#ronverse

[insociometry]

"Ready Or Not" Minho POV, chapter 31

Drabble of Minho missing your calls. ~1k words.

Minho leaves the studio, checks his phone, gets in the car, checks his phone, comes home, checks his phone, eats, checks his phone, lies down on Jisung’s bed with his face in his packmate’s pillow, checks his phone, falls asleep for an hour, and checks his phone.

When Jisung walks through the door, he’s obviously not in the mood to hang out, eyes flicking to where Minho’s spread out on his bed with that tense, jittery lightning-burn to his scent: get out of the way; a storm is coming, and you’re the easiest target. So Minho gets up, fake-stretching to keep some semblance of normalcy, and sees himself out before Jisung can even finish getting his hoodie off.

He goes to the kitchen and checks his phone. Drinks water and checks his phone. Thinks about sending you another text, even though you’d never even read the last — Call me, he’d said, and then, a minute later, Please.

He hates the feeling of you being upset with him. He hates not knowing where you are and what you’re doing, not getting photo updates of your day, the silly little things that make your voice jolt up and your fingers tack extra exclamation marks onto your words: skylines and flowers and paw prints stamped wet on concrete; funny signs outside street stalls and children’s drawings on the subway wall, hastily scrubbed at by some desperate parent’s hand. Descriptions of things: overheard jokes, the smell of fresh bread, a story your friend had told you. Long, rambling thoughts about your classes that go way over his head, shifting into English like you don’t even think about it, like your thumb is always hovering over the ‘change keyboard’ button.

You didn’t used to look or listen; you’d told him yourself, during your first real conversation. He didn’t think too hard about it at the time; you’d never seemed like the most observant person, and there’s nothing wrong with just trying to get from one place to another, really. But you’ve been so much happier since you’ve started keeping your eyes open — and you’ve sent him more and more texts as a result, too, and more and more photos, letting him scroll through your scattered messages in between schedules like the morning paper.

But now you’re upset with him — with all of them, because they’re all at fault — and when he goes to check anyway, he finds your chat just as he left it, his own words staring back at him like an accusation.

Call me, he tells you, turned into an echo by his constant rereads, checking to see if you’ve opened it yet. Please.

Pathetic, he thinks, washing out his cup. He’s sure you’re being constantly inundated with messages from the others, anyway. He isn’t going to add to the burden of that, not knowing your disposition, not when a missed text from your roommate had made you wince when you were at his apartment months ago.

Still, his thumb lingers over the keyboard when he checks his messages again. Frustrated, he throws his phone on the couch, locks himself in the bathroom, and takes a shower so hot it makes his head spin.

He can’t be in there longer than ten minutes. In that time, he misses two of your calls.

It doesn’t even register at first. Minho blinks at the screen once, twice, three times, fresh out of the shower, towel wrapped around his neck, clothes half-on. Then, he scrambles.

You don’t pick up when he calls — so he tries again, then again. Holds off a while, pacing to Jisung’s room — then picks up that scent again in the hall that marks himself as a lightning rod and their apartment as an imminently burning field, and retreats. Calls you again — nothing. Opens your chat — nothing. Hovers over the keyboard, uncertain, before finally typing out the only things running through his head in an impulsive rush: What happened? Where are you? Are you okay?

No answer. Minho grabs a jacket and trades his house slippers for shoes, keys held tight in hand. Then he changes them back, pacing the living room, wet hair dripping onto his t-shirt.

Not for the first time, he wishes you had meant it when you asked if you should always share your location with him. Not for the first time, he wishes he’d said yes, that he’d said anything, instead of just watching the way your uneasy smile had slipped and stumbled on your face.

The pack is a mess; everyone is a mess. Half of them have been locking themselves away and the other half can’t stop pacing, and no one knows how to settle the feeling kicking at all of them: the protective, placating nature of an alpha turned shrill and piercing with nowhere to go, having failed to protect and failed to placate. Minho still feels like he can taste a wisp of your scent behind his teeth, not enough to satiate but just enough to drive him mad, echoing, Mate, mate, mate— But you aren’t his, and you aren’t here, and you won’t fucking call him back.

Minho goes for a drive just to settle the feeling. He finds himself on your street without even realizing how much time had passed, staring at any lit-up window and wondering if it’s you.

When he does snap back into the present, he all but lunges for his phone, so quickly he picks up his foot without meaning to, unparked car lurching. But even though some time has passed — his screen lights up, and there’s no answer.

He supposes he deserves this. He hadn’t wanted to go along with any of this but he’d done it anyway, and now he’s paying the price for his compliance. Still, he holds onto his phone like a lifeline, opening your chat just to stare at his own words all over again.

Call me, he thinks — rereading the message, living and breathing it, plucking at the bond and hoping you’ll hear. Please call me. Please.

[daily-ron-fnf]

Day 372

[zimisnotdrifting]

Assorted ron-related things

[ronversedotzip]

uhhh hi its the ronverse

just a portal through a quantum computer disguised as a macintosh (in the ashverse possibilly) can lead you here. idk how you got here, I'm assuming you knew what you were doing. or maybe you didn't i wont judge. Well now ur here ig you can just chat to these guys OK bye ily/p

ron

nor

folder

[insociometry]

i always felt like felix and hannie give of biggest pervert vibes. Like theyd get off on the thought of MC when its the most forbidden. if shes busy on a phone call or workirg or something and theucant physically bother her, so they're just .. all mopey and have to go jack off in their room but they secretly fantasize about interrupting whatever shes doing and fucking her anyways - theyd never do it (they respect her too much for that), its mostly just the thought of it that gets them off.

But then you mentioned who would get off on being ignored or not, and how lino and Innie would specifically try to get MC's attention and ... basically those two would make those fantasies come true (ironic really. Lino and I.N living Felix and Hannies dreams 😔)

(Referencing this!)

Stopppp this is so hot 🫠 I agree: they’re perverts!!! Especially because Han thinks of MC as this too-good-to-be-true literal angel of a girl, and Felix knows that MC thinks of him as her fairytale prince — how could they let her know what they think about??? Hannie fantasizing about dragging her down to earth and fucking her throat until she gags and ugly-cries, and Felix fantasizing about taking her and marking her and coming inside her over and over until she passes out — surely she would be horrified* (*she wouldn’t)!!!! No, they should keep this to themselves; it’s just them and their right hands for company…

Meanwhile Lino is torturing and teasing her until she begs for it and I.N just pulls out the baby-doll eyes — “Noona, you don’t want me? 🥺” while pushing his thumb into her mouth, his big hand on her waist, holding her down — strong and forceful as though in contrast to the pleading words. And it works! Unfair!!

(CNC and somnophilia ahead! Just assume it’s pre-negotiated! 🪦🕊️🛑)

Alsooooo, this fic DOES get into consensual non-consent elements, so — far into the future, when they know each other’s kinks and tells and limits, doesn’t Hannie just seem like a “just the tip” guy when MC is busy and he’s especially needy? “Baby I promise I’ll be quick; just a little, please, I need it; I need you; please, angel, please, please—”, clawing at her clothes, pushing her against the nearest surface with more force than usual, kissing her wet and messy — but it’s never just the tip, and her legs are shaking, and because he’s so so so needy they go a few rounds. But he’s her Sungie and he’s so good for her and he loves her so much, he’ll always get her off at least twice for every time he gets off 🥺 Isn’t that so good of him 🥺🥺 “No, no, baby, don’t pass out,” he’s whimpering, leaving finger-shaped bruises on your hips, kissing the tears from your eyes, come pooling on the floor, “Don’t pass out, don’t leave me— Just one more time; please angel, one more time, really, please—”

And Felix just looooves to hold you, and loves to be as close as possible — and isn’t cockwarming just a natural extension of that? It just makes sense; it’s just maximizing skin on skin! Of course he isn’t going to get in the way of your nap when you’re soooo sleepy, he knows you’ve been busy — he just wants to be included! It’s sweet, if you think about it 😊 But you’re so little; he needs to work you open on his fingers before he can fit — oh but don’t worry, he won’t make you come; that’s not what it’s about, right? Except being on edge extends into sleep, so even when you finally manage to drift off, you’re still aching for him: clenching, rocking back, mumbled moans falling from your lips. In that case, it’s only good of Felix to get you off, right? He’s just being an attentive boyfriend! It’s sweet, if you think about it 🤭 He’ll just rub your clit and grind into you until you come — or until you wake; whichever comes first. But Felix wouldn’t mind if you stayed sleeping; you do need the rest, after all! And he’s never going to complain about getting to come inside you until you’re full and sticky 🫶

[insociometry]

"Ready Or Not" post-chapter 22 drabble

I wrote this before I settled on skipping some time at the start of chapter 23! It got chopped, so it's just been living in my notes app ever since. This is largely unedited, so beware the lack of polish 🌼

word count: ~600 words Make sure you read the chapter first!

Chan is washing his hands in the restaurant bathroom when the door swings open. Hyunjin's wide eyes are the first thing he sees in the mirror, panic pulled tight across his expressive face.

"Hyung," Hyunjin says, voice unsteady, "I kissed her."

If Chan were holding anything, he’d probably drop it. As is, he only pauses a moment before finishing washing his hands, managing to keep some veneer of calm by the skin of his teeth.

That veneer does not seem to extend to Hyunjin, who paces the short length of the bathroom before adding, “Well, is that a kiss? I guess it’s not a kiss. What do you think? Does it count?”

“I wasn’t there, Hyunjinnie,” Chan reminds lightly as he dries his hands, as though his heart isn’t trying to thump out of his chest.

“Right,” Hyunjin mutters, now standing still with his head lowered. His energy has tanked in an instant from anxious vibrating straight into a gloomy spiral.

It didn’t take much to realize something had happened between you and Hyunjin, to be honest; Hyunjin has negative levels of stoicism, and you’re not much better now that Chan knows your ticks. You stared at Hyunjin a little too much, eyes a little too searching, head cocked to the side; you focused a little too hard, scope narrowing until Chan and Changbin might as well have not been there at all. You're not as distant as you make yourself out to be, but you're not always the most present, either — but you've been very present since you and Hyunjin came back from your snack run. The lights are on; somebody's home, binoculars pressed to the windows.

It isn’t malicious, the single-minded focus; it’s a little bit cute, really. There was something about Hyunjin that you had a question about, and for someone so unwilling to look too close, you might be the most curious person Chan knows. No matter how Hyunjin ducked or dived, avoiding eye contact and laughing a little too loud at jokes that weren’t that funny, he couldn’t escape you. Consequently, there just wasn't space for Chan and Changbin in your center stage tonight.

It’s always disappointing, too: not having your eyes on him, not being your favorite. Even now, Chan can feel his instincts yanking at him, discontent at your lack of attention, furious at the thought of someone else getting to you first, pressing their lips to yours first — even his packmate. Even Hyunjin.

