewhere. And he'll do any of these about 90% of the time, either ignoring me or phoning it in when there's something interesting somewhere else, or if he's feeling anxious.

Lead by example. If you dread taking them to the vet, they'll see the anxiety in your body language and behaviour and likely learn to hate it, too. Again using my guy an example, I starred taking him on walks long before his first vet appointment, just to get used to his carrier and leash. Then his first checkup was relaxed and informal, with plenty of treats, and I let him explore the examination room with permission from the tech. Now he loves going, so I'm not stressed about taking him, so I don't stress him out in turn, and the vest doesn't have to deal with a stressed out cat slowing things down and fighting with them.

Make sure your sources are good ones, and also good ones for you. I will recommend Jackson Galaxy's YouTube channel for cat advice because a lot of what he does matches up with what I've learned and know to be true. I don't personally recommend Ceasar Milan because I personally find his methods distressing to recreate regardless of efficacy, so even if that advice was useful, *I'd* be miserable, and it'd just be trading one issue for another.

Have a person who can help. You never know when you might end up out of town overnight unexpectedly, or when your place may need serviced or fumigated, or if you may be called out of town. Before getting a cat, research reliable pet sitters, house sitters, pet daycares, whatever, just in case.

Consider pet insurance. No long spiel here, just think about it. Especially if you don't know your cats ancestry or potenyial health risks. An on top of that, fucking vaccinate them.

Dont let them free roam. At all.

I grew up on a farm with free-roaming barn cats. Do you know how many times child-me cried over having to bury them? Illness, disease, pregnancy, vehicles, other territorial cats, ticks, fleas, litter, poisoned prey, malicious humans, local wildlife, predatory birds, scrap metal, extreme heat, freezing temperatures, tainted water sources, poisonous or venomous critters, getting stuck in small or high places, tapeworms, loose nails, old equipment, falling branches...

I've seen some truly body-horror slasher-movie shit- just truly nauseating visual fuckery- and I'm telling you not to let your cat free-roam.

Leash training isn't hard. Supervised walks aren't hard. Even keeping your cat physically fit and entertained indoors isn't an impossible feat. Don't let your fucking cat fucking free-roam. Fuck

Also read up on foods and plants cats can't do, like every houseplant in existence is toxic it's insane

Anyhow yeah that's like. A couple things I guess

Here, have an Ollie Pic

[mermaidsirennikita]

I gotta say this is also very unsuprising casting when you think about it. Like as soon as the shock had worn off I was like...yeah of course she cast them.

Oh yeah, it does make sense because Emerald isn't about what's good for the project, Emerald is about what makes Emerald happy. Which is why I fundamentally can't get into her creatively.

Because of course, any creative has their aesthetic, their sensibility, their work. And I respect that, as a creative.

But you also have to kill your darlings. And we think of that in the writing sense most often—cut that sentence, that scene, that chapter if it doesn't truly serve the work. Scrap the whole thing and start over if it's truly not what it should be.

I'm a STRONG believer in that, to be fair. Brutal. Maybe too much so? Lol. Or I'd have a book out by now.

But anyway, it applies to every type of creative work, imo. You don't cast someone because YOU like them, particularly in an adaptation of a work as iconic as Wuthering Heights. You cast them because they are right for the role.

Heathcliff and Cathy, especially Heathcliff, are two of the most groundbreaking and influential characters in literature of the past 3 centuries. Heathcliff's lack of proximity (for his era) to whiteness is particularly central to the role, and I don't know anyone who seriously takes this work apart and isn't like... actively racist... who interprets Heathcliff as white. It's so crucial to his character that he is "other" in his society.

It's just TRULY a shame to me that she not only cast someone as subpar as Elordi, but someone so, so white. Like, I wouldn't want a white actor I love to play Heathcliff. And this is a fabulous role for a man of color, too.

The last adaptation did cast a man of color, but it was frankly not a very high profile project and not well done.

(I also think it would be compelling to cast a man of Roma descent OR a man of Asian, specifically South Asian descent because the text literally uses a contemporary term for Indian men to describe him... Though Nelly also speculates that he has Chinese heritage, and there are definitely some implications that he could be descended from presumably African enslaved people. The latter I could definitely see being an interpretation when you factor in the speculation that he's Mr. Earnshaw's illegitimate child. I think there's always this idea that "catch-all" terms were probably being used to describe Heathcliff's appearance, but I've thought for a while that I would personally most love to see a Roma actor or a South Asian actor play him.

But like. Literally any other than a white guy.)

This will be much more high profile, with way more attention, and it just really sucks that Emerald decided to use it to push one of her faves. It tells me that she has very little respect for the text. On what planet would anyone, even in the 1800s, look at Jacob Elordi and think that he was anything other than a white guy.

And again, I think Margot is way too old to play Cathy, and honestly doesn't read in any way as Cathy to me. I say that as someone who, again, considers her a very strong actress when she's in her element. I just. Ugh.

[mingispelvis]

And Mingi Makes Three

Genre: SMUT boyfriend!Yunho, sidepiece!Mingi, enemies to lovers, cheating, yunho x reader x mingi

Length: 8.1k

Rating: Mature/R

Summary: Your bored with your boyfriend, but when your sworn enemy shows a side of him you've never seen before, you do something you never thought you'd do.

NSFW warnings under cut 18+ don't try me

Warnings: CHEATING!!!, stripping in public, drinking, caught cheating, fight (one scene), angst for a tiny bit but happy ending :), threesome, anal, unprotected sex (DON’T YOU DARE)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone thinks they have the worst boss in the world. You’re different. You know you have the worst boss in the world. No matter how many alternatives you suggest, emails you send dripping with professional passive aggressiveness, or coffees you’ve “accidentally” ordered two of, your boss refuses to make you project lead. He, instead, chooses his half-wit, frat boy, only-graduated-because-his-daddy-paid-for-a-building-ass son as project lead, and forces you to work under him.

//

When you got the acceptance email to Song and Associates, you were thrilled. You’d accepted the job offer immediately, barely reading through the email to gather the specifics. Running to your final college class ever before graduation to tell your best friend the good news.

“Bestie…guess what I got this morning!” Your grin strained your cheeks as you slid into your tenured spot next to Jongho. 

“Some dick? Finally?” Jongho smirked as he continued scrolling through Instagram. 

You lightly slapped his shoulder and responded, “No! An acceptance to Song and Associates!” You bounced in your chair waiting for Jongho to begin singing your praises. Instead, he cocked his head and raised his eyebrow.

“And you accepted it?”

“Yeah?” you responded, dragging out the word in your confusion.

“Despite how much you hate Mingi?” Jongho tilted his head in the direction of the door. As if on cue, Mingi appeared and immediately greeted his crew. Loudly. 

Mingi Song had been the bane of your existence for the entire four years you’d been at university. He spilled beer on your dress freshman year at your first frat party. And when you cussed him out for it, he just shrugged, turned, and continued partying. He’d flooded the laundry room which you, unfortunately, shared a dorm wall with, and caused your stuff to be soaked. When you joined Chi Gamma (XG) to finally gain a wonderful sisterhood, he pledged the sibling frat, Alpha Tau Zeta (ATZ), and you had to see him at every event. He even declared the same major as you, meaning he was dumbing down every class you took with his incessant tardiness and refusal to contribute anything useful to any group project. You hated Mingi.

“What the fuck does Song and Associates have to do with Mingi?” you sneered up your nose at Jongho after giving bombastic side eye to Mingi and his friends.

“What does Mingi SONG have to do with SONG and associates? You can’t be that dense, y/n.” Jongho had put down his phone at this point, a tell-tale sign that he wasn’t fucking around. Your heart jumped into your throat, your stomach dropped, and your mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. You’d never made the connection before. You couldn’t fathom a fuck-up like Mingi being in any way connected to the top business in the area.

“The business is huge. I’m sure I won’t even run into him.” You waved a hand as you turned to face the front of the class, attempting to wave away your concerns as well.

