#why is everyone trilingual?

[obamousse]

Half-Korean Mattsun is entering my domain.

His mom is half-Korean, and an expatriate (though high-end white collar worker) who came to work in Japan and married Mattsun's dad. Mattsun inherited his curly hair and tanned skin from his mom.

Even though they have Korean blood, they never watch any K-drama or listen to Kpop.

Mattsun's mom is good at English (obv due to the nature of her job) and his dad is good at it too. So their family became a sorta multi-language-y household, where both English, Korean, and Japanese are exchanged. Mattsun is fluent in English because of that, but he's most fluent in Japanese (Korean comes third).

Mattsun, Iwa, and Oikawa are fluent in English (they probably speak more than English and Japanese). Oikawa has a language ability (Japanese, Portuguese, English, Spanish), Iwa is half-Filipino and has Filipino American relatives (so he speaks Japanese, Filipino, some Chinese, English), even though his mom speaks only Japanese to him and his dad, and Mattsun's home uses a lot of languages. Hanamaki has no idea what's going on whenever these three speaks English, but he finds that they are very useful to travel with. He's proud because having 3 trilingual friends where trilingualism is uncommon is a pretty good feat.

[thesingingrevolution]

i cant even function in that class anymore this is so ridiculous, this is a million times worse because i have never spoken to this man but there is something about him that is making me lose my mind, i have never seen someone who has commanded my attention like this to the point i genuinely cannot focus on anything else, i have been bewitched there is nothing else for me to say i just feel crazy

[gisele0127]

i love ur writing smm and if you are accepting req cause i'm having a lot of ideas lol but can you do rin, sae + bachira how they act when they realized they had a crush on the reader? don't hesitate to ignore this feel free to do so also have a nice day :)

rin

rin realized he liked you when you argued with sae (y/n having a trilingual moment)

it was just like any other day, rin staying after practice to focus on his shooting skills. being the manager of the team (and his best friend), you stayed back. rin was particularly exited today, and wanted to practice his skills extra extra longer because sae was coming back tomorrow. you were exited too of course! the three of you go way back, growing up together and being good friends.

so when you went to use the bathroom real quick, you didn’t notice that sae had slipped through. you saw the two talking and eventually playing together. you just sat down on the bleachers not wanting to interrupt this heartwarming meeting. but you were so wrong, you sat down in a hearing distance and could hear all the words exchanged. surprised washed over you because what happened to him?

you get up and wait for the two at the gate, you knew never to come between the two when they were arguing. as sae walked by first you saw his stern lifeless look. you weakly smiled at him and said “missed you” he responded with a “me too”. but you didnt care about that, all you cared about was that your bestfriend (and crush) was sitting down in the middle on the field on the verge of a breakdown.

you quietly walk towards him and when you get to him you don’t say a word. sitting down next to him and after a couple of minutes you say “go home, i’ll put the equipment up”. at that he does what you say but quietly, and since when did his eyes get watery?

it’s the next day and you show up at the itoshi home. their mom set up a feast and invited you since you were practically the daughter they never had. while you two were cooking you asked “when does rin get back from training?”. she responds with “he’s not training today. he’s been in his room all morning. he must’ve gotten sick from being outside while it was so cold yesterday.” you nod partially agreeing with her.

you offered to take his temperature and walk into his room. he’s ‘asleep’ on his bed. he’s been pretending to be asleep just so that his family doesn’t bother him. you gently push his bangs out of the way and feel his forehead.

“oh crap you do have a fever” you say as you quietly walk out of the room.

as for rin, he was turning red like crazy. the ‘fever’ was just his embarrassment. he thanked the lords that his room was dark enough for you not to see his face. but why was he even red enough to begin with?

you go back to cooking and when the two of you have set the table you offered to go fetch sae from his room. you knock and wait for a “come in”. sae was on his desk watching a match intently. “the food is ready, you know how your mom gets when she has to tell you twice to come down.” he slightly frowns and gets up walking toward the doorway but stops when you call to him. maybe it was because you were pissed at him or maybe because your first love was currently heartbroken in bed, but you went off on sae. in spanish, because “i don’t want rin to hear”. the walls were paper thin though so he heard the argument but couldn’t understand. what he heard next was a goodbye to his mom and a slam on the door.

you and sae would often get into drabbles as kids but not one like this. the two of you were close up until he left. he wondered what the argument was about but he also wondered, why is my stomach like this?

he goes to the table to eat his food. everyone is silent, his mom with a disappointed look, but his dad kind of happy? sae looked pissed and with a tone of venom he says, “your girlfriend is crazy.”

he’s silent for a moment, before saying “she’s not my girlfriend, yet.”

✄┈┈┈┈

sae

he realized he liked you when you first facetimed him

you met sae at a park a year before he left for spain. as cliché as it sounds he hit you with the football on accident and apologized. you were a very shy person so all you did was nod and hand him the ball. he looked familiar to you, maybe you’ve seen him before?

ah yes. when you get home and read the newspaper you realized that the boys name was sae itoshi. and he was really good at football. you smiled, maybe getting hit with a football wasnt so bad after all.

weeks pass by and you see him at the park once in a while, sometimes with his little brother. you would often go to the park with your little sibling too. but today was different, because your little sibling asked them to play with him. and surprisingly he said yes.

it became a routine, once a week all four of you guys would play. you became close or closer to sae, still being very shy and barely talking. you two were similar in a way, staying silent. maybe you two had more similarities, other than just being the oldest.

eventually sae had to go to spain, and that meant no more playing soccer at the park together. you were sad, and so was he (but he’d never let you know that). you two said goodbye at the park, and he offered you his once in a lifetime smiles. you’ve never seen him smile before, never ever. once you two said your goodbyes you go back home you sat down thinking.

when sae was at the terminal sitting down his phone started buzzing. he looks down and see it’s a facetime from you. when he answers it it’s the second time you’ve seen him smile. and he’s smiling like a dummy.

✄┈┈┈┈

bachira

he realized he liked you when you stood up for him

you were on the girls football team, so you got to know the boys team pretty well. the two teams would often scrimmage or practice together.

you particularly became close to bachira, maybe it was his bubbly personality or maybe it was because you pity him. a lot of people on both teams would call him a ball hogger, weird, etc. but to you he was the complete opposite. he was actually nice and really funny. you two would joke a lot on the field to the point where you’d have to run laps as punishment.

it wasn’t out of the ordinary to hear your teammates call bachira creepy, even he knew a lot of people would talk behind his back. unknown to him you would always stick up for him.

just as he was in the storage room he heard a couple of the girls talking about him.

“y/n i don’t get why you’re friends with him…he’s a little weird”

“yea and he actually scores unlike your benchwarmer ass…” “he’s actually really fun and nice i don’t understand why everyone thinks he’s weird”

when he heard you say those words, it was like cupid threw a bow at his heart.

notes: im sorry this took so long! please share your ideas :) i would never ignore requests :)) not proofread!!!

[gayferrari]

whenever someone mentions how different charles sounds in his three languages (french, italian, english) i think about a comment i read where he probably learned them all differently. like french he is obviously the most natural and eloquent because that’s his first language and the one he speaks most frequently with his friends and family, then italian he sounds a bit more professional and technical because he learned it through karting and mastered it probably through ferrari, and he probably picked up english to communicate with other competitors and do interviews, which is why he always sounds more friendly and ‘media-trained’ in a sense, and he probably had to appeal to sponsors to get them to look at him and support him.

like it’s funny but also endearing to me as a trilingual because i sound aggressive in my first language, shy in my second one, and then confident in english because that’s how i learned them (aggressiveness through my family, shyness because of living in a crowded city, and then confident because i learned english through professional speakers 😭)

Oh Charles def has been PR trained to within an inch of his life!! imo though he actually sounds quite chill and casual in Italian as well, both in interviews and the bits and pieces I've seen in his vlogs, it's definitely a language he uses with some of his friends (I don't doubt they use it at work as well, but the official workplace language remains English).

So imo there's a difference between how he sounds in French/Italian (very much A Dude) and then in English he's either, like, very media trained OR kinda... whimsy, idk. A bit more dramatic? I feel like it started during his twitch streamer era (and his "casual" english really improved 2020 and 2021). I cannot exactly describe it but he sounds so damn manic in English

IDK, just comparing these two different PR videos where he gets very handsy and very giggly with his teammate but one of them is from the Prema days another one is from 2023. The way he introduces himself in the first video vs the second video... "hello everyone" vs "HELLO!!! EVERYONE!!!"

dunno if I'm making any sense but I think his streamer era left a mark.

Anyway I totally feel you about shifting personalities with languages... WHO hasn't been there!! relatable for us as well as Charles

[truckfreaks]

everyone's comparing dj crazy times to aqua but let me tell you

as a kid that used to be REALLY into euro dance......... aqua is the moment. barbie girl is the tip of the banger iceberg. aquarium RULES from start to fuckin finish.

happy boys and girls? INCREDIBLE opener.

my oh my? why wasn't this in DDR?

good morning sunshine? feels like melting into sunset honey

doctor jones? best onomotopoeia in music since always

heat of the night? we love a trilingual queen

be a man? bittersweet breakup ballad of the century

lollipop candyman? REBOUND FROM BITTERSWEET BREAKUP, we love character development.

roses are red? aight, you lil freaks, get it.

turn back time? remember that sunset honey you got melted into? now you're being mixed into a cocktail of complicated summer romances

calling you? educational. we learn how to spell things while we get our cardio in. visionary.

[zikariogirl]

‘ 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 ’ — 𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐧-𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐤

PART ONE, part two

summary ┆ as vincenzo’s sister, you were asked to help him out with a certain situation he was handling in korea — spying on a evil-corrupted CEO, who has no care for others. you were strategic, smart, and the best of the best. . .but who knew you would end up falling in love with a psychopath?

a/n ┆ this originally was gonna be a loooong one shot, but i think it’s too long that it’ll need a part two LMAO. also, there will be a lot of “switching languages” here because i feel like people who are bilingual/trilingual tend to switch from one language to other while they speak (i’m bilingual and do this myself lol), if that makes sense. kind of like han-seok, who goes from korean to english when he speaks!

warnings┆ slight mentions of gore and disturbing themes

key:

normal = english

italics = italian

bold = korean

“Would you like some water, ma’am?”

You shot the flight attendant a quick smile as you nodded your head and raised your empty glass cup, thanking her while she filled it up. Per your brother’s request, you were currently on your way to South Korea to provide some assistance on an unknown situation. Vincenzo was pretty vague over the phone and promised that he will explain everything when you get there, which was good enough for you. At least him teaching you Korean as the two of you grew up is definitely coming in handy now. There’s a few small words and phrases you still need to work on but you had a good understanding of it, and spending some time in Korea is definitely going to make you learn fast.

You missed him — a lot frankly. The two of you weren’t biologically related since you were both adopted. Don Fabio adopted you into the family when you were only six years old after your poor excuse of a father attempted to sell you off. He neglected you for years and constantly blamed you for being the reason why your mother passed away when you were born.

You took your revenge on him though. You made sure his death was slow and painful.

Vincenzo on the other hand was adopted into the family later down the line. The two of you grew extremely close and worked well together, unlike your relationship with Paolo. You were both ruthless with your work; making you guys earn the nickname I Diavoli Malvagi — The Wicked Devils. Although you were a part of the Cassano family first, Vincenzo somehow climbed up the ranks quickly and surpassed you to become Don Fabio’s right-hand man. You loved your brother, but sometimes you couldn’t help but feel a bit of resentment towards him, especially when the rest of the family sometimes disregarded you unless if you had Vincenzo around.

