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#Someone take care of Yang for once 2021

julsdsweet · 3 years

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2021 Testimonials

Nur Amirah's engagement Date of Event: 20 November 2021 via Email

Assalamualaikum Dear Kak Juls,

Apologies for the late testimonial that is supposed to be due weeks ago. Been having a hectic week at work and such.

Alhamdulillah I got a chance to write today.

First of all, thank you so much for dolling me up on my special day. You did exceed my expectations despite receiving minimal instructions on how I would like

my make up and hairdo to be done but you really did a good job to surprise and wow me on the actual day with your magic hands.

You are incredibly talented and have the ability to know how to work with each unique feature without judging them. Dealing with you was the best! Such a breeze!

You were very friendly and engaging throughout the whole process and I never once felt awkward nor bored chatting with you for the whole 2 hours. You really made me feel like I'm your own.

I certainly receive a bunch of compliments from my guests for both my makeup and hairdo. The wig was a special touch even at the very last minute! I really love how my hair looks full and neat when

you gracefully did my hair within minutes! Honestly the product that you used on me really makes me look pretty and it stayed on all day and night (plus i look flawless in photos).

The only feedback that I would like to highlight is about my eye makeup. Despite showing a picture example, I requested for a peachy soft cut crease but the eyeshadow turned out to be a darker colour shade than what i expected.

And due to that my whole makeup looks bold. Nevertheless you do make me look flawless and I appreciate it so much!

You are just so amazing at your job! And I can feel the sincerity for the whole effort to doll me up. Thank you so much for everything Kak Juls. It was a lovely experience and I will highly recommend you to others.

May you be blessed with an abundance of rezeki kak. Stay safe and take care!

Best Regards,

Amirah 💓

Syahidah & Irfan Salihin wedding Date of Event: 28 November 2021 via Email

Our testimonial as follows,

Mak andam was very professional. Very friendly, accomodating to your wants, and is not pushy (very important factor). She stayed throughout the wedding to ensure that the bride is looking at her best at all times!

We had such a great time with her as our mak andam! Thank you for making our big day so much more memorable!

Nur Arina's engagement Date of Event: 07 November 2021 via Email

From: Arina Azahar Sent: Monday, 22 November 2021 10:07 pm To: [email protected] Subject: testimonial

Dear Juls,

Thankyou for doing my make up for my engagement day. This is my first time letting someone do my make up for me. i love how my make up still stays after the event. my make up doesn't feel cake-y and i don't feel uncomfortable. Besides that you don't make me awkward. you make me feel comfortable with the small talks. i will for sure recommend my girlfriends who are getting engage or married.

Thank you juls.

Sincerely, Arina

Suriati & Syed Abdullah wedding Date of Event: 06 November 2021 via Email

Assalamualaikum Kak Juls...

You are one friendly make up artist.

Thank you for the great make up & hijab services you have done for me.It is magical how pretty & beautiful I turned out to be on my wedding day!MasyaAllah!Ramai yang puji how beautiful I look on that day...All due to your magical hands!Never regretted taking up your service!Affordable & good service provided!!Recommended!!!👍👍👍

Your very cute & satisfied client,

Suriati Binte Kardi

Rieana Agustina & AnNuur wedding Date of Event: 15 August 2021 via Email

Assalamualaikum wr wrb.

Alhamdulillah, our nikah ceremony was done well and professionally. Kak Juls managed to calm both our nerves during the preparation, up to the actual day, filled with complete guidance and support. MashaAllah! She dolled me up to look so different, really a princess for the day! And my husband looked as regal as my king for the day. We really enjoyed our time taking photos outdoors after the nikah.

Unforgettable experience indeed!

Thank you to Kak Juls and the supportive team behind her (Abang Imran, Sis Linda, & photographers - Bro Isk and Bro Azman). Truly thumbs up to Julsdsweet! 5 stars quality.

May Allah SWT bless you with rezq and health! Aamiin Aamiin Ya Robbal 'Alamin.

Rieana Agustina JaisKindergarten Teacher

Hidaya & Hafizuddin wedding Date of Event: 21 March 2021 via WhatsApp

Assalamualaikum kakjuls. Thank you so much for your service on my wedding day. Our guests suke make up yg u buat especially the silver songket with the sangul! Cantik sgt sampai i keep on watching my wedding photos over and over again. Power lah kak!! You mmg gerek lah sey! Hahaha.. you are a gerek and humble mak andam! Even my husband punye bestman u can joke around with during the 2nd outfit 😂 Thank you for making me beautiful and take good care of my face and baju throughout the event. From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU SOOO MUCHH!! 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

Sayeedah Nafisah khatam quran & henna night Date of Event: 11 March 2021 via WhatsApp Anywayssss! I would like comment on ur makeup. Its the most comfortable makeup ever! I removed the makeup only at 2am because i had to wait for henna to be dry and so on. So i just left the makeup on all the way. Usually, after 2 hrs of makeup, my cheeks and forehead will start to itch due to my ‘baby’ skin. But Alhamdullilah, i didnt experience any unpleasant itch at all! My family were also impressed with ur work. It took u only 2 hrs to get this look. And the thought to ‘remove’ the makeup is sooo berat hahah! Its masya allah! In shaa allah, for any other future events, will definitely go back to u heheheheh!

#2021 #testimonials #julsdsweet #make-up artist #singapore

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clutchgaymerjuice · 3 years

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They deserve to sleep for a month after this season. Did a couple different lighting options, since who knows what time it even is in Atlas at this point.

Let’s be real they’re not all getting out without injuries...

Part two with team JNOR coming eventually soon

#rwby #rwby v8 #let them sleep crwby #rwby spoilers #fanart #fun with filters #rwby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #bumbleby #whiterose #Someone take care of Yang for once 2021

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liuhsng · 3 years

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☆彡 i like me better (on-hold)

an enhypen timeskip series in which we'll take a peek in the life of these global idols on how they live on a daily basis along with their wives, some with their fiances, and their children.

☆彡 statuses: prewriting, drafting, writing, revising, editing, and completed.

☆彡 note/s: the whole series was inspired from this heeseung timestamp i made.

☆彡 fami-lee time — lee heeseung (heeseung)

☆彡 status: completed

☆彡 summary: nobody said that it was that easy to be an idol, a husband, and a father at the same time. but with the help of his other members and the love coming from his fans when it came to supporting his family, it's looks like it wasn't that hard in lee heeseung's side. even he, himself openly admits that to the public.

☆彡 a day in the life — park jongseong (jay)

☆彡 status: editing

☆彡 summary: jay park was known for his outgoing and 'life of the party' personality, and that also applies to both his wife and daughter, never failing to make them smile and laugh even by the littlest things he does. with people still being curious on how he manages to spend his time with them, he guesses that it's now the right time to make a small vlog with his family.

☆彡 new addition — sim jaeyun (jake)

☆彡 status: writing

☆彡 summary: with a lovely pregnant wife, the fourth member of their little family that's about to arrive in a few months, and being able to manage his idol life, jake could say that he's living a nice life. the only thing he's left to deal with is his wife's constant food cravings and mood swings, he handled it perfectly once, will he be able to do it again?

☆彡 ice rinks and loud uncles — park sunghoon (sunghoon)

☆彡 status: writing

☆彡 summary: spending a day off along with his family and his members wasn't exactly a bad idea, and an ice rink was the first in sunghoon's list. how will their family trip go this time?

☆彡 new favorite — kim sunoo (sunoo)

☆彡 status: writing

☆彡 summary: when his wife went on a little business trip for work, sunoo happily told her that he'll be taking care of their son and even brought him to work to spend time with his uncles. the real question is, will kim sungjae be able to spend the day without causing trouble on his fathers' watch?

☆彡 starting line — yang jungwon (jungwon)

☆彡 status: writing

☆彡 summary: yang jungwon's status? newly married. he managed to take care of his other members without any trouble as a leader, but will he be able to do it the same way with his lovely wife? the good thing? his other members and especially his hyungs are there to help with their own experiences in getting married first.

☆彡 dinner disasters and rings (ni-ki)

☆彡 status: writing

☆彡 summary: ni-ki always dreamt of someone to spend his life with, why not spend it with the love of life who's always been with him since trainee days? but dropping the question and getting down on one knee isn't as easy as it looks when his hyungs help him in planning the perfect set-up.

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ayuuria · 3 years

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Yashahime Translation: Animage Magazine May 2021 Issue

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

The Yashahimes’ Future

The three Yashahimes who carry both demon and human blood: Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha. The three of them have varying personalities, environments in which they were raised in, and goals for their actions. However, through the shared task of demon slaying, they slowly begin to accept one another. Though they are not a perfect “Close, in sync team”, trust has certainly budded between the girls who, together, have overcome any difficult situation. Even Kirinmaru’s attack that killed Setsuna in one stroke could not sever the bond that connects the three. Towa especially, who received a broken Tenseiga from Sesshōmaru, appears to have not yet given up on Setsuna’s life. Although it looks like the girls will still continue to face hardships in the future, we want them to clear the way to a happy future with their own hands.

“Hanyō no Yashahime” entered a short break, leaving behind many points of interest such as Setsuna’s shocking death, the broken Tenseiga entrusted to Towa, and the continued separation of Moroha and her parents. Let’s consolidate the existing mysteries and wait for the second chapter (season)!

Higurashi Towa

Faced with the death of her beloved little sister, Setsuna, her demonic blood awakens for the first time. Until now, she had been using the demon sword, Kikujūmonji, as her weapon but what is this blade… …? (referring to the promo picture for season 2)

Series Composition: Katsuyuki Sumisawa Q&A

The Yashahimes’ story with continuous ups and downs. In addition to reviewing everything up until now, please tell us about the backstory and hints to the second chapter (season)!

Q. Where do Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha normally spend the night?

A. Towa freeloads at Kaede’s house. Setsuna stays at the demon slayer’s headquarters. It’s just that she can’t sleep so she probably keeps watch outside at night. Moroha lives at the corpse shop.

Q. How far apart is Kaede’s village and the corpse shop?

A. Kaede’s village is in the land of Musashi so in terms of modern geography, imagine around Tokyo’s Nakano and Suginami ward. Compared to that, the corpse shop is in the harbor so around Shinagawa ward or maybe even Yokohama. It seems the three of them frequently met up but there’s actually quite a distance. Each of them had different goals behind their actions too.

Q. When Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha first met, how was Moroha able to figure out that the two of them were Sesshōmaru’s daughters?

A. Probably through “smell”. Sesshōmaru is well known among demons and Moroha knows that Sesshōmaru is her father’s older brother. However, Moroha still doesn’t know that Sesshōmaru is the one who trapped her parents within the black pearl.

Q. Does Moroha know her parents’ names?

A. She does. When Inuyasha and Kagome were approached by Kirinmaru and Sesshōmaru, Awa no Hachiemon (aka Hachi), the racoon dog, took Moroha to the wolf demon tribe where she was raised. That being said, Kōga probably told her.

Q. Doesn’t Moroha want to meet her parents?

A. She thinks her parents are dead. That’s why her thoughts are “There’s no point obsessing over someone who’s dead”. Hachiemon the racoon dog, didn’t watch the details of the incident to the end and assumed that “If Sesshōmaru and Kirinmaru were their opponents, they’re probably not alive now.” That’s what Moroha was told through Kōga.

Q. Why is the instrument that Setsuna plays the violin?

A. When creating the scenario, I wanted some sort of “gift” from the modern era as “something to connect the modern and feudal eras”. Therefore, I decided to give Moroha the giant backpack as Kagome’s daughter and Setsuna an instrument. In addition, an instrument that absolutely didn’t exist in the feudal era was better, so I chose the violin. There of course won’t be violins in Japan and even in the West, it had a different shape than it does now. Plus, before the current story was solidified, I had thought of a plot where the modern era was the setting so it’s a remnant of that.

Q. Did Mama Moe teach Setsuna the song she always plays on her violin?

A. While she learned how to play the violin from Mama Moe, the song was not something she learned (from her). Rather Setsuna is playing a song she once heard based off her memory. Where she heard it… please wait for the second chapter (season)!

Q. With Kanemitsu no Tomoe as a medium for Setsuna and the rouge being suggested for Moroha, each of them has had their demonic blood sealed. What about the seal for Towa’s demonic blood?

A. Towa’s is not sealed. Moreover, her demonic blood had not yet awakened. That’s where in episode 24, her demonic blood awakened for the first time with Setsuna’s death being the trigger. However, that was in an out-of-control state. Going forward, how “Sesshōmaru’s blood” flowing within her will manifest itself will be something worth noting.

Q. Why does everyone call Towa and the others “Yashahime”?

A. Ever since the spirit of the Tree of Ages called them as such in episode 4, everyone started calling them that, no matter who they spoke to. At first, even Towa and the others were like “We’re not Yashahime” or “Are you referring to us?” but as they got addressed that repeatedly, they gradually accepted the name.

Q. Kohaku’s* older sister, Kin’u, is a nun but what does his other older sister, Gyokuto, do?

*Translator’s Note: I think the publisher made a mistake and meant to say Hisui

A. She shoulders the responsibility of helping Sango create the weapons for demon slaying, delivering those weapons to the other slayers, accepting demon slaying requests around the area, and collecting information on demon sightings.

Q. Is Kirinmaru a demon of Japan?

A. No. I think talking like this will be easier to understand. Kirinmaru is one of the few greater demons who is aware that the earth is round. In that era, the only ones who have a sense of this are probably just Kagome, Towa, and Kirinmaru. Having circled the globe many times, Kirinmaru, who had traveled around the world, met the Dog General at the very end in the land at the farthest end (of the earth), Japan. Ever since then, he has remained in Japan so it could be said that he’s a demon of Japan, but his existence is on a bigger scale than that. Kirinmaru frequently reads Western books and he orders those from various places around the world. The one who buys them is Riku. Naturally, I’m sure that not only does Riku secretly read the Western books in the library, but Kirinmaru wouldn’t reproach him for such a small thing either. In episode 7, Riku called the apple a “Forbidden Fruit” but of course, I’m sure Kirinmaru has read the bible before. That’s most likely because he’s been alive since the era of myth so he may have seen Buddha or Jesus Christ in the flesh. There’s probably no way he saw Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit though… … (laughs).

Q. Point blank, what is the relationship between Kirinmaru and Riku? In a reflection of the past (200 years ago), it seemed Riku didn’t have any emotions. What exactly was that?

A. This will be revealed in the second chapter (season) as well but to give you a little hint, Riku started taking care of Zero after the Dog General died and as he healed her, he gradually began to have emotions. That’s why Riku’s way of thinking was influenced by Zero, such as “You have to destroy those that you love”.

Q. Zero lost her demonic powers when she created the Rainbow Pearls. Then what was the power she was using when she fought?

A. Zero was using the power of hexes. In this world, there is not only demonic power but all sorts of powers such as spiritual power and Buddhist power and each of them is separate. What she used was a power similar to charms and Inyougogyō**.

** Translator’s Note: Yin and Yang and the five Chinese elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Q. Why did someone like Kirinmaru, who values reason, have the Four Perils, who had sleazy personalities, as subordinates?

A. Kirinmaru’s mind is preoccupied with a “certain matter” that’s important so he doesn’t really care about anything else. Hence, he doesn’t remember every single demon that has challenged or served under him and he doesn’t care what kind of person they were.

Q. In episode 21, it was surprising when Towa said “I like you (Riku)!”. To put it frankly, what do Towa and Riku think of each other?

A. Towa thinks Riku is “Riku”. She doesn’t perceive him as being part of Kirinmaru’s group. On the other hand, Riku thinks Towa is “The lady Yashahime that will slay Kirinmaru”. That’s why he addresses her as “Lady Towa”. Currently, there are no romantic feelings between the two of them. Just that, there’s probably “affection” from Riku to Towa.

Q. Why does Riku think “I only kill those I love”?

A. Because “Those who are loved vanish beautifully”. That is what Zero said in episode 23. To Zero, death is sad but to Riku, there’s no difference between dying and living and that they’re the same. Based on that, Riku came to think “You have to destroy those that you love” and he chooses to “kill” as an expression of love. That might be quite difficult to understand.

Q. Why is Sesshōmaru so cold to his daughters?

A. Just as a lion drops its cubs into a bottomless ravine, a demon’s feeling is that they only raise the child that gains strength from hardship. That is the “Rite of Courage and Cowardice”. It’s a little different from the feeling we humans have. That’s why hating his daughters or purposely tormenting them is certainly not the case.