You ran into Mingi. You ran into Mingi on the very first day of work. You ran into him when you were constantly forced to work under him, but do his work because he was too incompetent. You ran into him when you walked from the parking lot inside, from inside to the parking lot, and at every event. You hated Mingi.

You loved Yunho. You really did. You’d been together since he saw Mingi spill beer on you at a frat party and offered to help clean you up. He was sweet and kind and loving but damn was he boring. Four years of the same, vanilla lifestyle every single day. The same date at the coffee house on Saturday mornings, the same birthday and anniversary dinner at Halazia’s restaurant, the same type of jewelry…you loved Yunho, but your life was stale. You’d been so sick of the “same old, same old” that you’d been subconsciously pushing him away, which was easy to do since he’d moved a few towns over after last year’s graduation. Thusly, the comment Jongho made about your dry spell when you’d given him the good news about your new job. 

Like clockwork, your phone began to buzz. You’d just gotten home from another day at your dream-job-turned-nightmare. You rubbed your temples as you saw “Yuyu 🐶” bright at the top of your screen, with a picture of the two of you adorning your background. You did not want to talk to him right now. But if you didn’t, he’d keep calling and get worried, so you answered.

“Hey Yunho.” you said, exasperation sneaking through despite your attempt to conceal it.

“Hey Bunny! How was your day?” Yunho’s voice sounded a little far away, he must have you on bluetooth in his car as he drives home.

“It was fine.” You answered curtly as you slung your work bag on the ground and plopped down on your couch.

“Yeah? What happened? I’m all ears.” You could hear the upset in Yunho’s voice, but you didn’t care. 

“The same thing that happened yesterday. I got to work, I got reamed by my boss for not making enough progress on the project, I didn’t get any progress done on the project because of that idiot Mingi,” you enunciated Mingi’s name with as much venom as possible, “and then I came home and wanted to nap but I got a call so I answered it.” The last part slipped out a little more harsh than you meant to, but you couldn’t take it back.

“Oh…well then I’ll leave you to nap.” Yunho didn’t hide the upset anymore.

“Yuyu wait, I’m sorry-”

“No it’s ok. I’ll let you sleep. I love you. Bye.” You heard the tale-tell three beeps meaning Yunho had ended the call.

Fuck. Could today get any worse? Before you could fully stand up to go shuffle to your bed and doom scroll until your stomach growled, your phone buzzed again.

Mingi S.: Project needs to be done by Friday. Mandatory team retreat Friday night at KQs Bar. (5:25pm) 

“Fuck you, Mingi.” You said out loud as you threw your phone and headed to the kitchen for a bottle of wine. You poured yourself a dangerously full glass, then headed back to the couch to mindlessly scroll through whatever social media app you felt like. As you let the minutes tick by, a familiar itch in the back of your mind formed. You needed love. Usually you’d cuddle up with Yunho while the two of you talked about your day, him playing in your hair and lightly stroking your arm. For the last year, you’d gotten nothing, and you were fed up. You were also mad at Yunho (for no good reason, you know, but still). You decided to go to your drawer and get your little flower shaped friend, so you could relieve yourself from thoughts of Yunho or loneliness. You went back to the couch and got to work. You opened an incognito window, logged into your secret twitter account, and hit your bookmarks. Your rose buzzed to life as you scrolled through faceless muscular men and let your imagination run wild.

You neared your release, eyes fluttering, and as your orgasm hit you, you moaned out your boyfriend’s name.

“Oh Mingi, yes!”

You stopped immediately, still breathing hard and working through the pleasure, but your eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. That was not your boyfriend’s name. Mingi? Did I just say Mingi? You thought, horrified. No. No, I definitely said Yunho. You tried to convince yourself, as you grabbed your glass of wine and downed the rest of it in one drink.

//

Mingi loved to micromanage. Especially you, since he knew it got on your nerves. He loved watching your jaw tighten and your lips purse as he stood at the entrance to your cubicle and watched over your work. 

“You sure that was done right?” Mingi cocked an eyebrow and took the lollipop out of his mouth, using it to point over your shoulder to your computer.

“You sure your GPA was over a 1.0?” You whispered under your breath.

“What was that?” Mingi leaned down, hands in his pockets, close enough that you could smell the cherry flavor on his breath, and he dared you to repeat what you said. You bit your tongue, seething, and responded more professionally.

“I said…I’m sure it’s right, because I used the template from the last project we completed.” You never broke eye contact with him as you said it. Mingi leaned back at your response, popping the lollipop back in his mouth. He had one leg in front of the other as he leaned back on your cubicle wall, looking you up and down as if trying to find something else to scrutinize. You sighed, rolled your eyes, and began to turn your chair back towards your computer, but Mingi made a noise that stopped you.

“Mmmmmhmm.” Mingi rumbled lowly. A groan signifying yeah, that’s right, turn back around. That groan rattled around in your head, shot past your heart, and went straight to your pussy. You don’t know why. You dared to be bold, though, and slowly turned your chair back to face Mingi. You did the same thing he did to you; slowly starting at his shoes and working your way up, ensuring to make him feel as objectified as possible. His khaki slacks perfectly crisp, outlining his muscular thighs. The cross of his legs accentuated a bulge so deliciously large you had to use every ounce of will you had to look away from it. His belt adorned with two B’s (Balenciaga, how pretentious) wrapped tightly around his slim waist. White oxford shirt tucked neatly, he sadly wore an undershirt, but you knew he was ripped. His shoulders were wide, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His forearms were tanned and toned from days of college beach volleyball and a strict diet of sun and gym. Jawline sharp and dangerous. His lips, though. God his lips. Pink, plush, and his tongue peeked out occasionally as he tasted his candy. By the time you made it up to his sparkling brown eyes, you knew you were in trouble. You’d never looked at him for longer than a sneer and a snide comment, so you really didn’t realize how goddamn attractive he was. 

“Like what you see, y/n?” Mingi smirked in unbridled arrogance.

“I’ve never been more disgusted in my life.” You tried to convince yourself, and him, and swiveled quickly back to your computer.

“Too bad,” Mingi retorted on his way out of your space, “maybe I could finally help your pathetic, stuck-up ass get some since your boyfriend can’t seem to please you.”

“Yunho pleases me more than enough, for your information.” You responded before you could stop yourself from playing into his little game.

“Really?” Mingi half turned to look over his shoulder. “From 150 miles* away? (*240km) He’s much happier there than with you. And the girls in that town are, sheesh.” Mingi blows air out hard and raises his eyebrows to emphasize how fine those girls are. “If I was him and I had to choose between some baddie and this,” he points his almost-finished lollipop at your body, “well, no wonder he’s getting some on the side.” Mingi leaves with a flourish, and succeeds at making you seethe. You know Yunho would never cheat on you. Hell, Yunho practically believes you hung the stars in the sky. But you also know he and Mingi were acquaintances at some point after Yunho pledged ATZ his sophomore year. If the ATZ group chat was spilling tea about your man, Mingi really could have the upper-hand. Fuck, you thought. You needed to stay focused. The project was due in four days.

The project was due in three days. Mingi talked loudly with a coworker right outside your cubicle. He told you you needed to have a “working lunch” today. He didn’t hold the elevator even though he saw you coming.

The project was due in two days. Mingi said your short sleeves weren’t “office appropriate” and brought you a musty, ugly Christmas sweater from the lost and found to wear. He invited two female coworkers to a party loud enough for you to hear. He didn’t hold the elevator even though he saw you coming.

The project was due in one day. Mingi called you into his father’s office to discuss your progress. He said he was “unsure if you could handle this type of pressure”, and watched you try to keep your composure and not snap at him, since his father was your super boss. He took the last chocolate donut after overhearing you tell your cubicle neighbor you really wanted one. He didn’t have to ignore you at the elevator, because he “suggested” you stay late to prepare for the project to be presented.

