#these have been hiding in the drafts since april...

[sirenologyyy]

RIGHT SIDE OF MY NECK!

neteyam x fem!metkayina reader

✧ summary : a certain sully boy can't admit he's smitten by one of the daughters of the olo'eyktan, but why would he? he's calculated and discerning and she's everything he wished he was.

✧ warnings : swearing (that's pretty much it LMAO)

✧ author's note : neteyam's 15, reader is older than tsireya by a year or so, some much needed lo'ak and neteyam brotherly bonding (after the trauma inducing hellscape that was atwow), lo'ak talking like a regular teenage boy, and in honor of it being December again, may i present to you, a neteyam fic that has been rotting in my drafts since April 🤩

A gravelly groan escapes your lips as your hands managed to shield your face, almost to hide yourself from the undisputable truth that you, along with your Tsireya, and your older brother Ao'nung had been roped into the evident mess that was to teach the children of Toruk Makto the ways of the Metkayina.

You weren't as prejudiced as Ao'nung, sneering at the Sully children whenever he'd run into them, so meticulously influenced by your mother's dislike towards Skypeople, let alone the Omaticaya.

You weren't as welcoming as your younger sister, who had greeted them with big grins that only further accentuated her dimples and her devout willingness to help Toruk Makto's family in any way she could. While you had resorted to mirthless smiles and polite nods whenever you'd come across one of them, it was unnatural, yes, Ao'nung was quite unfair with his treatment towards them, yes, but Tsireya's overall cheer and joviality was something you could not for the life of you reciprocate.

You were fine with them being here, although you couldn't say the same for most of your people.

The only real thorn in your side was the oldest.

Neteyam.

Oh how your blood boiled whenever you'd spot him in the crowd. Always so eager to help, so eager to please, so perfect, so good, it made you want to punch the living daylights out of him... Well, only slightly, that may be an exaggeration. Your hate for him might be particularly irrational but valid in all the worst ways.

"Can't you tell them I've been bitten by something?"

"No" Tsireya snorts.

"I've slipped collecting coconuts and dislocated my ankle"

"Stop moving so much sister, or I will mess up your hair"

It was like he was so anxious about keeping up the golden boy facade, what a show off, you thought. Going out of his way to help any way he could, helping carry baskets of dried fish across the village, pushing heavy boats off to sea, weaving baskets, seeing to the ilus, even the tsuraks at one point. It infuriated you. What did he had to gain?

If there was one thing you despised, it was try-hards.

And Neteyam Sully was the bane of your existence.

"Oh!" You had exclaimed, snapping your fingers. "You can tell them I have fallen off my ilu and got ripped apart by an akula"

Tsireya laughed. "Yes, like they would believe me"

With another scoff, you stare st your sister through the mirror, so engrossed in the braiding technique you'd requested for her to do on your hair. "I don't see why you're bringing me into your affairs sister, it is clear as day you only want to help out the Forest People because you like the way that boy kept looking at you yesterday"

Tsireya tugs at your half-finished braid, making you swear and rub at your head, bringing Tsireya some amusement out of this. "Now, be quiet, be still, let me do my job"

With a sour mood, you allow Tsireya to thread the shells you requested she put in, sitting up straighter. "Your job in being an absolute bitch?"

Tsireya sighs again, feeling her slump in frustration behind you. "Do you think it is so easy a job for me to constantly deal with your attitude?"

A smirk comes to your face as Tsireya knots your braid off. "Don't worry, all your efforts will be seen by Eywa, she might even make the boy tell you your hair looks nice today"

"Enough, Y/N" Tsireya says, standing up from her seat.

You stood as well, hooking your arm around Tsireya's as you left your pod. "Oh let me have my fun"

A dozen morbid thoughts suddenly flood Tsireya's mind. "If we do that I am afraid there will be nothing left of Awa'atlu when you are finished"

When you arrive, you immediately spot both the brothers sitting on the edge of the woven platform, their long legs dangling just above the water. They looked to be so immersed in a conversation that neither of them noticed you or Tsireya approach them, only when they were about 4 feet apart was when you clicked your tongue against the roof of your mouth.

"Oh great mother, is it just the two of you?" Says you, making both the boys stand up like springs.

"No, our sisters are coming, they aren't exactly good at being early to things" says the younger one, his eyes flicking to Tsireya every now and then, making you dizzy trying to hold eye contact with the boy.

"Hey Tsireya" He finally says, nodding at her sister who laughs again. It took everything in you not to start dry-heaving in front of them.

"Why do you sound so disappointed?" Neteyam wonders, another smirk playing at his thin lips as he looks at you.

Your forehead creases. "I am nothing of the sort, what about you? What has gotten you so chipper?"

"Nothing all that special, really" He replied, not even convincing himself.

You heftily exhaled through your nose, moving away from the group and walking up on the platform, taking one of the seaweed bands on your arm to bunch your hair up just to get it out of your face. Once you'd pull your hair through the band the final time, you turned around just to see Neteyam's head turn away, almost like it was a chain reaction.

You placed your hands over the dip of your hips, facing the odd group. "Now, where has our dear brother wandered off to? It's almost noon and he is nowhere in sight"

This makes the rest of them look around for Ao'nung, even the two brothers who you'd assumed wanted nothing to do with him after your brother had showed his blatant contempt towards them after he'd ridiculed them during their arrival.

"He must still be with Rotxo and the others, we must be patient" says Tsireya.

Your mind remained closed, throwing your hands up in the air only for them to land on her hips with a thwack. "We both know Ao'nung does not move like the tide, he is too stubborn, too hard in the head " you found yourself saying, prodding a finger at your forehead.

"Patience, sister" Tsireya admonishes calmly, making her way towards you as you placed your hands on the identation of your woven skirt. "We must not rush things, we allow things to come to us at their own pace"

"Alright, alright" you tell her half-heartedly.

"Hey! Sorry, are we late?"

You turn her head to spot the two Sully sisters jogging up to the beach, the youngest out of all of them went straight for Neteyam, watching as he scooped her up with no hesitation. "Where in Eywa's name were you two?" Neteyam wonders, eyeing his sisters curiously.

The older girl rolled her eyes, pointing her chin at the youngest. "Couldn't decide on which skirt she wanted to wear"

The little girl pouts. "I didn't know which one I wanted!" She protested, her ears drooping down.

"She had two to choose from" the older sister groaned. Eyes finding yours as her grin widens, you chuckle to yourselves, having sisters was never a dull moment.

You two had bonded over that when you first helped her with her chores, although she seemed reluctant at first she accepted. Neither of you got anything done as you both found that snacking on dried seaweed and exchanging stories about your lives proved to be more fun.

"Maybe he isn't coming" says Neteyam's younger brother, subtly inching towards Tsireya while keeping everyone under the impression that he was trying to find Ao'nung just like she was, but in truth, all he wanted was to stand beside her. Tsireya didn't pick up on it at all, being the oblivious person she was, but Neteyam did, quietly chuckling to himself as he puts Tuk down, watching as she sprints towards the sand at full speed.

You shook your head at the sound of Tsireya's giggles and walks off the diving platform as well, making your way towards the beach to stretch your legs, walking along the coastline trying to kill time. That is until something tugs at your skirt, you turned around to see who it was but then looks down to see Neteyam's youngest sister, proudly holding a small conch shell in her hands, beaming up at you.

"They look just like the ones in your hair!" She exclaimed, a gigantic grin spreading across her face as you crouched to her level, taking the shell from her hands to study it. "It's a light purple, you don't have any purple shells yet"

"You're right, I don't have any purple shells in my hair yet do I?" You say in genuine amazement, holding it up against the sun, feeling the little girl scoot closer to you, but the shell had suddenly started to sprout 6 legs and you dropped it, startled by the animal and by the little girl's scream, you watch as it scurries back into the water, gone forever.

You turned back to the little girl who was visibly upset, another frown slowly forming on her face before you placed your hands on the little girl's shoulders. "Hey, we'll find another one around here somewhere, don't be upset"

She huffed, her shoulders rising and falling. "I didn't know there was something inside it, I really didn't"

You shook your head. "Neither did I, we both didn't know" you assured the younger girl, cupping her round face as her frown slowly started to shift into a smile. "Look, if we need to do this properly and find shells for my hair, I'm gunna need to know your name"

"Tuk!" She says. "My name's Tuk!"

"It's very nice to meet you Tuk"

"Really?" She giggled as you nodded. "What about you? What's your name?"

You beckoned her closer with a simple gesture of your fingers as you whispered your name into her ear.

"You've got a very pretty name" Tuk whispers as well, hiding her face behind her hands as she giggled.

"So do you" You had whispered all the same.

Tuk then looks back at the diving platform, and then back at you. "Y'know I think my brother is staring at you"

"Oh yeah? Why do you think that is so?"

The little girl scratches her head. "I don't know, he only stares at things he thinks looks nice or looks weird"

You grinned. "Does your brother think I look nice or weird?"

Tuk blinks. "I don't think you look weird"

"Would he think that?" Ka'leia emphasized.

"Probably" Tuk replies honestly, looking back at the diving platform again. "Why else does he keep staring at you?"

It made you think, it made your mind spiral into the bottomless void of memories in which you had caught a pair of warm amber eyes catch yours, and every time you did it made your heart stutter, however unfortunate it may be. "I'm not so sure either"

"Neteyam's weird" Tuk deduced.

You snort. "Yeah, he's weird"

Silence settles between you, but not for long as Tuk takes your hand and pulls you up. "Can we go and find shells now? Then we can put them in your hair! Then you'll look pretty!"

"Am I not pretty now?"

"No, not really" says Tuk, swinging your interlocked arms back and forth as her wide eyes scanned the sand.

"No?" You wonder almost scandalised, "alright " you nod.

You and Tuk spent a good couple of minutes digging holes on the beach to fish out the shells that had been buried underneath the sand, conch shells, shards of shells, fossils, rocks, bits and pieces of coral, if it was pretty enough for Tuk's standards she's adding it to her pile.

5 minutes later you're following her around with an armful of tiny shells, half the beach full of holes from Tuk and her makeshift shovel that had originally been a branch, with her screaming in delight when she's spotted another one, hurriedly running to you to add it in with the rest.

Lo'ak abruptly places his hands on Neteyam's shoulders, purposefully trying to scare him but Neteyam does not flinch at all. "Yo bro, you got a staring problem or something?" He wonders in English, stepping beside Neteyam to look out into the beach too.

"You done flirting with Tsireya?" Neteyam shot back.

Lo'ak huffed. "Pfft, me? Tsireya?"

"I know your tell, your tail's a dead giveaway"

Lo'ak laughs, punching Neteyam's shoulder, finally making the older boy turn to face him. "Yo! Shut your ass up!"

Neteyam chuckles. "No one else here understands English bro, we're fine!"

Lo'ak shook his head. "I'm not worried about the Metkayina, I'm worried about that devil right there" He says, pointing at the beach.

Neteyam looks at the direction where Lo'ak was pointing. "Who? Tuk?

"She's got spot on hearing, incredible memory," Lo'ak listed. "If I'd have known how much of a tattletail she'd be I'd have abandoned her in the forest when she was a baby"

Neteyam frowns, laughing. "Yes, and when I'd get home I'd find your extra finger in my stew"

Lo'ak grimaces, almost gagging as Neteyam wiggles one of his fingers at him. "Disgusting!"

Neteyam cackles loudly, watching as Lo'ak covered his mouth. "You're overreacting!" He tells him.

"Nah bro, you don't get to fill my mind with those kinda thoughts" Lo'ak says.

Neteyam places a hand on his back. "Face it baby bro, i'm in your head"

Lo'ak pushes it away, chuckling. "Lay off!"

"Will you two ever go a day without fighting eachother?" Kiri asks, giving them a look.

"Not sure" says Lo'ak. "But I wouldn't hold my breath"

Kiri rolled her eyes and Lo'ak turns to Neteyam again. "If Ao'nung isn't coming then we might as well fetch him, if you catch my drift"

Neteyam shakes his head, his braids swishing from side to side. "No, we will do no such thing"

Lo'ak half shrugs, already moving away. "Fine, if you won't then I will"

Neteyam grabs his arm, stopping his brother in his tracks. "Hey, what did dad say?"

He pretends to think. "Not sure, something about you being the next poster boy of the clan?"

Neteyam flicks a finger on Lo'ak's forehead, making the younger boy hiss. "No, you skxawng, he wants us to be on our best behavior, and I don't want to be stopping you from pulling another shitty stunt that'll get you in trouble"

"Fine" Lo'ak says. "I'll go check up on Tuk," He tells Neteyam unconvincingly, scratching the side of his head. "What's up with you and wanting to stay on the beach?"

Neteyam's jaw tightens. "There's nothing that's keeping me here except my promise to dad"

"Uh-huh" Lo'ak nods, eyes flicking to you and Tuk. "Nothing or no one?"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

Lo'ak frowns, pretending he understood. "She's pretty hot"

Neteyam pays him no mind, only scoffing.

"She still avoiding you?" Lo'ak asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes, and I can't seem to find the reason why" Neteyam huffed.

Lo'ak snickers. "Maybe it's cuz you're coming off a little too strong"

"I don't know how else I can get her to talk to me without her insulting every fibre of my being or making up some excuse to leave, I've tried everything" He replies desperately, causing Lo'ak's eyes to go wide, a whistle leaving his mouth. "Damn that bad??? What the hell did you do to her to make you hate her this much?"

Neteyam rakes his face with dread. "I don't know baby bro, but you have no idea what I would do to find out the reason why"

His brother was too down-bad to be saved, Lo'ak knew that much, looking across the beach as he studies you with his little sister. Neteyam looks at his brother, his eyes seemingly trained on you as it flicks up and down, he slaps his brother's arm. "It's rude to stare"

"Yeah, go tell that to them" Says Lo'ak, pointing at a handful of Metkayin boys passing by, giving you stolen glances as they talked amongst themselves, chuckling and hooting.

Neteyam's eyes narrow into slits. "They're irrelevant, we must not let ourselves become like them"

Lo'ak glances at him, clearly unconvinced. "Yeah, okay, so stop looking"

"Fine, I won't" Neteyam replies quickly, watching Lo'ak turn around and walk to the edge of the platform. But he dosen't stop looking, he hated himself for it for it and the way that it was practically eating himself alive.

Wasn't it such a simple task? To turn his head around and look somewhere else? Well it should be, but Neteyam couldn't bring himself to pry his eyes away from you, you, oh Eywa. Your eyes were the colour of the sea, your hair shiny and black, your smile making his stomach twist itself into knots, your laugh making shivers run up his back, the way you dressed alone would make people turn heads, but your attitude was what drew Neteyam in.

You didn't feel the need to keep up this respectful facade, treat him like a guest because it was expected of you as the daughter of the Olo'eyktan, no, you treated him the way you thought of him.

You were rude, you were impolite, and you were blunt, because you didn't like him. You didn't feel inclined to tolerate him just like what was expected of you. He wished he was that brave.

"'Teyam! 'Teyam look what I got!" Tuk squealed as the pair of you walked up the diving platform carrying mountains of shells on your palms. "Y/N told me she and 'Reya could put these in my hair after diving lessons! Isn't that cool?!?"

"Oh Tuk, you didn't force her into braiding your hair did you?"

Tuk looks back at you for moral support. "But she said she would-"

"-Neteyam let her be, if she wants me to braid her hair then I'd be happy to" you had jumped in, siding with Tuk whose ears flicked upwards at her statement. "I hope it isn't too infuriating that I favour your sisters over you"

Neteyam wanted to scoff, but instead stifles it with a tight smile. "Nonsense, my sisters have that effect on everyone" He tells her, looking at Tuk. "Don't you?"

Tuk simply gives him a giggle, a swift nod, and then runs to Kiri, shouting her name over and over again before the older girl groans in acknowledgement. "Here," you say, handing him a conch shell with yellow and brown patterns ruminating on its surface.

"What's this for?" He wonders.

"Your sister practically dug up the entire beach, you deserve at least one" you chuckled.

Oh. He stares at the shell in your hands, then looks back at your face. "If I take this does this mean we'll be friends?" He asks, a sly smile breaking on his face.

"Oh you wish" You reply, smirking as you narrow your eyss at the boy. "Taking this won't change anything"

"Yes it does," He replies as a matter of factly. "this is the longest conversation we've ever had without you leaving or insulting me"

"No it dosen't" You shook your head, insistent. "I'll still hate you after this"

He hums. "I think I can live with that," He smiled. "I did get a gift from the daughter of the Olo'eyktan after all" He laughs when he hears you scoff.

You leave right after he takes it and right before he could say thank you. Walking off to find a basket to store more of Tuk's shells in.

Neteyam looks at the shell in his hands, about 2 and a half inches long, smooth, shiny, perfect, it was perfect. He loves it. He closes his fist, a smile breaking on his face before he could even relent it, a light purple tinting his cheeks as he places the shell in one of his pockets.

[starsandhughes]

Penalty Box— Luke’s Debut Edition

SERIES MASTERLIST

idk the dates they lived in toronto so this is my diy timeline now tysm

this seems moot now but it’s fine

TUESDAY, APRIL 11TH

yourusername

liked by lhughes_06, jackhughes, and 8,643 others

yourusername tonight was a very special night for the hughes family, a family i’m proud to say has become my own. tonight, my favorite little brother, my favorite (for tonight) son, and one of my best friends whom i love so dearly had his nhl debut tonight and i couldn’t be more proud of him!

i remember sitting with you at jack’s draft and telling you, “that’ll be you next!” i sat in the stands during your games back when you were in elementary school and i remember you running straight to me after your team won post losing a few games in a row. you told me that you’d win for me next game i went to; and you did! you ran right past jim and ellen and shouted, “sissy, i told you i’d win for you!” i’m crying writing this out but it was too pure to not share during this moment. you won for me tonight, too, bubs❤️

i’ve seen you annihilate the collegiate hockey world, and now i get to watch you do the same in the nhl. it was a privilege to sit in those stands tonight and watch you take your solo rookie lap, and i hope you know how hard i cried over it. we’ve been waiting for this day since the day i met you all. i was there for quinn’s debut, i was there for jack’s, but being there for yours is a memory that beats them all. maybe it’s because i feel like a proud older sister and i’m younger than the other two, or maybe it’s because of how good our bond is. whatever it is, i will never stop being proud of you. you’re going to be golden, lukey moosey, and i hope you’re excited for it. i love you so much!

p.s. i can’t end without say congratulations to my soulmate! he best a 22 year devils record tonight with his 43rd goal! poetic, isn’t it? i’m proud of you and love you so much, jacky boy <3

with love,

sissy❤️ #RaiseHell

tagged lhughes_06

view all 411 comments

lhughes_06 sissy, you’re going to make me cry! i love you too❤️

yourusername hurry home then and cry with me while we watch quintin!!

lhughes_06 tell your ex husband to get ready faster!

yourusername brb

dylanduke25 you DID make me cry, sissy! so proud of you luke!

yourusername i’ll let the sissy pass because it’s a special day! i miss you, duker!

dylanduke25 i miss you, too!

lhughes_06 thank you, duker!

user6 hughes curse broken…?

