#stop creating new AUs challenge failed

[cedar-scented-soap]

Concept drawing for a space/aliens rancher duo AU I've been working on!!!! :D I'm not super settled on Jimmy's design yet, but he's meant to be a moobloom adjacent space species!

(yes they're not in space even though it's a space AU, they're planetside at jim's ranch cuz I needed an excuse to work on drawing backgrounds)

[chocostrwberry]

If yall have noticed, I often mention “seasons” when describing the timeline of my AU.

“Choco?? What are these seasons you are talking about? Why are there only three when the show has five??”

Sit down, little one, and let me tell you a story…

AHDKWHSJ JK JK

But anyways-

I have split the events that happen in my AU into seasons because then it’s easier for me to keep my facts and timeline in order! All episodes are in exact order/sequence of events!

Season 1: Gabriel can create sentimonsters.

In this season, it’s establishing the world of Miraculous. Marinette and Adrien is learning how to be miraculous holders while navigating their own lives.

Origins: Marinette becomes Ladybug for the first time alongside Chat Noir to defeat Stormy Weather.

Ladybug and Chat Noir defeat an Akumatized Mylène, Animelle. Together, they visit Master Fu for more information on their new duties.

Marinette has a hard time balancing being Ladybug and her civilian self. Ladybug and Chat Noir have to team up to defeat a game-themed teenage akuma.

Sweetpea: Marinette enters a design challenge with Alix, and Adrien is her model! Rose is akumatized into Sweetpea after a health scare makes her unable to help her team with their design.

To Be or Not to Be: There is a school play, and Chloe will stop at nothing to get the main lead. Ladybug struggles to win over Chat Noir, who seems oblivious to her attempts at flirting.

Boy meets Girl: Marinette develops a crush on the class’s most popular boy after defending Juleka against Chloe. LB and CN battle Reflekta.

Princess Justice: Marinette is chosen to submit a dress design to high-fashion company represented by Chloe’s mother. Jealous of her success, Chloe destroys her project, causing Marinette to be Akumatized.

Fish Food: Ladybug and Chat Noir have to defeat an akuma who goes by the name of Captain Kraken. For the Winter Ball, Marinette makes plans to ask Luka to be her date.

Winter Formal: The winter formal is here, but Marinette is worried about an akuma attack that might ruin her chances with Luka.

Be My Lover: Now that Marinette is officially dating Luka, Adrien’s jealousy becomes more apparent. Chloe’s repetitive and harsh rejections of Kim turns him into Dark Cupid.

Road Rage: Adrien has a fight with Chloe about her behavior towards others, and she acts out once again and Nino is akumatized into a foul-mouthed biker with a vendetta against her.

New Girl: A transfer student is introduced to the class, but Marinette is suspicious of her two-faced behavior.

Prophetica: Marinette’s constant lying and lack of trust makes her and Alya have a fight after she fails to bring cupcakes to her sisters’ birthday party.

Primadonna: After Chloe’s mother decides to take her half-sister to her movie premiere debut instead of her last-minute, Chloe becomes Primadonna and turns Paris into her own personal black-and-white film.

Sabrina seeks Marinette’s help to expose Lila after she comes between Sabrina and Chloe’s friendship.

King of Music: Jagged Stone is akumatized and it is revealed that Luka and Juleka are his children. Marinette’s duties as Ladybug become more demanding and her relationship with Luka strains.

Winter Wonderland: After Chloe misses one of Sabrina’s recitals, she is Akumatized into Ice Queen and turns Paris into an eternal winter.

Marinette misses one of Luka’s concerts, where he was going to debut a song he wrote for her. They break up and he is Akumatized into Heartrocker.

Liar, Liar: Marinette finally tells the class who Lila really is, but they have a hard time believing her. Lila is Akumatized into Miss Miracle and offers her services to Hawkmoth in order to take down Ladybug.

Lila strikes a deal with Gabriel when Adrien invites her over to his home out of pity. Hawkmoth’s identity and motives are revealed. Chat Noir takes Ladybug to see Master Fu for help because of Plagg’s warning against Lila.

A New Guardian: Master Fu makes Ladybug the new Guardian before Lila can get to the Miracle Box.

Goldbug: The peacock miraculous is fixed. Hawkmoth unifies the miraculous to become Shadowmoth. He creates Miss Miracle’s first sentimonster: Goldbug. Marinette becomes Firefly to defeat them both.

The time span for this season is about 4 months, starting in the beginning of Junior year.

Season 2: Emelie wakes up.

This season focuses on the lore of the miraculous. Ladybug unifies miraculous every other episode to defeat both akumas and sentimonsters. Lots of kwami-swaps and unified ladybug happen in this season! (Scarabella, Queen Bee, Carapace, Ladybee, etc.) Marinette is also warming up to Adrien.

Chat Noir is skeptical she’s the right pick to be guardian, and she takes that personally. She decides to unify against Reflekta and her sentimonster, Reflekdoll.

Mr. Midas: After rejecting an expensive present, Chloe’s father is Akumatized into Mr. Midas and wants to turn everything into gold for his beloved daughter. Tigerbug and Chat Noir try and defeat him and his sentimonster.

Sweet Dreams: Ladybug becomes Hercula after a sleepy akuma discreetly puts Paris into an eternal slumber.

A Spider’s Web: Ladybug becomes Mantigirl to defeat Arachnia, a kindergarten teacher who is Akumatized at the Paris Zoo and trapped Adrien and others.

Marinette comes down with a mysterious illness, and so it’s up to Scarabella and Chat Noir to save Paris from an Akumatized grandmother and her gang of angry sentidogs!

The Wailing Lady: Firefly and CN battle against a grieving widow and her sentimonster, a giant willow tree in the middle of Paris who she believes is her deceased spouse.

Sugar and Spice: Marinette faints while working at the bakery. This makes Sabine anxious, and she is Akumatized into Mother Desserts. Marinette and Chat Noir work together to save her.

Tikki suggests giving others different miraculous to help her fight the akumas and sentimonsters. Adrien tells Chloe about his crush on Marinette thanks to Plagg. Chat Noir visits Marinette and takes her on a trip around Paris.

Operation Ladybug: Luka suspects Marinette is Ladybug, and he recruits Alya to help him figure out the truth. Chloe starts treating Marinette with less disdain, much to everyone’s surprise. Firefly and Chat Noir fight another akuma and sentimonster.

Bon Appétit!: Alya’s mother becomes akumatized while working at the hotel. Ladybug and Alya work together while Chat Noir tries to keep Chloe and Sabrina. Alya’s suspicions are confirmed, but she tells Luka to stop digging.

Kwami Captor: After some mischevious kwami escape the miracle box with their jewels, Marinette becomes Multimouse to hunt them all down.

Queen Bee: Chloe decides to use the Bee miraculous she found to try and help Mantigirl and Chat Noir. Her need for attention makes the mission not go according to plan. Chat Noir and Marinette have an argument about his secret identity.

Protector of All: Nino and Adrien are in charge of elitist children for a day while Marinette and the class set up a school sponsor event. When an akuma attacks, it’s up to Nino to protect the kids while Tigerbug and Chat Noir defends them. Luka finally gives up his suspicions.

Miracle Team: The Miracle Team meet up for the first time to take down an akuma. But they struggle to actually work together! Chat Noir breaks up with Marinette, leaving them both devastated.

Soulmates: Marinette and Adrien spend the day together to find a gift for Chloe’s birthday. Nathalie finds out about Gabriel and Lila’s dark deeds with Hawkmoth.

Happy Birthday Chloe!: Chloe’s birthday party goes awry, thanks to Lila’s sabotage, and Chloe is Akumatized.

Sick Day: Marinette is too sick to go to school most days and struggles with night terrors. She is worried about her health, and talks to Tikki about it. Alya, Nino, Luka, and Sabrina try to clear Marinette’s name. Adrien visits Marinette at the bakery.

Marinette vs The World: Marinette’s friends finally has what they need to prove Lila is terrible once and for all. But Adrien isn’t sure it’s the best idea.

Cheer up, Marinette: After unifying once again to defeat an akuma, Marinette’s condition is so bad she is bedridden and cannot celebrate Chinese New Year with her family. The kwamis try to cheer her up. Adrien is growing worried about his father’s health and seeks comfort in Nathalie.

Like Mother, Like Daughter: Chloe’s influencer half-sister, Zoe, comes to Paris. Chloe humiliates her out of hurt and anger, and Zoe is Akumatized into Delightfulee.

Reign of Bourgeois: Chloe’s mother arrives in Paris after hearing about her outburst against Zoe. She is then promptly akumatized into Stylix and takes over the city. What’s worse, she has put a bounty on Chloe’s head.

A Sunny Day: The Miracle Team accepts Vesperia as the new Bee miraculous holder. Her outgoing positivity is welcomed, but her hesitation puts them in danger.

Never Trust a Fox: Trixx abandons Alya and runs away with the fox miraculous, pledging his loyalty to Lila instead. Volpina tricks LB and Chat Noir into thinking she’s on their side. Ladybug has to unify once again in order to defeat her and the akuma once she betrays them.

The Wish, Pt. 1: Because Marinette is out of commission, Scarabella, Vesperia, Carapace, and Chat Noir have to fight against Volpina, The Wailing Lady, and her sentimonster.

The Wish, Pt 2: Gabriel now has the Ladybug and Cat miraculous. Marinette and Adrien follow Volpina to the Agreste mansion, and Adrien learns the hard truth about his father.

By the end of the season, Shadowmoth has completed his mission and trades his life for Emelie’s. A part of Lila’s backstory is revealed.

This season ends at the end of Junior year, breaching into summer.

Season 3: Marinette’s Sacrifice

This is the final season of my AU!

Summer Break: Adrien’s doppelgänger cousin Felix attends the school after visiting with his aunt and uncle over the summer to help Emelie readjust. Lila now has a new name, Cerise Blanc, a woman sent by The Order. Emelie decides to give Cerise the butterfly and peacock miraculous in exchange for her having The Order keep an eye on Adrien. Cerise unifies the Peacock and Butterfly miraculous to become The Empress.

Return of the Butterfly: Rose is akumatized into Sweetpea once again after receiving devastating news about her condition. The Miracle Team return to take it down.

The Emperor’s Daughter: Adrien’s mother surprises him with his fiancé, Kagami, who he hasn’t seen in years. Her social class proves difficult for her to make friends.

Paper Flowers: Because of his shy nature, Felix makes an origami flower with a romantic poem written inside of it for Kagami. However, Kagami believes it was Adrien and becomes determined to make their relationship work.

Felix becomes depressed over Adrien and Kagami’s relationship while going out with them for the upcoming winter formal. Emelie grows jealous of how close Nathalie is with Adrien and sends her on a business trip abroad.

Boys’ Night: Emelie’s hovering nature makes Nino worried for Adrien. He starts to encourage Adrien to rebel a bit, but Nino didn’t expect Adrien to become so out of control when he’s off a leash. Meanwhile, the girls on the Miracle Team are having a sleepover to buy exclusive Jagged Stone tickets.

The Star: Adrien is akumatized into The Star after Emelie tells him she will unenroll him from school and return to homeschooling because of his recent behavior. She also fires Nathalie.

Tales of Scarabella and Kitty Noire: Adrien is under house arrest and Marinette’s sickness is coming back, so Scarabella and Kitty Noire have to keep Paris safe!

Hanabira: Kagami witnesses Adrien and Marinette together while waiting for their date at the Louvre, and is Akumatized and takes over the museum.

The Masked Lady and Me: When Cerise catches Felix looking for the peacock miraculous, Cerise later introduces herself as Madame Morphosis and makes a deal with him to avoid unification sickness. Felix’s backstory is revealed.

Our Frozen Hearts: Felix and Marinette find an unexpected common ground when they are forced to watch Adrien and Kagami dance together as Winter King and Queen.

Sentimaggedon: Madame Morphosis tests Felix to see whether or not she should let him keep the peacock miraculous she gave to him. In a desperate attempt to prove himself, Felix as Argos creates multiple sentimonsters that accidentally bring about the apocalypse. It’s up to the Miracle Team, with Dragonbug, to save the city.

Cat and Mouse: Marinette uses the Mouse miraculous once again to be undercover while dealing with akuma-related disappearances. But Chat Noir won’t take any chances and hunts her down to bring her miraculous to Ladybug.

The End of Us: Kagami breaks off the engagement with Adrien. Adrien then asks out Marinette, who delightfully says yes.

Motherbird: Emelie willingly becomes Akumatized by Madame Morphosis in order to keep her son Adrien under her watchful eye.

Sing a Little Song: Clara Nightingale, an American popstar and a close friend to Zoe, comes to Paris to shoot a music video. But her overbearing manager and strict schedule causes her to become akumatized into Frightingale.

Birds of Prey: While hanging out with Marinette, Kagami is kidnapped by Argos. The Miracle Team have to defeat Argos’s sentimonsters in order to rescue her.

Frenemies: Adrien is trying to get Chloe to warm up more to the idea of Marinette and him being together. Marinette helps Felix overcome his fears and talk to Kagami.

Bonded by Our Sins: After getting closer to Kagami, Felix tries to back away from Madame Morphosis’s control. However, she scares him into submission by threatening to hurt Kagami.

Who is Lila Rossi?: Argos is sent by Madame Morphosis to take Marinette’s miracle box after being informed by Trixx. But him and Marinette devise a plan to trick her.

True Love: Felix confesses his feelings to Kagami at the fashion show and shares his secret with her. Volpina hunts Marinette’s classmates one by one for the scattered miraculous, using extreme measures to get what she wants.

Let’s Do This, Together: The miracle team, along with Argos, has to defend Paris against Lila, who has unified most of the miraculous and become a magical hybrid monster.

Always and Forever: Ladybug and Chat Noir decide to take one last stand against Lila.

Happily Ever After: Marion, a 12 year old girl, discovers small magical creatures who live in her favorite music box!

Quick explanation for episodes 22-24:

Lila collects and unifies most of the miraculous, becoming a monster-animal hybrid and losing herself and all sense of rational. Marinette exposes her identity to all of Paris because of her, and Marinette is aware in a few hours everyone she’s ever known will forget her. Chat Noir reveals himself as Adrien to her before she takes his and the Ladybug miraculous, and unifies them to become Gimmi Marinette and destroy her for good!

Marinette feels Senti-Queen’s mixed emotions of betrayal and hate and loneliness, and her kindness shines through. She uses the Lucky Charm to rebirth Ah Lam as a child, giving her the opportunity to live a normal and love-filled life, the one she never had.

The time span is towards the end of Senior Year, when they were suppose to graduate.

AFTERMATH

So Marinette no longer exists, no one remembers her, and there’s a child version of Lila now.

Now what??

Child Lila is adopted by Marinette’s parents, who have always wanted to have a child. They rename her Marion. It means “wished for child” :,) But also “sea of sorrows”, symbolizing Lila’s life and the pain she caused!

After reading Marinette’s diary, the city knows she was Ladybug. They create a new park called “Ladybug Park” in memory of Marinette.

The Order of the Guardians come to reclaim the jewels unified by Lila, but the kwami refuse to be captured again and flee with their jewels. They all go back to the miracle box for safety. Marion finds the miracle box in Marinette’s old room, and unknowingly becomes the next Guardian.

Adrien only remembers Ladybug, and believes she was the one to unify the miraculous. He has no real recollection of Marinette, but subconsciously feels the loss.

Congrats for making it to the end heheh!

Have some cake! 🍰

Eat it under this rainbow for a break! You deserve it!

🌈

“BUT CHOCO!!”

“You still haven’t explained why there are only three seasons!”

Oh yeah! Sorry!

It’s because I feel like it took 5 seasons in canon to explain what happened in 3. I imagine my AU to be a Disney-owned show that was about to cancelled.

How can I sum up the plot of Miraculous Ladybug in 3 seasons, 12-15 episodes each?

LMAOSJW-

But yup! That’s it! Hope you had fun reading!!

[flightfoot]

any fic recs featuring polyamory?

Oh yeah, definitely!

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Herbs And Steam by @liiinerle

Juleka le Flor Blef, nature witch from near the forest of Couffaine, arrives at Eiffel Castle so she can partake in the Queen's Trials - a contest to determine the strongest witch in all of France. She wants to prove the strength of her magic, but when she arrives, her attention is quickly distracted by two very interesting women: Kagami, the princess, who seems to act nothing like a princess should; and Marinette, the blacksmith, who has created a magic all her own through metal, steam, and ingenuity. Juleka is immediately besotted with both of them, and needs to work extra hard to focus on her magic. Juleka also soon becomes aware that there is stronger magic at Eiffel castle than she had expected. For one thing, there's a tree in the courtyard put there years ago by a witch whose powers seem to surpass hers; for another, there's Alya la Pluvie Versaunt, who must be the most powerful mage Juleka has ever met...

Unusual poly here, there aren't a lot of Juleka/Kagami/Marinette fics! I love the world here, getting to see all these different witches honing their craft, and Juleka making friends with many of them - though especially the nonwitches Kagami and Marinette, of course XD. If you like some femslash or a good fantasy AU, this fic should scratch that itch!

