#i’m getting my second shot jun 5

[landofzero-archive]

Rouge&Ruby - The Circumstances of the Second Month 5

(Location: Staff dining hall)

Ibara: ………

Jun: What’s wrong? You’re being quiet.

Ibara: Hearing positive words from His Excellency and His Highness has lifted a weight off my shoulders, that’s all.

It usually takes a lot of effort to persuade those two, so to get a positive reception from the start is relieving.

Hiyori: I don’t think you should say that in front of us!

Nagisa: …… Ibara’s plans don’t usually go as they were originally meant to.

Hiyori: Ah, is that the case?

It’s surprisingly cute for Ibara to be relieved when he gets approval……♪

Ibara: Please refrain from teasing me!

I’m relieved that I didn’t get more work pushed onto me.

…… Valentine’s Day is far from being a day for love, it’s also a major sales season for confectioners. It’s an event that must be won at all costs.

That’s why, as a manager…… and as an idol participating in Chocolat Fes…

Since last year, I’ve spent a lot of time preparing myself for victory and success. So, yes, I feel relieved.

Jun: Heeh…… To be honest, when I met with you on New Year’s I thought it was just your frustration from SS motivating you.

I’m glad you didn’t turn attention to this just because you couldn’t do what you wanted back then.

Ibara: Hmph. It’s true that I want to make up for SS, but…

Jun: But?

Ibara: — What but a damper on that was a complicated project, COMP.

It was a plan for the idol training schools affiliated with CosPro, as well as ES’s hidden intentions. As the deputy director, I couldn’t ignore it.

Hiyori: But we shot a promotional video for it, didn’t we? Isn’t that the end of it?

Ibara: Yes. But there’s still some budget left over, and it’d be odd for upper management to not take advantage of that surplus.

Nagisa: …… The fact that there’s still some budget left means it must have been generous.

Ibara: That’s right, there’s enough left that it can be distributed to each CosPro unit to use for their stages.

Therefore, upper management has the explanation that the budget will be used to boost each CosPro idol’s performance at Chocolat Fes.

It has something to do with creating an interest in CosPro affiliated idol schools.

Hiyori: But, would it be able to create that lead?

Ibara: It depends not only on the strength of the unit, but also their ability to solidify their foundation.

…… I want to put all my effort into my own plans, but I wonder if I’ll have to do work for the higher ups as well.

It’s giving me a headache.

Hiyori: Is that something we can’t touch on? I hate the idea that a day of love is getting tied up in adult agendas.

Ibara: If I could ignore the wishes of the upper management then I wouldn’t be complaining.

Jun: ………

Ibara: We have to make good use of it and make the audience view CosPro as good. I have to convince the higher ups and give them a sense of satisfaction.

But it’s easier said than done.

How much effort will I have to put in to get to that point?

Jun: ………

Ibara: —By the way, Jun, you’ve looked deep in thought for a while now. Is there something you want to say?

Come to think of it, I’ve yet to hear your opinion, so I’d like to hear it.

Jun: Umm, ah……

I don’t know if this is a good idea to say to you when you look so worried.

—I’m against it.

Ibara: …… You’re against it?

Jun: Chocolat Fes is an event for Valentine’s Day, isn’t it?

On the other hand, COMP…… COMP is a project that I don’t really like in and of itself.

But, even without my personal feelings……

I guess it’s because they want to show off that hellish place and make it seem better but…

It has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day.

That’s why I don’t think Chocolat Fes needs to get involved in those adults’ agenda.

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#ensemble stars #enstars #enstars translation #nagisa ran #jun sazanami #ibara saegusa #hiyori tomoe #type: event #era: !!

[fanboyjack]

i just got vaccinated woohooooo

also if anyone reading this has yet to get the vaccine and is worried abt pain or side effects, most likely all you’ll get is soreness in your arm, minor tiredness, and possibly a slight headache. the shot hurts less than the flu shot, honestly.

(this is pfizer not moderna so idk if moderna entails different expectations :/)

#vaccine #vaccination #i got the pfizer one #i got the vaccine #covid mention #covid vaccine #covid19 #pfizer #moderna vaccine #pfizer vaccine #i’m getting my second shot jun 5 #ow my arm #coronavirus #corona vaccine #anti anti vax #vaccine shots

[meltwonu]

|     THIEF | ┴SIƎH     |     [CHAPTER 6]

pairing; dom!wonwoo x reader x dom!soonyoung

this chapter’s notes; heist!au, dom!wonwoo, dom!soonyoung, threesome, anal, double penetration, hair pulling, choking, restraints, dirty talk, degradation, name-calling, a wee bit of violence/guns (as it is a heist!au after all) ! Oh my god ya’ll I hadn’t realized that the last chapter of T|H was posted in like June… ☠️🥲 I’m so sorry, there were so many things that went wrong since then skjfdsjh BUT WE’RE BACK and I intend for it to stay that way as long as tumb1r minds its own business LOL 🥴 Fingers crossed, okay? HAHA As always, thank you sooo much for your patience, I know so many of you were waiting for T|H to make its comeback 😭💕 For now, enjoy ch 6 and I’ll see ya’ll tomorrow to catch up on inbox msgs! Have a good rest of your day! 💕

As a refresher:

🐰 team: leader; Jeonghan | members; Chan, Joshua, Seungkwan

🐱 team: leader; Wonwoo | members; Soonyoung, Jun, Jihoon, Minghao

🐶 team: leader; Mingyu | members; Seungcheol, Vernon, Seokmin

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - ? 

*queued post.

Jeonghan sends you on an excursion alone and you find yourself flustered the second you spot Wonwoo and Soonyoung hanging by the only exit without a security guard.

“God-fucking-damn it…”

You bite your bottom lip as you contemplate your options but you know the second you even try to walk past them, that they’d immediately know it was you who’d managed to take the pink diamond safely out of the vault from right underneath their noses.

And you fully intended on getting it out of the building in one piece; you just had to find a way to get past the two currently eyeing you from across the room with their hands on their guns hidden away in their suits.

“Okay, what if I just…” You mutter to yourself as you turn and start making your way through the crowd to hopefully lose their eyes on you but the sound of glass shattering and the screams that ring out have you shaking your head as you reach for the gun strapped to your thigh in a split second.

‘Just couldn’t be that easy, could it’, you groan mentally.

“There she is! She has it!”

“Fuck!”

You start shooting; not necessarily aiming for the people but for the chandeliers and towers of champagne flutes to distract and cause enough panic for you to escape in the chaos.

In the midst of it all, you lose track of who even shot first, whether it was Wonwoo or a security guard, and you don’t even know where Wonwoo and Soonyoung have gone - you just knew you had to get out before anyone could stop you.

And you knew just where to go.

‘Shoot for the best but always expect the worst, bun.’ Jeonghan had told you repeatedly.

And it was something you, at least, tried to remember as you trudged through the quiet forest alone with your gun still drawn.

You’d scoped out the area the week before; scoffing slightly at the fact that the auction house was tucked away in a quieter part of town that was more forest than city.

Typical.

But as it was your luck, you’d found an abandoned fallout shelter underground in the forest that you’d managed to clean up enough to use as your base for the night; already proud of yourself that you’d managed to escape in one piece with no wounds.

Eventually, after a few more twists and turns and a handful of unsuspecting guide markers that you’d left yourself earlier, you come upon the unsuspecting entrance to the shelter that was hidden away under some heavy foliage.

“Thank god…” Whispering to yourself, you quickly glance around to make sure you were truly alone before you start to open up the door to the underground staircase; gun still drawn until you manage to close the door and lock it behind yourself.

It’s dark as you make your descent, but you knew it’d only be a few more seconds before you could reach around and find the lamp you’d left in the small space.

“My, my, my… What a treat~”

The panic in you reaches a maximum high as you manage to pull the trigger once before you’re thrashing against a warm chest and laughter fills your ears.

“What the f-fuck! Let me go!” The gun is slapped out of your hand before the small lamp you’d brought is switched on - Wonwoo’s smug face right in front of yours as you assume it’s Soonyoung keeping you in place at the base of the staircase.

“Aww, why should we do that, huh, sweetheart? You have something of mine, don’t you? Just hand it over and we’ll leave quietly, I promise.”

You grit your teeth as you thrash against Soonyoung; mentally cursing at yourself for the way your body reacts to the close proximity of both males.

“I d-don’t have it! I dropped it! It’s fucking gone!” You grit out - pausing your movements as Soonyoung nuzzles your neck and makes you even more flustered than you expect.

“Oh? That sounds quite far-fetched, babe. You, of all people, losing the only pink diamond that was up for auction? You really think we’re gonna believe that?”

“Ugh, well you’re gonna have to because that’s what fucking happened!”

Wonwoo steps closer; harsh fingertips squeezing your cheeks until you whine back in return at the way his grip tightens every second he doesn’t let go.

“Don’t tell me we’re gonna have to fuck the truth out of you, sweetheart. ‘Cause I think you forget that I’m more than willing to make you fuckin’ cry.”

“Yeah? Fuckin’ try me then, assholes. I can--ow!”

Soonyoung bites into the skin of your neck as you curse at him - Wonwoo chuckling as he sets the safety on his gun before tossing it onto the small table.

“I guess it’s time for a strip search then, huh, babe?”

“Fuck you!”

“On the contrary, sweetheart~”

Your mind feels blank; too lost in the pleasure when both Soonyoung and Wonwoo are both bottomed out inside your pussy and your ass at the same time.

“Mm, I can feel Wonwoo’s cock deep inside that slutty cunt of yours, baby… Just like how I’m sure he can feel me fuckin’ filling your pretty ‘lil ass too.”

“S-shut up…” Murmuring, you try to move your arms in the makeshift restraints they’d made out of shreds of fabric from your dress, “Ngh, fu--fuck, I hate y-you both…”

Wonwoo laughs in your face before drawing his hips back - only to thrust up into you as you cry out his name when the head of his cock grazes your cervix.

“Do you? ‘Cause your dumb ‘lil cunt sure is soaking my cock, sweetheart. You’re making it hard to believe otherwise.”

You grit your teeth for a second and before you can think straight, you spit right in Wonwoo’s face as Soonyoung whistles behind you.

“Oops, shouldn’t have done that, baby~”

Wonwoo sits up from the makeshift bed you’d originally made for yourself and he’s quick to wrap a tight grip around your neck as you find yourself struggling for oxygen.

“You really should behave, sweetheart,” He shares a look with Soonyoung who quickly tangles a hand through your, already, mussed hair, “You do remember nobody knows we’re down here, right? We can stay here all night while Soonyoung and I take turns fucking you stupid… Using your dumb ‘lil holes to our liking until you pass out. Although, I don’t think you’d hate that as much as you like to pretend you do.”

Your head feels fuzzy with the lack of oxygen and the tightening grip in your hair but you manage to choke out a small ‘I’ll behave’ into the air to get them to loosen their grip.

And it works for now, just as your head lolls forward towards Wonwoo; a scheming smirk on his lips when you clench around both of their cocks at their harsh treatment.

“Fuck, you’re such a little slut. You love your stupid holes getting fucked, don’t you?”

“Y-yes…! Fuck, mmh, feels so good with both of y-you inside me… Ngh, j-just love I-it so, a-ah, much...!”

Soonyoung grins at your back before he peers at Wonwoo; both of them silently agreeing as they start to thrust into you at the exact same time.

“O-oh, fuck…!”

You clench your hands into fists behind your back as you cum unexpectedly; thighs trembling as the two males continue to fuck you through your high.

“Mm, fuck, her ass feels so fuckin’ tight around my cock… Feels so fuckin’ hot and tight, baby…” Soonyoung throws his head back as Wonwoo growls and digs his hands into the skin of your waist.

“I’ve only had the pleasure of fucking her by myself once but she feels even tighter now… Next time we should switch, huh, Soonyoung? Let her get a taste of being fucked and filled to the brim by both of us.”

They both laugh cruelly as you let out choked sobs; body sensitive when they start to double their pace and chase their own orgasms.

“Do you wanna admit you took the diamond yet, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, baby, just let us know where you left it and we’ll cum in both of your holes before we go~”

“I, ngh, t-told you, I--I don’t know, I dropped i-it...” Whimpering, you slowly start to move your hips  - both of their cocks throbbing inside of you as you work to get them off, “I don’t k-know where it fell...”

And it’s Soonyoung that cums first; hips snapping into your ass as he unloads all of his cum inside of you just before Wonwoo does the same. 

Both of them filling you up to the brim with the warm, sticky substance before it’s pouring out of you.

“Fuck, guess we’re just gonna have to keep fucking you all night ‘til we get an answer then, huh, sweetheart?”

“Mmnh, f-fuck, go a-ahead, I won’t fucking t-tell you shit!”

And you never do. 

Even when they’ve covered your entire body from head to toe in their cum and left you with your ass still arched in the air and a mixture of their cum trickling down your inner thighs. 

‘Maybe she really did lose it,’ Soonyoung’d whispered - brows furrowed as he readjusted his wrinkled button up in front of Wonwoo, ‘I dunno, I mean... I kinda believe her. And we didn’t find it anywhere in here, either...’

All Wonwoo had done was sigh; eyes trained on your cunt still leaking with his cum as he smoothed down his hair and re-buttoned his suit jacket.

‘Whatever, we didn’t find it on her anyway so let’s go,’ he’d muttered, ‘Hope to see you again soon, sweetheart.’

To which you’d given it a good hour or two before you knew they were gone to start to get yourself cleaned up. 

Only to give it another hour before you actually left your hiding spot to get to your other one. 

The same one where you’d dropped off the pink diamond before heading back towards where you knew the two of them had noticed your guide markers and followed the trail you so graciously had left for them.

“Idiots.” 

You hold the diamond in the palm of your hand; the baby pink shade making you grin as you pack it into your bag.

“Now to get out of here without being followed a second time.”

#wonwoo smut #soonyoung smut #seventeen smut #svt smut #wonwoo scenarios #wonwoo imagines #hoshi imagines #hoshi scenarios #hoshi smut #seventeen imagines #svt imagines #svt fic #svt scenarios #seventeen scenarios #hoshi #wonwoo

[robininthelabyrinth]

Delight in Misery

- Chapter 10 (ao3) -

tumblr: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8 (interlude), part 9

-

In Lan Wangji’s view, the best part about the upcoming visit by Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen wasn’t the excuse to drag a tetchy and reluctant Jiang Cheng night-hunting, nor the chance to meet such interesting and swiftly famous cultivators, or even the vanishingly rare opportunity to learn more about Wei Wuxian by exploring his heritage on his mother’s side.

No – it was definitely the way the mere concept transformed Jiang Cheng into a stuttering teenaged admirer about to see their revered idol for the first time.

“You remember that they are both nearly ten years your junior?” he asked as Jiang Cheng fussed around, alternating between worrying himself sick for not being prepared to receive guests (for all that the Jiang sect had been receiving honored guests for years at this point) and bragging about the exploits of their soon-arriving guests to the fascinated flock of children dogging his heels.

“No more than seven or eight at most,” Jiang Cheng objected, and Lan Wangji rolled his eyes. “Anyway, that’s not the point. Look at how accomplished they both are! When I was that age, I hadn’t done anything!”

Lan Wangji didn’t think that was entirely right. When Jiang Cheng had been the age Xiao Xingcheng and Song Zichen were now, he’d endured the loss of his sect and rebuilt it from nothing, acting more or less singlehandedly while still finding time to fight the Wen sect shoulder-to-shoulder with the other Great Sects and also search for the missing Wei Wuxian with Lan Wangji.

He opted not to mention it.

Let Jiang Cheng keep his illusions and ignore the steady encroachment of time.

“You’re calling me old in your head,” Jiang Cheng said accusingly, and Lan Wangji pasted an innocent expression on his face as confirmation. “You are, you bastard! You know you’re older than me, right?”

Lan Wangji could get a great deal of out of an admission like that.

“That’s not what I meant! We’re peers, you…!” Jiang Cheng huffed. “Listen, you’d better be on your best behavior around our guests, all right? I don’t want them to be scared off just because it looks like you’re glowering whenever you think –”

“I’ll follow your example, then, and simply not think at all.”

“Go jump off a pier!”

The children all giggled.

“You’re all going to be on best behavior too,” Jiang Cheng told them, fierce as a hissing domestic cat and just as adorably toothless. “You hear me? All of you! A-Yuan, A-Ling, that means you’re going to be cute but not spoiled, while A-Yu can – actually, just do the same as them in an age-appropriate way, you’re cute enough –”

Mo Xuanyu beamed.

“Still, we don’t know what they’re like. Start by being a little reserved – not too loud –”

Lan Sizhui waved for attention as if they were in a classroom.

“…yes?” Jiang Cheng asked, looking vaguely resigned and grumpy in a way that was clearly meant to conceal how unbearably charming he found the gesture.

“Can I be called Sizhui this time?” Lan Sizhui asked eagerly. “I’m old enough!”

Jiang Cheng frowned a bit, and Lan Wangji understood. The Jiang sect generally didn’t use courtesy names until the child in question had mastered a full sword routine, usually age eight or nine, and close family almost never made the switch in full; from what Lan Wangji knew, Jiang Yanli had called Jiang Cheng ‘A-Cheng’ right up until the end of her life, not to mention referring routinely to Wei Wuxian, who she’d only met when he was already old enough to use his courtesy name, as ‘A-Xian’. The Lan sect, in contrast, started using courtesy names almost exclusively once a child was old enough to leave his parents, typically age three or four – Lan Wangji had been calling Lan Sizhui by name for years already, and had been needling Jiang Cheng to pick it up as well without success.

“I’ll introduce you,” Lan Wangji offered, saving Jiang Cheng the awkwardness of having to explain or decline or, worst of all for someone like Jiang Cheng, accidentally slip up and say something sappy like you’ll always be A-Yuan to me.

Lan Sizhui nodded, satisfied, and next to him, Jin Ling frowned. “What about me?” he asked. “Am I going to be Rulan?”

“The Jin sect is the last of the Great Sects in using courtesy names,” Jiang Cheng said, finally on more solid ground. “Not until you get your sword, and that’s not until you’re eleven. Or twelve!”

“But I already have a sword…”

“The age you would be if you were getting your own,” Lan Wangji interjected. “To make it fair to all the rest.”

That seemed to reassure Jin Ling, who nodded. “Good,” he grumbled. “I don’t wanna be Rulan, anyway…jiujiu, when did you say these guests would be arriving?”

That, of course, sent Jiang Cheng back into a flurry of activity, and Lan Wangji shook his head, long-suffering. “You’ve hosted entire discussion conferences,” he pointed out to Jiang Cheng. “There are only two cultivators this time. It is far easier.”

“Is it?” Jiang Cheng shot back. “Is it really?”

In contrast to the expectation and build up leading up to it, the actual arrival of Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen was rather unremarkable. They arrived just as the sun was setting, two young men, one beautiful and the other handsome, both valiant heroes with faces that shone with kindness and righteousness. Xiao Xingchen’s face was curved in a gentle smile, Song Zichen set in a neutral expression. Both seemed sincere and respectful when they bowed deeply in greeting.

“It’s a pleasure and honor to host such heroes,” Jiang Cheng said, nodding his head regally in return. He really had at some point learned how to fake being a competent and confident sect leader, and it might have even had the effect he was going for if it wasn’t for the small gaggle of children very eagerly stealing peeks from next to him – but Lan Wangji wasn’t going to be the one to tell on them. “I’ve heard many stories of your adventures, and I have long looked forward to meeting you in person. My Lotus Pier is open to you for as long as you require.”

“Sect Leader Jiang is upright and straightforward, well known for his righteousness,” Xiao Xingchen said, and perhaps only Lan Wangji knew precisely why Jiang Cheng flushed with such pleasure at a compliment more commonly applied to Nie Mingjue. “We are happy to be here as your guests.”

Jiang Cheng nodded a second time, still a little stiff and wooden. “You have traveled quite a distance. Are you tired or hungry..?”

They shook their heads in refusal.

Jiang Cheng darted a glance at Lan Wangji, then turned back to them, finally relaxing out of the excess formality that suited Jin Guangshan far more than it did Jian Cheng. “In that case,” he said, his voice a little dry. “Upon the suggestion of certain of my advisors, would you prefer to cut the boring small talk and go out on a night-hunt instead?”

Xiao Xingchen’s face split into a genuine smile, and even Song Zichen’s severity seemed a little eased.

“What an excellent idea, Sect Leader Jiang,” Xiao Xingchen said warmly. “We’d be happy to. I was just telling Song Zichen not long ago that it seemed as though we hadn’t been on a proper hunt in far too long.”

“You think you have problems, try being a sect leader,” Jiang Cheng replied impulsively, then turned red when he realized how rude he’d just been. “That is, I mean – well, there’s not nearly as much free time, that’s all.”

Xiao Xingchen laughed. It gave Lan Wangji a good impression of him: light-hearted and lively, his demeanor kind and good-humored. Despite the lack of blood relation, Lan Wangji was reminded of Wei Wuxian – although perhaps that was just his wistful thinking.

“Well, there’s a reason Zichen and I haven’t started our own just yet,” he said mischievously. “There’s time for that later, after all. Youth is when you make a name for yourself! And speaking of which, I’ve heard plenty about your own prowess, Sandu Shengshou. I admit I’m looking forward to seeing Zidian in action.”

Jiang Cheng looked unbearably pleased at the compliment, clearly sincerely meant, and something in Lan Wangji’s heart that he hadn’t even known was tense finally eased.

He hadn’t realized that he himself was nervous about this meeting – less for his own sake, although he burned with curiosity to learn everything he could about Wei Wuxian, than for Jiang Cheng, who had longed for this meeting so much, cared so much. Lan Wangji found to his bemusement that he had even been a little afraid: afraid that the two strangers would be cold or arrogant, afraid that they’d reject Jiang Cheng tentative overtures of friendship – that Jiang Cheng would be disappointed.

Lan Wangji might enjoy teasing Jiang Cheng into a frenzy, but that was his prerogative. In fact, one could argue that it was only what he was due for having lived with and put up with the man for so long. He’d been the one who’d been there all this time, the one who’d put in so much effort to help rebuild him back into the man he could be rather than the wreck he had been; he’d earned the right to mock him.  

No one else was entitled to so much as touch the hem of his robes.

“I have heard much of your matchless skill as well, Hanguang-jun,” Song Zichen said, his voice unexpectedly deep, and Lan Wangji’s attention came back to him as he returned the man’s salute. They both had reputations for being closed-mouthed ice-blocks, and it seemed to Lan Wangji that Song Zichen was probably just reserved, like him, rather than truly standoffish.

“You’re in for a treat, then,” Jiang Cheng said with a faint smirk. “Whether in sword or music, few can match Hanguang-jun’s talents, and he never stints on displaying them.”

To the untried ear, perhaps Jiang Cheng sounded bitter or jealous, and given his competitive mania he probably was, a little, but to Lan Wangji he sounded more smug than anything else, as proud as if he were the one being praised.

With everything settled, they headed off at once.

The subject of the night-hunt was nothing terribly exciting – a troop of fierce corpses ravaging the countryside that someone had finally managed to divine the location of, with the only interesting aspect about them being that they were unusually fast-moving – so there was plenty of time for them to talk as they followed the trail.

Lan Wangji expected Jiang Cheng to start asking questions about the immortal mountain and Wei Wuxian’s mother at once – Jiang Cheng might be prideful and thin-faced, prone to shame and overthinking, but he’d been raised along Wei Wuxian, who was second to none in shamelessness, and Lan Wangji was well aware of how much he hungered for that knowledge.

Of course, probably as a direct result of Lan Wangji’s expectations, Jiang Cheng went for a completely different target.