However, you quickly pushed those thoughts away as you began to land. Regardless on how you feel, he’s your brother who you cherish a lot — and probably the only person who genuinely cares about you. You called for a taxi and made your way to the location he sent you, Geumga Plaza.

Upon your arrival, you were greeted by the tenants of the building as they excitedly welcomed you into their home. They were suffocating — to say the least — but you were successful in pushing past them and storming inside the office where Vincenzo was located at.

The moment you slammed the door shut, three pairs of eyes landed on your heavily breathing form.

“Those people are like fucking leeches!” You cursed in Italian as you dropped your suitcase and bag.

Vincenzo moved swiftly as he shot up from his seat and made his way towards you, causing you to straight up face-plant into his chest as he pulled you in for a tight hug.

“You don’t know how much I’ve missed– ow!”

You didn’t let him finish since you proceeded to flick him on his ear, hard.

“I cannot breathe,” your voice was muffled against his chest so you tried your best to face the right, attempting to free the corner of your mouth, “and if you don’t let me go within the next three seconds, I will show everyone in this building that video I took of you passionately singing to ‘Umbrella’ by Rihanna.”

That man has never let you go so fast in your life.

You fixed your clothes and hair, then proceeded to pull him into a proper hug where neither of you were dying to catch some oxygen.

“I’ve missed you too asshole,” you smiled when you felt him chuckle before pulling away. “Now introduce me to your colleagues so we can get down to business.”

Vincenzo knew you didn’t like to waste time, so he swiftly introduced you to Miss Hong and Mr. Nam before the four of you sat down on a table to discuss the situation. Vincenzo started from the beginning. From the death of Miss Hong’s father, to Babel’s corrupt cases and evil acts, to him finding out that Miss Hong’s former intern is actually Jang Han-seok — the CEO and mastermind behind Babel. It was a lot of intel, and a bit confusing since you didn’t really see a point in fighting this fight. If anything, the whole thing sounds almost identical to how the mafia works back in Italy. Things are hardly personal, and it’s mostly just business unless if you cross somebody wrong. It sounds like this Han-seok guy is trying everything he can to be at the top, and eliminating anyone who gets in his way.

Yeah, sounds fairly similar.

You could honestly care less about corrupt politicians. Korea isn’t your home, neither is it Vincenzo’s, so you’re finding it really hard to understand why he’s doing this.

You didn’t mean to do it, but you interrupted Miss Hong in mid conversation as you held up a hand and looked at Vincenzo. “Tell her I apologize for interrupting, but I need to speak to you alone.”

He knew something was up, so he translated your apology to Miss Hong who was kindly understanding. Both her and Mr. Nam excused themselves as they exited the office, leaving you and your brother alone at last.

You drummed your fingers against the table, giving him a side look with a raised eyebrow. “How much are they paying you?”

He blinked. “What?”

“How. Much. Are. They. Paying. You? This whole ‘saving the people’ thing isn’t you. This is a job cut out for the good people, for heroes, not for monsters like us. We’re no better than Babel, Wusang, and that Han-seok guy.”

“I never said I was a hero,” he let out a sigh as he leant back against his chair.

“It’s not your fight Vincenzo. So what if Babel wants to demolish this plaza? Let them! The tenants can always find another building to infest. You can put this behind you and come back with me to Italy because Paolo is such a–”

“There’s gold stashed away in this building.”

You stared at him, completely dumbfounded. “Huh?”

“Almost 886 million euros to be exact.”

Hold up. Rewind. Pause.

“E-Eight hundred…”

“Babel wants to demolish the plaza, which will then reveal the secret room where the gold is located. Miss Hong and I made an agreement. I help her destroy Babel, and in return, she will help me regain ownership of the plaza. You’re an incredible spy, so I want you to infiltrate them and get as much intel as you can. Once I gain access to the room, I’ll give you ten bars of gold. Each bar is worth about 58 thousand euros.”

That’s half a million euros.

You shot Vincenzo a wide smile while leaning forward on the table, resting your chin on the palm of your hands. “Where do we start?”

-

The plan was finally in motion. After finding the right people to tip off Ms. Choi, you received a phone call from her almost immediately. Due to the language barrier you both struggled to communicate properly — not really but you just needed her to take you to him. When she notified you that Han-seok wanted to see you, you couldn’t erase the devious smirk off your face as you agreed to meet him.

This man either trusts too easily or is heavily armed and prepared to kill you in case anything goes south. You were approaching his house while having two of his armed bodyguards escort you inside. The sound of your heels echoed off the walls, letting the four people inside know about your presence. The moment you stepped foot into the room, all eyes were on you, but there was one specific pair that matched the same iciness as your own.

“Miss Marino,” he greeted with a smile. “Please join us and sit.”

You sat down next to Ms. Choi, leaving your eyes trained on him. “I’m pretty familiar with the language,” you didn’t miss the way Ms. Choi looked at you, “I just sometimes prefer not to speak it.”

Han-seok cocked an eyebrow. “I see, well, first thing’s first, tell me about yourself,” he snapped his fingers towards one of the gentlemen, indicating him to fill up your empty wine glass.

While the middle aged man with glasses scurried to obey orders, you leant back on the couch while crossing your left leg over your right. “I’ll spare you all the depressing details about my past, but I’m a mercenary. Been one for five years. I work for nobody but myself. If you pay me fucking good, then I could care less about whatever task it is you give me. Only thing, I don’t harm children, so don’t expect to do any of that.”

He remained quiet but kept his gaze on you.

“Ms. Choi called me rather quick when I arrived to Seoul, so tell me, what does the CEO of a company want with a person like me? You plan on getting your hands dirty?”

“I always get my hands dirty when needed. I just need to know if you’re the right fit for this kind of job.”

“You think I’m not?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I find it hard to believe someone of your appearance is one of Italy’s top mercenaries.”

“How about you put your money where your mouth is?”

You were not liking his sexist attitude towards you. So what if you’re not some strong buff man? You’re perfectly capable of taking down anyone who dares to cross you. You don’t know how to explain it, but something in his features changed at your remark, and before you could even register what was about to happen, a pair of arms grabbed you from behind and slammed you into the floor.

This fucking prick! So he’s planning to test you? The air was knocked out of your lungs but you quickly regained your composure and rolled yourself back onto your feet. The man in front of you went in for a punch but you stopped his fist, twisted his arm, and proceeded to flip yourself in a hand stand position, your legs wrapping themselves around his neck as you tossed him down onto the floor. Everyone stood in shock as you pinned down your attacker’s arm and basically had him on a choke hold with your legs.

The sound of clapping behind you made your attacker tap out, and you quickly released him before standing up. You turned to face Han-seok, who looked fascinated as he loudly applauded you.

“WOOH!” His sudden burst caused everyone — but you — to flinch. “Oh my GOD!”

You picked up one of your shoes that was laying on the floor. “You owe me new heels,” you sighed in disappointment when you noticed the broken heel.

He made his way towards you, grabbing the heel from your hand and tossing it behind him. “You will get anything you want, plus more, if you join my team. You’re just PERFECT! A-MAZING! WOW!”

Does he usually have outbursts like these? He almost sounds possessed. Nonetheless, you smiled up at him, letting him know you were in all the way.

“When do I start?”

-

Then plan was working just as you and Vincenzo hoped it would. You’ve been getting a lot of intel on Babel — which has served a great help to him and Cha-young. Speaking of them, you’ve noticed a bit of chemistry going on between the two of them. You haven’t said anything but you’re not stupid nor blind to know that they both have some sort of feelings for each other.

It was almost adorable to you.

Another major update was Han-seok finally revealing himself as the actual chairman to the public. It was definitely a bit of a shock since he was so keen on keeping it a secret so Han-seo could take the fall for all of his problems regarding Babel. He surprisingly hasn’t ordered you to kill Vincenzo, if anything, he wants you to tease him in a way — to make him suffer and gain revenge as well. He basically wants you to grow even so Vincenzo is aware that they too have the power to take him down if they want to. Kind of a cocky move for him in whatever little game he’s playing with your brother.

Since you can’t make Babel or Wusang grow suspicious, both you and Vincenzo had to plan out certain situations to make it look like you almost beat him, or in smaller cases, you did. The two of you even went as far as to fake a fist fight. Both of you came out bruised and scratched up but were laughing like maniacs about the “fight” over tea.

But this encounter was also when you noticed some strange behavior coming from Han-seok. You had to report back to him like always, and the moment you stepped inside Mr. Han’s office, everyone froze at the sight of you.

“Wha…What happened?” Han-seo questioned as he ran to you. The young chairman took a hold of your hand and began to lead you to one of the couches.

You let him guide you while Mr. Han rushed to get you a glass of water. You stretched out your arms and leaned your head back, closing your eyes for a brief second before opening them again. “That bastard caught me by surprise. It’s like he knew I was going to be there. That figlio di puttana snuck up behind me but I was able to fight him off and get away.”

Everyone turned to look at Han-seok as they waited for him to translate the last part of your statement. Okay yeah, you can practically consider yourself fluent in Korean, but sometimes it’s fun watching them struggle to understand you. The silence that fell in the room told you that Han-seok remained quiet. He kept his hard gaze on you and didn’t even bother looking at his team as he spoke — wait no demanded — something to them.

“Get out.” His voice was rough and low, but you kept your eyes closed and could clearly hear everyone shuffling out the doorway, indicating that it was just you and the boss.

You heard him get up, and a few seconds passed before you heard the sound of a box clicking open. “If you’re thinking about torturing me, don’t even bother. I’m practically immune to that sh–”

You were instantly silenced when you felt his rough fingers grab your chin. Out of instinct, your right hand shot out and gripped his wrist, your nails digging into his skin but he showed no reaction to your move. Your eyes connected for just a brief second before he diverted his attention on your cut lip and bruised cheek. The feel of a wet cloth touching your skin was not foreign to you — but having someone else do it is. You remained quiet, not wanting to interrupt his focus, but you were also left speechless feeling his rough fingers hold your chin. You don’t know why, but being this close to him was making your heartbeat run wild, and that was definitely bad. You don’t know if it’s his beautiful brown eyes, the way his brows are furrowed to focus on your injuries, or the way he’s actually gentle and being careful in cleaning your wounds.

Why is he even doing this? He doesn’t gain anything from it.

You almost punched yourself in the face when you felt a wave of disappointment hit you when his hands were no longer touching you.

“Your lip was starting to bleed again and you were getting blood everywhere. Next time, don’t fail me. I would hate to get rid of you.”

And just like that, he stood up and turned his back on you. You felt stupid. What did you expect? Why would he clean you up and show any form of emotion towards you? What even made you think that?

You were definitely touch starved. Yes, that’s why. You haven’t had sex in a while, and you were probably really hormonal, which is why your body reacted the way it did. You swallowed the lump that was stuck in your throat and you quickly stood up, trying to think about what club to hit after this.

“Sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”

And with that you were off.

-

Your mind has been on a haywire ever since your weird feelings during that one specific encounter with Han-seok arose. You thought that the answer to all your problems would be sex, but the sad truth is, it definitely was not. It was a mere disappointment. At first you believed that maybe it was just the person, so you found somebody else the next day and slept with them as well. Same reaction, same feeling — it was terrible that you felt absolutely nothing. Maybe it was you? You’re not even sure what to think.

But you definitely don’t know what to think now because for some reason, Han-seok invited you out for a stroll around the park.

You were both currently eating ice cream — his treat — while talking about the plan and the progress that you’ve made. You basically bullshitted all your intel, but once Han-seok opened his mouth to ask you something, the two of you were approached by a guy around your age.

He kind of looks like..

“You’ve been ignoring my texts and calls.”

Oh shit. It’s your one night stand.