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Each Hum And Click by @echo-has-queries

Kagami thought her understandably high standards for a match in marriage would mean she could avoid being paired with a man by her mother. That she could keep perfecting her flying-machine skills and eventually take over her mother’s place in leading the Tsurugi steam engine manufacturing company without having to defer to a man. She would have thought that when her mother told her to test the Agreste boy as a marriage match she had been kidding - if her mother ever kid. But she was serious and there truly was no fault to be found with Gabriel Agreste's son - except for the small detail of course, that he was not human. So Kagami must turn to the only fine mechanic she knows in Paris to find a solution to this new dilemma. But perhaps the dilemma could turn out to be the solution itself. Written for the AU Roulette Challenge 2024 with the prompt: Steampunk AU

So this fic is entirely from Kagami's POV, and it is a treat! It's an Adrigaminette fic, which you slowly figure out from reading the fic, if you didn't check the tags - Kagami may have tried not to like Adrien, but he grew on her regardless, and then a few chapters in you find out about hers and Marinette's failed relationship. I loved slowly finding out why the two of them broke up, when there are clearly still strong feelings between them, and how it ties into Kagami's character arc and the overall themes of the story: standing up for yourself, breaking free from those who would control you, and forging your own path.

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All Of Them? Every Single One? by @liiinerle

It turns out that Marinette loves a lot more people than she’d initially thought.

This is hilarious and adorable. Tikki lays out how Marinette has a crush on basically every girl she’s met - and even girls she doesn’t know are girls yet XD. 

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Spin the Bottle by @kasienda

When the bottle cap comes to a stop dead center on Nino, Adrien’s both relieved and somehow more anxious. His first kiss - not his actual first kiss, but still kinda his first kiss - the first kiss he will remember, will be with someone he deeply cares about. But Adrien also cares what Nino thinks of him, so what if he’s a terrible kisser? Nino offers him a reassuring smile, and he relaxes. Adrien glances at Alya for permission, and she just shoos him towards Nino. Adrien turns to Nino, leaning closer. If his stomach had been squirming before, it now feels like a half dozen Kwamis have taken up residence in his gut. But Adrien doesn’t hesitate. He blocks out the presence of all of his friends watching, and instead focuses on Nino - like Nino is a stage partner in a photoshoot. Except kissing Nino is nothing like a photoshoot. … Adrien kisses Nino in a game of Spin the Bottle, and then neither can stop thinking about it. Alya really likes how flustered her boyfriend is by all this. Marinette though, can’t handle it and keeps running away.

This is a great Alya X Adrien X Nino X Marinette poly fic! I love them all talking out their feelings and realizing new things about themselves. Alya’s instrumental and bringing everyone together, though she, herself, is also nervous about confessing to her longstanding crush XD

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Three’s company by @torvalvt

Kagami has been doing her best for years to ignore her feelings for her friends. It doesn’t help that Adrien and Marinette insist on spending as much time as possible with her, even going so far as inviting her along on their dates together. If only the affection she felt for them wouldn’t get in the way of their relationship. Because it is growing harder and harder to tamp down her feelings with how close they are getting to her.

This is adorable. Adrien and Marinette really want Kagami to join their relationship and she just doesn’t dare hope for it. If you want some adorable Adrigaminette from Kagami’s perspective, I recommend checking this fic out!

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Chat Noir Cataclyms Hawk Moth's Balls by @a-flaming-idiot

It's what it says on the tin; Chat Noir castrates his unaware father. And at the same time, Gabriel hits a high C to shatter glass, Nathalie realizes she wasted her life, Chloe accidentally outs herself, Adrien becomes homeless, there are no more secret identities, Tikki thinks she's funny, Nino and Alya take what's their's, and Chloe finally respects another human being. And a partridge in a pear tree~

So this is a fun little crackfic! Lots of jokes and absurd scenarios, you're likely to giggle at least a few times (and hopefully several times) while reading this.

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(let me paint my skin) with your love by starnoir

Adrien blushes, looking down at his lap as his hair falls back over his nape. He shifts in his seat and finds Marinette staring at him with a sweet soft smile, and Adrien returns it. He reaches out his free hand to place on Alya and Marinette's desk, and they both latch onto it. Marinette's fingertips rest atop his own, and the green of her skin seems to glow. Alya's hand finds his wrist, rubbing small circles into his skin. "We love you, Adrien, whether your soul-marks show it or not," Nino decides, leaning back as Alya's free hand knocks off his cap and curls her fingers in his hair, the little bit that he'd begun to grow out. Adrien feels his eyes threaten to bubble over with tears, and it's just so much in one moment. Nino's knuckles on his, Marinette's fingers on his, Alya's slow circles massaged into his wrist as her hand rests on her side. "Thanks guys," he chokes, "I love you all too." And their colors seem to glow, and so do their cheeks. Or, a sweet wholesome soulmate-soulmark au about Adrien finding love after being forced to hide how big his heart was for so long.

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Getting The Gang Together by @mikauzoran

When Nino and Alya witness Ladybug and Chat Noir detransforming, they come up with a scheme to win over their crushes and create the OT4 they’ve always dreamed of.

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The Quartet's Duet by timeandpace_lord

In which Kagami and Luka attempt to get two idiots to fall in love. Instead, four idiots realize they were already in love. Based a lot on Determination and Wishmaker specifically. ~~~ It was only a matter of time, he told himself. Sooner or later they’d stumble into the same secret he had and realize they were made for each other. And if they needed a helping hand to get there, a conductor for the symphony of their lives together, he was more than happy to take on that role. Kagami nodded firmly. She’d known that Marinette was Adrien’s true target from the beginning, but it had taken longer for her to get over her own jealousy and realize that the other girl was also the correct target. Now that she no longer had blinders on, it was obvious the two were meant to be together. If she could help them realize it, so much the better.

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Vanilla Valentine by @talkstoself

When Adrien’s first attempt at baking Valentine Cookies for Marinette goes horribly wrong, Luka steps in to help. There’s no way this could possibly go wrong… right?

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The Mid-Autumn Moon by AlpakaAlex

Kagami wants to do something for Marinette, but does not know whether she might be overstepping a line.

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Worthwhile Distractions by @coffebanana

As much as Kagami loves her partners, there are some things she prefers to deal with on her own. So it's a little annoying that they won't stop fretting over her injured ankle, something she very much has under control. But when it turns out that maybe Marinette and Adrien were right that she should have taken things easy, she knows she's lucky to have them both by her side. Even if sometimes that's not so easy to admit to.

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Blossoming by pepsiisokay

It starts with a bouquet. It ends with one too. A series of moments in which Kagami, Adrien, and Marinette realize they might just be perfect for each other.

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Hold Me By Both Hands by @angelofthequeers

“I know he said never to take you back,” Plagg mutters. “But he’d change his tune if he knew.” He looks Adrien straight in the eye and, more serious than Adrien’s ever seen him before, says, “There’s someone you gotta meet. He’s been looking for that book for ages.” How differently might the events of season 2 have gone if Adrien had also known of Master Fu from the start?

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sunblind by @asukiess

Adrien's newfound hobby of drawing leads to learning just how important friendship is to him. Also, he's extremely innocent.

[amalthiaph]

I took an interest in The Bad Batch around the tailend of S2. It's not news to Tumblr that I almost slept on this show. And I cannot thank Caleb Dume enough for being the reason why I pressed the play button for this one. While I haven't been around for most of its active run, and I wish I had been, the last year has been among the best months of my life.

This show challenged my morals, and taught me lessons that I will forever take with me.

Tech taught me to embrace and take pride in who I am. I now think that I am not something that needs to be cured. I needed to be understood and accepted. He taught me that we deserved to be loved and be allowed to live the way we want to (as long as we are not causing harm to ourselves or to others).

Hunter taught me that at the end of the day, we're all still humans. We make mistakes. We fail. But we can learn from them, and we can strive to be better. And I should also take care of my hair bec I cannot accept that a man in a galactic war have better hair than me (Okay, did you honestly think I'm gonna be serious this entire essay?)

Crosshair taught me that at the end of the day, we really are still humans. Sometimes, we make choices that not everyone will understand or agree to. Sometimes, we don't even understand our own choices. But we can learn from them, and we can strive to be better. And that I should also go to therapy bec istg my hand shakes like hell I always need to rely on a pen stabilizer when doing my artworks.

Wrecker taught me that in this world where we can be anything, always choose to be kind. He is a great man who would always be there for everyone, and I hope that one day, I can be that person too. He is afraid of heights, but he climbs and go on high places anyway. Like him, I should also start conquering my fears. Dear Wrecker, I did try conquering my fear of heights last March 9 but I can't. I will try again.

Echo taught me to always fight for the greater good. Almost two years ago, me and a group of people campaigned for a great tomorrow. With pink flags and pink balloons, we worked on our little thing I like to call our rebellion. Sadly, we lost. At times, I am thinking of just giving up bec that's democracy and I cannot go against the people's decision, but characters like Echo and the rest of Rogue One taught me that nothing should ever stop me for fighting for the people's rights and that my love for my fellow citizens should always come first before hatred.

And lastly, Omega taught me to be curious, or more likely to not be ashamed for being curious. Learn about the world. Learn about lots of things. We never know when we need it. While I could say be good at strategy and win 30 grand on card games, nahhh, I'm not that smart.

I also learned to reevalutate myself as an artist. This show taught me integrity. I had ranted about this lately but these characters challenged me in terms of art. I knew that the creators aren't best at proper representation. While I could draw them as they are in the show, I choose to stand for what is right, and represent them as properly as my skills could. In the more technical side, I became good at drawing armors. And this little Actors AU Draw Series taught me to be responsible; I tried my very best to create and post them on time. This increased my productivity.

But enough about me.

There's something I realized two nights ago; we, the fandom, are Bad Batchers ourselves. We can consider ourselves a family, but not one of us is the same and we're all interesting, and capable in our own unique ways. We can have our own opinion and stand about something and still coexist. Like our favorite charactera, we embrace and celebrate our differences.

This show may end. No more Bad Batch Eves, no more cryptic tweets that cause us to hyperventilate, no more Bad Batch Wednesdays but it will live on, through us.

I know there will be a day where we decrease in number, one by one, little by little, but still, the show will live on through our actions, our opinions, our choices we make after May 1, 2024 because I know that all of us were changed in some ways by these characters and this show.

To the crew, your cryptic tweets caused me sleepless nights, but thank you so, so much. It is through your hardwork that we had this wonderful show. Thank you for making every second of the past year so worthwhile and enjoyable for me and for everyone.

However this show will end, whether happy or sad, I am glad it happened. However short my time was with them, I am happy I had been here. However short my time with everyone in the fandom was or if some of you leave one day, still, thank you so much for being part of my life; I am so happy I met all of you.

To Clone Force 99, thank you. I've never loved anything like this before. May the Force be with you.

[technically-a-kiwi]

Pizza tower Truest cosmic AU : A small idea

The cosmic realm is home of mysterious beings, constelations, concepts and eldritch monsters. But by far the most unique beings of the realm are the cosmic entities

Cosmic entities are known across mythos, legends and fairytails, as unfathomably powerful beings who shape, bends and create our reality, but also as very silly and funny individuals, with innocent mischief guiding their actions.

The chef:

holder of the power of creation, he is one particular entity, he's the one with the most human like feelings and attributes, not only does he create the world that surounds us, he also cooks and bakes fantastic meals, thus giving him his name (he doesn't know how amazing his meals are, so he's genuinely shoked when someone tells him how good of a cook he is). He's a very stressed out and paranoid entity, with the constant fear of failing the making process of a world and dooming it into destruction and corruption. Other entities don't respect his work, and so they often mess up with the mortal realm, no matter how much he's against it, the rest of the cast doesn't care... Until he reminds them why he's the one holding the power of creation.

The host:

The chef's biggest rival, a real chaos god, loves to destroy anything and cause chaos, he hosts the Noise Nebula Show (NNS in short), of which he's also the productor, director and supervisor. His favorite pass time is to forc invite people into his show and test their sanity, by challenging their cool, physiques and intellect. A very foul trickster, with his own entertainment being his main priority.

The artist :

A strange abstract antropormophic pepper. He's very bitter to not hold the power of creation, he's the mighty cosmic artist, he SHOULD be able to create anything, and just for that he deeply hates the cosmic chef, often calling him a trator. Instead he get's a varient of this power, creating anything as long as it's somehow related to peppers (why ? because it's funny.), he loves to show off his gallery, filled with very odd but beautiful pepper related works of art.

The ticket stand :

fairytales can't tell if this being is really is a cosmic entity, it's a very mysterious creature, often described as some kind of manifestation of the void. It loves to sell tickets and grante peoples wishes by twisting and reshaping reality, it often tests people through series of trials for it's entertainment. The only time where he's described as violent is when people try to scam him, becoming a true monster...

(Mr stick but I can't find a name anymore, banker is just too ridiculous) :

An entity that constantly counts and keeps track of something more or less related to reality, there isn't a single moment where he isn't counting or writting something down his book, what is he counting ? Why does he count ? No one knows but he never stops and gets very upset when "the count is off" ... whatever that's supposed to mean...

The vigil :

A cosmic entity that used to live in the cosmic realm, he left the cast because they where just so chaotic and silly, that was too much... he got accustomed to the mortal way of life and transformed into a mortal, he holds a farm in some far away universe on planete Earth, he fears the other cosmic entities, he's convinced they wan't to kill him or make his new life a misery for leaving the cast.

The tiny constellations :

They are not cosmic entities but where raised by them, in the cosmic realm, they act very child like, small toddlers still learning and growing, but when they transition into the mortal realm, they completely change personality, now being bearers of knowledge and wisdom, sharing with whoever is interested, in fact, most of the fairytales about cosmic entities come directly from them, sharing it with mortals throughout history.

This is just a small idea I've had laying in my mind, idk if I'll fully complete it one day, but in any case here it is

[whatvioletdoes-blog]

I think we might have an AU after all...

You know how usually if someone's a plural system in LU people write Four as that? Yeah well we went 'what if Legend's plural' for a single flufftober drabble and now it's gained entirely too much plot

Violet stop creating new AUs every time you have so much as a single idea about something challenge failed *again*

[angelsdean]

i had a really evil thought about mary, i dont think this is canon at all but what if the reason she had another child was because she was hoping she could trade him for the azazel deal when she realized that azazel might be coming to take her kid (she would've been wrong but still). btw i think she was in a no-win situation and if she had done this it would've been fascinating, i just wanted to provide this hypothetical bc i can't stop thinking about it.

I HOPE THAT LAST ASK ABOUT MARY WASNT WEIRD I MEANT IT TO BE SIMILAR TO. LIKE. you're "dean killed john" au where canon dean Would've Never Done that but it's interesting to delve into the hypothetical

hi! apologies for not responding right away. i've been rotating this around in my mind since you sent it a few days ago, trying to see a way in which this scenario could come to be. i'll admit, i find it challenging to imagine a mary that would grow and birth a whole child, knowing it would be a "sacrifice" to keep her first child. that being said, i still find it a fascinating thought exercise.

like, with my preseries dean killed john AU scenario i most often imagine it as an accident gone wrong. or a very extreme circumstance. because the dean we know just, would struggle very much to do something like that, because despite the resentment and sometimes hate he still very much cares about his father (whether john deserves that care or not). (most caring man etc etc).

with this mary scenario, it's harder for me to wrap my head around her purposely creating and nurturing this life, just to sacrifice it. there's less room for an "accident" scenario like with dean killing john. but maybe...she didn't intend to have another child. maybe sam was an accident. maybe she was already thinking of leaving john at that point. but a new baby would...complicate things. maybe she intended to have an abortion but then...she finds out azazel may be coming after the children of the people he made deals with ten years prior. and dean, well, he's three (almost 4). and she knows him. she loves him. he's real. and the thing growing inside her? doesn't feel real yet. so she thinks, "okay, i can detach. i can have this baby and compartmentalize and give it up. this baby isn't mine. it wasn't meant to exist at all." and she keeps this internal mantra throughout the pregnancy. but then...she can't help but grow attached. she feels him. and then he's born and in her arms. and then days pass, the ten year mark of her deal comes and goes and azazel never shows. then months. and she has to take care of this child she never expected to have, never expected she'd get to know. then five months pass, she thinks azazel won't come to collect. maybe she was wrong, maybe he was never after babies. she grows complacent. falls into a false sense of security. she lets down her guard, starts to let sam into her heart. thinks maybe she does get to keep him....and then it's november 2nd and azazel is there but he's not taking the baby, no. it was never the child's life he was after. and then she's burning. she's burning.

anyways! that's what i've been rotating around. i can't really imagine a truly evil mary scenario, sorry to evil women<3 but i can see her thinking she's doing all this to save her one child, thinking she can compartmentalize and not come to love her second child, and then failing (because love! is at the center of the narrative! always!) and losing everything and still dooming her children to a life of hunting.

[melancholy-of-nadia]

love u lately (m) #6 | myg/knj/pjm

title: love u lately​ chapter title: #6 - introspection pairing: yoongi x f. reader, namjoon x f. reader, jimin x f. reader (yoonminjoon x f. reader) rating/genre: m (18+) ; smut ; college/university au , pseudo frat! bts; best friends! yoonminjoon friends to lovers; summary: the end of the fall semester leaves you overwhelmed and overstimulated: final exams, presentations, and now, your friends with benefits deal with yoongi AND jimin. when you head back to your hometown for the holidays, you can't seem to stop thinking about your feelings towards your best friends and how you're going to approach this challenge in the new year. and apparently, you're not the only one going through this. warnings:  smut, spicy time in the library study room, fingering, final exam presentation because this is a college AU, toys... not for kids, y/n past relationship mentions, swearing, NAMJOON POV, more angst because they're confused college kids, y/n being in her head a lot and reflecting, very small timeskips for plot note: everyone say thank you to @daegudrama for editing this chapter! total word count: 9.6k drop date: January 9th, 2024, 12:30PM PST cross posted on AO3 here ← #5 | Series Masterlist | #7

The deal is sealed with a kiss on November 16, 20XX, an unexpected turn in your relationship with Yoongi and Jimin. As the 0309x1013 group chat was created, signaling the beginning of this uncharted journey, everyone agreed to take things slow, fully aware of the potential risks involved.

