#post-credit scene live reaction

[sexlapis]

[◉°] … Y/N & TOJI BEING A COUPLE FOR 10 MINUTES STRAIGHT… 537k views

⌦ 🎬 ⁺　　　.　　　　❀

꩜ actor! toji x actress! reader

⤷ synopsis : you & toji deny the dating rumours, but you’re both being a little bit too comfortable with each other for your relationship to be just “platonic”.

sfw, fluff, toji is a little ooc <3

. art credits to deltapork on twitter

.. inspired by this post

… part 2, part 3, part 4

masterlists

actor!toji masterlist

꩜ first clip

you & toji are in an interview, one to promote the upcoming release of the action movie you both star in where you’re the main love interest. it is bound to be a huge success, judging by the interest and how everyone loves the chemistry you and toji have both in and out of film!

the interviewer asks you a question and while you’re responding you can feel someone staring at you. you turn to your left where toji is sitting, and he has his eyes dead set on you, not looking away for one second. you turn your focus back to the interviewer to continue answering, but you can’t help but turn back and see that he is still staring at you with his intense blue eyes. you repeat this a few times before cutting off your own sentence with a giggle and covering your face with your hands.

toji chuckles in confusion, looking at the interviewer and then back at you, bewildered. “what-whats so funny?”

you look at toji with your hands still covering your face. “toji, i can’t concentrate when you look at me like that!”

toji tilts his head, swiftly shifting his chair in your direction and leans closer to you, practically nose to nose at this point. “like what?”

“like that!” you laugh, covering your hot face once more as he and the interviewer laugh at your actions.

the interviewer chimes in. “i do have to say, your eyes can be quite intimidating..”

“see?!” you say to toji and then look to the interviewer. “thank you.”

toji huffs and just looks at you. and you look back at him with a small grin on your face.

you speak. “as i was saying…”

you repeat your response to the question and toji exaggeratedly stares at you and you attempt to ignore it (and fail).

꩜ second clip

this was a behind the scenes clip, where your cast member is speaking about his characters relationship with the other main characters but sadly for him, that is not where the viewers’ attention was.

in the background, they see toji sitting on a couch looking at his phone and then you walking into frame. toji looks up from his phone, and if you look very closely, he can be seen smiling at you. you walk over and plop down on the couch right next to him. you both talk to each other for a few moments, faces close together and then you lay your head on his shoulder, closing your eyes and taking what appears to be a nap. toji, moving as slowly as he can, takes a blanket that is already on the couch and drapes of over you. you snuggle closer to him, prompting toji to rest his head on top of yours. he does just that.

꩜ third clip

during an interview with you and the cast members, including toji, in front of a live audience, you somehow found yourselves on the topic of the types of cars you all have. you then remember how toji had told you about a motorcycle he owned, but you forgot which kind.

“i think i wanna ride on toji’s..motorcycle! i think-”

you hear the audience laugh and hear a few wolf whistles and you turn to your fellow actors, who are also laughing, especially gojo. you seem confused, but then you think back to what you said a second ago and feel your face heat up in embarrassment.

“oh, no no nonono-” shaking your head vehemently, “that is not-”

“toji’s motorcycle eh?” gojo teases while raising his eyebrows and wiggling his fingers, which only encourages the mockery and your desire to punch him.

you cover your face with your hand and sigh. “oh my god.”

while everybody in the room makes fun of you, you look to the left to see toji’s reaction and the camera pans to his smug smirking face.

“i mean i’m free friday night so..” he trails off, winks at you and the audience goes crazy and you shove your face in your hands.

“forget i even said anything!”

꩜ fourth clip

you and toji were recording a little vlog like video for the fans, talking about what it was like on set when you get onto the subject of what working with the other cast members is like.

“yeah gojo’s is pain in the ass.” toji states and shakes his head, fondly almost. “never stops running that big mouth ‘a his.”

spits of laughter fall from your mouth at his frankness. “uhh..yeah that’s true, gojo if you see this don’t be offended!”

“yeah we still like you we just..wish you’d shut the fuck up more often.”

“toji!” you gasp and slap his chest, “you’re no spring chicken either you know.”

toji scoffs and looks at you with a raised brow. “yeah, you’re a handful yourself.”

“what? no i’m not!” toji tilts his head and blinks. “everyone says i’m great to work with. you’re such a liar.” you roll your eyes with a laugh.

toji chuckles and moves closer to you on the sofa, and leans towards your face. “no ‘s alright. i have big hands.” he places a kiss on your cheek.

“ew, you’re so corny!” you lean away and wipe away his kiss, trying not to smile and look flustered.

꩜ fifth clip

this was a big day for y/n x toji lovers, when a movie you were both in won an award. now, neither of you were the main characters, but the fans made sure to make you both the most popular ones.

while the director is accepting the award, fans zoomed in on you and toji standing near the back of the group of cast members, where you’re tearing up and trying not to cry. you’re wiping your tears and toji looks at you and does a double take when he realises that you’re crying. he looks down at you and hugs you from the side, which makes you lay your head on his chest and wrap an arm around his waist. toji accepts this invitation and full on hugs you, kissing the top of your head softly and rubbing your back.

꩜ sixth clip

toji posts workout videos on his instagram stories. they’re mostly of him lifting weights and they’re rare, so fans cherish them.

and then theres a short video of you laying on top of toji’s back while he does pushups like it’s nothing. you’re smiling, spreading your arms out like you’re flying. toji suddenly starts going fast as fuck, making you bounce and almost fall off. you gasp and start hitting the back of his head while the person recording starts to laugh (most likely gojo).

you fall off toji’s back and lay on the floor like a starfish. the camera pans to a proud looking toji before you kick his face.

a/n: thank u for reading ^_-

[rubylovessharks]

Their reaction to a sweet fic you made about them ♡

twst characters x gn!reader fluff (ortho not datebale)

reader is not MC/Yuu

ok this is hc stuff with twst characters but im trying to mix into it some actual scenes :3

some are written before an established romantic relationship and others are written in an established romantic relationship. :)

these are all different scenarios im trying to keep it interesting :D

might be ooc for some of them cuz im not fully capable of writing some characters :( ALSOOOO gotta give a bit of credit to @yourfavepookiebear cuz she helped me out a lil with ideas for some chars :p love u pook <3

Heartslabyul

Riddle Rosehearts:

conflicted feelings.

cuz he feels both weirded out and flattered.

what do you mean you've been writing sweet romantic stories about you and him?! that's super weird! but also really cute

he really likes them and wants more now-

You and your boyfriend were having a study date in his room and have decided to take a break. During said break you have been writing in your phone which left Riddle curious. Not long into the break you have accidently left your phone open before you left to the bathroom, which gave Riddle a chance to see what you've been writing. Of course he doesn't want to invade your privacy, yet his curiosity was stronger. What does he see? '-holding his hand as we sat on our picnic blanket ' and it cuts off. You weren't finished yet. When you come back from the bathroom you see that your boyfriend has become a blushing mess! What happened while you were gone, you wonder. You are about to hear from him exactly what he thinks <3

Trey Clover:

probably had a feeling you wrote fics about him but didn't expect that it'd be something romantic. especially about the two of you!

he may be a lil weirded out, but he's mostly just living with that knowledge.

he feels like a guy who'd actually enjoy reading through these imaginary dates of yours

maybe even take inspo for later!

You have no idea how this guy understood that the guy from your romantic stories was him. You didn't even use his name! Sure you posted these fics online but who could've actually understood you've been writing about Trey?! At first you just panicked. Trey literally liked your stories that you've been posting, so you were afraid that he's onto you. AND YOU WERE RIGHT. Cuz the very next day he asks you out to a baking date! At least he isn't angry :) Also now some anonyms person has been asking for more fics about this "mysterious" guy you've been writing about..

Cater Diamond:

he likes it :3

and already knows about it- you know he knows

definitely wants to take you out on dates like the ones you have wrote!

liked, shared, and makes sure to take you out on a date!

he's so into it in fact that he encourages it!

You randomly got a text from your boyfriend saying he wants to go out on a date that is similar to the one you posted in your last fic. Makes sense, he rebloged it, liked it, and talked to his besties about it in the last few hours. So now you and Cater were out on a date and it's even better then what you wrote! And that's gonna happen every time you write a fic about the two of you. You will write something sweet, and Cater will not shut up about it, and then you two are out on this specific date!

Ace Trapolla:

he says that he finds it silly but deep down he likes it

he also claims that it's a little bit weird, and even tho he does feel like that (just a wee bit) he still likes it.

he teases you though-

This guy knows your password, and you have given him permission to snoop around in your phone, so it's no surprise that when he looks into your notes he sees more then one weirdly titled notes. One that says 'Cheering him on' another that says 'Baking him a pie' and many many more. So what does he do? Look into it. Now you hear him cackling at something, but you have no idea what. So you ask him and he tells you about his findings. "Ya know I didn't know you had so many romantic ideas" he tells you and you turn red. Now you will never hear the end of it..

Deuce Spade:

i just know that the moment he finds those fics he turns red and just stands there-

he doesn't know what to say

but he's really happy :)

At first he wanted to be a supportive boyfriend, going online and finding your page to like your stuff and encourage you to write more! But the more he read the more this guy in your fic seems familiar... the way he talks, the things he likes, even his physical description seems to match himself. The moment this realization hits him he goes completely red. Just stands there until someone snaps him out of it. For a short while he'll be very blushy and all around you, but soon enough he'll tell you he really likes those fics and ask you to write more.

Savanaclaw

Leona Kingscholar:

he finds it a bit amusing.

and kind of cute

he'll tease you about it but he definitely reads that stuff and enjoys every second of it as if he didn't just call your fantasies stupid

Your boyfriend was laying in bed, but instead of his usual thing that is sleeping, he is using a phone.

wait...is that your phone?!

"Hey are you using my phone babe?" you call him out on his actions but he doesn't even move his head towards your direction. "Yeah and?"

"That's an invasion of privacy!" you tell him "what you write is an invasion of privacy." he answers.

Did you hear this right? Leona is snooping in your personal notes!?

"Don't worry I'll keep this private.. no reason to show this silly stuff to the world." he smirks to himself, and you notice that his cheeks are a little bit red.

Ruggie Bucci:

you're weird.

that's what he thinks

the thought of selling your stuff crossed his mind- cuz at first he didn't think it's about him..

but then it hit him

no thoughts about that now.. it's all for him now ♡

He's a snoopy guy so of course the moment he finds a notebook of yours he'll look into it! Sure he might be your boyfriend but he still doesn't mind selling stuff that is yours, not super important stuff of course but stuff.

Skipping through the pages he reads your stuff, not getting too into it but enough to understand what is written in a nutshell. As Ruggie reads through the pages thinking to himself what a good catch he has considering the fact that you are pretty skilled, he notices something he didn't notice before..

His name.

And with the genre that you write reading his own name is a shocker. Sure you two are in romantic relationship but he was not expecting this!

"This is weird.." he says out loud. "But this is kinda cute.." Ruggie smiles to himself, closes the notebook and puts it back in it's place.

He'll make sure to treat to you something tasty <3

Jack Howl:

wagging his tail but keeping a straight face

other than the pink tinting his cheeks-

he likes your stuff, not that he won't admit it tho.

he will say he likes it, but not as much as he actually feels.

Jack is reading through the fics you've been posting online, well more like forced to read because you just came over to him and asked him to read this new fics you just posted. He isn't someone who'd read stuff online but considering the fact that you asked him to, and it's a fic about your relationship in disguise of some fan service for others, he is willing to read it and give you his opinion.

Like many times you have shown him your fics Jack's face is getting pink and his tail is wagging a bit. "It's not bad." he tells you but the hesitation in his voice tells you he has much more to say, and it's true because al his thoughts right now are just thoughts about sweet this is.

"I'm glad you like it!" you tell him with a smile and he smiles back.

Octavinelle

Azul Ashengrotto:

super conflicted.

at first he thought it was dirt you got on him to blackmail him in the future but then he read your stuff and just turned red.

like super red.

now he's gonna have a talk with you ;)

Azul has had a crush on you for a while, but he's in total denial about it. So when Floyd told him that you write weird, sickenly sweet stories about romancing him he thought it was blackmail, for one reason or another..

So of course he starts reading your fics. And when he does slowly but surely he understands that this is no blackmail- it can't be because of how your writing shows so much love for him.

"Aahaha Azul your face is super red!" Floyd teases his boss who looks at him with no amusement in his eyes. "I have no idea what you are talking about." Azul says "now, I want you to go to (name) and tell them I request their presence."

Jade Leech:

giggles like a school girl

oh? you wrote silly fanfics about the two of you? together on a romantic date? several dates?

how fun!

get ready cuz this guy is about to scare the shit out of you and then immediately becomes a gentleman :)

"I heard you like to write in your spare time." that's the first thing he says to you. For no reason, just says that and smiles at you waiting for you to say something.

"Uhh yeah. I guess?"

"How nice." he beams "I'd like to read some of your works, if that's alright."

"I dunno... it's kinda private.." you can't show him your silly fic! They are all about dates with him!

He's face immediately shows disappointment "well that's unfortunate..." but that is not all he had to ask. "Onto another question. How would you like to go out with me? I could show you some of the stuff we do at my club."

something you don't notice is that that's literally the first date fic you ever wrote about this guy..

Floyd Leech:

oh so you are super silly!

he knew you were silly, but super silly? damn he's so glad you two are together!

after being super happy with this he immediately becomes upset and cranky cuz, why didn't you tell him you wrote such cute lil' things?!

Not understanding why, but out of nowhere your boyfriend comes and squeezes hugs you so hard you can't breathe. Not that it's unusual for him to do that, but right now it's actually super duper tight, more that normal.

He's kissing your face, and spins you two around and totally not biting you- so you have to calm him down.

"Floyd what's this all about?" you ask as your lover spins you round and around. "Ahaha I'm just soooo happy that I've got such a cutie as my partner!!" he practically yells-

"oof but-" he stops completely everything he was doing just now "you never told you wrote such sweet fics!" you can see he's facial expression change to something totally different than what it was two seconds ago.. "How dare you! Keepin your lil' stories all to yourself.. that's just ruuude" he frowns.

"Wait what-" "yeah I read your little fics about us!" yet again his tone changes to a more sing songy one "but now your gonna have to make it up to me~" and your face changes from total embarrassment to a 'I know where this is going' one. "What do you want me to do?"

"You are going to take me on eeeevery kind of date you wrote about in your stories, mmk?"

Scarabia

Kalim al Asim:

he's sooooooo happy!!!

finds all of your writings to be amazing!

so amazing in fact that he shares them with Jamil- without asking your consent-

but don't be mad! he was just so happy he couldn't help it!!

"Jamil! Jamil! Look at what (name) wrote this time!" Kalim practically jumps at his friendatleastinhisopinion and they both fall to the ground. "Kalim I only told you that these fics have an uncanny resemblance to you." Jamil says as he tries to get Kalim off of him "you don't need to show me every single thing they write!" "ohh but they write such cute things! You have to read this new one!" Kalim shoves his phone in Jamil's face as he's forced to read your fics about the guy he hates. "Isn't it amazing?!" Kalim's face is pretty much glowing "it's even better than the last!" "uhh yeah sure.."

Jamil Viper:

another one who's weirded out by this..

but he's a little bit weird too, so he doesn't mind too much :)

slowly finds it cute the more he reads.

but if anyone ever finds out about these fics other than him, and they ask how he feels about them he'll say that it's stupid but doesn't mind.

still totally loves these fics :)

Not long ago you gave your lover a notebook and told him that you've been wanting him to read the stuff that's in there. Of course Jamil is a very busy guy so it takes him a while to actually read what's in there.

So when he sits down to read whatever it is you wrote in there he was not expecting these to be romantic stories about him and you!

"I'm dating a total weirdo.." he moves his hand to his forehead and keeps it there as he reads more. The more he reads the weirder he feels this is, but he's enjoying these stories. The more he resds the wider his smile gets and from time to time he chuckles a little.

Of course being Jamil and having the fate to be stuck with Kalim he gets a call from he's most hated person and has to end his break. But he'll come back to this later and will praise you for your work as a good boyfriend should.

Pomefiore

Vil Schoenheit:

aren't you an amusing little thing?

of course you write silly fics where the two of you, aka THE Vil and you, are going on silly dates, or others where you two slowly fall inlove ♡

how can you not?

he'll fulfill your wish and go out with you.

(he's been waiting for a good opening for a while now :3 )

Classes were done for the day and you were invited by Vil to walk together. As you see Vil standing at your meeting point you notice that his face was much more series than usual. And the moment he spots you you feel as if you have committed a crime with the way his beautiful eyes look at you. Of course he is not mad, Not at all actually, he just needs to keep up with his 'perfect' self, and acting like a really in love high school girl who is giggling and kicking her feet would be far from it.. "Darling." he says, not an unusual nickname. He has been using it for a while "I have found something you've been keeping from me and I feel a little bit hurt by that.." you cannot figure out what he's talking about but the next thing he'll say will shock you. "I had no idea you had such a strong desire to go out with me, and yet still not ask me out. I must say I'm a little disappointed in your lack of confidence but we can work on it, on our date." You can't believe he just said that- a date with Vil? THE Vil!? But the date you two will go to will be very much real.

Rook Hunt:

don't think you are the only one with such fanfics..

he wrote so many things about you

cute date fics, poems about he's love for you

he even draws you!

so he's really happy to know you too write stuff about him!

Today was stressful.. not for school reasons, and not social reasons either.. it's because your personal notebook is nowhere to be found! You were about to take it this morning with you but could not find it, so now you are at the end of the day waiting for the bell to ring to go find it. Who knows where it could be! Maybe it was stolen? but who would steel a random notebook.. especially with a lock on it.. Perhaps you misplaced it somewhere that is not in your room? but that wouldn't make sense cuz last night you were writing in it! Maybe a dormmate accidently took it mistaking it as theirs? and just then the bell rings. Already the first one out you find yourself bumping into a familiar face, or should I say chest- "Oh my apologies!" you can hear the voice of the hunter you currently have a crush on. "I should be the one saying sorry- I was so caught up in my head I didn't even notice the world around me.." "non! It only makes sense that you would be so focused on your thoughts when a precious item is lost." he does a thing with his hands being.. well.. Rook. And as you are about to agree with him you immediately notice that his line is fishy... "Rook don't tell me..." he smiles at you as you get hit with the realization of your notebook's whereabouts "YOU STOLE IT DIDN'T YOU" it's not even a question, it's a statement. "You are correct! Although you wound me by keeping these stories for yourself.. I find them to be quite exquisite!" then he goes into his bag and pulls out a notebook, your notebook, and folder. a folder..? "As an apology for my actions I have made you a gift, and of course will give you your notebook back." he hands you your notebook and the huge folder "I hope you will forgive me, and will come meet me tonight in my room." Rook gives you a smile as he's about to leave, yet you still don't know what's in the folder he gave you, so the moment you are back in your room you open it only to see a bunch of poems, fics of his ownaboutyou, drawingsofyou and in the end of it there's a note that says 'there's more ;)'.

Epel Felmier:

at first he was scared that you wrote him as a 'cute wittle boy' who isn't manly at all

but then when he finished one fic he was almost crying(exaggerating here) cuz your wrote him so well!

really likes it :)

You told him you've got an account where you write stuff online and he decided to check it out. And the first thing he sees is the author's notes and it says 'this is inspired by my irl bf ........'

So you get inspo from being with him? How does that work..?

He starts to read the story and the first mention of 'his character', or at least the character that represents him, he's fears of being misunderstood get bigger and bigger. But the way you've written 'him' is right on point!

As he reads your fic Epel understands that this an idea for a date because you've never had this experience before. He now knows where he'll ask you out to ;)

Ignihyde

Idia Shroud:

HUH?!

you write WHAT???

and these are really sweet-

he is going to lock himself in his room and isnt coming out unless REALLY necessary.

ortho can get him something to eat after his food and energy drinks run out..

cuz what if he sees you? he will probably pass out cuz all he can think about is the cute little date fics you've been writing.

'Heyy love~' you send your introverted boyfriend a text 'Ive got something I want you to read!' you send another text. 'busy' he quickly sends a short text and doesn't even bother to stop his game. 'ohh but I worked real hard on this' you add a ':(' and he gives in. Pausing his game Idia looks at the messages you sent him and starts to read whatever it is you just sent him. As he does you send him a few more messages and then leave the chat. 'dont forget to tell me what you think!' Unfortunately for you the moment Idia reads the first line he will never (a few hours) come out of his room. He does finish it though! And he enjoys it as well. How can he not when you wrote him a romance story about you and him??? He feels so lucky to have you! In a few hours Ortho comes in just to check that his bro is alright and healthy, but the moment he comes in he sees Idia in his bed with the blanket around his shoulders and phone in his hands. This guy has been reading this fic for the last few hours- now Ortho is bringing you into Idia's room. Guess it's a date then?

Diasomnia

Malleus Draconia:

finds it fascinating.

so thats what you want? sure.

now you two are on the EXSACT date you have written.

like everything matches everything.

from the way the place looks, to how Malleus acts.

He just wants you to enjoy his presence, even if it's a little odd.. one day Malleus just asked you on a date and now here you are, sitting together on a picnic blanket with different kinds of food that seems oddly similar to the foods you mentioned in your most recent fic. And the location follows that too... the way Malleus sees your story is you trying to put in topics you wish people would ask, so that's his next move. "How have you been lately?" he asks and you tell him about recent things that have happened to you lately, then he asks you about more things that you are sure are too familiar. "what makes you ask that?" you question him and he freezes at that. "Do you not wish for me to ask such a thing?" he feels as if he messed up, as if his perfect courting plan has failed and that you won't wish to be with him. Of course Malleus is totally wrong, you just want him to be himself freely "I mean sure I do, but there's no reason for you to even know that about me." and you start to connect the dots. "Malleus did you read through my notebook!?" "You have left it open and my curiosity got the better of me. I'm sorry.." he quickly apologizes for his lack of keeping privacy but you quickly tell him it's alright, just odd. But you are no better considering the fact you write romance about a real person.. "Just don't try to follow my story and be free to do what you actually want."

Lilia Vanrouge:

also fascinated.

will also take you out to the place you wrote about

but instead of recreating it like Mal he just teases you-

Here you are with your beloved boyfriend at an aquarium looking at fishies and such. Lilia told you that he has read what you posted online and understood you've been wanting this for a while, so now the two of you are on a date just like you had wanted. But you should've been ready for his teasing.. "

Silver:

finds it sweet :)

when he doesn't have anything to do he'll read your stuff

defiantly dreams those fics :3

Walking into Silver's room you see him asleep on his bed like many times before. This time he fell asleep with his phone in his hand, and you won't know what he was doing before this with it. You decide to lay with him for a while until he wakes up, and as you open your phone you see a new notification. And from who? your beloved boyfriend. You smile to yourself since now you know what he's been doing with that phone of his, reading through your fictional stories about the two of you. You know Silver is smart, so you are sure he knows you write about him.

Sebek Zigvolt:

loud.

like always..

he's face is pink (i like to think that's as far as blush color can go) and he's yelling at you

good luck :(

he totally likes it tho-

You were just chilling in Diasomnia's lounge waiting for your friend and crush, Sebek. You two were going to meet up just for fun, but before this you have 'accidentally' left him a little surprise. Not long ago you put your notebook in his desk after so he'll take it with him. You are sure he noticed that it isn't his and that there is a big chance he won't open it. But you really want him to..

When you see him going towards your direction, his face with a pink tint over his cheeks, you know he definitely did read through at least a small chunk of what you have written.

And you definitely were ready for him to loudly scolding you.

"HOW DARE YOU LEAVE SUCH A PREPOSTEROUS NOTEBOOK ON MY DESK." Sebek pulls out your notebook and shoves it over to you "and to think I read through it!"

"Did you like it?" you smile at him "WHA- I-" his face is now completely pink at your response.

"yes..."

not romantic:

(this section is just a cute thing with no romantic intentions!!! you and ortho see eachother as good friends and/or family WITH NO ROMANTIC FEELINGS.)

Ortho Shroud:

he finds it sweet that you see him as a family member

it's nice to know the feelings are mutual :D

praises your writing as well :3

"This one is better than the last! You are getting pretty good at this (name)!" Ortho tells you after finishing reading through your notebook. "I'm also glad to know that the family feelings are mutual." if you could see his mouth you'd see that he's smiling. "I'm glad you like it" you sheepishly respond "maybe we could go to a similar place like this in real life." Ortho's eyes immediately sparkle "maybe we can take Idia too!" "I don't know if he'd like to go outside though" you think about how hard it will be to try to het him out of his room without him protesting. "But he's in your story too, that means you want him there as well! Right?" Ortho knows it'll be hard to get his brother out as well, but he's willing to try for a fun outing! "Oh alriiight. I'll send him a text." "How about you send him the fic as well?"

[alargehunkofdebris]

the necessary anguish of the Good Omens 2 finale

Ah ok. So after 4 years of waiting post Season One and ten cumulative years of bookish fannery, I watched bonified New Content of Good Omens. And when those credits rolled, I sat there, not in my expected state of pleasant satisfaction, but in a state of abject shock.

I actually don’t know if I’ve ever had such a reaction to a show before. Or, rather, that I could still have such a reaction. I’m thirty, for goodness sakes – I was planning on being thrilled and charmed and entertained, not having my hands shake so much that it was hard to type a text. I wasn’t planning on losing an entire night of sleep because my heart wouldn’t stop pounding really hard, Neil. This was not expected. I had an estate sale to run the next day – by God, I needed that sleep.

 Anyway. These are my thoughts on the season, and on this upswell of mourning/unhappiness at such a gut-wrenching ending. As always, this are my dumb opinions and nothing more; take with a grain of salt, etc. 

I have seen a lot of suffering on Tumblr today. Everyone is in pain, and it makes sense. I, too, am in pain. But I might be in the minority, because I thanked God/Mr. Gaiman when things turned to pure pain in the end. Because narratively, despite the anguish we all feel, this is how it needs to be. And I was getting real worried there for a second.

When we have a mini-series (ie, a show with a set number of seasons) it can’t act the same as a series without a set end. We’ve got three potential seasons; therefore, they logically should behave like a three-act play, or the three acts in the standard Western movie/book plot. This middle season is the middle act, the second act. While it definitely doesn’t work exactly the same way, and needs its own story arc to work as a season, it is still functionally the middle part of one overarching plot.

And what usually happens near the end of the second act? All Is Lost, and the Dark Night of the Soul.

We NEED this to happen. This is what makes a plot delicious. If we’d had this perfect, lovely, romantic season where the stakes aren’t raised one bit and everything is fixed at the end, we would want for nothing and the gorgeous tension that keeps us waiting and watching would be lost. We wouldn’t feel that drive to create fanfics and fanart, we wouldn’t have the need to speculate or dream, because most of the tension was eased, and you just can’t have that if you want a highly anticipated third season. We’d have nothing huge and concrete to look forward to.