To be frank, you forgot his name, and you could care less to find out what it is. He looked like a mess and by the look on his face, he was clearly not happy when his eyes landed on Han-seok. “Who’s this?”

Before he could answer the guy, you cut Han-seok off. “How is that any of your business?” You retorted back to Mr. No Name.

“Because we’re seeing each other?”

You drily laughed. “I beg your pardon?”

His features fell at the tone of your voice. “Was I just a joke to you then? You… you approached me! You wanted me. We danced all night, had drinks, we had sex, and then you had an emergency so that’s why you gave me your number. I asked if we could see each other again and you said yes.”

He was putting you on the spot and you hated it. Who does this fucker think he is?

“Look buddy, there’s this thing called a one night stand. I don’t do any of that talking bullshit. I don’t do any dating. I fuck with no strings attached. To be fair with you, I was drunk and probably had no clue as to what I was saying to you that night. Lose my number though, will you?”

You paid no mind to him as you grabbed Han-seok’s hand and began to walk off.

“Your dick game is very disappointing by the way. I had to fake my orgasm.”

He caught you by surprise when you felt him yank your hair.

“You stupid bitch!”

You were about to grab him and make him beg for his life but Han-seok was faster. His eyes were dangerous as he tightly clutched onto the guy’s hand, who began to wince in pain while falling down to his knees.

“L-Let me go you fucker!”

“Shut up or I’ll snap your wrist right here, right now,” his voice was dripping with malice.

You had to stop him. You were in a public place where anyone could see what was going on. You stood up on your toes and placed your hand on his right shoulder. “Not here,” you whispered. “People will see.”

He immediately smiled at your words, already piecing together what you meant. “We can take him back to my place.”

You returned the same smile before bending down to be at eye level with the guy. You cupped his cheeks and slightly leaned in. “You’re gonna die.”

And die he did. His bloodied body was left in the bathroom as both you and Han-seok stood in the living room, wiping the blood off your hands. You got a little too carried away with Mr. No Name. The way he disrespected you by putting his hands on you without reason made your blood boil, and you lashed out in anger the moment the three of you made it behind closed doors. Who the fuck lays a hand on a person after being rejected? God was he an idiot.

You were too lost in your thoughts and too focused on wiping the blood off your neck to even notice Han-seok staring at you. You didn’t notice the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. The way his adams apple kept moving every time he swallowed as he gazed at your gorgeous face caked in blood. You were ethereal in his eyes right now. He used to think Cha-young was the perfect woman, but that all changed the moment he met you.

You peaked his interest that first night he met you. When you slammed one of his body guards down onto the floor with no issue. The way you’ve been slowly causing Vincenzo and Cha-young trouble. The way you briskly complete some side jobs he has for you in getting rid of certain people. You don’t question him and get the job done — just as you promised.

He really wants to kiss you right now.

He gave you zero time to react as he marched over to you and grabbed the back of your neck, slamming your lips together in a rough kiss. You felt your teeth clash with his and it fucking hurt. You pushed against his chest but he didn’t budge, so you decided to bite down hard on his lower lip.

He immediately stepped back, but his crazed eyes remained on you as he licked the blood off his lips. You on the other hand did not know what to say or do.

“What the fuck was that?!” You yelled.

He shrugged. “Just wanted…a taste.”

What’s even worse is you genuinely liked feeling his lips against yours.

Han-seok took a step closer to you and when he noticed you taking a step back, he proceeded to get closer. It’s like you were frozen, and all you could do was step away from him instead of walking out the door. He eventually caged you in, with his arms trapping you as you leaned back against the table.

“So,” he tilted his head and reached forward to trace the skin on your neck. “I have an offer.”

“What?” You were short with your answer, mostly because you wanted to get this conversation over with.

“Have sex with me.”

“What?”

“Just this once.” He leaned forward and buried his face in the crook of your neck, inhaling deeply. “Seeing you go crazy. Staining yourself with blood. Fuck, that was so hot.”

His hot breathe tickled your skin and you immediately got goosebumps. You hated this, but a part of you liked being this close to him. To have his lips be so close to you. The heat of his body engulfing you. You wanted to push him down against the couch and ride him like there’s no tomorrow. You wanted to feel his hands all over your body, to have his mouth touch your most sensitive area, to have him fill you completely.

Wait, no. What the fuck was wrong with you? Alarms were going off in your head and you needed to leave now.

“I don’t know what kind of shit you’re trying to pull here, but I’m not having sex with you.”

You kept your tone cool and collective. You didn’t want him knowing what kind of reaction he was giving your body.

“Why not?” He pulled his head back to look down at you with a pout.

“Because I don’t fuck who I’m working for.”

“Hm, but you didn’t have a problem whoring around–”

SLAP.

That definitely caught him by surprise as he stepped back and held his burning left cheek. His eyes were wide with shock but he made no move to grab or hurt you.

You were livid, and all you could do was point at him. “Do not ever disrespect me like that. I don’t care who you are, but I will not stand for that type of bullshit talk. Unless I’m going to directly do a task for you or it’s something related to the case, don’t ever fucking talk or touch me again. Figlio di puttana.”

You turned around and stormed out of his place in a hurry, not wanting to be around him any longer. When you got back to the plaza and told Vincenzo, Cha-young, and Mr. Nam about what happened, it was an understatement that your brother wanted to march towards Babel and just kill Han-seok himself. You made sure to leave out the part of him asking you to have sex, but either way, Vincenzo was loudly cursing in Italian as he paced the office.

“Wait, this is a great idea!” You narrowed your eyes at Cha-young, who seemed eager to tell your brother something. She whispered something in his ear causing his eyes to widen, and you were sure you heard him whisper a ‘no’ to her.

“What did she say?” You were desperate to know.

Vincenzo gripped the edge of the table as his eyes met yours. You could tell he was tense, and you did not like it one bit.

“Cha-young wants you to seduce Han-seok, or at least make him fall for you. That way you’ll have a deeper connection and be able to manipulate him.”

“Fuck. No.”

He turned to look at Cha-young. “I told you she’ll say no.”

“Convince her. Please. This will definitely give us the upper hand, plus, wouldn’t it be fun seeing him grow desperate over her only to be betrayed in the end?”

“I am not having my little sister get close to that psychopath.”

“She has a point,” you turned to look at Mr. Nam since he began to speak. “Plus, she can take care of herself. I know for a fact she can kick his ass if she wants to.”

Cha-young turned to face you and unexpectedly threw her arms around your shoulders, causing you to scream. “Please!” She begged in English. “Pleaseeee.”

“Yes! Please!” Mr. Nam proceeded to hug you as well. They were so close to you and you shot Vincenzo a glare. He looked semi-apologetic but also very amused, but you were going to rain hell on your brother since he pulled out his phone and took a picture of your current situation — several actually.

If anything, they practically forced your hand, because they would not let you go unless if you agreed to their stupid, evil plan. Now, you angrily stomped out of the building and began to formulate a plan to get close to Han-seok, even though you told him to never talk to you unless if it’s about business.

-

You didn’t want to admit it, but the main reason why you refused to take part in this plan was because you were afraid of your own feelings towards Han-seok. After the kiss and having sexual fantasies — while he basically smelled your neck too — you’ve been a hot Han-seok mess. You were guilty of having wet dreams of him. You were also guilty of feeling your heart beat increase anytime he walked into the room. Surprisingly, he kept his distance. Maybe the slap you gave him knocked some sense into his brain and made him realize how much of a perverted idiot he was being. You should feel thankful he was respecting your wishes, but, all you felt was disappointment.

The more time you spent with him, the more dangerous it became for you. Task after task, meeting after meeting, you were essentially digging your own grave at this point. Its been months and you’re at a deep end, and it sucks that you don’t know who to go to for this. You can’t tell Vincenzo in fear of disappointing him, and you also didn’t want him to be disgusted by you. Even though you spend a lot of time with Cha-young and Mr. Nam, you don’t feel comfortable letting them know either. You obviously cannot spill any of this to Ms. Choi or Mr. Han, so that only leaves the one person you know is the worst choice.

Jang Han-seon.

Why him of all people? Maybe it’s because he fears Han-seok and you know he won’t say a word. Maybe it’s because he’s the kindest out of the group, so you automatically assume he can be easy to talk to.

Or you could bottle your feelings and thoughts instead of saying anything. But the more you bottled these emotions, the worse it gets. Maybe you should back down on the deal completely and move back to Italy.

But it’s half a million euros. Half a million. Never mind, you can do this! You just have to control your feelings and stop acting like a stupid rookie. You’re a fucking spy for the mafia, you’ve been doing this since you were sixteen! Why start to lack now? There’s nothing special about Han-seok. He’s a psychopath.

But he’s also a really handsome and fun guy.

No, you need to stop. You’ll rant to Han-seo and that’ll be the end of it. You paced around Babel in search of the younger Jang brother and was relieved to see him getting coffee by himself — no Han-seok in sight.

“Han-seo!”

He had a worried and confused look when he heard his name, but when his eyes landed on you, he smiled.

“Hey,” he greeted as he pointed towards the coffee machine. “Coffee?”

You shook your head and leaned back against the counter. “I need to tell you something but you cannot tell anyone, understand?”

His demeanor changed at your words on the secrecy of what you’re about to tell him but he quickly regained it as he nodded his head. “I understand. What is it?”

“I think I like Han-seok.”

And there goes his morning coffee. Han-seo practically spit out everything and he became a coughing mess, placing the mug down as he fanned himself.

“Oh my god, are you okay?!” You cried out as you began to repeatedly pat his back.

“I…,” he coughed. “Napkin.” Cue another deadly cough.

You were quick to pass him a napkin and you took it upon yourself to clean and wipe down his tie. This poor man would not stop coughing, and it was even drawing the attention of certain employees who would walk by, but you paid no mind to them. You guided Han-seo to the nearest chair while still patting his back.

“Han-seo, are you okay?”

Cough. “I think.” Cough. “Damn.” Cough. “No.”

You placed your hands on both sides of his face to keep his attention on you. “Do you need CPR because I’m actually trained on it.”

He blushed at your words, and started to wave his hands frantically while still coughing out like a forty-year old man who smokes cigarettes every day. “N-No!” Cough. “I’m…okay.”

“What’s going on here?”

Now that was a voice that could make the two of you freeze. At the same time, you both slowly turned your heads, your eyes landing on Han-seok. He looked…different. And not in the wardrobe-look different, but his aura…and his face. Something was off about him.

Han-seo was the first to scurry out of his chair. He removed your hands from his face and quickly bowed, but not before letting out another ugly cough.

“S-Sorry sir!” Cough. “It’s,” cough, “nothing! I was actually,” cough, “about to leave.”

You rolled your eyes and stood up. “Stop talking. You’ll make it worse.” You patted his chest and shot him a smile.

What you didn’t know was how terrified Han-seo was right now because nobody knows his brother better than him, and right now? He could tell his brother wants to kill him. He notices the way his jaw keeps clenching every time you touch him. He was surprised he didn’t storm up to him when he caught your hands on his face. You confessed your feelings for Han-seok to him, but judging by his brother’s character, does he reciprocate the same feelings?

He definitely does not want to stay and find out.

Han-seo excused himself and said goodbye to you before walking off. You rolled your eyes when you heard him cough again, but now that you’re alone with Han-seok, you want to leave too.

“Well bye!”

“I didn’t say you could leave.”

He stopped you from walking off. You pursed your lips and turned around to face him once again, keeping your eyes focused on the nearest wall. “Yes boss?”

“What were you doing with Han-seo?”

“What do you think I was doing?”

The muscle in his jaw twitched. “Shut up and answer my question.”

