#whom I would have clicked on 'follow' just two posts earlier

[takaraphoenix]

It’s not like you’re contractually obligated to read every single post in a tag.

But, I don’t know, if you feel like screenshotting it to post and complain that going through the tag is a hassle in a manner that suggests the post is inappropriately crosstagged, maybe you should read it, after all.

Or just, like a normal fucking person, scroll past posts that are too long for you to engage with and move on with your life instead of screenshotting them to complain. I mean what the fuck.

[minarisplaything]

The Producer - PART THREE

pairing: Chaeyoung (Fromis9) x M!OC / Jiwon x M!OC rating: explicit word count: 4.2k summary: After introducing himself to the girls, the Producer has a run in take place in the bathroom with two trainees who want to make a good first impression before anyone else. PART 1, PART 2 tags: double blowjob a/n: apologies for two bathroom fics in a row. this one was just the next fic i had completed so i figured f*ck it let's just post it.

"What a day."

With a sigh you collapsed into the couch, conveniently situated in your office. Your uncle, or whoever he had intended on this being for, clearly had a taste for leisure. But right now you didn't want to think about that. Not your uncle. Not the job. Having just gotten out of your first meeting with the girls you would be put in charge of you really wanted nothing more than to just close your eyes and let your mind go blank.

Of course, that was easier said than done. As you let your mind drift, you inevitably found yourself thinking back to the meeting that had taken place only earlier that same day.

[EARLIER THAT DAY]

The way down to the training room was perhaps some of the most nerve wracking of your entire life. If you thought this morning had been stressful it was nothing compared to what was currently racing through your mind. All you kept seeing was images of Yewon writhing against your thigh and Jessica's voice echoing in your ear. Now, in just a few moments, you'd be seeing her as part of the line-up of trainees.

It's fine, you thought to yourself. She probably hasn't told anyone else. Hopefully not anyway. God, I am fucked.

The worst part of it was that despite your internal dread, the mental imagery still turned you on. In fact, one of the many rogue thoughts wandering around in your head was the fact that you wished you could have gone further with her. The shock of learning that Yewon was a trainee had effectively killed any erection you had at the time but it didn't change the fact that you were extremely pent up right now.

With a sigh you did your best to push those thoughts aside as you arrived at the door as Jessica emerged from the practice room.

"Alright," Jessica said, emerging from the room, "I've prepared them for you. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm ready."

"Are you sure about that? You look like you've seen a ghost," she offered you a sympathetic look.

If only she had any idea of the truth she wouldn't be asking that question. Honestly, at this moment you envied Jessica's ability to compartmentalize things. Maybe you'd ask for tips on it the next time the two of you went out for drinks. Assuming there was a next time.

"Is it that obvious?" you asked.

She pressed her lips together and gave you a nod. Jessica walked over towards you, her heels clicking on the floor. She reached out, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder, "Remember, they are just as intimidated to meet you as you are them. Maybe even more so. "

"I don't know about that," you muttered.

"Just remember, you can walk away from this before it even begins. For them, this is their whole lives."

"Was that meant to make me feel less nervous?"

Jessica grinned, a twinkle in her eye, "Just trying to give you some perspective. Now come on."

Unable to delay the issue any further, you followed Jessica into the practice room, fingers digging into your palm.

The room itself was quite spacious. Like much of the rest of the building, it was clear that your uncle had spent recklessly investing in this endeavor. At least from a financial perspective. Bright ceiling lights illuminated the room while a mirror that ran the full length of the back wall ensured there would be no lack of reflections. There was an argument to be made that if one were going to splurge on any one room, this was the one worth the investment. Aside from the decor of the room, your eyes were immediately drawn to the lineup of fifteen women standing at attention. One of whom was a familiar face who was avoiding your gaze, her cheeks flushed bright red.

Immediately, you felt the nerves start to creep back into your mind. You looked away from the beautiful lineup and glanced to the corner to see Jinyoung standing there with a clipboard. Something about seeing him made you feel a little more relaxed. After all, he didn’t seem bothered at all.

He probably didn’t have one of his employees grinding on his thigh only a few hours earlier, a rogue thought whispered.

"Everyone," she started, "This is Mr. Park, he's the nephew of our CEO and he might be working with us soon."

A resounding "Hello" reached your ears, causing you to smile just a bit.

You could already feel your cheeks burning with embarrassment. You had to resist the urge to tell them that they didn’t have to be so formal in their greeting. You were a nobody as far as you were concerned. Barely qualified for the job. But you swallowed down that self-deprecation and offered a small smile and wave in response. You could already feel their eyes on you, judging you. Were they surprised you were so young? Maybe they were expecting your uncle or someone older? You noticed a few of the trainees started whispering to each other and tried not to get too paranoid about it.

Once she was satisfied, Jessica continued, "I'll let him introduce himself and we can go from there."

She looked over, metaphorically turning the floor over to you. Moment of truth. You cleared your throat, adjusting your tie once again in the process.

"Ah – right. Good morning, ladies. It's a pleasure to meet all of you and I look forward to working with you all. I hope we have much success in the near future.”

When you stopped, Jessica elbowed you in the side. You looked at her, brow furrowed, before she gestured for you to continue speaking. You suppose it was a bit of a robotic and corporate introduction, but you were just trying to be formal! What did she expect you to say when you hadn’t even taken on the job!

“I, uh, I know nothing has been made official yet but I’ve gotten to know some of you,” a brief glance at Yewon who immediately looked away. You cleared your throat and attempted to focus on your speech, “...through your files and what Ms. Jung has told me. I just have to say I’m looking forward to seeing what you all have to offer.”

You paused for a moment, considering how honest you wanted to be with them. Was it more beneficial to be honest with how green you were in this field, or should you fake it as long as possible? Considering you held their futures in your hands, being upfront felt like the best option.

“Truthfully…this is my first time working on something of this scale. I know some of you have experience at other labels or have been at this for a long time trying to achieve your dream so…I want us all to work on this together to succeed. My door is always open.”

They gave a short round of applause, and you couldn’t help but wonder if it had been genuinely encouraging or if they were just being polite. You supposed both options could be true. You looked over to Jessica and were surprised to see a small smile on her features. That meant you did good…right?

You looked over at the ladies, trying to read their reactions when you found yourself locking eyes with one of the shorter members in the lineup. Park Jiwon, if your memory serves right. What was more was that you found her eyes looking back. Your gazes locked for a long moment, and you almost felt like you were imagining things when you saw her eyebrow cock and her bottom lip get pulled between her teeth.

Fuck.

After what had happened with Yewon had left you high and dry, you could feel yourself getting turned on by the mere thought of shoving your cock between her pretty lips. This wasn’t good. You averted your gaze only to find yourself meeting Yewon’s gaze. Immediately, her cheeks reddened and she looked away from you, her thighs pressed together tightly. Was she having the same thoughts as you? Fucking hell, at this rate you’d be fantasizing about half the members on the team you were arranging. And the worst part was you didn’t find yourself hating that idea.

“Do you mind if we take a brief break?” you whispered to Jessica.

She gave you a bemused look, eyebrow arching, “Need to use the little boy’s room?”

“Something like that.”

Jessica chuckled and nodded her head towards the door, “Down the hall and to the right.”

You gave a small nod of appreciation. As you shuffled out of the room you heard Jessica telling the girls we’d be taking a break. Hopefully, this would give a chance for all the tension in the room to have a breather.

You splashed water on your face and looked into the mirror. You were undoubtedly having a moment of second thought. Just when you thought you had conquered the anxiety of taking on a post like this. Except this time the reasoning had nothing to do with performance fears. At least not of that sort.

“What have I gotten myself into,” you muttered.

Maybe you could get a chance to talk to Yewon privately. Clothed and keeping your hands to yourself this time. You could clear the air and move forward like nothing had happened…Even as you looked at your own reflection you were unconvinced by that line of thought.

Getting Jessica’s advice on the matter didn’t seem worth the risk. Especially considering that you still didn’t know what exactly your relationship with her was after the other night. Honestly, she seemed more likely to get upset for business reasons than jealousy but neither option seemed worth the risk.

As you wrestled with your own thoughts you were faintly aware of the sound of the bathroom door opening.

“Jinyoung, tell Jess I’ll be back in a minute,” you said, not paying any mind.

“I can tell her for you, PD-nim. Though I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

Immediately the color drained from your face.

You had assumed it was Jinyoung entering because frankly, you didn’t know of any other men that worked at the company. Therefore one could only imagine the expression on your face when a feminine voice reached your ears instead. Your head snapped to the side to see two familiar faces looking back at you. Familiar because you had only just been introducing yourself to them moments earlier. One was the girl whose gaze you had met, Park Jiwon. The other, a taller trainee, was Lee Chaeyoung. A name you remembered just from her height standing out on her file that Jess had shown you.

“Girls,” you stammered, straightening, “What are you doing in here?”

Chaeyoung turned, locking the door behind you as Jiwon took a step towards you, looking up at you as her hands were laced behind her back.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Chaeyoung responded.

Your cock jumped, imagining what she could be referring to. Still, you decided the safer route was to play naive and let them lead you to the answer. “I’m not sure it is…”

“We’re here to give you a proper welcome to the company,” Jiwon stated directly.

She came to a stop in front of you and Chaeyoung soon stood next to her. They were gorgeous, there was no doubt about that, and they currently had you cornered against the sink. You swallowed thickly, wetting your bottom lip with your tongue as your gaze darted between the two women.

“Is that right?”

They nodded simultaneously.

“You know…” started Jiwon, her hand moving to the button of your pants, “Yewon’s face turned red as an apple when she saw you enter the room. I wonder why that was.”

Chaeyoung grinned as she perched herself on your shoulder, her lips brushing against the shell of your ear as she spoke, “We had her do a lap around the building with a vibrator slipped inside of her.”

You could feel my own cheeks start to redden at that revelation. No wonder she had been practically begging for any kind of touch. How long had she been in that state before you found her? Clearly long enough that she was willing to find relief on your thigh.

As you considered the implications of her words, Chaeyoung’s hand moved to join Jiwon’s as the button to your pants came undone. Her fingers slipped inside, easily cupping your growing bulge over your underwear. Her fingers massaged it, only causing your cock to stiffen further. In turn, she gave a throaty laugh and smiled at Jiwon who mirrored her actions with her own hand.

"He doesn't seem surprised to hear that," Chaeyoung continued, her breath hot against your ear as their hands stroked your cock.

"I think I know why. You know Yewon's face was so red when she came back it made me wonder why," Jiwon chimed in. She looked up at you, biting her bottom lip as her eyes held mischievous intent. “I think it’s because she had more stimulation than just that vibrator.”

“Did she have this?” Chaeyoung whispered, giving your length a firm squeeze.

“N-no,” you managed. However, lying at this point seemed fruitless. They had you cornered and you were already letting Chaeyoung jerk you off with her long fingers. What harm could the confession do at this point? “...It was my thigh. She rode my thigh. But I didn’t know…”

“Oh my god,” Jiwon laughed, “That little slut. I didn’t think she had something like that in her. Just wait until the others hear.”

You stumbled a bit, gripping the sink as Chaeyoung continued rubbing your cock. It was a bizarre experience; trying to hold a conversation with Jiwon while her taller accomplice nibbled at your earlobe and stroked your cock. All while your whole career was only a few feet away outside of the bathroom door.

“You can’t,” you muttered. “You can’t tell anyone.”

“Is it our secret, PD-nim? What else are we going to keep secret?” Chaeyoung teased.

“You know if we had more time we could really have fun,” Jiwon said, “Is he close, Chae?”

“From the way he keeps throbbing in my hand and the look on his face I’d say yes.”

You felt Jiwon’s eyes turn to you and instantly knew she was up to no good, “Ladies…”

“We have to be the first ones. Before anyone else hooks their claws into him.”

Before you could protest or even ask what she was talking about, Jiwon’s hands were grabbing the waistband of your pants and boxers. She yanked them down your thighs, fully exposing the sight of Chaeyoung’s hand wrapped around your cock. There was no denying it now. In fact seeing it only turned you on further. Not to mention the taller girl had been right: you were practically ready to burst. The physical touch combined with her teasing and the memory of what had happened with Yewon; it was all too much.

You watched as the two trainees slid to their knees on the tiled bathroom floor. Together they began tag-teaming your cock, taking turns letting their tongues run over the swollen head and engorged shaft like it was their favorite lollipop.

“Fuck, ladies, we really shouldn't...” you moaned. A pathetic last attempt at the righteous choice.

Both girls looked up at you with their pretty eyes and grinned. It was clear they were enjoying this; listening to you fight with your morals while refusing to push them away.

Jiwon pulled back, looking up at you with wide eyes and pouting lips, "Should we head back to the practice room?"

The sincerity of her question was undermined by the fact that Chaeyoung's tongue was still teasing the head of your cock. You found yourself speechless and Jiwon's pout turned into a devilish smile. "Don't worry, PD-nim. You don't have to feel guilty, I bet we aren't the only ones who'd want a taste of this."

She gave you a wink and returned to the task at hand. The thought was enticing to your most primal instincts. Something you were supposed to be above. However, there was no denying the appeal. The thrill of the taboo and the risk of being caught combined with the feeling of their soft hands and lips made was already making this far too addicting. Sure when you signed on for this job you never imagined this would be the outcome but now that it had happened, who were you to say no?

And if others wanted to join...

Your thoughts were cut off by the feel of something warm and wet around your cock. Jiwon had taken it fully into her mouth, her cheeks hollowing as she bobbed her head up and down the shaft. Meanwhile, Chaeyoung had wrapped her hand around the base, pumping your shaft in time with the bobbing of Jiwon's head. Your eyes were fixed on their teamwork, mesmerized by the sight unfolding while reveling in the pleasure.

"Shit," you hissed.

"It feels good doesn't it, PD-nim?" Chaeyoung asked. "She's small but she still swallows your cock like a pro."

Her eyes locked onto yours, gaze bearing down into your soul. You had never quite understood the concept of eye-fucking until that very moment.

Of course the answer to her question was obvious. From the way your body reacted to the look on your face to the swell of your length each time it hit the back of Jiwon's throat. If things kept going like that you'd be at your peak in no time. Which wasn't exactly a bad thing given you had little time to waste. On the other hand, you had yet to experience Chaeyoung's throat.

"If she keeps going like that I won't last," you grunted in response.

Chaeyoung grinned and Jiwon doubled her efforts.

"Don't be so greedy," Chaeyoung chastised her.

The shorter girl popped off of your cock with a long slurping sound, offering it to Chaeyoung who quickly picked up where her friend had left off. Her head bobbed on your cock, her short raven-cut hair swaying back and forth. You could only watch, mesmerized as her tongue slid against the underside of your cock. Jiwon didn't sit idle, one hand moving to fondle your balls while the other slipped past the waistband of her yoga pants.

"This is so hot..." she trailed off.

The way her eyes were glued to Chaeyoung you weren't sure if she was speaking to you or merely talking outloud to herself. Either way, you didn't disagree.

After a while, Chaeyoung would pull-off then offer it to Jiwon. The cycle continued in that manner. Together they switched between who had the honor of taking your cock in their mouth, letting the other take your cock in hand. One would stroke your cock or fondle your balls while the other gagged herself on your rod.

At one point, Jiwon was sucking your cock while Chaeyoung took one of your balls into her mouth, sucking on your scrotum. Your eyes rolled back, a deep moan echoing off the bathroom walls; discretion completely forgotten for a moment.

Irresponsible and unprofessional? Absolutely. Did you regret it? Absolutely not.

Truth be told, you were still somewhat blue balled from your interaction with Yewon and this felt like exactly what you needed. Besides, it didn't seem like either girl was keen on spilling any secrets.

"Jesus," you muttered under your breath, "Girls, I'm almost there..."

Chaeyoung, who had been taking her turn, popped off of your cock her chin dripping with saliva and pre-cum, "Let's not leave our PD-nim disappointed then. Give him the grand finale."

"Grand finale?" you repeated, slightly dazed and balls aching.

They gave no further explanation, instead leaving you to watch as they moved to either side of your engorged rod. First, they closed the distance between each other, making out with your cock shoved in between their lips. It fell under the category of strangely erotic. Their spit coated your cock as the two trainees made-out, giving you the impression that this wasn't the first time they had done this.

A thought of inspiration struck you. A firm hand was placed on the back of each girl's head. They seemed to understand what was going to come next as their lips puckered around your cock, creating a funnel for you. Immediately you began thrusting between their lips, fucking both of their mouths at the same time while they looked up at you from their position on their knees. If you had any inhibitions left, they evaporated then and there.

"Fuck," you groaned, "I'm so fucking close."

The girls hummed their approval, vibrations against your cock bringing you even more pleasure. God, you would have loved nothing more than to coat their pretty faces with your semen but that seemed like it would create a hard cleanup and even harder explanation. Instead, you kept thrusting between them until finally your cock began to twitch. They watched as you bit down on your bottom lip, length shooting rope after rope of cum that splattered onto the tiled floor. Your head rolled back for a moment, bracing yourself against the bathroom sink.

What the fuck just happened, you thought.

You were brought back to the present by the feel of lips around your cock, cleaning you off.

"Well, I'm horny now," Jiwon stated bluntly as she stood on her feet. "If we had more time..."

"Yah," the taller one hit her shoulder as she stood, wiping her bottom lip, "You're insatiable you know that?"

Jiwon laughed and you could only watch, dick still exposed, as the girls bantered as if they hadn't just sucked you dry. "We should..."

"We'll go," Chaeyoung cut in. She leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to your cheek. "You should get cleaned up."

Jiwon followed suit, though somewhat adorably, she had to tip-toe to reach your cheek, "Don't forget us during evaluations, PD-nim."

She gave you a wink and just like that the two girls walked out the bathroom, leaving you with your thoughts. Or rather lack of thoughts. Which wasn't a bad thing given you had no idea what to make of this situation. Instead you got dressed; grabbed a few paper towels, wiped up the evidence of your rendezvous and splashed water on your face. When you looked in the mirror, you almost didn't recognize the slight smirk on your features.

"Hopefully Jessica didn't notice my absence," you muttered as you left the bathroom.

"So that's where you were," a voice called.

You looked up to see a face that took you a moment to recognize. She was one of the trainees you had been introduced to earlier. Haewon if you remembered correctly. She had short, straight hair that neatly framed her face. Her eyes were wide and attentive while her lips were full and plump with round cheeks. She was taller than Jiwon but only just.

"Ms. Jung was looking for you," she said.

"O-oh," you stammered, before clearing your throat. "Yeah. I was just on my way back."

You swallowed thickly, eyeing her unblinking expression. It was unnerving really, the way she stared at you arms crossed over her chest. You couldn't tell whether she was judging you or just so disinterested she couldn't bother to pretend. Had she seen Jiwon and Chaeyoung coming from this area too?

"So, uh, I'll just be heading back," you started.

Suddenly Haewon broke into a wide smile, practically beaming at you, "Alright then. See you tomorrow PD-nim!"

With that she walked off, her expression dropping the moment she turned away from you. You were left baffled and confused as you decided to shake it off and head back to Jessica. If she hadn't called you out on fooling around then that was a win enough for today.

As you neared the practice room, you spotted someone standing off to the side. Another one of the girls, though her name escaped you. She seemed upset as she talked on the phone. For a moment you considered going over to her and checking to make sure everything was alright only to stop yourself.

You hadn't even accepted the job offer yet and you were getting involved with these girls. The least you could do was not add emotional involvement to the list as well. You swallowed the impulse to help, maybe you'd bring it up to Jessica when you got the chance. She might know what that was about.

[PRESENT]

When you got back Jessica had already dismissed most of the girls for the day. The two of you decided to call it a day, after all despite your speech you still had an official decision to make.

You pulled out your phone, scrolling to your uncle's contact information. Your lips pressed together in thought. In many ways it was a no brainer, even ways that it shouldn't be. In other ways the more you learned about these girls the more you hesitated. If you failed you'd be doing more than just taking your uncle's money. You closed your eyes, your mind briefly flashing to images of your load covering Jiwon and Chaeyoung's faces. The decision was easy, wasn't it?

"What did you always say, uncle? It's about the journey not the destination," you muttered to yourself.

You quickly typed out a message.

"I'm in."