Friday came and you were almost about to burst. Your feelings toward Mingi were pure, unadulterated hatred. You wanted to smack him. You wanted him to smack you. You wanted to punch him in his face. You wanted to sit on his face. You wanted him to get fucked. You wanted, more than anything, for him to fuck the life out of you.

Yuyu 🐶: Good luck today (7:48am)

Me: Thanks Yuyu

       I’ve been stressed. Sorry for being absent.

Yuyu 🐶: I know (7:50am)

You stood at the elevator and waited as you texted Yunho. You hoped that could soothe him over.

Me: Mandatory work thing tonight. Won’t be able to have our Friday night call. 

Yuyu 🐶: 👍🏻(7:51am)

“Ooh a thumbs up. He really doesn’t give a fuck about you anymore, does he?” A voice came from over your shoulder, and you instinctively jumped. Mingi was a silent walker, apparently, and even more nosy than you thought.

“I’m not in the mood, Mingi.” What was taking this elevator so damn long???

“You’re never in the mood. That’s why your man left.” Mingi smiled wide as the elevator dinged open. You walked in, pushed the floor number, and stared straight ahead. The ride up was silent as Mingi looked at his phone, blowing air out of his nose in a faux laugh occasionally. As the doors opened again, Mingi looked at you and said “Hope that’s not what you’re wearing to our mandatory outing tonight.”

You ignored him and headed to your cubicle.

//

Mr. Song drilled your team hard during the presentation. By the time it was over, you just wanted to sleep for a week. Unfortunately, it was time to go listen to Mingi yell about how rich and smart and talented he was over loud music to some poor, unsuspecting woman. You really did not want to go out, but you had to. I’ll stay until 7 and then I’ll dip out respectfully.

You did not dip out respectfully at 7. You were so annoyed that you downed three shots as soon as you got to the bar. Three more once Mingi walked in. Three more once Mingi started not-so-subtly hitting on a coworker. You ordered water and a long island iced tea. You’d begun ignoring the glass of water and chugging the long island when someone suggested darts. The bar was incredibly loud and lively, and you were staggering, but something in you made you want to show off. 

“Oh hell no, she’s so drunk! We’re all about to get hit with darts.” Mingi crunched his empty beer, tossed it in the trash, and headed to where you and two other coworkers stood. “You’re way too drunk to play.” He towered over you and raised an eyebrow.

“You’re just afraid to get beaten, Song.” You punctuated his surname with a finger poked into his chest. You spun on your heels and grabbed the red darts and handed them to Mingi, keeping the blue for yourself. “Why don’t we make this interesting? Strip darts.” The world had fallen away and it was just you and Mingi in your field of vision. You were determined to embarrass him.

“Oh fuck yeah. Can’t wait for everyone to see what’s underneath those hideous baggy clothes you always wear.” Mingi started high-fiving the men around him. Any professional boss would have immediately shut down the idea, but Mingi was an idiot. 

Mingi was also completely oblivious to the fact that darts was your hyperfixation for about 3 years before college, and contrary to science, you got exponentially better the drunker you were. You were about to hustle this fool out of his clothes and his dignity.

“Eight rounds, 3 throws. After each round, winner chooses an item of clothing for the loser to remove.” Mingi announced to the small crowd that had formed.

Round 1 began. You started with a simple stagger and a fake miss. Mingi was “kind” enough to let you throw again.

Mingi: 14(2), 7, 7 = 42

You: X, 7, 16, 14(2) = 51

You jumped up and down as you scored a point on the outer ring, doubling the 14 points. 

“Y/N won that round!” a female voice from the crowd yelled.

“Let’s see what’s under the polo shirt, Song.” You used your sing-songiest voice to convey how excited you were. 

Mingi quickly pulled his shirt over his head and revealed a white tank top, to groans from female voices.

Round 2 you feigned ignorance. Missing two of your three attempts. Mingi took 3 quick shots of vodka just to try and make things more fair.

Mingi: 4(3), X, 20 = 32

You: X, X, 16  = 16

“Your turn, sweet thing. Let’s see that bra.” Mingi stared at you with dark eyes as you slowly unbuttoned your shirt and shrugged it off. Your bra was a lacy red. You were almost too drunk to do the math, but you knew you had to drag this out a little if you wanted Mingi to bare it all.

“How about we play until one of us is out of clothes, instead of eight rounds?” You cocked your head as you held your shirt by your middle finger and thumb, then dropped it sensually to the floor.

“Fine by me.” Mingi didn’t take his eyes off you as he downed another shot.

It was crucial for you to lose round 3. If there was one thing Mingi loved, it was getting you flustered. And you knew he’d choose your pants next so he could see if you’d worn a matching pair of underwear. He’d drag out the possibility of you having to show something really revealing as a prize to himself. 

Mingi: bullseye (50), 14(2), 16= 94

You: X, X, X = 0

“Ah..the floor’s kinda gross. I’ll let you keep your shoes on for now. Let’s see if the panties match the bra.” Mingi feigned care for the well being of your feet and your sanity. You slowly unbuttoned your pants and pulled them down to reveal a lacy red thong with a bow on the front. Your eyes narrowed as you watched Mingi’s prominent Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard. Now was the time to strike.

Round 4 was brutal. You asked to go first. You poked out your ass and bit your lip as you concentrated. 

You: bullseye (50), 20(3), 20(3) = 170

Mingi: 19, 20, 5 = 44

“Undershirt please.” You leaned against a sticky, leather couch with your arms crossed, announcing your request before the final dart steadied on the board. Female voices whooped and hollered, but you didn’t even turn to look at Mingi.

You began round 5, throwing your darts with ease.

You: 20(3), 20(3), 20(3) = 180

Mingi: bullseye (50), 1, 7 = 58

“Shoes.” You couldn’t hold in your smirk. Even though you were swaying, you were so sure you had this situation completely under control. Mingi looked scared. 

“Hold on…did you fucking hustle me?” Mingi kicked off his shoes and stared at you with those same dark eyes. You pushed past him to start the next round. You really decided to mess with Mingi’s head. You held all three darts, winked at Mingi, and threw all three dead center of the dart board for 150 points. The crowd roared, and Mingi’s eyebrows raised. He was impressed, and started to unbuckle his pants.

“Hold on cowboy, you haven’t even thrown your darts yet. Or are you just that excited for me to see you naked?” You teased.

You: 150

Mingi: 100

Mingi removed his pants. His boxer briefs were dark black with BALENCIAGA across the band. Ugh. The final round was yours to control, but your body wasn’t. The drinks had finally gotten to you. You reached for your darts, but missed, and fell over Mingi’s shoes. Your ribs slammed against a table, your knee pummeled the ground, and everything went dark.

//

“Y/N. Y/N. You gotta get up and drink something.” a familiar voice shook you awake. You opened your eyes and tried to take note of your surroundings. Your body hurt. Your lamp in the corner of your room was on. Your head was pounding. Who the fuck called my name? You sat up slowly, squinting to get adjusted to the dim light, and saw Mingi holding out a glass of water to you. 

“What…” you started, but that water was looking too good. You grabbed it and chugged it all as Mingi began to speak.

“You fell and blacked out. You were holding your side and you fell as you tried to get up again and…I don’t know I just think we got carried away. I called an uber and Maya gave me your address. I didn’t know she was in XG also. That’s cool.” Mingi was rambling as you finished off your glass of water.

You finally looked around and realized you were in your bed, bra and panties still on, but a t-shirt had been put on you.

“Why the fuck are you here.” You sneered at Mingi. You were still confused, but you knew one thing- Mingi sucks, so be mean to Mingi.

“You could have died, dude. I was scared.” Mingi’s eyebrows were raised and scrunched. His eyes were round and clear. He was sincere. He was actually scared.

“Yeah. Can’t lose a company asset huh. You’d be responsible.” You flopped back down on your pillow, nursing your sore ribs.

“No.” Mingi scooted up on the bed so he was sitting beside you. “I just didn’t want you to go home alone being so fucked up.” His voice was soft. This is different.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” You crossed your arms over your eyes- even the dim lamp blasted your retinas in your hungover state.