You raised an eyebrow at his ugly tone. “If you’re worried that I was going to kiss your brother at work, you’re wrong. He almost choked on coffee so I was helping him regain his composure. Plus, I wouldn’t kiss him here. It’s too open and people are nosy.”

You didn’t bother to stay and listen to his reply, instead you waved him off as you walked away, not bothering to turn back. Sure you work for him, but that doesn’t give him the right to act like an asshole to you. If he tries anything, both you and Vincenzo will be on his ass for it. However, one thing you didn’t know was that you were going to be the reason why Han-seo will wake up with a black eye tomorrow.

It was another normal day and — much to your surprise — Han-seok announced that he will be hosting a small party at his house, full of important people of course. You were required to attend and the moment Cha-young found out about it, she made it her number one job to dress you up and buy you the best of the best.

“I want you to outshine all of those corrupted assholes.”

You smiled at her words and felt thankful on her kindness towards you. She didn’t have to go and buy you a new dress — but she did. It was a beautiful silk beige dress with a sweetheart neckline, thin shoulder straps, and a straight line hem with a side slit. Your confidence boosted through the roof on how you looked. While you were applying the last of your make up, Vincenzo walked into your room and paused as he took in your appearance. You could see the gears shifting in his brain before his eyes widened and he pointed at you.

“No.”

“No what? I can’t look hot?”

“Why are you dressed like that? Don’t tell me you’re going on a date with that psychopath.”

“For the record, you agreed that I should get close to him,” you ‘popped’ your lips as you finished applying your lipgloss. “And no, I’m not. That psychopath is throwing a party.”

“Doesn’t she look gorgeous,” Cha-young grabbed your shoulders and made you face Vincenzo. The two of you innocently smiled at him, which made him mock a smile back before walking away. Cha-young smacked her lips and frowned in disapproval before rolling her eyes. “How rude.”

“He’s always like that,” you scoffed and grabbed your purse, making sure to leave your actual cell phone behind and taking your undercover one instead.

Before you could walk out, Vincenzo grabbed your wrist and raised a finger. “If he touches you again, I will kill him. I can always make a few jumps ahead in our little game.”

You rolled your eyes at his words. “Oh whatever, I’ll be fine. Just make sure to leave my apartment thirty minutes after I leave, just to be safe.” You planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “But I’ll be back! Maybe I’ll even get laid.”

You shot him one last wink and ran off right as he started to yell. You absolutely love pushing his buttons.

You walked out of the building and stood outside waiting for your car to get here. The party barely began five minutes ago but you weren’t in a rush to get there — it’s not like you’re the guest of honor. The car arrived just in time, so you opened the door and took a seat in the back. Just as you were about to put on your seatbelt, the driver quickly turned around and shoved a rag onto your face. Fuck, chloroform. You grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing him to drop the rag on the floor as you attempted to open the doors. Of course this fucker would have child lock on. You began to kick the door and mentally cursed when you started to feel woozy and tired.

No, don’t fucking black out.

You rapidly blinked your eyes as you tried to stay awake, but the chloroform was definitely kicking your ass right now.

“You…fucking,” your body was giving up and you grew sluggish. “Piece of shit.”

Then your whole vision went black.

You don’t know how much time has passed since you’ve been taken, but when you slowly started to regain consciousness you noticed that you were handcuffed to a bed frame in a worn out bedroom. You laid on the dirty floor and noticed that the knife you had strapped to your thigh was gone.

“Wow I scored big tonight.”

You frowned at the creepy guy in front of you. He was definitely not hired for a job, he just looks like a simple homeless man. He seemed to be a few years older than you and wore worn out clothes that don’t appear to have been changed in months.

“Who are you?” You practically demanded.

All he did in response was raise an eyebrow at your question and stand up, completely turning his back on you.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, you fucker!”

You knew he wasn’t going to listen to you, but you had to let out your frustrated words somehow. You have no fucking clue what he was doing as he stood in front of a table but the moment he turned around, you wanted to kill him. His eyes were focused on you as they trailed your body, and he licked his lips before proceeding to rub himself through his pants.

What the actual fuck is wrong with him?

The sound of a phone — actually, your cell phone — going off made him stop. He let out an irritated groan before mumbling something underneath his breath as he walked out of the bedroom. Once he was gone you quickly bent your head and pulled out a bobby pin from your hair.

“Fucking pervert is dying tonight,” you mumbled as you picked the lock on the handcuffs. You were successful in getting them off and you rubbed your wrists while you began to search for a weapon, but stopped almost immediately when you took notice of an album sitting on the table. Upon further inspection when you opened it, you were horrified. Mangled bodies of young women were all posed in different and weird poses, and they were all naked too. So he kidnaps women, sexually tortures them, and then kills them for pleasure.

And you were his next victim.

“Fucking prick just signed his own death wish,” you spoke to yourself in disgust.

You grabbed a pair of scissors from the desk and began to make your way towards your new prey.

Meanwhile, back at the party, Han-seok took notice of your absence and began to ask around in case anyone saw you. He found it odd that you were still not here, since you clearly stated in your text that you would attend the party. He knows women take longer to get ready, but it’s been over an hour since the party began and he definitely is not liking the fact that you possibly bailed on him. What are you doing that’s much more important than his party? Are you out clubbing and meeting other guys? Oh hell no.

He marched over to Ms. Choi since she was in charge of sending a car to you. “Ms. Choi, did you so happen and get any word on the car you sent to pick up Miss Marino?”

“Yes sir. Last I heard, they’ve been waiting outside her building for thirty minutes.”

He frowned at her words. “Did they get in contact with her?”

She shook her head. “No. They’ve tried to call her several times but received no answer.”

Why the fuck didn’t she say a word? He clenched his jaw, his voice dropping low with annoyance. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

Ms. Choi fixed her glasses. “You seemed busy, sir. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“I don’t fucking care what your excuse is. You notify me about shit like this immediately.” And with that he walked away and called your phone. It rang three times before it was automatically sent to voicemail. He called again. And again. And every time it would ring, it would last differently, almost as if his call was going through but someone was declining it. He was not going to have any of that.

Using your number, he had some of his men track it down, and he rushed towards your destination in no time. The moment he pulled up to a rundown house, he grew confused. What the fuck are you doing here? He got out his truck and walked towards the front door, which turned out to be unlocked, but the moment he stepped inside and his nostrils were filled with the familiar iron smell, he panicked.

Yes, panicked. For the first time in his life, he felt a sense of a slight fear. He didn’t miss all of the weird photos hanging on the walls. Each one was of a different woman, but the frames next to them were of the same girls, but dead, mutilated, and barely recognizable.

Han-seok genuinely felt his heart drop, and he began to call out your name, not caring if he alerted the owner of the house. In fact, he wants them to show themselves, so he can torture the fuck out of them and force them to tell him on your whereabouts.

What he didn’t expect to see was a male mutilated corpse laying on the floor of the living room, with you on the other side of the room, drenched in blood. His eyes roamed your body and took in your appearance really well. The beautiful silk dress you wore was now covered in blood, your hair was a bit unorganized but still looked perfect. Both of your hands were painted red in blood while your face, neck, and arms had a few splatters here and there. He didn’t miss your exposed left leg as well, something that really made him want to touch you.

You looked like a fucking goddess to him right now.

You were too busy sipping on whatever drink you prepared yourself since you didn’t bat an eye towards his direction, but the moment he stepped forward, the familiar click of a gun sounded off. He raised his hands in surrender, his lips curling into a smirk as he shot you a wink.

“It’s me!” He said in a cheerful tone.

But for some reason, you didn’t put down the gun.

You kept your aim on him as you completely debated whether or not to end this shit, right here, right now. You were fed up with these stupid feelings that have been overcoming you for the past few weeks. Getting attached and growing feelings for the enemy? Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you? Even though the Cassano family didn’t have you as a main priority in their ranks anymore, there’s a reason why you were their main spy. You always stuck to the task to get it done, even in the times when you were sent to spy on the most gorgeous men in Italy, you always came through by ending your mission with their blood in your hands. You never second guessed your mission.

Until now.

You don’t know what’s so special about Han-seok. If anything, he’s the most psychotic guy you’ve been tasked to spy on. Sure you’ve dealt with a load of crazy men, but not ‘Han-seok level crazy’. Maybe it’s the way he walks with power and is strategic with his plans but is also a complete dork. Maybe it’s the way he doesn’t take shit from anyone, no matter who they are to him. Maybe it’s the way how he treats you differently, and you’ve picked up on it too. He doesn’t take Ms. Choi, Mr. Han, or even Han-seo out for ice cream, or invites them to accompany him on regular every day tasks. Not once has he yelled at you or even came close to “punishing” you for your failures. Because you have “failed” him, when you couldn’t “beat” Vincenzo in certain situations. It was all a mess.

A mess you could end right now. You could get rid of this stupid fantasy your mind has been playing and flee from Korea. You could move to the States and start a new life there. Just forget about everything.

Han-seok raised an eyebrow and shot you a quick wave when he noticed you still aiming the gun at him. “What are you doing?”

You didn’t answer him. You remained frozen as your eyes began to brim with tears instead.

Why am I fucking crying?

Han-seok was more confused than ever at your reaction, and he began to wonder what was going on in your pretty little head. Did the man actually hurt you to the point where you were left traumatized? The thought itself made him feel an undeniable amount of rage, which is why he didn’t care as he stepped on the man’s hand when he began to walk towards you.

He called out your name, but you still had no reaction as you were lost in your thoughts.

“Give me the gun,” he ordered.

Shoot him! Just shoot him!

You were absolutely losing your mind. Your hand began to shake and your vision was clouded with tears at this point.

Why can’t I fucking shoot him?!

The moment you felt him grip the gun, you knew it was too late. He took it from your hold, put the safety on, and tossed it aside. Neither of you said anything for a while. You leaned back against the table as you began to space out, feeling out of touch with reality.

“I’m sorry I..” you stopped yourself from saying anything else. You were showing weakness to him, something you despised.

“Shh,” he remained calm, which was a surprise to you. His fingers brushed the side of your cheek and you felt yourself completely melt at the touch.

You involuntarily leaned into him, and he moved his hand to cup your cheek instead, his thumb rubbing the skin underneath your eye.

“All my life, I’ve been good at what I do.” You don’t know why you’re saying this but you couldn’t stop yourself from telling him. “My mother died giving birth to me, and for six years, my own father neglected me. He would beat me for any little thing I did wrong in his eyes and he constantly made me feel the burden of being the cause of my mother’s death. He was a thief and beggar, and would use me to do his dirty deeds in stealing. That’s the only reason why he kept me for a while, but little six year old me thought we were bonding. One night I made him something and I thought he would love it, but he went berserk and beat me so bad that he left me for dead. I remember him spitting on my small little body and saying that I’ll never be his daughter. He was surprised to find me still breathing the next day so he tried to sell me off and sex traffic me, but that didn’t work on his end. I grew up, was trained by the best, and spent years trying to find his sorry ass. When I did, I made sure to make him feel every bit of pain he made me go through.

“I got a shot in having a second family and I felt so happy, until they started to turn their backs on me as well. Deep down, I felt tossed away. It started to feel like they only kept me because of how good I was in completing missions for them. It didn’t feel like I was important to them, and I fucking hated it. Just like my father, they pushed me away, and only saw use of me whenever it benefited them.”

Much to your surprise, Han-seok was listening to your words. The way his beautiful brown eyes looked at you oddly made you feel safe, so you continued to spill everything to him.

“But working for you is different. Even though you send me on tasks to do some of your dirty work, you acknowledge me. You don’t order me to leave you alone. You treat me like I’m somebody. Even when I fail against Vincenzo at times, you don’t punish me for it. I’ve been losing my mind lately and,” you paused for a second as you swallowed. “I think I need to stop working for you and leave Korea.”