But that’s just instinct, and it seems this, too, is something Chan is willing to back off on if it means making his packmates just a little bit happier. He watches in the mirror as Hyunjin runs a shaky hand through his hair and reminds himself that he pulls away on purpose; he isn’t trying to be your favorite. This is what he wanted: to comfort and observe and mediate. He isn't going to shoulder his way into your spotlight. He's the leader; he can't afford to be rash or selfish. This has to go well, and knowing what you're like, the head alpha throwing his weight around to catch your eye isn't going to lead anywhere he wants to go.

They have to go back; the food will be out any minute now, and even if you can be a little absent-minded, you’ll notice their absence eventually. Changbin, Chan is sure, noticed something was up the moment Hyunjin got up from the table.

But this is vital information, and Chan’s need to know and keep you, to track every bit of progress towards that goal, burns in his body like a fever.

“Okay,” he says slowly, drawing Hyunjin’s attention back as he turns around, “walk me through it. Let's take it from the top.”

[insociometry]

id really like to see literally anything from the guys pov!!! maybe the truth or dare scene or chan pov of the kiss or felixs pov of the night ANYTHING i love seeing othrt povs cause im curious af

I got carried away on this one, I only wanted these to be like 500 words… 😅 I forgot how long this scene was hahahahaha. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into Chan being a nervous wreck 😊 Thanks for your requests, both of you!

As stated, this is an alternate POV version of the final scene from this chapter! Spoilers through RON chapter 25 below!

Chan notices you checking out way before you excuse yourself; there’s no other possibility, not with the way he’s been monitoring you all night. You’d been remarkably blasé about this whole hangout, but it hadn’t escaped his attention that this is the first time you’re seeing all of them since that first night when you hadn’t even known their names — and he knows you get overwhelmed. His pack is rowdy at the best of times, and Chan had been halfway worried that your presence would drive them into a fervor.

It hadn’t happened, though; if anything, there’s a surprising mellowness to the apartment now that you’re in it. But Chan had stayed vigilant, because it’s his job, and he’ll be damned if this goes poorly — and so he’d seen the way you’d shrunk in and dimmed down during the game, the way your eyes wandered, the way you shifted your weight, the wishy-washy smile you’d shot no one in particular when you’d excused yourself to get another drink.

If Chan were a stronger man, he’d give you space; if he were a better man, he’d send one of his pack members off to you instead. One of the more level ones, maybe, or one of the ones you seem comfortable leaning on: Minho, Changbin, Jeongin.

Instead, he lasts only a few minutes before excusing himself in turn. He sees your back through the balcony doors, windswept and brushed in moonlight, and follows after you like a man chasing goblin fire straight over the edge of a cliff.

The cold winter air does nothing to clear his head, not when he can smell the faintest hint of your scent in the wind. He takes a deep breath in anyway.

“Hey,” he says to your back as the door shudders open. “Everything alright?”

Instead of turning, you just peek at him over your shoulder, a smile in your eyes. “Yeah,” you say, soft but genuine as you motion him close, “just wanted some air.”

There’s a flush to your cheeks that could be cold or alcohol, and idly, he thinks that you aren’t wearing enough, even with what looks to be Jisung’s coat over your shoulders; you could get sick.

But he isn’t your alpha yet, so he bites his tongue before he can harp on it. “Feeling the booze?” he asks instead, casual and friendly as he leans his elbows on the balcony beside you.

Your eyes slide over him before darting away. “Not really,” you murmur evasively, returning to your vigil over the city. “Just… You know.” You nod your head to the view in front of you, as though willing Chan to look there instead of at you. “I didn’t know you guys had a balcony.”

But Chan can’t look away, so he doesn’t. “Mine doesn’t. I think Hyunjin and Bin’s might, though.”

If you mind the staring, or even notice it, you don’t say; instead, you just hum, wrapping your coat tighter around yourself. Chan has the urge to usher you inside, even fiercer than before — to pick you up, carry you in, wrap you in blankets and make you something warm to drink, to cover you in his body until you’re both the same temperature.

I’m not her alpha, he reminds himself fiercely, kicking the instinct until it stays down. I don’t have the right. I’m not her alpha.

“It’s hard to get used to the sky here sometimes,” you say then, breaking him from his thoughts as you stare up at the clouds. “It was so sunny where I grew up.”

You look so wistful — and it’s a pretty expression, even though it aches. Chan wishes he could be in your head with you, to know what you think about when you look like that, where you go, what you see.

Instead, he says, “It was pretty clear in Sydney, too. Terrible storms in the summer, but man— If you got out of the city even a little bit, winter stargazing was just unreal.”

His eyes return to you, but yours stay upwards. “You can’t really see the stars in L.A., to be honest,” you tell the night sky, pretty voice lilting and strangely raw, like this is something that aches to talk about. “Maybe up in the hills, but where I was, you’d be lucky to make out the Winter Circle, or the Big Dipper. Do you have those in Australia?”

Where were you? he wants to ask, instead of answering the question.

Before he can, you continue in a murmur. “But I do miss the sun.”

I’ll give it to you, he wants to say, nonsensical and instinctive, the alpha urge to provide and smother and protect you from whatever hurts you more overwhelming than it’s been for years — and Chan has the thought, not for the first time, that it’s dangerous to be around you. He needs to keep his head, but he just doesn’t know how — not when you’re near, not when you’re so close he could touch you. You’re his soulmate; you’re his. You’re supposed to be his.

As though reacting to the thought, his body moves before his mind, shifting so close your shoulders nearly touch. “Me too.”

Immediately, he regrets it; he’s sworn to himself time and time again that he’ll wait for you to come to him—

Then you shift closer, too. When he wraps a hesitant arm around your shoulders, you lean into his chest immediately, as easy as breathing.

Oh, he thinks as your hair tickles his neck, as your scent brushes his nose, as your body settles into his. Oh. Okay.

Chan needs to say something else or his overthinking brain is going to explode. “Do you ever think about going back?”

He regrets the question immediately; he doesn’t want you to go back; he doesn’t want you to think he wants you to go back. But you just shrug, like it doesn’t matter at all.

“Maybe for vacation or something, someday. There’s so much stuff there; I’d love to show you guys—” You turn just enough for him to watch your eyes light up, only for that light to immediately dim. “Oh, but you’ve traveled so much. I’m sure you’ve been.”

It’s cute; it’s so cute. He smiles helplessly. “We have, yeah — but always for work. It’d still be a blast to go with you.”

For a moment, you just gaze at him, expression reserved and assessing. It’s always a little scary, when you watch any of them like this: like you can see right through them, and you’re not all that impressed by what you’ve found.

Then you turn back towards the city, returning to Chan his ability to breathe. “I don’t want to move back, though,” you say finally. “I don’t need to be in Seoul forever; I don’t think I’ll ever be more attached to a place than the people in it, and I’m only here now for Soohyun, anyway. But me and Los Angeles have probably broken up for good, little visits notwithstanding.”

Soohyun again. Romantically involved or not, Chan bristles at the mention of the most important alpha in your life. Then he thinks about your words, and falls quiet for a different reason.

“Maybe Sydney would be a good fit for you, then, one day,” he says before he can lose his nerve — hands tightening on the railing, heart pounding out of his chest. “We don’t have the Big Dipper, but we’ve got the Southern Cross, and the Jewel Box — and the sun.”

Your shoulders lock, and Chan thinks for a moment that he blew it, that it was too much, and of course he shouldn’t say things like that when he’s alone with you; what if you get scared, out here on this dark balcony with the freeway underneath your feet and an alpha you barely know at your side, all of the pack members you actually know and like back in the relative safety of the apartment—

But you don’t sound scared, when you speak. Your voice is too quiet, too whisper-soft, to parse much information from at all. “What about you? Do you want to go back to Sydney?”

A nervous laugh knocks loose from Chan’s chest like a stone from a cliff face. “Maybe,” he admits, catching himself drumming his fingers on your shoulder before he forces himself to stop, “but it’s like you said— It’s less about the place and more about the people in it, right?”

It’s quiet a long moment, and Chan finds himself frozen stiff, thinking through every word, every interaction; should he move his arm? Should he go back inside? Should he ask you if you want to go back inside — because it really is too cold, and you shouldn’t be out here, with him or not, and—

Your sweet voice is like a hammer to glass. “We haven’t really gotten to spend a lot of time alone together.”

“Ah, yeah,” Chan laughs on instinct, scratching his neck as he tries to figure out the hidden meaning behind the words. “The guys are so eager to hang out with you, so—”

“And you’re not?” you ask with a cute little gasp.

Something in his chest settles at the playfulness of it, and he chuckles the rest of his nerves out, resisting the urge to squeeze you like a stress ball. “Of course I am,” he says, because of course he is; how you could even joke about it is beyond him. “But I’m their leader. I like to give them what they want.”

In the next breath, you spin directly into his arms, your back to the view and your hands on his chest. It’s a precarious position; you’re too close to the railing, and even though you’re too short to be at risk of tipping over, he wants to yank you away anyway. It’s not safe; it’s too cold; you shouldn’t be here — and his hand is squeezing your arm on instinct, nearly pulling you forwards, towards the door. It isn’t safe—

“What about what you want?” you ask, breaking him from his thoughts once more. “What about what I want?”

He’s fucked the moment he looks down and locks eyes with yours — because you’re so pretty, and so focused, and once you have his attention, you don’t let it go. He’s sure he must look like a fool, off-guard and gobsmacked; he’s sure, too, that you must notice the way his eyes dart down to your mouth.

Fuck, you’re pouting. Just like that, the anxious edge dies down, something hotter and more eager springing into its place.

When he licks his lips, your eyes trace the motion — and he’s speaking before he can second-guess it. “And what exactly do you want, babygirl?”

Your dark, shiny eyes glance back up at his own, then back to his mouth. Your lips part, gloss sparkling under the dim moonlight, and you’re so pretty—

Chan doesn’t realize he’s tilting forward until he’s already forcing himself back. “Shit, sorry,” he mutters, straightening his back and preparing to disengage, to walk away with his tail between his legs, to let you go. “We’ve been drinking, and you were just talking about when you don’t feel ready—”

Your hand around his wrist is too small to reasonably have such a powerful hold. “You know neither of us are drunk,” you say petulantly, stomping your foot; and it’s too cute; you’re too cute; he’s going to devour you— “And I’m not made of glass. Don’t treat me like I am.”

The sudden urge to kiss you is nearly overwhelming; Chan holds himself back by the skin of his teeth. He stares down at you — and electrifyingly, you stare right back.

Then you take a breath, and the tension simmers down. “Two of your packmates have tried to kiss me recently,” you say suddenly, tilting your head to the side. “Did you know about that?”

How could you have space in your head to think about anything else, after the moment the two of you just shared? Chan’s own brain is still struggling to catch up, stuck in your orbit, spinning round and round.

“I knew about Hyunjin,” he admits once he gets his sea legs. “He told me right away. Innie was a surprise.”