“It’s only fun to tease you if you’re…I guess…if you’re well enough to tease me back?” Mingi scratched the back of his head and started to look around your room. “Well, it’s, like, 3am, so I’m gonna go back to the couch.” Mingi started to stand, but you held out your arm to stop him.

“Just sleep here. You’re drunk too. You deserve a bed.” You didn’t look at him, but when your hand touched his warm skin, enough adrenaline to partially sober you up shot through your body.

Mingi laid back down, and scooted further from you. You took note of this before knocking back out.

You dreamt about Yunho. About him holding you, kissing you, loving you. Unfortunately for Mingi, you were an unconscious cuddler, and your light whimpers and moans did not help quell the growing bulge in his pants. Mingi had always thought you were cute, but when Yunho accidentally let slip how much you hated him, he made it his mission to be as insufferable as possible. But deep down, Mingi was a normal guy- kind even. And if his frat brother’s girl needed help, especially an XG sister, he would be there. Tonight was different. Tonight he didn’t just see you as his frat brother’s weirdo, goody-two-shoes girlfriend. Tonight he saw a sexy little thing, wearing a matching panty and bra set, with a banging body, who could handle her liquor, and hustled him. Mingi liked his girls a little bratty. He tried to scoot further from you, but in your sleep, you held him tighter. You wrapped one leg over his, and moaned deeply. Mingi’s bulge grew.

The sunlight crept through the slits in your curtains and woke you slowly. The memories of last night, on the other hand, slammed into your mind at once as you realized it was not Yunho you were clinging on to for dear life. The fall, Mingi hovering over you, voices and faces blurring past, Mingi quickly putting his shirt on you, Mingi carrying you to the uber…Mingi laying you in your bed. Mingi. 

You watched as his chest rose and fell, his face soft in the light blue glow of early morning. You’re not sure if it was the wet dream, the lack of affection you’d received over the last year, or how Mingi switched from a jester to a knight in shining armor, but you needed him. You needed him now. Pushing yourself off of him lightly, you sat up. You tried to stop yourself. You really, truly did. But your feelings were overwhelming, your head and heart were swirling, and dammit if your body wasn’t sore from that fall. You leaned down and kissed Mingi lightly. His lips were soft and the breath from his nose tickled your cheek. You kissed him again and again. Little pecks on his lips, then his cheeks. You moved down to his neck, and kissed him harder. He smelled like expensive cologne and vodka. You moaned loudly, directly in his ear, and Mingi stirred. You didn’t care, and kept kissing him.

“Y…Y/N? Are you ok? What-” Mingi tried to roll over to look at you, but you stopped him with a kiss directly on his mouth.

“I hate you, and I want you.” You breathed into his mouth as you attempted to kiss him again. Mingi pushed you away. “You’re still so drunk, Y/N. Stop. I’m Mingi, not Yunho.” You straddled Mingi and told him firmly, “I know who you are, and I know what I want. And I can feel that you want it too.” Mingi was slowly becoming hard beneath you, and you began to grind deeply on him. 

“Hey, hey, hey…” Mingi’s head was swirling. He tried to sit up without fully bucking you off of him. “Y/N, please-” Mingi began to slowly turn himself so he could get you off of him, but a booming voice interrupted him.

“WHAT THE FUCK!”

You whipped your head around to see Yunho standing in your bedroom doorway. 

“Yuyu! Wh- Yu…what are you..how?” You scrambled off of Mingi and stood to approach Yunho. He was angry. In four years, you’d never seen Yunho angry. His eyes were wide, his fists balled, his jaw clenched. 

Mingi got up and started to explain the happenings of the previous night.

“We had a mandatory work outing and she was super dr-” WHACK. Yunho punched Mingi as hard as he could across the jaw. Mingi stumbled and hit the wall, but recovered pretty fast. He didn’t bother looking at you as he slid past Yunho, grabbed his things, and left. 

Yunho hadn’t turned to look at you either, but he was breathing so hard you could see his shoulders shaking.

“Yuyu, it’s not what it looks like.” your voice was barely above a whisper, and you reached a shaky hand out to touch Yunho’s back. When Yunho turned, tears were streaming down his face. 

“I knew it. I knew you were fucking him. I trusted you. I loved you.” Yunho was backing away from you as you tried to explain what was going on. Fuck, your head was hurting. 

“Yuyu I’m not! I love you! I got hurt last night, he helped…it was me, I…” nothing you said was working. Yunho pushed past you and ran out of the bedroom. He threw the bouquet of roses he’d laid on your counter in the trash, quickly slid on his shoes, and left your home with a final slam of your front door. Stunned, you slowly made your way back to your bed. You were so confused you couldn’t even cry. 

Why did Yunho think I was fucking Mingi? Why’d he come to my house so early in the morning? Did Mingi stay here because he knew Yunho was coming? Well..no..he didn’t even try to make a move on me…Did..did I go too far with Mingi? Should I have gone after Yunho? Fuck, my ribs hurt.

You flopped back in your bed, and before the tears welling up in your eyes had the chance to fall, you fell asleep.

/////////

Yunho knew his relationship with you was rocky, he knew your job was hard, and he knew working with Mingi worked your nerves. What he didn’t know was whether or not he could trust you and Mingi together. Mingi had a way with women- they fell into his hands so easily despite him doing nothing but being kind to them. No matter how much he put them off, everyone eventually came to love Mingi. And he was a natural flirt. Yunho trusted you, and he knew Mingi would never specifically choose you as a conquest, but he did know that he was far away, and you were upset. 

I’ll surprise her. She loves surprises, and she’ll love a nice breakfast in bed after a night out. Yunho thought after you shot down the Friday night call. He was nervous, though, that you’d be just as cold to him in person as you’d been over the phone. But he pushed that thought down and prepared to come see you. He never could have prepared for what he saw when he walked through your bedroom door.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Yunho thought he had thought that, but the speed at which you jumped off of Mingi made him realize he had screamed with every ounce of oxygen in his lungs. He saw red, his heart pounded in his chest. Mingi started speaking and Yunho’s body moved faster than his brain could think. WHACK. He didn’t mean to punch Mingi. He really didn’t. He was just so hurt, angry, confused, scared…how could this happen? He knew the ATZ group chat had been dogging him about not making more effort with you- about letting Mingi stay nearby. But Mingi swore…he promised he never wanted anything to do with you. Yunho had to leave. He felt the hot tears spilling over his face and he didn’t want you to see him like this. He didn’t want to see you either. He pushed past you and left as quickly as he could. 

Mingi was sitting on the curb of the parking lot, rubbing his jaw and wincing. Yunho tried to sneak past him, but Mingi called out to him.

“Yo. Yunho. You gotta listen, man. Nothing happened.” Mingi was never one to shy away from confrontation. Yunho stopped, but didn’t turn, so Mingi continued.

“We all got so messed up at the bar. Y/N fell and banged herself up pretty bad and you’re my brother and she’s my XG sister so of course I helped her.” Mingi paused to give Yunho a chance to respond, but continued when the silence lasted a little too long.

“She misses you. I stayed in the bed because…I was afraid she’d hit her head and like, I think you’re not supposed to let them sleep or something? I don’t know man. But she was saying your name all night. She misses you-”

“Then why was she STRADDLING YOU!?” Yunho spun on his heels and stormed towards Mingi, accusatory finger poking straight into his nose. “If she misses me so much, why the fuck was she grinding on you.” Yunho spoke through gritted teeth, breath unsteady with anger.

“Because I was there and she was lonely!” Mingi held his hands up in defense, shrugging and stepping backwards.

“Yeah. You were there. You’re always there. Standing at her cubicle, commenting on her body. Yeah. She tells me that. What the fuck, man? You trying to fuck her or something?” Yunho was disgusted and spat his accusations at Mingi.