You felt his fingers on your skin twitch. “Why?”

God, is he really asking you why?

“I just have to.”

His face hardened. “That’s not a reason. Tell me why.”

“If you’re worried I’m going to tell anyone about what Babel and Wusang are up to, I’m not. I just want to leave this country and go far away as possible.”

He let out a dry laugh. “You’re not leaving.”

“You can’t make me stay.”

“Watch me.”

“What are you going to do? Threaten me? Keep me hostage? Kill me? What exactly are you going to do to make me stay, huh? There’s nothing in this world that I care for.”

Except for Vincenzo, but he doesn’t need to know that, and your brother will understand you needing to abandon the mission for personal reasons.

Han-seok brought his other hand up to cup your opposite cheek, his eyes connecting with yours. “If you give me a good enough reason, then maybe I’ll reconsider letting you leave. Sooo, talk.”

Oh god, are you really going to tell him? This will either end really bad or give you the opportunity to leave. You took in a deep breath and mentally prepared yourself for what you’re about to say.

“I fucked up big time. My task is to work by your side and get my hands dirty for you. This is strictly just business. But I,” you paused before continuing, “I literally fell for you. My stupid ass really fell for you.”

His hands dropped from your face and he took a step back. Your confession has completely stunned him and he has no idea what to do or say.

“It’s so unprofessional of me and so embarrassing. I don’t know how or when it happened. I think it was from that time you cleaned my wounds after my big fight with Vincenzo, I don’t know. I’m just disappointed in myself for stooping so low to this.” You grabbed the nearest rag and began to wipe away the leftover blood on your skin. “I’m going to raid this asshole’s closet, change, and take my leave. I enjoyed working for you Han-seok, and you have my word that I won’t spill any of your dirty business to the world.”

You began to walk away from him, thankful that he wasn’t making a scene or trying to get more embarrassing information out of you. The feel of his rough hand clasping around your wrist made you whirl your head, and you looked up at him with confusion.

“What are you–”

“Oh shut up and kiss me beautiful.”

And he immediately pressed his lips against yours. Unlike last time, you didn’t hesitate in kissing him back and you gripped his tie before pulling him down closer to you. His hand cupped the back of your neck while he placed his other one on your hip, pulling your body closer as the kiss grew feverishly. You didn’t even realize you both were walking backwards, and when your butt bumped into the edge of a table, he quickly hoisted you up and sat you down on it.

He stood in between your legs and his hand started to touch your exposed leg, sliding itself underneath your dress as he began to rub circles on your inner thigh. Your arousal grew and you bit back a moan. Jesus, he’s not even touching you there yet and you’re already wet for him. Your hook ups weren’t even able to bring this reaction out of you — not even when they were deep inside you too.

You were just about to reach down to unbuckle his belt when his phone began to ring. Han-seok slammed his hand on the table and pulled away, irritation clear on his features.

“What?” He answered with annoyance, but the moment he felt you kissing up his neck, he relaxed.

You could hear a female voice on the other line, pinpointing it to be Ms. Choi.

“Yes I found her. Next time, make sure to do a background check on the drivers you send.” You heard more talking before he scoffed. “You’ll apologize to Miss Marino, not me. I’ll head over there now.”

He quickly hung up and set his phone down, tilting your chin up so yours eyes could meet his. “Sorry baby. The party is boring without me so they need me back.”

Your heart fluttered at the nickname. “I guess,” you sighed before pointing at the dress. “Although I do need a wardrobe change. My dress is ruined.”

He looked down at the blood stains and his nostrils flared for a bit. “Did he touch you? If so,” he reached over to the table and grabbed the bloodied scissors, “I can always rearrange his face more. Snip snip.”

You laughed at his last words before grabbing the scissors out of his hand. “There’s no need for that, I already took care of it. Stupid asshole wished he could touch me, but seriously, I need to buy a new dress.”

“Hm, tell me where you bought that one because you look amazing in it. After that, we’ll head to the party since it’s not fun without me.”

Somehow, a very naughty thought popped up in your head.

“Or,” you grabbed his tie and pulled him down towards you. “We could have a little bit of fun ourselves.”

You saw him swallow and his eyes widened just a little bit. If there’s any way to describe him right now, he looked so innocent, as if his secret little persona as Joon-woo emerged and completely replaced Han-seok. But that surprised look completely went away when his hand found its way to your neck, and he gave it a light squeeze, enough to turn you on again.

“Oh baby, I’m going to ruin you.”

And right there is the moment you knew that there was no going back. This wasn’t just an undercover mission anymore. Jang Han-seok, the CEO of Babel, has you completely wrapped around his finger, and you could care less. Any sense of morality that you had left has gone out the window at this point. This man can tell you to torture or kill anyone for him, and you’ll do it in a heartbeat.

You were at his mercy, and you fucking love it.

[pathogenflock]

Name: Rafael

Pronouns: he

Interests: Nathan Pandit

adults, minors, employed people, unemployed people, chronically online people, acutely offline people, ai artists, traditional artists, digital artists, bots, real people, aspiring authors, published authors, starving artists, well-fed artists, nsfw accounts, sfw accounts, people who think in black and white, people who acknowledge nuance, neurotypical people, neurodivergent people, blond people in romantic relationships with other blond people, polyamorous, monogamous, polygamous, men, women, everyone between and outside of that, anyone to whom that spectrum as a whole does not apply, people in healthy relationships (mutually toxic ones are fine as long as you let me watch ^-^), allocishet people, aroace trans gay people, pregnant people of any gender at their late 2nd- early 3rd trimester, French people (Quebecois people are on thin ice, but the rest of Canada also DNI), my 5th grade english teacher, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, pansexuals, polysexuals, omnisexuals, police without a warrant, police with a warrant, drunk driving antis and neutrals, woke moralists, asleep degenerates, people with blue or green eyes, people with cavities, small business owners, megacorp CEOs, microorganisms that cannot breach the blood-brain barrier, vivisection antis, fandom elders, fandom middle-aged, fandom youths, people who dont read DNIs if theyre "too long," people with long DNIs cus im not reading that shit, people who send death threats, discord e-daters (i hope you break up), selfship haters bc why do you hate fun, medical malpractice lawyers, my ex-wife Miranda and her stupid fucking lawyer you can keep the house but you'll never have my dignity you stupid assholes 🖕🖕🖕🖕, my beloved son Eduardo except on weekends, flat earthers, globe earthers, earth "neutrals," people who hate on online relationships or think they dont "count," pro shippers, pro kayakers, and pro skaters, people who donate to ao3 (this one's for real), monolinguals, trilinguals, selfshippers lmaoo thats so cringe sorry, transphobes (homophobes are fine), anyone located within 50 kilometers of -57.40378, 118.63882, twinks, bears (person not the animal), activists, staticists, gambling addicts but if you send me $50 i may or may not take you off this list, autism moms, autism dads, autism parents who lost it all in the divorce (now demoted to neurotypical parent), autism not the step dads but the dads that stepped up, people who think women can get pregnant (only men do that), people who cant solve my riddles three, bears (the animal), The Bear (the show), people with "ironic" dni lists who are trying way too hard to be funny, debt collectors, toothpaste flag users, toothbrush flag users, "we live in a simulation" dumbasses, anyone whose high school mascot was that shitty bulldog png (you know the one), furries (scalies are fine). may add more

People with the first name "Nathan" and the last name "Pandit."

[yuurei20]

Rook Info Compilation Part 1: Nicknames and Hunting

Rook Hunt is the vice-housewarden of Pomefiore and consistently refers to him self as 愛の狩人 / le chasseur d'amour / the hunter of love.

While both Floyd and Rook both have unique nicknames for everyone around them, Floyd never uses anyone’s real name at all (with the exception of Azul and Jade), while Rook will shift freely between first names and names of his own creation.

(On NA Vil is the exception to Floyd’s rule, but that may be less canon and more continuity issue)

Rook’s nicknames are not always the same on both servers. While Trey’s Chevalier des Roses and Leona’s Roi de Lions are the same, Jamil’s Monsieur Multi (NA: Monsieur Pyramide) and Jack’s Monsieur Tough Guy (NA: Monsieur Fier a-bras) are not. His name for the player is Trickster.

Rook's NA nickname for Ruggie is a trilingual pun: Ruggie is Monsieur Tanpopo on JP, which is Japanese for “dandelion”, as Rook once found him looking for dandelions to eat. On NA he is the French word “Dent-de-Lion”, which is also “dandelion” but also, literally means, “tooth of the lion”.

(Like Floyd, however, Rook’s nicknames are also met with the occasional continuity issue. He shifts from Dore to Doré (I have been told that d’or might actually be what it’s supposed to be) with Kalim, and from “Roi de l’Effort” to “Roi de Fort” with Azul (a French speaker once told me that it would “Roi du fort”, not “de fort”, but “de l’Effort” is both grammatically correct and probably what Rook is going for, since this is Azul.) Floyd refers to him as Seagull.

Rook is originally from Sunset Savannah, along with Ruggie and Leona. He has exceptionally good eyesight and hearing, which are referenced fairly often.

In a voice line he says, “I suggest you wear a hat. The glare makes it hard to see your prey”, which is perhaps part of the reason why he wears his own. In a chat Rook says he wears it because he considers "the huntsman who served the Fairest Queen of All" to be a "font of inspiration".

He has an excellent sense of smell and dislikes garlic for impeding his ability to hunt.

[retrieve-the-kraken]

Young Royals Season 2 play-by-play analysis

Alright, moving on to episode 2. I realize that a lot of what I did as I wrote my thoughts down was copy down a lot of the quotes, for future reference (both for analysis and for fic-writing), but I’ve deleted all of the standalone quotes, for space. I also hope that, by the end of the year, I will have a more advanced grasp of Swedish and be able to compare the script in Swedish and the dubbing/subtitles and get a better understanding of cultural context (in the meantime, I’m thankful for Swedish-speaking or Swedish-adjacent users who share their wisdom and knowledge with the rest of us).

EPISODE 2

Wille standing at the doorway, listening to Simon play the Hillerska melody on piano… the melody that he taught him how to play in that very same room… and feeling so distant… He’s not allowed to come near, he should give him space… Simon was on a date last night with someone else… he looked happy…

”If I wasn’t an adult I wouldn’t have been allowed to move here, my mum wanted me and Simon to drop out after his… s-sex video…” Awkward silence. The video is never going away. Everyone knows the truth. (It’s traumatizing still that everyone refers to it as a sex video, as if it were his fault, his and Wille’s for getting filmed, like they should have known that they could get caught, like it wasn’t a massive breach of privacy and also child pornography, like it wasn’t two kids involved, it’s victim-blaming).

Simon singing Feliz Cumpleaños to Sara and then talking about pabellón… makes me wonder why we never hear Sara speak Spanish, not even a word, while Simon speaks fluent Spanish, switching between both languages without problem. Meanwhile Sara understands it because both Simon and Linda say things and she responds, but in two seasons she hasn’t said a word in Spanish. Frida Argento, who plays Sara, probably speaks at least some Spanish, since she had been living and working in Barcelona, Spain, before working on the show. But maybe her accent is too strong…? (I doubt it; even hearing Edvin speak Spanish, I noticed that his accent is not as heavy as, for example, Americans speaking Spanish. In fact, Edvin pretty much nails the Venezuelan accent.) Or maybe it’s because Frida would have a Spanish accent instead of a Venezuelan one…? Or maybe (and this is, in my opinion, the most likely hypothesis) Sara, despite understanding and speaking Spanish as fluently as her brother, doesn’t like to speak it because it’s like showing that she’s an outsider, that she’s a second generation immigrant. She might not be proud of her heritage because she wants more than anything to fit in. (It would make sense, I’ve known quite a few people like that, who grew up in a foreign country and didn’t want to speak their native language because they didn’t want to feel like outsiders, and it’s particularly common amongst young Latin Americans; even Omar Rudberg himself talked about that in that show Taste Buds when he and Edvin Ryding eat Venezuelan food, that if his mother hadn’t forced him to speak Spanish, he would have only spoken Swedish, because he wanted to fit in, he decided that Swedish was cool and Spanish wasn’t, and now he’s glad that his mother forced him, and he’s so proud of it, and now he’s trilingual, but not all Latin American immigrants are so lucky). So maybe Sara could very well speak Spanish but it’s a conscious choice that she doesn’t.