_alexturcotte so proud of you lil bro! you are the superior hughes! @/lhughes_06💯💯

yourusername me and ellen are the superior hughes’s but it’s lukey moosey’s night so i’ll let it slide

lhughes_06 thank you, turc! miss you!

lhughes_06 @/yourusername you really are the superior hughes

jackhughes facts

_alexturcotte facts

_quinnhughes facts

user92 the stories in the caption i can’t

jackhughes i am beyond proud of you, lukey! you’re going to do amazing things for the devils and the league! love you! (sissy, please don’t have us all crying on the couch)

lhughes_06 thanks, jacky! love you, too. (you’ve met sissy, right?)

yourusername (reminder that lukey moosey said the same thing to me after his first umich win)

jackhughes (FUCK)

_quinnhughes (i don’t cry, so don’t make me)

lhughes_06 (psa i did tell sissy i’d win for her tonight just like that game)

_quinnhughes (this is fine)

umichhockey that’s our boy!

user77 i’m crying oh my god

edwards.73 @/lhughes_06 we all watched your game together! so proud of you, bro! can’t wait to join you!

yourusername lukey’s debut already killed me don’t remind me of yours! rude head

lhughes_06 thank you, eddy! you’ll love it here!

edwards.73 @/yourusername i’m sorry…?

lhughes_06 @/edwards.73 correct

yourusername @/edwards.73 i accept your apology, child number two

user6 new lore just dropped and it’s a tear jerker😭 so proud of you, luke!

_quinnhughes i remember that game! he was excited for days after. i’m proud of you, lukey! i’ll be hiding in the stands during playoffs! i love you! @/lhughes_06

lhughes_06 i love you, too, quinny

yourusername big brother of the year alert (kinda)

jackhughes @/yourusername you can sleep outside

yourusername @/jackhughes mom would have you sleep outside before me

lhughes_06 @/jackhughes that is true

_quinnhughes @/jackhughes stone cold fact

user22 congratulations luke!

trevorzegras @/lhughes_06 i’m proud of you, bud! congratulations on your debut! go ahead and cry my girlfriend out so she runs out of tears when she comes home!

lhughes_06 thanks, z! and i’ll break out more elementary school me stories for you

trevorzegras thank you for your service🫡

yourusername @/lhughes_06 @/trevorzegras we aren’t friends/dating/siblings/mom and son for the next fifteen minutes

trevorzegras @/lhughes_06 look what you did

lhughes_06 @/trevorzegras LOOK WHAT YOU DID

user38 i might be crying harder than y/n

yourusername you can try, but you will not succeed

nicohischier proud of you, luke! can’t wait to see what you do here!

lhughes_06 thank you!

yourusername nico!!! light of my life!!! welcome to my comment section!!! i love you sm come cuddle!!

nicohischier @/yourusername i love you, too! and okay, sure

jackhughes @/nicohichier careful she clings

jamie.drysdale @/jackhughes when did she start climbing under shirts to cuddle

jackhughes @/jamie.drysdale quinn

_quinnhughes she was scared of storms when she was younger, okay! @/jackhughes @.jamie.drysdale

mackie.samo go little rockstar

lhughes_06 heading for our last fight before our worlds part

yourusername that lyric would’ve been suitable post frozen four semi finals but do your thing baby smurf

lhughes_06 i will thank you

mackie.samo he will thank you

_quinnhughes added this to their story

jackhughes added this to their story

[beloved-blaiddyd]

A/n: this drabble has been on my drafts since April 2023 apparently so might as well post it lol

Allying yourself with the Fatui would certainly earn you glares that were hateful, concerned, or perhaps a mixture of both. But of course, that uncomfortable feeling is amped up when the masses become aware of who you worked for. The man doesn't need to call your name. He doesn't need to treat you as an employer would.

He only needed to whistle.

"Coming, Lord Dottore!"

The second harbinger already garners quite the unwanted attention with his getup alone. Your master in particular donned a pink bowtie and a black-and-white mask. The latter in particular makes ergonomic designers raise an eyebrow at its lack of breathing room. Perhaps in the oxymoronic frigid nation of love, the people wouldn't mind if you were beckoned with a whistle. It's not the strangest thing in Snezhnaya— some fatuous were summoned with the sound of a whip.

But in places like your homeland, the old Mond? Chances are, he won't whistle because he craves your attention— no. He'd do it to show you off. You'd have your old neighbor Seamus Pegg himself praying to the Anemo Archon that your mind remains intact. Not that those prayers would work on those who linger with the heretic. You've likely lost your mind before you agreed to become his test subject.

Still, this Dottore is quite impatient compared to his predecessors. Be glad he has yet to tinker with your vessel to make it more akin to an actual dog. So don't test him.

"Hmm. At least with you, I see no issue when it comes to loyalty like that Krupp— whatever his name was," Dottore scoffed with blatant disinterest. "Still unimpressive, however. You're 0.0035 seconds late. Do better."

"Yes, Lord Harbinger."

His words are cold, but his half-mask hides the smirk that creeps on his face as he ruffles your hair. With enough conditioning, he'll have no need to reassemble your insides to make you as un-aesthetically pleasing to anyone but himself as possible. Your behavior and inflicted phobias would be enough to mark the mad scholar's claim.

Go on, little (Y/n), run. Aren't you afraid of what happens after the whistle?

[theharrowing]

Collateral 🗡️ POV: Taehyung

In the aftermath of the latest attack, Taehyung patches everyone up, then rips a man apart for information.

PREVIOUS | INDEX | NEXT

❗ THIS IS A CHARACTER POV CHAPTER!!!

if you do not wish to perceive any POV that is not the main character, please feel free to skip this one!

🗡️Taehyung x Jungkook

🗡️ word count: 10.9k

🗡️ mafia au, violence & gore, established relationship, smut, angst, fluff, nsfw, explicit, 21+

🗡️ warnings: this chapter is very violent & gory!!! Taehyung has a katana & it is still inside the man he stabbed; lots of blood; the briefest mention of past abuse by Yoongi's father; Yoongi has been shot off screen; tending to Yoongi's wounds; Taehyung & Jungkook have a hostage; threatening a man with a gun; some technical anatomy & doctor jargon since we're in Taehyung's head; Taehyung & Jungkook really enjoy torturing people...if you catch my drift; pain play including pressure on genitals; use of a bone saw!!!; use of lye on wounds; improper use of an epipen; body dismemberment; a touch of dissociation; rough shower sex (bottom Jungkook, top Taehyung); use of restraints.

🗡️ notes: mc is referred to in 3rd person (she/her) pronouns for this chapter! this opens just after the chapter where they are chased in cars, there is gun fire, and Taehyung runs a katana through a man! i researched bone saws for this chapter!!! it is violent right out of the gate.

🗡️ early draft beta read by @neoneunnajimin - with minor unbeta’d edits done since.

🗡️ posted april 2024 - originally may 2023 | read on ao3

"What is the matter with you?" Jeongguk shouts, panting and sounding somewhat frantic.

Every inch of Taehyung buzzes—vibrates with an energy he only gets when he is covered in another man's blood. The tail lights of Namjoon's sedan drive further away, and Taehyung is fixated on them, watching as the red dots become smaller and smaller before fading entirely.

"Be more specific," Taehyung mutters as he slowly slides his katana from the man whose hair he holds tightly in his fist, feeling the weight of him drag down as his body continues to convulse and fully lose consciousness. 

"You're gonna fucking scar buttercup, you idiot," Jeongguk grumbles as he yanks away the dead man and throws him aside. "She did not need to watch you gut this man."

Taehyung's arm stays suspended in the air for a split moment, then he drops it to his side and looks up at Jeongguk. Jeongguk's hair is disheveled, face is smeared with blood and dirt, and he is the prettiest fucking thing Taehyung has ever laid eyes on. 

"She's stabbed a man before," Taehyung reasons, unsure what the big deal is. Sooner or later, she is going to need to become a hardened killer too. Or hide away in the brothels with little Jimin. 

With a sigh, Jeongguk grabs Taehyung's bicep and roughly pulls up, attempting to lift him. But the blood that covers him makes it impossible for Jeongguk to get a good grip, causing Taehyung's arm to slide away. 

"Get up!" Jeongguk sounds pained, or possibly angry. "Yoongi-hyung is hurt."

At that, Taehyung's heart seems to jolt in his chest and every nerve sparks with panic. Taehyung looks up and searches Jeongguk's face for any hint that he is joking or exaggerating. 

"Why didn't you lead with that?" Taehyung practically shouts as he scrambles to his feet, holding his katana pointed to the ground. 

Frantically, he looks around, trying to listen for where Yoongi could be, but everything around them is unusually quiet. That, or Taehyung's ears are ringing too loudly. 

"He's not seriously injured, but he has been shot in the chest, over the vest. And a bullet grazed his hand."

This news is shocking to Taehyung, and he allows Jeongguk to drag him off to where Yoongi is sitting against a sedan with Seokjin and Hoseok huddled on either side. Not since he was a teenager has Yoongi been shot. Of everyone, he has come away with the fewest injuries overall—with the exception of those left by his father. 

Yoongi holds a hand over the center of his chest, leaning forward and catching his breath. A weak smile tugs on his face, and as they approach, the loud ringing dulls enough for Taehyung to hear him say, "I'm fine, really."

"I'll take you to my place to check it out," Taehyung insists as he crouches before Yoongi, places the sword onto the pavement, and lifts his injured hand. 

Sure enough, from the thenar web space between Yoongi's thumb and index finger, up to the scaphoid bone on his outer wrist is a shallow gash left by a hot bullet. The skin is opened and slightly cauterized shut, leaving behind a hell of a red mark. 

"How do you feel otherwise?" Taehyung asks, assessing Yoongi to make sure his vision seems clear at a glance. "Can you take in a deep, slow breath for me?"

Yoongi nods and smiles, then sucks in air. Although his inhale is shaky, undoubtedly from a bruised bone, he does not seem to be in dangerous levels of pain, leading Taehyung to hope that the bullet has, in fact, only bruised him, and that there is no internal bleeding. 

Taehyung reaches into his slacks pocket and pulls out a thin flashlight the size of a pen, then presses a button on the end of it, lighting it up. He holds the light just under Yoongi's right eye and says, "Eyes on me, boss," as he slowly lifts the light and watches Yoongi's pupil constrict, becoming smaller. Then he holds the light just under Yoongi's left eye and does the same, yielding the same result. 

"No immediate sign of a concussion," Taehyung says as he clicks the flashlight off and shoves it back where it belongs, catching a little metal hook on the end of it to the material of his pocket so that it stays snug. "Alright, let's get you up and into a vehicle. Jeongguk and I will take you home."

Seokjin and Hoseok stand and take a step back, and Taehyung looks upward, glancing between them, "Are you two good?"

"Yeah," Seokjin responds, and Hoseok mutters, "I'm good."

"Good," Taehyung says as he stands, then he turns to Seokjin and asks, "And did you manage to keep one alive for me?"

With a grin, Seokjin tilts his head to the left, toward Taehyung's vehicle, and says, "Knocked out and bound. He's all yours."

"Perfect," Taehyung responds, feeling a thrill quake through him. "Thanks, hyung."

* * *

A little over halfway to the mansion, the man in the back seat begins to stir. First, he makes a low grumble, and then he begins to whimper. Taehyung glances through the rearview mirror and waits for the man to notice him before he snarls.

"Good morning, sunshine," Taehyung says, watching as the man becomes frantic, attempting to thrash. 

Jeongguk, who sits beside the man, pulls a gun from his thigh holster and lifts it, cocking the hammer nice and loud. Taehyung finds it difficult to keep his eyes on the road, absolutely enthralled by the anger in Jeongguk's eyes while he points the gun in the man's face.

"I will paint the window with your brain if you don't shut the fuck up," Jeongguk practically growls, pressing the weapon against the man's head. 

All this does is make the man squeal more, and from the passenger seat, Yoongi huffs out an impatient sigh. Taehyung glances over to find Yoongi sitting stiffly with his head pressed into the seat, staring ahead. He cannot tell how Yoongi's breathing is only from a glance, but he does not hear any labored breaths, so he continues to drive without pressing him. 

Whoever the man in the back seat is, he does not deserve the pleasure of overhearing that one of his men has managed to injure Boss Min. Even if he does only have a few more hours to live. 

It is unusual for Yoongi to be so quiet, especially with a hostage present, so Taehyung imagines he must be pretty sore. He had not bothered to turn in his seat to have a look at or taunt the man, as he is usually wont to do. Taehyung wonders who this man is and whether he knows who Yoongi is. He supposes he will find out soon enough. 

In the back seat, the man has quieted down, but continues to mutter into the tape over his mouth. They are less than a mile from the property now, and Taehyung speeds up, gradually pressing his foot on the accelerator and listening as the engine hums. Nobody is ever on this stretch of road; nobody who knows who this road belongs to would dare. 

As soon as his mansion comes into view over a low hill, Taehyung lets up on the gas a little, taking the hill at enough speed that it rattles the vehicle. He remembers too late that his boss is injured; he is always so eager for the light-headed rush that comes from flying over the hump that he was only focused on the thrill. But Yoongi says nothing beside him, hands clasped over his lap while he stares ahead. 

"Sorry, boss," Taehyung mutters anyway.

"I always do it, too," Yoongi responds, and Taehyung glances over to find a small smile pulling at his lips. 

Silence falls a little longer, and Taehyung slows to approach the driveway, turning to the right and stopping before a large metal gate. He pulls down the visor and punches an eight-digit code—Jeongguk's birth year, month, and day—then waits as the gate opens. 

"How long have we known each other?" Yoongi asks, taking Taehyung by surprise. 

Taehyung glances to find Yoongi staring ahead, looking pensive. 

"A long time," he responds, unsure exactly how many years it has been. Somewhere around fifteen, he surmises. 

Yoongi hums, and Taehyung pulls into the circular drive, parking the sedan parallel to the garage. He shuts off the engine, unbuckles his seatbelt, and turns to Yoongi, who slowly reaches to undo his own belt.

"A long time," Yoongi repeats with a soft smile, then he reaches for the handle and opens the door, letting himself out. 

Ordinarily, Taehyung would cause a fuss and insist on Yoongi waiting for help, but he knows better. Yoongi is not going to appear weak in front of the man in the back seat. He does groan when he gets out, however, and Taehyung takes note of the sharp intake of breath as he steps onto the driveway and rotates to shut the door. 

"Do you need help with him?" Taehyung asks, voice coming out a little more gruff than he expected it to. He glances into the rearview mirror and finds Jeongguk eyeing the man and shrugging. 

"Nah, I got him. Take care of the boss and I'll drag this shithead inside when you're ready."

With a nod, Taehyung opens his door and slides out, slamming it shut and jogging around the back of the sedan to get to the front door of his house before Yoongi does. He punches the years Yoongi and Jeongguk were born into the keypad, then stares into the retina scanner, feeling impatient to get inside.

"That pass code is weak," Yoongi grumbles, making Taehyung scoff. 

"You always say that, boss," Taehyung responds as he twists the knob and reaches a hand high to hold the door open as Yoongi enters.

Yoongi hobbles inside, hugging his arms around his chest, then he approaches the wall beside the door and leans back while taking a deep breath, staring down at his feet. Taehyung approaches, letting the door close behind him, and takes a knee, smacking Yoongi's slowly lowering hands out of the way before untying his right boot and then his left. 

"I can do it," Yoongi grumbles, and Taehyung glances up to watch Yoongi look at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh.

"What do you always tell us?" Taehyung asks as he holds onto the heel of the right boot and keeps it still for Yoongi to pull his foot free. 

"I tell you a lot of things," Yoongi responds as Taehyung grabs the left heel, "most of which you do not bother to listen to."

As Yoongi pulls his left foot free, Taehyung looks up, raising his eyebrows as if he has been insulted, though unable to keep himself from smiling. 

"You and I both know that is not true, boss," Taehyung says, watching as Yoongi stares down incredulously. "You always tell us not to try to do everything alone, isn't that right?"

Yoongi hums and scoffs, then wraps his arms around his torso. He appears to have a lot on his mind, but Taehyung does not want to prompt him to tell him what it is. In the years he has known Yoongi, he has come to learn that the man will only divulge what he wants when he wants to. 

Taehyung shifts his weight back and unties his left boot, then he adjusts to untie the right boot and stands. His legs and back feel tired, and he lets out a slow exhale as he kicks the boots off and leads Yoongi down into his basement. 

With a press of a button near the ramp that leads down, everything glows a hot, blue-white. The fluorescent lighting is bright, taking Taehyung's tired eyes a moment to adjust to as he wraps an arm around Yoongi's shoulder and guides him down to the next level, slowly taking one step at a time. 

Silence hangs, thick and oppressive, buzzing through Taehyung much in the way he imagines gas and mercury buzzing through the bulbs overhead. He does not mind the silence—preferring it to filler bullshit—but Yoongi's demeanor has him worried. No use dwelling on it, he decides as he leads Yoongi into an exam room just off to the right of the main room. 

Taehyung's basement is massive, stretching further than his house, in the direction of the main mansion. If someone were to dig a hole into the shrub maze in Yoongi's garden, they would likely end up in the worst part of Taehyung's estate. The main room is a large sterile white space with doors on the right leading into an exam room, an operating room, and storage rooms. 

Through the space, straight ahead, is a steel door that leads to an area of the property that men only go to in order to die.

They walk into the first room on the right, and Taehyung flips on a switch, casting more bright, fluorescent light.

"Have a seat," Taehyung says as he guides Yoongi over to the examination table and waits for him to turn around and get situated.

Once Yoongi sits, he drops his hands to his sides, and Taehyung makes quick, careful work of unstrapping the bulletproof vest. The velcro is loud as it tears apart, seemingly echoing throughout the otherwise empty room. Yoongi raises his arms, wincing from the motion, and Taehyung slowly lifts the vest, doing his best to slide it away and not add any additional pressure to the center of his chest. 

"How is the pain?" Taehyung asks while setting aside the vest and taking Yoongi's wrists to slowly help him lower his arms. Even if it is just a bruise, the ribs can still hurt, and the movement can put strain on the injury.

"Fucking sucks," Yoongi grits through his teeth as his arms rest at his sides, "but it is manageable. Just need a valium and a bath and I will be fine."

"I'm surprised you took a bullet at all," Taehyung mutters before he can stop himself. 

