#you're so delightfully weird never change.

[angermonkey]

The Gävlebocken has been dismantled for the year (cowards) but I leave you with this philosophical gem from the live stream's comment section:

Happy 2024, everybody! Watch out for birds.

[seospicybin]

THE EQUATION.

Seungmin x reader x Lee Know. (s)

Synopsis: Seungmin trusts nothing but numbers and dating you slightly changes that notion until Minho comes and mess the equation. (12,1k words)

Author's note: You guys have been asking for 2min content so here it is. Hope you like x

Unlike people, numbers don't lie. Politics, poetry, promises... those are lies but numbers, they are absolute, they are tangible and they will never lie or betray him. Numbers are what they are: the truth.

And that's why Kim Seungmin prefers to work with numbers, as an analyst at an investment trust company. His job includes analyzing bonds, stocks, and other financial instruments, studying the economic data and the financial markets, and recommending investments. He spends time predicting investment returns through various modeling techniques and assessing the risk of investments.

However, there's one thing in Seungmin's life that he couldn't predict with numbers and statistics, and that is you.

First of all, Seungmin is at the peak of his career, he likes his job and he enjoys what he's doing, in other words, he's living a fulfilling life his way.

Seungmin would rather use the time to bring in billions' worth of investments than waste it on something as frivolous as dating.

That was his initial thought until he met you one random afternoon at a cafe.

It's funny that the cafe is one that he regularly visits to get his morning coffee and somehow, he needed another cup of coffee after work, and of all the possibilities, you were the one taking his order even though you're the manager, not one of the baristas.

Seungmin is not one to believe in such things as fate or destiny but he has no other way to explain it, it feels like at that moment, the universe was trying to bring him and you together.

The next thing Seungmin knows, he's been dating you for six months now, and in those six months, he learned that dating seemed frivolous to him at that time because he hadn't met the right person yet. He also learns that not everything that is not tangible or absolute and not presented in data or statistics are lie.

There are three things that Seungmin believes are true: He likes you, he's happy with you and every day, he likes you more and more thus making him happier and happier.

-

Look at him now! Seungmin gets nervous knowing that he's late for dinner at your place, his foot tapping against the floor of the elevator as it takes him up to your floor.

The second the doors slide open, he walks as fast as he can while cradling the bottle of wine in his arm and carrying his briefcase in the other hand.

Despite knowing the code to your apartment, Seungmin prefers the doorbell. He holds all of his things in one arm to free his hand and presses the doorbell to alert you that he's here, then lets out a sigh.

It isn't much about the fact that he's nineteen minutes late, he's nervous about something else and the thought of it makes his hand fly to the back of his head, getting that weird feeling as he touches his hair that is now short.

The door swings open and your face lights up the moment your eyes lie on him.

"Baby!" You squeal in joy and jump at him, welcoming him with an enthusiastic hug and almost knocking his glasses off his nose.

With the things he carries in one arm, Seungmin can only hug you back as much as he can, and a while later, you pull away and open the door wider for him.

"I have to hurry and stir the sauce," you excuse yourself as you turn around and head straight back inside.

Seungmin doesn't get the chance to apologize for his tardiness, he lets himself in and takes his coat off, then carefully puts his briefcase down on the nearest chair.

He brings the bottle of wine with him as he joins you in the kitchen, "Bought us a bottle of wine."

You briefly glance at it and delightfully exclaim, "Red wine! That's perfect!"

Then you put your focus back on the sauce in the pan, stirring it with a wooden spatula in slow, circular motions, and once it bubbles up, you turn the stove off.

"Okay, now I can properly welcome my boyfriend home," you sweetly say as you approach him with open arms.

Seungmin hurriedly puts down the bottle of wine on the kitchen counter to keep it safe and also, to properly return your hug this time.

"Hi," you mutter with a smile as you put your hands around him and drop them on his shoulders, "I miss you."

It's something else that Seungmin can't find the logical explanation for it but when he's with you, the chemistry in his body drastically changes the second you enter his radar, he feels a surge of dopamine, he feels instant comfort and his body relaxed, and the moment both of your lips collide in an explosive kiss, his heart palpation.

All of a sudden, your lips stiffen against him and you slowly pull away, then bring your hand to the nape of his neck, tangling it in his short hair.

"Wait... did you cut your hair?" You ask with a sly smile on your face.

"Yeah, I did," Seungmin answers.

You take a moment to check his new haircut and at the same time, admire how it accentuates his already perfect facial features and how the dark of his hair adds intensity to his eyes.

"Do you like it?" He shyly asks.

You drop your hands around his neck and pull him close, "I love it," you reply.

Then you lean in for another kiss, harder and deeper while steering his body until his back meets the door of the fridge. You put your whole weight, putting your body against him until your bodies mold into each other.

When he's with you, his brain stops controlling his body and his heart takes over, making the chemistry in his body want only you and you and you.

And, oh, how good it feels that he gets what he wants and you're just for him and him only.

The beeping sounds coming from the oven interrupt the moment and you immediately pull away from the kiss to get to it.

"To be continued," you tell him with a sly smile.

Curls of steam escape the oven as you open it and the mouth-watering smell wafts around in the room, evoking his appetite. You put mitts on both hands and cautiously, take the tray out of the oven, revealing the perfectly roasted chicken.

Aware that you must put a lot of effort into making dinner, Seungmin knows that he, at least, should contribute to it apart from the bottle of wine he brought.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" He asks.

You take your oven mitts off and put them away, "You can open the bottle of wine and bring the glasses to the table."

Before doing what you order, Seungmin unbutton his cuffs and folds the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbow. He starts by opening the wine bottle and pulling the cork open with a loud popping sound. He then brings it to the table along with the two wine glasses he carries in one hand, he meticulously pours the wine and the aphrodisiac smell fills his nostrils as he takes a small sip at it.

The roasted chicken is just as delicious as it looked and the lemon dill sauce is just the perfect condiment, even better that the red wine complements the whole thing. It's such a simple yet heartwarming dinner, that Seungmin finds himself completely at ease and unknowingly lowering his guard down.

"...I think they miss their figures so I said let's increase by 15% because I was sure they'll strike gold with the new product line," Seungmin passionately shares a bit of his day at work.

"And I guess, you were right?" You ask before shoving a spoonful of food into your mouth.

"There was a line around the corner on the release date, I was right," he confirms with a small smile.

And when he's at ease like this, he can comfortably talk about almost anything with you and he's aware that it may bore you.

"Did I bore you?" He meekly asks.

"No," you hastily answer, placing your hand on his hand that rests on the table.

"You know I like it when you talk numbers," you add with a soft smile.

"This is really good, by the way," he says, averting the conversation to the food you cooked so incredibly.

"Glad you like it, baby," you say with a gentle squeeze on his hand.

There are no numbers or data that can tell Seungmin the reason why you like him, neither his look nor personality are that appealing and you are the opposite of that, you're beautiful and charming, you're so well-spoken, and now, you have proven that you're a good cook too.

Once again, he can't find the logical explanation to that but he's lucky to have met you.

Seungmin pours more wine into both of your glasses as you tidy up the kitchen after dinner, he sits on the sofa and waits for you to join him. You put on music through the portable speaker and the slow beat of the song softly plays in the background.

"Thank you," you say as you take the glass of wine from his hand.

The sofa fits three people but you opt to sit on Seungmin's lap, straddling him without spilling the wine in your hand. You take a small sip before putting it away on the coffee table.

"Thank you for the hearty dinner," he sincerely mutters his gratitude and he knows he has said it more than a dozen times already.

"If you're really thankful, where's my kiss then?"

Knowing that it would be a hassle, he takes his glasses off first and then puts his arms around you to draw you close. The hand that rests on the nape of your neck allows him to angle your head as he pleases and then slowly, he puts his lips on yours, conveying his gratitude through a kiss.

"Thank you," he murmurs when he breaks the kiss.

"You're very welcome," you reply.

You lay your hands on his shoulders and then glide them down his shoulder blade, feeling how broad and muscular they are. Then you bring your hands to the back of his hands, gently pulling at the short hair there.

"Did you sync your hair appointment with my menstrual cycle or something?"

Seungmin snorts at the random question, "No. Why?"

"Then why did you get a haircut when I'm ovulating, mmh?" You ask, purposely bumping your nose at his.

"No, that's not—" his words get cut off as you put a finger on his lips.

"Oh, stop playing dumb!" You tell him, putting your finger away so you can kiss him.

You kiss him hard until his head tilted to the back and he has no choice but to give in, letting your body pressed against him.

Seungmin gets light-headed from the kiss as he prioritizes kissing you back instead of breathing, and you know what? It's worth every second of it even though his lungs burn from the lack of oxygen.

Sensing that you both need a breather, you pull away from the kiss and slightly turn his head to the side to place kisses on his jaw.

"I think you should take responsibility for your actions," you whisper to him.

"I didn't do anything," he innocently says with a low chuckle.

His hand trails down your spine and stops on the arch of your back, his nails dug at your clothed skin as you plant searing kisses on his neck with your hot breath tickling his ear.

"I think you should put a baby in me," you softly whisper.

Not only the words secretly arousing him, it's also the way a sly smile blooms on your face after you say it, oh, he couldn't be more attracted to you!

"In this economy?" He asks with an eyebrow raised in disagreement.

"Yeah, you're right but..." You put your hands on his chest and put a space between your faces, "we can start by having unprotected sex."

He laughs at that and puts his hands on your thighs, "And risk to actually put a baby in you?"

You roll your eyes at him, sighing as your hands slump down his chest. With a deep breath, you try again in a way that intrigues him.

"If we're talking about the success rate of birth control, it's 99%," you begin your explanation.

"Yeah, but—"

You stop him from cutting you off by covering his mouth with your fingers, "Yeah, I know. I might have missed a pill or two but that only decreased the success rate to 93% which means..."

You put your hands around his neck and continue with your explanation, "There's only a 7% chance that you'll actually put a baby in me."

He glides his hands up to hold each side of your waist, "And that means 7 out of 100 pill users get actual babies in them."

"Yeah, but I'm part of the 93%," you confidently remark.

"Or you could be in the 7%," he argues.

"Uhh... I wouldn't be so sure. 7 has never been my lucky number anyway," you simply state, adding a nonchalant shrug at the end.

What you said is so out of pocket that it amuses him so much and he thinks that's why he likes you, you're unpredictable. In fact, you're the only unpredictable thing that he likes in his life.

"And maybe this will change your mind..." you say, untying your dress open and revealing enough to show the bra you're wearing underneath.

"How's that?" You adorably tilt your head to the side as you ask him.

Seungmin tries to remain calm even though he gets the urge to just rip your dress open and expose more of you to him. He looks away and stares at your face, but you're taking his hand and making him cupping your breast.

"I'm wearing it for you," you seductively say.

He's feeling the lacey fabric of your bra instead of kneading on your breast, "Yeah?"

"Uh-huh, and it comes with matching underwear too," you share, parting your dress open until it's completely off of you.

As of this moment, his self-control is being tested and he doesn't know how long until he folds. He holds his breath as his eyes travel down your body, quietly lusting at it.

You slowly bring your head close and sweetly peck his lips, "Do you like it?"

He rubs his hands up and down your sides, then looks up at you, "Yes."

"Yes, what?" You lean in closer until the tip of your nose bumps his cheek.

"I like it," he speaks so low it's almost like a whisper.

You smile at his answer and react more by pressing your lips on his lips. The more you kiss him, the more he doesn't want to let go, he just wants to keep kissing you until he runs all of the air in his body.

All of a sudden, you break the kiss with a gasp and slyly smile at him, "This is just one of my two-part plans," you tell him.

"What's the second part then?" He curiously asks with his fingertips lightly tracing your collarbone.