“At least he doesn’t need to be rescued all the time.” Sara holds on to the concept that Wille is this disaster person (which he kind of is) and that Simon is constantly the knight in shining armor, sacrificing himself to protect/save him. That happened one time, Sara!

Did Henry just hug Simon during the game? More Henry/Simon bonding, please.

Wille not knowing how to handle his frustration over Simon “moving on”. Poor baby. First breakups are hard.

“I’m just trying to be honest about my feelings. Maybe you should try it sometime.” Ooooh ho ho Simon, you asked for it, and Wille delivers.

That whole silent exchange between Simon and Felice… I need them to be friends soon. I need Simon to put behind past grievances (the way Felice treated Sara at first, his jealousy over her and Wille kissing, etc), and realize they could be besties. (At least we get a little supportive interaction on ep 5 and 6).

How fast did the information that Wille is being forced out of Hillerska spread??? Fucking August being all “He hasn’t been well.” Fuck you, asshole. Fuck you and your satisfied grin that you’re “trying” to hide.

The snow globe breaking will never not hurt my little heart… and Wille’s face, and his trembling fingers trying to put it back together…

“At least you don’t have to be the Crown Prince.” Need more flashbacks to Wille and Erik, please. Is Wille wearing the same orange sweater that he wears on his first day at Hillerska? That he was wearing earlier in that scene and took off (conveniently leaving it behind for Simon?) If it is, then Wille wears that sweater more often than we expected, so it’s kind of strange that by the end of the season he hasn’t noticed that he’s missing it (but it’s okay, he had other things in his mind).

Kristina being so manipulative. “Your father and I love you just the way you are”, how sweet, “but if you are the first one in our family to choose to live in an unconventional relationship…” Oh well so much for that… the way she says “choose” and “unconventional”… “You should be able to choose when to come out… BUT not yet.” She’s holding on to the hope that he will get over this, she still thinks that this is just a phase, just an unfortunate romance.

And then she just says “okay” and hangs up on him. She’s so frustrated with him. But she doesn’t even try to be his mother for one second. She doesn’t even say goodbye. You’re supposed to be the fucking adult here, Krissy. You’re the fucking queen, and your teenaged son is going through a lot of shit because of you, so be a fucking adult.

Wille is so shocked to see a crowd gathered. The embarrassment continues. Poor baby. It’s like he’s everyone’s favorite drama, but it’s his fucking life. It’s so unfair.

“I talked to my mum and told her that I can’t be king or prince if I can’t be allowed to be who I am.” I don’t think Wille even cares what that means. I mean, he doesn’t care about labelling himself at all, it’s just a matter-of-fact to him, ‘whatever I am doesn’t matter, the point is I’m in love with this boy, I should be allowed.’

“They support me,” yeah right. “We will discuss things when I turn 18, what I want.” Sure thing, baby. Your mum just wants to postpone the discussion until your will has weakened. A discussion doesn’t mean they will agree with you at all. It’s so sad to me that he doesn’t know it, that he still trusts her a bit. He’s willing to do anything to get Simon back, even agree to such bullshit conditions.

“I think it’s really great that you feel like they’re supportive and stuff but…” Yeah, Simon doesn’t buy it either. Your mum doesn’t want you two to be together, those are empty words.

“I can’t be your secret again.” Here it is. He uses the word ‘secret’ again to refer to what they used to have, before the video, before everything. But it wasn’t a secret, really, it was private. But when everything blew up, and Wille denied being in the video, that’s when their relationship became like a dirty little secret. That’s why Simon says that he doesn’t want to be someone’s secret, when Wille comes back from the interview and apologizes but says that nothing has to change. But that wasn’t really Wille doing that, that was his mother who convinced him, that was her manipulation. But Simon still doesn’t understand that, he doesn’t understand that Wille truly was given no choice, he was scared into doing it. And Wille doesn’t understand where Simon is coming from, because he so desperately just wants to be with him, he just wishes Simon would agree and be with him on his terms and that’s it. At this point Wille has not reflected at all on what Simon asked him before the break. He hasn’t put Simon’s needs ahead of his own yet. He hasn’t accepted the part he has played in their relationship breaking down.

Stella is so frustrated with the heteronormativity of the game… “What if it’s not a guy?” And Fredrika, without even having to think about it, says “it’s a game for girls!”, implying, ‘Of course it’s about guys, why would it not? We’re all heterosexual women here.’ Nooooo, Fredrika…

“It depends on how you count”. Well at least she has a slightly more open view on what constitutes sex.

“Yeah, I’m not gonna… no way. Yeah… no…”. Maddie, queen of privacy. I love you. She doesn’t want the girls gossiping about Wille and Simon, and she’s definitely not going to start gossip about herself. In this house we stan Madison McCoy too.

That whole conversation, about sex vs penetrative sex, masturbation…

Sara’s invasion of Felice’s privacy, how the heck did she get into Felice’s phone, and her checking out the entire conversation between Felice and Wille… why Sara, why… I can understand some of the other terrible decisions that she makes during this show, which often relates to her being neurodivergent, but there is absolutely no excuse for going through someone else’s phone. That is pure sneakiness.

Simon smelling the sweater, then looking at the fish tank as he does, allowing all the memories flood him, getting inspired to write about it, letting it wash all over him… then seeing himself in the mirror and becoming angry at himself. He’s so frustrated at himself for holding on to these feelings, for not being able to get over Wille…

And every time that happens he just goes for the easy option, which is try to move on with Marcus… try to drown out the thoughts, the feelings with noise (Marcus). He wants to distract himself. But that’s all it is, a distraction. It doesn’t work like that, baby.

He’s psyching himself to try to replace everything with Marcus, everything he’s ever felt for Wille. The memory of holding pinkies during the horror movie? Let’s set up a horror movie and see what happens. But he’s so desperate he can’t even wait, so he kisses Marcus, just goes for it, just do it, hopefully it will be so good that Wille who? And it’s like… zero chemistry… Simon just keeps pushing, hoping that it will suddenly be there, just zap! But no, baby, that’s not how it works… And he knows this, by the way he looks sort of guilty and ashamed when Marcus stops him. That’s not you, Simon, that’s just your desperation talking. And as much as I detest Marcus, I do appreciate that he at least didn’t follow Simon’s lead, he stopped him. And I do feel a bit bad that Simon tried to use him like that (not because it’s Marcus, I would feel bad for any guy in this situation, as perfect as he could be). That little peck and then Simon following with his lips, then Marcus putting his arm around him and Simon just looking so tense… yep, he definitely feels absolutely no chemistry, but he’s just going with it, like really hoping it will come… fake it till you make it…

Sara wearing so much purple this season… the color of royalty… like it’s wishful thinking.

August being confused about Sara kissing him at first, then giving in, then his little smile and laugh when she leaves… August has self-esteem problems, and this girl has paid attention to him, not once, not twice, but three times. She’s helping him, and she seems to want him, physically at least. He’s catching feelings. At this moment he doesn’t really care that she’s lower class, that’s just a thing he has been conditioned to care about, that he’s allowed to be a big part of who he is and how he conducts himself. She sees him, and for someone who has a very low opinion of himself, due to how he perceives himself physically, due to the fact that he’s broke but he can’t talk about it, due to his need to be outstanding and the addiction that he has as a consequence, due to what he did to his own cousin and the precarious position that he’s in because of that, that’s just what he needed. Plus he’s living in fear of the social and legal consequences of what he did.

We get to see more about how Wille’s anxiety manifests itself. Picking and fidgeting are so common unconscious tics.

“My brother… he, um… I, I became Crown Prince…” there’s a heartbreaking post about how Wille deals with his grief, and another even more heartbreaking one about how the only time that he actually said the words “my brother is dead” was to August, he was sincere, expressing his feelings, and then August betrayed him, and he hasn’t been able to say it again since.

I love Boris. He’s so patient and good at his job.

I really relate to the way that Wille knows that he has severe anxiety, and wants to be able to fix that, but is embarrassed or apprehensive to talk about it. We see him pick up the brochure and browse through it, then pretends to put it back but actually takes it, hoping no one saw. I relate to that because for the longest time I thought I should be able to fix the problem on my own, and because it was difficult for me to seek help without feeling judged. The pressure that Wille feels due to his position, due to what has been embedded in him by his mother, doesn’t allow him to be open about these things yet, but he knows there is a problem and he needs to fix it. It’s just so hard to see that often, when it comes to mental health, the most effective way to “solve” it is to seek outside help. You seek medical attention for any other health problem, why wouldn’t you seek it for a mental health problem too?

The secret coup. Yikes.

“I mean, if he’s moved on so quick, what did I mean to him?” Boy is so emo. He’s not the jealous type, he’s the moping type. He cannot for the life of him be rude or mean to the guy who just went on a date with his ex, he’s just awkward and in pain…

Felice’s commentary is so bestie commentary. “You’re better looking than him.” “You need to spend more time with Simon, show him that he can trust you.” I’m not saying that she’s wrong (about the first comment, at least), but it’s so funny to me how this shows how much she’s into her bestie role. She’s doing the exact same thing that Rosh and Ayub are doing for Simon, and that is… giving bad relationship advice: whilst Rosh and Ayub are pushing Simon to get a rebound (not seeing that Simon is not the rebound kind of guy), Felice tells Wille to get closer to Simon (not realizing that the best advice, the thing that worked out in the end, was for Wille to give Simon space, let him go). At least things turned out well despite all the bad advice…

Felice is also doing much better now that they’re friends, now that there’s not that awkwardness from when she was trying to attract his attention (more on that later, of course, because of that scene). It’s like they were always meant to be friends like this, if Felice hadn’t been brainwashed by her mother to do everything in her power to get with the prince.

This friendship feels a bit one-sided at the moment. Felice is doing everything to be supportive to Wille in his circumstances, but hopefully if Felice needs his support in season 3 he will be there for her too.

“We deserve the privileges that traditions gives us…” uuugh, such entitlement… that whole sentence sounds so oxymoronic. Nobody really deserves privilege, it’s only given to them (privilege, in this context, is being handed things because of status and money and whiteness and maleness, etc, not because they were earned by hard work, dedication, good values and qualities, etc…)

“And who should I congratulate on that thankless, shit assignment?” It’s funny that August points out how “awful” it is to be prefect, yet he wants it with his whole being. Just like he wants to be a royal so badly, despite everything that it entails. But he doesn’t really truly think of how bad it is, even though it might be. Because being in a position of power to him means holding power, it’s just as simple as that. Being on top, being in control, being the authority. He doesn’t really think about the sacrifices because he’s not willing to sacrifice anything.

“Fucking Brutus, man.” Really, August? You’re calling someone else Brutus? (And then Wille appears on cue, like on a Shakespeare play. Fantastic).

“Congrats, he’ll be a thousand times shittier than I’ve ever been.” I mean, he’s not wrong, but it’s funny to me that he doesn’t say “shittier than you think I’ve been”, so he admits that he’s been shitty as a prefect. (Unless that’s not what he said in Swedish, but I’m guessing it’s not far off.)