With Thanksgiving approaching, the university granted a break for the following week. Instead of heading home, you all decide to have a Friendsgiving together at the house, creating a memorable celebration. The backyard is transformed into a makeshift KBBQ haven, complete with the tantalizing aroma of grilled meats wafting through the air. In an unexpected fusion of cultures, you and Jungkook insist on having pumpkin pie for dessert.

This alternative celebration with friends spares you from the potential awkwardness of interrogations from your relatives about college life and romance. And there is no way in hell you can ever bring up your friends with benefits deal to them. You will be branded as the weird and psychotic child in the family. They may as well burn you at stake.

With more time on your hands, the week break lets you seize moments of solitude with Yoongi and Jimin, stolen kisses and playful slaps on the ass becoming commonplace. Jimin seems to enjoy the latter more, and in a surprising turn of events, Yoongi decides to adopt that habit too.

As schedules align for once, you all indulge in a Friday Night Game Night. The living room transforms for Cards Against Humanity, with soju bottles and beer adding to the spirited atmosphere. Namjoon, however, appears a bit distant, engrossed in his phone. A pang of guilt flutters in your chest, realizing he remains the only best friend unaware of the recent developments. Before you can think too deeply about it, the raucous laughter of the others brings you back to the game.

+++++++++

November 29th [THURSDAY]

The subsequent week marks dead week, a period of intense preparation for impending exams. Your focus turns to Finance, Stats, and Psych, subjects you can’t afford to fail. You were already struggling a bit a few weeks ago as you didn’t do well on your Finance midterm. So you need to get your shit together. Determined to get your academic affairs in order, you book a study room in the library, reaching out to the BTS group chat for potential study buddies. Everyone seems occupied elsewhere, except Yoongi.

Amid the hushed atmosphere of the study room, Yoongi arrives and sits next to you, bearing the weight of textbooks from his Psych classes and the impending stress of exams. The initial exchange of nods and silent acknowledgments is replaced by the persistent rustling of papers and whispering discussions on complex subjects.

As the study session progresses, the tension in the room seems to escalate. Yoongi, sensing the collective stress coming from you reading a question over and over, decides it's time for a much-needed break.

Yoongi lets out a sigh, pushing his chair back slightly. "I need a break, Angel." he admits, rubbing his temples as if trying to physically massage the stress away.

You nod in agreement, closing your textbook with a thud. "Yeah, we should take a break. I think my brain needs a reset."

Yoongi leans in, his voice low and suggestive, "Should we do something to relieve stress?"

Your eyebrows raise in curiosity. "Uh, what do you have in mind?"

You’re going to regret asking this.

A sly smile plays on Yoongi's lips as he brings up a topic that has been lingering unaddressed, "You know, you never really got your punishment for spending time with Jimin. I think it's high time we settle that."

“W-What do you mean?”

Yoongi places his hand on your knee under the table, slowly moving it and placing it in your inner thigh, nearing your heat. You gasp quietly, surprised and excited by his boldness.

“I’ll show you,” he says, looking down at you. You really decided to wear a skirt on the worst day.

You swallow hard, a lump forming in your throat. You're not sure if you're ready for this, but your body betrays you, betraying your nervousness and hesitance. He doesn't say anything else, just looks at you expectantly, waiting for your response.

Finally, you nod, the words coming out in a whispery breath, "Okay, b-but we're in a study room…what if someone sees?!"

Yoongi chuckles, "The door and windows outside this room are frosted glass, they will see people in here but won't know what they're doing." He moves his hand under your skirt, slides your panties off to the side and starts circling your bud.

His fingers dance back and forth, sending shivers down your spine. You moan softly, overwhelmed by the sensations coursing through your body. He then reaches down and gently pushes one finger inside you, stretching you open. The sensation is incredible, and you can't help but arch your back, begging for more. It’s been too long without the fullness of his fingers inside you.

His digits move inside faster, and you try to cover your mouth before getting louder, fearing people outside will know what you're doing. It's almost like you can hear their whispers, taste your own fear that someone might catch you. But, Yoongi's eyes are locked onto you, and he knows exactly what he's doing. He leans in and kisses you, his tongue darting out to taste you, his lips demanding more than just a taste. Your body is on fire now, your heart races, and your breath hitches at every touch, every thrust. He pulls you close, his body pressing against yours, and you can't help but grind against his hands, seeking more of him.

It's then that you lose yourself, your body convulsing and trembling under his touch. Yoongi lets out an intense groan, in reaction to her squirming delight from his digits reaching the right spots.

You collapse back onto the chair, panting and sweating. Yoongi pulls your panties back in place and he opens your text book, reading the question .

“Mary has obtained a $10,000 loan to buy a used car. She is considering 12, 24, and 48-month loans, all of which carry an annual interest rate of 6%. Which of the following statements is true?” Yoongi reads, glancing at you for an answer.

“I hate you so much.” You scoff, covering your flushed face. You can’t believe he really went from fingering you and back to studying, well, helping you study now like it’s nothing. “And the answer is ‘A longer loan period means she will pay more total interest’!”

Yoongi's low chuckle ripples through the room, a mixture of amusement and a hint of satisfaction. He leans back, a playful glint in his eyes as he takes in your blushing and slightly disheveled appearance. The aftermath of a brief interlude from studying seems to have lightened the mood, and he can't help but revel in his revenge move.

"Post-nut clarity does wonders, doesn't it, angel?" he teases, a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The humor in his tone lingers, adds an extra layer of playfulness to the moment. "Glad I could assist."

“Please, shut up!”

Yoongi's low chuckle fills the room again as he leans back in his chair, still basking in the aftermath of the unconventional study break. "You know, I'm just trying to make sure you remember the material. Practical application, right?"

Rolling your eyes, you reach for your water bottle, taking a long sip to cool down the lingering warmth on your face. "Practical application, my ass. You just wanted an excuse to finally get back at me.”

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" He smirks, closing the textbook with a decisive snap. "Now, back to studying for your Finance final."

“You’re unbelievable, Min Yoongi.” You groan dramatically, but you can't deny that maybe this helped you destress.

+++++++++++++++

DECEMBER 4TH [TUESDAY]

The week swiftly transitions into finals, marked by a cascade of exams and the pressure building up for the impending challenges. The first two days witness you navigating through three exams, managing to hold your own despite the weight of academic stress.

Amidst the stress, Jin's birthday slipped your mind. The oversight dawns on you during the marketing group project presentation run-through. The team, a makeshift family made during this semester, surprises Jin with a chocolate lunchbox cake adorned with a Mario frosting doodle. Thank God someone else remembered. The makeshift Mario-themed cake adds a touch of joy to the moment, catching Jin off guard.

"Hyejin, I really thought that box was just extra food from the dining hall." Jin chuckles as he is about to take a bite of the cake. Hwasa playfully kicks him in the butt, laughter echoing in the room. Amid the small birthday celebration, the impending final marketing presentation remains a looming challenge.

The team urges you to lead the presentation, praising your storytelling skills that you tend to downplay. Jimin and Jin offer words of encouragement, reassuring you that your ability to make things work out will shine through once again. As you contemplate the final tomorrow, you hope things will go well. For now, the celebratory atmosphere provides a momentary reprieve before the final academic hurdle of the semester.

+++++++++++++++

DECEMBER 5TH [WEDNESDAY]

The following day arrives, and you find yourself standing in the seminar classroom, ready to deliver your In-N-Out marketing presentation. Unlike the typical lecture hall, the business school's seminar classrooms mimic real-world business meetings, focusing attention on the speaker.

Dressed in a crisp white collared blouse paired with a sleek black pencil skirt, you exude professionalism. The subtle hum of the pantyhose beneath your attire and the comfort of loafers complete the polished look, projecting confidence and sophistication as you prepare to engage your audience. The rest of your team members are dressed in similar fashion, with black slacks and white collared shirts. Jimin, Jin, and Matthew sport black ties as well.

You begin the presentation with a captivating introduction: "Ladies and gentlemen, today, we're delving into the world of In-N-Out – not just a fast-food chain, but a West Coast staple and a testament to effective marketing. Let's talk about why people don't just eat at In-N-Out; they love it, and we're about to uncover the secrets behind their success."

As you, Hwasa, Matthew, Jin and Jimin weave through the details of In-N-Out's marketing strategy, emphasizing its family-oriented approach and the cult-like following it has garnered, the room becomes animated with engaged reactions from your peers. The dialogue is punctuated with anecdotes about the brand's iconic status, creating an atmosphere of hunger and nostalgia.

The end of your presentation is met with applause and excitement. To add to the celebration, Matthew surprises the class with several boxes of In-N-Out animal style fries. That was his idea to entice the audience and the judge, Professor Kim. The gesture not only elevates the experience but also earns cheers from your hungry classmates, turning the presentation into a shared moment of enjoyment. Even your professor can't help but express pride in the engaging and delicious conclusion to your marketing showcase.

As the final comes to an end, your team members shower you with congratulations for delivering an exceptional presentation, with special praise for your captivating introduction and conclusion. Professor Kim approaches your team, a smile on her face, to deliver the good news. She informs you that you all received an A on the final project. Although she hasn't graded the paper portion yet, the impressive effort you put into the project leads her to believe it's bound to be another automatic A.

Walking back home with Jimin, you think about how the success of the presentation and the positive feedback from your professor lifts your spirits.

“Honey, I actually ended up getting you something for working hard throughout the semester on this project. Consider it an early christmas gift too?” Jimin speaks as his hand is shuffling inside his pocket to find the keys to the front door.

Jimin got you a present? You thought it was a little odd, but not completely unlike him to do something like that. He’s always been kind, and while his love language is clearly physical touch, gift giving ties with words of affirmation as a second.

“A gift? You shouldn’t have, Jiminie. Like, really!” You insisted your best friend, walking in once he opens the door.

“It’s nothing! It’s up in my room. I’ll come right over to your room once i grab it.”

You nod, heading upstairs to your room right next to Jimin’s. You don’t know why, but when someone suddenly says they get you something, you can’t help but feel a little nervous. What could he have possibly gotten that he insists on giving it to you before Christmas. Maybe it’s food? There is a bakery off campus that has special made-to-order seasonal pies. You remember going with Jimin and Taehyung to get a pumpkin cream pie there last year, but you were too busy this semester to have time to order one.

Well…

You’re not too far from that guess. Actually you were very far off from any potential thought of what this man could have gifted you, but when Jimin enters your room holding a relatively small black box, you know for a fact that this is not food.

“Here,” Jimin hands you the box, which feels slightly heavy. “Open it.”

Jimin’s eyes and lips turn into crescent moons as he sits on the bed next to you. Oh this can’t be good. You give him a weird glance before going ahead and opening the black box.

What you find in there, makes you yelp and you drop the box which causes the object in it to plop out onto the floor.

“Jimin, what the fuck!”

Suppressing his giggles, Jimin maintains a hushed tone to avoid drawing attention to the two of you in your room. You hope to God that no one else is in this house right now, but given what has happened previously, there’s always one other person somewhere.

"You got me a sex toy… Why would you buy this?!" you whisper with a blend of surprise and agitation, not quite sure what to make of the unexpected gift. You never expected Jimin to get you something like this. And if this were any other situation, you’d probably laugh, but all you can do is look at Jimin with a mortified expression.

Jimin, unable to suppress his laughter any longer, bursts into a fit of giggles. He quickly places a hand over his mouth, attempting to stifle the noise. You, on the other hand, are still grappling with the absurdity of the situation as you stare at the rose-shaped adult toy lying innocently on the floor.

"I thought you could use a little stress relief," Jimin finally manages to say between laughs. "And we did talk about experimentation before, so I wanted to try this on you. I kept seeing people talk online about it so i wanna use it on you."

His words make your face blush red rapidly. You pick up the toy, and now closely examining it to see that it is indeed one of those rose-shaped clit sucking sex toys that have been trending online, however this one comes attached to a vibrating dildo at the bottom of the rose.

You can’t believe he got you a fucking vibrating clit sucking toy and dildo.

This isn’t a pumpkin cream pie you were hoping for, but this could be involved in other cream pies.

And he’s right. You were keen on the idea of experimenting new things involving sex, and while other things like bdsm crossed your mind first, using sex toys wasn’t really a thought at all. You hadn’t done too much with the two men, but you’ve been pretty satisfied giving or receiving oral or an occasional quickie.

“Hey, hey, darling. I thought we could try it, but if you’re not comfortable with this, we don’t have to do it.” he speaks up before you can speak out your own thoughts. But you really don’t know what else to say besides ‘what the fuck’. You’re so shocked that you can’t even react or talk properly.

“We? You want us to try this?” you ask slowly, looking back at your best friend that gives you a short nod. He wants to try this himself?! Or did he mean use it on you?

“I mean you can try it when you’re alone, it’s totally up to you.”

“What? No! ” you shake your head.

“I just want to help make you feel good. You’re already doing so much being with Yoongi hyung and I. Sex with you feels so amazing, and I don’t know if you feel the same, so I thought this would help emphasize those feelings.”

Sex with Jimin feels so liberating, so sensual. It is definitely a contrast from fucking Yoongi, which makes you feel secure and comfort. Fuck, Y/N. If you’re doing this deal to figure out your feelings, it’s not going to be easy. You care about both of them equally. You can’t fathom being without either of them in your life.

“Is this something you want to try?” you ask him curiously, and you see him relax when he notices your interest and that you’re no longer overthinking his present.

“If you want to,” he answers seriously, which causes you to glare at him. “We can just try the roses’ function to start and then the dildo depending how you feel?”

The thought of him using this toy piques your curiosity and brings a tinge of excitement. It's new territory for you. You've only been with a total of 4 people in your life. And you’ve never had the balls to buy something like this, not even when you wanted to pleasure yourself. Your fingers could do only so little inside you and flicking the bean, that you often ended up more frustrated with no orgasm.

“Okay, let’s try it.” You walk towards your door, locking it, and turning back to sit on your bed. “Also, when did you even buy this?”

Jimin chuckles, taking your hand as he laces his fingers with your own. “I had passed a sex shop the other day I went out to buy something else. So I got it, hid it in my room, and waited. It wasn’t easy.” he answers, watching you as you grab the vibrator again with your free hand and examine the object.

“With this much functionality, it looks expensive?”

“Oh trust me, it was. I got it in pastel pink because it’s cute just like your pussy.” He pouts, making you reflexively hit him in the arm. “I’d get anything for you, my love.”

Oh fuck, your heart is beating fast.

“Jimin, you joke a lot, but don’t say stuff like that.” You murmur, avoiding his eyes while looking at the sex toy.

“But why not? It’s true!” He tells you honestly, placing a kiss on your cheek, making you sigh at the feeling.

But what’s true? That he genuinely means you’re his love or that he’ll get you anything?

Things like this mess with your head. It makes you think things like him actually being in love with you is a possibility. But he wouldn’t fall for you. You know how Jimin has always been. Hopping from one person to another. You’re not entirely sure what feelings he has to sort out for him to be involved in this deal, but maybe the casual sex with his best friend is a temporary bliss for him to indulge in pleasure. But there is a part of you that does think otherwise.

The way he carries himself when he’s around you is much different than how he is with other girls, even previously with Irene. He’s truly himself, constantly showering you with love and physical affection even when others are looking, making you wish he could freely kiss you and fuck you senselessly. You wonder if he realizes this contrast as well. Though for him, these actions might just come natural when he’s around you. He has known you for almost a decade. Other people really don’t bat an eye at that like at the halloween party. And when you return that energy back at him, what does that really say about how you feel about Jimin?

Is this love?

Maybe the excessive release of sex hormones are getting to your head. You should just focus on indulging in the pleasure and go all out while you’re still in college. It’ll probably end sooner or later. As it should. Maybe Jimin and Yoongi should find someone else that isn’t as indecisive as you.

“Let’s try it.” you speak up, slowly handing out the toy to Jimin as his eyes widen in shock.

“Right now? Really? You looked kinda scared earlier.” he asks, eyes filled with worry but also a hidden excitement behind them.

“I did look scared, didn’t I?,” You laugh, “But I want to try this. Gotta live it up while I still can.” You assure him, giving him a slight smile he returns.

Giving you a little nod, he leans in next to you, reaching your lips for a kiss. He gives a few pecks to them, before he stands up and hovers over you. Reaching for his white collared shirt and clutching it in a fist, you pull him towards you which surprises him and causes him to stumble back.

He pins you down with his darkened eyes meanwhile a satisfied grin appears on his plump lips as your back meets the mattress. When his lips press against your jaw, neck and slowly move at the top of your blouse-covered breasts, you feel yourself arching from the bed in a desperate need to feel him more and closer. While his lips are preoccupied with your exposed skin that is available to his mouth, Jimin’s hands are too busy gripping your hips, ass.

He leans down, pulling off your pantyhose, your pencil skirt, and then your white lace panties. The sight of your bare pussy never ceases to amaze him.

“You looked hot in your professional business lady outfit, but I like seeing you without anything on.”

You giggle at his silly remark. Typical horny college student.

He presses the rose toy against your sensitive clit, and you shiver at the contact. He turns it on, the first setting of soft vibrations already sending shocks of pleasure coursing through your body.