[webseriesviral]

'Dancing with the Stars' pro Peta Murgatroyd reveals newborn son's name with Maksim Chmerkovskiy Dancing with the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd has finally revealed her newborn son's name. Peta, who welcomed her second child with husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy on June 18, took to Instagram on Wednesday, June 21 and posted a photo of her adorable baby boy wearing tan clothes and resting on a white comforter next to a wooden sign that revealed his cute name. RELATED LINK: 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' PROS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: WHO'S DATING OR MARRIED TO WHOM!? (PHOTOS) "Rio John," the wooden sign read. Peta captioned the photo, "Rio John Chmerkovskiy. Born - 6.18.2023." Peta added, "8.6 oz and thriving! We are overjoyed to share our baby boy with all of you. @shai.aleksander is already the best big brother and we all feel very complete. Life is good XO." Peta went on to call her new son the "love of my life" via Instagram Stories on Thursday, June 22. "[Maksim] can never say I didn't get him the ultimate Fathers Day gift... I cannot wait to share my birth story with you all," Peta wrote. Peta also joked about how Maksim suggested they should have one more child immediately after she had given birth in the hospital. "[Maksim] literally straight after birth. Anyone else experience this? Lol," Peta captioned a brief video of the spouses' time in the hospital. Peta and Maksim's new baby joins their first-born son, Shai, 6. Peta began documenting her second pregnancy -- including a babymoon to "paradise" with Maksim and Shai in April -- ever since announcing the big news in January that she was expecting again. The unexpected pregnancy occurred only months after Peta did a June 2022 interview in which she had revealed she was currently undergoing in vitro fertilization after suffering three miscarriages in the prior two years. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! "It's been a long ride for our family. Each day of those two-and-a-half years I prayed for a miracle," Peta wrote June 9 on Instagram. RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? (PHOTOS)  Alongside her post, Peta uploaded a video showing the moment she had learned she was pregnant again. "I really was reluctant sharing this footage, but I realized this is my journey... not a pretty journey but... MY journey. I am a changed woman from these events, I think a better woman. Today I am happy and content, I am grateful and won't take things for granted," Peta wrote. She continued, "I never thought this day at 39 weeks would come. It was an infatuation to be pregnant with my second child, I thought I needed it for my soul, to be full and whole. What I needed to realize and come to terms with was the fact that I am whole, I have a beautiful healthy family who love me and that I wasn't able to see." Peta said the joy she and Maksim were experiencing at the time was "other worldly." "I never thought we were going to be here [at 39 weeks pregnant]," Peta wrote over a photo of Maksim kissing her belly. "I thank god everyday. It was all worth it." Peta previously revealed that she got pregnant "all natural" this time around and it just "happened." Peta told People earlier this year, "I didn't even know I was pregnant for so long until I was really feeling sick. I danced through Dancing with the Stars with it. I started feeling weird, started feeling a little bit sick and a little bloated and I didn't want to test for weeks." Peta explained she had finally taken a pregnancy test around the "six or seven-week" mark and was shocked to discover the results. Peta competed on Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars last fall, however, her participation in the competition ended up being unusually brief. She and her celebrity partner, actor Jason Lewis, were eliminated at the conclusion of Season 31's premiere when it streamed live on Disney+ on September 19. Peta and Jason were eliminated after they landed in the bottom-two couples based on the combined total of judges' scores and viewer votes that were cast live throughout the two-hour premiere. Dancing with the Stars' judges at the time -- Len Goodman, Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli -- were then tasked with saving either The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice and her partner Pasha Pashkov (the other couple in the premiere's bottom-two) or Peta and Jason, and opted to save Teresa and Pasha. When asked if she'd like to return to Dancing with the Stars despite her short stint on the show last year, Peta told Us Weekly in January, "I would love to be [a pro partner again], if they want me." "I'm here, I'm willing," she noted. "I'll give birth and jump back in within, you know, the seven weeks that I did with Shai. I went back with Nick Viall that season, and I would gladly do it again." Peta became a pro partner on Dancing with the Stars for Season 13 in 2011. She competed in a total of 14 seasons and claimed the mirrorball trophy twice. Peta sat out of Season 23 while she was pregnant with Shai. Peta and Maksim welcomed Shai together in January 2017, and then the couple got married in July 2017 of that year after five years of dating. RELATED LINK: 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' PROS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: WHO'S DATING OR MARRIED TO WHOM!? (PHOTOS) While awaiting the birth of Baby No. 2, Maksim's sister-in-law, Jenna Johnson, gave birth in January to her son, Rome, with Maksim's brother Val Chmerkovskiy. Dancing with the Stars' 32nd season is set to air on ABC, and stream simultaneously on Disney+, this fall. Alfonso has already teased having "fantastic" chemistry with his new co-host Julianne Hough. About The Author: Elizabeth KwiatkowskiElizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments); if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '139494146798076'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=226191007403108"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); [ad_2] Read More

[joshfuckingkiszka]

5: Figured You Out

I didn't mean to take this long but oh well the past is the past. also this story will have every trope that I need to be self indulgent on my joshy needs. I will not be taking questions at this time, thank you. 

THIS SERIES IS 18+ MINORS DNI

chapter warnings: just some good ol’ tension with guess who? asshole!josh of course! 

series masterlist

It took you a little too long to come up with a reason as to why your lipstick had suddenly disappeared. When Jita asked, you simply claimed that it needed to come off, and, having no reason to dispute it, she believed you. Josh went back to ignoring you for the remainder of the night, and while it stung a bit, you felt it was probably for the best. But there was no way it would go back to the way it was before, right? Certainly not with the way he had touched and kissed you.

When the night began to wean, and the guests began to depart, you started to get sad again. The boys were leaving in the morning and the consistency that had become so easy with them would dissipate. Of course, you still had the girls but you all knew it simply wasn’t the same, they were the life of the party. You thought back to earlier in the evening, when Sam had called you his best friend, and wondered if he always made friends that easily, or if that was just the truth. If it was, your connection with the band held a whole new weight, one that you weren’t certain the consequences of. Well, at least until you got home that night.

Jake and Danny had shown up to the party together, while Josh had come with Sam and Hannah, meaning on the car ride home, you were forced to sit with Josh in the backseat. He snuck lingering touches to your exposed legs and you silently berated Sam for turning the heat back on. It was dark enough in the car that when his hand found a firm grasp on your inner thigh, the two up front didn’t see, and you knew that only Josh could hear the hitch in your breath. His thumb (the same one that had been in your mouth not two hours ago), constantly changed pressure rubbing circles into your leg. It was then, and only then, did you wish he would make up his fucking mind and stop with the mixed signals. When the car stopped in front of your complex, his hand left you completely and he didn’t even bother mumbling a goodbye to you. Then you hated him all over again.

You chose not to acknowledge him in your goodbyes either, asking Sam and Hannah to text you when they got home, then yelling a “Bye!” in their general direction from the door. It didn’t take a genius for Josh to know you weren’t talking to him, though.

After you were showered and cozied up in bed, your notifications started going haywire. They were all coming from one app on your phone and it confused you to see that it was Instagram. When you clicked on them, immensely confused, you saw hundred, if not thousands, of new follower notifications. You eventually found the source, Kenzi had posted one of the group pictures from Sam’s party, specifically one where Josh’s arm was draped around your waist. Without context, you knew it looked like he did it all the time, with how relaxed and content he looked. You knew better, though, you could feel how tense he had been as the picture was snapped. Against your better judgment, you decided to scroll through the comments, and boy did you immediately regret that.

AWW ITS THE GRETA VAN GIRLFRIENDS!! - that one made you laugh, you had to admit it.

does josh have a gf?? - you clicked on that comment thread and saw a number of people saying that they had seen you and Josh around Nashville, looking extremely couple-y, which made you scoff.

i mean i guess he’s not waiting for me :(( - again, you laughed, and contemplated commenting that they could have him, but decided not to.

They got worse from there, mocking you and pointing out flaws you weren’t even aware you had. It was strange, however, to see replies to the mean comments, stating that Josh is a grown man, whom they don’t know, and he’s allowed to date whomever he wants. Those made you smile, despite the tears in your eyes. Right as you exited the app - after disabling your notification settings - two messages pinged on your phone.

Bee, I am so sorry about the comments on that post! I can delete it or untag you if you’re more comfortable that way! - Kenzi was so sweet, you weren’t sure that anyone deserved her. That was, until Danny sent a message in that same group chat.

Don’t listen to them anyway, we all know the truth and that’s what matters :) - He deserved her. They all sent comforting messages like that in the chat, with radio silence from Josh. Jita suggested making your account private, like she had, while the rest of them suggested silencing your notifications and limiting your comments.

It’s okay, guys. I’m not going to readjust my whole social media just bc some 14 year olds think that I’m not pretty enough to date a rockstar. - if only you could make yourself believe that.

The other notification, however, did not come from the group chat, but from your sister.

Are you dating Josh from Greta Van Fleet?? - she had never quite mastered the art of subtlety.

No. - you weren’t going to say anything else about it either. You were astounded at the audacity of her to never text you until she thought you were involved with someone famous.

She had lived a similar life in college, where she nearly dropped out to tour with a band whose name you couldn’t even remember. Your mother had screamed at her until she was brought to tears, when she finally decided to let it go, and continue her studies. Neither of them ever let the other forget it, though, it was still a pretty sore subject, even years later. A part of you actually praised your mother for that, as fucked up as it was, because you knew if she had dropped everything to live the tour lifestyle, your mother would have taken it all out on you. You felt bad for her, at first, until she used all of her newfound time essentially degrading you on every choice you made that reminded her of herself. She wanted you to be exactly like her, miserable from every aspect.

Your sister had stayed in college, studying for a degree she hated, then joined a career that she couldn’t stand, and married a man who only your mother seemed to like. He was nice, and it’s not like he ever did anything wrong, but he was so different from the men your sister would sneak out in the middle of the night to see in high school. For a while, you figured that maybe she had grown up, that it had just been a phase leading to the most mind-numbingly boring man in the world. But you knew she wasn’t happy, that their relationship was entirely built on the fact that your mother had set them up, told him to propose when she was ready, and took over the entire wedding planning so your sister couldn’t even have that. Nothing was her own, and she was bound to make you suffer the same fate.

The band had thrown a stopper in that, and you knew it would come back to bite you in the ass eventually. In the past few weeks, you had lied consistently to your mother about your whereabouts, something you had never done before, and you knew your sister would tell her.

I saw the picture, don’t lie to me - she even had that same texting voice your mother had, using your full name at the end of angry texts.

In a spur of the moment decision, you decided to lie to her too, what harm could come from that? Your sister had an extremely private social media life, the only pictures in any of her feeds being from dates her husband took her on before they were married, a couple’s photo of the day she got engaged, and a few pictures from their wedding day. She had deleted all of her old pictures from high school with her friends, where she looked genuinely happy, because your mother claimed it was childish to leave them up.

Okay, I am, but don’t tell mom - you knew she would. You were playing chess with this one, and when your mother would eventually call to yell at you, you would “break up” with Josh.

Fine. - and with that, you went to bed, dreading that wakeup call the next morning.

And you were absolutely right to. For when you woke up to her ringtone, her voice called your name so sweetly, you almost felt bad about the whole thing.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend?” She wasn’t yelling, which already threw a stick into your plan.

“Well, I guess I just didn’t want you to think I was losing focus,” you claimed, your heart pounding so loudly you feared she might hear it.

“I would hope you’re not,” she laughed, “but now I have to meet him, of course.” Fuck, fuck, FUCK.

You hadn’t even realized you had been quiet for so long until she called out your name, forcing you to take your nails out of your mouth and respond with a very sophisticated, “Oh, uh, yeah, um, definitely.” Why couldn’t you have just said no, like a normal person telling a lie?

“Well, what days work for you? Actually, call me when you figure it out, I have to go.” Your stuttering response didn’t seem to phase her, and once again she just ended the call, no “I love you” to bid you goodbye.

You were going to have to tell Josh, you knew that much. It was only your highest hopes that he wouldn’t laugh in your face and ultimately tell you to fuck off. Maybe there was another way to start that conversation, though. Your immediate thought was to text the girls, surely they would know what to do.

Boy, oh boy, have I fucked up… - a good way to introduce the topic

Jita: Uh oh, what did you do, bee?

My mom may or may not think that Josh is my boyfriend…

Kenzie: And why would she think that lol??

I may or may not have told her that he was

After explaining the circumstances of your enormous lie, they attempted to convince you that telling the truth was better than asking Josh out a lie that surely would not work in your favor. Ultimately, you decided that you were already in this far and, quite frankly, you wanted to see where it would go. The guys would only be on the road for two and a half weeks and you decided to ask Josh as soon as they got back.

It almost didn’t feel like weeks as they passed. Some days, it felt like years were passing, while you sat in class, no longer attentive to the subject matter. Other times, it felt like seconds, like they would be home too soon for you to comprehend, and you weren’t ready to see those mahogany eyes boring into you as you lost your dignity.

Eventually, or much too quickly, they were back in Nashville. Naturally, Sammy invited you to go out with them that Saturday, and you agreed. You had - prematurely, if you said so yourself - told your mother and sister that they could come visit you the following Saturday, hopefully giving you enough time to convince Josh.

You spent hours trying to come up with the perfect proposal, wording it as to not give any personal information about why this was so important. All of that planning, however, went straight out of the window when you spotted Josh, that ‘light up the room’ smile on his face and his curls a beautiful mess, framing his face as if they were a halo.

“I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

Vmin cut - BTS on Game Caterers - Main Game

by Admin 1

It’s been a little while, hasn’t it? Feels nice to be writing a post again, but instead of a full breakdown of the episode of RUN x Game Caterer’s which was uploaded on their YouTube channel, I thought I’ll just talk about some of the cute vmin moments we got thanks it since there is quite a lot to get through. Sound good?

Before I get into it, can we just briefly talk about Tae’s look for these episodes because honestly...! I certainly did make a joke toward Admin 2 that Tae must’ve forgotten his shirt at home or something, but I’m fairly certain absolutely no one minded. At all. I’m not quite sure what was up with the hat he wore on and off, but it suits him very nicely. 

Really, as vminnies we’ve just been spoiled recently, and especially in this episode on YouTube where the main part of it was spent on them trying to complete their tasks while also stopping the other members from succeeding with theirs. While we knew what tasks the hyungs had--Yoongi wasn’t allowed to speak, laugh or eat; Namjoon was supposed to place 300 dominos; Seokjin had to peel 100 quail eggs; Hoseok was to make a dish despite the members just having eaten--we initially didn’t know at all what the maknaes were supposed to do. But due to the nature of Tae’s task, it became clear rather quickly what it was, for us as viewers but also for the other members which led to hilarious and cute moments of them (and especially Jimin) trying to stop him.

The first little funny thing actually happens right as the members all go back into the house to start the game with Jimin singing the melody to IDOL, which Tae asks him about and then comments how it sounded familiar. Later in the episode it became clear why that melody in particular made Tae perk up.

I’m sorry Jiminie for the unflattering screenshot BUT the point is that Tae was walking around trying to find a good place to hide Seokjin’s quail eggs (not knowing which member they belong to) while the others watched him until Jimin decided to intervene and stop him. Tae wanted to hide them in a room that was off limits so Jimin wanted to take them from him (as proof that they really aren’t Tae’s task) but in the end Jimin and the others just got Tae to simply put them back where he got them from--the kitchen.

Just like he said to Hobi a little earlier, as the game begins Tae lies down ‘in the sun’ but immediately Jimin approaches him to stop him, in case that somehow really is his task. But quickly everyone turns their attention on Yoongi quietly sitting in the background looking like he might sleep while Hobi goes to the kitchen and asks the others if they are hungry making everyone immediately suspicious of him. 

More below the cut:

Unsure how to inconspicuous get to his own task, Namjoon directs everyones attention back onto Tae lying on the floor with Jimin quickly joining him, Joon taking Tae’s hands while Jimin takes his ankles so they can move him across the room. 

Similarly, a few scenes later we also have a moment where Seokjin and Namjoon try to get Tae off the floor or make him laugh (?) since Namjoon decides to tickle him. As someone who is a Kim line bias/bias wrecker, this was very lovely. Once Namjin leave, JK approaches Tae and asks him what he’s doing, to which Tae merely says he’s ‘just chillin’.

We also had two scenes in which Jimin helped Tae put his mic pack back on since it fell out once after he got up off the floor and then again after playing around with Jimin later in the episode. Honestly these two are like adorable magnets throughout this episode, it kind of reminds me a little of the RUN episode for Hangul Day I believe where they had to collect little plastic (?) hangul and make words out of them while also sticking stickers onto their target member where vmin decided to stick together (Jimin’s idea because, as he said himself, he loves Tae) but unbeknownst to Jimin, he was Tae’s target. Oops. Why it reminded me of that will become clear later in the episode.

As everyone was trying to make Seokjin’s hard task even harder, Tae and Jimin came by with a similar idea ending with Tae eating the two eggs Seokjin had so far peeled while Jimin laughs very amused. Cute! 

Their next target was Yoongi, whom Tae previously dragged across the room by his ankles toward Seokjin. One thing I’d like to mention is how gentle and careful everyone was with Yoongi, and especially in this moment with how Jimin pointed out (even if it wasn’t subbed) that they should be careful with Yoongi’s left shoulder and as he lifted him, he didn’t put his hands/arm under Yoongi’s armpit, but instead Yoongi crossed his arms and Jimin grabbed his arm on his left side to avoid hurting him in any way. This pattern continued throughout the entire episode whenever the other members tried to “mess” with Yoongi to get him to fail his mission, like JK picking him up by the butt.

Eventually Dynamite starts playing and JK, Namjoon and Jimin see Tae start dancing and swiftly come in to stop him which kicks off an adorable chain of events when it comes to vmin with Jimin being very determined to stop Tae.

Tae just casually holding on to Jimin’s leg, as you do. Cute!

Can we talk about how delicately Tae is holding Jimin’s ankle? And also how slowly his socks are more and more dirty lol.

(Also, if you noticed in the gif, Tae did wear his ring in this episode, which according to RUN episode 140, was filmed a day after Let’s BTS aired so it truly appears as though Tae started to wear the ring after that show. Make of that what you will.)

During the reveal at the end of the episode we also got the moment when Jimin and Tae fall to the floor again from another angle which revealed to us that it looked like, while falling, Tae could’ve potentially hit his back on Jimin’s knee, which Jimin realized. To keep it from happening, Jimin put his hand on Tae’s back to soften his fall and keep him from hurting himself. Truly they care so much about each other and want to do whatever they can so the other doesn’t get hurt. Like that time on the Anpanman slide during the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself Tour where Jimin held on to Tae so that once they reached the bottom of the slide and fell off of it to the floor Tae wouldn’t hit the ground so hard and thus wouldn’t hurt himself.

And just as Tae managed to get off the floor again and it seems like Jimin will move on to mess with another member, Tae starts dancing again and Jimin swoops in again to stop him, both of them being all giggles and smiles just having so much fun. A little while later Namjoon also swoops in and stops Tae in a similar manner with Tae simply sinking to the floor to get Namjoon to stop and move on before trying again.

The episode continues and eventually Tae moves on to his actual task, which yes, was dancing, but not to Dynamite. Unfortunately for him, Jimin was still watching him and quickly caught on, realizing that the choreography he’s now trying isn’t Dynamite but instead we know it’s IDOL. So he stops him again.

Honestly Jimin rubbing his back against Tae like they’re in a club (or they’re back on stage during that one music show where Tae had that black vest and the pink bunny ears and those famous vmin ‘you come here often?’ pictures are from) is something I certainly did not expect. And of course Namjoon is there as well since what would be a moment of vmin wildin’ if Namjoon weren’t somewhere close by.

Eventually Jimin calls for Tae and JK and offers that they should put Yoongi outside. Meanwhile Tae attempts to continue dancing to IDOL to which Jimin tells him that they don’t have time for that and proposes a deal: if Tae helps him, Jimin will leave him alone. To which Tae just says that sure, perhaps he will let him dance, but JK will not, therefore rejecting the deal.

While Namjoon searches for his bag of dominos, we get this glimpse at vmin doing...something? Also while the camera continues to follow Namjoon, in the background we see Jimin continuously follow Tae and try to distract and stop him, the two of them giggling and smiling at each other for most of the time. Told you happy magnets. 

Soon, continuing their team work against Yoongi, Jimin and Tae make another attempt together to get him to fail his mission with Namjoon joining in soon as well, along with JK, crowding in on Yoongi and tickling him, but it’s all in vein since Yoongi doesn’t break his quietness.