In fact, I was getting really worried once the Ineffable Bureaucracy started happening on screen, because I could see (I thought) past that bend in the road toward the end. I could see how this season might conclude, with big happy confessions of love and hugs and handholding (that’s all I expected, because I only expected the same chaste level of affection with both angelic/demonic couples) and then…then it’d all be over. What more could there be? I mean, there certainly could be more, but THIS is the main thing people waited for. The Happy Confession. The hug. The handholding. Whatever we got. And in my mind, having it now, at the end of season two, just wasn’t adding up – it did not fit. It couldn’t. No, we can’t have this now. It doesn’t work.

I get this peculiar thing that happens when things start getting too “everything is great!” in a story. I get the “someone needs to die” instinct. Instead of pure happiness that things are going great, there’s this feeling of intense discomfort, because I feel the weight of the shoe that’s failing to drop. I need it to drop, or else it throws off my entire standard-Western-narrative-trained brain’s balance. In the build up to The Scene, when things seem to be going swimmingly and heading directly towards the happiest and syrupiest of endings, I had to pause and pace my living room and roll around on the floor to alleviate the sheer build up of stress. Things can’t go this well. They can’t. There hasn’t been enough bad things, this is too sweet, too much. Can’t handle it. This can’t just be pure wish-fulfillment at this point; Good Omens shouldn’t work that way, it never has. We’d be happy in the moment, but then it’ll ultimately be a let down. No more danger. Nothing keeping them apart. No more tension, no more story. It was all too easy.

And then, finally, that shoe dropped. After a season of mainly getting along and being just thrilled with each other, they began to really argue. Things got horrific and serious, and I literally let out a breath of relief. I was able to watch without pausing every two minutes for a breather. Ok. Things weren’t over. This wasn’t the end. We had more to wait for.

And then it went on. The confession started, but in that gorgeously wrong way. And for the first time that season, I was actually feeling the stress of the story. Yes, there was danger throughout this season, but it was always layered with humour and wit. You didn’t get a demon scene without them doing something hilariously stupid. You didn’t get an angel scene without them being delightfully out-of-touch. The stakes were high, but they weren’t allowed to get EXTREMELY high. We never thought there was any question of them getting out of scrapes unscathed, because it was never all serious.

Never…until now. There was zero humour at this point. After 6 episodes of being pleasantly delighted, I was feeling the dread. However, I still thought I knew where it was going.  

See, I thought I had it figured out. If I had any extra money, I would have bet some of it. I knew that, whilst they’d likely have some kind of subtle confession of love and caring, and perhaps a touch – a hug, or a hand-hold (like Gabe and Beez) – I knew we couldn’t expect a kiss. This is a story thirty-three years in the making, and it’s always been in that grey area. They weren’t humans; they didn’t necessarily show affection that way. Besides that, we’ve had so many TV shows that get close, but rarely ones that go all the way to smoochville. OFMD was one of the very first, but it was new. It wasn’t an old, established story from the 90s like this is. It didn’t have decades-old fans waiting with bated breath for canon content. For Good Omens, we heard it time and time again in interviews; it’s a kind of love story. They had this kind of marriage. They cared for each other. They had a bromance. It’s close, but never quite there. So I thought I knew exactly how this would go, and would be thrilled with what we got. 

And then it absolutely didn’t go that way. It went exactly as far as so many hoped. And it went there like a knife to the gut.

And it was perfect.

Goddamn, what a season ending. Despite my lack of appetite and failure to sleep, I could not be happier with what Mr. Gaiman did. I am screaming crying throwing up and I’m thrilled about it.

The middle of a story is typically what drags; it never holds the highest stakes. Lord knows what we’re going to get in season three (knocking on wood), but I can only expect it to get bigger and heavier. And by God and/or Satan, am I prepared, in this deliciously painful purgatory, to wait and see.  

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #22

Best of Wish

I enjoy Irep's grit-teethed remark when he mentions Anti-Fairies can't have godkids. He's just like his dad, for real, for real.

If he's this annoyed at the thought of Anti-Fairies not being allowed godkids, that kinda implies he wants one, which is interesting. Godkids were always one of Anti-Cosmo's interests, but never something Foop pursued on purpose or ever expressed interest in.

Please enjoy this cut Anti-Cosmo dialogue from an early script for "Fairly Oddlympics" that I think about constantly:

btw, there are a lot of funny deleted scenes in the old scripts that I love talking about, especially from this one, so if you find anything that catches your eye and post about it, you should @ me because I would enjoy reading your reactions <3

Plot twist - Irep is doing healthy things to work through his "scary godparent for Vicky" trauma while Peri's reaction to Vicky trauma was to cover his ears, hide behind his mom, and sing "La la la, la la la" to pretend she wasn't there.

Peri said his memories of childhood are blurry. I wonder if Irep remembers his childhood better since he was fully able to talk and comprehend things back then.

"Once a fairy quits, any magical being can take their place!"

I mean... Technically yes, but you used to have to sing for it. lol.

The Pixies, who are literally last in line for godkids below all other magical beings (including pegasi, bigfeet, and lake monsters), watching Irep stroll in like: ???

- which imo was implied to be a punishment for their race after H.P. was godparent to some unconfirmed kid I've been headcanoning was Dale for 7 years-

Actually, I like the implication that Irep was so fast to snipe Dev because he's been stalking them since he found out Peri was assigned a godkid.

Irep: Once a fairy quits, any magical being can take their place! Wanda: Peri didn't quit! He was waiting for you to call! Cosmo: He thought you two were on a break! Me: ... ?????? Peri was waiting for Irep to call and take him back? Run that by me again??

... I legitimately cannot tell if they're addressing Dev or Irep. Irep was the last person to speak, but Dev speaks next. Rewinding and listening to the conversation again, I can use my context clues to see they're probably looking at Dev (who is offscreen), but ?? why would you frame it that ambiguously.

Did anyone else get confused here or was that just me?

Also this has done nothing to disprove my previous "Peri is clingy especially where break-ups are concerned" interpretation.

I like how the very first wish Dev makes in this scene isn't for his dad to love him, but for Bev to love him.

How many kids in this class have names that rhyme with Dev and why is he so determined to befriend them all?

?? Okay, so I was previously confused about Dev's friendships because I was pretty sure I remembered him saying in Episode 1 that he and Trev were friends, but we haven't seen them interact at all. I went back and checked, and here's what he says:

"That's Trev! He's my bud, so he probably won't give YOU the time of day."

I wish we got to see him hanging out with Trev. Did they split after Trev didn't come to his sleepover?

- I just checked; I don't see any evidence of Trev at Hazel's. - Hey, did Winn and Jasmine ever find out Hazel lied to them about living in a 5-star hotel? - In conclusion, we are being ROBBED of the Trev-Dev-Bev friend squad.

Looking back, it's very funny that Dev made an effort to introduce Hazel to people when she was the new kid despite that not being his job... including giving some glowing reviews of a few of their classmates, including "This guy's my bud, this person's cool, and I respect this other guy." He wants to talk...

Also, moon is full in New York.

I keep waiting for Irep's music to drop again, but it never does in this scene. It's stressing me out; why did it only drop in THAT scene?

The version I'm watching unfortunately doesn't include credits and I can't find it after a few quick searches, but if Guy Moon did the music for this episode and remembered how he used to do it for Foop and his alt personality when they would do their switch cues 14 years ago, and so when he saw that body language he did it again, I'm gonna lose it.

Surely not... But he had to do it for at least 3 seasons; maybe it just stuck??

I don't see him credited for A New Wish at all on his own IMBD or Wiki page either. idk who did this episode, but I liked it. Hi, I'm the target audience; it's me.

And Irep's still a leftie! Even after putting both hands on the mace handle to smash it down, it goes back to his left when he takes one hand off.

He even does the "sword fight" with his left hand. It's the boy!!!

?? Is Irep's hair both blue (like both his parents') AND black (the color his tuft was in the OG series)?

Are his roots black, but the color eases to dark blue the farther out it grows? That's fantastic!

I like how Peri's hair looks most like his mom's but with a faint slope implying his dad's influence is there, and Irep's hair best parallels his dad's, but he gets his curl from his mom.

Huh. Looks like we've retired the 5 magic colors and now we're just pink poofs and dark blue lightning. Which I'm okay with; I just wasn't paying attention until now. But I know lightning-shaped Anti-Fairy magic was canon in "School of Crock," maybe others.

This does deprive me of my usual 2nd-watch shtick of reading moods based on color. Alas.

I enjoy Hazel rescuing the news reporter, but letting her know that she's a big fan of her work.

Okay, Irep uses his right hand at the last second, but I consider this a win.

I went back and checked frame by frame because I'm a NERD, and funnily enough... It looks like he changes hands after Cosmo blasts him in the left arm. It's hard to tell with the poof cloud, but when you consider the direction he moved (buffeted backwards), that implies it was a left-side hit. It's probably just coincidence, but that's funny.

I like Dev's silly star shades during this scene:

Peri's back!! Old buddies, ol' counterpart pals... I love that teeny-tiny movement Peri makes with his fingers to symbolize air quotes around "quit."

"I never gave two weeks notice~!!"

Also, this definitely belongs in my collection of counterparts using the same body language for opposite moods. idk if we'll see more of that, but it excites me that my stash grows!

I like Peri patting Dev on the head.

"He's still my godkid! :)"

Ooh, snap. Local cousins (once removed) are here to lay down Da Rules, as von Strangles do.

Aw, I like how undoing Dev's cheating means Hazel ends up with the prize shirt. I guess that makes sense; it just wouldn't have been my first thought.

I'm glad adult Irep makes squeaky sounds when you squeeze him. I seem to remember OG Poof making squeaky sounds when he bounced off walls.

Aw, Peri having a happy hug with his parents again! Instead of him feeling like they're overbearing. That's great.

Peri once again proving he's a jealous, clingy ex. I don't think this kid was okay when he was pried away from Timmy and I don't think he took his parents' leaving him on his own for 10k years very well.

I really enjoy Peri's body language throughout this series. All his little twitches and arm rubs and flicking eyes... It says a million words. You could talk forever about him.

I enjoy Dev and Hazel a lot this series, but I think Peri's my favorite. With all his little anxieties and moments he avoids eye contact, you really get the sense that he's working through a lot of baggage.

I like how his instinct was to be honest with his parents and then he immediately regrets it and closes off his body language, avoiding eye contact. He retracts what he said and says something else that he thinks makes him look better. He's got a lot going on.

The fact that he makes this big, decisive head nod as he changes his story to claim he wasn't "jealously spying on Dev" after quitting as his godparent, but he was instead "very normally and confidently passing by" is fantastic. That's... not how people talk in normal conversation, Peri. But I'm glad you're telling me you struggle with confidence issues.

- I think everything I've seen of you supports that. You've been the biggest anxiety ball ever since you got here. - Peri is the guy who'd be on edge wondering if he did something to make everyone mad.

It took me forever to get the above screenshots so I had to keep rewinding, and I have to say... I'm obsessed with that itty-bitty head tilt he does to the left before he goes full right. Idk why it's there, but I like it. It's like a shrug, or like he's thinking through his lie? I enjoy.

Also that teeny-tiny head squirm when he's enjoying the hug with his parents. He's so cute.

Okay, that's pretty messed-up of Peri to laugh with his parents while Dev is in the background really upset. Like, Peri is literally talking about Dev behind his back

-> I wish they'd snuck hints of purple in the background to indicate Peri was there, like a milk carton or pencil or something.

-> I stand by everything I've previously said about Peri not being emotionally mature enough to godparent. His kid needs comfort after a tough experience! Dev just got snapped at and punished by authority and now he's sitting on the ground looking dejected, and Peri's over there giggling!

-> C'mon, man! Hazel clocked on and she's trying to do your job for you. She shouldn't have to do that! (Though it's nice of her to try comforting her friend).

Oop, Dev just yelled at Hazel (again) and Peri did not discourage or discipline him in any way, and tbh... I don't think he even noticed. Because he was laughing and talking about his godkid with his parents. Dude, get your crown in the game.

I love Hazel throwing her prize shirt in Dev's face and shouting that she "hopes it was worth it" <3

I still don't know how to spell O-pairs and at this point, I'm too afraid to ask.

omg, Dev wants to learn about Anti-Fairies. Are we going to get lore and culture? Drama...

PERI, your godkid's running away!! Oh no, he can't hear us... he's got anxiety...

[darling-i-read-it]

Please Don't Kill Me Mr. Ghostface!

Ethan Landry x fem!reader

Word Count: 2.8k 

Warnings: SCREAM 6 SPOILERS 

Very susceptible reader, Ethan’s reaction to Richies death, heavy insinuations to smut, faking the reader and Quinn's death, the slight cringe from scream movies dialogue <3, they literally have sex in the stab shrine room (when will it be my turn), (that is all skipped over), me being unsure of which ghostface was at which part of the movie. I have only seen Scream 6 once and was just going off what I remembered from it! So if things are wrong (timing, Ghostfaces, etc) then I’m sorry! 

Author’s Note: This one requires some suspension of belief lol. I don’t know HOW to justify the reader doing all these things except Ethan was cute and this is fiction <3 I hope you enjoy love!! Also I wasn’t 100% sure on if Ethan’s name was Landry or Bailey. I went with Landry (which I’m sure is fake but what we all know him as! So when I refer to the house under that name, I was torn lol)

Requested by anon, ooh ok so can i request ethan x reader where reader is in on the ghostface thing (but she’s not killing people she just knows about it) and like helps them with stuff (maybe with like faking quinn’s death and stuff like that idk) but also it’s somehow fluffy relationship stuff in there too lol (sorry it’s kinda all over the place😬)

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director/creator

(not my gif)

You were laying on the back on Ethan’s bed, scrolling mindlessly through your phone. His room was as familiar to you as your own was. You had practically grown up at the Landry’s home, going to school together for your entire lives and staying close to Ethan throughout it all. Once you had hit your senior year in high school, it seemed only fate the two of you would start to date.

You put down your phone with a gentle huff. Ethan was sitting in front of his computer, doing homework. You turned your head to face him, trying to telepathically ask for attention. As if he could read your mind, he spoke. 

“Give me five more minutes.” 

“I told you taking chemistry for your lab credit was dumb,” you said gently, wanting to sneak in an ‘I told you so’ but also not wanting to agitate him. He was brilliant but he couldn’t always grasp the concepts he had too. You suspected some sort of undiagnosed learning disorder but you were far from a doctor. You were just his best friend. 

“I don’t remember you being there when I picked classes,” he said quietly. You rolled your eyes. 

“I was there in spirit.” You grabbed your phone again, flipping onto your stomach. You opened it back up, looking past the screensaver of you and Ethan over the summer before, when you had been on vacation with his family. You reopened Instagram to continue your doom scroll. The first story you opened was that of a friend from school. 

You usually skipped through them, not even registering what they said, but paused at the large bolded letters over a black screen. 

Rip Richie <3 

You didn’t deserve to be caught up in that. 

You squinted, trying to place a Richie that you knew. The first that came to your mind was Ethan’s older brother but just as quickly as the thought came it left. It couldn’t have been him. He was with his girlfriend in Modesto or something. Plus, how would this rando in high school know before you and Ethan? You kept flicking through your friend's stories, confused. Someone had posted a blurry picture of some sort of a crime scene. It was clearly reposted over and over so the picture itself was almost lost. You squinted and then opened your google app.

“Okay I’m done,” Ethan said, shutting his laptop with triumph. “I’m gonna ace that test tomorrow.” He looked over your face and could read you with ease. Something was wrong - or at the very least, confusing. “What?” 

You googled Richies name. A flood of reports came up. Your lips parted in surprise as you looked up at Ethan. 

“What?” he repeated. Before you could explain, his phone rang. You both looked towards where it was resting on the bed beside you. You picked it up. A picture of his dads face was on the screen. 

“Oh God,” you whispered, unable to contain it. 

“What?!” He grabbed his phone and answered it quickly. You sat up, tossing your phone aside and getting off the bed. You knew right now that he was going to be grieving more than you. You had to be there for him. “Hello? Dad?” You stood beside him and watched as his face fell according to the muffled voice coming from the receiver. His eyes were laced with confusion and then a flash of pain. “What do you mean Richie-” He was cut off. 

There were a few more words and then his eyes went dead with emotion. You weren’t sure what to do so you stood beside him. He hung up the phone after a moment and then looked up at you. 

“Richie?” He nodded. His mouth was ajar, stunned. He threw his arms around you and you embraced each other as he stood up. “What happened?” you questioned. He was silent. You didn’t think you were going to get an answer until he spoke, quietly. 

“He was murdered.” 

-

“It’s actually kind of easy to rig the roommate system,” you muttered, sitting at a chair in front of your computer. The room behind you was filled with the remaining Landry’s. 

You turned around to the curious eyes. 

“So he’s in?” Wayne questioned. You nodded. 

“He is going to be Chads Meeks-Martin’s roommate,” you explained. He slapped you on the back in approval. You had always been on good terms with Wayne. He was the kind of dad who would ask if you had a boyfriend and then wink at his son after the question. He had been slightly overjoyed when Ethan told him you were dating. This came only after, he caught you and Ethan making out in his bedroom. It was mortifying but he was pretty okay about it. 

“Thanks kid.” 

Wayne was not on board with telling you about the trio of Ghostfaces he had planned but Ethan insisted. You had been there when he found out about Richie and you had been there through all of his hardships. 

“And you’re okay with coming around my place when we have to…you know…” Quinn made a gesture of slitting her own throat. “I mean, I need someone to drag my body out of there while my dad brings a new one.” 

You tried to ignore your moral dilemma to this. Ethan had promised you wouldn’t be implicated in any of this. But sometimes when Wayne looked at you during this you knew that you would go down with them if he went down. You were in on this now. You couldn’t exactly back out. 

“Yeah, no problem.” 

Quinn smiled brightly. She was slightly too excited about this. Part of you still didn’t think it was actually going to happen. You couldn’t imagine Ethan actually killing anyone, even when his eyes lit up while talking about it. 

“For Richie,” Ethan promised, placing a hand on your back. You nodded, getting up and out of your seat. You gestured to the computer. 

“I didn’t think this is what I would be doing with my computer science classes,” you admitted. Ethan smiled gently at you, ever soft, even when planning people’s literal murders. 

“For some reason I feel like she’s gonna have no problem faking our deaths but is gonna have a major problem not getting to hang out with Ethan everyday,” Quinn teased. You rolled your eyes. You wouldn’t be able to see him when he’s hanging out with his new group of friends. At least, you would have to act like you didn’t know him as closely as you actually did. You were meant to be Quinn’s friend in all of this. 

Wayne was grabbing papers off the table, presumably planning. He actively tried to burn everything after memorizing it. You thought it was dumb of him to write anything else. 

“You gonna be okay?” Ethan questioned, jokingly. You rolled your eyes. 

“You shouldn’t be worried about me E. I’m not the clingy one in this relationship.” 

-

Sam and Tara shouldn’t have been as nice as they were. You recognized the hate in Sam's eyes, the paranoia that was justified. She was out, attempting to get Tara from a party she went to. You sat in the apartment with Quinn. She was working through some homework. You were still amazed she did all that during this planning. 

You walked around her room, making sure that all of the blood that needed to come out, would come out. You liked to double check. You blamed the nerves. 

“Is he supposed to be here soon?” Quinn questioned. You glanced back at her. 

“You know we aren’t supposed to talk that much over the phone.” You were standing on top of her bed. Everything was in place for when your Ghostface arrived. You hopped down. She turned away from her computer. 

“I know you’re not supposed to. I also know he can’t help himself.” You rolled your eyes. 

“Soon. Within the hour,” you admitted. She left her computer open, to show that she was ambushed. You and Quinn were supposed to die tonight at the hands of Ghostface. After Sam and Tara left, he would sneak in and find you both, unsuspecting and oh so helpless. By the time the sisters returned home, you would both be dead, or close to it.

You glanced down at your phone which was still open to your texts with Ethan. 

Can’t wait to stick something in you tonight ;) 

You rolled your eyes, flushed, and turned off your phone. 

Quinn helped you to make sure everything would look as realistic as possible. She explained, again, that they would blame Sam for all of this. Once she was dead and Richie’s death had been paid for, the two of you would be able to return to society as though Ghostface had held you captive. 

You were too far in to back out now. 

You heard the front door open. Quinn shut her blinds so that no one would see Ethan maskless. It had been a couple of weeks since the two of you had been alone (or alone with Quinn). He walked in through the front door, which Sam had left unlocked in her rush, and quickly made his way to Quinn’s room. 

You met him halfway, throwing your arms around him. His laughter was muffled by the voice changer. You took his mask off of him, eager to get your lips on his. You couldn’t believe you were really doing this. You couldn’t believe your boyfriend was going to fake kill you. 

He kissed you before you could get to it. 

“Alright alright love birds,” Quinn grumbled. “Get in the closet Ethan, the girls are gonna be back soon.” 

“Will you give us one sec?” Ethan questioned. Quinn looked like she wanted to argue but knew that an argument would just continue this further than she wanted to. You stood outside of her door, leaving it ajar. He looked around carefully to make sure no windows were in view. You were alone. 

You took the mask from him. You felt it in your fingers. You hadn’t seen him in the outfit yet. You had seen Quinn and you had seen his dad but you hadn’t ever seen him in the full get up. 

“You’re so scary,” you whispered, a buzz in your voice. “I would be terrified.” 

“Are you scared?” He put the mask up to his face. “What’s your favorite scary movie?” You scrunched your nose, shaking your head. 

“What’s that part in the first Stab?” You thought for a minute, pressing yourself up against him. He looked at you with adoration in his eyes. He had missed you desperately. You had grown up together and spending a long time apart was proving to be more difficult than he thought it would be. “Please don’t kill me Mr. Ghostface. I wanna be in the sequel!” 

He chuckled lowly and clutched your face, leaning over to kiss you. You let him, relishing in his lips. Who knew when he would slip away again to see you. You would be sentenced to hiding until all of this was over. He placed his other hand on your side, holding you in his grasp. 

“Alright you two! Andele, andele!” Quinn opened up the door. He let you go. You grabbed the mask with both of your hands, rubbing it with your thumb. It was scary. It wouldn’t be hard to act the part. 

“You ready to die?” he asked but his voice was so gentle it was almost comical. It was like he was checking in on you. 

“Yes sir.” 

You put the mask over his face and then he was no longer your boyfriend. He was Ghostface. You slipped into Quinn’s room and prepared for your end. 

-

“Maybe I should’ve joined in on the killing,” you muttered, looking up at the ceiling. You were stuck in the Ghostface shrine that Richie had created. It was fun for a while, considering there was so much to look at, but there were only so many times the Stab movies were interesting to watch. Quinn came and went but mostly went. You weren’t sure where Wayne was keeping her otherwise. 

The burner phone in your pocket buzzed. You quickly reached for it. 

“Hello?” 

“Lemme up.” 

You knew that voice. You also knew he wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near here until much later. This room wasn’t even supposed to be found yet. He hung up the phone. You walked to the elevator and pushed the button to lower it. It took a few minutes but you heard it come back after a while. 

Ethan practically threw the gate open. 

“What are you doing here?” 

He threw his arms around you. 

“Those people are really fucking annoying.” You scoffed. You were grateful for the company but not at the behest of his cover. “I missed you.”

“Does your dad know you’re here?”

“I’m supposed to be in a study group.” 

“Skipping study group to see me? Tsk, tsk Ethan.”

“Shush.” 

He dipped his head to kiss you. You put your hands on his cheeks. You melted into him. You tried to imagine what Quinn would’ve said if she was here. Probably some crude joke that all three of you knew to be true in the end. 

You pulled away from him and kissed his jaw as you did so. 

“Bet you’ve never made out in the Stab shrine before,” he questioned jokingly. You scoffed. 

“Alright Ethan,” you scoffed. “How are you feeling?” 

“I don’t wanna talk about feelings,” he whined. “I have to be back soon.” 

“You came all the way up here to have sex in front of all these dead peoples possessions?” He paused. He knew how that sounded. He also knew he had faked your death. He wasn’t super sure how to handle this one. 

“Yes?” 

You narrowed your eyes. 

“I’m not gonna see you before the whole big thing. You sure you don’t wanna talk about it?”

“Pillowtalk,” he breathed. You pretended to think. 

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”

-

You sat up against the wall of the backrooms. You dragged him away from the prying eyes of all the killer memorabilia. 

“Are you scared?” you questioned. He had his head resting in your lap. He had to leave soon, you both knew it. 

“No,” he said quietly. “My dad will be there. He wouldn’t let us die when he’s with us.” You were brushing your fingers through his curls. You looked down at his big doe eyes, a faint smile on your face. 

“I’m scared.” 

“Don’t be.” 

“You can’t stop me,” you promised. He rolled his eyes. He hummed pleasantly from your touch. “You’ll be safe, yeah?”

“I’m going to kill someone.”

“I know. I know.” You tried not to think of it. You couldn’t imagine his eyes going black, killing people without remorse. Even when he was rushing at you with the knife, you knew he was just Ethan. “I still want you to be safe.”

“I’ll be safe.” 

“You have to go.” He groaned. You pushed him gently so he would get off of you. You would be stuck here. Maybe you would have another Stab marathon. You were beginning to like even the shitty ones. Stab 3 started to become an odd comfort. “I’ll be here when you’re done.” 

“You promise?” 

“Yeah E. I promise.”

[1000sunnygo]

One Piece 1093

//long post, manga spoilers ahead

Congratulations to Law for his second time trending as "Law's female form" and congrats to Kamiya Hiroshi too for trending alongside him!! (her?)

I have no doubt that Law's role would always be special to Kamiya. The way he strained his voice to raise his pitch to a new high made my throat sore on his behalf..... But I liked it more than I expected! I could feel in my bones that it was an uncomfortable transformation Law wanted to free himself from as soon as possible bwahahah

I like the anime original dialogue とにかく、ヤベぇ！(tonikaku, yabee!) Even with my crap japanese it was as hilarious as hearing him say "Anyway, I'm cooked!" I don't think Law uses the term "Yabee" a lot so that felt refreshing lol

It seems the more controversial quote was this one, the speech in Japanese would be literally translated to "my strength isn't coming out as usual". Personally, I didn't immediately associate it to weakness due to being woman but moreso as an additional side affect that came with it, after all, it's dubbed as a disease. I like to think Doc Q didn't only come up with it as a deranged fantasy but to impose a real handicap for the victim to have their body modified in a way that limits their ability to fight and use their usual powers, either due to magic or just out of discomfort. Unlike Ivankov's fruit that alters hormones, it's just a physical change, it makes sense why it's more unnatural and uncomfortable.