Your breath starts to quicken as Jimin presses on to modes of vibrations, intensifying the feeling inside you. You close your eyes, feeling light-headed from the pleasure and anticipation. Meanwhile, Jimin's free hand continue to roam, exploring every inch of your body. He somehow manages to unbutton your white blouse with one hand and then pushes up your lilac floral bra to get a view of your breasts. He massages them gently, pinching your nipples up between his fingers.

As the vibrations reach a higher pitch, you can feel your body becoming more and more aroused. You’re worried that it sounds too loud, but before you can ponder it more, you moan softly, unable to resist the pleasure that's building inside you.

“F-Fuck…”

Jimin grins wickedly, his eyes never leaving your flushed face. "Feeling good, Y/N?"

You nod, unable to form words. Your body is now a mass of need, every muscle tensing and releasing in waves of pleasure.

With that, the vibration gets more intense and faster, your clit throbbing almost painfully while Jimin starts rubbing the rose at your most sensitive spot. This feeling is different – you’ve never felt this kind of pleasure before. You suddenly understand Jimin's eagerness to try something new and trying sex toys was something you never thought you'd experience. He’s truthful to his words, wanting to help you feel pleasure through different ways.

The new pleasant feeling makes your whole body shiver, or maybe it’s Jimin's dark lustful eyes hovering over with dark hair falling onto his face, or it’s a simple combination of both that takes you over the edge before you can even realize it. With another rub and skilful twist of his wrist, you’re instantly cumming undone just from the set of vibration. Legs shakingly in the air from the intensity, liquid squirting out which you never thought your body could do.

Holy shit.

Jimin rides you through it, slowing down the vibration until he fully turns it off when you're left breathless.

"How was it?" he smirks, watching your chest rise and fall as you catch your breath, waiting for you to glance back at him. “I can’t believe that made you squirt, has that ever happened to you before?”

"You're fucking crazy…” The residual tingles linger, and a sly grin crosses your face as you appreciate the Jimin’s spontaneity. “I’ve never actually squirted in my life so I guess it was that good then?”

“Really? Never?” Jimin asks, feeling prideful for being the first one to get you to squirt. “God, I wish I could brag about this.”

“Yeah, but would you please help me clean up because we yet again ruined another set of sheets.” You giggle as you get up from the wet spot, feeling cold, sticky and in need of a shower. Jimin, already an experienced cleaner, goes to grab extra bedding from your closet.

You somehow manage to survive the semester. Barely.

+++++++++++++++++++

December 8th [SATURDAY]

On Saturday, the whole house is buzzing with activity as everyone packs their luggage or duffle bags to head back home for the holidays after finals. Since all of you are from the same hometown, you've decided to carpool in the only two vehicles you have available: Jin's car, carrying Taehyung, Jungkook, and Hoseok, and Jimin's car, with you, Namjoon, and Yoongi.

As Jimin pulls up to your street, a sense of nostalgia washes over you. The familiar houses, the tree-lined streets, and the cozy neighborhood covered in Christmas decor evoke nostalgic memories. At the end of the cul-de-sac, are two houses where you and Namjoon live. Jimin and Yoongi drop you both off, bidding you goodbye for the time being.

“You won’t get rid off us for long,” Yoongi chuckles as he moves to sit on the front passenger seat, which you previously sat on. You get car sick if you’re in the back.

“Yeah, you two will see us around! Probably one more than the other.” Jimin winks at you, knowing that these words are definitely targeted at you. Namjoon has no idea of the meaning behind the words. Though you don’t know if you end up having any rendezvous with them during the break. Too risky.

“Okay, okay! You two better get home before your moms decide to call me worried about your whereabouts.” You shoo them away. “Don’t forget to text me about whatever you decide to do during break.”

“We will,” Yoongi waves to the both of you as Jimin turns the car around the cul-de-sac to leave, Namjoon and you watch as Jimin's car drives away until it disappears around the corner. The air is crisp, and the quietness of the suburban streets contrasts with the bustling holiday season. Namjoon turns to look at you, with a smile, “Well I’ll be sure to come over one of these days to hang out and send my greetings to your parents.”

You giggle at his politeness, “I know you just want to come over and eat the Christmas treats my mom is going to whip up, so yes, you’re to come over Joonie.”

The two of you share a slightly awkward silence before Namjoon breaks it with a warm hug. There's something about him embracing you in public that leaves you feeling flustered. This isn’t the first time that it has happened, but you can't help but notice the subtle reddening of your cheeks. As he pulls away, you hope he doesn't catch on, but he seems more focused on grabbing his luggage from the ground. With a quick "bye," he leaves you standing there, slightly dumbfounded.

What was that?

You shake your head, deciding to give yourself more time to think about it once you’re settled back in your room.

You approach your front door and knock. The familiar scent of home envelops you as your sister swings it open, excitement evident in her words as she wraps you in a tight hug. Stepping aside, she ushers you into the house. Your parents are at work, and won't be back until evening. Despite the months that have passed since you were last home, returning after a college break always feels a bit strange. The absence of the usual ruckus created by the other guys intensifies the void of loneliness.

In your room, you sit and stare at your phone, mindlessly scrolling through TikToks and other apps for hours. Eventually, you decide to lock your phone and gaze up at the ceiling, contemplating the different atmosphere and reflection of the fall semester in the quiet surroundings of your family home.

This is too much alone time to overthink.

It's also the first moment of peace you've had. It suddenly hits you — you're entangled with two out of your three best friends. It feels insane, and a month into this arrangement, your emotions remain tangled and unsorted. What the fuck are you going to do? There’s no game plan to this and it kind of scares you. There's also a particular aspect you've been avoiding, a name that lingers in your conscience: Namjoon.

You do feel guilt over doing this behind Namjoon's back. And a part of you hurts doing this too. It doesn’t feel right. He doesn’t deserve that either.

Now with Jimin joining this thing that you have with Yoongi, you wonder if Namjoon would be willing to do that too. You're aware that he's no longer with Jihyo, but whether he's involved with someone else, you're uncertain. The image of him on his phone during the card game flashes in your mind, but amid the chaos, you've been preoccupied with managing your own emotions and keeping everything under wraps.

No. Namjoon, the most logic-driven member in your quad and whole Beta Tau Sigma house would never. That’s like crazy. What kind of sane person is friends with benefits with three people at the same time? You can barely handle two people, let alone three. And as you had already thought before, what will the end result be? You only end up with one of them. And what about the other two?

Things would be easier if you could all be in a polyamorous relationship.

That’s only a dream though. No way that could happen when society is still iffy when it comes to sam sex relationships.

But not having Namjoon in the mix feels like you can’t properly settle things.

You don’t think Namjoon has those types of feelings or thoughts of you because he’s known you the longest. He's been there from the beginning, witnessing your growth and sharing a bond that transcends mere friendship. Family. In his eyes, you're more like a little sister, a connection resembling the one he has with his actual sibling, Kyeongmin, navigating her freshman year at a different college.

Your phone pinged unexpectedly, prompting you to check the 0309x1013 group chat.

Yoongi [4:21 PM]: Can we change the gc name to something else?

You decide to reply.

You [4:21 PM]: All of a sudden?

Yoongi [4:22 PM]: It’s too sus.

Yoongi [4:22 PM]: My brother was getting ideas when he saw my phone light up.

Yoongi [4:22 PM]: He said he saw a dating scandal break out with a group chat named with dates in Korea.

Jimin [4:23 PM]: LMAO

Jimin [4:23 PM]: I got an idea for a new name just now.

[[Jimin changed the GC name to ‘The Sanctuary’]]

Yoongi [4:25 PM]: The Sanctuary?

Jimin [4:26 PM]: It’s a SONG I really like right now.

Jimin [4:26 PM]: I think this name fits the purpose of this gc really well.

You [4:27 PM]: I like it c;

You [4:27 PM]: You guys are my sanctuary c:

Yoongi [4:29 PM]: …

Jimin [4:30 PM]: LOL not hyung being flustered. Jimin [4:30 PM]: this is too funny!! i never see him like this Yoongi [4:32 PM]: Aye....

Yoongi [4:32 PM]: She needs to stop..

Yoongi [4:32 PM]: you're being too cute honey! >:3

You find it adorable when Yoongi gets flustered, which doesn’t happen too often. You’re glad you have these two around, as close as you could possibly have them all to yourself. Is this selfish? Well isn't that what love is about? To be a bit selfish in wanting those you care about close to you? Shaking off those contemplative thoughts, you focus on the playful banter within the group chat.

++++++++++

December 10th [Monday]

On Monday morning, a text from Kyeongmin brightens your day. The invitation to join their family for some homemade kimchi is too tempting to resist. You slip out of your pajamas, opting for flared jeans and a cozy turtleneck, then head next door.

Kyeongmin greets you with a warm hug, exclaiming, "Unnie! It's been a while! How have you been?" She gestures for you to come inside, and you gladly accept.

"I've been good! It's been an eventful semester, to say the least," you reply. As you step in, Namjoon's mom, Mrs. Kim, peeks out from the kitchen.

"Namjoon hasn't been giving you a hard time, has he?" she teases. You smile at her, appreciating the familiarity of the Kim family home.

"Hi, Mrs. Kim! At the start, I would say he was, but he's been good. How are you doing?" you ask, approaching her.

"I'm doing good, sweetheart. I'm glad Joonie has been a good sport," she replies. Mrs. Kim hands you chopsticks with a piece of kimchi, urging you to eat. You gladly oblige, savoring the familiar taste.

"Thank you! Luckily, Yoongi and Seokjin were in charge of cooking, so we were able to eat well," you share.

"Is Oppa still a terrible cook?" Kyeongmin snickers as she chewed a mouthful of food.

"Haha, actually, he's been improving, thanks to Yoongi. He can make really good carbonara now," you giggle as you praise Namjoon, who coincidentally enters the dining room and takes a seat.

"Oh, Y/N, you're here!" he exclaims in a sleepy voice. Dressed in a black tank top and grey sweatpants, he seems to have just woken up.

"Did you really just wake up?" you tease.

"Yeah, because I was resting. The whole point of the break, Honey,"

"I like to be more productive with my breaks, Joonie," you smirk, earning an eye roll from Namjoon.

Mrs. Kim ushers you to join Namjoon at the table, setting up an array of banchan in front of both of you before placing bowls of Doenjang-jjigae as well.

"So, what's the move for today?" you ask.

"I had plans to go meet up with someone," Namjoon replies.

"Someone?" you inquire.

"Was it that girl you were on the phone with last night?" Kyeongmin adds, and Namjoon chokes on his kimchi.

"Kyeong!"

You can't help but wonder if your suspicions about Namjoon seeing someone are accurate.

"What? There's no reason for you to be hiding that from Y/N. She's your best friend, after all," Kyeongmin remarks. Her words strike a chord in your heart.

"I'm not seeing anyone, Kyeong. Y/N would be the first to know if I was, right, Y/N?" Namjoon looks at you.

You hum, "Mm, I don't know, Namjoon. You didn't tell me about you and Jihyo until October." Namjoon’s eyes widen at the mention of his technically ex-girlfriend in front of his sister. His mom is too occupied looking for something in the pantry to hear.

"Oh my God, you had a girlfriend?!" Kyeongmin gasps.

"Well…" Namjoon clears his throat, "We ended things before we made it official."

"Why?" Kyeongmin looks at both of you, hoping for an explanation.

"It's complicated," he vaguely replies, and the topic is dropped. The room falls into a brief silence as you all continue to eat.

"Y/N, are you seeing someone?" Mrs. Kim asks as she enters the dining room with more kimchi.

"N-No," you stammer, catching Namjoon's eyes. "I've been focused on my studies too much to look for love."

"Oh, you're such a studious girl," she praises, patting your back. "I was thinking of setting you up with my friend's son. His name is Lee Dongmin. He goes to a lovely private university down south. You'd love him!"

"Mom," Namjoon warns, a certain look in his eyes.

Trying to lighten the situation, you giggle, "Thank you, Mrs. Kim. I'll think about it and let you know."

After finishing your meal, washing the dishes, and bidding farewell to the Kim family, you return home. As Mrs. Kim closes the door, Namjoon heads back to his room, avoiding eye contact.

"I see you still get jealous," his mom observes, aware of the feelings Namjoon harbors for you.

He shakes his head, "I don't think it would be a good idea."

"Why do you say that?"

"I just know that Yoongi and Jimin probably feel the same way. Maybe even more guys at school feel the same way too. I don't know how I compare to them," he admits, leaving his mother sighing in the living room over her son's reluctance to express his feelings.

++++++++++++++++

December 12th [Wednesday]

It's around noon on December 12th, a Wednesday, when Namjoon decides to surprise you with an unannounced visit. He has a habit of dropping by unexpectedly, assuming you wouldn't have any weekday plans during winter break. However, today, he's in for a surprise himself.

Expecting to find you in your usual winter break attire – Christmas green and blue plaid pajama pants and a band t-shirt – he's taken aback. Your eyes light up at the sight of him, clearly not anticipating his presence. Namjoon sneaks a glance at your outfit, a grey roll neck knit sweater dress paired with thigh-high black felt boots. He quickly shifts his gaze back to your face, hoping you didn't catch him checking you out. Are you actually dressed to go out?

"O-Oh hey, Joon! What's up?" you greet him.

"Hey, uh, I came over to hang out with you, but I see you have plans?"

"Oh, um," you look down at your well-put-together outfit, a bit embarrassed he caught you dressed up, "I had plans to hang out with Yoongi, actually, but something came up, so now I'm dressed up to be at home."

Yoongi? Fuck. His mind briefly flits to bad thoughts of you two together, but he quickly dismisses it. We're all friends here. Yoongi wouldn't do that. Still, his insecurities have been getting the better of him lately.

"Yoongi?" Namjoon sounds more surprised than he intended.

"Yeah, we were going to go out shopping for Christmas gifts," you explain. Namjoon mentally sighs in relief. "But his mom is dragging him to help with some church fundraising event selling soondae soup."

Namjoon makes a mental note to thank Mrs. Min silently. This unexpected turn of events gives him the chance to hang out with you alone for the first time in forever.

"So what I'm hearing is that you're free?" he teases, leaning against the doorway and looking at you.

"Depends," you pucker your lips in thought, "What did you have in mind?"

Namjoon knows you're mostly a homebody, except for those spontaneous bursts of energy. He treads carefully with his suggestion, aware that one wrong move could lead you to decline his invitation. But there's one thing he's pretty sure you won't refuse.

"Want to get boba?"

"Boba?!" Bingo. Your eyes widen with excitement. "Is it from the place I'm thinking of?"

“Tea-cha!” You both exclaim in unison. Tea-cha is a familiar spot, closely located to the neighborhood where you both reside. It holds sentimental value, being the place you both frequented after school back in your high school. The boba might not be that great, but he knows the pure nostalgia makes you crave it whenever you're back home.

"Just like old times," Namjoon remarks, gazing deeply into your eyes. A dark, coffee like color that glistens stars made up of tiny sugar crystals. Always mesmerizing, he thinks to himself.

"Okay, but I'll drive!" you offer, grabbing the keys and your bag hanging on the hooks next to your door. "I can't believe you still don't have your license after all this time." You laugh, but he's always been apprehensive about the prospect of getting into an accident. With all his friends driving, he hasn't felt the urgent need to obtain a license.

"Shut up, tiny. I'll get it someday."

+++++++++++++++

You navigate your trusty black sedan while Namjoon occupies the passenger seat, engrossed in scrolling through his phone to peruse the menu.

Arriving at Tea-cha, he takes the initiative to place your order: strawberry green tea with honey boba, 25% sweetness, and light ice. He beams with pride about knowing your preferred drink, and you can't help but giggle at his enthusiasm. For himself, he opts for a roasted oolong milk tea with honey boba. As you reach for your card to settle the bill, he swiftly taps his own card on the machine.

Already using up gas and driving, covering the boba tab is the least he could do.

After securing your boba drinks, you decide to take a trip down memory lane and drive to your old high school.

Sitting in the empty student parking lot, Namjoon cues up his favorite playlist, guided by your impeccable taste in music. "Ride" by HYBS fills the car, creating a nostalgic atmosphere as you sip your drinks and gaze out at the familiar football field. The landscape around is serene, with birds gliding by and the leafless trees standing against the winter chill.

As the soft melodies of the playlist envelop the car, your conversation with Namjoon takes on a myriad of trivial topics. From discussing the latest quirky memes circulating on the internet to reminiscing about the absurdities of his high school years, the range of subjects is as diverse as your friendship.

At one point, you find yourselves debating the merits of various fast-food items, playfully arguing over the supremacy of McDonald's fries versus Burger King's onion rings. Namjoon can't help but chuckle at your passionate defense.

The conversation then shifts to your shared love for classic literature, with Namjoon excitedly recommending a new novel he recently discovered. You, in turn, share your fascination with a contemporary author you had just discovered during your break. Namjoon made a mental note to get you a book by them for Christmas.

The triviality of the topics is what makes these moments special to him, like exchanging anecdotes about your friends or laughing about the virginity race from high school.

You asked, curiosity evident in your eyes, "Speaking of people, who did you end up seeing on Monday?"

The question catches Namjoon off guard. He wasn’t trying to hide who he was going to go see, but also didn’t want to give you the wrong idea.

"Oh, uh, I met up with Soyoon," he carefully admits, the words carrying a sharp feeling as he voice them out.

"Soyoon? As in my coworker and friend, Hwang Soyoon?"