The sly grin on your face doesn't tell much but he knows it is something that will amuse him. You take his glasses on the coffee table and put them back on him.

"Keep your glasses on 'cause I want you to closely watch me take you in my mouth."

With his glasses on, Seungmin watches you take him into your mouth, how your luscious lips wrap around his length, and the way you swirl your slick, hot tongue around his tip. All the while, your hand takes care of the rest that you can't take into your mouth.

Don't get him started on the eyes you're giving him as half of his cock disappeared into your mouth, they're innocent and filthy at the same time, and he doesn't know how you do that but you're doing it so well.

He's sure that his hard cock shows how much he wants you and if not, well then, he just needs to take things further himself.

"Okay, fine, your two-part plan worked," he mutters with his hand tangled in your hair.

"I know," you cockily say to him.

He puts his other hand in your hair and then tilts your head to make you look at him, "Come sit on my lap!"

You obey him, pulling him out of your mouth and slowly, getting up from the carpeted floor. You take a step closer and he stops you right there.

"Just a second..." he says.

He looks up at you as you stand right in front of him, he trails his hands down the sides of your body and then tugs his fingers at the elastic band of your underwear. Without looking away from your eyes, he pulls it down your legs until it drops and pools around your ankle.

One corner of your mouth curls into a smirk as he puts his hand on the back of your knee and lifts it, resting your foot on his thigh. This position allows him to bring his mouth close to your heating core and a whimper falls out of your mouth the second his lips make contact with your tender flesh.

The glasses stay on because he knows how much you like seeing it turn foggy as he goes down on you. He doesn't need to look anyway to please you with his mouth.

He sticks his tongue out to tease your clit in a kitten lick before taking it whole in his mouth and sucking it real hard.

"Oh, baby..." you breathlessly moan as you tug at his hair in reaction to his stimulation.

Seungmin slowly lets go, he replaces his mouth with his hand, repeatedly running his fingers between your folds that your essence drenched all over them.

"Can't wait to be inside you," his voice hoarse and heavy with lust. He then retracts his hand, shoving his fingers coated with your essence, and licks them clean.

Seungmin scoots himself to the back of the sofa and then he holds his arms out at you to help you, but he lets his intrusive thoughts win, he pulls you hard until you fall on his lap.

You're giggling as you settle yourself on his lap and immediately put your hands around his shoulders, "eager, are we?"

He brings your head close for a kiss as you part his shirt open, and he briefly sits up straight so you can take it off of him. He wastes no time to put his arms around you after, drawing you close until there is no inch of gap left between your bodies.

To make it fair, he unclasps your bra and then pulls the straps down your shoulders, you do the rest by taking it off of you, letting it drop to the floor.

He likes how your breasts hang so beautifully on your chest and they look so soft, he can't help but feel them too. As he kneads on them, he can feel the ample flesh mold into his hands.

"Aren't they just perfect in your hands, mmh?" You murmur, kneading them together with his hands.

Yes, they do, he answers in his head and it makes him believe that your breasts were made just for him. He gently squeezes on them as he buries his head in between with his lips resting on your sternum.

You kiss the top of his head and cradle his head in your hands, your fingers lightly scratching the back of his head as you softly sigh, "My baby..."

Seungmin only knows how to dominate, always in control and being on top of the game but with you, he doesn't care about all that. With you, he just wants to be held and taken care of, and ultimately, loved.

Heaven really is a place on earth with you.

And he's about to enter real heaven when you slowly lower yourself on him. No rubber, no layer of protection just like you asked, it's just you and your warm velvety walls tightly wrapped around his length. Both of your lips instantly locked in a kiss again the moment he's fully buried inside you.

It's nothing like he imagined it would feel like, it's a thousand times better and when you start rocking your hips, Seungmin realizes that his self-control is going to be an issue.

As you keep pulsating your hips at a steady pace, you hold on to the back of the sofa for support and keep your face only inches away from his.

"Tell me, baby!" You murmur.

"Do I feel good, mmh?" You ask, then hastily kiss his open mouth.

You don't see him struggling, do you? Let alone able to compute words to answer your question but he hopes you can see how overwhelmed he is as you rock your hips back and forth.

"Cause you feel so good inside me, baby," you murmur into his ear.

"Oh, I can feel you all over me," you add with a hot kiss on his neck.

He roughly pulls your head close to press a kiss on your lips, grabbing a fistful of your hair in his hand as he keeps kissing you as a way to contain his grunts.

"You're close, mmh?" Your lips graze his as you speak.

There's no use to lie, he's inside you and you can feel him throbbing, wanting to shoot his load at any given time now.

"You're just too good," He simply admits, gliding his hands to your back and pulling you close.

"Are you going to cum for me then?"

"Yes," he shortly answers

"Inside me, yeah?"

He nods, pathetically.

Taking that as a confirmation, you pick up the pace, sending your breasts bouncing right in front of his face but his hands are too busy gripping each side of your waist, desperately trying to slow you down but failing.

"Mmh, yeah, cum for me, baby," you murmur before crashing your lips against him.

Surrendering himself to the need, Seungmin wraps his arms around you so tightly that your breasts are squashed between your chest. His eyes are screwed shut, his body is hot all over like someone kindle a fire inside him.

Despite his tight hold around you limiting your mobility, you maintain the pace, arching your back to provide more depth for him and add intensity to it.

"Cum, fill me, baby," you softly whisper with your lips brushing his jaw.

Seungmin is no longer in control of his body, his desire gets to him and takes him where he needs to be. The pleasure keeps on building up and up and he won't stop until he—

"Argh!" A raw groan spills out of his mouth, then he hurriedly plants his mouth on your shoulder to muffle it.

You finally slow down and hold him close, cradling his head in your chest as he relishes the waves of pleasure lapping over him.

As senses gradually come back to him, Seungmin tilts his head up and pulls you for a kiss, a kiss that feels tender and chaste, the kind that knocks your heart open.

"I love you," he blurts out.

"Oh?" You react with a perplexed gasp.

It surprises him too that he just blurted those words out, he didn't plan on saying it, heck! He didn't even think of saying it but now that the words are out, he knows that it's coming from deep within him.

"You didn't say that just because you're still inside me, right?" You playfully ask.

He innocently shakes his head but changes his mind in the next second, "Uhm... maybe? A part of it because of that," he jokingly says.

"I knew it!" You exclaim and squint your eyes at him.

He brings his hands to your shoulders and then cups your face in both hands, holding it with so much care as if you were a fragile object.

"I love you," he mutters with utmost sincerity and his heart hurts from saying those words out loud, in a good way.

"Me too," You smile and softly brush the hair curtaining his forehead, then place a soft kiss on it, "I love you."

His heart is full knowing that his feelings are being reciprocated and that makes him the happiest he's ever been, and the fact that it comes from something that is beyond him is what makes it special. He cups your jaw and kisses you so sweetly with a heart that loves you until it hurts so good.

"Seungmin," you softly call his name against his lips.

"Yes?"

"Can you put more love in me?"

"With pleasure," he gladly answers.

The music that faintly plays in the background is being replaced with the skin-slapping sounds and both of your breathy moans.

You're lying underneath him, hands gripping each side of the cushion your head resting on, eyes shut with a sheen of sweat coating your body.

"Oh, baby, yes," you moan through your gritted teeth.

Seungmin is using all of his strength, thrusting hard into you, and in each thrust, he tries to go as shallow as possible, hitting you right in the spot.

"Oh, please..." you cry and beg, sounding like you're in pain.

"Please, please, please," you beg again, but he knows that you're asking for more.

He's going impossibly fast that the sofa is creaking along to his movements but even if it breaks, he won't stop. He needs to give you your release and at the same time, he can't help himself but get the pleasure of giving it to you.

"Seungmin, please, please..." you beg again, your eyes closed so tightly that tears squeeze out of the corners of your eyes.

It's the way you're calling him so desperately and with so much neediness that drives him to keep going. He grips the handrest of the sofa as leverage and thrusts into you harder and harder that the muscles on his body are strained and his body is close to giving out.

"Seungmin, please..." you breathlessly moan again.

Yeah, that's right, he's the only one who can give it to you and he's going to give it to you just right.

A mix of a moan and a cry rips out of you as your body stiffens and then softens in the next second, overflowing with immense pleasure.

Seungmin slows his thrusting but adds intensity, he can feel it coming as well. With the way you're clenching around him, it doesn't take him long to finally cum for the second time.

He launches his cock as deep as possible to plant his seed inside you and lowers his mouth on yours to fill his need to be one with you.

It's the most intimate he's ever been with someone, it doesn't feel like physical fulfillment anymore, it's bonding, it's trust, and he believes it's what people call making love.

After a while, Seungmin lets go and slowly, pulls out of you. With your legs still spreading open, he can see how your cunt is drenched with your mixed bodily fluid and pulsating, and a while later, he can see the white of his seed dripping out of you and he can't believe how much he cum inside of you as it now drips onto the sofa. It's a highly erotic thing to watch and satisfies him in a whole new way.

"Are you sure you're not trying to put a baby in me 'cause that was..." you can barely finish your words. You brush away the hair stuck to your moist forehead and let out an exhausted sigh.

Seungmin quietly and triumphantly smiles, he hovers above you and places a long, lingering kiss on your lips. As soon as he breaks the kiss, he looks at you and says, "Well, 7 has never been my lucky number either."

-

Since his job requires him to work late almost every night, Seungmin only meets you on the weekends and he'll stay over, even if it means he has to go to work early on a Monday morning.

"Stay," you mumble with your eyes closed, not letting him stop cuddling you on the bed.

"You can sleep some more," he whispers into your ear, along with a soft kiss on your neck.

"No, stay," you mumble again, taking his arm and putting it around you.

It's always like this every Monday morning, you're not letting him go and he'll cave in, then he'll cuddle you for a few more minutes, peppering you with kisses before dragging himself out of the bed.

If he has to choose, he'd rather stay in bed with you all day but he has other responsibilities to do and it involves a lot of people, not just him.

When Seungmin returns from the shower, you're sitting on the bed with his glasses on, your eyes immediately traveling up and down his glistening wet body, but they focus on the towel that lowly hangs around his hips.

"Oh... mama!" You gasp in delight, your teeth faintly bite your lower lip.

Flustered, he hurriedly walks up to you and takes his glasses off of you, then puts them on him. He gives your cheek a soft caress and then kisses the top of your head.

"You should sleep some more," he suggests as he saunter to your closet where he keeps some of his clothes in there.

"Why would I do that when I can watch my hot, nerdy boyfriend getting dressed to save the nation's economy from collapsing?" You playfully remark, sitting on the bed while hugging your knees.

As he chooses what to wear for the day, he looks over his shoulder at you and asks, "Who's going to make coffee then?"

"Oh, yeah, right," you sigh and pout, "you only date me because of my coffee."

"That's right," he responds with a sly smile.

You get up from the bed and come up to him, slipping your arms under and around him for a hug. You place kisses on the skin on his chest, shoulder, and neck, and eventually, your lips find his.

"Wear the blue shirt," you suggest, pointing at the baby blue shirt inside the closet before turning around on your feet, and heading out of the room so he can get dressed.

The blue shirt surely looks good on him but he can't remember wearing it or bringing it to your place, also, it's a bit tight around the shoulders. He heads to the kitchen where you're busy making coffee for him.

"Are you sure this shirt is mine?" He asks in confusion.

"Of course, it's yours, you silly," you hastily answer and then put down the coffee pot to take a good look at him, "What's wrong?

Seungmin takes a seat on the stool that is pushed against the kitchen island, "It's a bit tight around the shoulders."

You deliver his cup of coffee and then run your hands through his shoulder blades, "That's because you have such sexy, broad shoulders," you whisper into his ear.

He turns his head to the side and you immediately capture his lips in a kiss. You break the kiss to place more kisses on his face and neck.

