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fabled-fiction · 1 year

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Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (Hobie Brown x Spider!Reader)

Summary: When Hobie hasn’t seen you in a while, he starts to come to the realization that he might be missing you for the wrong reasons. So when you come back, all those feelings reasons come bubbling up to the surface.

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: MINOR SPIDERVERSE SPOILERS

A/N: This kinda took a mind of its own, but I LOVED writing every second of it. Hope you enjoy it!! ☺️

Request by @its-me-ig-101: I was wondering if I could request for you to write a fluff Hobie Brown x GN reader, where the reader visits Hobie in his universe, or reverse? (Kind of like what Gwen does)

It had been 127 days since he last saw you,

14 since you last spoke.

It wasn’t like he was counting or anything. Nah…no he was completely able to be his own person. I mean, he had a whole Earth to protect as Spiderman.

But if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t think four months apart would take such a toll on him.

You both were just always together. It didn’t cross his mind that there could be more than two to three days of you being away…from him especially. Gwen always joked about how quickly you both became so close so quickly. How Hobie was usually a steel trap and you were the key.

And he couldn’t even visit you! You were away on Spider business! Miguel had you consistently going after anomalies. It didn’t help that you had an insanely good success rate. Hell! Hobie couldn’t remember the last time you didn’t catch one of the anomalies!

“I’m sure they’ll be back soon! This is the ultimate test before the big question! Will their relationship prevail over this unexpected test?!”

Pavitr placed his hand on his chest, spinning around before collapsing onto Hobie's bed, where he was currently lounging. His fingers fiddled with his watch, flicking through all the channels. Maybe if he clicked on the right one, he would end up on the Earth where you were. Miguel had stopped telling him what Earth you were visiting, knowing he would just tag along. But Hobie could come up with something on the fly, he didn’t give a damn at this point if Miguel was pissed at him for interrupting your mission.

He would like to see him try and keep you from him any longer at this point.

“Hello, Earth to Hobie. Hey!”

Catching the plush that Gwen had thrown at him, he huffed and sat up. Pav smiled when he caught a glimpse at Hobie’s watch, and the roulette wheel of universes were still going.

“ Dude, they’re fine! (Y/N) is like…an invincible spider.”

“You know why he’s being more quiet than usual! He’s realizing he’s in looove. Our Hobie is head over he-” A well shot pillow from Hobie landed Pavitr on the floor.

“Am I not allowed to miss a friend? I remember ‘ow upset you were whenever you’d talk ‘bout Miles.” He scoffed, crossing his arms. He smirked when he saw how red Gwen’s face got.

“Ooooh we’re starting to enter the grumpy Hobie stage!” Pav shot up into a sitting position, this time dodging the second pillow that he had thrown.

Scoffing, he waved his hand at them as he pulled his phone out of his pant pocket. Unlocking it, he scrolled through his photo album and sighed.

They always teased him like this when he was down in the dumps. It had just been more recent as of late, seeing as you were rising in the ranks. Meaning you were gone more and more.

That also meant your friendship was tested more and more. He had noticed the change, he wasn’t completely blind to his emotions. He had noticed that as of late whenever you were gone he got a bit more snippy, and a bit more cynical-well more cynical than usual. Some had even told him that his color seemed more drained the longer and longer you were away.

This time had just been the longest. But it was also the most eye opening.

It's odd how you don’t notice how consistent someone is in your life until they’re gone.

He was mindlessly scrolling with a thousand yard stare off into the distance, when his phone suddenly anchored him back to reality.

Specifically your text tone.

Flicking to his messages, he felt his heart rate pick up.

(Y/N): heey! im finally back!! i missed you (cry emoji) (heart emoji)

Before his head could reminisce on the heart emoji and brew up any meaning behind it, he heard Pav gasp. Quickly looking up from his phone, he saw Pav squeal in excitement and Gwen chuckle as she shook her head.

“Look at him G! Do you see how much brighter he is? Ugh! Our boy has it bad.”

Sliding off his bed, he grabbed his bag and mask. Both Gwen and Pavitr could see that there was some pep in his step as he slung the bag over his shoulder. Fastening his web shooters on, he slid his mask into his pocket before entering your Earth into his watch.

“Oh oh! Where you heading Hobie? Thought we were having some serious bro time!”

Flicking them off, Hobie felt the portal open below him. Glancing through, he could see the flickering lights of your Earth.

“Piss off.”

Jumping through the portal, Hobie braced himself as he felt a quick rush before landing on your bed. The flickering and crackling of the portal remained only for a second before it snapped shut, dropping everything in the room along with its departure.

You stood in the opposite corner of the room, barely even unpacked. Your bag sat at the foot of your desk, unzipped with some of your clothes spilling out. You must’ve just texted him, because you were still in your spider suit…with one of his jumpers on.

Turning around, a smile spread across your face in an instant. Whatever you were doing was soon abandoned as you ran towards him. He was quick to stand, enveloping you in his frame. Feeling your aura mix with his, as he buried his nose into your hair felt nice. It awoke whatever nerves that had gone into hibernation after your departure, activating his senses once more.

Because he became highly aware of how right when you entered his arm, the hairs on yours stood under your suit. Your heart rate calmed but also picked up. Hell, he could even feel the blood rush to your cheeks as you buried your head into his chest.

“You really did miss me aye?” He teased, pulling you back by your shoulders to get a good look at his face.

“Mmm, only like…thiiiiiiis much.” Holding up two fingers, he watched as you held them close together and very very slowly pulled them apart.

“Oh wow, and here I was in absolute agony.” He hummed, sitting on the edge of your windowsill.

“Oh really?” You laugh, leaning over him. He looked up at you, nodding as he placed his hands in his pocket.

“Absolutely, almost died.”

Watching you laugh was something he knew he needed. It wasn’t too hard, at least for him. Your back and forth quips and teases were something that usually ended in you laughing or him chuckling. Inside jokes and knowing stares were usually exchanged to test the waters whenever others were around. It happened so often people usually felt excluded whenever you were both in each other's presence.

It was something he didn’t know he could miss.

“Wanna go for a swing?”

Watching the way your eyes lit up, he knew he had his answer.

Slipping his mask on, he was quick to open your window. He knew you were right behind him as he swung into action.

This was a dance you both did whenever you visited his world, swinging between buildings and each other. Finding ways to play off the others webbing and moves.

He loved watching you swing and flip. Hearing you laugh as you gave him a heart attack with how close you’d like to fall before yanking yourself back up into the air.

He felt a rush of similar emotions in the two weeks of you going dark. Whenever it was just him alone in his room, his mind would wander. He knew that if anything had happened he would have been the first told, both a blessing and a curse. But it still didn’t stop him from…worrying.

When did his worry for you become such a crutch?

Reaching to your normal hang out, what was atop your Statue of Liberty (which was still bronze here on your earth), both of you sat atop her torch. With shoulders touching, he watched as you leaned back and looked at your city.

“So, how many anomalies did you catch on this little spree of yours?”

With a big sigh you ripped your mask off and stuffed it into your-no, his jacket pocket. Bringing a knee to your chest you placed your cheek on it as you looked at him.

“Twelve. Probably the most in a row.”

Tisking, he leaned back on his hands now as he also took his mask off.

“Wow, remember which ones?”

“Most of them were Vultures. They were the only ones that could reach the portals that opened in their respective worlds. I might as Miguel if I can take a break though.”

That piqued his interest. But he didn’t show a reaction, in fact he just hummed and watched as you put your forehead to rest on your knees.

“I appreciate how much Miguel…trusts me to keep the multiverse intact, I really do. I went through hell with his stupid tests in order to get into the Spider Society and its…its lead me to meet some of my favorite people but recently I've been more Spider than Person…”

Hobie sat up now, putting his elbows on his knees and smirking. He knew what you needed to hear in this moment. He knew you like the back of his hand, in the year that you two have gotten to know each other it is safe to say he almost knows you better than he knows himself. The same could probably be said about you knowing him.

“Favorite people aye? Where do I fall on that list?”

Watching you lift your head to give him a quick glance, a small smile graced your lips before you lifted your head fully to clear your throat.

“Atleast top…let's say ten? There's a lot of competition BB.” You chuckle

“Oh yea? That jumper you’re wearing says otherwise.”

Your eyes grew almost as wide as the lenses on your mask as you looked down. Your hands gripped the edge of the jacket for a moment before shoving into the pockets.

“Oh I uh…yea I dunno what to say…”

The gears were turning in your head, he could tell. Something was brewing.

“..y’know I didn’t even realize I had packed this until I was subconsciously putting it on the first night. I'm being dead serious when I tell you I only ever took it off whenever I was about to go into battle…I didn’t wanna ruin it.”

He smiled to himself listening to your words. Something similar to what was brewing in your head was brewing in his chest.

These past few months, more specifically the past two weeks where you couldn’t contact him, there was a confession building. Words that were just waiting in the dark until he was at his most vulnerable to come into the light were bubbling up in his throat. The only thing keeping them from spilling right at this very moment was the seal of his lips.

It was nice, having you back. But all these realizations that he was having just in these last few days, especially now in these moments he was sharing with you, told him all he needed to know.

Especially with those words that you had just said to him, he knew his realization was not far from out of the blue.

“ Y’know those two weeks were you went dark were ‘ell. Pav and Gwendy were up my arse the entire time. It irked me how well they read me those two weeks..”

Watching you grow still and turn towards him, and sighed before turning towards you as well.

“I'm sorry about that Hobbie…my communicator died and Miguel told me I wasn’t allowed a new one until I finished my assignment. Which made everything so much harder to do since I had to wait for texts from Lyla and code instead of her just being able to talk me through it.”

“I knew it ‘ad to be somethin outta your control…and I also had a keepsake that ‘elped me keep my cool.”

Pulling back his cuffs, an array of bracelets both woven and made were on both of his wrists. They were all yours, but ones you hadn’t seen in a while and ones you were sure you had left on your desk before you had left.

What he couldn’t show you was the shirt he had of yours that was also on his pillow. He had it for the same reason he was sure you had his jacket for the entire trip…

Though it was starting to lose your scent.

There was a comfortable silence, at least he hoped there was. He could barely tell based off the thumping of his heart…

When he finally made eye contact with you, he saw a dopey smile on your face. It made him smile too. No matter how long you two were apart, no matter how raw the two of you got it never changed anything.

Well, he hoped nothing would change after what he was about to do.

Hobie wasn’t scared of a lot, practically nothing. But you scared the ever loving shit out of him. Both with all the stunts that you pulled and just the way you made him feel. He used to be this hardass corruptor but now? He wasn’t sure what he was without you.

“Hey Hobie..”

“Yea?”

“You should totally kiss me right now.”

“Yup.”

His hand fit perfectly on the crook of your neck, and so did his lips with yours.

Whatever you were feeling spilled into him, and he with you. A full year's worth of pent up emotion exploded into the kiss as he seemingly took your breath away. In recent months he could only imagine how your lips would feel against his, but it was nothing compared to what he was experiencing right now. Yours and his molded together in a flurry of silken passion, fitting together perfectly just like he knew they would.

Your hands found their place resting on his cheeks, just as his found theirs. With one resting on your neck and the other finding its way onto your side to pull you close. So close that he could feel the drum of your heart match his when your chests collided.

He wanted to curse whatever being made it so that the human body needed oxygen. When you pulled away his lips followed yours in chase, and it wasn’t until you held his face in place so that your bruised lips could take in a breath. Your finger ran over his bottom lip, playing with his lip ring as he panted in time with you.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that…how..how being away from you for so long made me realize that's all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

“I ‘ave an idea.”

His hand that rested on the edge of your neck came around to hold your throat, with his fingers resting on your pulse.

It was going a mile a minute just like his.

#hobie brown #hobie brown x reader #x reader #across the spiderverse #marvel x reader #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderman across the spiderverse x reader #into the spider verse #spiderman x reader #spiderpunk x reader #spider punk #spider!reader

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nwjws · 7 months

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while you were sleeping - pjs

; PAIRING - jay x gn!reader

; SYNOPSIS - in which you’ve had the same album on repeat, unable to get it out of your mind. just like how jay, your roommate, can’t seem to get you out of his.

; WC - 1.4k (minus the lyrics)

; TAGS - college roommates au, fluff, from jay's pov, based off laufey's 'while you were sleeping' ; WARNINGS - not proofread

i still can't believe that you noticed me

mindlessly scrolling on your phone, you patiently wait for your roommate, park jay, to finish cooking up some breakfast. a comfortable silence has settled between you two, with the only sounds being the sizzling oil on the pan and your humming.

"you've been listening to the same 14 songs for the past week."

"what?" you ask, looking up at him. you stare at his back, broad shoulders exposed by his tank top.

he turns his head to look back at you over his shoulder, raising a perfect eyebrow. you realise then what he's saying.

laufey had released a new album last week, and you literally haven't played any other song outside of it since it dropped. you can feel jay judging you, but you just shrug at him. you were definitely not stopping.

"so what if i've had bewitched on repeat? can you deny that they're good?" you challenged him.

"no, of course not," he chuckled to himself, turning back to the pan. "i'm just surprised you haven't gotten sick of it yet."

"i would never get sick of laufey," you say with mock offence.

"alright, then," he said with a teasing undertone.

you wanted to retort, but he placed a plate in front of you, making you forget what you were going to say.

"hey, you have a later clinical today, right?" he asked as you two dug in.

"mhm."

"take the box i left in the fridge with you before you go then. its some extra lunch i made so you'd have enough energy to get through the day."

"thank you," you say appreciatively. "you really don't have to do that every time i have a heavier day."

"well, if i have time to, then i don't see why i shouldn't."

"what about you? what are you doing today?"

"my professor cancelled class today, so i'll go check out if i can bother heeseung or jake."

"i'll pray for whichever victim you choose, then," you joke.

"maybe i won't make you extra lunch next time," he pouted playfully.

"no, no. those actually really help me. god knows if i didn't score you as my roommate, i would have passed out several times by now."

"grateful to be of service"

after breakfast, jay lounges around the apartment as you're getting ready. some show plays on the tv, but it doesn't drown out the sound of must be love playing from your speakers.

you shout your leaving when you exit the shared apartment, and jay wishes you a good day. he watches you close the door, leaving him completely alone.

i'll never forget the first time i saw you then

when he drives to the shopping centre with jake later that day, he pauses mid-sentence when he realises something.

"is everything good?" his friend asks.

"yeah, i just recognised the song playing."

"really? you listen to from the start by laufey?" jake asks. he had decided to connect his phone to jay's carplay, and had been in the one in control of the playlist.

"not really, but my roommate does."

"y/n? that's pretty cool. they've got good music taste," he replies.

"they've had her newest album on repeat since she dropped it," jay laughs, eyes on the road.

"do you find that annoying?"

"of course not, it's funny seeing them prance around the apartment, belting their heart out," he laughs at a memory of you singing at the top of your lungs. "i guess i'm more of a second-hand listener now? if that's even a thing."

"probably," jake shrugs.

a light pink bouquet, a promise you'll stay and i start to believe

the two had decided to eat out at wagamama's first, before anything else.

"i think i'll get the pad thai," tells the waitor, who nods and notes it on his ipad.

"hm, i'm feeling like trying the grilled chicken ramen," jay says. "oh, could i also get the miso mixed vegetable salad to-go?"