Silence hangs, then Yoongi snickers and responds, "Even dexterous monkeys fall from trees sometimes, Taehyungah."

Of all the animals in the kingdom, Taehyung cannot imagine likening his boss to a monkey. A lion, perhaps. Or a leopard. 

Taehyung hums as he begins unbuttoning Yoongi's shirt, revealing a black tee underneath. As he slides away the garment, he wonders if they should just cut away the undershirt to save Yoongi some trouble, but Yoongi shrugs the material off and slowly begins to lift his shirt, pulling it up until it reveals a nice red welt right in the center of his chest. 

Bruising is minimal, but the area is raised and irritated. Taehyung decides that he can assess the injury without fully undressing Yoongi, so long as he is able to hold the cloth in place. 

"Would you describe the pain as sharp or dull?" Taehyung asks as he turns to grab a stethoscope from the table to his right and situate the ear pieces into his ears. 

"Not sharp," Yoongi responds. "Not quite dull either. But it doesn't feel like anything is broken."

Taehyung walks around the operating table and lifts the back of Yoongi's shirt a bit higher, muttering, "This might feel cold against your skin," as he touches the stethoscope beside his right scapula. 

"Deep breath in," Taehyung instructs, listening as Yoongi does as he is told. There is nothing indicating any sort of injury; his oxygen flow sounds smooth and unobstructed. Taehyung lowers the stethoscope, following the scapula bone shape down, instructing Yoongi to take another breath and then another, then repeating it on the other side, carefully listening to his lungs. Once he is satisfied, he pulls off the stethoscope and slowly lowers Yoongi's shirt. 

"Sounds good, but I want to take an x-ray to be sure," Taehyung grumbles as he walks back around to the front of the table.

Yoongi stands from the table, sighing as he says, "Of course you do," then he empties his pockets of his phone and wallet, removes his Rolex, and drops everything onto the exam table before exiting the room. 

He takes a right, leading the way through Taehyung's basement as if he owns the place, making Taehyung smile to himself over the man's impatience. Taehyung sets the stethoscope down onto the spot where Yoongi had been sitting and follows behind, out to the right, past the operating room to the third door on the right. 

Yoongi is already in position in front of the detection panel with his back to the x-ray machine, lights turned on. Taehyung smiles to himself and walks through the small, sterile white room, through a lead door, and into a much smaller room. 

Lead walls and windows shield him from radiation, and in the confined space, there is only a small desk with a computer, a tablet, and a microphone for a two-way intercom. Taehyung, however, keeps the door open, not concerned about radiation since it is rare that he uses imaging equipment these days. 

With the flip of a few switches, the equipment buzzes to life, and Taehyung settles back in a black leather chair as he uses a computer program to align the camera with Yoongi's chest and takes an x-ray. A tablet sitting to the right of the computer lights up with a notification that the image has been received and Taehyung lifts it, opens the photograph, and has a look. 

Meanwhile, Yoongi begins to hobble out of the room, to a small black couch that sits just on the other side of the door to wait, as he has become accustomed to doing. Taehyung chuckles and shakes his head, then returns his attention to the image.

There is no sign of fracture on the sternum, for anything to indicate a fracture in any of Yoongi's ribs, and Taehyung stands with the tablet in hand and leaves the lead room, walking past the equipment and out into the large, empty outer room. 

"Looks good, hyung," Taehyung says as he passes the tablet over and lets Yoongi have a look. "Since the area is likely just bruised, you should feel better after a warm shower and some rest. Take some painkillers, and don't put too much strain on yourself."

"Thanks, doc," Yoongi responds, lifting the tablet for Taehyung to take, which he does. 

"Now would be a good time for that vacation you have been talking about."

Yoongi nods his head, tired eyes staring straight ahead at the plain white wall. 

"Perhaps one of Jimin's rooms in Paris is free," Taehyung suggests, making Yoongi nod more. 

The seven of them own penthouse suites here and there, sprinkled across various continents, and he imagines both Namjoon and buttercup would be easily charmed by the city of love.  

"Jimin has been in Paris for the last few days, laying low and taking some time for himself," Yoongi says. "I'll get in touch and see if we can use one of his suites. Perhaps a night in the city with him will be good for our darling, too."

Jimin is in Paris? This is news to Taehyung. Although Jimin's absence has been felt lately, he prefers not to pry, but he is surprised to learn that his friend is on the other side of the globe. Taehyung hopes he is doing well. 

"We have the meeting with The Tigers in Hong Kong," Yoongi mutters, fidgeting with his hands in his lap. "I'll plan a trip from Hong Kong to Paris for a long weekend. Think you and Jeongguk can hold things down here while we're away?"

Taehyung chuckles, hums a soft, "Mmhmm," and turns, entering the x-ray room to return the tablet to its home and shut the equipment down. As he switches off the last set of lights and pulls the door to the room closed, Yoongi stands, pressing his palms into his knees with a deep sigh. He holds out a hand to help keep Yoongi steady in case he needs it, hovering it around his lower back. 

"I want to clean this hand wound, and bandage it a little so that the sight of it doesn't freak buttercup out," Taehyung says, using his fingertips against the palm of Yoongi's hand to encourage him to lift it. 

The wound is not too deep, and Taehyung leads Yoongi back into the first room, then grabs and rips open an antiseptic wipe packet, rubbing it over the surface of the wound to clean it. He grabs and unwraps a sterile pad while the antiseptic takes a moment to air dry, then he places it over the wound, positioning it diagonally so the entirety is covered, and gently wraps the hand in bandage tape that sticks to itself. 

Yoongi opens his fingers and squeezes them tightly closed, seemingly pleased with his range of motion, then he stands and begins to gather the items he discarded before having the x-ray,  dropping everything into his slacks pockets. Slowly, Yoongi slides his arms into his black button-up, and Taehyung helps him situate it over his shoulders.

"Let's get you home," Taehyung says as he wraps an arm around Yoongi's lower back, leading him back out to the main room and shutting off the light in the exam room. "I'm going to take care of our little friend. Anything you want me to ask him?"

Yoongi shrugs. "Just need a name or motive. I have a feeling I already know what this is about."

As they walk through the basement, toward the ramp leading up, Taehyung gives Yoongi's side a gentle squeeze, smiling when Yoongi leans into his side for a brief moment. He wishes they had more moments like this, with just the two of them, minus the injury. But, as it is, they both seem to have their hands full. 

"Do you think The Tigers will be able to handle the operations better than we have, if they decide to take over?" Taehyung asks as they walk up the ramp, to the foyer. He reaches to switch off the lights to the lower level, blinking as his eyes adjust to less light. 

"I think they are more than capable," Yoongi responds in a tone so flat, there is nothing to glean from it but the words themselves.

Taehyung nods, then asks, "And tonight...do we think this has anything to do with the men Jeongguk took out? Or do we think it is a personal attack from Ryujin?"

Yoongi hums, releases himself from Taehyung's hold, and turns to lean against the wall. Taehyung begins to crouch to retrieve Yoongi's boots, but Yoongi swats his hands away, letting out deep, long breaths as he bends. 

"Just give me time to do it," he mutters, so Taehyung nods and retrieves a pair of athletic slides, then he stands and joins Yoongi with his butt against the wall, sliding his feet into one sandal at a time.

By the time Taehyung is standing straight against the wall, Yoongi has his first boot tied, and Taehyung relaxes his shoulders and waits. 

"Seokjin thinks Ryujin may no longer be in charge of the Busan operations," Yoongi says after a pause, still bent in half.

"Oh?" Taehyung asks, not entirely surprised. He has heard whispers of such a thing. 

Yoongi hums, then stands still with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Taehyung is happy to see his range of motion is not inhibited too much, and continues to patiently wait. 

"He is working on gathering more information. Hopefully Hyunjin will have some insight, and we can sit down and talk with him once we have him safely in hiding."

"Ah," Taehyung responds, remembering a conversation about their informant finally being pulled out. 

He wonders if they plan on sending anyone new in his place, but does not ask. Information like this hardly leaves the small circles in which it is discussed until plans have been set in motion and they can safely discuss it openly. It took two years for him to learn they had an informant there, in the first place. 

"But to answer your question," Yoongi continues, sliding his foot into the second boot, "and to bring all of this mess—for lack of better term—together," he sighs heavily, "it is not that I think The Tigers can handle things better, necessarily, but if Ryujin, or whomever, does call for war, I do not want Jeongguk on the frontlines. Not only is he reckless and too willing to charge into a scenario like that headfirst, but he is our maknae. I found him as a kid dazed and scared on the street, covered in another man's blood, and I promised myself that nothing terrible would befall him again. Of course, I have failed at keeping that promise…but if I can keep him alive and healthy, I will do whatever it takes."

Relief washes over Taehyung and he rests his head back against the wall, letting out a deep exhale. He knows that Yoongi loves Jeongguk, and that protecting him has always been a priority, but he is glad that steps are being taken to pull Jeongguk out of operations that have kept him close to Busan. The guy is far too smart to be in charge of drug running, and it is high time he is given more responsibility that keeps him close to home. 

Perhaps Taehyung is selfish, but he does not want his Jeonggukie constantly traveling to the shore and back. He wants him here, where he belongs. If anything were to happen to Jeongguk, Taehyung would raise every demon from hell and burn this city and every building from here to the shore down to the fucking ground. 

"Nobody is more brilliant at logistics than Jeongguk," Yoongi continues, bent in half again and slowly tying his second boot. "Having him oversee drug operations has been monumental in our financial success, and thanks to him, the clubs have more high-spending clientele. Our success—that which we gained, and which was not passed down from the old man—is largely thanks to him. He has worked hard, and it is time for him to rest."

The thought of Jeongguk resting makes Taehyung chuckle. "You know that of all of us, he is the second most restless, after only you, hyung."

"I am aware," Yoongi responds with a hint of mirth in his voice. With a groan, he stands tall, resting his head back against the wall, and Taehyung watches him—watches as his long lashes flutter against his high cheekbones and his brows knit slightly. At times, he wishes he could read the man's mind. "I'll make sure he is kept busy. There is no shortage of bullshit to handle."

"Rumor has it, Jimin wants him to help with the clubs," Taehyung mutters, momentarily picturing muscular, tattooed Jeongguk spinning around one of the poles at Paradise wearing a tiny black thong with his piercings glittering in the light. 

Of course, stripping would not be one of the duties Jeongguk would be appointed to, but a man can dream.

"That certainly is an option," Yoongi responds as he opens his eyes and turns his gaze to Taehyung, soft and calm. "He can help Hoseok with weapons too, if he would like. Anything that strikes his fancy; this world is his."

Although Taehyung is not often one to openly show affection toward his boss, he cannot help himself as he turns and pulls Yoongi into a hug. Although Yoongi grumbles a sound of confusion, he lifts his arms and gently settles them around Taehyung's hips, and he does not balk at Taehyung resting his head on his shoulder. 

"Thank you, hyung."

Yoongi chuckles and begins to ask what Taehyung is thanking him for, but Taehyung shakes his head and gently hugs him tighter around the upper arms, careful not to compress against his chest. 

"I know you love us. I know that you look out for us, not just because it is your duty as our boss, but because you genuinely care about us. But I still want to acknowledge what you do to keep us safe. God only knows what could have become of Jeongguk, if— Just—" To his surprise, Taehyung feels emotional from his words, and he takes a fortifying breath. "Thank you." 

"Ah, Taehyungah," Yoongi grumbles, finally pushing free from the hug, making Taehyung momentarily hold on tighter, "We are a family."

"An incestuous family," Taehyung teases, earning him a smack on the side of the head, making him laugh as he finally releases the hug. 

"Nobody is forcing you to fuck one of the family men," Yoongi grumbles, hardly sounding defensive.

Taehyung laughs, mutters, "Sometimes he does," with a smile, earning him one more smack against the head before they walk to the front door and open it, greeted by cold night air and the sight of Jeongguk sitting on top of a body that lays face-down on the cement while smoking a cigarette. 

"Speak of the devil," Yoongi mutters, and Taehyung chuckles, feeling affection warm him. How can one man be so unhinged and so dreadfully beautiful, covered in blood and sweat.

"Gonna walk hyung home, then we'll take care of him?" Taehyung asks.

Jeongguk nods and tugs his lips into a small smirk. "Looking forward to it, hyung."

The walk back to Yoongi's mansion is quick and quiet, with gravel crunching and twigs snapping underfoot. The fountains appear somewhat ominous underlit in the dark—eerie and foreboding. When they reach the mansion, Yoongi looks up toward the only lit window on this side of the house and chuckles. 

"Want to take bets on whether they are in the tub or the shower?" Taehyung asks playfully.

"Definitely the tub," Yoongi responds with a soft smile that falls to something akin to worry. "I'm sure our darling is pretty shaken up from everything."

With a knowing nod, Taehyung hums. Perhaps he should not have run his sword through the man right in front of her. In the moment of passion, he finds he has a hard time with reason, seeing red and only considering the most effective way to maim and kill. 

"I'm a little surprised she hasn't been scared off, yet," Taehyung says against his better judgment. Thankfully, Yoongi never seems to take things too seriously when it comes to casual conversation between the family men, and he just hums in response.

"She's more resilient than she seems," Yoongi mutters after a moment. 

Taehyung wonders how true that might be. He has no reason to think she is weak, but is she as strong as they give her credit for? Or does she simply have nowhere else to go? 

He certainly would never blame her, either way. If being at the mansion is something she wants, then he wants her to find comfort and happiness…but he also worries about the unorthodox way in which she arrived at the mansion in the first place. 

Is there a chance she still feels like a prisoner in her own home? Are Yoongi and Namjoon distracting her with sex and a seemingly endless supply of money, drugs, and champagne?

As they round the mansion to the front door, Taehyung is relieved to find only one vehicle in the drive. Although he did not necessarily expect Seokjin or Hoseok to be around, he is glad to not have to stay and chat. Knowing there is a man at his home who he needs to deal with has him feeling antsy and eager to return. 

Yoongi's steps begin to slow as they approach the front door, and Taehyung steps in closer to offer a hand, which Yoongi pushes away as he goes through the various security measures to get into the front door. 

Once they are inside, however, Taehyung closes the door tight and gets down on his knees, ignoring Yoongi's protests for help, and unties his boots for him. Then he holds each one steady for Yoongi to step out of, stands, and wraps an arm around Yoongi's middle to guide him to the steps. Yoongi does not bother turning on any lights; a yellow glow from outside security lamps shine through the windows, making it easy enough to see. 

"I can walk just fine," Yoongi grumbles despite allowing Taehyung to continue with the assist. 

"You can," Taehyung agrees as he steps out of his slides and kicks them aside, "but you're slowing down and I want to get back home."

"Go fucking home then," Yoongi says with a gentle shove of his shoulder, but without a hint of malice in his tone. 

"Gotta make sure your darling doesn't have a concussion, and then I will."

Yoongi hums, then they round the staircase and take it nice and slow to the top. Although Yoongi winces and groans less, he leans more into Taehyung the closer they get to the landing, and he seems out of breath once they reach their destination. 

"How's your chest?" Taehyung asks as they approach the open door to the master bedroom. 

"Eh," Yoongi responds. "The pain is minimal compared to before. Now I just feel really fucking tired."

"Well," Taehyung says in a teasing tone as they enter the bedroom and swing to the left, toward the ensuite, and only light that appears to be on in the entire mansion, "no vigorous activity tonight. Leave all of that to Namjoon."

Yoongi chuckles, and Taehyung clears his throat, schooling his features to appear a little more impassive as they turn the corner and face Namjoon and buttercup in the tub. Namjoon appears to be giving her a foot massage, nearly making Taehyung crack a smile. No wonder she puts up with their bullshit. 

Although Taehyung should have expected such a response, he is taken slightly aback when she sees Yoongi and sits up quickly with a look of fear on her face. As she moves, water sloshes over the side of the tub, and it seems to take her a moment to realize her bare breasts are exposed before she lifts an arm to cover herself. Taehyung swallows a lump in his throat and does his best to appear as stoic as possible…Jeonggukie is going to be so jealous, but now is not the time to feel giddy about that.

“Don’t panic,” Yoongi says, holding his injured hand in the air. “I took a bullet to the vest, right in my sternum, and it hurts like a mother fucker, but I just need to rest.”

“You took a—” buttercup gasps, voice sounding weak before dying in her throat, and Taehyung is suddenly uncomfortable with having to witness this exchange, letting his vision lose focus as the moment passes. He really wants to get back home. 

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Namjoon says calmly.

Eager to check buttercup's eyes and get back to his captive, Taehyung walks Yoongi over to the toilet and stands close while he takes a seat on the closed lid, then he approaches the tub, pulling his little flashlight from his pocket.

“Yoongi, Jeongguk, and I are all fine after the bout of whiplash, but I would like to check your eyes,” Taehyung says, squatting beside the tub.

Buttercup nods and stares up at Taehyung, who switches on the flashlight beside the right side of her face and slowly pulls it upward until some of the light hits her eye. Everything looks good on this side, and he moves the light to the left side and does the same, then he switches it off and cracks a smile, relieved to find that she is fine. 

“Your pupils are dilating properly. Do you have any severe head or neck pain?”

She shakes her head and mutters, “No, just a little soreness where my head hit the seat.”

“Nausea or dizziness?”

“Kind of, but I think it’s just related to all the anxiety.”

“Alright,” Taehyung says, standing and taking a step backward; her responses are pretty standard, and her speech is fine. She seems perfectly cognizant. “If you happen to become dizzy or nauseated enough to vomit, or experience any sharp head pain, please call me and I will come right over.”

“Thank you, Taehyung,” she says softly, sighing with what sounds like relief.

Unable to hold back a shy smile, Taehyung says, “Don’t mention it, buttercup,” then he backs up, turns gracefully on his socked feet, and takes his exit, leaving Yoongi to undress himself and join his little harem in the tub. 

With a pep in his step, Taehyung leaves the master suite and practically slides to the top of the stairs, barreling down two at a time, jumping over the last three. As he practically sprints to his slides and throws the front door open, adrenaline spikes, and Taehyung takes off back to his property as quickly as his sandaled feet will carry him.

When Taehyung reaches the basement, finding the fluorescent lights turned back on, he notices boot tracks and droplets of blood on the otherwise polished floor, leading back to the dungeon. Just the thought alone of Jeongguk dragging a desperate, whimpering man through the space has blood rushing to his cock, and he steadily makes his way to the back of the long, mostly empty basement space, standing before a large metal door that Jeongguk has conveniently left cracked open. 

Taehyung's steps are light, sandals making minimal sound as he slowly pulls the door open and takes in the sight before him. The man is hanging limp in the center of the cement room with his wrists in chains, muttering something weakly with his head hung low, and Jeongguk is leaning against the far corner with his black button-up hanging half open exposing an enticing strip of golden skin while he smokes another cigarette. 