“It’s said that we live in an age of young heroes,” he remarked, seemingly casual. “Of course, for most of us, that was simply the inevitable result of war – crisis demands the best from people, regardless of age. Without such necessity to spur us onwards, most of us probably would’ve been still kicking our heels even now, whereas you two became heroes as soon as you arrived…how old are you now, again?”

“We are both twenty-one,” Song Zichen said, and Lan Wangji used the moment to glare over at Jiang Cheng when he mouthed six years at him – was this really the time to quibble over something as pointless as the exact age gap between them, which he’d clearly inquired about for no other purpose than to prove Lan Wangji’s earlier assumption wrong? This was Wei Wuxian’s martial uncle here! They should be getting all the information out of him that they could!

(Lan Wangji had long ago decided that when it came to feuding over minor matters with Jiang Cheng, he would be as gracious in defeat as his opponent…which was to say, not at all.)

Jiang Cheng smirked at him, knowing what he was thinking, but then – finally – turned the subject onto the immortal mountain, or more specifically its former disciples.

This time it was Song Zichen’s turn to relax minutely, Lan Wangji noticed. A moment’s thought revealed the reason: they’d probably feared cultivators asking questions that were far more pointed than what they were getting from them – cultivators greedy for the secrets of immortality. No wonder they so assiduously avoided being hosted by the Great Sects, and had done so even before Lanling Jin had gotten in the way of their heroism.

Well, luckily for them, the interest Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji had was a little more…down to earth.

“Cangse Sanren was a talent to shake the ages,” Xiao Xingchen said, his eyes bright and expression enthusiastic. “It was as if anything she turned her mind to, she excelled at, and she turned her mind to all sorts of things without discrimination – painting, poetry, swordsmanship…” He paused, then firmed his shoulders. “I heard that her son was much the same..?”

Lan Wangji felt a smile want to come up to his lips.

It seemed that Xiao Xingchen was just as interested in finding out more about his martial nephew as they were in finding out more about Wei Wuxian’s martial uncle.

Jiang Cheng glanced over at Lan Wangji, who nodded very shallowly, indicating his approval. In his judgment, both of them seemed safe enough: trustworthy, and not like people who would spread gossip.

They could talk about Wei Wuxian.

Talk truly about him, praising his good points and speaking fondly of his faults…these two, Lan Wangji thought, wouldn’t judge them harshly for failing to condemn him, and they wouldn’t tell anyone else, either.

Later, after they’d finished dispatching the ghouls – and the Wei Wuxian portion of the conversation, for which Jiang Cheng had taken the lead and which a listening Lan Wangji had enjoyed tremendously, largely on account of Xiao Xingchen’s genuine enthusiasm for learning everything he could about the martial nephew he had only just barely missed meeting, fearsome Yiling Patriarch or not – Jiang Cheng finally and regretfully brought them back to the original subject.

“I heard that you two are collecting allies to go after Xue Yang,” he said, and pretended (just as Lan Wangji did) to ignore the way Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen suddenly glanced at each other. “I’ll support that, of course. From everything I’ve heard, he’s become a mad dog, trying to bite anyone he sees. Hasn’t he been launching all sorts of raids on sects left and right these past few years?”

They nodded.

“Rather pointless ones,” Song Zichen said, a deep frown on his face. “He runs in and causes chaos, then flees into the night – he barely even stops to kill people, and almost never steals treasures. At most he goes to make trouble by defacing the walls of some of the ancestral tombs…we can see no sense in it. The only explanation is that his demonic cultivation has in fact driven him mad.”

Demonic cultivation didn’t necessarily drive a person mad. That was something Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng had painfully learned over the years, much to Jiang Cheng’s distress. However, it certainly didn’t help maintain calmness or peace of mind; there was every chance that a delinquent like Xue Yang had had his temperament worsened by demonic cultivation, leading to his present circumstances.

“Indeed,” Jiang Cheng said noncommittally. “I really have only question for you, then.”

Knowing where this was going, Lan Wangji turned his gaze on their guests’ expression.

“Haven’t you been chasing him on your own for all these years now, trying to get him to go to trial for his crimes, refusing any offers of help?” Jiang Cheng asked, his voice suddenly pointed. “Why the sudden change in favor of asking for help now?”

Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen shared another long look between them.

Finally, Xiao Xingchen cleared his throat. “In truth,” he said, “we spread that rumor as a smokescreen. We’re not looking for allies, generally speaking…we really only wanted a reason to ask for your help.”

Jiang Cheng stopped and stared, visibly surprised. Lan Wangji kept his expression more neutral, but privately he was just as taken aback; when they’d discussed this earlier, planning out this conversation in advance, that wasn’t even remotely one of the possibilities they’d considered.

“My help?” Jiang Cheng asked cautiously. “Or…?”

“Yours and Hanguang-jun,” Song Zichen said. “We weren’t sure who else to turn to.”

“What’s the issue?” Jiang Cheng asked, waving a hand to halt their forward progress. A good idea, in Lan Wangji’s view: it was the middle of the night, and they were in the middle of the forest in the back hills near the Lotus Pier, with no one around for a good distance except for trusted Jiang sect disciples – if there needed to be privacy for this discussion, this was the best place for it.

Another shared glance.

Lan Wangji slanted a glance of his own to Jiang Cheng, who returned it: they’d been right, there really was something unusual with this visit.

They stood in silence for a while.

Finally, Xiao Xingchen yielded. “Very well,” he said, and met Jiang Cheng’s eyes. “Sect Leader Jiang…can you tell us what you know about the Ghost General?”

Jiang Cheng stiffened, his fists clenching.

Lan Wangji’s heart felt just as stiff. He stepped forward.

“There are many people who can tell you about Wen Ning,” he said neutrally, watching them carefully. “Assuming that what you wish to know is how he fought or his transformation into a conscious fierce corpse. Is your concern that Xue Yang has replicated the technique and created his own ghost general?”

He didn’t think it would be that. As he’d said, everyone knew what Wen Ning had done once he’d become the Ghost General – the Jin sect would know far better than either of them how fearsome he was, since it was at Jinlin Tower that he had erupted in his final massacre. If they wanted to know about fierce corpses in general, they could go there.

To come here, to Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji – the only two people who were known to have gone up to the Yiling Burial Mounds while Wei Wuxian lived there with Wen Ning at his side, the only living people who knew what the Ghost General was like when he wasn’t being a weapon, to know what Wen Ning was like as a person – suggested something different.

Something impossible.

Xiao Xingchen met his eyes. “It is not.”

“Wen Ning was destroyed,” Jiang Cheng said, his voice tight and unsteady. “He murdered my brother-in-law, my nephew’s father, and when Lanling Jin demanded his head as retribution, he and his sister went to them under pretense of surrender and murdered even more of them before they were taken down. He was destroyed.”

They said nothing.

“The former Sect Leader Jin was very interested in demonic cultivation,” Lan Wangji said slowly. “While Wei Wuxian lived, he sought to claim the Stygian Tiger Seal. When he died…”

He glanced at Jiang Cheng a second time. They had not discussed the subject of the Siege of the Burial Mounds in any detail, as it inevitably put Jiang Cheng into a terrible frame of mind, and Lan Wangji remembered with a shudder the state they had both been in at that fateful meeting – he didn’t want to remember it himself, much less bring back bad memories for Jiang Cheng.

They certainly hadn’t discussed the subject of spoils. The only thing that had ever brought it to mind was the silent presence of Chenqing lying in place of pride in the Jiang sect’s memorial hall as the substitute for the memorial tablet they could not afford to raise for Wei Wuxian.

It hadn’t seemed relevant.

It was now.

“Sect Leader Jin took it,” Jiang Cheng confirmed, his voice shaking a little. “The Stygian Tiger Seal was broken in two, and Wei Wuxian destroyed one of the halves – the Jin sect claimed the other, saying that they were going to destroy it. I think they took more than that, too…I know they took Suibian, but they also took all the papers that’d been left in the cave. I always suspected that that was why they were so protective of Xue Yang, who was a demonic cultivator himself – that Jin Guangshan wanted to squeeze him for information, or maybe even use him to figure out some of Wei Wuxian’s notes…”

His voice trailed off, and he shook his head furiously.

“Wen Ning was destroyed,” he insisted. “The Jin sect scattered his ashes! They – they…”

“They lied,” Song Zichen said.

Lan Wangji pressed his lips together. He had no particularly warm feelings towards Wen Ning, who had been Wei Wuxian’s shadow in that last year or so of life when Wei Wuxian had turned his back on the world – a position Lan Wangji would have given his left arm to have, and over which he had had all sorts of inappropriate feelings of envy and stifled, unjustified possessiveness – but Jiang Cheng took the man’s existence far more personally.

In Jiang Cheng’s view, it had been for Wen Ning that Wei Wuxian had stolen the Wen sect remnants, for Wen Ning that Wei Wuxian had abjured his relationship with the Jiang sect and Jiang Cheng himself, for Wen Ning that Wei Wuxian had given up everything, and yet simultaneously it had also been Wen Ning that had pushed him to the very brink and over. Wen Ning who had murdered Jin Zixuan – Wen Ning who Wei Wuxian had so brutally avenged in the massacre at the Nightless City, at which Jiang Yanli had died.

Wen Ning, who they thought had been destroyed.

“We believe that the former Sect Leader Jin hid Wen Ning away instead of destroying him, then gave Xue Yang access to him, just as he did with the Tiger Seal and Wei Wuxian’s notes,” Xiao Xingchen said, his face solemn. “We also believe that Xue Yang took Wen Ning away with him when he escaped Jinlin Tower once the former sect leader died and the current sect leader took over. We believe that he has been controlling him through demonic cultivation, using him as something of an – accomplice, or something of the sort.”

“Controlling him how?” Jiang Cheng asked. They paused, and he continued, “I’m not stupid. You’re very sure that Wen Ning’s not gone, which means you located him and saw something that made you think so. What was it?”

Lan Wangji nodded shallowly, approving of Jiang Cheng’s deduction – and of the self-mastery he was demonstrating in not exploding in rage on the spot.

“He had nails in his head,” Xiao Xingchen said. “He…the Ghost General was mindless and unthinking, but strong. Very strong. He…”

He trailed off, and shook his head, seeming a bit sad.

“What help do you require from us?” Lan Wangji said, suddenly sick of the tension, and he saw Jiang Cheng throw him a look full of relief for having raised the question.

“Hanguang-jun is right,” Jiang Cheng said, backing him up at once. He crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you need us for? You two are heroes, and half the cultivation world would sell their firstborn child for a chance to bring down the Ghost General to increase their fame – there’s no way you came here just to get our help in bringing him down. If that’s what you wanted, it wouldn’t have needed to be us, and there wouldn’t have needed to be a smokescreen. What do you want?”

“We want to heal him,” Xiao Xingchen said solemnly. “To bring back his consciousness and return his sanity. But we don’t know what he was like, before Xue Yang. The only ones that do are the two of you.”

“You do remember that he killed my brother-in-law?” Jiang Cheng asked, his voice sharp.

“At Wei Wuxian’s order,” Song Zichen responded, equally sharp. “You do not blame the sword for the men it kills.”

Lan Wangji closed his eyes briefly, in pain at the reminder. He took a breath, steadying himself, and then another.

He opened his eyes.

“We will help,” he said, and ignored the betrayed look Jiang Cheng shot his way. They would talk about it later, and he would help Jiang Cheng see that this was what they had to do, no matter how painful. “And we will not betray the secret of his existence.”

“Thank you,” Xiao Xingchen said, and saluted deeply; Song Zichen did as well. “And yet, we have more we would ask of you.”

“Spit it out, then,” Jiang Cheng growled.

“Finding Wen Ning had shown us that Xue Yang’s actions have gone truly beyond the pale, beyond redemption,” Song Zichen said, and his voice was fierce. That wasn’t surprising: it had been his childhood home, his master and fellow disciples, that Xue Yang had attacked. “He is, as you said, a mad dog, biting all that he can – I believe that Wen Ning was his only companion as he fled, chased by the whole cultivation world these past few years. I fear what Xue Yang will do now that his last connection to humanity is gone. He is capable of anything.”

“We must find him,” Xiao Xingchen agreed. “We must find Xue Yang, and we must stop him from doing – whatever it is that he will do next. I cannot even begin to imagine the atrocities he might perpetrate. And so we must ask…”

“Fine,” Jiang Cheng said, and they both looked at him, surprised. “We’ll help you heal Wen Ning, and we’ll even help you hunt down Xue Yang. But this time, no excuses, no dragging your feet, no waiting for a proper trial, nothing like that. He dies, you hear me? Xue Yang is to be killed on sight!”

“I agree,” Lan Wangji said, folding his hands together behind his back. He had helped Jiang Cheng in pursuing and judging demonic cultivators before – there were those that could be granted mercy, and those for whom the only just answer was death; time and too many second chances had made inescapably clear that Xue Yang was the latter. “Each time you have sought to bring him to trial, he has taken advantage of your devotion to justice to escape.”

Xiao Xingchen looked at Song Zichen, who nodded firmly; a moment later, Xiao Xingchen sighed and nodded himself. “Agreed,” he said. “You will help us?”

“We will,” Jiang Cheng said grimly, and Lan Wangji nodded in full support. “It would be a pleasure to wipe that trash off the face of this earth.”

-

The town was full of mist and fog, choking the throat and making it hard to breathe or see; the feng shui of the entire valley was as bad as could be, and there was more miasma than there was air.

“You there, drunkard, what are you doing!” someone shouted at a figure lying halfway in the door of a house that was filled to the brim with coffins. “Don’t mock our livelihood! Just because it’s a coffin house doesn’t make it a good place to play dead!”

The figure stirred.

But I’m not playing dead, he thought, rubbing his aching head with one hand, noticing that he seemed to be missing his little finger. I actually was dead, wasn’t I?

Wei Wuxian opened his eyes.

#mdzs #lan wangji #jiang cheng #xiao xingchen #song lan #my fic #my fics #delight in misery

[full-of-jams]

Tangsuyuk Love

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Summary: College student Jungkook passes cute notes with a customer who always orders take-out tangsuyuk at his part-time job. Meanwhile he’s trying not to miserably fail his Math class, while hiding his ever-growing crush on you.

Genre: college au, f2l, fluff, smut, one shot, did I mention FLUFF?

Warnings: mild swearing, sexual content, hold your heart palpitations!

Word Count: 11.5k

A/N: I wanted to write something light and sweet before I continued with Good Riddance. It will be easy, she said. It will be fun, she said. It will be quick, she said. Ha. haha. ha. ha. Ignore my pain. Enjoy!

°°°°°°°

[09/04 18:34 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY] 1 Tangsuyuk (large) 1 Jjamppong 2 Kimchi Mandu ---------------- Note: Without pineapple! Please make the jjamppong extra spicy, my boyfriend just broke up with me T-T

Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong

Server: JK ------------------- TO GO

1 Tangsuyuk (large) -- 20,000 1 Jjamppong -- 5,000 2 Kimchi Mandu -- 6,000 1 Soju -- 0

Total: 31,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!

Note: Service! Nothing’s better than the fresh taste of soju to lighten a heavy heart :) Cheer up LatteIsHorse-Nim!

Paper Note: JK-nim, thanks for the soju. It sweetened my bitter night. This is Tokki, please give him a loving new home! TT-TT

Jungkook was fucking terrified of you. If it weren’t for the fact that he was close to failing Statistical Analysis, he would’ve considered faking a stomach flu and making a beeline straight out of the library.

“If you have a box containing 3 white, 4 red and 5 black balls what is the probability that you will draw a white ball on your first draw and a black ball on your second draw?” you asked again through gritted teeth.

You looked up at Jungkook and were met by an empty stare. Usually you enjoyed tutoring your fellow classmate. He was a smart and funny guy, maybe a bit awkward at times, but always trying his best. Today every little thing grated on your nerves. It took you every ounce of energy to get out of bed and look like a presentable human being this morning. You really didn’t want to sit here for another hour if the boy was just going to stare at you like a petrified statue. “It’s really not that difficult. You just have to apply conditional probability.”

Jungkook let out a frustrated huff and pulled at his hair, “I really don’t know, this doesn’t make any sense! Why do I even need this stuff for my major? Who cares if I pull out a white ball or a black ball first? It’s not like I’m planning on becoming Houdini!”

Sometimes you pitied him, but who on Earth had an irrational fear of Gauss distributions and probability?! They were beautiful, harmless, abstract concepts of life. Your sympathy was muffled by a thrumming headache. All the late-night crying already had you chugging water and slapping ice cubes on your face at breakfast. Right now you just wanted to go home, change into your pjs, order some tangsuyuk and binge watch Boys Over Flowers. The cringy acting and Go Jun Pyo’s luscious locks were the only things that made your miserable life feel a bit less pathetic at the moment. “Jungkook, we went over this last time. Just apply the damn formula,” you snapped.

“Why are you being so scary today?” he asked wide-eyed and apprehensive.

You took a deep breath, rubbed your temples and tried to calm your inner turmoil. It wasn’t his fault; you were just in a really shitty mood. “I’m sorry. It’s not my day today. Is it okay if we rain check? I promise I’ll make it up to you next week.”

Jungkook wasn’t used to seeing you this distraught. He wracked his brain on how to lift your spirit. “Hey, do you want to hear this math joke my friend Jin told me the other day? What do you call an angle that is adorable?”

The boy scrunched his nose adorably and waited for your response. He was really handsome, you noticed that back when you two first met. Back then you just didn’t have a reason to care. Back then you still had a boyfriend.

“I don’t know, tell me,” you answered.

“Acute angle!” he said with a timid smile.

Despite your foul mood you had to snort at his joke.

Jungkook’s smile grew wider. It wasn’t a full laugh, but at least your frown disappeared. He discovered early on that you had a soft spot for bad math puns.

Although he absolutely detested Statistical Analysis, he has come to enjoy your study sessions over the past couple of weeks. The TA of his class, Namjoon, was a close friend of Jungkook’s and a sunbae of yours. Once he discovered that his favorite dongsaeng was abysmal at reading a z-score table, he immediately referred him to you.

At first Jungkook was very reluctant to accept any help. He was a mechanical engineer for fuck’s sake! He calculated distributed load across uneven surfaces and directional derivatives all the time!

His inner protests died down during your first session when you unwittingly asked him if he was constipated while he tried to calculate the standard deviation. During your second session he noticed you liked to doodle small geometric and fractal comics on his work sheets whenever he was solving a problem.

‘What did the triangle say to the circle?’ ‘You’re pointless!’

By the time your third session rolled around he still hated statistics, but it was too late and he’d developed a hopeless crush on you. Your monologues about dead mathematicians and the beauty of an infinite series were oddly captivating. He didn’t think he’d ever met anyone who was so passionate and animated about anything in all his life.

“Is everything okay?” Jungkook asked carefully. You seemed tired and a bit wary. “I-I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel like it. Sorry, it’s none of my business,” he immediately added.

You smiled at his flustered state. Jungkook’s heart stumbled when your smile turned sad and you said, “No not really, but I’m sure I’ll be fine sooner or later.”

[13/04 19:12 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]

1 Tangsuyuk (large) 1 Jjajangmyeon 1 Jjajangbap ---------------- Note: JK-nim! Omg your tangsuyuk is the best! I could drown in that sauce! How is Tokki doing?

Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong

Server: JK ------------------- TO GO

1 Tangsuyuk (large) -- 20,000 1 Jjajangmyeon -- 4,500 1 Jjajangbap -- 5,500

Total: 30,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!

Note: LatteIsHorse-nim! Little Tokki is doing well and bravely guarding our store! Don’t drown, but here’s some extra sauce for you to enjoy. I asked for it to be without pineapple. Hwaiting!

“Yah! Why does it smell like rotten take-out in your bedroom?” Jisoo asked.

Scowling has become your new go-to expression. “Too soon. Just let me wallow in my self-pity and sorrow.”

If you didn’t know any better you would’ve thought your friend was playing ‘The Floor Is Lava’ considering how gingerly she walked across your room. Safely on the other side, she ripped open a window to let some much needed fresh air in. 

“I think you’re going to be wallowing in mold and fungus instead,” Jisoo commented with disgust. “Wallow all you want, I’m here to support you, girl. But I can’t allow you to turn your place into a biohazard zone. Isn’t your sister bothered by this?”

“My sister doesn’t care; our rooms are off limits to each other. As long as we both keep the common area clean, she won’t complain,” you said.

Jisoo sat down on your bed and patted the empty spot next to her. She immediately retracted her hand. “Eww, is that tangsuyuk sauce on your sheets?” she asked, completely appalled.

You shrugged and thumped onto your bed.

“So what are your plans for tonight?” she asked, trying to suppress a shudder.

“It’s Monday night. What plans could I possibly have?”

“We’re in college! Weekdays, weekends, they’re all the same!” your friend exclaimed. She looked at your sprawled-out figure. “I told you from the very beginning he wasn’t good for you. I know it doesn’t feel like this right now, but you’re lucky he’s out of your life. I really can’t watch you torture yourself over a jerk like him. Let’s go out to Hongdae!”

“I can’t go out. I already have plans.”

“Didn’t you just say you didn’t have any plans?”

“I lied. I have a date.”

Jisoo paused for a second, unsure how to respond. “Really? With whom?”

“Gong Yoo. We promised to kiss each other on first snowfall,” you responded listlessly.

“Yah!” Jisoo yelled and smacked your butt.

“Oww! What was that for?” you cried in surprise, rubbing the tender spot.

“Re-watching Goblin is not a date! You scared me for a second,” Jisoo said.

“How is it not a date? I meet a hot oppa, multiple hot oppas, we have dinner together, I giggle and blush and at the end of the night I get kissed to sleep.” You sat up and gave your friend a weary look. “I really don’t want to go out right now, but also don’t want to be on my own. Can’t we just stay in and watch a drama?” you asked with the saddest face you could muster.

Jisoo wanted to argue, but she couldn’t resist your pout. “Fine. But first you change your bedsheets, I’m not gonna sit in moldy tangsuyuk sauce all night. And I get to choose the drama.”

“Call!”

[16/04 17:58 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]

1 Tangsuyuk (small) 1 Kimchi Kimbap 1 Beef Kimbap  ---------------- Note: JK-nim thanks for the extra sauce! It was delicious. Are you a dipper or a pourer?

Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong

Server: JK ------------------- TO GO

1 Tangsuyuk (small) -- 13,000 1 Kimchi Kimbap -- 2,500 1 Beef Kimbap -- 2,500 1 Soup -- 0

Total: 18,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!

Note: LatteIsHorse-nim! Personally, I’m a dipper, but I don’t discriminate! I added some broth as service for you. It’s chilly tonight. Don’t catch a cold!

Paper Note: JK-nim, let’s be friends? I’m also a dipper! Did you know that butterflies can’t fly when they’re cold? Here is one that I folded, sending back my warmest thoughts to you on this frosty spring night.

The first thing that caught your eye was Jungkook who was patiently waiting at the library entrance. Despite the steaming goods in his hands, his entire body was shivering. The temperature suddenly dropped last night, but he couldn’t be bothered to dig up his padded jacket when he left the house this morning.

Before you could even greet him, he shoved a hot milk tea towards you and mumbled, “Here, it’s cold today so I thought you could use something warm.”

You were surprised by this sweet gesture. “Thanks,” you reached for it and examined the drink in your hand, ”How did you know I like black milk tea?”

He ducked his head and mumbled something into himself.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

Jungkook lifted his head. His cheeks and nose were a lovely wash of pink from the cold. “You mentioned once that you’re an OG milk tea drinker, so I just guessed” he repeated again, louder. “I saw this bungeoppang cart on the way here. We can share them while studying?” he said, holding up a small paper bag.