"sure," the waitor replies. he pockets the small device in his apron, and leaves for the kitchen.

"you ordered another meal?" the younger asks curiously.

"me and y/n go here often. of course, i had to get them something. usually, they'll go for the typical miso salad, or some curry, but they've decided they wanted to try being vegan recently. so i got the vegan one," jay explains nonchalantly.

"wow, you really care a lot about them, huh?"

"of course, we're sharing the rent, after all. have to be a good roommate, otherwise they'll leave and i'll have to pay the bills on my own."

"maybe i should get a roommate," jake chuckles. "but i don't think i'd be able to get someone like you."

"i'd feel sorry for whoever ends up with you," jay teases him. "and anyway, they're a good roommate. they do the laundry for the both of us, and we usually spend the weekends cleaning together."

"you guys are so lucky," is all jake says.

i don't recognise myself ; who've i become?

jake dragged jay into their third clothing shop that day, despite jay's protests. in self-defence, jake whines about needing some new shoes.

"don't you have like, thirty pairs? what could you possibly need another one for?"

"actually, i only have twenty-eight. and i need one for graduation, of course."

"right, because none of your almost-thirty pairs suffice," jay rolls his eyes.

"don't act like you dont have seventy pairs of the same polo shirt."

"i don't!"

"i've seen your closet, don't lie to me."

jay sighs and leaves jake to wander around the shop on his own.

"there you go again, buying another shirt," jake's voice sighs from behind jay fifteen minutes later.

"not for me," jay shakes his head. he turns to show the clothing piece to his friend. "for y/n. this is definitely their style, and it'll fit them so well. they have a pair of shoes that are this exact colour, so it would be good outfit if they sandwhich it with any bottom piece they choose."

"you think a lot about your roommate," jake raises his eyebrow at him.

"i see them all the time, why wouldn't i?" jay asks.

"no, like, you think too much about y/n considering you're 'only roommates'," he says with a quote gesture.

"stop suggesting weird things," jay walks ahead to the counter, leaving jake to follow behind.

"is it really so weird, though? if you like y/n like that?"

jay just ignores him, and pays for the shirt. it's not, he thinks to himself, because it's not a new thought either.

i trace it all back, 3:30 am that night something turned in my heart

"thank you, jay," you hug him when he shows you what he got. "you really need to stop buying me things."

"i can't help it," he smiles. "when i see something that reminds me of you, i just feel like i have to get it."

"with how often you buy me things, i'd say a lot of things remind you of me, huh?"

"seems like it..." he scratches his nape, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with you. thanks jake, he scowls in his mind. now he can't stop thinking about what he said earlier.

you and jay decide to watch a movie the next night, since it was a friday, and neither of you had to be up early the next day.

but jay couldn't focus on the tv when you two were basically cuddling under the shared blanket on the sofa. his skin prickled where his arm hung around your shoulder, and the weight of your head on his made him feel light and airy.

the warmth of your body seeped through your clothes, and brought him immense comfort. your sweet scent filled his nose, subconsciously recognising it to be one of the perfumes he'd bought you.

it was only when the movie ended he realised he hadn't been watching at all. and neither were you, if your light snores were any indication.

he huffed amusedly to himself, and shifted on the sofa to get you two in a more comfortable position, actually lying down. reaching for the remote, he carefully switched off the tv, leaving the only source of light to be a soft, warm yellow coming from a corner lamp.

jay stared at your features, illuminated by the dim light. he realised right then, in the comfort of your arms, far into the night, what he felt for you.

while you were sleeping, i fell in love.

; AUTHOR'S CORNER! do u guys ever feel like throwing up at your own work? ALSO THANK YOU FOR 200 this is my offer of thanks 🤭

; TAGLIST - @lovelovelovebts @miyseung @babyy-bambii

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daceydeath · 1 year

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A Work Proposal (Part 14)

Pairing: Han x reader Word Count: 3.5k Genre: Smut 🔞 Warnings: 18+, Minors DNI, swearing, unprotected sex (don't be idiots), somnophilia, free use, oral sex (m receiving), fingering

You had been working with Stray Kids for a while now and after a long day at work turns into a very unexpected but intriguing proposal. Will this change your world or end your career?

It was the first week you had to yourself for months and you had spent almost all of it either sleeping, eating or catching up with the few friends you had that could deal with your crazy job. The promotions for the new album were due to start in six days time and then after that the world tour was starting which would be an on and off schedule that would last at the very least a year. In preparation you had arranged for the guys to have some time off to at least try to get them as relaxed and refreshed as they could be before the truly grueling part could begin. Each of the guys had either headed off for some vacation time with family or alone and you were thrilled that they were finally getting some proper rest.

In the early hours of the morning of the second to last day of your break your phone rang waking you with a fright as you groped at your night stand to find it.

"I'm sorry to wake you pretty" Han's whiny voice filled your ear as you answered the call.

"It's ok Hannie what's wrong?" you mumbled rubbing your eyes to see what the time was on your phone display which read 3:47am.

"I'm going to send a car around to pick you up, I'm lonely" he whined again making your heart hurt.

"You were seeing your family why are you lonely?" you asked still slightly groggy from sleep.

"I got back today and I hate being alone in the dorms" you could almost hear him pouting as he spoke which made you smiled fondly "bring some clothes with you and stay with me until the guys get back?".

"How could I ever say no to you?" you asked back as you got out of bed and began rummaging through your things for a couple of sets of clothes to take with you.

"I'll see you soon then" he sighed happily hanging up and leaving you to pack your bag, you packed a couple of different lingerie sets and two sundresses since it was still quite warm and you just hoped that if it got too cold you could borrow something from Han. You waited for the driver to let you know he was downstairs before leaving your apartment and taking the lift down to the garage where one of the companies cars sat with the door open waiting for you. You thanked the driver profusely for picking you up at such a stupid hour but he was gracious enough to not ask why you were getting ferried to a artist dorm in the early hours of the morning. Han was waiting for you beside the elevator as you stepped out of the car and into the garage and cap and a hood hiding his identity from the driver before he took your bag and ushered you into the lift to their floor.

"Why did you come back so early if you knew you were going to be on your own?" you smiled sweetly as he wrapped his arms around you holding you to his chest.

"Do you want me to answer that honestly?" he smirked his hands sliding down your body so he could squeeze your arse.

"Always the truth Han" you cocked an eyebrow at the mischievous look in his eyes.

"I wanted some time alone with you, I wanted a lot of time actually where you were all mine and I can do whatever I want with you" the gleam in his eye made your stomach flip in anticipation.

"You know you can spend time with me whenever you like Hannie" you teased softly watching him run his hand through his tousled hair.

"I know but I don't have to share you with anyone for a whole day at least and that it something that is not going to happen often now is it pretty girl" he chuckled darkly before leaning in to kiss you softly until the elevator doors opened.

"Can I try something with you tomorrow?" he asked shyly biting on his plush lower lip.

"Of course Hannie" you smiled encouragingly hoping you could put him at ease.

"Seungmin said that you don't mind trying new things but that we should talk about it first" he continued as he led you to the dorm door and let you inside not letting you go until he sat you on the couch facing him.

"Do you want to try something that I haven't done before of something like what I do with Seungmin?" you asked hoping he wouldn't lose his nerve to ask for what he wanted.

"I want to try something that Minho mentioned a while ago but I don't know if you are going to like it, I don't want to do anything you don't like" he started rambling nervously making you instinctively move so you could straddle his lap running your hands soothingly down his chest.

"Just tell me Hannie" you whispered leaning in to press your lips against his softly in a short sweet kiss.

"Can we try free use tomorrow?" he mumbled his cheeks flushing a beautiful rosy pink.

"Is that where we just have sex whenever you want me all day?" you asked nibbling your lip to make sure you understood him.

"Yes and no, I was hoping you would also let me touch you while you were asleep and you can touch me too whenever you want it's not just when I want to, it's mutual" he almost stuttered as you kissed him chastely again to let him know you weren't offended.

"We can try that" you whispered against his lips before pulling back from him "but can we please get a little more sleep before we try?".

"Of course pretty" He smiled his eyes lighting up as he helped you from his lap and led you towards his room "Would you mind if we slept without anything on so I can feel you against me?" you just smiled and nodded at him your eyes heavy as you slipped out of your clothes and underwear sliding into his sheets and waiting for him to climb in beside you before you got comfortable.

"I would love you have you laying in my arms all the time" He whispered as your drifted off your head on his chest listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart.

You had experienced fairly vivid dreams before but nothing like the one you were having now Han behind you grinding his hard length deep inside you panting as he tried to keep the noise down, you were in a dressing room on one of the sleep mats they always used skirt flipped up, arse in the air and Han worshipping your wet cunt like it was keeping him sane. Your whimpers and pleas ignored by him as his slowly rocked himself inside you hitting that spongy spot deep within you with ease, you could feel the pleasure building inside you when the sound of an alarm started ringing making your mind jolt you from your dream back into Han's room when he was still buried inside you rocking his hips against yours.

"Fuck pretty you feel so good when your asleep" he groaned deeply.

"Jisung" you murmured sleep and your dream still fogging your brain.

"Shhh pretty just let me" he whispered sliding the one of his hands that had been holding your hips around to the front of you body his fingers easily finding their way to your clit "There you go pretty just relax".

"Shit Ji" you sighed breathily as his fingers slowly circled the bundle of nerves making another gush of wetness coat his already soaked cock you laid still letting him use you exactly as he wanted gently and slowly coaxing your pleasure from you as he took his time grinding against your plush walls.

"Going to make you feel so good pretty girl" He moaned as his pace picked up his talented fingers getting you closer to your high by the second.

"Ji, please, please" you whimpered as the coil in your belly twisted tighter and tighter until it snapped and you cried out softly your walls clenching tightly around him.

"Fuck yes" he moaned pumping himself into you a few more times before spilling his warm cum inside you, slipping his cock from you he pulled you into his arms peppering your face with soft kisses "You are so perfect pretty".

"Good morning to you too" you sighed softly the aftershocks of your pleasure still radiating through you as his lips returned to yours kissing you languidly his hands roaming your body.

"I think that might have been the best wake up I have ever had" he giggled making you smile at him "Should I order us some breakfast?"

"I would love some breakfast" you smiled watching him grab his phone to order loving the fact that he was still nude beside you and you could just stare all you wanted. He tapped away on his phone for a a few minutes before you felt the need to start cleaning yourself up you got out of his bed and made your way into the bathroom to start the shower and brush your teeth. Turning on the water and waiting for it to heat up not noticing that Han had gotten up to join you until you stepped under the hot spray and arms wrapped around your waist.

"What you didn't think I would let you shower alone did you?" he cheekily grinned pecking your lips as you turned to reply to him making you smile softly while he shuffled you both under the water and began massaging body wash into your skin until you were covered in bubbles from head to toe.

"Jisung" you laughed as slowly turned you under the water to rinse them all off of you his hands firmly around your hips. With the warm water running over your body you lent forward pressing you lips against his throat and gently teasing the skin there as he shivered under your touch his cock hardening again quickly.

"If you aren't careful pretty I'm going to fuck you all over again" he groaned your kisses moving along his collar bone until you carefully sucked a small mark into his skin and he slid his hands down to your arse lifting you suddenly and making you squeak as your back came into contact with the tiles his dick pressing against your entrance teasingly as you wrapped your legs around him.

"I told you to be careful and here you are leaving your cute little marks on me, now I'm going to have to mark you" he growled thrusting easily inside of you thanks to the left overs from your previous activities still lingering between your thighs.

"Ji, baby" you breathed as he started slowly sliding against your walls his pace gentle as he pressed you against the tiles with his bodyweight. Lips kissing anywhere he could reach until he bit down on your shoulder marking you before letting his tongue sooth the skin he has just bruised.

"Mmm baby I like that too" he hummed taking his time and grinding his pubic bone against your clit with each movement.

"Oh god Ji" you mewled your head falling back as he continued his leisurely pace his length feeling heavenly against your plush walls "you feel so fucking good".

"That's it my pretty girl" he purred sucking another mark into your shoulder "want you to fall apart on my cock, want you begging for me".

"Please, Ji, please don't stop" you whimpered as you started feeling pleasure flutter through your body each and every time him moved.

"I won't ever stop fucking this perfect little pretty pussy" he growled as your moans started to get louder the closer you got your thighs clenching around his waist in time with your walls.

"Ji" you cried out scratching your fingernails down his back as you can so hard your vision went black as you arched hard into him making him moan loudly and fill you again. He lowered you softly letting you get your feet on the floor before he noticed you wobble and grinned smugly.

"Let me clean you up and we can go back to bed, breakfast can wait" he smirked rinsing you off and wrapping you in a fluffy towel before helping you back into the bedroom. Sliding back between the sheets, Han pulled you almost on top of him as he ran his fingers through your damp hair until you were dozing off.

When you woke up the second time you could tell it probably wasn't morning anymore and you could hear Han probably returning from getting breakfast for you both so you got yourself up and dressed yourself pleased with the look on his face when you emerged from his room wearing only a soft blue sundress.

"You look so hot pretty girl, how did we ever get lucky enough to have you" he cooed looking at you his eyes shining with adoration.

"I would say it was me who lucked out in this situation" you admitted softly, Han got out plates for you both to eat on while you scrolled through any work emails that may be considered urgent on your phone.

"Hey, no working!" he wined smacking your arse playfully as he went to the coffee maker to make an Americano for himself.

"You have spent too long with Minho" you grumbled playfully as he pressed the buttons for his drink "I need to make sure we are totally ready and by we I mean that you guys are totally looked after while you're away".

"While we're away" he interrupted raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, while we're away" you smiled at the face he was pulling noticing as he started making another coffee "you do know you are all going to have to restrain yourselves a little bit so no one gets caught right?".

"When we go out for sure but we are already sorting out a roster of who gets you each night" he grinned dangerously making you feel heat start to spread in your core as he looked at you with hungry eyes.

"Hannie that might get us noticed" you sighed trying to not let him affect you so much.

"Although I love it when you call me that I prefer when you are moaning my first name more" he smirked watching you try not to squeeze your legs together.

"How many pancakes did you want" you asked trying to change the subject and turning away from him to serve up what he had ordered, while trying to block him out a little. You could hear him moving so you just waited for him to make a decision as he placed your iced coffee next to the take away containers his body pressing up against yours as he caged you in against the counter his hips pressed firmly against your arse.

"We can eat in a minute pretty girl" he whispered seductively wasting no time hitching your dress up and pushing you underwear aside so he could tease your folds with his fingers.

"Shit how are you so wet already" he breathed against your ear his fingers leaving you to pull his cock free of his sweatpants "I've already fucked you twice and your still desperate for more".

"Jisung" you whimpered at the loss of contact only to gasp sharply as he free hand pushed your shoulders down until you were completely bent over the counter and he sheathed himself inside you entirely.

"Fuck yes pretty girl I want to hear you say my name" he almost growled his hips smacking against you as he started to fuck himself deeply into you "I will never get tired of your tight little pussy".

"Jisung" you moaned as he sped up again chasing his pleasure already his cock dragging against your velvet walls his hips snapping against you loudly.

"Aw fuck" he groaned filling you with his seed for the third time that morning "such a good girl taking me like this now you're going to keep everything I give you today inside you, aren't you?"