The female Law scene was animated by Yuu Yoshiyama, he also did Hancock's scene from Amazon Lilly invasion episode. The scene was fanservicey but thankfully not as over the top as the Bonney scene from few episode prior to this one. The episode didn't drag on even during the slower parts, the screentime was well spent. The obnoxious, repetitive closed up reaction shots weren't there.

Moving on to B part, nothing much to speak of Ishizuka's brilliant storyboard that hasn't been said. My favorite observation was this:

Some parts where characters didn't immediately follow up with a second attack was frustrating until I remembered Blackbeard and Law both put their lives on line when they use their fruit and so can't take risks. Cheaper trick shots and silly gimmicks that people blame Law for not using more frequently were probably never the best option. That said, unfortunately, Law lost the moment he used both his strongest attacks onscreen and failed. I don't think the fight was longer than what we saw here. The anime just made it more obvious.

Another anime original dialogue I liked is Blackbeard saying "what a handy ability you've got!" right before their final clash. He was using Tremor fruit until that point and then he switched to his OG attacks, it was unsettling how he's not only fighting but looking at Law's abilities as something that he'll soon take away from him. Unlike Doflamingo, Teach had no pre-decided plan involving Law's fruit and considered selling the fruit as appealing alternate as using it for its abilities. Honestly, we can't underestimate Doflamingo's knowledge. There's no way he stays in prison during the final arc.

And finally the Kuzan scene,,

rightfully the most praised section and probably my favorite part of the episode too. According to his tweet, Henry Thurlow animated the Kuzan scene traditionally on paper. Let's give Toei credit where it's due; they let their animators take time, be creative and love their work. Otherwise we wouldn't get scenes like this.

And that's it! The first (and the last?) time we see Heart pirates in proper action. Ch. 1081 is only ~17 chapters away. Hopefully we'll see it animated around the middle of this year. Hopefully Law's current condition in the manga is updated by then, otherwise it'll be very painful.

Twice already. Petition to let Pandaman become an official member of heart pirates.

[horanghoe]

until it hurts a little less - part 2.I

MAIN MASTERLIST /// TXT MASTERLIST /// IMAGE MASTERPOST UIHALL [FIRST IN SERIES] /// [UIHALL - PART 2.II CONTINUED]

group: TXT

pairing: Yeonbin (Yeonjun & Soobin) x Reader (Fem perspective)

genre: hybrid, angst, fluff, heavy smut, minors dni !!

word count: 39k / split into 2 posts

T/W’s : under the line

A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY FRIENDS & BETA READERS ~ Saffron & @pyeonghongrie & all of MTG and especially the furry babes: @slightlymore @raibebe @starlitmark @wooahaeproductions [extra credit for the above mb!! tysm beeeeeee] @atiny-piratequeen <3 & anyone else I have tortured with brain rot and updates

AUTHORS NOTES - Wow. Thank you everyone for your patience. This has been many many months of chipping away at a small idea to make it into a now infamous [among friend circles] 40k hybrid fic. This draft has gone through a breakup, different jobs, and different living scenarios, phew! Following from the kitty Beomgyu saga the series now dives into new and hot Yeonbin dynamics. I look forward to feedback & interest in a small cuddle pile epilogue and editing of old works to bring them up to date. Lots of love, Wren 🦝💗

Music to listen to while reading ♡ (in no particular order)

My Oh My - Camilla Cabello FT. DaBaby

Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealers Wheel

Beast Of Burden - The Rolling Stones

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

I Want You to Want Me - Cheap Trick

No Strings Attached (Enemies to Lovers) - Backseat Vagabond

Feel free to suggest others! :>

Trigger warnings ♡

voyeurism [aka sex in a public place], intimate scenes in an open late-night diner, a third watches with consent and an invite but is named perversive for comedic effect, submissive reader, female POV reader, AFAB reader, female pronouns & genitalia descriptives, occasional degrading words/actions with active consent, height kink, size kink, slight dacryphilia scene, crying [out of the context of sex], mention of unfulfilling ex-partners, sex in the rain(?), mention of blood, sub-mode or trusting others to make decisions after sex [safe, loving, no fear here but do need to warn], choking [mild, not to the point of harm].

hybrid content such as scenting marking and knotting; themes of possessiveness and alllll the animalistic features from that.

All of the above are willing and consenting for every party present (apart from Bangchan/diner staff). If you cannot stomach voyeurism, skip about halfway and you can still enjoy the last half of the fiction. :]

Yeonjun sat opposite you, at the most unfortunate angle.

He had just dived forward and sprawled himself across the round diner table; a half-chugged milkshake gripped in his hands and a barely-smoked cigarette sat burning between his forefingers. His eyes were pinched in curiosity, and the mischief hanging onto his aura was unmistakable.

He was in the process of poking at you until you squirmed. 

Like he always did, whenever the two of you were alone. It's what he did best. 

Only, the repercussions were different here. And you were very much, not alone.

"So, have the two of you fucked?" Yeonjun asked abruptly; mute in tone but with a foxish grin peeling his lips wide as if dinner had just been served steaming hot and inches away from his face.

The break in silence made Soobin, the large black-haired Doberman Pinscher, groan loudly. He rolled his head and eyes back against the high diner seats that encompassed the three of you. 

He was about to tell his friend to mind his own fucking business, but you beat him to it.

You scoffed, your skin hot, and your heart missed a beat as it pumped in your chest. 

"Fuck off, fox."

His reaction to your pushback was slow. 

The fox's eyes blinked, and his cheek twitched. Before finally, Yeonjun’s lip quirked; and the canines on his left side were on full display. 

With a wink, he pulled his body back from the sprawled-out position facing you on the table; sipping on the straw of his milkshake as he went.

"So you have. And you liked it, by the sound of things. Hmm. That's good to know. Explains why you’re sat here still stinking like a very sickly pussy cat."

Soobin kissed his teeth and thumped his thin solid black tail against the seat.

"Why don’t you ask Gyu, instead of the girl, June? And, if that is the case; I’m not even sure why you would be asking anyway. You would owe me a large fucking bet, foxy bingo." 

Yeonjun made an exasperated sound, turning to the taller more agitated friend on his right side.

“Yeah right! The guy would maul me. Those cat bites are gnarly. And I don’t owe you shit!”

An accusing finger - well, two, holding a cigarette - stuck out in the gap between the two men.

“So what makes you think it’s okay to interrogate Y/N?” Soobin growled in a steady low tone. His jaw had grit and his sharp ears had pulled back; sharp cheeks pulled taught.

Soobin's growl cut the air and your skin grew warm. 

You darted your eyes downward to pick at the peeling varnish on your nails while the boys glared at each other. You didn’t want to be the subject of tension, this is exactly what you had wanted to avoid.

After a tense pause; Yeonjun finally let up. He kissed his teeth and rolled his eyes to slouch back against the seat; ears tilted in submission. He looked much like a teenager with that pout and sass. A crack in his serious facade.

Another win for Soobin.

“Look,” Yeonjun started. He reached his arms across the table, tapping as he went to get your attention. You looked up. “We all know you guys have been very fucking exclusive lately, not to mention you never leave the damn house anymore outside of work -” 

“Dude - shut up!” Soobin punched his friend's leg. 

“Not cool!” The fox yelped, elbowing him back. But it didn’t seem to deter him at all. His sharp eyes quickly returned to you. 

Yeonjun sipped on his milkshake with a shit-eating grin, before looking between the two of you and judging whether he could keep poking at the subject.  

“What?! I’m sorry okay, it’s the talk of the town, and I have to know about it.” 

Soobin curled his lip, unamused. Yeonjun was digging himself a hole.

“What? Am I not going to try and get the goss straight from the business babe's mouth?” 

“How about you tell us - in fine detail - about your current love excursion, instead? Go on Jun, we’d love to hear all about her leaving your ass on read. And the cheating. Cheating, on you, of all people! Twice!! And you never even made it official!”

You knew of the girl Soobin hinted. 

It was meant to be nothing but a summer night fling, but poor Junnie’s feelings got caught up in the mix. The one fatal flaw in networking, and the cardinal sin when being a player kingpin; was the chance of falling in love. 

He had come to you for advice a while ago about it. But some things just eventually kill themselves, and you just have to revel in the open closure; never to see that person again, never to get the final word. 

You had no doubt the mention pained the fox, by the expression on his face.

“That is - She is entirely beside the point! And, unrelated to the topic!” Yeonjun yipped, pulling back his ears before they perked back up to shift between you desperately. “Plus, I’m not exactly wrong; Y/N never wants to hang out with anyone anymore -”

“We have fucked.” You offered with a shrug. You remained staring at your fingers; but felt their ears pin-point on a swivel towards you. “A few times, yeah.”

You offered up the information to distract from the potentially genuine heartbreak Yeonjun could be feeling mid-gathering. But your voice shrunk as quickly as your confidence did. If you did have hybrid ears; they would have peeled backwards against your head by now. 

“But we aren’t exclusive. We are… a thing, maybe more so emotionally, but we’re not, like -” You struggled to find the words that didn’t insinuate what it had become; friends with benefits. You hated the judgement, and so settled on; “- out, as a unit. Publicly. Like, at work. Or anywhere where family is concerned. We don’t vibe like that.”

The tall hound that sat opposite you carefully assessed you as you spoke. 

Both his nose and his ears twitched as they picked up on your pulse that had started to race very suddenly; air caught tight in your lungs. 

He could smell your anxiety, and endeavoured to counter it, quickly.

“Like I said in the text, I like being with you guys, and Gyu’s cool with that. He assures me I can make decisions for myself now, for the most part, I just -” 

You puffed a huge intake of breath, darting your eyes between them before reaching to pick at the table edge instead, spilling out an explanation so rapid and tight in tone that Yeonjun almost missed the first half of it.

“I find it hard to meet people nowadays - new or old. Socialising in groups has become really tricky for me. Humans are hard work, and I just don’t get Hybrids - like, they’re so unpredictable, and then, non-prey types make me even more anxious… I just - I don’t - even know how to even begin to talk to people anymore, let alone ask for help - but I thought you guys might… Get it, you know? Like, Gyu is mostly indifferent, he doesn’t understand what I’m saying - but you guys are higher, more educated and responsive, or at least on the same level as me, so I just thought - I just - I thought that maybe -”

You flushed hot in the attempt to tie up the loose-ended speech. But you didn’t need to; as Soobin’s ears folded with a sympathetic huff and he threw a sharp glare at Yeonjun, before reaching to squeeze your hands in his. He wasn’t going to let you suffer alone.

“It’s alright, Y/N. Yeonjun’s just being a nosey fucking fox. Don’t ever feel like you have to over-explain anything, ever again.” 

He turned his head to slowly growl at his companion. Lip curled over one large blunt-pointed tooth. 

“Especially to people who don’t properly read their text messages.”

There was a beat of silence. Yeonjun was pleased he got an answer to the rumours, but visibly softer and feeling a little put out after hearing your reactions. And getting - literally - hounded in the process. 

Eyes wide and ears high at a point, he didn’t poke the mood, instead, he chose to push forward. Wise of him.

“Ahh - I’m sorry Y/N,” He offered, a little confused. Shy; timid even. 

He peeked between the two of you, clearly not clued into what was going on like he thought he was. His ears were so expressive; you were convinced you could see his emotions with those alone. Like right now; you could tell he was unsure what to say.

“I’m - Can I read the text again, doll?” 

You nodded at him to go ahead, knowing full well that he never read it in the first place.

Soobin however; wasn’t in the least bit shocked or ‘put out’ by your words. Out of everyone, other than Beomgyu, Soobin was the one you had spent the most time with in the friendship group over the past two years. He knew all of what you were saying to be the truth. 

Hence him driving you here. 

Hence your honest and open conversation in the safety of the car. 

Covered in his scent. Quiet, safe, and otherwise alone. 

Hence why this meet-up had created an opening to a further bond that created an attraction so strong you had almost hooked up in Soobin’s driver seat just under an hour ago in the underground parking lot. 

Hence his plush leather seats being coated in the smell of slick, and why he had even invited Yeonjun to tag along - like you had suggested - in the first place. He had entertained the idea of his friend joining for the good aspects of his personality, and because you wanted him there; but he was apprehensive enough of the bad sides of his friend to be protective of you.

The fox was, often, surprisingly fast-witted. But in this instance, he had been very slow. 

Yeonjun clicked away his phone with a small “Ah…” and folded his ears backwards. Coy, but curious. “I’m sorry Y/N. I didn’t read it properly...”

You nodded, picking at the paint remaining on your nails. Tense, but happy that his reaction to your proposal wasn’t exactly bad. You weren’t sure what it was, yet.

“Umm, anyways, in other news -” 

Soobin rolled his eyes… again. Delighted to hear what the fox would come up with next.

“- newly Hybrid, hey sugar? Bet that’s been hard to get used to. Gyu said your test came back as a Deer. Your scent tells me that’s true, but I don’t see any ears. No tail? Antlers, even? It’s a little… odd to get used to - never met someone with your condition before.”

You blinked. 

Sometimes; you forget that the whole saga had ever happened. That you had even inherited those traits (by force), in the first place. Then it was mentioned, or you read of similar incidents in the news, and a whole slew of memories reappeared in your mind's eye. 

After the night you and Beomgyu had hooked up; things had begun to change. You had started to become attached. You learned more about his past. What dark alleys he disappeared down. His deepest darkest fears. You fell in love. 

Then you went to an office party, and everything got so violently fucked up. 

Someone at the party had spiked your drink. With an extremely dangerous and underground drug that caused a human's recessive hybrid genes to splice and come to life; or, where no recession was present, you would be forced to die a very fast and excruciating death, bursting from the inside out.

There were no treatments for it. Instead, a private donor who had a supposed ‘interest’ in the drug, paid for your experimental treatment. The whole thing was strange and dramatic like a big-shot movie, but you were just glad it was over.

Altogether; it was a dangerous dice throw of genetics, that you had very luckily survived.

It took weeks of recovery, and a handful more months of emotional care for you to re-enter the world. With a new slither of morality splitting apart your soul. There existed inside of you; the heart and mind of a Doe, where once a human had full control.

Naturally; the genetic switch caused you to gain a Deer’s characteristics. 

You became more reserved; quick to flight, instead of fight. You began to shake, and freeze in fear; where you once had the option to move, be uncaring and in control of your body. You had become sensitive to predators - in every sense, but more vitally hybrids. Your diet changed drastically and your hearing and sense of touch hiked up tenfold. 

And what Yeonjun said made sense; it was odd to have no extra limbs. You understood why it confused the hybrids around you. Deer’s being somewhat rare, and your condition more so; the medical professionals were unable to explain whether you would get any animal characteristics or not. You were grateful for not yet at least growing a replacement pair of ears. It would have been too much to adjust to. 

You also couldn’t get pregnant that easily anymore. Not that that proved any challenge; you were a human before, and a different animal type now, so sleeping with Beomgyu was a null threat - Humans and Hybrids can't create offspring, and Hybrids abide by the same genealogy rule that animals do - that’s to say a cat can’t reproduce with a deer, and so on.

And honestly, thank Goodness for that; as a child with Beomgyu sounded like hell.

Your relationship stayed much the same. The switch to becoming a Hybrid created natural barriers, and if not for your occasional retching at any fish placed on Beomgyu’s dining plate, you could co-exist peacefully. But the intimacy was no longer there. And your emotions proved far too complex for a moody cat-boy to understand. He wasn’t high enough on the food chain to guide you; nor low enough to be bullied. 

You were simply on two separate paths. He was nice to have around, and he held a special place in your heart, but… some people are not meant to be in long-term relationships. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.

These boys, however; were natural threats to you.

And they acted like it. Their sudden unrestricted movements scared you. Their ability to keep their emotions and body language in check kept you constantly on edge and vigilant. 

Not to mention the change in your relationship with Soobin. He had struggled to keep his teeth inside his gums whenever near you; instead of around your throat, where they instinctively should have been, the moment you strolled out of the cat-boy’s room, that first day he visited you at the apartment, after the initial hospital stay. 

He remembered seeing you so weak and pale; reaching for him with a new vulnerability. He remembered how badly you suffered and wanted nothing more than to take you home with him.

Yeonjun however, became distant after the accident. And although it was not unlike him to disappear for weeks at a time; it was obvious that he felt you shouldn’t interact until you had spent a ton of time inside of this new body of yours.

But you’d be outright lying if you said you didn’t love the thrill of fear in the space of people you trusted.

“Y/N?” You heard Soobin prompt. Ears low. Voice soft. He sounded pained. Yeonjun watched with empathy written all over his face.

“Yeah, sorry…” You must have zoned out, you realised and shook your brain back into place. “I don’t - have any of that. It’s been hard. Gyu’s really helped me re-integrate, and everything. Soob too. But - sometimes, it’s just -”

“Overwhelming?” Yeonjun offered. Voice calm, and light. He tilted his head sympathetically. “Scary? Noisy? Uncomfortable?”

“Yeah,” You scoffed, chin tucked. “All of that. And - so much more.”

Yeonjun wasn’t sure what to say. And you were in no position to start talking.

“Curiosity killed the cat, dickhead.” Soobin growled and broke the awkward pause by tugging Yeonjun's well-groomed black and orange tail from out beneath his larger leg in annoyance, a little harsher than needed, before looking out beyond the chair with a huff and folded ears. “So much for a low-key re-introduction.”

“Well then thank fuck I’m not a cat!” Yeonjun yowled at Soobin and yanked his tail back, small chirping noises sounding from his throat as he went along. That looked like it hurt. But he soon settled.

You jumped at the hand that landed over your own, following the arm to the fox, who had shuffled around the seats in a cute and juvenile fashion; smile kinder than before, and seemingly aware of what he had done wrong. Yeonjun’s ears went completely flat against his slicked-back hair - a sign of temperance and apology - and he was almost purring, jittering a high-pitched noise quietly.

Soobin watched with a warning growl only the other hybrid could hear; stiff to how you would respond to Yeonjun moving so quickly into your personal space. 

But surprisingly, you were okay. Given how things had gone with Soobin earlier, he reasoned, you must have started to feel a little more comfortable about how your proposition would be received.

“I’m sorry, pretty Doe. I seriously didn’t realise.” Yeonjun said in a hushed tone.

This was all a little too late in Soobin's' opinion, but it was better late than nothing. 

The fox watched your expressions carefully as he followed your face, hiding from him by tucking your chin. His hand squeezed over yours, pulling you to stop picking at the table. His thumb brushed over your knuckles before releasing your hand, letting you retreat. 

“I thought we were here for a smoke, a drink… Some small talk? Not real - or,” He tutted, correcting himself, “Not that - kind of intense stuff. I’m sorry angel. That’s on me for being a shit reader.” 

You snuck a glance. His expression was patient and genuine. His ears were still folded. And you wanted to forgive him, despite your gut telling you it may not be the smartest move. 

By nature, Yeonjun was sneaky and funny. But also cripplingly charming, and a perfect smooth talker ever since the first time you had met him. He was constantly smoking. Weed, vapes, cigarettes. Whatever he could get his hands on or was left nearby. One could call it an oral fixation of some kind.

Unlike the clean-but-very-much-into-rock-metal Soobin, Yeonjun was a typical bad-boy character, and his sway with people could be felt in any venue the guys would go. You didn’t hold it against him. You knew via second-hand stories and brief interactions that he really was a nice guy. But people had trouble believing it.

In the words of Soobin; “If you want him to come and agree to this, you’ll just have to trust that he’s in a good mood tonight, and see how it goes. If he’s a cock, we leave. Or if he’s feeling nice, I’m betting on you not wanting him to leave. One thing he won’t do is continue when you tell him to stop. So just tell him, if he’s too much. Last thing he wants to do is upset a pretty girl. I’ll be by your side the whole night.” 

And that summed him up, pretty damn well.

“It’s okay.” You smiled. His ears picked up gradually, eager to lean into the positive response. “I expected there to be some confusion about it anyway. You can - you can ask questions…” Your skin heated, legs pressing together and away from the handsome fox looking down at you. 

“Anything?” Yeonjun purred with a low, but inquisitive tone.

“Umm, yeah. Sure. Anything.” 

Yeonjun took note; as his nose suddenly twitched and he shot Soobin a discreet glance. 

This close, this shy, you did in fact smell like something he wanted to breed. He couldn’t even believe his mind went to those places, to ravish his own bandmates girl. But the text had used the words ‘shy breedable deer groupie’ pretty explicitly, so it wasn’t like he didn’t have full green-meaning-go. 

But still, he was in slight disbelief.

“Yeah-h, anything is cool, anything you guys want to know, you know? You can ask -”

“How long have you been thinking about asking us for help with this?” Yeonjun shot back immediately, cutting you off. “Who else is involved? Does Beomgyu know? Where did you think we’d go? Are you clean? How long-term is this?”

Now that he had gained social context, the fox was back on his feet and as swift as ever.

“Yeonjun -” Soobin groaned. Ready to throw him over the diner table and punch his pretty Vulpine face out the back door already. “Please, for the love of God, go gently with this one.” 

“You don’t even believe in God.” Yeonjun threw back at him.

Soobin made a noise of frustration but you quickly shook your head, tone soft as a breeze. 

“No no - Binnie, it’s okay. It’s alright. I can get why someone would be distrusting.”

You turned to face Yeonjun’s quizzical face, the one that clearly didn’t believe you yet. It was in his nature, you reminded yourself. You can ask to stop and everything will stop.

“I’ve been into you guys ever since I met you. I’ve just never really found the perfect moment to -” 

Yeonjun's nose twitched, distracted. His ears whooshed forward and upright; standing to attention as his irises pinched. It made you pause mid-sentence. You had a cat, and you knew that look. And by the look he held on his face, you knew that he knew. Knew that he knew that you knew. And so forth.

“I’m clean!” You squeaked.

Your shirt collar had moved. And a waft of Soobin's’ scent had released into the air and straight up into his nasal column. And then, travelled up into his brain, ears, eyes - until he was locked upon you. 

“Have you guys been making out?” The fox quipped, ears folding in offence before thwapping up together so high and so fast they made a thwop sound upon impact. 

“Don’t ask stupid questions, idiot.” Soobin huffed. “My scent is all over her. How have you not realised this sooner?”

Now that the big dog had mentioned it, Yeonjun could smell Soobin’s scent. And it was plastered all over the booth. Specifically, all over you. And the teeth-adjacent bruises indented into your shoulder. The Doberman's clothes even smelt like you; however faintly.

And as Yeonjun eased into your space, well; the three scents mixed, and created the most mouth-watering combo he had picked up in years.

“My nose isn’t as good as yours,” Yeonjun murmured, distracted. 

The fox watched - or more accurately, listened - as the last of the large dining groups exited out the front door with a bustle, whizzing by the table and kicking up a fuss. But as soon as the people had passed, he whipped his attention back to you with a harsh whisper under his breath and leaned in completely - like a school kid sharing some killer secrets. 

Only, he needed some assurance of your confidence first. Such as it goes.

“I feel like you’re pulling my leg here Y/N.” He hissed. “And as much as I’m down to fuck - and even down for the whole courting thing - how do I know you’re not both taking me for a fool? That this isn’t one big setup to split the group up? To set me against your fucking man?”

A tense silence passed between the two of you, and an anxious heart rate picked up inside your muscles so fast your fingers started to tingle; your blood rushed into your ears as adrenaline made you look to the other male across the table for help. Soobin growled lowly, in complete control of himself, answering your eyes. You were surprised to see his ears flat back against his equally jet-black hair with an irritated expression. His diamond-patterned chain danced in the light under his jacket as his neck flexed in anger.

“Call Beomgyu, you idiot,” Soobin growled deeply now. It was guttural, and he was clearly pissed off. “Or text him, I don’t care. Just quit fucking bothering the girl about it. This isn’t a setup - and you know that. I wouldn’t bring you into one. Don’t insult me.”

Curiously, he didn’t fight Soobin on this. Instead, his ears pulled into submission, and his lips formed a small pout. Yeonjun grumbled in thought before pulling his phone out to send what you imagined to be many multiple texts in full caps and at a rapid pace to the sickly Beomgyu on bed rest at home. 

“Hey,” Soobin mumbled, reaching to take your hand from across the table, the one picking anxiously at the edge of the metal rim. 

The softness in his voice distracted you from the beating in your chest; so you looked up and away from Yeonjun for a moment. 

You slipped your hands into his outreaching ones; timid, but desperate for reassurance. He squeezed your smaller wrists and fingers in his palms - dwarfed, soft, shaking - then released, to let you pull them away if you wanted. But you didn’t let go just yet. So he squeezed again. 

You were already calmer.

“If it gets too much, you can ask to leave. You know that right? That it’s okay? Say forget it, and we’ll never speak on it again. Alright?” 

You nodded, pulling away to sit on your hands instead for now. Watching between the two of them, but mostly Yeonjun who was texting with a furrowed brow and swivelling emotive ears. 

The fox beside you had his eyebrows drawn low and chin tucked. Eventually, he clicked his screen to black, and set it face down on the table. He turned to see you. He was scanning you. As his ears slowly dipped to the side.

“Well, shit, gorgeous.”

The message had got through.

But he didn’t look nearly as regretful as you thought he would. Instead, he held a smirk on his cheeks and tipped his head.

“Little Doe really needs our help, huh?”

Soobin released a weighty exhale as you pulled away.

Your body flushed hot. But you nodded. Concentrating on Soobin's knuckles padding on the table in a tap tap tap-tap tap.

There was silence for a moment. Yeonjun's ears went back and he tapped his lighter on the table in a rhythmic swivel, as he pouted and looked around aimlessly in thought. Then a lightbulb hit.

“Guess a good start is to ask what you’re into. Any hard boundaries you’d want to avoid? But I’m guessing….” His eyes darted all over you, to the dog on the other side of the table. 

That’s not where you had expected him to look for an answer. 

“Binnie might have already covered that.”

The dog chuckled and nodded.

“Little Deer is into praise, mostly. Guidance. She’s a voyeur. Loves soft-domming. But needs a little bite to keep her guessing.”

Your eyes shot wide open and you blinked rapidly. Your kinks were just being openly exposed like a laundry list, and you weren’t even sure when or how Soobin had figured this all out.

“Pretty boy is a good sniffer-dog.” Yeonjun chuckled, answering your expression.

“Oh,” Soobin added, “and she has a size kink. But I'm sure you’ve picked up on that one already.”

“I did,” Yeonjun smirked, tongue in his teeth and giggling at your shyness. “Oh, I most certainly did.”

Before you were able to fully shrink into your spine like a turtle into its shell, Yeonjun's voice fired back up, easy and chill in tone. It soothed you, and it made you feel like you were being laughed with, not at.

“Any hard no’s though, gorgeous? We’ll use the light system if needed, Gyu said you already know what that is.”

You shifted, body hot, gaze down towards your knees.

“Yeah, I do. And no - not really. Just… be nice. We’ll have to find out about specifics. I’m not really - adventurous enough to know...”