"Now, eat your breakfast, champion!" You order.

You stand there behind the kitchen island to watch him take his first sip of the coffee you make, and as expected, it's as good as the first time had a taste of it and it also brings back the memories of how he met you that night.

"How is it?"

"Perfect!" He answers with a smile.

It's never just a goodbye kiss with you, it's a full-on makeout with bodies pressed and pushed against the wall, its lips and tongue, and occasional bites in between.

Seungmin has to stop you from going in for another kiss as he still needs air to breathe. He holds you close but keeps his face a safe distance away from yours, his height helps with his.

"You have the night shift tonight," he says.

"Uh-huh."

"You better go get some sleep after this," he suggests.

"One more kiss then," you sweetly ask.

Seungmin has no power to resist you, especially when you look at him with crinkles in your eyes. It would make him a bad man if he said no to that.

"Just one," he makes a compromise.

"Just one, yes," you repeat with an eager nod.

He finds you so cute acting like a puppy like that, he has no other reason but to give you what you want. He slowly leans in and kisses you, ever so softly despite feeling like fireworks are going off inside his chest.

"I have to go," he says once he breaks the kiss.

You don't say anything but pout to him, clinging to him to let him know you don't want him to go.

"I'll see you soon, mmh?" He says with a smile and a long peck on the lips as a consolation.

That seems to cheer you up as a smile blooms on your face, you hug him close, embracing all of him before taking a step back so he can walk out of the door.

"Have a great day at work!" You say as you linger by the doorway and with a sweet smile, you let him go.

A couple of days later, Seungmin receives a call from you but it comes at a bad time, he's in a meeting and he ends up getting two missed calls from you.

You know better to not call him when he's working but it seems urgent so he goes to the office lounge to call you back.

"I'm late," you suddenly share right after you accept the call.

"Late?" He asks in confusion.

There is a pause and then you explain, "My period is late."

The moment you both decided to have unprotected sex, Seungmin prepared himself for a situation like this. He knows that other than he needs to take responsibility for it but checking in on your well-being comes on top of his priority.

"Are you okay?" He asks in slight concern.

"I'm okay," you answer.

"Do you want me to come and be with you?" He offers, even though he doubts he'll be able to do that but that's something he can deal with later.

"No, it's okay. I just..." you pause to inhale air, "I just think that you need to know."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm about to take pregnancy tests," you inform.

"Okay, well, it's better if you take two tests just in case the result is inconclusive," he carefully suggests, keeping his voice low as he's still in his workplace.

"Yeah, okay," you take in his suggestion.

"Hey, it's going to be okay?" He assures you because he knows that's what you actually seek at this moment, an assurance that things are going to be alright no matter what.

"I know," you meekly say.

"I love you," he says because he has nothing else to show you how much he cares and loves you, and he can hear you smiling at the end of the line.

"I love you too," you say with a slight cheery tone.

The two of you let those words hang in the air and let that be the only thing that exists in this dire moment.

After a moment, you sigh into the phone and say, "Well, I'm going to pee on these pregnancy tests and will tell you about the results."

"I'll look forward to it," he playfully responds.

It's normal for him to feel nervous about the results but surprisingly, he doesn't feel scared at all. If anything, it makes him start thinking about his future with you, and if you turned out to be pregnant then it simply means he'd have another part of you that he can love.

That's all he can think about at work, not numbers or statistics, but how wonderful it would be to build a family with you.

As he's deep in his thoughts, his phone vibrates on his desk. He turns it over to check and fumbles on his seat when he notices that it's multiple new texts from you.

"Guess what?" You wrote on the first text, and below it a picture of the pregnancy tests and both showing negative results.

"Told you, seven has never been my lucky number," you wrote in the following text with a smiling emoji.

It's a good thing that you don't call or you would hear the slight disappointment in his voice, but at the same time, he feels a sort of relief. Well, this only means that Seungmin only needs to postpone his plan on building a family with you.

"That damn seven percent," he jokingly wrote in his reply to you.

As a sort of joke, Seungmin decided to get off work early, and bought flowers along with a card he personally wrote on it that says, "Congratulations on being in the 93%!"

He knows you're having night shift for the whole week so the plan is to catch you right on the closing time and surprise you with the flowers.

Seungmin is not big on grand, romantic gestures like this but it shouldn't be something he should be ashamed of doing. It's all about the intention and he believes that the thing earlier was quite a shock to you so his intention is purely to brighten up your day and hopefully, make you feel better.

The taxi pulls up at the side of the street across the cafe, he can see that he comes right on time as you're locking up the place. He has to walk a little further to the crosswalk while carrying the flowers in one hand. He's watching as you lock up the café and pulling at the door to make sure it's completely locked.

As you hoist the strap of your bag higher on your shoulder, you turn around on your feet and Seungmin hurriedly waves his hand your way even though it's doubtful that you'll see him.

However, your face lights up like you usually do whenever you see him, your eyes sparkle, and a radiant smile. His heart is pounding as he starts to eagerly wave his hand at you only to find out that you're looking at someone else.

A guy comes out of the car parked right outside the café and you walk up to him, not stopping him as he hugs you. It's not just a friendly hug, the guy holds you close and lifts you off the ground for a moment, sending you giggling with your head bumping close to him.

Seungmin unconsciously follows the crowd crossing the street and when he finally gets to the side of the street, he sees that the two of you are kissing, lips locked with arms around each other.

He takes slow, hesitant steps toward you to see if it's really you and you're aware that you're kissing someone that is not him. He stops on his track as the guy spins you to the side and you open your eyes to see him standing there.

In that moment, your eyes meet and the expression on your face significantly turns into a panic one. From the look of it, it finally registered to him that you're fully aware of what you're doing.

"What is this?" He asks in utter confusion at you.

You immediately push the guy you've just kissed to approach him, "Seungmin, I can explain!" You say.

There's nothing to explain when he saw everything with his own eyes, unless you think he's blind or losing his mind, that's the only explanation he needed.

You walk toward him in such caution like approaching a wild animal, "Seungmin, please, wait, I can—"

But he's no longer looking at you, he's looking at the other guy and how flippant he is at this whole situation. He's mad beyond belief and before he obliterates everything around him, he turns around on his feet to leave.

"Seungmin!" You call his name out loud and he can hear you break into tears after.

"Fuck this," He mutters out of spite, tossing the flowers into the trash bin. He ignores your desperate calls and keeps walking away, not looking back.

-

Men lie, women lie, and numbers, after all, can be manipulated which makes it a lie. In other words, everything is a lie.

Even Seungmin is lying to himself, he pretends that he's alright even though the truth is he's far from alright. He can't believe that a week ago he thought of building a family with someone he's only known for six months, six fucking months and you turned out to be cheating on him.

The only thing that he believes in is this anger he feels whenever he thinks of you and it's more infuriating that he can't find the outlet for it. It seems like he has to keep it in until he dies.

His phone vibrates on his desk and he hates that his heart gets hopeful, thinking that it's a text from you when the truth is you stopped contacting him two days ago and he knows it's because he didn't respond to any of them, but deep down, he hopes it's you.

Full of anticipation, he checks his phone and sees that he has received a series of texts from an unknown number. It's probably work-related texts so he ignores it for a while until the curiosity wins over him.

"So, you're the other boyfriend," is what is written in the text.

"Who is this?" He quickly replies.

"It's Minho. The boyfriend," he writes along with multiple pictures of you and him.

If his goal is to make him jealous, he's succeeded at that and now that the goal is achieved, what else there is?

"What do you want?" Seungmin gets defensive.

"Does this mean you give her up, huh?"

It's not giving you up when he decides to break up with you after finding out that you cheated on him. Before Seungmin can compose a reply to that, a new text appears.

"I'm the better man anyway," Minho writes and he knows he does it to provoke him.

What a shame that Seungmin is not triggered and decides not to stoop to his level. Minho is free to think that he gives you up or he's a better man than him, Seungmin doesn't care at all!

However, his ignorance only lasts for a couple of days until Minho comes up with a text that has one clear purpose and that is to light Seungmin's short fuse.

"Come and watch me fuck her better than you did?" Minho wrote on the text along with a video of you, lying naked on the bed with his hand going all over you.

As if that isn't enough, Minho sends another video and Seungmin knows better not to open it but he does anyway. The next video is of him filming himself fucking you through the mirror that he knows for sure is in your bedroom and he can hear your moans in the background.

"Did you say something?" Minho asks as he turns the camera to you.

"Please!" You say.

"Please, what?"

"Please, Minho, I want to cum," you plead with your eyes red and teary.

With the rage that blinds him and jealousy that burns him from the inside, Seungmin rides in the back of the taxi in the middle of the night with both hands balled into fists on his lap and his chest heaving in anger on the way to your place.

He skips on the knocking on the door and punches the passcode into your place, letting himself in. A while later, you come to the door, looking unruly but fully dressed, it looks like he's just disturbed your slumber instead of catching you sleeping with another guy.

"Seungmin," you say his name in a mix of confusion and surprise.

Seungmin would be lying if he didn't miss hearing you call his name but he reminds himself he's not here for that, he came here for something else.

"Where is he?" He asks as he walks past you. He starts looking for him in every room in your apartment while you're trailing behind him.

"Who?" You ask in utter confusion.

"Your boyfriend," he simply answers, pushing the door to your bedroom and seeing that no one is on the bed except for a messy pile of duvet.

"He's not here and I haven't seen him in a week," you tell him.

He avoids looking into your eyes and walks up to the bathroom, pushing the door open with his hand only to reveal that you're telling the truth.

"Why? Isn't he your boyfriend? Shouldn't you with him?" He asks you, going out of the bedroom to check the laundry room near the kitchen.

"Because I needed the space. I got heartbroken when you broke up with me," you meekly answer.

Maybe he was foolish for not knowing you lied behind his back but how dare you lie right to his face now? Seungmin stops looking and turns around to look at you, he scoffs in exaggeration.

"Don't lie to me," he says to you with a sarcastic smile.

"I'm not. I am still devastated that we broke up," you genuinely admit with tears pooling in your eyes.

Hearing someone enter the passcode to your door, you hurriedly wipe your eyes before the tears roll down your cheeks and head to the door to check who is it.

"Minho, what are you—" You can't barely finish your sentence as he presses a kiss on your lips.

"Minho, this is not a good time," you say to him, but he walks further inside while holding your hand.

Without having to look, Seungmin knows that it's the man he's looking for and he realizes Minho was never here, he sent all those videos just to trap him and he fell right into it.

"You came, huh?" Minho says to him with a faint smirk on his face.

That is enough to trigger Seungmin, he takes a step forward and closes the gap between their bodies, "What's your problem?"

You immediately get in between and push them away from each other until there's a safe distance between them, "Minho, please, don't!"

"I don't know why I'm here," Seungmin mutters, pushing his way in the direction of the door.

You block the way and take both of his hands, "No, Seungmin, please, stay!" You beg with pleading eyes.

"Nah, babe, just let him go!" Minho says with a rather mocking tone at Seungmin while leaning the side of his body against the wall.

"You both stay!" You tell both of them, dragging Seungmin back inside and making him sit on the sofa. You glare at Minho next, gesturing him to also sit on the sofa, and with a sigh, he obeys to your order.

They're sitting so far apart from each other and you know Minho is the one who made Seungmin come here, but the damage has been done, you may as well use this opportunity to talk to both of them.

"Now that you're both here, let me explain everything," you say, standing right in front of them.

"I don't need your explanation," Seungmin says without looking at you.

"Seungmin, please!" You beg again.

"The door is right there!" Minho casually says to him.

You know Minho is going to be the problem so you glare at him, "Minho, please?" You say in a rather threatening tone instead of pleading.