“Dude no! I was just messing with her because-”

“Because you wanted to fuck her. Well congrats. You can do whatever the fuck you want with her now. I’m fucking done.” Yunho shoved Mingi, turned on his heel, and got back in his car. He drove off without even setting his GPS on a destination. He just needed to get out of there.

Standing alone in the parking lot, Mingi was pissed. So I look after your girl when you’re not here, make sure she doesn’t fucking die, and I get punched? Fuck you, Jeong. 

Mingi stormed back into your apartment complex, back into your apartment, and banged open your bedroom door. You jolted awake. 

“You sober?” You recognized Mingi’s voice, and sat up quickly? “Yes, hungover, but yes…why?” You questioned as Mingi started shrugging off his clothes. He answered you by crawling on top of you and kissing you deeply. You leaned into the kiss and began wrestling his tongue for dominance. Just as quickly as you began, though, you shoved him off of you.

“Mingi no. We can’t.” Tears began welling back up in your eyes.

Mingi shut his eyes tight, and let out a shaky sigh. “I know. Yunho and I got into another fight outside. Just words this time, though.”

“I really fucked up. I’m sorry, Mingi. You didn’t deserve to get hit because of me.” The hot tears spilled silently down your cheeks as you looked deeply into Mingi’s eyes. You really loved Yunho and you really liked Mingi. What the fuck were you going to do? A light bulb went off in your head and you scrambled to find your phone. Mingi had placed it on the charger next to your bed the night before, luckily, and you quickly went to your favorites to call Yunho.

Please pick up. Please please please, you thought as the sound of the ringer vibrated through your body.

The phone clicked as if Yunho had answered, but he didn’t say anything. 

“Yuyu?” you started.

After a long silence, “what, Y/N?” Yunho answered sharp and cold.

“I’m sorry. Please. Come back. Please let me talk to you in person.”

“I’m way ahead of you. It’s too late for talking.” Yunho was speaking through gritted teeth.

“What? What do you mean?” You tried to get clarification, but Yunho had already hung up. You turned to look at Mingi and, before you could speak, you heard your front door open again. Fear rocketed through your spine and you held your breath. For the second time today, Yunho would walk into your bedroom and see Mingi in your bed. Luckily, during the phone call he had re-donned his clothes and gone to sit in a chair on the other side of your room.

When Yunho walked in, he was different. His eyes were dark, his jaw was clenched, and his voice was low. He surveyed the room in complete silence, knowing he had the upper hand. Both you and Mingi were frozen in fear. 

“Get up.” He commanded Mingi. Mingi stood without hesitation, but with a confused look on his face. Yunho took his place in the chair, crossing one leg over the other, and steepling his fingers-tips together, fingers splayed out- nodding slightly in contemplation.

“This is what you want? Huh? Then you can have it, Bunny.” he said without looking at either of you.

Mingi looked at you, then at him. You spoke first, “I don’t underst-”

“You want to get fucked? Like the dirty slut you are? Then go ahead. I’m not gonna stop you.” Yunho interrupted you, this time, staring directly into your eyes.

“Strip for Mingi.” Yunho commanded. You could tell he was serious. You were confused, scared, and damn did your head hurt, but from that punch this morning you knew Yunho wasn’t going to repeat himself. You were tingling, pussy throbbing, you couldn’t understand why this sudden change in Yunho was affecting you this way.

You took off Mingi’s shirt you were wearing, revealing the lacy red number you’d worn to the bar. Yunho produced a low rumble before enunciating, “Fucking slut. Wore that for Mingi, huh? Well, how does she look?” He turned to Mingi for an answer.

Mingi’s eyes were wide and his mouth was hung slightly open. He was very confused, but he knew to answer his older frat brother. “She…she’s pretty.” He stammered.

Yunho tutted in disappointment. “How the fuck does she look, Mingi.” Yunho was very mad. Both you and Mingi knew the atmosphere had fully shifted, and that if you wanted to get out unscathed, you two had better do what Yunho asked.

Mingi turned to you and played into Yunho’s demands. “She looks like a sexy little slut in that red.” Mingi bit his lip, afraid he might have misread what Yunho wanted.

“That’s right. So keep stripping, Bunny.” Yunho didn’t take his eyes off you.

You removed the red bra, placing it slowly on your side table, and then scrunched up to pull your panties down. A string of your wetness was attached to your panties as they slid past your ankles. 

“Mingi. I’m only going to say this once. Make her scream.” Yunho had spread his legs in preparation for what was about to occur. He was going to enjoy his show.

Mingi, with a green light and blue balls, dove head first into your pussy. He pushed your legs up and headed straight for your clit, sucking hard on the bundle of nerves. 

“Oh.. wait, Yunho I..” you started to contest, but ended with a deep moan.

“Shut up, slut, and let Mingi give you what you wanted so badly.” Yunho demanded loudly. 

Mingi placed the flat of his tongue directly on your clit and wrapped his mouth around it to create a continuous suction. Then he went to work. Mingi sucked and worked his tongue over your clit in a way you’d never felt before. You moaned loudly as both hands flew to grip Mingi’s locks. “Oh my- Oh- Mingi don’t stop just like that- OH!” A string of words left your lips at light speed, barely coherent as your brain was occupied with the growing pressure in your lower belly threatening to burst at any moment. 

“Two fingers, Mingi. That’s how she likes it.” You heard Yunho’s voice, along with the sound of his belt being undone.

Mingi moaned in acknowledgement, and then pressed two fingers tentatively to your soaking hole. 

“Ugh, fuck. “Don’t wait for this slut to give you permission; just do it.” Yunho enunciated his annoyance as he quickly walked up to the two of you, launched himself on the bed, and shoved Mingi’s fingers inside of you. He worked Mingi’s wrist for a bit, still glaring at you with an unreadable intensity.

Despite your best efforts to not give Yunho another reason to be angry at you, you couldn’t help but grab Mingi’s head with both hands to give yourself the leverage to rock your hips in time with his fingers. “God Yunho, Mingi, I'm gonna cum. Please can I cum?” you pleaded breathlessly. 

“That’s right, Bunny. Good girls ask.” Yunho praised you while removing his shirt. Mingi unlocked his lips from your clit just for a moment to look to Yunho for his next moves. Yunho grabbed a handful of Mingi’s hair and yanked him up to eye level, removing Mingi’s fingers from you in the process. Mingi’s eyebrows scrunched in anticipation, both he and Yunho were breathing heavily, an unspoken conversation happening between the two of them as their eyes locked. Mingi licked his lips and leaned in, right as Yunho shoved him down.

“Fucking nasty slut.” He shook his head at Mingi, then turned to you, “No you can’t cum.”

Yunho was fully hard at this point and a small wet circle was beginning to form at the front of his boxer briefs. “Come suck us off, Bunny.”

You did as you were told, slowly pushing yourself up to your knees. Mingi quickly recovered from being shunned, pulled off his clothes, and began pumping his dick to get himself to full mast.

You approached Yunho and opened your mouth, but before you could prepare yourself, Yunho grabbed the back of your head and shoved his fully hard dick directly into the back of your throat. You gagged heavily, but Yunho did not pull out. 

“Suck.” he demanded, both hands gripping tightly to your scalp. You tried to control yourself and breathe through your nose, but you ended up choking. Yunho tutted again with disappointment and shoved you, hard, off of his dick. 

“Do Mingi first. You’re rusty.” Yunho looked down at you over his nose as he sat back on his heels. You crawled over to Mingi, he was standing at attention ready to receive. You wrapped your lips around the tip of his leaking cock and Mingi inhaled sharply through his teeth. You hollowed your cheeks and sucked all the way to his base as slowly as you could. Mingi threw his head back and moaned a deep, raspy moan. 

“Fuck her face.” You heard Yunho demand as he moved behind you to lean against the headboard of the bed. Mingi did as he was told, but looked down at you first as a quick warning before snapping his hips into your face. You choked and gagged and slobbered all over Mingi’s dick as he used you mercilessly. Mingi was throbbing inside your mouth, but didn’t want to finish, so he pulled out. Panting, Mingi looked at Yunho, whose eyebrows were still scrunched together- jaw still clenched in anger. 