Your heart warmed and for the first time in weeks your face split into big smile, “Sure, I love bungeoppang! We’re not allowed to eat inside the library. So how about we eat everything first before they get cold and then go in?”

The both of you took a seat on a bench. By now Jungkook definitely regretted being too lazy to find his jacket this morning, but he was determined not to let it show. He passed the bag full of bungeoppangs to you.

You happily reached for one of the fish-shaped pastries and started munching on it. Your face crinkled, steam came out of your mouth. Jungkook’s heart skipped as he watched you in fascination. Your cheeks were flushed. A sudden instinct to stroke your rosy skin overcame him. Instead he reached for a bungeoppang and took a careful bite. “Are you feeling better today?”

“A little bit,” you said between bites, “I’m really sorry about last time. I feel bad now. I ditched you and now you’re treating me to snacks.” You went on and stabbed your straw through your milk tea. “I should be the one treating you instead.”

“I like to treat you,” Jungkook said, mesmerized by the way your lips moved against the straw. He suddenly realized what he was doing and cleared his throat, “A happy teacher is a good teacher! You’re already spending your time tutoring me.”

A laugh slipped out of you, “Jungkook, you’re paying me for your lessons. But it’s okay, this bungeoppang and tea definitely hits the spot, so I’ll accept it with a grateful heart. What are you drinking?”

Jungkook looked down on his drink and gave it a shake, the black pearls swirled around buoyantly. “Banana milk tea, I prefer sweet drinks.”

You leaned back against the bench and looked up at the clear blue sky. “Sweet things are the best combat against the bitter taste of life,” you sighed. You closed your eyes and soaked in the crisp air. Jungkook felt your melancholy, he could warm your body, but he didn’t know how to warm your heart.  

“Sorry that I’m bothering you with my personal stuff. It’s just that I had a really bad breakup recently. I shouldn’t let it affect our lessons,” you said with a wistful smile as you lifted your head again.

The boy next to you remained silent. You turned and saw a contemplative look on his face. “It’s alright, everyone can have a bad day,” he finally said, “You don’t have to pretend to be okay when you’re not. If you’re never angry or sad, you won’t know when you’re happy.”

His words stunned you. Has Jungkook always been this thoughtful? You turned away from his gaze and looked down at the pastry in your hand. “They’re rhombus shaped,” you muttered in an attempt of distraction and showed your bungeoppang to Jungkook. “The fish scales,” you added when he looked confused.

“Ah yeah, the scales. It’s actually erroneous since most of the bungeoppangs depict a ganoid scale structure when in fact carps have cycloid scales to allow for a greater flexibility,” Jungkook explained.

A blank look appeared on your face. Probably the same blank look he had whenever you tried to explain the Bayes’ theorem to him. He let out an awkward laugh, “We studied the mechanics of fish scale structures in Material Science. You can correlate the flexibility of a scaled surface depending on its underlying geometric structure and material. It’s pretty cool stuff.”

“I can’t believe you can geek out about the geometry of fish scales, but don’t know how to define your probability population,” you snorted in disbelief. 

“Hey, when will I ever need to calculate the probability of two people with the same birthday in a room? I just have a hard time learning stuff I never have to apply,” he said defensively.

Then you suddenly had an idea. “Tell you what, how about this? If you pass your statistics final, I’ll treat you to the best Chinese take-out in town! You can order whatever you want!”

Jungkook didn’t want to dampen your excitement by telling you that his part-time job already allowed him to eat as much Chinese take-out as he wanted. “Okay, but don’t complain when you go broke. My record was five jjajangmyeon and two tangsuyuk in one sitting.”

You batted away his challenge. “First you have to pass your finals,” you teased.

“I’ll pass,” Jungkook said.

You smiled at his cute determination. “Then it’s a date.”

Jungkook beamed back at you. “It’s a date.”

[05/05 18:21 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]

1 Tangsuyuk (large) 2 Pork Mandu 1 Tteokkguk 1 Jjajangmyeon 1 Tteokkbokki ---------------- Note: No pineapple plz. JK-nim! Happy Children’s Day! For this special occasion I’ve decided to order all of my childhood favorites. Life is too short to eat bad food. I hope today you treat yourself to something delicious as well!

“Yah! JK! Your girlfriend placed an order again!” Yugyeom yelled across the store.

A mop of black hair peaked out from the back of the shop. “She’s not my girlfriend, she’s just a regular,” Jungkook yelled back.

“A regular you flirt with,” Yugyeom snickered, “I saw all the notes you left her in the system. ‘Don’t catch a cold!’, ‘Hwaiting!’ Don’t tell me that’s not your lame attempt at flirting.”

Suddenly an angry Yoongi stomped out of the kitchen. “Keep it down boys, we have guests here.”

Jungkook went up to the register and printed out the online order. “Hyung, can you make a large tangsuyuk without pineapple?”

“It’s a national holiday, there’s like two people here tonight,” Yugyeom muttered under his breath.

“What did you say, Yugyeom?”

“Nothing, hyung!”

Yoongi snatched the order out of Jungkook’s hand and gave both boys another irritated glance before he headed back into the kitchen.

“Hey JK,” Yugyeom said in a lower voice as he moved next to his friend, “aren’t you ever curious how LatteIsHorse is like? I mean, she must have some sense of humor judging by her username.”

“Sometimes. Don’t you ever wonder how our regulars are like? But it’s not like I’m ever gonna meet them or know it’s them when they come into the store,” Jungkook said with a shrug.

“You could though. Mingyu’s out on delivery, Eunwoo’s off so we have a free bike. The store is dead tonight. You could go deliver the order and have a look,” Yugyeom spurred him on.

Jungkook considered his friend’s suggestion. Every time he opened his locker a little origami bunny and butterfly stared back at him and brightened his day. It was true, he was curious how LatteIsHorse was like. “Okay I’ll go, but don’t pretend you’re doing me a favor. You just don’t want to do delivery tonight.”

<Ding Dong>

A pretty girl in a Yonsei hoodie and shorts opened the door. She somehow looked familiar, but Jungkook couldn’t place from where. Maybe he met her on campus before.

“Delivery from Golden Bang,” Jungkook said, holding up his metal box.

“Ah great! I’m starving!” the girl said.

Jungkook started unloading the box and handed the dishes to the girl. Once he was done, he lingered awkwardly in the doorway. The girl gave him a curious look, clearly wondering why he wasn’t leaving. Jungkook gathered his courage and said, “I’m JK by the way.”

What followed was a beat of silence. Jungkook could feel his ears burn.

“Err, it’s nice to meet you, I guess? Is there anything else you need?” the girl asked after the painful pause. “Ah got it! Just a sec!” She ran into the apartment and came back with her wallet. “Here’s a tip, we’ll put the dishes back outside for pick up,” she said as she scrunched a bill into Jungkook’s hand, “Thanks for your hard work. Happy holiday!” And then she shut the door right into his face.

What just happened? Jungkook was stupefied. After an eternity he finally moved and mechanically pulled out his phone. He checked the delivery order on his app. LatteIsHorse – this was the address. She didn’t recognize him. Why was he so naive to believe that she would remember him? All he wanted in that moment was for the ground to open and swallow him up.

“Dinner’s here,” your sister said as you came out of the shower. “Did you order banana milk?”

“No? Why?” you joined her at the dinner table and started rummaging through the dishes. “Where’s the receipt?”

“I threw it in the trash,” she said. When she saw you opening up the trash can and fishing for it, she added, “Gross! What are you doing? Why do you need it?”

Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong

Server: JK ------------------- TO GO

1 Tangsuyuk (large) -- 20,000 2 Pork Mandu -- 6,000 1 Tteokkguk -- 4,500 1 Jjajangmyeon -- 4,500 1 Tteokkbokki -- 3,000

Total: 38,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!

Note: LatteIsHorse-nim! Happy Children’s Day to you too! I added my favorite childhood drink, banana milk! I hope it brings back as many happy childhood memories for you as it does for me.

There, sitting on the table, was a small bottle of banana milk. A smile spread across your face. “I need to file it away for tax purposes.”

Your sister looked at you like you were crazy. “Let’s eat already, I’m starving. Wash your hands.”

[14/05 16:55 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [TAKE AWAY]

1 Tangsuyuk (small) 1 Jjajangbap ---------------- Note: JK-nim, hope you’re doing well. I’m in the area today, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello in person! Is it weird that I feel a bit nervous?

The restaurant door wasn’t going to open itself. The past 15 minutes of you standing in front of it has proven that. You had some errands to run in Hongdae after school and decided on a whim to place a pickup order at your favorite take-out place. 

Why was it so difficult to enter a restaurant? If you steeled your nerves any more, they’d probably break from how brittle they’ve become. You just had to open that damn door.

Sometimes you wondered if you liked that place more because of its great tangsuyuk or because of JK’s little notes which always managed to put a smile on your face.

One thing was for sure, you weren’t stalling because of the tangsuyuk.

“Welcome to Golden Bang!” a bright male voice rang across the restaurant as you passed through the door.

You walked up to the register and sneaked a peek at the boy’s name tag, ‘Yugyeom’. You felt a slight twinge of disappointment.

“I’m here to pick up my order? LatteIsHorse?” you asked tentatively.

A sign of recognition flashed across Yugyeom’s face. “Of course, your order’s ready! I’ll just bag it up for you,” he said cheerfully. He walked away and quickly came back with a white plastic bag full of food. Then he printed out your receipt and handed both to you.

Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong

Server: YG ------------------- TO GO

1 Tangsuyuk (small) -- 13,000 1 Jjajangbap -- 5,500

Total: 18,500 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!

You looked around the restaurant, it was empty since dinnertime was still a while away. You wondered if Yugyeom was managing the store alone right now. At least the cook must be in. “Your tangsuyuk is really delicious. It’s probably my favorite.”

Yugyeom gave you a big smile, “Happy to hear that you enjoy our food so much. The tangsuyuk is our chef’s family recipe. It’s one of our most popular menu items!”

You wringed your hands and finally decided to bite the bullet and straight out ask, “Is JK here? He usually takes my orders when I order delivery, so I just wanted to say hi.”

“JK’s shift doesn’t start until 6, so he should be here in about half an hour. If you want, I can relay a message,” he said with a knowing smile, “Or you can also take a seat and wait for him. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to meet you.”

No way you were going to sit here for half an hour and wait up for a stranger. “Ah no, that’s alright. If you could just say hi from me, that’d be great,” you quickly replied with a flush. JK would probably think you’re a creepy stalker.

“Sure, can do! Enjoy your day!” Yugyeom said merrily as you walked out the store.

A feeling of both relief and sadness passed through you. You slowly walked down the busy streets of Hongdae as you reprimanded yourself for being so stupid. What were you going to say to JK anyway if you met him? Thanks for being nice to me? You’re the reason I don’t burst into tears every single night? You’re the reason why I don’t feel completely alone when I’m sobbing into my food over Song Joong Ki’s acting? Thanks for making me gain 3 kilos in the last month?

Whatever you said, it would’ve only made you sound pathetic.

A crippling wave of desperation suddenly washed over you and rooted you in your tracks. A single tear rolled down your face. Then another. You dropped down into a crouch and started to bawl. You couldn’t fathom how you’ve reached this all-time low in your life. Why did you feel so incredibly sad about being stood up by a stranger? Especially when that stranger didn’t even know you were coming?

“Y/N?” an alarmed voice asked. You looked up when you felt a soft shake against your shoulder.

Through your tear-blurred eyes you recognized Jungkook’s face. He crouched down next to you and asked, “Is everything okay? Are you hurt?”

You shook your head and tried to wipe away your tears. It was a useless attempt as they kept on streaming down your face.

Jungkook hesitantly pushed your hair out of your face and asked, “Do you want to go somewhere else so you can tell me what happened?”

You gave him an imperceptible nod.

His hand gently moved down to your arm, afraid that you were going to push him away. With a steady grip he slowly helped you back onto your feet. Then he slid his hand through yours and led you down the hustle and bustle of Hongdae until you ended up in front of a convenience store located in one of the quieter residential side streets. He sat you down in a plastic chair and told you to wait. After a while he came back with a packet of tissues, a bottle of water and two red bean popsicles.

You gratefully took the tissues and loudly blew your nose. A small part of your brain told you to act more ladylike, especially in front of Jungkook, but the bigger part didn’t really care and just wanted to drag you back down into the pits of loneliness. A strangled sound came out of your mouth as you started to hiccup, making you sound like a drowning cat.

You expected Jungkook to laugh at your weird orchestra of emotions. Even you found it absurd and would’ve laughed if you weren’t already crying and hiccupping at the same time. But all he did was quietly open the water bottle and hand it to you.  

As soon as you lifted the bottle to your mouth another hiccup made you almost spill the water on yourself. You held your breath for a few seconds and then took a careful sip. It seemed to work. You took a bigger sip, when another hiccup racked your body and you squeezed water all over your face.

There was a bewildering moment of shock, then you started to laugh deliriously. Forget before, this was your lowest point in life. This was so pathetic that it was hilarious again. Your laughter garbled whenever you hiccupped, only causing you to laugh even harder. You would’ve continued laughing for another long minute if you weren’t choking for air.

A small smile played around Jungkook’s mouth. He took another tissue and started wiping down your face. You hiccupped under his touch. He must think you’re a nutcase.

“I have a question. We have to do some statistical testing in my Quality Management class. What would a hypothesis look like if I wanted to analyze any deviation in a spare parts production line due to temperature conditions?” Jungkook asked.

Did he really forget hypothesis testing already? He finally managed to get it after four sessions! You frowned slightly. “You could set up a null hypothesis stating that a variation in temperature does not significantly impact the parameter of measurement in your production line. Jungkook did you seriously forget this?!” you said indignantly.

Jungkook gave you a playful laugh, “No, I think you drilled it so hard into my brain, I could probably recite all variables of the standard deviation formula if you woke me up in the middle of the night. Your hiccups stopped though.”

They did.

Embarrassment set in as you realized your predicament. Maybe your hormones were going crazy, maybe you were going crazy. You were getting whiplash from the emotional roller coaster you were on. In an attempt to hide your disgrace, you picked up another tissue and wiped away the remaining water, snot and tears.

There was tangible awkwardness in the air.

“I hope you like red bean,” Jungkook said shyly as he unwrapped a popsicle, “Red bean is my favorite. My friends keep on calling me old fashioned, but it just reminds me of the time when my mom used to buy me these after taekwondo class. I think I liked the popsicles more than I liked going to class.” He sighed in reverie and held up the popsicle for you.

You stared at his hand. You remembered how it felt against yours just a few moments ago. Firm, warm and steady. Then you looked up at Jungkook. He hid it well, but you could tell that there was concern behind his encouraging smile.

“This is so embarrassing,” you said as you accepted the popsicle and turned your head away from him, “I don’t know what is wrong with me right now. I’m usually not like this.”

“Did something happen earlier?” Jungkook asked cautiously as he unwrapped his own popsicle and took a bite out of it.

Did something happen earlier? Why did you cry? Where you really crying just because you didn’t meet JK?

“No,” you said and slowly shook your head, “I don’t know. I just suddenly felt overwhelmed.”

Jungkook hesitated before he asked, “Are you sad because of your breakup?”

Were you sad because of your ex-boyfriend?

“I don’t think so. In the beginning when we broke up I was devastated, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore,” you said more to yourself than to Jungkook. “Everyone told me I was lucky to be rid of him. I really didn’t understand why. But I think it’s becoming clearer now. Maybe it’s not sadness. Maybe it’s fear. I think I just feel lost. I don’t know who I am anymore. Maybe it scares me to know that I was able to lose myself and I don’t know if I can find a way back.”

Before you knew it, you spilled your heart, your deepest and darkest fears to Jungkook. You barely knew this boy, yet it still felt oddly comforting. He remained quiet and listened.

“I wanted to meet someone today, but they weren’t there,” you continued, “I think in that moment I just realized how utterly lost I was on my own.”

Jungkook searched for the appropriate words. How do you respond to someone’s most vulnerable thoughts? “I mean you know what they say. It’s not about how much you’ve lost, it’s about how much you have left.”

He peeked at you to check if it worked.

“Jungkook, did you just quote Iron Man at me?” you asked incredulously before a giggle slipped from your lips.

You noticed how his cheeks dimpled when he gave you an embarrassed laugh, “Sorry, I was trying to say something that would cheer you up. I’m probably not doing a very good job.”

In that second you realized how kind-hearted Jungkook actually was. Your heart squeezed. “Don’t say that. Thanks for listening to my problems. And thanks for the red bean popsicle. I also ate this a lot in my childhood. Mainly because my sister hated them. She always used to steal my ice cream out of the freezer so at some point I asked my parents to only buy me red bean popsicles. She never touched those,” you reminisced.

Jungkook laughed at your story, “Your sister sounds like a piece of work.”

“We used to fight a lot, we used to never get along,” you became thoughtful, “At some point that stopped. I think we just grew up and grew to understand and accept our differences. She doesn’t steal my food anymore. I don’t steal her clothes anymore. We may not always agree, but we respect each other’s decisions.”

“You know, for someone who just said she feels lost, you sound pretty self-reflected right now,” Jungkook mused, “Maybe you need to do the same as you did with your sister. Understand yourself and accept the differences of your past and present.”

You paused at this. He was right. You were so desperately trying to fend off these negative emotions that you never took the time to actually think. You were chasing an image that never existed. Not in the past nor in the present.

“You’re surprisingly good at giving advice. Thanks, Jungkook,” you said.

“Surprisingly? What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, offended. The glint in his eyes gave his teasing away.

Laughter pealed from you. Jungkook was captivated by the sound. He drank in the way your eyes creased with mirth and followed your fingers as they brushed back your hair.

Jungkook’s phone vibrated. “Oh shit!”

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I was actually on my way to work and my boss is asking me where I am,” he said as he stuffed his phone back in his pocket.

Jungkook startled when you suddenly jumped up. “Then you should get to work! You should’ve said something sooner. I’m so sorry for keeping you here!”

“No, it’s really fine. I’ve done enough overtime. He won’t complain if I’m a few minutes late,” he said, “Are you feeling better?”

You ignored his question and pushed against his shoulders to get him out of the chair. “Go to work, Jungkook. I’ll be fine, your red bean popsicle did wonders,” you responded placatively.

When he still didn’t move, you grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the main street. Jungkook’s skin scorched under your touch. “Go to work, Jungkook,” you said again with more emphasis.

“Are you sure…?” he asked, unwilling to let you out of his sight before he knew you weren’t just going cry again at the next street corner.

“I won’t burst into tears,” you said as if reading his mind. “You were right, I need to reconcile with myself. So I’ll go home, enjoy my dinner and think about who I am and who I want to be. And you,” you said giving him another gentle shove, “need to go to work.”

Jungkook saw the stubborn look on your face. He wondered if you realized you were using your teaching voice right now. You weren’t going to take no for an answer. “Okay fine, text me when you get home?”

You waved away his concerns. “Sure. Go already,” you said with a big reassuring smile. “See you tomorrow at school!” you added before you turned around and walked away.

“You’re late,” Yugyeom said as soon as Jungkook entered the store.

Jungkook gave Yugyeom a sheepish look and only muttered, “Yeah sorry, something came up on my way here.” Then he rushed past him to the back of the restaurant and changed into his uniform.

Once he came back out he noticed Yugyeom throwing him strange looks.

“What?”

“Your girlfriend says hi,” Yugyeom said with a hint of amusement.

“Who?”

Yugyeom gave Jungkook a meaningful look, “LatteIsHorse. She ordered pick up. I think she was hoping to meet you. She’s cute. She looks like she’s probably a college student around here.”

“I know,” was all Jungkook replied.

Yugyeom’s eyes bulged in curiosity, “You know? You know she’s cute or you know she’s a student? You never told me what actually happened that night!”

Jungkook gave him a tired look and said, “She didn’t recognize me. She wore a Yonsei hoodie, so I guess she goes there. Nothing else happened.”

“Hmm, that’s weird. She was asking for you today, so she definitely knows your name,” Yugyeom said.

“Who knows, maybe she was having a lot on her plate that day,” Jungkook said with a shrug. He wondered where you lived and if you already got home safely. “Why are you obsessing over this so much?”

“Man, do you know how painful it is to watch your sorry attempts at flirting? I’m just trying to help you out, mate,” Yugyeom quipped.

“I wasn’t flirting! I was just trying cheer someone up who was obviously feeling down! It’s called being a decent human being,” Jungkook exclaimed.

Yugyeom gave him the side eye, “Yeah, that’s still not gonna get you laid.”

[19/05 18:47 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]

1 Tangsuyuk (small) 1 Bibimbap ---------------- Note: JK-nim, I visited you at the store last week, but you weren’t there. TT-TT I hope you don’t think I’m weird, I just really like talking to you. You always manage to put a smile on my face when I’m having a hard day. We’re still friends, right?

Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong

Server: JK ------------------- TO GO

1 Tangsuyuk (small) -- 13,000 1 Bibimbap -- 5,000

Total: 18,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!

Note: LatteIsHorse-nim! I’m sad that I missed your visit to our store. I’ll try harder the next time! I added some extra bulgogi to make up for it. :) Of course we’re still friends. I don’t wish any hard days upon you, but I’m glad to hear that my words have a healing effect. In case you ever need a friend to talk to, feel free to talk to me. 010-1234-5678.

The study sessions with Jungkook continued per usual. He still struggled and had frustrated outbursts from time to time, especially when you forced him to revise probability distributions. When you finally reached regression analysis, things became easier.

Although your sessions remained the same, something in your dynamic changed. The both of you became looser and more playful around each other. He wouldn’t clamp up anymore and you felt more at ease around him. You became friends. He never once mentioned that disasterous afternoon.

At home, on the evening of the incident, you shot Jungkook a text and slumped down on the couch. Your sister was out that night, so it was just you in the apartment. Normally, the eerie quiet would’ve unsettled you and you would’ve distracted yourself from your deafening thoughts. But that night you just let them scream, yell and tear at you.

It was an excruciating process, but in the end your head was clearer, your heart calmer. You still weren’t quite there yet, but at least you made a first step out of the endless pit of desperation.

There were other things you noticed about yourself. Gradually you realized you didn’t mind being on your own anymore. You rediscovered your love for drawing and created you own mandala art. You also learned to code your own website and now had a clickable version of your cv on the go. Although you made time for yourself, you weren’t a hermit. You went out for drinks with Jisoo and soon asked Namjoon to take you along to your university’s Math Club. There you met a lot of familiar faces that you’ve encountered in class but never talked to. With them you spent animated evenings discussing stimulating math problems and exchanging incredibly bad math puns.

You also started noticing things about Jungkook. He wasn’t as timid and shy as you initially thought. Once he got over his awkwardness, he turned out to be quite a cheeky and goofy guy. He teased you or told you silly jokes whenever you were on a break. Despite his obvious aversion for statistics, he still took your lessons very seriously. Diligently listening to your explanations and trying to solve the problems to the best of his abilities. His study-mode showed you other sides of him. The cute pout he had whenever he tried to hide his confusion. Or the two little ridges which formed between his eyes whenever he was concentrated and deep in thought. More often than not you fought the urge to smooth them out with your touch or even better, with a kiss.

“Is something wrong?” Jungkook asked when he caught you staring.

“No,” you quickly said, “I was just thinking that you don’t seem to have much trouble with regression analysis.”

“I don’t know, the relationship between the variables just makes much more sense,” Jungkook said.

You looked at him and considered, “Hmm, maybe you don’t need my tutoring anymore?”

Brief dismay crossed Jungkook’s face. “My finals are in three weeks. I think I’d still prefer if you helped me revise the earlier chapters,” he said, “Unless you need more time to study for your own finals.”