Q. Although, isn’t separating the babies from their mother immediately after birth or having them fight the strongest beast king of the eastern land, Kirinmaru, a little too much?

A. If you watch the kabuki play “Renjishi” I think you will get it immediately. Anime is fine, but I would like to recommend the traditional arts that have ceaselessly been passed down since ancient Japanese times. Even if going to see them is difficult, researching on the internet is easy. Even the phrase “Rite of Courage and Cowardice” will show up in there. It seems that in this world, there’s no people who love their children more than Japanese people. Perhaps that’s why it can’t be helped that the way Sesshōmaru is raising his children feels very cold. However, those who watched the “Inuyasha” series I think will know but Sesshōmaru’s hearing and smell are exceedingly exceptional. He has the ability to immediately rush in, no matter how far the distance.

Q. Lastly, please tell us how production for the second chapter (season) is going?

A. Currently, we’re writing the second half of the script for the second chapter (season). The whole staff are eagerly working under this difficult Corona crisis. In the second chapter (season), we would like to create a script that is particular on the details as much as possible. In the previous series, there were many self-contained demon slaying stories but for the second chapter (season), we’ve changed the structure of the story so that it progresses with the feelings of the various characters intertwining together, just like in “Inuyasha The Final Act”. Hence, I think the impression of the story will change quite a bit. Please wait until the broadcast to see what kind of story it will be!

#Yashahime #hanyou no yashahime #yashahime: princess half demon #translation #there's actually a lot of key information in this so I recommend reading it #I had fun translating this

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theseerasures · 3 years

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I'm loving your "I was right" energy so: where do YOU think everyone will be at the end of the volume?

y’all are REALLY just encouraging me at this point, aren’t you? who knew my supervillain origin story would be getting exactly what i want in a televisions

E(VACUO)TION 2021: CALL NOW TO VOTE

IN VACUO

Oscar, Ren, and Emerald are stuck there for the duration. even if they had a way to go back, they’re a tad busy right now.

IN SUPERHELL

Yang is same and same.

AT AND AROUND GRAND CENTRAL STATION

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake are going to superhell. the only reason i’m a fraction less sure of this than with Team Green is that Team Green is already there. my prediction--and preference--is that they decide to voluntarily go after the climactic showdown wraps up, but i also have no idea how THAT’S going to happen, so.

Fiona, Joanna, and May are going to Vacuo. they’ve taken on the duty of protecting Mantle, and Mantle is going to be in Vacuo. the only reason they’d go back to Mantle-the-place is for Robyn, but a) they don’t know that Robyn is currently dogfighting with her minivan over Mantle’s skies, and b) even if they did know, that the Huntresses can and will work autonomously without their leader has been emphasized this whole season.

Penny is...likely to be in Vacuo. i won’t completely write off the chance that she joins RWB in superhell, but i also don’t think it’s going to happen. if anyone is RWBY’s fifth it’s Penny Polendina, but going to superhell just feels like a RWBY classic exclusive trip to me. Penny loves her friends, but she’s also a Maiden with a duty to Remnant. she set that aside for Yang in Worthy, and that was VERY MUCH a mistake, so having her double down on it when it’s not a heat of the moment thing feels wrong.

Jaune and Nora are likely to be in Vacuo as well. they’re not going to superhell, and the only reason they’d be in Atlas is if the portals closed before they could get there. another Renora separation would certainly be ripe for juicy angst, but right on the heels of them deciding to be independent together it feels arbitrarily backslide-y. my guess is we have another “so long for now” scene between Ruby and Jaune a la season 6, and JNPER as a whole goes with Penny to lay the groundwork for Vacuo.

Cinder, Neo, the Lamp, and the Staff: i’ve tentatively grouped them all together because i think they will all be in Atlas, but how much i’m certain of that varies. Cinder is not going to Vacuo; her primary objective is the Staff and even if Penny manages to take it through a portal there’s no way for Cinder to hide her presence, and we’re not going to end the season mid-brawl. Neo...might end up in Vacuo if someone just kicks her through in all the chaos, because she can stealth it up a lot better than the living fire tornado. i’m not going to discount the idea that one or both of them end up in superhell, but that seemed a lot more likely when we thought RWBY would fall, instead of jump. finding each other and exploring whatever newfangled dimension they end up in feels like more than enough plot without Team Rocket trying to kill them all the time in it. the Lamp is likely to stay where it is, with Neo, since it’s a much lower priority target now. the Staff...is likely to end up with Cinder (and by proxy Salem), if only because having a do-anything device (even with its limitations) feels like it would make certain logistical issues in Vacuo much easier than they should be (give me the forbidden refugee narrative Mr. Teeth do it do it)

LAST SEEN AROUND SOLITAS

Pietro and Maria are still on Amity! we haven’t seen them for this entire back half, and my guess is that we still won’t in the finale. odds are that if anyone has already rendezvoused with the mythical reinforcements from Menagerie, they have, and when folks get wind of what the fuck is happening (which...could take a while, depending on how/if they take care of Watts) they’ll take the long way to Vacuo, whereupon Pietro will meet up with Penny again and our hearts will collectively explode from joy and radiant warmth.

IN ATLAS/MANTLE

Salem is going to respawn on Atlas. what shape Atlas is going to be in when she does is...who the fuck knows, honestly.

Watts and Ironwood are not leaving Atlas. my guess is James Ironwood will breathe his last before the portals even close. the same...might be true of Watts, because i still lean towards Cinder did him a sabotage, but even if he lives to the end of the season he’s not leaving Salem’s side, and Salem is on Atlas.

Winter...is not leaving Atlas. out of everyone who i think will survive to season’s end on this side of the portal, this one is the one i’m most sure of. if Winter were going to step through the portal the story would have already let her; there was no reason she and Ironwood couldn’t have had their showdown in a separate corner of Grand Central Station instead of right next to its entrance. people have talked about the angst potential of Winter walking in just as Weiss takes the plunge, but tbh this again worked better when we thought Weiss was going fall. if Weiss is jumping then it just turns into a locked-out-of-the-loop thing that can get immediately resolved as soon as Winter talks to...i dunno, anyone? and on a metaphorical level: almost-Maidens don’t make it to the Promised Land. not through the easy way.

Willow, Whitley, and Klein are likely going to be in Vacuo. i’m not going to completely rule out “Klein Sieben runs James Ironwood over with a fucking airship,” but...okay, i am, for the Winter reasons above. there’s just no reason for them to stick around in Atlas when they know that in all likelihood Atlas is going to be rubble (it probably won’t be, but they don’t know that). this means that after their fleeting reconciliation all the Schnees will once again be scattered to the winds, and Whitley is--again--alone with Willow. at least Klein’s here this time.

Qrow, Robyn, and the AceOps: i don’t actually think ALL of them will be stranded in Atlas/Mantle, but some of them will be. if Marrow and Elm are still in Atlas they’ll make it to Vacuo, but if not things are dicier for them. Harriet and Vine are more likely to stay, but the long and short of it is that the AceOps might be split between continents. as much as i desperately want Robyn go to Vacuo so the rest of the Happy Huntresses can do the three-on-one version of the Madagascar hug scene...the thing about Robyn, in this season especially, is that she forms teams and coalitions wherever she goes. that would be useful in Vacuo, but it would also be useful for organizing the leftover stranded civilians and mediating whatever tensions might bubble up, should some or all of the AceOps stick around. i don’t see Qrow breaking off from Robyn for the time being, so: if Robyn stays he stays, and if he stays Harriet is also likely to stay. depending on how the “Salem in Atlas” plot shakes down (or opens), they might also join up with whoever signed Ghira’s Change.org petition this time. interestingly, this might mean that if/when Tai and Raven join up none of TRQ will know that...well, that both their kids are dead. (well. Raven might.)

and...that’s everyone, i think. see you Saturday, when all of this will be proven wrong because Salem is actually already in Vacuo and has turned Shade Academy into Mecha Godzilla

#Anonymous #rwby

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musings-from-mars · 3 years

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@pollinationweek 2021: Day 1 - Band AU

They had been stranded here on the side of the road for a while now, and Ruby was not handling the fact that their van was seemingly broken down well, all while they were still hours away from their gig. “What do we do?” She asked for perhaps the twentieth time as she paced, her boots thump-thumping against the asphalt.

“We buy a new van,” Weiss grumbled, content with just staring at her girlfriend’s butt as Yang draped herself over the front of the van to check under the hood.

“About a week too late with that idea,” Blake said, also content with staring at Yang’s butt.

“Hey now,” Yang’s voice echoed from inside the van’s inner workings, her feet kicking up behind her. Her jeans were getting caught on the metal, revealing the top few inches of her plaid boxer shorts. So attractive… “I can fix this, don’t worry. I know Big Berty inside and out.”

Big Berty was an early-2000s era transit van with two hundred thousand miles on the odometer and a chipping coat of black paint. It was practically held together by Yang’s very hopes and dreams, and a liberal amount of duct tape.

“Yang, we’re in the middle of nowhere,” Weiss said as she stepped closer, glanced down into the van skeptically, diligently avoiding getting any van dirt on her white runners jacket. “Unless you can do magic, we’re not getting anywhere. We should just call a tow truck.”

“How much will that cost,” Blake asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Weiss assured her, alluding to her ability to still access her rich family’s fortune despite being disinherited. It would require a couple calls to a sympathetic butler and a particularly tech-savvy groundskeeper at her family’s manor, but she could acquire funds in an emergency.

“Okay, but how long is it going to take?” Blake added, pulling out her phone. “Because wherever we are, it’s nowhere close to a cell tower, so I don’t think a tow trunk is nearby either.”

“Ye of such little faith,” Yang said, then she tried to shift her position, yelped with pain, fell backwards and bumped the top of her head on the hood of the van. “Fuck!”

Weiss was the one closest by and caught Yang in her arms. “Careful, you dunce!”

Yang gritted her teeth as she rubbed her head with her hand. Then she sighed as she looked at Weiss, their faces close. “Heheh…okay, I’ll admit it. I think Big Berty is taking an impromptu sabbatical.”

“You mean it finally clunked out and we can get a new van?” Blake asked hopefully.

“I didn’t say that!” Yang said defensively, then stared at Weiss a little more. She sniffed and started to feign tears. “Don’t make me give up my Big Berty Baby, Weiss.”

“Someone catch her, I’m about to drop her,” Weiss deadpanned.

Blake volunteered to assume Yang cradling duties as Weiss sighed dramatically and turned to Ruby. “Hey, we’ll be fine. This is why we leave for long trips a day early, remember?”

“But it’s almost nightfall,” Ruby said, looking up at the orange dusk. “Even if we make it in time, we’ll have so little sleep. Gods, this is gonna suck, we’re gonna suck, I’m gonna suck…”

Weiss stepped closer, taking Ruby by the shoulders. “We’ll be fine, don’t worry so much.”

Ruby’s cheeks turned a faint pink, but she shook her head. “I just don’t want a repeat of last time.”

Weiss looked to the side and pressed her lips together. She remembered the last time they’d had a mishap. It wasn’t a big performance, just a local set at a club back home. But a combination of equipment mishaps, some rowdy club goers, and Ruby being on two hours of sleep at best made for a rough night. “This will be different, Ruby,” Weiss assured her. “We’re far better prepared now. We’ve got this.” She punctuated her point by leaning forward and giving her a light kiss. “Now come sit down while Blake calls the tow truck.”

“I just said I don’t have service,” Blake called while slowly lowering Yang to the ground since their drummer seemed to refuse to stand up.

Weiss pulled her phone from her pocket and threw it to Blake with a tremendous amount of trust that she would catch it. “I have service.”

Blake caught the phone with one hand and looked at her phone. “Full bars? How?”

Weiss didn’t answer, instead turning back to Ruby, who was calmer and more flushed-faced now. “Come sit on the tailgate with me. Maybe if you play something for fun that might help you settle a little more?”

Ruby’s shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath, but she smiled and nodded. “Yeah, good idea.”

While Blake called a towing company, Yang stayed on the asphalt for a little floor time, and Weiss and Ruby sat on the back of the van. Ruby had her acoustic guitar in her lap, strumming random tunes and chords as Weiss sat with her, her head on her shoulder. She chuckled as she listened to Ruby play. “You know what would be funny?”

“Hmm?” Ruby turned her head toward Weiss, pausing her playing to listen.

“What if we recorded a song right here? Like, on our future album or something, just out in the middle of nowhere?”

Ruby blinked and looked where she was looking. Besides the road, there was nothing but grass and trees as far as the eye could see. “It is pretty quiet,” Ruby agreed.

“Once we hit it big time, you know?” Weiss continued. “It would be a cool way to remember moments like this, just us in Yang’s shitty van. But hopefully by that time, we’ll have a bus or something.”

“Aww, but then we wouldn’t have to sleep in a pile like we do in the back of the van,” Ruby said with a giggle.

“Says who?” Weiss joked, smiling and kissing Ruby’s cheek. Ruby smiled and leaned against her, then returned to strumming on her guitar, playing a few chords from one of their songs that sounded a bit odd on acoustic, but was nice to listen to either way. Weiss even joined in and sang softly, though it was nowhere near her performance level register, like a soft lullaby. By now, Ruby’s worries about arriving on time had faded. Sitting here while Weiss sang was just fine with her.

Soon, Blake rounded the back of the van and sighed. “Tow truck is coming, should be about an hour-and-a-half.”

“That long?” Ruby asked as she stopped playing abruptly. Weiss sat upright as she looked up at Blake.

“We really are in the middle of nowhere,” Blake said, taking Weiss’ phone from her button-up flannel’s breast pocket and handing it back to her. “I also called the hotel and told them we’d be in late.”

“Should we…cancel the hotel to pay for the tow truck?” Ruby asked like it pained her to say. She set her guitar aside and hopped to the gravel ground, straightening her plaid skirt.

“I told you, I’ve got it handled,” Weiss assured her.

“Sorry, I’m just…” Ruby took a deep breath. “I’m anxious about us missing our gig, or running out of money…”

“Yang,” Blake called out, cupping her mouth with her hand. “Stop taking a road nap and come comfort your sister.”

A few seconds later came the thump thump thump of Yang’s boots, followed by her capturing Ruby in a hug. “Don’t worry sis, it’ll be alright!”

“Egh…loosen up…” Ruby grunted as Yang proceeded to lift her up and crush her rib cage.

“Whoop, my bad.” She gently placed Ruby down and patted her head. “But seriously, though, we’re going to be okay. This isn’t the only gig we have lined up, we have savings, we have, erm, a rich girl.” She gestured at Weiss, who rolled her eyes at her. “We’re good, okay?”

Ruby sighed and looked down, shuffling her feet on the gravel shoulder of the road. “I guess you’re right. I just worry too much…”

Blake stepped up and hugged her from behind. “Hey, while we wait, what do you say we put on some music, raid our snack stash and have a chill sesh until the tow truck arrives?”

Ruby smiled and leaned back into Blake’s arms. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

Yang grinned and pulled Weiss into a rough side hug. “Yeah, let’s have a chill sesh!”

Weiss grunted and tried shove herself away from Yang. “No sesh is chill if you’re involved, and you smell like the inside of Berty.”

“Aww come on, you love me,” Yang said as her strength overcame Weiss and pulled her into a proper hug.

“That’s irrelevant!” She claimed feebly, failing to hide the smile that was overtaking her face.

Blake hummed with amusement, then kissed the top of Ruby’s head. “How bout you pick that guitar back up. Maybe that’ll calm them down.”

“You think so?” Ruby asked with a giggle, watching as Weiss still flailed in Yang’s embrace.