“Turn around. Mingi, finish her off. And don’t you dare cum, slut.” It wasn’t clear who that last warning was for, as Yunho’s eyes flitted between the both of you, but you both did as you were told. Mingi lined himself up with your entrance as you crawled closer to Yunho’s cock, taking it up in your mouth again. You smiled to yourself as you felt Yunho relax a little, and you looked up to see his eyes closed. You were doing a good job. Right as you made it to Yunho’s base, Mingi slammed inside you, forcing Yunho’s cock deeper than it had ever been. You gagged again, making Yunho twitch in your mouth. 

Behind you Mingi began a steady pace, gripping your hips for stability. “Heh,” Mingi lightly laughed, “I always wanted to do an eiffel tower.” 

“I’m not holding hands with you, dude.” Yunho didn’t open his eyes.

You heard Mingi mutter behind you, “I wasn’t gonna ask you to.”

The two boys used you like you were their own toy, moaning and caressing you softly as you took them inside you. You could feel that familiar burning in your core, but remembered Yunho’s stern warning, so you focused on slobbering all over Yunho and pleasing him as quickly as possible. 

“Ohhhh yeah.” Yunho moaned and bucked into your mouth. You could feel him trying to hold back and he, eventually, pulled out of you. 

“Mingi, get under her.” Yunho commanded as he hopped off the bed to go rummage through your side table drawer. Mingi took the time to carefully turn you over, as well as quell his own impending orgasm. You carefully straddled Mingi. He was glistening in a light sheen of sweat and, before you could stop yourself, you leaned down to kiss him. Mingi returned the kiss and, as you wrapped your hands around his neck, he lined himself up with your entrance. A little higher up, you felt a cold goop land on your asshole. Yunho wasn’t too happy about the kiss, and reminded you who you belonged to as he pushed his index finger inside of you. Your hole clenched around him immediately, Mingi moaned into your mouth as he felt you throb. He broke the kiss to warn the room of how close he already was. 

“You cum inside her and I fucking kill you.” Yunho’s voice was nonchalant, but his warning was stern. He pushed a second finger inside your ass and began scissoring. You moaned deeply, and leaned down to place your head in the crook of Mingi’s neck. 

“You want me to pull out? I’ll cum on your dick!” Mingi peered up over your ass, touted high in the air, to look at Yunho. Yunho’s response was to line himself up with your asshole, and slowly push in. The feeling of being so full of two thick cocks had you dripping and throbbing. Yunho spread your cheeks apart with his hands to try and assist himself in getting deeper. Each movement made you throb, which, in turn, made Mingi twitch. When Yunho finally got his abdomen flush with your ass, Mingi began to move. He slowly fucked up into you and hilted himself into your core. You were so full you began to tear up. 

“Yuyu. I can’t. Please let me cum.” You whined, voice trembling.

“Aww, Bunny..” Yunho leaned down to kiss the back of your neck. “Fuck no, you can’t cum.”

Yunho began to fuck you, hard. 

“Sluts who fuck their boyfriend’s best friend don’t get to cum.” He explained through gritted teeth, accentuating important words with a deep thrust inside you. Mingi picked up the pace as well and you saw stars. 

“Yuyu I can’t stop it. It feels so good.” You slurred, still tucked neatly into the crook of Mingi’s neck. “I’m gonna cum Yuyu..I’m gonna..”

“Go ahead, Bunny.” Yunho’s voice had softened. He could already feel your walls trembling and couldn’t continue his “mean dom” persona any more after seeing the tears in your eyes. Your vision went black as you came with a scream. A babbling, incoherent mess of words spilled over your lips, tears spilled over your eyelids, and your cum spilled out of you as your orgasm rocked you from head to toe. Yunho followed shortly after. His thrusts were erratic and you could hear him breathing harder and faster. He spilled inside of you with a deep groan, and took a moment to catch his breath. He pulled out of you slowly, but the second he was out, Mingi flipped you. 

“Fuck I almost didn’t make it!” He pulled out of you, pumped himself twice, then came loudly. Ropes of white adorned your stomach and breasts as Mingi milked himself dry. 

The three of you were catching your breath as Yunho began aftercare on you: a warm, wet washcloth to clean you with. He also instructed Mingi to grab three bottles of water from your kitchen. 

“Yuyu-” you started, but he interrupted.

“I’m sorry, Bunny. I should have listened to you and trusted you. I know you weren’t sleeping with Mingi. I was just..I felt like I was a bad boyfriend to you.”

“No, Yuyu! You’re a perfect boyfriend! We just had a rough patch. And I definitely wasn’t helping by being so passive aggressive.” You responded, cuddling up closer to Yunho.

Mingi returned with the water, but stopped when he saw the two of you.

“It’s ok. Get on the other side.” Yunho beckoned Mingi. You looked up at Yunho, quizzical look on your face.

“Our relationship has been stale. I don’t want it to be stale anymore.” Yunho responded as he caressed your head. You felt the bed dip behind you as Mingi scooted closer, putting his hand on your thigh. 

“So what…am I you guys’ boyfriend now?” Mingi asked slyly.

“No!” You and Yunho shouted in unison.

“You’re our….” Yunho looked up towards the ceiling, thinking for the proper term.

“Our bedroom boy toy.” Yunho settled on a term and laughed heartily as he watched Mingi’s jaw drop.

“Now wait a minute!” Mingi began, but Yunho cut him off. The two began to playfully argue, but you didn’t mind. You loved the warmth of being protected by these two men, and you loved the fact that they were yours to keep. Maybe Mingi wasn’t so bad after all. 

--------------------------

Tag List: @meowniee

[corviiids]

ooh idk if you've talked about this one before, but what about goro akechi for the kira game?

HI RAPS

verdict: im prepared for this to be controversial, but consider this: ive never been wrong in my whole life. i think goro akechi could beat kira, but i don't know if he'd be happy with the outcome.

could goro akechi identify light yagami

im answering this one first because i want to make a point about this. listen. i feel like due to akechi's whole Plot where he Fakes Solving Cases For Clout, people forget that he actually is a really smart person and a good detective. like, he's not the super prodigy genius he pretends to be, but he's not a fake detective. he faked solving those shutdown cases for extremely specific reasons:

he was the fucking perpetrator so it served him to take control of the public understanding of the investigation into them and control the narrative; and

those cases were particularly high profile and would have been impossible to solve by anyone else, so 'solving' them would catapult him into notoriety faster than anything else - it was a clout speedrun, which is what he and shido needed.

but there are numerous other cases and puzzles in various bits of p5 media that he solves without faking them, plus we see plenty of occasions where he demonstrates his high intellect. the casino is a great example because i feel like the game takes that palace as an opportunity and relishes in letting you know what akechi can really do. the anime and the mementos mission manga both have subplots where akechi solves / helps to solve legitimate mysteries. and of course the famed unused mementos request in p5r which i think about all the time. it's kind of a shame that akechi's fake cases end up overshadowing all his real ones when he's a legitimately competent detective, even if he's not the impossible prodigy he projects as and even if he's nowhere near the level L is.

of course there's also the obvious one! while we are all aware that the phantom thieves are the least subtle people on the planet, and all ren's confidants eventually work it out just because he's so deeply unsubtle about it, it is still the case akechi identified them as persons of interest very early on, before pretty much anyone else (partly by intellect, partly by his metaverse advantage, i'll get to that). that's relevant because i think the phantom thieves are reasonably analogous to kira in the sense that they're utilising supernatural methods to target individuals which are untraceable via ordinary means.

now i dont think akechi could identify kira nearly as quickly or cleanly as L could, but i do think that if you placed him in charge of the investigation with all the investigative resources of the prosecutor's office / police department, he would be able to identify light as at least a person of interest in a reasonable amount of time, for two main reasons

light is more sneaky than the phantom thieves, but also makes the same kinds of identifiable mistakes that the PT do (eg targeting people in a set area, operating in such a way that it's possible to identify him as a student, being easily provoked, etc); and

unlike L, akechi has supernatural powers.

which brings me to:

could goro akechi intuit the mechanics of the death note

no, i don't think so, not on his own. but he wouldn't need to, because he has access to the metaverse.

we're back at the universe question. i think to fairly answer 'could they beat kira' questions we have to give our detective character all the advantages they have access to in their home universe, which means that akechi not only has his intellect but also has the metaverse, his persona, and his experience traversing the collective unconscious. (by the way, here's my post about what if light yagami had a palace.)

which means that once goro akechi has identified light as a person of interest, not even needing to ID him as a particular suspect, he can check whether the metanav gives him a hit. then he could infiltrate light's palace / find him in mementos (let's be real it's gonna be a palace) and find out the rest of what he needs to know from there. the metaverse isn't only useful for changing hearts and causing shutdowns. shadows are very forthcoming about their evil plans. all akechi would need to do is find light's shadow, and he'd find out everything he needs to know about the death note and kira's new world.