Being in college meant that you were always in dire need of more time. That constant nagging voice in the back of your head telling you to study was an occupational disease. But you didn’t have to kid yourself, those four hours a week spent on Jungkook weren’t going to make or break your grade. Besides, you enjoyed spending time with him. You wondered if he felt the same.

“It’s alright, I’ll help you revise. Just don’t embarrass me on your finals. I don’t want Namjoon to tell me afterwards that you didn’t manage to calculate the mean of the population or worse, read the scoring table upside down,” you teased him light-heartedly.

Jungkook’s ears turned bright red. “That happened once!” he said, “How long are you going to hold that over my head?”

You laughed at his indignation. “Don’t forget, you’ll get endless tangsuyuk if you pass.”

[26/05 20:09 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]

1 Tangsuyuk (small) 1 Jjamppong ---------------- Note: JK-nim, I’d like to get the advice of a friend. There’s this kind, sweet boy that I really like. I would like to tell him how I feel, but he’s seen me in my lowest and ugliest moments. Maybe he’ll think I’m just baggage? I guess I’m afraid of his rejection.

Golden Bang 7 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Seogyo-dong

Server: JK ------------------- TO GO

1 Tangsuyuk (small) -- 13,000 1 Jjamppong -- 5,000 1 Soju -- 0

Total: 18,000 -------------------- Thanks for ordering at Golden Bang! Have a golden day!

Note: LatteIsHorse-nim! It’s only human to fear rejection. I can completely understand. I also have someone I really like. She’s really pretty, smart and funny. Spending time with her makes me really happy, but I never managed to tell her. Maybe we should both gather our courage and cheer each other on? I’m not saying that drunken confessions are the way to go but consider this soju a symbolism for (liquid) courage.

Paper Note: This is a flexagon. Whenever you need a word of encouragement give it a flip!

Jungkook examined the hexagonal origami in his hands. On the outside it read ‘Flip Me!’

He gave the flexagon a flip. ‘JK you’re the best!’ And another. ‘The world needs more people like you!’ And another. ‘Don’t forget that LatteIsHorse is always rooting for you!’ And another. ‘Aja, aja, hwaiting!’ And another. ‘Thank you for being my friend!’

Jisoo barged into you room and flopped onto your bed. ‘Ahhh! I’m so glad you finally cleaned in here. Seriously, if I find another rancid noodle stuck to my clothes, I’ll call in a hazmat team.”

“I don’t know why you’re complaining so much. It’s not even your room,” you said.

“Hey, where are you ever going to find a friend like me?”

Your friend sacrificed many a night away from college parties to binge watch handsome oppas sweep equally beautiful unnies off their feet with you. And she wasn’t shy telling you that.

“Let’s go out tonight,” Jisoo suggested. She rolled back onto her feet and started walking around, inspecting your cleaning job.

“Our finals start in two weeks; I really don’t want to spend my weekend nursing a hangover.”

“I’m not saying you have to get wasted. Tonight is the Pre-Game Night. We have to go!” Jisoo demanded.

The Final’s Pre-Game Night was a campus-wide tradition. Every semester on the Friday a week before finals huge parties were thrown to signal the beginning of the end. It was like a dare – were you confident enough to get completely drunk and still hope to pass your finals? Naturally everybody on campus joined in and drank.

“Not getting wasted at a Pre-Game party? That’s like saying you’ve decided you don’t need to breathe. I really don’t think…”

“What’s this?” Jisoo suddenly interrupted. “LatteIsHorse-nim! Personally, I’m a dipper, but I don’t discriminate! I added some broth as service for you. It’s chilly tonight. Don’t catch a cold!” she read aloud, “LatteIsHorse-nim! Happy Children’s Day to you too! I added my favorite childhood drink, banana milk! I hope it brings back as many happy childhood memories for you as it does for me.”

You flung yourself across the room and almost tripped over your own feet trying to rip the receipts out of Jisoo’s hands.

“Oh. My. God. Is your take-out guy flirting with you?!” she asked.

“No! He’s just a friend. We send encouraging notes to each other,” you tried to explain.

Jisoo threw her hands in the air. “Okay that’s it! We’re going to the Pre-Game party, whether you want or not. You can’t tell me that the only flirting interaction you have is with a stranger who delivers you tangsuyuk!”

The place Jisoo picked out was ram packed and buzzing with energy. It was an open dorm party; all the common rooms were transformed into dancefloors. Different types of music played from each corner of the building. Crates of alcohol were stacked against the walls.

The both of you grabbed a beer and made your way through the crowd.

“You’re going to have fun tonight, alright?”

“I don’t think this works that way,” you laughed.

“Then put some effort into it. We look way too cute for it to go to waste,” she said as you roamed around the floors and explored the different areas. You looked down on your dress. It was a pretty warm night; you had opted for a flowy summer dress with a blush pink floral pattern. Jisoo was right, it was cute.

You discovered a familiar face at the edge of the crowd. “Sunbae!” you said.

Namjoon turned around gave you a surprised smile. “Y/N! Out of all the places on campus, we meet each other here tonight. What are the chances?”

He was surrounded by a group of friends, you spotted Jungkook right behind him. The boy gave you an excited wave. A slow smile spread across your face. “I don’t know, but why don’t we ask Jungkook to calculate it for you?”

Namjoon let out a hearty laugh while Jungkook groaned in exasperation.

“Do you see what I have to put up with every week, hyung?”

“Didn’t you just say it’s the best thing that happened to you?” Namjoon taunted, “You have some nerve showing up in front of me tonight. You better ace your SA finals. Do you know how many favors I had to pull to get Y/N to tutor you?”

“What do you expect me to do?” Jungkook sputtered, “Go home and lock myself up on Pre-Game Night?”

If it weren’t for Jisoo you would’ve done just that. Speaking of Jisoo, your friend cleared her throat and gave you a painful nudge in the side.

“Ah yes, uhm, Jisoo you already know Namjoon. This is Jungkook. You know, the guy I’m tutoring.”

Jungkook gave her a small wave.

Jisoo didn’t even try to hide her amazement. “This is Jungkook? But you’re like wayyy cute!” She turned to you and added still loud enough for everyone to hear, “Why didn’t you tell me he was cute?!”

The embarrassment was obvious on Jungkook’s face. You could tell that Namjoon was getting a rush out of his dongsaeng’s reaction and before he could provoke him any further you decided to jump in.

“Who wants to go dance?” you asked loudly. You turned around and headed to the dancefloor without waiting for any of them to respond.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were tutoring a hunk?” Jisoo muttered under her breath.

“He’s not a hunk. Don’t call him that.”

“Yeah but he’s hot. You made him sound like he was a nerd.”

“He is a nerd.”

Your friend gave you a glare, “Why are we arguing about this? I know you’re not that oblivious.”

Of course you weren’t oblivious to Jungkook, but you weren’t going to tell Jisoo that.

“Let’s dance.” You grabbed Jisoo’s hand and twirled her around.

Namjoon and his friends joined you on the dancefloor. The mood of the crowd was electric. Music pulsed through your veins. Drinks flowed, shots were downed, people pulled out their best, lamest, craziest dance moves. Everyone celebrated like the world was going to end.

After a while you became hot and needed a new drink. You looked around for Jisoo and saw her grinding up against one of Namjoon’s friends. She’d be busy for a while. You inconspicuously moved away from the group and decided to go get some fresh air.  

“Wait up,” Jungkook said as he appeared next to you, “are you getting something to drink? I’ll join you.”

His dark curls were slightly matted with sweat. His baggy t-shirt clung to his body. You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol or Jisoo’s damn voice whispering into your ear. He was hot.

You circled your arm through his and pulled him through the crowd. His muscles shifted under your touch. You grabbed two drinks from a crate and handed one to Jungkook, your nerves tingled when his hand brushed against yours. The both of you remained in comfortable silence, leisurely walking through the dorm, neither of you in a hurry to get back to your friends. You explored the facility areas, weaving through pounding and quiet parts of the building.

“You look really nice tonight,” he said after a while.

The heels of your shoes echoed against marble floor of the dark hallway. “Thanks, Jisoo raided my closet.”

“She’s really something isn’t she?”

“She’s the best. I’m grateful to have her as my friend.”

Somewhere further down the hallway you made out two figures pressed against the wall, probably trying to find a quiet place of their own.

“You also look nice,” you said to Jungkook.

“I’m wearing the same things I always do,” Jungkook said, his voice turning shy.

You were getting closer to the couple. You could see how the guy was sticking his tongue down the girl’s throat. She seemed to enjoy it from the sounds she was making. Lucky them.

Your next words were definitely fuelled by your tipsy state, “I guess that means you always look nice.” Jungkook missed a step. You had to laugh at his blunder.

The couple in front of you broke apart and looked in your direction. More annoyed about being interrupted rather than embarrassed being caught. You were about to make a funny comment to Jungkook when your heart stopped and you froze.

A string of saliva still clung to the guy’s lips. His eyes widened when he recognized your face in the darkness. “Y/N?”

Your breath hitched and your grip tightened around Jungkook’s arm. He glanced between you and the guy, the situation slowly dawning on him.

“Why did you stop? Who’s that?”, the girl whined.

“No one,” the guy responded as he returned his attention to her and they started making out again.

Jungkook didn’t know if he wanted to puke or punch that guy. A sharp pain in his arm brought him back to his senses. Your nails dug into his skin. He put his hand around yours and loosened your iron grip.

“Let’s go,” he said and quickly pulled you past the couple. You followed him in a daze. He stopped once you were outside of the building, hidden away in a quiet corner.

His hands reached for your face and he lifted your eyes to his. “Breathe.”

You closed your eyes, let out a long breath and let your head fall against the wall behind you. The horrible encounter replayed in your mind. You had to open your eyes again.

There he was right in front of you. Worried Jungkook, kind Jungkook, beautiful Jungkook.

Your hands reached behind his neck and you pulled him a bit closer. You tried to decipher his gaze, it was dark and yearning. Everything was a haze, the alcohol in your blood made you daring.

“Kiss me,” you whispered.

His mouth crashed against yours. Your hands slipped up into his hair and your bodies entwined. You opened your lips and sucked in his hot breath. Your tongues found each other; he groaned at your taste.

He moved one of his hands down your side until he found purchase on your leg and hitched it up against his waist, pressing his body further into you. You let out a moan when his hips ground into yours.

All your senses drowned in Jungkook. You drowned in his scent, you drowned in his touch, you drowned in his heat. You tried to use Jungkook to drown out the grotesque image from before. Suddenly the heat of the moment disappeared, and a cold shower ran down your spine.

You broke away from your breathless kiss and put your hands against Jungkook’s chest to put some distance between you. He gave you a disoriented look.

“I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have kissed.”

Jungkook’s eyes grew wide and alarmed. “Did I do something wrong?”

His lips were swollen, his hair was mussed. You wanted nothing more than to pull him back in, but you couldn’t. Not here. Not like this. He deserved better.

You pushed yourself off the wall and gave him a small shove. He immediately let go of you and stepped back. “I shouldn’t have kissed you like this,” was all you said before you ran back into the building.

The next day you woke up to a splitting headache and a heart full of regret. You really needed to talk to Jungkook and explain to him why you ran away the previous night, but you were too much of a coward to pick up your phone and contact him. You decided it was better to talk to him in person at school.

The following week at school you waited for him in the library. Your heart was in your throat. Your prepared speech played in an endless loop in your head.

‘I’m sorry I ran away. I shouldn’t have kissed you in that state. It wasn’t fair to you. You deserve better than that.’

You looked down on your phone to check the time. A message blinked. You opened and read through it. Your heart sank. He wasn’t coming. He wanted to study the last week before finals on his own. He thanked you for your time.

Slowly you got up and packed your bag. You blew it. You wanted to do him right, but you only caused him pain. Thinking back, you realized he gave and gave and gave and all you did was take. He was right to stay away from you. There was no way he’d be happy with someone like you.

The week passed and finals week commenced. You immersed yourself in your exams and tried to get over your heavy heart. You were pretty sure you aced Geometry II, but the Numerical Analysis exam was nothing but a blur.

Although your heart ached, you didn’t fall back into the same dark pit of the past. You didn’t feel lost, you got on with your life. Nobody noticed the Jungkook-sized hole in your heart except for you. You wanted to talk about your feelings, but you didn’t think Jisoo or your sister would understand. They’d probably just tell you to get out there and find a new guy.

Another week passed. You were walking out of your professor’s office, finalizing the details of your summer internship, when you bumped into Namjoon.

“Y/N! What are you doing here? Aren’t you off for summer break yet?” he asked.

“I was just discussing my internship with Prof. Kim,” you said.

“Ah you’re participating in his research program?” Namjoon said, “I heard it’s really interesting, he’s intense though.”

“I think intense is fine for me, I need something to do with my brain. Otherwise I’ll just go crazy,” you said with a smile.

“Speaking of intense, what did you do to that kid?” Namjoon suddenly asked.

You tensed. Did something happen to Jungkook? “What do you mean?”

“Did you brainwash him or something? He got a 98 on his SA final! When I handed him over to you, he was still asking me why the positive and negative z-scores tables had different values,” Namjoon said in awe.

Relief washed through you and your chest filled with pride. “Watch out sunbae, I might be coming for your TA position,” you said with a wink.

At home you sprawled out on the couch. Your sister’s classes ended earlier than yours so now she was away with her friends travelling the countryside. Your mind wandered as you stared up at the ceiling of your quiet apartment. You really wanted to call Jungkook and congratulate him, but you didn’t think you should. He clearly didn’t want to be in contact with you, you hadn’t heard anything from him since his text canceling your study sessions.

A pang of sadness washed through you. It should have been a happy moment for the both of you, you should be eating tangsuyuk together right now. You really wanted to tell someone about your joy and your grief.

Then you suddenly remembered your friend. Your friend who never judged and always had something wise to say. Maybe he would understand the conflicts of your heart. You got up and dug through the receipts on your desk until you found the one with his phone number on it.

You hoped he wouldn’t think you were crazy, but then again, he was the one who offered himself to talk to you any time. You typed in the number and hit call. Your phone dialed when suddenly the number displayed switched to a name. Jungkook.

You quickly hit the cancel button and stared at your phone. Did you accidentally hit Jungkook’s contact? Was your phone broken? This time you typed in the number more carefully and hit call. Again, the display switched to Jungkook’s name. You hit cancel.

Your heart began to race. You opened up Jungkook’s contact and compared it with the number on the receipt.

Holy shit.

JK was Jungkook. Jungkook was JK.

The stranger who cheered you on and made you smile whenever you felt down was Jungkook. You combed through all your receipts and reread them one by one. What was the probability for this to happen? This was so bizarre, but it made so much sense. Jungkook was the kindest person you knew. Why wouldn’t he be kind to a stranger who needed some uplifting words and comforting tangsuyuk?

[13/06 18:20 PM] User: LatteIsHorse ---------------- ORDER [DELIVERY]

3 Tangsuyuk (large) 6 Jjajangmyeon ---------------- Note: JK-nim, I hope you’re doing well! Can I ask you for a strange favor? Would you mind delivering today’s order to me? I would really like to meet you and thank you in person for always being by my side! <3

<Ding Dong>

The doorbell rang. Your heart pounded painfully in your chest. You slowly walked up to the door and opened it.

“Delivery from Golden…,” Jungkook’s voice faltered.

“Hi JK-nim,” you said quietly. You opened the door wider. “Thanks for coming today.”

“Y/N? What are you doing here?” he asked.

You had to smile at his look of utter confusion. “I live here. Come in, you can put the food on the dining table.” You turned around and walked back into the apartment.

Jungkook hesitated before he followed you inside. He moved up to the table and unloaded his box. He tried to steady himself. “You’re LatteIsHorse-nim?” he asked skeptically, “I’ve been here before. Last time someone else opened the door.”

He has visited you before? “Oh, that was probably my sister. I live here with her. She’s out travelling right now.”

“So you’re on your own right now? Why did you order so much food?” he asked. A giant mountain of neatly stacked dishes graced the table.

You came up and pried the metal box out of his hand. Then you moved in front of him and unclasped his bike helmet. He flinched at your sudden closeness.

“To celebrate. Congratulations on passing your Statistical Analysis exam. Namjoon told me you passed in flying colors,” you said in a gentle voice. “I promised you the best Chinese take-out in town, didn’t I?”

Jungkook still looked shell-shocked and simply stared at you.

“I’m sorry about that night at the Pre-Game party. I’m sorry I ran away. I owe you an explanation.”

Jungkook regained his wits and swallowed. “It’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself. I get it, we were drunk. It was a mistake.” He looked down and tried to turn back around.

You grabbed onto his hands before he could move away. “Jungkook, look at me.”

He stopped turning, but his eyes remained on the floor.

You took a deep breath and squeezed his hands. “I really like you. I’ve really liked you for a while now.”

His eyes shot up to your face.

“The reason why I ran away that night was because I felt guilty. I probably would’ve ended up kissing you anyway, but in that moment, I kissed you because I wanted to forget. I didn’t want our first kiss to be like that. I wanted it to be the me who liked you and not the me who tried to drown out her shitty ex-boyfriend. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

There was an unreadable look in his eyes. Your heart fluttered in nervousness. “How long have you known I was JK? How long did you know I had a crush on you?” he asked.

You could feel your blood rushing through your ears, the butterflies in your stomach beat like crazy. “Since today. I was sad because I thought I couldn’t share the promised meal with you. I wanted a friend to talk to, so I thought to call you. You who was always kind to me, even when I wasn’t kind to myself. Isn’t fate strange? We cheered each other on to find each other.” You had to laugh at the irony of it all.

Your hand hesitantly moved up to his face and stroked across his cheek, “I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I made you sad.”

Jungkook melted against your touch. “If I’m never sad, I won’t know when I’m happy.” Then he closed the gap and pressed his lips against yours.

It was a sweet but sad kiss. Filled with happiness and sorrow. Every touch was filled with an ‘I missed you’ or an ‘I’m sorry’.

Jungkook pressed you against the edge of your dining table, he lifted you up and you wrapped your legs around his waist. You both deepened your kiss. Your hands snaked through his hair and pulled him closer into you. Jungkook braced his hands against the table and instinctively ground his hips against your core. You moaned his name at the sensation. The both of you broke apart to catch your breaths, you pulled at his jacket and removed his layers of clothing.

You stilled at the sight of his bare chest. He was truly beautiful. Your fingers traced along his skin and marvelled at its silkiness. Jungkook shuddered under your touch. His hands moved under your shirt and you both lifted it off your head. Then you gripped his hands and slowly led them around your back, urging him to take off your bra. You wriggled out of your jeans and laid yourself completely bare in front of him. Jungkook stopped and stared at you, equally amazed.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.

Your heart swelled and you pulled him back into a kiss. Both his kisses and his hands left a burning trail down your body. His mouth sucked on the soft skin of your neck while his hands moved across your breast, across your stomach, lower and lower. Wetness gathered between your legs.

“Jungkook,” you sighed. The muscles of his back shifted under your touch.

He released your neck with a loud smack and looked at the artwork he created. He still couldn’t get over how overwhelmingly beautiful you were. Your cheeks flushed, eyes bright and his name at the tip of your tongue. He felt himself strain against his confines.

“Please,” you whimpered. You looked down at his hand and tried to silently command him to touch you.

He kept his eyes trained on your face when his fingers moved lower and slid through your folds. Another moan left your lovely lips. He teased you with his touches, gathering your wetness until he finally pushed down where you wanted him most. Your hands dug into his back, your hips bucked, and you threw your head back in pleasure. He steadied your hips with his other hand and slowly pushed a finger inside of you. Another loud moan echoed through the room.

Jungkook was transfixed by you. He added a second finger and started pushing in and out. Your eyes squeezed shut in pleasure and small breathless pants left your mouth. Jungkook increased the speed of his movement and marvelled at the way you reacted under his touch. Then he moved his mouth to your breast and closed his lips around your nipple. You raked your hands through his hair and arched into him. Your core tightened around his fingers. All your nerves were on fire.

You pulled him away from your breast and guided his mouth back to yours. Your tongue traced his lips and you swallowed his moan. You wanted more, you wanted him closer. His fingers curled and his thumb pressed down on you. Jungkook held you tight as you shuddered and fell apart around him.

He rested his forehead against yours, your breath mingled as you both panted into each other. He slowly removed his hand from you and traced his mouth with his slicked fingers, then he moved them to your lips. Your tongue licked the tips of his fingers. His grip tightened around your waist.

“I want to feel you,” you said.

Jungkook shuddered at your words. “Where is your room?”

“The door behind you.”

Jungkook lifted you off the table, you tightened your legs around him and gave him another kiss. He walked you both to your room and gently laid you down on your bed. He took off his pants, then slowly moved onto the bed and hovered above you.

“Tell me what you want,” he said.

Your fingers caressed his face. “I want you to be happy.”

Another shudder ran through him. “I am happy. What else?”

You traced his eyes, his nose, his lips. “I want to be the one making you happy.”

Jungkook couldn’t contain himself anymore. His heart felt like it was about to explode. He covered your body with his and pressed himself into you. Your eyes rolled back as he entered you slowly. You felt so full you wanted to burst out of your skin. You could feel how the Jungkook-sized whole in your heart filled up again.

He rocked into you and took your breath away. Your nails raked across his back and left red lines against his smooth skin. Jungkook ducked his head into the crook of your neck and moaned against your skin. Every pull dragged pleasure out of you, every push brought you closer together.

You wanted more. Jungkook gave you more.

You wanted him closer. Jungkook pushed deeper into you.

With every moan, Jungkook pushed harder, pushed deeper. He wanted to melt into you. He wanted the lines between you and him to disappear. Your desire was his desire. His pleasure was your pleasure.  

Jungkook could feel you tightening around him. He moved his mouth over yours and gave you an ardent kiss. The light of your desire turned brighter and brighter until it burst apart into a thousand little flames. You cried against his lips and let the heat consume you. Your body pulsed around his and the overwhelming sensation brought him right over the edge with you.

The both of you laid on your bed and clung to each other. Neither of you willing to let the other go. Your pounding chests beat in tandem. Jungkook stroked his hand across your hair and kissed your head.

“I want you to be happy too,” he said.

“I know,” you said as you smiled against his chest, “You make me happy.”

Jungkook pulled you tighter into him and you remained silent for a while. His hand traced lazy patterns against your skin. Your breathing evened out.

“Are you allergic to pineapple?” he suddenly asked.

You looked up at him in surprise. “No. Why?”

“Because you always order tangsuyuk without pineapple.”

“Oh. That’s because my sister hates pineapple.”

Jungkook frowned, you pulled yourself up and kissed the little ridges between his eyes.

“What?” you asked.

“I think the jjajangmyeon is all soggy by now,” he said.

You had to laugh. “Probably, but the tangsuyuk should still taste great.”

Jungkook kissed you with a smile. “You’re right, tangsuyuk always tastes great.”

°°°°°°°

02/05/20

Copyright © 2020 full-of-jams. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy, repost or translate without permission.

#jungkook smut #bts smut #jungkook fluff #bts fluff #jungkook x reader #bts x reader #jungkook au #bts au #jungkook fanfic #bts fanfic #jungkook imagine #bts imagines #jungkook x y/n #bts x y/n #jungkook #jungkook fanart #bts fanfction #fluff #smut #tangsuyuk love

[mochibrokenheart]

SVSSS: Creature from the Northern Desert Lagoon

Mobei Jun x Shang Qinghua

Word Count: 2,440

Summary:  Shang Qinghua travels to the jungle as part of a groundbreaking research expedition. Sure, there's a cool new fossil for a species that no one has seen before, but that's nothing compared to to the otherworldly creature that enters his tent and starts feeling him up. He'll have to add amphibious humanoid to his list of kinks, stat!