"Finally," Jeongguk says, dropping the cigarette to the floor and stomping it out beneath his boot. He looks angry to have been kept waiting, which fuels the already growing wildfire just beneath Taehyung's skin.

"Copping an attitude already?" Taehyung bites back with a glare, stepping through the space in a rush, past the man, to take Jeongguk's pretty little jaw in his hand and squeeze. "I had to take care of our boss. Have you no respect?"

Jeongguk is the first to crack, smiling with his lips squeezed between Taehyung's fingers, making Taehyung laugh. He pulls Jeongguk close, slots a leg between his thighs and presses their bodies together until Jeongguk whimpers. 

"I hope you didn't hurt him too much without me," Taehyung groans, digging his thigh higher into Jeongguk's balls until the poor guy's eyes begin to fill with tears. 

"N-no, sir," Jeongguk mutters sweetly, nearly making Taehyung consider putting the torture on hold so he can fuck him against this grimy cement wall.

But he wants to make this man scream. He really wants to.

"Damn," Taehyung mock pouts, dropping Jeongguk's jaw and taking a step back, watching as a mix of emotions flash before Jeongguk's face, including a hint of disappointment. "I was hoping to have a reason to punish you."

With a sudden devious grin, Jeongguk reaches for the holster around his thigh, pulls out a handgun, and lifts it, pointing to the man. He clicks the hammer back while raising his eyebrows, and Taehyung grabs his hand quickly, twisting the gun from Jeongguk's grasp and holding it behind his back. 

"Don't you fucking dare," Taehyung challenges, and Jeongguk laughs, bright and pretty, making him absolutely crazy. 

"God, you should have seen the look on your face," Jeongguk teases, stepping forward and reaching around Taehyung for his gun, which Taehyung allows him to have. "You looked like you were going to kill me."

"Please don't give me a reason to," Taehyung responds, shoving Jeongguk back into the corner and lifting his hands to rake them over the dirty, bloodstained shirt. "As pretty of a trophy as your head would make, I would suffer a great loss without you."

"So romantic," Jeongguk groans as his freehand presses into Taehyung's semi-hard cock and gives it a squeeze. 

The feeling is exquisite, especially with how tight and constricting Taehyung's slacks are, and he lets out a deep, pleased groan, allowing Jeongguk to tease him just a little more before getting his hands dirty. With a chaste, soft kiss, Taehyung backs from Jeongguk and turns back to their captive, who stirs and grumbles, head slumped forward. 

"Did you rough him up?" Taehyung asks as he crosses the room, over to a large metal rack that contains some of his retired tools. "He seems more out of it now than he was in the car."

"Yeah," Jeongguk responds, "while you and Yoongi were down here, I shot him up with a little baby dose of heroin."

A mix of anger and surprise spikes in Taehyung, and he spins, searching Jeongguk for any sign that he may be joking. "Heroin? Where the fuck did you get that?"

Jeongguk chuckles and shakes his head, holding up a hand. "Relax, hyung. Our friends in Japan sent some over in case we wanted to try it out, but I have been holding onto it only to use for purposes like these."

This information does not compute, and Taehyung watches Jeongguk a moment more, hoping that he will continue to talk. When he does not, Taehyung turns back to his rack of rusted, dull surgical instruments, and attempts to gather his thoughts. 

Bringing heroin back into the family, even unintentionally, could yield catastrophic results. The last time Yoongi had his hands on a supply, they nearly lost everything, including the man himself. 

Now is not the time for this conversation, but he does not want to let it go. With a sigh, he grabs onto his trusty Serratec III—feeling the weight of the steel, handheld bone saw—and flips the switch on, watching the blade whirr and spin to life. The sound rings out loudly in the otherwise silent space, and the man chained in the center of the room stirs, jerking his head upward. 

Blood drips from the top of the man's head into his eyes, and Taehyung takes a step forward, watching as clarity hits and the man begins to fully understand the gravity of the situation. 

"What is your name?" Taehyung shouts over the shrill buzz of the saw, standing about ten feet from the man, who jerks at the chains holding him. 

The man shivers like a leaf caught in a storm, whipping his head frantically from left to right. 

"P-please," he begs, "please don't do this."

"Please don't do this?" Taehyung asks loudly, taking a step closer. "That's a long family name…doesn't sound Korean."

Behind the man, Jeongguk snickers. Then he grabs the man's face with both hands and uses his thumbs and index fingers to open the man's eyes wide, forcing him to look at Taehyung. 

"Name," Taehyung shouts, crouching slightly to be eye-level with him. 

The man whimpers pathetically and turns his head away, blood, sweat, and drool coating his ugly face. Taehyung switches off the small metal saw, and silence falls as the spinning blade slows to an abrupt stop. Using the end of the semi-rusted blade, Taehyung presses the tool against the man's chin to push on his face and make him look at Taehyung a little more squarely. Jeongguk continues to hold open his eyes, which the man attempts to blink.

"You really should answer my questions," Taehyung says softly. "Men who don't follow my orders don't make it out of here alive."

With a low squeal, the man manages to twist out of Jeongguk's grasp, dropping his head to the side. Jeongguk roughly grips onto the man's greasy, short dark brown hair and jerks his head up, making him sob. With the ability to blink, tears fall freely down the man's face, and he shakes his head in quick, shallow movements. 

"I know who you are," the man mutters, spitting through his words while snot dribbles onto his upper lip. "N-nobody comes out of this basement alive."

Taehyung snarls, eyes wide with his teeth bared, doing his best to look as horrifying as possible. The man winces, shivering, and Taehyung chuckles, glad his plan has worked. 

"You know who I am, hmm?" he asks in a playful voice, scraping the edge of the saw blade gently up the man's jaw. 

"Y-you're d-doctor death," the man croaks through sobs. "Everyone has heard of you."

"Doctor death?" Taehyung repeats, chest swelling with excitement over the moniker. "My, my, my, I am honored to have earned such a title."

"Please just kill me," the man whimpers, shaking so hard his teeth rattle. 

"Ah, but I can't do that," Taehyung responds, cocking his head to the side to mirror the angle of the man's head. "I need to know who sent you to us tonight. And the longer it takes you to talk, the more painful it will be, do you understand?"

"Y-you know who it was," the man bleats, wincing when Jeongguk tugs his hair harder. 

With a sigh, Taehyung stands straight and flips the saw back on. The smell of piss hits his nose in an instant, and glances down to see a trickle running from the man's pant leg, into the small metal grate at his feet. 

Taehyung wonders how long this man has worked in this business, and what his rank might be. He appears no older than Yoongi or Seokjin but he cowers like a bitch who has hardly seen any action. 

"If you're so afraid of me, you should just talk!" Taehyung shouts like a parent scolding a child. 

"B-but they'll kill me," the man sputters, barely audible over the saw. 

"What I will do is worse than killing you!" Taehyung insists, holding up the saw so that the man has a good view of it. 

Finally, the man screams bloody murder, eyes screwed shut and spit falling from between his lips. 

"You're a lamb hung out to slaughter," Taehyung mutters, uncaring whether the man can hear him or not. "And nobody can hear you scream."

"P-please," the man whimpers, shaking his head, which is still being tugged by Jeongguk. "Tonight was nothing. She already has attacks planned at a much greater scale."

"She does, does she?" Taehyung asks, receiving at least one answer. 

There have been whispers, however, that Ryujin may not be in charge of the Busan operations. Nothing more than voices murmuring rumors…but Taehyung is curious whether there is anything to substantiate those murmurs, especially since Yoongi and Seokjin seem to also think they could be true; Yoongi knows Ryujin better than anyone. 

The streets tend to talk a lot, but something about this particular rumor seems to hold a little weight, if it is who Taehyung believes it may be. Although Ryujin has her bone to pick with her ex, she was never quite the vindictive type—not on this scale. 

Kim Hyungseo, on the other hand…

"P-please," the man sobs. "If you can promise me a clean death, I will tell you everything."

Taehyung's head rolls back as he laughs, making the sound as boisterous as he can muster. Just who does this man think he is, trying to tell Doctor Death what to do?

"Are you giving me orders?" Taehyung snaps, leaning in close while Jeongguk yanks the man's head hard enough to make him scream. 

"No! No, please, no, I was just—"

Taehyung leans in closer, speaking nice and slow, "Because I don't take too well to being given orders."

The man's eyes widen, full of fear so great, it makes Taehyung's heart soar to the heavens. Taehyung lifts the saw and gently nicks the man's jaw, causing a splattering of blood to hit him on the chest. The man squeals like a pig, frantically yanking at his restraints and causing Jeongguk's grasp on his hair to slip. 

"Who is your boss!" Taehyung screams, making the man scream in response, and Taehyung lifts the saw high and nicks the man on his ulna bone, just below his wrist, deep enough to hit the bone, but not deep enough to sever anything important.

"Fuck!" the man screams, "Please, please just kill me!"

"You know I won't do that," Taehyung teases, moving the saw around to hit the other arm in the same spot, letting the saw collide with the metal chains holding the man in place to make a horrific metallic scraping sound. "My reputation precedes me, remember? Doctor Death, was it?" 

It always amazes Taehyung how much a man will tolerate just to keep his mouth shut, and he leaves more little nicks along the man's arms, causing blood to run down in thin streaks. He is certain he would be able to withstand torture to keep Yoongi safe, but that is Yoongi, after all. 

What could this man possibly stand to gain, as a grunt sent into a gunfight? Is his life really worth more than whatever he is willing to protect?

"Alright," Taehyung sighs, turning the saw off once more. "Let's suit up and really make this pig squeal."

Beside the metal rack of nearly-defunct toys is a large, metal cabinet that holds hazmat suits, oxygen masks, and other protective barriers, as well as tubs of cleaning agents. Jeongguk slaps the man on the back of the head, then joins Taehyung by the cabinet.

The two of them make quick work sliding into two white suits that zip in the front, pulling hoods over their heads and covering their faces with masks that have a clear plate over the eyes, and respirators over the mouth. They put on sets of nitrile gloves, and Taehyung grabs a small tub of powdered lye that he hands to Jeongguk. 

Taehyung retrieves his saw and returns to the man, who trembles hard, bleating out pathetic pleas to be spared. Jeongguk removes the lid from the lye and tosses it aside, then pulls out a little blue measuring scoop and begins to sprinkle the caustic powder onto the man's hands and arms. 

The effect where the man is cut is instant—the lye begins to burn at the skin, eating away and causing the wounds to fester. The man thrashes and screams, spit and sweat flying from him as unintelligible syllables fall from his mouth as his chains clatter.

"You really should just answer my questions," Taehyung sing-songs, voice sounding even more menacing as it filters through the oxygen mask. "I can shoot you up with epinephrine and keep you alive for a long time."

The man curses and screams, frantically shaking his arms, rattling the chains loudly, only serving to make every nerve of Taehyung's spike—making him itch to hurt the man more. 

"Is Shin still in charge?" Taehyung asks, watching as the skin on the man's hands and wrists slowly turns a horrible yellow-pink. 

The man shakes his head, but it is not enough of a response; for all Taehyung knows, it could simply be a reaction to the pain. 

"Answer me!" Taehyung screams, and the man jerks away, frantically thrashing in his chains. 

"Y-yes," the man whimpers, but it is not convincing. He screws up his face in a way that tells Taehyung he is lying. 

"You're sure about that?" Taehyung asks, inching closer. "Rumor has it Kim is in charge, and Shin is a pawn."

The way the man's eyes light up tells Taehyung he is onto something, then he shakes his head and squeezes his eyes shut, quaking with fear and pain the likes of which Taehyung can only imagine. 

But then the man says, "I d-don't know what you are t-talking about," squeezing his eyes shut even tighter. 

Taehyung hums, lifts the saw, and shouts, "Let's jog that memory of yours!" as he flips the switch and it whirrs loudly to life. 

Without waiting for the man to react, Taehyung begins to tap the spinning blade against the man's elbows and the fatty bits below the pronator teres and tricep muscles, careful not to go deep enough to sever any of the veins and nerves.

The screams that come from the man are nothing short of astounding. Jeongguk dips his nitrile-clad hand into the bucket of powdered lye and pulls out enough to begin spreading over the wounds, causing the wailing and shrieking to increase.

Taehyung worries the man might pass out a little too fast if they keep this up, but the sounds are magnificent, and he loves making men walk the thin line between consciousness and unconsciousness.  

"What other plans does she have!" Taehyung shouts, and the man screws up his face, unwilling to open his eyes or look at him.  

"I don't—" the man spits, shaking his head slowly, "I don't know."

"Now is not the time to lie to me! You said she has plans for large-scale attacks! What does that mean?"

The man sobs, tears streaming down his face, and he heaves in deep breaths, appearing as if he might slowly be losing his grasp on reality. 

"She knows where you live," he mutters, head drooping low as all of his weight begins to tug on the chains around his wrists. 

Taehyung shuts off the saw and hands it over to Jeongguk, then he reaches into the pocket of his suit to grab from a stash of epinephrine pens and removes the safety cap from the end.

"Everyone knows where we live," Taehyung responds as he jabs the pen into the man's thigh and holds it in place, watching as the man jerks around and begins to scream again, appearing confused by his surroundings. 

"We could do this all night," Taehyung mutters, tossing the epinephrine aside and gripping the man by the jaw. "Tell me what she plans."

"She—" the man mutters, eyes widening before they begin to search the room as if the man has no grasp on where he is, even with the added adrenaline. 

"Fuck," Taehyung spits under his breath. 

Although an attack on their homes has always been within the realm of possibility—Ryujin lived in the mansion for years, after all—Taehyung does not like that the man brings it up. Hoseok has equipped each home with some fairly intense, high-tech firepower, but Ryujin could be expecting that. 

And if Hyungseo is the one in charge, there is no telling what their next moves might be. Taehyung needs to report back to Yoongi and Seokjin immediately. 

"Alright, well if you won't talk, I guess I will have to kill you," Taehyung says, exasperated and annoyed.

The man squeals, but he hardly seems to have any fight left in him. His skin is corroding where Jeongguk applied lye, festering with puss and blood and undoubtedly leaving behind a stench. 

Taehyung switches the saw back on, and Jeongguk pulls out the little blue scoop from the lye, holding it above the man's head. 

"May as well," Taehyung says with a shrug, and Jeongguk nods once before dumping the powder onto him. 

Soon it will mix with sweat and get into the man's eyes. Taehyung fails to think of anything more horrible to experience. 

With a yawn, Taehyung crouches and begins to hack away at the man, making him easier to dispose of later. He starts with his ankles, slicing through the material of his black slacks, which catches on the blade of the saw, yanking the man around. 

The sounds of the man screaming are drowned out partially by the pounding of Taehyung's heart in his ears, and he watches as one of the man's feet hangs on by tendons and sinew, dangling from a stump that gushes blood. 

The rest of his movements are mechanical, hacking the man at each major joint while Jeongguk uses scissors to cut away at the clothing and make it easier for him. He feels so tired suddenly—so worn down from the events of earlier—that he has half a mind to drag the man into the next room over and toss him into the cremation oven just as he is. 

Taehyung has no idea how long it takes, but by the time Jeongguk is shutting the oven door and exiting the dungeon to peel off his clothing, Taehyung feels as if he is blinking from a trance. 

He feels exhausted and disgusting. He needs to shower, and he needs to cum. 

Jeongguk helps Taehyung undress, carefully piling their clothing into a corner to be dealt with later, retrieving phones, wallets, and any other items from their pockets and carrying them in his hand. They walk through the basement in the nude, feet lightly slapping against cold white tile, and make their way to the main floor, through the foyer, up the flight of stairs, and down the hall to the master bedroom. 

Taehyung takes his phone once Jeongguk has set all the items down on a small marble table beside the bedroom door, and he shoots a text off to Seokjin and Yoongi with what little information he has. That he tried to confirm the whispered rumors, but the man hardly spoke; that the man said "she" knows where they live, but lost consciousness shortly after.

Water runs and steam pours from the ensuite, calling Taehyung like a siren's song. He tosses his phone onto the table and turns, meandering ungracefully into the bathroom. He feels the overwhelming urge to curl into a ball and let sleep claim him, but the sight of Jeongguk scrubbing the grime and blood from his perfect, tattooed body invigorates him.

Taehyung steps into the large white tiled shower and goes straight for Jeongguk, cornering him despite his limbs dripping with suds. He reaches for Jeongguk, who swats his hands away and shoves his washcloth into his grasp.

"You can touch me when you're clean, hyung," Jeongguk teases, snaking out from the corner to rinse himself.

Taehyung wastes no time squirting more soap onto the cloth and washing himself. He takes extra care to get behind his ears, and cleans his hair and face. Then he tosses the rag aside and reaches to the upper lip of the white tiles—to a space a few feet below the ceiling—where he has cloth restraints connected to a metal bolt in the corner.

"Trying to reenact the scene downstairs?" Jeongguk teases, taking his place in the corner and lifting his hands over his head.

"So fucking bratty tonight," Taehyung growls as he wraps each of Jeongguk's wrists in the restraints and closes the velcro tight. 

Taehyung keeps Jeongguk facing him, and he reaches between his legs, wasting no time prodding him open with one finger. Jeongguk squirms and squeals, getting onto his tippy toes before crashing back to his heels, over and over. 

"Lube, hyung," Jeongguk whines, and Taehyung shoves his finger in deeper. 

"What do you call me?" he grits between his teeth.

"Sir! Please!" Jeongguk whines, "F-feels good but it hurts."

Taehyung pulls his fingers away and grabs the bottle of lube that sits between his shampoo and body wash, squirting some on his fingers and setting it aside. He reaches between Jeongguk's spread thighs once more and prods with two fingers, slowly stretching him, giving him brief moments to catch his breath until he is settled knuckle-deep.

"Reassure me once more that Yoongi does not have access to heroin," Taehyung says, fixing Jeongguk with a stern look, watching as his eyes widen. 

"Sir," Jeongguk mutters, pulling on the restraints around his wrists. "Hyung, is now the right time?"

"Reassure me that you were given product in person, from someone you know. Nothing was mailed to the property? There is absolutely no way that it was a man from the Busan crew trying to get drugs into the mansion somehow?"

"Hyung!" Jeongguk responds, much more forcefully, with his brows knit. 

"I just need to be absolutely certain that our boss is safe."

"Can we talk about this later?" Jeongguk asks, eyes wide and frantic. "Since when are drug operations any of your responsibility?"

Taehyung slips his fingers from Jeongguk and takes a step back, feeling anger fizzle through him. He crashes his palm against the wet marble, sending water flying in a weak-sounding, somewhat painful slap, making Jeongguk flinch and grimace.