"I'm not going to stop you from leaving but please hear me first," you try again while clasping your hands together in front of you.

Seungmin refuses to look at you but he stays in his seat and that's enough, he only needs to hear your part of the story anyway.

"Yes, I'm dating the two of you at the same time," you admit right away and that seems to intrigue Seungmin that he glances your way.

"But I wouldn't call it cheating," you continue and Seungmin looks away again, "Even if that's the case, it only means that I'm cheating on Minho with you."

"What do you mean by that? You're dating him behind my back," Seungmin says with a lot of resentment in his voice.

"Minho knows everything," you reveal, "We've been dating for three years way before I met you."

"Yes, and she told me everything," Minho adds with a wicked smile on his face.

It feels as if the two of you are playing him and he feels stupid for being the joke in this narrative. Seungmin looks at you and then at Minho with a revolted look on his face, "What is this sick game are you playing here?"

You take a step closer to him and slightly bend down to make him look at you, "Seungmin, I swear this is not a game. Our relationship is real and so is my relationship with Minho, we're—"

This is where Seungmin loses it. He's not familiar with this equation. You're dating him but also dating Minho. How can one person date two people at once? And is that even possible? Since when 1+1+1 is two? His brain just can't comprehend it.

"You cheated on me," he says and that's the only statement he firmly stands on, he doesn't care who dates who first and how many relationships you have other than with him.

You take a moment to inhale air and try again, "Seungmin, trust me when I say I never lied to you. I love you and you know that's true," you calmly tell him.

"But you did lie to me about your relationship with him," Seungmin

"Because I don't want to lose you," you hastily respond with the harsh truth.

A moment passes in silence as Seungmin processes your words and you're right, he would have left you a long time ago and the relationship wouldn't last this long.

"I know this is hard to understand but I love you, Seungmin, and I love him too," you say as you point at Minho.

You rake your hair to the back and come up to them, kneeling in front of them as you grab their hands in each of your hands.

"And I know how selfish and greedy I sound but I want you both in my life," you finish with a sad smile.

Minho brings your hand close to his mouth and kisses it, "You know you'll always have me," he says.

You softly smile at him, "Thank you, Minho."

The ball is in Seungmin's court now and you look at him with hopeful eyes, even though the chance that he'll agree to this is slim, close to zero percent.

"Seungmin..." your voice lowers as a second passes without an answer from him.

All of a sudden, he takes his hand away from your hold and in that moment, you tell yourself that, at least, you've tried your best to make him stay and if he still chooses to go, then you have to let him go.

Seungmin's hand cups your cheek and he tilts your head, forcing you to look at him. To your surprise, he smiles and then slowly presses a kiss on your lips.

"You know that I love you too."

-

Since they're all and they both agreed on being in this relationship, you figure this is the chance to put it to a test and see if they can learn how to share.

Minho places a kiss on your shoulder as his hands busy unclasping your bra, he places another kiss on your neck and turns your head to the side so he can kiss your lips.

"It's off," he mutters as the bra is completely off your arms.

You peck his lips and smile, "Thank you, baby."

Minho has no problem adjusting himself to this but Seungmin looks a little lost that you have to keep him close and at times, you have to actively tell him what to do.

As you sit on the edge of the bed, you take his hands and pull him close. Giving him a long peck on the lips before asking him, "Are you nervous?"

"I'm not nervous," Seungmin puts his hands on each side of your waist and places a peck on your lips, "I just wish he's not here."

You chuckle at that and put your hands on his square shoulders, "at first, I thought Minho would be the one having problems sharing," you poke fun at him.

"I can share," he hastily responds, he quietly clocking Minho who's getting undressed in one corner of the bedroom, "Just not with him."

"Can you please try? For me?" You sweetly plead, along with multiple kisses planted on his lips, "Mmh?"

Seungmin knows that he has no other option but to share you, he accepts it with a sigh, "Okay."

"Thank you, baby," you softly mutter, bringing his head close so you can kiss him hard and deep.

The kiss lasts for a few minutes and you eventually break the kiss, gasping for air the second your lips detached. You get on all fours on the bed and take his cock in your hand, slowly stroking it before taking it into your mouth.

You maintain eye contact with Seungmin as your mouth is full of him, alternating between sucking and licking, combining it with your hand pumping the base of his cock.

Seungmin gathers all of your hair to the back and forms a makeshift ponytail with his hand to keep all of your hair away so he can see his cock slipping in and out of you.

Behind you, you feel Minho's hand on the arch of your back and it's gliding down to the curve of your rear, he doesn't hesitate to knead the flesh until it molds into his hand.

Next, he replaces his hand with his mouth, sucking on the ample flesh of your ass cheek hard enough that you believe it would leave a mark.

Your focus starts to shatter as Minho plants his mouth on your heating core, he keeps your ass cheeks parted open so he can plant his mouth deeper in your wetness.

His slick tongue teases your entrance and at the same time, his hand snakes its way to the front to play with your clit, pinching for added stimulations.

You're moaning with Seungmin's cock in your mouth and somehow, the vibration adds pleasure to him as he hand tugs harder at your hair.

It goes on for long until you deem it's enough or else you'll get too overwhelmed to continue. You slowly pull Seungmin's cock out of your mouth, ignoring how your saliva coated his length and dribbling down your mouth. Minho catches you from the back, holding you as you sit on the bed and spread your legs open for Seungmin.

"Go ahead. You can have the first turn," Minho says to Seungmin, always in a tone that borderline mocking him.

You land a hard slap on Minho's arm, "Be good!" You warn him.

"Sorry, honey," Minho apologizes to you along with a kiss instead at him.

However, Seungmin does a good job of pretending like Minho wasn't there, he crawls over to you to place a kiss on your lips before settling himself between your legs. He rubs his fingers between your folds, softly as if he's touching flowers.

He's going to keep pretending like Minho wasn't there and fully enjoying this moment. It's not hard when your body always entices him, endlessly arousing him and inviting him to touch.

With another kiss on your lips, Seungmin slowly pushes inside. He pulls out only to push deeper into you and do it a few times more until he's fully sheathed in your tight walls.

"Mmh, yeah..." you moan with eyes closed, "So good inside me."

He lets himself explore your body with his hands then with his lips next, marking your skin with searing kisses to finally start thrusting into you.

Minho slowly lays you down but keeps his eyes and hands on you, touching you and cupping your breasts as they're jiggling along to Seungmin's slow yet steady thrusts.

He stands on the side of the bed facing you, pumping his cock as he's watching you being fucked by Seungmin, and eventually, brings his eyes back to you.

Using the tip of his cock, he rubs your erect nipples, wetting them with his precum and making you squeeze his cock between your breasts.

"Oh..." you loudly moan, taking every stimulation on every inch of your body from the two men.

The wild glints in his eyes scare you and excite you at once. You're tilting your head his way with your mouth wide open.

"You want it in your mouth?" He says as he pumps his cock so close to your face.

You bite your lips, nodding.

Instead of giving you what you want, he shoves his thumb into your mouth and watches as you suck hard on it before finally putting his cock into your mouth. He grabs the hair on the back of your head, keeping your head still as he drags his cock in and out of your mouth.

"You like that, huh?" Minho says as he looks down at you.

"You like having your greedy holes filled, huh?" He pulls out of you to give you a chance to answer.

"Yeah," you breathlessly answer with your lips wet with saliva.

"You hear that? She likes her greedy holes filled!" Minho says to Seungmin with a wicked grin plastered on his face.

Seungmin is too high on pleasure to care, having sex without protection is still new to him and he still needs a few practices to finally have some self-control doing it.

With your mouth full of Minho, your noises can no longer be his guide on pleasing you but he can tell from the way you're tightening around him. He needs a release as much as you do but he holds it in until he knows for sure you have climaxed.

Minho probably senses that you're so close, that he pulls out of you and offers his hands for you to hold on to. Your chest is heaving and moans are spilling out of your mouth.

"Seungmin, oh, please!"

There you go with your begging and pleading, and it's amazing that it still works on him, hearing you calling his name in such neediness gets him off.

When you finally reach your high, you pull your knees up as high as you can which provides him more depth and tightness that gets him closer to his release.

A few more thrusts are all it takes for Seungmin to reach his high. He keeps his cock deep inside you as he releases all of his seed. His hands are pressing on the back of your thighs with nails dug into the flesh.

Still gathering his senses, Seungmin searches for your lips and when they finally meet yours, he kisses you so hard that he runs out of the air in his lungs.

"So good, baby, that was so good," you mutter to him with half-shut eyes.

Seungmin climbs onto the bed, his back resting against the headboard while you're lying on your stomach in between his legs. You're both riding down your highs with some kisses and cuddles until Minho seeks your attention.

He pulls you by the waist, taking you away as you're about to lean in to kiss Seungmin. You laugh at his childish behavior and look over your shoulder at him.

"I'm not going anywhere," you jokingly mutter at him.

Minho holds you close and lets Seungmin watch as he runs his hands all over you as if he is trying to show him how to properly touch you.

He makes a trail of kisses from your neck and then down your spine, forcing you to bend down on the bed on all fours for him.

"Ouw!" You yelp as he lands a slap on your ass cheek.

Seungmin reflexively holds you by the shoulders, thinking it is something that he's doing that hurts you.

Minho lands another slap on the other cheek harder than the sound echoing in the room and sends you launching to the front.

"Fuck, your other boyfriend cum a lot," Minho complains with his fingers lightly circling your clit.

You shake your head at Seungmin, gesturing him not to take his bait, and bring your mouth to his ear to whisper, "I like it when you cum a lot inside me."

Seungmin holds the side of your head and kisses you, but Minho slaps your asscheek again to get your attention back to him.

"Let's hope he left some room for me to fill," Minho says, putting two digits into your gushing hole to prepare you for his cock.

"Don't be so dramatic, Minho," you poke fun at him.

He wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you hard until your back hits his chest. He buries his head in your neck, placing ticklish kisses down the column on your neck while his hands are fondling your breasts.

"It's your turn to not be dramatic," he mutters into your ear as he aligns his cock to your entrance.

"How can I not be?" You say to him.

Without warning, he enters you, pushing his swollen member in little by little. His hands gripping your hips to keep you still as he keeps pushing in until he's fully buried inside you.

"Honey, oh..." you moan as you grope for his head, turning it to the side so you can kiss him.

"I know," he seductively murmurs into your ear, "You feel so good around me too."

As Minho starts thrusting into you, you get back on your fours again and share some of your attention with Seungmin. You crash your lips against him and take his hand, making him cupping your breast.

He affectionately brushes your hair to the side and holds it there before leaning in for a kiss again, kissing your parted mouth as you moan from Minho's thrusts.

"I'm cumming, oh, I'm cumming," you whine as your fingers claw at Seungmin's chest.

Minho keeps chasing his high and riding past your orgasm, sending you into overdrive. Your eyes are fluttering shut from the immense pleasure but Seungmin holds you steady and tirelessly placing kisses on the skin he can land his lips on.

"Just a little bit more," Minho says through his gritted teeth while keeping the motion of his hips going.

You're fisting the sheet underneath you and eventually collapse onto Seungmin's chest and letting him hold you as Minho finishes inside of you.

Minho lowers his body on you, planting kisses on your back and your neck, he then buries his head in your neck as the three of you snuggle on the bed, exhausted yet content with pleasure.

With your eyes barely open, you reach for Seungmin's jaw and kiss him, then turn your head to the side to capture Minho's lips in a kiss afterward.

And you think, it wasn't bad at all for a first practice.

-

The bed shifts as Minho props his elbow against the mattress, you're holding his arm close to your chest so he plants a long kiss on your shoulder before slowly, taking his hand away from around you.

He checks his phone for the time and he kind of already guessed that he should get ready for the day, he has a plane to catch.