"Yes Jisung" you purred and he pulled your underwear back into place and helped you to stand.

"Oh and three pancakes please" he smirked as you went back to serving up your breakfast.

After you had eaten and cleaned up Han decided that he had enough inspiration to write another song so you settled on the couch to watch a movie and go back to checking your emails. The movie was more for background noise as you worked hoping that while he was busy he wouldn't notice that you were sending off confirmations about hotels, interviews and filming schedules that you were hoping would be able to get done on time. You had already been over the riders for the first fifteen venues, but you would need to make sure that each of them had been followed up on to ensure that the kids needs were going to be met. A beat started floating through the air from Chan's bedroom where he was writing making you smile, you knew how quickly he could put things together when he was in the right mood, how he could easily put out a total hit of a track in an hour and today seemed to be the day for it. When the beat stopped again and you heard him padding towards the lounge room you assumed he was done but instead he was sporting a slight frown.

"You alright Han?" you cooed putting your phone down to give him your attention.

"Can you come listen to this please I am stuck" he sighed heavily intertwining his fingers with yours and leading you to Chan's bedroom where he sat himself on the office chair in front of all Chan's home recording equipment set up. You sat on the bed and waited for him to start the track and when he did it sounded amazing his voice was always beautiful to listen to when he sang but when he stopped the track midway through you were a little confused..

"It sounds great Hannie, I don't understand what you are stuck on" you smiled watching him slump slightly.

"Should I have more rap and less singing? Should I make the chorus bigger?" he sighed letting his head fall back against the chair.

"I have no answers for musical questions sorry but I can help in other ways" you bit your lip walking over to his chair and spinning him to face you and sinking to your knees.

"This is exactly why all of us will do anything to keep you with us" he groaned as you ran your hands up and down his thighs as you watched him get harder by the second. He lent forward sliding your dress straps off your shoulders and you shimmied out the top of your dress so he could see your lace covered breasts. Undoing the drawstring on his sweats you pulled his cock out and lent forward to run your tongue from the base to the tip as he groaned louder.

"You are incredible pretty girl" he sighed blissfully as you took him into your mouth swirling your tongue around the head and teasing his slit. You hummed as you took him further into your mouth letting your tongue tease the vein that ran along the bottom of his shaft making him wind his hand into your hair pulling it slightly. Relaxing your throat you took him all the way into your mouth until he hit the back of your throat slowly bobbing your head as he mewled softly his pretty little sounds spurring you on as you swallowed around him hollowing your cheeks to take him further into your throat.

"Can I come down your throat pretty? please" he moaned loudly as you started massaging his balls to give him more pleasure. You hummed again as he held your hair tighter taking over from your bobbing to start thrusting up into your mouth.

"So close, fuck so close" he muttered his voice getting higher as you let him use your mouth to get himself off coming with a growl and filling your mouth with his salty load "This was the best idea I have ever had" he panted looking down at you as you swallowed then opened your mouth to show him.

"What was Hannie? The song?" you asked redressing yourself and standing up.

"Asking you to come stay, asking you to let me fucking use you" He smiled languidly his eyes looking slightly dazed as you just licked your lips and leaned over to kiss his lightly.

"I am too, hopefully that inspires you Hannie" you smirk leaving him to recover and get back to his writing as you went back to the movie you were half watching.

By the time Han had finished his song and had come out to cuddle with you and talk about dinner you heard the front door open and knew that meant at least one of the guys were back from their down time meaning your mini vacation with Han was over.

a/n: Thank you for reading you lovely people, I'm sorry this one took so long but I have had a bit of writers block and well couldn't write. All your likes, reblogs and comments keep me going so thank you always for them xx

Taglist (open): @christopher-bangnaldoskzz, @symptoms-of-moonlight, @septicrebel, @ayoitschannie, @krishastumblernow, @tangerminie, @elizalabs3, @armystay89, @septemberkisses, @stay-bi, @seolarflare, @damnyouficc, @eastleighsblog, @wohaku, @bakedlilgoonie, @roamingpolar, @tara-skyhold, @spacegirlstuff, @queenmea604, @fawnpeaks, @3rachasninja, @mrsseals16, @leeknowinggg, @hyunlixsbbygirl, @obeythemasters, @tanzen-ist-gold,

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amberluvsbugs · 16 days

Note

My reaction to the news you just posted:

I saw your 'I lost someone' post a few days ago, and I have no clue what was going through that person's head for them to do that. Neither you, your co-workers, nor anyone in the fandom who may be suffering from illness deserved to be deceived like that.

My heart goes out to you, and I hope you're doing okay now. 💖

(If you're comfortable clarifying this for anyone who didn't see that post and may want to know the full context (no stress if you don't want to ofc), was Ari initially claiming to be dying of cancer or was it something else? Either way, it's still disgusting what they did.)

thank you it really means a lot. ;;;; In case anyone didnt see the post I made a while back, this is the full story for clarification: This all started on April 29th when I received a DM from my co-worker Toby, saying that a Poppy Playtime fan and friend we will call Ari, who he told me was 18 and has come to know for a solid year, was set to be sedated on May 6th due to having an incurable cancer. Because of this, he wanted me to create an illustration for her before she passed which I immediately took up the offer. Now, for clarification, I don't trust what anyone says in the PPT community. I am aware of how immature and dangerous the community can be. But when it's coming from someone I know and trust, I put my trust forward on that person. I don't mess around when it comes to someone nearing their death. So I got in contact with her, made sure she saw the illustration I made for her, and for the past week after work hours, I would talk with her in VCs and chill at every chance I got to make sure she was happy and having a good time. She acted very kind and sweet to me and so many others who would join the VC as they also soon came to know of her upcoming passing as well. On Saturday, May 4th we hosted a podcast for her as a subtle final farewell to the whole server. And on Sunday evening at 5 pm, me and Toby talked with her one last time in a private vc until she had to take her final leave from Discord. At 6 pm, me and Toby stayed on call listening to the Caretaker album fully (as we both had a big fascination for The Caretaker album, Everywhere At The End Of Time) as a sort of timer to let us know when she had passed, as we knew in 6 hours she would be sedated. At 1 am on Monday morning, The album finished. We both cried so hard it gave us headaches. I only got to really know her for a short time, but at that moment, she made such an impact on me and so many others in the PPT server and community. We had made art dedicated to her and I had even laid out a post for her. Everyone was mourning over Ari’s departure and for 4 days me and Toby were a MESS of emotions of grief. That was until I received a message from Toby on Thursday, May 9th, saying he needed to speak to me urgently in call. Toby told me that he had been watching Ari's activity and found something off with it as it had recently gone active a few times. I told him that maybe it was her friend having access to her account in her passing but Toby immediately showed me proof of the activity that's been going on in another server and on her Roblox account that she had. And that's when we needed proof or confirmation. For the past 4 hours, we did our research to find leads on her. We eventually found her school which apparently confirmed that she was 14, NOT 18, and we got in contact with her parents and asked them about Ari to which they were confused about this whole thing and told us that she was here. Which CONFIRMED that she was still ALIVE. We filled in on the parents for what Ari did and she is no longer going to have access to her electronics. We were both devastated at this point and absolutely furious. Everything we did for her, and the community, was all for nothing. She used and fooled us by a means to get attention and to specifically get in contact with Toby and be forward with him as a minor. We dedicated hours and days to her, mourned and cried for her, all for it to be crumbled down into a fake death. We were beyond disappointed, me especially as I don't take kindly to this sort of thing. I don't get mad. In fact, I try to be a kind person to everyone, but the fact someone would take advantage and play death like this to us for attention is disgusting and just wrong. I have moved on from this but please don't make this a big deal. They were 14 and this will not stop me from doing what I love for the PPT community or whatnot. It's just a life lesson I will take to heart and be careful to not put my full trust in someone unless I have clarification that they are indeed going through a death-like situation like this.

#Ask ALB #sorry its a lot but i think you guys need a solid clarification for this whole situation #Please for the love of god dont be like this person #dont play with death for attention...

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vyl3tpwny · 11 months

Note

why it ourple

ok.

i'm going to tell you the story of how purple became my favourite colour. and then, where the name vylet pony came from.

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ch.1 the mace windu incident

once upon a time. I really liked star wars. i kind of still like star wars i guess. but when i was a kid, i REALLY liked star wars.

in my room, i had a mace windu poster.

i still can't find the exact poster. it looked something like this

mace windu was my fav star wars character for an inconceivably long time. with that, i also became fascinated with his purple lightsaber. nobody else had a purple lightsaber. i loved it. staring at that poster constantly made me really like the colour purple. ever since the poster started exerting its technicolour pressures and whimsies upon me, i became fixated on the colour purple. forever.

"hai!~ im mace windu and i loveee Videos!" - mace windu, star wars episode iii: revenge of the sith

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ch. 2 the viny scratch era

fast forward like 7 years. i am in the my little pony fandom now. i am 13 years old. i really like vinyl scratch. she is pictured here:

my first online presence in the mlp community was as a vinyl scratch / dj pon3 roleplay account. for a good year, people called me vinyl and "vy".

however when it came time to start releasing music in the fandom, i couldn't go by vinyl scratch at the time. this name was already being used by the artist who currently goes by Scraton!

this is still one of my favourite songs by them:

youtube

anyway. i actually held a really insane, irrational grudge against scraton for being named "vinyl scratch" as a music artist before me. i got past that after a while, because i had to stop being 13 first. i stopped being 13 and eventually fell in love with their music and we became friends later after!

but it's 2013 and i can't be vinyl scratch anymore. people already called me "vy" because of being a vinyl scratch persona.

so.

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ch. 3 it's vylet time-wait is that can opener? CANNI?

it started on december 28, 2012. i posted to my then-instagram account this image:

you may recognize this as my oc canni. here's their reworked look in the 2022 album (10 years later) can opener's notebook: fish whisperer (illustrated by @astroeden):

can opener's original name was "ultra vylet". their colour scheme was originally intended to be the inverse of vinyl scratch's, as a sort of strange protest to not being able to be vinyl scratch. i was like ok. well if i cant be vinyl scratch, i am going to make a character that swaps the main colours. within a few months of "ultra vylet" existing, i discarded the design in favour of a completely different one:

this would be the only time vylet consistently had purple in her design until 2018 or so.. lol.

then. on april 15, 2013, i posted this to my instagram:

i had essentially combined three things:

The fact the people called me "vy'

The fact that my favourite colour is purple (violet)

The fact that I wanted to be vinyl scratch (dj pon3) before

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ch. 4 vylet pony ≠ vinyl scratch

that is to say, i never really put a lot of thought into "vylet pony" as a name. i just made it when i was 14 and now i am going to be 25 soon. will i keep vylet pony as a name forever? not sure. do i take great pride in its insanely snarky origin? absolutely.

after i had decided firmly on "vylet pony" as a name — after dropping the "3" from it — i made a new instagram account. the very first thing i posted to it was this:

illustrated by my friend, shade.

now that looks slightly vylet-like, design-wise, oc-wise. oh. but now she is grey and black? ok.

she stopped being purple from 2013-2018.

here is how her design progressed through the years:

the first one is by my then-partner sara. this is when vylet's cutiemark was still an upside down music note, reflected from "ultra vylet" / can opener's original design. i'll show how it became a puzzle piece next.

the second one is by shade

the third one is by chibadeer

the fourth one is by astroeden

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ch. 5 the puzzle piece

to this day, i still cannot find the fanart in question. but over instagram, someone asked to draw fanart of my pony. in doing so, they misconstrued the shape of the upside down music note as a puzzle piece, like this:

i've been looking forever for the original fanart/fanartist that made this mistake. because ever since that art, i just stuck with it anyway. i like puzzles and puzzle games. i'm also a puzzling and enigmatic person. and the puzzle piece can go into so many different things. all sorts of problem solving is like a puzzle. music fits neatly into that category in my opinion. so because of its intrigue and ability to mean so many different things, i just went with it. i never looked back.

———————————————————

ch. 6 that is the history of the colour purple and vylet pony character design

i hope this answers the question "why it ourple"!

#vyop #my little pony #mlp

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slapthebass · 2 months

Text

EUROPE TOUR24 FROM DEPRESSION TO [mode of Withering to death & UROBOROS] - Live reports (Warsaw + Paris)

Warsaw - Progresja 19/03/24 (mode of WTD)

Travelled to Poland on the 16th, we had mixed weather during the week-end but it was luckily quite sunny (albeit cold-ish) while we queued outside the venue! My friend and I had Priority upgrades for this show so we arrived around 14:30 & waited right next to the VIP queue. Venue logistics for the queue(s) were a bit fuzzy at first* but we got our laminated passes around 16:00 (just after the VIPs got theirs + goodies) then waited for a bit after 18:00 when the VIPs entered the building. Diru/prod staff keeps a printed list of VIP/priority passes holders and distributes passes and goodies by checking the names.

*Fans were better organised with sharpies and unofficial waiting numbers :)

We went in and waited (again :) ) in the pit for 1h, behind the caution tape separating the VIP from the rest of the room. This allowed us to get some merch at the stand, then at 19:00 the security guards lifted the caution tape and we managed to get nice spots at the 2nd & 3rd rows in front of Die's mic. We waited again for another hour while the general attendance ticket holders entered the venue, then the show started around 20:20 (a bit late because of a technical issue with Die's guitar apparently, that had all their technicians running around looking stressed out), without any intro if I remember correctly, maybe because of said technical issue (but there were Diru remixes being played through the speakers during the whole time we waited inside).

I was unfortunately right next to an annoying (& bulky) man who kept pushing me & other fans around the whole time (I fought for my life the whole set and almost fell when the members entered the stage), but otherwise the show was very nice, it was great seeing them live for the first time even though it felt quite unreal! WTD is not my favourite album but it was still amazing to hear the songs live and the audience was really into it <3 I could see Die very clearly, Toshiya also came around a few times, as well as Kaoru in the end, but my view of Kyo and Shinya was a bit blocked. Die wore his usual tights with a black sleeveless top and red jacket; Shinya had a flowy white shirt as always; Kyo sported a simple black t-shirt & track pants (?) with a nice white make-up on the top half of his face; Toshiya wore the black siren dress (I almost died seeing it with my own two eyes) with thigh-high boots (not the same pair as in the 2024 Yurameki PV though, they had bulky heels instead of stilettos heels for practical reasons obviously :D), and Kaoru wore a black suit with a white shirt.

They all looked a bit jetlagged, having landed in Poland only the day before the 1st concert, and Die was breathing quite heavily during Akuro no oka in the end! The show ended quite abruptly with Akuro no oka, I was expecting Rasetsukoku as they tend to end most concerts with it but they all left the stage (Kaoru, Die and Toshiya being of course the last to leave after throwing picks everywhere).

On a personal note, I was overjoyed the finally see the brown ESP bass which is heavily featured on WTD songs <3

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/progresja-warsaw-poland-6baa32c2.html

The show ended around 22:00, it took a while for everyone to leave the venue!

Warsaw - Progresja 20/03/24 (mode of UROBOROS)

We had VIP upgrades this time & arrived around the same time as the day before, to wait with other fans under a nice sun :) Logistics were better than for the 1st show, with barriers already in place and 3 visible queues (VIP/Priority at the front + GA at the back of the 1st two lines). We heard reports & anecdotes from the previous day's VIP meet & greet and were 'warned' that Kyo had a paper bag on his head, so that saved us some awkwardness later :').