Eventually the 30 minutes are up and the game is over. Even if Tae managed to dance all the parts of the IDOL choreography, he did them in parts which did not count. Then the question is what Jimin’s mission was--put coins in the pockets of all the members. Here we have a cute scene where outside Jimin sits down and one of the coins falls from his pocket and Tae the kind soul bends down to pick it up to give it back to Jimin. Afterward we get a montage of Jimin’s attempts to fulfill his mission. I won’t reveal if he managed to do it or not since some of you might not have seen the episode yet. I also won’t reveal what JK’s task was nor who won in the end.

And with that, the episode was over. It was honestly so, so funny! If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend checking it out even though it’s cut into three parts making it a little more ‘tricky’ to find on YouTube than just clicking on the episodes on Weverse/vlive.

Here’s part one:

[utilitycaster]

What’s your thoughts on tm9 suggesting working with Trent? Do you think tm9 are being “bad friends”? I have seen a lot of discussion on it and I was wondering what your thoughts are. Apologies if you have already shared your thoughts.

Hi anon,

I have shared at least some of my thoughts but, as always, give me an inch and I will take one thousand miles and then take one thousand more. If you wanted a normal answer, please click on that link and then feel free to stop reading. If you want me to yell about behaviors in fandom that fill me with rage (and also some additional thoughts about the Mighty Nein in this episode, to be fair, which I’ve marked so you can skip to it), read on.

GOOD FUCKING LORD I AM PRETTY SURE A CERTAIN SMALL BUT LOUD PORTION WITHIN FANDOM, AND THIS IS ABOUT FANDOM IN GENERAL AND NOT SPECIFIC TO THE CRITICAL ROLE, ACTUAL PLAY, NOR D&D FANDOM, HAS NEVER HAD A FUNCTIONAL FRIENDSHIP OR RELATIONSHIP IN THEIR LIVES WHAT WITH THE WAY THEY TALK ABOUT CHARACTER INTERACTIONS. LIKE WHAT THE FUCK.

I don’t think that any of the Mighty Nein were being at all inappropriate during this conversation in the first place, and more on that below, but also like, people say insensitive things to their friends all the time! It’s impossible to account for every situation that could potentially upset someone, and sometimes people need to have difficult conversations! I’ve said this before with people in private conversations but there is an exhausting amount of discourse for CR (but also, like, in general about fictional media by people who are Way Too Online) regarding who really understands and cares about whom and it’s like. They are all friends. They have all referred to each other as found family. They all care about each other. And with that in mind, it’s also true that if you or anyone else were to give me literally any pairing of two characters in the Nein, romantic or platonic, I can without considerable effort name an interaction in which one of them said or did something hurtful or insensitive to the other, because this is a thing that happens when different people with different perspectives and experiences talk to each other for any length of time.

A not-insignificant amount of discourse, in my opinion, has nothing to do with how real interpersonal relationships work and is entirely "this is my favorite/least favorite character (or ship) and I think everyone should also think they are flawless/terrible” and if I had to guess this is probably more of the same. But even if it’s not just that, the idea that the only “good” friendship is one devoid of arguments, slip-ups, and even the most minor of transgressions and anything else is “bad” or “toxic” is so divorced from reality I absolutely cannot engage with it without wanting to scream. Which is not to say that a single action by a friend, even a close one, could never be enough to invalidate the friendship. But it has to be a pretty significant and deliberate violation, and in my opinion the events of this episode do not even budge the needle.

With that out of the way before I return to it at the end: I think the overarching attitude of the Mighty Nein on the whole is “this is going to be an incredibly difficult fight, and we need to discuss all of our options, even distasteful ones that none of us particularly like.”

The linked post talks a lot about why I think Fjord brought it up in the first place, but from there, I would say that Yasha was the only one who was consistently on the side of “No,” which is in line with her character. We know Caduceus is fairly sure they’re going to die without additional help and has seen by far the most terrifying visions of what happens if they fail; that Jester likely has some similar ideas to Caleb regarding “if Trent’s with us, at least he’s not going after Marion”; and while Beau brought up the downsides of working with one’s abuser it’s highly worth noting she was still entertaining it: she floats that maybe this could kill two birds with one stone [2:01:10-ish on the Twitch video].

Veth strikes me as the one who came closest to “pushing” Caleb, and this has been a theme recently. I’m not fully sure about this - Veth is often a character I struggle to get a handle on - but I think it’s a combination of her family being at risk in the same way Jester’s is, her own feelings of guilt or shirked responsibility about leaving the Nein after this before Caleb has achieved his goals particularly given how instrumental he was to achieving hers, and a little bit of still seeing Caleb how he was earlier on, when they first met. That last reason is definitely frustrating when it happens in real life, but it’s a very real phenomenon, the first one is wholly understandable, and the middle one is both. Basically, are those actions a little selfish? Yeah, but people are selfish sometimes. There’s a reason why even when I don’t understand her Veth (and, tbh, all the Mighty Nein) feels like a wholly realized person, and it’s because of things like this, where she has real reactions and emotional turmoil in response to an incredibly stressful situation instead of being blandly understanding.

On top of that, anything that denies that Caleb was not entertaining it, particularly after he quite literally says he’s considered it, feels like ignoring his response because it doesn’t fit a particular narrative. It ignores the entire conversation with Essek, in which Caleb is the one who brings it up first, Caleb is the one who continues to argue for it after Essek expresses his discomfort, and Caleb is the one who says he’s frustrated that his attempt to persuade Essek fails.

Returning to the generalized rant but at what point do you (the abstract you, not you the anon) stop overlaying how you think someone should react and actually listen to people? One of the things in this world that genuinely angers me the most that isn’t, you know, atrocities, is when people assume how someone feels instead of asking them and persist in doing so even when told otherwise, and this is probably why the whole “the Mighty Nein are bad friends” statement has prompted such a strong response from me here. I don’t think I’m saying anything revolutionary here but all the arguments in favor of that statement are stupid! If you don’t ask for a hug, sometimes you won’t get one! If you don’t say you’re uncomfortable you can’t assume people will be aware of it! The realest distinction between good and bad friends, actually, is whether they listen to what you’re saying or if they just project what they think you should be saying, and whether they tell you what they want from you or if they make up elaborate unspoken rules that you’re supposed to magically intuit and follow. Not whether they never make mistakes, or disagree, or bring up difficult topics.

Uh, anyway, this is probably a whole lot more and maybe not even related to what you were looking for but really, the idea that a deep friendship can be reclassified into a binary from good to bad based on two conversations, and the related idea that every interaction that isn’t perfectly harmonious must have someone to blame instead of acknowledging the full depth and breadth of normal healthy interpersonal interactions, are both absolutely terrible ideas and I would love if people in general would immediately stop having them.

[eunoiamaybe]

my “sort-of-complete” online classes and exams tips

This is a longer-than-usual post with tips for the 3 stages of online classes: focusing during an online class session, reviewing/studying for online classes, and preparing for online exams/ quizzes. So I decided to insert the “Read More” link to (a) not take up too much space on your dash, and (b) feel more confident in adding more tips as time goes on.

These are tips that I’ve compiled from my experience of taking online classes during my last 1.5 years at university. But having all of your courses moved online is so much more complicated. Since I’m currently doing an internship, I have tried my best to produce this post based on the comments of my friends IRL and on Tumblr (hence the “my”). However, I hope it can still be useful for you and many who were all abruptly put in this same situation.

So feel free to share your own tips and experience! I will probably go back to this once in a while to make some changes to it and add your tips. Good luck to everyone who is currently/ about to take online classes. You are almost there! 🍀 I believe in every single one of you!

~  Click away for them tips   ~

💻 DURING ONLINE CLASS SESSIONS:

- try to treat online classes the same as an in-person class, especially time-wise (set a specific time for each class and plan your own class schedule. even better, study for your classes at the same time they used to be held. this will create a sense of routine and trigger the brain's normal reactions to your usual class - which is to study)

- don’t be afraid to fix your plan/ schedule (aka don’t force yourself into one if it doesn’t work for you) (trials and errors, my friend. this applies to plans too. there’s no shame in not being able to keep up with the schedule you’ve made. if you’ve tried or if it hurts you mentally or physically, then that schedule is just not the one for you. everybody has their unique strengths and weaknesses. one’s perfect system might not suit another. finding a system that works for you takes time, patience, and courage. but it will be absolutely worth it)

- find a good spot with enough light and stable wifi (if you have multiple options, select the one that would make you most comfortable, most focused, and confident enough to take online tests/quizzes/exams at - create your “exam space” in advance to reduce the anxiety of tests and unfamiliarity)

- study at a desk, if possible (studying at a desk, with good posture, mimics the feeling of being in a classroom or the library. thus, it will create a sense of routine and help you focus better)  

- accommodate yourself (I’m all about making the best out of a bad situation, and this is one way to do it.  accommodate yourself, not just with comfort, but also with actual necessities that you cannot usually get in your usual classroom/library due to whatever reason. stress balls, stim toys, positivity cards, calming music/candles. comforting plushies. chewing gum. as long as it helps you focus better, it's on the table)

- get dressed (this will bring out that sense of structure and routine that you need. put on your normal outfits, uniforms and even perfume. trick your mind into being focused)

- minimize distractions (declutter your study space. put your phone out of reach. turn off notifications. close all other tabs on your browser. select non-distracting music/ sounds. don’t spam or pay attention to spams in your classes’ chatboxes. only bring along items that are absolutely vital to your focus)

- take notes, even if you can record your lessons and/or access the lessons later (it can either be digital notes or handwritten notes on paper - your call. this will force you to focus and prevent you from zoning out/ being distracted)

- be actively engaged in the lecture (if there are technical problems or if you have questions, chatbox away. this is also good practice for people with social anxiety too: the fact that you are in your home and behind the screen can make it easier for you to ask for help)

- if possible, put your teachers/profs on the big screen to create the illusion of being in a lecture (if your study spot has a TV/projector that can connect to your laptop and quality speakers, do it. it's more fun than you'd think. also super stimulating and kicks the boredom out of you too)

- if not, use headphones/ earphones (speakers can create a feeling of distance between the lecture and yourself. combined with unstable internet and/or monotonous voices of some instructors, this may result in your brain classifying your lecture as background noises and zone out. so use headphones or earphones with the appropriate volume for that optimal focus mode)

- give yourself breaks between classes (don't cram all your classes in one morning. but don't procrastinate either. time your breaks. look at something else besides a computer or phone screen while you’re on break too. maybe brew some tea/coffee for your next class or rearrange your notes from the previous one)

💻 REVIEWING FOR ONLINE CLASSES:

- make a schedule/ system - and be ready to change them (this is an elaboration of an earlier tip. your system doesn’t have to work perfectly right away. most of the time, you will have to make some kind of adjustments to it anyway. so take it easy. pay attention to how well you react/ adapt to the new schedule so that you can make necessary changes. and give yourself - especially your mind - some time to adapt to the schedule. don’t rush yourself or put too much pressure on being productive. remember to take care of your well-being too)

- it’s okay to give yourself some off-days (that’s the beauty of not having any physical or even abstract structure that forces you into an inescapable routine. Yes, I know this lack of structure sucks for a lot of us, especially for those who rely on external forces to keep themselves focused. But look on the bright side: now you don’t have to worry about missing classes or losing participation marks when you are unwell physically and mentally anymore)

- textbooks are your friends now (especially when your classes’ live-streams are just chaotic and hard to follow. or when the pre-recorded lectures aren’t loading properly and keeps lagging. practice speed reading. look for keywords and crucial information. take notes rather than highlighting everything. compare them to your lecture notes, your syllabus, or your friends’)

- take advantage of the online format’s availability + other resources (availability is here, baby! revisit lecture videos and podcasts as many times as you need to. check your email classes’ forums regularly for questions or announcements. re-listen to your lecture when you're cleaning or exercising. watch videos of Khan Academy or CrashCourse. look for online tutors. study at your own pace and in your own style. basically anything you wish you could do when your class was in-person)

- there’s no need to submit assignments early if it’s anxiety-inducing. but make a schedule/ tracking system/ set alarms to avoid forgetting to turn them in (take your time to double-check or edit your work - as long as the submission box is still open, of course. set aside about an hour or two before the deadline for submission to avoid any technical difficulties. and remember to start working on them early so that you don’t have to shorten that window of time and have more time for double-checking)

- don't be afraid to email the profs/teachers (if possible, compile your questions into a list. be as specific as you can about your concerns. put a subject for your email to reduces the chance of your email getting lost in your instructors' inbox.)

- reward yourself (don't stress yourself out by rewarding big accomplishments. reward small victories. reward baby steps. reward effort. you'll get things done eventually)

- take time to know your learning style (when are you most focused? do you like taking digital notes or do you prefer pen and paper? are you a visual or an auditory learner? do you like moving around while studying? what drinks or scents or sounds keep you going? you don't have to stick to your usual study methods or an online/paperless one now that you are studying in your own room)

- listen to your mind and body (it’s okay to feel a bit lost) (from my own experience, times that are without structure like nowadays is when most of us fall into this spiraling downfall of unhealthy sleep schedules, lethargy, and loss of purpose. so please take care of your mental and physical well-being during this very, very weird time. keep yourself active. re-ignite old interests/ hobbies. connect with people you love. give yourself some love)

- and more tips on productivity at home in my last post right here

💻 PREPARING FOR ONLINE EXAMS / QUIZZES:

- make a list of all the online exams and final assignment due dates (this will help you keep track of and stay on top of them due dates. from that list, trace backward to make a review or study plan to prepare for the tests and work on the assignments. if there are any time conflicts, especially for those who are now living in a different timezone from their schools or colleges, email the instructors to seek solutions or alternative options)

- again, find a good spot with good wifi, good lighting, and a desk (if possible, try to recreate your ideal exam environment as closely as you can while studying and reviewing for the exams. this can reduce the anxiety of tests and/or unfamiliarity)

- be prepared for technical difficulties (especially mentally, so that you don’t plan out a course of action to take if they ever arise. draft an email template. research in advance the contacts of people whom you can report to - IT personnel, your instructors, student office, etc.)

- bring everything you need to the exams - but no distractions (like mentioned earlier, if you need any special accommodations that are considered "unacceptable" in an in-person exam/quiz, now it's the time to bring them along - you’re in charge of your test space now, so make it as comfortable and accomodating as you want)

- plan your desk set-up prior to your exams (so many extra items. still so little desk space. therefore, plan ahead so your desk does not turn into a mess when you take your exams. plan where you want to put your notes, textbooks, calculators or scrap paper. think about how much use you’re gonna get out of each item and place them within or slightly-out-of reach accordingly. charge your laptop. sharpen your pencils. have your backup stationery handy. lay out everything you need onto your desk the night before your tests. this can create a feeling of preparedness and thus, reduce anxiety as well)

- make cheatsheets (the goals when making them are simple: (1) get you to rewrite your notes for that good memorization; (2) condense your information and find a connection between them for a thorough understanding of the materials; (3) reduce the time you use to flip through your notebooks or textbooks or google for information during the actual tests)

- time yourself with mock exams (if you are given mock exams to practice with, do them, with a timer. this will help you familiarize yourself with the stress of being timed, thus reducing your anxiety during the actual tests)

- get enough sleep and eat properly (even if the exams or quizzes are online, they are still, at their core, tests. and tests are always stressful and energy-consuming. so take care of both your physical and mental health, especially during the week leading up to your exams)

[jerakeenc]

many kidfics i’ve read and loved

look who’s reccing a million year old fics now. kidfics, very many. posted to dw for snowflake, thought I’d copy here as well. will be reading most, if not all. if you don’t hear from me again, this list is the culprit.

101 Ways To Get Lucky (In Love) by lenore

18,200 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

Rodney McKay is rich, gorgeous and at the top of his game—except someone just moved the goalposts! Now Rodney realizes he is sorely lacking the one status symbol that everybody seems to have…the perfect family. Rodney needs help, so he hires a relationship coach. Single-dad John Sheppard may be an expert, but not when it comes to his own relationships! And every day he spends with Rodney makes him wish that he could be the one to fill the vacancy in Rodney's life…

A Beautiful Lifetime Event by astolat

29,000 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.

An Earlier Heaven by regann

67,400 words | X-Men, Erik/Charles

In the wake of Cuba, Charles and his students are ready to pick up the pieces and work toward achieving Charles's dream of a safe haven for young mutants. Those plans, however, take a surprising turn thanks to a very unexpected complication. As he slowly builds a future for his students and for his child, Charles struggles with the loss of Erik and the secrets he's willing to keep to protect his family, but those strides are shattered when Erik makes a startling reappearance into his life. [mpreg, kidfic, ensemble]

And everything nice by noelia_g

30,200 words | Social Network, Mark/Eduardo

The one where Mark somehow ends up with a child and of course needs a nanny for the amount of time he spends at the office. Only problem is a string of nannys keep trying to get into his pants for what he assumes is his money. Cue Mark's assistant hiring a male nanny, enter Eduardo.

asking to be born by longtime_lurker

26,500 words | Bandom, Pete/Patrick

"Don't worry, it's probably just his big gay freakout," Andy yells cheerfully and unhelpfully into Patrick's ear as they're hustling Pete over to the nearest private clinic.

Better with You by harriet_vane

38,100 words | 1D, Liam/Louis

Based on this prompt at the kinkmeme:

Single parent and solo artist Liam Payne hires Louis Tomlinson to be a full time nanny to his four year old son Sammy. Although the two men don't quite click from the start it's love at first sight between Sammy and Louis. Eventually Louis and Liam warm up to each other and get on like a house on fire, in fact the two become a little too fond of each other.

I refuse to apologize for how sweet this ended up, okay? It's kidfic, I am forever writing kidfic, and this one is even kid-fic-ier than usual.

Can't Get Enough of You (Baby) by eternalbreath

22,100 words | Inception, Arthur/Eames

Eames vanishes from dreamshare and Arthur goes a little crazy looking for him until he stumbles across him -- with a baby.

Chelsea, Chelsea, I Believe by empathapathique

300,800 words | Hockey, Kane/Toews

Patrick meets a girl his rookie year.

Don't You Shake Alone by dsudis

62,180 words | Generation Kill, Brad/Nate

Nate looked exactly like Brad always pictured him: exhausted in the full life-in-a-combat-zone sense of the word.

Dude, what's a bulwark? by kellifer_fic

12,150 words | Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles

Beacon Hills is the kind of small town where everybody knows everybody, and what everybody knows is that surly diner owner Derek Hale and free spirited single dad Stiles Stilinski have been in love with each other for years. If only they knew it too.

Every Other Beautiful World by rhiannonhero

43,280 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

Some things are unexpected but still inevitable in every beautiful world.

Forever, Now by harriet_vane

227,100 words | Bandom, Frank/Gerard, Jon/Spencer, Brendon/Ryan, Brian/Greta

Brian rescues kid!Gerard and Mikey from life on the streets, and eventually everyone finds a family.

here comes the sun by oflights

56,600 words | Social Network, Mark/Eduardo

This is a story about growing up, sad 70's rock songs, too much hair gel, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", a baby with curly hair, a Geiger counter, a dog that isn't named Max, the Chicken Dance, Cheerios, pepper-spray, drugs, sex, and a stuffed chicken named Cluckerberg, nicknamed Cluck. or: Mark raises Sean's accidental baby, and I write the fluffiest thing ever.

I Got a Love (That Keeps Me Waiting) by svmadelyn

163,700 words | Hockey, Kane/Toews

There's a lot of different ways this summary could go, like:

Patrick Kane gets more than a gold medal in Sochi.

Or, the classic: It's too late to pull out now.

Or: Patrick Kane continues to thrive in high pressure situations.

Or: Patrick Kane gets knocked up, goes to White Castle, and finds love, not necessarily in that order.

But, ultimately, all that really matters is this: Patrick Kane is keeping his baby.

I Would Be by cathalin

20,290 words | American Idol, Kris/Adam

AU. Adam and Kris meet a few years down the road, when down-on-his-luck Kris and his young daughter Katherine show up to rent a room from Adam, who never made it to an Idol audition.

Ice Ice Baby by uraneia

51,340 words | Hockey, Claude/Danny

A gold medal isn't the only souvenir Claude brings home from Prague.

OR: The one where Claude gets drunk, gets pregnant, and gets convinced to move in with Danny, whom he's been secretly in love with for years. What could possibly go wrong?

my heart is bigger than the distance in between us by estrella30

15,000 words | 1D, Nick/Harry

Nick chuckles quietly but grabs the remote and follows Emma, Aimee coming up close behind him. It’s indeed Harry on the telly, singing along to his latest radio hit and smiling slowly into the camera far too seductively for half eight on a Friday morning, if you ask Nick. He presses the volume just in time to catch the crowd’s roaring applause and see the pink flush Harry’s cheeks. Nick watches him duck his head as he gives a small wave to the audience, and it hits Nick that Harry is still the most humble and appreciative billionaire Nick’s ever met.