He quietly makes his way to the bathroom to wash up and quietly gets dressed in the dark of the room, not wanting to wake the others sleeping in the room.

He helps himself for a quick breakfast in your kitchen, opening the fridge to get a carton of milk and it almost startles him to see Seungmin standing by the doorway of your room with his hair sticking up and his glasses perching slightly askew on his nose.

"Man, you look really good in the morning," he sarcastically says as he takes a box of cereal from the top cabinet.

Seungmin brushes his hair to the back and fixes his glasses, traipsing his way to one of the stools pushed against the kitchen island.

"I believe we have to talk," he says to him in his morning, deep voice.

Minho gathers a bowl and a spoon on the kitchen island. He repeatedly nods as he pours cereal into the bowl first and then pours the milk after.

"That's actually great because you haven't heard my part of the story yet," Minho finally responds to Seungmin.

He takes a spoonful of cereal and shoves it into his mouth, making Seungmin wait as he chews and swallows his food to speak again.

"I'm away a lot for work. I hate to see her feeling lonely and sad. I don't want to break up with her and so is she. I was the one who came up with the idea," he explains, taking another spoonful of cereal and making Seungmin wait again, "I told her to find another boyfriend."

Minho then rests his hands on the counter and leans forward, taking a moment to gather his thoughts in the silence that hangs in the room.

"When she told me about you, I was scared because I kind of set her up for heartbreak by coming up with that idea but she stopped feeling lonely and sad. I can also see that she's... happier," he shares, digging his spoon into the bowl, and with a sad chuckle he continues talking, "I even started to think that maybe she doesn't love me anymore."

It only occurs to Seungmin now that Minho did all that not for himself, he wouldn't bother texting him and sending him all those videos if his intention was only to provoke him. He did all that to force him to come and meet you, he did all that for you which makes Seungmin the bigger asshole in this.

Minho drinks the milk straight out of the bowl and then roughly wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, "What I'm saying is... I just want her to be happy. That's all," he finishes.

This concept of relationship is so new and foreign to Seungmin that at first, he finds it hard to make it make sense but after hearing both sides of the story, it isn't as complicated as he initially thought. After all, a relationship is a state of being connected whether it's people or objects or even concepts.

But it's nice to hear that despite his snarky remarks and flippant attitude, Minho is not afraid to be transparent about his feelings and thoughts, and Seungmin respects him for that.

On the other hand, it convinces Seungmin that this relationship would work because the three individuals are mature and have no intention of hiding things from each other anymore.

"I just want her to be happy too even if it means I have to endure your... attitude," Seungmin enunciates the last word with a sneer.

Minho scoffs and chuckles at that, finishing the bowl of cereal by draining the milk to its last drop.

"So how are we going to do this?" Seungmin asks in genuine curiosity.

"Well... we'll arrange something," Minho vaguely says, putting the dirty dishes down in the sink.

Minho returns to the bedroom to retrieve his jacket, he's sitting on the edge of the bed and places his hand on your shoulder, trying to wake you up with a gentle kiss on your lips and continues placing kisses all over your face until you steer in your sleep.

"Hey, I have to go," He softly mutters with a tender caress on your cheek.

You rub your eyes and pinch the bridge of your nose, "Already?" You ask with a sleepy tone.

"My flight is in three hours," he informs while putting away the hairs from covering your face.

You pout and hum in complaint, stretching your arms out before putting them around his shoulders, pulling him close until he collapses on top of you.

"When will you come back?"

"Next Friday," he answers.

"Mmh, okay," you mumble, holding his face inches away from yours and giving him a long peck on the lips.

To give him a proper goodbye, you get up and put on any piece of clothing lying next to you. You walk Minho to the door for another hug and kiss while Seungmin sits in the kitchen, giving this moment just for the two of you.

"Stay safe. Take care," you tell him as you cling to his body.

Minho places ticklish kisses on your neck, sending you giggling as he holds you tightly. He eventually stops to press a long, lingering kiss on your lips.

"I'm going, okay?"

You nod and fondly gaze at him, "I love you."

He smiles at that and plants another lingering kiss on you, "I love you."

It's not the first time that he's leaving you to go away for work, but somehow, this time feels different, he feels a little relieved that he has someone he can trust to keep you safe.

"I'll be back soon," Minho mutters with a chaste kiss on your forehead.

You're lingering by the doorway, watching him leave until he goes inside the elevator and then go back inside. You're aware that Seungmin is there and you've been neglecting him the whole time you're saying goodbye to Minho.

You smile as you walk into the kitchen and see him still sitting there against the kitchen island, "I'll make us coffee," you announce.

"Okay," Seungmin shortly says with a soft smile.

You start by filling the pot with water and putting it on the stove, and as you wait for it to boil, you scoop some coffee beans to grind.

All of a sudden, you feel a pair of arms wrapped around you and you don't have to look to know it's Seungmin.

"Does it make you happy?" He asks out of the blue.

"What? Making coffee for you?" You jokingly ask even though you know the context of that question.

You put down whatever you're holding and turn around on your feet to face him, resting your hands on his chest as you look up at him and say, "I'm happy."

"Then I'm happy," he says with a smile, leaning in to softly kiss your lips.

The kiss brings back so many things, both the good and bad things you've shared, but ultimately him. The break-up was the worst part of it but now that he's back with you, you feel happier than ever.

"I love you, Seungmin," you tell him, sliding your hand up to his neck and holding him there, "I'll never let you break up with me again."

He puts his arms around and draws you closer, "I won't."

"Good, 'cause I don't know what a menacing man like Minho would do to you if that happened," you jokingly say.

In the end, Seungmin doesn't need numbers or data or statistics, he only needs to learn from his mistakes and as much as he hates his guts, he also needs to learn a few things from Minho and one of them is being a good boyfriend to you.

The white curls of steam escape the cup of coffee as you serve it on the table in front of him, the strong smell of it awakens all of his senses.

"Thank you," he mutters his gratitude with a smile that makes his eyes smaller and offers warmth.

You watch as he takes a careful sip at it with a hand propped under your chin, "How is it?"

He puts down his cup of coffee and smiles at you, "It's perfect."

As of this moment, Seungmin will only look at you as someone he loves and wishes to always be happy, and he'll think of himself not merely as a part of the equation but as what completes the equation.

-

Support my blog by kindly reblog, comment or tip me on my ko-fi!

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[joemerl]

I'm watching the Eragon movie after rereading the book this year.

It's kind of more enjoyable, sometimes because its changes legitimately improve things but usually because they stray into So Bad It's Good territory.

Durza is still generic af, but Galby is delightfully narmy.

Sloan feels more like an actual character, and the idea that the Spine is considered royal property is a lot simpler than "Sloan's wife died there because it's cursed, maybe, but Eragon can go in there because shut up."

"All hail Eragon, the mighty hunter!" And just like that, the movie makes Roran and Eragon feel more like brothers than Paolini managed in the first two books. Also, they're eight-year-old dorks in teenage bodies.

Sass-master Arya.

I am both annoyed and amused that the Urgals are just burly guys. They give them a little face makeup, but still.

Not really feeling Saphira's voice. I just imagined it huskier.

Durza summons the Ra'zac from the ground like Power Rangers villains. WTF (affectionate).

Eragon figures out that Brom was a Dragon Rider! And just like that, he's outstripped book!Eragon's supposed brilliance.

Arya is awake when she meets Eragon. Makes for a less awkward romantic arc. Also she just says she's a princess, so again, kudos on the screenwriters for not bothering with the obvious twists.

I think there's a passing line about dwarves and elves, but Arya is ostensibly human. There are some guys in the Varden who are clearly supposed to be dwarves but never referred to as such.

Why does the spell for dragon vision let Eragon see through walls? And why does the fire spell make things levitate?

"I expected someone a little more...well, more." Is this line actually clever, or do I just enjoy Eragon getting dunked on?

The whole thing with Brom flying on Saphira as he dies is kind of nice. It would have worked better if they mentioned that Saphira was named after his own dragon, though.

Murtagh is weird, because he acts totally different than book!Murtagh and is introduced with a different backstory. He even offers to lead Eragon to the Varden, which is directly opposed to his motivation in the book. But canon reasserts itself once they get there, so you're left wondering why he chose to do this.

Murtagh's prison cell, incidentally, appears to be a cage left out in the open.

I said Galby was funny, but how many scenes do we need where he's just whispering threats at Durza?

In the books, there are moments where I feel like Eragon has more chemistry with Nasuada than he ever has with Arya. Given the gratuitous "walking in one him shirtless" scene, I feel like the screenwriters agree.

Most of the clothes are Generic Medieval Drab, but then there was one costume designer who was like "NO! Shiny and exotic!"

One change I don't like: Saphira breathing fire before the battle starts is supposed to be cool, ooh-she's-badass-now, but sorry, having her dramatically do that at the end of the battle to save Eragon's life is much better.

So Durza summoned the Ra'zac from the ground, and now he summoned the Lethrblaka from Saphira's fire? somehow? Is it supposed to be made of smoke?

They're not very well done, but the script is trying to give Eragon some arcs that he doesn't have in the book. Some of it is generic "I don't want to be the Chosen One" stuff, but there's also this idea that he might get Saphira killed, like Brom with his dragon, augmented by the fact that Brom's death is kind of Eragon's fault in this version.

Speaking of which, the hell you letting Eragon think Saphira is dead, Murtagh? It's not just a jerk move, it's also out of character. Murtagh is not jokey, either in this movie or the book.

I was gonna say that the final scene is desperately trying to convince us that Eragon and Arya have chemistry, but I actually don't think it's trying that hard.

*watching the credits* That random guy who looked like a dwarf but was never referred to as a dwarf was supposed to be Hrothgar? I assumed it was Orik. He didn't seem to be a king or anything.

[therecordconnection]

Playlist: Aboard a Tidal Wave - An Ode to The Beach Boys in the Seventies

Youtube Version (For Non-Spotify Users) Can Be Found Here!

Cover Photo: "Peachy Wave" by Heidi Heiser // Record Border Created By: @saradika-graphics

Playlist Description: An exploration of The Beach Boys' work in the 70s. While they were no longer hitmakers starting with this decade, they were still a creatively ambitious and wildly interesting group.

I watched that new Beach Boys documentary on Disney+. I thought it was alright, but it was definitely made for people who have no knowledge about who the Beach Boys are. I ended up being disappointed by it because most of the documentary covered their beginnings and hitmaking years in the sixties. There wasn't much talk about their career in the seventies, which is the period of their career I find the most fascinating.

Brian Wilson's mental breakdown and subsequent mental health issues left him M.I.A. through most of the decade, which meant that the other Beach Boys were left without their captain. Also, the boys were hit by the tidal wave of being strangers in a strange land. The California that the band had immortalized in song had changed and moved on without them in the mid-sixties, with their stomping ground first being dominated by the likes of hippy rock bands like the Grateful Dead, the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and Jimi Hendrix, then the rock bands of the seventies like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones. The Beach Boys were written off and considered nothing more an old nostalgia act and a relic of another time.

Despite Brian Wilson no longer being at the helm of the songwriting, the Beach Boys weren't completely out of the water. If the downside was that they were probably never gonna be chart topping hitmakers again no matter what they did, then the positive was that they were free to do whatever the hell they wanted to try. There are no real expectations if everyone thinks you're gonna fail anyway.

Here, you will find thirty songs pulled from the eight albums they made throughout the seventies (from 1970's Sunflower to 1979's L.A. (Light Album). I initially just had them in chronological order, but eventually decided that it would be more interesting to shuffle them all and present it that way. No matter how I organized it, none of them really fit nice and clean into common themes. The boys all went in wildly different directions during the decade and you'll hear all of that here.