Staff also came while we were waiting, to check the names/tickets and distribute laminated passes & VIP goodies. We got a nice cotton bag, a fan, and an enveloppe to protect the postcards distributed by the group members. This time we got both a laminated pass and a wrist bracelet, to avoid cheating with passes from the day before. Staff also warned us no to take pictures/touch them during the M&G, then we entered the venue around 18:00 as expected. People queued in the stairs then before the doors of the main room upstairs (some went directly to the merch stand while we waited here), then the doors opened and we went inside one by one in a continued file, to meet the members and get the postcards. It was all very quick, I was a bit confused because they stayed in a quite dark area and I almost didn't recognize Kaoru who was first in line, oops. We didn't really had time to speak with them so I just took the signed postcards while thanking each of them; after Kaoru was Die with big sunglasses, Kyo with a paper bag on his head, Shinya with a mask on and Toshiya with sunglasses (he was the most smiley of them all and looked really nice and patient!). They were not yet wearing their stage outfits/makeup (except maybe for Kyo under the bag I guess?), and there was a gift box right next to the table to leave stuff for them.

Then we rushed to the stage and got 1st/2nd row spots, right between Kyo's platform on the left and Die's mic on the right! We waited again for two hours while speaking with nice fans from Romania who were right next to and behind us (hi if you're reading that!).

The show started on time with a nice intro video; it started with Vinushka, which is one of my favourite songs so I was really ecstatic to hear it live **. Kyo had a nice skull make-up which was really impressive with the visuals displayed on the screen! Then everything went blurry & heavy really fast haha, Uroboros really has to be experienced live at least once! HYDRA -666- & Reiketsu Nariseba in particular were especially impressive, they put them at the end of the main set to try and kill us I think :') (I was lucky enough to record the Toshiya-Die interaction during Reiketsu!). One calmer moment was Inconvenient Ideal, during which both Kaoru & Die went AWOL for a while (Kyo seemed to be looking for them at the beginning).

Not that the encore was softer, it started deceivingly 'calmly' with Dozing Green, then it was chaos again with Stuck Man, T.D.F.F. and Eddie back to back. Akuro no oka was again the last song of the encore/show, but they all looked less tired than the day before even though the show was more intense!

The audience was enthusiastic once again and we got pushed a lot from behind, but it was an overall great show.

Kyo left the stage first as usual after saying bye-bye, then Shinya briefly went on the platform to throw his drumsticks before leaving. Kaoru, Die and Toshiya stayed for a bit, throwing picks and water, and I managed to get one of Toshiya's bass picks!

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/progresja-warsaw-poland-6baa32c2.html

We took again a while to leave the venue, and headed to the merch stand to get more stuff (WTD/Uroboros lucky charms, stickers and postcards with cute drawings of the band members as monsters enjoying their trip to Europe <3).

Paris - Bataclan 22/03/24 (mode of WTD)

After a day of respite to travel back home, we headed to the Bataclan concert hall early in the afternoon to queue. I was a bit nervous as I'd never been to this venue before despite living in Paris, and its name was of course associated with dark memories from the 2015 terror attacks, but in the end the excitement to see Diru live again was greater than my anxiety :)

We had Priority upgrades and waited in the queue that was already in place; everything seemed quite well organised at first with three delimited lines but it ended a bit messy in the end with the VIPs moving to another line on the other side of the sidewalk, Priority upgrades members not knowing where to wait, etc. Luckily the weather was nice and sunny, and we waited more or less patiently until staff came with the laminated passes around 16:00. The VIPs got inside the venue a bit before 18:00, then the Priority upgrades; we waited again behind a caution tape inside the concert hall, which was then lifted at 19:00 and we managed to grab nice spots on the left side of the stage this time, I was at the barrier (1st row) right before Kaoru's mic and with an amazing view of Toshiya & Kyo!

There was a support artist this time, a French DJ who did his best to entertain us but I must admit we weren't really into it as we were waiting for the main set to begin. It wasn't that bad but I'd have preferred to wait with the Diru remixes like in Warsaw!

Unlike the 1st day in Warsaw, we had the intro music + video just before the band entered the stage (Die in red&white, Shinya in white, Kyo in black with a touch of eye-liner, Toshiya in the white dress and Kaoru in a steampunk-ish suit and vest **). Mode of WTD was great in Warsaw but it was wild in Paris, the audience sang everything loudly, cheered & clapped and the band seemed to really appreciate the vibe :)

It was the first time I really saw Kaoru so close (except for a few appearances on the right side of the stage in Warsaw) and it was amazing to see him play and make faces at the crowd & cameras, he really knows how to motivate people by (lovingly) yelling at them \o/

There was a funny moment during Akuro no oka in the end, when Toshiya almost began his bass solo too early with a single "klonk" and looked sheepish for a second (Kaoru was like "erm, i'm not finished yet mate" while still playing the guitar :D). I recorded the whole song but my phone mysteriously freezed right at this point so we concluded that Toshiya is actually a telepath and erased it with his preternatural powers :').

A very nice evening overall, it was the perfect combination of great songs & performances from the band + overjoyed participation from the audience! And the crowd was both enthusiastic and very chill pushing-wise on our end, so that was a nice respite from the Warsaw shows physically speaking :)

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/le-bataclan-paris-france-3aa096f.html

Paris - Bataclan 23/03/24 (mode of UROBOROS)

THE BEST CONCERT EVER

(Sorry, this needed to be said first).

4th (and last :'( ) show of the tour for us, so we hoped it would be great and we were not disappointed!

The queue outside was incredibly chaotic: despite being more or less organised the day before, it was a mess this time and nobody really knew where to wait. In addition, the weather was atrocious and we got rain showers, a chilly wind *and* a freezing hailstorm during the afternoon, everybody ended up soaked with chattering teeth for the remainder of the waiting time... But the VIPs finally went inside around 18:00, then us (Priority upgrades again) around 20 mn later.

After the caution tape was lifted, we went to the right side of the stage and had a nice spot in front of Die's mic once again! Then the GA ticket holders went in and the room quickly got quite warm, before the support act even started. It was the same DJ as the previous evening but the audience was a bit more into it this time.

The band entered the stage around 20:25 like the other days, with intro song + video again. There was a technical issue with the projected images on the screen during at least 20 mn, the visuals for Vinushka were really blurry and we also saw a computer error message during the following songs, but it got fixed at some point and didn't stop us from enjoying the show: from Vinushka to Bugaboo, everything was already wild but the band + crowd went really insane after that until near the end of the encore: Doukoku to Sarinu, HYDRA -666-, Gaika, Reiketsu Nariseba... the end of the main set was even wilder than the first time, they left us no time to breathe and we were all screaming, headbanging and jumping everywhere. Kyo looked really satisfied and apparently parted the crowd in two at some point (this is from another live report i read), the audience went wild and the security staff had to douse us with water to avoid more faintings (they had to evacuate at least three people from the pit from what i saw). I almost didn't take pictures this time, except for a few during the calmer songs and interludes because i just couldn't move for anything else than jumping up and down :')

We were already almost dead on our feet at the end of the main set, and the encore finished us, it was as wild as the main set but we managed to find some unexpected resources within us to scream and jump some more! Akuro no oka was a welcome and moving respite at the end (no bass solo mishap this time, a certain bassist was focusing haha), I personally wouldn't have survived another song like the rest and had to sit down after the show ended to re-learn how to breathe properly :') Luckily the venue staff took pity on us and put the AC on during the encore, so we barely managed not to pass out from heat exhaustion...

Then another great time at the end when the band members stayed on the stage: Kyo left quickly as usual but Shinya stayed a second longer than the other nights and threw not only his drumsticks but also a drumskin (??) like a frisbee in the crowd, then the usual suspects Kaoru, Toshiya and Die loitered for a while, throwing picks and smiling at the crowd <3 They looked like they didn't want to leave and neither did we!

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/le-bataclan-paris-france-1baa7d90.html

Gear

Don't think you can get out from a gear overview! For both albums/shows combined, we got:

Kaoru:

ESP D-KV 7str [Nothing]

ESP D-KV custom (blue JZH)

ESP D-KV 薰 custom (greenish/yellowish DKV - tag to be updated)

Die:

ESP D-DR 7str (lava D-DR)

ESP D-DR (red ESP)

ESP D-DR-300 (red mesh)

Morris S-custom D (acoustic black)

Toshiya:

ESP D-TR [RU-DRIVE Arch] (the brown one)

ESP D-TT [TRICK STAR] 00 (the black one)

ESP D-TT [TRICK STAR] 04 (striped blue)

Shinya:

Remo + Signia drumkit (it seems to be his default drumkit for abroad tours, maybe not to damage his usual Pearl one ?)

Sabian cymbals (probably as I didn't manage to take clear pictures of the brand)

Aaand that's it, thanks for reading all that! :)

#kaoru #toshiya #die #kyo #shinya #dir en grey #y: 2024 #s: EUROPE TOUR24 FROM DEPRESSION TO [mode of Withering to death]#s: EUROPE TOUR24 FROM DEPRESSION TO [mode of UROBOROS]#live report #for reference

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lilacmingi · 4 months

Text

THE HOURGLASS

My works are 14+ ONLY. If you’re under 14 DO NOT interact with me or any of my works

Pairing: Pirate!Guerilla!Wooyoung x fem reader

Word count: 7,921

Note: This was the first lore-inspired imagine I ever wrote! There’s so much from Ateez’s storyline in here. I had read through the diary versions of my albums a few months before Guerrilla was released because I wanted to understand their lore better and I was SO inspired to write something after I read it. And so, this imagine was created. To this day it’s one of my absolute favorites!

It had been months since you last saw them. Your friends. The boys you'd grown so close with over the past year. The ones that felt like home.

They were home.

Then, they disappeared.

Like many other things in your life, they were here for only a brief moment, leaving far too soon. Unlike the drifting people that weave in and out of your life, your eight close friends had seemingly disappeared and you didn't know where they went. It's almost like they vanished from existence. You missed them all dearly, but you missed Wooyoung the most. He was always so cheerful, easygoing, and full of effervescence. Like the others, he enjoyed cutting up and joking around, always messing with you or one of the other guys. You missed that. What you would give to hear one last teasing comment.

Standing alone in the middle of the abandoned metal building you used as a hangout, you reminisced on good memories and stress-free times. A time where you could all forget about the dismal aspects of your pathetic lives and just be in the moment. You found yourself coming to this place often. You weren't sure why, but you found yourself being drawn here, pulled by some invisible force. All you ever did was walk around the empty space, looking back on memories that were now ghosts from the past, haunting you.

Your fingers trace absentmindedly along the dusty lamp that sits atop a stack of wooden pallets used as a makeshift table. A baseball bat lay propped against a stack of crates and an abandoned skateboard sits idly on the dirt floor. The couch and other worn out furniture had been left behind like everything else in the building.

Everything was left as it was, as if time was frozen.

As you moved about the building, you noticed boot prints in the dirt floor of the warehouse, one's that were't there previously. The only people in that warehouse were you and your eight friends, and they hadn't been around for quite some time.

Curiosity got the best of you and you ended up following the footprints outside. They overlapped at some point, first leading to a cluster of boot marks imprinted in the dirt just outside the entrance, then going away from the building.

Judging by the multiple shoe prints outside the entryway, you concluded that whoever the tracks belonged to was standing just outside the door for an unknown period of time.

Someone was watching you.

You continued moving beside the tracks until you arrived at a grassy area where they ended. That's when the sound of leaves rustling nearby caught your attention. Bushes that dotted the edge of the tree line rustled in the wake of someone running through them.

Whoever was in the warehouse had been lingering nearby.

A small voice in the back of your mind told you to let it go and get out of there, but a louder voice told you to run into the woods.

You chose the latter.

Dead sticks and leaves crunched under your shoes as you trekked through the dense undergrowth of foliage and vines, unsure of which way to go.

You nearly trip over your own feet, stumbling to a stop when you spot an hourglass lying in the undergrowth. If you hadn't been paying attention you would have stepped on it. Your head tilted in curiosity as you bent down, reaching for the out of place object.

"Find them."

You sharply stood upright at the sound of the foreign yet vaguely familiar voice that rang out through the air, the hourglass left sitting in the vines and plants. Your head turned. Standing in the distance was the silhouette of a man in a fedora. His face was covered and he was too far away for you to see him well.

Was this the person that was watching you?

"Who are you?" You asked.

No answer.

Turning back to the abandoned hourglass, you recall what the strange man in the fedora just said moments prior.

"What do you mean find th—" You were cut off as you turned back to him, seeing that he had vanished.

Reaching for the object again, you picked it up off the ground, turning it in your hand, watching the sand shift inside as you examined it.

What could you possibly do with an hourglass?

Your fingers came to rest at the top of the hourglass, debating on what to do. These were incredibly strange circumstances and you weren't left with many options. The only thing you knew to do was to turn it, so you did. Your brows pulled together as you rotated the timer, a bright light shining from within it as the sand began to move backwards.

"What the—"

There was a sudden flash of light so bright it stunned you, your eyes squeezing shut in response to the flare.

You landed with a hard thud on a wooden surface, the sound of the ocean reaching your ears almost immediately. It didn't take long for you realize you had somehow been transported away from the warehouse... far away. You lifted your head just as a gun was drawn and pointed directly at you. Your eyes followed the barrel of the weapon, moving up to see who was holding it, your breath immediately catching in your throat when you saw who it was.

There's no way.

"Wooyoung?"

The look on his face was one of disbelief as he stumbled back a bit, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"I can't believe it. I found you." You breathed out, getting to your feet. You wasted no time engulfing him in a tight embrace, squeezing him slightly, silently praying he wouldn't disappear.

"How..." He trailed off. "How did you get here?"

You didn't have time to answer as another voice cut in, making you pull away from Wooyoung.

"What's going on?"

Moments later, San came rushing onto the deck of the ship, his eyes widening in response to what he was seeing.

"Y/n?"

"San!"

More footsteps thumped against the wooden boards as the rest of the boys stepped out, their faces showing pure shock at the sight of you. Clearly, none of them had expected you to show up and honestly, neither did you.

You were so overwhelmed seeing your friends again that tears began to well in your eyes.

"Y/n, is that you?" Hongjoong asked, breaking the long silence that hung in the air.

"It is." You nodded with a smile, your voice trembling. "I never thought I'd see you guys again."

Unable to stop yourself, you rushed forward, embracing them in a hug, happy to finally be reunited.

"I can't believe you're here." Yeosang breathed out in disbelief.

"Me either."

"How did you get here?" He inquired.

"Actually—"

"Is that the Cromer?" Mingi asked before you could finish your sentence. His mouth hung agape as he pulled away from the hug, his eyes drawn away from the group.

"The what?" You questioned, turning your head.

"The Cromer."

A few feet away was the hourglass that brought you here, lying on its side. It appeared to have rolled away from you when you landed.

"Is that what it's called?"

"Where'd you get it?" Wooyoung asked.

"I found it in the woods by our hangout. Some man in a black fedora left it."

All eight boys shared a look that told you they knew something you didn't.