Good job, popstar, Nick thinks to himself.

or, Nick is a single dad and Harry is his bff and it's a bunch of years into the future and they fall in love

Once Upon a Furry Octopus by skoosiepants

11,270 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

He was an intelligent, intuitive pet, but he wasn’t going to start sniffing out ZPMs or hidden Ancient weaponry or detailed instructions on how to kill a Wraith with a common household item. A pen, for instance.

Reconcilable Differences by astolat

40,000 words | Smallville, Clark/Lex

Luthor Family Values.

Shelter by harriet_vane

63,500 words | Social Network, Jesse/Andrew

From the kinkmeme prompt: Some sort of AU vaguely based on Shelter! For whatever reason, Jesse has to take care of Hallie and give up his dream of being an actor. He ends up working in a dead end job when former, now successful friend (Andrew) returns home. They fall in love, etc, only Jesse can't go away with him because he has a responsibility to his family. CUE ANGST.

Show Me The Way Back Home Baby by stilinskisparkles

15,000 words | Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles

In which Lydia and Jackson produce the world's cutest baby, and the pack goes crazy-- the good kind of crazy. Except for Derek, who is afraid of tiny cute babies and Stiles who plans to be the best Uncle ever. Even if Danny called dibs on Godfather.

Skybird by windsweptfic

33,785 words | Inception/White Collar, Arthur/Eames

Arthur and Eames adopt a kid and raise that kid into Neal Caffrey.

Small Cells and Fibers by sevenfists

7,830 words | Bandom, Frank/Gerard

Tuesdays were finger-painting days. Frank made sure to wear his oldest pair of jeans, because even with his full-length apron and his constant reminders that paint belongs on paper and not on clothing, he always ended up with tiny, multi-colored handprints all over his clothes. There wasn't a thing he could do about it, so he just wore pants from 1995.

Small Primes and Square Roots by liviapenn

12,500 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

"I hope you picked someone really intelligent, otherwise it seems like it would be kind of a waste. Of incubation time, if nothing else."

So Wise We Grow by deastar

81,250 words | Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/Spock

"Commander Spock, we have located your son," the Vulcan lady on the screen says, which would be great, except Jim can tell by the look on Spock's face that he's never heard of this kid before in his life. "If it is expedient, the child will be sent to join you on the Enterprise within the week."

Something Better by lovelypoet

18,350 words | Bandom, Frank/Gerard

"We all have to take jobs we don't like sometimes, you know?"

The Next Time You Say Forever by Thistlerose

27,300 words | Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/McCoy

After his ex-wife's death, McCoy is forced to leave the Enterprise to look after his teenage daughter. Under normal circumstances, this would be the end of…whatever it is he has with Kirk that's more than friendship, but less than what he wants. But the universe has other intentions.

The Reeducation of Misters Kane and Toews by jezziejay

15,900 words | Hockey, Kane/Toews

In which Kaner sort of has a kid, and Mr. Toews doesn't know which of them is the bigger brat.

AU featuring teacher!Jon and hockey-player!Kaner. With bonus 'Hawks characters, love notes, pasta jewelry, Be Better Pizzas, pirouettes, a sprinke of angst and guest appearance by Derek Jeter.

The Road Delivered Us Home by keelywolfe

117,430 words | Hobbit, Thorin/Bilbo

In the years since Bilbo left Erebor, he has lost his respectability, gained a nephew, and gotten on with life at Bag End.

He'd left aside adventure for the comforts and peace of his little Hobbit hole, and for the love of a child who needed him. Though perhaps, adventures can yet find him.

This Story Was Brought to You by Our Sponsors by scaramouche

29,500 words | Supernatural, Dean/Castiel

Dean's post-apocalyptic life is a friggin' soap opera. Romance! Angst! Separations! Reunions! Pizza Dinners! A Child Dean Never Knew He Had! It's all very dramatic.

throw a little sparkle all over it by etben

26,000 words | Bandom, Frank/Gerard

"Hey, Ma," Mikey says. "No, everything's fine—well, I mean, Gerard accidentally adopted a baby—no, he's changing her now, he can't talk."

Tiny Houses by ohmyjetsabel

77,130 words | Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles

"So this is what Stiles does. He lies in Scott’s bed and waits for Melissa to say she’s found someone to get it out of him, to cure him of the wrongness and the bad, and he dreams.

God, he dreams.

He dreams of fire and swollen bellies and that scene in Alien, of giving birth to jackals through his urethra, the whole horrific nine yards. His head is a terrible place to be, he can’t imagine his stomach is much better, why anyone would want to put a thing inside of it."

Tip, Slide, Tumble by j_s_cavalcante

42,900 words | due South, Fraser/Kowalski

Ray knew when he found the body in the alley it was going to change someone's life. He just didn't expect that life would be his.

Turn by saras_girl

306,000 words | Harry Potter, Harry/Draco

One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

Unless it's lies or it's love by sprat

25,300 words | American Idol, Kris/Adam

In which Adam (a rock star) meets Kris (a single dad) at an Emergency Room in Arkansas at the end of a particularly shitty night. Also features: San Francisco, fresh starts, baked goods, OCs, cameo appearances by Matt and Megan, pirates, monsters with garbage heads and a recording studio.

What Child Is This by lamardeuse

30,150 words | Merlin, Arthur/Merlin

A modern AU with Merlin, Arthur, mayhem, a baby and a jingly elf hat.

What to Expect by arsenic

29,200 words | Bandom, Bob/Mikey

Mikey has his band, and his little girl, and that's enough. Really, it is.

Winter's Children by neery

66,890 words | Marvel, Bucky/Steve

When their attempts to recreate the super soldier serum failed, Hydra started trying to breed Captain America clones from his genetic samples. Unfortunately, the serum's effects aren't passed down genetically, so instead of an army of tiny Captain Americas, they get a bunch of tow-headed, asthmatic, allergic, immuno-compromised little Steves.

And then the Winter Soldier stumbles across Hydra's failed experiment...

With Six You Get Eggroll by speranza

31,000 words | due South, Fraser/Kowalski

"Kick 'em In The Head: A Guide To Parenting."

ETA: Bonus! Because I apparently lost my bookmark for this one but have the memory of an elephant for kidfic, so it came to me eventually. :D

A Farm in Iowa 'Verse by sheafrotherdon

166,000 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

John inherits a farm, Rodney ends up entirely out of his element, and there is much ado about baseball.

[echo-three-one]

A Forgotten Memory

Likes and Reviews are appreciated. (Reblogs too!)

I - Alex

The bright California sunshine striked across Alex's face as soon as he shifted his sleeping position. The newly assigned agent clicked his tongue and covered his face with his heavily tattooed arms, letting out a slight groan of frustration. His head was slightly pounding from a night of irresponsible drinking, courtesy of his new found friends. It was almost always customary for him to get to know some locals for information, especially in foreign territories, but last night's set of people was wilder than he'd imagined. Americans do have their own definition of fun.

He wasn't much of a heavy drinker, so he actually felt the nasty after effects of the alcohol or whatever they took last night, but none of such pain did he regret. After all, he did get a decent amount of information without raising suspicion.

Sprawled across his apartment wall are photos, articles and a handful of red yarn interlacing across pins of different colors. His own evidence board finally made sense because of last night's encounter. Reports of missing people that later came back disoriented and have no recollection of what happened started increasing day by day and it all started in this exact city.

Taking a fresh white shirt from his gym bag, Alex slipped it on and made his way to the evidence board staring at the piece of paper he had from last night and comparing it against what he had so far. A smirk strewn across his face as he pins it on the board.

"Gotcha." he muttered proudly, blindly dialing his immediate supervisor over the phone.

"This is Alex. Intel was off, they're after a different person. I'm sending it to you as we speak." he informed over the encrypted lines. He did this expertly, as if his whole life was like this, secret spy work and a whole lot of information gathering.

"This one? She seems ordinary, even her name brings out zero results." the voice replied over his phone.

"That's why it makes much more sense. She may be using an alias." Alex commented, standing up from his laptop, casually pacing back and forth as his free hand rests on his hips.

"Well, I trust you know what to do. If she's being targeted then it's either she's being protected-"

"-or a threat to the enemy." he cut off, completing the caller's thoughts.

"Keep us posted while we monitor the other missing person cases."

"Got it." he assured as the call ended, taking one quick glance at the image displayed on his screen.

Samantha Cooper, age 26, a graphic designer at a nearby local company. Alex took his time staring at her, clearly familiarizing her face as she will be the object of his eyes for this mission. He can't help but appreciate how cute she is, how her brunette curls perfectly fit her facial features. It would be such a shame if she's actually a threat and it would make him a believer of the phrase "looks can be deceiving". He quickly tapped on his burner phone arranging a meetup with a certain person from last night, a person whom he believed to lead him right into Samantha.

* * *

Strong gusts of salty seaside air blew across Alex, who sat on a park bench by the baywalk waiting patiently for his guide. He somehow wished he brought a cap, as the harsh rays of the sun kept his eyes squinted while looking at his phone.

"There you are!" a short blonde haired woman greeted the agent as he busily taps on his phone. Alex quickly recognized the person as Maxine, also known as Samantha's best friend and roommate, whom he met at the bar just last night.

She wore tattered jeans and a white shirt covered by a gray cardigan, a typical choice of clothing around these parts.

"Yep." Alex stood as he shakes her hand, quite an awkward gesture to say the least, but she immediately dismissed it with a friendly hug.

"Handshakes are for acquaintances, Alex. If you're friends with Samantha, we're friends." Maxine hugged him as Alex slowly pats her back, still baffled by the action she's done. But it was no time to dwell on those, so he silently cleared his throat and went on to business.

She's obviously alone, but that could also mean Samantha's just letting her go first for confirmation, so Alex took quick glances at visible corners for any sign of her.

"So, where's Samantha?" he finally asked, the question was quite demanding almost indicating urgency. Maxine seemed to catch this reaction from him and made Alex slightly worry about his cover.

"She's still at work, but I'll lead you to our apartment. It's just a few blocks from here..." she goes on about how she should also know Alex at some point if he's really here staying. It felt like she's starting to get cautious whether to let them meet.

"You say you're a friend from her hometown? Come to think of it, she never told me where she came from." She asked the agent as they walk across the block.

"Yeah, from Georgia." Alex replied confidently. Her information was very limited, and judging from it, Samantha may have been also living with a lie. A lie that kept Alex from wondering if she's s threat or she needs to be protected.

"Really? Doesn't strike you both as from there. Or maybe that's just me. What do I know about that place anyway? I haven't been there..." she chuckled and Alex slightly laughed. He was almost being suspicious, something that never usually happens when he's gathering intel.

"Yeah. Moved a lot growing up. Gotta follow where my Dad's job is." Alex commented, trying to support the lie he's built up. Funny how you have to lie to look for the truth, he thought as they pass by the busy streets across the beach.

"Oh, so you're that kind of kid growing up. That's probably why you easily got along with our group last night." she laughed and suddenly fished her phone from her pocket.

Raising a finger, she gestured to Alex that she had to take the call. Alex automatically nodded and she excused herself just by the alley. He couldn't help but be cautious around her, as she told earlier she was the target's roommate and if ever she's a threat, she's also on his watch list. But for now she's all he's got to bring him close to Samantha.

An embarrassed grimace formed on her lips as she approached Alex. The agent raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Sorry, Alex. My boss needs me to go earlier than usual. I'll just lead you to our apartment and I'll let you wait for her on the stairs. You wouldn't miss her if you still know what she looks like, right?" she stepped forward, leading him the way. Alex nodded in agreement and gave a soft "Yeah." as they made their way across two more blocks.

A tall three storey building, walled with dark orange bricks, with three flights of stone steps as entrance greeted Alex as Maxine stops walking.

"This is where we stop. And this is where you wait." She pointed at the stairs leading to the apartment doors.

"She'll be here in a few minutes. She told me she wants to go home immediately after work before she left. Good luck on your meet up, Alex!" She waved goodbye almost in a hurry and left before Alex could even open his mouth.

"Guess I'm on my own now." he muttered and sighed as he sat down on thr topmost slab, just beside the door. He found himself tapping his foot nervously, as if he's really out to meet her. A lie he made that felt so real, even he almost believed they're really hometown friends.

At that exact moment, he saw a foot step on the bottom slab and he immediately trailed his blue eyes across the person. Her floral dress sways to the breeze as a man on a skateboard passes by her. Then their eyes locked for just a second, her hazel eyes now embedded in his memory as she quickly turns back and ran away.

"Hey! Wait!" Alex immediately bolted and followed her.

II - Samantha

[snowflake-of-destruction]

Grass is Greener // Sibling Shenanigans 1/3

“I might be getting a divorce!” The signs of truth were there. Kairi had a cat carrier in each hand, Astrophe, the princess too good for a carrier, laid across her chest with claws dug into her shoulder, and the long strap of a duffel bag crossing her chest at a slant with the bag itself balanced against a cocked hip. Kairi’s shadow and liner were smudged and eyes too bright. Her smile was forced. Her hair was coiled in a complicated knot, but with several strands fallen out and curling slightly with damp and stuck to her face and neck,  and she was wearing a short black sequined dress with tennis shoes and no socks. She was a definite picture. 

However, her lines were delivered with the air of someone announcing that they had won an all expenses paid trip to Port Royal, and not that the life they had built was crumbling around them, so Axel thought he could be excused when it was with an exasperated sigh and a, “What happened this time?” that he welcomed his little sister through his front door and not a sympathetic and concerned, “Tell me what happened.”

“You know how Vanitas was supposed to be gone this weekend?” The carriers were already on the floor and Kairi and Vanitas’s manx, Ali, had, by all evidence Axel could see, turned to smoke and reformed outside the wire barred door as soon as it was set on the ground before Kairi had even bent to unlatch it, Astrophe running after his sister. “Is Stuffing shut in the bedroom?” All of Kairi’s cats knew Turkey was monarch of the realm, and they were proud aunts and uncles to the litter (Pumpkin, Gravy, Cranberry, Potato, and Biscuit, all of whom were supposed to have gone on to new homes by now, but Kairi suspected were to become permanent fixtures since Axel had not been able to “find the time” to secure appropriate homes so far since “They can’t just go to anyone, Kairi, and I’m not sending them to your broken home either!”) but Kairi’s old wirehair cat, Tillac, who Axel assumed was in the other carrier, and Stuffing had a rivalry that stretched back years. 

Axel didn’t even bother to nod, opting instead to ask, “Is Xion okay?” as he closed the door and then addressed his sister’s other question while bending to pick up the shoes she’d already kicked off so he could place them on the shoe rack by the door which she never remembered to do.  “No, I don’t keep Stuffing shut up unless I’m expecting Tilly, which I wasn’t.” The last was said with a pointed look. “I see you had your hands full, but would it have killed you to call?”

Kairi gaped at him. “Axel, I just took the kids and left my husband, and you manage to take his side by implying the only reason we could have argued is if I had planned something untoward in his absence, insult one of my dearest friends, imply you care more about Xion than your own sister, and whine about how my showing up is going to impact the plans I know you don’t have all in the space of seconds? Axel, your baby sister is distraught!” 

“Yeah, but is Xion okay?” Axel repeated without pause. “She’s sensitive.” He dropped the shoes in their proper place and let out a belated snort. “Untoward? Are you using a word of the day calendar so you can impress the hubby’s friends?”

Kairi released Tillac to go harass Stuffing until Turkey put her in her place, stood up, and tugged the hem of her dress down and readjusted the bodice to try and wrangle everything into a more presentable place. “Not all of us spend our days communicating only in grunts, brother dear.”

“Hey!” Axel gasped in mock offense. “I’m trying my best to teach Demyx human speech, but sometimes I have to meet him halfway.” He opened up his arms and gestured with his hands for Kairi to come hug him, an olive branch she immediately accepted, tripping over the cat carriers to throw herself in his arms. “Now tell me what happened and we can get drunk, or I’ll go threaten the bastard with a weed whacker or something.”  He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back. There wasn’t enough information yet to establish whether this was a you’ll work it out moment or a you really shouldn’t go back this time with a side of you could do so much better, so he left no follow up.

“It’s really not that bad,” were Kairi’s first words and Axel could have provided commentary, but led her over the couch instead. Presumably, that meant Xion was fine. “It’s my fault. I picked a fight.”

He waited a second for more details, and, when none came, he urged her along. “Atta girl. Knock some teeth out? He has too many.”

“Axel, please.”

“Didja, blacken one of those creepy gold eyes?” Axel forced an exaggerated shudder to go with his words. He didn’t have to do much to make it happen. He’d found Vanitas unnerving ever since Kairi introduced them (or, rather, failed to, since “Guess who got married in Vegas?” did not an introduction make).

“His eyes are hazel and they are gorgeous.” Kairi sighed, picking up a wandering kitten from the arm of the couch and sitting them on her lap to cuddle (Pumpkin or Cranberry, but with Kairi’s hand covering the the top of their head while she scritched their scalp, there was no way to check the marking).

“Sure, if you’re a hawk. I bet all the lady hawks go crazy.”

“That’s my husband,” Kairi warned.

“Yeah, but for how much longer?” Axel scoffed, brushing his sister’s fight with husband off again, something he still wasn’t sure he wouldn’t regret later, though Kairi’s glare was weak enough he was confident that he would be called to post bail because Kairi and Vanitas were picked up for indecent acts in the back seat of a convertible in the middle of a car show by next week. It wasn’t like this was the first time Kairi had shown up on his door, claiming things might be over. There was a bit of a girl who cried wolf situation at this stage. He picked up his half finished beer from the coffee table and took a swig. “And I’m just saying you have bad taste. Xion excluded. Do you want to put your duffel  and the carriers in the guest room?”

“I don’t have bad taste. You have bad taste,” Kairi fired back and Axel couldn’t help but picture her at eight years old with a missing tooth and a haircut she’d given herself because he had dared her. “Your last boyfriend was literally a serial killer.”

“You have to kill three people before its serial and he was only convicted of manslaughter. Honestly, it’s like you never had a bad relationship before.” Axel’s easygoing reply of the standard line didn’t match the sudden flicker out and fade of amusement from his eyes.

“You do better with bored housewives.” Kairi patted his arm, and it was almost like an apology. “I’ll get the luggage in a minute.”

“I do fantastic with bored housewives,” Axel corrected, “but I’m usually only interested in their husbands.”

“Oh! Speaking of,” Kairi tucked her legs beneath her and sat up straighter, predatory look entering her eyes, “You started work for Xion’s brother-in-law today, right?”

Kairi smiled suddenly with too many teeth--maybe she was well suited to her husband after all--and Axel found it took all his focus to swallow his beer without choking. It occurred to him that the thermostat might have been broken, because the room was getting humid but the air hadn’t kicked on. “Weren’t you distraught?” He furrowed his brow like a good concerned big brother. “Didn’t you have a fight with your husband? You may be getting divorced. I know we don’t talk about things that bother us like a normal family, thanks Dad, but that’s upsetting news! I’m distraught! My ears are wide open.” He took one of Kairi’s hands in both of his and there was a meow of protest from Pumpkin. “I’m listening.”

Kairi pulled away and resumed important kitten petting duties. Unlike before, where her petulance was for Axel  taking things too lightly, her frustration now seemed to be at internal sources. “Sora invited me away for the weekend. Most of that duffel was already packed.”

“What about Xion?” Axel whined his bias. “She was in…” Axel made an okay symbol with his thumb and index finger and whistled between his teeth for effect, “fine form when I saw her earlier. She was wearing this petal pink bodycon number so short I saw that starfish you’re always talking about, and I think she cut her hair again, or at least did some different product. She was wearing that perfume you got her too. I thought you guys had something planned tonight.”

“Maybe she was going out with Ventus.” Kairi was dismissive enough in tone, but her lips pursed when they were done with the words and Pumpkin made a complaining noise like he’d been squeezed. 

“Who?” Axel oozed false innocence and confusion.

“Her husband...fiancé...boyfriend...whatever,” Kairi waved vaguely, more obviously disgruntled by the moment.

“Not whatever. Just because you skipped a few steps with ol’ Vani the Vain, doesn’t mean there is a distinct difference between those three things, typically one that matters to most people.”

“Just those in the relationship,” Kairi countered.