"Yeah," he responds, sensing a shift in the atmosphere. A fleeting thought crossed his mind— maybe that wasn’t a good idea. He mentally curses Kyeongmin for bringing it up on Monday and you hearing it.

"Shit," he mutters internally, realizing that this could imply that he likes Soyoon. He fidgeted, contemplating the consequences of his openness.

"Ah, didn't know she was your type," you remark casually, resuming the rhythmic sip of your drink. There it is. The one thing he knew you’d jump to conclude.

"I said I'm not seeing anyone," he protests, a hint of defensiveness in his tone. "We're just talking." He tries to steer the conversation away from misconceptions, emphasizing his purely platonic interactions with Soyoon.

You, however, narrow your eyes, a gesture that did not escape Namjoon's notice. "About ART! She’s helping me with something." he clarifies.

"Okay, Joonie, whatever you say," you respond, your tone carrying a subtle playfulness.

The conversation takes an unforeseen turn when Namjoon, succumbing to an unspoken frustration, poses a question he instantly regrets.

"What about you? Dressing up all cute to hang out with Yoongi?" The words slipped out, revealing an undercurrent of bitterness at the perceived shift in your priorities.

A sharp pang lingers within him. You've been spending more time with Yoongi and Jimin, which is starting to create a growing distance visible in his eyes.

He still remembers when Yoongi called him out back at Jimin’s birthday for not knowing your favorite drink. He still remembers when he saw you dancing giddily across the room with Jimin at Matthew’s halloween party. He still remembers hearing you, Yoongi, and Jimin laughing and talking from inside your room before he went up to call you over to the living room. He feels like an outsider these days, observing you in the light as he stands in the darkness, feeling pathetic and alone.

"It’s just Yoongi, Namjoon," you sigh, your feet shifting nervously, "Why are you always so overprotective of me?"

Because I don’t want to lose you to someone else.

Because I am actually in love with you?

And the thought of you being with someone else pisses me the fuck off.

Those are phrases running through Namjoon’s mind as he struggles with this dilemma, but doesn’t have the guts to say to you or anyone for that matter. Didn’t Jihyo say to get his shit sorted out? He’s really fucking up by remaining complacent to his current lifestyle because he is scared of getting you hurt.

The honesty in your response strikes a chord in him, but his internal fights find expression as he admits, "I’m sorry. It’s just, there’s been a lot on my mind lately. I feel like I don’t really know you anymore."

You register Namjoon's words with a mix of surprise and concern, the air around you heavy with unspoken tension. It's a moment suspended in the confines of your car, and Namjoon feels the weight of his own admission.

"I mean, everything's changed since we got to college, and it's not just with relationships or whatever," Namjoon continues, his eyes drifting to the nostalgia-inducing surroundings of your high school parking lot. “And I just…I've noticed you acting differently, feeling distant from me and I don't know how to navigate that." Namjoon admits, a hint of vulnerability seeping into his voice. His gaze searches your face for a sign, a cue that would unravel the mystery behind your recent actions.

You remain quiet, your eyes reflecting a complexity that eludes him. He fears pushing too hard, sensing that any additional pressure might push you further away. The car feels heavy with internal thoughts, the music’s hum a backdrop to the charged atmosphere.

"I guess I've been feeling…alone," Namjoon continues, his fingers tracing an absent pattern on the boba cup. "And seeing you with Yoongi, Jimin, and everyone, it's like…like the pieces don't fit the way they used to."

Your eyes soften, registering the sincerity in his words. A sense of deja vu in his words from a similar feeling from nights ago that he doesn’t know. Yet, there's a hesitancy, a wall that has grown between you two, making Namjoon wonder if it's a chasm that can be bridged.

"I know it's not fair to expect things to stay the same. We're all changing, I get that," he confesses, the weight of unspoken sentiments settling in the space between you, "But it feels like I'm losing you."

The admission lingers in the air.

"I felt the same way, actually," you confess, the words breaking the heavy silence. “When you started to talking to Jihyo last year and then you two sleeping with each other, even when Jimin started to get more invested in his relationship with Irene… I was feeling so left out.”

Namjoon wasn’t aware you felt that way. He left you with Yoongi, because Yoongi was someone he trusted would protect you. He wasn’t sure if Yoongi liked you in a romantic sense, but then at some point, he became worried he could’ve changed his mind.

”But I had Yoongs with me, and while it was a rough few months, he was always there to save me from falling into a dark void.”

Namjoon remembers the first time you fell into that dark void. You had become close friends with Yeonjun during your senior year as you both competed to be in the top 10 of your graduating class. You then invited him as your date to Seokjung’s wedding to spite Namjoon who had brought a date himself. He didn’t think you two were seeing each other until he saw you two kiss in the garden outside the reception. For some reason, that sight tore his heartstrings and debunked his previous thoughts.

Then the day he had gone up to campus to help you move into the dorm was the day he decided to end things. He’s still not sure why. Though, Namjoon hated that fucker for deciding to do that right as you were starting your new life. Yoongi saw it happen and was the first to comfort you. Then him and Jimin rushed to your aid as they went to buy snacks to celebrate the move-in. Yeonjun was lucky he wasn’t going to the same college as you. Namjoon would’ve made his life a living hell until the kid dropped out or transferred.

”So please don’t feel that way Namjoon. You have me. You have Yoongi, Jimin, everyone in the house and even those not living there. You have Soyoon too.”

Soyoon. She was a nice girl, different from Jihyo and you. Against the norms and all for breaking boundaries in art. He relates to that. He could have fallen for her if his heart wasn’t deadset on you. It’s been that way for years and he didn’t want to keep running from you anymore. Soyoon was actually helping him find the chance to tell you.

Namjoon absorbs your words, his mind processing the layers of emotion and revelation that have unfolded in this unexpected conversation. The honesty you've shared lays bare the intricacies of your feelings, illuminating a side of your experience he hadn't fully comprehended.

"I appreciate you saying that, Y/N," Namjoon begins, his voice sincere. "I never realized the impact my actions had on you. I guess I was so caught up in my own struggles that I didn't see how it affected you."

Namjoon finds himself drawing closer to you, the subtle shift in his posture closing the physical distance between you two. He can feel the warmth radiating from your presence, a comfort that transcends words. In the quietude of shared history, he inches closer, his gaze locked onto your warm coffee eyes.

"You've always been my constant, Y/N," he murmurs, the sincerity in his voice threaded with vulnerability. "making me feel grounded when I become overwhelmed."

The words lingers in the small space between you, and as his eyes meet yours, there's an understanding. Namjoon's hand instinctively reaches up, fingers gently brushing a strand of hair from your face. The touch is tender, a silent acknowledgment of the unspoken connection that has woven itself through the tapestry of your friendship.

A soft blush graces your cheeks, an involuntary reaction to the proximity that leaves Namjoon captivated by your charm. He finds your bashfulness endearing.

The air is charged with a different energy, one that goes beyond friendship and borders of emotions you can’t pinpoint. Yet, in this delicate dance of shared frustrations and questions, Namjoon chooses to tread carefully, aware that some feelings are better left unsaid for now. The car becomes a cocoon, shielding you both from the world outside, as the echoes of lost words reverberate in the uncharted space between friends.

"I think we should head back…" you say, breaking the subtle tension that had wrapped around you both. The vulnerability shared in this moment needs time to settle, and the familiar grounds of your past are safer than the uncharted territories you've inadvertently explored.

Namjoon nods, his hand gently retracting from its intimate proximity.

“Y-Yeah, definitely.” He stutters, which isn’t a common thing for him. You find that cute though.

The drive back to your neighborhood is filled with a comfortable silence, punctuated by the occasional shared laughter about random memories of this town you lived in. The tension seems to dissipate gradually, replaced by the comforting familiarity that defines your friendship.

Once you arrive back at your place, Namjoon remains seated for a moment, his gaze fixed on the steering wheel. "Thanks for today," he says, his tone carrying a mix of gratitude and contemplation.

"It was nice, Joon," you reply, your eyes meeting his briefly. The sentiments still linger, like shadows dancing on the periphery, but for now, anything outside this boundary remain untouched.

++++++++++++++

December 25th [Tuesday]

The days leading up to Christmas are packed with plans, with you bustling through holiday preparations. You find yourself going out more than usual, whether it's Christmas gift shopping with Yoongi for the guys or joining the late birthday dinner for Jin at his favorite local Koreatown BBQ place. Amidst the festivities, you occasionally run into Namjoon, sharing dinners with Mrs. Kim or your own family. The Sanctuary group chat keeps you entertained during the quieter moments.

Despite the festive busyness, there are times when you find yourself alone, lost in your thoughts. The echo of Namjoon's words hangs in the air, a revelation that caught you off guard. As you navigate through the hustle and bustle of the season, you can't help but confront the questions swirling in your mind.

A childish part of you feels a strange satisfaction knowing that Namjoon experienced the same loneliness he unwittingly subjected you to earlier in the semester. Yet, there's a deeper, more somber emotion beneath the surface. Each sigh you let out seems to spawn more questions than answers. What are you even doing right now, playing with your own heart while sleeping with your own best friends? You feel like you’re wasting their time and feelings as well. Another thought lingers in your mind: What if, in the midst of all this, you realize you had feelings for Namjoon all along? What’s going to happen then?

"Y/N? Did you want some of the treats my dad made?" Jihyun's voice breaks through your thoughts, and you glance up to find Jimin's younger brother peering at you. Embarrassment flushes your cheeks; you forgot you're at Jimin's house for Christmas. Losing yourself in contemplation in public and getting caught feels mortifying. You realize you need to figure things out soon.

"Jihyun! Sorry, I was lost in thought," you apologize, the embarrassment evident in your voice. "I'll take the blueberry scone! Thank you." The younger boy smiles, handing you the pastry with a napkin. As he continues offering treats to others in the house, you marvel at the holiday spirit that envelopes Jimin's home.

The living room, adorned with twinkling lights and holiday decorations, seems to come alive with excitement. Plush cushions and throws add a cozy touch to the seating arrangement. Jimin's mom, still in the kitchen, contributes to the festive atmosphere with her cheerful hums and the clinking of utensils. The aroma of holiday spices wafts through the air, creating a comforting and welcoming environment. It's a perfect setting for friends to gather and celebrate the joyous season.

"So January 19, we’re going camping?" Taehyung words catch onto your radar in the midst of you looking around at the decor.

"Huh? What? Camping?" You blurt out in surprise, prompting a sigh from Taehyung. You need to stop spacing out.

"Yeah, camping. We’ve talked about this before!" Jungkook exclaims, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "Taehyung wants us to go on a frat retreat."

"Oh, well, sorry, I’ve had a lot on my mind before, so I didn’t know," you reply, your gaze shifting to Yoongi and Jimin, who exchange unreadable glances. They quickly look away when you catch them.

"It’s gonna be us, but if you want to invite your lady friends, you can." Jin comments, taking a sip of his spiced tea with a contented smile.

"Uh, sure, I can invite Hwasa, Jieun, Soohyun, and Soyoon—" You pause, a sudden awareness of Namjoon's secret rendezvous with Soyoon making you hesitate. Unsure if it's appropriate to invite her, you choose your words carefully.

It seems Namjoon has similar thoughts, and he responds, "That’s a fine group." Maybe he had already discussed it with her. The realization hits you: why are you only finding out about this camping trip now?

"Then it’s settled! We’re going camping!" Hoseok yelps in excitement, wrapping his arms around Tae and Jungkook. The room buzzes with energy, filled with the anticipation.

However you can't shake the worry gnawing at your thoughts.

As the evening unfolds, you contemplate the upcoming camping trip, wondering if it will provide answers or only deepen the complexities within your friend group.

tbc :O a/n: we've made it halfway through!!! YAY! we finally got namjoon's perspective in here. camping chapter is up next! that will be loosely based on an irl experience i had going on an MT TRIP with my club back in college!! smack down in the winter during those 3 day weekends we get in january/february. Anyone have any thoughts or theories? i'd love to heart about them so lmk hehehe thank you all for reading!

[inthealloy]

for fun, I thought I'd share the old, old, OLD profile of ITA Sonic from an old multimuse I used to run. it's so out of date and fairly far removed from how I portray him now... I find that funny. it was VERY based off of the OVA, and before I actually, properly got into the series. it was no wonder I struggled to write him, lol.

< AU and design based off of Classic Sonic. Takes place not long after Sonic CD. Open to different timelines! >

Robotnik had never given up his goal of creating the perfect robotic clone of Sonic the Hedgehog, a speedy little demon that was a perpetual thorn in his side. Having gone through a number of Mecha Sonic prototypes, he had finally achieved perfection in the final iteration: Metal Sonic. But even that was bested by the blasted hedgehog!

But then. It finally happened.

After numerous failed attempts, Robotnik finally defeated Sonic. He was on death row, his body broken. Just as he was about to finish the job, the robotics expert had a thought: why just stop at the perfect Sonic clone? What better way to prove his own superiority than to have Sonic himself under is control?

Thus the Robotization process began. What was left of Sonic’s body was salvaged for Robotnik’s nefarious plan.

Using Sonic’s body to pilot the metallic chassis much like the Badniks, Sonic’s mind was overwritten with programming to make him loyal to Robotnik through and through. This worked for some time, however Robotnik did not account for Sonic’s strong will. After all, he’s still alive in there. 

It was all well and good at first; the new and improved Metal Sonic proved to be a menace to anyone that dared to defy Robotnik. He terrorized anyone and everyone, and was nearly unstoppable!

Until Tails started to catch on. 

With the young fox trying desperately to reach out to Sonic, he eventually reached through. Now having to actively fight against his programming, Sonic shines through Metal’s cold exterior now and again.

These days he is a neutral force; he actively has to fight against Robotnik’s programming, which Tails has had difficulty countering. He’ll work alongside Tails and his friends when he can, however Robotnik gains control frequently….

Extra notes: 

Metal can speak, however it’s in his programming to typically keep his mouth shut. Rile him up enough and you’ll get him to talk! However when his true nature starts to leak through, he has no inhabitations on speaking his mind. 

He’s got a SERIOUS superiority complex. After being turned on, he destroyed any and all Sonic replicas that Robotnik still had around. Should he encounter any other Metal Sonics, or Sonics in general for that matter, he will be quick to heckle them and give them a challenge. 

He feels best when his true nature is out, when he is truly and properly Sonic. However as his programming actively pushes back, these moments of true clarity are sadly brief. 

When Sonic is properly in control, his personality is somewhat similar to the Sonic seen in the 1993 OVA; headstrong with a laidback but snarky attitude. Overconfident, but has the strength and skill to back it up. Comes across as uncaring at times, but can be convinced to do the right thing, and does have his heart in the right place. 

More hasty than the average Sonic, he’s extremely impatient. He’s unfortunately not against getting the job done in any way possible, even if it means stepping on someone or hurting them along the way. 

He does occasionally feel out of it, guilty for what he’s done under Robotnik’s control, and can be caught being uncharacteristically pensive. Of course, he’s quick to cover this up if anyone happens to catch him in the act. 

HATES that he can’t run half as well anymore. Sure, his booster keeps him going fast, but he wants to run.

Likes to call Robotnik “Eggbotnik.” Who knows why. This gets him into trouble but he gets a kick out of it. 

[sirwow]

Nother HC/AU ramble about these two under the cut

Since these two basically have nothing about them it leaves me all the room I want to ramble about what I think their relationship would be✨

As I said in my original HC post, these two start off as rivals, Insomniac re challenging Samurai to a fight when he lost his winning streak to the new guy (Samurai) n got salty. Being they fought half drunk in a night club, things eventually got out of hand and a sword stab to a generator later both got electrocuted, messing up their heart beats. This put them as the perfect candidates for the new rhythm doctor program and what put them in the first chapter.

Samurai was fine when the program was used on him, but Insomniac’s much more effected heart beat (this is what you get for wearing no armor) ended up causing the development of the virus. It’s hard to explain but basically the rhythm doctor program’s ticking of the beats going down the line was Ai doing so and the Insomniac’s heart beat corrupted it into only following the extreme- creating the virus that separated itself from the original program. It’s not really malicious! It’s just trying to get people to follow the beats it was taught.. being really fucked up and possibly deadly beats but beats nonetheless.

Anyways, after Insomniac and Samurai got taken care of, Samurai continued having mild relapses each day, steady and predictable. Insomniac instead ended up stuck with extreme episodes that would appear in sudden bursts, first of these showing up in X-1N where future ones will likely only get worse as the virus Ai conforms more to being insane as he has episodes. A cycle of oh no.

In the meantime they have their own time to hang out n meet the other patients. Samurai being in the west for the first time has him curious about everything and everyone, just wanting to be a part of whatever was happening. Insomniac chose to be distant from the others to continue focusing his time on training but still had to get Samurai sometimes if he wanted to spar with someone. He always had some group with him, usually Logan and Hailey, on weekends it be Cole and Nicole. Insomniac doesn’t mind Cole n Nicole, they don’t bother him much and if they did have a question they weren’t dumb. The kids on the other hand he was probably exploding in his mind if they interrupted to ask if they could touch the sword.