Yeonjun snickered, teeth between his tongue. 

“Sure; dodge ‘em as we find ‘em. Sounds good to me.”

“But - and be specific -” Soobin’s low voice mumbled. Your chin lifted instinctively to find him. “Do you want to try anything new? Anything that will help you feel more grounded?”

The boys waited for some time, but they were greeted with silence and a hanging head. You looked stressed and puzzled. You worried your hands as you tried to think up something to answer with.

Yeonjun hummed at you. And leaned into your space.

“Mmm ~ You look stuck, gorgeous ~ Cat got your tongue?” 

You wanted to punch the beautiful face in front of you that spun goading words like a golden thread. You knew the implications. That Beomgyu, said cat, had a hold on you, even from miles away. Quickly and firmly, you shook your head.

“Absolutely no way,” You puffed your cheeks. “I just - I don’t know about this stuff.”

Corruption, Soobin mentally noted. Yeonjun thought much the same.

“Well,” Yeonjun countered, working swiftly. Voice low, leaning on the table, still and unmoving. But he was taking his time. Dancing around your edges.

“What is it that the little kitty did with you, to get you so smitten, baby girl?”

“I am not - smitten -”

“Sure you’re not.” He grinned. 

“I am not, smitten, with Beomgyu -”

“Sure. I’m also not a fox.”

The two of you struck a line of fire before he shrugged.

“Well he clearly didn’t do a good enough job, otherwise you wouldn’t be here begging for our help, little Fawn.”

“You don’t know that…” You whimpered. But he was right and you both knew it. 

Yeonjun's smile quirked. You were moments away from breaking. A thrill he could never not chase.

“Oh, I think I do. I know the way he works. Kitty probably had you under his thumb from the moment you met.”

“What - No! No, he did not!”

“Bet he did, doll. Bet he had you hanging onto every sarcastic comment and insult he could come up with.”

“Okay!” You puffed up, desperate to defend your image and your friends. 

“Then tell me, tell me exactly what you think he did, to get me so… love-fucked, Yeonjun! Enlighten me! Please! Since you seem to know so much!” 

The fox’s smile pulled up until you could see his gums. A fear struck in your belly; he was about to do something, and you were ready for it.

"Oh, I don't know, I'm imagining he did a little something like this -"

Without warning, Yeonjun snapped into motion. It was obvious he had been holding back for quite some time; as his limbs became unstuck like a spring suddenly being let loose inside an animatronic. 

With a swift and deliberate movement, his grip lay around your throat and his fingers pressed onto your pulse; body upright and kneeling to follow you down down down until your shoulders were wedged between the seat and the table and you had nowhere else to go.

You gulped, audibly, body stiff as a board. 

The fox was looking down at you with such hunger and fervour that you shifted anxiously against the leather despite your initial instinct to freeze. Yeonjun smelt so damn good and the charm the boy had was insane. You were infatuated. And he was absolutely gorgeous, on top of whatever-the-fuck hybrid impression was being felt.

A single fuck-boy hair curled out from his gelled fringe and hovered over his brow. 

Even while trapping you in a sexual way, in a public place, he could make you smile and feel calm in his presence. Maybe even more so because of it; you sighed, elbows dropping to the chair behind you and heart at a steady pleasant beat to the hybrids ears.

Soobin quickly darted his eyes, nose and ears all around the low-lit floor of the now evening catering diner - already overtly aware of how mind-melting the fox could be. Soobin was not willing to let him undress you for the fox's own sick and twisted personal gain in the middle of the restaurant - to slip from his side of the booth and into both of yours. 

Soobin's body was warm on contact and his side pushed you back into Yeonjun's orbit - more importantly back onto the seat -  with a hand pressed to your exposed spine. The dog smelt like a deep woody cologne, as opposed to Yeonjun’s lighter and sweeter one, and it was a pleasant reminder of the heaviness that had enveloped you in the car ride here. You could still feel Soobin’s jean-clad leg pressing up against your core - 

Pay attention, you chided yourself.

You shuffled up, thankful for Soobin's large frame surrounding the space behind you. Soobin's large hand gripped your knee and unintentionally eased your legs apart, as the fox exhaled warm air down and over your face. 

Your whole body writhed beneath him. You didn’t know where to put your hands, your arms, your legs, your body.

"I want you to look at me while I fuck you, daddy’s pretty little fawn. Want to hear you moan. Want to see you cry, baby. Wanna see your eyes roll when I hit that spot."

Yeonjun had originally started this whole ‘bit’ as a slightly cruel joke. But your reaction was tangible. It made him grumble a noise from his belly, licking his lips. Licking his gums, his teeth.

“Any of this ringing a bell, doll?” He growled lowly, face hovering over yours. “Any of this making you feel love-fucked, yet?”

You had no real rebuttal; because he was right. Everything he was doing; from the way he was acting, to the way he was instructing you what to do, made you melt into the Doberman's side like Beomgyu had done on many private occasions.

And so you whimpered. 

Something small, and submissive. 

Both boys reacted visibly to your noise. Yeonjun's ears tipped further forward and his nose pinched. Soobin’s tail swiped over his jeans in timid and controlled pats and he leaned into you; nuzzling behind your ear with milkshake-tinted breath surrounding your face while the fox’s fingers pressed your throat. 

With the combined actions your core dripped wet and your body flushed hot. 

“O-okay -” You submitted, voice wobbly as all hell. “He might have said… some of that… And he might have had me feeling, some kind of way…” 

It was less of a retort and more of a pathetic distraction of a response. Something to buy time; and the fox smiled; happy that you had succumbed like he had expected. Like you needed to be, for them to help you. 

This was going to be fun.

“B-but what - what about it? Why does it matter? What’s it got to do with this situation?!”

The dog hybrid reached his hand to move under Yeonjun's grip on your throat from behind you; and tipped your head back against his chest and shoulder delicately. Soobin's hand was much bigger, much wider, and a little cooler than the fox’s - from the abandoned milkshake nearby - you melted into him, comfortable in his hold.

“Did you like it, sweetheart?” Soobin spoke with a rumbling growl. “Be honest with us. We want that answer to match the gorgeous scent of your cunt, or we’ll get up and spit roast you in the middle of this fucking diner.” 

You were being thrown totally for a spin. Soobin would never usually talk to you like this. 

He squeezed your airways in a long and steady hold. And looked down at you with a quirked eyebrow and amused expression, taunting you and daring you to lie, plump lips only just out of reach, with an uncharacteristically wicked smile that hypnotised you.

You puttered a pathetic noise, jumping as the fox’s hand soothed up the whole length of your inner leg until it trailed down and over your knee. 

With the unpredictable fox totally out of sight, you gripped Soobin’s strong legs under his jeans. Pleading with your eyes. But he was unmoving, and as patient and methodical as ever.

Yeonjun chittered, and you jumped as his long fingers slipped underneath your skirt to hook down under your thong string over your hip to massage your pubic bone. He applied pressure to the space around your core; pressing his two forefingers onto either side of your labia, just to see you squirm.

“Fuck-ing - wicked canines -”

You practically ate your choked moans, squirming against the seat for an ounce of friction, eyebrows drawn together as Soobin maintained heavy, groaning eye contact. 

“Speak.”

His aura had shifted with surprising ease and natural authenticity into one of authority, and his eyebrow pulled high, daring you to make a noise, daring you to lie, daring you to go against their words. Your whole body was on fire, and you had begun tensing from muscle down to the bone. 

Yeonjun's hand twisted in a quick and deliberate motion, middle and forefinger smoothing up and down your folds with ease. He pressed his slender middle finger into your sopping cunt; pressing into you like warm butter. Yeonjun hissed from between his teeth, and his nails dug into your thighs; pumping his finger to add another.

It was an easy fit. You were dripping with slick already. The scent filled their brains with nothing but fantasia and lust.

“Nngh - yeah - yes - yes -” You just about managed to keep to a whisper, hips pressing into the split second of contact with the fox with a burning need. Your grip was tight on their arms and your breathing scattered.

“I did, dammit -” You whimpered, struggling to look down at Yeonjun’s hands that pumped at the slowest pace. “I did, I loved it -”

But the dog tipped your chin back; causing you to fall back onto Soobin's shoulder with your smaller hands gripping over the tight squeeze on your pulse. He moved his thumb to stroke adoringly over your cheek. 

“Pay attention,” Soobin ordered gruffly, but gently. “Tell us how much you loved it -”

He didn’t even get to finish before you were falling apart on his words.

“Fuck. I loved it, Binnie. Wan’ it from you, please, please mark me, please - I’ll do anything, please, fuck -” 

Your heart was racing, and the pheromone of pure rushing lust and submission coursed through you and out into the open air like a drug. Yeonjun's eyes pinched harshly, and his ears pivoted to alert as he shot Soobin a look under his brow. Soobin grumbled, communicating with his friend; his ears also tipped and eyes blown wide.

The look Yeonjun had shot was an instruction to get it together, or more specifically to get you under control before you flooded the whole diner with a pheromone that told the whole place and a short area outside that you needed to be fucked into the next century. Soobin's reaction was one of complete agreement.

“Loosen up, pretty doe,” The dog rumbled, drowsy. He nuzzled against the dip in your neck and let go of the majority of his grip. "You’re shaking. Relax your body." 

The sudden change-up made you shake; quivering in an uncontrollable and entirely unfamiliar way. You whimpered; shifting in his hold; before releasing the tension in your legs upon instruction. It wasn’t that you were scared; no, you were exhilarated and struggled to contain it.

“That pretty cunt of yours is gonna get us found out someday...” Soobin nuzzled behind your ear; biting the outer corner. “... too bad I care enough to let you get upset. That’s enough, let her go Jun.”

“Please, Soob I need you… Junnie, don’t stop…” 

But the fox hybrid didn’t answer your whimpered plea. Instead, Yeonjun retracted his hand and body after gathering the prize he wanted, with a foxish grin spread wide across his cheeks. Submitting to Soobin's direct order with ease. Like he had done it before. Like he enjoyed it.

Soobin released his grip on your throat to hold his arm across your chest. And allowed you a moment's peace to pant like a puppy in heat.

With your head flopped forward and dizzy, Soobin placed his palm under your chin again from behind to tilt you back onto his shoulder, gently this time. He groaned freely at your knees curling up into yourself and Yeonjun's pink gums and healthy canines flashing at him in the low light.

Prey; tugged around until the beasts were ready to feast.

Yeonjun's eyes locked onto your own as he licked at the syrup-sin he had managed to pick up in his scooped fingers. It dripped onto his luscious lips; his irises pulled thin as slits as his pretty slender fingers spread the sweetness around and up his gums; fingertips revealing his sharp teeth and plump lips. The same thin and sharp canines you had dreamed about being sunken into your thighs.

An angel's nectar on a devil's tongue. 

"Sweet like heaven." The fox purred, moaning deeply as he leaned to fall back onto his seat. 

The fox’s jeans were tight and his expression was blissful. His fingers rested in his mouth, as he sucked at them with sinful moans. His ears fell to the side and his tail quirked; palming at your knee that you pressed onto his hard cock. 

You moaned in response, fingers clasped between Soobin's knuckles and gasped at the weight put on your throat. It wasn’t tight; instead, you found it rather grounding. But it was enough to willfully drag air back into your lungs.

Yeonjun's eyes were low and focused entirely on you and the hand decoration around your neck. He popped the fingers out of his mouth with a deep moan, filthy and loud into the diner, eyes fluttering. He was so brazen.

“Mmph - Fuck, big dog, you’ve got to taste this doll. Heaven-ly~” He sang.

“No doubt.” Soobin groaned, nose against your hair and voice rumbling behind. “If it’s anything like her mouth, I’d like nothing more than to spit in it.”

Upon such nasty praise, you were unsure what to do. A quiet moan left your lips and you squeezed your legs together against the Fox’s hands. Shaking with fervour.

Soobin dipped his head to meet your whimpering for an open kiss. He grumbled against your lips and pressed back down to lick up the saliva that pooled on your tongue after being toyed with so much. It was a short embrace, but one you were grateful for. You pulled away to close your eyes and rest against his shoulder.

“You play so well, gorgeous,” Soobin grumbled, pressing the corner of your mouth to wipe your lips with his thumb. “Didn’t think Junnie would make you drool so soon, though. Do you like being spoiled?” 

“I do.” You managed, in a tight tone, stiffening up against the dog at your back. “Thank you.”

Truthfully, the Doberman's nose was much more sensitive to the nerves he could smell hanging around the arousal in the air, and he was determined to make you feel as comfortable as possible whilst in their care. You eased against him - muscles melding against the curve of his chest - with a relieved sigh.

Oh, but if only he knew.

You wanted him. Wanted to be perfectly near him. Consumed by them.

He growled softly, and answered your pattering heartbeat by pressing against your back even more with his chest - the best he could do at this angle - moving the hair from your shoulder to the already bruised skin behind your neck to press his nose into your collarbone, over your scent gland.

His woody musk was plastered over you from before in the car already, though. So he pressed his cheek to your neck with a content grumble, and smiled against your shoulder, hand over your stomach in a loving pull. 

“Do you want us to take you home? Go back to the car? Or you gon’ tell us when you’ve had enough?”

You would have loved to answer, but your mind was elsewhere, and you had no space left to think. Your eyes fixated on Yeonjun, and the long drag of his cigarette. Of course, he knew he was being watched. But he didn’t spare you a glance. It was all part of the act.

Once again; in the dimly lit booth of the diner, the orange in his thinly slit eyes shone like a cat in headlights on a foggy road. His cheek tilted, and he smirked at you; sprawled over their legs and so fuzzy with scents that you were starting to miss breaths. He saw your eyes dip until you felt consumed.

“Hmm, babe?” Soobin mumbled, pressing a kiss to your cheek and pressing your stomach with his wide-open palm to gain your attention. 

He truly could pick you up and bend you over with little effort at any time. You could see now after all the time spent together platonically, why he was favoured as a hired bodyguard. Lean, but strong. And more than a little gutsy.

Your mind was starting to wander.

You shuffled to sit upright and face more towards the hound in the soft leather seat. It was a welcome body heat to your side, and you felt secure, messing around with your larger friend pressed to your back. Yeonjun watched you both with enamoured eyes, tail curled and ears dipped completely. Thumb pressing into your inner knee in smoothing swipes.

The chemistry was obvious. But Yeonjun wasn’t in the slightest sense jealous when he knew what was pre-agreed and on the cards. Besides, you had your own relationship together, already. 

It was only a matter of time before you fell into him like that.

Soobin's' energy was in such contrast to the fox. The dog's tail flopped up and down as soon as you turned to him, ears tentatively tilted downward in your direction and dimples softly dipped into his cheeks. You accepted the gentle nuzzling head butt against the top of your scalp as his ears curled. 

A soft putt of air sounded from his nose as you reached for his hands. He allowed you to move them onto your lap and off your stomach, admiring that you seemed to feel braver to move how you wanted, now that you had a large-bodied wall against the majority of the diner guests. 

“I’m good here, for now.” You managed, voice weak. “Thank you though, for moving Binnie.” The Pinscher nodded, and his dimples pressed into his smile. “I like you here. Both of you.”

A pretty girl who likes to feel protected, Yeonjun mentally noted with sharp eyes and a smile.

“You’re welcome, Y/N.” The dog smiled. Happy. Pleased to help you. “And sure, fine, if it’s what you prefer.”

“D’you want a drink or something doll?” Yeonjun offered, a lot closer to you now than you realised he had been. He was certainly sneaky.

“It’s on us,” Soobin added. His deep voice reverberated between your ears, making you squeeze your thighs tight. 

Soobin noticed and poked at the softness of your ribs as you curled both your hands into his one large palm. He squeezed your hands in his, ears pointed directly down at your face and tail happily swiping in a relaxed pattern. He was being patient with you.

You dipped your head, finally registering the dizzying effects of being so hot and bothered.

You shook your head, and a small “No, no thank you.” was mumbled into the canine's chest area. 

You felt faint. Like you were being circled. Like your head was pulsing at the images of being stuffed full. Like you were awaiting tense moments of silence before being pounced. You wondered if the thrill would ever subside.

Soobin’s scent was heavy with musk, and he had to put in a lot less legwork to make you pliant, unlike the fox. He didn’t want to push you. So he let the fox take over in the meantime.

Yeonjun sat up, shuffling into your side. Ears craning to hear your breathing, your quick pulse.

“You okay, gorgeous?” The fox asked quizically behind the diners' comically large laminated menu that had been passed over the table by Soobin. Of whom; had moved away to deliberately break some tension. 

Of course, the flimsy plastic didn’t actually block anything from the other hybrids in the building due to their senses. Not to mention Soobin was taller and practically glued to your side, within earshot and by proxy inside your bubble like a literal, actual large guard dog, so the guise of it just being ‘you and Yeonjun’ was a falsehood. But the laminated card at least blocked your human brain from noticing anything but them, for now, and that's really all that mattered. 

They were wining and dining and potentially long-term courting you now, after all. Your comfort and security was of the utmost importance.

“Hope we aren’t moving too fast? Don’t want to spook you, doll.”

You smiled, with a shake of your head and huffed a sigh.

“No, I’m - I’m good, thank you Junnie -” You stuttered on your words, unsure if you should say what you wanted to. “It’s just…” 

“Go on?” Yeonjun drawled. “What is it?” He puffed at the smoke of the practically forgotten and readily burning cigarette with a relaxed posture. Arms crossed, back curved. 

By God, beyond him being just so convincing; you trusted him with your entire body by now. He barely had to push and you were ready to spill until there was nothing left but clean bone. 

This is of course, what Yeonjun wants. Information. Secrets. The view behind the curtain. He is consumed by the need to know. 

Always and forever, he seeks what is between the lines; what is just beyond reach.

“Is it always going to be like this?” You questioned, weakly. “Is it always going to be this intense? This… suffocating to be around you guys?” 

Yeonjun's ears swivelled to point at you with a small, shocked expression. Like he was almost blushing. Like he hadn’t expected you to point it out.

“Suffocating, love? Do you need to go outside and get some air?” 

Soobin's voice boomed from behind, but you quickly shook your head. Binnie was almost always just off the mark and took the voicing a tad too literally.

“I - no - I didn’t mean it in a bad way.” You huffed, and scratched your head, finding the words. “I just -”

Yeonjun simply nodded and waited. You would find your footing.

You blurted out your thoughts; short and fast.

“This thing I feel when you’re around me - this feeling of pressure in my lungs. It’s like - I can feel you guys in the room without knowing where you are. But it’s only you guys. Or like, other predators. Surely you feel it too, right?”

The boys shared a look. These were the types of things a hybrid in heat would be experiencing.

“I don’t know if I’m just super sense-aware after not socialising for so long, or if it’s like, a super normal hybrid thing, or if - maybe - I’m just horny as all hell, but I just wonder. Is it always going to feel this intense? Do you… know that, even?”

And your innocent mouth had just uttered your current state to them into the air, without any idea of what you were saying. But according to Beomgyu; you hadn’t experienced a cycle yet, and the clinicians said it should be months until one started. 

Unless something, or someone, had triggered it.

The two of them proceeded, cautiously. Conscious not to react strongly.

“These things are normal.” Yeonjun purred, soothingly. “Most of it probably has to do with you getting used to life with this new body.” He tapped out his cigarette, and kissed his teeth, moving to look at you. “You could call it a heightened sixth sense. But really it’s just all of your senses working together to keep you alive.”

“Like a deer, in a forest? Hearing all the… things around it?” You offered, trying to relate it to something you had seen before. 

Yeonjun nodded, with a touched smile.

“Sure, sweetness. Like a deer, in a forest.”

You nodded. And thought on it for a moment. Yeonjun spoke up before your mind could wander down any unfactual wormholes.

“A marten knows when a deer is nearby. A deer knows when it’s in the presence of a bear. A bear is usually always aware that it’s in the presence of a hunter. And so on.” He flicked his eyes to the dog behind him. Soobin nodded, so Yeonjun continued. “ You’ll get used to it eventually. The severity of it - or, at least that intense feeling of paranoia you’re getting - usually goes away when we become ‘of age’. You’ve just got some catching up to do is all. Started a lot later than the rest of us.”

Yeonjun's smile was kind, as you looked up to him. 

“Obviously, coming up to when you reach your rut, you’re going to start being more aware of your surroundings. Same as a deer, right, gorgeous? You’re gonna start looking for partners - physically, maybe even subconsciously - any scents they may leave around, or indicators that they’re also down to fuck. Learning body language is extremely important.”

Yeonjun paused to heave smoke into his lungs and out of his lips in a slow, circular puff. He was assessing you. As expected, your response was bashful. A small nod and avoidant eyes indicated to him that you were listening, and your racing heart told him that you were affected by what he was saying. 

His ear ticked. He heaved a sigh that turned into a hum. And he pushed the remainder of the smoke out of his body with a smile. Swiping the smoke out of the way to see your face.

In the moving air, your nose followed the trail of an aroma. It was Yeonjun's musk. Orange, light, and citrusy, but sweeter than before; with a pinch of spice that reminded you of Christmas. 

“I’ve heard it does crop up again with future cycles, but not every month, and not nearly as intense as the first. We’re all just mammals on the Discovery Channel, after all.”

You smiled and laughed at his attempt to make you giggle. It had worked.

“Okay, thank you.” You exhaled a sigh. That had lifted some weight off your shoulders. It was a conversation Beomgyu would never entertain, so you were thankful for the explanation.

“I enjoy being here with the two of you, so I guess it’s not a bad thing and I’ll get used to it eventually. Not really that hungry though, if you guys are about to order?”

The fox’s eyebrow quirked. Happy to move on. “Really? Food’s on the house and you don’t want anything?”

You shrugged, looking between both the boys’ pointed expressions. You puffed your cheeks and pulled your shoulders up to shrug on an exhale.

Yeonjun pulled the menu over to rest on both of your legs. The laminate was cold, and his hands - well the contact made you itch with the need to be smothered by him.

“You should eat something, Y/N. Especially if we’re gonna drink later. We can do takeout if you don’t want to eat it here?”

You were looking at the menu. You were reading the words. But nothing was coming to you. Nothing stuck. Your brain felt like cotton candy, and you were unable to concentrate on anything but the desperate want to have his hands spread over your tacky thighs and to fuck you until you came all over the -

“I don’t want you guys to feel put out, is all.” You pressed, cheeks hot from trying to keep your mind in check. Missing the sharp eyes that grew amused at your reaction to some very deliberate teasing.

Soobin scoffed. “Not at all, you can have anything on here, it’s your pick.” All the while his thumb pressed over your knuckles and into your palm.

“How are you guys so damn persuasive?” You laughed gently. “You’d make great con men, you know? Maybe even better pick up artists?” 

The dog giggled. His arm moved to sink behind you, palm behind the gap between you and Yeonjun, encapsulating your personal bubble completely. 

“I think maybe you just like us, sweetheart,” He said calmly, “and I’m personally taking the whole thing as a compliment.”

The boys laughed, but Soobin could tell you wanted something. It had been hours, and he needed to feed you before they gave you a good fuck. 

Humour was a deflection that Yeonjun could easily counter; so Soobin shot his friend a look over your head as you puffed your cheeks at the menu, nodding at you with a ‘she needs to eat something’ look. He got the hint immediately.

Yeonjun made a long nasal noise with shrugged soldiers. “Welllllll - we just don’t want you to start feeling left out, is all. You could share something of ours? Of mine?” His head dipped beside your own, and you wriggled between their hips at the sudden intrusion. “And if you don’t finish it, they do have take-out boxes.”

“Yeah, okay then. If you insist.” You answered with a giggle.

“I do,” Yeonjun smiled, ears shifting towards you as his cheeks lifted to an eye-half-closed, gentle expression. “But not if you really don’t want something. Don’t want you to feel pressured. Just want to look after our gorgeous girl is all.”

“Ice cream is good?” You giggled, humoured by his expression and noticeably more malleable under his sway than Soobin’s. 

“Cherry Sundae it is then, princess,” Yeonjun purred lowly with a pleased smile. And this close, with his striking eyes, dipped low and ears folded forward, he held an air of gentle authority about him. Your attention drew to his face and his face alone. 

“Proud of you for being able to make a choice, pet.”

That nickname did something to you. Like an elastic band panged inside of your brain. And Yeonjun was patient with your reaction, unmoving while your guard dropped and your smile grew dopey.

His eyebrow quirked. 

“Did you like that, baby?” 

You flushed hot; nodding. 

Yeonjun chuckled. “You can be our pet, if you’d like that, gorgeous.”

You were enamoured by the beauty of him. How close he was. What exactly you wished to do with him. What you wanted him to do with you. 

Your focus drew particularly to his lips. You had never actually realised how plump and perfectly pink they were until now. He was tall, tan and kind, with a smile that pinged cupids arrows straight into any girl's heart that was fucked dumb enough to lean into them. You wanted to move so badly that your nails dug into Soobin's hand on your lap and you missed his small exhale of a cry.

Yeonjun's cheeks twitched into a smile. His canines slipped past his gums. You were just so adorable to him. In the way your nipples poked through your shirt at the mere hint of excitement, and the way your tongue darted to wet your lips; to your breath catching in your lungs on his every word. It wasn’t often that a prey type actually held his attention for this long, or this intensely. But he could see now why Beomgyu had taken such a quick fascination towards you.

The fox was devilishly curious to see just how far he could push you - into sub-space, or even your newly found instincts. 

He wanted to pull you apart just to put you back together again. 

You had asked them to help you. And he intended to do so. But in his own ways.

As your eyes dipped and your heartbeat pattered like a bunny about to be caught, Yeonjun found himself leaning into your space until there was nothing left. 

And it wasn’t like you didn’t want it. You had been aching to be touched ever since Soobin kissed you in the car; cunt wet and pressing against the leather - moving across it in such a way that it would likely smell of you for weeks. 

Sucking on the slick almost straight from the source was a memory that made Yeonjun groan with lust. He grew instantly pleased by the way your shoulders dropped as he pressed into your space and the way your legs shifted endlessly together for some friction.

He could also, like his companion, see that something was holding you back from taking the last leap. So he took a shot in the dark and guessed what it may be, allowing you to come to him, by mitigating any doubts either party had, to the best of his abilities. 

He had hit full score so far, what harm was there in another try?

“Payment is appreciated, little one, but not expected.” He practically purred at you now, a blink away from your face. “For everything, tonight. Or for as long as this lasts.”

Yeonjun lifted the back of his hand to brush his knuckles over your nipples that sat perk and taut against the cotton of your cropped blouse; his long fingers catching on the collar and tugging it down until the fabric flopped back into place and you blinked out of your daze. 

Your eyes and mind had begun to wander as his hand did, thinking of all the things he could do to you with his pretty hands and lips, mind full of muck. 

But a finger under your chin propped you back up. 