When you smile, it’s like the sun breaking over the horizon; he’s helpless to do anything but smile right back.

Then the smile drops, and you tilt your head again, assessing and inquisitive. “And you don’t… mind?”

The weight of your gaze is so heavy; it drags him right back down to earth, where you aren’t his and he isn’t yours. Not yet; not in any way that he can put a name to.

Still, he likes you — almost too much, so that he can barely meet your gaze, as nervous and gun-shy as a little boy. “We’re a pack,” he finally manages, eyes down, face warm. “We do everything together.”

Chan hopes you know what he means: that they want you, that they’re willing to put competition and jealousy aside to pursue you. He’s terrified you won’t, but equally as terrified you will; on instinct, his fingers tap patterns on your upper arm, light and barely there.

“If that’s what you’re asking,” he finishes in a murmur.

A hand comes up to cup his cheek — small and gentle, painfully cold. Even down to your voice, you’re so delicate it hurts his heart. “Even this?”

It takes him a moment to even remember what you’re referring to, lost as he is staring awestruck into your eyes. It’s dark out here on the balcony, but only as dark as the city ever gets; light reflects off your skin, your hair, distant gleams and stray colors setting you glowing like an angel.

You want him, he thinks suddenly — and maybe he shouldn’t, but just because Chan is cautious doesn’t make him a saint. You want him, and by god, he wants you back — desperately, hungrily, cloying and coiling.

“Let me ask you again,” he breathes, leaning towards you, watching the way your eyes widen with single-minded focus. “What do you want from me, baby?”

Your answer is instant, like you’ve been waiting for this, too.

“Scent me,” you whisper, as soft as the beat of a butterfly’s wing. “Kiss me.”

It would take a stronger man than Chan to say no.

Kissing you is like heaven: your hand in his, your skin soft, your gloss smudging over his lips. He freezes the moment you make contact — and it couldn’t be longer than a second or two, but even that much is nearly overwhelming. Dizzily, he thinks that he has no idea how he even landed in this situation. He’s kissing you.

But when you tilt your head, pressing in deeper — Chan panics, and pulls away.

He wasn’t supposed to be first. He’s glad you like him enough to kiss him, but — jealousy is already so rampant in the pack, and he’s the leader; he’s supposed to be easing tensions, smoothing things over, fixing it.

Maybe you just needed his permission before you could get at the other members? It’s a little old-school, but you surprise him all the time. Maybe it isn’t about him at all. He shouldn’t get ahead of himself. He can’t afford to, not when there’s so much on the line for all of them.

Desperately, Chan shoves all his uncertainties and every thump of his lovestruck heart in a box and kicks it as far away as possible. “Are you cold?’ he blurts with an awkward smile as he leans safely out of your space.

You blink your eyes open, looking confused. Chan’s smile sits stiff on his face, and he barely manages to fulfill the other part of your request — rubbing his wrist to the scent gland behind your ear, smearing you in his scent, catching an addicting hint of your own — before the door is opening behind you.

“Oh?” Seungmin’s voice says — deceptively light, though Chan isn’t blind to the poison there. Then, in a shout: “Found them.”

Even as the others come over to snoop, Chan can’t bring himself to look away from you. He watches your attention drift: first to Seungmin, pulling you back inside, tutting over your cold hands, and then the others, one after another. His packmates; his beloved family; the people he’d do anything for. He’d give them whatever they wanted — even this. Even you.

You’re just as pretty in the warm glow of the kitchen lights. It suits you more, he thinks wistfully: being there, being with them, Felix taking the coat from your shoulders and Minho tugging playfully on the ends of your hair. It was too cold to be out here anyway, in the middle of winter. It just wasn’t the right time.

You glance over your shoulder once before Hyunjin successfully leads you away. Chan watches you take one last look at him, an unreadable expression on your pretty face, before you turn, and he’s left staring at your back once more.

[insociometry]

Oh oh i have a scene!!! How about between the last 2 chapters where felix updated the others on his developments with mc and her preferences? Did any of them react interestingly orrrr yk hihi

Thank you both! 🫶

Post-chapter 26 pack shenanigans; no particular tags!

[ Felix changed the chatroom name to "🚨🚨🚨 ATTENTION!! EMERGENCY NEWS!!! 🚨🚨🚨" ]

Hyunjin: Felix! Why are you awake

Chan: Are you quoting the Godzilla emergency alarm??

Han: Omg oh yeah

Han: ATTENTION, EMERGENCY NEWS! IMMEDIATELY ESCAPE, FIND SHELTER!

Hyunjin: 🚨🚨🚨🚨🦖🚨🚨

Changbin: Is that what Godzilla-nim looks like to you????

Hyunjin: 🚨🚨🖕🚨🚨🚨

Felix: Guys

Felix: Help

Felix: [ Image attached of you asleep on Felix's chest, cheek smushed and face mostly hidden by the angle. Still, your brow is visibly scrunched in discontent by the flash that illuminates it. ]

Chan: OH?

Han: Bro????????

Changbin: Our Yongbokkie is bragging???

Hyunjin: Nooooooo

Hyunjin: So cute....

Felix: I'm not bragging this is a cry for help!!!

Felix: Okay maybe I'm bragging a little

Chan: 🧍

Felix: BUT

Felix: She said things to me that were

Felix: ...Worrying?

Han: Uh oh

Hyunjin: Worrying how??

Chan: Ayennie's asleep. What about the other two?

Han: Lino-hyung's usually asleep way before now. But to be honest I'm not going to risk waking him up by checking

Changbin: The real-life Godzilla

Chan: What?? Noooo

Chan: He's more like a cat who's mad he stepped in water

Hyunjin: You're the only one who sees him that way hyung...

Felix: Seungmin is probably asleep? But I can't really get up to check either...

Han: He's DEFINITELY bragging!!!

Felix: You would understand if you were in my position 🤷

Han: I'll have you know we had MAD cuddles when she was at mine

Han: I just don't take photos of girls when they're not looking 💀

Changbin: Uh huh

Hyunjin: Pics or it didn't happen

Chan: Lixie, what was that you were saying? She said something?

Hyunjin: Omg oh yeah

Felix: Right. So

Felix: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Okay. So

Changbin: Promising start....

Felix: First off, did any of you know she doesn't like her neck touched?

Hyunjin: Huh?? Why were you touching her neck???

Felix: I licked it

Changbin: Hello???

Felix: Wait that isn't why though

Chan: So that was just a flex????

Han: 🤡🤡🤡

Felix: Uhhh. I guess I was just... kissing her neck? Yeah...

Felix: But when I got closer to her mating gland she panicked

Hyunjin: ?? Did you snap your teeth at her or something???

Felix: No!

Changbin: It wouldn't be an abnormal thing to do if you did, Yongbokkie. Like, playfully.

Changbin: People do it all the time

Felix: I didn't, though!

Felix: I don't know, it was really sudden. She just locked up and needed a minute. It was like she couldn't breathe or look at me at all

Felix: It was scary

Han: Sounds like it was scarier for her

Chan: Hannie. Enough

Chan: It sounds like it rattled both of you, Lixie. How should we prevent it from happening again?

Changbin: No neck?

Hyunjin: No neck........ 🥀🥀🥀

Han: She seemed fine with neck to neck scenting before

Felix: Yeah, she liked some of it with me too...

Chan: Okay, let's go with no neck to be safe until someone can broach the topic

Felix: About that. She doesn't like questions?

Hyunjin: ???? We ask her questions all the time

Changbin: Well to be fair she doesn't always like them then either

Felix: With intimacy she said she likes when things just kind of happen. I think?

Chan: You think??

Felix: There was a lot on my mind okay!!!

Felix: Oh god she just nuzzled her face in my shoulder. I'm going to die

Hyunjin: You are

Hyunjin: Because I'm going to kill you and take your place 🔪

Felix: Noooo! Spare me!

Chan: Let's save the roleplay for later guys

Han: Cool cool cool. Cool and casual. We can work with that

Changbin: --he said, like a liar

Hyunjin: Maybe if we just go slow enough she'll just tell us what she likes and doesn't like?

Han: Honestly I'm still not clear on the details of all this. Is she definitely in for all of us orrrrr...??

Felix: Yeah Channie-hyung sorry I only kind of skimmed your text? We were busy playing Animal Crossing

Changbin: Oh, very important work

Han: Calling it a text is generous. It was an essay

Chan: Don't bully me I had a lot to say 🧍

Chan: I guess we just have to... wait and see? What she wants?? From each of us individually???

Hyunjin: Ughghh

Hyunjin: I'm so TIRED of waiting and seeing

Hyunjin: I want a kiss nowwww

Changbin: I'm right down the hall wifey 💋

Hyunjin: YAH!!!!

Felix: Okay I kind of accidentally saved the worst for last

Chan: There's more?????

Felix: Okay maybe not the worst. The neck thing was pretty bad

Felix: Uh. So

Felix: She said she liked me. And she kissed me

Han: Oh??? 👁️👄👁️

Changbin: And this is the worst????

Felix: And then she said, "This is all a casual thing, right?"

Hyunjin: ????????????

Hyunjin: HUH?

Han: What did you say?????

Felix: Nothing! What was I supposed to say!!!!

Felix: She called it PRACTICING

Hyunjin: ????? FOR WHO....

Han: For no one. Tf🧍

Han: Til death do we part and even then. Who knows 🧍🧍🧍

Chan: Practicing... practicing.......

Changbin: Okay wait wait wait wait wait

Changbin: Context???? Context will surely help????

Felix: There's no context she literally just said it

Felix: One second staring adoringly into each other's eyes and the next boom

Felix: 💥💥💥🔥🔥❤️‍🔥🔥🔥💥💥💥 ⬅️ My heart burning in agony btw

Chan: Oh....

Hyunjin: I wasn't properly prepared for this. They should come up with an emergency alert worse than the one for Godzilla

Felix: Oh she did say something else actually

Hyunjin: 🔍

Han: 🔍

Changbin: 🔍

Chan: 🔍

Felix: She said it's ideal anyway because we're too busy to date and she doesn't like commitment

Hyunjin: Too busy to date?????

Han: ???? 😭😭😭

Han: OUCH.... 💔

Hyunjin: I could never be too busy to date the most beautiful girl I've ever seen?????

Chan: Too busy to date...

Chan: But we haven't been... too busy to court her? Right??

Changbin: It sounds like she hasn't been seeing it as courting

Changbin: We've been pretty friendly right?

Han: Pretty "casual", I guess

Chan: Okay well there is literally nothing casual about how any of us are about this

Chan: But whatever I'll put the wedding invitations away I guess

Chan: Is that everything Lix? Any other catastrophic updates?