“Worth a shot.”

~~~

An hour later, Weiss had fallen asleep in Yang’s arms. The two had laid down in the back of the van on the mattress, and after Weiss got through with her complaining and Yang had pared back her teasing, they’d settled into a close cuddling position and were asleep soon after. Ruby’s soft playing probably helped, as did the gentle breeze that had begun to blow through. The sun was almost set by now, bathing the sky in a deep graying blue.

Blake sat behind Ruby, holding her around the waist she she played with her legs to the sides. She was playing a slow, light tune, low in pitch and a careful rhythm that came and went like a tree swaying in the wind. Blake had said it many times to her before and Ruby never believed her, but Ruby really was the best guitar player Blake had ever met. Even while casually playing while stranded on the side of a road, her music was masterful. Blake felt so lucky to just get to hear it. “I love you,” she whispered.

Ruby hummed and smiled, continuing to play as she spoke, “I love you, too.”

“Thank you,” Blake said, kissing Ruby just above the temple.

Ruby chuckled quietly. “For what?”

“I mean,” Blake said as she began to reminisce. “You’re kinda the reason this is all real. If you hadn’t been crazy enough to convince us all to abandon our sensible career choices and form a rock band, I never would have gotten the chance to fall in love with you three.”

“I did kinda ruin all of your lives, huh?” Ruby said with a giggle. Her playing was slowing and getting quieter.

“Hardly,” Blake said, tightening her embrace around Ruby a little. “Because of you, Weiss got away from her dickhole father, Yang escaped the fate of becoming some bored shop mechanic, and I, well…I’d be in a shitty apartment doing nothing.”

“You’d still be writing,” Ruby pointed out.

“Maybe. ADHD doesn’t do well without motivating factors,” Blake said and Ruby nodded knowingly. “This band, though? My girls? That’s all the motivation I need. I’ve never been this happy.”

Ruby smiled, now no longer playing, her hands frozen in playing position. She didn’t realize she had stopped. “We wouldn’t even get to be stranded here in who-knows-where if not for me, huh?”

Blake giggled and kissed her head again. “Exactly.”

They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the wind blow. It was properly nighttime now, stars dotting the sky.

Ruby yawned, finally setting her guitar aside. “Honestly…I’d be okay just sleeping here tonight.”

Blake hummed, turning her girlfriend so she could cradle her sideways in her lap. “Sounds inviting. But a hotel room with a bathroom sounds even more inviting.”

Ruby shuddered. “Don’t say that, I’m trying not to think about needing to use one of those bushes for cover.”

Blake snorted, looking down at Ruby’s face. “You’re such a dork.” She leaned down and kissed her softly, cupping the back of Ruby’s head with her hand. Ruby hummed into the kiss, then placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder and pushed. Blake slowly leaned back until she was lying on the mattress as well, with Ruby parting from the kiss and adjusting to lie on her chest.

“So you’re really happy?” Ruby whispered, her hand resting in the center of Blake’s chest with Blake covering it with her own, she stared up at the Edison bulbs they had strung along the upper trim of the van’s interior, bathing them in warm light.

“Ruby, being in this band is a dream come true. Being in this polycule is a dream come true. Hell, being here right now is like a dream,” she smiled and tugged Ruby a little closer. “I’m more than happy.”

Ruby snickered. “Sappy.”

“I know.” She turned her head to look towards her other two girlfriends, Yang on her side and facing towards them, face partially obstructed by blonde hair, with Weiss held close to her chest, the girl’s back to Blake and Ruby and her face tucked against Yang’s shirt. For a pair who loved to bicker, they sure knew how to cuddle.

Ruby noticed Blake staring and smiled. “I’m happy, too. To get to do something like this with my sister and our girlfriends, I just…” She took a deep breath and sighed. “Dream come true, like you said.”

“Sappy,” Blake teased.

“You started it,” Ruby joked, tucking her nose closer to Blake.

They faded into a natural silence, and soon, Ruby was asleep on Blake’s chest. Blake figured she’d try to stay awake so she’d notice the tow truck arrive, but no way was she moving from this spot until then. The music, the performances, the travel was all fulfilling and exciting, but these moments with her girlfriends were what made it all truly worth it.

Even if Yang was kind of a snorer. And Ruby was kind of a drooler. And Weiss was…Weiss. They were her girls. She loved them with every inch of her sappy heart.

#pollinationweek2021 #pollinationweek #rwby #pollination #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #drabble #rwby rock

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willownoir1112 · 3 years

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Hello beautiful people of Tumblr! Wyn here with day one of White Rose Week 2021 to break my silence! I hope everyone enjoys, and I'll see you tomorrow with day 2!

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Love Bites

Summer Rose vanished, and Ruby suffered.

All her life, all Ruby has ever wanted was to belong. She tries so hard to fit in, first with her older sister's friends. But, they all told her to go away. That she's a baby compared to them. "Why would I want to bring you too?" Yang would always declare. "You're still just a baby!" Her friends would laugh with her, call her names as well, and leave her behind just like Yang did.

Her sister's words hurt her, and destroyed any chance of them having a sisterly relationship.

She tried so hard to be a good daughter. But, her father spent more of his time worrying about his troops, his responsibilities, his duties to Goddess and Country. "One day you will understand, Ruby." He would always tell her. "One day, you'll have to make the same sacrifices for a family of your own." His words never changed, nor his actions. He would be gone constantly, leaving her and Yang alone for weeks or even months at a time, meaning she had to grow up far too quickly.

Her father's priorities hurt her and robbed her of her childhood.

She tried so hard to be a good student. But, subjects like english, history, anything really to do with reading simply didn't make sense to her. She could stare at the page of a book for hours and all she could see is a jumble of letters. Everyone called her simple, stupid, a waste of time. "Oh look, it's little Stupid Ruby!" Cardin Winchester would declare every day at school. He and his cronies would torment and belittle her, and once even cut her long hair off. She suffered in silence, her arms the only evidence of her inner pain. Arms she always kept covered even in the worst heat of summer.

Her peers hurt her with their words, with their actions, and made her withdraw further into herself.

She finally stopped being a good sibling. She shut her sister out of her life first, Yang never noticing that Ruby stayed closeted in her room constantly. She was the bright shiny sun of everyone else's lives, with her outgoing and boisterous personality. Everyone's but Ruby's. If Yang is the bright sun, then Ruby has become the darkest moon of the family, and she likes it that way now.

She finally stopped being a good daughter. She did her chores without complaint and without needing to be told, save late at night when her father would already be in bed or Yang too preoccupied with her latest significant other. He never noticed that his younger daughter dresses in nothing but blacks and reds, or that she never let her hair grow back longer than above her shoulders. The career he chose to continue to support his family had a long ago casualty, and Ruby keeps it that way.

She finally stopped being a good student. She kept going to school, despite all but failing in everything. She went through the motions, ignored everyone when they called her things like Queen of Darkness or Salem's heir, or even worse. She ignored the shoves, the bullying, everything done to her until they all finally grew bored of it and her. She was finally left alone to sit in the deepest corner of all her classes, doodling to pass the time until she could return to her room and her solitude.

But then Ms. Peach, the choir director, invited the secretly shy and lonely girl to her class one day and encouraged her to sing. From the moment she heard the piano play, her soul became exultant, and her voice rose in response. Even Principle Ozpin, who was walking by at that moment stopped and listened as the shy, moody, rather dark girl who kept to herself was in possession of a voice that could bring even him to tears. Peach was enthusiastic in teaching her how to read music, how to project her voice, how to truly appreciate her hidden talent for music.

But, Taiyang finally noticed when he was forced to retire. He noticed the true state of his family, and decided to take firm control. He destroyed her growing dreams when he declared she and Yang both were to join Beacon Military Academy to finish school. That they needed discipline and not freedom to thrive like he once did. That neither of his children will follow in his long disappeared wife's footsteps, and lack the discipline needed to succeed where she obviously failed.

He was furious when Glynda Goodwitch admitted her as Ruby, allowing her to keep that one small bit of freedom.

She suffered like never before at Beacon. She was admitted two years early as a favor to her father, and she hated it. Her hate translated itself into her becoming a powerful fighter with her chosen weapon, a red and black fifty caliber sniper scythe she named Crescent Rose, and soon where she was once either dereided or ignored, she was now feared. Even her own sister fears her now, and that makes her happy.

She is the Darkest Reaper of Vale, and she hates them all.

But one person did not fear her. One person saw past her pain, her grief for her denied life. Weiss was from Atlas, a mysterious, inclusive land far to the north, where they say even the Grimm do not tread. A land of dark magic, of creatures even fouler than the enemy of the world. A land even the demiurge Salem has forsaken. Weiss did not fear the Darkest Reaper, and took an odd delight in hearing the whispers about her, about them both.

She has her own secrets, secrets Ruby will know all too soon.

She cannot help but to feel an attraction to the white haired girl from the north. Her porcelain skin is always smooth and cool to the touch. Her brilliant blue eyes are like the clear blue skies she would once sit under with her long departed mother while they laugh and imagine whimsical beasts and imaginary places. Her long white hair moves like the finest of silk curtains as she walks from class to class, her nose turned up to their peers as if they are all beneath her. All except for her. She treats the Reaper with respect, with courtesy, and after a time, holds out a hand of friendship to her, one she takes willingly.

She finally has a friend, a real friend. Someone who cares for her, Ruby Rose.

But certain things stand out to her as well. The way she barely eats anything but meat, and even then almost bloody and nearly raw. The way she approaches every mock battle with the cunning of a predator on the hunt. The skill with which she wields her rapier, a dust revolver styled weapon she has named Myrtenaster, with near lethal intent even during the simplest of spars against anyone willing to challenge her. She is the only one who can stand against her, her own formidable rage and loathing a match for the heiress's feral cunning and ferocity.

But one late night, during a restless night they both secretly shared, a truth is told, and their lives are changed forever.

She herself couldn't sleep. It was the one thing she could always count on being able to do. It was her refuge from the reality of her world, and she retreated to it every chance she could. But tonight, she tosses and turns, she begs and pleads with the treacherous brain that won't stop thinking, and finally surrenders and gets dressed. Taking up her scythe, she easily steals away into the Emerald Forest, the guards ignoring her out of fear. She runs deeply into the darkened woods, no fear for the Grimm that hide in the shadows as well as whatever other creatures may dwell within.

She never realizes that a pair of blue eyes follow her, belonging to the single person who doesn't fear her. The only person who is beginning to secretly adore her.

She finally stops near the old temple to the Brother of Light, which has been long abandoned when he left Remnant to it's fate. Sitting down, she begins to cry deep tears of pain and sorrow. She hates her life now, she hates being taught to kill, to end the lives of others. She despises the fact that she is good at it. She never wanted this. All she ever wanted was to be a good sibling, a good daughter, a good student. All she ever wanted was to belong, to love a certain white haired girl and be loved in return.

She almost screams in terror when the great white furred head lays in her lap, with sad blue eyes that reflect her pain.

She stares at the great beast, marveling at the fact that a wolf has appeared here. One of the few things she has managed to remember from her poor studies is that the Grimm killed all the wolves when they first came to Vale. None were spared, and somehow she knows this one knows that. To her surprise, she begins to pet the wild creature, smiling softly at the way it's tail begins to wag as it whines. And then she begins to talk to it. She talks about her mother, her father, her sister, her life. She is soon sobbing in grief at the sadness of her life thus far, and is surprised to see tears in the white wolf's eyes as well.

But she forgot that sorrow is a feast for the Grimm, and they soon gather around her and the white wolf both.

She makes her decision. She throws her scythe to the ground and gives in completely to her sorrow. She is so tired. She is so tired of being turned into someone she wants nothing to do with. She's so tired of hoping people will finally love her instead of hate her or fear her. She is so tired of dreaming of a pair of blue eyes that will never look lovingly at her. She is ready, and the Grimm will feed well on her. But she doesn't expect the snarling, the sudden sounds of battle. Opening her silver eyes, they widen as she sees the once four legged wolf has vanished, a naked Weiss snarling in her rage as she wields Myrtenaster against the foul creatures.

"YOU KILLED THEM ALL!"

She stares at the rage filled young woman. She's never seen her fight with this much savagery, this much hate. Even in battles in which she is outclassed or outnumbered, she is still controlled. She uses superior tactics, the icy calm she is infamous for, and her obviously hidden rage to still rip victory from the jaws of defeat.

"ALL THE PACKS OF VALE ARE DEAD!"

She picks Crescent Rose back up. The white haired girl is beginning to frighten her, and she does not frighten easily. She watches in growing terror as an Alpha Beowolf appears, howling in challenge, Weiss's answering howl frightening her to her very soul. She watches as the white haired woman tosses her sword to the side and begins to growl as she grows. She listens to the popping of bone and sinew as fur begins to spring from her bare skin. She stares on in horror as the one friend she has ever made turns into…

A werewolf. A creature from Remnant's darkest stories has come to life before her, and is defending her while taking vengeance for the long dead wolves of Vale.

"You will not hurt my Ruby…"

She screams as Weiss leaps towards the Alpha, her fangs bared and her still hand shaped front paws slashing at the creature of darkness. The Alpha charges her as well, it's own jaws wide open to bite and tear at the white werewolf, it's own claws slashing at her unarmored and exposed flanks. She hears her friend's scream of pain as the Alpha strikes harder than she can, and causes more damage than she can possibly manage in return, and she finally leaps into action. Weiss is the first person to be her friend. She is the first person to treat her like a person. She is the first person she's allowed herself to start having feelings for in her short life.

She may be ready to die, but she will not let Weiss die for her own selfish desires.

Crescent Rose strikes the Beowolf quickly, breaking the Alpha and the werewolf apart as the Grimm leaps back to avoid the deathblow Ruby aims at it. But Ruby is enraged now. She sees the bright red blood upon the moonlit ground, and it adds to her fury. She hears the whimpers of the injured wolf, and it increases her rage. She roars in her righteous anger as her scythe becomes a blur, the Alpha soon howling in pain before Ruby's final blow comes in her scythe hooking around its neck before she pulls the trigger, decapitating the beast with one final roar of triumph. It takes her a moment to calm herself, a long moment in which she has forgotten her anger, her sorrow, her self loathing. And then she finally remembers Weiss. In a panic, she begins to look for her friend, desperate to ensure that she is safe.

It doesn't take her long to find her, and her scream of anguish can be heard back at Beacon.

Weiss has managed to get back to a small cave, her clothes as well as some supplies stacked neatly in the back. She herself is panting heavily as blood flows steadily from her injuries. But her tail thumps on the ground weakly as Ruby slides to the ground in front of her. She doesn't hesitate, but begins to treat the slashing wounds, bandaging them carefully while doing her best to ignore the pain filled shrieks from the badly injured werewolf.

"Oh Goddesses, I'm so sorry, Weiss. I'm so so sorry!" Is her litany as she keeps at her work, until the blood finally stops. Until the white wolf goes silent save for her panting.

The sun rises, then sets once more, but Ruby has yet to leave the white werewolf's side. Weiss has slept the entire time, but she has stayed awake. She is too scared to close her eyes, terrified that if she relaxes her vigil for even a moment, she will lose the most important person in her life. But her body's needs will not be denied, and she finally falls asleep, the large canine head still in her lap and her grip firm on Crescent Rose's handle.

She dreams of white fur and sky blue eyes. Of days spent watching the skies and laughing. Of feeling loved once more, and being confident in being able to return that love.

She moans as she feels the urgency of the lips on her own. Of the feeling of cold skin upon her own now bare skin. Of cold hands exploring her body and her own hands wandering across smooth, uninjured skin in return. She moans in longing as lips caress her skin with feather light kisses. As her own fingers discover places on the other willing body that bring moans of pleasure from a voice she has come to adore since beginning at Beacon.

But she moans loudly as teeth sink into her collarbone, a tender, almost loving bite from the woman she knows she loves deeply.

"Ruby…" Her voice is husky as she releases the love bite, full of longing and need. She can feel a certain heat against her leg that is foreign to the cold that the rest of her skin belies. She herself feels so hot, so needed. She has never felt like this before, and she wants more. She needs more. But her eyes widen as she catches her lover's hands as they grab at the hem of her panties, her face full of fear once more.

"Weiss… I…"