"Keeping our hyung alive is all our responsibility, Jeon Jeongguk!" Taehyung snaps, barely able to register the look of fear and confusion on his boyfriend's beautiful face. "If anything happens to him, I'll—"

Overcome with emotion, Taehyung slides his hand from the wall. The steam from the shower is too much, and he stumbles back, twisting to catch himself against cold tile that is not hit by the scalding stream of water. 

"You're tired, hyung. Let's fuck and go to bed, yeah?" Jeongguk suggests sweetly, shaking his restraints in wet smacks against the tile. "Or untie me and we'll talk about this." 

Taehyung takes a moment to catch his breath. Panicking over the health and safety of one man is not going to get him anywhere. Not when that man is safe in his home, sandwiched between two very clingy people who are just as determined as he is to keep him safe. The thought makes Taehyung chuckle and shake his head, coming back to himself. 

"I am tired, but first I'm going to fuck that tight little hole of yours," Taehyung says, fixing Jeongguk with a smile that he knows must appear maniacal—eyes wet and bloodshot, bearing his teeth. Nothing Jeongguk is not used to, but my, what a spectacle he must be. 

Jeongguk takes in a deep breath that comes out ragged, and Taehyung wastes no time grabbing him by the jaw with one hand while his other reaches between his thighs, pressing two fingers past the knuckle back into him. 

With a strained chorus of, "Ah, ah, ah," Jeongguk's head rolls back, sweat and condensation from the hot shower pouring down his chest, dropping from the little metal balls of his nipple rings. 

Taehyung licks from the center of his chest to his clavicle, coating his tongue in salty-sweet sweat, groaning in tandem with Jeongguk's deep, needy moan. He does not allow Jeongguk a moment to adjust, fucking his fingers deep while Jeongguk trembles and bleats out broken, desperate sounds. 

It takes no time at all to stretch him enough to get him begging, and Taehyung slicks his cock with lube, then lifts Jeongguk's leg, hooking it over his hip while pulling him into a position that is far too precarious to be doing in the shower. 

Jeongguk sighs and gasps as Taehyung presses his cock slowly, carving him open much wider than his fingers possibly could. The tight squeeze feels incredible, and Taehyung stills once he is buried deep, taking a moment to clear his head and catch his breath. 

He fucks Jeongguk slowly at first, pinching and rubbing his fingertips over pierced nipples and a pretty clavicle while his other hand holds him firmly by the hip. Jeongguk sings for him, moans and sobs echoing through the enclosed space, pitchy and broken and beautiful, driving Taehyung absolutely fucking insane. 

"Just look at you," Taehyung growls as he picks up his pace, eager to fill Jeongguk with his release. "Look at how that pretty cock bounces, untouched and leaking." 

Jeongguk whimpers and attempts to bury his face against one of his arms, but Taehyung grabs him roughly by both hips and says, "Look at me," in a stern enough voice that has Jeongguk's eyes widening, tears and water falling from his long brown lashes. 

That look alone sends Taehyung hurtling over the edge, and he fucks impossibly harder, water squelching in the spaces where their bodies meet. With one hand, he takes Jeongguk's cock and strokes it, rolling his palm over the head, just the way he likes.

"Please," Jeongguk sobs with desperate eyes, and Taehyung nods, biting his lip hard in an effort to stave off his own orgasm.  

Jeongguk cries out as he paints his tummy in release, eyes screwing momentarily shut before he opens them wide, trained after years of Taehyung forcing him to look at him while he cums. Taehyung cannot hold any longer, and he slams his cock deep, quaking from pleasure as he fills Jeongguk, gripping onto his hips tightly, desperate to never let him go. 

As Taehyung pulls out, he wraps his arms around Jeongguk and buries his face into his neck. He hates that he gets this way—so overcome with affection and love that he feels the urge to sob. 

"Thank you," he grumbles into Jeongguk's skin, then he slowly begins to reach up and undo the velcro restraints. 

"Felt good, hyung," Jeongguk mutters as his hands are freed and he is able to pull Taehyung close. "Let's get to bed."

Taehyung wants to get to bed—needs to rest his weary head and relax his tired bones. But he hugs Jeongguk close, breathing through the surge of anger and fear that spark throughout his limbs and sizzle beneath his skin.

"I won't let her hurt him," he grits through his teeth, picturing the way Yoongi was so worn down today—so unlike himself. "I won't let anyone hurt any of us."

"Shh," Jeongguk whispers softly, reaching to shut off the stream of water, making the warmth on Taehyung's skin instantly turn cold. "We won't let anything happen to anyone, hyung. We'll keep them safe."

"We'll keep them safe," Taehyung mutters in response, feeling sleep claw at him, dragging him down, down, down. It is a promise he does not take lightly. Every last person in Busan had better watch out.

*

woof, that one was a doozy! for those who don't know who Kim Hyungseo (BIBI) is, here is a palate cleanser.

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[fluffytriceratops]

𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐁𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 - 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨 [𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔]

Notes: the gif makes me think of the "i got it" moment between Mike and Leo. You'll understand when you read it. My writing is rusty and this is unedited because I'm lazy, so it might be shit. :D Possibly part one? I might write a part two- idk yet. I was in the mood for angst and this has been sitting in my drafts for literally ages so I figured I'd finish it up and post it since it's also been ages since I've posted a TMNT imagine! ALSO- REQUESTS ARE CURRENTLY OPEN! If you would like to submit a request, please do so via asks, and please read my rules on my blog before hand, thank you! &lt;33

Warnings: mature language, ANGST, mentions of addiction, mentions of alcohol, mental/emotional abuse, mentions of depression, brief mentions of self harm, etc.

Tags: @thelaundrybitch @rheawritesforfun @digitl-art-monstr @leosgirl82 @turtle-babe83 @mysticboombox @drowninghell @squirrelfurs @lec743 @post-apocalyptic-daydream @bibiz82 @raphslovemuffin80 @raphielover @tmntspidergirl

(If you would like to be tagged in my future TMNT realted posts (let me know if you want just reader insert stuff or if you want OC related content included) feel free to lemme know and I'll happily add you!)

Thank you for reading! Have a lovely day/night! Stay safe and make sure to take care of yourselves! I'm sending all the virtual hugs to you~! <3

***

Her gaze was locked onto the screen of her phone. She had opened her camera app to double check her appearance before going in, but what she saw caught her off guard. The large purple bags under her eyes, the paleness of her skin. All the weight she had lost was visible in her face alone, no matter how hard she had tried to hide it under baggy clothes. She didn't need anyone worrying about her. She could take care of herself... Y/n knew she hadn't been sleeping well. Not at all, actually. The only time she got the chance to get some rest was when she passed out from sheer exhaustion. Was it unhealthy? Oh absolutely. But she couldn't help herself. It didn't help that she worked two jobs. Ever since her father got fired, she was the one who had to keep everyone afloat. It was driving her mad.

Taking in a shaky breath, she shoved her phone back into her sweater's pocket and began to walk the rest of the way to the lair. It wasn't far. It didn't take long at all for her to get there. Once she stepped inside, she was greeted by the smell of pizza. Her stomach turned and she felt nauseous immediately. Y/n hadn't told anyone that she had gone on a diet. Not yet, anyway. Nor did she tell them she had stopped eating much at all. She was fine, they didn't need to know.

Y/n tucked a few strands of loose hair behind her ear, she took in another shaky breath before walking up to where they were. Their voices were loud and expressive. Raphael let out a bark of laughter, slapping Mikey on the shell in amusement. Leo was busy talking with April, and Casey was stuck chatting with Vern. It was Donatello who had noticed her first. "Hey, Y/n! We were starting to think you wouldn't make it!" He greeted with a cheerful smile.

She tried not to flinch under their sudden gazes. Pulling her lip between her teeth anxiously. God, she felt like vomiting. She needed to leave. "Yeah! You're late dude! What took you so long!?" Michelangelo whined, walking over and moving to sling an arm across her shoulders. She ducked under him before he got the chance.

"N-Nothing, really. Just took my time." Y/n shrugged, shuffling over towards the rest of them hurriedly. She had been dodging their embraces recently, and they were starting to notice. Mikey pursed his lips in a pout, missing the skeptic look on his brother's faces. They had all been brushing off her behavior, but this had been going on for what felt like forever. She was starting to look worse each time they saw her. There was one turtle who knew more than the other's. One who had suspected something was off a lot sooner than everyone else. Leonardo watched Y/n closely. Blue eyes practically glued to her.

"What kind of pizza would you like? We got meat lovers, cheese, veggie-" she cut Donnie off. "None, thanks. I'm uh, dieting." She shrugged, rocking on the balls of her feet nervously. Y/n could feel his eyes boring into her. Her heart rate increased rapidly. Pounding against her rib cage in a desperate plea to flea. Don looked at the other's briefly before turning his gaze back to the female. He nodded slowly, "Okay. Um, would you like something else?" Y/n's hands tightened in her pockets, curling into fists. She simply shook her head. "No thanks.. Not hungry.."

The room grew oddly silent for a few beats. Vern coughed obnoxiously into his elbow just to clear the silence. Leo had yet to look away from Y/n. It made her feel more nervous than anything else. Why was he starring at her? Couldn't he look somewhere else? Just when she was about to say or do something she'd definitely regret, Casey had spoken up. "So, uh, Y/n- I saw your dad today." Her head snapped towards him in a matter of seconds. It was a wonder how she didn't get whiplash. "You did? Where?"

She sounded nervous, and the other's picked up on it immediately. Raph and Donnie caught each other's gaze before the red clad turtle looked towards their leader. Leo was silent and observing. He stood still with his arms folded over his chest. Lips pressed into a flat line and brow ridge lightly furrowed. Raphael watched his brother closely, but his attention was moved else where as the conversation continued.

Casey, who was glad to get away from Vern, stepped forwards. Snatching himself up another slice of pizza. "Convenience store, on West Street. I was grabbing the drinks for today and bumped into him. His hand was all bandaged up, apparently he went to the ER today." He said before taking a merry bite out of the delightful pie. Y/n's gaze darkened.

Stop talking. Shut up. Don't say another word. Please. She all but begged, starring at him numbly. She knew this already. She was the one who dropped him off at the hospital. If it were possible, Y/n felt sicker than before. Her hands began to shake, she was just glad they were hidden in the pockets of her hoodie. She bit her tongue to stop from bolting. Everyone else was quiet, listening to Casey's story. Looking between the both of them as he spoke. She wanted to cry. "I know." She said, barley managing to get the words out.

Casey didn't seem to catch on. Or if he did, he continued to speak about it anyway. "So you know he put his hand through a window?" He was looking at her intensely, hell everyone was. Especially Leo. His gaze felt like fire, burning holes into her skull. She wanted to combust into flames. Right then and there.

"Yeah. Anything else." Y/n's tone grew bitter, and she couldn't help but glare at him. Hoping, praying, that he would just drop it and leave her alone. Casey ignored her. "Well, I know it's your mom's birthday. And I know it's been hard for the both of you. So y'know, we just wanted to check in." He gestured towards all of them, and she barley managed to peek towards them. Had they been talking about her?

"Casey-" April warned, shaking her head subtly at him. Either he didn't see it, or he ignored her as well. "And he was very charming. But he seemed kind of sad. I'd hate to see it happen again, so maybe you should keep a better eye on him." Was he serious? He couldn't be fucking serious, right? Y/n felt like she had swallowed cotton balls. Her nails punctured her skin and she igno red the light stinging. She was staring at a random crumb on the table. Gazing at it as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Completely and utterly silent.

Leo's arms unfolded and he took a step towards her, but she quickly turned her gaze back to Casey. "Everyday is my mother's birthday.." She started, gaze icy, voice venomous. Leo stopped in his tracks, everyone was looking at her, but she focused on Casey solely. "My mother was born in December. He lied. He's a liar." Tears glazed at the corners of her eyes but she's refused to let them fall. Voice rising in anger.

"And I'm glad- really, I'm glad that you found him charming. I'm sure he was delightful. He's a blast after five drinks. Not so much after nine though, he get's a little weepy and mean." Mikey's eyes widened and he looked towards his older brother's worriedly. She hadn't uttered a word of this before, it was the first time anyone was hearing it. Leo's jaw clenched but she hadn't noticed it. Too busy focusing all her pent up anger on Casey. "He's a drunk. He probably came in and told you how wonderful you are. How he wished he could have a son like you. And how sad he is because he doesn't get to spend more time with me." She hadn't meant to cry, but the tears had started to slip down her pale cheeks. Y/n wiped at them angrily.

Casey stood there in shock, taking in her angry words carefully. He didn't dare say anything, all he did was look at her and take it. "Yesterday he said that I was his favorite daughter. The day before, I was an ungrateful bitch. The week before- he wrote me a check fortwenty thousand dollarsbecause he said I deserved everything life had to offer. Because he was so proud of me. A lifetimes worth of proud..." her voice cracked and her bottom lip trembled. Y/n looked down, forcing her hair to partially hide her face. She tried to collect herself as she wiped at her tears with her sleeve. "You can't listen to a word that man says. Everything that comes out of his mouth is about as many bottles as he can stomach before he either vomits it up or passes out."

"But thank you for telling me to keep a better eye on him." Y/n shook her head and turned on her heal. Storming out of the room and out of the lair altogether. She was tired of all this bullshit.

"Y/n! Wait!" Mikey moved to go after her but Leo clamped a hand down onto his shoulder. "I got it..." He muttered, casting an annoyed glance at Casey from over his shoulder before he chased after the h/c female.

"Well that was a train wreck." Vern muttered, wincing at the glare Casey shot in his direction. "How was I supposed to know." He hissed. "It's not like Y/n's a very open person."

"We all knew something was up, I'm sure Casey just wanted to make sure she was okay." April said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Case smiled at her briefly in thanks.

"I wish she would have said something..." Donnie whispered, twiddling his 'thumbs' nervously. "Maybe we could have helped her somehow."

"Y/n's stubborn. She doesn't wanna rely on anyone else. She doesn't wanna be a burden." Raph grumbled, shrugging his shoulders. "Still. I wish she would lean on us a little more. I'd like ta give her father a piece of my mind." He huffed.

Michelangelo's lips pulled into a frown. "You.. You don't think he hits her, do you?" The room fell silent, and everyone turned their gazes towards the area she had left.

"Leo'll make sure she's okay." Don spoke quietly, hands clenching each other desperately.

━

She knew he was following her. But he didn't approach. Not in the sewers, and not outside of them, either. He was waiting for the right time. Giving her a chance to cool off. If anything, the fact that Leo had come after her only pissed Y/n off more. She didn't want to get a lecture from him. She didn't want to rant. She wanted to lay in bed and cry. And she wanted to do it alone.

Y/n managed to hold herself together pretty well. She only let a few tears and sniffles slip out on her way back home. She lived in a sketchy part of the city in a small and dinky apartment. It was her, her two sisters Lucy and Amelia, and their father. Her mother had died a few years back. Her father was never the same after that. He ended up losing the job he had since before he met his wife. He couldn't keep a job afterwards, either. And he started drinking. He drowned his sorrows in alcohol. Any little bit of money he made went straight into alcohol. Lucy was the youngest, she had yet to start high school. Amelia was the oldest. She spent most of her time at her home with her fiance and their newborn son. She couldn't stand to even look at their father. She refused to see him. They always fought, too. Amelia wanted to take Y/n and Lucy with her, but Lucy was in custody of their father. And Y/n refused to leave him to rot.

Y/n's keys jingled as she pulled them from her pocket and jammed them into the deadbolt on the door of her apartment. She knew Leo would already be inside when she entered. And if not, then he was waiting on her fire escape.

The door slammed shut behind her, she kicked her shoes off by the door and walked further inside. There was no sight of her father, so he must be out. Most likely at the bar down the street. It was within walking distance and it was the weekend. There was no way he wouldn't be there. Lucy was sleeping over at Amelia's for the weekend, which meant she was home alone.

The thought would have been extremely comforting had Leonardo not been lurking around the corner.

She passed through the kitchen and walked down the hallway that lead to the bedrooms. Amelia's old room was first, it was completely empty now. Y/n shared a room with Lucy. She was supposed to move into Amelia's room after Amelia moved out, but Lucy didn't feel safe alone. And it wasn't just her father making her feel that way. Y/n was comforting to her. Knowing she was sleeping in the same room kept her calm. Their father's room was the last one. The door was always closed. No one was ever allowed in. He slept on the couch more than his own bed.

The second Y/n pushed her bedroom door open she saw Leonardo standing at the foot of her bed. Patiently waiting for her.

Y/n's gaze hardened, but she said nothing. She kicked the door shut behind her and walked past him to her desk. She needed to do something. Anything. She just needed to keep busy. So she started to organize her college assingments.

Leo remained quiet, simply watching her. After a few minutes of Y/n shuffling papers and slamming drawers he opened his mouth. "Y/n."

"Don't." She snapped, tensing at the sound of his voice.

"You don't even know what I'm going to say..." He breathed, blue; blue eyes glued to her. Scared that if he looked away she would crack and break into a million pieces.

"I don't want you to say anything." She mumbled, voice strained. Her movements had seized. She simply stood there, back facing him. Honestly she was afraid that if she turned and caught sight of his ocean colored eyes, she'd burst.

The room grew quiet again. Y/n knew he was looking at her. She could feel his intense gaze plastered to her back. Studying every small movement she made. The light tremble of her hands. The slight shaking of her shoulders. The wobbling of her knees. Y/n tried to hold herself together. Keep the tears at bay. It was a fools wish.

She could feel his presence. Feel him walking closer. Till he was just a few meesly inches away from her. Leo was so close she knew if she took the tiniest of steps backward his chest would connect with her back. His hand grazed her arm and she broke the silence with a sharp inhale.

And she crumbled.

Tears blurred her vision as she gasped out a shuddering sob. A sob that shook her entire body. One that stole the breath from her lungs and broke her heart into millions of microscopic pieces. She collapsed against him and he held her tightly against his plastron. Strong arms hooking around her waist and pulling her flush against him.

Leonardo said nothing as she cried. It wasn't the first time she cried in his arms. And it most certainly wouldn't be the last.

Nothing was said or done. Neither of them moved. He just held her tight as she let out everything she had been holding in. By the time her cries had quieted, and tears dried on her skin. The sun had started to set. Basking the room in its warm fading glow through the window. Painting the two of them in a lovely array of yellows, oranges, and pinks.

Leo slowly turned Y/n around. Even when she was crying, she was utterly beautiful. Achingly so. He placed his hand under her chin and slowly tilted her red face upwards. Her e/c dewy eyes met his own. There was no longer a wall between them. He had managed to break it down in a matter of seconds. And now, all her pain was visible to him in her eyes.

There was a reason they say eyes are the windows to the soul.