Samurai and Insomniac also share a room for the sake of space and sparing. The only language they both know is English but it’s both their second language so most conversations are simple and dependent on their tone. Insomniac always talks about training or honor but Samurai is much more interested in talking about the new things he’s learned or discovered. Insomniac has been in the west for a few years now so can’t help but find it a bit childish and his demeaning view of Samurai isn’t helped when he finds out he’s not a fighter for his family or honor but just. Likes to sword fight. (insert “stop having fun” img here)

After X-1N, Insomniac was pretty shaken up to say the least. Without anyone else to open up he decided to be vulnerable and talked a bit about life to Samurai. Insomniac wondering what Samurai’s personal propose was if wasn’t fighting for anything. Samurai simply corrected Insomniac, he was fighting for something, his own fun and joy of experiencing life. Sword fighting just being one of his favorite deep outlets of this. Despite it being a bit corny and being said as Samurai was failing but continuing some crochet he wanted to learn, it did strike a bit of a cord with Insomniac.

Slowly Insomniac opened up to the others, placating the curiosity of the kids a bit, going to the cafe n trying the tea there while also teaching Nicole how to make some specialty ones he can make, and eventually when Samurai was talking about learning baseball, Insomniac took initiative and asked to join him. Samurai n Insomniac were finally able to come to a understanding with how the other thoughts and worked.

Now then that’s all I’m gonna write for now. Iv got more but I gotta cook in the brain some more. Thnak for reading

[newsbites]

News from Newfoundland and Labrador, 14 July

1. Police continue to investigate stabbing in St Johns in Topsail Road.

A 34-year-old man was seriously injured in a stabbing in the west end of St. John’s.

The assault took place between Bay Bulls Road and Topsail Road.

Police are urging anyone with information or video footage of the area during the specified time to come forward.

2. A man from Bell Island is facing charges after being caught on 12 July with drugs in a car which was pulled over for speeding.  He was driving while his licence was suspended and showing signs of driving impaired.

3. Near miss at Braya refinery.  A Stop-work order has not been issued by the department. 

Occupational Health and Safety is investigating a "near-miss" incident at the Braya refinery in Come By Chance, involving drilling on a repurposed line that had previously been in nitrogen service.

The line was not in service or under pressure at the time of the incident, and internal analysis was conducted before sharing the findings with OHS and employees.

This incident comes almost a year after a fatal explosion at the refinery, which resulted in a criminal negligence investigation by the RCMP.

4.  Clean-up underway after an unexpected tornado in Half Moon Bay.

5. Electrically-serviced campsites in loops A and B of Newman Sound Campground in Terra Nova Park are currently without power.

6. Oceana Canada is concerned about DFO’s failure to close Capelin Fishery [via VOCM].

OC says that the Canadian government, specifically the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), is not effectively incorporating climate change data and research into fisheries management decisions, which is exacerbating the depletion of fish stocks.

7. Candidate Tony Wakeham is releasing his healthcare plan for connecting residents with a primary provider for healthcare.

Tony Wakeham's health care plan focuses on improving access to timely care in Newfoundland and Labrador by connecting every resident with a primary health care provider and establishing family health care teams.

The plan prioritizes job offers to health care professionals at the beginning of their training to address the shortage of healthcare providers in the province.

Wakeham emphasizes the urgency of addressing the lack of access to health care and believes that waiting for the long-term vision of the Health Accord is not feasible for the province.

8. Musgrave Harbour failed to respond to two access to information requests, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has found [per VOCM].

9. It is peak tourism for Newfoundland and Labrador right now. Business has picked up but the sector still faces challenges, including air access [per VOCM].

Small businesses in the hospitality industry, such as restaurants and tour companies, are relying on a busy summer season to help cover costs and repay loans taken out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Staffing shortages, inflation, and rising food prices are adding to the challenges faced by businesses in the summer, but increased tourism can help offset these difficulties.

Business owners are implementing strategies such as menu changes, hiring immigrants, and raising prices to adapt to the current economic conditions and make the most of the summer season.

[viewer-of-many]

HWLR Alterverse AU: Pedal to the Meddle

Footsteps shake the ground- a monster is approaching. A single paw is seen, and then, the rest of the creature it belongs to: a wild hound with long black fur and piercing red eyes. It howls ominously...the scene would be terrifying if it wasn't a video essay. 💛"Behold, the Tibicena! The stories say that they appeared at night and served as mighty protectors."💛 "Cool!" The showcase was interrupted by the sounds of a new vehicle arriving at the Ultimate Garage. Of course the campers had to check that out!

💛"Is that what I think it is? A car transporter!"💛 "That it is, Spark! With this Transporter, you campers can get vehicles delivered to you anywhere in the city- even in the middle of a Camp Champ race!" "Wait, we could change cars mid-race?! Wow!" "Wow is right. The Transporter can hold a ton of cars. Come on, Squeakers, we'll finish building the Transporter after lunch." 🐭*squeaking sounds*🐭 "Kale salads? We had that yesterday. Ooh, what about burgers?" 🐭*more squeaking sounds*🐭

"This thing is awesome! Imagine: cars delivered to us, anywhere, anytime! Too bad it's not finished yet." A quick look back at the video essay, and suddenly, an idea! 💛"...I think I can change that! It'll be a surprise for Dash when she gets back."💛 "I dunno, Spark. Dash worked really hard on this. I don't think she'll like someone else meddling with it so far in." 💛"If it was someone that didn't know what they were doing, I could see that. But I do know what I'm doing, and I've shown as much to Dash before. It'll be fine! Now then: the Transporter is made to protect the cars inside it, so giving it the protective power of the Tibicena will be perfect!"💛 "Some bark with its bite- I like the sound of that!" 💛"When I'm done, Dash will be howling with joy over how awesome this Transporter is! Now then: it needs a powerful jaw to pick up and load the cars...something like this."💛 The computer responded: designing Tibicena head. 💛"And then, a part to resemble the tail, that can also turn into a ramp."💛 Creating loading ramp. 💛"Add in a cool new paint job, and...there, it's ready to build!"💛 The actual building of the Transporter was fully automated, but it sure was satisfying to watch!

💛"See? I told you I knew what I was doing."💛 Leaning back, she accidently pushed some buttons, which resulted in: Self-driving mode, activated. 🩶"Self-driving? What does that mean?"🩶 💛"Oh no...it means..."💛 "The Transporter...is alive!" That it was, and it was wild! "Turn it off!" 💛"I'm trying!"💛 System failed to respond. Try again later. Later might not be good enough, seeing what it did next. "Look, it's eating the cars!" 💛"Its programming must be incomplete: it knows how to load and store cars, but not when it should and shouldn't do so."💛 The Transporter turned around, getting a good look at the city- and then it drove away! "If the Transporter wants to feast on cars, he's gonna have his plate full in Hot Wheels City!" "There's...so...many...cars!" 💛"I have to bring it back!"💛 "Then we're coming, too!" "Challenge Accepted!"

"I choose: the Mach Speeder!" 💛"I need something strong to stop that Transporter in its tracks! I choose: the 2-Tuff!"💛 "I choose: the Glory Chaser!" "I choose: the Buns of Steel!" 🩶"I choose: the Surf 'N Turf!"🩶 "I choose: the Hi-Roller!" Cars selected, all lined up, and off they go!

The Transporter was charging fast, causing a driver to abandon their car right before it was chomped up. "Great, now I'll really be late for work." Or, he would have been, had the campers not gotten there in time to see it- a Hot Wheels racer always helps out when they can! 🩶"Hey, need a ride?"🩶 Meanwhile, the Transporter chomped two more cars- and this time, the drivers didn't exit when they had the chance. 💛"We need to stop the Transporter so we can free the cars!"💛 "Easy- it's based on an animal after all! Brights, follow me!" "Ok!" 💛"Axle! Brights! Wait!"💛The two of them stopped on a stretch of road right next to the Transporter. "Tell it who I am and why it should listen to me when I tell it to return to the Ultimate Garage!" "*Dog sounds*" "Alright, that should be enough to show it who's boss and..." Chomp. "*Angry dog sounds...begging...whimper*" Chomp.

"Whoa!" This wasn't going to be that easy. 🩶"Hey, I'm back, what happened?"🩶 A video call answered that- kind of. "Uh...you don't want to know." The remaining campers raced after the Transporter. 💛"If I hadn't messed with Dash's project, I would've never unleashed this beast onto the city!"💛 "You mean, this beast would've never been unleashed onto the city, right?" 💛"I can't be sure about that- hacking or a glitch could happen."💛 "So, how do we stop it? All it wants to do is eat cars!" "You're right...everyone thinking what I'm thinking?" Some of them were, but one didn't quite get the idea. "Uh, why are you all looking at me like that?" One more car was chomped before they figured it out.

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" "Yes! The hauler's hungry for cars, so a car that looks like a burger is perfect bait!" They were still unsure about this- no one likes being bait- but they didn't have a better idea, so..."Ok, here I go!" She got right in front of the Transporter. "Hey Transporter, over here! Lunch is served!" That got its attention, and it was getting that car. No other car would distract it now! "Time for some fast food!" Speeding away worked for a bit, but the Transporter was catching up. "Uh, guys? Feel free to jump in anytime!" 🩶"Don't worry, we're coming!"🩶 The three other racers got behind it, dodging its thrashing tail while getting into just the right position for their plan. 💛"Let's haul in this Transporter! Super-tow, activate!"💛 The tow line got hooked on right, but the Transporter wasn't going down without a fight. 💛"Whoa! Whoa!"💛 At one point, being dragged along caused her car to jump from one track to another, followed by a big spin around the Transporter once she got back to where it was. Still, the tow line held strong! 💛"Time to tow this Tibicena home! Go Hot Wheels!"💛 With an extra power boost, the tow line was able to stop the Transporter right before it chomped down on the bait car. And with a bigger boost from the other campers, it was back to the Ultimate Garage for everyone!

At the Ultimate Garage, Dash and Squeakers were enjoying their lunch- they decided on tacos. Right as Dash went to take a bite, the sound of the Transporter's return startled her, causing her to drop her meal onto Squeakers. Spark ran out of her car, and this time, turning off self-driving mode worked! 💛"Dash, before you say anything, please know: I am so sorry! I touched the Transporter without asking. And, sorry about your lunch."💛 "I appreciate the apology, Spark. Next time, please just check with me first, ok? That being said...this thing is amazing! I had planned for it to be styled after a T-rex, but thinking about it now, that's kind of overdone. I mean, there's already a car and a monster truck like that. Now, a Tibicena? No one's done that before! Look at that head, and that tail, and that paint job!" 🐭*squeaking sounds*🐭 🐕*growling/engine sounds*🐕 "And it looks like Squeakers likes it too. With a few extra adjustments, this Ultimate Tibicena Transporter will be ready for a howling good time! *howls of joy*" "Does that mean we can keep it?" "Bingo!" *cheers all around* "Good to know everything worked out, but..." "Can we get out of here?!" The five cars belonging to the trapped drivers- and the car belonging to the one guy that bailed out(have to get it back to him later)- were released, but not in the most flattering way...did it have to make a fart sound?!

[silvaswiftcast]

Fluffvember Prompt #22 Formal

Characters: Silva Cataracta, Ricmorn Cataracta, and Hien Rijin (Aymeric, Lyse, and Alisaie are also mentioned here, but they do not speak.)

Rating: Mature

Notes: Slowly catching up on the prompt list for this challenge! Holidays and other writing projects are keeping me busier than I thought they would. But enjoy this rather long one shot The scene takes place sometime after Shadowbringers 5.3! There is no mention of anything from MSQ/Story, so no spoilers here! The relationship between Silva and Hien is still very much a well kept secret from their friends/the world. Words contained in [brackets] are in another language, in this case, it's Doman.

Content Warnings/Additional Tags: Polyamory Relationship (V Relationship), M/F/M Relationship, Playful Banter/Teasing, Jealousy, Mentions of Unrequited Love, Suggestive Sexual Themes, Food, Alcohol/Drinking, Heavy Kissing, Groping, Implied Eventual Threesome, Domestic Fluff.

The low whistle coming from behind Silva as she fiddled with the white rose hairpin made her smile.

“You look stunning, my dear.”

She didn’t have to look in the mirror to know who was waiting for her to finish getting ready. “To be fair, you always say that, Ricmorn,” she laughed, shaking her head. The Auri woman made sure the decorative hairpiece was where she wanted it, tilting her head in a few different directions to see if it would slip. When it remained, she sighed softly, relieved. “Also, considering we are married and bonded, I believe you’re legally obligated to say such things to me.”

The joke made him laugh. Silva couldn’t help giggling with him, the bubbly sound mixing in with hearty rumbles that shook his chest and shoulders as he crossed the room to meet her. When she turned around, the white mage caught her slender waist in his hands.

“I mean it, Silv — always,” Ricmorn promised. And there was no trace of teasing in his voice, at least not this time.

And she was. The long, flowing midnight blue dress she wore was perfection. 

He loved the radiant grin she gave him, a flash of white teeth and fangs. The one that chased away haunting shadows and brightened his world. A grin that never failed to make his heart race. Beautiful.

“Thank you,” she whispered, leaning up to press a chaste kiss to his cheek. How she didn’t wobble in her high heels was a miracle. One she hoped would continue for the next several bells. “It’s not too much. Is it? Miki is still here and can help me change dresses if you think so.”

Silva still couldn’t believe it took her nearly all week to decide what to wear. Tataru had crafted many dresses for her since she joined the Scions many years ago, all of the gowns beautiful in their own ways, and she was always happy to create more if nothing felt right. This dress caught her eye only bells earlier when she dug through her closet — one she hadn’t worn before. (She didn’t even remember what function this dress was supposed to be for.) But when Tataru came over to see what she had settled on, she practically squealed in delight and gave the Au Ra her approval to wear it.

This dress was… different. A little outside of her comfort zone — something new and exciting and unexpected. It would certainly catch the attention of their friends and those invited to the Alliance Gala.

But it was the unwanted attention she worried most about.

He shook his head, a low growl rumbling in his throat. “No, no— You look fantastic! Do not change a thing, sweetheart,” he assured, returning the kiss and offering a smile. 

And she was.

The long, flowing midnight blue dress she wore was perfection. The long slit in the fabric, stopping at the middle of her thigh, showed off her lean legs and strappy heels. Each time the skirt moved with her, the fabric would glitter in the light, reminding Ricmorn of the night sky filled with stars. The corset top hugged her in all the right places, making her curves and chest stand out. Sterling silver embedded with glimmering sapphires decorated her neck and horns, matching the delicate flower piece pinned in her short purple and magenta waves. 

His wife was absolutely gorgeous tonight.

And he couldn’t count how many times his gaze outlined the sweetheart neckline — how many times he lingered at her cleavage.

All he would have to do was just slightly loosen the ribbons at her back, holding the corset closed. It wouldn’t take much for her full breasts to pop free and— Gods help him. Tonight would be a long one. 

At least he wouldn’t be the only one suffering from the desire to drag her away from the party and strip her bare.

Her exhale of relief was music to his horns — and snapped him out of his thoughts. “Okay, good!” she breathed, smoothing her hands over her long skirt. “O-oh! You look rather dashing yourself, my love.”

But Ricmorn always looked fucking incredible in a black suit. It was absurd. How Tataru tailored the fabric perfectly over his tall frame and broad shoulders each time she made one for him never failed to amaze her. How much she wanted to wrap the matching black silk tie around her hand and yank his head down for searing kisses. The thought alone was enough to make her giddy.

However, his smile didn’t last, quickly twisting into a smirk as his sky-blue eyes roamed over Silva’s body again. Ricmorn was acutely aware of how her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of lilac at his gawking. “Your beloved lord will have difficulty keeping his hands off you once he finally corners you, though. You know that, yes?” he teased, brushing his knuckles against her warm cheeks. Another low growl escaped him when her blush darkened. “His eyes will be glued to you the entire time and he’ll have trouble staying focused while in boring conversations with nobles and… other people.”

“Aymeric,” she deadpanned, resting her hands on her hips. “You mean Aymeric, right?”

The way his eyes narrowed, a deep scowl painting his handsome features, almost made her laugh. “You’d think he’d understand by now that your heart lies elsewhere and a relationship between you will never happen.” And when Aymeric learned how her love not only rested in Ricmorn's hands but in Hien’s, too, he couldn’t wait to rub it in his face.

The “poor” Lord Commander of Ishgard would shit bricks when news of their relationship broke.

Silva shrugged, her long tail swishing behind her. “He’ll have his hopes and dreams dashed once more, so enough. No need to fret.”

“He’s been told plenty of times by now — many of them before you and Hien became a couple—”

“Yes, yes — I know. But we are dawdling now, Ricmorn. We’ll be late to the gala if we do not hurry!” She didn’t have to admit it aloud. She was eager to see her other lover — they'd been apart too long. The mention alone was enough to make her heart beat faster.

Ricmorn took the hint, offering his arm out for her to take. “Then let us be off, my dear. The sooner we arrive, the quicker we can leave.”

Or… sneak out and whisk the young lord away with them.

※

Ricmorn had been correct about his statement: Hien could not take his eyes off her.

From the moment Silva entered the ballroom with her husband, the couple offering their greetings to their close friends and allies, she had his full attention. She had to hide a giggle behind a hand when he swore in Doman when their gazes met. His poor jaw nearly hit the floor as he looked at her up and down!

(Aymeric’s blue eyes devoured her, but it was easy to ignore his gaze — it didn’t affect her as much as Hien’s or Ricmorn’s did. It didn’t light her ablaze like they did.)

Her reaction to seeing him in formal Doman clothing was nearly the same. Ricmorn told her if she wasn’t careful, she would start smacking people and well decorated tables with her swishing tail. He looked dashing in regalia fitting of a king, nearly mirroring the appearance of his usual clothes. The only thing that remained the same between the outfits was his sheathed katana. His trusty blade never left his side.