“And those with...what’s the word?” Axel pretended to think as Pumpkin abandoned Kairi in favor of him, and two more cats came bolting into the room as if summoned, sensing Dad was handing out love. “Morals? Boundaries? Restraint?”

“Van and I do have restraints…” Kairi hummed,  trailing off once the joke was made and clicking her tongue to lure Potatoes to her.

Axel howled protest and screwed up his face, playing along, glad Kairi was distracted again before she could get sad. “ Too much information even for us!”  When Kairi giggled--with grateful eyes that said she wasn’t really that amused, but was trying because she saw he was working hard to keep things light from the moment she’d walked in the door--Axel declared that part of his job done and reoriented back to allowing Kairi to tell her story. “So Vanitas was supposed to be gone so you made plans with Sora, and you were just going to leave the cats? “

“Xion was going to check in on the cats,” Kairi clarified the important part.

“You were going to have Xion catsit while you went traipsing off with the flavor of the month?” Axel stretched his mouth and widened his eyes, daring his face to stick in the clowning expression. “You’ll never get her to leave Airvent and marry you instead that way!”

“I’m already married...for now,” Kairi tokenly defended her marriage.

“Doesn’t count. He didn’t get my blessing...and he never will.” Axel was quick on both parts of the rejoinder.

Kairi ignored him as he expected her to and started to confess in a rush, “So Vanitas announces that he’s not going to the conference anymore; something about him finding out some of the last second substitutions in presenters and articles being presented when his was declined in the peer review stage...He was still published, but it’s a whole political thing with being featured in the conference. Anyway, he had to boycott on principle, so he’s home, and he told me to get ready because we were going out to dinner and we were going to order multiple bottles of wine and get kicked out of our favorite restaurant because he’s already a disgrace…his words. He gave me the opening, and I took it, because I’m panicked Sora is going to show up at the door.”

Axel raised his hand like an obedient child in a classroom to be called on, but just went ahead and interrupted even when he was ignored. “Isn’t Sora the yoga guy? Couldn’t he defeat Vani Vain with the power of friendship and love?” He hadn’t met Sora. Kairi was quite adamant that he wasn’t allowed to after he’d been a little more than politely amused at her stories. It was a fair ask since Kairi had, rightly, assumed that the only reasons Axel wanted to meet Sora were to see if he could make him cry for the fun of it, warn him off his sister, or, if he proved to be as attractive as Kairi said, sleep with him himself.

Kairi continued as if the interruption hadn’t happened. “I don’t take it right away. I get dressed, start to do my hair, and then I start throwing things from the vanity and yelling about how he can’t just order me to doll up like that’s all I am, his doll, waiting pretty on a shelf, ready to play with when he remembers I’m there. I point out he never asked me to come to the convention with him, and after we had such fun at last years’.” Axel snorted, knowing that story, and the pattern of being blocked out continued,  “And I know how many spouses come along now. I think I accused him of having an affair. I really don’t know. I half blacked out. A spirit took over, and when I came to, I was packing a bag and insulting his paper because he still wasn’t getting angry enough fast enough to justify me leaving.”

“It sounds like you handled the situation brilliantly,” Axel complimented. “So did you call Sora and tell him to pick you up here, or is the weekend off? Am I on catsitting and husband deflection duty?” He wasn’t seeing a problem yet, not even something that warranted Kairi’s overdramatic divorce line, though a troubling thought did occur to him. “If he smacked you, shoved you, laid a hand on you in any way when you started yelling at him, I will do more than threaten him with the chainsaw. He’s dead. Demyx will help me hide the body. He knows a guy, and he owes me. They both owe me. Plus, I learned some tricks from my ex.” He softened his concern and threats he was prepared to follow through with in jokes. 

“Stop thinking the worst of him at every opportunity,” Kairi snapped, and Potatoes rubbed his head against her stomach to calm her. “He just...took some low blows of his own and things escalated more quickly than I wanted them to.” She shifted uncomfortably.

“Like what?” Axel responded carefully, not wanting to supply guesses when it was a losing game, even if he came from the angle of listing reasons anything Vanitas could have said was untrue.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kairi insisted, which was a prime sign that it did. “I just might be here a few days for real after Sora and I get back. He’s coming to pick me up in an hour.”

Axel was silent a moment, assessing whether he should push Kairi to talk or hope the weekend healed the wounds, then nodded and gently lifted all cats away from his body. “An hour doesn’t give us much time. Go sit at the dining room table. Go!” He shooed her.

Kairi complied without asking for explanation and Axel went into the kitchen, grabbing two wine glasses down from the cabinet and an open half a red from the fridge. On impulse, he grabbed a few empty beer bottles from his recycling pile as well and stuck them under his arms. He continued their conversation as he rejoined his sister. “Do I get to meet Sora or is he supposed to stay outside and honk? Put your head down on the table and look listless.” He poured the barest hint of wine in the bottom of the glass he put in front of Kairi, and did the same for the one he put in his spot at the table. He arranged the empty beer bottles with the eye of an artist. “Let me go get my phone. Look sadder, but not so sad it’s unbelievable.” 

“If you want to meet Sora, take one of his classes.”

Axel snapped a series of pictures to choose from, talking to himself, “She’s doing fine, Vanitas. We spent the evening talking. Of course. I’ll send you a picture.” Raising his voice a few decibels, he gestured back to the living room. “Go lie down on the couch, cover yourself with the fleece from the armchair,  put a cat or two on your chest, and close your eyes. We’ll shoot, ‘don’t come over now, Van, she’s sleeping,’ next and then you can change into sweats and grab some board games from the closet. I’m assuming you’ll be too mad to answer phone calls from him anyway, but do you want to take your hair down and get it wet in the sink for some, ‘No, she just got out of the shower, why are you so creepy needing evidence?’ safety shots?”

“You’re seriously the best brother ever,” Kairi leaned up on tiptoes and pecked Axel’s cheek on her way into the living room.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Roxas was watching you today from the upstairs window,” Kairi tossed out nonchalantly. “Xion texted me about it. He wants to smell your hair and cook you dinner.”

“He what?” Axel stuttered and nearly fumbled his phone. So much for a steady hand and unflappable cool. The Howe he hadn’t met yet, having spoken with Isa Howe during his initial looks around and estimates for the yard, had come outside after Xion had left, and all but admitted to watching him at least as long as to comment on Xion detouring to chat with him a minute before she went to her car, and, sure, Axel had purposefully peeled off his shirt and rolled down his overalls to his waist after Roxas had went inside, hoping he was still watching, but he hadn’t seen any proof, and their brief conversation had spent a moment on shock of shared acquaintances (“You know Xion? I knew you were Kairi’s brother--she recommended you--so it makes sense since they’re close, but that’s wild. Small world.”)  and then stayed in the professional (apparently Roxas had been the one who had done the sketches Isa had shown Axel of what the garden in the backyard was supposed to look like when he was done). Maybe Axel had noticed that Roxas had eyes the exact color blue as the delphinium hybrid he had presented at his last flower show (had to keep up the street cred that he was more than just a lawn service guy and a tree and hedge trimmer somehow--even if that sort of thing was his bread and butter), and that he was pretty cut since he hadn’t bothered with a shirt when he ran outside. And perhaps, when the sun caught his hair he looked like an angel out of a renaissance painting. None of that meant anything though.

“He wants to cook you dinner,”Kairi repeated, cavalier. “Be gentle with him. I think it would be his first time out of the box in awhile.”

“I’m not…” Axel pinched the bridge of his nose, counting to keep from getting angry and only managing to count the problems he had with what Kairi was suggesting. “Is this why you recommended me to your friend? Are you my pimp now?”

“He needs a fling.” Kairi had the nerve to shrug. “You are an accomplished flinger. The only person you’re seeing right now is Demyx, and he’s just a friend sleeping in one of your spare rooms….He is still just a friend sleeping in one of your spare rooms, right?”

“Most nights.” Axel left it ambiguous whether Demyx spent the odd night elsewhere or whether the friend lines sometimes blurred. “And my best tree trimmer.”

“That’s what I heard from Ienzo.” Kairi proved the Emberson comedic timing lived well in her. “So what’s the problem with Xion and I wanting to give Roxas a hot gardener fantasy to brighten up his life? He’s a friend.”

“So many things are wrong with that, Thalassa Shell.” In times so serious, Axel had no choice but to bring out family pet names. 

A beat passed. Kairi didn’t apologize for the idea like she was supposed to. Axel didn’t harp on it more. Another question fought its way out of his throat. “Incidentally though, did he say anything else about me?”

[menswearmusings]

Refined Style or Simply Farce? Refining Your Style While Broadening Your Base

I joked to a friend who leans socialist that his new circular, metal glasses made him look like Lenin. He quipped, “We all devolve into farce as we get older, so why not embrace it?”

Spend a decade being interested in any subject or hobby and if it still holds a grip on you, that interest goes one of two ways: 1. You expand your horizons ever broader seeking the novel, reinventing your interest, or 2. You double down on the parts that excite you the most, whittling away the extraneous as you try to find its pure core. In other words, you either get into weird proportions and cropped pleated drop crotch pants, or you buy 7 pairs of identical shoes so you can wear one every day of the week.

I’ve never understood the guys who completely change lanes and get into wildly different clothes (no condemnation, I just don’t understand it). You won’t catch me dressing in hype sneakers and cargo pants or whatever for 2-3 years before switching again completely. Maybe I’m just slower and more risk-averse than others, so trying out totally different styles is off the table for me. I’m more the hone-in type of guy.

However, there is a balance between the two paths, and that is the different modes of life we all live in. As an example, I’m a tailoring guy through and through, and that’s my default mode of dressing for normal adult life. But as life has changed for me, it’s forced me to address those new circumstances in my wardrobe. In 2015, my wife and I took a trip to Italy, and I wore a blazer every single day. Then in 2019 when we returned, we had a 1-year-old in tow and we had a good deal of walking/hiking on the itinerary. I carried him in a backpack on those hikes. So instead of blazers everyday I had a lightweight M65 style jacket from Corridor, light sweaters, polo shirts, etc. Everything I wore was still within the realm of “my style,” but just more in tune with the activities we were doing and the reality of a small child.

I’ll admit it took me a long time to land on that Corridor M65. I’ve spent so long pursuing the Neapolitan + modern Ivy tailored look I love so much that I had trouble finding a lightweight, casual outer layer that I liked and would be functional. I tried chore coats, looked at weird skater kimonos from 18 East, considered Filson at one point; nothing was doing it for me. I found that M65 and was so thankful for it.

So how do you broaden your horizons for the different modes of life while still staying true to your style? Here are some ideas.

1. Broaden the list of inspirational, stylish people you follow

I have a fairly focused Instagram feed because my tolerance for crappy-looking menswear is very low. So I follow lots of tailoring houses and style-focused accounts, not many of whom post many fits outside that range. That means it’s hard to find inspiration for other modes of dressing. So break out of your rut and look for new accounts, blogs and YouTube videos to follow. Instagram’s Discover tab can help a certain amount (though boy oh boy do they really want you to watch their TikToks—I mean Reels). Following some hashtags can work, too, though again those can lead to crappy menswear photos so choose wisely. You can also just do it manually and look at the “following” list of other menswear accounts you follow to see if you like any that are different from the ones you already follow.

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2. Don’t be afraid to experiment and possibly fail, publicly if you’re comfortable

Try that bomber with the tailored trouser look. See if the hiking boots look cool with the denim and blazer. Order that weird kimono thing and try it on to see if it’s as cool as you think. If you post online somewhere (like Styleforum, the Reddit male fashion advice place, or Instagram), don’t be afraid to put it up and ask for honest input. Outside opinions can really be helpful, and sometimes failing provides for a better teachable moment than posting something fine or safe.

3. Write down certain situations and specific types of clothing you’re looking for to guide you down the path

It’s kind of overwhelming to think about expanding your wardrobe to new clothes for new circumstances. It can seem like you’ll need a whole new wardrobe. So my suggestion is simply to focus on the individual pieces you keep thinking to yourself “Ah, I wish I had something like ___ right now” and look just for that. That Corridor M65 I mentioned earlier was actually a jacket type I had been looking for for months and months: a lightweight outer layer with easily accessible pockets that I could put random stuff in when having bonfires or doing house projects, that I wouldn’t worry about getting dirty and which could be washed easily, but which was also designed to be a little dressier so that it wouldn’t look so out of place with a button-up shirt. The Corridor jacket’s hidden buttons, navy fabric and contemporary fit all make it fit those criteria well.

As life changes for you personally (and collectively in how we work and travel due to the pandemic), allow the changes to explore new facets of your style, whittling away the extraneous in each mode of life to be the most well rounded, stylish and on-target guy you know. In the end, we all devolve into farce as we get older, so why not embrace it?

Just bury me in navy on top and white jeans with suede shoes. That’s the pure core of my style.

(Help support this site! If you buy stuff through my links, your clicks and purchases earn me a commission from many of the retailers I feature, and it helps me sustain this site—as well as my menswear habit ;-)  Thanks!)

If you’re just getting into tailored menswear and want a single helpful guide to building a trend-proof wardrobe, buy my eBook. It’s only $5 and covers wardrobe essentials for any guy who wants to look cool, feel cool and make a good impression. Formatted for your phone or computer/iPad so it’s not annoying to read, and it’s full of pretty pictures, not just boring prose. Buy it here.

Read more at Menswear Musings

[httpjeon]

— 04. risk it all | jungkook

jungkook/reader ― ft. yoongi, jimin, & tae | angst, light fluff | hybrid au

wordcount: 2k

↬ content warnings: hybrid abuse, physical violence, use of pet names, soft jungkook, mating-cycles/in heat

― synopsis: the plan to escape begins, and dangerous circumstances arise. jungkook needs to think quick on his feet to protect you.

note: just one more part left!

blog masterlist | series masterlist

© httpjeon 2019. do not repost, modify, or translate.

Time seemed to move slower and slower and the hours slowed to agonizing minutes. The cool metal of the cage beneath began to offer no help in your overheated body. Sweat covered your skin and you couldn't sleep as you were much too uncomfortable. Yoongi had been doing his best to keep you alert to keep you from falling any deeper.

The most notable thing that happened was the arrival of a new face.

Fluffy ears twitched atop his head matched with pretty blank hair and an orange and black striped tail. He took over Jungkook's cage directly across from you and you could constantly feel his eyes burning holes into you.

"______?" Yoongi muttered one night, voice rough and husky. "You remember the plan right?"

You winced as you struggled to sit up, leaning against the bars to meet Yoongi's concerned gaze. Your breathing was labored, not having enough sustenance lately to move your heavy, exhausted body.

"You're gonna fight?" You answered the main plot Jimin had hatched that you could remember.

"That's right," You could make you Yoongi's smile through the darkness. "The guy over there is Taehyung. Remember him?"

Taehyung.

A tiger hybrid whom Jimin managed to make friends with although that wasn't very hard. He and Yoongi were supposed to fight. That was the plan.

"Guys," Jimin scurried from around the cages to come into sight of you all. he was out of breath and his hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat. "I just learned that another buyer is coming tomorrow and he's already paid to take _____. We have to do this tomorrow or we'll lose our chance,"

"That's a week earlier than we planned!" Taehyung spoke, voice surprisingly deep as his tail twitched anxiously behind him. "Are we really ready? Pushing it forward could fuck this whole thing up!"

"Her pre-heats getting worse," Yoongi sighed. "It's going to hit sooner than I expected anyway. I think it's better to move it like Jimin said,"

Your heart ached at their concern for you. But fear prickled at you at the thought of some bastard swooping in and taking you away -- to never see Jungkook again.

"It's decided then," Jimin reached into your cage and gently pet your ear. "We'll get you and Jungkook out of here I promise. I want to make sure you're prepared. Tae and Yoongi are going to really fight tomorrow,"

"I don't want anyone to get hurt..." You whispered, leaning into the comforting touch.

"I know...I don't either," Jimin moved to pet your hair, his fingers catching in some tangles there. "But this is the only way, you know? It has to be believable if the guards are going to leave their posts,"

"What if they kill them for fighting?" You lowered your voice even though you knew both of them could easily hear you.

"Don't worry about that, _____," Taehyung smiled from across you, a cute boxy smile that would have been contagious if you didn't feel so miserable. "They won't do that. They'll probably just throw up in the hold, you know? We can handle that!"

Taehyung's cheerful disposition managed to help calm your racing heart. Thinking it over, you slowly nodded your head before meeting their eyes.

"Alright, I'm ready if you guys are,"

You didn't sleep that night, although that wasn't anything abnormal lately with your pre-heat slowly eating away at your weary body. You blankly stared ahead, wishing your eyes would just close and you could find yourself in a peaceful dreamland. Alas, that wasn't possible as the guards came along with Jimin to escort your section for cage cleanings.

They didn't bother collaring you in your weak state but they chained up Taehyung and Yoongi. You kept your eyes on Jimin as you waited for the signal, having gone over how this would play out many times since learning of your escape attempt.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Jimin lightly tugged Taehyung's tail. The feline sprung into action, surprising the guards to the point they weren't able to catch him as he pounced on Yoongi.

Once the two made contact, it was impossible to separate them -- their strength combined too much for mere humans to fight against. They were apex predators literally trying to kill each other -- at least they thought.

For a second you were frozen, the snarls and growls coming from the two predators was enough to send your poor prey-mind into overdrive. Frantically, you looked around for an escape route -- a safe one.

"We have a Code here!" One of the guards shouted, only serving to rile up the other hybrids in surrounding cages. They cheered Taehyung and Yoongi on, shouting words on encouragement to one or the other. More guards arrived, slamming nightsticks against the cage to silence the bystanders.

One of them slammed his nightstick down on Yoongi's back, the wolf yowling in pain but still keeping his grip on the tiger. You winced, covering your mouth to keep yourself from whimpering sympathetically at the sight of blood dripping down his cheek from a well-placed scratch provided by Taehyung.

Jimin found you in the chaos, shoving a ring of keys into your trembling hands.

"These will unlock Jungkook's cage, go before it's too late," He whispered, helping you to your feet and pushing you in the direction of the solitary confinement door that housed Jungkook.

Although your body still felt weak and exhausted, you still managed to scurry to the door. You forced yourself to ignore the hungry gazes and whispers from the hybrids as you passed, no doubt drawn by the scent of your heat beginning. The metal door was impossibly heavy, making your temples throb as you used all the strength you simply didn't have to fit your body in through a small gap.

It was dark and humid inside, dirty concrete walls offering no ventilation. The smell of urine and sweat was strong, making you cover your nose in disgust. As you passed various cages, you were surprised by how unresponsive the hybrids were to you.

Come to think of it, the guards didn't typically come in there from what you saw from your own cage outside.

Jungkook was located at the very end and he was sitting on the dirty floor with his head against the wall looking completely exhausted.

"Jungkook?" You whispered, squinting into the darkness for any movement.

At the sound of your voice, his eyes flew open and he was on his feet faster than you could follow. Reaching through the bars, he cupped you cheek and smiled.

"I'm so happy to see you," Were the first words he said to you and you felt tears sting at your eyes at the relief you felt having him so close.

Your hands were still trembling from the adrenaline as you pulled out and key that had a blue mark from a pen on it, sliding it into the lock of Jungkook's cell and opening it with a solid click.

The second the door was open, you found yourself in his arms. His scent was overwhelming but no less comforting as he cupped the back of your head to hold you as close as he could. Soft lips pressed against your forehead and he smiled.

"You're burning up, we have to get out of here," He muttered.

"Where do we go?" You slowly blinked, everything beginning to rapidly swirl and tilt around you.

"There's a door back here they sometimes come through. Jimin says it leads to a garage and we can get out through there," Jungkook replied, keeping his hands on you to keep you steady. "Get on my back, baby,"

You were too out of it to even recognize the petname as he crouched in front of you and helped you onto his back. Having him in your arms safe and sound, you couldn't stop the few tears that escaped your eyes. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and hugged him.

"I missed you so much, Jungkook. I was so scared when they took you away from me," You confessed, fisting his shirt as he made his way to the door at the very back.

"I know. I'm sorry I let me temper get the best of me and they took me away. I was so worried when Jimin told me your heat hit and that a buyer was coming for you. I would never forgive myself if anything ever happened to you, _____,"

The door was a simple wooden one and Jungkook was able to easily open it. You looked around, taking in the last area before your freedom.

It was a concrete garage with two doors big enough to fit trucks.

"This is where they bring in supplies I think," Jungkook adjusted you on his back, making you whine. There was fleeting pressure on your core, reminding you of how your heat was literally looming over you.