Day 5 prompt: ocean horrors. This has an attempt at smuttiness! (Covers face because it isn't my strong suit.) Inspired by Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34370710

Even after thousands of years of evolution, the jungle still retained a primal energy. The bird calls sounded ancient. The air trapped under the canopy smelled musty. And everything was built larger from the insects, to the plants, to the eighteen-foot-long crocodile they passed on the water earlier that day.

It was all worth it when they arrived at the camp set up on the banks of the river. Shang Qinghua was shaking in excitement as the captain dropped anchor. Excavation, fossils, and sedimentary records awaited. One small step for Qinghua, one giant leap for Qinghua’s career.

“So…do you think the rest of the crew would think I’m weird if I jumped ship right now?”

Shen Qingqiu, his research partner, sometimes friend, and often times bully, snorted. “Not that they haven’t realized that already, but, yes. Jumping off a perfectly good ship is unbecoming for scientists; even a child would have better impulse control.”

“Why do you always have to rain on my parade? Not cool, dude,” he whined, slumping against the metal rail. “Don’t be jealous that I love science more than you do.”

There was a blunt hit to his head. “Ow!” He rubbed at the sore spot and shot Shen Qingqiu a teary look.

The other man was very liberal with his fan and since that flawless expression never, ever left his face, it was difficult to convince others that yes, he did use it as a weapon.

When the boat was anchored, everyone onboard disembarked for the rocky shore. The camp was right off of the wide river that they had sailed through, in a small clearing made by those who had first arrived some weeks prior.

The really interesting part, the actual dig site, was about two hundred yards in the opposite direction and hidden by tall, leafy trees.

He wasn’t able to see it from his current spot but knew that it was an inland cove, and that said cove was called Northern Desert Lagoon and home to a large fossilized hand from the Devonian period. The cove’s name made no sense, but nothing like the fossilized body fragment had ever been found before.

The truth was that both Shang Qinghua and Shen Qingqiu were beyond exited to be invited to the high clearance site. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a find that could revolutionize the scientific field.

After all, they were the only ones present that didn’t already have their PhDs—though it might’ve had something to do with the prodigal geologist that was already making a bee line for Shen Qingqiu, he thought with a snicker.

His partner might adamantly deny any romantic, or sexual, tension with the younger man, but it was pretty clear to anyone who was around them longer than thirty seconds.

Sigh. If only he could find a hot, strapping man to cater to him. Alexa, play Holding Out for A Hero by Bonnie Tyler.

A sudden scream rang out across the whole clearing, an unsettling sensation blanketing the camp.

His mental warning alarms immediately sounded—Danger! Danger! Danger!—as he scurried to get behind Shen Qnqiu and his paramour, Luo Binghe. The two were larger and more capable than him, so if it turned out to be an animal attack, he would at least have a buffer between him and the threat.

It turned out that there was no wild predator on the loose but there was, however, the discovery of a recently dead body floating on the cove waters. Evidently, the person had been mangled by something while off by themselves near the site.

Some speculated that it was the work of a big cat that was lurking in the area but others noted that the claw marks were much too large to belong to a cat, if they were even claw marks. An image of some poor body covered with blood and missing limbs popped into his head, making him ill.

What else was powerful enough to take down a human, he didn’t know. A crocodile? They had passed a bunch of those already.

Part of him was curious to go investigate, but another, louder, part of him was freaked out and desperate to get his tent up, so that he could hide away. It wasn’t like there would be any progress made today anyway, in light of what had happened.

No, sirree. He was perfectly fine inside of his tent.

***

Later that night, when the wind was shaking his tent and nocturnal river sounds were in full symphony, he decided that maybe it wasn’t perfectly fine.

He wasn’t positive that he had slept a wink so far. He remembered closing his eyes but it felt like it had only been mere minutes even though it was actually hours later.

Finally, he gave up. Laid there, staring up the ceiling. It was super boring but at least he wasn't out patroling for the still unidentified beast that was still prowling around.

Was this why people counted sheep? It had to be. Gandalf knew what he was talking about when he said every second felt as long as a life age of the earth.

There would never be another restless night scene in his novels—it wasn’t the dramatic plot device that fiction had led him to believe.

Shen Qingqiu probably wasn’t having this problem. And if he was, it was probably due to more, erm, pleasurable circumstances than his own.

Where was his sexy man? The one who would take advantage of him and rail out his brains all night long? It was downright criminal that his ripe body wasn’t being plundered. Or that said dream man wasn’t shielding Qinghua’s body, in the protective sense, from the killer on the loose.

Huffing, he rolled over and tried to at least get more comfortable. Not that it did him any good. Instead of staring up, now he was merely staring at the walls, shadows flickering in indiscernible patterns.

He may as well try to manifest his wish out into the universe, considering how it shaping up to be a sleepless night.

That’s the exact moment that the creature walked in.

Shang Qinghua screamed and, in his hurry to back away, fell off of his cot with sheets twisted on top of him. The creature didn’t like that at all and stomped further into his tent, presumably to intimidate him into shutting up.

That was a failure, of course, and he only ended up making even more noise.

Since the tent was small, it had to crouch down with strong thighs, so he couldn’t tell how big it was, but it still had the strength to pick him up with one hand. It's hand was webbed between the fingers, almost like a catcher’s glove, with huge claws that dug into the muscles of his throat.

The claws were sharp enough to draw blood, which got him to finally stop screaming as he went into a stunned state.

Now that he was closer to it, it seemed like the creature was some sort of amphibious humanoid thing. There were the webbed fingers, but what also appeared to be layered gills protruding from its neck, too.

Its arms were well muscled and a much darker shade than the pale skin of its chest—it looked black in the dim light, but he supposed that it could also be a navy, or deep purple. The pigmentation started at the shoulders and went down all the way to the claws. 

A quick glance down showed that it also started again at hip-level and went all the way down its legs.

He tried, but was unable to make out any genitalia that would mark it as distinctly male or female. Damn, it must have a pouch of some sort. Ooo maybe it laid eggs! Or had two dicks! That happened with some amphibians, reptiles too.

The claws still poised against him tightened, momentarily clearing his mind from his thoughts about dicks.

“I’m sorry,” he wheezed, trying to appeal to the creature. “Can you let go? No more screams. Promise.”

It clicked its teeth and he really, really hoped it wasn’t an aggressive display. He didn’t want to end up like that other chump that wound up dead at the—

His eyes opened wide as he realized that this was what killed that researcher. It seemed to be partially water based; the cove was probably its home. They had expected it to be some sort of animal, which it technically was, but this was so out of the realm of imagined possibilities.

A luminous cobalt stare tracked his facial moments and it gradually loosened its grip.

A big inhale sent delicious oxygen into his lungs. Rubbing at the claw marks, he hissed when a burning sensation flared up; he must’ve touched one of the open cuts. No offense to the creature but he was definitely going to have to disinfect it. There was no telling what kinds of microbes and bacteria it had on the nail surface.

Curious by the hiss he made, the creature sniffed around his neck.

He laughed nervously. “It’s alright. No fatal damage done. Just need to clean it—” Suddenly a cold tongue was laving up and down his neck. “What the hell?”

Either not sensing, or no caring about, the discomfort it caused him, it kept licking at him. There were even a few nips thrown in. “Whoa there. Easy! I didn’t consent to this!”

Then, a wet suckle over the most intense point of his pain. He gasped, hands flying to the creature’s head where he vaguely registered how soft its hair was. That suckle felt a lot like a kiss, the kind that would leave beautiful, bruised hickeys.

The earlier thoughts about dicks came rushing back and he panted as he slumped forward. The creature caught his weight effortlessly, which didn’t help his growing arousal. And to a non-human at that! Creatures needed to be added to list of kinks, stat.

Nervous on account of his quickly rising predicament, he started babbling. “Wow. That’s a really great tongue you have there. What’s your name? Do you even have one? Can you speak? Guess I never told you mine, either. I’m Shang Qinghua, pleased,” he moaned, “T-t-to meet your acquaintance.”

It pulled back, a delicate trail of saliva trailed from his neck to its glossy lips. A full-sized shiver wracked through him. “How about I-I give you a name then, hmm? How about Mobei?” That was presuming that it came from the cove but he found that the title suited it.

With a quick blink, it went back to his neck and its claws dug into his hips where its hands were wrapped around his hips.

The claws, the amphibious appearance, the abundance of muscles…they all furthered his excitement.

Once again, it pulled away. That time, however, it merely turned its focus downward towards Little Qinghua, who was hardened to full mast. At first, it sniffed him, nudging his legs apart with its head, but that soon turned to grabbing him.

“Hhha! Mobei!” The way the claws dug in combined with the tight suction of the hand pumping his cock had him rolling his hips up in tandem with the creature’s pumps.

Exhilaration spread all through his body, turning everything hot and pliant. This was completely different from his solo sessions made him feel. Instead, he felt like the main love interests in one his novels with all the attention given to him.

He forgot that he was dealing with something that wasn’t strictly human.

Something blunt and heavy bumped against his legs. With bated breath and greedy eyes, he glanced down and it was official: Mobei was most definitely a he.

Qinghua could’ve orgasmed right then and there

He had not one, but two magnificent cocks. They were stacked one on top of each other and were smooth, so very smooth, like popsicles he needed to have him in mouth, like, right then. They matched the same dark coloring his other extremities. Every time Mobei canted his hips, his cocks would also thrust up, heavy, solid things that felt like a soda cans pressing into him.

Just saying cocks in the plural had him loosing him mind.

Gods. You know what. Fine.

He was giving in. Throwing in the towel. Waving the white flag of surrender. He had asked for a man and the universe had come through, for once. Mobei was close enough to the description. Who was he to complain?

With a herculean effort, he tugged him to the cot, determined to grind and fuck to his heart’s content when the creature went still. He cocked his head ever so slightly. He clicked his teeth again but the click sounded louder than the last time.

Whatever he sensed, he must not have liked it. With a hard parting stare, Mobei turned and disappeared from the tent before Shang Qinghua’s fog addled brain comprehended what was happening.

In the few seconds it took him to realize that he had been abandoned, he was unable to find any trace of the humanoid anywhere outside.

Highly disgruntled, he plopped down on the cool ground and pouted.

The disgruntlement only grew when a small group, headed by Shen Qingqiu, ran over with flashlights. “Shang Qinghua!” he shouted when he saw him sitting in the dirt. “Are you okay? I heard screams.”

Shit. They were probably why his almost-lover beat tracks back into the cove without so much as a good bye.

“What? What’s with that look? Are you hurt?” Shen Qingqiu’s voice was stern but his touch was gentle as he looked him over for major injuries.

“I hate you,” he said. “Why can’t the rest of us enjoy some romance, too, huh?”

Cucumber bro was clearly confused if the way he snapped his fan open was any indication.

“It was the chance of a lifetime, dude. A lifetime! You owe me big!”

“Fine, fine. Why were you screaming though?”

He huffed and turned his check. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Recognizing that he was alright, aside from the minor marks on his neck that he hid well under with his long hair, the group wandered back to their own shelters at his insistence. When they all left, even cucumber bro, he sighed with determination.

Now that he knew about the hot creature nearby, he was determined to find him again, so that they could finished what they started. He’d have to be sneaky, for once in his life, but it would be worth it when Mobei banged him into next week.

#svsss #svsss fanfic #moshang #shang qinghua #mobei jun

[uwua3]

if it's ok 😳👉👈 i really love your writing and i've had this idea in my head for awhile but i can't get myself to write it on my own 🤔 i wanted to see how your spin would be on it- so can i request a prompt where reader gets jealous of tenma's co-actress in a romance and tries to mimic what she does to him in a show they're in?? ty!!! 💕💕💕 i look forward to your interpretation

thank you so much for requesting~ ♡ i love you sososo much; i hope this lives up to everything you’ve dreamed of! ♡ ～('▽^人) i LOVE YOU!!! <333

summary: when tenma lands a role in your favorite drama, he had one goal: to become your favorite actor

warnings: envy/jealousy, food mentions, rivalry (all covered briefly!)

author’s note: after learning everything there is to know about the k-drama, true beauty, on tik tok, i’ve decided to write this! for context, the only thing i recommend watching before reading this is watching the “roar” scene!

this is also the first time i’ve introduced made-up characters with names! please enjoy jun, the first character who isn’t canon to the a3!verse :D

word count: 3,768

music: like a movie – b1a4

pretty u!

🌻☀️ sumeragi tenma

what the heck was love, and why did he have to be in it?

sumeragi tenma, future “world’s best actor”, was suddenly... seeing why he hadn’t won that award yet. with a script in his hand and confusion in another, tenma read the title of the next drama he landed the role for

“PRETTY U...” it was japan’s next major love story, advertised on every social media platform possible with the all-star cast in the spotlight already. although it had already been out for a season, tenma was entering as the up-and-coming newest character of the series

tenma was boyish, young, and much too confident for his age—perfect for the role of a second-lead bad boy who was going to steal the heart and test the protagonist’s commitment

except... he didn’t actually want to take up a new project so soon. he only did because—

“what?! you’re going to be chan on PRETTY U?!” he proudly nodded and watched as you began ranting about how much you loved this show. there was only one reason he came to the audition: tenma wanted to star in your favorite television series

you always went on and on about how great everything about PRETTY U was. after hearing so much and pretending not to listen (even if he could practically explain the entire plotline now without watching it), tenma let himself become a fan, too

after all, how could he not be a fan when you loved PRETTY U so much?

tenma didn’t respond to his manager’s pleas until one day, you revealed another reason why PRETTY U was your favorite production: the main lead

“he’s so handsome~ i love him so much!” “do you know him? could you get me his number?” “look at him... he’s the most perfect actor in the business right now—ah, sorry ten!”

tenma scoffed every time, claiming he could most certainly do better than that hotshot. although the boys typically didn’t do the same type of television, he had become tenma’s #1 rival without even knowing it

besides... what did that guy have that tenma didn’t? he was just nice! sure, he held open the door for the lead, bent down to tie her shoes, bended over backwards just to be the perfect boy-next-door. yeah... even he couldn’t pretend anymore

tenma pouted at the thought, skimming over his next pilot episode for rehearsal tomorrow. he was too good to be real, after all, he was meant to end up with the lead girl anyways (spoiler alert!)

but, it didn’t matter how perfect that actor was! because tenma had gotten the role of “chan”, the leather-jacket wearing mystery with an actual heart of gold, and he was going to make the entire audience swoon

(though, tenma just wanted to make your heart skip a beat when he ended up on the big screen)

tenma would never admit how fast he checked his phone when he felt it buzz in his pocket. sure, it was unprofessional during rehearsal but he knew it was you. however, his smile dropped the moment he read what you sent

you: remember to tell him how much i love him!

tenma: hah... no good luck for your new bad boy?

you: you know i’ll always root for you, ten!

tenma: but, i’m better than that actor, right?

tenma watched his message get delivered and was about to keep bothering you until someone called his name like they were friends. speak of the devil...

that actor’s straight, white toothy smile made tenma stand a little straighter (damn it, tenma was shorter), eyes wide as the actor gracefully introduced himself as his co-star for the next month or so (how did his voice sound even better in person?!)

“good morning, tenma! my name is jun, i’m so honored to meet a fellow actor on set! let’s work together well!” were they... really the same age? tenma barely registered the fact he was suddenly shaking jun’s (right, that’s his name) hand. why did he have such a manly grip?

tenma quickly (to his dismay) found out that him & jun had entered the industry around the same time but often had different projects, so they were never featured in the same production before. apparently, that was creating quite a buzz in the media that two childhood stars were competing against one another

a competition that tenma couldn’t lose. he was going to be your favorite actor, not his rival!

jun, like the perfect gentleman everyone described him to be, showed tenma around the PRETTY U set. jun had nothing but good things to say about the crew and vise versa. that only reinforced how tenma was oddly much more quiet than he usually was. luckily, one of the talents of being an actor was improvising, so jun was doing just fine

when they had reached the dressing rooms, jun shot a bright smile at tenma and gestured to the rather large room

“we’ll be sharing a dressing room together, tenma! we’ll be spending a lot of time together!”

tenma suddenly regretted his decision to become chan of PRETTY U. you couldn’t have had a different favorite show?! anything but... this

there were now three main characters for PRETTY U: hoshi, yuri, and chan, creating a love triangle for millions of viewers to watch every week

nakamura jun, leading role, played “hoshi”, the boy-next-door. this is the popular boy at school with the best grades and an even greater reputation amongst everyone. next, uedo ren, one of japan’s rising female actresses of this generation. she is adored as “yuri”, the perfect girl. she is the typical nerd who suddenly transformed into the prettiest girl at school from learning make-up

last (but definitely not least!) is sumeragi tenma, playing “chan”, the bad boy. it was nothing like tenma’s done before, since the character was much less expressive than he was used to. chan is a traditional rebel who is revealed to have a soft side for yuri. but, chan (ironically enough) has a secret history with hoshi, causing tension in this already confusing love triangle

(embarrassingly enough, jun had to explain to tenma the complications and ties between each character. tenma, unfortunately, found it to be extremely helpful)

even with this newfound knowledge of the characters in season 2, tenma couldn’t help but absolutely ruin the first day of rehearsals. even with a decade or so of acting as his experience, one thing kept him from being chan: his lack of chemistry with “yuri”

“cut!” the director called out again for the nth time, sighing as their eyes landed on tenma, who was not enjoying being the center of attention this time, surprisingly

“take 5, kid. once you come back, i expect you to actually go through this scene without messing up your lines.” tenma nodded and exited quickly, feeling flustered from the looks of sympathy directed his way. usually, it was one-and-done. it didn’t take a hundred tries just to do another romantic and cliché scene

tenma exhaled loudly once he felt the fresh air upon his face. without the fear of cameras in his face anymore, tenma ran his hand through his hair with a frustrated kick at the concrete. come on! he was renown child actor sumeragi tenma, why was he so in his head now?

tenma was about to yell into the sky before he heard someone close the door, standing beside him with their usual silence. tenma didn’t even have to look to know it was jun (probably with the most pitiful look ever)

“tenma? are you okay?” jun waited as tenma tried to not say anything he’d regret, shifting his weight on his foot back and forth before relenting, shrugging as if it couldn’t be helped

“i don’t know... i just, i can’t see yuri that way. how am i supposed to flirt with someone i don’t even like?”

jun pondered the thought for a moment, before tilting his head, a boyish smile overtaking his features. tenma unwillingly relaxed; jun finally looked his age

“who do you like then?”

tenma froze, a blush even foundation couldn’t hide blossoming on his cheeks. jun let out a teasing “oooh!” as he nudged tenma with his shoulder, who pushed back with an eye-roll

“i-it’s not like that! don’t be so—ugh!” tenma cut himself off, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding jun’s knowing eyes. damn it, they barely knew each other. why was he getting so comfortable with his enemy?!

“well, whoever you thought of, imagine yuri as them.”

“is that what you do?”

jun shrugged, not giving a clear answer for once. before tenma could ask for more information, their break was over

when tenma returned to the scene, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. when he opened them again, he watched as yuri transformed into the one person he’s been trying to impress this entire time: you

when “you” smiled, tenma couldn’t help but follow along. his first-take after break made the cut for the final product

“you must really like them, tenma~” — “stop!!!”

filiming afterwards became easy, especially when he imagined all his romantic words were directed towards you. he could feel the clamminess of his hands, the rapid beat of his heart, the intense blush across his face, all at the thought of you

(the only time he had to start over was when he accidentally said your name instead of yuri’s)

tenma was sure he’d become your favorite actor now! after all, you were his favorite person

“will you watch the first episode of PRETTY U’s season 2 with me?”

you had never said yes so fast in your entire life. when tenma learned there’d be a cast-viewing of episode 1 after finishing the season, he knew his +1 invite could only go to the biggest fan of the show

throughout filming, you were always the person who got him in trouble when the text tone wasn’t put on silent. you liked spamming tenma with a bunch of supportive and encouraging messages when you were available, meaning tenma always had something to look forward to after each scene

in return, tenma would send a selfie of him with his castmates or the set (or, what he was allowed to show under his contract). yet, despite your constant pleas, there was one co-star he’d never take a photograph with: jun

(“tenma! we’ve worked together for months~ shouldn’t i be called your friend now?” “no—” “huh?! don’t pretend you don’t like me!” “who said i was pretending?” “tenma!”)

at first, tenma was apprehensive about inviting you to an event where jun’s picture-perfect face would be on display everywhere. but, whenever he saw you, the weight of the tickets suddenly felt much heavier in his pocket. he couldn’t deprieve you of such an exclusive event just because of his jealousy (even if he was this close to doing so)

when tenma impulsively asked three days before, it felt worth it when you threw your arms around him (he hugged you back and pretended this meant something to you)

“i love you, ten!”

tenma felt like he was on set again, with yuri’s arms tightly holding onto his heart

“i love you, too.”

even after saying it so many times, tenma meant it even if he didn’t say it to your face every time

you looked like the star of the show

tenma fixed his tie as his blazer suddenly felt too tight. you appeared in your most formal attire, looking like a million bucks as you two sat across each other in the limo

“ten, look at all of this!” you pointed out every little thing of preparing for a professional event. the little glasses of champagne neither of you two could drink sat to the side as the leather seats molded to fit your posture. as the night lights of tokyo blurred by, tenma couldn’t help but think you sparkled more than this diamond of a city

“i can’t wait to go see the first episode! thank you for inviting me.” you bowed your head, as if suddenly overcome with gratefulness. tenma lightly kicked your shoe with his, fondly rolling his eyes as he tried not to smile (mission failed)

“don’t worry about it, who else would i bring? you’re my favorite pe—friend. friend, yeah...” tenma trailed off, suddenly finding something very interesting outside of the window. you only nodded, seemingly more interested in the fact there was enough room to walk around

when tenma caught sight of the infamous red carpet laid out in front of the theatre, he cleared his throat and put on his best face for the cameras. after stepping out of the car with his bodyguards nearby, tenma turned and gave you a genuine smile. not his typical arrogant smirk the news source ate up, but a type of smile only reserved for you

when he held out his hand, the flashing lights behind him seemed like a real celebrity, something you had never considered him to be before. it was like seeing tenma in a new light (both literally and figuratively)

“shall we?” you took his hand and wondered if you could ever have your own j-drama. perhaps, tenma could even be the main lead...

before you could step off to the side, tenma already had his arm wrapped around your waist with his unchanging expression (however, underneath it all, he was internally freaking out. what was he going to do now?!)

“you’re my date, right? walk the red carpet with me.” tenma winked (you swore it sparkled) as he gestured towards the carpet ahead. suddenly, the line seemed much longer

“t-ten... you’ve never brought a date before...” you mumbled, acutely aware of how soon it was to walk down together. tenma’s arm stiffened, but nothing else exposed the revelation as he looked down at you

“you’re my first, then.” and my last, tenma thought to himself. before you could change your mind, it was showtime. tenma put on his movie star face and introduced you to familiar interviewers, smiling away as if you two weren’t panicking on the inside

while you were focusing on the fact you were going to be going viral as tenma’s first “date” to the event, tenma was trying not to blush from how close you were. you felt... right besides him

tenma was a natural in front of an audience waiting for him to make a mistake. he flawlessly answered every question with swaggering confidence, his stride easy and poses photogenic

you did your best to follow his lead but it all ended when tenma took you into the theatre, staring down at you with a bright smile

“we did it! see, told you we’d be just fine.” tenma let out an exhale of relief, glowing with joy from the adrenaline of everything that came with being a superstar. as you looked up into his excited eyes, you saw him lean down before—

“your arm is still around me.”

silence, then a hurried separation as tenma put too many feet between you two. it was suddenly as if you two were strangers. you regretted the words the moment they left your mouth; you didn’t mind at all... why did you say something?!