(As if she could blame him. Not when she always kept a carefully concealed dagger or two hidden on her person at all times if she couldn’t summon any of her weapons from the aether.)

Silva felt his curious eyes on her no matter what she did. Whether she lingered around her Lyse and some of the ladies in their friend group, catching up. She felt them burn into her when she shared dances with Ricmorn, her uncle, or other nobles vying for her attention. She felt them when she flagged down a server for flute glasses filled with bubbly wine to down in several gulps as she felt the heat of his gaze — a poor attempt to cool herself down. To stop the flush staining her cheeks from bleeding down her neck and into her chest. None of it worked.

Of course, it didn’t. Hien and Ricmorn just had that effect on her.

The warmth spreading across her skin and body worsened when she caught him and her husband staring at her from across the room. Hungry sky-blue and peridot orbs traced invisible paths along her exposed skin and roamed up and down her leg when the long slit exposed the limb. It was as if they touched her without using their hands and fingers. Stealing the air from her lungs and making her heart threaten to beat free from her chest with their eyes alone. They knew all the places they could graze and linger on her body to make her sing. To make her come undone, time and time again.

Such sweet, arousing torture and no one else in the room was none the wiser. It was unbelievably unfair.

Eventually, after nearly two and a half bells of distractions and discussing duties, the young lord made her way over to her. Silva stood in the back of the room beside Ricmorn when Aymeric called for attention as he readied some speech about how grateful he and the other Alliance leaders were for the mass attendance that practically made the Auri couple invisible. She tried her best not to laugh at something her husband muttered under his breath when she felt muted sparks run up her arm as gentle fingers grazed her skin. Sea-green eyes turned and found peridot orbs staring right back at her, filled with amusement as Hien grinned at her.

“May I steal you away for a moment, Silva?” he murmured, keeping his voice low so no one overheard.

What a silly thing to ask, as if he needed to ask her such a question in the first place. As if she somehow wouldn’t willingly say yes and follow him wherever he went.

Excitement swelled within her chest. “Of course,” she breathed, returning Hien's smile. And praying she didn’t sound as breathless aloud as she did in her horns.

Judging by how Ricmorn smirked out of the corner of her eye, her silent prayer fell deaf to the gods and kami.

“Ricmorn, if anyone asks—”

“Done. Do not worry about it, my dear,” he promised, gently squeezing her waist before letting go. The second he did, Hien’s arm warped around her in his place. “Go enjoy your moment alone with him. I’ll find you both should people start to annoy me with ridiculous questions.”

Bless him — she didn’t know what she would do without him.

She murmured her thanks before slipping away with the young lord, which was surprisingly easy for them to do as Aymeric still spoke to the room.

The Doman pair did their best to be quick but silent. Stifling their laughter with their hands or by biting their lips and tongues. They traveled down several hallways, some long and some short, until they found a little alcove far away enough from the rest of the guests to tuck themselves into. Their rumbling chuckles and bubbly giggles finally broke free then, knowing they were alone and safe.

And the second her back hit the cool stone wall behind her, and he caged her in, they let themselves get lost in one another.

Silva breathed his name before his mouth slanted over hers, one of his hands settling at her slender waist while the other carefully weaved fingers into her hair. The kiss was deep, lingering, and full of longing and sweetness of reunion after being apart for so long. But there was a hunger there. It simmered between them, waiting for the right moment to break free. She could feel it with each brushing of their lips — tasted it on her tongue. She sensed it in the way Hien gradually pressed his body into hers, further pressing her into the wall. Almost as if he could somehow meld himself to her.

And she wanted it and everything else he had to offer.

So when she felt his warm tongue run along the seam of her mouth, a teasing flick that made desire burn brightly within her, she let him in. Silva parted her mouth for him to do as he pleased, her arms wrapping around his neck and shoulders, coaxing him closer. Pulling him impossibly closer to her until he groaned into her opened mouth. Oh— Oh, if that strangled sound didn’t further ignite the heat building in her core. His tongue found hers to tangle and dance with as he devoured her soft whimpers. Kisses so hot and bruising and oh so right. The little sounds turned into a sharp moan when he tightened his fingers in her short purple and magenta waves, tilting her head slightly to the side so he could lick deeper into her mouth. And she let him. She let him take and take and take from her until her lungs screamed for air.

“[My heart!]” the dancer gasped after she forced her mouth away from his. The cold Ishgard air burned as it went down her throat and filled her lungs, cooling her from the inside out.

Hien hummed at the moniker she used with him — and only him. His lips moved to her jaw and throat, leaving behind kisses, swipes of tongue, and gentle grazing of teeth wherever they went. None of it was hard enough to decorate her skin with scarlet marks, but kami, he wished. “[Wildflower,]” he rumbled against her throat, placing a feather-light kiss over her thundering pulse. “[My beloved wildflower, I have missed you so.]”

And she missed him just as much.

Silva cupped his face and tugged his mouth back to hers, stealing more of his addicting kisses while they were alone. The new kisses were slower, more patient. They weren't as heated as the last ones they exchanged. But the hunger was still there, lingering under the surface. An unspoken promise of more for later on when they were behind locked doors and naked.

A promise they both looked forward to fulfilling.

When they parted again, Hien rested his forehead against hers. Their warm breaths mingled in the cold air as they took a few minutes to calm their racing hearts. But neither of them moved away from the other, keeping her trapped between his strong body and the stone wall. Silva didn’t mind the proximity after craving it for so long — not after being away from him for weeks.

She was right where she wanted to be — where she needed to be.

“Hey.”

She flashed him a smile. “Hey.”

The young lord pressed a soft kiss to her slightly parted lips, his nose brushing against hers. “You look beautiful tonight, Silva,” he murmured, his eyes roaming over her flushed face. “Absolutely radiant.” 

The dress she wore for tonight’s gala was everything. It fit her perfectly and showed off her curves, hugging her in the right places. And the slit in her skit— He couldn’t begin to count how many times his eyes roamed up and down her lean leg every time it peeked out from it. How the fabric would move like the night sky full of glittering stars when she twirled while dancing, and all he could focus on were those damned legs— They distracted him from conversations. They made his fingers twitch with the urge and need to run his palms up them, feeling the muscle underneath her light blue-gray skin flutter at his touch.

He grinned when she giggled at the compliment, hearing her long tail swish against the fabric of her skirt. “Thank you,” she said, tracing her fingers against his jawline. His neatly trimmed beard tickled her fingertips, and she looked forward to feeling it scrape against her skin later. “You look very dashing yourself, [my lord.]”

The compliment rewarded her with the pink blush on his cheeks turning red. “It’s very different from my usual garb,” he laughed. “A little more restricting when it comes to movement, but a few of my more traditional advisors insisted I wear it.”

It was Silva’s turn to hum. Her other lover could wear a popoto sack, and she would still think he was one of the most attractive people on the star — next to Ricmorn, of course. “It’s different, yes, but lovely,” she assured, letting her hand fall to his chest. Even through the layers of soft fabric, she could feel the beating of his heart. And it matched the beating of her heart. “And besides, you still have your blade with you. That’s something they could never pry from your hands.”

He would have to be cold and dead before that ever happened.

Hien smirked. “To be fair, I have two swords with me, [wildflower.]”

She blinked, confused by his words. Did… did he just—

“Did you just make a cock joke?” Silva snorted when his smirk grew, and he wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Perhaps.”

“Good gods, really— You’ve been spending too much time around Ricmorn.” There was more she wanted to say, but the flicker of heat in his hazel eyes made her hold her tongue.

“How can I not be hard and aching for you when we’ve been apart longer than either of us would like?” the young lord teased. He loved the way the Raen’s breath hitched when his hand found the slit in her skirt. He palmed his way up her thigh, starting just behind her knee, so ever slowly. His fingers lightly dug into her skin, feeling the muscles underneath flex and flutter at his touch. Desire burned in her sea-green orbs as she gazed up at him, arching into him as his hand continued to glide up and up and up. “When you walked into the ballroom looking like this? All dressed up and ready for a good time. Wrapped up in pretty fabric like you’re a gift, begging to be opened and used.”

And when his hand ran over the curve of her ass, groping her through the thin, lacy smalls she wore under her gown, she growled. Low, rumbling, and deep. Kami— he loved that sound.

Hien leaned closer, his lips ghosting over the pretty ivory scales below her horn, savoring the small whimpers she made. “And we both know I’ll have you begging at some point tonight.” Oh, how sweetly she begs for him and Ricmorn — especially when she’s on her knees.

Silva laughed as she shook her head. Light and breathy. With a hint of a whine somewhere in the middle. He chuckled along with her.

“You are mad, [my heart.] A troublemaker. A tease—”

“Hm… You don’t say such things when you’re busy gasping and moaning while being filled with mine or your husband’s co—”

Seven fucking hells!

She gasped, eyes growing wide as she pressed a hand to his mouth. “Hien Rijin!” The lilac flush staining her cheeks darkened when he laughed again, amusement dancing in his gaze. And she couldn’t deny how levin ran down her spine when his eyes followed the blush bleeding down her neck and chest.

How his eyes lingered there for several heartbeats before flicking back to her, and the lust in them was enough to turn her to ash.

Gods— The temperature in the little alcove they found suddenly felt sweltering. The cold stone digging into her back provided her no relief.

“Sorry… not sorry,” he quipped. “You’re too fun to taunt and tease, [wildflower.]” When she rolled her eyes, Hien kissed the small patch of ivory scales. His heart fluttered against his ribs when a pleased trill escaped her, filling the air. “Perhaps it is time we gather Ricmorn and sneak out of this party. Lock ourselves behind closed doors and away from prying eyes. What do you think?”

“The great Lord of Doma wants to leave an Alliance function early to spend a night of debauchery with the two Warriors of Light?” she asked aloud in mock disbelief.

Hien snorted. The amused sound made her giggle, but those quickly turned into a moan when he grabbed her ass again. “You say that as if you’re not also tumbling the question around in that pretty head of yours, sweetheart,” he rasped beside her horn.

“...Fair enough.”

They’d all been at the party long enough, and her heels were killing her. She was ready to leave and spend the rest of the night with her two lovers in a warm bed.

Silva reached for her right horn, searching for her linkpearl. Once finding the small device, she switched through several different channels until she found the one she needed and pressed a button to begin the call. It only rang once before the person on the other side answered.

“Yes?”

“Are you alone?”

She swallowed when Ricmorn’s deep laughter rang in her horn. “For the moment. Lyse was keeping me company until she got dragged away by Alisaie. My only saving grace from Aymeric’s annoyed gaze.” There was a small pause before a growl broke it. “Which he’s still giving me as we speak.”

That wasn’t surprising to her.

“Ignore him, my love,” she soothed. “Go gather our things and meet us at our house in Ul’dah.”

If anyone were to look for them, it was the one place not many people would go. They would go to her apartment in Kugane or Doma first.

Elation mixed with the heat of desire washed over the soulbond the Auri couple shared. “Riled you up, did he? That didn’t take long, Silv. I told you before we left he wouldn’t be able to take his hands off of you.”

“Ricmorn—”

He chuckled. “Go— I’ll see you both in a few minutes.”

The call ended with a soft click. Silva returned her attention to Hien and flashed him a smile full of bright teeth and fangs.

“Come, [my heart,]” she purred, stealing a kiss from his soft lips. He tightened his hold on her, sharply inhaling when she brushed the tip of her long tail against his leg. “We have a long, fun night ahead of us.”

"That we do, [my beloved wildflower.]"

[sitp-recs]

Hidden Gems by @blamebrampton

Anyone who’s been following me for a while knows I worship the ground BB walks on. She’s probably among my top 3 Drarry fic authors of all time and I can confidently say I’ve read her catalogue in its entirety but curiously enough, I still get the same thrill of joy and excitement revisiting her works once twice thrice a month. BB’s narrative is very unique with nuanced and refreshing characterization, and organic witty humour playing in an effective, effortlessly charming and clever way that feels magical. It creates immersive universes and atmospheres that invite you to lose yourself into, different from anything I’ve read before or since. Beyond the incredible world building, her dialogue is a thing of beauty in itself, delightful and brilliant, packing just enough emotional resonance to make you wanna scream after a particularly clever line. It makes my job to find a quote for my recs so much more challenging! The feeling of first exploring BB’s world is exquisite and her masterful characterization never fail to impress me, it’s truly genius.

It was almost impossible to make a short list of hidden gems and it hurt my soul to stray from so many personal faves since they’re a bit more popular. But I’m sticking to the rules and that means highlighting fics that could use more attention. Words usually fail me when I’m trying to convey how much I love certain fics so feel free to check the single recs I’ve linked below - if you’re willing to suffer through my rambling thoughts, that is! I’m sure I’ve recced most of her catalogue at this point. And please please go check it ASAP, if you haven’t yet. These fics have stayed with me for many years now, they helped me through dark days and still comfort my heart whenever I need solace in fandom, I can’t imagine letting go of them anytime soon. I think of them now, 10 years after they’ve been written, and I’ll be thinking of them for the next 10 years. If you’re having one of those days - or just looking for a new obsession a special, one-of-a-kind reading experience - you can’t pick a better author. Go check these right now then come into my DMs to scream about Little Red Courgette all of them! You’re welcome 😉

And Save Me From Bloody Men (2010, T, 10k) - the only war AU you’ll ever need to read, a true masterpiece of characterization and building tension with tender Drarry romance, badass redeemed Draco and a breathtaking open ending that will make you gasp out loud. A must read!

Draco Malfoy once watched others fighting to stop the world falling apart. This time, he's not just watching. Read my rec here.

Tidings of Comfort (2012, G, 10k) - this cathartic series is on my top 3 fave comfort fics, beautifully quiet and cathartic. Featuring a redeemed Draco and a gentle curious Harry, late night conversations and

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. Luckily for Draco Malfoy, London has places where the tired can rest and recover. Read my rec here.

Of Hoof Picks, Centaurs and Flight (2012, G, 21k) - such a charming and fun adventure, I can’t get enough of it! Perfect Draco, lots of banter, centaurs, flying cars and the good old bed sharing trope 👌🏼

Harry has promised that he will not do anything to upset the new head of Magical Creatures. Even if it is Draco Malfoy. When three centaur foals appear in Cumbria, far from the Forbidden Forest and all too close to Muggles, Harry’s promise is thoroughly tested. To say nothing of his equestrian skills. Read my rec here.

For the Public Good (2008, T, 23k) - a brilliant satire of British politics and definitely a must-read if you’re into this genre. BB gets Draco’s snark just right and the banter is fabulous, not to mention the creative world building as per usual. Fun, smart, flirty, highly entertaining!

Harry is loaned to the Muggle government to assist relations between the two governments after the London bombings. When his counterpart in the Communications team comes to him with evidence of a plot to expose wizarding Britain, he is all ears. And only in part because the messenger has such a familiar voice.

Doing the Lambeth Walk (2012, T, 26k) - brilliant urban drama with fabulous world building, soft Draco and Harry doing good deeds and finding each other, slow burn, some family drama and non-graphic violence

There are only three traditional choices for the cashed-up hero after victory. Harry Potter is too young to settle down and provide the wizarding world with a happy ending, and has too acute a sense of humour to spiral downwards into a spectacular flame-out. That leaves a life of good works. Choosing to lead it in Muggle Brixton comes with its own set of challenges, including Malfoys in the biscuit aisle. Read my rec here.

Beneath Boundless Skies (2008, T, 29k) - imho this fic is a the testament to BB’s storytelling skills as it will make you laugh, cry and fall in love within minutes. What a rollercoaster of emotions! Set in the Australian landscape it delivers brilliant OCs, organic character dynamics, and the most touching, heart wrenching funeral scene. A gorgeous and poignant post-war recovery story.

Home is a world filled with funerals, a girlfriend who can't bear the sight of you, and people who are convinced you came back from the dead. Bugger it, even Australia sounds good.

The Consolations of a Summer's Day (2012, T, 32k) - this is such a delightful and well put together case fic, I adore Harry and Draco’s dynamics right from the start and how circumstances push them closer. Subtle romance, alternating POVs, a perfect Luna and a hilarious Kreacher as a treat! Cw: character death (Pansy)

Harry Potter is absolutely certain Draco Malfoy did not murder Pansy Parkinson. He’s almost absolutely certain he can prove this without sacrificing his career and having them both hauled up before the Wizengamot.

[joseopher]

HOLD UP

NOVACAINE SHERLOCK AU

Sherlock = Tristan

Because he's a grumpy boy

Also because he's perceptive

He can see through things and find evidence

Became more bitter than cannon!Tristan due to his father's abuse

Is slightly different from the real Sherlock

More grumpy, quick to anger, became a detective to spite his crime syndicate family, thinks happiness is like cancer

Constantly has to go against the Caine Crime Family

But unlike Sherlock, he's completely against murder or anything morally grey because he's scared of becoming like his father

He may seem stone hearted but it's quite easy to pull on his heart strings and manipulate him

GETS MANIPULATED BY EVERYONE

Consulting detective

Has a negative/corruption arc

Ends with him becoming the very thing he sought to destroy

John Watson = Libby

One of Tristan's love interests

Like how Tristan dealt with abuse from his father, Libby dealt with abuse from her boyfriend, Ezra

Tristan and Libby bond over this in a bar one night and that's when they first meet

They eventually become detective partners like Sherlock and Watson

Would be a character foil to Tristan

Chooses happiness and healing at the moment when Tristan does not

Moriarty = Callum

1000% the worse love interest

"He is not the love of your life, he's literally just a guy! Hit him with your car!"