To give you an idea of some of the things you'll find here, I'll give you a short list:

The Beach Boys doing Steely Dan months before Steely Dan released their debut ("Here She Comes")

The Beach Boys more-or-less inventing Shoegaze/dream pop before it became a thing ("All I Wanna Do")

The first few seconds of "Deirdre," a very happy and lovely song, later being used as a sample to create the creepiest music piece from Earthbound ("The Place")

Carl Wilson getting psychedelic and other-worldly ("Feel Flows")

Brian Wilson getting their at-the-time-manager Jack Rieley to sing the lead vocal for "A Day in the Life of a Tree" because he thought Jack's voice sounded the closest to what a tree would sound like.

Brian Wilson strange lines, "Neptune is god of the sea-ea-ea / Pluto is too far to see-ee-ee" and "If Mars has life on it, I might find my wife on it" ("Solar System")

Mike Love singing a verse in Japanese ("Sumahama")

The Beach Boys attempting (and honestly kinda nailing) disco ("Here Comes the Night")

The Beach Boys were so so SO much more than songs about surf, sun, cars, and girls and this playlist is in honor of that beautiful and delightfully strange decade of creativity where they were just trying anything they thought would work. They were, as Frank Reynolds would say, "gettin' weird with it." They did what Mike Love hated and fucked with the formula. We're all better for it. If you've ever wondered if there's more to the Beach Boys than "Fun, Fun, Fun" or "Wouldn't It Be Nice," or you're just discovering them for the first time, then I hope this playlist gives you some new songs to enjoy. :)

Track Listing:

Sail On, Sailor

Funky Pretty

You Need a Mess of Help To Stand Alone

Here She Comes

The Trader

All I Wanna Do

Deirdre

At My Window

Disney Girls (1957)

Long Promised Road

Feel Flows

A Day in the Life of a Tree

'Til I Die

Cool, Cool Water

All This Is That

Surf's Up

Solar System

The Night Was So Young

I'll Bet He's Nice

Let's Put Our Hearts Together

She's Got Rhythm

Rock and Roll Music

Wontcha Come Out Tonight?

Susie Cincinnati

Match Point Of Our Love

Lady Lynda

Full Sail

Angel Come Home

Sumahama

Here Comes the Night

Bonus: The greatest and weirdest Beach Boys song ever recorded: "Ding Dang." It wasn't included in the playlist because it would've been unfair to the other songs. You wouldn't have wanted to listen to anything else.

[isfjmel-phleg]

November 2023 Books

To Nowhere and Back by Margaret J. Anderson

Short time-slip story. Bit of an odd ending, but I enjoyed it.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (reread)

Reread in anticipation of the film, which I'm going to have to wait to see.

Between Floors by W. R. Gingell

Slowly making my way through this series. The character interactions in this one grabbed my attention, and I'm looking forward to the next installment whenever I can manage to get it.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Read for a book club that I'm sort of in. This was the first assigned book that I've actually wanted to bother with in quite a while, and then I wasn't able to join the discussion (no voice from a cold). Even so, I don't know what I would have said. I liked the book well enough but don't have any particular strong feelings about it. I guess I was expecting something a lot...more in-depth?

Giant Pumpkin Suite by Melanie Heuiser Hill

An extremely dedicated and single-minded young cellist has an accident that forces her life to take a different direction and finds growth and healing in helping her brother raise a giant pumpkin, a project that will bring them closer to their entire neighborhood. I enjoyed this a lot.

The Faces of Fear by Monica Hughes

This is an aggressively 1990s book with some rather dated perspectives, but I enjoyed the premise of the protagonist developing a friendship with someone she's never met through a VR game they're playing together, which has been designed to prey on their specific fears.

Sandwriter by Monica Hughes

I'd need to reread this one for it to sink in fully, but the worldbuilding and characterization were enjoyable, and I'd like to read the next book.

The Shadows of Rookhaven by Pádraig Kenny

Not as emotionally affective as the first book but nonetheless good. Although it had been long enough since I had read the earlier installment that I had forgotten names, and it was a bit difficult to get reoriented since the narrative expects you to remember everything right off the bat.

Tin by Pádraig Kenny

Beautiful. Moving. I never expected to get so invested in mechanical characters.

The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines by Mike Madrid

If you're going to discuss female characters in comics, maybe don't devote a significant portion of the book to overly detailed, purple-prosey descriptions of objectifying costumes or use derogatory terms to describe real or fictional women. Madrid claims to feel a connection with female superheroes but seems most interested in them for objectification while presenting his views as empowering/exalting them. Also way too many contrived comparisons to things in music history.

The Cloud Forest by Joan North

Some interesting characterization but too mystical (if that's the word I'm looking for) for my taste.

The Hideaway Summer by Beverly Hollett Renner

Such a delightfully middle-grade premise of young siblings who end up spending their summer living on their own in a vacation house near the woods and their domestic adventures. A lot of fun.

The Dark House of the Sea Witch by Joan C. Robinson

Slighter than Robinson's other books which I've read, but a well-written read.

Moonbranches by Anne Rundle

Fantastically Gothic atmosphere, but a weird, weird ending. I don't know how to feel about this one.

Mystery on the Isle of Skye by Phyllis A. Whitney

More of a travelogue/informational guide to the Isle of Skye than an actual story or mystery. Which doesn't make it bad, but I was less invested in it compared to other books I've read by this author.

Secret of the Stone Face by Phyllis A. Whitney

Standard Whitney mystery, not one of the more memorable ones for me.

Comics

The Ray 1994

The miniseries that preceded this ongoing series had a fascinating premise but not so much emphasis on characterization, so I was delighted to find that that changed with the 1994 series, which has a different author. Lots of shenanigans, to be sure, but we also get Ray's difficulties adjusting to adulting in the real world after living in lightless isolation for eighteen years, his doubts and insecurities and bouts of depression, and most of all, his complicated relationship with his father, the legacy he's been forced into, and his potential to become more like his father than he's willing to recognize. The Terrills have a fascinatingly complex and dysfunctional dynamic that provides a lot to analyze, and I'll be thinking about this series for a long time.

there is so much drama here that is being slept on, where are the Rayfam fics?

[tsuki-sennin]

A victory lap! One final issue with our heroes before the end! Our foe? Daijarg! Our mission? Protect the world one last time! And after that...?

Episode 50 of Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure~!

Spoilers, I guess...

-Ikuyo!

-One last time hearing this theme for the road...

-You've come such a long way from being an unusually athletic girl, huh Sora-chan?

-You've explored the surface world, battled monster after monster, made many unforgettable friends and memories along the way...

-And even when you wavered, you still kept your friends and family at the forefront of your mind.

-And uh... while I'm here, I might as well get my nitpicking outta the way.

-Uhhhhhh, I would've preferred if the villains all interacted with one another a lot more than they did, Captain Shalala's cool but a little underutilized, the supporting cast in general's just kinda... there a lot of the time...

-...that's it, really. I've gotten quite literally everything else I could've wanted from this season.

-Anyways, enough about me, FINAL BATTLE TIME WOOOOOO

-Spin that dangernoodle!

-You give a bad name to sneks everywhere.

-To you, dear Underg Generals... thank you!

-Not a form left to our names!

-OH FUCK INSERT

-This is everything

-One more time! For truth, justice, and a better tomorrow! Hirogaru Change~!

-Hirogaruuuuuuu

-Sekai Puuuuuuuuuuunch!

-"The only real power comes from inside, Skearhead! From courage, honor, and other things you wouldn't understand!"

-Precure! Majestic Halation!

-Now you understand your failure. Find peace in the next life, Skearhead.

-Hooooooome~!

-Hooooooly shit!

-Awwwww, Kaizerin...

-Adooooorable~!

-"Sorry. Comms filled atm."

-Peace and love for Skyland and Underg~!

-See, doesn't that feel nice?

-Hello, Captain Shalala! ...sorry I thought you were gonna pull a Nolan Grayson however many episodes ago.

-Beryberie... In another life, you'd have been one of my favorite Cures.

-Oh, the schoolmates too!

-...this is embarassing, but uh... I done forgot about you guys...

-D'aaaaawwww... Mashiron's gonna miss her husband~! Well, don't you worry.

-There's no such thing as goodbye forever, is there? Not when there's Transdimensional Technology~! Just uh... be careful not to accidentally unleash Weirdmageddon or something and we'll all be grand.

-God, it is so weird seeing Elle dwarf Tsubasa round the clock now.

-Never say that to me again.

-That's our town of Sorashido.

-...how very fortuitous of Sora to end up here, I just realized.

-Hmm.

-Our beloved Hero notebooks.

-Suppose we're gonna see you around, Granny Goodness. Er uh... Yoyo-san, sorry.

-My one regret is that I did not continue to lay down the Skyward Sword jokes, you'd have made a fantastic Impa.

-"I knew you were good kids the first time I saw you. :)"

-Hug your daughter, Mashiron.

-Auntie Ageha too~!

-Tsubasa-kun's got lunch...

-The Borb Sage...

-Oh???

-Yeaaaaaaah!

-Buddy, I say you're on your way.

-Off the princess and her retainer go.

-"So... like..."

-"Nah."

-142 TIMES

-MY GIRL REALLY TRACKED EVERY SINGLE INSTANCE OF HER HOLDING ANOTHER GIRL'S HAND BRO-

-Oh of course you're joking. You forgot a few digits, didn't you?

-"My hero..."

-Reviews in for Nijigaoka-sensei's latest picture book.

-"Charmingly written, beautifully drawn, exceptionally daring. Delightfully reaffirms everything one might love about their favorite superheroes. Hirogaru Sky makes its mark as one of the finest its esteemed lineage has to offer."

-Oh, hi!

-It's you assholes again, I see!

-Ageha Jumpscare

-Oh shit, the first ED again!

-Man...

-I'm exceptionally happy I got to enjoy this season.

-I suppose we'll see you all again sometime soon.

-Cure Sky jumps into action!

-WAN

-Cure Wonderful~!

-...I was gonna fucking use that name, but that's okay~!

-Now it's time for me to pack up and move to Animal Town... wherever that is... See you all on Feb 4th, I suppoooooooose~!

[shen-daozhang]

Getting to Know Your BL Mutuals

rules: answer the questions and tag some people. include the tag ‘g2ky BL mutuals 2022’ on your post so we can find everyone’s answer.

thanks to @yanwushi for the tag- I am finally doing this!!! Doing both novels as well as visual media

What have been BLs that took you by surprise this year?

Wushuang/Peerless. I was going to read it eventually, but Thousand Autumns is such a favorite I was putting it off because I thought there was no way Wushuang could be as good as its predecessor. @yanwushi finally got me to read it and omfg... seriously the only person more obsessed with Cui Buqu than Feng Xiao is me. This one rocketed to the top of my favorite novels in record speed. I also want to mention that as someone who is chronically ill, I really appreciated the way Cui Buqu's disability was handled- honestly I think it's the best portrayal of chronic illness/disability I've read in a c-novel.

Nan Chan. I hate calling this book weird because I think that's a loaded term but it's unusual for sure, and I didn't expect to fall in love with a book that's about a sword and a demon carp. As someone who is autistic I got a lot out of both main characters trying to figure out how to act "human" and deal with identifying and processing their emotions. Also I just think that Cang Ji should be able to eat whomever he wants, as a treat.

Little Mushroom. “你只是一只很小的蘑菇” CRYING SCREAMING THROWING UP. I never in a million years expected to be emotionally compromised by a book about a sentient mushroom but here we are. Normally I love angst but I had to stop reading and check if it had a happy ending because I honestly couldn't have handled it if it didn't (it does). Also honestly one of the best pieces of post-apocalyptic fiction that I read and I loved the aspects of cosmic horror in the second volume.