Your lips opened to a slight part and your eyes dipped low. “Like Binnie said, in the text from this morning,” Soobin rolled his eyes behind you. The charmer was now also lying as if he had ever read the text. “We only want to spoil you. Nothing more, and especially nothing less. You’re welcome to repay us in whatever way you please. But it’s not a must.”

You couldn’t stop yourself. Filled to the brink with a sudden lust and instinctual urge to just touch him, get near him, taste and lick the space behind his gums and to be enveloped by them to the point of mindless submission.

You had been warned of a predator's pull, but this was the first time you had fallen into the arms of one. Literally. Being purred at by a Fox hybrid as his blunt nail dragged the underside of your chin towards his face.

“Speak up, pretty Fawn. What's on your mind?”

You balanced a hand atop the denim on his thigh to press quivering fingers to his perfect neck, anticipating his lips in a trust fall and leaning over and onto his torso. Yeonjun groaned, delighted. He flopped the menu onto the table with one hand - pinching your nipples between his knuckles and his thumb to tug you closer - and moved up to hold your jaw with the other as you pushed the angle of the kiss down upon him. 

He was ever so gentle in the way he kissed. Licking small laps against your lips and never going any deeper. 

But it only made you moan for more. 

Your hand on his thigh reached to his farthest shoulder and you lifted higher and higher above him - unintentionally set to fling over a leg and sit on top of him, so consumed by desire and buzzing from head to toe - until Soobin had to intervene.

The dog used one large palm to pull you back down by one thigh. 

The chair leather squeaked underneath you as it tugged at your exposed skin; but he had pulled you down to sit on his thigh and knee, with your palm returning to Yeonjun's chest to steady yourself and pull away from the kiss. 

You had broken the kiss with Yeonjun with a broken moan, looking back up behind you with a thankful smile and puffy, bitten lips. 

“Careful - you almost flashed the whole diner, baby,” Soobin grunted, smoothing his thumb over the outside of your leg and loving the complete hold he had on you. You reached to intertwine your smaller hands with Soobin’s over his knuckles in apology. He squeezed your hand gently.

“As much as we all want to, we can’t jump any bones in here - at least, not yet. Not until Kai gets here. It’s too dangerous, love.” 

You nodded sheepishly, melting against the two of them as Yeonjun shuffled impossibly closer and Soobin leaned down to kiss behind your ear. The fuzzy sensation of lust washed over your head and you let out a small cry. 

The hound held you down against his leg as the majority of your body weight rested on Yeonjun's side. It meant you could lean your one ass cheek and thigh on Soobin some more, leaving the goods open to airflow and making the boys groan. 

Soobin sucked a harsh pressure to the pulse behind your jaw, making you bite your lip as he squeezed his palm around your knee, pulling your legs apart on purpose and manhandling you as he so pleased. He pulled away with a bite, skin between his teeth to make you almost cry.

Your cunt was getting increasingly wet, and soon it would be the only smell swimming in their brains and their mouth until it surrounded them and drifted out of the booth; with every door opening at the front and kitchen creating a sudden draft. Hence the need for Kai to be there. Amongst all the other reasons, only three hybrid men in their prime could ever cover that kind of smell. Let alone replace it.

An open kiss caught you by surprise, placed dead centre on the front of your throat. You hadn’t realised your eyes had been pressed closed, but you shut them again, dazzled by the overhanging lamp lights. The hickey laid there was gentle, but hot and filthy as hell. Yeonjun nibbled sharp canine points together against your thin skin with consistent sucking motions until he stole any clarity left in your mind. Palm stroking up and down your sides, until your ears flushed hot and a hickey was left, front dead and centre.

Your body was finally starting to smell of him - not to the extent of a claim, but a bruising lovebite with those sharp teeth over the scent gland on your collarbone was enough - it wasn’t something you were aware of, but a sure sign that no other hybrid could get near you while you remained in their care. Malleable to them and them alone.

You felt calm again. A shiver rippled up your spine.

“Breathe, gorgeous.”

Soobin's voice unfroze you, and a small gasp hissed between your teeth.

Yeonjun pulled back to flick open his lighter and re-light his cigarette. He chewed on his gums in self-restraint. He wanted to gnaw on you like a fucking fishbone, but he had to wait.

As he leaned back against the seat, he noticed your wandering eyes. Soobin's hands and mouth were exploring you fully; tongue spreading over your ear to make you shiver and moan, while his hand moved underneath your skirt. You held his wrist, aching and gyrating for the edge of his palm to touch your core. 

“Jeez, you’re eager for a fuck - the both of you.” 

Yeonjun made a tutting sound, reaching to pull Soobin's half-empty milkshake across the table and hold the straw between his fingers to slurp it up in front of you. 

“Take it easy tigers. People are starting to notice.” He was referring to the hybrid waitress who was giving him shifty eyes every time she walked the floor.

As soon as Soobin felt the fabric of your panties against his fingertips and heard his companion's warning, he immediately snapped too. He pulled away to groan at the visual that met him - but held on to his very last strands of self-preservation. His hand pulled back, smoothing over your knee with a gentle grip on your thigh to ground you, despite your puffs and whining.

“Just wanna feel you, Binnie, Junnie, please.” Your voice grew high and whiney.

“That’s enough, angel,” Soobin growled under his breath in a patient and calm demeanour. “We gotta wait for Kai. I know - we want it too.”

You batted your eyes, twisting in his gaze. Alas you nodded, skin hot, mind lost in his dimples and touch. Accepting an eyebrow kiss with a fluttering eye.

“Babe?” Yeonjun prompted softly. You turned, dazzled, to a straw being placed gently on your mouth. “Here. You haven’t drunk anything yet.” 

It was true; you hadn’t drunk in hours.

Your hands flew out to wrap over Yeonjun's wrist and fingers upon instruction, and he inhaled a large lung of smoke to your swollen lips wrapping around the straw to suck until he told you to stop. There was something so innocent about the way you followed him, that made the boys' cocks throb in their tight jeans. 

Soobin groaned. “Where the fuck is this guy?” 

The Doberman nasally whined and huffed, and ruffled his hair, placing an elbow on the table to hide his open side, pulling his phone out to text Kai and bother him to ‘turn up faster’.

“You reckon he got stuck? Traffic is pretty bad around here, especially after office hours.” Yeonjun thumbed over your finger caught under his thumb, eyes soft. Soobin didn’t verbally respond, instead shrugging with a deep gruff of annoyance, accompanied by puffed-out cheeks. 

“What’s the time?” Yeonjun asked, softer this time, pressing at the distraction. Eyes dipped and drunk in adoration.

“Near enough 8 PM.” Soobin inhaled sharply, pulling back to click his phone shut and slide it back into his inner jacket pocket. “The fucker should have been here twenty minutes ago, at least.”

“Mhmm,” Yeonjun hummed. “That’s enough.” 

Yeonjun held the cup to your mouth until you released it, and set it on the side to flick his phone out of his coat pocket and smudge out the butt of his hardly-smoked cigarette. 

You didn’t get a ‘good girl’ out of it, but you didn’t necessarily need one with the way he slipped his fingers over yours, palm down and in his lap, tapping at his phone with one thumb. The two of you were quickly falling into things, and it was a pleasant feeling.

You had released the straw with a gasp of air, careful not to cough, but flew to grip at the wrist of the hand that slipped high and snug to your cunt between your warm thighs. 

“Soobinnie! Quit torturing me!” You pouted with an outcry, only to be met with a cheeky grin and a sarcastic shake of the hound's head with wide eyes. 

You decided to try and push him.

“Are you sure we can’t do anything here? Right now?” 

You heard Yeonjun scoff. Frown and pout stuck to his handsome features as he flicked over the screen.

“Nope, not until Kai gets here, babe. And no, again. We’re not fucking in the diner. Quit trying your luck.”

“But I want to.” You pouted up at him.

“So do we ~” Soobin shook his head at you playfully. And tugged the hem of your skirt so it thwapped against your skin. 

His palm was still gliding in short circular motions between your thighs. Each rotation of his palm brushed up against your underwear and made you shiver.

“You’re cute but you ain’t that cute.” Soobin teased, dimples appearing as you stuck your tongue out at him. “Plus, I don’t particularly feel like getting in shit tonight.”

Yeonjun snickered at this from behind you both, still distracted by his phone.

You turned to the fox’s boyish grin with a huff. 

A hair lay on his forehead as he tapped his fingers on your knuckles. That piece of hair was irritating you. It was distracting. It tapped at his brow until you couldn't stand it anymore. 

Now that you were feeling a little braver; you could move before you started to overthink things.

As if he were your delicate porcelain-fragile prince, you moved the hair off his brow - caught between your forefingers and flicked back into the right place - moving to kiss Yeonjun’s high cheek in the process. 

His sharp eyes lay on you immediately. And he held a grateful closed-lip smile. His ears had even dipped to the side. But his brows were creased. And he looked at you almost quizzically. You imagined that if he had whiskers, they would be twitching restlessly.

He wasn’t used to being touched so gently. It made his chest press in against itself. And a bolt of nervousness panged inside his heart; an unusual feeling.

“Thank you - Y/N…” He mumbled. The facade of confidence wavering if only for a moment.

You nodded, with a bashful expression. And again, before you could think about it too much; you propped your knee over his, leaning into his touch. Snug to his shoulder. He hadn’t expected you to be so forward and flirtatious, at least not yet. He liked it. It suited him.

Yeonjun clicked his phone shut to look down at you, humoured, but ears still soft. You batted your eyelashes - purposefully, because you could see what the innocence did to him - and invaded his space.

“You should eat,” Yeonjun murmured, brows now relaxed, and his lips tilted at the edges into a playful smile. “Pick something. If you don’t eat it now, we’ll take it back with us.”

You shuffled closer, making a thinking noise and looking around. He heard your heart flutter, but your sweet face and voice remained steady. 

He bumped his forehead with your own. The heavy smell of smoke and cologne made it hard for you to breathe. He trailed his lips to the corner of your mouth; pressing gently. Then drifted back to your cheek. His thumb pressed into your palm, and his gaze bore into you with a burning ember. All the while his ears lay to the side; submissive. The one further from you twitched every so often; anxious of noises and sounds of the people near you, but you weren’t afraid.

Despite his flashy rockstar ego, the guy really was soft and protective.

“I will, since you want me to.” You returned under your breath, lips brushing his. 

You had already decided on a food item; the whole thing was now just a performance. 

Playing with a devil.

Soobin swished two different dessert menus across the table, nudging your leg with his as Yeonjun pulled away and he returned to high alert. He wiped his mouth with a coarse laugh, reaching for a cigarette and the menu. Neither stayed in his hand for very long; desperate to touch you and the bare skin resting atop his legs. His hands smoothed over your knees, and you leaned on his shoulder.

“Thanks, angel.” Yeonjun winked up at the waitress and moved to rest the laminated menu on his lap as he slouched. He shook the stray hair from his eyes to turn and look at you as you prodded him in the side with small needy hands. Your cheek lay on his arm and a playful smile was visible on your face. 

The fox raised a brow. “What is it sugar?”

“Again please.” You mumbled, blinking up with wide and innocent eyes. “I wan’ another kiss.”

It was a simple prompt, yet it made Yeonjun puff a breath from his nose. He was clever and knew what you wanted. Butterflies of excitement erupted in his stomach at the first confident ask you had been able to give. 

“Another kiss?” 

Yeonjun flicked the tip of his ear and his eyes to the dog behind you. He was providing a great distraction. And you didn’t even react when the waitress dropped her pen on the table, or cutlery on the cloths.

“Please, Junnie.” 

That tone - it went straight to his cock. You were getting dopey. Inebriated by their scents.

“Again?” Yeonjun repeated, voice deep as his ears dipped to the sides. His eyes had secured back onto you. And he relaxed, knowing Soobin could handle the waitress. You giggled, tongue between your teeth, and nodded, unwavering as he used his spare hand to tilt your jaw up with his thumb pressed into the underside of your jaw, fingers on your pulse. Your eyes had dipped and you were entranced. The fox, of course, knew what he was doing, and dragged his open lips over yours.

The waitress spoke to Soobin as the two of you flirted obnoxiously loudly. Soobin cringed, visibly, but it was to the group's benefit, so he sucked it up. It wasn’t that he was jealous; no not at all. He was just aware of how shameless the fox could be about his voyeuristic tendencies.

“Two sundaes on Soobin's tab, please and thanks.”

The waitress quirked. And Soobin sighed. Somewhere between the two of you eating each other's air behind him and the waitress visibly reacting to his name and the situation, he felt annoyed. Her small roundish ears pointed at the table, her tail swishing and her nose pinching at the scents.

“Oh - Soobin? Does Chan know you’re here? I can let him know - he’s in-house?” 

Soobin's jaw ticked. It was a silly, but innocent exchange. 

Of course, Bangchan knew they were there. Soobin's car was outside in the valet. The tab was on his name. Yeonjun was accompanying him. He had pre-warned of his arrival and deliberately picked a date when he knew nothing could happen, and the floor was safe. 

If the assassin didn’t know who was in his own building, then Soobin simply wasn’t a hybrid.

“Sure,” Soobin responded, shrugging with as much ease as he could fake. 

“Sure he knows you’re here, or - sure you want me to let him know?” In honesty, Soobin wasn’t listening. But he was in all senses a gentleman with morals. So he tried his best to ignore the hard-on in his jeans to exhale a polite but to-the-point; “He’s aware that we’re visiting. But sure, you can let him know. Wouldn’t hurt to say hi.”

The tooth that snaggled Yeonjun's lip was fiendish.

Yeonjun cut short your intake of air as he applied pressure to the sides of your throat; and pressed his lips to yours, licking up against the roof of your mouth. He swallowed your moans as quickly as he caused them; while his other hand gripped at the knee flung over his lap. He squeezed your throat until your moans grew puttered.

Abruptly; he broke the kiss. Yeonjun tugged on your lip with his canines before he released you; knee, throat and all. He had given you what you had asked. But you weren’t satiated. Weren’t fulfilled. Needy in a way you had never felt before. Head dipped to his shoulder, enveloped in his aura.

The waitress grew amused and shrugged off the possibility of being offended. 

There were rumours. 

Rumours that Soobin wasn’t quite the reserved, tall, Doberman Pinscher that he appeared to be. That he had a freakish and unbiased violent streak. That his fox friend was an edgy nymphomaniac and a silver-tongued narcissist. 

But that wasn’t for her to find out; so she took his menu with a nod and a smile, sure to swish her tail a little higher than usual underneath her apron.

But the boys’ eyes, ears, and heart, were on you, and you alone.

And little did she know; the two of them were about to become devoted to you entirely.

“Having trouble keeping that cute little thong on, love?” Yeonjun mumbled. 

He poked at your gyrating hips, and snickered at your eager nod, before pressing against your awaiting lips. He teased you; pressing then pulling away, biting his tongue with a shit-eating smile just to make you wait. He did it two more times, then moved back to lean on the chair and look at the menu again.

Beomgyu had warned you that this may happen. 

That they were older; in higher social positions; and may swallow you whole. Beomgyu was a baby in comparison. But their attention was infatuating and you couldn’t get enough of it. You had never taken ecstasy, but the experience made you remember every symptom list you had read for the drug.

“Wan’ m’re ~” You mumbled absently, the fox’s yipping laugh echoing in your brain. You pawed at his arm needily. “Again, pl’se ~”

But you couldn’t help yourself. Couldn’t wait. So hungry for those soft lips and the smoky scent of his cigarettes and cologne to touch you all over again. You pulled both hands to tug at the nape of his neck until his eyes squinted, swivelling to see that desperate expression on your face. Before he could remark, your lips were upon his and your tongue pressed up against his teeth in an uprooting force.

“Mmph - so soft,” Yeonjun grunted, getting lost in the motions before slipping a hand from under the menu to squeeze the inside of your knee. You yelped, almost biting his lip in the process of jolting away. “But you should pay attention when people are talking to you, Kit.”

“Junnie! That hurt!” Jumping with a drunk laugh, you swatted at his hand. “But - no one is talking to me?” You looked at the other canine beside you, then around, confused.

“I was.” Soobin chuckled, tone kind and voice low. “But it doesn’t matter, it wasn’t anything important.”

“Bad doe.” Yeonjun sucked his teeth, peering over the menu for real this time. If only far too late. But his disappointment was quickly mellowed. And he scoffed, shaking his head. Refusing to look at you but resting his palm on your soft warm skin nonetheless. Squeezing, but only enough to hurt for a moment. 

As much as he’d love to mark your skin with his hand, the diner wasn’t exactly the place to do it. That would hopefully come much later.

“You guys are so bad, you know that right?” Soobin chuckled, swirling his drink glass in his hand with a shrugged scoff, one arm tucked under his armpit.

Yeonjun seemed to be the only one that heard him; snickering in response with his tongue in his teeth.

“A little scent-drunk love?” Yeonjun teased when he noticed your glossed-over expression as you stared at his face for quite a long time. He lowered his face close to yours as his tongue caught his canines and he giggled in glee. “Baby wanna be claimed so badly? Baby wanna be touched so bad? Have our teeth all up and down her throat?”

“Wan’ it ~” You moaned wantonly, frowning and confused as to why he wouldn’t submit like Beomgyu usually would to your persistent touch and begging. 

“Yeah right, doll.” Yeonjun snickered. “That little dumb baby brain of yours wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Out of morbid curiosity, he pinched your chin. Immediately; your jaw relaxed and he reached to press a thumb down into your mouth and onto your tongue. You drooled; mouth agape and eyes hooded. 

You numbly and happily held Yeonjun’s wrist as he pulled his thumb out from your mouth - saliva wiped on your lips and your gums and alongside your face - to grip your cheeks. 

“Cause that’s what you are, aren’t you? Our needy, brainless little pet?”

The fox was toying with you

Soobin's arm snaked around your waist with a growl, to pull you back into a solid, warm body. You made a noise of desperation as the dog pulled you backwards, away from the fox and his messings.

“Ngh - no, I - I wan - wan’ it -” 

You looked drunk. Sounded drunk. And you felt it. Unsure what you were begging for.

Still facing the fox; you were perfectly manoeuvrable and open for Soobin to do as he pleased.

“Play nice, Junnie. ” Soobin dipped his head to nuzzle into the crook of your neck; scenting you incessantly to soothe your heart-aching whines. “Doll doesn’t know what she wants when you smother her so much.”

Somehow; with Soobin attached to you; your heart eased its incessant thundering in your chest, and within seconds you were able to breathe deeply again. You moaned, with a dazed and confused expression. The tension in your body released via Soobin sucking at the thin skin behind your jaw. 

"Easy, Y/N." Soobin guided, voice low and filling your brain. "Your heart is racing, angel."

A shiver struck down your spine and you held Yeonjun's hand on your knee. Your gaze grew distant and you moved to lean your head back onto the dogs' broad shoulders and completely to the side. It granted Soobin further access and he wasted no time in pressing his nose to your collarbone; skin to warm skin. 

You threaded your fingers through his hair and up to your knuckles; until you met his scalp. And gripped harshly as he squeezed your inner thigh. 

Soobin sucked at your neck, and you gripped at the large calloused hand that squeezed over the entirety of your thigh, moaning into a bit lip. Soobin growled lowly against your skin. Moments away from claiming you. The girl he adored; that he had guided into the hybrid life. 

It had been long enough. You were practically laying yourself bare in front of him, waiting for him to take you.

His large palm found heavy purchase close to your core, and you twitched with weak repetitive sounds. 

Upon a new tone of low growling from his friend, the fox panicked; and realised just how much the hound had lost control.

Soobin's thumb pressed to your clit over your wet underwear as his large palm forced your legs apart. Soobin's other palm silenced your mouth; clit circled as you writhed in a tummy-burning lust.

“Cut it out!” Yeonjun yelled under his breath, and made a sharp yipping sound; one of warning. Permeated by a rolled-up laminated menu that he used to thwap the young dog on the head with. 

It was only a moment of contact, but it folded Soobin’s sharp ear and got the point across.

Soobin pulled away upon Yeonjun’s loud - and what you now knew to be uncontrollable - laughing chorus. Your skin heated and your ears burned from embarrassment, but you were still scent-drunk, by all means.

Never in your human life, would you have laid yourself bare in an evening diner to get fucked. 

“That was fucking close.” Soobin scoffed.

Yeonjun lit his new cigarette with his ridiculously attractive snapping lighter bottle before taking a large inhale and surrounding himself in smoke. 

“It was.” 

His amber eyes glinted under the low lights and the smoke and reminded you once more of the very real senses they both had over you. 

“Feeling needy, big boy? Haven’t seen you react like that in a long time.” Yeonjun mused once he knew his friend had calmed down. He was both assessing his friend and gauging your safety. If he would have to get you out of here before Soobin started on a dogged campaign of getting you to cum in public. But he seemed okay.

Soobin laughed. “Yeah…” He shook his hair back into place, tousling with it to then reach and unfold his tall slanted ear. “Pretty badly, actually. Little one has a decent hold on me already.”

“Good; then that makes for two of us.” Yeonjun simply smiled, squeezing your knee at your bashful eyes. 

But your mind was empty, as you were just admiring them. Watching his ears. Watching his face. His pretty puffy lips move. His gorgeous amber eyes.

“Gorgeous girl likes a thrill though, huh?” The fox mused; purring at you. He was bouncing back quicker and quicker. And it was a delight to see.

You nodded. 

 "Lucky. Kai should be here anytime soon. He’s a perv, just like you. Pretty Kit to play with. I have a feeling you’ll like him."

Yeonjun moved to sit back and slouch in the booth after setting down his rolled-up weapon; his entire leg still pressed up underneath your thigh and his palm heavy on your leg under the table. His presence may have been strong, but his devilish mouth and eyes were a decent length away now due to his abhorrent height.

Someone was approaching.

“Yeah, YN enjoys a thrill. Not without her new bodyguards nearby though, it seems.” A new voice sang, amused and high in pitch.

You quirked up; unable to see beyond Soobin or the high seats. But the dog flared his nose to calmly lean back and look behind him. Your heart beat in your chest in anticipation; but you remained as still as possible - given that the boys weren’t reacting, you felt safe; but the sensitivity was hard to adjust, even in calm settings.

As soon as you saw the huge grin of the large hybrid, you let go of the breath you were holding. 

"Speak of the devil!" Yeonjun yipped in a high and excitable tone, ears folding as he stood to bump shoulders in complete boyish fashion over the round table, pressing you into Soobin with his hips. 

A close friend.

“What’s up -” Kai laughed, bumping shoulders with the fox, grip strong and small ears folded to his hair in submission.“Been a while!” 

The guys did their usual boyish greeting; all the while Soobin watched you, dotingly. 

As Yeonjun moved to sit back down, you stayed incredibly close to the Doberman behind you. The canine didn't move an inch. Instead; he smiled, greeting Kai calmly with deep dimples and a lazy wave. 

Soobin was amused at your nervous twitching to get closer to him and lean against him to not get crushed, and how reserved you acted towards the stranger; with your dopey smile mostly gone and eyes wide and observant. 

Soobin was a guard dog by trade, but the instincts came naturally to him when you were around. Your ears struggled to keep up in such a dazed state; head spinning to hear between the two of them.

“You’re safe, Y/N,” Soobin mumbled, brushing some hair behind your ear, before placing a kiss on your shoulder that sent a shiver striking down your spine. "He's lower than us. Couldn’t hurt you if he tried." 

You nodded, absently. Something about him told you innately that he was a small predator. He likely couldn't harm you or affect you in the way the boys could; but he had a distinct new smell, one that you had never picked up on before. 

“Sorry, I was busy elsewhere -” Kai started, before seeing you. “Hi ~ You must be Y/N?” He smiled. You waved back with a nod and smile.

“Yeah, you don’t say!” Yeonjun smiled with his eyes. The annoyance completely dissipated, now the guy was in front of him. 

“We were wondering what was taking so long,” Soobin confirmed.

Kai sat down; towards the edge of the seat on the other side, roughly between you and Soobin.

“Oh, you know - work, and stuff.”

“It’s a Saturday evening, Kai.” Soobin shot back, tone blank and unimpressed.

“Well, yeah - but not that kind of work, you know? Like - yeah. Shit man, don’t make me say it!”

“Holy shit, you’ve been hustling all day?” Yeonjun yipped.

It was funny. Huening Kai was there for exactly one thing, and every single one of you knew it. But there was no bad blood. No awkward tension amongst the guys beyond your anxious buzz of energy. 

Yeonjun chittered away, ears folding in comical swings as he updated Kai with some gossip from the other missing friend, Taehyun. It had been a while since the guys had been together and had some fun like this.

You took a moment to observe the guy one degree of separation away from you.

You had only ever met briefly; between band events, taxiing for Beomgyu and after-hour office parties with sister companies. You knew of Heuning Kai. And you knew the guys were close. But beyond that, you remained indifferent and cautious.

Kai’s hair was a soft cool brown, with distinct small blond-edged triangle ears that told you that he was a Pine Marten Hybrid. Curiously; he had a few stray eyebrows. These were whiskers, hidden very well. His irises were dark brown and reached almost the full shape of his eye; only slightly lighter than his pupil. His tail was soft; brown and reached his ankles. And his face occasionally twitched; constantly moving, smiling, taking in his surroundings, and likely fast on his feet. 

He was a pretty guy. But - not someone you were instinctively threatened by, nor attracted to. But there was still something about him that made you feel cautious. Something that wouldn't let you rest.

You were cut off from your staring by a big dog’s head dropping firmly onto your shoulder. 

“Breathe, angel.” Soobin prompted. “You’ve frozen again.”

You inhaled sharply; the exhale played off as a long sigh with a smile at Kai’s sensitive ears and questioning face. The whisper from your shoulder missed amongst the chatter with the Fox. 

Though no matter the scenario, a black-tipped orange ear was pointed towards you, always.

By now, with this much heavy petting, Soobin’s scent stuck to your skin wherever he touched; like rubbing up against pure, thick incense oil. It was the same with Yeonjun; his thumb that stroked your inner knee made you tingle; toe to hip. And if you closed your eyes you could tell which spots hadn’t been touched yet.

You made a delicate noise; one that you had never made before, nor knew logically how to recreate. One of a quiet vulnerability; a soft vocalisation from the back of your throat; an air-light moan. It made the boys look to you instantly; all ears to a point. 

You froze. Eyes wide and majorly embarrassed. Crushed in the silence of their gaze.

Out of the corner of your eye; Yeonjun shifted. This was the most alert you had seen him yet. A smirk slowly made its way onto his face before his tongue touched the corner of his mouth and he dropped his head in a laugh. 

“Fuck.” 

“I -” You shook your head and cleared your throat. “- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. I don’t know how I did that… Oh…”

Your voice trailed, and you shrunk back into the seat. Eyes down in embarrassment. Skin hot.