Endgame

The world's only consulting criminal, therefore Tristan's rival

Callum was bored one day and started up this organization on a whim for something to amuse him

Doesn't really care about the crime he commits

Toys with the police, killing people in really clever ways and watching the police flounder

Plot

Tristan pov

Callum sets up games, killing a victim, framing someone as a killer and planting evidence to create the story to watch it all play out

But one day a concluding detective (*cough* Tristan *cough*) sees through this ruse and actually manages to pinpoint that it's Callum

Callum cleverly finds a way to not go to jail but is intrigued

He begins setting up more games for Tristan

Tristan nearly gets him caught and his crime organization tore down

Obviously, that's the most interesting thing that's happened in a long time

Callum begins to play a new game, a more challenging one, he's going to try and make Tristan (who is excessively morally upright and paranoid about doing anything wrong) do something morally corrupt

Enter mind games between Callum and Tristan with Callum heavily manipulating Tristan

Due to Callum's manipulation, the abuse Tristan faces and some other hardships, Tristan eventually snaps

At this point, Callum is actually invested, he simply likes talking with Tristan, he cares about Tristan, he wants Tristan on his side

Tristan meanwhile is panicking and trying to keep his failing relationship with Libby alive

But stopping Callum becomes his top priority because in his mind it's Callum's fault everything is going wrong

Tristan also has to fight his growing attraction to Callum (“I love you. That’s why you can’t turn your back on me, even if you want to. You know my flaws but crave them; you lust for them. The worse I am, the more desperate you are to forgive me.”)

Tristan justifies doing more and more morally corrupt actions to catch Callum

Callum is delighted and continues his manipulation (ex. comforting Tristan when he finally breaks down in front of him)

Libby sees Tristan is becoming like his father and stops hanging out with him and helping him with his cases

MORE BREAKDOWNS FOR TRISTAN

More manipulation from other forces (ex. Atlas, Parisa etc. etc.)

Tristan embraces the lie of believing that being useful to someone is better than being alone even if he's being manipulated ("Maybe after a lifetime of being useless, Tristan simply wanted to be used")

He joins Callum's side

But he becomes far more morally corrupt than Callum

Not only that but he becomes violent like his father

And his and Callum's relationship is horribly toxic on both sides

Meanwhile, Libby overcomes her trauma and gets bubble tea :3

This is a tragedy, by the way, not happy for anyone but Libby

ABUSE IS WRONG GUYS AND WILL ONLY LEAD TO SADNESS

[chaozsilhouette]

A Revealing Performance

My rendition for the Shadow Play in @winterpower98's Swap Au.

It was supposed to be a simple thing, then it sort of spiraled into this whole deal. For the effects of the Shadow Lantern, I drew some inspiration from her Cursed Au as I never thought simply using her friends was cruel enough for the Monkey Tyrant.

It serves to show just how far Macaque has grown, but also to highlight just how monstrous he was.

_____________________________

Mei refrained from downing her bubble tea as she waited for the play to start. It had been a rough couple of weeks with Spider Queen and that creepy girl. And failing to find where Xiaotian had run off to after the misunderstanding. When Macaque sent her tickets to the local theatre, she was ashamed to think it was a trap.

Pigsy and Sandy were right. After everything that happened, she needed some serious me time. She had been too stressed.

Besides, everyone knew Macaque was a total theatre nerd. Few people knew that the star puppeteer was actually the Six-Eared Macaque himself. He would totally send her tickets from his stomping grounds as a way to unwind.

It was a shame that Tang couldn’t join them. Apparently, he finally managed to schedule a meeting with the Celestial Realm and was Taking the demon brothers to figure out a new way of sealing the Monkey Tyrant. It was also his chance to explain their little break-in during New Years. He encouraged her to have fun and if it was good, he’d join them for the next showing.

So here they were waiting for the performance to start. Although she wondered what the fake mayor was doing here. They hadn't seen him since he gave her the skeleton key. Still wasn't sure why he had it or why he gave it to her? Supposedly she was only supposed to have it for a day, but he never stopped by to pick it up.

_____________________________

Sun Wukong was a monkey of many talents, but even he had to admit Macaque was a far better storyteller and his mastery of shadows was sheer perfection. But that just made this plan all the more perfect. What better way to teach his wayward beloved’s little flower a lesson than through a trusted medium.

Obtaining a spot in the local theatre was child’s play, a little magic and they were all but begging him to take center stage. Apparently, they had been scrambling to find a new performer after their star puppeteer had to leave for a family emergency (three guesses as to who that was). And with a little glamor, a set of tickets was left at the little flower's doorstep. As far as she knew, Macaque was proud of her progress and believed she had deserved a reward for all her hard work. She was so desperate for something to go right she hardly questioned how her mentor, who was in parts unknown, managed to secure tickets for a new performer.

In his personal dressing room, Wukong delicately touched up his human disguise. Even if he was going to be hidden in his hanfu and cloak, it wouldn’t do to spoil the surprise. Applying his eye shadow with artful flair, the Monkey King took time to appreciate just how handsome he truly was no matter what form he took. Honestly, who would have thought such perfection existed?

A pulse of dark magic drew his attention to his latest partner in crime.

The Shadow Lantern gently floated before him. Its dark magic practically purring at the thought of being used. Wukong could almost laugh at his beloved’s foolishness. He was there when his darling created the lantern, when he infused his own shadows into its very foundation. Did he honestly think such a masterpiece would tolerate being left to collect dust in a cave?

Normally a magical artifact would never consider turning on its master, but after centuries of abandonment, all Wukong had to do was whisper his intentions to return Macaque to his former self to secure its loyalty. The second he first made contact, he could sense a twisted hunger writhing within and with each performance granting it the chance to feed on the life essence of the viewers…. hehe, he almost couldn’t contain himself.

Looking up at the clock, he saw it was just about time for his next performance. His clones had reported the girl’s presence along with the pig and the water demon. Strangely the one with glasses and the little matchstick was absent. No matter, he could make do with two hostages just fine.

After all, the show must go on.

_____________________________

The overhead lights dimmed, signaling the start of the play. Smoke slowly poured from beneath the floorboards, generating an air of mystery. In a flash of golden light, a tall man wearing a beautiful cloak manifested on center stage. The crowd silenced themselves at the display.

“Welcome viewers to a performance you shall never forget!” From the folds of his sleeves, an exquisite lantern floated in front of him. A mesmerizing yet familiar purple glow emanating from the center.

“Our tale tonight is one of love, companionship, and how even the strongest of bonds can be severed through the trickery of the wicked.”

In the background, the shadows twisted and grew in the lantern’s light. Carefully they formed a beautiful scene of a mountain covered in flowers and trees. Attention was gradually guided to the top, where a round stone basked in the sun.

“It all began with the birth of a King.”

The round stone broke, revealing a figure that resembled a monkey. But no, this was a monkey demon, a monkie if you would. The King journeyed down the mountain until he found a tribe of normal monkeys. The group frolicked for a while as the King established himself as the undisputed ruler of the tribe.

A large figure with an ax appeared. The monster brought down his ax upon a small collection of monkeys only to be stopped at the last second by the King. The King used his superior strength to steal the demon’s ax and used it to decapitate the intruder in a single stroke. The monkeys jumped around the King and praised his strength, but the King did not appear satisfied.

“The young King was born with great power and strength, but he sought out more to protect his people.”

The King crafted a raft and set out on a dangerous sea. The King was shown to face off against mountain gods, human warriors, and demonic sorcerers always to reign victorious but never satisfied.

“In his travels, he learned much and faced many enemies, in time his efforts were handsomely rewarded.”

The King climbed a fleet of stairs carved into a mountain to reach a humble monastery. At the top, a stern human stood, but behind him was another monkie. This one however possessed six ears.

“His quest for power led him to a Warrior of potential equaling his own. At first, neither was sure how to react to their mirror, but they quickly forged a comradery that took them far.”

The two monkies trained together, mastering new powers as they sparred.

“Their time together increased their power exponentially and as they grew stronger their feelings blossomed into something beautiful.”

The two were on a cliff overlooking the stars, slowly leaning closer to one another. Eventually, the two faced their opposite and leaned in close.

“Their fates had become intertwined. Their power was unmatched. It was then the King realized what he had been searching for all this time.”

The two shadows merged together in a complex dance until they separated into two beings once again, but not as they began. The two monkeys were now garbed in elaborate, yet practical armor and silks. The King wielded a staff and the Warrior took up a spear.

“Slowly their strength grew to where nothing could challenge them, whether in the Celestial Realm or on Earth.”

The King and Warrior were shown battling heavenly armies and powerful demons with confident smirks. Each battle resoundingly won through their combination of speed, strength, and cunning.

“But it was not enough. The King wished to ensure that he and the Warrior would be able to fight together forever and sought the power and respect needed to secure their future.”

The King took to the Heavens, where he stood before an Emperor in the most extravagant outfit, surrounded by massive guards in magical armor. The Emperor was clearly afraid as the King effortlessly toppled one guard after another, slowly approaching the throne at a steady pace.

“The King’s noble actions were viewed negatively by those who feared his ever-growing power. Eventually, a prison was crafted that could restrain the King, one that not even his beloved Warrior could destroy.”

Just before the King’s latest attack could reach the Emperor, chains wrapped around his limbs and dragged him down to Earth. With a quick flex, the chains shattered, but the King was doomed as a mountain landed on him with a seal placed at the top. The Warrior tried to pry off the seal or find some way to weaken the mountain, his acts growing more desperate with time, yet nothing worked.

“Cruelly, the King was forced to wait until he could be freed, forced to watch his precious Warrior defend their Kingdom on his own.”

With a heavy expression, the Warrior abandoned his efforts to return to the original mountain as dozens of terrifying figures surrounded the monkey inhabitants.

“Centuries passed and their love still burned strong. Soon their patience was rewarded, the King was freed but he was soon trapped in a new prison.”

A monk approached the mountain and removed the seal. The King swiftly destroyed the mountain. The monk humbly bowed to the King and offered fresh clothing and a fillet. The King garbed himself in the gifts only to collapse in agony when the monk prayed.

“Enraged the King played along until the time was right. The King and the Warrior reunited in secret and crafted a plan that would allow them to take their revenge on those that dared to separate them.”

The two monkies hugged and nuzzled each other in appreciation. A quick conversation later, the Warrior changed to resemble the King and joined the monk as the King headed into unknown lands.

“Decades later the King was ready to retrieve his love, confident in his regained strength. But when he arrived the Warrior had changed. It was as if the warrior had lost a crucial part of himself. The Warrior tried to dissuade the King from killing the monk and his companions. He even tried to convince him to give up his rage at the Celestial Realm, believing the war that would ensue wasn't worth it.”

The disguised Warrior was traveling with four colorful characters. The King dropped from the sky in front of the group, a massive crater forming around him. The Warrior regained his true form, but instead of returning to his rightful place, he blocked the King’s view of the monk.

“The King could not believe his ears. This could not be his Warrior. His love always understood his goals and knew why heaven had to pay. The King knew this change was the monk’s fault. The King moved to silence the deceiver in one quick strike only to find it blocked by the Warrior.”

The King and Warrior exchanged blows that tore mountains asunder, split the heavens, and burned down forests. The other demons following the monk tried to aid the warrior, but nothing they did seemed to slow down the King, if anything their attacks only served to further enrage him.

“The two clashed until the Warrior fled with the jailers. Time and time again they clashed, but never could the King reach the Warrior he held in his heart.”

The group fled from the battle, but time and time again the King tracked them down. The locations may have changed, but the carnage after each battle remained as world-shattering as the first. In the end, the Group managed to truly escape, and the Warrior vanished into the shadows he wielded, leaving the King alone with nothing but his memories.

“Even now the King yearns for the companionship of his beloved Warrior, knowing that at his core the Warrior craves the same.”

With the final line sending shivers down the spines of the viewers, the puppeteer vanished in a flash of light.

_____________________________

As Mei waited for her family to walk out, she couldn’t help but think about the play. It almost sounded like they were telling the tale of the Monkey King. But that was ridiculous. No one knew the Monkey King’s origins aside from minor details from the Journey to the West. Besides the narrator seemed to view the Monkey Tryant as a hero and victim. Clearly, that guy needed a reality check.

“Hello, young one.” Nearly choking on the remainder of her tea, Mei turned to see the puppeteer standing behind her with a knowing smile.

His cloak shrouding the top of his face in shadow. For a second, Mei envisioned her father Macaque. He would adore that look. Actually, didn’t she see a similar outfit in his closet on Flower Fruit Mountain? Doesn’t he wear that outfit when he’s hosting a shadow play?

Wait. How did he sneak up on her like that? Was she that out of it?

How long has she been quiet? Crap! Say something! “Oh. Ah-hello. C-can I help you with something?”

“I was about to ask the same. You do know the theatre is going to close soon right?”

“What?” Mei grabbed her phone. The digital clock flashed that it was past nine. That couldn’t be right. That meant she had been waiting for nearly an hour. But where were the others? Surely, they wouldn’t have left without telling her. Were they in trouble?

“Is everything alright?”

“Ah- yeah, everything’s fine.” It’s cool. It’s cool. She could handle this. She just needed to stay calm. “No need to worry about me. I just ah-I have a few questions about your play.”

“Yes.”

“How did you could up with the concept? I mean, no offense, but your premise could be taken the wrong way.” Maybe it was the panic over where her family had disappeared to, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being sized up.

“Hm. Have you ever heard the expression ‘History is written by the winners’?”

“Yes. It’s pretty common.” Like one of the most used sayings in the world.

“The tale was designed to show that love is one of the most cherished feelings of all and that in order to protect it, one must be willing to do anything to keep their loved ones safe. The King only wished to keep his beloved by his side, but the Warrior was misled and forced to battle against his love. That story may belong to only two, but similar tales can be experienced in anyone’s life. Tell me, can you think of a time you fought with those you cared about due to a misunderstanding?”

Without even considering it, horrible memories resurfaced. Mei arguing with MK as she tried to stop him from leaving with the newly released Monkey King. Mei forced to battle Red Son as his mind was slowly consumed by the True Fire of Samadhi. Tang lying to them about his true identity. Macaque leaving when they needed him most without saying why.

“I see you can.” The puppeteer gently guided her back into the main hall, where she took a seat on an empty bench.

“It’s nothing. I just-” She honestly didn’t know why she was pouring out her heart to stranger. Maybe she really was that exhausted. “-there’s so much going on and I’m supposed to be strong no matter what. But sometimes it hurts, just thinking about all my mistakes. Sometimes I wonder if I truly am strong. What if bringing me into this was a mistake?”

“What if it was?” That voice!

Mei turned to see Macaque garbed in a strange outfit, one that honestly reminded her of the Monkey King’s. She was confused. She had never seen him wear anything like that, he looked like the Monkey King’s twisted shadow.

And that expression! Her father Macaque had never made that face before. It looked as though he was reveling in her suffering.

“What’s the matter, little jade? Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone.” He extended a hand slowly with the intent to cradle her face. A normal gesture he would use to comfort her, but her every instinct was screaming at her to get away.

Mei jumped to her feet and pulled out her spear, aiming it right between the imposter’s eyes. “Enough games!”

Macaque stared at the spear for a second, his fiendish expression only growing more vicious. He threw his head back with a full-bodied laugh, showing how little he thought of her threat. “Ha. Ha. Ha.”

In a flash of light, the Monkey Tyrant was standing before her, still wearing his puppeteer disguise. “Wow. About time. For a while, I was wondering if you’d ever figure out it was me.” His red and gold eyes carefully roved over her body, taking in every shake and fearful twitch. “Put down the spear, kid. We both know you’re not nearly good enough to scratch me with such a pitiful copy of the Dragon Blade.”

That may have been true, but she’d sooner make out with DBP in full view of Queen Iron Fan than leave herself completely open before this tyrant. “So the play was from your perspective. I always figured you were delusional, but this is a new low. Where is my family?” She all but growled, unknowingly her canines had slightly elongated in response to her rage.

“They never left. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize this.” The Monkey King took out the lantern, once more bathing the room in that familiar glow.

“What’s the big deal about a lantern?”

The stone monkie found her ignorance all the more entertaining. To think he hadn’t warned her of his own past.

“The big deal is that my dear warrior crafted this lantern long ago. It was his finest work and like everything he made it has multiple uses.” With a simple hand gesture, the silhouettes of Pigsy and Sandy appeared on the walls. “The Shadow Lantern can do more than enhance one’s skills in shadow magic, it can trap the bodies and souls of its targets. So long as the targets are trapped, the lantern can steal the shadows of its victims so its master can use them as a personal army until there is nothing left.”

“You expect me to believe Macaque made something so disgusting?” Even as Mei said it, she couldn’t help but recognize how similar the lantern’s magic was to her teacher’s. It was cool and soothing, but on the edge, there was an unmistakable edge of malice. “Even if he did, I doubt he made it without you whispering in his ears.”

“Oh child, you have no idea how many secrets he keeps from you. Let me share one with you.” The lantern grew brighter, and the silhouettes of her family members gained more substance as they peeled away from the walls.

Mei adjusted herself so all opponents were in her sight, but nothing could stop the sweat collecting on her forehead.

She sensed something powerful appear behind her. Jumping out of the way as a spear nearly severed her arm. She faced her new opponent. Only to almost drop her weapon.

Standing before her was another copy of Macaque only this one was even more disturbing. Its eyes burned with purple light, the shadows loving curled around it, but worst of all was the sneer filled with razor-tipped teeth.

“Did you honestly think my love was always so nice?”