The whole hair pulled back thing, I don’t remember them doing that during the first time that Sara slept over in Manor House (unless that was a special occasion, but doubtful). Maybe it’s different when it’s lunch and when it’s dinner?

“Some kind of socialist nonsense.” Jesus Christ, Vincent. He IS much worse. At least more outspoken.

I think it’s cute how Simon could have arrived and stood at either end of the group, but he went for the center, right next to Wille. He either did that automatically or on purpose, because it feels to me that it would have made more sense to stand at either end, to go under the radar since he was late.

“Why do you care?” Duh, Simon. Why would he not care???? That’s like asking why is water wet… Just because things happened the way they did, doesn’t mean that Wille is not still crazy about you… But Wille can’t be honest about it without shoving his lingering feelings for Simon onto him, so he has to make up an excuse.

“So you mean like cheating?” A recurring theme in the series has been Simon cheating to get ahead, and then it not paying off at all. He cheated when he made a deal with August to get the alcohol for the initiation party in season one, getting involved with his dad, and then August didn’t pay him back. He cheated when he tried to get private tutoring and then he didn’t have the money to pay for it. He cheated when he stole his father’s meds to give to August to sell, and now it’s a massive thing hanging over him, threatening him. And Wille cheated for him by throwing Alexander under the bus to protect Simon, which brought a whole bunch of other problems. Simon cheats to try to get ahead, because he’s always at a disadvantage, but the privileged kids will always still be ahead of him.

Wille knowing that Simon is not telling the whole story about how he knows Marcus. But don’t worry, Wille, you don’t know the whole motivation behind that.

Nils realizing that Vincent is a despot… Should have campaigned for himself.

Wille smiling all hopeful, thinking that surely he is in Simon’s good graces for helping him get a spot on the team… then going and sneaking a glance at Simon’s phone. Bad Wille, bad! First Sara and now you??? (At least he didn’t get into Simon’s phone, which again, how did Sara manage to get into Felice’s…?)

August feeling his blood freeze at Jan-Olof’s message. Karma, bitch? If only…

(Resisting the urge to rewatch the show from season 1 again…)

(Hmm, I haven’t actually done a play-by-play rewatch of season 1… maybe i should…)

(No! You’re supposed to be writing! Stop procrastinating!)

(Okay…)

[brownbitchshit]

I know it is a joyous occasion for all of us but as someone who suffers from anxiety, I often see other people in stressful situations and I can for some reason feel like tension from them and get anxious myself.

Omar and Edvin are having the time of their lives, true. But they are also very very anxious and nervous. You can see it in their body language, the way they talk. Omar is a trilingual at this point and he usually doesn’t struggle with English as much as he is after coming to NYC. In every interview he is struggling and looking over to Edvin for support. As a bilingual myself, I can totally relate to him. I am fluent in English but often in stressful situations, I can barely remember the simplest words in english and form them in a sentence.

Same situation with Edvin. He is at ease while talking but when he is standing or entering the building or that whole dance sequence with Fallon, he is stiff and there's a nervous expression in his face. He is calmer, quieter than his usual puppy energy mode. And I just feel like reaching across the screen and hug them and tell them you guys are doing great and everyone loves you regardless.

Another thing I realized Omar is more confident in his physical presence and Edvin more confident in his verbal presence. Maybe it's gotta do with them being popstar and actor.

I don't know why I'm writing this. Maybe because I am loving how big our 'Little Swedish show' and Edvin & Omar has become. How they went from this little foreign show to a global phenomenon. I remember following them when they had some thousands followers in IG. But now they are these big stars people line up to see since 3/4 AM. This fame and success comes with so much pressure and even more opinions. And they are so so young and so sweet. I really hope despite the stress and anxiety and nervousness, they take a moment to breathe it all in and enjoy it. And I hope the YR fandom be kind to them. Make memes, make jokes, do whatever you want just make sure to be kind and respectful towards them. Our boys are doing great!

[maf-max]

i don’t know why but i have this head canon that q!foolish (and honestly c!foolish too lol) knows latin, like fluently, and he just forgets that he’s fluent bc he doesn’t speak it daily but he’s also never forgotten the language either.

like i find it so funny if someone on the server somehow finds a book in latin and q!foolish just waltz in, grabs it, and asks “hey this is good chisme, where’d you get it?”

and everyone around him thinks he’s gone crazy bc wtf do you mean this ancient book is just a gossip’s diary? except he hasn’t gone crazy at all, he just knows the language and told absolutely no one, like, ever

(lowkey tho, he’d probably speak latin to leo and leo would end up being a trilingual dragon baby builder person lol)

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

Chapter 10 of the reincarnation au!

@daboyau

@rottmnt-background-screenshots

Surprisingly, no memory filled dreams happened that night.

The turtles and Splinter woke up mostly peacefully. It was later in the day since they stayed up most of the night.

The time difference was pretty rough but they were trying to handle that as best they could.

Leo portaled in some food and a pot for Mikey to make some breakfast over a fire they made outside. They had grilled fish and some rice, something they’d eat a lot of in their past lives.

Splinter joined them in the nostalgia over the meal. Even though the last time he had it wasn’t actually in a different lifetime, it might as well have been.

So much has changed since then.

He was never really planning on coming back, let alone bringing his sons along. There were too many painful memories he really didn’t want to revisit.

This wasn’t about him though. As much as those memories hurt them, there were a lot more painful memories awaiting his boys.

If he could help him through them then he would.

“What are you all planning on doing now that we are here?”

“I was thinking we should find some museums.” Leo answers.

Everyone stares at him in surprise.

“To see if our stuff is there! Just because we’ve had past lives doesn’t mean I like learning. In fact, if I ever say I actually want to go to a museum that isn’t magic or about Jupiter Jim, assume I’m a clone.”

“That makes a lot more sense.” Donnie deadpans.

“We should go to whatever museum here sent the key to the New York museum. If they had that, they probably have our stuff too. Or at least know where it’s at.” Raph suggests.

“I wonder why the museum sent it in the first place. I know they called it cursed, but what could the key have done?” Mikey questions.

“Guess we’re going to find out. Ikuzo, mis hermanos!” Leo holds up his sword.

“As much as I’d love to encourage your newfound trilingualness, we still have to use disguises. I doubt Japan is any better than New York with dealing with our green complexion.” Donnie makes him lower the sword.

“Blue, come with me to the lair for a bit. I have an idea.” Splinter looks at him.

“You’ve got it!” Leo portals the both of them away.

Eventually they come back, Leo lands dramatically in a brand new outfit.

He wore tabi socks and wooden sandals with blue straps.

His matching blue kimono had a red wrap around his waist and yellow stripes on the sleeves.

His brothers stare in awe.

“Dad made them for all of us!” Leo tosses the kimonos at his brothers.

They quickly get dressed.

Donnie had a purple kimono with black blocks etched all over.

Mikey wore a yellow kimono with orange spots.

Raph got a red kimono some tiger patches sewn on.

“Thanks, pops. I really appreciate it.”

Splinter smiles at him.

“You’re welcome, my son. I will take on my radical teen disguise. I will be just one of the gang.”

“These take care of our lack of clothes, but not the green skin.” Donnie says as he looks at his clothes more.

Leo holds out some wide brimmed straw hats in front of them.

“No, but these do! Now let’s get to that museum before it closes. You can thank me later for finding out which one it was later.“

After completing their disguises, Leo portaled them to near where the museum was.

Luckily for them they came at a time where after waiting about 20 minutes, it was free to enter.

They began looking all over the different exhibits. Seeing the tools and items from 1,000 years ago brought both a sense of familiarity and foreignness.

Sure they had seen it all the time in their memories, but back then they were brand new. Now they could see just how much they aged.

The time they had been alive before was so far behind them.

Slowly, and really without realizing it, they began to drift apart to different areas of the museum.

Raph found himself standing and staring up at a case holding pieces of something. His eyes are drawn back down to the plaque in front of it.

He didn’t need to read it to know what the pieces were of.

His heart ached. Sure it had broken a few times and was always replaced, but something told him that this mask had been the last.

Aoi wasn’t there to get Tora a new one.

She could have bought her own. He knew it wouldn’t be the same. The mask itself was never really what she was attached to.

He feels a gentle bump to his arm and glances downwards.

His eyes widen when he sees Leo holding up a mask that looked very similar to the one that was currently shattered.

“Guess what I found in the gift shop! I had to hold like 50 of these to get to the biggest one in the back.”

Raph kneels down and takes it. He couldn’t help but match the big grin spread across Leo’s face.

For a moment he sees Aoi in his place, holding out that mask for the first time. Their smiles never changed from one life to the other.

“Thanks, Leo.”

“Anytime, imōto-uh, I mean, aniki, I mean-! Ugh, you know what I mean.”

Raph chuckles.

“Doesn’t matter what you call me. Family means family.”

“Speaking of family, any idea where Donnie and Mikey went? I know dad left to go grab us lunch.”

“No idea. Must have found something pretty interesting.”

Mikey and Donnie had found each other as well, in more ways that one.

“…..Donnie?”

“I know, Mikey. I know.”

They looked at the ancient pieces of clothing that slightly matched the kimonos they were currently wearing.

The ones behind the glass were torn, not because of age or time, but clearly from something purposeful.

Kosuke’s clothing had medium sized holes singed into the arms and legs.

The entirety of the back of Tomo’s top was just….gone. The fabric around it seemed torn to shreds.

There were rectangular pieces missing as well in the same areas as Kosuke’s.

“Do you think….we were together when it happened?” Mikey questions despite knowing the answer deep down.

“Yes.” Donnie lies.

Mikey appreciates it.

They decide to meet back up with the others.

The four of them are at the entrance to the museum again soon enough.

Splinter calls to them from outside to tell them that he got the food.

They all leave together and find somewhere to sit down and eat.

The plan after that is to do some sightseeing using the portals.

Whenever Aoi wanted them to go would probably rev up some memories.

The portals mainly landed them in older villages at first.

Each of this towns had some sort of inscription somewhere about warriors that arrived in their time of need.

After Tomo and Aoi got their powers, it didn’t take long for Tora and Kosuke to get them too.

The memories they saw in those villages showed them that.

For Leo and Donnie, there was some kind of pride at seeing Tora and Kosuke….grow.

It was probably more Aoi and Tomo’s feelings though.

It was hard enough surviving childhood with what they had.

Getting to their teen years? A miracle.

Being in their 20s seemed impossible.

They still made it, though.

Raph couldn’t help but be so happy about them all being heroes.

He knew eventually they’d be the great mystic warriors that their dad talked about, but this sort of journey was what he always dreamed of.

He dreamt it less when being a hero meant losing a brother, or brothers.

Still….the looks on their previous lives’ faces was so endearing. They loved helping people.

Despite everything they went through, they somehow managed to keep being kids.

It was nice.

The last place they decided to go to had way more people.

It was also filled with a lot more things than the long abandoned villages. It reminded them a lot of New York.

Bright lights, loud noises, the works.

The group kept taking pictures of themselves indulging in whatever was around.

The food stands, the stores filled with plushies, the high tech advertisements.

Donnie lifted up his phone to take a selfie in front of a Hatsune Miku billboard when he noticed something orange rush by.

“Mikey? Where are you going!?”

“I see Tora!”

Donnie quickly started running after him.

“There is no need to chase a memory! Just ignore it!”

“What if it’s important!?”

“I guarantee it’s not important enough for this! Stop already!”

“I want to know where she’s going!”

“Mikey!”

“Almost-!” He reaches his hand out.

“MIKEY!”

Donnie pulls him back hard enough for his hat to go flying off.