It was quite clear you wanted to move on. And the boys were sympathetic to that. But that noise had done something to them. All three hybrids could smell how desperate you were becoming via the pheromones in the air. Your quivering thighs and tacky palms at each touch-point made it so clear what was affecting you to the point of moaning into the air so softly.

To the point of crying out like a foal.

“Want to do it again?” Soobin mumbled; close to your ear.

All he needed was your nod, and the two of them pressed into your skin.

Soobin lay hot and heavy kisses to your ear as his palm slid to your upper thigh; thumb in the crease of your hip and grip gentle. Yeonjun sucked at your collarbone; stroking up and down the inside of your other thigh in a lazy and solid pattern. You whimpered; another wanton moan, quiet and soft.

Soobin's tongue spread over your ear; just as Yeonjun pinched your chin; soft moan eaten by his kiss; lips pressed to your own in a whisper of touch until his smirk pressed to your cheek. 

The dog adjusted his torso so his back was to the floor; gratification evident on his face.

Soobin moved to sit back into a more relaxed pose; slouched, with his elbow to your stomach, so as not to be obvious of what was happening. This way; you could also hold his arm as you fell apart. Testing out the new position, he dragged his thumb over your labia; catching your thong with his fingers, and smoothed over your skin until the fabric slipped up on top of his hand.

Your cunt was soaking wet with slick, and Soobin growled with a gritted jaw.

“Again.” You sighed into Yeonjun’s lips. Hands on his shoulders. Fingers dancing up and into his hair.

“Again?” Yeonjun hummed. Orange hair filled your vision. His smile was wide and tone teasing. “Two’s enough, don’t you think?”

“Again, please…” 

That noise - it happened again; right as Soobin nudged your clit with the flat of his palm, circling his middle finger inside your folds. 

“Of course, love,” Yeonjun mumbled between pressed lips; pausing for a second before slipping his tongue between your open lips; setting a filthy pace to open-mouthed kissing as Soobin's middle finger pressed into you. You moaned into the embrace when Soobin's wrist flicked and he pumped into your tight wet cunt in a delicate pattern. Every time he pumped you felt the pressured swipe of his palm on your clit and your entire torso seized in anticipation.

“I - I want it, please Junnie - please, it feels so good, ngh -” 

Yeonjun groaned at your tiny whispers; your lips were pressed to his and the thick scent of your arousal was making him throb with precum into his boxers. His Adam apple bobbed as your small hand - the one not gripping Soobin's forearm that slipped under your skirt - pressed at his crotch weakly. But the action of it; so innocent and wanting to please, made his ears dip and his eyes contract.

“Feels good gorgeous.” He grumbled, pushing to kiss you hard enough to steal the breath from you. He pulled away with a sharp point to the soft of your lips; they were swollen from his biting. “You gonna come apart for us doll? Gonna let Soobin finger you till you see stars in the middle of this fucking diner, for the whole world to see?” His voice was low and hoarse and echoed around your head as the coil in your gut pulled tighter and tighter.

“Ngh - y-yeah -” You nodded, giving up the pressing at his thick, clothed cock to fold into Yeonjun’s shoulders, face in his neck. Soobin pressed at your back with his chest, nuzzling your shoulder. They were so close to you that there was no room to think, no space for anything but them. 

Soobin bit at your outer ear, nose nuzzling against your hair right as his middle finger curled up inside of you to hit that sweet spot. Rubbing it in the place that made you squirm. 

“Little Doe’s cunt is so tight - I can feel you’re close, baby,” Soobin grumbled lowly, voice projected into your brain. You gasped a moan, lifting to kiss Yeonjun until you pulled away with pressed-shut eyes; Soobin's finger pumping inside you on a deadly rotation.

Yeonjun sucked a hickey right against the pulse on the edge of your jaw. You shivered from head to toe, surrounded in warmth and smells and ears and tails brushing over and encompassing you; warm fuzz spreading throughout your veins and sweeping over your scalp. You must have moaned pretty loudly you realised, as Yeonjun gripped your cheeks in a hurry to kiss you sloppily. When he moved away, he pressed his thumb over your lips to wipe away the drool, laughing gently at you in disbelief. 

“Hush, pretty pet. You’ll have the whole diner rushing over soon otherwise,” He let you go, ears on a tight swivel as your head dropped to his neck and your hand curled up into Soobin's bicep. Mind like jelly, as only a hybrid-sensitive ear could pick up the squelching of Soobin retracting his fingers only to dive down to his two knuckles at a varying pace.

“Ngh - Feels good -”

The boys shared a look. You were close, and you smelt like a fucking cherry ice cream with your wetness dripping off Soobin's knuckles and onto the leather. Even Kai had started twitching in his seat, eyes darting all over you during the slow and sloppy consumption of his ice cream.

“Gyu’s gonna kill you when he finds out about this, you realise?” Kai humoured out loud, shaking his head.

The fox gave him a pointed look, ears folding and lip curled as he sheltered your face. Soobin growled gently, kicking his friend from beneath the table. The dog snarled.

“Shut up, weasel. You’re just jealous you can’t get a piece.”

“Yeah, you’re right actually. She smells so fucking good you’ve got me sat over here wondering when I can get a chance. Or why I even signed up for this in the first place.”

Soobin scoffed. “Cause you’re a sucker for watching and being watched. Shut up and watch the waitresses, nerd. It’s up to Y/N whenever you ‘get some’.”

“Yeah, right.” Kai huffed, defeated but still watching with intent.

“Try not to cry out for us while you cum, hmm angel?” Yeonjun mumbled, softer than his friend, and completely instructional. 

Focused entirely on you; Yeonjun pinched your cheeks to bring you up to his eye level and gain back some attention. Squeezing for a response.

You could only utter a small puff of a nod, brows pulled together and putty in their hands. 

Your cunt was starting to contract and tighten around Soobin’s fingers. 

Yeonjun purred at your face burrowing into his collar, small desperate sighs sounding against his shoulder, eyes squeezed shut in ecstasy and hands reaching for him. He moved his hand to massage your thigh on his side and flicked up the skirt to see past the fabric Soobin was fondling you under.

Yeonjun returned to his half-burned-out cigarette in the ashtray on the table, huffing a drag and coughing with wide eyes, blowing the smoke above the booth.

“Holy shit, sweetheart. That’s one pretty cunt you’ve got there.” 

Kai erupted into laughter as Yeonjun's shoulders jostled, laughing without mockery. He shushed you as Soobin added a third finger, squelching knuckle deep until you felt the cool metal of his ring on his forefinger press against your entrance. Knuckles between your teeth to not cry out.

“O-oh fuck, shit, fuck fuck -” 

Your knees bucked up and hit the table. 

Yeonjun quickly gripped your thigh that fell off the seat as Kai whistled; holding your thigh on him. The wolf whistle was a crude sign that a waitress was coming - distracted by his charm and ease of flirting to get her to look purely only into his eyes. 

“Easy, sweetheart. Quiet. We’ve got guests.” Yeonjun mumbled, lifting your face to lazy lick up against the roof of your mouth. He swallowed your noises and kissed you like some filthy fuck as you orgasmed in their hold. Soobin kept his fingers moving as the human waitress breached the table, his other hand going to swig the last drops of his drink.

To anyone watching, it simply looked like a bunch of adult kids and the usual two-person couple making out in the same booth. Little did they know, Soobin was brushing up against your g-spot as you whimpered, gripping his wrist and writhing, choking on Yeonjun's tongue.

He held your jaw steady and lazily kissed you, drool stringing between the two of you. 

“Mmph - June - Junnie -” You puttered, trying to speak, but stopped by his teeth pressing against yours, grip tightening on his shoulders. You released a pliant moan. Your guts twisted and the coil in your gut was tightening again, tense in your lower back and shaking. It was so soft the waitress wouldn’t have heard

The human waitress excused herself. You didn’t blame her. Yeonjun's hand had slipped up your thigh and he had pressed the pads of his fingers into your clit, underneath Soobin's large palm. You released from his lips with pants and pressed your face into his shoulder.

“‘m gonna - ‘m gon’ - ‘m - mmmmph -”

Your eyes pressed shut and you bit your lips to stop from crying out loud; grinding against their hands to cum once again. This one was a decently long ride. And Soobin angled up to make your feet tingle.

“Cumming again, gorgeous?” Yeonjun grumbled. Low and into your ear. He knew the answer. Just wanted to hear you say it. Wanted to hear you cry.

“Yeah ~” You nodded, squeezing and gripping his shoulder. “Mhmmm ~”

“You look so pretty in that skirt baby. You like Soobin's long fingers fucking you till you cum?” You nodded, desperate. “You take them so well angel. Think you can fit one more again?” 

You nodded and felt fucking insane at the proud smile on the fox’s face.

“Pretty baby’s gonna fall apart.” He groaned into your ear. 

Your nod was instantaneous; head fuzzy like an out-of-tune TV as Yeonjun moved from your clit to press his hand over Soobin's, guiding in a third finger. You were shaking, and rode along the last high to the next; reaching to pull him for a teeth-clashing kiss. 

The after-effects of cumming like that; surrounded by them, smothered in their scents and security, weighted by them; was a new high you could get used to. You almost couldn't breathe you were so hot. The ceiling spun and your brain was mellow like you had just been dunked underwater.

But they moved away from your hot body purposefully.

Yeonjun even blew cold air onto your face as you leaned on him. Soobin moved his chest from your body. And the boys patiently waited for you to return to the room. Slow movements to let you process; pulling away slowly, deliberately, and selflessly.

Slowly, you eased your legs, and Yeonjun retracted his hand - sucking on it directly over his tongue with a wink at your shy eyes looking up at him from his shoulder - holding your feet from hitting the floor.

Soobin followed suit by retracting his hand. But this time; the dog guided your face up and behind by the curve of your jaw. Without comment, he slipped his fingers into your mouth. They were thick and heavy on your tongue. You tasted admittedly good, but didn’t swallow; just held it there.

"Good pet." Soobin's growl echoed around your brain. 

It was sweet like liquor and thick like it too; cherry syrup strong enough to blow your rocks off if you weren’t expecting it.

Soobin pulled his fingers out - only to kiss you; tongue lapping up against yours and groaning. He sucked your tongue softly, but ultimately let you go after he gathered all the slick from your mouth. 

You turned to hide your face again in Yeonjun's jacket as Soobin pulled away. Shaking, quivering. 

“Fuck -” Soobin wiped his mouth, looking to the other boys, “- she tastes unreal.”

“Hate to say it, and it’s not a bad thing -” Kai murmured, low and cautious. “- but she also smells so fucking good I don’t think we’ll be able to stay here much longer.”

You weren’t listening; instead busy leaning into the fox and his warm body. Face in the crook of his neck, nuzzling his skin. He was so warm and soft, you couldn't help but bury your nose into him. Citrus tones filled your brain and lungs. 

"I'd have to agree - “ Yeonjun huffed, looking to the dog for his agreement, “I'm struggling to breathe clean air anymore." 

The dog nodded, confirming his friends' experience. If the one with smell issues was struggling; it was only a matter of time before it became unsafe.

“Time to go gorgeous.” Yeonjun kissed the crown of your head, smoothing it with a heavy palm. Mumbling to you. You shuddered. 

"Alright then - come on, guys. We don’t wanna get her too worked up in the diner, huh?" Soobin grumbled sarcastically in a rush, tail swiping against the leather diner seat in his excitement. 

Soobin reached to hum in your ear a low tease; “Let the scent-drunk babe clear her head before a good fuck, hmm? How’s that sound doll? I’ll pull the car up right outside.”

Your skin flushed hot. But you nodded, coyly. Accepting the nudge of his ears to your cheek as he kissed your shoulder blade. But you were stuck to the fox, like glue. 

Yeonjun snickered, rubbing at his neck with a sheepish smile. 

“Yeah, right. Forgot where we were for a second.” 

“See you guys later!” Kai squeaked, suddenly up and out of the diner before any of you could respond.

Soobin held a disgusted expression, scowling at his back as he darted out of the diner, paper bills slapped sloppily onto the bar’s top. His ears had peeled back until they almost disappeared in his jet-black hair; his nose scrunched in such sudden fury that you had to shake your head to adjust. 

“He’s going straight to his car to jack off,” Yeonjun explained when you looked at him, with a puzzled expression at Soobin's anger. 

The fox shrugged with an easy roll of his eyes. You, Yeonjun and Kai were morally on the same level of voyeurism, so he wasn’t exactly about to be a hypocrite. 

“I’m not against it.” 

You shrugged also. Unsure if it was necessarily okay, but unsurprised and pretty unbothered. If anything, your ego was boosted by it. 

Soobin held his own ideals, however.

“Well, I am,” Soobin growled, ears tucked back and so obviously ticked off. “Dirty fuck. Never met a guy more disrespectful."

Soobin was furious. You’d be lying if you said it wasn’t hot, but… now wasn’t exactly the time. The anger caused you to pull inwards. The sudden movement made your adrenaline spike before you could process it.

"Hey, come on now - you know that's a lie - hey!"

Yeonjun tried to call after his angry Doberman, but he was already up and gone.

Soobin grunted a blunt “See you outside.” and left a rush of air to come towards your newly exposed side. You shivered, rubbing your cool arm as you watched him leave, no bills placed on the side. When you spun around with a panicked expression, Yeonjun awaited you.

"Aaaand he's gone. Welp."

Yeonjun watched you; tentatively. You were so sensitive to mood changes, that he would have guessed you were a born hybrid, were it not for the missing appendages. The whoosh of air seemed to perk you up quite a bit. 

“Yeah - and - but - he didn’t pay Jun? What happened, he - shall we go to the car?” 

Yeonjun smiled at you. Irises slimmer than ever before. And reached to tuck hair behind your head. He hummed gently, eyes small and tracking your face as you rambled.

“I don’t - we should go - Junnie? We should - We should - I'm worried, that's not like him at all - umm - shall we call him, I - I'm not sure where he'd go -” 

So close after an orgasm your words were slurred as your tongue sat heavy in your mouth.

“He's okay.” Yeonjun smiled and simply waited. Your frown grew more desperate.

“He seems really mad Jun -”

“Breathe, gorgeous. He’s right outside.”

Eventually, you heaved a breath. Frowning in disbelief as the heat in your body flushed out. 

Your chin dipped as you gulped an intake of air. Embarrassed. 

You were scent drunk. The come-down was sharp and sudden. 

"Now that's the face I expect to see on a doll that's fully claimed already.” 

Yeonjun’s voice was kind. Low, gentle. 

“He’s got you good, hasn’t he?" 

“You both have, Junnie…” You admitted. “I don’t know what’s happening…”

Yeonjun laughed gently from his chest. Eyes crescented as you looked up; expecting a judging face, but you came face to face with love and affection. Your eyes quickly pooled with tears and an overwhelming sense of anxiety pumped through your gut.

Yeonjun leaned to wipe your tears. 

“Hey, you’re okay. Shh, shh.” He mumbled. “It’s a lot, isn’t it? New feeling?”

You nodded, and as much as you tried to repress it, your face had scrunched painfully and a glob of water slipped from your eye. Yeonjun wiped it away with his thumb, pouting.

Having a person a Hybrid you trusted nearby that was considered more dangerous than you or an unknown social threat; meant that you didn’t have to pay attention to your surroundings like you usually would when you were alone. Having them pull away suddenly meant that your acclimation time to becoming in charge of your extreme senses again was thrown from zero to a hundred in a matter of seconds. This is why gradual separations are taught from a young age.

You knew all this. Had spoken through it with Soobin many times. The nurses, the specialists, your friends. But it still didn’t make dealing with it any easier.

“Soob left pretty quick. And in a shit mood. Looks like it’s given you quite the shock, hmm?”

You nodded and tried your best to calm your erratic breathing. But before you could stop yourself; your arms reached around Yeonjun’s neck to pull him into an embrace. 

“Hey, hey - you’re alright.” The fox yowled quietly, and his ears folded. 

His heart ached for you. If natural prey-type hybrids struggled to deal with separation anxiety; he had quite literally no idea how you were trying to keep it together so hard.

“Did that new emotion scare you, angel?” He questioned. 

You nodded and Yeonjun accepted this, choosing not to question it with his face in your hair and one arm secure around you, the other holding your legs. He chittered; holding you tight the best he could at this angle. He understood that you just needed your whole face in his clothes and neck in order to feel his safety, right now, so didn’t mind you burying into his jacket.

"You're okay Y/N, he’s just outside, I promise," Yeonjun mumbled, so gently that you held him tighter. "Precious little fawn, hmm? You’ve always been so jumpy… even before the accident… now look at you…"

He didn’t speak for a while. Scared he would say something wrong. Instead, he just held you and rubbed your back as you processed the withdrawal. This is what was missing with Beomgyu, you realised, instantly. The cat was indifferent, and these boys were observant. They were able to care for you. They reacted differently to your fears. 

You released his neck, and he pulled away to see your face.

"What is it, sweet Doe?" Yeonjun hummed, a finger pad swiping over your cheek. "What is it exactly that's got you so upset?"

"I'm worried Junnie…" You said with glossy eyes. Words like lead in your mouth. Difficult to form and project. "I hope he wasn't upset with me - or you, or Kai. He left so quickly, I - and it hurt - I don’t know…" 

Yeonjun wiped your cheek with a sympathetic smile. He knew what you meant. Pulling such a strong presence away so quickly caused you to panic, and tilt off the scale. A matter of mind versus instincts.

“It’s not about you, gorgeous. And I don’t think Kai actually upset him. Just - a thing of pride, that’s all. Let’s just give him a few minutes. He’s probably as affected as the both of us; if not more than. We could all use a little pause, right now. Hmm? Get our heads back?" 

You nodded, looking down at the hand on your knee. Your smaller fingers reached to anxiously work between his knuckles. Yeonjun smiled, chittering with folded ears. He kissed your cheek; sweet, cherub, soft.

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to; you know?"

You looked up. Surprised. 

Was he paying attention to Soobin's’ cues? Did he know?

"Because that's what it is, isn't it?" 

You searched his face. But gave no response. 

"You find it hard to speak when you're upset, right?" 

You nodded.

"I take it it’s nerves?"

Nod.

"And it's not because I scare you?" Yeonjun pouted.

You shook your head.

"Okay." He whispered. "I'll stick to yes or no questions for now. Sound okay?" 

You nodded. Butterflies hammering in your heart.

He was happy that you felt safe enough to be non-verbal around him; so much progress in such a short amount of time. It only seemed to happen when incredibly anxious, so he made a mental note to pay attention to that.

“You’re safe, little fawn.” He mumbled, placing one last kiss on your cheek. “I know; you’ll probably feel super stressed for a few minutes. But you’re okay. I’m here. And Soobin's just outside. Try to relax; it’s just a new feeling, not necessarily a bad one.”

You couldn't help but whimper as you held him again. Reaching to desperately hold his neck.

You weren’t sure what to say. Despite it being such a short amount of time you did trust him. With your body and heart. And he truly was grounding you. By remaining calm; watching you, relaxing his shoulders and ears. 

You held him until your chest loosened and you were stable enough that he could stop nuzzling you.

Once confident you wouldn’t cry upon him moving away; he shuffled to slouch back against the booth; one arm stretched up and behind your shoulders - he waited for you to settle into the space between his chest and armpit, elbow folded down as he held you close - and fiddled open his cigarette tin while the other reached over your chest to pull one out.

"You're doing good, pretty Doe. ‘m ‘mpressed." He mumbled; lighting the cigarette over your head again.

You were shaking, and stiff. Like your namesake would usually do when terrified. But he was impressed, given you had just cummed, and then had your support ripped from your side so quickly.

For a moment; given the position; you had no vision of the diner. Until Yeonjun tucked the packet into his jacket and you noticed a man walking towards you. Yeonjun seemed distracted; and checked his phone overview with a flick before it was tucked away to raise an eyebrow at your prodding.

“Hmm? What is it doll?” Yeonjun followed you pointing underneath the table to the guy shuffling across the floor. He was greeting people. Like he owned the place.

“Huh. You know who that is?” The fox questioned with a tilt of his head. You shook your head.

“Well,” Yeonjun started, before re-lighting the cigarette between his lips. His gruff, tobacco voice pressed to your cheek as he whispered dark secrets into your pretty little head. You wheezed slightly at the smell of menthol, turning with wide doe eyes to see him.

“His name is Bangchan. Or Chan for short. He's 25. He runs the local crime show. Fatherly-Wolf type. Has his own…” Yeonjun pulled a drag with a quirked head in thought on how to word it; “specialities. He also owns the diner. And so on.”

Crime show? A funny joke. Or, maybe a slip up… Right?

Said man began to walk past the table; clearly on some sort of serious business, given the scowl on his face. A tall white-haired male followed close behind. Around Soobin's height. He was stunning and feminine. Whereas ‘Chan’ was stunning in a more masculine way.

“Ah - Chan!” Yeonjun called as he walked past - a little harshly were it not for the pressure to stay on his chest, as he anticipated your reaction - catching his ear. The two of them stopped in their tracks. But the blonde male wandered away after a nod of Wolf-mans head. 

His face quickly lit up with a smile.

“Hey - what’s up Wilde! Ah - a guest - you must be Y/N?” 

Chan was cute. Not your type; but sweet, obvious built-in muscles, and mid-height with seemingly natural dark brown hair. He had an Australian twang to his accent, and it was refreshing to hear amongst the rest. Made him stand out.

Yeonjun didn’t rise like you thought he would to greet his friend. Like he always had. It seemed remaining calm for you was the most important thing in the room for him right now. And that made you feel… some kind of way.

Lucky for the two of you; Bangchan was pretty understanding. And bowed his head with a charming smile before sliding into the booth to sit opposite; in place of an awkward handshake.

“Glad you caught me Wilde - Hyunjin had just pulled me to head out, but I was meaning to talk to you.” He peered over you quickly before smiling. “Hope you don’t mind me interrupting?”

Yeonjun smiled as he squeezed your shoulder, kissing your temple. 

“We don’t mind. Sorry; Y/N’s a little star-struck so you won’t be getting a lot out of her right now. The diner is loud and frightening at this time of night. Maybe another time.”

Yeonjun was smiling. But it was tight-lipped and accompanied by a cut-short tone that left no room for questioning. It was clearly; a statement. Bangchan simply shrugged. Smile still kind. 

“Fine with me. Sorry about the noise. Nice to finally meet you though; heard only good things.”

You bowed your head with wide eyes and quivering lips. A little confused; as you had never heard of him before, but you just shrugged it off. It's a small world; you were bound to have some weird high school connection somewhere. 

If Yeonjun considered him safe; then you did too. 

You needed a moment to recover, anyway.

You briefly peered between the two, before you settled with picking at the frays on the thigh of the fox's ripped jeans. Yeonjun smudged out his barely lit cigarette out of respect, and you noted his sharp eyes. The softness in his face had gone since Chan appeared. Not completely; but you were observant enough to notice.

“You said you wanted to talk?” Yeonjun smiled.

You could already see why he was considered a smooth talker. His demeanour right now was completely fake; and had changed so quickly you had almost missed it. But you would never know if you hadn’t spent so much genuine time with him. He seemed cooler. More cheeky, but reserved. As if he was holding back. And he was. He would curse out Soobin later for taking the heat for the three of you without backup.

Chan bobbed his chin and thinned his lip in a thinking expression before making an ‘Ah, yes’ face. Then he pointed to Soobin's' empty yet still indented seat.

“Ah - You’re missing a Pinscher, right?”

“Yup,” Yeonjun laughed, tongue in his cheek. “Soobin’s outside. Pulling valet for us. He won’t leave until we go.”

“Oh - neat! I’ll say hi before I leave, then. Need to give him something anyway. New listing."

“Cool.” 

Yeonjun's ear ticked. 

You were almost certain Chan didn’t catch it, but you did. Yeonjun was a nervous guy, even if he acted cool. You rested against his chest; and closed your eyes. Relaxing completely. It calmed him.

“Oh, yeah, also, Charlo called me on direct from the bar.”

Yeonjun threw his head back in a snorting laugh. “Charlo?! That is not a name! You made that up!” 

“Hey - Don’t be rude! It’s short for Charlotte. And it’s a perfectly nice nickname!”

The two of them were being rather loud.

“Alright.” Yeonjun snickered sarcastically. “So - this Charlo - she called you? I should care, why? Never heard that name before.”

Yeonjun was having one of his moments. 

You had noticed the Cheetah’s head whip around as soon as it was said from across the floor, but she was smart enough to keep her head down to buss the table. You prodded Yeonjun, pointing and nodding in her direction.

“Ah,” Yeonjun mumbled. “Charlo… the Cheetah… Fuck."

The waitress. Of course, it would be the waitress. The hybrid waitress. The hybrid waitress called Charlo the Cheetah, that would report on his ass.

“What have I told you about getting handsy in my diner, Yeonjun?”

Yeonjun snorted, laughing with his belly as his head rolled back on the seat. Chan was entirely serious and you flushed cold like an ice bucket had been dunked over you.

"Aish -" He pressed air from between his teeth in humerus. "Relax old man -"

"It's disgusting."

"So's another man's jealousy."

"Ah no-" Bangchan looked distressed, disgusted even, and shook his head. "Far from jealous. At least tell me you washed your hands first?"

A pause… and then… silence. 

You were positively embarrassed.

"You're disgusting."

"And you're a saint?" Yeonjun purred, shit-eating fox grin pearly white and cockily on display. Ears back in a playful display, tail happily curled.

The fox was enjoying this. 

"Seriously June. People eat here." The older guy started; voice low and fatigued. But he seemed somewhat amused, and you guessed it took a special kind of figure to correct Yeonjun and get through to that crafty head of his.

No one in the immediate area even batted an eye at your table being extremely loud. Which was curious. Odd, even. It made you pause, and strain your ears. But nothing was out of sorts.

"So you're telling me that I can kill a man on this table, but I can't make my girl cum after a good meal?"

KILL A MAN. 

Bangchan's eyebrow raised and you froze solid in your seat. He seemed fed up. You didn't blame him; Junnie was exhausting.

You flew to see Yeonjun's expression, your heart pounding. He was cool and calm. At the terror on your face, he softened. Cracking his mask for a split second to soothe you. But he couldn’t comfort you here, in front of Bangchan. His irises softening would have to be enough.

Your head was spinning.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying, funny enough. Don't let me catch you doing it again, Wilde."

"Or what, Daddy?" Yeonjun taunted, canines flashing as he bit the tip of his tongue with a grin.

Chan gave the younger man a sharp expression.  "You know what. I gotta go - stay out of trouble kids."

“One thing you should know about Soobin -” Yeonjun grunted, as he reached inside his jacket to pull out his wallet and start ass-shuffling out of the booth, gently patting your behind along and above the seat to make room for him to get up.

“Is that he tends to get a little protective when he likes something.” Yeonjun shrugged, standing upright. 