“um... so, food?” tenma spoke up after an eternity of making excuses. you two quickly moved to the line of movie snacks, using candy and popcorn to substitue the suddenly awkward silence

when tenma ordered all your favorites without even asking, he turned around with the selection only to close his eyes and internalize every single thing he was feeling because there he was, his worst enemy

jun entered from a side door, most likely finishing up helping the crew with set-up (and 30 minutes early as usual) before catching tenma’s iconic bright orange hair, a grin lighting up his face

“tenma! it’s me, jun!” he said, as if they weren’t the two main leads of japan’s most famous drama so far. immediately, your smile matched jun’s as you watched as your favorite actor of all time make his way towards you two

“jun... of course you’d be here.” tenma said through gritted teeth, forcing a pleasant smile even with an armful of junk

“ah, still keeping the bad boy attitude? we’re off set now, you can stop method acting now.” jun joked, bringing his attention to you with a dazzling smile that would absolutely make any fansite’s career

“oh? who is this, a friend of yours?” tenma tried not to sigh so loud when you couldn’t help yourself and burst into a long rant about how amazing jun was. tenma waited until you reached your midpoint and stopped you with a quick nudge, trying not to scream (could jun stop being so... perfect? could you stop being so cute?!)

when tenma introduced you, he stood a little closer as he tried to maintain his jealousy. “they’re my date, by the way.” no one had asked, but tenma was clearly telling anyone who was around you two had gone together

jun’s eyes lit up in recognition as he let out a noise of surprise. “ah~ so this is who you—”

tenma didn’t regret losing his giant popcorn so fast to a co-star who could only be silenced with food. his wallet could afford another one, anyways. his pride on the other hand? could not let you know his acting secret already

“what was jun going to say?” you asked after you two departed for the viewing room. tenma nonchalantly pretended like everything was okay as he guided you to front row

“probably something about the fact you’re the one who always interrupts our scenes.”

“hey! my texts make your day, don’t lie!”

“go sit down and eat already, jeez.”

when it began, your eyes couldn’t leave the screen. it was better than you could have imagined. everything was perfect, it exceeded the standards of even the toughest fans out there. you loved every second of it... except...

tenma was too good at being chan. even with his bright hair, the dark clothes he wore made him appear intimidating, with his sharp eyes and even sharper smirk. chan’s appearance was tough, rough, and mean, everything tenma wasn’t

yet, you still couldn’t help but feel your heart sink when chan was clearly in love with yuri. yuri was one of your favorite characters by far, but she ended up bothering you for the entireity of the episode

especially every time she shared a scene (which were many times) with chan. chan was revealed to be a bad boy with a heart of gold, all with a special soft side for yuri

what was this feeling? were you... no, you couldn’t be! after all, you had never seen tenma that way before, right? yet, every time chan made an exception for yuri, you felt sick to your stomach

was it possible that tenma liked the actress who played yuri? you snuck a glance at tenma, only to see he was looking at you already (he’d never admit it, but he was watching your reactions to see if he made you proud. yet, every time you saw him, you subconsciously frowned)

were you not proud of him? did you not like his performance as chan?

before tenma could ask you, the scene changed into one of chan’s. he was standing outside in the school uniform, his head ducked as he swiped through yuri’s social media. before he could look up, yuri jumped in front of him with a teasing smile

“roar!” she called out, referring to their inside joke earlier in the episode. yuri cutely bounced back with another roar, holding her hands up like paws. chan watched, his typical rock-hard expression breaking to reveal his developing feelings for yuri

later on, chan stopped yuri in the hallway, other students watching as the school’s bad boy and goddess interact

“do that again.” chan demanded to which yuri innocently tilted her head, confused like a little puppy. “do what?” “that... that thing.” when chan roared, tenma sunk into his seat with an embarrassed defense and explanation ready. but, when he looked, you finally cracked a laugh at his little roar

your smile only fell when yuri roared again as a joke, but chan smiled for once. tenma wondered why... he thought you would be so happy to be here with him. maybe, he’d never be better than jun...

when the episode ended, it took a moment before you stood up and clapped. tenma followed along, but all he could think about was how he let you down. not only as chan, but as your boy, too

when you two left the room, you two hung back to watch as everyone congratulated one another on the success of the production. in the midst of the cheer and celebration, tenma felt small as he watched your blank expression

what did he do wrong? he put his best efforts into every scene; he might even say it was his best work yet. before he could apologize, you did the unthinkable: you roared

you jumped up into his face, holding your hands up like yuri did. when yuri did it, tenma didn’t feel a thing. but, when you did, tenma felt it. the butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he stared at you, frozen in place

“this is the part where you ask me to do it again.” you shyly trailed off, about to put your hands down before tenma weakly put his hands up, knowing he was about to regret his next move (if the embarrassment didn’t kill him, he didn’t know what would)

“roar!”

that was too loud, wasn’t it? the room suddenly went a lot more quiet as they turned their attention towards a teen actor roaring at his date

“yah! why didn’t you ask me the next line?”

“b-because... i know i like you even without you doing, that, again.”

you paused, taken back by his honesty. as tenma contemplated just falling onto the floor right then and there, you suddenly hardened your expression, standing up straighter with your arms crossed

“do that again.”

“do what?”

“that thing.”

when tenma roared again, much quieter this time, you nodded as you finally smiled genuinely for the first time ever since that episode started

“good, i know how chan feels now. i like you, too.”

“does that mean i’m your favorite actor now?”

(when jun released a video of tenma roaring online, he captioned it with “ROAR = ILY!!!” tenma realized maybe he wasn’t all that bad, but still)

#sumeragi tenma #tenma sumeragi #a3! act! addict! actors! #a3! #act! addict! actors! #a3! actor training game #a3! headcanons #act! addict! actors! headcanons #mankai a3! #mankai company #a3! x reader #a3 x reader #tenma x reader #a3! tenma #a3 tenma

[chalkrevelations]

OK. Moving on, slowly but surely, Episode 2 of Word of Honor.

For anyone only just peeking inside my door, this is a re-watch, so there are SPOILERS not just for this ep, but possibly for the ENTIRE SHOW. Scroll away and come back later if you haven’t seen all 36.5 eps and want to watch it unspoiled.

So, the major thing that hit me during this episode: On re-watch, with context, Wen Kexing’s thirst is now super-complicated by the fact that he thinks he’s recognized the Siji Manor Swift Moving Steps™ from A-Xiang’s throwdown with Zhou Zishu at the end of Ep 1. He gets his confirmation in this ep when he goads ZZS into their first fight, in Chengling’s (badly green-screened) peach-blossom front yard. This complicates the stalking and the flirting, particularly the poetic references WKX uses here to talk about ZZS’s footwork, giving it a level that ZZS (along with the audience, back on our first time watching) simply doesn’t have the context to understand yet. (Well. ZZS not getting all the info that WKX has. That’s the start of a pattern. I mean, at this point, WKX certainly doesn’t owe this random guy a peek into his deepest traumas - EVEN THOUGH it would make things about 10000x less complicated, which is also part of the pattern - but I’m just sayin’. It sure is the start of a pattern.) So ZZS blows off WKX as a PUA asshole with an apparent kink for rough trade with appalling facial hair - just like all of us, as the audience, at this point, were beginning to watch open-mouthed at the speed and intensity of WKX’s thirst for some apparently random dude who he spotted tits out, drinking himself to death in the gutter. Don’t get me wrong, WKX is still thirsty as hell, and he was out to tap that even before he saw the Siji Manor Swift Moving Steps™, but now it’s all mixed up in memories of his shixiong that we won’t see, and ZZS won’t know about, for several more episodes. WKX’s still not sure this is the same guy, but it’s at least an associated guy. So our additional context from later episodes now makes it look like all the stalking isn’t just about having the hots for some rough trade who keeps flashing his collarbones, it’s also about regaining a kind of emotional intimacy that WKX hasn’t had for umpty years of trauma and abuse and killing his way up the ladder. This specific flavor of emotional intimacy isn’t something he can get from A-Xiang, even if she saves his heart – this random drunk dude is triggering some memories (that we won’t see for several more episodes) of feeling protected and cared for, unconditionally, and this guy is literally the only person left in the world who could/can make WKX remember those kinds of feelings. And WKX chases it like he’s starving, because he is. Because anyone in his position would be. Prince Jin will eventually do the same kind of thing to ZZS, grabbing onto him like a drowning man at the only thing he thinks will keep him afloat.

Also, WKX may have had slightly more home training than A-Xiang, but he’s had a lot more – and more recent - grooming by a psychopath. I remember reading somewhere that Zhou Ye talked about how A-Xiang seems slightly off, not quite right in the way she acts, at the beginning of the show, and this was a deliberate acting and directing choice because she was raised in the Ghost Valley, literally doesn’t know how to act right in normal society, and has to learn how as the show goes along. I feel like we see some of that with WKX, too, not just in the hard sell with ZZS, but also in some of his mannerisms and reactions – less so than when he’s playing it up in the Ghost Valley, but still noticeable. I think you can see this in the aftermath of the fight with the ghosts, when both WKX and A-Xiang are watching the reactions from and interactions among ZZS, Chengling and Boat Man, and they both seem kind of ... baffled? Occasionally taken aback? At normal reactions that the other three are having to events. When you set them together in that scene, it’s noticeable, particularly with the way A-Xiang keeps checking in with WKX as if to say, really? This is how humans act? It’s little things that on my first time watching, I initially wrote off to …. not necessarily bad acting, but to overacting, to Gong Jun maybe not being quite settled into WKX’s skin yet, that smoothed out as Gong Jun got more comfortable with the character and with playing off of Zhang Zhehan and seemed more ... natural. NOW, I wonder if this also was deliberate, if this is WKX not being quite settled into a human skin, which smooths out as he gets more comfortable in acting human again and in being around ZZS and Chengling. But meanwhile, he’s like a starving feral dog who’s spotted a piece of meat, and I chose every bit of that metaphor specifically, because psychologically and emotionally, that’s what’s going on, and it’s the way ZZS reacts to him, too.

ZZS is already gun-shy and touch-averse at this point (see the moment he jerks his hand out from under WKX’s hand at 31:20, while they’re both transferring energy to Boat Man) – he just wants to be left alone to die, is that so gd hard? - it’s clearly a trial for him to have to even be around this many nattering idiots. But I also have to think some of the instincts that made him so successful and kept him alive for so long in Tian Chuang have to be screaming at him, every time this rando approaches him, that something is not right about the guy. And even when you’re as suicidal as ZZS is right now, instinctive behavior is hard to overcome, and we see how quickly he steps back away from WKX, at 12:58, when WKX steps close enough to invade his personal bubble. At the same time, everything in WKX is screaming at him to plaster himself to this guy. And so, we set up the constant WKX push, ZZS retreat that we’ll get for several more episodes.

Other thoughts:

Chengling got the spirit I guess, but my lord. He gets beat down and gets his sword took about 5 times in the space of a minute and a half. Good thing his Xiang-jie is there. (Have mentioned how much I love A-Xiang? I just want to be sure everyone knows how much I love A-Xiang. Already. She is a fierce, feral, ray of brightness in every scene she’s in.) Here’s the thing, though – knowing what we know now, I can’t believe not a single one of the Ghosts says “WTF, Amethyst Fiend, why are you making this difficult for us to get the Glazed Armor your zhuren wants us to get our hands on?” They MUST recognize her. Or is this a set-up that the ghosts are in on, to make Chengling and whoever’s with him trust WKX and A-Xiang? But who knew Chengling would even escape? And that seems unnecessarily convoluted when they could just kill him and Boat Man. Did the plan get tweaked when ZZS showed up? If so, I can just imagine what these rank-and-file ghosts are thinking about what WKX wants this kid and this guy alive for, given they don’t know he’s trying to destroy the Ghost Valley – maybe that WKX’s going to do the same thing to Chengling that was done to him by the previous Ghost Valley Master. (Oh. Oh, although - here’s an AU thought – what if ZZS hadn’t turned up at just this particular moment? And what if WKX had intended to kill Chengling, too, along the rest of his family (I mean, presumably this IS what was supposed to happen)? But what if this Ghost Valley Master - whose heart has been fatally compromised by A-Xiang – sees this little soft-hearted soft-eyed dumbass, with his parents and everyone else he knows and loves dead and on fire around him? What if he does end up collecting another kid, at that point? THEN WHAT HAPPENS? Complicated by the fact that WKX’s got emotional skin in the game from jump, in this scenario, but Chengling knows up front about WKX’s part in the Mirror Lake massacre.)

OH MY GOD. I had to watch the same four seconds of footage about five times to try and figure out what’s going on, but there’s a point during the fight with the ghosts when ZZS is still having his Seven Nails Torment Moment, and Boat Man is busy dying, and Chengling is, well, Chengling has been beat down and had his sword took, and meanwhile A-Xiang is dealing with one of the ghosts, and another one’s coming up behind her, getting ready to brain her with his sword. And then at 29:01, it looks like he gets yoinked backward, and he goes crashing through a door, but then there is – I swear to god, y’all – a shot of two walnuts (remember those?) falling on the ground near him, and I guess the implication is that WKX, still hidden in the shadows, knocked him backward by throwing a couple of Walnuts of Death at him? Who knew Wolong’s Famous Nuts were crispy, delicious, and good for self-defense?

Oh, WKX. “Zhou Xu.” It’s so close, isn’t it? So close to “Zhou Zishu.”

Second ZZS/WKX physical fight happens over ZZS insisting that WKX leave Chengling tf alone and stop trying to see his injury. Well, there’s the beginning of another pattern.

#wen kexing #zhou zishu #gu xiang #zhang chengling #gong jun #zhou ye #word of honor #word of honor episode reax

[pakhnokh]

“Well, you’ll be staying here for a while, little lady.” Wei Wuxian said as they entered the house. “Yours will be the room on the left.” It was the room kept for guests. Lan Sizhui visited them sometimes and slept there. The farther from the room on the right the better, since, after all, it was their own room, and the things wangxian did in their own room. Well.

And so it began. At first nothing seemed out of the ordinary. MianMian was quite the quiet girl and she usually stayed in her room and played, while Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji attended their own matters, but always keeping an eye on her. The funny thing was that even though Wei Wuxian was more easy going, (as opposed to Lan Wangji who still stuck to the Gusu rules of “no running” “no talking while eating” etc), Little MianMian always turned a cold shoulder to him and obeyed everything Lan Wangji said with a nod, her big eyes shining. When they went outside, to the market for example, she would always stick to Lan Wangji’s side. While having to cross a busy street full of carts and horses and cows, MianMian refused to hold Wei Wuxian’s hand, and exclaimed that she wants to hold only Hanguang Jun’s hand. “Aiya Lan Zhan, it’s not fair! What am I doing wrong? It’s not new to me that she likes you more, but to this extent? I joke around and play with her and she just sits there with a grumpy face, and all *you* have to do is give her one of your looks and she’s running after you like a little puppy. Lan Zhan, I’m jealous and I don’t know of whom of you two exactly.” He sighed deeply. Lan Wangji caressed his back and kissed him on the temple.

The more the days passed, the more MianMian got used to her new “parents”, and she even started to be more talkative. One morning as she was playing in the main room, with Lan Wangji busy writing a report and Wei Wuxian playing the flute, she suddenly said: “I want to play.” The flute melody stopped. “Hmm, but you’re already playing.” She pointed at the two of them “With you.” “Ohhh” Wei Wuxian got down from the windowsill. “what do you want to play then?” “Family.” He laughed. “Alright! Hanguang Jun did you hear that? Fine, but I’m warning you I’m not gonna be the mother, so – What, Lan Zhan? Why are you looking at me like this? Huh! Suddenly you’re interested in what we’re saying.” “No.” MianMian said. “You’re not going to be the mother, I will be the mother!” It was so obvious to her. “And he’s going to be the father.” She pointed at Lan Wangji. “Oh. Alright. Then who will I be?” “You can be the kid”. “I can be that! But I’m warning you I’m a very problematic kid. Think you can handle that, a-niang?”

“hmph.”

“Just ask if you don’t believe me! Don’t I behave really bad, a-die~~?” a snap was heard. “Hmm, it seems a-die broke his brush. You see, I told you. I already got on his nerves. I bet he also wants to punish me, right a-die?”

“Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji warned him. His tone was serious, but strained. Ink splattered over the page he was working on and over his fingers because of the broken brush. His earlobes already tinted with a shade of pink. “I will bring you a handkerchief!” Miammian suggested, sensing that her new husband clearly isn’t pleased with the other man, and wanting to take the opportunity to shine.

She ran into her room to fetch it while Wei Wuxian glanced at Lan Wangji, smirking. Lan Wangji wasn’t amused – his eyes held fire.

Mianmian came back with the promised object and handed it to Lan Wangji: “here you go, darling.” “Hey! Woah! Where did you learn to say things like that, MainMian?”

“Mother! I am mother!” she corrected him and explained at the same time. “So this is what mother calls father!”

Lan Wangji finished wiping his hands and, not passing Wei Wuxian a single look, turned to MianMian and said: “Thank you. Darling.”

Oh. Ohhhhhh so this is how they’re playing now, is it?

Since Lan Wangji was still busy with paperwork (he had to rewrite everything), it fit his father image quite well, so he didn’t really need to do much. However MianMian was trying her best to play the role of the mother: She moved furniture and vases here and there, making her movements loud on purpose. She watered the plants while singing a song.

Then she started kneading a floor pillow as if it was dough while reciting the recipe to her made-up cake out loud.

She is trying so hard to make Lan Zhan notice her, Wei Wuxian thought as he was doodling on the stack of paper she gave him as “homework”. He sighed. It reminded him that once there was another kid who tried to make the icy Lan-Er Gongzi to spare him a single glance. Time to awaken that kid. “A-NIANGGGGGG I’m hungry! Feed your miserable child!!”

“Shhh! I am not done making food yet!” “But a-niang you’ve been kneading that dough for so long, isn’t it ready yet?” “You are so annoying!” She scolded him “It’s gonna be done when I’m done!” “Is it done now?” “no.” “Now?” “NO.” “Well, is it done….” *breath* “now?” “NO!!!” “How about now, is it done yet?” “No! No! No! No! NOOOO!!!!!” “Alright.” He kept doodling. She kept torturing the pillow. “And what about n- HMMPH!!!!!” a blue glare shot straight to his lips. “Quiet, both of you. I can’t hear my own thoughts.” Lan Wangji said.

Oh sure, so you silence me but not her! Wei Wuxian folded his arms and turned his head to the side.

“Ah!! It’s ready now!” Mianmian took the pillow and brought it over to Lan Wangji. “Darling, would you try some?” “Not now, Mianmian, I’m working.” “But….” She pouted and her eyes shone as if she was about to cry “I made it especially for you!” Yeah sure and leave the baby starving!

Lan Wangji put down his brush and looked at her. “Alright.” Smiling widely, Mianmian took one of the brushes on the desk, dipped it into the pillow and offered her husband. Lan Wangji leaned closer, opened his mouth and took a bite of the air just millimetres away from the brush. “Mn. Very good. Mianmian is a very talented cook.” Oh damn. Wei Wuxian thought. This is unfair. VERY UNFAIR. Unbearably cute and unfair.

“Your wife!” Mianmian corrected him. “Right, my wife.” Your wife, huh? Well Hanguang Jun. Well. Wei Wuxian couldn’t believe he’s jealous of a little girl, but excuse him, he’s not been just reunited with Lan Wangji after years of absence, finally getting married with him, for him to call someone else his wife! Still unable to talk, Wei Wuxian stood up and went to their room. “Wei Ying?” Lan Wangji called after him but Wei Wuxian didn’t turn around. He entered the room and closed the door with a slam. Lan Wangji didn’t see this, but for a second, a spark shone in Mianmian’s eyes. Then she turned on her innocent face again. “He’s such a troublesome child, isn’t he?”

Lan Wangji just blinked. Later, when he opened the door to the room, Wei Wuxian was nowhere to be found. ~Meanwhile in the town market ~ Wei Wuxian: “Yes, yes, give me that one. And that one scarf over there. Is that a lotus hair pin? Yes, give me that.” Shopkeeper: “Ah, young master, your wife is really lucky! You sure get her only the best things!” “The best wife deserves the best things.” Wei Wuxian stated as he passed him the money from Lan Wangji's pouch. Part 1 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || Part 6

#mo dao zu shi #wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #mianmian #babysitting #fanfic #funny

[hoshi-u-love-me]

TTT

Group : Seventeen

Pairing : Seventeen × Reader

Genre : Drabble

Word count : 1.7k

Warning : Randomness, absurdity, 🐴이 안되는 컨텐즈, perverted tendencies (it's ok tho it's not harrassment)

a/n : I saw this one video where hannie literally stashed mentos and dalgona in his front overall pocket and I just !!!!!!! EUREKA

One thing you love about your friend group is that nothing ever happens twice. Meaning life is never boring. It is never flat. There is always something you can expect but you don't know what.

Kind of like anxiety.

But better.

So when Kim Mingyu came to your place, pack YOUR bag with YOUR clothes and YOUR other essentials and claimed that he's kidnapping you, you weren't even surprised.

He had taken every one to an impromptu road trip, going as far as renting a minibus without anyone knowing.

"Yah, Kim Mingyu, you forgot my phone charger!" You whined, throwing a crumpled piece of snack wrapper at him, who was driving.

He snaps his head in your direction for a split second before refocusing on the road, "I'm sorry, but you had a lot of things to begin with"

Chan, who was seated next to you, leaned in and whispered, "that and he was totally distracted by your drawer full of panties and bras" he smirked when he saw you widening your eyes in horror.

"Waaaaaaaaaah, Kim Mingyu is a pervert!" Jeonghan yelled from behind you, teasing the younger, "Kim Mingyu saw (Y/N)'s panties and he likes it!" He continued.

Mingyu stammered, trying to explain himself, "y-yah! No! I mean, I-I did saw it but- but- I was helping her! She wouldn't do it herself and someone has to do it! (Y/N)! You should be thankful of me, if I didn't pack them, you'd have no underwear for the rest of the trip!!" He yelled back.

This time, it was Jun who quipped at him, "so the choices were you seeing her undergarments or us knowing she's not wearing anything underneath? Mingyu-yah, you're selfish"

You groaned at their childish behaviour, "that's it! I'm looking for girl friends to hang out with"

You had hoped that would shut the conversation down but your poor choice of words only resulted in most of them ooh-ing you, "girl on girl action, nice" Seungcheol joked from the front seat next to Mingyu.

At Seungcheol's words, the car went to a whole new level of crazy.

It took 15 minutes before the subject of the conversation changed and boy were you relieved.

Seokmin leaned forward from his seat to tap on your shoulder, "(Y/N), I don't feel so good, do you have anything to help my nausea?" You reached into your bag, trying to look for anything that could help his carsickness but found nothing.

Before you can tell him the bad news though, Jeonghan who was seated next to him had shoved something to his hands, "here, I figured someone might be getting sick of MINGYU'S SHITTY DRIVING SKILLS," he yelled the last part to make sure Mingyu heard him, "so that should help"

"Anything for back pain, hyung?" Soonyoung quipped, "I think I pulled something during yesterday's practice" he pouted.

Jeonghan reached into his bag for a second before producing a patch that could help Soonyoung's problem, "don't worry, it's the brand you like that doesn't smell so bad" he said as he leaned back and hand the small item to the younger guy.