"I know, Ruby." Weiss smiles softly at the Reaper. "I know what you are. But I have wanted you for months now. Since I saw your strength for myself. Since I got to know the real you, and not your mask of anger and self loathing that you hide behind."

"Weiss…"

"Ruby, I am the last of my pack." The werewolf informs her sadly. "I came to Vale seeking the packs that once roamed here, hoping to join them and be safe." She sighs sadly, her blue eyes dimming. "I am beginning to fear I am the last of my kind."

She sits up and pulls the werewolf into her arms. She knows all the signs of sorrow, being well acquainted with them herself. "I… Weiss I'm damaged. Why would you want someone like me?"

Their eyes meet, quicksilver staring into sky blue. "Because I have been alone since I was a child. But you make me feel like I am home now." She cuddles deeper into the Reaper's arms. "I feel safe with you, and I know I can trust you with my secret."

Ruby takes a moment to think, to gather her thoughts while considering everything she has been told. But her thoughts always return to a pair of sky blue eyes she loves to look into. Coming to a decision, she lifts the werewolf's face by her chin with a single finger and kisses her deeply, while her free hand pulls her even closer.

This may be a mistake, but it is going to be the best one she ever makes.

The cavern is soon filled with their moans, their cries of pleasure, their whispered words of love, their need for one another. Their lovemaking is tender at times, frenzied at others, and intense throughout. Morning found them once again asleep, this time in each other's arms and in a tangle of limbs, a part of Ruby still inside the white werewolf, who smiles as she sleeps deeply. They wake upon that glorious morning and decide that Beacon has nothing left for them, and decide to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Someplace where no one knows either of them.

Someplace where their future children can grow up safely…

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Weiss declares her love for her, and for the werewolf, she will throw everything away for a future with her...

Ruby opens one silver eye, smiling at the blue eyed pup staring back at her eagerly as she whines. Sitting up, she yawns as she stretches, her mouth opening wide as her fangs gleam in the light of the morning sunlight. Bowing her head down low, she nuzzles the white haired silver eyed pup tenderly before the two of them leave the comforts of the small, modest home she and Weiss have built together. It has been a decade since she and the white werewolf left Vale far behind and traveled to Mistral. To their surprise, as they explored the deepest parts of the wilds of Anima, they encountered a village full of others like Weiss, led by a lioness named Pyrrha Nikos and her own mate, a human woman named Nora.

She had heard of Pyrrha, who had been reported killed in a massive battle at Haven Academy. A report fabricated by the woman herself so she too could escape with her own mate and their hard won freedom...

They had met so many others, who had fled the destruction of their own packs and prides, their own groups and hutches. They met Velvet, who was a kind and gentle soul of a wererabbit and her mate Coco, who was the heiress of Mistral's largest corporation and their secret benefactor. They met Blake, a panther who loves to read, and her chameleon mate Ilia. There had even been a tearful reunion between Weiss and her older sister Winter, who had also barely survived the destruction of their pack and had also fled. They even met a pair of birds who squabbled constantly, an overly violent Raven and her dusty, drunken Qrow of a brother.

But the biggest shock comes when they reach one small cabin in particular, where a lonely woman lives. A lonely woman long thought vanished by the young woman, but who in truth had been forced to leave by the man she thought loved her.

Ruby sobs as she rushes into her mother's arms, Summer Rose holding her tightly as she too weeps in joy. A mother and her daughter are reunited to their eternal joy, and Weiss cheers in her happiness for them both.

They talked late into the night, the white werewolf asleep in her mate's lap as mother and daughter catch themselves up on years of their lives. Summer is livid at how Ruby has been treated, how she has suffered for so long because of her absence. Ruby had been furious to discover that her mother had been driven off due to a twist of fate, as she had been bitten by another werewolf during a mission. She had been bitten to save her life, and had been punished for it.

Ruby made her own decision that same night, and smiled as her beloved sank her fangs into her skin in a love bite that would change her forever. She turned willingly, determined that Weiss, her sister, and her own mother will not be the last of their kind.

She quietly cheered her mother onward as she found the courage to move on with Raven, who adored her and treated her with kindness, respect, and love. She had happily held her baby sister when she was born two years later, Weiss still at her side and a smile on her own face to match the look of peace in her eyes. She and Weiss had themselves celebrated the birth of their twin pups a year later, naming them after both their mothers.

But the biggest surprise is still to come.

She still checks her scroll from time to time, she and Pyrrha both agreeing that they cannot remain ignorant of the outside world. There is still danger out there, both from the humans and faunus as well as the Grimm, and all while quietly offering safe haven to others like them, as well as their families. They as well as Raven and Nora are the defenders and leaders of their small community, and they take their responsibilities seriously. But Ruby had been surprised to find an email waiting for her one day, when she had travelled far to the south before turning it on, a feat she can accomplish with ease thanks to her semblance and now enhanced senses and superior stamina.

She never expected to hear from her sister ever again.

Downloading it, she returns to the village and her mate, asking her to read it for her. Weiss of course does so, having been the one who finally helped the Reaper figure out that she was not stupid like everyone in her life claimed, but struggled with severe dyslexia. She and Summer have been helping her learn to finally read and write, but it is a slow process, one she still finds herself getting frustrated with as well as embarrassed. Opening it, she soon stops to summon Summer, the two of them sobbing at the state of the brawler's life since they fled. Tai has placed his blame on his eldest for her disappearance, and she has suffered greatly for it. Her life is a disaster now, and she has already been in a failed marriage. She begs Ruby to at least reassure her that she is alive, that she is at least doing well, that her suffering is worth it if it means that the sister she long ignored is finally happy.

That they have traded places, and that her sister is finally whole in spirit and at peace.

Pyrrha does not hesitate to give her permission to bring Yang back. To allow them to reunite, so that she can see for herself that her wishes are indeed true, and that Ruby is happy and thriving. She goes and meets Yang at Mistral's airship port, where the two of them meet in a long overdue hug between sisters, and not the strangers they have been all their lives. They return together, where Yang is also overjoyed to be reunited with her own mother, Raven. Ruby herself nods in satisfaction that her sister is on her way to a peace of mind she now enjoys, and is grateful that she too settles into life in their village, calling it home as well.

Only she and Weiss bear witness to Winter sinking her fangs into Yang's flesh, the two of them falling in love in this place they too call home.

Summer and Luna play happily with the other children, who include their cousins and their aunt. They are gentle with their younger brother, and fiercely protective of their newborn sister. Ruby and Weiss have slowly become the leaders of their still growing safe haven, and lead both by excellent example as well as with hard learned wisdom and knowledge. They share a deep, beautiful commitment to one another that many envy, one forged in mutual understanding and undying love.

Weiss Schnee came into Ruby's life, and she has prospered...

#White Rose Week 2021 #white rose #ruby rose #weiss schnee #Day One #werewolf Weiss #Trans Ruby #here we go!

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enha-woodzies · 3 years

Text

➸ CHAPTER 4 | " BREWING A SCHEME "

starring: enhypen ft. i-land daniel

pairing: jungwon x fem!reader x sunghoon

genres: royal au, romance, angst, slowburn, 18th century setting

word count: 1.5k

taglist: @serendipitysung (betareader) @angeljungwon @en-sun @affectionaterainoflove @renkiv @softforjungwoo @jislix @fluffi @gyeraniee @stxrryemxlys

[ PREV. CHAPTER ] | [ M. LIST ] | [ NEXT CHAPTER ]

The evening was getting more vivacious as several eligibles twirl around the dance floor not once, but multiple times now; some ladies with different men, as some with the same ones they initially danced with.

The young lord with a hearty appetite approaches his best friend who is sitting alone on the large couch by the lobby. “Where’ve you been? I thought you ran away to the garden with some man.” Sunoo softly chuckles as he plops down beside Y/n with a table napkin in hand. The young miss had her head hung low when he approached her so it took him a while to notice her flushed cheeks and soft sniffles.

“Hey there, come now. What's wrong?”

“Am I that unattractive, Sunoo?” The boy gulps down at her when she suddenly turns to him with a frown. His lips form into that of a slight smile as he carries the napkin towards her flushed cheeks, gently wiping off the tears that stream down her face. He swears internally at the thought that someone seemingly insulted her for her insecurities to pop out again. Sunoo could only presume it was his doltish brother’s doing this time.

“Where is this suddenly coming from, Y/n?”

She sniffs heavily. “Jungwon-”

“That dimbo-”

“we were dancing when he said my eyes were beautiful. But it wasn't long until he excused himself, quickly rushed out and disposed of me like an old, useless book lying on the library floor. I'm completely certain I never said anything wrong for him to suddenly act like that.” Sunoo can only sigh in exasperation while rubbing the corseted back of his very dear friend.

“Am I horrifying?” Her bottom lip juts out as she huffs out a long, dragging sigh. Sunoo’s eyebrows furrow in fume.

“Hey, don’t say that! If you are, then Lord Heeseung wouldn’t probably dance with you out there like you’re his coveted treasure. But of course, he looks at every woman he’s ever acquired like that.”

“He was very charming, though. But whoever wants to be another trophy in his snobby rack of possessions anyway?”

“Oh! Every woman in the ton, babe.” The two rolls their eyes and share a teasing laugh afterwards.

“Sorry about my brother. He's just plain stupid.” Sunoo rests his head on the young miss’ lap. Her hand hovers above him as her flimsy fingers softly rake his luscious locks, fingertips gradually glazing his scalp with the softest, careful touch he's ever felt.

“It's so frustrating, you know? He’d look at you with a smile and the next, he frowns. He’d say you're beautiful and the next, he acts like you're hideous. He'd talk to you nicely like he's very fond of you and then in a split second, he shifts into a complete asshole. No offense.”

“Now that's one way to word it! He's got his brain in a rust. Mother would sometimes think about shaking his head to get it up and running.”

“How about we put on a good show?” The two jolt from their seats and quickly turn to the owner of the baritonal voice. Sunoo stands up in a jiff followed by Y/n, as they curtsy in sync. “Your Grace.”

“Please, Lord Sunghoon will do-”

“Your Grace! How lovely, dear, would you be kind enough to grace our floor with your enchanting waltz?"

The three bows affront the Queen who abruptly appears from one of the arched entrances. With a carefully coiffed beehive and shiny Swarovski jewels draping around the updo, Sunoo almost gasps out loud at the stunning sight that is the Queen.

"I’d be happy to oblige, Your Highness." The marquess turns to the young miss with a raised brow. “My lady?”

Y/n’s eyes widens at the sudden request. The Queen looks at her in anticipation. “Oh! Uh.. y-yeah...”

Sunoo subtly nudges her from the back and she was quick enough to clear her throat and redeem herself. “I mean, yes, Your Grace. It’d be a pleasure to dance with you.” She extends her hand for the very fine marquess only to have the back of her palm softly kissed by the ever handsome lad. “The pleasure’s entirely mine, my lady.”

He gently pulls her from her fingers and soon enough, they find themselves dancing alone gracefully on the Royal Court as the ton circles around them with amused whispers and mouths ajar, caught in the depths of such awestruck sight.

The lad has his hand resting politely on the slightly arched back of the lass, with the other hand carefully gripping hers as they sway and twirl in elegant motions along the grand tune from the pianoforte. With a close-hold stance, it is without a doubt that the two can feel each other's breaths of tension and agitation.

“Are you okay? You're downright flushed, it's starting to concern me. Is it perhaps the corset you're wearing?” Sunghoon whispers against the space almost enclosing them. She fixes her gaze upon the mole on his nose bridge and wonders how someone can possibly look this ethereal even with all these on random parts of the face.

“Miss Park,” He steals her attention from the pretty dots on his magnificent face that resulted in her now fixing her gaze upon the marquess’ eye-piercing stare. “are you alright?”

“Uh-huh.” She smiles naturally as if she didn't almost gag from anxiety a few moments ago. Despite the obvious lie, the young miss earns a soft chuckle from the gentleman. “They don't call me the lie-detector for nothing, Miss Park. Your shaky breaths against my presence is enough proof that you're not at ease. Might I add, you cannot even look straight into my eyes for more than three seconds.” He chuckles lightly.

“It's just… I’m just…” She shudders.

“Let's go get some air now, shall we?” It was very timely that the music ended when the marquess suggested a change of scenery. The crowd applauded at the spectacular performance the two had put on and it wasn't for long when everyone joined in the center of the hall to dance once more.

His other hand steadies on Y/n’s back while the other is holding her hand as he carefully avoids the ton's eyes. The ton swarms the floor and Sunghoon takes it as a perfect timing to sneak out the royal court and out in the open.

What they didn't know is that one person caught them; and he was just standing at the very corner of the room cautiously eyeing them the entire time with an obnoxious, deafening regret swallowing him from his gut.

Under the incandescent gleam of the chandeliers stands Yang Jungwon, a boy who just had his heart crushed by the mere sight of torture for his soul and a brainrotting guilt for giving away the woman to not just an apparent threat with a face that screams trouble, but to an all-knowing, remarkable snake who perfectly knows how to play his cards right.

The moment they step foot on the grassy lawn across the royal staircase, the two continuously huff out exhales of reliefs and share a rather boisterous laugh afterwards.

“Didn't think we'd get past them, did you?” Sunghoon, with both hands on his waist, huffs out shaky breaths while looking at the almost helpless miss who’s now wiping her forehead with the back of her thumb.

Sunghoon fishes out a small piece of cloth from his pocket and walks closer Y/n leaving the two a tiny gap of distance. “May I?” He offers to which Y/n responds with a light nod. He gently taps her forehead from the sweat of anxiousness and the sneaking out they did a while back.

“Are you sure you're okay?” He twitches his head to get a good view of her face and before he knew it, he was locking his eyes on hers.

“Forgive me, it's just, your eyes, they're... divine. I’m completely charmed.” Y/n blinks twice at the pithy remark from the favorable marquess. Almost all thoughts of her dearest lord vanished at that striking remark from another fine nobleman.

“I meant what I said earlier,” Y/n’s brows furrowed in confusion. “the idea of putting on a good show?”

“I thought we just did?” She questions.

“Not the dance. I meant we should play pretend. Only if you wish to, of course.”

“Pardon me, Your Grace, but I don't think I’m catching up.”

Sunghoon almost sighs in frustration but quickly stifles it with a chuckle. “Forgive me for eavesdropping back there but I couldn't help myself. A chap gave you a heartbreak?”

“A longtime crush that I couldn't ever acquire attention from let alone a good moment.” Sunghoon lets out an amused smile with a jerked brow.

“Let's play a game.” He snaps. “Two witches brew a scheme to make the perfect concoction of envy. Whoever indulges the contents will either conceal their long-hidden truth, or swallow it down until all there's left is nothing but void. What do you say?” Sunghoon playfully smirks at the young miss who seems very impressed with the whole ploy.

“I’d say cheers to that!”

*send me an ask or a message if you wish to be added on this series' taglist!

ㅡ © ENHA-WOODZIES, 2021

#enhypenwriters #enhypennetwork #of lords and mischiefs #enhypen angst #enhypen fluff #enhypen imagines #enhypen fics #enhypen series #enhypen jungwon #enhypen heeseung #enhypen jay #enhypen jake #enhypen sunghoon #enhypen sunoo #enhypen niki #iland daniel

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nyctophilin · 4 years

Text

Smut/Suggestive - S | Fluff - F | Angst - A | Triggering - T

Disclaimer: None of the actions taking place in any of those works are real nor do they represent the real Stray Kids or JYPE. They are for entertainment purposes only.

♛ Bang Chan ↴

{Coming soon}

♛ Lee Minho↴

۵ I WAS A FOOL | S + F +A | Ongoing

– She has been in love with her best friend for as long as she can remember. However, life doesn’t always like to play in your favour. Forced into a marriage she didn’t want to happen she lives her days lonely and unhappy, the only thing bringing her joy being the occasional hangouts with her best friend. At some point, her husband starts to get bothered by the said hangouts.

۵ SINNERS GO TO HEAVEN | A + T +S | Ongoing

– Once ruler of the underworld, Satan, defeated and humiliated, is forced to live an eternity in exile in the overworld. With Lilith, his lover, killed, the only thing he has left is his newborn daughter, who he has sworn to raise and train so that one day she could help him overthrow the Deadly Sins and regain control of the underworld. Thousands of years have passed since the occurrence of the Celestial Battle and it seems as if Y/N, his daughter, is finally prepared to fulfill her father's wishes. However, turns out that she is not the good obedient daughter Satan always hoped she will be.

♛ Seo Changbin ↴

۵ I WAS A FOOL | S + F +A | Ongoing

۵ Birthday present | F + S

– Y/N decides to give Changbin a special present for his birthday.

♛ Hwang Hyunjin ↴

۵ FAKE AFFECTION | S + A + F

– Han Jisung has been rejected by the girl he likes one to many times. He decides that he has had enough and is set on making her want him back. What could possibly make her want him more than seeing him with her rival after she boldly assumed he can’t find anyone better. That way Jisung and Y/N are stuck in a fake relationship until Jisung’s crush falls for him. Or he falls for someone else.