He seemed to stiffen suddenly, inhaling deeply.

"You're--" He broke off in a growl and rushed over to the last door. It wasn't locked, probably because it was blocked off from hybrid's view unless someone like Jimin spilled the beans so they never worried about anyone but personnel getting in and out.

As the door was flung open, you nearly cried as you felt the breeze on your sweat-slicked skin. From outside, you were surprised how you well you could hear the shouts and screams of complete chaos within those concrete prison walls.

Jungkook jostled you, carrying you farther and farther away from that place until it completely disappeared from view.

It seemed to be in a really seedy area with worn down buildings and warehouses all around with chain-link fences and blinking streetlamps. You closed your eyes, basking in the cool night breeze.

"We're going to go a bit further until we're a safe distance, alright?" He asked softly, his voice vibrating his back. "Once we're far enough that they won't be able to find us,"

You nodded in response, too worn out to formulate a verbal response. The buildings passed by and the breeze rustled your hair as you felt yourself begin to doze off for the first time in over a week.

However, it didn't seem to last very long as you were awoken with what felt like burning hot needles piercing your skin. You sat up, wrapping your arms around your middle as you began to sob -- unable to stop yourself due to the overwhelming pain.

"Shh, it's alright," Jungkook quickly soothed, kneeling beside you and holding you close to him. "Your heat's hit," He frantically looked around the abandoned house he decided to hole up in.

Your cries broke his heart and he held you close to him. This wasn't a good situation. You didn't have food and he couldn't leave to find any with you in your current state. He felt helpless, soothing your hair.

You wouldn't have the energy to go through with him taking you now. You also weren't in your right mind and he wouldn't take advantage of you.

With your lack of food lately, your poor body wasn't fit to sustain you through a heat. At this rate the fever would no doubt kill you.

There wasn't even water.

The pain was consuming you and it was all you could think about. You couldn't even process how loud you were crying, all you knew was that it hurt. You clung to Jungkook, fisting his shirt in hopes that his scent would at least help ease something. Your body was on fire and you were shivering. It felt like at any moment you would cease breathing and collapse.

Right at that moment you actually wished death would come. Your heats had never ever been this horrid in your life and you wanted it to end.

Jungkook was neck deep in worry and panic that he didn't notice the door creaking open until a flashlight was shining down on the two of you.

[oikawasballs]

Mad Dog and Puppy

Hey so it was brought to my attention that people can no longer access the original “Mad Dog and Puppy” English translation post since the OP deleted her account. She’s a friend of mine and she felt bad so she asked if I could repost it, so here y’all go:

From Haikyuu!! Light Novel 6, Chapter “Mad Dog and Puppy” written by Kiyoko Hoshi with illustrations by Haruichi Furudate.

One fine holiday in fall, there was a man standing in a convenience store nearby Aoba Jousai High School. The guy, wearing a volleyball jersey, walked out as the opening and closing door made an electronic sound. The man’s name is Kyoutani Kentarou, a second-year member in Aoba Jousai High’s volleyball club.

Kyoutani tore the wrapping of the chicken—chicken is his favorite food—that he took out of the convenience store bag before sinking his teeth into it, making an audible noise; this was how he walked toward school. The volleyball club took Mondays off. Practice starts morning today, which is a Sunday.

Kyoutani had not attended the club for quite a while since the middle of his first year due to various circumstances, though he has been recently thrown into the spotlight for coming back after being recalled by Oikawa, the team captain.

At the preliminary round of the Inter-High Miyagi Finals in June, Aoba Jousai suffered defeat at the hands of Shiratorizawa Academy, the invincible champions. It was necessary to regroup and reorganize the currently completed team in order to clear themselves of the disgrace come the next Spring High School competition, move on from second place and aim for the Nationals. What they wanted to strengthen in particular was their offense. The fighting strength that served to be the trigger of that was Kyoutani, whom Oikawa jokingly called “Mad Dog.”

**********

For Kyoutani, club activities are frankly troublesome; everyone in the club is annoying and he wished they would stop calling him Mad Dog or anything for that matter. Though he tries not to care about that too much, as long as he gets to keep playing volleyball. 

While there was a common agreement for the time being among the manager, coaches, the captain and other third-year members on what to do about him, at any rate, Kyoutani‘s fellow second-years had more complex considerations. They, who had been practicing everyday since he left, felt they’d been working hard only to be sidelined by Kyoutani who just came back as if nothing happened when they thought he already quit.

That same Kyoutani also did not seem keen to a change of heart just because he came back, his attitude still as bad as his manner of speaking. And while they thought things would turn out fine if Kyoutani thoroughly practiced at the very least, he would often still come late to practice.

In the third gymnasium where the volleyball club is gathered, Yahaba Shigeru, a second-year back-up setter, clicked his tongue silently as he glared at the clock on the wall.

**********

Kyoutani was noisily eating his chicken while walking down the road when his mouth came to a stop. His feet, hurrying as he thinks he’s running late, stop at the same time. He noticed a small cardboard box placed at the middle of a gaping-wide, empty plot of land—basically like a missing tooth—in the residential area along the street he uses everyday to go to school.

“…?”

The empty lot was covered in tall grass, and it didn’t seem like it had only been there since yesterday or today. But Kyoutani had never noticed this area. That it had suddenly caught his attention must have been because of the cardboard box. The cardboard box from an online shopping website that could often be seen here and there did not appear to have been trampled upon or crushed nor did it appear to have been drenched in rain and lost its shape; it was properly, squarely propped up and brand new, which made it unnatural, and it was almost like a poorly constructed trap.

Regardless, Kyoutani came up and stepped into the thicket quickly without hesitation and peeked inside the box.

“…Fur?”

A light-brown furball that is around two sizes smaller than a volleyball is inside wrapped in an old towel. As soon as he tried to crouch and touch it, two wet, small, black eyes appeared from inside the round ball. Kyoutani, surprised, pulled back his stretched-out hand.

“It has eyes!”

Inside the box, the furball opened its red mouth and made a vague sound. That is when Kyoutani finally realized.

“A dog.”

What was inside the cardboard box seemed to be an abandoned puppy. It’s very small and frail, and it doesn’t have a collar on. That said, a lot of dogs walk in that area, so it’s not an unusual sight at all. Kyoutani, concerned he was going to be late, resolved to leave the place immediately.

However, the puppy clambered up the box making it tumble and fall to the ground and followed Kyoutani as it cried. It turned back but cried helplessly with its small tail waving back and forth.

“… Meat.”

Kyoutani noticed that it was following because of the chicken he was holding, so he threw the last of it into his mouth in one go, noisily chewed and then drank water. He then folded up the paper wrapping, pocketing it and immediately walked out of the lot.

It is a dog after all. It only tried to follow me because I had food, that‘s all. Thinking that, he headed to school without looking back. He would get a scolding if he arrived late, so it was for his sake that he rush and ignore some dog.

Walking at a quick pace, Kyoutani slowly sulked. A rush of memories came and went and he suddenly felt bad.

He expected to be made to come back by Oikawa, the team captain, but the unsettling part was having to hear complaints from other members for such a small matter as if he was the only one who had been causing trouble all the time. He even thinks to himself of quitting this shitty club on the spot if he so ever hears someone self-importantly explain to him that volleyball is about team play while lecturing him. Thinking that, he even became angry at himself for staying with the club for these past months without quitting. The wave of exhaustion that had slowly been building over him was starting to crash. There probably really wasn’t much of an excuse for losing his shit on people, but he realized that his desire to start yelling and acting like a completely impatient prick was really only a desire to let out his exhaustion, frustrations, and confusion.

He’s never told anyone that and never will. He thinks, just maybe, that they wouldn’t understand.

“…”

Club activities are annoying, and the fact that the cuff of his jersey keeps brushing against his ankles whenever he takes a step is annoying too. The grass in the empty lot might have been wet with the morning dew. He thought of that as he looked at his foot. And when he did, he realized he was about to step on a black-ish shadow or something, so he stopped in panic as if a piece of trash had landed in front of him.

However, before his feet was no trash but the puppy earlier looking up at Kyoutani.

It made a sound.

“The dog.”

Why is it still following him when he has no food anymore? Does he still have the scent of meat? Without realizing, he tried to take a sniff of his jersey, but he’s not sure. Kyoutani furrows his eyebrows and glared at the puppy silently. However, the puppy, probably because it was still small and untrained or because animals cannot precisely comprehend human emotions, coiled around Kyoutani’s feet and cried.

“…You’re in my way.”

That is what he said, but of course his words remain undecipherable to the puppy, who bites Kyoutani’s pants while tumbling and crying; it is enjoying the moment, even letting its tongue out.

“…”

He strangely became irritated while looking at that innocent furball. “Becoming attached to anyone and starting to beg food from them is probably what you do. You probably go around stealing people’s convenience store chicken knowing they couldn’t possibly resist a small creature like you, but that’s where you’re wrong,” he said.

Okay, maybe he had been a little harsh. Or maybe a lot. 

But having accepted the puppy wouldn’t understand anything he was saying, Kyoutani left the poor dog and ran away. He has to go to the club anyway.

He thinks he can hear its helpless voice from behind him, but he ignores it and continues running.

Yahaba would probably see this as some kind of sarcastic mockery, wouldn’t he? Well, of course he would. 

This whole thing is stupid.

Kyoutani thought it was ridiculous to be running then when he was already late anyway, but he continued to sprint toward school, never slowing his pace.

This day is going to suck.

**********

“You’re late. Are you actually serious about this?”

As soon as he arrived at the gym and removed his jacket came Yahaba’s jeering. Kyoutani, ignoring him—though he does momentarily get upset about it—joins for spiking practice. He did arrive late, and he has no choice but to explain to them that it is a dog’s fault. He’s watching Yahaba while he speaks, can’t even explain to himself why, because he shouldn’t care, but he does. Regardless, the benchwarmer didn’t mind telling him things as they are.

While Yahaba has been grumbling his discontent even after Kyoutani had silently fallen in line, he finally shuts up when his fellow second-year Watari glares at him. Oikawa, the captain, who had been looking at what Yahaba had been doing from across the net, also kept calmly focused on his own practice. This degree of dispute had not been a rare occurrence since Kyoutani’s return, but it was better compared to last year’s. Things were grimmer that time to the point that Kyoutani would ditch club activities. He supposes it’s better now since he hasn’t quit yet.

The gym’s atmosphere returns to normal and practice restarts after having momentarily paused. Yahaba and Oikawa stand on either side of the net, and they go and toss to the spikers who enter the court taking turns. Next is Kyoutani’s turn. He throws the ball to Yahaba, the setter, and runs. The toss was made. He steps in looking at the ball, jumps and hits it.

Before that, everyone else made impeccable spikes that no one could complain about. However, Kyoutani hits the ball taking advantage of his weight and power, but upon landing, bumps into Yahaba while bearing that excessive force on his way down.

“Ow! Why would you bump into me?! Watch where you’re going! You came late and still have the guts to do that?”

Kyoutani also grows angry as Yahaba complained, his hands on the floor.

“What does my being late have to do with bumping into you?”

“Whatever! I’ve had enough of your excuses. I’m just telling you to take things seriously!”

That caused Kyoutani to hesitate. He had expected Yahaba to supply his reasons for him, so he could just deny everything while watching the results.

He gets up heavily and looks down at Yahaba, who is still on the ground, and says:

“Aren’t you the one who should be taking things seriously?” Even to himself, Kyoutani knows his voice sounds way too harsh, but he can’t help it, and he can’t explain it, and he won’t even try.

Yahaba’s eyes fix instantly in that furious way that Kyoutani tiredly decides he’s never going to live down. “What did you say?!”

Kyoutani takes a deep breath. He can’t talk about this, he’s barely holding his shit together. “…I’m going home.” And that sounded so pathetic he’s almost ashamed of himself.

“Huh?!”

Yahaba, his eyes wide upon hearing Kyoutani’s quite selfish remarks, didn’t try to stop him. “We don’t need Kyoutani in the team. We can win without him. We’d be better off without him,”  he thought.

The club members were dumbfounded. Kyoutani who had just arrived left the gym alone.

**********

The winds of fall felt awfully cold as if in connection with him leaving the hot, stuffy gym. Kyoutani returned to the path he had dejectedly come from.

He came to play volleyball, yet he couldn’t do a single decent spike. He was so frustrated, asking himself how it had come to this point he almost wanted to scream. Club activities were troublesome, and all the club members were annoying. Come to think of it, it doesn’t matter if it were a team composed of hard-working individuals or even if it weren’t a school club at all as long as he can play volleyball. There are a lot of teams everywhere. Volleyball isn’t something people cannot do if they aren’t wearing the Seijou uniform.

At that moment, Kyoutani heard some crunching sounds in his pocket. It’s the paper wrapping of the convenience store chicken. He took notice of it at once and wanted to quickly throw it away, thinking of it as a huge bother due to his frustration. He thought of going back to the convenience store when he realized upon raising his head that he was all of a sudden back in front of the empty lot earlier.

“…”

It felt like a premonition of a mildly uneasy event to come. However, without even giving him time to escape, the thicket rustled, revealing a dark reddish-brown furball that tumbled out.

It makes a sound.

“…It’s you again.”

The puppy coils around the cuff of his jersey pants as if it remembers Kyoutani or it remembers the smell of the convenience store chicken. Why is that? Why is it so attached to him? He never gave it food, yet why? Kyoutani was struck with questions. But he immediately stopped thinking about it, and at that moment thought of once again running away to another direction.

“What is it with you? You could be playing with other dogs, you know?”

Oh hell no. Not now.

He turns too fast, knows he does, stumbles and feels like an idiot, but who the hell could blame him? Yahaba is feet away, wearing the same Seijou jersey uniform. He stands with seeming unease, glaring at Kyoutani, his gaze fixed on him like a spotlight of pure, unrelenting interrogation.

“You came back to us after being asked, and now you’re playing with a dog?” His voice is so off-hand that Kyoutani can’t read it. That makes him nervous.

However, Yahaba seemed surprised when he noticed the cardboard box sitting there.

“Oh, is that an abandoned dog?”

Kyoutani sulkily nods as the puppy remained coiled around him.

Yahaba raises his voice for some reason. “Are you going to take in an abandoned dog or something?” There’s all this shock and excitement in his voice that would be funny as hell if it were, oh, any other time and any other day. “This ain’t no shoujo manga, you know! For goodness sake, stop fucking with me! For all I know, you could be planning something awful!”

What the hell is he talking about? Goddammit. “Fuck off, Yahaba. Damn, you’re so fucking crazy. Just leave me alone!”

Kyoutani thinks it may say something about their relationship that Yahaba doesn’t even blink.

“But what are you really doing here, Kyoutani? I don’t buy that you left practice just to play adorable puppy finder, though that’s what I’m going to tell anyone that asks, just so you know.”

Annoying little shit.

For his part, Yahaba had never liked the careless and conceited way Kyoutani behaved since he joined the club in their first year. Or rather than not liking him, it was annoying that Kyoutani kept causing trouble with their senpais despite the two of them belonging in the same year. Kyoutani would yell “fucking shits” to their third-year seniors and just generally go around not giving a fuck like he had no common sense. You’d think he’d been living his whole life so senselessly.

But indeed Kyoutani was amazing. It was frustrating but he was incredible and had no equal among their grade. They had him join practice matches, and was also a regular first-year player in official games. That’s why it was frustrating, since the same people also expected something out of him. Yet that guy…he was amazing yet picked fights with their senpais and was hated by them in return. He would take on challenges he could not win; it was as if he didn’t care about anything at all. People were honestly relieved when he stopped showing up to club activities.

But even Yahaba could not vocalize any complaints when Kyoutani was called back by Oikawa. They treated him like some hotshot rookie despite him being gone the whole time. Even worse, he barely came to practice making people wonder why he even came back at the first place, though he still played as amazingly. He was really a frustrating fellow.

Irritated by the memory, Yahaba watched Kyoutani standing before him. He silently glared at the dog biting and pulling at the cuff of his teammate’s jersey.

With his back turned, Kyoutani thinks he can actually hear Yahaba grinding his teeth.

“Why the hell did you even show up late just to leave on your own and then bother some abandoned dog?”

“I‘m not bothering it! This dog just followed me by himself!”

“Are you trying to appeal to girls by telling them animals like you?”

“What the fuck?!”

They just keep exchanging words like that, and while they do so, the puppy tumbles around Kyoutani’s shoes and seems to be falling asleep.

Yahaba continues, dropping his voice to convey how very, very serious this discussion suddenly is. “You know that dog is going to be trouble, right? We have to make sure it’s taken somewhere farther from here.”

Kyoutani searches for the right response. Play dumb? Look shocked? Throw a fit? Or…“Huh?”

“I think I have an idea.”

“Does it involve leaving?”

Yahaba grins at him now like he’s the funniest thing ever. Then he laughs. It’s an odd, almost foreign sound–he hasn’t heard Yahaba laugh in way too long, and it’s edgeless, and it’s amused as hell, and it’s just Yahaba all over again. And through all this, Kyoutani tries not to pay attention to how weird this whole thing makes him feel. “Sort of.”

Kyoutani raises his brows at that statement. “I really, really don’t like how you said that.”

“Jeez, stop glaring! And anyway, as if I’m going to believe you. You senseless moron. I wouldn’t even be surprised if you ate that dog alive.”

Kyoutani decides to ignore that, not sure why Yahaba seems determined to piss him off. Bastard.

Yahaba continued mumbling and then held up the puppy that had fallen asleep atop Kyoutani’s shoes. “This puppy needs to eat. You think you can get some dog food?”

“Sure, I can pull them out of my ass,” Kyoutani snapped. 

Yahaba snorts his opinion of that one, then he looks up, studying Kyoutani’s face. Kyoutani doesn’t dare move. One wrong move and he won’t be able to breathe. Yahaba does that to him sometimes.  

Yahaba relaxes then. Whatever he saw, or didn’t see, in Kyoutani’s face seems to satisfy him. He then puts the puppy back inside the cardboard box, holds the thing up to his chest and urges the other boy, “Hey, we’re going.” He doesn’t even know why he’s saying this. He’s not seriously thinking of–he just isn’t.

“…Huh. Where?”

Kyoutani grew flustered. Where on earth could they be going with a dog in hand? At any rate, Yahaba didn’t seem to have any idea where to go either.

“For the meantime, how about the police? They might tell us at least where to bring it. Anyway, you carry it since you found it in the first place. I don’t want to get bitten. Hey.“

Yahaba’s eyes flicker down, fixing on Kyoutani with that disturbing team-radar that he seems to have tuned on him at some point.

Kyoutani takes a slow, deep breath, clearing his head. Thinking this through will mean he’ll screw it up. That’s what always happens when he overthinks something. It’s what happens when anyone overthinks something. Do it or don’t, but don’t sit on your ass–or stand in the middle of an empty lot–and try to think about it.

“Fine. I think you’re out of your mind, but fine.” The grumbly undertones hide the worry.

“Great,” Yahaba answers with a spastic nod, and the tiny fluff of hair at the top of his head jerks around hypnotically. Kyoutani realizes it’s almost impossible to look away.  "Let’s go then, Mad Dog-chan.“

Kyoutani gives him a narrow look and makes a bitterly amused sound. "I hate that.”

“You never told us before,” Yahaba actually looks concerned.

“Nobody asked.”

“I mean, I remember you telling Oikawa-san to stop calling you weird names, but I don’t think anyone’s realized that you actually hate it.”

“What a fucking surprise,” Kyoutani sneers.

Flexing his fingers, he takes a breath and lets it out like he was taught. Easy and slow. It’s been worse. Other people have done and said worse. At least, he thinks so. “Whatever. Call me anything you want, just tell me where the fuck we’re going.”

Yahaba pauses, looks at him seriously. And though they’re standing right in front of each other, the look in his eyes says he may as well be a thousand miles away. “I guess we have a lot to talk about, Kyoutani.”

Are you lying to me, Yahaba? “Any reason why?”

Yahaba drops his head to contemplate his outstretched foot. “I’m bored?”

“Try again.”

“Because you apparently want people to ask you stuff? And I think that’s cool. I can think of a lot of things to start with.”

Kyoutani bites back something snarky and unkind, swallowing a lump in his throat and wondering if he could possibly be any more annoyed than he is right now. But whatever. It’s never comfortable to remember their earlier spats, and if this could make things a little better, then what the hell. Besides, he just isn’t up to any more arguing today. He shrugs his shoulders. “You ever tell anyone anything, I’ll deny it.”