Chan got curious and decided to test Jeonghan, "what about something to nibble on? I think I'm kinda hungry" he said. Jeonghan raised an eyebrow at him, "you think you should snack right now? When we get to the town we're gonna have something to eat and it's in like- wait, Mingyu, how much longer 'till we get there?"

Instead of Mingyu, it was Seungcheol who answered him, "an hour and a half-ish, might as well get comfy back there" he said.

"See? Come on hyung, I'll be splitting some of the snack with (Y/N) anyways and I'll still be able to eat there!" Chan whined. Jeonghan was already convinced by Seungcheol's answer anyways so he thought, 'why not?' Before reaching back into his bag and took a bag of chips and handing it over to Chan, "but share with (Y/N), I don't want to lose my place as her favorite member" he said, winking at you when you turn your head towards him.

"Who said you're my favorite member? It could easily be Chan or Vernon since both of them have my back most of the times" you retorted at him which elicit a "yup yup, cool guys squad never dies" from Vernon at the very back while pumping his fist at you in which you returned. Chan on the other hand was laughing.

This time, Jeonghan raised an eyebrow at you, as if daring you to say more, "I said so because if you won't admit it, I won't lend you one of my chargers" he lifted up a phone charger from his bag.

You squinted your eyes at him and scoffed, "that's an iphone charger." He feigned a shocked look, going as far as putting a hand to his chest, "dear baby (Y/N), I am trully shocked that you don't think I know you at all" he shook his head with mock sadness.

It was until he reached back into his bag again and lifted up a type-C charger proudly with a smirk, "m'lady" he dangle the charger for a bit in front of your face before dropping it on your lap.

"Okay, no, you're right, you're my favourite member" you grinned and shot him a flying kiss which he pretended to catch and press to his heart.

"Woah, hyung, that's awesome! What else do you have in your bag?" Seokmin exclaimed, leaning closer to Jeonghan to take a peek inside his bag.

Jeonghan hummed and scanned the content, "basic things that you guys might need I guess, like... earplugs?" "Oop- that's for me I think" Minghao said from next to Vernon, making Jeonghan toss the items to him so he could sleep.

He then returned to name some other things which entices Seungkwan to say the least. "I bet you don't have EVERY 'basic needs' though" he scoffed, crossing his arms.

This made Jeonghan slightly offended. He turned in his seat to glare at the younger, "I so do!" "Nuuh, you couldn't have" "what if I do?" "Okay, if you have 5 items that I ask for then I'll pay for your next meal" "Done!" "Done!"

Seungkwan narrowed his eyes for a few momenta before clapping his hands, "ah, this, eyemask" Jeonghan took out two eyemasks from his bag before shoving it back in.

"That's easy... what about... masks?"

Jeonghan shoved his hands in and pulled out two items, "which one? Anti-covid or beautifying your face?"

You 'ooh'-ed at him, "oh yeah, we're DEFINITELY having a beauty night tonight" he said.

"Does that mean-"

You were cut off when he took out a jar of facemask that you both loved. Seeing the item in his hand made you squeal in delight.

"Damn it, that was my next guess," Seungkwan muttered under his breath, "okay so, I'll play fair and call it 3 out of 5... but next is... iphone earbuds!" He exclaimed, trying to trick his hyung since he knew his hyung uses a samsung phone.

(Not so) shockingly, he had one in his bag, holding it proudly.

While Seokmin and Soonyoung were whooping in excitement and wonder, Seungkwan was muttering curses under his breath.

Jeonghan looked extremely proud of himself, he had a grin permanently etched on his face which irked Seungkwan even more due to his smugness.

"Okay, okay, one more, you don't have this then I won't have to pay for your damn meal" he said. Jeonghan just shrugged and motioned for Seungkwan to go forth with his guess.

It took him a moment to think of something. Eyebrows were scrunched and eyes flitting, indicating that he's thinking hard.

A look of revelation suddenly appeared on his face. With a smirk, he bravely said, "sanitary pads"

The whole car 'boo'ed at him and his absurd guess. "That is just absurd!" Jihoon said, "hey, I played fair! He said anything!" Seungkwan retorted, defending himself.

Everyone was split between supporting Seungkwan's guess and saying that he was misusing the loophole, some were just straight up calling him nasty, in which you replied with, "how is it nasty ? YOU're nasty"

"Everyone, everyone!" Jeonghan called out, effectively shutting everyone up, "Seungkwan may have found a loophole and it is within his rights to use it, because let's be honest I would've too if I were him," he chuckled.

"However! What he did not realize is that I'm amazing" he smirked.

"No way..." Seungkwan said under his breath.

Jeonghan only nodded victoriously. He reached into his bag for the last time, grab the thing he wanted and held it up proudly.

The whole car went crazy.

Even the driving Mingyu got curious and looked back and forth between the back seat and the road ahead, earning a scolding smack from Seungcheol.

Seungkwan yelled out in disdain, screaming "this is unfair!" Multiple times.

"You forgot it's nearing (Y/N)'s time of the month and she seem to always have it at the most unconvenient time" he smirked.

This made you scrunch your face at him, "how did you know about my cycle??" "You seem to forget that I know a lot of stuffs about you" he smiled proudly. That didn't make you feel any better initially though.

You turn to look at Chan, "does he really know my cycle?" You asked. Chan nodded with a tight-lipped smile at you, "he remind everyone to take precautions whenever it's your period or nearing your period so that you wouldn't lash at anyone for being annoying, he even mark it on his calendar"

Now his constant sweet texts, food delivered, desserts bought, and hoodies lent during your period makes much more sense.

Knowing what you learnt, you look at Jeonghan with puppy dog eyes, batting your lashes at him, "awww you really do care about me don't you, Hannie ?" He squealed and grab your face in his hands, "awww of course I do, you're our baby, my baby" he spoke as if he was speaking with a baby.

Chan frowned at the sight before him, "I thought I was supposed to be the baby around here"

#kpop #seventeen #pledis #17 #seventeen scenario #kpop scenario #seventeen imagine #kpop au #seventeen au #mingyu #jeonghan #kpop seventeen #drabble #pledis seventeen

[the-music-maniac]

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR WORD OF HONOR EPISODE 35

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The thing about episode 35 of Word of Honor is that, objectively as a scene - it's cinematography and acting and emotional control - it's so well executed, I can't even truly be mad at how it conga line stomped all over my heart it.

Like the way they managed to control the tone of the preceeding scenes so well to lull the watchers into a false sense of security - everything is over and the tone of these episodes are so merry, nothing bad is going to happen probably -

The way the actions were executed when he goes to hold Cao Weining's head, the hope and happiness and trust in Cao Weining's face.

The faint sense of foreboding the watchers get as that embrace lasts for just a little too long, the hands placed just a little too strategically.

When y'know, it happens, the turn Cao Weining does from the momentum of the snap so that he's now face to face with Gu Xiang. He dies looking at her in her wedding clothes. And the framing of them facing each other in that one shot. The slow dawning of realization on Gu Xiang's face.

Then the resulting fury and heartbreak and resentment Gu Xiang experiences - God. Zhou Ye's acting there is so phenomenal. The emotions on her face and in her actions - she really went full out, and there was no attempt to look pretty in death like I see with a lot of cdramas, if anything how twisted her expression is in that moment is everything but pretty, and all the more compelling for it - how she's half crazed by it, and how just visceral and raw it all is, especially when she's screaming that she wants to kill him.

I wanna make a personal note here: the way I got into word of honor was actually because my mom would watch it in the living room and I would occasionally wander in, watch one or two episodes with her (not understanding all the aspects because there would be a LOT of skipped episodes - I think at one point I saw episode 5 and then when I next watched it with her she was on episode 20 something. And also no English subs - my mandarin is serviceable for casual convo but not anything more formal. I watched it with her mostly for her company, not the show itself) and so I didn't know anything about what was happening, and I didn't know any of the characters or have any emotional attachments to them when I saw episode 35. I bawled like a baby anyways, I cried for literally 30 minutes straight for a character I barely knew, because that's how strongly I felt her anguish and her absolute need to do this one last thing before she died, to take revenge for the person who took their happily ever after away and it just. Wow. Absolutely no words. I think the reason I legitimately sat down and binged word of honor is because of her acting - Gong Jun's and Zhang Zhehan's too actually, especially in Wen Kexing's role as an older brother, and Zhou Zishu's protectiveness - how you can feel how much they care for each other, even though it is not the focus of any of those scenes. All of that combined. I have no doubt I would've eventually watched it properly anyways even without seeing episode 35 once I realized how fucking gay it was ,but that scene really cemented it for me - like yeah. This is a well executed show. I need to properly watch it.

(Sidenote: it was not any easier watching that scene a second time after I made my way back up from episode 1 😅😅 if anything it was ten times worse)

And Gu Xiang's final words to Wen Kexing for him to take care of himself, and his response that he's her brother - help. Especially when he cuts the wedding decorations to be their funeral shroud, that scene just really emphasized the tragedy of the entire situation, how two people - kids if we're gonna be honest, like they're of age to get married obviously but they're what, 18?? 19?? - who became a casualty of a conflict that shouldn't have ever been their responsibility to solve, from the greed, pride, hatred and false righteousness of old men. The audacity.

The resulting battle between Wen Kexing and that wrinkly cockhead of a sect leader is, needless to say, pretty amazingly choreographed.

Yeah, this episode was basically just piling angst onto angst onto angst back to back - but it was executed so beautifully?? It was so visceral and real?? I low key hate that I can't even be truly mad at it! I can't!! What the fuck kinda scam -

Anyways, now that my thoughts have been put out there and become the rest of the world's problem as it were, I'm just going to completely ignore the fact that episode 35 exists. 10/10, phenomenal acting and directing and writing. It was beautiful. Would not cry over again.

They are happy and married and alive, the end.

#funeral who #all i know is happily married gu xiang and cao weining #word of honor spoilers #spoiler warning #spoilers for episode 35 of word of honor #shan he ling episode 35 #shan he ling #gu xiang #cao weining #xiangcao #caoxiang #wenzhou #zixing #zhou zishu #wen kexing

[excelsi-or]

welcome to svt (pt. 6)

Hello friends~~ I am three weeks into grad school and while the commute is exhausting, my classes are really interesting. We’ll see if I change my tune by the middle of October, but for now, I’m pretty happy. :)

But I’ve also been exhausted, hence why I haven’t posted the last two weeks and this one is quite quite short. So you’ll get two chapters today. :) The next chapter will be up this evening.

I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe and following whatever COVID guidelines your area is implementing. 

BIPOC rec: I actually have one for you guys! I’ve been pretty boring with the stuff I’ve been consuming. Mostly just been consuming the same shit over and over again, but I have started reading Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. I’m not that far into it, so I’m not 100% sure what it’s about yet, but I am enjoying it so far.  

chapter 6: burdened heart

w.c. 960 (lol this was shorter than I thought.)

ch. 1 | ch. 2 | ch. 3 | ch. 4 | ch. 5 | ch. 6

pairing: lee jihoon x OC/fem reader

The boys have been kicked out of the building so that she can video chat somebody. While she’s notorious for being secretive, Jihoon tends to be in the loop and not even he’s been informed. So, the boys reconvened in their second location. Since everyone is home for once, they’ve decided to play rounds of billiards.

From the other table, Seungcheol calls to Jihoon. ‘So, you have no idea who it is?’

Jihoon rolls his eyes, leaning on his pool cue. ‘No.’ He pauses for a moment. ‘But must be someone from her normal life. She’s been texting someone a lot lately.’

Hansol glances over. ‘Really? Who? She seems to not have really liked anyone from her past life besides her family.’

‘I didn’t know her before this,’ Jihoon retorts. ‘I don’t know.’

The boys can hear the edge in his voice. Jihoon’s protectiveness is already level ten, and now he can’t protect her.

‘We can check who she’s calling,’ Jeonghan reminds him. He hits the cue and watches his 7-ball roll into its pocket. He moves around the table to line up his next shot. ‘There’s enough people in the room who know how to do that.’

‘You know that she’s blocked all of us from doing that before she sat down for her call,’ Minghao snorts. ‘And she’s the best at it.’

Jihoon huffs.

‘Hyung, if you’re really that worried about it, you could just go home. She’s the best at hacking, but you’re the best at… sneaking,’ Chan reminds him.

The boys all quip their agreement. When Jihoon hands his pool cue to Mingyu, Jun tosses him his pair of car keys.

It takes him thirty minutes to get back to the apartment. The front door to the lobby is locked and she’s blocked all their key cards and pins to get in anyway. As he passes the front of the building, he can see the fake lobby that they decorated to deter people from entering. It’s grungy and dirty and is extremely effective. Around the back of the building, he passes the fake back door, which traps people who know that their lobby is fake.

Behind the building next door, there are a set of stairs, leading to a fake wall. Jihoon has to slide along the wall to wiggle to the real back door. A door that leads to a hallway, connecting the next door building to theirs.

He squats down in front of the lock and finds the small wire that sends off an alarm. The pair of them have rigged this door to high heaven, so luckily, he knows the tricks to get through. The only issue is it requires all of the alarms to be disarmed at the same time.

It takes him five minutes to MacGyver extra hands and scissors that he can cut in sync. The actual MacGyver show had given him the idea. Once the wires are cut, Jihoon opens the door and pauses to listen for the alarm. Nothing goes off and he’s able to make it inside. He shuts the door behind him and sets a reminder on his phone to reconfigure all the alarms once they’re allowed back into the apartment.

He stares at the lasers that Jun thought were necessary, though Jihoon is sure they’re just for the cool factor. Between Jun and Minghao, they just flip through the lasers. Jihoon is not so flexible. 

Sliding out of his jacket, Jihoon assesses the best way through. He tucks his shirt into his sweatpants before attempting. He slips under and over the lasers, his shorter stature making the process much easier. On the other side, he sets a reminder to also pick up his jacket.

From here on, it’s easy for him to make it home.

He can hear her in the kitchen. His vantage point gives him view of the island and the living room, but not her. Regardless, he can hear her pacing back and forth. There’s a bowl of fruit next to the laptop on the island that she seems to nervously be eating, though they make her tongue swell.

Jihoon makes sure his phone is on silent and texts to the members that he made it inside. They all congratulate him on getting through the security.

Minghao (18:09)

Maybe we should remember that he DID set up the security.

Jihoon (18:09)

It was still hard.

You should see the contraption I had to make.

[Img. sent]

Wonwoo (18:10)

Whoa. How did you manage that?

Jihoon (18:10)

Let’s just say that our neighbours throw out a lot of important stuff.

Jihoon looks over when she starts to sniffle. When he peers around the corner, her laptop lid is down, and her forehead is pressed against her clasped hands on the island. His instincts pull him out of hiding and he hurries over to her, scooping her into a hug. She fits into his embrace, her face burying into his chest. Her hands grasp at the back of his shirt, her breath coming out shaky. He can feel a twinge in his stab wound from the pressure of her body against him.

She doesn’t ask him how he got in. She knows how he got in. And eventually, she’ll want to see the contraption he built to do it. But right now, all she has to say is, ‘I thought I told you to leave.’

Jihoon holds her close and sways them back and forth. His chin rests on top of her head. Her grip on his shirt loosens, but she doesn’t pull away. Her damp cheek presses against him, and he hums her favourite song. ‘I just wanted to make sure you were okay.’

‘How much did you hear?’

‘Nothing. You must have been done when I got here.’ Jihoon hums a bit more. ‘Who were you talking to that has you like this?’

She doesn’t respond.

He doesn’t press. There’s no reason to do that before she’s ready.

#woozi #woozi imagines #woozi scenarios #woozi fic #Lee Jihoon #lee jihoon scenarios #seventeen scenarios #seventeen fanfic #seventeen imagines

[kangyeosaang]

#showyourprocess

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES — When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

thank you csenge @imdefs​ for tagging me to show how i made this set ✨

buckle up folks this is gonna be long bc min. character limit uni papers thought me a lot of things but def not how to be concise 

01. planning

this was a long time ago but i do remember wanting to make something with overlays bc quite honestly i started working on this way too late and it seemed the fastest lmao. jokes on me i had 2 failed attempts and this also went through some changes along the way. initially i wanted to combine dye, bol and present:you... them being my fave eras for this lovable dumb man. so it would’ve been one pair for each gif.

02. creating

picking footage

so onto creating,, first things first the concept had to be changed bc present:you only had light shots so that had to be removed rip, here you can see a failed attempt at me trying to include it. this was before i started making proof on concepts for gifsets which later on saved me so much time... but not this time

once i accepted defeat i had to reshuffle the shots and add some new ones but it was all good i was not losing braincells at all. so onto the real gifs, gonna show you the red one bc that’s my fave of the three. 

making the base

btw i’m always working with timelines and smart objects bc it feels way easier than frames. so here we started with this jaebeom, and since the background and his hair it’s pretty dark those will be the parts which will be covered with the next gif. i made it black and white and also adjusted the levels a bit to make it a bit softer (lowered the whites and lightened the blacks)

for aesthetic purposes i always go for one close shot and one wider shot, then literally all i did was add the other gif on top, and set it to lighten. okay this is it that’s the whole process bye. oh we need the rest too? okay okay. so btw for a while i was considering making both of them coloured but then bw looked better when having all three gifs under each other, felt more like a ‘set’

now for this gif in particular i did not need to mask anything, shocking, but for the others i had to either blend the edges or make the bottom layer darker at some places to let the top layer show up a bit more e.g. for the second gif i needed a tiny blending like so (it’s the layer 1 copy 3 lmao)

making the overlay bits

then we are basically done with the main part of the gifs, obviously i applied colouring to each inside the smart object. but i always like to add something extra on top which are usually two things: 1.) full overlay gif something blurred (literally any kind of footage.. i used leaves, water, space renders etc. so far), or a light leak, oooor a bokeh effect whatever and just keep it subtle. and 2.) some smaller moving bits which are usually sparkles, dust, stars, galaxy stuff etc. u get the idea. for the above gif this happens to be Layer 1 copy 2 rip. also in this case this overlay is actually this jaebeom footage blurred and with some colouring added on top of it to have this redish brassy tone (not me forgetting about this completely lmao) obviously it’s zoomed in and i’m using the top left part of the video blurred. look at me explaining my chosen gif with another gifs gahd i’m bad at this. anyways it just goes to show i use practially anything i can think of and just blur it. 

for the full overlay footage i either go black and white and set it to overlay or soft light, whatever works best, or go coloured and set it to lighten again.... whatever blending mode works best. for this specific 2nd gif i went with lighten. for the smaller moving bits same tbh i just adjust the levels/curves to only show the bits i need when it’s set to lighten, i.e. i make its background more black so it won’t make the gif hazy. 

 adding the text

so anyways i add those on top so it’s not boring anymore,, practically just concealing the fact that all i‘ve really done was adding a gif on top of another and set it to lighten rip. oh yeah we have the text layers, nothing fancy here: for the script i used Challenge and the serif is FogtwoNo5. For the script i sampled some red from the background and just set it to overlay, and for the serif i just went with full caps adding some extra kerning bc one: for full caps you always need that, not this much lol, and two: it just looks better okay. 

last touches

then i added a levels adjustment layer because i felt the gifs were a bit brighter than i wanted, so we ended up with this 

saviiiiiing 

oh my gahd we are almost theeeere, for saving gifs here are my settings, i did not have to tell photoshop which colours to use luckily so it was an easy process.

03. posting

eeehmmm posting... yeah nothing exciting? i just save it in my drafts check it on mobile, and if something is really messed up i’ll change some colouring and saving settings, but this was a fairly ‘easy’ gif for tumblr to compress decently so none of that. 

if you read this far bruh.... i don’t think i’ve made sense anyways thank yooouuu 💕

and the five amazing CCs i’m tagging are 

🎬 dear wifey, rosie @se-jun​​​​ for these victon posters which i definitely did not make her choose and we ended up with the same i would’ve chosen 🌈 vivi @yeekies​​​​ for making a rainbow from the mostly yellow blob that is the fireworks mv 💙 yv @woodzm​​​​ for this beauty where the blues are colourmatched so well it makes me mad 🌸 lotta @halahala​​​​ for this miracle of a gifset which made me not despise pink 🌈 bridget @lilacwoo​​​​ for this 12/10 rainbow right here because apparently i like rainbows. shocking.   

feel free to ignore and all them usual stuff

#tag game #showyourprocess #gif tutorial #i guess #ps* #hahahahah also let's all ignore the fact i told csenge i'd show her how i make these things and then i completely forgot about it #sooorryyyy im so dumb

[robininthelabyrinth]

Associates - Part 5 - ao3, pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4

“So,” Jiang Cheng said, rolling the jar of wine between his hands. “Who wants to put money on all our reconciliations being part of one of Nie Huaisang’s schemes?”

“Me,” Wei Wuxian said at once.

“Hey,” Nie Huaisang protested. “Jiang-xiong! Wei-xiong! How mean! Not everything I do is a scheme!”

“I will bet as well,” Lan Wangji said.

Nie Huaisang turned to him at once. “Lan Zhan. You traitor!”

“Be careful,” Lan Xichen said mildly. “He might bite you.”

Now it was Lan Wangji’s turn to turn to glare.

“No, no, unfair!” Wei Wuxian laughed. “He’s not allowed to bite anyone but me anymore!”

“Ugh, must you always –”

“I really didn’t scheme!” Nie Huaisang interrupted Jiang Cheng, waving his hands around. “I didn’t! Lan Zhan was the one who approached me, remember? I didn’t even know that he was acting as both Sect Leader and Chief Cultivator until he told me, and I certainly wouldn’t have counted on him coming to me for help – no one ever comes to me for help!”

“Clearly an oversight on all our parts, Nie-xiong,” Wei Wuxian said. “Anyway, who would’ve thought you’d take one little offhand remark from me so personally? Me, of all people! I never mean anything I say!”

Nie Huaisang huffed and reached for his fan, only for Lan Wangji to catch his hand mid-gesture and return it to his wine jar.

“I’m not a child in need of pacification, you know,” he informed Lan Wangji, but picked up the jar instead.

Lan Wangji looked satisfied.

“What was your plan, then?” Jiang Cheng asked, drinking from his own jar. “I mean, for after you were done – Jin Guangyao gone, your brother avenged…”

“Well, assuming I survived –”

“Weren’t you?”

“I was going up against san-ge; I wasn’t taking anything for granted! He might have been a terrible person, but he was ridiculously efficient.”

Nods all around. Even Lan Xichen mostly looked nostalgic rather than heartbroken.  

“Anyway, I didn’t have one,” Nie Huaisang said, then looked at all of their disbelieving looks. “I didn’t! I already told you that I didn’t do it for power or anything…maybe I’d get married and have some kids to pass on the family line, I don’t know.”

“I don’t know,” Wei Wuxian said solemnly to Jiang Cheng, who nodded back just as solemnly. “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know –”

“Wei-xiong, I am going to throw this jar in your face.”

“Lan Zhan will catch it,” Wei Wuxian cackled.

“He probably will, too,” Nie Huaisang said, flopping down dramatically on the table. “Er-ge, Jiang-xiong, they’re teaming up on me!”

“Oh no,” Lan Xichen said dryly. “Whatever shall we do.”

Jiang Cheng muffled a snort.

“I never really had life goals,” Nie Huaisang said, drawing sad circles on the table with a finger. “I just want to have a good time. I want to paint, and read books, and spend time with friends…trust me, this whole –” He waved a hand at them. “– reconstituted friendship thing took me as much by surprise as everyone else. I fully expected to die alone if anyone ever found out that I was involved, which of course Wei-xiong did almost at once –”

“Well, I am a genius,” Wei Wuxian bragged.

“He also wasn’t very subtle towards the end there.”