"What?" You questioned, your brows pulling together as you looked around at the group.

"Did you get a look at his face?" Asked Hongjoong, answering your inquiry with another question.

"No. He was too far away."

"Did he say anything to you?" Seonghwa cut in.

"Find them."

The oldest glanced over at Hongjoong and the others, all of them sharing perplexed expressions.

"I don't understand what's going on."

No one said a word as Hongjoong stepped forward, retrieving the fallen Cromer and holding it in his hands.

"Do you guys know what this means?" He asked, turning to the group with glossy eyes, a look of longing and hope on his face. "We can finally go home."

Wooyoung then stepped forward.

"You need to put that in a safe place." He advised almost sternly.

"I will. We don't want them coming after it."

You turned to Hongjoong with a bemused expression.

Who's them?

Wooyoung could tell you were confused about the whole situation, so he decided to step in.

"Why don't we talk?"

"Yeah. That's a good idea."

He grabbed your hand, pulling you to a shallow deck located at the back of the ship where the two of you could talk in private.

Ever since landing on this ship, the only thing you've been met with is confusion, leaving unanswered questions to pile up and swirl around your mind like a violent storm.

Wooyoung dropped your hand, moving to lean against the ship railing, you followed suit, watching him as he stared out at the open waters, a wistful look on his face.

"I thought about you guys a lot." You spoke up, cutting through the silence. "Every day, actually."

"We thought about you too, Y/n. We've been trying to get back."

"What is this place? How did you all get here? Why haven't you been able to get back? Who are these people you're trying to keep the Cromer from?" You asked only a few of the many questions that weighed heavily in your mind.

Wooyoung let out a long sigh as he turned to you. "Y/n, there's a lot you don't know."

"Clearly."

"No." His face became serious, something you didn't often see on Wooyoung. "This is much bigger than you know. Did you not think the man in the fedora in the woods was odd? Or the fact that an hourglass of all things just transported you to a different place?"

"Of course I did, but as soon as I saw you guys, I couldn't be bothered to worry about anything else."

Wooyoung's gaze softened for a moment, your statement pulling at his heartstrings. He missed you so much, probably more than you missed him, however, you've fallen into a world much worse than the one you came from. You didn't know anything about Strictland or the horrible things happening in it.

"The man in the black fedora, we've met him before." Wooyoung finally spoke up. "He came to see Hongjoong."

Your brows pulled together as you processed his words.

"Things were starting to fall apart. Yeosang's parents didn't like that he was dancing, Jongho and Mingi were mad at each other, everything was just crumbling to pieces."

"I remember." You nodded, thinking back on those gloomy times that you tried your best to forget.

"Well, it wasn't long after we kinda split up, Hongjoong was at our old hangout when this man showed up and brought him the Cromer. His face was covered, so Hongjoong didn't recognize him, but he later found out that man was himself."

"What?" You breathed out in disbelief.

How could it be?

"When Hongjoong turned the Cromer, we all came back to the warehouse. We were all together again, but we weren't alone. A fleet of men in white came to attack us. We had to flee and along the way, the Cromer got taken from us. Things have been so crazy since then." He shook his head as he recalled the events that had taken place. "Yeosang... he risked his life for us. We lost him for a while. The android guardians, the men in white, got him and the Cromer we had got broken in order to save us."

"What happened? Yeosang is here, so you obviously succeeded, right?"

"After some time, yes. Yeosang got captured by the androids after tossing the Cromer to Hongjoong. The android threatened to break Yeosang's neck if he didn't get the Cromer, so Hongjoong tossed it over. While Yeosang made his way back over to us, he caught the Cromer and turned it before smashing it on the ground. Hongjoong tried to grab his hand, but he didn't make it."

"So Yeosang was left with those... things?"

Wooyoung nodded, somberly. He admired his friend for risking his life the way he did in order to save them, especially considering the circumstances. However, he hated that something like that even happened in the first place.

"What happened to you guys? Where did you go?"

"The past."

He explained to you that they felt stuck with no Cromer and no way to get Yeosang back. That is, until Seonghwa shared a news article with them about a group going to steal a Mayan relic from a museum—the Cromer.

"So what did you do?"

"We stole it."

You gaped upon hearing this, unable to imagine them doing such a thing.

"Yunho wanted to stay behind because in the past where we were, his brother was still alive."

Your heart ached a little. You knew of Yunho's situation and how dear his brother was to him. You also knew how his death weighed on Yunho and how he carried that grief with him, so you didn't blame him for wanting to stay behind.

"The plan fell through when I tried to get the Cromer from the leader of the group. He had a knife held to my throat and was holding us hostage. That's when Yunho showed up on his motorcycle with his friends and caused a distraction. They helped us make an escape. Unfortunately, the group leader got into a vehicle and chased us, which essentially ended up crashing into the sidewalk."

Your heart sank in your chest as you felt a sense of dread looming over you, being able to assume what happened next.

"Yunho's brother had seen him on TV and left to find him. He was headed to the museum when the crash happened."

A frown pulled at your lips as it clicked into place. Yunho had to experience his brother dying all over again.

"Is he okay?" Your voice came out quieter than you expected.

Wooyoung nodded, which brought you some relief.

"Yunho's brother found his journal and saw where he wrote about him dying. He told Yunho it wasn't his fault and that he needed to move on and stop letting his death hold him back."

"So he got closure."

"He did."

"And what about everyone else?"

"We were able to make a narrow escape and get back to Strictland to save Yeosang."

He told you about the Grimes siblings who had helped them escape their first run in with the android guardians and a man named Left Eye who they were able to recruit, filling you in on everything that had occurred since their disappearance from the dystopian Strictland.

"This place... it's not like our world. It looks the same, but it's not the same—it's much different. The government is trying to control everyone. They're taking away people's biological energy. They have no emotions and there's bans on everything. No art, no music, no singing, nothing. These men in the black fedoras are freedom fighters—guerrillas. They go performing in the streets to help break people from their trances. The people they recruit are part of an underground alliance called The Black Pirates. The men in the black fedoras are us from this dimension and they're the leaders of The Black Pirates. They're rebelling against the government of Strictland and fighting to change things."

"You said the Grimes siblings and Left Eye came with you to the android bunker. Where are they?"

Wooyoung's expression seemed to fall a bit, making you assume the worst.

"When Yeosang was stuck in that glass tube at the abandoned gallery, he saw them. They had gotten their biological energy taken."

You frowned at this even though you'd never met the kids.

"And Left Eye?"

"He lost his right arm, but he made it out."

For some reason, you breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, if the men in the black fedoras are you guys from this dimension, then who was it that left the Cromer for me?"

"It could be any one of us."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but one thing I'm sure of is that he saw purpose in you. You're obviously here for a reason."

"You think so?"

"Yes. He wanted you to find us."

"And I did." You added. "So, now what?"

"You stick with us."

Hearing that sent a tidal wave of relief through you. You'll never allow yourself to be separated from them ever again, especially Wooyoung.

You watched as the rest of the guys moved about the main deck, Jongho and San working to raise a sail. It appeared that they knew what they were doing, most likely having practice over the last few months.

"So are you like, a pirate now?" You asked Wooyoung.

"Sort of." He chuckled. "We've been using this ship to get around. It seems safer this way. Because of that, we've had to learn how to do certain things."

"So, what happens next? Where are you heading?"

"To The Black Pirate's hideout. We sent a Morse code message to Left Eye to let him know we're back and we're ready to fight."

"Fight?"

Wooyoung nodded.

"So, this is a rebellion?"

"A revolution." He responded, his eyes cast upon the horizon where the sun was slowly dipping down into the water. His expression was hard and determined, his brows creased in thought.

This situation was much more serious than you initially thought it was. These boys, your friends who were always smiling when you were together, were willing to fight against these guardian things. They'd changed since you last saw them. Their personalities had been slightly altered from what they once were. Everyone seemed serious and perhaps even more mature.

"You've changed." You commented aloud.

"What do you mean?"

"You've all gotten serious."

"We're just determined to change things, that's all." He responded, his eyes cast down, fixed upon his hands that were clasped together. "Is it bad that I've changed?"

"Well, no. Not necessarily. Considering the circumstances, you all kind of had to grow up and become more mature. I understand, but I'll admit, I was looking forward to seeing all of you happy and smiling. You know, how we used to be when we were all together."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

Wooyoung couldn't help but think about how his personality had changed since coming to Strictland. Had he changed? He wasn't sure.

Perhaps he was still the same Wooyoung and just wasn't in the right circumstances to be as lively and upbeat as he usually was. That's what he liked to think. Even so, did you not like that he had changed? Did it make you feel differently about him?

"Hey!" Mingi's voice cut through the air, catching Wooyoung's attention. "Hongjoong needs everyone in his quarters. We need to discuss some things."

After sharing a brief glance with Wooyoung, the both of you trailed behind Mingi, following him through a doorway that led to a large room. Inside was the rest of your friends, all of them gathered around a table with maps spread across it, the Cromer sitting in the middle.

Hongjoong glanced up at you through a pair of glasses perched on his nose.

"Has Wooyoug caught you up?"

"Yes, he has. I do have a question, though. What happened to the Cromer you stole from the museum?"

The boys shared a look before Hongjoong addressed you with an answer.

"We're not sure. We think it went back to its dimension."

"It just... disappeared?"

"Yes. After we saved Yeosang, we couldn't find it. We know the guardians didn't get it, so we just assumed it went back to its rightful dimension."

The explanation didn't sound quite right to you. How could it have just disappeared? It didn't make any sense. Then again, nothing made sense. An hourglass that allowed you to travel through dimensions? That's wildly illogical, but it's real. The very item is sitting before you and it's already proven it's abilities.

"None of that matters now, though." Seonghwa chimed in. "We have the Cromer now and that's all that matters."

"He's right." Mingi nodded. "Once this is all over with, we have a way to get back."

Get back. Back home. Wooyoung liked the sound of that.

Once everything was back to normal in Strictland, Wooyoung and his friends could return back to the world they came from and things would be better. This time, the group wouldn't split up and he would finally confess to you. He would do everything in his power to make sure you all were happier.

One thing he regretted when first getting brought to Strictland was that he never got to tell you how he truly felt. He was too scared and kept putting it off. One day when I have the guts, I'll tell her. He said that to himself so many times. One day... but one day never came because the group started to drift apart, then they were all brought here to Strictland with no warning—without you.

"Wooyoung told me you're heading for Left Eye's hideout." You mentioned.

"We are." Hongjoong nodded.

"How will you find it?"

"He told us."

"He sent us the coordinates via radio." Yunho told you.

"We'll be safe there." Yeosang mentioned.

"How long have you guys been on the ship?"

"Three days. If my calculations are correct, we have at least one more day of sailing before we get there." Mingi stated.

As night descends upon the ship, the guys decide to drop anchor at a nearby island to rest and make dinner. Turns out, learning how to raise sails and work on a ship wasn't the only thing they learned how to do while sailing.

The fire burned brightly in front of you, the orange glow from the flames flickering across everyone's faces as they sat huddled around it. They'd stocked the ship with plenty of rations and supplies, so you had some decent food to eat as well as plates and silverware to eat with. On top of that, Jongho and Seonghwa had caught some fish for you all to eat that night. Wooyoung was currently cooking said fish over the flames. Yeosang had opted to open a bag of chips stashed on board the ship while he waited for the food to finish cooking. Wooyoung scolded him for doing so, complaining that he always eats while he's cooking and that he'll ruin his appetite.

"You guys have been through so much in such a short amount of time." You commented over the crackling fire. "I can't believe I was off living my life while you were stuck here fighting for your lives."

"It's not your fault." Wooyoung shut you down immediately. "Don't blame yourself, especially for something you couldn't possibly know about."

"Yeah." Mingi spoke up. "It's the worst thing you can do."

You shot Mingi a curious gaze, prompting him to continue.

"Remember that stuff I said about the time we spent together being meaningless?"

You nodded, thinking back on the moment. That was when Jongho threw a punch at Mingi.

"I only said that because I thought I was going to lose my grandma. While I was having fun with all of you, she had collapsed. I blamed myself for not knowing even though there wasn't any way I could have been aware of what was going on. So please don't say stuff like that."

This whole time you thought he truly didn't care about the times you all shared, but it was just him blaming himself for something out of his control.

"You're right." You nodded.

"Come on, guys." Yunho nudged Mingi. "Let's lighten things up."

"Yeah." San grinned. "We've been reunited with Y/n. That should be something to celebrate, right?"

As he glanced around the group, everyone began to nod in agreement. San was right.

It was then that he jumped up and started doing a silly dance to help lighten the mood, which prompted the group's resident dance machine Yunho to do the same. The two began to bust out some dance moves, which made everyone laugh. Yeosang began dancing in his spot on the ground, one hand in the bag of chips he was eating. It didn't take very long for him to finally stand up and start dancing. After taking the fish off the fire, Wooyoung quickly joined the three, all of them doing the same dance move while Yunho sang. You recognized it as the chorus of a popular Korean pop song they used to sing and dance to.

Wooyoung pranced around the fire, the orange glow lighting up his face. You're reminded of all the times the guys had dance practices in the warehouse and the way their eyes glimmered, especially Yeosang's. He loved dancing. He was forced play the violin like his parents wanted him to, but his true passion was dancing. And Wooyoung... he had stage fright, but you were all there to help him get past that. You remembered he once admitted to you that when he got nervous, he thought of you and it helped him calm down. You never forgot that. It stuck with you.

His squeaky laughter fills the air as him, Yunho, Yeosang, and San dance together around the fire, Hongjoong watching with a fond expression.

You're relieved seeing Wooyoung in good spirits, knowing he hasn't lost his spark. He was still the same bright-eyed Wooyoung. The one who wasn't fighting against the government in a different dimension.

Seeing him having fun with the others felt like old times.

"Maybe we could just stay here." You find yourself suggesting before you can stop yourself.

The group goes quiet and the dancing ceases, making you mentally scold yourself for allowing your tongue to slip like that.

"It's too dangerous." Hongjoong said, turning the idea down immediately.

"Yeah. Why would you want to stay in a place like this?" Jongho added.

"I'm sorry. I got caught up in the moment. It's just that we're all having such a good time right now. If we go back, who's to say we won't split up again?" You voiced your concerns aloud.

"We won't split up again." Mingi told you, his gaze sincere. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

"Me too." San agreed.

The rest of the guys began to nod their heads, saying they'd all do whatever it takes to make sure you stick together.

"If we can't stay here, then, why not just leave right now? You have the Cromer. Let's just get out of here." You suggested.

"We can't." Yunho spoke up.

"We have to stay. It's what they want." Seonghwa stated.

"Exactly. We have a job to finish and until that gets done, we have to stay. No matter how long it takes." Hongjoong added.

"I see." You murmured, staring at the flames before you as a long silence settled over the group.

"You know, even though we're in a really bad situation, I feel a lot better knowing you're back with us." Yeosang broke the silence, taking a seat.

"Me too." Wooyoung agreed.

"We should eat before it gets cold." Seonghwa mentioned.

Right. You'd almost forgotten about dinner.

Wooyoung plated the fish and helped serve it while San prepared the side dishes, which were just canned goods.

"I promise we'll eat something better once we get to the hideout." He assured as he spooned out canned corn for everyone.