Felix: Mhm one

Hyunjin: No... My tender heart can't take any more

Felix: [ Image attached of you asleep on Felix's chest, face more visible this time. Your mouth is slightly open, a tiny wet patch appearing on the fabric of Felix's shirt. ]

Felix: She's drooling a little 🥺🥺😭🥺😭😭🥺🥺🥺😭🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

Chan: Ahhhhh

Changbin: Aw look at that

Chan: AHHHHHHHH

Han: I just heard like a record scratch. But in my heart

Hyunjin: God I have seen what you have done for others 🛐🛐🛐

[insociometry]

Omg how about Minho’s or Hannie’s pov after they had to pick MC up and scented her later, trying not to lose control. I LOVED THIS SCENE SO MUCH😫🫶🏻

Han's POV of the final scene from this chapter! This has way too many em dashes, and his POV is pretty spiraling and lowkey obsessive here, so -- watch out!

From the moment you mention scenting, Jisung is unsure — not because of him, but because of you. Because months ago, you’d mentioned having someone’s scent on you as a contributor to a panic attack, and he stored that away in the back of his mind as one of the only concrete things he knew about you in those early days: your taste in horror movies, your bus schedule, and the things that make it feel like the world is collapsing all around you. Little sticky notes of information, tacked to the mystery of you.

Of course he wants to scent you. Glancing at Minho, he can tell he wants it just bad — and it makes sense, because you’re theirs and they’re yours, and you deserve to wear their scents like a sign or a ring or a collar. If Jisung could drown you in his scent, he would. If he could trap your own pheromones somewhere only he had access to, block everyone else from that part of you, and replace every hint of it on your skin with his own, he would.

But this isn’t about him; this is about you. About you, obviously recovering but still shaken, disappearing into your borrowed clothes as you stare up at the two of them, biting your lip and uncertain like he doesn’t already kiss the ground you walk on.

But you’re the one who asked, and selfishly, he doesn’t want you smelling like another alpha, either. So with one last glance at Minho, Jisung leans in and carefully brushes your hair from your neck.

There are more platonic ways to do this, but Jisung is greedy, and he’s spent all night with you in his arms and on his lap, wearing his clothes, changing with him in the room — and he wants, wants, wants, badly enough to drive him mad, badly enough that when he first catches a hint of your scent, he thinks maybe none of this night is even real, and he’s in some bizarre combination dream-nightmare.

You’re sweet. He knew it already — not just from your face or your voice or the surprising gentleness of you under all that forced ice, but from Hyunjin’s description of your scent. Like hwachae, Hyunjin had said wistfully; like cold fruit on the hottest day of summer.

Through your blockers, he isn’t quite sure what you smell like, even this close to your scent gland — but you don’t smell like fruit to Jisung. That sweetness is there, but there’s something else, some addicting undercurrent he can’t get a big enough bite of to identify — and he has to force himself to keep a level head and not dive in for it immediately, mouth watering as he snakes an arm under your head to angle you for better access.

He presses his neck to yours and it’s like heaven, the immediate way your scents meet and combine — and Jisung can’t see the things you see in him and he can’t smell them, either, so he just has to use his imagination: walks late at night and humidity breaking into rain and you, sweet and layered and hard to place, just like him, just like him—

Distantly, he’s aware of Minho and his own pheromones joining the fray, but Jisung can’t focus on that right now; his mind and his heart and his entire being are full of you. I belong to you, he thinks deliriously as he rubs his scent into you, marking you as his, marking himself as yours. I need you; please let me have you. You’re the only one— Please, you’re the only one.

He doesn’t know he’s suffocating in your hair until his lungs start aching. Even when he comes up for air, he just can’t help himself: his mouth open as he pants for breath, your little body beneath him, your scent gland right there—

He was right, he thinks deliriously with his mouth to your scent gland, your blockers thick on his tongue: sweet, but not fruit. Instead, there’s something deep and rich and layered to your scent: a little dark, a little tart to break the sweetness. Complicated, flooding the senses, immediately overwhelming — but too addicting to pull away. Jisung’s eyelids flutter and his hands dig into the couch until his knuckles ache, until he’d be leaving finger-shaped bruises on your skin, evidence that he’d had you, that you’re his, his, his—

Your whine rips his soul straight out of his body, and he doesn’t even care; it’s yours; you can do whatever you want with it. Your hand settles on his arm and he wishes it was on his chest instead, if only to put his heart that much closer to you — to the palm of your hand, where it belongs.

Before he can even get another lick in, though — there’s a hand fisted in his hair, pulling him up. Citrus hits his nose, and he’s baring his teeth at Minho before his active mind even has time to process it, pure instinct yanking a growl from deep in his chest.

Then his gaze fully settles on Minho’s frantic, expressive eyes, and the possessive haze wrapping his body like a cloak loses the worst of its edge. Slowly, uncertain and afraid, heart thumping, he turns down to look at you, certain he isn’t going to like what he finds, certain he’s ruined this before it’s even started—

Your smile is sweet and fond — angelic. You’re an angel walking this Earth. Even when you reach up to pat Jisung’s cheek, he thinks that you’re too perfect, too divine for him to lay his hands on.

When you yawn, you look like a baby bunny. And Jisung thinks, desperately, tracking every flutter of your lashes, that this can’t be what it feels like for everyone — because how could they function?How could the planet continue to spin?

It does, though; time keeps going, uncaring of the pitter-patter of Jisung’s leashed heart. And you yawn again — so sweet, impossibly sweet, sweet and layered and hard to place — and stretch out your arms towards Minho.

“Oppa,” you mumble, “carry me to bed. I’m sleepy.”

It hits Jisung then, all at once: he loves you, completely, fully, and desperately. He loves you, and it will kill him if you won’t love him back.

Minho carries you away, hands too gentle not to mean anything. And Jisung trails after like an abandoned puppy, lost and lightning-struck, your pheromones lingering on his tongue.

[insociometry]

I would… like to have Feral Felix. Like the one who has realized that he has to move glacially slow to not frighten off MC. Because he is a well documented romantic.

Alternatively 👉👈

Changbin realizing MC has kept his jacket/noticing how relaxed his scent makes her?

I AM JUST SO SOFT FOR THIS FIC 😭😭😭

Changbin POV during RON chapter 25!

Tags and notes: some horny thoughts, humor, some jealousy, some insecurity, unreliable narration as always, Changbin is down bad Word count: ~1.3k

You wear his jacket over for pack game night, and Changbin feels something in his brain break. There’s an audible snap between his ears — like a string holding an anvil, like the rebound of a rubber band. Or a pop, maybe: bubblegum exploding in someone’s face. A bone knocked out of place.

Whatever it is, Changbin is stuck with it, eyes wide and head empty, whatever dumb joke he’d been about to land on Chan long-gone: you in the doorway, in an illegally short skirt and scuffed up boots and his fucking jacket—

He could grab you one-handed — swing you over his shoulder, have you out the door before anyone could process it, making up some excuse about picking up food or going for a drive. You’re the size of a bag of rice; he knows he could. And you would go for it, he thinks dizzily as he watches your eyes dart around the room, every split second an eternity — because you trust him. You might scream and laugh and smack his shoulder, but if he kidnapped you right this second, took you away from all the pack members you pay more attention to, from everyone looking at you right now that isn’t him, he thinks you would go.

Instead, he watches you do your rounds one by one, his jacket still heavy on your shoulders: big, too big, slumping inelegantly all around you. And it’s so cute; it’s so obviously not yours. Anyone who saw you on the street would assume it’s your boyfriend’s, especially with the faint alpha scent attached — and he’s dizzy just thinking about that, about someone passing you by and casually thinking, Aw, cute, a boyfriend jacket—

“My hair doesn’t take dye easily, either,” you sigh, standing between his legs and leaning into his space until you’re nearly sitting on his lap. “And it bleeds out so fast; I swear I tried everything—”

Changbin is trying very hard to listen, because he was raised right, and because even if he wasn’t, he will throw away any semblance of pride for a pretty girl standing so close he can smell her shampoo.

However, a pretty girl is standing so close he can smell her shampoo — and so his brain is out of commission. Powered off. Out of service.

When you brush your hand through his hair, long nails pushing all the way to his scalp, Changbin thinks he might be having a heart attack.

“Look, oppa,” you giggle, leaning in so close to his face he can watch the way the light hits every single one of your lashes when your eyes curve. “Don’t they look the same?”

Your strands of hair, he realizes, staring blankly at the locks held loosely in your hand; and his own hair is too short, he can’t even see from here, but—

“Yeah,” he croaks, and then, with more enthusiasm, “Woah, yeah! Are you sure you aren’t stealing yours straight off my head?”

And it’s not exactly his A-game, but you laugh like it’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard, lovely and fucking melodic. He would kill to hear you sing, he thinks suddenly, desperately; he wants to catch your voice and keep it in a bottle; he wants—

“You’re the one with the short hair,” you object playfully, tugging lightly when you brush your fingers through his fringe again — and Changbin almost fucking moans, what the fuck— “If anything, maybe this is all a wig, and you’re the one stealing from me.”

He must say something; he always says something. But all he knows is that he stares at you gobsmacked, and then you’ve moved on to someone else — Han, bending down with his arms held uncharacteristically polite behind his back as you pet his hair too, just the same as you had to Changbin, eyes contently closed. And all Changbin has left is Hyunjin at his side, elbowing him playfully, and the faint scent of your shampoo.

He wants to scent you. He wants to know, under all those blockers, how your pheromones would feel in his mouth. The only semblance of a sense of them he’d gotten had been that once in the restaurant, and between your pheromone suppressants and obvious distress, it wasn’t a good sense by any means: sweetness turned painfully chemical, like an artificial flavor in the worst way, sharp and thin and sickly.

But Changbin doesn’t want it to just be that. He wants to smell you happy, laughing, leaning into his space, so comfortable with him that you don’t even notice your pheromones overtaking your shampoo, so comfortable that he could drag you straight onto his lap and kiss over your scent gland.

But you just want to be friends — and that’s fine. You want to be friends who flirt and text every day and touch each other’s hair and wear each other’s jackets, even if it means any stranger on the street will think it’s your boyfriend’s. And that’s fine.

Hyunjin’s head knocks onto his shoulder, his long body draping over him like really heavy, really handsome fishing net. “Why is he holding her hand,” he complains, too low to be overheard, the edge of a whine in his voice. “Why is she holding his hand?”

The words make Changbin surface from his thoughts, having been lost long enough that you’re with Jeongin now, his head lowered inelegantly, a smug, bashful grin on his face. And sure enough, though one of your hands is playing with his freshly-darkened hair — the other is tangled with his, fingers interlocked.

You like Jeongin, Changbin thinks. You dote on him. He’s obviously sweet on you, too — and relatively forward, in a way none of the rest of them have managed to be without scaring you off. Not that Changbin has tried — but he doubts he’ll be the exception. Not if you’ve dissuaded Hyunjin and Felix so thoroughly, of all people.

The two of you look good together. Changbin rolls his shoulders, looking away before any sign of displeasure can creep into his scent.