Leo had built his own wall. One he kept up at all times. Around everyone. Everyone except her.

No words needed to be expressed between either of them. They already knew exactly how the other was feeling. With one simple glance. That's all it took. All it ever took.

Leonardo leaned down instinctevly, slowly and cautiously. Waiting and watching to see if she would pull away. Y/n never did. Instead, she slowly and hesitantly moved closer. That's when their lips connected.

A soft and deseperate kiss was shared. He held her face delicately, as if she would crumble into dust in his arms. Y/n clutched at him desperately, afraid he'd see how truly broken and damaged she was and pull away. Leo wasn't going anywhere. Something he told her with his lips as he peppered her skin with kisses. And when he reached her mouth again, he kissed her hard. He poured his soul into her. She drank him up.

As they parted for air. Y/n gasping for a whole other reason. He grabbed her hand and pressed a few more tender kisses to her knuckles. Eyes locked. Chests heaving. Hearts pounding.

Their souls danced the same.

"You don't have to hide around me. There's no need to barricade your feelings anymore." Leo whispered, brushing his thumb against the back of her hand. "You can show me the darkest and scariest parts of yourself. I'm not going anywhere."

A few more tears slid down her tender red cheeks. They caught the light of the sun and shone like tiny falling stars. He brushed them away with his lips.

"Even if I'm destined to crumble into nothing?" Y/n breathed, placing her hand on his chest. Fingertips tracing the markings engraved into his plastron from years of battle and training.

"Even if you're destined to crumble into nothing." Leo whispered, pressing a loving kiss to each rosey cheek. "I'll always be here. Right here. In your arms, where I belong."

[sawrinwrites]

March Content Plans (Long Update)

As it is now the 25th here in frosty England, it has officially been 2 months since I published my first piece of fan fiction. In that time, I've released:

A one-shot containing my first ever attempt at both monster smut and an explicit F/F sex scene (which is currently my most popular work????)

A low angst (I know, I can't believe it either) romantic one-shot from the POV of a golden retriever

4 chapters of an emotionally intense story that is so far from my usual writing style I have to re-read earlier chapters to remind myself how to write it (a deliberate stylistic choice but boy, am I paying for it)

3 chapters of what was meant to be a fun side project and is quickly turning into something deep and dark and wonderful in its own right

All in all, that's 4 bodies of work spanning 57.7k words released over a period of 9 weeks (not including the 15-20k which got rewritten / replaced / outright cut). Which is, for me, insane. It's also a pace that I won't be able to maintain going forward, so for the sake of setting expectations (my own, more than anyone else's), here's the current plan for March:

The Monsters At My Side And In My Shadow Ch 1-3 update Given that this has gone from "werewolf smut hiding in a multi-chapter fic" to "multi-fic exploration of abuse with a healthy dollop of smut", I want to revise what's already been released to better align with what I have going forward. There won't be any plot / event changes, scenes that get altered will be getting either an expansion or a rewrite, depending on the work needed (which will include adding more smut-adjacent content because it's currently lacking and I want it to be better).

Untitled - An Ember POV Story to Celebrate 1yr Since The Bees Kissed (March 25th) @reeves3 put the idea in my head and now I have a collection of outlines covering various points in Yang and Blake's relationship all told from the perspective of the Best Girl. They won't come out in chronological order as I'm looking to line them up with various events, but the current plan is that March 25th will cover the introduction of a new member into the Xiao Long-Belladonna pack.

Additionally, I'd like to release the following chapters but I am forcing myself to accept that these will likely get bumped to April:

The Monsters At My Side And In My Shadow Ch 4

Shattered Divinity Ch 5

There's a few reasons for the (temporary) slowdown in content:

I am supposed to draft 1 - 3 OC novels this year (the mistake of mixing alcohol with an empty resolutions boards and the word "bet") and I need to dedicate more time than I have done to those projects to have any hope of doing that.

Rather than wait for the fan fic writer's curse to hit, I've gone and done it to myself by buying my first house. The offer got accepted yesterday, so now I have to deal with the joys of legal and financial paperwork. And start prepping for a move. And every other stressful time consuming thing that comes from this period. Don't get me wrong, I am fucking ecstatic, not least because it means me having an actual bedroom for the first time in almost 4 years, but the next steps are going to take a chunk out of my usual writing time.

@kaelidascope is about to drop a veritable feast of content. Look, I'm not subtle about how much I enjoy her work. She's my favourite fan fic writer. She's probably one of my favourite writers period on account of the emotional damage and veritable joy Mightnight Menagerie has brought me. And I'm not just saying this because she's been exceptionally complimentary of my own work (which, by the way, I am still freaking out over). She is one of the main reasons I started writing fan fiction. If it wasn't for the original Beestfic, I'd never have written The Hunt. Which means I'd never have had the concept ideas that initially led to starting The Monsters At My Side And In My Shadow, and without that fic, I wouldn't have had the 3 experimental scenes between Yang and her grimm which ended up inspiring the idea to write Best Laid Plans from Ember's POV. So I will be setting aside some time (translation: every waking moment I have during release weekend) to thoroughly immerse myself in the relaunch. Also there's two Menagerie chapters due and the previews are already threatening my analytics brain and unfortunately it takes time to launch that kind of assault on AO3's comment section.

So yeah. A few things going on in March. I'm gonna try and do this as a rolling monthly thing going forward in lieu of trying to have a timed release schedule. Hopefully the April one will be a bit lot shorter.

[ow-old-men]

Could I interest you in some info about these two idiots?

Kassem 'Kass' H. Malik and Vermont 'Jaime' James are my very own homemade blorbos and for the next week starting today (April 19th), you could help them advance in the @original-character-championship! Go HERE to vote

And why should you?

Well, idk, but I will use this as an excuse to just talk about them so I can for once stop spinning them in my mind. They are also the main characters of a ... thing I'm slowly trying to write. In the simplest terms possible:

Kass and Jaime lead normal, regular lives. And that's easy enough for them, since they don't remember. Don't remember that they're actually immortal, elemental beings of great power who - in order to get out of having to fight in the great war of good and evil - burned away all their memories and powers and rendered themselves mortal. They don't even know that the memories will eventually start to return and that they've done this same thing over and over again; choosing each time to abstain from their responsibility and live on, in safety and hiding and in ignorance, and together

It's about memory, and about devotion, about loving to the point of destruction. It's about the decisions we have neither the right nor the choice but to make and it's about their consequences. It's about the things we must do, the things we are asked to do and all the things that fall between them. About responsibility and fleeing and being scared to death and beyond

And it is about two men who love each other because what else is there to do?

and if you wanna indulge me and simply read, well, the (very rough) draft of the opening to their tale can be found here:

As for their individual characters, well, let’s take them one by one

Vermont, going mainly by the nickname Jaime, is the main instigator of their resets, the one who actually does it and yes, there is a lot of guilt built up there and then buried relentlessly. He’s connected to fire and especially the sun. He’s also kind of a lame guy?

Violently private to cover up a deep inability to connect with the people around him. Smart, but definitely not emotionally, kind but prone to defensiveness and isolation at the mere idea that he or the people he loves are being mildly inconvenienced threatened. He spends most of the time after their resets as a history professor but in a not insignificant amount of cycles he’s also been a carpenter or straight up a lumberjack

If Kass wasn’t around he’d probably be an unironic marvel fan and wear only beige polo shirts and fjällraven pants

Bonus info; on a meta level, he started his life as a spoof on Indiana Jones, that’s also why he’s named that!

Kassem is in turn connected to water and especially the moon. It’s him for asks for the first reset, though he does start out opposed to the idea . On a personal level, he’s plagued by an endless curiosity that has driven him into every new turn of his existence. Kind of restless, filling notebook after notebook with flighty notes about almost everything. He’s a bit of a social chameleon, slotting in everywhere, at least for a while. He wants to understand and he’s good at getting to a place where he can but bad at every staying put. His heart eventually starts aching for whatever else may be out there

On a day to day though, he’s mainly just incredibly smart, and funny in a very sly, downplayed kind of way. Lightning sharp but not about to use it for anything nefarious . He’s an extremely prolific children’s book author (under a ton of pseudonyms) and does have a handful of longer, adult and extremely loose and poetic manuscripts tucked away in a drawer somewhere,. He’s yet to gather the confidence to pursue publishing

—-

In short, They’re kissing on the mouth, they’re so unnormal about each other. They’ve got the world at their fingertips and they’ve never held anything that wasn’t each other. They’re the sun and the moon and they’re continually escaping heaven for a second more alone and together. Eventually they’ll have to turn and face the music, but love, what if we had time yet? There was never anything else they could have done.

[jasperygrace]

January 2023 Mid Monthly Report

Hello hello, everyone!

It’s been a while—how have you all been? Life’s been pretty busy for me recently. I’m in my third year of college now and I’m starting to feel the pressure. It’s a bit scary if I’m being honest. Time has never been on my side, an experience I’m sure many creatives can relate to, and these last few years have flown by. Some days it feels as if I’m being dragged along behind it, hitting every rock and piece of debris in my path.

Perhaps I’m being existential, but it’s something I came to realize during my hiatus. Life is short, and there is so much I want to do with my existence. So I have the same resolution this year as I did last: to do something bigger and better. What that something is, I don’t know yet. But I hope you’ll join me in seeing it realized.

Anyway, I’ve expositioned long enough. You’re probably curious as to what I’ve been up to since I’ve been gone. Well—you’re in for a treat!

If you’re interested in my work, consider checking out the Masterlist or my Artstation.

So without further ado let’s begin!

~~Project Progress~~

Sharing the Tale

On the Tumblr side of things, I’ve decided that I want to be more open and share my writing more this year. In the past, I would only share snippets I’ve written if I had been tagged in something. Otherwise, the only time I shared progress was through my Mid Monthly Reports.

This year, I want to break out of my shell and put myself out there as best I can. My first plan of action is to share weekly snippets—with how much I’ve written, it’s a shame not to share it with you all, so I hope this will create more interest in Project : Desert.

Secondly, I’ve developed the bad habit of hiding my art behind my MMRs—despite being an artblr, you’d think I’d never make art! So now, unless I’m unveiling something big (like you shall see in a bit ;^)), I’ll be posting my art more freely. So expect sketches! Expect doodles! Expect the ramblings of a madman!

Thirdly, I want to do more with the Youtube channel I created last year. Since I’ve been busy with moving and school, it was hard to create content for it. But now that I’ve lightened my workload, I hope I can start posting there again. So I hope you’ll look forward to that :^)

Art Nouveau Series

Those who may follow my Artstation might know I got a little bit of art done during my hiatus.

So it is with great pleasure to finally show you the finished Art Nouveau series for Project : Desert. Enjoy!

A heart so full of love that you’ll bleed for the dregs. You know how your story ends, but you won’t stop to rewrite it.

So small was the pup born from soot and mud. Time will move on without you, but it is finally time to forgive yourself.

Remember what you’ve seen here, my dear. Though you walk with them as support, you may be the last who will remember them.

You’ve done all you can to protect your liege, now let him grow without you. And take heed, you still have your part to play.

Draft 2

If you remember from my Hiatus post back in September, I was working on Draft 2 of Project : Desert as part of a semester project for one of my classes. Well, I have made huge progress so far! Before the end of 2022, I was able to finish the Pre-Log and Act 1; now I am currently working on Act 2!

So with this in mind, here’s the general schedule I’ll be working with for the remainder of Draft 2:

By the end of February, I hope to have Act 2 completed and some of the accompanying storyboards done.

By end of April, Act 3 should be completed with most of the book’s storyboards done.

During the month of May, I plan on editing and finishing the remaining storyboards. I will also start looking for beta readers during this time.

By June, I hope to have Draft 2 ready for betas to read.

With Pro:Des being at its halfway mark now, I suppose I should discuss what the plans are for the project. As of writing this, I plan to release Pro:Des late 2024, and should my university allow it, publish it as my Honors Capstone. This hard deadline gives the project the urgency I need to get it completed. For now, I just have to make sure I reach my current goals before I start thinking too far into the future.

So in the meantime, I’ll keep doing my thing, and I hope you’ll continue supporting me in the process.

.

.

.

Oh, I nearly forgot!

I wrote all of this still referring to the project as Project : Desert. I’m excited to tell you all that I’ve finally come up with an actual name for it!

I’ve decided to call it:

An Immortal Laid to Rest

~~Goals~~

January Goals:

Complete up to Chapter 22 by February 18th (16/25 total)

Work on new storyboards for Chpt 3, 5, & 7 by February 15th

Create concept art for Clotho and Lachesis (must complete Clotho before Chpt 7 storyboard)

Create a new video for Youtube Channel before next MMR

Post weekly snippets every Friday

Make a WIP intro post (not urgent)

That’s all I have this month—it feels good to be back writing this. I really missed the MMRs.

Thank you for all the support you guys have given me these last few years. I know I’m just a small blog on this side of the internet, but it’s really thanks to y’all that I even have the motivation to keep going with this.

So as always, thanks for reading and I hope you’ll support me in my future endeavors!

[lumienn]

Re-reading my own fic + reaction

Once upon a time, back when Yashahime was airing, I posted a few chapters of my sessrin fic titled 'Ice King, Icing' on AO3. I eventually ran out of steam, life got in the way (as it always does) plus I had some negative experiences within the fandom which got to me.

It's been at least a year since I last touched it, and I barely remember the plot.

So now that I've got my laptop back, it's time for a reread with fresh eyes. Let's see if it's any good!

Chapter 1:

Okay, I'm recalling the story a little now. The end result is a lot better than I thought it was at the time, I put a lot of research into everything (and I needed to, because I know nothing about 90% of the things I was writing about here). I enjoyed reading the worldbuilding just as much as I enjoyed writing and imagining it. This chapter shows glimpses of a modern world where humans and youkai coexist, and how they manage to do it.

While writing, I was worried the setting descriptions may be too much, but it feels just right to me as a reader. There's just a LOT of effort that went into this chapter and I'm glad it shows.

I feel like I should have more criticism for this chapter but somehow I don't. So here's the fun fact of the chapter instead: Rin was originally supposed to work at the cafe Kagome and Sango go to! The original draft had a more detailed description of the cafe for that reason, but I scrapped it and gave her a normal office job because it didn't feel right. I still wanted the cafe to have a personal connection to one of the characters, so I had Kohaku design it instead.

Chapter 2:

So some interesting plot points are introduced in this chapter. This story was basically based on three what ifs- what if Sesshomaru's good side came out before he met Rin? What if he didn't give Rin the choice to travel with him, and sent her away instead? And what if we still had time travel in this modern AU?

This is where the story and Sesshomaru and Rin's relationship deviates from canon. I love canon, obviously, but I was so intrigued by these questions. So Ice King, Icing was born, lol.

I also wanted Rin to roast Sess

I don't have any complaints for this chapter either. I caught a couple of grammatical errors, but shh. Also I was clearly having so much fun writing it.

Fun fact of the chapter: Kagome still has her purification powers and is still a reincarnation of Kikyo. But Inuyasha and Kikyo are inconsequential characters to each other here. Kagome is from the year 2318, and travelled 300 years in the past- to 2018- which is the year this story is set.

Chapter 3:

Another chapter where I was worried the descriptions and story of Rin's life may be too much, but it wasn't. Homegirl is out here living the life we can only dream of :')

We finally get a good chunk of Sess POV here, and the characterization is satisfactory. Again, big sigh of relief- he was SO difficult to write. I also had an evil chuckle reading Rin's flashbacks and Kaede's worries that her childhood saviors may have found her again- yes, lady, that's THE POINT. We are HERE for some hurt/comfort. Also eviler chuckling at my past self for managing to sneak in some Captain America trio references.

This reread is turning out a lot better than I expected. I'm really enjoying this a lot!

Fun fact of the chapter: The subject line of Jaken's email seems to reference the kdrama 'A Business Proposal', but Ice King Icing did it first :) (chapter posted in April 2021, drama released in 2022)

Chapter 4:

Kagome to the rescue! That's all I'll say ;)

Okay no. I shouldn't be surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this chapter, again, the whole fic is a banger. It has everything I want in a sessrin fic- not surprising, because I wrote it myself. I remember writing the balcony scene and Sesshomaru's realization and giggling to myself at how hilarious it was. Plot forcing them to spend time together by making him hide her from his father= a romcom classic that I'll never get tired of.

Fun fact of the chapter (and mild spoiler): the mystery girl that has been following Kagome will be revealed in the next chapter, along with her motives.

Conclusion:

As I said in the chapter notes, this fic isn't abandoned. I've just gone on hiatus from all my fics for a while because irl is taking up all my time and energy. I enjoyed writing this fic a lot though, and I will definitely update and try to complete it. Just not sure when.

[linaket]

Weekly Writing Update (3/13/2023)

It has certainly been... over a week since I did one of these. But in my defense, I posted monthly goals between my missed updates, and things have been heckin' frantic in my life these last few weeks. They are beginning to settle a bit now, though I am still in severe need of a rest day (haven't technically had a day where I was able to just recharge in... three?-ish weeks.)

But... down to the business...

10/15 chapters complete

word count: 23k

Excerpt:

“That was taken from a chieftain in Attarabi,” Salinae said, his lips close enough to Vahn’s neck that he could feel the words forming on them. “His tribe was one of the last to surrender, but he surrendered nonetheless.”

Vahn didn’t need a lesson in warfare. He’d fought in Atarrabi himself, with Kanna, on the front. He didn’t want to remember the betrayal in the myriad jewel-eyes when they recognized the spark in his, didn’t want to think about how long it had been since then that he’d seen eyes like his that belonged to the living. What Vahn needed was touch, teeth, the hard press of another until the fire in his bones slaked itself and Vahn didn’t have to think of war anymore.

🎵 Music: All Ours by Talos

Our temples are coming in godless Hide when it's wild in the snow I'll leave when the gardens are darkest I'll heed in the warnings of war

Thoughts:

I've been concerned about my pacing in TS. There's this nagging thing in my head that the story isn't balancing out right. Even though I know that I won't be able to tell this until it's finished with drafting, I can't help but chew on that concern and turn it over and over, stressing about if it is then how can I fix it and how much time will it take to fix it since I'm hoping to have TS at least ebook ready by August.

I think that stress still comes from the demand of serial writing. Shadow's Prey Act 3 will finish posting in early April, and I got nothing after that. I'm just... not used to not releasing things, I've been going steady on SP for I think over three years now? Though TS isn't formatted for serial and wasn't intended to be, and neither will the next thing I'm writing be, but it's... like this strange ache in my teeth that I can't scratch or shake.