You didn't mind. In fact, you were grateful none of you had to fend for yourselves and find food out in the wild, besides the fish.

After a somewhat decent meal, you decided to take a walk down the beach, Wooyoung offered to come with and keep you company.

You stuffed your hands in your pockets as you walked along the shore, making sure the water didn't get on your shoes.

"Dinner was terrible, wasn't it?" Wooyoung spoke up.

"Not at all. It was a lot better than I thought it would be."

"That's good to know." He glanced down at his feet, watching them sink into the sand with every step.

A sigh slipped past your parted lips, your hands moving up to run through your hair as you stared out at the ship anchored out in the water.

"I feel like I ruined everything." You admitted suddenly. "I just missed you so much. I though me coming here would be a good thing, but it seems like I just walked into something much bigger than myself."

Wooyoung reached over and grabbed your hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"It is a good thing. You brought the Cromer to us." He offered up a smile. "And I missed you too. In fact, I thought about you more than I'd like to admit."

"You did?"

He nodded. "The day we were all brought back to the warehouse and we found out we weren't in our world anymore, I thought about you. I wondered what would happen to you and how you would react if you never saw us again."

"When you guys disappeared, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what had happened or where you'd gone. It always felt like you had all just vanished, turns out you did." You took in a deep breath. "Even though things are bad here, I'm thankful the man in the fedora gave me the Cromer. If he hadn't, I'd still be wondering where you guys were."

Wooyoung couldn't help but smile. He was overjoyed that you found your way here. However, he cares too much about you and because of that, he didn't want you to get hurt—or worse.

"You should take the Cromer and go back."

His sudden suggestion made you do a double take.

"What? I'm not doing that. You said that fedora guy saw purpose in me and that I'm supposed to be here."

"I know, but..." He trailed off. "What if you get hurt? What if they capture you and your emotions get taken away?"

"I won't. If this gets used, we're using it together." You stared intensely into Wooyoung's eyes, your gaze burning into him in order to convey how serious you were.

You could see his resolve crumble almost immediately as he let out a sigh.

"Alright." He caved. "We'll use it together."

You gave a nod of finality. "Good."

With that, you both made your way back down the shore, returning to the fire, which appeared to have died down a bit while you were gone.

Seonghwa was leaned over on Yunho, both of them looking a bit drowsy. San was stretched across their laps with his eyes closed, appearing to be in the process of dozing off. You couldn't blame them. They've been running, hiding, and fighting nonstop since arriving at Strictland, and after a long day at sea and a nice meal, they're more than likely ready to rest.

Hongjoong stood up, dusting off his pants as he glanced around the group.

"Should we call it a night?"

"Mhm." San hummed, sleepily.

Jongho took it upon himself to put the remains of the fire out as everyone stood up and headed to the small row boats left on the shore, piling in. The boats were rather cramped, because of that, you found yourself sandwiched between Wooyoung and Mingi. Thankfully, the ride was fairly brief, as the ship was anchored just beyond the sandbar.

The members worked to tie the boats to the ship and pull themselves back to the deck.

Wooyoung stepped out of the small vessel and onto the bigger one, extending his hand to you. You took hold and stepped back onto the ship.

"We should figure out sleeping arrangements for Y/n." Yeosang spoke up.

"She can sleep with me." Wooyoung offered almost immediately.

No one argued, they merely nodded their heads and went their separate ways.

The thought of sharing a room with Wooyoung had you feeling a bit nervous, or perhaps you were excited. You weren't sure.

His room was exactly how you would have pictured it: small with a few tiny pieces of furniture and a bed. You knew the rooms would be small, even with your limited knowledge on ships.

"Well, here we are." He gestured before rummaging through the drawers of the tiny bedside dresser. "You take the bed."

"Where will you sleep?"

"The floor."

"Wooyoung, I'm not letting you do that. We can share the bed. I have no problem doing so."

He couldn't find it in him to argue, so he agreed to share the bed with you. It wouldn't be so bad. Wooyoung was a cuddly person anyway... with the members, at least. When it came to you, even though you were close, he found himself being hesitant, not wanting to do anything that would make you uncomfortable.

You were given some clothes to sleep in and a few moments alone to change into them. Once both you and Wooyoung were in your sleepwear, you got in bed. The sheets were rather soft and the comforter brought more warmth than you thought it would. The bed wasn't all that big and barely fit the both of you. Your shoulders were touching, pressed against each other as you both stared at the ceiling.

"Do you have enough room?" Wooyoung asked quietly.

"Not really."

"Maybe we should try something else."

Hesitantly, Wooyoung shifted, turning on his side as he worked to readjust himself.

"Can you roll on your side?" He requested.

You thought nothing of it, nodding and repositioning yourself. It was then that you felt an arm wrap around your midriff, pulling you into a warm, firm chest. An involuntary gasp left you in response. You didn't mean to, but the action surprised you—it also made butterflies erupt in your stomach.

"Is this okay?" Wooyoung asked softly, his voice so close to your ear it gave you chills.

You waited a moment to answer, afraid your voice would give out on you. "Yeah."

It was the only thing you could say.

The ship bobbed with the waves, the vessel creaking every so often as it was moved by the water. You could see the half moon outside through the porthole in Wooyoung's room, a faint beam of moonlight streaming in through the circular window. You found yourself staring at it, trying to distract yourself. Having Wooyoung hold you like this was something you dreamt about for a long time, but now that it's happening, your insides were a mess. You're so very aware of his arm around you and his chest pressed against your back.

Wooyoung had his eyes closed, still unable to believe he made such a bold move. He hoped you couldn't feel his racing heart. Like you, he was struggling to go to sleep, his mind swarming with thoughts and what ifs. He wanted to keep you safe and close, just like right now. If he were to lose you, he didn't know what he would do.

"Y/n?"

"Yes?"

"I have to tell you something."

You turned your head, glancing at him over your shoulder. "What is it?"

"It's really important and I'm afraid if I don't say something now, I won't get to say it later."

A million different things popped into your head at once, your heart jumping in response. The urgency and seriousness in his voice had you on edge. Because of this, your turned around in his hold, moving to face him. The room was dim, the only light in the small space was being provided by the half moon hanging in the night sky outside. Even in the low light, you could see Wooyoung's features, including his nervous eyes.

Sensing his unease, you spoke up, hoping to give him some solace. "Whatever it is you need to say, just say it. Don't overthink it. You know I won't judge."

Wooyoung took in a deep breath, your words bringing him very little comfort, but only because you didn't know he was about to pour his heart out.

"Alright. I'll just say it then. I like you, Y/n."

Your breath hitched slightly upon hearing his sudden confession.

"As in like like?"

"Yes."

This was news to you—big news.

"For how long?"

"Almost since we met."

"I can't believe this." You chuckled softly. "I like you too. In fact, I've liked you for about as long as you've liked me."

"You're joking." He breathed out in disbelief.

"I wish I was."

"I can't believe I waited this long to tell you and you felt the same the whole time." His head dropped as he let out a sigh of exasperation.

You gently put your hand under his chin, lifting his face up.

"At least you said something now. Better late than never, right?"

A small smile tugged at his mouth. "Right."

The room became still after that, a heavy silence hanging in the air, save for the faint creaking of the ship. You could feel Wooyoung's shallow breaths fanning lightly against your cheeks, making you realize just how close you were to him.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes."

The next thing you felt was his lips on yours. His soft, velvety lips, the ones you've always admired and daydreamed about kissing. Now that you were actually experiencing the moment, it doesn't come close to how you imagined it—in fact, your fantasies about kissing him paled in comparison to the real thing.

Wooyoung's hand now rested on your waist, his thumb rubbing up and down in a soothing and loving manner as he kissed you, his head tilting to the side, slotting your mouths closer together. The feelings you were experiencing in the moment were indescribable. Your face was on fire and your body felt like absolute mush as well as your brain. The only thing you could think of was Wooyoung.

Wooyoung, Wooyoung, Wooyoung.

Your hand unconsciously moved towards his hair, twisting your fingers around the dark strands, tugging every once in a while in an attempt to ground yourself. In response, Wooyoung drew you in closer, pulling you by your waist until you were flush against him. This only clouded your mind further.

"Woo." You sighed against his lips.

"Y/n." He responded, sounding just as dazed and out of it as you were.

He pressed his lips firmly against yours once more before you parted ways, both of you left breathless. You huffed out a laugh, dropping your head on his chest, both of you panting in an attempt to catch your breaths.

"Wow." You chuckled.

"Yeah. Wow."

"That kiss gave me so much energy, I feel like I could take those android guardians by myself."

Wooyoung let out a soft laugh in response, holding you closer. You closed your eyes, wrapping your arm around him. Suddenly, the cramped bed felt much more comfortable with you in Wooyoung's arms.

You woke up the next day with a pep in your step. Wooyoung confessing the previous night was quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to you. The kiss you shared still had you reeling as you moved about the deck.

"Morning, Y/n." Yeosang greeted, appearing to hold back a smirk. "You seem chipper."

"You could say that."

"Did something happen last night?" He questioned.

"You could say that."

Yeosang let out a short huff of laughter through his nose. "I knew it. I can see it on your face. He finally let the cat out of the bag, didn't he?"

You nodded shyly, holding back a smile.

It was then that Wooyoung emerged, stepping out of the crew's sleeping quarters and onto the deck. Yeosang gave a glance at him, then you before grinning and walking away.

Your roommate sauntered over to you, his arms sliding around your waist from behind as he rested his chin on your shoulder.

"Morning, love." He hummed, nosing at your neck.

"Morning."

"Did you sleep well?”

"I did."

You fell asleep wrapped in Wooyoung's arms and woke up still snuggled into him. His sleeping face was the first thing you woke up to.

"You hungry?" He asked.

You nodded.

"I'll go start on breakfast. We've got a long day ahead of us. We'll need all the energy we can get."

After a rather large breakfast, everyone was feeling awake and energized. The ship was set to arrive at Left Eye's hideout later in the day and everyone was more than ready to get there. The wind had picked up, so you helped Jongho and Yunho raise the sails a bit higher, pushing the ship forward.

After that, everyone was able to meander about the vessel and wait until you reached land. Mingi sat atop a crate, watching the waves while Seonghwa busied himself by sweeping trash off the deck. Yeosang sat in the rigging with Jongho and Yunho, all three of them pushing each other every once in a while in an attempt to scare one another. San was on the forecastle deck with Hongjoong, you could hear him singing every once in a while, the wind carrying his voice down to the main deck. As for you and Wooyoung, you were both leaned against the wooden railing of the ship watching the horizon.

"Y/n!" Yunho called.

"Yeah?" You shielded your eyes from the sun with your hand as you glanced up at Yunho who was in the rigging.

"Come up here with us."

"Yeah, it's fun." Jongho added with a gummy grin.

"I don't know." You responded, unsure of wether or not you wanted to be on flimsy ropes with the three of them.

"We won't push you. We promise." Yeosang told you, though you didn't really believe him.

"I'll go with you." Wooyoung whispered. "If they harass you, I'll push one of them overboard."

You chuckled at that, moving over to the ropes and joining the three rambunctious boys.

"Hey, Y/n. Watch this." Yunho laughed, letting go of the ropes, allowing himself to fall back, hanging by his legs, which were looped into the rigging.

You squeaked in response.

"I wanna try." Wooyoung spoke up, doing exactly what Yunho had just demonstrated.

"You're both going to give me a heart attack if you keep doing that." You groaned.

They only laughed, swinging their arms with reckless abandon.

You spent your time hanging out on the ropes for quite some time. Thankfully, no one fell and no one was pushed overboard.

San extended the telescope, peering out at the horizon ahead.

"What do you see?" Hongjoong asked from the helm.

"I see land!"

A smile pulled at Hongjoong's lips. "Fellas, we made it! Left Eye's hideout is straight ahead."

The crew erupted in cheers as both happiness and relief washed over the group. Wooyoung and Yeosang were so excited they started shaking the rigging, causing you to clutch onto the ropes in order not to fall.

You were helping to set up large speakers in the streets, Wooyoung, Jongho, and a couple other Black Pirate members, making sure the cords were hooked into the large spherical speaker.

After arriving on land, the group located Left Eye's hideout where you all made plans on how to make a move against the government of Strictland. This plan included setting up speakers in the streets to play music through in hopes that it would help break people from their trances and being back their emotions.

"This one's done." Jongho said. "Let's move on to the next one."

You nodded, following behind the group, pausing when you saw a familiar silhouette in a shaded alleyway. You would have ran had it not been for the black fedora on the shadow's head.

Giving a quick glance towards the group, you turned down the alley, approaching the man. Once you stood before him, you were able to properly look into his eyes. Like his voice, something about them seemed familiar.

"You found them." He stated.

"Who are you?"

The man brought his hand up and slowly pulled down his mask to reveal the face of Wooyoung.

"You..." You trailed off, unable to finish your sentence on account of the shock you were feeling.

"Yes. It was me that brought the Cromer to you. It was also me who took it."

"You took it? I thought you were trapped with the other men in black fedoras. The ones who look like my friends."

"I was. While your friends were saving Yeosang, my group was able to make an escape. We knew what was coming and I made the decision to take the Cromer from your friends when they weren't looking. I brought it to you and you brought it back to them."

"I have so many questions." You shook your head. "How did you find me? And why me?"

"Your Wooyoung had mentioned your name when they found us trapped in the abandoned art museum belonging to the android guardians. He said he wanted to get back to you. Your friends need all the help they can get and so when I escaped, I went in search for you. It was just dumb luck that you were at the warehouse when I arrived."

"You escaped. Did the others get out too?"

He nodded.

"You have to come with me back to the hideout. We need you."

"No." He shook his head. "They mustn't know me and my team made it out."

"But you guys are the ones who started this."

"And you'll finish it."

"What? No—"

"We're watching you all. There's no need to worry. You're doing exceptionally well."

"What if this doesn't work, though? What if it backfires?" You questioned.

"You and your friends will figure something else out."

"Y/n!"

You turned to see Wooyoung standing at the end of the alley.

His shoulders sagged in relief when he spotted you.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I was just talking to..." Your voice faded out when you turned to find the space in front of you empty. The man in the black fedora was gone.

"No one." You added, quietly.

"Well, come on. We've got more speakers to set up."

Giving one last glance at the empty space, you turned and joined Wooyoung, heading down the vacant streets to your next destination.

You almost brought up your brief chat with the man in the black fedora, however, just as you were about to speak, something held you back.

"They mustn't know me and my team made it out."

Your words died on your tongue before they could even come out.

You should do the right thing.

"Were you going to say something, Y/n?" Wooyoung asked.

"No." You shook your head.

He glanced at you for a moment before bringing your hand up to kiss the back of it.

"Come on. Jongho and the others got ahead of us. We need to hurry and get back with them."

"Right." You nodded.

As the two of you went to catch up with the group, you glanced over your shoulder, the man in the black fedora standing idly in the street. He held his hand up, giving you a small wave. You weren't sure if he would see you, but you gave a nod towards him as a way to let him know: "Your secret is safe with me."

Hongjoong ⟡ Seonghwa ⟡ Yunho ⟡ Yeosang ⟡ San ⟡ Mingi ⟡ Jongho

Masterlist ᝰ — enjoyed this imagine? reblogs & comments are very much appreciated!