۵ WHEN THE NIGHT FALLS | A + F

– On a quite night when Y/N wakes up in a cold sweat, her refusal to tell Hyunjin what her nightmare was about does not really sit well with him.

♛ Han Jisung ↴

۵ FAKE AFFECTION | S + A + F

♛ Lee Felix ↴

۵ Stay winning | S + A

– He was always making remarks about her and making fun of her work. He was speculating about how her work was always chosen as the best and was creating rumors. She despised him. Or did she?

♛ Kim Seungmin ↴

۵ Maybe I like you | S + A + F

– Seungmin cared deeply for his friend this is why he never liked any of her boyfriends. The most recent one bothered him the most. However, maybe he wasn’t that bad.

♛ Yang Jeongin ↴

۵ Because I love you | A + T

– A dating simulator video game in which you can fall in love with Yang Jeongin, a cute little nerd boy in your school that so happens to have a secret crush on you. Be friendly and make him trust you. Build a friendship and help him overcome his insecurities. Be there for him and eventually fall in love.

Kinktober 2020 master list

~1000 words master list

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kitkatopinions · 3 years

Note

I’m probably over thinking/over complicating things but Ironwood and Penny have been really bothering me. It because prior to the moment that destroyed Penny’s arc the show and Ruby were really pushing that Penny not matter her body was human and that’s a very positive I like that especially when it comes to characters of Penny’s nature.

So my problem kicks in when I think of Ironwood. Namely this part in his song:

“What if it's true as they say

That I don't have a heart

That I'm more a machine than a man?”

Like wtf. I mean I “get it” especially with that dumbass line of Winter. But when it’s talked about Ironwood it was always in reference to the fact that his body is half robotic and there for we are meant to see the correlation between his body and his character.?

Put next to Penny’s message that really bothers me. Even more so since Penny gets a “reward” of becoming human, but the writers push that Ironwood sacrificing his arm to stop Watts and replacing it (a medical decision that could be debated given that he wanted to be up and able immediately to handle things not to mention that fact that nerves and muscle are severely fucked up) with a new (uncharacteristically uncovered) prosthetic means that he’s moving away from humanity. This thought has been driving nuts for a week.

I don’t think you’re overthinking at all. The writers have been pretty blatant about what they think of disabled people.

On the topic of James, 1. They wrote their triple amputee character to be coded as losing his humanity. This is suspect from the get go, but writers imo need to be especially careful and sensitive when they display things like villains with prosthetics. CRWBY is not careful and sensitive. 2. They specifically connected the loss of his limb to the loss of his humanity outside of the show, and as you said, his new prosthetic is uncharacteristically uncovered as well, and there were some pointed shots showcasing his arm and emphasizing it before showing Ironwood doing something wrong as well as a shot that particularly bothered me of them having James fall to Winter when his aura broke and then them immediately flashing to a fallen, broken robotic soldier. Tying the loss of someone’s humanity to them losing a limb / gaining a prosthetic in any way is wrong imo. There are better ways to display someone’s loss of humanity than villainizing the loss of his arm, and I don’t care what justifications people have for ‘they just meant to say that he was too impatient to-’ Idc. Tying the loss of humanity to the gaining of a prosthetic is wrong. 3. They never once treated Ironwood’s clear PTSD, history of mental health problems, and trauma with any sympathy, instead spending their time ragging on him for not wanting to feel his pain anymore and condemning him for... Trying to control his emotions. 4. CRWBY also gave him a semblance and explained how it worked by saying he hyper focused, talking about how James’ passive semblance that he can’t control forces him to focus on one single goal and fixate. I’m not disabled, but I do hyper fixate. It’s not something I can control, and to see it used as a justification for evil (in one of my favorite characters in the series who reminded me of my father lol) and being treated as something bad... It doesn’t feel good. I can’t imagine how other people must feel who are much more affected by this than I am. 5. As you say, the writers go out of their way to reference his metal body as being more ‘machine than man’ and make lines about him being heartless. And yeah, I get that he’s an allegory for the ‘Tin Man’ from Wizard of Oz but ffs the Tin Man had always had a heart and I honestly thought that was what they were going for in V3 with Qrow commenting that sometimes he thought James didn’t have a heart and the audience seeing Ironwood’s actions as questionable, only for the entire show to tell us repeatedly that he actually is a caring and good person who’s willing to destroy all the forces he was proud to show off if it means saving lives and was actually pretty freaking blameless in the Fall of Beacon and was super kind to the kids and when the chips were down, Qrow and Glynda both absolutely knew without even questioning that James would never ever willingly hurt the world or fully betray them and had absolutely no hand in the Beacon attack. Like, I’m sorry, but between Penny and Ironwood, season eight is the season of taking well done character allusions and throwing them out the window for the exact opposite moral done incredibly poorly. And anyway, getting off of that rant, making a ‘more machine than man’ sentiment tied around a triple amputee character is incredibly harmful and hurtful to people with disabilities and only propagates the real world stereotypes against people like James.

So, yes, their treatment of Ironwood, his mental health, and specifically his disabilities was so badly done, harmful, incredibly insensitive, and frankly, appalling that it came from grown adult writers in 2019-2021! But, as you point out, it’s not just Ironwood. And here’s where things really get bad for CRWBY. Because Ironwood alone is enough for me to say they were ableist - unintentionally or otherwise - and ought to apologize for the hurt they’ve caused their fans. But when you get into the rest of their treatment of characters with metal prosthetics or non-flesh elements to their body, it becomes a pattern.

Penny’s entire body is removed from her on threat of death, with the justification that it’s hurting her and that her body is just a machine and not part of who she is, contradicting Penny’s earlier themes of self-acceptance and validating her humanity in the body she already had. She then dies by assisted suicide in a way that feels unneeded, after having asked to be killed earlier in the narrative. So many people have talked about how destructive her story became in V8 and how it personally hurt them, especially non-binary people, trans people, autistic people, or disabled people who saw themselves in Penny or saw in her arc something that they could relate to, only to have Penny’s differences stripped away from her, having her conform to normal body standards and have her previous body type invalidated by her friends, and then they had her killed via assisted suicide in an unbelievable way, insisting as well that she never made a choice before she was a flesh-person and couldn’t feel things right. It’s all horribly done, but it’s important to remember that while Ironwood is accused of losing his humanity as he loses a third limb and gets a third prosthetic, Penny’s earlier validation is taken away and is instead only granted and she is only justified as a person when she loses all her ‘nuts and bolts’ and becomes a flesh person. And then she’s killed anyway.

Yang’s prosthetic is the least ill handled, but it is still dismissed as ‘just extra’ despite her former fairly strong arc of coming to terms with her disability and making it a part of her. She casually justifies what’s happening with Penny despite Penny not being in a position of adequate consent. Yang’s trauma and PTSD also vanished when Adam died at the end of season six and in my opinion, that situation was handled very badly.

Maria and Pietro, two other disabled characters, disappeared, left when Amity fell and were not even mentioned iirc since. Not even when Penny is awake, not even when they’re evacuating, not even when Penny is choosing to die. She never brings up her father. And Ruby’s supposed ‘mentor’ who never had an actual narrative role that couldn’t have been filled by Qrow and has had nothing to do since season six even past that is also forgotten out in the tundra and not mentioned again.

The writers go out of their way to have Winter say that because she was just following orders (a statement that contradicts her previous character imo) and pushing down her emotions, she was the real machine, whereas Penny had been human underneath her apparently easily tossed aside and destructive previous metal body. And I don’t know if this means anything, but in that scene where she and Penny meet when Penny is dying and transferring the maiden powers to Winter, Winter is in her V7 character design, instead of wearing her assistive brace. Like I said, I don’t know if I’m reading into that, but with everything else, it feels like an iffy choice.

So yeah. In the past season CRWBY specifically cultivated a pattern of disrespect, dismissal, and villainization of any non-flesh attributes in my opinion. It seems pretty intentional and clear to me, but I’m willing to accept that maybe this was just a wildly bad uneducated mistake. Here’s the thing about that, though, after the Faunus/Racism allegory, the CRWBY writers should’ve learned their lesson and not touched on any real world topics that they weren’t willing to do the research on and treat with the sensitivity and care and respect the topics needed. Their Faunus/Racism allegory was harmful and hurtful and frankly could’ve sunk them in the water, they should’ve learned to put much more care and effort into their work or stayed the hell away from anything that could further spread the negative stereotypes surrounding real world people. But they didn’t learn their lesson and they’ve continued to push harmful narratives with no awareness or sensitivity. I don’t think you’re over-reacting at all, I think this is something that - intentionally written or otherwise - the writers should be called out on, or they’re just going to continue writing harmful narratives.

Also, I am not disabled, many of my opinions on the treatment of these characters comes from posts I’ve seen from many disabled or neurodivergent RWBY fans (or former RWBY fans,) or other people more affected by these narratives - minus the thing I said about Winter appearing without her brace when she talks to Penny, as it was something I just noticed while typing out this post. Since I’m not disabled, I’m not the best person to talk about these things, so if I got anything wrong in this, anyone more affected, please know you can let me know and I can edit and fix.

#rwde #rwby bashing #anti rwby #anti crwby #anti MKEK #rwby hate #if anyone comes in the comments invalidating or justifying I'll block #pro james ironwood #pro Ironwood #ironwood defense

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pixieminutes · 4 years

Text

4th August, 2021 | KSM

genre: fluff, husband!seungmin

members: kim seungmin x reader, bang chan, hwang hyunjin, seo changbin, yang jeongin, lee minho, lee felix, han jisung

warnings: none

4th August, 2021: 10:42

“not too hard!” you gasped out as your bridesmaid, yerin, dragged the brush through your hair, “it’s always knotty after i get out the shower.”

she rolled her eyes, “you’re so overdramatic.”

“hardly!” you exclaimed, turning to face her, “look, how about we just wait for the hairdresser to arrive, hmm?”

she chuckled.

“what? what’s so funny?”

“your boob’s come out your dressing gown,” she snorted.

you looked down, sorting yourself out before giving her the finger.

“you just need to relax, okay? this is supposed to be the best day of your life!”

you sighed, playing with the ring on your fourth finger, “i know, i’m just nervous.”

“guess who’s here! and with alcohol!” your maid of honour, nari, exclaimed.

you laughed, “maybe that’ll fix it.”

yerin rushed forward, grabbing the bottle, “i’m not having you get drunk before the ceremony, y/n!”

nari frowned, “why not?”

when yerin opened her mouth to shout at her, your maid of honour just laughed.

“i’m joking! y/n’s not a lightweight, a glass of champagne is not gonna affect her,” nari said, rolling her eyes.

“fine,” yerin sighed, “but i need two times more than her.”

your other friend, and temporary make-up artist for the day, taemi, just rolled her eyes, “why don’t you just grow a pair and ask him out?!”

“i think he’s quite traditional! i don’t wanna be the one to do it and then make him feel bad!” yerin exclaimed with a sigh, “but i am tired.”

“me and seungmin did put you next to each other at the tables,” you shrugged, taking a sip of your champagne.

“you did?!” yerin shrieked, “what?! what am i supposed to do?!”

“talk to him,” nari shrugged, “you both like each other, it’s clear. chan’s not exactly good at hiding his emotions, is he?”

“and besides, after today he’ll be the only non-married member. he deserves someone. especially if that someone is you!” you exclaimed, “just take the lead. he’ll become comfortable with it in no time.”

“ladies!” your mum smiled, walking in the room, “hairdresser’s here!”

12:03

“seungmin’s gonna love you,” nari said, watching as you straightened out your skirt.

“thank you for being here, ri. there’s a lot i couldn’t have done without you.”

nari chuckled, climbing on the podium behind you, leaning her head on your shoulder, “you’re telling me. we’re so close my parents are crying. they barely did that on my wedding day.”

“shut up, they so did!”

“yeah, cause they hate hyunjin,” she laughed.

you shook your head with a laugh, looking down to your manicured nails, remembering the nights you’d spent with nari at sleepovers, both squished into either her bed or yours; talking, dreaming, thinking.

“it is everything we always talked about it being, isn’t it?” you asked, “getting married.”

“of course it is,” nari teased, “we’re never wrong, you know.”

you laughed, before turning and looking at her, not through the mirror, “but—”

“but seriously,” she spoke with a smile, taking your hands in hers, “you and seungmin love each other more than i’ve ever seen before. i could see it from the moment you met him.”

you rolled your eyes, hiding a smile, “that’s an over exaggeration.”

“you couldn’t take your eyes off him! and you didn’t listen to anything anyone else said for the rest of the evening,” she giggled, “you’re sure you wanna do this, though?”

“100%,” you sighed with a smile, “love you.”

she chuckled, mostly out of relief, “i love you too, now i believe there’s an army of bridesmaids and your dad waiting for you downstairs.”

12:26

“why the fuck are we here, seungmin?! it is half an hour before your wedding starts,” changbin pointed out, the eight boys piling into their old dorm building, now emptied out and ready to be filled by a group of new trainees.

“y/n might even be on her way now!” jeongin exclaimed.

seungmin shook his head, seeming distracted, “y/n’s never early.”

“can you at least tell us what you’re looking for so we can help you?” chan sighed, stepping up as the groom’s best man, a role he had taken on for all his members.

“don’t worry,” seungmin smiled, pulling up the loose floorboard in his old bedroom, taking out the box from beneath it.

“that’s definitely cursed,” minho commented as seungmin blew off the dust.

the soon-to-be-married man shook his head, opening the box and pulling out the handmade necklace you’d made him on your first date.

“i can’t believe i forgot this,” he whispered, sliding it over his head and popping it into his white shirt.

“happy now?” felix asked.

seungmin smiled with a nod, “yep. ready to get married.”

13:00

“everybody please stand,” the officiant spoke.

seungmin took a breath, shaking his hands out before standing and turning to face the entrance of the ball room.

chan smiled from behind him, wishing the younger boy luck.

the piano started to play and the doors opened, revealing minho and jisung’s daughters in their mother’s arms, spreading rose petals down the aisle as they went. a smile spead across seungmin’s face, watching the babies giggle at their jobs before happily being passed back into their dad’s arms to settle before the boring part.

then, his attention was taken again, by you.

the first time seungmin had met you, both of you were in a group of people. you; hyunjin’s girlfriend’s friends. him; stray kids. but for whatever reason, there was an unbreakable eye contact filled with blushes and shy smiles from the moment you’d seen each other.

he still remembers the first words he said to you: “i’m seungmo– min. i’m seungmin.”

then you laughed, that laugh he’s loved so much since the first moment he heard it: “i think i prefer seungmo.”

but now, you were in a white dress, you arm linked with your dad’s, followed by your friends, their own husbands watching them with loving eyes.

seungmin found himself with his mouth open, a tear forming in his eye as you hugged your dad, allowing him to take a seat.

“this is weird,” you whispered, taking seungmin’s hand.

he laughed lowly, walking forward, “i’m thinking about that chicken we’ll buy tonight.”

you looked to him with a smile on your face. this was it, the man you were going to spend the rest of your life with, “living for it.”

“we’re gathered here today for the marriage of miss. y/n y/l/n to mr. kim seungmin,” the officiant spoke, the real deal.

there were poems and songs, spoken by family and friends, filled with tears and laughs, and finally; the vows.

“mine aren’t as good as they could be,” you chuckled, “because i’m not good at saying things, or writing down things for that matter. but, here goes.”

seungmin smiled shyly, looking down at the floor before looking back in your eyes as you spoke your vows to him, and his to you. not once did either of you look away, not for the reactions of your friends and family and not for any random screams of babies. just you two; right there, together.

“do you, kim seungmin, take y/n y/l/n to be your wife?” the officiant asked, seungmin holding your left hand in his, the tangled silver ring in his other.

“i do.”

unable to hide your smile, he slid the ring on your finger.

“and do you, y/n y/l/n, take kim seungmin to be your husband?”

tears filled your eyes as you nodded, sliding the ring on seungmin’s left hand ring finger, “i do.”

“i now pronounce you man and wife!” the officiant cheered, all your friends and family clapping and crying, “you may kiss the bride!”

“may i?” seungmin chuckled, moving towards you, his hand on the back of your head.

you giggled, nodding as he closed the gap between you.

when he pulled away, seungmin stared at you for a few seconds before the two of you walked down the aisle and into the back room to sign the papers.

“i hope you’re wearing yours, by the way,” seungmin said, his hand not letting go of yours, “because i had to pull up an old floor board to find mine.”