The hat lands in the street in front of him, almost immediately getting crushed flat by a speeding car.

Donnie held Mikey to himself as close as he could.

Mikey stared in shock at the fact that he could have been in the place of that hat.

Donnie breathes heavily and tries not to think about how if he was just a little slower his baby brother would be gone all over again.

…..Again?

Oh god.

The others run over.

“Mikey! Donnie! What happened!?” Raph kneels down to make sure they’re both okay.

“I….I almost ran into the road….” Mikey answers.

“You what!?“ Splinter shouts in a panic.

“I saw Tora-“

“And you just took off!?” Leo interrupts.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time!”

Splinter sees the crowd of people staring at them.

“Boys, we should be getting home now.”

Raph sees this this as well and ushers everyone back through the crowd.

Once they’re out of view enough Leo portals them back to the house.

It’s only then that Mikey leaves Donnie’s hold.

“Okay, so maybe that wasn’t my best idea….but I just wasn’t thinking.”

“I’ll say, that’s the dumbest dumb dumb thing I have ever seen anyone do.” Donnie crosses his arms.

“I’m sorry! I already feel dumb, you don’t have to say it….”

“No! I do have to say it! I tried to stop you! You weren’t just not thinking, you ignored me on purpose!”

“Donnie, I said I was sorry-“

“You never get it! Like when you kept trying to use your magic hands when you knew our ninpo was gone!”

“It worked eventually!”

“Only after we got it back! That’s exactly what I’m talking about! Why do you keep doing things without even giving one second to think about it!?”

“Donnie! Aren’t you going just a little too far!?” Leo gets between them.

Donnie frowns deeply and takes a breath to start up again, but as he sees the tears starting in Mikey’s eyes it dies on his tongue.

“I’m going to bed.” He rushes past everyone to another room.

Mikey tries to follow him but Splinter stops him.

“Orange, I know you want to fix this, but some things need time to settle before you can attempt a repair.”

Mikey sighs heavily.

“But he’s going to sleep angry, we’re never supposed to do that.”

“Sometimes forcing a reconciliation will just create more anger. Don’t worry. Perhaps in the morning Donatello will want to talk.”

Mikey whimpers slightly but nods in understanding.

Leo fixes up their sleeping space and everyone, excluding Donnie, sleeps together in the room.

Or attempts to.

Raph wrapped himself around them all closely, protectively.

Mikey opened his eyes and stares up at the ceiling.

Despite the warmth all around him and the ever comforting rumble of Raph’s snores, he was absolutely restless.

Donnie was missing and it bothered him to no end.

He eventually knows that he will not be getting to sleep unless he does something. So, he carefully slips out of Raph’s hold and sneaks into the room Donnie is sleeping in.

Mikey frowns as he sees him curled up, probably cold.

He quietly walks over to him and lays down next to him. He’s worried that if he touches him he’ll wake up and kick him out of the room.

To his surprise, he gets grabbed and pulled to Donnie’s plastron.

Mikey smiles and snuggles into him.

He’s asleep within minutes.

[silv3reyedstranger]

20 Questions

thank you @appropriatelystupid for tagging me! i just finished my french exam this morning so doing this is an awesome way to spend my afternoon🥳

How many works do you have on AO3?

i was not aware that i had seven written and posted?? that's wild :0

2. What's you total AO3 count?

31,822 words?? also a massive surprise since i don't write or post nearly as often as i'd like...but hey, i'll take the win!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

okay, so obviously supercorp lives rent free in my head, but i'm also deeply entrenched in the cissamione and bellamione fandoms. i've got a fuck ton of wips for them, but i haven't put much out yet. however, recently, rojarias (reignjas) has been taking up ALL my brain space—i'm dying to write a lawyer au.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

erm. well, since i only have seven, i'll give you the top two? 1st: i'm home when i'm with you...2nd: this color looks better on you than me

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i used to be really into and really good about responding to comments because i really appreciate every single one (and i still do) but it took a lot out of me and made me a little anxious, so i don't do it anymore. that being said, i still love and cherish every single comment that's ever been left!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i'm really not the biggest fan of angsty endings, so i don't write them very much. i'd much prefer piling on the angst throughout and giving them a happy ending. there's too much sadness and grief in the world already, i feel like everyone should get a happy ending.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

oo, okay, i'm not sure about happiest since they feel pretty even, but if i really had to pick maybe oh how love stings?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i don't currently, which i think is in part because of how lovely most people in the fandoms i'm in now are, but years ago i wrote a dramione fic and people had a lot (which wasn't necessarily hate, but it was still unnecessary) to say about that.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

i've tried on occasion, but let's just say i'm still working out the kinks (pun intended)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i don't and i don't think i will anytime in the near future because i feel like a lot of planning will have to go into that and i don't have the brain space right now. but secondly, i don't feel an immediate urge to merge any two worlds currently.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

luckily, no, not that i'm aware of—hopefully it stays that way!

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

i've had someone ask in my comments before, but as mentioned above i don't really answer comments and i'm still not sure if i'm entirely comfortable with translations even if it allows a larger audience access to the fic.

13. have you ever cowritten a fic before?

i was working on one with @glitterslytherin a few years back, but we never quite got much of it finished haha

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

it's gotta be supercorp, but currently, rojarias and cissamione have me in a chokehold (i suppose i'm on my supercorp detox atm? maybe i'll be able to churn out fics after this little break)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

i think this applies to all my WIPs to be honest. obviously i want to finish them all, but motivation is a bitch and she tends to come and go as she pleases XD

16. What are your writing strengths?

i'd like to think i do a pretty good job with dialogue. i used to be better at descriptions, but i think the balance has tilted the last couple of years.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

being able to just write and not edit on the way (another reason i rarely finish things) also planning is very much not my forte💀

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

while i am bilingual and almost trilingual, i do tend to stick with english since i feel like it's jarring to have a bit of a different language suddenly pop up and then the reader has to read the translation. and two, i'm not even grammatically accurate in english all the time, so forget about another language!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

oh, this is so mortifying...i believe it was percy jackson, but following closely behind was harry potter.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

i don't think i love any of the fics i have out at the moment—like, don't get me wrong, i'm super proud of them—but there's not one finished one that parades in my head all the time. the rojarias lawyer au and a supercorp orchestra au are constantly being thought about though?

tagging a couple of mutuals if ya'll wanna take part!

@theredcapeofk @yanana94 @belladonnainbloom @coffeeshib @naralanis @an-organism

[p5x-theories]

So I was thinking why is Seiji’s aoa text in French while Mont isn’t. I think I know why for some reason these all out attacks can’t have text from the persona users native language(s). But what about Ann ? While she’s fluent she’s only a quarter American maybe English isn’t her native language makes it likely that one or more of her grandparents is/are American. (Just checked Rin’s aoa and have to amend this this also includes dialect unless Rin is from Taiwan which is either the devs/writers being bold and rebellious or China is saying Taiwan Chinese isn’t really Chinese.) but Japanese and presumably Finnish. That’s why so far at least we haven’t had any text in any of the three Japanese alphabets. Everyone has ,with the possible exception of Rin ,Japanese as their native language.

Honestly, I always assumed that it was more of an aesthetic choice- that is, that English is the default for AOAs, but two of the rich kids' AOA finishers are in French because French is fancy and suits their vibe, whereas Rin's now is in Chinese because she's a transfer student and her rebellion seems to also be tying her to Chinese culture (given aspects of her outfit, and her Persona II). Not to mention that Kii's is also very obviously in Latin to support his exorcist vibe, hehe.

The idea that it has to be a language they aren't a native speaker of is an interesting alternative, though. Ann canonically is bilingual, but since you bring it up, we don't actually know where she grew up for sure, just that it was abroad and at one point she was in Finland. So it could actually stand to reason that Japanese or Finnish was her first language, and she learned English later on (though in that case, would it make more sense for her to be trilingual...? This one's not a comment on your theory, but more of an aside. Is Ann actually trilingual?).

As far as Rin, I think you're overlooking the more obvious solution that just because Rin grew up in, and is from, China, doesn't necessarily mean it was her native language either, hah. It might not even need the dialect disclaimer?

[melonpalooza]

Okay but what if Mitsuki is trilingual and can also talk to turtles?

Also why can I see Micchan being like “As a New Yorker-“

“WE WERE NEVER NEW YORKERS MICCHAN”

“AS A NEW YORKER, I’d say some the best things there is this one ramen shop over there which was so so good—“

“WE NEVER EVEN BEEN TO NEW YORK ONII CHAN”

Anyways I’m hyped for this new fic!!!!!!!!!!

I love reincarnation TMNT fics, and I’m excited to see where this one goes!! Also it felt very in character that Mikey would remember first, because it reminded me of the idw comic Mikey!!!!

hehe thank you for reading! 💚🧡💚🧡

Now that's a funny thought :D Is he trilingual? Who knows! ;)

Hahaha! There is some cut content from what I've written so far. Where they go to New York for one of Splinter's exhibitions and Micchan just gives a tour as if he's been there before and everyone's just "???" We can pretend it happens in our hearts.

[italiantea]

tagged by @hua-fei-hua, 15 questions for 15 mutuals

1. are you named after anyone

yes, i was named after my brother, on account of him being born earlier :p

ok no, i share the same generational name character with my brother but i wasn't named after anyone

2. when was the last time you cried?

like last week graduation day bro you know how it is

3. do you have kids?

idk what those are

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

like a decent amount ig. but I'd say my sense of humor is mostly recounting funny situations/Being Silly/puns (the sheer unbridled pun power of the chinese language... incredible)

5. what sports do you play/have played?

haha all the sports i partake in don't use the verb 'play' (im dogshit at ball games)

track and field in elementary/middle school (short distance running and long jump mostly) and parkour starting in uni. oh and i also did ballet till like age 12, to everyone's surprise ←now i literally just look like Some Dude and also have terrible coordination and absolutely no grace✌️

6. what's the first thing you notice about people?

hair, if they have glasses, shirt color. I'm pretty faceblind as well but in high school I used to memorize unfamiliar people by their shoes and that worked pretty well. i could spot Neon Pink Shoes senpai coming from a mile away

7. eye color?

⚫⚫

8. scary movies or happy endings?

no preference as long as it's well written. also this is the strangest non-mutually exclusive way of classifying stories I've ever seen

9. any special talents?

i can hold like a really fucked up looking pose on parallel bars on account of my Freakishly Long Neck. can pull all nighters all the time and not get dark undereye circles. double jointed thumbs? Good At Jumping compared to the average person in my demographic. tentatively trilingual. Oh and i wouldnt say I'm particularly talented at drawing but i can say for sure i can draw a mean picture in powerpoint shapes with a trackpad. don't ask me why

10. where were you born?

also in a hospital in einem ✨Krankenhaus✨ yeah that seems fitting

11. what are your hobbies?

digital art, parkour, and more recently novel and lyric translation. anime and manga but i dont keep up with that many series these days tbh. dabble in guitar/piano/music composition once in a blue moon and yes I'm very bad at all of them :D

12. do you have any pets?

none of my own but there's like 15 dogs on campus and we (dog club) are constantly tripping over ourselves to keep them in check. they're very stupid <3

here, have a picture

13. how tall are you?

been 166.7 cm since i was 15

14. favorite subject in school?

used to be physics in high school ig. at least the part about classical mechanics. never been a fan of electromagnetics🤢 in uni... idk, neurobiology was fun? and coding. i dont think most engineering students 'like' their core subjects haha

15. dream job?

*sweats* alrighty everyone that concludes this tag meme have a great night!

i definitely do not have 15 mutuals so anyone who wants 2 do it just go right ahead. if you're in an oversharing mood today.