DO NOT steal, plagiarize, copy, repost, alter, or translate my works in any way

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#wooyoung x reader #jung wooyoung x reader #wooyoung x you #wooyoung x y/n #ateez imagines #ateez pirate au #ateez lore au #ateez lore #ateez oneshot #ateez scenarios #kpop imagines #kpop oneshots #kpop scenarios

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dropthedemiurge · 4 months

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Love for Love's Sake | Things You Didn't Notice #9

(okay it's not an episode number this time i just still have many details to point out oops pls let me go)

I swear. I thought I'd stop mentioning small details because I already wrote like 10 posts on Tumblr translating and explaining all the cultural stuff regarding this show and the obsession is already becoming embarrassing, but I rewatched the last episodes again and I've got tiny. Little. Details. That I can't help but point people to once again. Because damn, the amount of thought put into this show!

(trigger warning: first part talks about suicide and depression, next ones are linguistic and cultural)

The Black Suit & The Sea

I would've asked Koreans I know about the significance of such symbolism but they are celebrating Seollal (New Year) today and I don't wanna ruin the festive mood asking about "how would people dress for suicide" x)

But after watching this scene, I recognized some strong parallels in Korean media depicting depression, suicide and one's decision to end their life. One of it is bridges and jumping (if you don't know what Bridge of Life is, ask me and I'll share, so this post wouldn't become too long) but another one is sea.

My interpretation - Koreans wear black suits to funerals, so if someone is headed to the sea in a black suit, it might mean this is the character's attempt to "have" their own funeral before finally ending their life. Why do I think this combination is somehow significant?

Because I remembered a music video one of K-pop artists I like (Kim Hanbin) made, after he experienced the downfall of career, extreme hate and rejection from the public, and severe depression. His whole album Waterfall tells Hanbin's personal story, dark thoughts and his battle to survive during the time when he was gone for 2 years, but in the music video for this album (illa illa) he is seen emerging from the sea in a black suit – metaphorically regaining his music and, most importantly, desire to live. Watch with lyrics!

youtube

If we think, this is how you depict suicidal thoughts/attempt in Korean media (of course, Love for Love's Sake was even more blunt in telling us the meaning), then Myungha wearing black suit wasn't just for the pretty or dramatic picture. More than that, we see him wearing the black suit for the whole last evening – especially when he goes to finally meet his mother.

Which tells us Myungha has already decided to disappear from this world, and was determined to do it on that day, and his mother rejecting him and pretending she doesn't know her son might not have been just the last straw... but it definitely could've been Myungha's last attempt to find anything in his life worth staying for, worth not going through with his plan.

Anyway, what a scary but beautiful symbolism.

Let's talk about something happier! More heartwarming!

Do you remember when we talked about the carefully placed movie posters in previous episodes? I payed more attention to the background this time when in Episode 8 Yeowoon ran to the cinema searching for Myungha in his world. And what an amazing discovery! When Myungha starts existing again and calls Yeowoon, the movie poster behind Yeowoon says "Guardian" (보호자).

And I already said in another post that Myungha in previous episodes admitted himself being Yeowoon's "guardian, protector" in the exact same word. But now this word is shown next to Yeowoon! As Yeowoon is the one who changed the main mission and has now declared himself Myungha's guardian and protector and will do his best to make him (his favourite pereson/bias/blorbo) happy. They have now both become guardians for each other. This. Goddamn. Show.

And I also want to shout out the VFX & Production team for this show – all the visual effects are very down to earth, gentle and not over the top but enhancing the series to the max. Like, maybe you wondered where on the screen does it say "Monday, August 14" and "Saturday, August 12"? Well, as expected, you see it on four monitor screens above the box office – the date, the ongoing movies (yep, still our favourite two fake movies) and available dates etc.

But when Yeowoon and Myungha agree to meet each other in the exact system time, they are facing each other without a barrier, and the screens are now counting down the time until the Game End. Instead of normally showing movies, like in the previous shot, it says "Time remaining: 3 hours, 23 minutes, 15 seconds". It was either done with VFX or practically, but still, the thought of incorporating system messages into the actual background is insane and I'm always happy to discover such details.

I don't know how many of you have motivational stairs at your schools, we definitely didn't have this but it's quite a popular thing in Korea. They put popular and uplifting sayings for students on each stair, sometimes they even quote motivational phrases from idols, like this:

And it's interesting that when system gets broken and Myungha is about to disappear, we see the deep cracks coming through the stairs, we see ruined school BUT at the same time the quotes in the show are so obviously in our focus. And they are already written (see screenshots above) in Korean and English, but I'll still write down: one is saying "Stay hungry, stay foolish" and "If you dream it, you can do it, you will succeed". So, perhaps... motivational quotes from sunbae?

And the last moment isn't heavy on translation but I still want to talk about it because cool Korean culture!xD You see the gang grilling meat on the roof (it's called samgyeopsal and it's very popular to have for gatherings), and then Myungha makes a "ssam" and feeds it to Yeowoon – but Sangwon steals it.

Ssam is a wrap, you grill meat then put it on the salad leaf, add other ingredients (like mushrooms, sauces, garlic, green onions etc, there are many side dishes) and then you wrap it in this sort of salad sack and eat it. It's very tasty and unusual combination. But the thing is! There is no way to make it for someone else and leave it on their plate so if you make a ssam wrap for someone and want to give it to a person, you literally have to feed them (like Myungha does with a very fond smile). This is why it's often seen as a romantic gesture (aka feeding someone from your fork etc) and why it's hilarious that Sangwon steals this ssam from Yeowoon (because he wants and he gets Myungha's affection and he's not above being a brat about it!)

I'm sure you can already sense it anyway without me telling you about romantic/close-friend implications, but I thought you guys might wonder why are the guys fighting over the salad leaf.

Another funny thing – Sangwon mentions "There's a saying, 'Don't scold dogs while they eat'". This is a Korean proverb "밥 먹을 때는 개도 안 때린다" ("You don't hit even a dog when it eats") which means that, no matter how annoying you find someone, no matter how angry you are, you can't scold this person while they are eating. Eating is a very important cultural thing in Asia, of course, so do not have arguments at the dinner :D But it's funny how Sangwon uses old proverbs to be mischievous and steal Myungha's love without consequences xD I adore him

I swear, this gotta be my last post about all the details in Love for Love's Sake. There is one more scene with the mirror and a caption, and I'm very curious if it means something because it was seen twice, during system breaking down scene as well, but it's either in Chinese or Japanese and I can't read it.

Anyway! Hope you enjoyed your everyday magazine, I love reading all your tags and thoughts and comments, and if you want to read all my previous translations and pointed out cultural details in Love for Love's Sake, go read this tag!=)

#love for love's sake comments #love for love's sake meta #love for love's sake #bl meta #korean drama #korean bl #bl series #love supremacy zone #myungha x yeowoon #tae myungha #dropthemeta #i love hyperfocusing on the show and have amazing community to go insane over it #i love reading all your comments guys #tw suicide #tw depression

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sturniclos · 2 months

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Eternal sunshine has me so fucked upppp rn like thinking ab Luke Castellan and reader that never got their happy ending together.

Pairing: Luke Castellan x reader

Notes/warnings: Angst, eternal sunshine is sooo good go listen, spoilers for the books, looks are described as Charlie Bushnell's Luke Castellan, not really happy ending LMFAOOO, set before and after tlt and tlo, kind of really rushed I was typing this up as I was listening to the album again. unediteddd

track vi. Supernatural

don't want nobody else around me. just need you right here you're like the only thing that I see. it's crystal clear and I I want you to come claim it, I do

When you first arrived at Camp Half-Blood, you hadn’t talked to anyone for a week.

Not intentionally, of course. You did say hi and bye to people in passing, but for some reason you couldn’t muster up the courage to strike a conversation and make some friends. You felt so out of place, and the anxiety of being in such a new place without for family didn’t make it any better.

It didn’t deter 14 year old Luke, who was determined to make sure you felt like you had a place at camp, like many others had for him. He was a little awkward, still not yet realizing the desire to make you happy was a crush.

“No one here’s going to bite, but I’d stay away from the Ares cabin.” Luke lightly jokes, nudging your shoulder as you smile shyly and nod.

“I think I just miss my mom. I’m not used to really being separated from her.” Your eyes threaten to water, knowing you probably wouldn’t be able to see her in order to keep her safe.

Luke’s lip pull into a thin frown, scooting in to rub his hand on your shoulder. His eyes flicker around awkwardly, unable to figure out what to say when you look so pretty, hair flowing while the scent of pine and vanilla fills his senses. “I miss my mom too,” he starts, licking his dry lips as he figured out what to say. “You’re not in this alone, though. We all go through the same things and are all here to support each other…” he trails off, leaning down to look at your face as you lift your head. “…if they let us.”

You smile and look back out to the lake, hiding your blush with your hair as you avoid eye contact, uttering only a small “Thank you.” In response.

Luke doesn’t need anything else out of you, he only smiles triumphantly as he looks out as well, pink dusting his cheeks as he sits in comfortable silence with you.

After a couple weeks of clinging around you, he finally got you to warm up. Not only to him, but to everyone at camp. It wasn’t long until you were happily chatting with other campers, older and younger- beaming at everyone like the sun.

You still find yourself attaching to Luke, opting to spar and continue your never-ending banter. Luke found himself doing the same, ditching cabin checks with Chris to swim with you in the lake, (which he would make up for later by sneaking him an extra dessert).

When you were tasked to start training younger campers, you were 16 and Luke was 17, both of you on your way to become Camp counselors for the year-rounders.

Luke always looks to pick you as an example while training, cheekily smiling as you both demonstrate a hand-to-hand match, his breath hitching at how gracefully you move as you fight. Fluid, calm, quick, you deal blow after blow while effortlessly blocking and evading attacks, maneuvering around him to knock him to the ground in one swift movement.

He knows he’s done for as he stares up at you, chest heaving up and down as you sit on his back, looking down at him teasingly. The sun shines on your face, a sheen of sweat covering your forehead as you bring out your hand to help him back up.

Your lips are moving, slightly chapped from your heavy breathing, but he’s not listening- absorbed in the way your lashes flutter and how your cheeks are a bit rosy from sparring.

“…Castellan?” You ask confused, waving your hand in front of his face as you try to bring him back to earth.

He blinks once, twice, before shaking his head, “Huh?”

“The kids… they’re waiting to be instructed, they paired up already.” You say, gesturing to the campers surrounding you.

He nods and chuckles awkwardly as he turns to everyone, instructing what to do and circles each pair, correcting stances and giving advice. You watch on the sideline, enjoying the way his brows furrow in focus and how his arms look when he slightly flexes (which you suspect he might’ve caught on to.), warmth blossoming across your chest as he happily high fives one of the younger boys.

Luke makes his way back to you, like he always does, picking out a stray pine needle from your hair as you put away your sword. You turn and help him unbuckle the shoulders of his armor, smiling at him as you switch to the other.

His heartbeat quickens as he continues to watch you fiddling with the buckle, fighting the consuming urge to kiss you, instead settling for placing his hand casually on your hip. He doesn’t miss the way your eyes flicker to his, your lips twitching into a small smile at the intimacy.

You take off his helmet, ruffling his hair and pulling sections out to fluff it out, “I don’t know if we can save the helmet hair today, Castellan.”

He laughs and pulls you in to roughly ruffle your hair, “Guess you’ll have to have it with me then.”

track xii. imperfect for you

and usually, I’m fucked up, anxious, too much but I’ll love you like you need me to imperfect for you

Luke wasn’t the same after his quest.

It was evident the second he came back, barely speaking to anyone, sparring with more aggression, and sleeping in more as the days go by. The stinging scar on his face was a painful, physical reminder of his failure- the pitiful gazes that would follow him humiliated him even further.

You, however, remained the same as ever. A constant in Luke’s life, always lingering and always ahead to encourage him to do better.

“I brought you food, they let me borrow the kitchen and make strawberry tarts.” You gently sit the plate on the small stool that Luke used as a bedside table, sitting next to his laying body, his back facing away from you.

He doesn’t respond, attempting to continue pretending to be asleep. You roll your eyes and lightly shake his shoulder, squeezing him softly as if to reassure him. With no response, you sigh and leave the cabin, uttering a small “love you.” As you close the door.

Anyone at camp could tell you how moody Luke was after he got back, flipping from being his normal self to being distant, snippy and irritable. It was hard to be able to go back to how it was before, not without the guilt of failing his quest hovering over him.

You still stand by his side, holding out your hand to delicately hold his as you tell him it’s okay, that you’re there for him.

He hasn’t been kind to you either- trying his best to push you away whether it’s through ignoring you or snapping at you like he does with the other campers. Despite his behavior, you stick by him, uttering words of reassurance as he cries into your shoulder, arms wrapped around your middle as you stand next to where he sits on the log. You play with his curls, massaging his scalp as you calm him down.

“I’m sorry I-" Luke stutters as he inhales several times, struggling to breathe through his tears, “I’m sorry I can’t figure myself out. I don’t mean to-.”

You take his chin and lift his head to face you, wiping away his tears as you look into his eyes. He takes in more sharp, jagged breaths, blinking away the rest of his tears as you rub your thumbs along his jaw.

“You don’t have to apologize. I’m not going anywhere, I have patience.” You giggle as you kiss him on the forehead. “You could never hurt me, Luke."

Luke hiccups as you ghost your hand over his scar, clutching your shirt as you rest your forehead against his.

track x. we can't be friends (wait for your love)

cause' I don't wanna argue, but I don't wanna bite my tongue, yeah I think I'd rather die

The gravel crunches behind you, but you don't turn to look to see who it is. There's only one other person that would know where you were.

Luke sits by you, resting his elbows on his knees as he looks at you avoid his gaze.

Your eyes are glued onto the lake, knowing that if you look at Luke you won't be able to stand your ground. You should've attacked him for even coming back to camp, for having the audacity to even show his face at your spot.

The moonlight illuminates the water beautifully, the reflections of light giving a starry glow. You turn to the right to see Luke, eyes as adoring as you've known them. His scar catches the light perfectly, softly highlighted on the tip of his cheekbone. Luke gives you a soft smile, eyes flickering down to your lips before looking at you again.

"I had to do it for us. Kronos has a vision- a golden age where we won't need to be controlled by our parents. We'd be free from our parents." Luke talks eagerly, leaning in and eyes begging for you to hear him out.

You shake your head firmly, getting up while waving your hands in the air in dismissal, "Kronos, doesn't care about us Luke, we shouldn't need some golden age to be happy."

"Helping Kronos gives us immunity- we'll be protected, safe, together."

"I don't want immunity or a new age, Luke. No one is going to be protected, especially not by Kronos."

Luke gets up to grab your wrist, turning you to face him, and you curse yourself for the familiar warmth in your chest spreading at the sight of his eyes. He knows there's no convincing you about the morals- he knew a loss when he saw one.

He pleads softly, voice breaking as he holds your waist. "I'm leaving tomorrow. Come with me, please." His fingers clutch at your shirt, reminding you of the night you comforted him after his quest.

You shake your head in response, tears spilling over as you wrap your arms around his neck, sobbing into his chest. Luke delicately wraps his arms around your waist, hands ghosting underneath your shirt so he could rub your back as you sniffled.