you laughed, “seungmo, that’s your fault for hiding it there.”

he rolled his eyes, looking at you expectantly.

“but, yes, i have it,” you said, pulling the handmade necklace out the pocket of your dress, “and look! my dress has pockets!”

seungmin laughed, leaning forward and catching your lips in another kiss, “i love you.”

you smiled, wrapping your arms around his neck, “i love you too.”

15:28

“and now, the couple’s first dance,” chan announced, everyone in the ballroom clapping as the band began to play when you love someone by day6.

“my lady,” seungmin teased, placing his hands on your waist as your arms loosely wrapped around his neck, your fingers running through his hair as you swayed side to side.

“isn’t it weird that everyone’s watching us,” you giggled, leaning in so only he could hear you.

“they’ll start dancing soon,” he whispered, “though yes, i am sweating lots and lots.”

“and i’m really full. why are they expecting us to dance straight away after a four course meal?”

seungmin laughed, “that’s your fault for eating so much.”

“hey!” you protested, “it tasted really good.”

“you’re adorable.”

21:06

“i’m already tired,” you whined, “i think i’ve danced with everyone in this room.”

“and i’ve been between your mum and grandma too many times.”

you laughed as seungmin came towards you, sitting beside you on the front of the stage.

“these shoes are so uncomfortable.”

“mine too.”

you smiled, “let’s take them off.”

“i don’t think we’re allowed to do that,” seungmin frowned.

“it’s our wedding,” you giggled, already taking the foot-pinching high heels off, “we’re allowed to do whatever we want.”

“in that case, then,” seungmin said, pulling off his black dress shoes and taking off his tie.

“see?!” you laughed, taking some of the pins that were pinching out of your hair and letting it fall around your face, “so good.”

“care to dance?” seungmin offered, standing up with an outstretched hand a smirk.

“can we go up to our room afterwards?”

“and order as much room service as we like,” seungmin smiled, “come on, we have to stay until at least all the kids have left.”

5th August, 2021: 00:11

“finally!”

“in you go, mrs kim,” seungmin smiled, opening the hotel room door to let you in, following close behind you.

“mr kim!” you gasped with a laugh, “chicken!”

“and wine!”

you whined, “i don’t even wanna get out of this dress.”

seungmin laughed, throwing his suit jacket on the sofa before laying on the king sized bed.

“i’m eating chicken before anything else,” he shrugged.

you giggled, jumping beside him, your masses of skirt laying around you as you opened the box of fried chicken, seungmin opening and pouring two glasses of wine.

“to us,” you said, clinking your glass with his.

“cheers,” he smiled, “to us.”

he laid back, casually picking at the chicken as he turned the tv on, “shall we have a bath after this?”

“sounds amazing,” you groaned, “we have to be at breakfast in the morning though.”

seungmin rolled his eyes, “can they not leave us alone now.”

you laughed, pulling out the homemade necklace from your pocket and slipping it over your head, before your gaze fell on your left ring finger.

“thank you, seungmo,” you hummed, “this day has been incredible.”

seungmin smiled, looking up at you with love pouring from his eyes, “i hope everyday is just as incredible from now on.”

“for the rest of our lives,” you giggled, taking a sip of wine.

“thanks, hate that thought,” seungmin snorted.

“hey!” you laughed, throwing a cheese stick at him.

seungmin laughed, “but i love you.”

“nope,” you shook your head as seungmin leaned up to you, “you don’t get a kiss.”

#stray kids #skz #kim seungmin #seungmin #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #skz scenarios #skz imagines #kim seungmin scenarios #kim seungmin imagines #seungmin scenarios #seungmin imagines #husband!au #husband!seungmin #kpop #jyp #jyp entertainment

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cosmicish · 2 years

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I posted 2,026 times in 2021

73 posts created (4%)

1953 posts reblogged (96%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 26.8 posts.

I added 62 tags in 2021

#ninjago - 21 posts

#atla - 8 posts

#miraculous - 7 posts

#garmadon - 5 posts

#aang - 5 posts

#ml - 4 posts

#ml season 4 - 3 posts

#side blog - 3 posts

#ninjago au - 3 posts

#ninjago rejoint - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 128 characters

#micheal looking at gregory and vanessa and the animatronics: hehe sorry folks my dad is weird sometimes. we'll take care of him.

My Top Posts in 2021

What if security breach ends with Cassidy just popping up out of no where and taking William back to hell.

59 notes • Posted 2021-08-17 19:10:41 GMT

hot take: Okay so, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding what the real yin and yang in atla ship is. (kataang vs zutara whats new?) And I found the answer. No, even though I am biased to kataang, kataang isn't the answer. But, neither is zutara.

I think zukaang is the TRUE yin and yang ship. It just makes sense for me. If you take a rewatch of atla, you'll notice that most of the things that they both do are revolved around eachother. So, I'm not saying that everything Aang did in the series was revolved around Zuko, but if you look at Zuko's character you'll have to notice he was literally was made for Aang. Really, not just in a romantic way. He was made to hunt Aang down, and even after that his journey was still revolved around Aang. And most of the stuff going on in the first season with Aang, was revolved around Zuko. Sometimes (actually a lot more often then you think) Zuko's decisions impact Aang is big and small ways. (in the crossroads of destinies, Aang almost dies) And vise versa. If anyone wants more on my hot take, then let me know.

81 notes • Posted 2021-07-10 23:13:08 GMT

the awkward moment when that ship you thought was canon because you watched spoilers, was never canon after you watched the entire show:

133 notes • Posted 2021-09-17 17:17:23 GMT

Ninjago hcs ✨

‣ The ninja call Zane mom sometimes.

‣ Cole is great with kids, despite not admitting it.

‣ Kai is Lloyd's father figure and brother.

‣ Lloyd Definitely has some slip ups when it comes to Kai. In fact, sometimes, he calls Kai 'dad.' (Not that Kai is bothered or anything. It's just really awkward when Lloyd's ACTUAL dad is around.)

‣ Post-Seabound Kai and Jay go and visit any body of water they can in the mornings, just to greet Nya.

‣ PIXAL, Zane, and Nya are the brains of the group. Of course, Nya is always third-wheeling. (more like was)

‣Pixane became a thing during season 3.

‣ Jay can also use the wind power, (Morro and him are relatives) but since Morro still has his powers as a ghost, Jay can't use them as often.

‣ I know that the creator confirmed Misako and Wu are dating… But I still say it's platonic. (For the love of FSM, I just can't watch Lloyd's mother become his aunt and father become his uncle it's way too much)

‣ Morro calls Sensei! Garmadon Uncle.

‣ Lloyd originally had brown hair, there was just this costume party, and someone switched his blond hair chalk with permanent blond hair dye as a 'prank.'

‣ The overlord just gave up on taking down the ninja, he realized it's no use.

‣ Sensei Garmadon still exists in the departed realm.

‣ Zane has died so many times, it's gotten to the point he's dug his own grave in the ground for the next time he dies.

‣ Without the hair gel, Kai's hair is actually a mullet.

‣ When Garmadon was a shadow stuck in the underworld, he used to go and check in on his son once in a while.

[200 notes, everyone! I made the fanfic! Go check out my fanfic for wind!jay!]

206 notes • Posted 2021-10-09 14:39:46 GMT

Normalize admitting that some children cartoons/books/movies are better written than some adult/teenager shows.

1104 notes • Posted 2021-11-06 20:20:27 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #ninjago #atla #fnaf #2021

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thechampagnecircus · 3 years

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Monday, Monday

In the words of Loverboy, Everybody’s workin’ for the weekend. While that is true, I try to abide by the philosophy that everyday is special. Everyday has a story. Given the schedule that my family and I have, the weekends are definitely the highlight. The headliner, the crème de la crème, the tops. They are filled with the pleasure of social get-togethers, the ease of relaxation, cheat meals, spontaneity, champagne, and shenanigans. Therefore, those Friday nights and Saturdays are cherished and delightfully anticipated. But that doesn’t mean that the rest of the week has to be a total snooze fest, debbie downer slog. There is just a hierarchy. That is reality. The enticing mirage of the weekend in the desert of an otherwise boring, busy or hard week can absolutely keep us motivated. But the truth be told, every day is a blessing. I have found that the best way to avoid feeling in a rut, is planning, scheduling and getting organized. I know you are probably trembling with excitement over such a statement, but hear me out.

My eyes slowly open as the last whisper of the weekend slips away into memory and it’s Monday morning. The most hated of all week days. This makes me feel bad for some reason as if a day of the week can feel sad or bullied. I don’t care how many influencers, beachbody coaches, or new age pushers I hear saying Mondays are a clean slate, a new day, I love Mondays -I don’t buy it. HOWEVER, it has turned into my day to organize the week, which I do enjoy. There is still that disheartening feeling of the weekend being far off in the distance. It reminds me of clips in movies where someone looks down a hallway only for it to grow longer and longer, like a loop they cannot close. But the irony and truth is, as the day progresses that daunting perception in fact, gets smaller and smaller.

I make my breakfast; egg whites, rice cakes with peanut butter and honey, and some fruit. The Nespresso is revving up like a spaceship getting ready to launch into oblivion. The frothy coffee begins to slip into the cup below, releasing the intoxicating smell of mocha and my brain is eager for those first sips. Besides champagne, coffee is the second nectar of the gods. The yin and yang of coffee and wine, truly do balance out this girl’s world. Once the machine has finished its magical brew of caffeinated delight, I grab my favorite mug that is now warm with hope. All you middle aged people know what I mean. You have a favorite stove burner, pan, spatula, cutlery, etc. Don’t deny it. Mugs are no different. Mine is a white one with black speckles that is adorned with the emblem of a BC winery known as The Hatch. It is reminiscent of a traditional camping mug. It is stout and wide and perfect for a cup o’ joe.

After I have eaten, and half my java has been consumed, my synapses are now beginning to fire. I take out my laptop to get my week in order. I type in my password, and we are off. I have just recently evolved to a digital organizer. The stubborn old woman inside me is still a skeptic. I am very old school and a sucker for the traditional leather bound organizer that you write in, wait for it, with a PEN. My shopping lists are still done manually, and I don’t know if that will ever change. I’m only 35 but I can feel some crotchety and unshakeable tendencies forming already. I own them. The app that I use is called Opus One. I tried a few others before settling on this one and it works great. It is not just its functionality but also the motif of a conventional planner that sold me. There is still the flicker of analog within me that will never die. I do still have my physical calendar hanging on the wall, which gets some love, with jotted things here and there. However, Opus One is where I do the brunt of all my scheduling now.

This all stems from the fact that I am a prolific note taker; always have been, always will be. I thrive on making to-do lists. Sometimes I have to-do lists within my to-do lists like a nesting doll of agendas. It really can get out of hand. There is something about the act of writing everything down and mapping it out that calms even the busiest of days. And don’t get me started on crossing things off. It reminds me of the memes; Yeah, sex is great, but have you ever crossed every item off your to-do list? Honestly, such a great feeling. The accomplishment, motivation and boost of productivity are invigorating. If I am to be completely candid, even if I forget to put something I have done on my list, I will add it at the end and cross it off. Just for good measure. Ok, you’re probably thinking, this chick is crazy. You might be right, but give it a try, you’ll see.

The average week is filled with household chores, errands, appointments, workouts, family events, social engagements, writing, self care, meal planning, occasion preparations, job searches etc. Nothing earth shattering here. I live a wonderfully mundane yet lovely life. Some weeks are busy and some are slow. I relish every moment, even when I don’t realize it because I have been sucked into a negative place. But I find the act of laying out your days ahead can focus your energy on getting things done while looking forward to the fun stuff. We might be working for the weekend, but we aren’t living for it. Every day is a story, embellish it. xx

#styleaddict #writing therapy #manic monday #monday #organization #yycwriter #personal diary

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wherevermyway · 3 years

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roller rinks and raspberry berets (1/2) // jeongbin // 18+

chapter one: heaven and back navigation: next chapter [in progress]

pairing: seo changbin x yang jeongin | past bang chan x seo changbin rating: explicit! 18+ warnings/tags: explicit sexual content, recreational drug use (LSD, weed), 1980s AU, strangers-to-lovers, the roller skates stay on during sex, past infidelity, phone sex, masturbation, semi-public sex word count: 11,606 also on AO3

originally posted: 16 november 2021

It’s 1987, and the party scene is as vibrant and lively as the neon rainbow everyone is painted in.

Several months after a nasty breakup, Seo Changbin’s friends set him up with a mutual friend, Yang Jeongin. They speak on the phone a couple of times, then decide to go through with the blind date set up for them at a local roller rink. Changbin realizes he never really learned how to skate, but with Jeongin's hands guiding him, anything's possible.

They take some questionable substances and sparks start to fly when the lights drop and the music gets louder.

It's neon night at The Roxanne, and things are about to liven up, in more ways than one.

disclaimer: this is a work of fiction! any reference to persons in this work of fiction are purely coincidental. the characters referenced from Stray Kids are interpretations loosely based on their personalities in the group and do not represent the real people behind the personas. if this, or any of the content included in the warnings above make you uncomfortable, please stop reading now.

A murky haze surrounded two men lying on a shag carpet in a rundown apartment. The stench of scorched marijuana and incense clung to the walls like the dingy wallpaper that was slowly starting to yellow and peel. If it wasn’t for the Madonna calendar hanging up right next to the fridge that had “MAY 1987” emblazoned in big, blocky orange letters, it would seem like the place was stuck in 1973.

“You’re gonna want this,” a young man with spiky, neon orange hair passes off a dime bag with a couple of tiny blotters in it to the other young man with shaggy black hair. “Neon night at The Roxanne always gets fuckin’ dope, but if you’re not trippin’ on something, it ain’t as good.”

“Word,” the man with black hair rubs his eyes and tosses the bag onto his chest. He brings a joint up to his lips, taking a deep inhale, before passing it back to the other man. The smoke hangs in his lungs for a few moments, before he carefully exhales the vapour into the air, letting the smoke feed into the cloud hovering above them. “You really think this Jeongin is as rad as Seungmin keeps hyping him up to be?”

The orange haired man coughs while he laughs. “Dunno, dude.” He takes another hit from the joint, and a wide grin spreads across his face. “I’ve met him a couple times. He plays the electric bass some band and thinks he’s good at surfing. Seung keeps telling me ‘Oh, Changbin’s gonna love him, Jeongin’s got a collection of weird records and refuses to use cassette tapes’ like it means something.”

Changbin fumbles himself upright and points at Minho, dime bag sliding off of his chest and down to the floor. “He’s got a point, dude,” the younger man, despite looking higher than a kite, attempts to look totally serious. “I told you, records just sound better. Don’t give me that shit about cassette tapes. The only shit tapes have for them is that they’re convenient for road trips. Sound-wise, it ain’t the same.”

The two of them stare at each other before bursting into a fit of the giggles. They laugh until their stomachs hurt and the cherry burns out of their joint.

“Anyway,” Minho wipes the corners of his eyes and pulls a slip of paper out of his back pocket, “you should give him a call before your date. Might make things a little less awkward.”

Changbin takes the slip of torn notebook paper and stares at it. He was doing fine until he saw the ten digits and ‘Jeongin’ on the paper, then his palms started to sweat a bit. “You really think he’s gonna like me?”

Minho relights the joint between his teeth and smirks, giving Changbin a coy glance. “Everyone likes you, dude. Chill out.”

Changbin didn’t get the courage to call Jeongin until Wednesday night, two days before their blind date. Minho was out for the night, going to some lame house party with Seungmin again. The two were practically attached at the hip, unsure if they were going to ever officially become an item or not; they had been on-again, off-again for nearly a year now. Minho was seriously considering asking Seungmin if they should settle down, take things seriously, but then Chan had broken up with Changbin, and it made everyone question if relationships were really worth it.

“Man,” Changbin sighed as he flopped down onto his bed. He reached over to his nightstand and cracked his knuckles before he scraped together enough weed to roll a quick joint. Minho was always better at it than him, but he tried his damnedest. As long as he could smoke up enough to forget about frantic college students contemplating the true meaning of Shakespeare’s work while he helped them search for reference materials, he didn’t really care what exactly the joint looked like.

It turned out a little crooked, but it didn’t matter. As long as it got the job done, right? He took a stray match from the tray and struck it against a matchbox, spinning it around the end of his joint as he took a deep inhale, then shook the match until the flame went out. As he watched the smoke leave his lips, he chewed on his lip a bit.

Tonight was the night. It had to be. There were only two nights to go.

His eyes fluttered down to the same scrap of paper that Minho had handed him a couple of days ago, sitting right next to the phone on his desk. When they first moved into this apartment, Minho teased him for having a rotary phone, instead of something with real push buttons. “Dude, you’re, like, twenty-five and you’ve got an old ass rotary phone. You’re fitting that old, crusty librarian stereotype, now you just need twenty cats and argyle-patterned wool sweaters covered in your cats’ fur.”