You’d liked his scent, he thinks — though it had been a risk, pushing it in your direction that time at the restaurant, when you were already upset. Changbin isn’t the type to get caught up in instinct, but it had been pure instinct anyway: you were distressed, nervous, lost, and even though it was his first time really meeting you in person, his body had reacted before his mind, thrumming with the echo of soulmate, soulmate, soulmate. And then, before he could even start to regret it, you melted — into his scent. Into him.

But you just want to be friends — and you don’t look at Changbin the way you look at Jeongin. And that’s fine. He’s fine with that.

Felix takes your jacket — Changbin’s jacket — like the gentleman he is once you start settling into longer conversations. Changbin mourns the loss as though it isn’t left just on the other side of the room, draped over the couch.

Then Seungmin brings out the pack classic: truth-or-dare Jenga. And during round one, you pull a block that says, ‘Sit on the lap of the person to your left for three rounds.’

There are nine of you, so three rounds is an eternity. And to your direct left, Changbin stares at you like he can’t believe his luck, because he can’t.

Maybe Ayennie is right, he thinks as you perch on his thigh. I do have good fortune.

Then you shift further up his lap; instinctively, his hands go to steady you, settling tight on your hips, just under your little waist. And you don’t even object, swinging your hair over your shoulder so it smacks him across the face, bombarding him with your shampoo—

And under that, your scent: too faint to truly identify, too sweet to not make his mouth water.

Don’t get a boner, he thinks dizzily, squeezing his eyes shut, leaning back into his chair. Oh my god, don’t get a boner.

Changbin spends the next three rounds fighting for his life.

Author's notes:

I wrote this right away, felt really accomplished, and then immediately forgot to actually post it hahahaha Thanks for the ask! I got a little off-topic, but I hope you liked it 😊 And I'm saving your Lixie request for later, too 🫶

[insociometry]

RONverse boys as images I have saved on my phone

Chan:

Lino:

Changbin:

Hyunjin:

Han:

Felix:

Seungmin:

I.N.:

BONUS ROUND: MC!!!:

(Please don't reblog, I don't have sources for any of these 😅)

[insociometry]

"Ready Or Not" world state notes as promised! I take ten thousand notes on everything; a lot of this stuff was decided before I started working on this fic at all, and others have been fiddled with along the way 🌼🌼🌼

Lots and lots of text below the cut! Tiny amounts of NSFW, some spoilers, and a healthy level of mess:

instincts:

people aren’t ruled by instincts, but the instincts are there. tend to be most intense during certain life stages (first presentation, around age 12-16; and early-mid twenties, when adults would traditionally be settling into packs), hormonal fluctuation (heats, ruts, pregnancy, etc), and highly emotional moments

alpha tendencies: protectiveness, possessiveness, jealousy, devotion. active-types and busy bodies, pushy and intense. strong desire to help; takes it really personally when things go wrong. fixers and fussers. kind of like a guard dog that keeps bringing you sticks and will bite if someone comes at you too quickly. instinctively submissive to omegas and wary of unfamiliar alphas.

beta tendencies: social submissiveness, emotional meddling, curiosity, keeping the peace. level-headed and personable. instinctual needs are less strong than alphas or omegas but still present; sometimes betas undersell what/how much they need from other people. good friends and partners, but martyrs; don’t tend to communicate well. focus more on others’ issues than their own; also fixers, but in different ways. instinctively submissive to omegas.

omega tendencies: social dominance, possessiveness, emotional intelligence, control. less likely to meddle, but strong desire to keep; instincts are like a dragon with a hoard, whether that’s re: nest, items, space, mates, pack, whatever. tendency toward hard boundaries but also respecting boundaries; respectful and not pushy. entering an omega’s space without an invitation is a bad idea. loving, but bossy.

pheromones:

alphas and omegas tend to have more sensitive noses and emit more pheromones than betas (chapter 15)

scent glands in same places on everyone: behind ears, wrists, inner thighs. physically close to mating glands but not in the exact same spot

scents spread all over the body without blockers, and you could technically rub any part of you on someone to scent them, but it wouldn’t be as effective as using the scent gland itself

different forms of scenting have different social connotations and last different lengths of time before fading (ex: wrist to wrist is super platonic. neck to neck is super not platonic!)

come/slick is really heavy in scent; other bodily fluids not so much? having sex and especially coming in/on someone leaves scent on them for a long time

main purpose of pheromones is communication; shows designation, mood, compatibility, and allegiance/relationships.

designation: most effective upon first meeting; instincts can get twisted up and confused if you already know the person (chapter 21, 43)

mood: scents shift and become more or less pleasant with emotional changes

compatibility: people smell better and more complicated to the people they’re more compatible with. soulmates sometimes have scents only perceptible to each other (ex: hyunjin smelling specifically like roses rather than the vaguely floral/soapy smell other high-affinity matches get). showing someone your scent is a very direct form of flirting (chapter 9)

relationships/allegiance: if you have a pack, you’ll smell like your pack. if you have mate(s), you’ll smell like them, too. children smell like their parents; close friends smell like their close friends, etc etc. scenting is an essential social activity among packs, mates, family. complicated and varying for friends who aren’t pack; different people consider different things normal

bonus: heat/rut affects scent. different for everyone, but like with arousal, there’s a feeling of urgency to it; “It makes him smell better, somehow, if somewhat overwhelming: clean skin but a little musky, clean clothes but with this burnt tinge like the dryer was on too long, herby and strong and stinging.” (chapter 29)

blocking and suppressing scents is considered the polite thing to do, unless you have a very very light scent already (like most betas)

scent blockers: most common. clear gel that comes in a stick, like gel deodorant. different levels of effectiveness. physically blocks the gland to prevent pheromones from coming out. wears off over time. washes off with water and elbow grease. saliva dissolves it, for some reason. can also be pushed through, if you have enough control over your scent (chapter 4)

pheromone suppressants: prescription medication. less common and may have a negative effect on health. in MC’s case, a daily pill; sharply lowers the quantity and intensity of pheromones. had side effect that emotions are no longer legible through scent.

blocking scents might be less necessary like out in the country (or in the past?), but we don’t have to dig into modernization’s effects on hypothetical a/b/o societies

heavily scenting people can be considered rude. most commonly done by and affects alphas; can mess with other alpha’s instincts. ex: you’re Soohyun (alpha), and you heavily scent your girlfriend (beta), who you lizard-brain think of as mate/pack. she goes to work and interacts with her coworker (alpha) who lizard-brain thinks of her as THEIR pack, and doesn’t know you. conscious brain “this is silly, don’t get upset” vs lizard brain “who’s this other alpha. where did they come from”

significantly fewer omegas than alphas or betas, made fewer by people like MC who hide designation

maybe a 40/50/10 or 45/50/5 ratio of a/b/o?

groups of alphas sometimes have trouble getting along in close proximity/managing territorial issues without a pack omega.

sharing an omega among a group of alphas and betas is common

traditional expectation that omegas choose and alphas (and betas, to a lesser extent) are chosen (chapter 9). has to do with the favorites thing

status of "having" an omega is probably also why certain types of alphas want an omega who only has them as a mate; less about monogamy and more about the implications; "i'm capable enough to take care of them by myself; they don't need an entire pack"

theoretically, omegas are really respected and valued. in practice, there's a near-constant risk of harassment and violence. coerced arranged marriages are an issue for omegas from wealthy families/packs

shifting societal norms (pack -> no pack) probably also make things complicated (increased freedom but lowered protection? effects of individualism?). zines and thinkpiece articles would go crazy in this universe. but again: don't get into it, this is a romance fanfiction!!

most omegas seek a pack or an extremely secure mate; stereotype around omegas not dating casually (end of chapter 2) partially reinforced by omegas who do live more normal lives tending to hide designation

traditional pack dynamic:

alpha leader. lots of alphas that constantly compete in hierarchy amongst themselves. leader is constantly at risk of being deposed by a more capable alpha

alphas kind of have worker bee energy: tend to do a lot of stuff, but considered a little bit disposable? lots of alpha posturing at other alphas, but alpha posturing at omegas is taboo. merely being an alpha doesn’t guarantee high status; there are a LOT of alphas. status based on what you can do/offer

few omegas, but omegas are a necessity. traditionally pack omega is at the top of the food chain; can veto pack decisions and pack leader decisions, can bring in new members at will, does not have to help/favor/sleep with top alphas. omega’s favor can determine placement in pack hierarchy. common to pick favorites, since there are so few omegas relative to others

being an omega’s favorite guarantees a high spot in the pack hierarchy in addition to other benefits (scenting, nest access, heat/rut companionship, children). true for both alphas and betas, but the alpha hierarchy is fiercer/more competitive. being a favorite is a really big deal!

romantic or sexual involvement with the omega is not necessary to get the emotional/pheromonal rewards of having one in your pack

betas rank lowest :(

often large, sprawling, and generational

MC opinion on traditional packs: stifling, old-fashioned, and too much. better than alpha-priority if she was forced to choose, but has no interest being in one.

alpha-priority pack dynamic:

alpha leader, and fierce alpha hierarchy, but competition is decided separate from omegas

usually few betas, if any

omegas rank low and are expected to just put out for the top alphas

somewhat unstable. don’t tend to last for several generations — though there are notable exceptions!

MC opinion on alpha-priority packs: they suck! boooooo!

packless:

increasingly common to be without a pack and get instinctual needs met through relationships and friendships. it’s more modern and the lines are still kind of blurry. probably partially connected to increased city living/urbanization and culture turning more toward monogamy, but again, no need to get into it.

very common for betas, and has been for longer than for alphas or omegas, since betas’ instincts aren’t as debilitatingly strong (no need for nesting, heat/rut assistance)

probably most difficult for omegas (instinctual needs that partially have to do with being surrounded by people)?

bonding:

deep bites on mating glands establish bonds; almost always performed during intercourse (esp heats/ruts)

bond establishes an empathy link; can sense incoming heats/ruts, sometimes danger and things like that. also a really extreme "they're taken" signifier

ten spots for mating bites on omegas: front neck (2), back neck (2), wrists, (2), inner thighs (2), ankles (2)

only 4 on alphas (neck). super visible; really possessive implication

none on betas, though biting a non-active site can sometimes work; effects are variable and occasionally negative

many couples including committed or married couples don’t bond. there’s no bond divorce!

most commonly associated with soulmates, probably

incomplete bite is like torture for the biter; causes one-sided bond, extreme psychological/emotional distress, absolutely tears up your instincts, and is known to drive people mad. will simply fade from bitee, and any lingering effects are psychological. a one-way bite will not establish a bond, but it’s a common symptom of non-consensual bites to feel like there’s a bond

non-consensual bites and bonds are considered almost unspeakably heinous. violent twisting of one of the most intimate and culturally valued things you can do with someone you love. taboo to even talk about.