"You know I can't." You wipe your tears away as you look up at him one last time, sinking in every detail. The moles on his face, his kind eyes, the scar that reaches from his cheekbone to jaw, and his lips.

Luke kisses you deeply, grasping your hair and holding you close to him by your waist with the other hand. You cup his face in return, slowly moving your hands to his shoulders as you break the kiss.

He smiles at you again before grabbing his necklace in his pocket and putting it in your hand, closing your fingers over it before taking step back. Subconsciously, you lean towards him, still not ready to say goodbye.

Luke picks up Backbiter, swiftly slashing in front of him to open a portal. He looks back at you once before walking through, leaving you alone at the lake.

track i. intro (end of the world)

if the sun refused to shine baby, would I still be your lover? would you want me there? if the moon went dark tonight and if it all ended tomorow would I be the one on your mind?

Your piercing scream is all Luke can hear as he stabs himself.

There was truly no other option, and you knew that, but it didn't hurt any less as Luke drops to his knees with a fucking smile.

You run towards him, stumbling over your feet as you land next to him, grabbing him as you sobbed, cradling his face and stroking his hair.

Luke can't find himself to be sad, not when you still look so gorgeous, cheeks tearstained and covered in sweat and grime from battle. Even in death- you're the only thing that he sees.

"Don't cry, don't cry." Luke weakly smiles at you as he lifts up his hand to hold your face. "Just smile for me one more time sunshine."

You laugh at him, unsurprised at his ability to remain serious even in the most tragic of moments. Tears spill over and stream down to your neck, but you smile softly at him, nonetheless. Luke closes his eyes and takes his last breath in your arms, engulfed by your warmth.

#Percy Jackson and the Lightning thief #Luke Castellan #Luke Castellan x reader

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serendipnpipity · 3 months

Text

Listening Trends in All or Nothing

(scroll down for poll!)

There's an interesting pattern throughout All or Nothing's listening data:

At first glance, the number of listens decreases consistently as we go down the tracklist, with the notable exception of a certain Track #14. This led me to plot the data to examine the strength of the correlation.

(give it up for "It Hits Different", the favorite child of the second half)

Anyway, notice that little note up top that says R^2 = 0.831? That's our friend R-squared, which tells us how much of the variation between # of listens is explained by the relationship between listens and track #. More about that here if you're wondering bc god knows I didn't explain that as well as it needed to be. Basically, the higher the R-squared value, the more we can trust that the relationship between the two variables means something! We should note now that R-squared values range from 0 to 1, so with our R-squared value of 0.831, that's pretty high. That means 83.1% of the variation in listening can be explained by this relationship we see between listens and track.

That's all well and good but, Ser, why do we care about the listening/track relationship in the first place?

I initially hoped the listening numbers would give me a clue on which track was the most popular, but this pattern got me wondering about something else. We've all got listening styles, whether that's popping an album on shuffle, carefully selecting favorites, burning one song into your brain at a time (guilty), or simply listening all the way through in order. From this pattern, I hypothesize the "in order" option could be the most popular, but many other variables could be at play.

A DanAndPhilBEATS listener survey might shine a little light on the subject, though, and that's where you come in! So, tell me...

#dan and phil #dnp #either people listen all the way through OR they listen to the first five tracks and then start dropping after that is what i'm guessing #obvious favorite child It Hits Different is hilarious though. actually surprised it's not higher up there?#data analyst phannies i get you now. this is really addicting.#i watched khan academy for this?? just to double check on the r2 thing #dnpbeats #ser shares #ser does statistics #ser does stats

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ladykailitha · 7 months

Text

Royal Pain Part 26

Hello, and we have got to the end of the massive arc that culminated the last four chapters.

I also wrote this part before 24 and 25 because I couldn't figure out how to write Eddie having a hard time on tour, but the aftermath flowed from my fingers.

Also as a reminder this story is finished, I'm just posting on a regular schedule. This story is the longest fanfic I've ever written. Topping out at 58165 it's definitely longer than 50K fic I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year (Sandman, never finished or published.)

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4 Pt 5 Pt 6 Pt 7 Pt 8 Pt 9 Pt 10 Pt 11 Pt 12 Pt 13 Pt 14 Pt 15 Pt 16 Pt 17 Pt 18 Pt 19 Pt 20 Pt 21 Meta Pt 22 Pt 23 Pt 24 Pt 25

****

“You’ve been sitting on that sofa for an entire week,” Wayne growled. “Steve has called three times, your bandmates at least a dozen times each. Hell, boy Miranda has been calling concerned. So want to tell me what’s fucking got you so twisted?”

“I was given a choice out there on the road,” Eddie said, twisting his rings around his fingers. “Stay in Indy and play small time gigs for the rest of my adult life or go to LA and get an album and the chance at super stardom.”

Wayne sat down next him. “Sounds like a big decision to make.”

Eddie leapt to his feet. “That’s the problem. That’s what makes me so angry how fucking easy the choice is.”

Wayne cocked his head to the side. “Sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate again, boy. Start talking.”

Eddie started pacing back and forth. “As much as I loved playing for so many people, I didn’t like that I could only connect with a handful of them and not even the good kind.” He rubbed his chin angrily. “I didn’t like how tired we all were. It was set up, sound check, play, break down and move on to the next fucking town. And that wasn’t including all the parties, interviews, and all that other shit.”

“That does sound exhausting, Ed.”

“I didn’t like how easy it was for them to tell me to drop Gareth as drummer just because he had trouble adjusting to the increased volume. The price of fame they said. Like it was so simple to throw away almost two decades of friendship for the sake of adoring crowds and hearing our music on the radio.”

“Oh, darlin’,” Wayne said softly. “They didn’t...”

“Oh they absolutely did,” Eddie raged. “I didn’t like how they thought that because me and Steve’s relationship was new that I would be able to find someone better. Someone who liked metal, someone who would be down for the ride.”

Wayne furrowed his brow. “That doesn’t sound like good advice.”

Eddie grabbed his hair pulled at it frustration. “The last straw was when they offered to let their tattooist to finish my back tattoo, because while my artist was good, theirs was better.”

He stopped abruptly and turned to face Wayne. “I picked Steve to do my tattoo on my back because he was the only one I trusted to make it meaningful. To understand the symbolism of making something of yourself when everyone is rooting against you. I made the decision before I fell in love with him and now that we’re a couple– and for them to just dismiss him like that? It made me so angry.”

“So what’s the problem? What’s got you so twisted around the bend?”

Eddie took a deep breath and let it out slow. “I’m fucking furious because I always thought that when fame and fortune came knocking I would throw open that door and march right through it. But now? Given the choice? I’m slamming the door in its face and walking away.”

Hot tears ran down his face. “And I don’t know why.”

He dropped to his knees and began to sob.

Wayne stood up and put his arms around his nephew’s shoulders, gently pulling him to his chest.

“Did that band you were traveling with say that?” he whispered into Eddie’s curls. “Because if they did, I swear to god I will burn every record and CD you have of theirs. Don’t think I won’t. I’ll delete them off your phone too.”

Eddie chuckled weakly. “No, no. They were kind. It was everyone else we met. Agents, managers, roadies, groupies, the people around Metallica every day.”

Wayne nodded.

“I was just constantly bombarded with hateful messages and the constant running at one hundred percent...” he whimpered. “I don’t want to do it.”

“Have you told your band that?” Wayne asked.

Eddie shook his head. “I don’t dare to. I was the one that was gung ho about the touring and everything. How do I tell them I don’t want to leave the comfort of Indianapolis and home?”

“Kinda like that,” Jeff said from the doorway. His arms were crossed and he was leaning against the frame. Peaking around him was Miranda with a concerned look on her face.

Eddie scrambled to his feet and wrapped his arms around his waist. “I’m sorry I’ve been a brat.”

Jeff took three giant steps forward and hugged him fiercely. “You’re not being a brat. You’re scared and trying to figure it all out on your own, but you don’t have to, okay? We’ve all been worried sick about you. But Steve especially. I’ll call all the boys down for a chat and you call Steve, okay?”

Eddie nodded.

He dialed the number he knew by heart.

“Baby?” he asked, unsure of the reaction he was going to get. He deserved to be yelled at. Cursed at. Broken up with. He’d hurt Steve the most with this little temper tantrum he’d been having.

“Eds?” Steve breathed. “Sunshine, are you okay? Wayne said you hadn’t been eating well or sleeping much. Say the word and I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

Eddie’s lip began to quiver and tears spilled out of his eyes. “I need you. More than anything.”

“I’m on my way,” Steve said fiercely.

Eddie looked over at Jeff.

“Tell Steve Brian will swing by and pick him up.”

Eddie nodded and relayed the message back to Steve.

“I’ll be at my apartment,” Steve said. “I’ll have Robin arrange my schedule, don’t you worry about thing, baby.”

“Mm’k.”

“I love you, Eds.”

Eddie closed his eyes and breathed in the warmth of that simple phrase. “Love you, too, pretty boy. Come quick.”

“I promise.”

Steve piled into Brian’s car. It was the newest, having bought it right before they got picked up by Metallica. He had finally saved up enough money to replace his beater.

Gareth and Gethin in the backseat. Gethin had come up to Indy to watch his twin’s apartment while he was gone and just ended up staying. He was currently looking for a job so that he could move in with Gareth full time.

At least that what they said on the trip down. The twins and Brian were intent on filling the air with talk and Steve let them. He let them fill him in on the tour and everything that had been going on since they’d left.

Steve couldn’t be for certain, but it sounded like that touring hadn’t been fun for anyone. Even after a week of rest, he could still make out the circles under their eyes and how hunched over they were with just sheer exhaustion.

A feeling Steve felt all too well.

Gethin was pressed against his twin’s side and was rubbing his neck soothingly.

Steve looked at Brian.

His face was set, hard and unflinching. He was going to make the drive to Hawkins as fast as he could and still avoid the cops.

Steve was grateful Brian was driving because he didn’t think he would have made the distinction to avoid breaking the law. He would have gunned it and flipped off any cop that tried to catch him.

After awhile, Steve was getting the oddest feeling that Brian was used to speeding down this stretch of highway because there were points where he would slow down for a few miles and then speed right back up.

Soon enough they were pulling up to Wayne’s trailer and piling out the car.

Eddie sat on the sofa with Jeff and Miranda on either side of him, just hugging him.

Wayne was busying himself in the kitchen, getting ready to feed the hoard that was about to descend on his home.

The door opened up and Brian, Gareth, and Gethin all stumbled through the entryway. Eddie was on his feet in an instant, Jeff and Miranda not far behind.

And then the trio at the door parted and there stood Steve. Looking just as tired and worn as Eddie felt.

“Stevie?” Eddie asked, taking a step toward him uncertainly.

Steve threw open his arms and Eddie ran straight into them. They wrapped their arms around each other and just sobbed.

“I’m here, Eds,” Steve murmured into Eddie’s neck. “I’m here. I love you so much.”

Eddie lifted his head and kissed him hard. “I love you, too. I regret leaving you behind, sweetheart. It nearly killed me. Every song I wrote was about you. About missing you. I don’t even want to leave you ever again, I can’t.”

The silence that followed that statement was deafening.

Steve led Eddie back over to couch and sat them both down. “Tell us everything, babe.”

And so Eddie did. He told them everything. Everything he had told Wayne, everything that had been weighing on his mind since they started touring. It all just came out in a flood.

They all listened patiently.

“Why didn’t you tell us you felt like that while we were on the road?” Gareth asked. “I knew what they were saying about me, but I also knew you guys wouldn’t drop me. If you had me about that I would have been able to reassure you that I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

Eddie flushed with embarrassment. “I didn’t know how to bring it up, it was so vile, man.”

Jeff gave his hand a squeeze. “Well, I think that you did a bang up job telling us now and that’s what really matters.”

“Someone offered to ship me out to LA and record an album,” Eddie finally admitted. “Not the band, just me. I told him that I wouldn’t go without you guys and he laughed in my face. Told me to cut the dead weight and be a star.” He dragged his hands over his face.

“But there were other offers. Good ones. Ones that included the band, well most of it, anyway. Always under the proviso that Gareth be replaced either on tour or all together. They didn’t want to make any accommodations for him even though there is a drummer with one god damn arm!”

“So the options are,” Brian said, “stay in Indy doing what we’ve been doing, only better because of the money we got for doing this tour. Go to LA without Gareth. Go to LA with Gareth but only as a studio musician and take some person we don’t know on tour with us. Does that sound about right?”

Just then Gareth’s phone went off. He looked at it with a frown. It wasn’t a number recognized so he let it go to voicemail. He pulled it up after the notification popped up.

He listened to message with wide eyes. “Hey guys, I think we have another option.” And he played the message so everyone could hear.

“Hey, Mr Hughes,” the tinny voice said through the speaker. “This is Murray Bauman, I’m music producer, we spoke in Las Vegas. I think I have the perfect deal for you boys. You were telling me that touring was really hard on you and that if there was an option you wouldn’t do that. I know you weren’t speaking for all your band, but I could tell that they would do anything for you, all four of you being such good friends.

“So the reason for this call is that I own a small music company in Bloomington and boy do I have a deal for you all. You would make a record through us, we would sell and distribute the record, keeping a portion of the sales, of course. But you wouldn’t have to tour. You have a steady gig as I understand it. If your fans want to see you play, they’ll know where to find you.

“But give me a call, we’ll hash out the details. My phone number is 555-555-2080...” and then message beeped, signaling the end of the voicemail.

Eddie looked down at the phone and then back up at Gareth. “Oh.”

Gareth grinned. “We don’t even have to take his offer, but I vote we listen to it. Brian can bring Cecil.”

Brian nodded. “He’s only got a semester left of law school, but I’ll have him brush up on his contract law to be on the safe side.”

Jeff raised his hand. “All in favor of hearing Mr Bauman out raise your hand?”

Eddie, Brian, and Gareth’s hands shot up.

“Sounds good,” Jeff said. “You call him back and set it up and if it doesn’t work out we can vote again.”

Brian shook his head. “Nah. I think if it doesn’t work, we stick to Nightmare Holes. We took a swing at it and if it’s a miss then we tried. I thought I wanted the touring and everything that came with stardom, but like Eddie I learned I wanted the romanticized version of it. I’ll be happy playing in front of our friends for the rest of our lives.”

The rest of the band nodded.

Soon everyone getting up to go back to Indy, but Steve stayed behind, he would go back up with Eddie in the morning. They had things to discuss that went deeper then the band.

****

Part 27 Part 28 Epilogue

I told you I would fix it.

Also a little BTS, the reason in my head for why things went wrong on tour but immediately righted itself when Eddie and Steve met up again? Steve still has Eddie's lucky pick. ;)

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk @bookworm0690 @chaosgremlinmunson @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @thedragonsaunt @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @justforthedead89 @emly03 @aizawa-emma @yikes-a-bee @redfreckledwolf @thesuninyaface @bookbinderbitch @archermightbegay @littlewildflowerkitten @scheodingers-muppet @hallucinatedjosten @ellietheasexylibrarian @anne-bennett-cosplayer @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @bestwifehaver @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @oldwitcheshat @nightmareglitter @tinyplanet95 @novelnovella @jonesn4coffee @slowandsteddie @awkwardgravity1 @steaddie-on

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #tattoo artist steve

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