“In short,” Nie Huaisang concluded, ignoring them all and sitting back up. “Blame Lan Zhan if you want to blame anyone.”

“I took the first step,” Lan Wangji said placidly. “You took the next five.”

“I did not – hmm. Okay, maybe I did.”

“I knew you were scheming!” Jiang Cheng exclaimed. “Just how much of it did you plan?”

“Sometimes things just happen, Jiang-xiong!”

“Not when it’s you, they don’t!”

“They do!” Nie Huaisang pouted. “I know you all think of me as a planner, but really, most of the time, I just try to see what’s the best way to use whatever circumstances I end up in. Or do you think it would’ve taken me as long as it did?”

“Didn’t Chifeng-zun used to say the same thing?” Wei Wuxian said nostalgically. “I feel like I remember him saying something like that.”

“He did,” Lan Xichen said. “‘All you can be is prepared: a plan will only last until execution, and after that it’s just a question of who can better react to the circumstances at hand.’”

“Nie-xiong would be a good general,” Lan Wangji opined.

“Lan Zhan, you take that back.”

“Mm. No.”

“You brat. You think you’re the only one who bites? I’ll bite you.”

“No biting my future husband,” Wei Wuxian said. “No one else gets to bite him, just me. It’s going to be in our vows.”

“It had better not be,” Jiang Cheng said. “I will break out Zidian if I have to.”

“Oh, like that’s a real threat. You break out Zidian every time the wind changes.”

“Wei Wuxian! You -!”

“I’m pretty sure that’s a Lan Zhan original, actually,” Nie Huaisang said thoughtfully.

Jiang Cheng looked at Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji looked back, not denying it.

“…I hate you. Personally.”

“Mm. Mutual.”

“Can we get back to the subject of Nie-xiong and his marvelous military prowess?” Wei Wuxian interjected, possibly having learned the benefit of stemming explosions rather than causing them during the period of time he spent dead.

“Can we not?” Nie Huaisang whined.

“I don’t know,” Lan Xichen said thoughtfully. “Getting me out of seclusion was an organized charge worth of any military campaign.”

“Well, someone had to do it!”

“I’m pretty sure you set me up deliberately so that I’d talk to Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng said.

“…you were going to do that anyway! I just gave you an excuse!”

“You convinced me to go after Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji said. “And presented me with the most effective way to do that.”

“I…!” Nie Huaisang opened and closed his mouth, then groaned and put his forehead down on the table a second time. “I didn’t mean to scheme! Really!”

Everyone laughed at him.

“Well, you don’t need to worry. I’m all schemed out now,” he said pitifully. “No more schemes for me.”

“That may be a problem,” Lan Wangji said. “Scheming will be helpful when you become Chief Cultivator.”

Nie Huaisang shot up from the table. “When I what now?!”

“I have decided that the role should be rotated between the Great Sects,” Lan Wangji said. “To encourage inter-sect unity and to avoid power accruing into any single sect’s hands in the future.”

“You just want to have more free time to roll in the sheets with your husband!”

Lan Wangji nodded.

“Is shamelessness infectious?” Jiang Cheng asked Lan Xichen. “Wei Wuxian hasn’t been back all that long, and Hanguang-jun’s face is now as thick as a wall.”

“I’m sure it isn’t,” Lan Xichen replied. “Otherwise, wouldn’t you have been the first victim?”

“I don’t want to be Chief Cultivator!” Nie Huaisang shouted. “I don’t! I’m all full up! I’m running my own sect now, too – you can’t do this to me!”

“Get help,” Lan Wangji said. “As I did.”

“Merciless! Lan Zhan, you’re just absolutely merciless!”

Jiang Cheng snickered. “It’s no more than you deserve,” he told Nie Huaisang, picking up his wine and taking another sip.

Nie Huaisang turned and glared back at him. “Brave talk from the person who’s going to be helping me.”

Jiang Cheng choked.

“Did you miss the part where Lan Zhan said he was going to rotate the assignment?” Nie Huaisang asked maliciously. “Clearly it’s better to start getting you up to speed right away…”

“You did rather walk into that,” Lan Xiche remarked to Jiang Cheng, who glared at him.

“I didn’t agree to that!” he snapped.

“Who else am I going to ask?” Nie Huaisang asked, leaning back. “Lan Zhan and Wei-xiong are going to be in bed, er-ge’s already helping me run my sect –”

“Wait,” Lan Xichen said. “I’m what? When did I agree to that?”

“About the same time Jiang-xiong agreed to become the next Chief Cultivator,” Nie Huaisang said cheerfully. “Besides, I’m your favorite younger brother besides Lan Zhan, don’t deny it!”

“I don’t have -”

“Anyway, it’s good practice! It’ll take both of you to help Jin Ling manage when it’s his turn, won’t it?”

“All three of you,” Wei Wuxian put in. “That brat’s a trouble magnet. Do you know what happened at his last night hunt?”

“Oh we all know what happened at his last night-hunt,” Jiang Cheng grumbled. “How did something that simple get that out of hand?”

“Well, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang said, smirking at Wei Wuxian. “According to the Lan sect rules, it’s undoubtedly something to do with the people he associates with.”

“It is,” Lan Wangji said before Jiang Cheng could respond. “His uncles.”

Jiang Cheng opened his mouth to retort, then frowned and looked at Wei Wuxian, who also frowned.

“Wait,” he said, clearly thinking about it. “Jiang Cheng and I are his uncles from jiejie’s side, and Mo Xuanyu was also from his father’s side, and Lan-da-ge was sworn brothers with Jin Guangyao, which by some token makes him also an uncle…”

“And since Lan Zhan is er-ge’s brother, that makes him an uncle, too,” Nie Huaisang said. “Plus theoretically the same is true for me, through my da-ge.”

“…that’s a lot of uncles.”

“It is,” Nie Huaisang said, starting to grin wildly. “Clearly we should start an...association!”

#mdzs #nie huaisang #lan wangji #lan xichen #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #my fic #my fics #associates

[binwoo-knock-24]

A.C.E Favourite Boys (도깨비) K-pop theory

Album: HZJM: The Butterfly Fantasy

This took really long so please enjoy. I'm attempting to write one for higher because I think there two definitely have a clear link.

Mythological Background

The Korean title for Favourite Boys (I use British English and spell favourite with ou) is Dokkaebi {도깨비}, which roughly translates to Goblin. Korean folklore states that a Dokkaebi is an old spirit that takes form after possessing an inanimate object that has been previously stained with blood. Dokkaebi have always been portrayed as fear-inducing and powerful beings. They are the defenders against evil spirits and are capable of helping but some could also be the cause of the evil.

Symbolism in the concept photos

Junhee and Yuchan are underwater for their unit concept photos. They are connected by a red string of fate so it seems that they are meant to have met or a destined to be together (not in the romantic relationship sense). And that's why they are the only ones underwater and that has a meaning behind it that I will explain later on. The red string doesn't only appear in the concept photos but also the music video and I've also seen something resembling it in some stages. Junhee is wearing a blue hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) and Yuchan is wearing a red one. In the Korean dynasty blue was typically the colour used in maidens clothes and palace vessels. A brides dress and the thread decorations hind during marriages were also red and blue in colour.

Analysis of symbols

This comeback is, as I mentioned, heavily inspired by Korean folklore from the red string to the myth of Habaek and Haemosu (expanded on later). Butterflies (what's the album name again?) Have been used in a.c.es MVs very often and their meaning is leading a long life full of luck. They could be expressing their with to lead such a life or wishing us choices such a life. Each member also has symbolism in this mv.

Kim Byeongkwan

Byeongkwan is seen to be wearing two outfits in the mv. One is white in colour, associated with good mostly, and one in red, associated mostly with evil. Those two colours could be a reference to the duality of the Dokkaebi He is made to seem to have shape-shifting abilities which can be seen from the hair accessory behind his ear making it look like his ear was changing into a wing shape when the scene with his face starting to glow happens.

Lee Donghun

Rivers in folklore are viewed as a border between life and death, reflecting human perceptions of the divide between the human world and the world of the gods. Donghun seems to be sitting and walking around in front of the prop that looks like the flowing river.

He also seems to take on the role of a grim reaper, Jeoseung saja {저승 사자} in Korean. Grim reapers are most often portrayed as a person wearing black clothing and a traditional gat hat. This could also link to the belief about the river. Since grim reapers are known as the ones that takes souls to the afterlife, the Donghun that was sat in front of the river looking prop was a human that was waiting to get a visit from the grim reaper.

Kim Sehyoon

Sehyoon takes on the role of a shaman, which is given away by the prayer beads that he has. Shamans use trance inducing using techniques and an altered state of mind, kind of like hypnosis, to interact with the spirit world. Both of his outfits for his solo shots seem to be modernised versions of traditional shaman clothing. Laid back in a chair and shrouded in smoke, he gives off the impression of being in an altered state of mind. In my opinion, he could be trying to communicate with the now dead Donghun.

Kang Yuchan

I have two theories for Chan and Jin so we will go through them separately. In the music video we see a beautiful picture that depicts the Ilwol Obongdo, which is the traditional symbol of couriers kings. It is made up of the sun, the moon, 5 mountains, pine trees and waterfalls. When the king sat in front of it the positioning of the components showed that he was in the centre of it all. Yuchan wear's something that resembles a gonryongpo which is a Korean kings everyday outfit. Red is a colour that is reserved for the king while his first son, the crown prints, wore blue. Hear Chan depicts a king.

Park Junhee

Junhee and Yuchan have a much more important role in the second theory then being a king (Chan) and the crown prince (Junhee) which I will go through in the minute. Since Junhee is dressed in blue in the underwater concept photos, it makes me think that he is king Yuchans first son, making him the crown prince. Now this was a bit vague because I don't see how it would fit in the music video exactly but it's a theory. Now on to the second more interesting theory.

Habaek and Haemosu

After reading a ton of Korean myths and tales, I came to the conclusion that a large part of the music video is a retelling of the tale of Habaek and Haemosu. Habaek is the Korean river god while Haemosu is the Korean sun god. The tale states that Haemosu fell in love with one of Habaeks daughters and wanted to marry her. In order for Habaek to approve, Haemosu had to go through 3 trials against Habaek himself. The trials included shapeshifting into water common land and air creatures to prove himself worthy of Habaeks daughters hand.

BYEONGKWAN as the air creature

Before I moved to the main two characters, let me go through how the other three members also seem to fit in with the theory. Byeongkwan, I believe, is the embodiment of the air creature trial. When his ear changes shape it seems to resemble something like a wing as I mentioned before.

DONGHUN as the water creature

Because a lot of Donghun scenes are centred around The River, I think that he is the embodiment of the water creature trial.

SEHYOON as the land creature

Because in a few of his soloshot he is surrounded by trees and stuff that resemble land, I believe that he is the embodiment of the land creature trial. Also the general shrouded in mist concept of his solo shots just gives off land vibes.

YUCHAN as Haemosu

Yuchan seems to embody Haemosu, the Korean sun god. Haemosu is usually depicted as wearing a giant head dress made out of crows feathers. According to folktales a giant chrome managed to steal the sun so you had to kill it and bring it back. The whole vibe that Yuchan chosen this music video is very goodly and the red colour could be associated with the son. He has a few solo scenes and which he seems to be showing his skills as he would in the battle. And that could link to the three trials.

JUNHEE as Habaek

It would only make sense for Jun to embody the river god. The colour of his concept photo dressing. The proper behind him on his solo shoots also seems to depict a Riverside. His concert photos are taken under water full stop and in the concept photos it can be seen that Chan is closer to the surface of the water which could mean that he went to ask the river god for his daughter's hand in marriage. In the music video in his solo scenes, Junhee also seems to be showing of his abilities like in the battle which also could link to the three trials.

The last chorus scene

The background of the last chorus dancing shows a thunderstorm going on behind the members. And many old mates from many cultures, thunderstorms are a sign of god's wrath and anger. This could be linked to the battle that the two gods were undergoing. The lyrics of the song as well as multiple choreography movement also portrayed fighting as a theme.

A/N: god this took so long to write up. I had it all in note for on paper and hd to make sense of the notes and all. Also I didn't want to post this before but I believe that the new comeback could be linked to Goblin in the way that because of all the water concept photos and now underwater concepts and the whole siren theme, it could be that they are showing the water trial that Habaek and Haemosu took part in.

#a.c.e kpop #kpop theories #this took me longer than i'd like to admit #a.c.e jun #a.c.e #a.c.e: siren dawn #a.c.e byeongkwan #a.c.e sehyoon #a.c.e wow #a.c.e donghun #a.c.e chan #aa.c.e goblin #a.c.e favorite boys #a.c.e concept theory

[cybernaght]

Guardian rewatch: Episode 5

I thought this would be a shorter recap. Ha!

Every now and then throughout this show we are getting CGI wide shots of the Dragon City, mostly establishing the time of day. They have three settings: nighttime, daytime, and sunset/sunrise. While quality-wise those wide shots would not feel out of place in a video game from ten years ago, with buildings looking all rubbery, I actually really like this sunset sky. I also appreciate that they firmly establish that this is city is not, in fact, a real place. I almost wish the architecture was a little bit less familiar, but making the city look truly otherworldly here would make location scouting much harder. As it happens, the buildings on the forefront have a very 60’s art deco revival inspired feeling, and there are some distinctively neoclassical buildings peppered around as well. We can also see that the roads are very wide, and generally there is a hint of Stalinist grandioseness about the downtown. Unfortunately, it looks nothing like the locations and sets the characters are running in; we also get a feeling that the Dragon City is very large, which is not entirely consistent with the very few locations that were available when shooting the series. This shot does, however, remind me the city I grew up in (Moscow).

The actual plot of the episode centres around Huang Linqi and his fiancé, Li Jiaqi, going missing - it will be important, because their disastrous wedding will produce the most Clark Kent moment that Shen Wei will ever have. We also meet the parents of the couple, who are stinking rich and extremely unpleasant. It also introduces us to Butler Wu (Wu Tian’en) and his son, who will become important in later episodes. Butler Wu is not actually the villain of the piece, despite this shot clearly telling us otherwise. 

Back at the university, Shen Wei is having a morning tea with his dean. He holding his teacup with almost god-like elegance, very close to actually covering his mouth when he drinks, which is extremely old-fashioned. This is in stark contrast with him brazenly and un-gentlemanly showing his ankles. 

Shen Wei is asked to move off campus, because, apparently, having a chief of the special task force showing up at your office is bad for the reputation. Since the professor does not look surprised, and states that he has already found a flat, I’m guessing that he was clever enough to have predicted this turn of events, and used it to secure the place a breath away from Zhao Yunlan. It is up to speculation as to when he started scouting for an apartment: it could not have been more than a few weeks since he met Zhao Yunlan, and finding a flat can take a while. 

At the SID office, we are treated to a lovely moment between the team members, crowding around Lin Jin’s new invention: a popcorn-specific microwave.

It’s very sweet to see the team indulge in some nonsense outside of their case work, made even better by Wang Zheng being there. The fact that Zhao Yunlan is on board with his department’s time and resources being spent on a popcorn maker only makes this scene better. He is crouching on the table, because chairs are for the weak.

After inspecting the crime scene, Zhao Yunlan is spending some time outside chatting to Buttler Wu, and comments on Li Jiaqi’s good looks, since Zhao Yunlan is a man who can appreciate beauty.

As Xiao Guo is awe-struck at his boss’ ability to note someone’s prettiness from a distance, Chu Shuzhi literally rolls his eyes calling those “instincts of a beast”, and Zhao Yunlan fails to reprimand him for the remark, because… fair enough. Very fair enough. It’s hard not to relate to Zhao Yunlan, a self-admitted bi disaster. 

Shen Wei is being shown his new apartment. He does not even look around it, staring instead at Zhao Yunlan’s front door across the hall from him.

Moving here is a completely senseless thing to do. How on earth is he planning to hide his Hei Pao Shi persona while being a next door neighbour to the chief of SID? My conclusion is that from a character stand-point, it’s nothing but an act of desperate devotion; from a narrative stand-point, this codifies that their relationship is about to get very intimate indeed. 

The SID members are interrogating Buttler Wu: as is often the case, instead of bringing him in, like they did with Shen Wei, they hijack a cafe nearby to have a more relaxed conversation. As they talk, Shen Wei is making his way past the cafe, which both Wu Tian'en and Shen Wei notice. 

Shen Wei proceed to follow Butler Wu, who calls him out on it. This leads to a removal of his glasses so epic it warrants a jump-cut to close-up, on top of the dutch angle used mere seconds prior to it.

Instantly recognizing Shen Wei as Hei Pao Shi, Wu Tian’en sinks to his knees in reverence. Again, fair enough. After having a brief conversation about their shared history, Shen Wei states that Butler Wu is not allowed to lay a hand on Zhao Yunlan. 

“Chief Zhao? You’re stalking him?” 

“You don’t need to know more.”

That is not a no. Mostly because that is a yes. 

Shen Wei promises to not take Wu Tian’en away before the man resolves his current problems, adding that he hopes his old acquaintance won’t have any regrets when that happens. As Shen Wei walks away, he muses “Then how much time is there left for me?” 

(And I have to fight an uncomfortable sinking feeling in my stomach, which is occurring a lot as I rewatch those series.) 

The same evening at the SID offices the team is struggling with the case so much Da Qing suggests asking Hei Pao Shi’s help. Zhao Yunlan bristles at the idea, and… calls Shen Wei instead. Of course he does.

To be fair, he does so to check whether the other man is stalking him, but he also calls him by his given name rather Professor Shen, reinforcing that he makes this enquiry as a friend, not at as the chief of the Special Investigations Department. 

During the phone call Shen Wei is absentmindedly playing with the corner of the publication he is reading. 

While Yunlan does not deny that he still thinks Shen Wei is potentially up to something dodgy, he still proceeds to ask his advice on the case. This continues the dynamic from the previous episode: it’s not that Yunlan is completely blind, it’s just that he trusts Shen Wei regardless of the secrets he might be hiding. 

Moving on, here’s what I have to say on he topic of bad CGI. There are several reasons in the world for a piece of visual media to have a poor quality computer animation. It could be laziness, or it could be absence of imagination, both of which are inexcusable. It also could be absence of funds, as is the case with the Guardian. And, honestly, I am alright with that. It’s not their fault, and I would much rather see this drama as it is - bad CGI and all - than none at all. 

And, the quality of CGI here has energy similar to Live Action Sailor Moon (PGSM), which I honestly find both nostalgic and endearing. 

That show also has a talking cat, but it’s performed by a literal plush toy on strings, so Guardian certainly wins here.

While Huang Linqi and Li Jiaqi are being kept together (possibly in an alternate dimension, seeing as how they have emerged from the lake completely dry), they talk through their relationship issues, and the audience finds itself with a sugar-sweet take on the arranged marriage/strangers to lovers trope. I feel a little bit bad about their disaster wedding now. 

At the same time, Xiao Jun and Wu Tian’en’s story is a tiny echo of Shen Wei end Je Zun: the son thinks his dad left him to fend for himself when he was young and vulnerable, and distrusts the very concept of love because of that perceived abandonment. Unlike Je Zun however, he stops to have an actual conversation, which ultimately forces him to quit his senseless act of revenge, and make the first step on the path of reconciliation and redemption. This is Guardian telling us that communication skills do, in fact, matter. 

He also drops this bombshell of a line, which hurts my heart a lot.

“In the face of death every love in the world is mere foam”

On an entirely separate note, I am very glad that the actor who plays Butler Wu is wearing nice thick knee pads. 

They are very visible, and they make a little “boing” when he hits the ground, but the actor has to fall to his knees twice in this episode, both times on hard surfaces, one of which is literal gravel, and I’m happy that the production is being considerate of their actors’ physical well-being. 

While this episode does not mark the first time Zhao Yunlan is being understanding to the Undergrounders in pain, this is the first time anti-Unvergrounder bigotry is explicitly framed in a negative light. The two evil businessmen, who cast a child aside just because he has special powers, are shown as unquestionably in the wrong. Xiao Jun is lightly scolded for his rash actions, but he is not brought back to SID in cuffs, and he is not immediately given away to Hei Pao Shi. Far from that: he is brought in softly, to spend some time at his dying father’s side. 

As Butler Wu slipping away, we once more see Guo Changcheng being recklessly heroic, as he is prepared to use the Longevity Dial to share his life force. Instead of letting him do it, Zhao Yunlan snatches the Hallow away and decides to perform this particular miracle himself. This is the same man who will later sacrifice his eyesight to bring people’s lives back. Bai Yu’s acting in that moment is utterly phenomenal, showing a whole range of emotion from horror to determination to dismay in mere seconds. 

Hei Pao Shi teleports in, and, without a preamble, scolds Zhao Yunlan (the first episode in the series-long “don’t touch the Hallows” saga), and then asks him whether it’s worth shortening his life for an Undergrounder. This is in equal parts a provocation and a test, because I’m fairly certain that Shen Wei was going to save Wu Tian’en anyway. 

As SID members beg Hei Pao Shi to save Butler Wu in perfect unison, Zhao Yunlan states that a person is a person, regardless of their origin. Shen Wei notes inwardly that SID had changed, and, as expected, heals Butler Wu, while Yunlan stares at his power with relief and awe.

Since I have talked about the wide shot of the Dragon City, let’s talk about its counterpart in the Underworld. 

I have failed to notice before that there appears to be a vast city next to the volcano river, some way away from the royal Palace, looming over it. Geographically, this makes little sense: we will see characters leave the Palace and instantly end up in a city square throughout the series, but I still really enjoy this wide shot. It is also interesting to see the architecture of the place. It is somewhere between (western) medieval abodes and futuristic shipment container blocks, with living spaces built on top of each other, crammed-in, and unpleasant. I also love the lighting here, contrasting blue and red.

Hallows random power #n: projecting their brethren. Imagine how useful it would be if they also did that for the Brush and the Lantern.

The next day, Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing are on a leisurely morning jog, while Yunlan is wearing bottoms that my partner refers to as “sheggings” (as in, shorts + leggings)

They are talking about Shen Wei, naturally. In my head-canon, Zhao Yunlan is driving his colleagues nuts because can’t help himself but bring the good professor up every goddamn minute of every goddamn day.

As they turn the corner to go home, they bump into the subject of discussion, who informs them that he moved into the building, and leaves abruptly looking more than slightly pleased with himself. 

Finally, we are treated to Guo Changcheng’s surveillance exam. I don’t know why he thought this outfit would make him look less conspicuous. 

Eventually, the SID will learn that some of their staff members don’t have to be fighters or detectives. In Xiao Guo, they have found the heart of their team, and that is enough. 

Next up, Episode 6: The Coat Zhao Yunlan Will Buy

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PS: I have mentioned earlier, that I have a sinking feeling as I watch Guardian, and I would like to elaborate on that. You see, I am very scared of flying. It’s an irrational fear, but it is the one I nonetheless have. There is a very specific feeling I get just as the plane starts gaining speed on the runway: there is joy, because at the end of this journey they is something to look forward to (my parents’ hugs, a drink with a friend, a favourite place, a new city to explore), but there is also a painful anticipation, as I brace for the moment the aircraft will tilt upwards, knowing that I will be pushed back into my chair by gravity, battling against an onslaught of a panic attack, shaking, learning to breathe, fighting with everything I have to keep my heart rate down. Watching Guardian from the beginning, knowing where the story is going, mirrors that feeling perfectly.

PPS: The following conversation happened with my partner as I way typing this recap.

My partner: Do you think Shen Wei ever wears sheggings?

Me: Sweetie, I think he would rather die. 

#guardian #shen wei #zhao yunlan #weilan #rewatch #recap #please help I can't stop rambling