It's not technically a BL, but Under the Skin (c-drama). I usually don't watch modern crime dramas for personal reasons, but I decided to give it a chance for language practice and because I like Tan Jianci. I expected to have it on in the background and instead the show grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go. (tho it made me impatient for the Mo Du/Silent Reading donghua and live action, and for Winner is King. when???)

What have been BLs that you felt a bit disappointed with this year?

Copper Coins. I enjoyed it and I thought that Xue Xian is a delightfully full-of-himself protagonist but to me it felt like a young author's early work that needed trimming in some parts and expansion in others. I just really felt like it wasn't the masterpiece that I'd heard it talked up to be. (Although to be fair I think I did it a major disservice reading it after Nan Chan)

The Defective's donghua. It just didn't grab me at all which sucks bc I like the novel, and I really hated what they did with some of the female characters (wtf is with Penny's character design and what was with the choice to have Mint never speak??)

Legend of Exorcism donghua. I know there are people who adore this show, and I desperately wanted to like it... but there was something I can't quite put my finger on that turned me off. I think I would like it more if I'd read the novel, I felt like there were undercurrents of a good story that weren't being properly delved or something. That said, it did pique my interest enough to put the novel on my to-read list, and I'm looking forward to getting to it.

What has been your favorite BL this year?

WushuangWushuangWushuangWushuangWushuang. Did I mention Wushuang already?

Favorite BL/GL couples (not just of 2022)

Feng Xiao & Cui Buqu (Wushuang), Gu Yun & Chang Geng (Sha Po Lang), Yan Wushi & Shen Qiao (Thousand Autumns), Ranwan (Erha)

If you had to suggest a BL for someone what would it be?

If you like xianxia and a quirky found family (and also knives), hands down Liu Yao: The Revitalization of Fu Yao Sect by Priest

If you're more into wuxia elements and rivals-to-lovers-but-still-rivals, Wushuang/Peerless by Meng Xishi.

Please, more people need to read these books. Also if you're looking for more things to read, I have a libguide reading list here! I need to update it, but it's an ongoing project. Let me know if there are any BL you think I should add!

What’s your non-BL favorite this year?

WIND BLOWS FROM LONGXI *banging pots and pans together* screaming, crying, throwing up. IT'S SO GOOD. I desperately want more "gritty" historical shows like this one. The Three Kingdoms Period is one of my special interests and Chen Kun is one of my favorite actors, seriously this show was almost tailor-made for me. Also for you Guardian fans out there Bai Yu is one of the two main characters.

Honorable mention to Love Between Fairy and Devil, which made me take back everything I had previously said about Dylan Wang Hedi's acting.

Tagging: I think everyone I'm mutuals with has already done this, but if you see it and you want to please pretend I tagged you :)

[cesium-sheep]

I read 1-10 of vampire dormitory, I'd read 1-4 before but I reread them before I started on the rest that I got in a recent humble bundle. light warnings for a brief moment of suicidality and small incidents with creeps, but more significant warnings for, I guess, forced masculinization? and deliberately inflicted magical amnesia. both of those are basically all of volume 5 plus a couple pages on either end. mito isn't happy about her disguise no longer being a disguise, especially since she thinks ruka will only love her if she's a girl though he obviously proves otherwise which breaks both spells, and technically consents to the magical amnesia though it seems ren implants a bunch of false memories as well to drastically inflate his own importance in her life which is hella shady.

volume 5 in general just feels like it was essentially used as an elongated time skip to significantly rush forward ruka and mito's relationship without having to put in the work, and drive away ren the rival cuz he straight up fuckin leaves after all that until the end where he comes in to deus ex it. yet at the same time post "skip" the secondary characters' relationship hasn't budged an inch from where it moves very early in all that mess and they immediately throw in a new love rival instead.

there is also some technically forced feminization as well but the side character is willing to roll with it since it gives him another shot at his crush, that kind of "I love him but he only likes girls so it sure would be convenient if I became a girl" type thing that feels pretty outdated these days, although every time weird gender shit happens the ultimate conclusion tends to be "I don't care if you're a boy or a girl I love you for you" which is nice. and also that both people who go through gender shit want to live as their birth genders, which is fine on its own but kind of weird that it happened twice in one story? a little shady?

also weird that she suddenly pulls a yona all the way in volume 9 after having basically no character all series tbh. and there's more standard like, kidnapping and brainwashing type stuff.

honestly I think the best of it was all in the first 4 volumes I actually specifically bought, and this artist as a whole is a shotgun writer with a hummingbird mentality. and sometimes that results in some delightfully buckwild shit but a lot of the time none of it goes anywhere and it just flits around aimlessly until it ends. which, they're so prolific I am absolutely certain they're someone's favorite, but I think honestly I should give up on them entirely at this point given that the one series I got past the first volume of just turned out to be the same soup as the other series I've discarded with a nicer bowl. stuff that would be cool if it had been set up, other stuff that would have been cool if it hadn't been dropped for something else shiny, really just low rent serial storytelling (derogatory).

something like this, someone just meandering around with their setting and characters until they're told they need to wrap it up, I always have to compare to host club, which absolutely was not planned out from the beginning even if the most abstract sense but still did a great job of handling its characters, never losing track of them and allowing them to grow gradually with all the time it was given, instead of suddenly hopping from one static state to another (or just not changing at all). and always keeping the stakes in relatively the same scale.

(plus it's not even actually the end, it keeps fucking going. apparently in volume 11 she goes to fuckin monster high. I'm done, I'm not reading any more of this series. or probably this artist tbh.)

[celestialholz]

Celestial Live-Reacts: STP 2.5, 'Fly Me To The Moon'

Well, my darling new friend @porgthespacepenguin has informed me I should look out for some gay shit in this one, so, erm...

Make it so boys!

Oh, hello there Renee! 😍 She's beautiful, damn

Weird American Laris?????

He's blaming Q, because of course he is 😆

... And then we get a flashback to "Is that what you really want?" ?????

... AND HE KNOWS IT ISN'T HER BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHO Q IS? Jesus fuck, real subtle here CBS 😂😂

She's not Laris, but she is named after the capital of Estonia! 🤔

... Renee's not the best pilot, apparently?

"Boom, you're dead" - this woman would have loved the Kobiyashi Maru 😂

Ahhhh, the launch day is the key

So Estonia's here to protect Renee, and fancies mentioning 'a grand tapestry' whilst she's here... is she also protecting her heart?

This intro theme goes harder than anything Russo did in Avengers

Frakes my guy! 😍 Back in the director's chair, as he should be ❤

"Alone, but not lonely"... this Queen's a fucking joy, truly 😍

... Rios didn't give Picard command access to his ship? 🤔 Lack of trust, or lingering guilt over his last boss...?

What the fuck is she doing

Queens in the house 😍 I'm a Raffen fan, I'll be real

... Bit late to consider the ramifications of public beaming after last week Seven babe 😂

"You need a target" and "all you want to do is run away" is a gorgeous dichotomy

Niiiiiice rescue ❤

She's hallucinating Elnor, bless her 😭

Supervisor???

GARY SEVEN! I was mentioning this to @q-card this week 😍 It's the fucking smoke box guys, dead giveaway 😂

"I watch, but I'm never seen" - could not be Q 😆

So Renee's an expert sailor, went to university at sixteen, and has a boatload of mental health problems. The drawbacks of genius ✊😔

Estonia be like 'fuck privacy'

"Feels like nothing matters" ... I feel you, Renee. We'll both be okay. ❤

HE RECOGNISES GERMAN Q FROM TAPESTRY 😂😂 Yeeees!

Ahhh, so he IS changing the future through her!

"I'm a god, and as I look down at humanity I see them at a crossroads. Will they evolve toward enlightenment, or will there be a divergence into darkness?" Here's this week's mirror image then 😍

New-age Lal? 😆

"People... are idiots." 😂 Amen Doc

Is this who Soji and Dahj are based off, his daughter? Precious 😍

Too much red tape in this fucking century, thank god we evolve 😒

"I CAN HELP. CHECK YOUR 3D PRINTER. ;)" Christ 😂 Just HAD to stick the wink in there didn't you king

... That's a Qcard. Again. Fuck off CBS 😂😍😍

Why's the cop here? Is she trying to, as my boyfriend just wonderfully put it, 'Borgify' them? 🤔

Sleepy Agnes, bless ❤ Is this about to be a self-blaming thing?

It's a traaaaaap

Poor cop 😆

... Yeah okay, that is not how I want to give up nicotine 😂

Hallo king, lovely to see you as ever 😍😍

"Why thank you, I worked hard on that" - did you? Did you actually? Has he really lost his omnipotence? 🤔🤔

"It seems I've taken time for granted recently, and she's threatened to abandon me" - what a delightfully poetic way to tell someone you've fucked yourself over, and that little crack at the end? 😭😍

Father-to-father solidarity, very nice 😍❤

"I am the evolution of stardust, I am the gentle flutter of a butterfly; I am death, destroyer of worlds... and I'm also a big fan of your work." Jesus wept John, you absolute star you 😍😍😍 What a stunning piece of prose for one thing, showcasing the duality of ultimate power and the ability to do what you want with it whether for good or bad, with John's insane tonal range... and we even get a lovely little Data reference at the end! Fuck, I'm in love ❤

... Also I'm sorry, is he drinking fucking Earl Grey? 😂 I wish for the sweet embrace of the void thank you (bless you Porg for pointing this out just before I wrote this review up from my notes, the speech killed me too hard to notice 😂)

This whole banter's wonderful to behold, which is a natural conclusion when you put two of Trek's best actors together 😍

"I don't know" - a permanent mood on Q's motives, though I'm getting there 😆

Galas! ❤

Stay asleep Agnes, for fuck's sake

MORE LADIES WITH GUNS 😍

This poor, poor cop 😂

"It's you I want", "alone in every timeline", "your fate in every universe, to be utterly alone", "loved completely"... good lord Queenie, get yourselves a honeymoon suite 🤣

... She's almost convinced, though...

She shot him! Smart girl, poor cop 😂

Being angry at Q's genius is such a Picard mood 😂

... Oh good gods, what can Q possibly need him to do for such a precious gift? 😅

Kore - which is her name, apparently - is wonderful, bless her 😍

... IT'S TEMPORARY. Q, you capricious bitch... 👀 "This is what you could have", yeah? Must be important, whatever he needs...

... Wait wait wait, she SHOT THE QUEEN???! 👀

"His spleen's in a box over there", good-o 😂

"... There are people carrying a dead cop out the door." "Oh, I'm sure he's not dead" 😂😂 'Space Dad Amazing At Excuses', more at 11

God in the fucking Continuum John's hot here 👁👄👁

"Do you have the cure? The real cure, not something that wears off? Because if you do, I am a hostage to you, sir." 😭 Bless him

"We're all hostages to what we love. The only way to truly be free is to love nothing. How meaningless would that be?" ...

...

... EXCUSE ME????

... And then he follows that up by saying he needs him to remove an obstacle, for 'US'????? And that that obstacle is... fuck right off, that's insane 👀😂

... I just... sorry, bear with me... you're having a bloody laugh aren't you? So he saves the person that means the most to Soong... and makes that only temporary, which is a lovely character deep-dive into dark!Q anyway... and then says we're all hostages to love... ties that together by suggesting they're both going to be saving the person that means the most to them by doing this... and we know Q's doing all this shit for Picard from interviews with John anyway... dear sweet fuck, just swallow me whole 😍😍😍

Oh, also: "I have discovered recently that I have certain... limitations" - still doesn't technically confirm the lack of complete omnipotence, but given the earlier thing about working hard... he's done all this off his own merit, and that is exactly what I've always wanted to see from depowered!Q: competence. Guy's an unrivalled genius with omniscience - he should not be anything other than a huge threat even without omnipotence, and this is brilliant character work for him 😍

... Is there more of this episode, I'm done 😂😂

"Good talk" 😆 Oh Raffi ❤

... Ohhh, so no Europa mission means awful future? 🤔

Microrganisms on Io? 🤔

Let's party lads, ayyyy 😍

'Intro to Antique Coding', oh my god 😆

Fly Me To The Moon ❤❤ Appropriate, and I love me some jazz, but it is a walking travesty that Frakes can't sensibly insert himself into this ensemble ✊

... Dear god, Agnes? You are gorgeous ma'am 😍😍

Queen's a dick even in death, very on-brand

"We had NOTHING together"? Cold 😂

... No no wait, SHE'S THE QUEEN???! Just when you think your mind can't be blown anymore, fucking hell 👁👄👁

Wow. Just Owen Wilson wow.