In better news: the scenes I'm currently working on are moving quicker than my usual slow crawl, thanks I think to my zero-draft. I've hit the spot of writing that I'm most comfortable in, which is that time when all the set up starts converging and rolling to the finale. This means I get to be a lot less careful with my repeated motifs because they are supposed to be noticed now, blaring in the readers' mind and recalling earlier instances instead of just subtly hanging out.

Still hoping to try and get this finished before April 1st. I really think that just a few solid writing sessions should get me through enough to get there, it's just finding time to get those sessions in...

[previous update.]

Taglist: @lynnedwardswrites [ask to be added!]

[everythingwritingg]

Writing + Self Care

@everything.writing on IG!

May has been a taxing month for a lot of us, especially students since many of us had exams during this time. I don’t think many of us had time to recharge after April’s Camp NaNoWriMo, which many of us worked hard on. Being a person is exhausting enough. Add writing on top of that and then your risk for burnout is higher than the Empire State Building. But there are ways to prevent that from happening.

Consider your schedule when planning your writing projects. It might not be realistic for you to churn out 3000 words every day if you’re busy with school or have a full time job. When creating a writing schedule, be realistic with your life and your free time. Don’t compare yourself to someone on Instagram who has writing as their full time job.

Write for yourself. This may be harder for those who make their livings off writing, as they often have to write for other people’s tastes. Writing for others is great, but make sure to write for yourself primarily. If your writing doesn’t meet other’s expectations, it’s ok! If you’re writing things you enjoy, you’re less likely to burn out.

Take frequent breaks. If you’re going to be writing for hours on end, make sure you stand up and get food/water every so often. Remember not to neglect your health even when planning the next bestseller. This also applies to long breaks after finishing up a draft. Take at least a week off so that you can come back with fresh eyes and even more ideas. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Mental health > productivity. Don’t stay up until 3 AM on a school night just because you haven’t met your word count goal for that day. In addition to making you sleep deprived, that could cause burnout and a decrease in motivation to write. This applies to everything else, aside from the one-time all-nighter to finish something you absolutely cannot skip.

Don’t isolate yourself. Even though most writers are introverts and thrive on alone time, social interaction is also important to the human species. It may be tempting to hide in your room to get some words in, but make sure to have balance in life. Socialize once in a while and make sure you have plenty of other hobbies!

Check in with yourself often. Sometimes we’re so focused on what we have to do that we forget to check in with yourself. If you’ve been in a creative slump or feel really burnt out, maybe it’s time for a break. Recharge and then come back stronger!

Remove guilt from the equation. We all feel guilty for not getting enough done, or for not meting a specific deadline. If you skip a day, don’t beat yourself up for it. There will be opportunities to get stuff done, but if you push too much then it might lead to burnout.

If you’re reading this, this is a sign to stop neglecting self care and start paying more attention to your mental health. Satisfaction and sustainability are more important than any short term goals you might have, so make sure to be mindful of how you feel. So, do at least one thing for yourself today!

[cksmart-world]

SMART BOMB

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

By Christopher Smart

April 16, 2024

MUSIC HEARD AT TRUMP RALLIES

1 – God Bless the USA — Lee Greenwood

2 – Don't Worry Be Happy — Bobby McFerrin

3 – Rumors of Glory — Bruce Cockburn

4 – The Pretender — Jackson Browne

5 – Too Much to Hide — Joseph Arthur

6 – America Has a Problem — Beyoncé

7 – Friend Of The Devil — Grateful Dead

8 – I'm a Loser — The Beatles

9 – Guilty Filthy Soul — Awolnation

10 – Phone Call From Leavenworth — Chris Whitley

HOPELESS UTAH JAZZ SHOULD DRAFT CAITLIN CLARK

Hold on to your Air Jordans. The Utah Jazz losing ways could be over. Imagine buying seasons tickets not realizing that the front office would trade away all its good players so the Jazz would lose games. What? True story. At one point this season the Jazz were 26 and 26 — a .500 percentage that could get them into the playoffs. So they traded some players and ended the season with 31 wins and 51 loses. Gone are Simone Fontecchio, Ochai Agbaji and Kelly Olynyk. Last season, they traded Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt. And before that Bojan Bogdanovic, Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Royce O’Neale and Joe Ingles were shown the door. It's all part of a strategy to get good draft picks. Really? Let's trade away our good players so we can get some good players. OK, listen to this: A first round draft pick in the NBA will get millions but Caitlin Clark, if she goes first in the WNBA draft, will make less than $76,000. For real. It's not fair. So the braintrust at the Jazz should do this, offer Clark $5 million to come to Salt Lake City. She'd be worth every cent, maybe more. You're right Wilson, it probably won't' happen. But wouldn't it be nice to have a team you could really root for instead of The Replacements. There's always next year.

SUPPORT THE WINTER OLYMPICS — OR ELSE

If you're not excited about Salt Lake City's bid for the 2034 Winter Games, better keep your mouth shut. It's kinda like being a Republican in Congress who thinks Donald Trump is a blow-hard fraud and rapist with a a crush on Putin. You better keep it to yourself if you know what's good for you. Utah's leaders love the Olympics. Salt Lake City's 2002 Winter Games put us on the map. Finally, after all those years of insecurity we got noticed! Props for us! Now people know we're closer to Vegas than to Chicago, although they still can't pick us out on a map. The 2002 Winter Games were televised but viewers couldn't tell Mormons from heathens. People around the globe were watching and asking, where are all the Mormons. Funny how they blend in so well. The folks from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were here again sizing up the place to see if they should award the 2034 Games to Salt Lake City. Everyone knows that Mitt Romney saved the 2002 Games after Tom Welch was caught wrestling his naked wife in the garage when the cops showed up. It had something to do with his mistress. Not exactly the kind of news coverage Olympic boosters like. This time around, our leaders have been instructed — no naked wrestling.

Post script — That's a wrap for another beautiful spring week here at Smart Bomb where we keep track of O.J. Simpson, so you don't have to. The Juice is dead. It's been three decades since the so-called “trial of the century,” where the football and Hollywood star was on trial for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. O.J. was acquitted of homicide — a victory for all of black America — but later was found responsible for their deaths in a civil suit. Can't get more American than that. Moving on: Headlines this week included this from The Salt Lake Tribune: “In hunt for ‘white elephants’ in Utah, Olympic commission comes up empty-handed.” No Wilson, we have no idea why they were looking for elephants here. Weird. This headline is from The Washington Post: “Here’s why California is drought-free for a second straight year.” Even the band got that one — rain. Duh. From the Deseret News: “Climate change is forcing ants in Colorado to migrate.” News you can use? Daily Beast: “There’s Never Been Anyone More Relatable Than Bigfoot.” Huh? It'a actually a review of the new movie, “Sasquatch Sunset,” about a family of Bigfoot — or is it Bigfeet. And yes, Wilson, it's one of those flicks that probably would be better if you're stoned.

Well Wilson, history is being made as we speak. The Donald is on trial in New York City on charges he falsified documents to cover up a sex scandal involving a porn star right before an election. It's the first criminal trial of an American former president. The poor guy is on a real bummer. So maybe you and the band can give him a sendoff with a little something to brighten his day — or not:

Brother runnin' powder money Daddy's somewhere on a drunk In the hours, after washing I do my dreaming with a gun Well I come down from the country Find a lesson in the draw There ain't no secrets in the city It's hard living with the law They got machines, mama I can't figure They got a romance made for doing time Send me out child, running outside Out along a world of crime Gonna swing my scythe, got a hand upon the handle Gonna shade my children ways I understand Milk the trigger, kill the hunger Staring down this broken land So fetch on up your greasy apron Spread your lover in the straw Hear me baby, I'm nearly crazy It's hard living with the law

(Living With the Law — Chris Whitley)

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

“The Chicago Rampage”

This draft was made on April 13th 2023. With people on Twitter talking about wanting a sequel to Brad Petyon’s Rampage. I wanted to post this draft I showed to @lovezdarestevez4ever long ago. We’re both Rampage fans and I’ll admit, while I question if a Rampage sequel will still happen. Mainly because Dwayne Johnson wants to do more serious stuff now if you’ve seen that news he’s working with A24 now. But again, I just retweeted some stuff on Twitter. Here’s a fun little fake documentary thing I made if a sequel was ever made.

I decided to not make any edits or updates to this. So, it’s raw basically.

Narrated by the WBC’s head news anchor.

This special has been given permission by the American government to tell the events of what happened in Chicago.

“In 2018, only a few years ago, the world hasn’t been the same since a distavorous incident that took place within Chicago. But also, other parts of North America.

To the surprise of many, the city of Chicago was attacked by three giant mutated animals. As they rampaged through the city, hundreds of people had sadly been caught in the crossfire. Counting both civilians and military personal. The incident has been considered one of the worst events in the city’s history.

But what led up to the destruction of Chicago and the three animals is...alarming.

Since then, new details had popped up after the incident. And where these monsters came from. And how this came to be. 

While Dr. Kate Caldwell is responsible for developing the mutagen. She didn’t have the intention to use it for dangerous experimentation that Claire Wyden wanted to use it with CRISPR technology. 

Project Rampage. An experiment to develop animals into super weapons. That was strangely inspired by a 1986 arcade game known as Rampage. More details about this were discovered within secret files and whatever was left of Wyden Tower.

It all started when an experiment aboard the satellite Athena-1 crashed down back onto the planet. Where it turned out, the satellite was a cover up for experimentation on a pathogen developed by the Energyne company. Which was covered up by now dead CEO Claire Wyden and her brother Brett Wyden.

Remains were found of the many crew that were sadly found within some of the crash sites. But other details that were discovered concerning their remains that most of them were already dead, killed by a mutated rat that also died within the crash. But the most alarming part of this news was the origin of the proclaimed “Wrecking Crew” that devasted Chicago.

-

1. Sickly nicknamed Ralph by the internet. In Wyoming, a Gray Wolf found one of the canisters containing the pathogen and was exposed to it. Resulting in the wolf to mutate and transform and even tragically murder his own pack.

“Ralph” kept transforming and traveled through Wyoming, causing the Wydens to send out a group of mercenaries led by a wanted man Burke. The group tried hiding the evidence and even killed a civilian who threated to report them to the authorities.

But their mission would end when they found “Ralph” in a forest. Where the aftermath left the entire group viciously slaughtered, and a helicopter destroyed. “Ralph” continued his rampage, killing wildlife, and even civilians in a bus into South Dakota.

2. Also sickly nicknamed by people on the internet, “Lizzie” after it was confirmed the American Crocodile was confirmed to be female was also affected by the pathogen. Which was found in the Crocodile’s stomach.

“Lizzie” attacked multiple boats in the Florida Everglades, causing death, and even going into the Gulf of Mexico.

3. George, an albino gorilla raised within the San Diego wildlife sanctuary was also affected by the pathogen when a canister crashed into the area. While being transported on a plane, George had awoken and took it down, killing nearly everyone.

-

The reason why all three animals came to Chicago was a signal activated by Claire Wyden, luring the creatures to the city. And in the process of that, the “Wrecking Crew” caused what appeared to be a 24-hour reign of terror. Again, resulting in the deaths of many civilians and military personal.

But soon it finally ended when “Ralph” and “Lizzie” were killed due to team effort of Davis Okoye, and George. Who was given an antidote to stop him from growing and stopping his increased aggression. Who also was the creature that was confirmed to have eaten and killed Claire Wyden. Brett Wyden was confirmed to have been crushed by debris after his remains were found.

Ever since the events, the world has been shocked, particularly America as many have grieved the loss of loved ones during the attack. Memorial services were held, reconstruction and massive clean ups were inducted as well. As for...the “Wrecking Crew” or what remains of them.

The remains of “Ralph” and “Lizzie” were picked up by the government. While George...was another case.

Despite having been “Cured” of his “Condition” and having helped rescue multiple civilians in the aftermath. Many people have called for the “Euthanasian” on the massive gorilla. But due to Davis Okoye, who had helped raised the ape, convinced the jury the people that George was no longer a danger. And that he, along with others would take responsibility not just for him, but other mutated animals as well.

Allowed permission by the government, and the help of Dr. Kate Caldwell and agent Harvey Russell, a giant animal sanctuary was opened up near by the San Diego Wildlife preserve.

But even after the incident in Chicago, this wasn’t the end of Project Rampage. It turns out, more canisters had crashed onto Earth, affecting more animals.

-

There have been reports and sightings of a giant squid swimming in the oceans that the internet have nicknamed “Cal”, ever since learning about it from a couple of divers who had barely survived an encounter with the creature at a reef. Since then, no one has been able to capture it.

Another creature that people have reported but never captured was a “Giant Great White Shark” that few have only seen. But multiple ships have been destroyed.

But as far as we know, these are the only two that are confirmed to be out there. Others have been placed within sanctuary.

-

Even though Davis Okoye’s motives are purely altruistic. There are still many that are still...devastated with what happened in Chicago. Many have criticized for trying to defend his “Friend” instead of putting him down. To where it got worse when someone attempted to bomb the sanctuary and kill George. The bomber’s motive was that after learning George had eaten his brother, he was enraged by Davis’s proposal to open a “Nonsensical” sanctuary and even for some reason, blamed everyone who worked at the area.

And concerning the inspiration for Project Rampage. Brain Colin and others were questioned about it. They were all shocked and horrified upon learning this information. Particularly Mr. Colin as he was also there in Chicago when the three attacked. They rather not comment more and feel like they inadvertently inspired such a catastrophe.

-

After everything, even with it being only a few years. And other events that have happened in the world. The Chicago Rampage has not left the minds of many, and will never be forgotten as it still baffles people to this day......

Wait...what are you saying? Can you say that again please?

Are you being serious? Are you actually being serious...and you want me to report on this? Do you realize what you’re telling me is to do is like saying serial killer coming back from the dead after a true crime narrator is about to end a video. Okay, I’ll do it.

So...something has developed...apparently as of right now. There is...another mutated wolf and possibly another mutated crocodile as well...and...I’m not dealing with this.

No, I’m not dealing with this. It’s Chicago all over again! Didn’t you guys just listen to me?! I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS! I’M GOING IN A BUNKER! I’M NOT REPORTING ON THIS SHIT! I’M NOT DYING! I WAS THERE IN CHICAGO! DID YOU SEE THE SHIT I’VE SEEN?!

FUCK THIS SHIT! I’M HIDING TILL THERE DEAD! UNLESS YOU PAY ME MORE MONEY!

[tittyblade]

tumblr etiquette 101

a list that is nowhere near exhaustive, from yours truly.

First off, welcome! Whether you’re a twitter veteran looking for anything but whatever twitter is, or a new user just done signing up, glad to see you in our ranks beloveds! Welcome home. Refer to this quick tour to make sure your fandom experience (or tumblr experience in general) is a positive one!

Disclaimer: I know it’s long, but please try to read or skim through til the end if you’re new here! This is by no means meant to be a rule book (for the most part lol), only a guide to help you get settled easier!

1) Your blog

This is where people will see and interact with you, so put some effort into it!

Try to choose a name (url) that’s simple. You can see it as your brand, it’s how people will perceive you and remember you. If you’d like to interact with other users here (and not use the site just for the content) it’s better to have something short and sweet, preferably without spaces. (Of course, these are only suggestions.) Rest assured, you can change it literally any time you want.

Have a theme. Utilize the tool that lets you edit your blog’s color or the font of your bio! You can make it match your profile picture, or your blog if it has a theme of its own. Make it feel homey :]

Fill in your bio. People will be checking out your profile probably more often than you think. Don’t leave it empty! Put in any information you’re comfortable with sharing and isn’t too personal (like your age if you’re a minor, or other TMI that can be found on other people’s carrds). It’s always better to add a name/nickname people can use to refer to you by, but feel free to use your blog description to shitpost still.

You can have an intro post. More often than not, you’ll see a blog have a pinned post, a post permanently appearing at the top of a blog until you pin another post or unpin it. You can make one of those, if you’d like to introduce yourself in more length, link any other socials or a carrd, and show others visiting your blog how you tag things so it’ll be easy for them to navigate. Not an obligation.

Keep your anonymity and your safety. It should go without saying, but there’s no harm in repeating it just in case. Your comfort, privacy and safety has the utmost importance. Don’t share any information you don’t want to. Don’t share your age if you’re a minor, or any other incredibly personal info. I’d encourage you to go by a nickname that’s not your real name, (blog name, your brand, remember?) since there’s safety in anonymity, and that’s lowkey one of the big deals of tumblr, but that’s up to you still.

Choose what you want to be visible. Your liked posts and who you follow are all things you can set to keep to yourself and hide from the publics eye, how handy! You should go through all the setting while you’re at it, set it to your comfort.

Side blogs are a thing. You can have multiple blogs that you can use for different things (see: different fandoms, art blog, etc) to keep them organized or away from your followers. Just remember that the replies and off-anon asks you send will be from your main blog, as well as where you follow other blogs from.

2) Interacting with others

You’ve set up your account, now comes the fun part!

Follow to your heart’s desire. If you care about others seeing who you follow, fear not! In tumblr, usually only two types of blogs keep their following visible to others: newbies, and big blogs using it to point people on other good blogs’ direction. Just turn it off, and go ham following people.

Customize your dashboard. Gonna mention just two things here: this is another reason why it’s really important that you follow blogs without sparing, your dash will collect dust otherwise; and you should turn off “best stuff first” in your dashboard settings, to have a better community here and all.

Follow tags. You can set it in your settings that posts with your followed tags appear on your dashboard.

You can check the og post for edits and context. When you see a reblogged post you don’t understand the context of (or don’t recognize the character in case of fanarts), click on the profile so it will take you to the original post. From there you can check the original poster’s tags to get the context, or see if there have been any edits made to the post, since when you edit a post it doesn’t update any past reblogs.

Send people asks... This is how you make mutuals, people! Do it off-anon if you’d like them to know your blog, or anon if you’d rather not! (You can still end your messages with a signature to show you’re the same person, -[name] is one example.) Send them nice messages, ask their opinion on something, discuss things, or just straight up shitpost lol. Go wild. The sky’s your limit and it’s definitely more than 280 characters.

...and let them ask you! You can set your preference in the settings, do it on desktop tumblr to access more settings tho! What you can customize on mobile is limited (like letting people ask you things anonymously, that’s only on desktop settings). In my personal opinion, it’s always better to tag their username (or a nickname you give them, if they’re a friend) on that post, since you wouldn’t want your interactions with your friends to get buried in your blog forever.

Comment on posts. If you have something to say but don’t want the post to appear on your blog you can add a comment. The owner of the post will get a notif for it, but for anyone else you need to tag them.

For the love of god, reblog. People will only see your liked posts if you have it visible to public and they specifically go on your blog to look at them. You like something? You reblog. It’s already hard for posts to circulate properly, if you don’t reblog them literally no one will see them. If not for anything do it for the artists. Just hold and drag on mobile to fast rb.