Minho earned the elbow in the ribs that Changbin gave him for that.

Changbin wasn’t sure how long he sat and stared at that scrap of paper, but it was long enough for him to get through his entire joint. Would Jeongin really like him? Could he handle the weird, nerdy rants Changbin could go on about the Dewey Decimal Classification when he got really baked? Did Jeongin even do, much less like, drugs?

Okay, if he was friends with Seungmin, he absolutely had to be fine with the last concern. That was one fear off of the list, alleviating his concerns a minute amount.

After Chan got sick of Changbin’s oddities, he was nervous that his next partner would be overly critical of everything he did. Afraid that he would spark an argument over something stupid, like the way that their albums were organized, or whether or not plates should be on the bottom shelf of a cupboard, or the second shelf.

Domestic life with a partner was stupid, and being stuck in the middle of one’s twenties, when someone supposed to be in the prime of their youth, was not the time to argue over fucking dinner plates. Changbin figured that now was the perfect time to drop acid on a date with some dude he never met, even if he wasn’t sure if the stranger was even cute or not. It didn’t matter.

Fuck it.

He placed the remnants of his burnt out joint on the metal tray, pushing it out of the way as he stood up, grabbing his phone and the paper off of his desk, dropping them onto his nightstand. Hopefully, this conversation would be long enough for him to be able to relax up against the wall, to get comfortable and bond. Even if it wasn’t a guarantee towards forever, Changbin would let his guard down just a little, let someone in again. It had been several months, nearly a year at this point, and it was time.

His fingers were slightly clammy, holding the flimsy paper in between his thumb and index finger. He took in a sharp breath, then brought the receiver up under his ear, propping it up with his shoulder. Subconsciously, Changbin furrowed his brows and stuck the tip of his tongue out through the corner of his lips as he punched in each digit into the rotary, letting the dial spin and click between each number.

After the tenth number was in, he sat back a bit, listening to the dial tone trill in his ear.

Once.

Was this the right number?

Twice.

Would Jeongin pick up?

Three rings.

Was he even home?

Four.

Was this a good idea?

Five. Five was making Changbin nervous, more nervous than he expected.

“Hello?” The voice on the other line was breathy and he heard a couple of small pants. It was easy to get distracted, Changbin getting lost in the possible reasons as to why the other voice was so… occupied.

“H-hi,” he stumbled over his words, forgetting how to form a coherent sentence. Shit, this was awkward. “I’m looking for Jeongin. Yang Jeongin. Do I have the right number?”

“Heh,” the other voice chuckles. “Depends on who’s asking.”

Arrogant. Changbin liked that. “Seo Changbin. Apparently, we’re going on a date on Friday, thanks to our friend Seungmin.”

“Damn,” the other young man sighed, “took you forever to call. Seungmin said he wasn’t gonna give me your number, that I should wait for you to call.” There’s a sound of something metallic clattering against a hard surface. “I don’t like waiting, but I figured I’d give it a chance. I’m tired of dating guys that have dated guys I’ve dated already.”

Changbin swallowed hard, not sure of what exactly he should say.

“That was a joke, dude.” Jeongin sighs, and there’s a bit of shuffling on the other line. “Please tell me you know how to laugh. If you don’t know how to laugh, I don’t know how this is gonna work out.”

“Yeah,” Changbin squeaks, “I just, I dunno, I’m not really good at talking over the phone unless it’s for, like, work or something.”

“Oh yeah!” The other man exclaims, and a slap against a hard surface comes through the tinny receiver. “Seungmin told me you’re a librarian. You don’t hear of many 25-year-old librarians, much less ones that are dudes, and even fewer that don’t have cats. Weird.” He laughs a little bit, a cute, light, floaty laugh. “Why did you become a librarian, of all things? Sounds kinda nerdy.”

Without thinking, Changbin grits his teeth in nervousness, reminded of all of the shitty jocks in high school giving him shit for spending all of his free time in the library, nose in some nonfiction books about music theory. None of those bastards got anywhere in life, anyways, so who was really laughing now? “It’s because I am a nerd,” he says, a bit colder than he should have, “but I like organization, helping people find things, and, honestly, just being able to feel a little smarter than most people sometimes.”

The weed was starting to really have an effect on him, allowing him to physically relax, but also be a bit more open. Perhaps he was a bit too open.

The two men share a brief pause over the phone and then Jeongin laughs. “So, you think you’re pretty smart, huh?”

“I mean,” Changbin leans up against the wall, tangling the phone cord aimlessly between his fingers, “I don’t have two degrees in this for nothing.”

“Ha,” Jeongin’s laugh bubbles up again, “dweeb.”

They chat aimlessly for a while, and Changbin finds out that Jeongin is, indeed, a musician. Dropped out of university to be a bassist with a couple of his friends, but he works in a pawn shop half-time.

“Pays the bills and it lets me get first pick of all of the good, barely-played records,” Jeongin quips. “Even if sometimes people wanna try to steal shit and we get threats of armed robbery every couple weeks. Stressful, but I got a copy of The Wall last week, brand new and unopened, for way cheaper than my boss would’ve sold it for, so that makes up for it.”

Changbin found Jeongin startlingly fascinating. They seemed like total opposites on some things, since Jeongin was an extrovert and Changbin was an introvert, but they agreed on important things, like music. “That reminds me,” he slid down to lay up against his bed and stare at the ceiling, “my roommate, Minho? He tried to tell me there’s no auditory difference between records and cassette tapes.”

“Dude!” Jeongin scoffs with offence. “You need a new roommate. What a shitty opinion.”

“I know, I know,” Changbin curls into himself a bit, a wide smile on his face as he laughs. “Minho doesn’t get it, man. I tried playing a couple different things, but he still didn’t get it.”

The two of them share a laugh over the line. It had been so long since someone other than Minho made Changbin genuinely smile and laugh like that, and he was starting to have a bit less reservation about Jeongin. Maybe this would work out, after all.

“So,” the other man clears his throat, trying to calm himself from laughing so hard, “I gotta ask. What’s your favourite year in music so far, since ’80? Don’t get me started on the 60s and 70s, because I have a lot of opinions.”

“That’s tough.” Changbin bites his tongue and squints, rolling his eyes back and forth, scanning the ceiling as if it would give him some sort of answer. “’84, if I have to pick. I mean, dude, look at Queen; they’re fucking killing it. ‘Radio Ga Ga’ is still playing everywhere. Don’t even get me started on ‘Take On Me’, either.”

Jeongin politely chuckles. “Alright, man, I gotta disagree. ’85. ‘Raspberry Beret’ is so good, like, it’s my favourite by Prince. ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’? Come on, man, The Breakfast Club. You can’t tell me that’s not iconic.”

“That’s one of my favourite movies, man.” Changbin’s face starts to hurt from smiling so much as he quotes the film: “‘We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all.’”

There’s a soft laugh on the other line, something different about it, like the mood has shifted into something a little more serious. “Ah, Changbin. I knew I’d like you, not just for your opinions on records and cassette tapes. You seem pretty neat, and I wanna get to know you more.”

The blush that creeps up on Changbin’s face is uncomfortably hot. They had to have been on the phone for about an hour, but everything was starting to unravel naturally, comfortably, and it was exciting. His gaze falls as he turns his head to the side, eyeing the metal alarm clock on his nightstand.

“I’d like that, Jeongin,” he says, nearly whispering it. “I’ve gotta head to bed here in a bit, since I’ve got an early day of being your local resident nerd at the campus library tomorrow.”

“I haven’t seen you yet,” the other man lowers his voice, practically growling into the phone, “but you might just convince me that librarians and nerds can be hot and sexy, after all.”

Changbin practically chokes on his saliva at that comment. His eyes widen and he shakes his head a few times, almost comically. “I wouldn’t say that I’m either of those things, but I’m curious to hear what you think of me. Maybe we could pick up this conversation tomorrow?”

“I’m free all night, baby. Call me up whenever.”

The two of them offer impolite farewells, then Changbin softly hangs up the phone. He checks his alarm clock to make sure his alarm is set, then pulls the drawstring on his desk lamp, turning it off.

“Nerds can be hot and sexy, after all.” Jeongin’s voice echoed in his head, and just the thought of the way he said that caused his nerves to come to life, for his breath to quicken. What did this mysterious pawn shop clerk by day, musician by night look like? Was he any good in the sheets? Was he aggressive, was he soft?

If he wasn’t so tired, Changbin would’ve let his mind run a little more wild, maybe let his hands wander south. Instead, he quickly fell asleep, losing himself in the memory of Jeongin’s voice and the possibilities they had ahead of them.

The next day went by slower than it should have, and it was completely unfair. It was two in the afternoon when things came to a complete standstill. It was Thursday, and a lot of students would likely be in the middle of exams, so there wasn’t much to do, other than daydream about Jeongin while aimlessly thumbing through a catalogue of items for archiving.

Changbin stood at the archiving desk, the area completely emptied out and quiet. The lack of people meant there was a lack of work, allowing for his mind to travel to some interesting places: imagining bony fingers scanning his body, running down his torso, grabbing his hips. He subconsciously gripped the red pen in his hand a little tighter, leaning against the desk as he bit his lip, trying hard not to rut against the oaken wood beneath him.

He should be focusing on the lengthy parchment in front of him, waiting to be indexed. Waiting, like he was, to be aimlessly fucked into. It had been over a year since he last slept with someone, and it was starting to become tiresome. It usually didn’t bother him, but Jeongin’s voice and his words had been dancing around in his head all day, making his entire body tingle and tense.

Their blind date was tomorrow night, but Changbin wasn’t sure if he could hold out on getting off for one more day. He had to know more intimate details about Jeongin, and, nerves be damned, he was going to work up the courage to find out tonight.

Changbin nervously paced around his empty apartment, soles of his feet dragging across the shag carpet in the living room. He told himself he wouldn’t call Jeongin until 19:30 at the earliest, and calling him at exactly 19:30 would just be overkill and stupid. He couldn’t come off as needy or desperate, so he waited. Every couple of minutes, he would anxiously look up at the clock that hung up on the wall above his prized record player.

19:24.

“Dammit all to hell,” Changbin grumbled, nibbling on his thumbnail as he continued to pace. Kate Bush’s ‘Cloudbusting’ was nearly finished playing, which meant he was going to have to flip the record over to side B, but he decided against it. No, he’d suffer in silence until 19:33; an arbitrary time, but random enough to seem unsuspicious. That meant a little under eight minutes to wait impatiently. He’d get through it, he figured, even though it would be painful.

As the song ended and Changbin went to shut off the record player and slip the vinyl back into its papery packaging, the phone rang. A gasp silently escaped his lips as he looked up at the clock. 19:26.

No, it couldn’t be Jeongin. Changbin didn’t give him his phone number. Still, he ran off to his bedroom. He shouldn’t get his hopes up, but it was better to be prepared just in case. He slammed his door behind him and rushed to grab the receiver, anxiously bringing it up to his ear.

“Hello?” He tried so hard to stay calm as he answered the phone.

“Hey!” Changbin frowned as he realized the voice on the other line was Minho. “It’s just me. I’m gonna be at Seungmin’s tonight. We’ve got, uh,” he lowers his voice, “I’m probably not gonna be home until, like, Sunday at this rate. Seungmin’s got plans.”

He tried really hard not to, but Changbin still rolled his eyes in envy at his roommate. “Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, “have fun getting the life pounded out of you. Hopefully you can still walk by the time you come home on Monday.”

“Oh come on,” Minho scoffed. “According to Seungmin, don’t be surprised if Jeongin’s got similar plans for the both of you if you two hit it off.”

Changbin shook his head and instantly flushed at the thought, his brain malfunctioning. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s nothing.” There’s some shuffling on the other end of the line, and then Minho gasps and laughs. “I gotta go, dude. Good luck this weekend, bye!”

Before he can say anything in response, Minho hangs up, leaving Changbin staring blankly at the receiver. He slams it down on the phone and groans loudly. A few moments pass before he decides to turn his overhead light off, and turn his desk lamp on. 19:30. There was only a little bit longer before he wouldn’t be worried about calling Jeongin, so he stared down at the drawer of his nightstand.

“Just in case, right?” A nervous scoff left his lips as he whispered into the air.

He pulled out a small bottle of lube, and set it down next to the phone. Even if his conversation with Jeongin didn’t go the way he was hoping it would, he wouldn’t let himself fall asleep unsatisfied tonight. There was no way.

19:31.

Two minutes to go until—

The phone rang again, causing Changbin to jump in place, nearly out of his own skin. “What the fuck?” He shouted to himself as he picked up the receiver. “Dude, Minho, I get it, you don’t have to rub it in my face.”

“Changbin?” The other voice was decidedly not Minho. No, it was too familiar, yet unfamiliar all at once. Painfully new.

“Jeongin? How did you…?”

The younger man chuckled. “I was with Seungmin today. Told him about our conversation yesterday, and he thought it’d be fine if he gave me your number. Maybe call you a little earlier, throw you off your guard.”

Changbin scoffed and flopped down onto his bed unceremoniously. “Well, it worked.”

“Clearly.”

There was a bit of an awkward silence, and Changbin bit his lip, trying to think of what to say next. He had all of these great topics for conversation run through his head while he was at work, but now they were all gone, like they never existed. The only obvious option that came to him was about their date tomorrow. “About our date tomorrow,” he starts, aimlessly watching the second hand tick away on his alarm clock, “how are we gonna know how to find each other?”

Jeongin hummed a mindless tune for a moment, likely contemplating his plans. “Wait for me at the bar. I’ll be there, wearing a neon pink shirt. I’ve got freshly-dyed teal blue hair, so you might need to get your eyes checked if you miss me.”

A soft smile crawled its way up Changbin’s face. “That sounds eclectic.”

“Comes with who I am; the whole package deal is a little unconventional. Hopefully you can handle that.”

“Hmm,” Changbin hums, then tsks, “might be a little difficult. A neon-clad, blue-haired musician and a boring, black-haired librarian that only owns dark clothes. We’re gonna be quite the duo.”

“Come on,” Jeongin whines, “you’ve gotta have a little neon in that closet of yours.”

“Nope. You can be the neon, and I’ll be the night, since it’s neon night, after all. Yin and yang. Light and dark.”

There’s a soft chuckle on the other line. “Can’t have the day without the night, huh?”

“When you put it that way,” Changbin starts, but lets his voice trail off. Musicians sure seemed to be good with words. He couldn’t help but wonder, with a silver tongue like that, if Jeongin wrote the lyrics for the small punk group he was a part of. Come to think of it, a punk bassist in neon was an interesting mental image, almost some sort of visual dissonance.

“What are you wearing?” Jeongin pulls Changbin from his thoughts, voice a bit lower than it was prior.

The question perplexed Changbin as he mentally thumbed through the clothes in his closet. “I dunno, probably my Bad Religion t-shirt so I’m noticeable and some ripped skinny jeans. Think it roughly fits the non-neon aesthetic. Is that fine?”

“Perhaps I should’ve phrased that better.” A laugh. “That’s not what I meant.”

Changbin knots his eyebrows together and cards a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what you mean, then. I figured it would fit for the location, and—“

“I meant right now.” The bluntness in Jeongin’s statement is jarring.

“Oh.” Changbin can’t manage much else, his brain slowly grinding its gears around as he tried to get back into the right mental space for… this.

This was really fucking happening. Not just a delusional fantasy he had hoped for.

He must have taken too long thinking about it, because Jeongin frantically starts stuttering on the other line. “Wait, no, sorry,” he starts, “that was abrupt. I’m sorry, like, shit, we’ve barely spoken for more than an hour to each other and I’m already trying to pull something like this and I probably just came off as—“

“What do you want me to wear right now?” It comes out a bit too naturally, too smoothly off of Changbin’s tongue, like it was obvious he wanted to see where this would go.

A beat passes. “Ideally?” Jeongin quietly whispers, shuffling a bit on his end. “I’d want you naked. But I don’t think I want you there yet.”

Changbin’s heart was about to beat out of his chest and his dick responded in kind, slowly pressing up against his briefs more and more as his blood coursed through his veins. “Not yet, you say? How come?”

“I don’t like instant gratification. If you can’t work for it, what’s the point?”

“Interesting. Am I working for it, or are you?” Changbin’s free hand slips down to the hem of his shirt, playing with a loose string, rolling it nervously between his thumb and index finger.

Jeongin hums. “Tonight? I don’t usually do this, since I like to be the one in control, but it’s been so long, I’ll make an exception.”

In the seven years that Changbin had been an adult, he had only tried phone sex once, and it was awkward. Chan was in northern California for work, and they were both drunk and lonely. They tried to make it work, but the pacing was off, the phrasing was awkward, especially since Chan didn’t try to experiment with dirty talk, and they ended up falling asleep on each other.

This, though, simply felt different and exciting.

“What if I don’t want you to be naked?” Changbin tugged harder at the string, starting to rip it from the hem, slowly unravelling it and ruining the stitching of his shirt. It didn’t matter, he hardly noticed. He could tear his shirt apart completely and he still wouldn’t have cared.