soulmates:

instant feeling of completion and fulfillment; usually alpha-omega

can be ignored or not noticed in times of stress. commonly ignored/not noticed if one person is in love with someone else (chapter 3)

omegas can have multiple soulmates but alphas can only have one. unclear with betas since it’s so rare

soulmate empathy link, established upon meeting; spidey senses without needing to bond, but not as strong/reliable as the bonding link

sexual contact with an unbonded soulmate can trigger heats and ruts early; meant to encourage bonding

heats and ruts:

occur 2-4 times a year for of-age alphas and omegas

lasts up to 5 days. normal is probably 3-4 without partner, ~1.5-2 with partner. might last longer if it’s been a while? unsure. periods of lucidity in between waves, spent recharging, eating, sleeping, and taking care of partner

happen more often for a variety of reasons: being healthy, being the right age, being bonded

pregnancy or mate being pregnant may cause them to not occur? occur less often? not sure

skz should be having them 3 times a year (young, healthy) but they take medication to slow their cycles (2 times per year) so they lose less time and can work more (chapter 42)

mc would probably only have hers 1 or 2 times a year at her current state if she weren’t on suppressants (time of writing: chapter 27): a young, not particularly healthy, very stressed, packless and unbonded omega. but ideally, should also probably be having them about 3 times a year

can be triggered early by smelling compatible opposite (pre)heat/rut scent (or by proximity/sexual contact with unbonded soulmate) but shouldn’t trigger one in someone who’s like, a month off from their cycle

fatigue and dehydration are risks associated with cycles. having a partner or being at a special hotel/facility mitigates this

first heats and ruts are like being sick: you run a fever and sweat a lot. not typically horny

And finally, notes about various in-universe sounds: who makes them, and to who, and what they communicate, with potentially-spoilery examples 🌼

whine: needy, intimate. a request. can be distress but also common during sex. usually for use within packs: mates, close family, or superiors. designation-neutral.

“He had seen the way his three packmates had stared at your back as you left that night: the reaching hands, the edge of a whine on their voices, the stress leaking into their scents as you walked alone into the dark.” (ch 4) (distress)

“Gently, you raise one arm to rub circles into the center of his back. He lets out a small, needy sound, nearly a whine, and leans his weight more heavily on you.” (ch 41) (intimate/relaxed)

keen: similar to/subtype of whine. encouragement/request. “come here, i need you”. more submissive than whine. technically designation-neutral, but more common from omegas and alphas.

“His hand retreats from your hair, and you keen, reaching for him — but he only sets his jaw and works faster, pushing Jisung from your neck in the same motion.” (ch 19)

whimper: submissive. either sexual or denotes uncertainty; “you take the lead”. most common with mates or close superiors. designation-neutral.

“Across the room, Felix whimpers, and you look at him immediately: his wide, scared eyes and the tense pull of his mouth, the way Changbin has an arm around his waist like Felix would careen straight toward you without any restrictions.” (ch 32) (uncertainty/distress)

“When you lift yourself up, hand hovering over his chest, he bears his neck with a low, submissive whimper.” (ch 46) (sexual)

trill: questioning, curious. common from children. from adults, usually reserved for mates or close family even within pack; less common than whines. very submissive. designation-neutral.

“letting out a questioning little trill from his throat: a familiar, submissive noise, rare to hear from an adult alpha toward someone who isn’t a mate or direct family” (ch 40)

“but you’re still surprised someone as implicitly high-ranking as Minho is willing to make these noises in front of other alphas” (ch 43)

growl: can be aggressive or a genuine warning, but often more of a greedy or resource-guarding sound. “back off”, or, “mine”. can be sexual. no hierarchical connotation. technically designation-neutral, but more common from omegas and especially alphas.

“who lets out a low growl in your direction.” (ch 1) (warning)

“the way a growl builds in his throat: not threatening, but wanting. He needs you. “Noona, please.”” (ch 9) (needy/sexual)

“With a low growl, Hyunjin pulls you forward the moment you start to turn. “Don’t look at him,” he mumbles moodily” (ch 24) (resource-guarding)

purr: omega-exclusive. means the omega is very content. commonly associated with scenting and nests, so most common for mates and close family. may be used intentionally to ease pack disputes. no hierarchical connotation.

“If you were more in tune with your omega instincts, you might even purr to encourage him.” (ch 28)

chuff: alpha-exclusive. sort of the alpha equivalent of a purr; expresses contentment and closeness. less exclusive than purrs; common for pack, mates, family. no hierarchical connotation.

“in return, he chuffs at you, a short purr-like exhale that only alphas make, one that means he’s relaxed and happy.” (ch 13)

“It’s obvious he’s only half-awake, but he smiles at you right away anyway, chuffing quietly into your palm.” (ch 20)

Okay, that's all! Thanks for reading if you made it this far; I hope this was interesting 😊💛

[insociometry]

In the middle of the night last night I compiled some of my notes on the boys' individual relationships with RON!MC: both on my writing direction and more general trivia-like stuff 😊 I thought it might be interesting to some of you, so -- here it is!

(As always, this is just my own fictionalized characterization for the sake of my fic! It's nothing serious! 🫶)

Chan:

High emotions and high stakes, but chiller, more intimate scenes. Two overthinkers who try not to push the other and sometimes miss opportunities. Short scenes followed by long scenes, and steps forward followed by a half-step back. Both parties desperately crave the approval of the other. Associations with home, safety, nostalgia, distance, and change.

MC's name in his phone: [ First name ] 🐈‍⬛

Wants to get married?: Yes

Wants kids?: Yes

Wants pets?: Yes

Gets off thinking about her?: Yes

Feels guilty about it?: Yes

Jealousy level (outsiders): Medium-low; more protective than jealous

Jealousy level (packmates): Medium

Current concern: Getting her in the pack; living together somehow; dealing with the company logistics.

Lee Know:

Friends and confidantes; cat and her butler. Relatively communicative, but because Lino doesn't bring up serious topics himself, there's a lot left unsaid. A quick start but slow build. Both parties think they need the other more. Associations with protectiveness, feeling natural and right, feeling lost, and obfuscation.

MC's name in his phone: Kitten

Wants to get married?: Ambivalent

Wants kids?: Ambivalent

Wants pets?: Yes

Gets off thinking about her?: Yes

Feels guilty about it?: No

Jealousy level (outsiders): Medium-high

Jealousy level (packmates): Low

Current concern: She doesn't eat or work out enough; her body is in bad condition.

Changbin:

Frequent, casual scenes that build trust over time, with an emotional underlay. Two people who are cautious by nature, and only one has let her guard down. They see their progress very differently for a while, but it's fairly steady until it hits a wall. Both parties think the other is taking the chiller approach. Associations with ease, humor, calm, diffusion, and uncertainty.

MC's name in his phone: Lovely

Wants to get married?: Ambivalent

Wants kids?: Ambivalent

Wants pets?: No

Gets off thinking about her?: Yes

Feels guilty about it?: No

Jealousy level (outsiders): Low

Jealousy level (packmates): Medium

Current concern: Unsure how to proceed without upsetting the peace or getting a bad reaction.

Hyunjin:

A quick spark and intense relationship, but only one person is taking it seriously. Neither have a lot of confidence in the state of things, if for different reasons. Intense scenes where a lot is said and done, but little carries over; progress is all over the place. Both parties think the other is the delicate one. Association with romance, reaching, cherishing, coveting, and restriction.

MC's name in his phone: Bunny 🐇

Wants to get married?: Yes

Wants kids?: Ambivalent

Wants pets?: Yes

Gets off thinking about her?: Yes

Feels guilty about it?: No

Jealousy level (outsiders): Very high

Jealousy level (packmates): Medium-high

Current concern: Wishes they could be more honest with each other; scared of being abandoned.

Han:

Comfortable, comforting friendship with sudden, dramatic jumps. Two people trying to hide the ugly in them while not thinking the other has any ugly at all. Prone to tension but also quick resolution. Both parties think they need the other too much. Association with devotion, feeling of knowing/sameness, idolization, reliance, and insecurity.

MC's name in his phone: Angel

Wants to get married?: Yes

Wants kids?: Ambivalent

Wants pets?: Yes

Gets off thinking about her?: Yes

Feels guilty about it?: Yes

Jealousy level (outsiders): Very high

Jealousy level (packmates): High

Current concern: Wishes she depended on him more; wishes she liked him as much as he likes her.

Felix:

Almost overwhelming tenderness on both sides but scenes that get flirty fast. Two people with no chill forcing themselves to pretend, dodging conflict while stumbling into it; nonlinear progress. Arguably the first one she gets a crush on, and unfortunately, he pays for it. Both parties think they like the other more. Association with sweetness, light, adoration, connection, and miscommunication.

MC's name in his phone: Sweetheart 🤍

Wants to get married?: Yes

Wants kids?: Yes

Wants pets?: Yes

Gets off thinking about her?: Yes

Feels guilty about it?: Yes

Jealousy level (outsiders): High

Jealousy level (packmates): Very high

Current concern: Wants to be the favorite; wants to know and please and talk to her more than anyone else does.

Seungmin:

Lots of friendship and teasing; scenes heavy in humor, suddenly boiling into steam. Slow, steady progress and constant awareness of boundaries. Relatively communicative, but never seem to say the most important things. Both parties sometimes feel they're bothering the other. Association with commitment, care, vulnerability, jealousy, and control.

MC's name in his phone: [ First name ]

Wants to get married?: Yes

Wants kids?: Ambivalent

Wants pets?: Ambivalent

Gets off thinking about her?: Yes

Feels guilty about it?: No

Jealousy level (outsiders): Very high

Jealousy level (packmates): High

Current concern: Worried she'll ghost them if they try to bridge the gap; thinks all other men and alphas near her should die.

I.N:

A relationship where one takes care of the other while pretending to be taken care of. Tend not to have much in group scenes, but very intense one-on-one. Communication is really good when the opportunity comes, and she trusts him to keep a secret. Steady, quiet progress with sudden jumps. Both parties think the other could be a little more honest. Association with loyalty, temperance, supplication, duplicity, and restraint.

MC's name in his phone: Noona

Wants to get married?: Yes

Wants kids?: Yes

Wants pets?: Ambivalent

Gets off thinking about her?: Yes

Feels guilty about it?: Yes

Jealousy level (outsiders): High

Jealousy level (packmates): Medium

Current concern: Wants confirmation that she sees him as a man; wants to compete for her attention, but doesn't want to stress her out.

[insociometry]

idk if you’d do it, but i’d really like to see a small scene of them doing stuff thinking of her, anyone really

(Referring to this ask, I think!)

Very NSFW Hyunjin/Felix(/FMC); centers around a dream/fantasy about MC, but the smut itself is between Hyunjin and Felix! I usually write really long smut scenes, so something short and jaunty like this was a lot of fun 😊 Thanks for your request!

This takes place within the universe of my SKZ/FMC A/B/O fic "Ready or Not", sometime before chapter 25!