Inside the box they’d been pushing back and forth to each other comfortably slept the lumpy, small ball of fur. Its breathing was surprisingly fast, faster than when it was coiled around Kyoutani’s feet, as if to show evidence that it was a living thing.

**********

Somehow—and Kyoutani has no idea how, never will, doesn’t even care—Kyoutani and Yahaba walked the road side by side carrying the cardboard box. Both of them were completely silent, though they sometimes peeked inside when the dog moved or made a sound. And when their eyes accidentally meet, they would turn away and awkwardly face somewhere else. This happened many times over, uncomfortable enough for them, until Yahaba who was then lightly carrying the box finally said, “Having a dog inside an online shopping website’s cardboard box feels almost like you got a dog delivered to you, doesn’t it?”

“…”

Yahaba, a bit embarrassed that Kyoutani only continued walking without giving any response, snapped. “Hey, you’re supposed to say something in return when someone talks to you. What sort of reaction was that?”

“…You’re boring.”

“You’re the last person I want to hear that from! And just so you know, when the senpais are proved right and we actually end up becoming friends in the future, you’re going to feel so dumb for ignoring me.”

Kyoutani makes a weird sound right next to him. Like he’s choking to death, though he can still walk okay, so Yahaba’s not too worried.

“Oh, there’s the police box! Let’s go.”

The two entered while carrying the box. A young police officer is seated on a chair writing something, and he looks at their faces. The police box was small to the point that nobody could fit anymore after the two went in; it had posters about remittance fraud and traffic safety, leaflets about wanted criminals and maps of the neighborhood pasted all over. The police officer examines the insides of the box without a word after taking a peek at them as if suspecting Kyoutani’s bad expression.

“Whose dog is this?”

However, Kyoutani just says vague statements like, “It went after my convenience store chicken,” and “I came from practice.” Yahaba had no choice but to answer from the side.

“Um, it’s an abandoned dog, so we’d like to ask what we should do with it.”

“Doesn’t it have a collar?”

“It’s still small, and it was in this box wrapped in a towel. I think it was thrown away.”

“You picked it up?”

Yahaba shook his head upon being asked by the police officer. “This guy did,” he said as he turned his eyes to Kyoutani, who was just staring straight ahead, like he had nothing to do with this conversation at all.

“You there,” the police officer said nodding his head. He took out documents from a drawer and looked at Kyoutani. “It will be received here at the police box as quasi-lost property, but will you care for it in case the owner did throw it away or the owner doesn’t appear?”

“…Huh?”

Kyoutani was surprised and then looked at Yahaba as if asking for help. However, Yahaba just shrugged. The police officer looked at the two and started explaining, as if he had been repeating a set phrase he had gotten used to saying often, with a gentle nod.

“Ah, in case the owner does not appear, it will be moved to a health center after a few days, but there it will be temporarily …”

Despite him just having started speaking, Kyoutani suddenly slams the desk. The color of the police officer’s eyes changed, but Kyoutani yelled without regard.

“What crap is that? We’re asking you where to bring it so we can have someone take care of it! That’s what I want to hear about!”

“Just wait, you idiot!”

Shaking off Yahaba’s effort to stop him, Kyoutani glared at the police officer. “We don’t need your help anymore!!”

Having said that over his shoulder, Kyoutani rushed out of the police box carrying the cardboard box, the puppy poking its face out of it. Yahaba was left alone in the police box, bowing his head saying, “I’m sorry. That guy’s an idiot,” as an excuse and followed Kyoutani who had run off to somewhere.

Upon finding Kyoutani who was standing a little far away all the while holding the box, Yahaba ran to follow him without pause.

“What the hell was that back there?! You do understand you’re not helping, right?! Though I was surprised too when he told us to bring it to a health center…”

“I know he was surprised, but would a person normally suddenly yell like that? You would have to be crazy to yell at the police, right? Was that occasion not more appropriate to just look annoyed, get out without a scene and ask for help? What was the point of coming all the way here only for you to get mad?” thought Yahaba, but he didn’t feel Kyoutani would comprehend it even if he said it. The newborn puppy seems more likely to understand than Kyoutani. Even now, Kyoutani continues to silently glare at Yahaba’s feet, making Yahaba wonder what it could be that has piqued his interest. The dog inside the box was staring at Kyoutani’s face with its wet eyes.

While it was looking at them, Yahaba found himself suddenly thinking of many different trivial things:

“This guy doesn’t really have a clue. Fine, let’s go to the police, he said. They’ll help us. Or not. I don’t understand why this dog is ignoring me, why it’s so attached only to this jerk.”

"Stop deciding things on your own. I really don’t understand you.”

Just as Yahaba said that, Kyoutani quickly turned on his heel without even nodding at Yahaba and walked toward town, still carrying the box. "I’m trying to help, asshole.”

Is this guy serious?

“Wow, you’re really something else,” Yahaba thought with a slight sense of admiration. Moving his brows as if to ask where they’re headed to, Kyoutani just ignores him and goes to walk steadily alone. A helpless cry can sometimes be heard making a sound.

While gazing at the distance with Kyoutani’s back getting smaller and smaller, Yahaba tells himself: “This is good for now. The mad dog and an abandoned dog—that’s just too much for me, and surely this task would be too much for anyone, too. Anyway, he’s not a kid anymore, and he’ll probably figure it all out by himself. And even if he doesn’t, that wouldn’t be my fault.”

However, Yahaba felt his mood grow heavy and clouded. Something is pulling him into action, like small fishbones poking the insides of his throat. In his mind’s eye, he can see Kyoutani looking at him absently, and Yahaba hates that look on his face: stubbornness warring with an unhappiness so deep he can feel it from here.

“Oh, this is bad.”

There’s no reason why he should, why he should want to do this. None at all.

He eventually accepts it.

“Wait for me, for fuck’s sake! The senpais will get mad at me if I don’t come back with you!” 

In the end, Yahaba chases Kyoutani and the puppy.

**********

Beyond the police box is a main road that gets a lot of pedestrian traffic. Yahaba stopped and turned to Kyoutani and the puppy. “Okay, listen to me before you decide to get stubborn. With how things have turned out, it’d be best to entrust this to someone we can trust.”

However, Kyoutani only glares at Yahaba, his expression betraying his disagreement.

“…”

“What’s that look for? I mean, can you take care of this? Or do you actually want to go back to the police?”

Kyoutani was exasperated as he averted his eyes; the puppy stretches its body from the box and licks his chin. Kyoutani puckers his face and half-heartedly returns the puppy inside the box as he was tickled by its fur. Yahaba tried not to pay attention to the cute interaction.

“Neither of us can take care of it. And since that’s the case, we’ve got no choice. Surely kind-looking people love dogs. A kind little girl and a puppy—that’s the best-case scenario, right? It should be totally better visually than you and a puppy, shouldn’t it? Right?”

While he didn’t really understand why the person they would hand the dog over to had to be a girl, that scenario was indeed better. If they can’t take care of it themselves, there’s no choice but to find another person who can. Kyoutani reluctantly agrees.

“Fine, let’s find one.”

Yahaba hadn’t even realized he wasn’t breathing until it escapes in a soft sigh. Okay, that’s done. He immediately looked around their surroundings. It’s still early in the morning, and naturally his eyes would land upon a person who is out to walk their dog. Among these persons who already have a dog, there should be at least one of them who would not mind taking in another one, he thought.

He tries approaching a few people, but none of them would take in a puppy. While he thought taking care of one or taking care of two made no difference and took the same amount of time and effort, it was probably not so. Is there no one who would willingly accept a dog and just think of it as the little brother or sister of the dog they already own?

When the two grew tired, the puppy who had been quiet inside the box all that time suddenly made a shrilling bark.

“Woof, woof, woof!”

The two looked at the distance thinking it was barking at the appearance of its original owner. But the person immediately averted his eyes and looked at the ground.

The person that was there was a poorly built man who didn’t quite fit the morning atmosphere. Yahaba, his eyes not particularly looking at anything, tells Kyoutani with a small voice, “Hey, make it shut up. Do something, Kyoutani,” imploring him to make it quiet, though the puppy didn’t seem to care and continued to bark. After a while, the man seemed to have noticed that it was him being relentlessly barked at by the dog.

“Hey, what is it?”

The man slowly comes close. The way he’s looking at them is threatening. The way Kyoutani was looking back at him is also threatening, but it is a wholly different notch higher. The dog continues to bark even more. This is bad, and it’s getting worse, thought Yahaba who decided to just let this misunderstanding come to pass. Just as when he had convinced himself that it was best not to say anything unnecessary, to fake a smile and avoid making trouble and to slowly move on without provoking anyone, Kyoutani suddenly dashed out toward the man barking like a dog.

“Who’re you? We’re not doing anything! What are you looking at?!!”

“…!?”

Yahaba promptly pulls the mad dog back and ran away. He can hear someone yelling, “You want a piece of me, brats!?” But it was preferable for school sports club members to just run away. Yahaba yells while running for his life:

“Why would you go pick a fight with someone like that?! Look at your opponent!”

“Shut up!”

“Huh!?”

He continues to run regretting not escaping alone and deserting this idiot and his idiot dog. Yahaba finally came to a stop thinking they’d be fine by then having come from several blocks away at that point.

“Fucking hell.”

He clicks his tongue looking at Kyoutani beside him with the cardboard box in his hands not even looking tired at the very least despite running out of breath, at least compared to himself who is breathing with his shoulders. It really angers him.

“Why did you fucking come back…” Yahaba told him and looked at the distance as if unable to endure any further. Suddenly, the color of his eyes sharply changes. Yahaba combs his hair with his hands, steals the cardboard box from Kyoutani uttering, “Sorry!” before running off. Kyoutani chases him, the hardest chase he gave in his whole life.

In the end, what Yahaba was chasing after all was a group of high school girls in uniform.

“Girls! What do you think? Would you care to look at a puppy? A puppy!”

The girls variously reacted with caution at first: “Eh?”, “Is this for filming or something?”, “Does it bite?” But they timidly looked inside the box, likely enchanted by Yahaba’s gentleness. They then shriek out of joy upon noticing a puppy curled up into a ball inside.

“Eh, is this really a dog? Oh no, it’s so cute. Look, look!”

“What’s this? Is this a real dog, like does it really move? Why is it inside a box? You’re doing this to record our reactions, aren’t you?”

“What dog is this? It’s so fluffy.”

“Isn’t this a Shiba? Shiba Inu. Right? Did I guess correctly?”

One of the girls who came forward and said that blushed with a hiccup. Her eyes were fixed onto the face beside Yahaba’s. That prompted him to look at the space next to him, and there was Kyoutani glaring at the girls, his eyes brimming with bloodlust.

The other girls also notice Kyoutani’s stare and find themselves frozen.

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

It was too late, however, and the girls let out a high-pitched scream and ended up running away. Yahaba loses his patience and violently gets mad.

“Stop glaring! One of them could have taken this dog! We had good communication, and you were staring at them as if you wanted to turn them into stone! What was that all about? Are you some kind of Medusa!?”

Kyoutani steals the box and the dog back from Yahaba and snaps back. “Do you have some ulterior motive?!”

“I don’t! I mean, I did but that’s got nothing to do with what happened just now!”

“You never have no ulterior motives.”

The puppy also cries as if to add to the tension.

“Are you a total idiot!?”

A car pulled over next to the two boys who had been arguing at the middle of the road. They immediately kept their mouths silent, then a woman revealed her face from the driver’s seat and spoke. Her words were beyond anything the two could have possibly expected.

“Excuse me. You don’t really want to throw that dog away, do you?”

Noticing that Kyoutani is instantly growing into a frenzy upon hearing that sentence, Yahaba stops him saying, “Just wait!” What is up with him? Is he some kind of feral child? Is he less evolved than a dog?

The woman gets off the car and speaks to them while Yahaba calmed Kyoutani down.

“Do you know what would happen if you threw that dog away? Even if you leave it to an animal shelter, there is no guarantee that its owner would be found.”

“It’s not like we don’t know that already!” Kyoutani barks as if ready to bite, while the woman asked with mild bewilderment, “Eh, then why are you …”

“You shut up already,” Yahaba seethes and commands Kyoutani to keep quiet before he told her the actual story of how they picked up an abandoned dog and how they were then trying to find a new owner. Upon hearing their and the dog’s bizarre adventure, the woman apologizes saying, “I’m sorry. It seems I misunderstood the situation,” then she struck the hood of the car she had been riding.

“But it’s a good thing I called you out. I’m going to look for its owner myself.”

“… Eh?”

Kyoutani and Yahaba looked at her blankly and observed the car she’s been riding in more carefully. The hood of that roundish car had drawings of dogs and cats, written on it was the name of a veterinary hospital.

“Veterinary hospital…?”

The woman worked at a veterinary hospital and she explained that she can find an owner by coordinating with organizations that help abandoned dogs and cats.

“Our hospitals also have fliers recruiting people who want to own pets.”

Upon saying that, the woman took the box where the puppy was in from Kyoutani. The puppy whined and licked Kyoutani’s hand when his hands let go of the box.

“I will contact you when we find an owner.”

She places the box on the rear passenger seat saying that and closes the door. Then they could see the dog through the glass but couldn’t hear its cries.

The woman hopped into the driver’s seat and immediately drove off. Yahaba bowed at its rear window, but Kyoutani just stood there stiffly as if feeling uneasy.

The car was soon out of sight, and the puppy issue ended an instant too soon. The two of them quarrelling just earlier then felt like a dream. But it was not a dream; it was real. And speaking of reality, they must go back to the club soon. Yahaba turned to Kyoutani who was standing beside him. “Hey, look. The dog’s gone now, and we have to go soon.”

“…”

Kyoutani glared at Yahaba as if sulking. And he kept at it. But Yahaba understood how Kyoutani felt. It was a strange feeling, as if a hole had been punched through his heart, or as if a feeling could not linger because of how fast reality had unfolded. But they can’t afford to slack off here, either.

“Everyone’s waiting. You caused some trouble for the senpais, and it wasn’t something you should have shown to our juniors, either. Just realize that you have teammates who are waiting for you just like that dog has friends waiting for him, too. I think it was cute that you immediately tried to search for a rightful owner and it got attached to you. It’s so unlike you.”

Yahaba continued watching Kyoutani who was staring intently at his shoes like a sulking child. Yahaba felt stupid for feeling frustrated earlier somehow.

Why did I have to tell a jerk like him words like that? He came in late and left by himself. He picked up an abandoned dog on his own and caused trouble for me. And now he’s sulking that the dog is gone. I’m honestly glad when he doesn’t show up to practice, yet why did I bother following him to bring him back with me…

Yahaba fell into silence as Kyoutani raised his head. And then he said, “Let‘s go. Quick.”

Then he immediately walked forward alone.

“Huh?! Oi, wait for me! I’m the one who’s supposed to be saying that!”

“You smell of dog.”

“You smell worse!!”

**********

The two walked up the school path, alternating between silence and bickering. Neither of them talked about the puppy. They probably will never talk about that dog going forward, Yahaba thought.

Soon enough, they were at school. Just as when Yahaba thought of suggesting that they explain to the senpais why they were late, he heard a feeble cry from somewhere. He looked around expecting something bad about to happen, when they noticed they were back at the empty lot where they had picked the dog up.

“Here…”

The thicket brushes against their feet. Without them realizing, they stopped and explored the area before a kitten revealed its face amid the grass.

It meowed.

“It’s a cat.”

“Hey, don’t look at it. Act like you didn’t see it!”

So said Yahaba as he pulled Kyoutani away. Yet the kitten helplessly climbed up Kyoutani’s jersey using its claws, and before he knew it the kitten was perched atop Kyoutani’s large shoulders meowing.

Then it licks Kyoutani’s cheek.

“Why the heck are they so quick to get attached to you!?”

“It’s not my fault!”

“I hate the fact that you’re so easily liked!”

“Shut the fuck up!”

It had been around an hour since practice started. The two, wearing the Aoba Jousai volleyball uniform, were still a far way off to returning to the third gym, however.

**********

The End

[darktypeimagines]

Hello! I'm the one asking for part 2 (hehe) and yeah! The same characters from before ^^!

As the ask suggests, this is a part 2 of this post. If you haven’t seen it yet, you may want to read it first!

This one was a bit hard to write, only because I imagine a part 2 of this ask-set would depend very much on the reader’s own preferences and goals for their life.  I tried to keep it vague-ish for that reason.

 ——————————————————————————————–

It had been about 3 years since your arrival into the Pokemon world.  In that time, you managed to build a life for yourself, with your partner by your side.

But, it had been harder to adjust than you expected.  Leaving one life behind and starting a new one was difficult, of course. But you weren’t prepared for the occasional culture shock or how much you actually had to learn.

In that time, the world was introduced to Ultra Beasts. They had been appearing more often than when you were first abducted, even outside of Alola.  And, of course, the world took notice.  At first, it was assumed the pictures and videos were fake. But then, a few trainers were seen using said Ultra Beasts, one trainer in particular becoming the champion of a region.  At that point, many people accepted the existence of alien Pokemon.

But new Fallers were also found.  Some of whom fell into custody of groups other than Interpol, which created quite a problem for the police agency.  Most of these Fallers had their memories wiped.  But a couple retained their memories, like you, and went public with their knowledge.

Luckily, none of the public Fallers were from our world; all were from various Pokemon timelines, one of which had a very bleak future. 

 Given the secret about other worlds and timelines was out, you decided to come forward yourself, but omitting everything about the Pokemon series being fictional in your world.  You decided to work with researchers mostly, and worked on getting a book published.  You figured if you were to find a niche in this world, it had to be this.

You turned out to be instrumental in deciphering the Unown code.  It’s basically just English, after all, although the researchers didn’t know this at first.  Telling them the Unown language was basically just another language in your world was a breakthrough in their research.

One unfortunate consequence of the increased Ultra Beast sightings was an increase in you encountering them.  As a Faller, you are an Ultra Beast magnet. For your boyfriend, this was always a bit of a worry for him.  Even if you do eventually become a capable trainer yourself, dealing with an upset, alien Pokemon from another world is guaranteed to be dangerous!

Raihan

Was the most supportive in you coming forward.  The day you went public, made posts supporting his “alien” partner from another world.  These posts gained almost as much attention as the news stories of you coming forward.

Likes to travel with you as you go around the world for your own work.  Whether it’s a trip to Johto to help with the Unown translation efforts, or to attend a research convention in Unova, he’ll always offer to come along so long as it doesn’t conflict with his Gym Leader duties.

Some of your favorite memories were on these travels with you.  Seeing the Dragon’s Den in Blackthorn city was amazing; Clair gave you two permission after Raihan managed to defeat her in battle (although, she wasn’t particular happy about losing, she enjoyed battling against foreign dragons). You two got lost in Castelia city, which ended up being frustrating and fun at the same time.  And the Alolan beaches were lovely.

But, it was on one of those trips when you got attacked. As you were traveling by ship to your next destination, you heard screams coming from the other side of the ship. Raihan, being a capable gym leader, immediately ran in that direction, and you followed.

It turned out to be an Ultra Beast that stepped through its portal and landed right on the ship’s deck.  The Beast flexed its arms upon landing, fortunately giving bystanders the chance to run away. You identified the Pokemon as Buzzwole.

As serious as the situation was, Raihan could help but laugh.  A flexing bodybuilder-esc alien?  It was a bit ridiculous.  He quickly sent out Flygon.

Raihan wanted to set up Sandstorm, but with the amount of other people around, he didn’t think it was wise.  So instead, he just had it start with a Dragon Claw.  Flygon managed to grasp the Beast’s head, and before it could react, and used Crunch on its neck.

Unfortunately, as Flygon used Crunch, Buzzwole was able to counter with Superpower. This sent the dragon flying back, skidding across the deck.

Flygon shuddered in pain.  Luckily, Buzzwole did more flexing after the successful hit, giving Flygon a chance to get up.  Flygon was able to pull off a Flamethrower in this time.  While Flygon wasn’t gifted in Special Attack, the type advantage helped.

While Buzzwole was trying to recover from the hit, Raihan threw a Pokeball at it.  You were a bit surprised that he chose to try to catch it, but it was probably an easier way to deal with it, in the end.

It took a few Ultraballs to catch the thing, as well as one more Dragon Claw from Flygon. When the Ultraball finally clicked, relief spread across the crowd.

·You two took the Buzzwole home with you.  Neither of you knew what to do with the beast, but it eventually became a (weird) part of the family.  Raihan ended up giving the Buzzwole to you for protection, although the Pokemon ended up bonding more with the dragon trainer.  