He flicked open his wallet to pop yet another cigarette into his mouth, but it remained unlit. 

“Sometimes you just gotta remind him you aren’t about to run away. Like his favourite treat being taken to some forbidden locked up cage somewhere. He’s… scared of that happening. But something tells me you’ll calm him down.”

You took the fox's outreached hand, sticking like gum to his side as you linked into his elbow. Yeonjun swiped backwards the hairs hanging in front of your eyes and placed a kiss on the crown of your head.

“He is a dog after all. Don’t take it to heart love. He just felt Kai was disrespectful."

He smoothed the back of your skirt like a gentleman as you exited the booth - before he squeezed your ass with a wink and a whistle. 

Yeonjun walked with you to the bar, placing some money and what looked like a hefty tip on the side, before proceeding to walk you both out to a slightly less irritated Soobin than the one who had run out of the diner. 

Chan was a few strides ahead, clearly walking away from an exchange. 

Soobin was smoking. Sat on the hood of his car. You could tell he wasn’t in the mood to talk, because he only smoked when he was bothered by something. 

“D’you think he’ll mind if I catch a ride?” Yeonjun mumbled, whispered into your hair with humour as he squeezed your side into him. “Gotta take this pretty girl back to the dig.” You giggled, appreciative that he was taking the time to calm your nerves. 

The sun was hanging low in the summer sky. Having checked the diner clock before leaving it was currently 9:05 in the evening. Soobin had driven up from the underground parking until he was right outside. It was cooler now than when you had chosen the mini skirt. You shuffled closer to him for warmth.

You shrugged. “I can ask?” 

You were too cute. Yeonjun shook his head, pinching his eyes at you with an accompanying smile. “Just playing doll. We live together, remember?”

Yeonjun's hands lay heavy on your waist as he walked you up to the car. He could feel the excitement in your nerves like a small electric shock.

As you both approached, Yeonjun lifted his chin to his friend. 

“You good?”

To which Soobin nodded back. 

He was a little moody. Slouching, arms crossed, sitting on the hood of his car, puffing with a scowl. But he was considerate enough to exhale the large heave of smoke, far above your head.

“Fine.” The dog grumbled, clearly irritated by the tone in his voice.

“You sure about that?” Yeonjun sang in an amused manner.

Soobin lifted his lip to reveal his gums with a belly-deep growl. The message was to ‘leave it alone’. 

“Fine man, if you say so.” Yeonjun chuckled to himself under his breath, the two of you now profile to profile with Soobin and the car.

When Yeonjun had stopped walking - retracting his palms to his pockets, appearing bored and unbothered to not provoke his friend - you kept going. 

Your heels shuffled forward until both knees drew up between the legs of the casually sat Doberman. 

He straightened upon your approach. Peering down at you. You reached for his shoulders and placed a kiss on his cheek. Which Soobin graciously dipped to accept. 

“Hey, gorgeous.” He mumbled, softer than before, when his attention was directed towards Yeonjun. 

“Hi.” You offered back, happily.

Soobin was looking at you with such enamoured eyes. Ones reserved for love. Gentleness. 

“I’m not going to run away from you, you know?” You offered again, quietly. Still a smile on the way you spoke. Soft. “I offered to try this out with you, and I’m still here, and I’ll be here for as long as I can be.”

Yeonjun's ears quirked as he leaned against the door of the car beside both of you. Touched that you had listened. It moved something in his chest. His stomach. It ached, in a good way. 

Maybe the advice he had given to someone else, was the one he needed to hear the most.

Soobin’s brows fluttered as he processed what you meant. He watched your face for signs of distrust. Before he released the tension in his body and acceptance flooded over his face. He uncurled the hand from under his armpit to rest on your lower back.

“I know. Thank you.” 

You exchanged a nod. And fell into him. Into a real, loving embrace. The air was chilly, and you were thankful for his body heat.

“Still anxious?” Soobin mumbled against your cheek. “I’m surprised. You seem to have attached pretty quickly to Jun.”

You blinked. “You - you can tell?” 

“That you’re still anxious?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course.” Soobin ran his nose over your cheek with a rumbling chuckle. “Your heart hasn’t stopped thundering since we got out of the car. And your scent is - well the only way I can describe it right now is sour. It’s not like that when you’re… not upset.” 

“I smell like something sour? When I’m anxious?”

“You smell like a sour cherry, to be exact.” Yeonjun pointed out. Newly puffed tobacco smoke hanging around his frame. “And not the candied kind.”

"It's a weaker smell," Soobin confirmed. "But it's sharper. More nose-catching than when you're happy."

You hummed in thought.

“Well, what is it when I’m happy?”

“Hmm, cream and cherry pie?” Soobin questioned his friend with a smile in his tone. Yeonjun nodded and heaved a smokey inhale.

“Angry?”

“That one’s tough.” Soobin looked around in thought. "Hot. Like a hot, bitter winter wine. Burns the nose, unlike sour."

You laughed.

"Okay. What about horny?"

"Cherry Sundae," Yeonjun answered quickly for that one. You raised your eyebrows and he shrugged. "It's so sweet and heavy that the entire diner smelt like you on the way out. Probably will do ‘til opening time tomorrow morning."

"But then - there were other hybrids in there - why didn't they say anything?"

Yeonjun looked at Soobin. And Soobin grumbled low, pointed words into your ear.

"Because you're with us. And they wouldn't dare."

"And - it doesn't give you a headache? If it's so sweet?"

Soobin threw his head back in a gentle laugh.

"No, Y/N. It's a natural aphrodisiac."

"It's… addicting." Yeonjun murmured. Almost… ashamed of his infatuation, with ears tilting down as he thought on it.

But you got the point. And made a small oh sound of acknowledgement before shaking it off.

“So -” You giggled, gesturing towards his unreasonably-flashy-for-a-young-guy American muscle car; “How the hell did you end up owning something like this? Knowing people like Bangchan? It's a little odd. I thought you worked at another office, but then… How'd you afford to live like this?”

Soobin smiled. And squinted at you with deep dimples. His hand moved to rest on the car behind him as he leaned forward, and over you ever so slightly, to breathe against your neck. Your lungs stayed empty as you got stuck on an exhale, unsure as to what he would say. Missing Yeonjun's shifty eyes, before looking around and nodding to his friend.

“I work in higher places than you’d ever expect, our clever little fawn.” 

His lips pressed to your neck and your heart fluttered, falling into him as his hand pushed on your lower back. 

"Suppose there's no harm in telling you now. Breathe."

Your hands rested on either of his shoulders, consumed completely by his deep musk and wood smell. You felt like prey being cared for before being swallowed. Gasping air upon instruction. It was becoming a habit to wait.

You reached to bury your face into his scent; shaking in delight from your scalp to your toes when your nose hit his collarbone.

“Yeonjun is my sales guy. Like you said before. Gyu deals with code. Fucking nerd.”

Another kiss was placed on your neck. Suckling lightly with those perfect lips; making you lean into him more. You would think a mention of your sick 'boyfriend' would strike guilt, but your head was swimming. Breathing him in like a drug.

He was fucking addicting. And you were starting to understand what Yeonjun meant. Soobin's musk became much heavier and sweeter like tree syrup. 

“Terry’s in charge of legal. Kai’s our friend, but he’s mostly there for looks.”

He pulled away to smoke some more and puff the smoke over your head. He squeezed your ass, harshly, in one large palm, and a soft moan fell from your lips. A gift to Soobin. 

“But don’t worry - as long as you’re around at least one of us, or the hybrids we trust, in the right spots, you’ll be safe. We don’t want to get you mixed into any shady business.”

Your mind flashed to every mafia or yakuza scene ever. 'Stay with us you'll be safe', only for their safety to be more hurt than when they weren't involved.

"So - you're saying I might be watched? That you're part of a gang, or what?! I don't know if I'm into men that hurt women! Or people! Children…!!" 

Soobin kissed his teeth.

"I don't take joy in hurting others. And we don't get our hands dirty in that kind of business." 

He was… amused. 

This interaction seemed amusing to him.

"I can't say you won't have eyes on you; but you're our pet now, so it's in our nature to be protective. NOT controlling."

Soobin's lip lifted over his gum in a houndish grin, and he pressed you into his crotch as he grumbled into your ear. 

"Not that we would let you out with us anywhere without our scent plastered inside and all over you, on any given day now, anyways.” 

His breath was ticklish and you loved his open laugh as his gums pressed against your cheek as he held you tight. 

You knew Soobin. Knew he was speaking out of love, despite his harsh and rugged tone. You felt safe. 

So ultimately you laughed also; drunk on attention, and shaking your head. Even the shy Yeonjun smiled fondly.

Between the big dogs' legs. In public again. Being babied between two capable men. Short skirt scrunched between Soobin's knuckles, and his ears pointed down at you; you were warmed with love.

“Shady business then, hmm?” You repeated in a tight whisper. Eyes wide and shining up at him. “But - you’re wearing jeans!” You argued; as if dirty clothing and judging his appearance outright meant you knew anything about him. "I've never seen a high-end criminal in blue wash denim!"

Soobin puffed an exhale of a crescent-eye smile, tongue caught in the corner of his lip. Before he dipped you to the side quickly - completely playful and in control, laughing loudly in your ear as you giggled - kissing at your pulse. You ran your nails up and against his strong, beautiful neck and into the nape of his hair on the way back up; which earned you a growl on your skin, and a squeeze against his torso. 

“You’re too cute.” Soobin appealed, laughing like chimed bells like he hadn’t just possibly revealed his connection to the business underworld.

So you turned your pout to Yeonjun for more answers.

You caught him staring in admiration; ears dipped to the side and eyes hooded with the corners of his mouth tilted upwards; back against the car, arms crossed easily on his chest. He perked up once he realised you were looking; fumbling out some more smokes and touching his pockets as if checking whether something hadn't been forgotten, or left behind.

"Come on ~" You frowned, pouted even, coming to know how much he barked for it. "You have to give me some info before you fuck me? I deserve that much!!"

Soobin had, at this point, enveloped you. Lips busy kissing, licking, nibbling at the expanse of your throat. Your hands curled into his shoulders. Ears hot and moans soft at an exhale. He was so warm, it was heavenly. 

Or maybe that was just the post-orgasm, baby-girlness talking. But - it felt like the heat was coming from under your skin.

Both were fine. Both were good.

Yeonjun met your pout and whine with a raised eyebrow shake of his head. Scolding your curiosity with a mere kissing of his teeth. 

But of course, he would spill. He was too easy.

“Nothing you want to be involved with, angel.” He mumbled in a low, almost solemn voice. “Tax evasion type shit. But we don't deal with dirty money. No repercussions for anyone apart from ourselves when we get caught." 

The fox squinted. You were small but unshaken. So he continued.

"I mean, to be honest, a lot of people you know are probably involved. A certain Jaemin comes to mind - hope he loves the new wheels by the way. Heard one of them sold?"

You laughed at Yeonjun's raised eyebrows. He had slipped into his faux persona.

"I have no idea Junnie." He softened; trusting your shrug, watching as you thread your hands through Soobin's hair as he palmed at your ass. 

"He was very specific when he asked for one of the cars. I don't know if he was feeling sketched out by the deal or what. You'd know better if he's your friend?"

"Oh?" You quipped, amused.

"Yeah - he wanted it a specific red. Like… a race car. One from a movie. With decals all over it. Was specific with the no white-rim wheels. Weird guy, but I liked him. You should invite him to hang out with us."

"It was a nice red Jun, you did a good job." 

Yeonjun scoffed. "So you really had no idea?" 

You shrugged. "I had my suspicions as a friend, but never would have guessed."

"I'm sure you've got - mph - questions?" Soobin moaned between biting up your shoulder.

"I guess… I didn't realise you had been keeping tabs on me. But then again, I guess it comes with the territory…"

Of which, you meant dating Beomgyu. Their inner circle friend and participant of said crime group. It made sense.

"Mhm," Yeonjun confirmed, smile tight-lipped and amused. He took another drag. "I’m surprised a clever doll like you hadn’t figured it out. The cats in love with you. We protect the things we love. And you had no idea you were being surveilled?”

“I didn’t know.” You confirmed once more, unsure what or how loud to say it to make him believe you. “Sounds like you guys have got it down to a T, though?”

"Got what down to a T, doll?" 

"I don't know - everything!"

Yeonjun simply nodded. Shying away as his friend and newly revealed business partner gave a sharp and piercing warning gaze from behind your neck.

That seemed to be all you would be getting from the fox. He retreated from the conversation abruptly with a pout and distant mind; busying himself with flicking open his lighter for the umpteenth cigarette today. 

He didn’t look sad, but talking about it seemed to bother him. Like a task he would worry about later. Though you weren’t sure when later was, or could be.

Soobin tugged at your earlobe with delicate precision; canines making you moan and grip his hair. He growled softly and nudged your cheek with his nose until your attention was caught. Your nose pressed to his. Lips brushed with bated breath.

“It’s important that you don’t share any of this, pet. Not even with Gyu.” 

At first, you just laughed. But it became obvious how quickly he meant it. Your naive smile edged into danger; until he swiped the back of your thigh with an open palm. You bit your lip with a frown and a cut moan, pouting. 

"I mean it.”

You gulped, eyes shaking a little. 

Soobin softened, immediately, at the first hint of fear. The grip on your chin released dramatically, so your hair billowed softly between his fingers at your cheek. His exhale fanned over your face, before moving your head. His cheek pressed to your own to whisper low, and soft, in your ear.

“I need to hear you give your word, beautiful. That you won’t tell a soul. No matter what. What we vent about between the sheets, is just that to anyone else. Nothing but pillow talk.”

Maybe this was a little more than what you had bargained for. 

"But between us…. well. We’ll always tell you the truth."

He didn’t move, instead he waited. Knowing that eye contact would make you panic. You looked to Yeonjun for aid, heart hammering. His ears dipped into total submission. Sympathetic to those eyes he was beginning to hate to see - sad, panicked, insecure.

“You’re safe, doll.” The fox tilted his head onto his shoulder, smile genuine. “Just need your word is all. Or we leave, and forget this ever happened. Either is fine.”

But fuck it - danger tasted good on your tongue.

So you gulped your nerves and pride; leaning cheek to cheek to Soobin and voice barely a strained whisper; “I give you my word. Body and all - I’m yours. Please don’t break me. I'm ready - these two years have been so long - but I'm a little scared.” 

Soobin growled; deep and low. Moving to see your face. His hand cupped the back of your head and tilted up as he met your eyes; affected. Touched beyond words. He watched you for deceit; hesitation that would break their hearts. None was found.

How could he ever harm you? How could Yeonjun? Beomgyu? Any of them? 

The fear in your voice hinted towards past mistrust, and he would fight to break the cycle.

Your eyes fell shut at his lips pressing against your own. Hands holding his own on your face; enveloped by the softness in his movements. You never wanted to part, but had to breathe. 

“You have our word, love.” Soobin kissed your eyebrow, “You’ll be glass in our eyes, for as long as you want.”

You were touched, shying from his eyes as your heart beat like a bird in a cage. He meant it as the highest compliment; fulfilling your wish of wanting to be treated with care, at least for the time being. Not another thing to just use and break.

Soobin reached behind you for the fox’s offered half-smoked cigarette; flicking the ash behind you on the ground before taking a drag. He released his thighs and shuffled to sit more; which allowed you with ease to shuffle forward, until your cheek met his chest. And your arms wrapped around him.

It was silent for a moment. Like a small part in the cloud.

Yeonjun basked in this new, slightly sudden love. Soobin exhaled and placed a hand on your head. The wind sang, birds flapped their wings, and the constantly humming cars shuttled past on the highway not too far behind the trees. You could feel Soobin’s heart beating heavily on your cheek and felt the pull of his lungs as he inhaled, then released. It felt like everyone had air to breathe again. Yeonjun looked at peace. 

It was serene, for a little while, with everybody's guards down. 

But these moments must always end. 

“Ready?” Yeonjun prompted. Carefully, and with a guttural clearing of his throat. He opened the back door, eager to move on and away from this place. And onto the new adventure, the night promised.

“Yeah, right.” Soobin laughed. 

The tension in his shoulders was gone, and you accepted a final tight one-armed squeeze as he brushed his lips against your forehead to place a kiss. He released you to snub his cigarette into the nearby ashtray; and stood precariously at the entrance of the diner. Hands constantly making contact while he spun you the other way; hip heavy under his palms. 

“Let’s go.”

MAIN MASTERLIST /// TXT MASTERLIST /// IMAGE MASTERPOST UIHALL [FIRST IN SERIES] /// [UIHALL - PART 2.II CONTINUED]

well would you look at that: updated 5/DECEMBER/2023

[mellarked-katnisseverdeen]

THG Reread Thoughts...I don't know how many I am up too. Sorry XD.

Katniss and both her alliances reresent some kind of rebellion, tbh. Both of them are representing her chooseing love and compassion over obeying the Capitol.

Katniss is SMART. SO much smarter than I remember giving her credit for. She isn't uber, mastermind genius because she is still in actual fact 16. But she was able to form a plan to get a legit leg up on the Careers useing all of her and Rues skills and it works as best it can. And I don't even think ALL of that is how much she is forced to survive. I think Katniss is genuinely a sharp girl.

Mentioned it in the Rue focused post...just the way her death hit me true tears came to my eyes. The unfairness and pain Katniss expereinces took my breath away as an adult whose, this time reading it, has expereince so much more loss.

So the rule change...is interesting. I will always maintain Crane WAS a bit short sighted sanctioning it. Had he thought about the possibility of them actually both living and what that would mean I legit don't think he would have. Whitch speaks to the ambition that festers in the Capitol...they wanted a better show, a love story. To bad that became hope and a rallying cry.

Katniss calling out Peeta's name is such an iconic scene. It shows just how much she has him on her brain the first thing she does is call to him.

Forgot how real Collins got with their injuries. Peeta's leg is something you can't avoid for even a sentence. Katniss's hearing is a constant issue and showing even in a realisic way (as someone who considers herself hard of hearing, this is actually refreshing to see).

Lets talk everlark. I think I will start by saying how early Katniss expression confusion caused by the act they had to preform took me back. We see so much more of that, the constant unsure and confused mess around her emotions, but it does start almost as soon as the act does. Katniss begins to wonder what she is doing because there is something connecting Peeta and her, and what she is doing for the act very early on and importantly, it only gets worse. Lying does this kids, even with the best intentions. And it makes it hurt when you get glimpes of how much Katniss DOES love and care for him.

Katniss instantly suspecting there is some truth to Peetas story about his crush makes me give her sus eyes so hard XD. Like girl you seem very eagar for him to not be totally playing to the camara rn XD.

There moment hunting is SO sweet honestly. And one of the more real moments they got and I love it.

The feast and the medicine scenes shocked with how much they scared me rereading them this time around. For a moment I forgot Thresh spares Katniss, and was genuinely worried for her. Points to Collins for her writing being with rereading in mind! Her storytelling is exciting enough to be captivating upon rereads whitch is AWESOME and not always the case.

Peeta nurseing both him and Katniss back after she's been helping him. Get you a man who will do it like him.

Katniss and her reaction to their first 'real' kiss forgetting she landing a smooch onto his cheek. Yes it was a snarky thing then but still XD. Reguardless it is SO sweet.

'The first time I want another' about this kiss also has been the subject of a lot of back and forth. Reading it now, it is pretty clear to me that yea...Katniss is meant to be expereince SOME kind of desire here. If for nothing else, more closeness.

[myangelhaven]

This is my recommendations of BANGCHAN fics! It will be updated once in a while for new stories I have read. Hopefully the links work (lemme know if it doesn't)

Credits to the authors!! All informations written are taken from the authors' post and has not been modified. Reminder that some fics are NOT for minors, so please read the key and avoid 18+ contents.

HAPPY READING!!

KEY

[❀]: fluff [𖦹]: humour [𖤓]: angst [☄]: sad [☾]:smut [⟡]:smau [✮]: my favs

˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖✮----------BANGCHAN-----------✮˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖

DRABBLES & SHORT FICS

[2:13am] by @thevampywolf [❀]

7:57am by @lotus-dly [suggestive]

Taxi by @thevampywolf [❀][domestic][establishedrelationship][slight suggestive] NEW

Untitled by @agi-ppangx [❀]

Restraining order by @hyungszn [❀][☾][establishedrelationship]

tmt (too much tank tops) by @skeezsbbygirl [❀]

A love song and a confession by @lotus-dly [❀][𖤓][f2l]

Title track: I'll always want you by @lotus-dly [𖤓][fwb]

Love me, even in my darkest moments by @lotus-dly [𖤓][hurt/comfort]

ten things bang chan says when he thinks you’re asleep by @soobnny [❀]

Surprise shower by @ch4nb4ng [☾][cheating?] w/ Changbin as bf

Teasing Chan was fun, especially with Changbin being your boyfriend, but you become surprised when you feel Chan creeping up on you in the shower instead

Myth by @astraystayyh [❀]

Skimming across the edge of being friends and something more with Chan is a dangerous game. Even more so when you're both sharing the same bed.

Confessions of a dirty mind by @minisugakoobies [❀][☾]

The absolute last thing you want is for your roommate to find out just how much you want him. Right?

Let me let you go by @ppiri-bahng [𖤓][unrequited][hopeful ending]

You find out your best friend has a girlfriend and you haven’t been the same since. Angst, unrequited, hopeful ending

Stack by @seospicybin [❀][☾][establishedrelationship]

All bets are off for a game night with Bangchan.

Help me by @bchan95 [❀]

Based on Chan's recent bubble messages.....

(him telling stay "forgot to take off my lenses hahaha, take em off for me hahaha")

Pillow by @bambikisss [❀][☾][f2l]

You're a creature of habit: you did the same thing every night. However, it seems that Chris has different plans.

Always by @hee0soo [❀][idolau]

Request: Yes please, if you can maybe make a behind the scenes after bangchan got angry at the staff during a vlive , there is a video of it, I've been wondering what it would be like after the vlive and who would calm him down ? by @sclassstay

Confiscated by @kaciidubs [❀][sexual innuendos][establishedrelationship] 791

He was going a little too crazy on the new Fans app, and you would swiftly reign that energy back in.

Not your boyfriend! by @daaawnnn [❀] 928

after attending a christmas party hosted by jisung, you were waiting for your boyfriend to come pick you up. but what if you got approached by a stranger instead? or so you thought.

You're how I pray by @inniejeonginnie [❀][suggestive] 1k

chan lies about his love life to get a reaction from you, but to him you're not only a crush, but his entire heart, faith and adoration

Not For Sale by @thevampywolf [❀] 1.1k

Always here by @sulfurcosmos [❀][𖤓][establishedrelationship][suggestive] 1.1k

Our last dance by @iridescentxstars [❀][𖤓][☄][werewolfau][immortalau][death] 1.3k

chris lived a full life, a life better than he thought he would but everything must come to an end for those who are not immortal

Can't control myself by @cosmic-railwayxo [𖤓][unrequited love] 1.3k

Stuckinmybrain by @j-onedrabbles [❀][𖤓][☄][establishedrelationship][overthinking] 1.5k

listened to STUCKINMYBRAIN AGAIN by Chase Atlantic and decided i needed to write angst + anon requests: "Hi hi! Could I request a Channie comfort drabble/fic were the gf!reader starts to distance themselves from Channie because of a really believable dating rumor they found online involving him?"

Miss you by @moonchild9350 [❀][☾][idolau][establishedrelationship] 1.59k NEW

Chan is finally home after his trip to Milan for Fendi Men's Fashion Week and has a surprise in store for you.

Ours by @thevampywolf [❀][✮][sliceoflife] 1.6k

Slow down by @joyfulhopelox [☾] 1.6k

When We See it by @changbeanie [𖤓][❀][✮] 1.6k

Six years. Six years have gone by since the day you left. Six years later, Chan opens your present and relives all the memories made with you.

little bit of advice, take the dare by @cattolino [☾][r2l][mature] 2.1k

Corruption by @jonespicy [❀][☾][bff2l][virgin] 2.2k

Because it's love by @imagine-a-life-like-this [fwb][suggestive] 2.7k

it was supposed to be a no strings attached arrangement, but unfortunately for her, she fell in love with him, knowing that he had someone in his heart. but what if that person was her all along?

Dimple by @forlix [❀][𖦹][hurt/comfort][smut implied] 2.8k

incurable playboy turned doting boyfriend was a character development arc nobody saw coming for christopher bang, including (especially) his frat brothers.

Wish you would by @cb97percent [𖤓][☾][☄][✮✮][boyfriend's bff][hard yearning] 2.8k

He shouldn't love you, but he doesn't know how to make it stop.

Into it by @lixiesfreckless [❀][𖤓][☾][✮][car/drunk sex][mutualpining][besties] 3k

the california sunset looks pretty damn good when you're on the hood of Chan's car.

Junkie by @cb97percent [❀][𖤓][☾][rockstarau][heavy thirsting] 3.2k

Of course he has hundreds of fans screaming his name — he's a rockstar. The problem is something happens to him every time he's performing, and you just can't stop staring.

Corruption with chan by @tasteleeknow [❀][𖤓][☾][mafiaau] 3.2k

I really fucking like you by @thevampywolf [❀][𖤓][idolau] 3.4k

Zip by @cb97percent [❀][☾][✮][fwb] 3.4k

You and Chris' understanding of what "friends with benefits" entails is different than what is commonly accepted

Stay the night by @sulfurcosmos [❀][f2l] 3.4k

being awfully nervous when they're having a sleepover because they just worry their thoughts will be wandering when they're sharing a bed

Take me back by @loveliestfelix [❀][𖤓][✮] 3.7k

Venus fly trap by @seo--changbin [❀][☾][establishedrelationship][cncroleplay] 3.9k

The hello kitty fantasy by @hee-pster [❀][𖤓][☾][✮][e2l] 4k

with a roommate like Chan, everything in life is a challenge — especially studying for your finals. he’s an annoyance, a cacophony, a statue of arrogance who likes to lounge at home, nonchalantly undressed — half dressed, in the best case scenario. but he’s not impossible to reconcile with — for this once, out of pity, he agrees to a truce with you, though he has but one wish in return: a kiss, on the lips.

Dream you by @charmercharm3r [❀][𖤓][☾] 4k

He cheated on you— in your dreams, then took kiss it better too literally.

Pretty boy; bloody nose by @biteyoubiteme [☾] 4k NEW

you're a doctor at a hospital where Chan comes after a fight. 

Sweet by @tasteleeknow [❀][☾][brother's bff2l] 4.1k

you’re his best friend’s little sister. he’s obsessed with you, and you him. he has very good self control—until he’s forced to share a tent with you. forced proximity with corruption kink.

Third wheel by @cb97percent [☾☾][3some] w/(fem)hyunjin 4.1k

It would be wrong if you were attracted to one of your best friends since they are in a relationship, but you don't know what the protocol is when you have the hots for both of them.