(follow-up question for fun: if akechi didn't have the metaverse, would he be able to intuit the mechanics of the death note? i think that akechi would ultimately get to the same point as L, namely, that kira needs a name and a face, but the specifics of 'magic murder notebook' would escape him. so no.)

could goro akechi survive

i think this would really depend on the context in which this investigation is taking place, but broadly i think it's likely? not certain, but it's likely. it depends on how reactive light is and depends on how well akechi reads the kira situation early on.

akechi is pretty shrewd, with the exception of major blindspots where someone he has a grudge against is concerned (hence why he's vulnerable to shido and to ren's plots). but i think kira is dangerous enough that akechi would be on pretty high alert from the start. in canon he's cunning enough to make false statements to the media to trick the thieves into thinking he's at least partially on their side / not an unambiguous enemy (that's the same strategy used in romance ha ha ha) so i think once akechi identified a person of interest he wouldn't be stupid enough to publicise that he's closing in on them and would probably start leaking false theories to make light think he's completely off the trail - after all, unlike L, akechi's name and face are completely public, so it would be way too risky to make light feel cornered. it would be smartest to play up the shallow celebrity angle to make think light he's just a dumbass idiot talking a big game.

i think akechi would bank on kira's MO of only killing criminals. after all, light didn't try to kill L until L deliberately goaded him into it - it's unlikely that akechi would have a reason to think that light would try to kill him just for investigating. up until that point kira has been masquerading as an icon of justice, so it would (and canonically did) take a lot to make kira veer from that ideology into killing investigators just because they threatened him. however, it's not impossible given nobody really knows anything about kira at that stage, so while akechi might make it public information that he's investigating kira, he wouldn't let on that he thought light was a threat.

then he could either:

initiate a surprise raid on light to get the death note based on information gained from light's shadow - risky because if it goes wrong light will kill him, but this will net him the most glory

(pre-phantom thieves) kill light - stops the murders but means akechi doesn't get clout for solving the kira murders single-handedly, not preferable

(post-phantom thieves) change light's heart - akechi also doesn't get credit and would be reluctant besides

so it depends how we're defining success i guess. could akechi beat light by killing light? likely yes, by simply causing a shutdown before putting light on notice that akechi was on his trail at all. could akechi beat light by apprehending light? maybe, it depends, it's risky. could akechi beat light by changing his heart? only if the thieves are involved.

so i guess the answer is yes i think akechi has the capacity to beat kira but probably not in a way that akechi himself is satisfied with and it wouldn't be a sure thing. it could go either way.

[thestrangecarrotcake]

i just remembered that when i originally drew my merMay drawing i was like,, bothered by the fact that i was using colors i had saved to my palette??

like bestie what do you think you saved the colors FOR???

[firestorm09890]

do you love the city you live in

[phier]

You are not a ghost haunting yourself

[sonknuxadow]

hey guys look what i found in my drafts. from a few days ago .

[imaybe5tupid]

if you see absolutely anything that has kabru in it. And are unable to stop yourself from making it about L/abru (even when Laios doesn’t even appear or is irrelevant to the content in question!) and reduce kabrus entire deuteragonist-level character into wanting to fuck laios. I’m stealing something out of your house!!!!!

disclaimer: If you ship l/abru and gaf about kabru and don’t do this then this post isn’t about you 🤓

[jacksprostate]

Bob in female fight club au. Thoughts

Probably named Marge

Rather than doing a direct inversion (ie making the character the exact opposite, much tits -> no tits, etc) I think sort of an analogue would work better riffing off the motherly role Bob has, in combination with the group being for uterine cancer/ovarian cancer

The women come together, and they cry, cry, cry, over lost husbands, who left them because they got cancer, because overwhelmingly, men leave if their wife gets cancer, over lost relationships with children, who stayed but resent them, over lost Motherhood, that thing you were told was your worth but now you are told you're shit. Remaining Women Together. Despite. Despite despite despite.

What is it, about purposes. Want to see misery, see women fed their own physical oppression as lost salvation.

Marge, whatever her name is, her husband divorced her, left her with the kids and medical bills stacked as high as she is tall. She is thankful she still has her kids, it makes her feel like she's still worth something. She's had to try and get back into the workforce. No one wants to hire dear former stay at home mother Marge. She shows you her kids in her wallet in her purse and there are no pictures of her. There's a picture of her old husband, which she keeps to show her kids if they ask. They're old enough to go to school now, which is good, because it gives her more time to work. Life is hard, but she's doing her best.

Marge, who is on hormone therapy so she doesn't get those "side effects" she's heard about from other total hysterectomy patients, the future of early dementia and degeneration and horror. Who does pelvic floor exercises in hopes it will minimise the fallout of the surgery. Who carefully rips every hair out of her upper lip and chin because even if it would be normal for a woman, a woman whose gone through menopause, a woman at all — she knows, it's probably the estrogen tipping back over into testosterone, and she can't handle any more losses. She compensates. They all do.

The support group is her Me Time. It is the single hour plus half hour commute she can afford once a week for herself. So she gets here, and she cries, cries, cries, and the others cry with her, all over how their lives have fallen apart since they got ovarian cancer, got breast cancer, and their lives derailed because they can't be proper women anymore.

They cry in their waterproof makeup. Another product to promise womanhood. Identify yourself via consumption. Identify yourself by covering yourself up.

And when she finds fight club. When she finds something that says, jesus fuck. You are more than your children. You are more than your ability to have kids. You aren't a failed woman, that's a sack of shit you've been sold wholesale. When she finds something that promises her she will grow, achieve personhood, not because she was the ultimate martyr mother, not because she played the game of human or woman, but because it promises a freedom from all that, identification and repulsion of such sickening chains. When she stops worrying about her slightly deepened voice, and works to keep her dose even keel for her health, to avoid the toxic highs of accidentally juicing, rather than the lesser effects of a black lip hair or two. When she has a photo, not of herself in her wallet, but of the things she makes with other women from fight club, of the one view of the sunset from that one parking lot that she always thought was wonderful, when she has things in her wallet for her and her enjoyment. When she has corded muscle and a built up spine, when she sits her kids down and explains why they only see dad one weekend every other month, all the fun holidays, because dad decided staying with her through cancer was too hard even when she stayed with him through four lost jobs pissed away in alcohol and lottery tickets.

And Marge, who gets shot by the police on a regulation chill-and-drill assignment for Project Mayhem. Whose obituary in the newspaper talks about the children she left behind, how she battled cancer and kept caring for them, how she was such a strong mother, whose kids would now be shipped off to their grieving father who is so, so brave and stunning for standing up and taking care of the kids he made and dropped as soon as his live-in servant had a few issues. Her name is Marge Paulson, and she was forty-eight years old. She was a person. She will be remembered in the annals of Project Mayhem, lest what little there was of her be stolen from the world. She was killed by Project Mayhem, but they're the only ones who will remember Marge Paulson.