Celestial Rating: 9/10.

... Excuse me, darlings. I need a lie-down. 😂😂 Fucking spectacular.

[nyctolovian]

Relationship: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)

Additional Tags: Pirate AU, Kidnapping, First Meetings, Waiter Crowley (Good Omens), Pirate Azirphale, Dark Aziraphale (Good Omens), Alcohol

Summary: A weird Pirate!Aziraphale and Civilian!Crowley fic. Written for @whitesuitcrowleyzine

In Crowley's defense, he was already planning to quit his job. He'd had quite enough with dealing with snobby rich people showing off their incredible wealth with luxury yacht dinner parties that he had to serve at. He might as well go out with a bang while wildly flashing middle fingers. The plan just wasn't fully formed yet (what he had at the moment meant that there would be two fires, which was one fire too few) when the pirates hijacked the yacht, waving around guns and knives.

It was mayhem as the pirates took down anyone who fought back and herded everyone else below deck with yelled threats and guns ablazing. Several people broke down in tears and huddled together. As all this transpired, Crowley went largely unnoticed and, not wanting to change that anytime soon, he dared not make any superfluous movement. So he followed the walls of the yacht and tried to make his escape, still carrying the serving tray like a proper professional. The commotion was beginning to dwindle, and Crowley had to be quick.

Just as he neared the staircase, ready to bolt, the weight on his tray shifted as someone lifted a glass from it. Crowley straightened and froze, caught red-handed. The person walked to stand side by side with him and took an elegant sip from the glass and sighed. "This red wine is simply lovely." By now, the commotion had died down to whimpers and sniffles as the pirates stood around on the deck, weapons brandished. Their eyes were pointed in his direction, or more precisely, at the man beside him, who swirled his glass gently and took another sip. Voice light in the way dangerous people kept it to let people know they were enjoying themselves, he asked, "Do you happen to have more of this on this yacht?"

Crowley cleared his throat and answered as calmly as his quickened pulse would let him, "I, I believe so."

"Excellent!" Placing a hand on the small of Crowley's back, he took a step forward, pushing him along. "Now," the pirate said cheerily, lightly pulling his jacket to primly fix it. "I have several announcements. You've been boarded by Eden so consider yourselves under new management."

Crowley didn't know it could but somehow the atmosphere grew thicker with tension. The complexion of the crew especially bleached. Crowley had heard of them—the Eden. He had heard tales from seafarers and such while they were at port. Many, many tales. Frankly, Crowley hadn't been paying attention to any of them, but he reckoned any ship with half as many tales as this one couldn't possibly be good news.

Interlocking his fingers over his belly, the pirate captain went on, "If I see a single silly move, it's off with your head immediately, you understand? I hereby demand you to hand over, well, everything that is valuable. Captain's orders."

Some people immediately began to strip themselves of their jewels and watches while others stayed frozen, like deers caught in headlights. Some of the service crew were huddled together in a corner, and the pirates approached them. Crowley never liked the bunch much, but he kind of wished he was standing there with them. Perhaps huddle together like little ducklings, all wearing the same white-top-black-bottom coat, feeling the safety in numbers, in blending in with one another. Instead, he was stuck standing right beside the pirate captain, still diligently and stupidly carrying the ridiculous serving tray.

Speak of the devil. “Ah, yes,” he said. “And some of that alcohol as well.” He turned to face Crowley with a smile. Upon laying eyes on the waiter's face, however, his eyebrows rose with interest. “How odd. Why are you wearing sunglasses at night?”

He swallowed. “Eye condition. Coloboma.”

The pirate stepped closer and Crowley instinctively leaned away. “Is that so? I believe I've read about that term before," he said. Slowly and deliberately, he pinched the pair of shades and slid it off.

Pale blue eyes connected with Crowley's and his breath hitched. He was tempted to break eye contact, his already jackrabbiting heart practically galloping at this point. Without the dark lenses, it was even more obvious how unusually fair the pirate captain was. His hair was a fluffy white cloud and even the suit he wore was off-white. The wrinkles on his face deepened delightfully as he broke into a smile of fascination. He was… for the lack of a better word, beautiful.

“Slits for pupils,” the pirate said. “And the colour, my, it's practically golden, isn't it? Almost like a snake's.”

"Or so I've heard as well," Crowley bit out.

"They're absolutely gorgeous."

"Wha…?" Blinking, he broke eye contact and gazed sideward.

"Has no one ever told you?" the pirate said, bending to meet Crowley's gaze again.

Gulping, Crowley shook his head. His cheeks felt strangely warm.

There was a sparkle in the pirate captain's eyes as he gently folded the sunglasses and slipped it into the pocket of Crowley's white suit jacket. With a smile, he patted the securely placed pair of shades. Then, he grabbed the serving tray that Crowley was still carrying and carelessly tossed it backwards. The earth-shattering clatter and the shattering of wine glasses made many of the yacht passengers scream in terror. By some miracle, Crowley merely flinched and quickly returned to his ramrod straight position, hands tightly clenched by his sides.

With a satisfied nod, the pirate captain released his jaw. Then, at last, he pulled out of Crowley's personal space, but only to command, "I wish to be shown where the alcohol is kept."

Stiffly, Crowley nodded and the pirate captain waved a couple other goons to follow along. As Crowley shuffled through the kitchen, he'd be lying if he said that the idea of grabbing a knife from the counter to stab someone and bolting didn't cross his mind at all. But he quickly kicked it to the ground. Numbers were not in his favour, and these were pirates for god's sake; they'd probably slit his throat open faster than he could pick up a blade. So instead, he opened the cooler and cold air rushed out to greet them, sending shivers through Crowley. One of the goons let out a low whistle at the sight.

"This is quite the trove. Do the bourgeoisie plan to drink themselves to death?" the captain remarked.

"Much as I hope they do, they drink less than half of what they stock up. It's to show off for the most part," Crowley muttered.

With a hum, the pirate captain sauntered in and lifted a bottle to inspect it. His jaw dropped dramatically at the label. "We are taking all of this, for sure. Now, chop chop!" He clapped his free hand against his wrist.

The pirate goons pushed past Crowley and grabbed two crates each before hauling them out. Crowley, the lanky dude that he was, could only manage one anyway and, thankfully, that was all that was left. He could feel the captain's stare at the back of his head and tried to convince his brain to ignore it. He followed the goons up to the deck and his eyes widened.

She was quite the beauty, even Crowley who was no expert at ships could tell that. A short distance away, the Eden loomed over the yacht, its flag raised high and proud upon the mast. A real pirate ship.

The footsteps of the pirate captain caught up with Crowley and he ducked his head and. Then, he quickened his pace as best as he could with trembling limbs and sweaty palms

Astern of the luxury yacht, speedboats were tied, and there were several people already dropping their plunder off. As Crowley’s crate was taken from him to be transported, he noticed hostages being shoved onto the speedboat and some were kids.

His stomach lurched at the sight.

Shit. Fuck. Shit. He needed to get out of this. Somehow.

His heart's rapid palpitation reached his throat. He took his sunglasses out of his jacket pocket and slid it back on to still his nerves. As casually as possible, he tried to turn and slink away. He’d say he was doing a pretty good job at it since he nearly slipped round the corner.

“Where are you going, Mr Waiter?”

Crowley froze. Taking in a deep breath, he spun around with a schooled expression.

The pirate captain was looking at him with an almost cherub-like smile. He ambled over before removing Crowley's sunglasses and studied Crowley's eyes once more. "They really are gorgeous," he whispered, placing his fingers over Crowley's jaw and tilting his head this way and that, as though to watch it catch the light. "Like jewels. Precious."

Crowley shivered.

"You're a smart boy. I'm sure you know by now my feelings towards objects of high value."

"You're not going to… gouge 'em out or something, right?"

"I quite like the head they're attached to as well actually."

"So you're…" Crowley swallowed around the lump high in his throat. "You're beheading me?"

The pirate sighed loudly and rolled his eyes before pursing his lips with displeasure. "How do you feel about joining my crew?"

Crowley's eyes widened so much, he was surprised they didn't pop right out of their sockets like marbles. "I… uh… what's the job description?"

It was the pirate's turn to be surprised. His eyebrows raised and his lips parted. "I haven't actually thought about it. Perhaps the odd job here and there while you learn the ropes," he replied. "Unless you have any suggestions."

Crowley blinked. The pirate captain looked at him expectantly. "Uh. 't hurts without it," he said, which wasn't a lie anyway. "Glasses."

"My apologies," the pirate said. To Crowley's relief, he returned the pair of shades back to the bridge of his nose. "It is a downright pity."

"Not many feel that way. I've been called the devil more times than I can count. Even had salt thrown at me once."

"Oh, I can imagine." The pirate laughed, a surprisingly genuine one.

"Don't your lot disapprove of," he scrunched his nose as he searched for the words, "demonic things."

"Ah. Yes, pirates are terribly superstitious. It's the sea, I believe." He gazed outwards.

Crowley followed his gaze to look at the dark waves, rocking the yacht, a constant reminder of water's presence and prowess.

The pirate continued, "She's a fickle beast that rears her head every now and again. She can be very difficult to appease, and the creatures that lurk within her even more so. It'd be amusing, I think, to see what tales other ships might spin about you."

"So I'll be the freak show?"

"A lovely addition to the freak show, my dear," the pirate corrected. "We're quite the menagerie. We have a witch, the antichrist and his merry band—"

"The antichrist?" Crowley repeated in disbelief.

"We're still working that out," the captain replied. "And of course there is myself. Well," he fixed his cap and pulled his jacket, "a bit unusual, aren't I?"

Glancing him up and down, Crowley nodded. If he had seen this man walking down the streets today, the first word that would probably pop up in his mind might be "time traveler" (yes, he knew that those were two words but let's not worry over the technicalities). He wore a lovely light suit that looked like it belonged in the early 20th century at least. Perhaps he'd even think "angel", what with the man bearing the face of a cherub. He looked fluffy, white and roundish. Sort of like a polar bear. He looked nothing like a pirate, which was probably what made him feel so intimidating. Upon further thought though, polar bears could be quite the menace, couldn't they?

Clearing his throat, Crowley held out a hand. "Well, I have been planning on resigning from my current job," he said. "Could do with a career change."

"I'm Aziraphale Fell. And how may I address you?"

"That's a mouthful. Crowley. Anthony J Crowley."

The pirate frowned. "What does the J stand for?"

He shrugged. "Uhhhh… Just a J, really. So we have a deal?" He raised his eyebrows in a silent inquiry.

"A deal with the devil," Aziraphale said, glancing skyward as they shook on it. "I wonder what my mother would say about that." When he glanced back down, he frowned. "Oh, your poor sleeves."

Crowley looked down as well. The once pristine white sleeves were streaked with black.

"Was it the crate? It really is a pity, you look quite dashing in white," Aziraphale said, running a finger along the inside of the sleeve.

Crowley shivered.

Of course, there was no way Aziraphale did not notice it, hand tightly grasped around his. "Though I do suppose you'd look dashing in anything." He smiled and added, "Or nothing at all."