On more than one occasion, you caught Raihan and Buzzwole working out together.  Amusingly, Buzzwole far outpaced his human counterpart, but that didn’t stop Raihan from trying to keep up!

Milo

Is probably the most relaxed about your recent life changes.  To him, it’s just another step in your life, and he’ll do his best to help you along the way.

Is the most likely out of the three to read your book from start to finish.  One of his favorite past times is reading on his breaks.  On sunny afternoons when the sun is at its peak, he likes to take his breaks in the shade of a large tree.  Once there, he typically has a snack and delves into a few chapters of whatever he’s reading at the moment.  There’s just something about reading a book outside, surrounded by nature, that feels right.

And yes, his break ended up being much longer than intended when he started reading your book.  He couldn’t help it!  It was about your world, after all.  And in learning more about your world, he was learning more about how you became the person you are today.

For your anniversary together, you two decided to spend the day outside and have a picnic.  It was near one of his wheat fields, and far enough away from town to have a peaceful, quiet day together.  Or so you hoped.

It turns out your hopes were in vain.  As Milo set up the blanket, the air became distorted and buzzed with energy.  An Ultra Wormhole opened up above the field, and out popped a giant, steel Ultra Beast.  It turned out to be a Celesteela!

The beast immediately started setting up roots in the field.  You knew of the beast previously, having done a bit of research in case you encountered one.  Celesteela sapped nutrients from the earth, and although they preferred bamboo forests, this one apparently wasn’t as picky.

It didn’t seem overly aggressive, but it was definitely observing you.  You and Milo discussed what to do, and while Milo wouldn’t have minded leaving it there (since it seemed peaceful), you convinced him that it needed to be moved.  Having a random, alien Pokemon in the middle of a wheat field near town did not seem like a good idea!

Milo used his Flapple to deal with the Beast.  He started with Leech Seed, which the Celesteela initially didn’t notice. Milo was able to set up a few Dragon Dances before using Dragon Pulse on the beast.  At that point, it definitely noticed.  And retaliated.

It used Smack Down.  And while Flapple wasn’t a flying type, it fell from the sky, taking quite a bit of damage, and had trouble getting airborne again.

Milo had it use another Dragon Pulse.  From the boosts from Dragon Dance, it did a fair bit of damage.

It was at that point it occurred to you… What were you going to do when it fainted?  The thing was huge.  And heavy.  How would you get it out of the field?

Your solution was to catch it.  You yelled to Milo to hold off from finishing it off, and threw a Pokeball.  It took a couple of tries, but you were eventually able to catch it.

You were still breathing a bit heavy, and wanted to go home.  But Milo convinced you to stay; you had already mostly set up the picnic, so there’s no need to ruin the day.  The Beast was dealt with, so you two could relax now.

You agreed, and had a wonderful afternoon.  Milo makes some really good sandwiches.  You even gave one to Flapple, since it worked so hard earlier!

You contemplated keeping the Celesteela, but it didn’t seem happy; they are rather particular with their needs, and prefer to grow in peace rather than being confined to a Pokeball.  Eventually, Milo and you contacted a few researchers who have worked with Celesteela, and with their help, you set up a sanctuary for it on an unused field. Bamboo wouldn’t grow natively in the area, so it was decided that a forest would have to do.  Celesteela still seemed happy, though, and you let it live there in peace.

Leon

Was a little concerned with you going public about your past, but still supports your decision.  While he knows holding a secret for so long could really harm someone, he’s also aware of what so much publicity can do, too.  Worries if you can handle it.

Will give you advice about dealing with your newfound publicity.  If you ever need to vent, he’s a great listener.

Out of the three, he’s the most likely to be interested in the research surrounding Fallers.  This is partially because of his brother, Hop.  His younger brother had been researching Eternatus as a way to help his mentor, Sonia, and her research into The Darkest Day.  Hop had a long way to go before becoming a professor, but he might as well get some work done along the way!

Thus, as a result of his brother, former rival, and now you becoming involved in research in some way or another, he has a bit of interest in it, as well.  Mainly the results, of course.

Still low-key hopes for an explanation on the whole Pokemon-is-a-video-game-in-my-world thing.  He’s accepted that he’s a character in those games, but it still bugs him now and then…

Eventually, you get attacked by an Ultra Beast.  Luckily, he was there at the time.  You had met Leon at the top of the Battle Tower; he had just finished up his day, and wanted to dinner with you.  (Luckily, the Poke-equivalent of UberEats delivers to the Tower) There’s nothing like the view of the city below from the top of the tower, and he thought it would be a nice, romantic way to end the night.

As you stepped out of the elevator, a loud crash sounded throughout the room.  A moment later, the power went out.  As Leon was about to text a worker downstairs about the situation, the beast appeared before the glass, shattering it to get inside; it turned out to be a Xurkitree, sparking with excess electricity presumably stolen from the Tower itself.

Luckily, Leon had a ground type on him; he sent out Rhyperior and had it use High Horsepower.

It wasn’t enough to take out the Xurkitree, so a fight ensued.  There was a scary moment when the Xurkitree used Power Whip and nearly took out Rhyperior.  Luckily, the Xurikitree was on its last legs at that point, so you took the opportunity to throw a PokeBall at it before Rhyperior could be defeated.

And, it was caught with only one ball!  Seems you had an alien friend now…

Leon was a bit hesitant about keeping the Xurkitree; it was so different than other Pokemon, after all.  Would it be able to bond the same way?  But when that same Pokemon ended up protecting you against a different Ultra Beast in a separate attack, Leon was convinced it was fine to keep it.

[sunnynoki]

Goodbye to Halos - How Fenic (The Main Protagonist) is Fenic (The Lost Princess)

Ok y’all buckle up because it’s about to be a wild ride.

FIRST OFF: READ GOODBYE TO HALOS. It has incredibly good writing and art and characterization!!! Fenic, the main protag, is a trans lesbian!! The other protags include (but are not limited to) a genderqueer gay lion and a poly wlw! I’ll post a link in the notes so this post shows up in tags, but a search of “Goodbye to Halos” will get you there in the first link!

Also cred to @demi-virgo​ for encouraging me to make this ;w;

Ok so I don’t know how to format this so let’s just start from the first hint and go from there.

And one more important note: Current Fenic will be referred to as just Fenic, and her mom will be referred to as The Lost Princess.

HINT ONE: THE MAAVE

So maave’s are, as a refresher, the mark under a Shade’s eye. They are a unifying trait of the shades (Along with horns and magic, but less so as they aren’t retained in children of Shades and Wildren, but I digress). But there are also "no two alike in form and color”, as Enae put it.

Which is WEIRD because 

Yeah. Impossible. UNLESS... THE LOST PRINCESS AND FENIC ARE THE SAME PERSON! And not in an amnesia kinda way, but in a restarting life kinda way. But we’ll get to that. 

Addendum: 

The wording of “you are very, very closely related to The Lost Princess” is weird when Enae already knows that Fenic is the lost princess’s daughter. Also the rest of this page speaks for itself I think. “Lost princess was immortal”, “There’s no other Fenics” (especially Fenics with that maave and other traits like red hair). This establishes that Fenic and the Lost Princess look similar, if not alike/identical. This will be essential in hint three.

Continued under the cut because I got a loooooottttt more ;3

HINT TWO: GOD’S BLESSING

So as the fight continues, God Herself literally steps in. Well, an avatar of Her’s, later named a Godeye.

God intercepted the knife from hitting Fenic. I won’t post the entire scene here, but basically God shoots the knife at Enae, wounding her BAD. But as God goes to send another attack, Fenic comes in and stands between the two. And then She freaks out????

Now maybe God isn’t a god, but God is just Her name? Also interesting is how She is the only one to use lower case, and only when She says “I”. But that’s another post, as I digress...

God Herself is asking forgiveness from Fenic? After Fenic asked (with her actions” for God not to attack Enae? Enae later talks about this in the following chapter:

“And that girl... blessed by God, she’s the only other one who can sway Her heart. Fenic...”

And who else was blessed by God? The Lost Princess. Before this, Fenic has had no reason to be blessed by god besides being related to the (immortal, may i remind you) lost princess who "died” before Fenic can remember. 

(Also another digression... the only other one? Who is the one Fenic is the “other one” off of? Maybe The Dead Princess? Maybe the old empress? Both are dead, but it’s phrased that she’s one of two, and coming off this theory, perhaps she and The Dead Princess pair up to be the two that can sway God’s heart.)

HINT THREE: ASHER AND TAHMONAI

So their meeting has a ton of different sentences that lead towards this theory, so I’m just going to group them all here. (Note: Enae is narrating and Asher and Tahmonai are talking about The Lost Princess. Tahmonai morphed to The Lost Princess to ask if Asher has seen her.)

“The person you’re looking for... she doesn’t exist anymore” and “That, too was-- somehow -- not true” and “[The Lost Princess] is really immortal too”... these statements don’t have a lot of intersections in the venn diagram of where they can all be true. The only fact that I can think of that does make them true is that Fenic is the rebirth of The Lost Princess. Continuing onto the next page...

There’s a lot to break down here:

“She... was a dear friend of mine.” Meaning The Lost Princess was a friend, not a romantic interest with whom he would have a child with.

“Someone I was lucky enough to know all my life, even if she only knew me for a fraction of her’s.” Implying that The Lost Princess was MUCH older than Asher. Immortality, anyone?

“But there are... circumstances now. Nothing will come of this, Tahmonai.” If this theory is true, then those circumstances are that The Lost Princess doesn’t have her memories, she restarted her life. She isn’t the same person. It clicks.

“Stay in my office. I’ll make arrangements.” Implying he is going to see The Lost Princess to arrange a sort of meeting. But instead he goes to Fenic to send her through the portal. Funny writing there, don’t you think?

After Asher sends Fenic through the portal...

“Did I do the right thing, old friend...?” The name “old friend” is being used here to denote he’s talking about The Lost Princess. Perhaps where she/her reborn self just went through the portal?

“I have to believe this is what you wanted.” (The word “wanted” can be seen if you zoom in close, at least at full resolution). Keyword: “this”. Not “that”. “This” means something that is near, something that was just there. Why would he use “this” for something from someone who is dead? No, what if she, or a version of herself, was just there? And what exactly she, The Lost Princess, wanted? We’ll get to that in hint five.

TO THE NEXT PAGE!

PROBABLY THE HEAVIEST PAGE OF THEM ALL

“I already told you the person you’re looking for doesn’t exist anymore.” Not died, “doesn’t exist anymore.” Specific choice of words!

“Not in a way that’s useful to you.” As in she no longer has her memories, perhaps? That she’s currently a 15 year old? 

“And before she left, she told me...” Before she LEFT. Not died! LEFT!

“That she didn’t want her past to haunt her anymore.” THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT IN HINT FIVE.

“She started over.” BAM. PROBABLY THE CORNERSTONE OF THIS THEORY. Combine these three words with the rest of the theory, and you get the conclusion that “starting over” means something along the lines of reincarnation. But I’ll get to the reincarnation bit later. 

SO THATS ALL UP TO WHERE THE COMIC IS RIGHT NOW! BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE REREAD?

HINT FOUR: FENIC AS A NAME

Now this one is a little shorter but in the prologue we see Fenic name herself for the first time.

After being called a lady, she sorta panics as, like, what’s she gonna do, give her a boy’s name when she’s a girl and just been called that? And her first instinct is to go with her mother’s name. Like, sure, maybe it’s because she think’s “girl’s name go” and the girl/woman/female closest to her is her mom. But I like to think it’s an instinct to keep the same name. It could be read either way, but I feel like it was worth mentioning. 

ALONG WITH A BONUS THEORY. The Lost Princess is trans. I’ve been thinking about how The Lost Princess would restart, and seeing how the maave is the same, the body is likely the same as well, implying a restart like that of a phoenix. Sorta. Meaning that the AGAB is the same. Maybe Asher didn’t know if restarting life would retain trans-ness or w/e OR he didn’t know The Lost Princess was trans. Either way he went with AGAB, clearly. I like to think that The Lost Princess spent a lot of time thinking about her name so it’s really ingrained in her so that it’s an instinct to be called Fenic :]

HINT FIVE: WHY?

So. That mystery chapter huh? Here’s a proposal- who we see is The Lost Princess.

Think about it, the person we see doesn’t have horns or some sort of tail or animal ears, eliminating someone who is purely Shade or Wildren. This leaves Fenic, The Dead Princess, or The Lost Princess, all born of both species. The hair doesn’t match The Dead Princess’s hair, so that eliminates her. 

This leaves the Fenics, whose hair DO match, assuming The Lost Princess and Fenic have the same hair texture, which in the frame of what has been discussed, it does. 

NOW THIS PAGE

Feels like a reason to be reborn to me.

Granted, this chapter, LITERALLY TITLED “premonition” and the names at the beginning could EASILY be shortened for Clairissa and Enae, who would’ve been only babies or unborn when The Lost Princess was around. This is VERY likely in the future, with Fenic. But I only realized this after I started referring to it earlier in the post, so no going back. 

But maybe it’s salvageable. Maybe Fenic is having the same thoughts as The Lost Princess. The Lost Princess, as stated in hint three, didn’t want the past to haunt her anymore. So she chose to forget in a new life, reborn. 

Maybe Fenic is thinking about following in her mother’s footsteps.

This premonition chapter, along with the whole other conspiracy board of “What’s up with Salin (The Dead Princess) and Tahmonai?”, have me very concerned for the future. 

Afterword

Thank you so much for getting this far ;w; I hope and pray that I made literally any sense. As I was collecting pages to put in here, I noticed that this is quite a common theory if the comment section of the pages is anything to go by. I thought so too before all this, so I didn’t really want to put the effort into a post, but Virgo encouraged me to make it anyway sooooo 

Either way, this can still work as a collection of evidence, and an archive on our, or at least my, thoughts on “What’s up with the Fenics” question! Hopefully later down the line we can look at this and be like, “called it!” or, “honey, you’ve got a big storm coming.” 

I could go on about the implications of this theory, but that’s another post of this length tbhhhhhhhhh and also its uh. 12am LOL.

Please reblog this to spread the theory! Even if it’s common, spread it to convince people to read gth? :pleading: I spent like. 2-3 hours on this to try to get my wording right and cohesive, which is really hard for me as I’m very much more an artist than a writer haaaaaaaaa

Thank you so much for reading again! Good morning, good afternoon, good night <3

[love-kazin]

History Walls

Genre: just a friendly scenario with a very slightly friends-to-lovers.

Pairing: Kim Wonsik/Ravi x Reader (female).

Warnings: none.

Word count: 1.371. 

REQUESTED.

There’s this literature project counting as the major grade and your friends couldn’t think about any person that wasn’t you to work with. 

-x-

"What I'm saying is that doesn't matter what you're reading, because any kind of literature is a literature! Anything that makes you read is interesting because it can develop your creativity and vocabulary." Hanging out in a bookstore wasn't how you planned to spend your saturday. Not with the guys, actually, because you love a good bookstore, but being the one who got invited was a little different. Since you were a good student, with the higher grades in class and the most well developed assignments, you were the first thought of the guys. Not that they only wanted to work with you because of that. It's just easier to work with friends, and if they're smart, it's a plus. "Do you really think that?" Taekwoon was looking at you but his face was hard to describe. He could be genuinely curious about your opinion or preparing himself to end all your arguments. "Yes, I do. What do you think?" "I think a good literature is the better option to extend your intelectual atributes." "But what's a good literature?" "Oh, here we go again..." You could only chuckle at Hongbin's statement. Any topic could get kinda phylosifical in seconds when you were talking, which was a little boring but an amusement to them at the same time. Hearing you talk all your points of view was nice, not only because you helped them to get another vision about certain topics, but also because your excitement was interesting to watch. "A good literature is that one that makes me travel around the theme, like I'm floating in the author's ideas." "That's a good point, really. I think it's important to feel conected with the material you're reading, to take that to yourself. But as you said, a good literature is the one that makes you feel it. And this can be anything. It can be a thick book about a country's history, a cute and tragic romance, a fashion magazine or even the shampoo bottle. It can work differently for every person." "Even a shampoo bottle? How's that could work?" "Imagine that you're a chemical student, learning how to compose something. Don't you think the specified rotule would make you wonder how to work with that? Which combination is the better one? To whom that product can work well?" "Oh, that makes a lot of sense. So, that's how bedtime stories works for kids at night? I mean, it can stimulate their thoughts and affect their dreams?" You nodded. It was good they were catching your point. Hakyeon started to look at you proudly, his words dancing at his expression. He didn't needed to talk it out loud, but you knew that he was thinking you would be amazing as a teacher - which was the main point of your academical career. "Do you think it's problematic for an adult to like stories made for kids?" Jaehwan looked really curious, subtly. Which was kinda normal. You were used to his comportment that can change in seconds from playful to serious. "Of course not! I understand that some people may joke around and tell to this person to grow up, but they're doing it! Just like everybody. It's something to read, and as long as the person enjoy the topic, it's valid. Nobody should say otherwise." Humming in agreement, they started to work on the summary of the literature assignment. Actually, it was something to present, with slides, point of views and lots of topics related to the main point. That's the reason requiring a whole 7 members group. The teacher has given almost two months to prepare it, since it was a final project for the semester, so there was a lot of time to do it, and it wasn't that hard. But being an applied student, you always liked to do your assignments as soon as possible, and your friends knew it, even not being the same way. It would be kinda hard to everyone thinks exactly the same way, and that's why some discussions happened along the day. "I don't think it's healthy for a kid, for example, to read adult things." "That's why there's age recommendation, Taek." "But there are things that doesn't have it. Like those shampoo bottles you said earlier." "I don't think a kid would read that these days, but it's not forbidden. Maybe they can be a chemical engineer in the future, right? Is that bad?" Taekwoon just looked at you and returned to the book while thinking about it. Wonsik was the one who was strangely quiet that day. No one seemed to notice when he left the table to disappear between those big book walls. But that did bother you. If he wasn't feeling ok, you'd like to help. His face looked puzzled, almost lost in thoughts, and the way his eyebrows furrowed a little trying to read the book title on his hand was very cute. "Do you need some help, Wonsik?" He then looked at you, nodding. "I'm starting to think that this book isn't even in english." The thick and brown cover, with golden letters, and a thin dust layer, was actually in german. "It's not. But I can find a english version of it, if you want it. Or a korean." Wonsik smiled at you, showing off his perfect teeth, resembling a little like a cute bunny, but also big. While you showed him the way to the library part where would had be the book in his elected language, you grow up some curiosity. "May I ask you why do you wanna read this book? It's quite sad. Are you alright?" "I'm okay, yeah. I'm just curious, and trying to expand my known list of books. I wanna be smart." "You already are. But it's great to know more, also because you're getting to know another type of writing. If you feel too sad to finish, you can just call me and I'll resume to you." "Did you read it?" Nodding, you grabbed the book and gave it to Wonsik. "Can I call you if I have some doubt?" "Sure. I'll be glad to help." Then, the silence came. Being around Wonsik was nice, but along with the others. Alone, it was weird because he seemed uncomfortable in your presence. You didn't knew why; there wasn't any memorable thing that happened that may have hurted him or anything. So it was just weird. And turned your cheekies into a red color because of your shyness. But also his, which you didn't knew the reason. "Maybe... Can I just call you...?" "What do you mean? We're friends, right? You can call me." That was unexpected. But you weren't denying an approximation. Maybe things could get better. "No, I mean, like, not a friendly relationship." "Oh, so like... strangers?" "What? No, not like that too." You weren't following his idea. The question mark was almost tattooed in your forehead. "In a getting-to-know kind of relationship." He seemed nervous about the topic. "I thought we were already doing... Oh." Then something clicked in your head. And your cheekies burned even more. Specially because Sanghyuk appeared in the hallway looking for both of you. "Are you done with this weird dating thing? We're needing some help." Before you could explain the situation, he disappeared. Wonsik nodded and smiled weirdly at you and returned to the table. Was he developing some kind of crush on you? He was like the main crush of the entire class. It wouldn't be bad, but it didn't make sense at all, specially because he had never said anything. Maybe you'd have to figure it out. Returning to the table, you saw a thoughtful Wonsik and other five hardworking men. Sitting on your spot, you quickly wrote a simple "yes :)" on a post-it and passed to the man on your side, almost like a secret mission. You could sense him trying not to break into a wide grin, and you felt related. It's a little weird how things work, but it can be good. Turning your attention to the paperwork, the boys seemed a little lost, just how Sanghyuk has said. "What do you need me for?"