[liam-summers]

Just saw a post where someone said that Buffy is an unreliable narrator because of all the times she said she doesn't love Sp*ke, since the one (1) line in season 7 "why does everyone in this house think I'm still in love with Sp*ke?" makes it indisputably canon that she has loved him since maybe season 5, definitely season 6, and this is clearly her finally admitting it after having lied to herself about it for seasons....

Honestly, the level of delusion it takes to get to this conclusion is truly impressive, because not only was that not even the original line/intention from the script (the original being "why does everyone in this house think I'm in love with Sp*ke?") but the way some people will watch the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer for 6.5 seasons where this woman has repeatedly and consistently and violently said that she DOES NOT love Sp*ke's crusty ass, and then dismiss all of that based of of one line that wasn't even meant to have that one extra word that has fuelled rabid delusions for 20+ years in this cursed fandom.

and then to make matters even funnier, these same people will turn around and twist the line "I loved him more than I will ever love anything in this life" (Buffy re: Angel in S7) into "she meant before, she doesn't love him now, it's so out of character.", ignoring the part where she says "MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS LIFE", which means more than she's ever, has ever and will ever love anything in her life, something she has repeated at least once a season for 7 seasons straight..........like, not only are you all delusion, but you also apparently have extremely poor reading comprehension skills.

[penguinkyun]

finally got to read onk 136 and wow. okay.

love the understanding we're slowly getting of just how bad things were in first gen b-komachi! that fight is incredibly real and heartbreaking to witness

nino, in her own way is trying out of sheer desperation and a whole emotional cocktail to reach out to ai, to find something, letting loose all her bottled up feelings in one go but all she's getting back are practised perfected smiles and deflecting answers in response to the emotion shes pouring out because ai has no idea how to handle this because shes never had friends nor any major fight before so she's falling back on the "smile and please everyone" tactic but it isnt working here because that isnt what nino wants to hear so she gets even more hurtful but ai doesn't know that so all she can do, all she can try right now is smile and its a slow suffocation of everything that could've been because they were friends but now the cracks go too deep and can't be patched up at all because ai is now dead and nino is left with a bunch unresolved feelings that still affects her more than a decade later

its just so heartbreaking and frustrating to witness just exactly how everything culminated into what it is now because no one who could have did anything about it either, not even their manager which pushed the singular star - everyone else is just a side actor narrative even more

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

continuing on, kana's detachment yet empathy with nino as she observes from a distance while ruby is very much embodying ai, being her instead of keeping herself separate. kana knows herself and now she's able to sort out her hidden feelings easier now that she has an outlet in form of nino (she uses her own emotions for acting after all) but ruby with her years of grief and the sudden understanding of ai...yeah she is Not handling this well at all someone please get her out of there

this movie in terms of Ai Potrayal is getting worse and worse by the second oof

[bookwyrminspiration]

TLT's Religion + Trauma Survey Results!

About a month ago, I shared a survey regarding the impact of TLT's religion on fans and specifically fans with self-identified religious trauma. This was part of a larger group project for a class, but a handful of people were interested in knowing the results, so here they are!

Before we start: this was a very informal project and necessarily limited. Response options were limited, it didn't inquire into demographic information, data was analyzed manually, and Christianity was the focus/frequently presumed given its global prevalence and relation to the story. Several avenues of analysis weren't pursued given time and project constraints, so please keep all this in mind

The survey was open for about a week and received 965 responses

First, respondents were asked on a scale of 1-4 "Does The Locked Tomb's use or depiction of religion impact your reading experience?" From the entire pool, 83.6% rated it as at least slightly impactful (further broken down in the graph), and 97.4% indicated this was a positive impact.

In open response, respondents listed some reasons why, ranging from: "“it's just a part of the story” to “I enjoy the examination of the ways religion can shape someone's world view, or be used to manipulate and control” and "Religion is my autistic special interest and I love fictional religions!"

Respondents were then asked "Do you have, in your opinion, religious trauma?" The qualifications of religious trauma were intentionally non-specified and left to respondents discretion.

358 respondents, 37.1%, marked yes

This specific group of 358 were asked if this religious trauma impacted their reading of TLT. 66.1% indicated that it did.

Open response answers elaborated on this, saying: “I think reading it is cathartic for me,” “Space trauma lets me look at my real trauma without me or real people being hurt in it,” and “making religion a part of the narrative and drawing out the themes in a way that can be analyzed and picked apart made my experience with religion something I could look at in a similar way.”

The first question from the survey was then returned to, and the ratings of the 1-4 scale were looked at solely in the group of 358 respondents with self-identified religious trauma.

Of these, 90.3% marked a 2 or higher (compared to 83.6); 15% marked a 2 (compared to 22.1%), 31% marked a 3 (compared to 33%), and 44.3% marked a 4 (compared to 28.6%). Pardon the quick graph, as I made it in about 3 minutes specifically for this

Respondents with religious trauma, on average, rated the series' depiction of religion as more impactful to their reading experience than respondents without.

All respondents were then asked, "Has TLT helped you challenge or reinforce your ideas of and experiences with religion?"

Respondents elaborated that: "it reinforced my ideas of religion because I see religion as a means of controlling people, often abusive, and rooted in the supernatural" or "It challenged me to consider how religion can be both a positive force and a hurtful institution. I knew this to a degree already, having experienced both, but reading about it helped reinforce that nuance."

Respondents were then asked on a scale of 1-5, "Does the original text or the fandom contribute more to challenging or reinforcing ideas of and experiences with religion?" 1 is individual text only, and 5 is fandom only.

The majority of respondents indicated an equal impact from the original text and the fandom, however very few people were impacted only by the fandom (1.4%) compared to the number only impacted by the text (13.8%). This wasn't investigated further.

Finally, respondents were asked what religion they'd been referring to or thinking of when they'd been answering the above questions. The vast majority indicated Christianity or Catholicism, though we did not count exactly how many of each; it was clear it was the majority, and that sufficed for our purposes. A larger, more thorough study would be needed to look at Non-Christian/Catholic respondents' experiences in comparison.

The conclusion of all of this was that, as predicted, fans of TLT with self-identified religious trauma were more impacted by the series' use and depiction of religion. This was via catharsis, sympathy, identifying with the characters, and more.

The study demonstrates a function of speculative fiction that allows readers to engage with and process difficult topics (such as religious trauma) though a protected, distanced lens where no one real is hurt. This can be taken beyond TLT and to the genre as a whole, which is often dismissed as less literary or worthy of study than its classical counterparts, an opinion the surveyors argue against.

If you've made it to the end here, thank you again for all the responses and help! I hope you've enjoyed the results, and if there are any further questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them. Upfront, yes there were 2 other components to the project (looking at queer demographics for the fandom and analyzing common themes in fanart and fic); those were my groupmates' sections, so I haven't shared them, but if you're curious I can always ask them if they'd be open to sharing :)

[tibtew]

*clutching head* rodya and meursault would have such a good dynamic actually

I wonder if rodya would initially see meursault's indifference as like. a simpler version of her own feigned carefreeness and as a deliberate attempt to place himself as an outsider... only to realise that No, he really Is just Like That. and then she gets annoyed because it turns out that people who don't care about anything don't seem to be any fun.

(ofc he does actually care about a lot of things, just not necessarily his grander place in the world lol)

idk. nihilism vs absurdism. fun duo 👍 rodya would find meursault's genuine comfort with being a speck of dust in the universe baffling, while he would probably find her desire to assert her own importance pointless, but they could probably bond over little things like their shared desire to live in the present and appreciation of/indulgence in earthly joys. and meursault would probably listen if rodya wants to rant about anything without asking any uncomfortable questions. I think they could appreciate each other's presence.

[robinsversion]

As someone who once had their art stolen by a mutual who has many times more followers than me and I only found out because I happened to click on her ig stories on the right day,

Get his ass.

[aro-culture-is]

Fandom aro culture is wanting to be obnoxious about your arospec headcanons but the idea of anyone coming after you for them makes you want to scream

.