Koala by @tasteleeknow [❀][𖤓][✮][roomates to lovers] 4.3k

your roommate is a very physically affectionate person, you’re not. after brushing him off over and over it takes him going on a successful date for you to realise maybe the thought of him touching someone else like he did you was worse than anything. clashing love languages, jealousy and mutual pining.

Better or Worse by @jl-micasea-fics [❀][𖤓][☾][☄] 4.7k

Married life is tough, and you’re approaching your limit. Can you rekindle the flames you once had with your distant husband? Or is it already too late?

Verbatim by @cb97percent [❀][☾][✮✮][fwb] 4.8k

You both have a libido control problem around each other as it is, but when you show up at the university building with glasses for the first time, Chris becomes the human embodiment of the word unhinged.

Hatefuck with Chan by @ballelino [☾][𖤓][✮] 4.9k

your love-hate relationship with chan turns more into the former than the latter

⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄more to come!⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄

☆--------Chan's masterlist || skz masterlist---------☆

[ape-apocalypse]

I’m doing my best to avoid reading any reviews before seeing Kingdom, but I did watch Ape Nation’s new video about the first reactions and I’m really happy with what I saw. A lot of praise for the characters and the graphics, and a story that doesn’t rival Caesar’s but fits well with the last trilogy. To discuss the negatives, the primary complaints seem to be poor pacing, muddled themes, and not a great ending.

For the pacing comments, it sounds like the movie has a slow start but a better run second and third act. I’m not too worried about this; it sounds like they give a lot of time to setting up the new world of the apes. I laughed a little about the comment that the movie was too long. If I was told this was a six hour documentary on just the daily lives of the apes 300 years from the last movies, I would still happily go and just carefully plan out my bathroom breaks. So I’m not concerned about a slower start that really delves into the details of the world. In fact, I’m looking forward to it!

For the comment about muddled themes, that could be a lot of things. These comments are too vague, and the potential story elements too vast to really narrow it down. That one we’ll just have to wait-and-see.

And then there is the ending. At first, I didn’t love hearing that a couple people didn’t like the ending. But thinking on it more, I wonder if the ending is a cliffhanger to set up the rest of the trilogy and that is what people are unhappy by. I recall that in Rise, many people hated that ending. You end on the happy note of Cesar and his apes escaping into the forest, but then a mid credit scene sets up the apocalypse and the downfall of humanity. A lot of people seemed to not like that apocalyptic ending blindsiding them after being happy about the apes escape, and were disappointed that such an important element was set up in a mid credits scene. So I’m wondering if people don’t like that this movie may end on some kind of cliffhanger to set up future movies. I’ve long said that, while Wes Ball Has said there are no astronauts in this movie, I still wouldn’t be surprised if a mid/post credit scene was a space shuttle crashing into earth, to set up astronauts coming in the next movie. Could be totally wrong about that, but I could see if something like that happened, or any kind of cliffhanger, people would be upset by it.

I still reflect back to seeing the very first Lord of the Rings movie and having no idea that it was the start of a trilogy because my friends dragged me to see it against my wishes. So I stood up at the end with Sam and Frodo still on their way to Mordor with the ring and shouted “That’s it?! That’s the end?!” So I get people being unhappy with a cliffhanger ending and that is what I’m wondering is going to happen with this movie.

Even with some of the negatives, which I expected, because no movie is perfect, I’m still really happy by these first reactions and I’m excited to see the movie next week. The embargo on more detailed reviews is being lifted on Wednesday, May 8th.

[moments-on-film]

Moments on Film: Carmy and Inappropriate Affect

Among Carmen’s many physical and psychological issues due to his undiagnosed PTSD from various sources and depression, he also displays inappropriate affect, a psychological term which I will describe below. Carmy has exhibited behavior that suggests inappropriate affect from the first episode in season 1, to the last episode in season 2.

The first time I noticed this, it was in the scene where Richie comes to Carmy’s aid in 1x1. Richie comes outside and essentially rescues Carmy from being beaten up by the Ballbreaker players waiting to come inside for the tournament. Richie is funny in the scene—to us as audience members—but it’s not intentional and Richie is actually very serious and pissed, exhibited by the fact that he lays into Carmy in the next scene. Yet in the scene outside, Carmy smiles and is about to laugh. Why? Perhaps he finds Richie funny, or the situation ridiculous, but from what we have seen of his personality profile so far, Carmy is a very serious person so this behavior feels very sudden and odd. Richie literally just shot off a gun. It is not an appropriate response to the situation.

According to Better Health, inappropriate affect is defined as:

“a condition where one's emotional actions or displays do not logically relate to a situation or stimuli. Common examples of inappropriate affect include smiling at the news of a tragedy or remaining unemotional during a very emotional situation.

When mental health professionals are looking for insight into what may be causing one to manifest inappropriate affect, they’ll often look for past trauma or other psychological concerns. Inappropriate affect is usually a sign of a deeper psychological or physical health concerns such as PTSD, depression, or some form of brain damage.

The following are some major signs of inappropriate affect: expressing emotions that do not fit reality; abnormal emotional responses; depression, irritability, or outbursts of anger without an obvious cause; manic episodes.”

In this post, I’m not going to get into Carmy’s other signs of inappropriate affect, such as depression, irritability, outbursts of anger without an obvious cause or manic episodes, which he certainly suffers from, perhaps I will in a different post. Here, I’m going to focus on several examples of Carmy’s abnormal emotional responses.

Above is another example of Carmy laughing in a serious situation. The delivery guy comes to deliver a 200 pound order in 1x8 and Carmy discovers that it’s pork and not beef. Pork is useless to Carmy. The name of his restaurant is literally “The Beef” and he needs it to survive. The stakes are very high for Carmy to have a successful, profitable run of service every time he opens the doors. He’s trying to save the one thing his brother left him, he owes his Uncle Jimmy $300,000 and promised he’d pay him back, his sister Natalie could lose her house if the restaurant fails, Sydney’s well being really matters to Carmy and she’s now under his protection and care as her boss, and the entire staff at The Beef relies on their jobs to live and pay their bills.

I don’t think Carmy takes any of this lightly. He understands the stakes. As he told Sydney in 1x5, “we lose one service it could kill us.” Granted, the delivery guy (shoutout to the actor portraying the delivery guy) is so deadpan in his “delivery”, that it almost is funny, but given the high stakes, Carmy’s reaction is abnormal here and will continue to be abnormal in the following scene in the walk-in when he realizes how behind he is on prep and that the restaurant is not prepared to open. This sets off a chain of disturbing dissociative behavior that almost results in him burning himself up, and the restaurant down.

Gif credit: The very kind @tvfantic87

Another example of possible inappropriate affect is in the moment when Carmy is reading Michael’s final words to him in the season 1 finale. There was so much buildup to this moment and so much emotion tied to the fact that we learn that Michael told Carmy that he loves him, and uses the words that Carmy has been playing in his head to comfort himself all season, “let it rip.” In this moment I was truly waiting for Carmy to break down and cry, to have the desperately needed release of a catharsis, but he never does. He gets emotional for a brief moment and then, as if on a dime, his face twists into a grimace and he laughs. I attribute his laugh and “what?!” to Carmy reading the part of the recipe “the smaller cans taste better”, in reference to the small cans of tomatoes, which has puzzled Carmy all season, and also the fact that he’s so happy and relieved that his brother didn’t forget about him. His reaction could also be an inappropriate response to the situation due to his inability to process his feelings because of his suppressed emotions and trauma about his brother’s death.

To me, the most glaring display of inappropriate affect comes in 2x10. Carmy is trapped in the walk-in during the opening night of his restaurant. He has no idea how the night has gone. For all he knows, his beloved Sydney and Richie are at each other’s throats, his mom is terrorising his pregnant sister, his evil former boss from New York has sent food back to Sydney and could be verbally abusing her, he’s not there to protect her, the restaurant is tanking and all hope is lost. Carmy sits down and looks up. He sees the messily ripped tape, radicchio is spelled wrong, and all at once it becomes clear to him that he has let everyone down by not being there to help his staff and lead his team. This scene is what is called a “private moment” in acting. He’s supposed to be alone, no one is around. It’s extremely private. No one can get in and he can’t get out. You would think he would use this moment of solitude to break down and cry, but again, he never does, and I found it very odd. Instead, he smiles and almost bursts into laughter. Why does he do this? I believe seeing the tape being messy and ripped, and not neatly cut with scissors like he has tried to train staff to do, is why. We know this is his pet peeve. It’s almost like it’s so awful all he can do is laugh, but in this moment it feels very, very off—because it is. It’s another example of his manifestation of not having the right affect. Even listening to Claire’s voicemail, on top of having that viscious fight with Richie should have broken him down, but it didn’t. He put his head in his hands. He still has not cried. This is particularly odd because in 1x2, Carmy tells his sister “I-I know tons of people that cry out of nowhere”, but we never see him have this response, ever. Honestly, the first time I saw the scene below, during the slow push in on his face I thought, he’s about to break character. That’s honestly what it looks like to me—a bad take that should have been reshot because the actor was not in the moment. And yet—-Jeremy Allen White is an incredibly skilled and focused actor, (as I wrote about HERE), which leads me to believe this choice must have been intentional to convey inappropriate affect caused by trauma.

Carmy needs professional help and therapy and he needs it badly. He has got to do something to help himself have a desperately needed breakthrough and come to terms with his past trauma and demons for the sake of his mental health. Al-Anon is a good step but it’s not enough. It’s a monologue, he needs one on one help and a dialogue. In Al-Anon, he only speaks to what he wants to share. In therapy, he would be asked questions and given exercises that would help him unravel his tangled mind. His panic attacks, nightmares and outbursts are a threat to his health. He must change his environment and get help. No one else can do it for him, and just like many of his inappropriate affect reactions to some of his more desperate moments, it truly is no laughing matter.

©️moments-on-film 2023

[anthurak]

So as something of a followup/offshoot of my theory on the Goetia Trial and the end of Season 2 (and Stolitz), here is a little idea that I imagine a number of people are really not going to like, but which personally I think could be REALLY fun.

See, regardless of what the trial involves, I think it’s safe to assume that Andrealphus attacking Stolas and Blitzo here specifically comes afterwards, and is a direct result of his plans failing. Because even in just this one shot, I feel like Andrealphus is SUPER giving vibes of ‘villain who has just had their devious and complicated schemes foiled and also possibly been humiliated by the heroes and is now out for petty revenge/murder’.

Adding on to this, and this post I did on this shot, I imagine Andrealphus is going to be killed by whoever comes in to rescue Stolas and Blitzo, be it Octavia, Loona, Vassago, the rest of I.M.P. or all of the above. Personally I like the idea of Stolas and Blitzo being saved by Vassago, who proceeds to square up to fight Andrealphus who in turn is launching into a big, unhinged villainous rant… only for Andre to get headshotted by Moxxie with the Blessed Carbine he swiped from Striker back in Season 1.

Now here’s the thing: In my big theory post, I briefly commented on the possibility of Stella also being along to kill Stolas herself, despite not being seen in the clip.

So what if it really is JUST Andrealphus showing up to kill Stolas and Stella just stays home?

It certainly wouldn’t be out of character for her. Despite her vehement hatred for Stolas and desire to see him dead, Stella has NEVER showed the inclination to actually do the deed herself, seemingly out of laziness more than anything else. So if Andrealphus decided to go kill Stolas himself after their plans for foiled, I’d say it would be perfectly in-character for Stella to essentially go ‘Oh good, I don’t even need to hire that smelly cowboy again. Could you bring me his head back, brother?’

Actually, speaking of the overrated edgelord, imagine if Striker was used as a ‘bait and switch boss’? Like it turns out Stella does hire him again and he shows up in dramatic fashion to attack Stolas and Blitzo… only to be metaphorically or literally squashed like a bug by Andrealphus who came to do the deed himself. I just think that would be REALLY funny. Particularly the fan reaction XD

But back to Stella, I think it’s entirely in-character for her to sit out any attempt to kill Stolas directly, or anything that requires her to actually DO anything. With probably the last we see of Stella being a scene of her and Andrealphus arguing about the failure of the latter’s plan, which ends with Andrealphus going off to kill Stolas himself.

At least until the end credits of the episode and/or season, wherein we get a scene of Stella lounging in her brother’s palace, and is informed of the ‘tragic’ death of her brother. As well as being informed that, due to laws of Goetia inheritance, all of his wealth, status and power will passed to his closest living blood relative.

As in; his SISTER.

Cue Stella giving a small, satisfied ‘just as planned’ smirk.

For all that people hate her, I personally think Stella would make a great and FUN recurring villain for the show XD

[veliseraptor]

happy birthday!! top 5 pete or vegaspete moments for the ask game?

ooh let's see. went with mostly vegaspete for this one

1. temple scene. I was already on board with vegaspete before this scene but this was the first one that I really went "oh ho ho ho ho" about. The way Vegas is messing with Pete so deliberately, Pete's discomfort, it's just tasty. Highly enjoyable scene particularly for how casual Vegas is about it. He's toying with Pete and they both know it.

2. highly erotic torture scene. I still kind of can't believe that this was a thing that happened on a TV show that I watched with my own eyes, but boy did it make me lose my mind the first time around (and also the second time around, and every time I think about it). It's the first time Pete really gets revealed for the fucked up little creature that he is as he stares his own destruction in the face and laughs, and Vegas's sheer determination to break him (and succeeding! at least partially), the meticulous cruelty on display...the reveal of Gun's abuse and Pete's reaction to it. It was such a WHOA WHAT THE FUCK moment in the best way possible.

2. poor Pete just can't leave crying Vegas sitting on the lawn with his dead hedgehog. I just. love that he has the opportunity to leave and escape from his torturer and Vegas is just too sad and pathetic in that moment for him to do it. The look on his face when he makes the decision to stay, too, his "oh COME ON okay fine" expression as though someone is making him do this (I don't have a screenshot at the moment but maybe I'll dig one up later), and then of course his just. reaching out to Vegas in a remarkable gesture of kindness.

3. Pete's breakdown and leaving the safehouse (bonus mention to his homecoming scene). On the flipside: Pete falling apart when Vegas flips around on him again - chains him back up after they have sex and returns to treating him like an object, something to vent his anger on, and it's also something that I think has been a long time in coming in some ways that's not just from the direct cause of how Vegas has hurt him. I think it's also a result of the way in which Vegas has cracked Pete open and broken some of his coping mechanisms that have let him live with his own dehumanization. And suddenly he is facing those things, and facing his own wants (which it seems now he can't even have), and he can't stand it. And then the scene of him just...stumbling back to the main family, broken down and barely keeping it together. and crying into his noodles. It makes me hurt for Pete in the best way that also has me going "oh no that's terrible" with an utter lack of sincerity. It's a complicated emotion.

4. poolside scene. god. me: sobbing on the couch watching this for the first time. so many feelings. so many. I've got nothing much that I can say here except that I'm still very fucked up about it in a very special way. I'd probably be even more fucked up if Vegas had actually died but

5. post-credits hospital scene. healed my crops and watered my heart. Such a relief, such a catharsis, such beautiful tenderness and there's so much still to unpack but. boy. I don't expect such gifts from shows and Kinnporsche gave me this one.

I feel like I'm remiss not mentioning the sex scene and it's a very narrow miss but I think I'll stand by my choices.

[laytontheories]

In my previous post, I spoke about the brief blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment that gave Amelia Ruth more character development.

But in this post I'll discuss another character, one far less known or popular:

Frederick Bargland

(not to be confused with Frederick Beluga)

When it comes to characters from Eternal Diva, Frederick isn't exactly one that people remember fondly. He was shown to be rich and selfish and didn't care if other people got hurt, as long as he won the game.

But there are a few details that are often overlooked that add a lot more sympathy to his character.

Firstly, it is implied that Frederick has a terminal illness. It's never stated what it is, but he says that he only has six months to live. That's why he's willing to play the game for Eternal Life; he has nothing to lose if he fails the game.

Knowing this information changes the context of some of his scenes.

For example: The first time we see him he says that he was struggling to stay awake during Janice's performance. This could be due to him finding the show boring and wanting the game to start. Or it could possibly be because he is so unwell that he gets tired easy and struggles to stay awake. With only six months to live his body is probably very weak.

There are a few other hints to this as well, such as him being the most desperate to eat after the boat ride and he is often shown sitting whilst everyone else is standing.

(Whistler is sitting too but that's because he's depressed.)

When Frederick does lose the game, his reaction is completely different to those around him. While the others look scared about their fate, he just hangs his head in defeat. Even if Descole's men don't kill him, he knows he will die anyway. His last hope is gone.

His final appearance is during the credits, where he is seen in a hospital bed. It seems his condition has worsened. However, he seems happy. Perhaps he has accepted his fate and is enjoying what time he has left.

Annie is with him. They exchanged a few harsh words during the game, but it seems they are now friends. Annie even brought some of her books for him to read.

Is it just me, or does the illustration on the front of the books resemble the city of Ambrosia?

Perhaps Annie wrote a book about their adventure seeking Eternal Life and what they learned on the way. Frederick is reading it and can see that he will live forever, in the pages of Annie's book.

By the time Miracle Mask takes place, Frederick has almost certainly passed away. While he didn't gain Eternal Life, he was able to make a close friend and found out what it really means to live forever. So I think he got a good ending after all.

Also, he gave us one of the best reaction GIFs from the entire series.

[ilvero-love]

Establishing Locklyle 💙🖤⚔👻

Whilst the books may not have ramped things up between our dashing heroes until Book 3, Complete Fiction hit the ground running. It's clear from the opening scenes of Lockwood and Co that these are our canon couple.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. What I really want to do with this post is look in detail at how well the opening scenes of this series are put together, especially in the context of Locklyle. Warning, it's a long one, but there's just so much to unpack.

The show opens with a mysterious couple walking. We see their kit well before we see their faces. But it’s the dialogue between them that provides the real hook. It's intelligent and immediately starts to build the world we are entering.

In these opening moments of the series, those of us new to the world of Lockwood and Co don’t quite follow the context of the exchange, yet in the hands of these two it doesn’t matter. The dialogue is clever, natural and, importantly, has just the right amount of snark.

Lockwood's response of "No need to be facetious" indicates that he is not cowed by Lucy's criticism and her later response, with accompanying knowing grin, of 'Thought you said there was no time to be facetious', hints at an already established mutual understanding and connection. But I'll come back to this in a moment.

When they meet Mrs Hope, Lockwood immediately slips into business mode, reassuring her of their capability. She looks uncertain but it's the first hint we get of Lockwood's charm and confidence, such a large part of his literary character throughout the book series.

Lucy, however, is not so diplomatic and immediately says adults are useless anyway. Lockwood, ever conscious of impressing the client, gives Lucy a look causing her to clarify what she means.

This was a change from the book where it is Lockwood who is dismissive of adults and Lucy soothes it over with explanation. However, Complete Fiction have made a clever change here. Having Lucy deliver the line is much more consistent with their characters, reflecting Lockwood's charm and Lucy's more acerbic edge. In fact much of this interaction with Mrs Hope is reversed from the books and I think it works better to establish the characters of Lucy and Lockwood.

With Mrs Hope's departure, we move inside the home and get our first understanding of their skills. We see Lucy and Lockwood as they tune into the house and see Lucy's point of view as she vividly experiences Mr Hope's death.

I love this scene. The ease as Lockwood laughs and leans against the wall. Lucy's feistiness as she challenges him with justification for her reaction. His response? He offers tea. The first reference to what we will come to know as a staple of their world.

The warmth of the kitchen offsets the ghostly greenish glow of the rest of the house. It's a very cosy, warm and domestic scene. It works to establish a sense of the calm before the storm.

As they discuss the backstory of the haunting, I adore Lockwood's question "Sarcastic or ironic?" and Lucy's response of "The cleverer one" is perfect 👌 One more example of the easy banter between them.

From here we move back upstairs to find ourselves a ghost 👻

The world building in these opening scenes is considerable. It's hard to believe it all happens in the space of 8 minutes.

I spoke earlier about how they seem to have a connection already. In the books Lucy has been with the company for around 6 months but, in Complete Fiction's universe she is only new to the company.

Which means that she, like us, is a bit unsure about Lockwood's ability. He is clearly charming and the leader but Lucy's criticism about trying to make contact with the living coming on top of his failure to pack the chains, means we're not quite sure and then we're left with Lucy dangling over a deadly drop and the opening credits roll.

It must be said that Complete Fiction have put this opening episode together so well. We don't get to see what happens with Lucy for another half hour and I admit by then, I'd almost forgotten our beginning.

We delve into Lucy's backstory which I won't go into detail over here, that's a separate post altogether. We do however get to see the development of the connection that Lucy and Lockwood clearly have and it's evident from when they first lay eyes on each other that there is a mutual connection.

There's so much to pull apart here: George's disdain, Lucy's rising feistiness as a direct consequence and Lockwood overseeing it all. The delight with which Lockwood shows her 35 Portland Row, Lucy's obvious pleasure at finding somewhere to stay, a place that could be home.

But it's the growing connection between Lucy and Lockwood that is clear. So much so that by the time of the final exchange between them in the library, Lucy is comfortable enough with Lockwood to call him out over his overstating of the standing of "Lockwood & Co". I love Lockwood's calm explanation that it was a mild exaggeration and that lots of people make them, much like she did when she exaggerated her rapier prowess ⚔

It's reflective of Lucy's inner resolve that once she realises Lockwood is not concerned by her omission, she challenges him by asking: "How do I know you're good enough for me?"

Cue the perfect segue back to her dangling over the stairwell precipice.

Now it's Lockwood's turn to shine and turns out, yes, yes he is good enough for her 🖤💙

After fighting the ghost off, with some pretty impressive moves to be honest, Lockwood grasps Lucy from falling and here, here is the moment where Locklyle is canon.

Yes I know he's just saved her from certain death, but the way they cling to each other🤗😍💙🖤

Let's just take a moment to savour this scene 😍

Sigh 😍🤗

Now, where were we?

Lockwood is so shaken by the events that he is ready to retreat, it's Lucy that wants to push on. Ironically, it's her that is reckless at this point. The desire to understand the ghost's pain drives her on and provides an early indicator of a major plot point for upcoming episodes and indeed seasons (🙏🙏Manifesting like crazy 💙🖤🧡)

The rest of the episode unfolds at pace. They find the body, Lucy grabs herself a souvenir and saves Lockwood from Ghost lock. It's just unfortunate that it results in the ultimate destruction of the house.

But our canon couple are locked in. There's no going back from here, they just go deeper and deeper.

And we willingly go along for the ride 🤗💙🖤

[mofffun]

New scenes in King-Ohger movie full cut

(lines by ear)

01:08 +line, Rita (to Gira): いつまで待たせる　始まるそう (How much longer are you gonna keep us waiting? It's about to start.)

01:34 shugoddom square establishing shots

04:19 extended orphange meal scene + lines. Gira brought out a pot and asked Debonica to help set the table. She refused and stole a piece of bread.

05:21 +line, Gira: 相変わらずうたうまい。([Debonica] is still good at singing like before.) Himeno walked closer and poked Gira vs. voiceover

09:39 (portal closed leaving Yanma and Rita stranded) +line, Yanma: 帰るだって　どこからだよ (Talk about leaving, how?)

10:29 Guided by a light beam from her tiara, Himeno crossed a long bridge on the sea

10:43 Kaguragi called for Racles. "Racles-dono, please answer if you're here!" A portal appeared and he crossed it to find himself in front of a burning Takitate Castle. Iroki's voice only "Long time no see, Kaguragi." "嫌なものを…" (~I don't like this.)

11:14 Underwater N'kosopa: longer establishing shot: top-down pan vs. forward dolly, + longer rita run

15:51 + Himeno exepctant reaction shot as she waited for her parents to materialize

17:05 Iroki: You dirty your hands for this throne. What did you get in return?

Kaguragi: People and country, and peace.

18:21 "These are all, Moffun." Close-up of Rita looking up vs. voiceover. Ghost swarm: +line "やっば無理だ!" (Nope, I can't take it [after all]!)

20:06 Yanma pulled on the spider thread until he reached a thick strand encasing a cable.

23:05 Ishabana and N'kosopa team shocked the retainers back to life

30:11 +line, Himeno: 醜い死に損ない (She called Rainoir an ugly thing who won't stay dead, while smiling)

30:24 Yanma: What ae you doing here?

Jeramie: 王を歓迎する場合に、狭間の王が仲間外れはいただけな (This is an occassion for kings, how could you exlude the king of the in-betweens?)

30:50 calibur roll call

34:00 Debonica's look at Gira. They got back climbing on Jeramie

Rainoir's last words:

だが　シュゴッドムの王は常に一人。ラクレスハスティーは生きでいる。勝負をつけたら、また来るがいい。その時、このチキューのすべてを話そう。

(However, there can only be one king of shugoddom. Racles Husty still lives. When a winner is decided, come see me again. Then, I will tell you everything about this Chikyuu.)

(note: the making uses 決着 (decision) instead of 勝負 (win/loss))

Gira smiled and walked away.

34:57 Coronation restart. Rita put down their sword at the altar, the kings reaction shots + Jeramie narrating.

35:32 Kings comments as Gira walked down the aisle

Yanma: よっ！元指名手配犯！(Yo! Former fugitive!)

Shiokara: Shhhh!!

Kaguragi: しかし 子とものお遊戯会見えんなくもう (However, he no longer looks like a child in dress-up.)

Hineno: 王冠　私がもらっちゃうかしら (Should I take the crown?)

Rita: 王位簒奪は重罪だ。奪うなら今こそ。(Usurping the throne is a serious crime. If you want it, do it now.)

37:21 Debonica cake scene moved to pre-credits

40:07 Post-credit scene #1

Rainoir: 死の国にまでもやってくるか (You found your way into the Land of Death?)

*transformed to block a beam attack, roll call speech*

今こそ、2000年前の仇怨(きゅうえん)を返す！ (2000 years... Now is the time for revenge!)

The beam vaporized him and camera cuts to Dugded crouching on a transparent disc hovering, "つまんね" (Boring.)

(note: the two characters are never in the same frame so i'm pretty convinced they are filmed separately. otherwise Rainoir's actor would've known about Dug/Ch2 in May. The post-credits scene are not specified as filmed during the original production so the suit part might be the advertised "newly-filmed scenes".)

41:13 Post-credit scene #2 (おまけ bonus scene)

The retainers' lies to shock them into the underworld:

Shiokara: 喧嘩最強 ヤンマくん! (Best at brawls is Yanma-kun!)

Sebastian: ヒメノ様はブズでございます (Himeno-sama is ugly.) *Thundercracker hesitates*

Morphonia: 働くて最… ([I love my] job..) (lightning before the sentence is finished)

Kuroda: 我こそはトウフの王… (I am Toufu's Lo[rd]..)