3) Your Posts

Finally here! Don’t be a lurker, post and engage!

Make use of “read more”. If your post is long, add it. That’s what you clicked on earlier to expand this post. On desktop leave an empty line and you’ll see three dots appear, and on mobile type :readmore: on that empty line.

Draft a post to come back to it later. Pretty self explanatory.

Queue your post. Whether it’s your own post or you’re reblogging, make use of the queue feature to a) not spam reblog and fill up the dashboard of people following you and b) keep your blog active while you’re gone. Mess around in the settings, it’s fairly easy to set up.

Schedule your post. Same as queueing, the only difference is you get to choose the exact time your post will go up. Handy if you want to schedule a post for certain dates like april fools, or 5 years in the future for some reason. 

Format your texts. You can do all kinds of fancy stuff here (that’s a link, try pressing on it). Twitter doesn’t have this, make use of it. Changes depending on whether you’re on mobile or desktop. (Desktop has less features.)

Check your stats. If you’re trying to understand the algorithm better or want to look at some pretty graphs you can get your data on that on desktop tumblr.

@ people in comments. You’ll get all the notifs when people comment on your posts but they won’t see your reply unless you tag them in your message.

4) Tags, and tagging a post

This is where my earlier statement “this isn’t a rule book” stops being applicable. It’s not a war crime to go against these, I won’t come chasing you (don’t take my word for this) but you’ll work up a bad rep. Just saying lol.

Do NOT crosstag posts. It’s really tempting to add unrelated tags to increase your posts’ interaction, I know, but that’s not what tumblr is about. Don’t be a dick and make other communities’ experience worse for them.

Always tag your posts with “crit/critical/discourse/etc” if it calls for it. There’s no exceptions to it. This is the reason you see people migrating to tumblr. Let people enjoy things.

Don’t main tag a critical/negative post. If your crit post is about “Thing”, you add the “Thing critical” tag, but not the “Thing” tag. People block crit tags if they don’t want to see it, don’t shove it in their faces by main tagging it. 

If you don’t want to see something, just block it. Another reason why people are able to survive on tumblr. You don’t start discourse, you don’t make call-outs, you block. You can find something for every community you can think of if you go looking for it. The worst of the worst probably won’t ever appear on your dash, but if you’re worried or feel the need for it, you know where the block button is.

Feel free to shitpost or ramble. More often than not you’ll see people rb a post with a comment, and their elaboration will be in the tags. The tags are only visible on your profile and the notifications of the owner of the og blog. Just a thing people do.

Reblog artists’ posts with nice comments in the tags! Commenting on a drawing is usually done through the tags (Not an obligation, again, just a thing people do. Feel free to add your comment on the rb itself if you’d want other people to see it tho!) and leave nice messages for the artists! It’s a win-win for everyone involved. 

If you have more than a single follower, always use the common tw warning tags. You don’t need to tw everything, but tw’ing some common things is the bare minimum human decency. Keep it safe for others. 

Tag a post “long post” if it’s really long. Pretty self explanatory. Don’t make people scroll through all that please lol. 

You can use them to organize your blog. This is more of a pro tip, if you’d like to not miss a post in your blog, cause they will start pilin’ up soon enough.

#Liveblogging is pretty fun. If you’d like to talk to people during streams, don’t forget to add the relevant tags still! Again, you won’t show up on people’s dash otherwise.

Whew! That got out of hand. Hopefully I didn’t bore you too much. Check out blogs like @heritageposts and @hellsite-hall-of-fame to honor our past o7. @mcytblr-hall-of-fame too maybe :eyes:. Anyways, don’t forget the most important rule of them all:

Enjoy your stay! You’re meant to have fun on here while also making friends (if that’s your thing). Just be kind and respectful of others, you’ll get the hang of the rest! <3

[whoacanada]

(Hey, look! That Zimbits AU where Jack goes into PR after retiring from the NHL and NHL!Bitty comes looking for advice about coming out!)

“Your ten-o-clock, remember?” April gestures to the conference room with her pen. “The cutie the Hurricanes coughed up for Pride Night outreach? He’s here.”

Jack tugs down the blinds with a cautious finger and zeroes in on the handsome blonde sitting awkwardly at one end of their large conference table, conspicuously alone. “There’s always suits for outreach talks,” Jack hazards, looking back at his receptionist over his shoulder. “They never send players alone.”

“It’s what we’ve got on the books. Eric Bittle, Carolina Hurricanes. No plus ones.” April whispers, checking her calendar. “Well? Get in there, Boss; and buckle up, he’s got an accent.”

.

Eric Bittle looks up, his dark brown eyes wide and unfairly attractive as Jack extends his hand, Bittle rising to take it. Everything about Bittle is polished and perfected; suit tailored, hair coiffed so neatly Jack would posit he’d gone in to have it trimmed before he’d arrived this morning. He’s pulled together so tightly, in fact, that Jack can’t find any loose threads, and if he remembers his time in The Show correctly, no loose threads means Mr. Bittle’s probably hiding something.

“Eric? I’m Jack Zimmermann. It’s great to meet you.”

“Oh, I know who you are,” Bittle chuckles, and Jack’s heart would skip a beat if he wasn’t so certain there’s a huge piece of context still missing from this meeting. “It’s still very nice to meet you in person.”

“So, tell me about Pride Night,” Jack pops the button on his suit jacket and settles down across the table. “What, exactly are the ‘Canes thinking about doing that involves you coming to see us?”

Bittle bites his lip briefly, gaze darting off before coming back to settle on Jack, and Jack is reminded of so many media training sessions it’s like he’s back in Vegas again.

“I may have, ah, fudged the reason for my visit a bit. Yes, we have Pride Night coming up, yes I’m the designated sacrifice, but I’m more here on personal business.”

Jack eases the tip of his pen from the legal pad, recognizing an off-the-record admission is coming. “How personal?” He questions. “Are we talking potential legal trouble or just potential social trouble? Or no trouble at all.”

“I’m gay.” Bittle says plainly. “Whatever trouble that may be. My team knows it, my family knows it, and I want to come out — I need to come out — and I can’t mess it up.”

Jack is grateful for his game face, reaching for the coffee carafe near him to couch his surprise and no small measure of his excitement. “Oh, you mean like I did?” Jack jokes, earning a soft smile.

“No active player has come out since you retired,” Eric skirts Jack’s comment, taking the mug before gingerly amending, “Not voluntarily, at least. I’d like to break that streak. Given your experience, and what you do now, it seemed like the smart move to come speak with you.”

“Well, I’ll be the first to admit my behavior didn’t lend itself to much confidence with the public at large, but that’s why I’m where I am today. Making sure people like you can learn from my mistakes.”

“And you made a lot of mistakes,” Bittle murmurs, taking the mug from Jack gingerly, glances back out the window as he takes a sip, and Jack fights a smile when he realizes what’s happening.

“Are you . . . chirping me?”

“Makes me less nervous,” Bittle admits, apologetic. “But that was rude, I’m sorry.”

Bittle’s eyes are bright. His smile is bright. Everything about him is warm, inviting. Jack might be biased, though, he’s always had a soft spot for compact blondes.

“Don’t apologize.” Jack leans back in his chair, feeling lighter than he has in weeks. “You might be the only one in the whole league right now that doesn’t need to apologize.”

“I think I need to have a partner,” Eric clears his throat. “I can’t come out without a reason, otherwise what’s the point.”

“That answers one of my first questions, gives us a place to start. Yes, a boyfriend gets you points, but not in the way you’re thinking. If you come out with a guy on your arm, the story becomes maintaining the relationship, not that you have one or that you are ‘out’ at all. The scandal is the relationship falling apart, or you flirting with a fan when you have your partner at home, that kind of drama.”

“And if I just say, ‘hello, I am a homosexual’ people will think I’m promiscuous, or just trying to get laid.”

“Maybe. Are you?”

Bittle’s expression turns indignant, lips twisting into a judgmental frown that reminds Jack of his grandmother before a scolding.

“What kind of question is that? Yes, of course, but they don’t need to know that. But that doesn’t — You know, you gave me hope?”

Jack doesn’t quite startle, he’s well beyond the jumpyness of his youth, but he has no clue where this conversation is about to go.

“When you came out, when you were drafted, your cup season . . . every time you succeeded, beat the odds, it made me think, maybe, I could do it, too. I could be a professional athlete, I could play hockey, and it didn’t matter who I wanted to be with.”

Jack knows there’s a ‘but’ coming, he can feel it; so he gets there first.

“But . . . then I overdosed.”

“Then you retired.” Eric corrects. “Two years before I signed with Carolina, and you just gave up. I was going to be the first out NCAA men’s hockey captain, you ‘retired’ in scandal, and suddenly the trustees didn’t want the attention. Back to square one.”

“Eric, I wasn’t well.” Jack defends gently, knowing Bittle isn’t trying to be cruel.

“You let them get to you! You were supposed to be untouchable. I needed you to be untouchable.”

“Eric.”

“I’m sorry,” Bittle looks down at his hands, the table, anywhere but Jack. “I genuinely didn’t intend for any of this to come up so quickly, you’ve been nothing but charming and here I am dumping all my baggage on you like we’ve been talking for years . . . ”

“It’s actually alright. I’ve made peace with what happened to me, what I put myself through, and I wasn’t kidding that I’m very intent on making sure I can help others avoid the same pitfalls. So, what do you need from me right now?” Jack asks, genuinely curious. “An apology? A hug? You wouldn’t be the first to ask.”

“I want . . .” Bittle huffs, closing his eyes and evening his breathing. “I want dinner.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’ve loved the idea of you since I was sixteen, but now I actually need your advice on how to do this without losing my mind, and I can’t plan my future from a boardroom, so, I want you to take me to dinner. I want to hash this out like two normal, well functioning adult men. Also, maybe alcohol.”

“Speak for yourself on the well-functioning part,” Jack chirps himself, “but I think dinner can be arranged. I assure you, you’ll have my full support moving forward. The firm’s, as well.”

Bittle’s lips quirk, holding Jack’s gaze. He caught the slip, and now there’s nothing to do but own it. They lapse into a gentle silence. Jack sipping his coffee, Bittle doing the same. Jack isn’t sure what he’s waiting for, the puck is at the end of his stick. He flashes a smile. Bittle blushes.

“So,” Jack begins. “Do you like Burmese?”

____

They part ways and April’s eyes are huge with suspicion. “Should we discuss fees?” she asks. “Do we need to start billing? Sounds like it went well.”

“Nah, we’ll talk later about payment,” Jack replies, folding his jacket over his arm, hiding the slip of paper with Bittle’s personal number and trying not to stare as the forward walks away. “I have a strong feeling I might be handling this pro bono.”

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: Something we want to tell you!

Date video was published: 01/04/2021 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 434

The first true joint video since PINOF 10. When Phil announced Dan as the final Stereo guest (1, 2), it really shouldn’t have been that much of a shock, but I didn’t actually believe he would be until it happened.

0:06 - just seeing Dan’s huge smile in the preview bit... 😭

0:30 -  the ‘afterparty’ show! that one was really fun too. they must have made bank from the first one to do this additional one so quickly, and then to end up planning even more with Stereo

0:38 - the classic Phil hide-the-guest thing

0:43 - Phil immediately looks so happy to have Dan there

1:18 - and Dan has sweater paws right away

1:26 - Phil forgets about looking at the camera a lot in this video and looks more comfortable then in any of the other Stereo shows, even the one with Martyn

1:53 - why did Dan think ‘penis’ was a swear?! Phil does not bleep that usually

2:09 - Phil left in a lot more full-frame clips without the Stereo sidebar in this one than in the other Stereo shows

2:32 - less than ideal circumstances for sure, but this was the first time DNP had ever spent Christmas Day together. and Dan had shared a couple of photos (1, 2) 😭

2:37 - still not over Phil getting Dan this bear jumper. that also goes with the branding of YWGTTN

3:07 - Phil liked the long hair!

3:41 - I had missed Dan’s facial expression reactions so much

3:48 - “Danny” the first of a couple just in this

3:52 - “this is how well I know Phil” Dan is still so proud that he knows Phil the best...Phil trash #1 indeed

4:28 - I remember having bath pearls as a child!

4:40 - why did Dan lick his lips and raise an eyebrow there

5:00 -  Dan is trying so hard to not be amused but failing. it was indeed one of Phil’s draft tweets

5:45 - that does sound exactly like something Phil would do...to be fair, I was wiping down packages with disinfectant too. although not fresh fruit...

6:11 - Phil has no idea where this is going. Dan must have been saving up this story for YEARS

6:16 - ...and then Phil realizes 😂 and the Dan eyebrow raise

6:44 - sees the look on Dan’s face and can’t hold it together

6:50 - oh Phil 😂 I bet when this happened Phil immediately came from getting the delivery at the door and told Dan this story

7:08 - the zoom in on the editing so we can’t miss the “top that...literally” from Dan

8:04 - “lick me” alrighty there Dan...I’m not sure Phil’s made it any better with the goose thing

8:34 - Dan’s exaggerated sad face but then his real one right after...this must have been so hard for Phil

8:48 - even back in April 2020, Dan’s projects were already being shuffled around 😕

9:04 - Phil is so excited for Dan! he wants to spoil things so bad

9:21 - it really seemed like Dan could not wait to get to this announcement. they were so excited!

9:36 - Phil’s smile is so big! 🥺

9:46 - hmmm, Phil talked about this story in The Scary Reason I Didn’t Buy A House, but he made it sound like they were thinking of buying a house to flip, not live in

10:01 - SO long working on the house. but now they’re in it and they seem so happy and any talk of the forever home still just makes me 😭

10:12 - and the first new house picture they showed!

10:34 - still can’t believe their original plan was to both move and come out in the middle of the tour. though I wonder if those two things were somewhat tied together for them, and when they found out they weren’t moving that year, it took off some of the pressure to come out then

10:46 - that is a lot of boxes and not a lot of space to live with for what ended up being 6-ish months

10:52 - ah, candid Dan photo!

11:13 - I’m glad they want their privacy, but I would still love love love to know some of the design decisions they made. I’m with Dan on the reasons for liking house tours

12:17 - Dan’s mind has gone...somewhere 👀

12:22 - Dan had talked about this D&D game in a live show in 2017, actually. minus the gay bit

13:18 - Phil pulling his sleeves down into sweater paws too

13:28 - we still haven’t seen much of the green wall! a bit in some Phil shorts and this picture shortly after they moved in

13:34 - “a desk” way to share something exciting Dan 😂

13:50 - of course Dan was attached to Steve and Scraggy too

14:03 - and apparently they are getting updates from the person who lives there now!

14:23 - they’re not seeing Steve at this point even though they haven’t fully moved, since they were just living in the ‘filming’ flat

14:39 - still don’t know exactly where Dan was going here but it was a lot. pretty sure his general point may have been ‘don’t expect our lives to move that fast’

15:19 - they didn’t announce that Norman had died until later in January, but it’s hard to tell if he was still alive at this point or not

15:44 - “you can’t be afraid to live and love” Dan 😭

15:57 - I can’t believe they almost did this and got a dog! Dog when?! they mentioned dogs so much in 2021, especially towards the end of the year

16:30 - clips from the last moving video 🥺 god every time I think about how many times they’ve moved together and everything I can’t handle it

17:07 - they really were giving all the updates at once here

17:29 - Phil does not want to share his plans! also he definitely almost said “everyone’s more worried about you” but switched it to “wondering”

17:56 - Phil just watching Dan fondly as he talks about all this

18:30 - unplanned segment! good on Phil for coming up with that one

18:40 - I am still obsessed with this clip of Dan dabbing on their balcony. just...why?! neither of them are normal (fond)

19:01 - Dan is just so nice and appreciative in this video

19:20 - Phil editing the “sexy” music over the picture...what even. and then saying “it’s a very sexy pose” 👀

19:29 - still cannot believe they discussed this photo. and Phil cut out some of the discussion for the video! it was even longer in the live show.  I mean, they succeeded with the nipple coverage I guess

19:39 - “this was not a sexy moment” jesus christ this whole bit

20:29 - laughing at them using separate bathrooms in that flat and wondering who had to climb over the boxes down the hallway of the gaming room to get to that one

21:05 - Dan’s reaction to Phil starting a sentence with “we tried to...” right after the pee discussion...WHAT did he think Phil was going to say?! 😳

21:40 - love that Phil included art for this!

21:48 - Dan did not have to do that look there

22:05 - “I like playing video games with you” and the eye contact, help 🥺

22:37 - little did we know we would get two months of “this” very soon!

23:33 - love Phil’s gentle teasing of Dan for this

23:49 - little punches from Phil. he’s excited about this story

24:33 - “Dan ass reveal” is really not a sentence I was expecting 

24:44 - both of them HATE not having full control of things. but Dan looks great with the pink background...do wish we had gotten to see the full jumpsuit though

25:14 - the contradiction of that to literally less than a minute ago when he wanted horny DMs...

25:44 - I can’t believe Phil was there because of pandemic restrictions and everything, but he’s telling this bit of the story as if he was

26:44 - that was hilarious that the had to take off the logo in that photo

27:03 - I’m so sad for Dan and for us that we still haven’t gotten this content, whatever it is

27:36 - oh Phil 🙁 he looks so disappointed talking about this. I want to see a creative solo Phil project so much!

28:20 - I’m so glad Dan at least fixed it a bit after that disaster. I would have loved to have seen Dan’s reaction to seeing it after that

28:53 - “crisis twink” Phil era when?!

29:29 - “in the Dan and Phil house” is so casual but so much

29:32 - Phil’s face as Dan puts his arm behind him...Phil definitely thought he was doing something other than fixing the cushion

30:00 - “it’s not suitable for YouTube” christ, Phil

30:10 - YouTube content, tour?, book!

30:42 - the seem to have such fond memoires of TABINOF and TATINOF

31:10 - Dan smiling so fondly at Phil doing promo for him...and the start of the majority of Dan’s 2021 promo of things being in videos on Phil’s channel 😂

31:14 - and a “this guy”

32:29 - Phil is so excited about that too! him saying “I’m the first person to read it” has the same proud energy of Dan saying “this is how well I know Phil” towards the start of this video

33:36 - “I’m hyped for you Danny” 🥺

34:13 - the full audio version is also available on YouTube thanks to In Depth Bants! (they did have some audio issues at the start since they were sitting right next to each other, but they fixed it fairly quickly)

It was just so nice to see them on camera together again. And for them to want to tell us this big news about their lives. 🥺 I don’t rewatch this video as much as the other joint videos from 2021, but it still makes me so happy.

The live show was on December 29, but it took Phil a bit of time to edit and post this one (likely because of the audio issues at the beginning). In between there, for New Year’s, they had a quiet evening at home, apparently including texting memes to each other.