Tags: hand jobs, sleepy sex; fantasies about oral, PIV, unprotected sex/coming inside, knotting, tears, bondage, innocence, and overstimulation; a little over 2k words.

Felix is still toweling off his hair, fresh from his post-airport shower, when he steps back into his hotel room to find Hyunjin. With his close-cropped hair, it’s hard to tell if Hyunjin has showered, too — but he’s in different, comfier clothes, sprawled out on Felix’s bed as though trying to touch a limb to every corner.

When Felix drifts towards him curiously, he finds Hyunjin’s eyes closed. He pokes him curiously on the cheek. Hyunjin doesn’t move.

Out of all of them, Hyunjin does not make the list for most likely to need a cuddle to fall asleep — but accidents happen. Maybe he came here to blow off steam before jet lag just took over. Felix doesn’t think much of it, yanking the rest of his clothes on before grabbing his phone and making space between Hyunjin’s lanky limbs.

To his surprise, though — before he can even finish lying down, Hyunjin is pushing him flat, and kissing him.

Hyunjin is a good kisser when he wants to be: smooth and controlled, another thing he’s fine-tuned and practiced until it’s practically muscle-memory. Felix remembers their first few kisses back when they were still teenagers: clumsy lips and clanking teeth, foreheads and chins colliding, hands hovering awkwardly in midair. But it’s been years since then, so Hyunjin knows the exact angle to crane his neck, the exact way to lick into Felix’s mouth, the exact amount of grip to hold the back of his neck as he practically clamors into Felix’s lap.

Still, there’s a sleepy laziness to it as the initial fervor simmers away: lips passing slower, gasps coming softer, a casual sweetness to the way Hyunjin plays with the hair at the back of Felix’s neck, or the way Felix holds him around the waist, neither pulling him closer nor pushing him down.

“Fuck,” Hyunjin breathes against Felix’s mouth with a silly, high-pitched laugh, “I’m way more tired than I thought.”

Felix chuckles right back, leaning back until his head thumps into the wall behind him as Hyunjin ducks his face into Felix’s neck, kissing up the column of his throat with a lazy heat. “I thought you were asleep when I came in,” Felix admits, and then, around a gasp when Hyunjin’s tongue traces his jugular, “What brought all this on?”

When Hyunjin groans, it vibrates against Felix’s skin, making him shiver. “Had a dream about her,” he mumbles, nearly incoherent as he tugs sleepily at the hem of Felix’s shirt and the waistband of his sweats, like he can’t decide what to get at first. “On the plane.”

There’s no need to ask which ‘her’; there’s only been one for months now. Felix perks up at the mere mention of you, some energy returning to his jet-lagged body. “Yeah? A good dream?”

Without Felix’s assistance getting his shirt off, Hyunjin seemingly decides to focus on the sweats, dragging them artlessly down to palm at Felix’s cock through his boxers. He isn’t hard yet, not from a little kissing — but the contact makes him hiss, jerking instinctively into Hyunjin’s hand, blood rushing south.

Hyunjin’s face is impossible to see, mouth pressed to Felix’s collarbone through his t-shirt — but his voice is almost a little annoyed. “Oh yeah,” he agrees, nipping at the fabric instead of Felix’s skin, mindful not to leave marks with his sharp teeth right before a show. “A very good dream.”

They hadn’t been seated together on the plane, but Felix pictures it suddenly: Hyunjin waking up from the memory of you, hard and leaking, only to find himself in the sterilized, scent-controlled air of the jet, with you out of reach in more ways than one. He pictures the hours that might have followed after, of tiredness and frustration, about the desire to take it out on someone, even if that someone couldn’t be you.

By the time Hyunjin is pulling Felix’s cock from his boxers, he’s already halfway hard. “She had this short little dress on,” Hyunjin is mumbling into Felix’s shirt collar, sleepy and dreamy as his tongue wets the fabric, “light pink, gauzy. Romantic. Kneeling on my bed like a fucking gift, fuck—”

Hyunjin’s free hand grabs Felix’s where it’s been wandering under Hyunjin’s hoodie to place it directly over his crotch instead. Immediately, Felix can tell: Hyunjin is so hard he must be leaking, hips moving on instinct as he ruts helplessly into Felix’s palm. It’s a type of desperation he’s not used to seeing so early, not from Hyunjin — and he gasps at the surprising fierceness of it, immediately slipping his hand into Hyunjin’s own clothes to grasp his throbbing cock.

“That’s it,” Hyunjin sighs once Felix has his hand around him, squeezing once around the base; and they don’t have lube, not here in this hotel room, not now, but it barely even matters with the way Hyunjin is already leaking, wet all the way down the shaft as he fucks Felix’s palm, “touch me, touch me—”

His own hand on Felix’s cock slows its pace — and shockingly, as though in contrast to the need lacing his scent and the hardness of his cock, Hyunjin yawns.

“Ugh,” he complains, pulling away to flop onto the bed, bare cock smacking comically against his belly with the motion, “sorry. I’m so horny, but I’m so tired.”

But Felix only laughs, settling on his side next to Hyunjin and reaching for him again as he slowly kisses from his cheek down to his neck, along the side where his hoodie doesn’t cover.

“I’m tired, too,” he assures lowly, rutting lightly against Hyunjin’s leg as he resumes stroking him off. “Just tell me about your dream?”

So he does: the image of you on his bed, kneeling with your hands in your lap, twisting the material of your skirt; how you’d gasped into Hyunjin’s mouth when he bent down to kiss you, breath sweet and lipstick smearing red over his skin; how your eyes had gone glassy by the time he’d pulled away, already wrecked before he’d even touched you. How you’d begged to touch him, and how he’d pushed you down instead, not even bothering to undress you before he got his mouth on you: dress pushed unceremoniously up your hips, panties yanked to the side, your grasping fingers trying and failing to find purchase in his short hair. How sweet you’d sounded, how sweet you’d tasted: like your scent tastes to Hyunjin, all hwachae and strawberries, fruit jelly iced to perfection in the summer heat, the relief of something cold and sweet for a man dying of thirst.

In the dream, Hyunjin had eaten you to orgasm once, then twice, not surfacing until you were crying, cute little hiccups of sobs interrupting your moans of his name. He’d kissed you, forcing your taste into your own mouth as he fumbled for his fly, eager to finally sink into you—

“And then I woke up,” Hyunjin sighs, sullen as though he weren’t currently being jacked off, lips parted and a flush high on his cheeks.

Felix snickers, though even that dies when Hyunjin gets his hand back around him, stroking him in turn, both their movements falling into sync. His hand is big and hot and addictively calloused, and even with the lubrication of pre-cum, it’s a lot of friction; Felix hisses a breath through his teeth when Hyunjin moves up the shaft just to press his thumb where it meets the head, right along the sensitive underside.

And Felix might be the chatterbox of the pack — but tonight, it’s Hyunjin talking his ear off. “I can’t stop thinking about the look on her face,” he groans, “when I said I’d take care of her.”

It’s an impossible thing to forget: your face on that video call, frozen and wide-eyed, gaze darting between them one by one as though asking for help. But you didn’t want help, not really, no matter how embarrassed you were; Felix could see it, just like they could all see it.

For a conversation about bowling, it’s greased a lot of wheels in the pack members’ sex lives. Felix doesn’t think he could forget it if he tried: your flushed skin, your shock-still posture, the way your voice had gone all quiet and meek when you’d said, “Okay.”

And suddenly Felix is incorporating that into his mental image of Hyunjin’s dream, even as he continues stroking his packmate off, even as he himself is drawing closer and closer to orgasm. Your pretty eyes, blinking up at him uncertain and owlish, playing with the hem of your sweet little dress, bottom lip pulled innocently between your teeth — he’d take such good care of you. He’d fuck you how you deserved, for as long as you could take and then some, until your scent wasn’t some passing description for him to fantasize about, until he could taste you on his tongue for hours — and every time it started to fade, he could come right back and do it again: keep you tied to the bed, snot-faced and pretty, mascara running and lipstick smudged, spreading your legs obediently as you moaned his name—

“I’d take such good fucking care of her,” Hyunjin growls, pushing himself up to straddle Felix as he continues to jerk him off, teeth snapping open to grab a grounding mouthful of Felix’s t-shirt. With the force he uses to bite down, Felix knows he would have bled had it been his shoulder instead.

It’s quiet after that save the wet sounds of their movements, both of them lost in their own respective daydreams even as they drown in each other’s scents, Hyunjin’s florals steeped thick and smoky as he hurtles closer to his peak. They’re too tired for the pace to be all too rigorous but too turned on for it much to matter, and it isn’t long before Felix can feel Hyunjin’s knot swelling under his palm — before he can feel his own swelling under Hyunjin’s.

“Wanna knot her,” Felix drawls tiredly, tilting his head back into the pillows with a groan, exposing the long curve of his throat. “All deep inside her, fill her pretty little womb— Fuck, I wanna come in her so bad—”

Hyunjin moans around Felix’s shirt, cock twitching. And on his next downward stroke, Felix squeezes hard over Hyunjin’s knot, just the way he likes it — and just like that, Hyunjin is there, opening his mouth to pant his orgasm into Felix’s neck as his cock paints Felix’s entire front. He’s so hot like that — eyes closed, expression twisted into something almost painful — and Felix is still so caught up in that mental image: of fucking you to tears, of knotting you, of not even letting you catch your breath before he’s eating his own come out of your poor abused pussy and making you come again on his tongue—

His own orgasm is a quiet thing, biting down on his lip, forehead knocking into Hyunjin’s shoulder. Hyunjin strokes him off all the way through it until overstimulation is running his voice ragged and his eyes teary, and only then does Hyunjin flop off of him with a content, dreamy sigh.

Felix lets himself linger in the afterglow for long enough that he almost drifts asleep. Then, at the last second, he pulls himself back into consciousness with a long, pained groan. “Ugh. I don’t want to have to shower again.”

Once again, Felix thinks Hyunjin might already be sleeping when he first peeks over at him — only for one of Hyunjin’s eyes to blink open, warm and unapologetic. “Oops?”

“It got on you, too,” Felix snorts, tearing off his clothes to check the damage. Alphas come buckets, and both of their cocks had been pointed straight at him at moment of impact; where the worst of it had pooled on his abs, he can already feel the telltale tight-skin feeling of drying come. After a moment of hesitation, he just makes do with a wet rag and flops back into bed, fumbling on a new pair of boxers, dirty laundry abandoned in a pile on the floor. Future Felix will not be happy with him, for sure — but current Felix doesn’t care. Current Felix is so tired he feels like he might sink through all however-dozen levels of his hotel, straight through the Earth’s crust.

At his side, Hyunjin has stripped himself of his soiled hoodie but left his other clothes as they are. Felix thinks about teasing him, but he’s just too exhausted; instead, he sighs, hooking his ankle over Hyunjin’s leg for a bit of skinship.

Inevitably, just before he drifts off, his mind returns to his fantasies. “We have to learn how to eat someone out,” he mutters, well-aware that Hyunjin has not slept with anyone outside of the pack any more than Felix has, certain that he’s worried about it, too.

And judging by his reaction, he’s right — because although Hyunjin had looked mere seconds from sleep, he visibly brightens at the words. “I’ve been reading some articles,” he says, reaching for his phone, hand rummaging eagerly at the night stand even as he yawns like his soul is leaving his body. “Want to see?”

[insociometry]

I absolutely loved this last chapter!

I was the one with the question about the crushes a while ago 🤭

The time with Seungmin in the kitchen was so fun! I loved mc’s bratty streak and the light roleplay that took place and it got me thinking.

Mc has previously alluded to feeling compelled to bully(affectionate) some of the boys.

It is absolutely clear that she is a brat(💕)

This might be spoilery but I’m dying to know where the boys fall on the kink scale?

Who is a service switch? Who is more primal? Do they have dynamics with each other? Who plays well with others and who doesn’t?

This may have been asked before, I’m just nosy as hell, kink is one of my special interests, and I’m lowkey(completely) obsessed with the Ronverse pack

Hi, hi! Thank you for your asks, and I’m so glad you liked the chapter! 😊

I got a little carried away again answering this (I love talking about smut and kink; I played myself writing a slow burn) so this is… pretty long! Maybe too long!!! Probably-spoilery (and NSFW, obviously) answer below the cut:

First off, like your ask says, this is more about kink than vanilla dynamics! Obviously there's bleed-over, but you know. Also, everyone including our MC is a switch, though the degree or lean might change. And you're totally right that MC is a brat, so I included vague reactions to that as well 🫶 All this info is pretty general, so you might see scenes in RON that don't match these exactly. They're a kinky opportunistic experimental multifaceted cast!

In terms of within the pack, MC excluded: there are definitely some dynamics specific to certain combinations of members, but we should see a bunch of them, so I won't spoil it! Generally though, I think there actually tends to be less formal kink between the members; it's all a little more casual and less intense — lots of sleepy handjobs and competitive frotting hahahaha. And I think everyone plays pretty well together, honestly; even those who might not fall into bed together one-on-one would probably be down in a group setting if the vibe was right.

Okay, now specifics!

Chan:

Switch; sadist and masochist

Pleasure/daddy dom; strict but indulgent. Likes taking care of you; has to be in the right mood to be rough and selfish, no matter how much you ask. Loves brats. Sometimes just wants to get you off and not be touched. 100% a "sex as stress relief" guy

Whiny sub, especially if you tie him up. Tries to keep his head but cracks pretty easily. Really into praise and degradation. If you call him daddy while domming him he might break a little

Goes into full subspace less often with the other guys; both a little less indulgent and a little less mean with them than with you

Lino:

Heavily dom-leaning; sadist! sadist! sadist!

Mean dom by default. Likes to psychologically torment his subs a little. Really into power play but pretty ambivalent about titles (sir, etc). Not-so-secretly weak to baby-doll eyes and a well-timed "oppa~~" though

I think he might only regularly sub for one pack member…? 🤔 When subbing, actually likes to be praised, be told he did a good job, be handled sweetly, etc

Treats MC a little more gently than the guys, as long as she tempers her brat tendencies

Changbin:

Switch; dabbles in S/M

Gentle but dirty when domming; has a mouth on him. Likes to direct you. Not super affected by bratting, but if you take it too far, he'll get mean. Kind of condescending during punishments. Pretty indulgent with himself but also with you; there to have fun

Very complimentary sub; blushy and cute. Not into hard masochism, but likes when you're rough with him; tears up and goes red easily. Very obedient; if you tell him to stay still, he will. Will still complain if he doesn't get enough of you, though. Babygirl-coded

A bit brusquer and rougher with the guys; generally less kinky, but it depends

Hyunjin:

Switch; dabbles in S/M, but it isn't an important part of the play

Primal element when domming: chasing, scenting, grabbing, biting. Fairly unaffected by bratting unless you hit a certain nail on the head* (*jealousy and related fields); otherwise, just thinks it's cute. Likes spontaneity instead of planned, structured scenes

Sweet and eager service sub; a little clumsy. Extreme praise kink; "good boy" makes him go cross-eyed. All happy sighs and big adoring eyes when his head's between your legs. It's rare for him to want you to punish him

With the other guys, he's much less eager to please; when subbing, he can be a bit of a brat

Han:

Switch; very into domination loss/mid-scene switching. Masochist and guilty sadist

Pleasure dom in a corruption kink way; thinks the brat thing is cute, mostly. Not that interested in punishments. Wants to empty your head and have you think of nothing but him; cocky but still kinda desperate

Extremely eager sub; wants to do everything for you. Very bullyable and reactive; loves degradation. Kind of a munch, but gets pussydrunk so easily he doesn't really do it while domming. DESPERATE!

A bit subbier and lazier with most of the guys, unless he gets into a competitive mood

Felix:

Switch; likes a bit of S/M, but it isn't usually the goal for him

When he's in control the whole time, he's kind of a tease, but mostly a pretty indulgent dom. Can get ticked off and mean; love-hate relationship with bratting. If he gets control from you mid-scene, he's a little messy and rough with it. Loves exhausting you

Needs your okay for everything when subbing, and absolutely cannot take what he dishes out; needs you to touch him; shatters when ignored; cries and begs, all cute and sniffly

More casual and less desperate with the other guys

Seungmin:

Dom-leaning switch; heavy sadist and masochist

Fairly traditional dom; likes structured scenes. Pretty focused on your pleasure, but his niceness during the process is based on good behavior. Subsequently, loves brats. Can be pretty mean; tears are an instant-nut. Sir kink

Totally lets go while subbing; takes it as good as he gives. Degrade him, objectify him, hurt him, treat him like he's not there; he loves it. Super clingy after. Ma'am kink…?? 👀

Less kinky with most of the guys, but it depends. Mostly subs for one pack member in particular, occasionally for others

I.N:

Switch; very into wresting control; sadistic-leaning

Relatively gentle dom, but mean; kind of gets off on making you uncomfortable, physically or psychologically. Weaponizes compliments; likes to embarrass you

True Innie sub mode (rare): eager, sweet, a little useless, you kind of have to tell him to do every individual thing; likes to hear that he's yours

Usual Innie sub mode: just a wolf in sheep's clothing biding his time; the second he says "please?" and you say "okay", you've already lost. Rough and primal once he gets the go-ahead; punishment vibes

Hasn't slept with the other guys since his instincts started going crazy (he's backed up 🤭)

Bonus: MC:

Switch but kind of a bottom; sadist and masochist. Pretty adaptable, kink-wise. Good at figuring out what makes people tick sexually and exploiting that

Can be really mean domming; gets off on desperation. Loves a begging, blubbering mess; loves men on their knees. Into praise and degradation.

Total brat. Loves rough treatment. Size and strength kink.

[insociometry]

what request types do you take? like can i ask most to least likely? what about ready or not ot8 most to least likely to spontaneously confess? 🥰

Honestly I'm not really sure what requests I take, either! But thanks for being here to figure it out with me 🌼

OHHH this is fun though… But so hard… Okay let's see. At least for now, I'd say most to least likely would beeee:

Hyunjin is very in his feelings, so he’s first up. It's not that he can't be sneaky — but he doesn't want to be with you. Out of everyone, Hyunjin has the least patience for the cat and mouse routine. I think he could confess either through impulsivity or frustration: "I love you," he says, rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand, looming down and over you until he takes up your entire field of view, eyes darting between yours. “Bunny, are you listening? I said I love you."

Things would be a little less sweet and honest with a sudden Jisung confession, I think. At this point in the story, it would almost have to be involuntary: completely emotional, impulsive, reckless, him pacing around the room and running his hand through his hair. “Why do you think I’m so upset?” he’s asking, and you don’t even know what to say, even when he spins on his heel to face you and pins you in place with his eyes. “I love you; you know that. You know.”

Surprise Seungmin — I actually think he’d be pretty high on this list! Seungmin likes to joke around but he’s genuine and honest when it counts, and he’s good at saying what you need to hear. His insecurity in this story definitely holds him back; he doesn’t think he’s your favorite, or even especially high on your list. But I think if he caught you spiraling over not knowing where you’re at with him, he would tell you, if the mood and timing was right. “Dummy,” he says, the word at odds with his gentle tone of voice and the way he wraps his arm around your shoulders. “Anyone could tell that I like you.”

If we were in the first few chapters of this story, Felix would be higher up the list; as is, he’s a bit too uneasy, unwilling to scare you off or be too much. I think he gets the urge to say it constantly: through text, hanging out in person, when you hang up the phone. And though I don’t think he’d consciously want to confess, I can see it slipping through: “I’ll talk to you later, sweetheart,” he yawns, flopping back on his hotel bed, absentminded and jet-lagged. “Bye bye. I love you.” It takes him a few minutes after hanging up to realize what he said, but by then, you’ve already decided he must have been joking.

I don’t really think Minho is the verbally confessing type, to be honest — but he has a soft spot for you, and like Seungmin, I think he’d say the words if you needed to hear them. There isn’t that same underlying insecurity for Minho, I don’t think; it’s just not the kind of relationship you have, and he shows his love in other ways. But in a quiet, vulnerable moment, when you need the reassurance, I think he’d do his best to offer something: “We all love you, you know,” he says, expression aloof but ears burning, eyes fixed solidly on the horizon. “What’s there to be scared of?”

Chan is intense in everything once he locks in, and similarly I think a Chan confession would be a really big, dramatic affair. Honestly, I can’t even really picture him confessing at all in the middle of the story because things aren’t perfect yet, and he wants them to be perfect; he needs them to be perfect for you. The only thing that comes to mind, I think, is an accidental, slip of the tongue kind of thing, like Felix: “Thanks, baby,” he says, turning to kiss you on the cheek when you bring him a glass of water, not even looking away from his computer screen. “Love you.” You jolt and escape into another room, blaming it on him being sleep-addled and resolving not to think about it.

Similar to Chan, I think Jeongin would just think, The time isn’t right, and hold off. He has a pretty good sense for you; he knows you’re skittish, and he knows you’re comfortable with him, too; he doesn’t really worry about telling you something just to set you at ease or get your attention. Even in his most impatient moments, Jeongin ultimately wants to move at your speed, however slow that may be. “I’m not going to rush you,” he says, smiling until his eyes curve into crescents. “We have time, right?”

Changbin doesn’t want to rock the boat. He doesn’t have a good intrinsic sense of what you need, so all he can do is ask you, and listen — but there’s no way to ask you about something like this, so he doesn’t. He’s not a bad communicator by any means, but he’s a better listener — so he ends up in a spot of mediator again, his own feelings tucked away. I love you, he thinks, watching you tuck a lock of hair behind your ear, your eyes flashing as you tell him some story. Please look at me. I love you.