“Seems like you like to make people work for it, too.” Jeongin shuffled on the other line again, his voice a bit clearer, like he was closer to the phone. “Maybe you like to do questionable things in questionable places. I don’t know you well — at all, actually — but I just get this feeling about you. The quiet ones are always the fun, adventurous ones.”

“It must be true, then.” Changbin pauses to take in a breath, to calm his nerves over what he was about to say to a stranger over the phone. “I thought about you today while I was working on a catalogue for our archives. It’s a boring, thoughtless job sometimes, allows me to have a lot of time to let my mind wander. I was leaning up against the desk, pen in hand, and all I could think about was how pretty your voice would sound as I slowly fucked into you, made you beg to me to go faster, but I’d just slow down.” The string detached from Changbin’s shirt, yet he continued to roll it between his fingers.

Jeongin’s breathing started to pick up on the other end. “What else?”

Changbin discarded the string haphazardly and nestled the receiver in the crook of his neck, shuffling his shorts and briefs down just enough for his dick to spring out. “I’d bite the back of your neck all the way up your ear. Tell you to stay quiet, since you were being too loud and whiny, that you’d be the reason we’d get caught.”

“Yeah,” a pant, “can’t have us getting caught. It’d be quite a rush, getting fucked by the hot, nerdy librarian when he’s supposed to be working.”

He couldn’t take it anymore. Changbin grabbed the bottle of lube from the nightstand, haphazardly squirting some of it all over his crotch, somewhat missing his dick in his rush. “The only thing I’d be working would be your cock in my hand. Make you whine, make you fucking miserable as I bring you so close to coming but keep you hanging, begging for me to let you come.” He tossed the bottle on to the floor, then mopped up some of the stray lube off of his stomach, then moved to stroke himself a bit hastily. It had been so long, and to actually have an intimate connection with another human being, albeit over the phone, was enough excitement to have him close to the edge already.

Jeongin must have had a similar idea, because his laboured breathing comes over the line in a constant rhythm. “Maybe I don’t wanna take it slow.”

“Maybe I don’t care.”

“Oh,” the other man sounded a bit shocked, gasping quietly. “You’re interesting, mister sexy librarian. What if I decided to push back? Literally? Bring my hips back up against yours, grind my ass up on you and make you whine and make you fucking miserable?”

“Shit,” Changbin growled, not expecting that kind of reaction. “I might have to grab you by the hair, push you down into the desk and give a needy little brat like you exactly what you want.” The thought was almost too much. He knew he was getting close; he should’ve slowed the pacing down with his hand, but he couldn’t stop. Instead, he was increasing his pace and tightening the grip at the top of his hand a bit more. “How would you like that?”

“Fuck,” Jeongin sounds like he’s completely lost in the moment, breathing erratic and letting full gasps and moans escape now. It sounded like some sort of wildly inappropriate choral music. “Changbin, that’s so fucking hot. I wish this was your hand around me instead. It feels so good, but it’s not enough.” Changbin lets out a choked whine, lost in the thought of what Jeongin looked like as he jerked himself off. “Ah, Changbin, I need you so badly. To feel you around me, inside me, and I—“

Suddenly, the light on the edge of Changbin’s desk went out and Jeongin’s voice went silent. The ambient humming that usually filled his apartment was dead. It appeared as if his part of LA got wrapped up in a sudden blackout, since everything everywhere was dark and quiet.

This couldn’t have come at a more horrible time.

Changbin let out an exasperated, desperate yell in frustration. As he angrily tossed the receiver to the side, causing the entire phone to go flying, he stared up at the ceiling in the darkness and swore that he was never going to try phone sex again.

Zero for two. Phone sex was cursed.

Even though today was the day that Changbin was finally going to meet Jeongin for their date, he was in an absolutely dreadful mood. Sure, after the power went out for the entire night, he had managed to get himself off, but it was lacklustre and nowhere near as good as he was anticipating it to be with his conversation with Jeongin. The pathetic way that the younger man mewled his name followed him like a shadow all day, echoing in the space between his ears all day.

“Changbin,” the voice taunted him, “I need you so badly.”

He groaned and leaned up against his archive desk, not even bothering to try to pay attention to his work. There was no way he was going to get anything done while he was too distracted thinking about fucking this stranger up against it, pushing his face into the mass of open books and large parchment. They would knock off all of the paraphernalia, pens clattering like raindrops against the ground, sound being absorbed by the walls of books surrounding them. God, how good it would be to hear his name coming from those lips one more time.

“I wish this was your hand around me instead.”

His eyes lulled to the corner of the table, pushing up his glasses to better focus on a cheap digital clock showing 15:40 in bright red lights. “Goddammit,” Changbin grumbled to himself and let his head collide against the open book in front of him. The tension in his slacks was causing time to inch by impossibly slow, like he was stuck in molasses. He had less than five and a half hours to go until he would finally meet the man the engrossed his entire mind for the past 48 hours and he couldn’t wait to give Jeongin a taste of the thoughts that consumed him.

Only a bit over five hours, now. He could do this.

Changbin had to have mentally pored over his entire appearance several times as he showered. Glasses? No, those would just be a nuisance; it’d be best to just suffer with a little bit of blurry vision for distant things. Besides, he was going to be seeing crazy shit halfway through their date, if they hit it off well enough to trip together.

So, no glasses. One thing off the list.

After his shower, Changbin thumbed through his closet, lost in a sea of black and indigo clothing, with a couple of odd white button up shirts that were frequently ignored. His graphic shirts were towards the left-hand side, reserved for his days off and the nights he’d go out with Minho and Seungmin, where he tried to look as normal as possible, and not like the dweeby librarian everyone knew him to be. It took several flicks of the thumb, but he eventually found the Bad Religion shirt he promised he was going to wear. That, and the torn up black skinny jeans he already had on his bed, were the only things Jeongin had to go off of.

Changbin was desperately hoping that Jeongin would find him in the sea of people that would be there. If this date flopped, he was going to hide for weeks in embarrassment, showing up to something so high energy looking like a black cloud of doom and gloom and dateless. The first half of that was tolerable, but to be dateless after all of that would be devastating to his ego.

Thankfully, Jeongin was going to be the visual antithesis to Changbin’s all-black attire. He was going to be like a dark cloud, a shadow to be passed over, and Jeongin would be that bright ray of vivid neon pink and teal blue. They’d be eyesores in their own rights, but it wouldn’t matter. Nobody would really be paying close attention to them tonight; neon nights were always the nights where people would get drugged out, smoke weed openly and fuck in the washrooms, and everyone would let go of their faux daily life personas and be carefree for one night.

It didn’t take long for Changbin to change into his outfit. He turned his head to look at his nightstand, squinting to make out the time on the clock. 19:52. All he needed to do was fuss over his appearance in the mirror while he would throw on some eyeliner. He would then fix his hair, gelling it into some sort of puffed out “just woke up” look that would just deflate after an hour of hanging around a humid, cramped environment packed with people. Maybe he’d wear those knee-high platform combat boots he only wore once to a concert a couple years ago.

First impressions were important, even if he knew he’d look like a mess at the end of the night. He wanted to prove to Jeongin that librarians could, in fact, be hot and sexy, even if it wasn’t in the conventional ways society would prefer.

The platform combat boots were a bad idea.

It wasn’t a far walk, but as Changbin waited in line outside of The Roxanne, he was constantly adjusting his feet and kicking the toes of his boots against the firm concrete of the sidewalk. He knew he’d be off of his feet soon enough, but getting to that point was proving to be brutal. The line slowly moved, people gradually being allowed in after paying the cover fee. Changbin flicked his arm, looking at the silver Royal Oak decorating his wrist, eyeing the time. 21:05.

He huffed, furrowing his brows and staring at the gunpowder grey backdrop of his watch. This was his lucky watch that his parents gifted him for graduating with his master’s degree last year. It was what he wore for his interview at UCLA, almost positive he wouldn’t get the entry-level librarian position he applied for, since it was heavily competitive, but he somehow managed to get it. It was the watch he wore when he and Minho signed for their shoddy apartment. It was what he wore when he gained the courage to call Jeongin.

Maybe superstition was stupid, but Changbin really wanted to put all of his cards on the table and risk believing in it tonight.

The line continued to shuffle forward, and Changbin’s nerves started to really consume him. On the outside, he tried to look cool and composed, his thumbs gently tucked into the belt loops of his pants, shoulders tucked back, head propped upright. Internally, however, he was very much the opposite of the cool-guy persona he was putting on. If he could scream and still be seen as sane, he absolutely would.

Another couple of steps. Changbin pulled out his wallet from his back pocket, sliding out his driver’s licence and a fiver as he approached the sturdily built man that stood outside of the front door. The man didn’t bother looking at his licence and just took the bill from him. They exchanged no words, the man just tilting his head towards the door, and Changbin simply walked in.

His fingers trembled a bit as he anxiously jammed his licence back into his wallet, exchanging it for a ten-dollar-bill, and returned the billfold to his back pocket. A long sigh escaped his lips as scanned the room, seeing no one with teal hair and a bright pink shirt as he approached the bar, finding a spot where he could keep an eye on the front door. He waved down one of the bartenders, who glided over towards him on her skates as she smiled at him.

“Hey there, what can I get ya?” She smiled at him, excitedly tapping her hands on the wooden countertop.

Changbin passed her the cash and shrugged. “A gin and tonic is fine. I don’t care what kind of gin you use.”

“You got it,” she skated away, off to make his drink.

Again, Changbin looked down to his watch. 21:21. The lights flickered off nine minutes early, UV lighting illuminating the entire rink, save the halogen lights by the washrooms, entrance, and most of the bar. The bartender returned with Changbin’s drink and his change.

“Quinine sure is fascinating, ain’t it? I love anything with tonic water on neon nights. Lemme know if you need anything else, buttercup.” She smiled, then skated away to her next customer before Changbin could make any sort of commentary. He stared wildly at his drink, literally glowing in a nuclear shade of blue, wondering if it had been adulterated. Quinine. He recognized the word from one of his organic chemistry texts from university, but the details of it escaped him.

Fuck it. Might as well just drink it.

He fumbled the cash into his right pocket, not bothering to stuff it back into his wallet. There was no way he was going to stand up in these fucking shoes unless he absolutely had to. Another glance to his watch. 21:24. Changbin grumbled under his breath, bringing the glass cup to his lips, biting the plastic straw between his teeth as he sucked up some of the toxic-looking liquid and he looked to the door. The drink nearly went everywhere as his eyes went wide and he saw a human glow stick walk in.

Neon pink shirt. Hair as violently blue as his own drink, topped with a purple beret. This was his human glow stick. It was fucking Yang Jeongin, actually here, in the flesh. Changbin didn’t even try to doubt it.

The black-haired man dipped his head down in nervousness, his heartbeat thrumming so loudly, it overtook the music being played over the loud speakers behind him. He had gotten this far, but Changbin had no idea what to do now. These men had essentially fucked over the phone just the night prior — well, they had attempted to, for all intents and purposes.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

How do people do blind dates? In the six years he spent studying research and analysis, he never came across something like this in his texts and papers. The countless nights he spent researching the human connection and other psychological and sociological theories had meant jack shit when it actually came to experiencing them in person. If his hair wasn’t well-coiffed, Changbin would be nervously running his fingers through his hair and biting off every single fingernail he could. It had been years since he dated, and this could go very poorly.

Something inside of him compelled him to look again. Perhaps the human glow stick was a figment of his imagination, the wrong person. Something. Anything. Anyone other than Yang Jeongin. Changbin sucked down another large swig of his drink, and turned his head slightly, and saw that the glow stick was scanning the bar. Changbin was about to turn away out of nervousness when they made eye contact.

He hadn’t consumed any questionable substances other than a couple sips of his drink, but it was like a fire had been set alight within him, burning away some of his anxiety and replacing it with a sense of confidence. That was definitely Jeongin, the gaze they exchanged with each other left no room for question.

The younger man smiled, biting his lip as he excitedly trekked up to Changbin. He stopped in front of him, gazing down at the older man’s shirt, then wiggling a bit in joy as he opened his mouth.

“Please tell me you’re Seo Changbin, otherwise you’re going to be very disappointed tonight.”

“Well,” Changbin couldn’t help but half-smirk with a bit of a cocky arrogance he didn’t know he had. He set his drink down on the bar and leaned on his elbow, slowly looking up at the neon-clad man. “That depends on who’s asking, don’t you think?” He used the first words Jeongin spoke at him against him, and the younger man giggled.

“Yang Jeongin, at your service. Raspberry beret included. Still the best year in music this decade.” The blue-haired man winks and leans in close, very close to the older man, as he then rests his arms on the countertop, flagging down the same bartender as before. She nods and starts working on a drink without even talking to him. The young man sits back on his heels and boldly slaps a hand on Changbin’s thigh. He moves in, right up next to the black-haired man’s ear, lips practically touching it as he lowers his voice to a whisper. “You know, Changbin, librarians aren’t supposed to be hot and sexy, but man, am I glad I’ve been proven wrong.”

Changbin may have been nervous as all hell just a few minutes ago, but now he had a sneaking feeling that maybe, just maybe, this date was going to work out after all.

The two of them share a couple of drinks at the bar, really hitting it off. Jeongin doesn’t lift his hand from Changbin’s thigh, which the elder doesn’t mind, slowly getting the courage to place his hand on top of it after their second drink. At some point, Jeongin sticks his tongue out in defiance, showing off a neon green tongue ring on bright display, and Changbin is impressed.

“I’m full of a lot of secrets, you know.” The younger man teases, aimlessly biting on his straw.

“I guess I’m gonna have to slowly unwrap you in order to find out all of those secrets, huh?” Thanks to the alcohol, Changbin’s a lot smoother than he thinks he is, realizing that the words sounded a lot less innocuous than he intended. He blinks rapidly and stumbles over his words. “Sorry,” he apologizes, then rubs his forehead with his free hand. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

“That was a good pickup line,” the blue-haired man giggles into his drink, emptying the contents of the glass, then slamming it down on the counter. He takes his newly-freed hand and rests his head in his palm, happily smiling at the man in front of him. “Now what?”

Changbin gently sets his drink on the counter, then reaches into his left pocket, scooping up the dime bag from the other day, tucking it into the palm of his hand. “I got these from Seungmin the other day. Kind of a strange question, but,” he looks up to the younger man and licks his bottom lip, “you trust me enough to get a little tripped out?”

Jeongin excitedly shimmies his shoulders back and forth a couple of times. “You’re friends with Seungmin, so that’s good enough for me. Whatcha got on the menu for tonight, hmm?”

“Something pretty to go right up next to that tongue ring of yours.” Changbin takes his hand off of Jeongin’s, inconspicuously fiddling with the bag. He pulls out a small baby pink square of paper, briefly flashing it at the younger man. “I can take it first if you don’t trust me.”

Jeongin doesn’t say anything, only moving in a bit closer, and he sticks his tongue out, mouth wide open, everything shiny with saliva and on full display. He looks up to Changbin with pleading eyes and makes a little cooing noise.

Changbin let his eyes flutter shut for a brief second as he sharply inhaled through his nose and then shifted in his seat in mild discomfort. “You’re dangerous,” he whispered, eyes half-lidded as he grabbed Jeongin’s chin, lightly tugging him closer for a moment, as he pressed the paper onto the moist, warm tongue in front of him. “I’m ready to get burned with fire, though.” He wastes no time to pluck the second piece of paper from the plastic bag, pressing it against his own tongue. “Let everything chill out on your tongue for a while, alright?”

“You say that like you think I’ve never dropped acid before, dude.” The younger man smiled widely, then tugged at Changbin’s hand, pulling him up to his feet. “Let’s go get some skates and roll around while we wait.”

Changbin’s eyes went wide and his feet screamed at him as he was jostled upright. It was going to hurt, but it didn’t matter. A bit of discomfort would be worth it to see the joyful look on Jeongin’s face as they glided around on the polished floor, waiting for the colours to slowly meld together and wrap around them in a hazy, yet incandescent rainbow.

“Wait a second,” Jeongin cackles and drops the laces of his skates. “You mean to tell me you’re twenty-five and you’ve never been good at skating? Dude. Your childhood must’ve been boring as shit.”

“Come on,” Changbin drawls, sighing as he pouts at the younger man. “The only physical activity I really like is weightlifting, and that’s not even a frequent hobby of mine. I’d rather get baked after work and listen to records while laying on the floor.” The two men stare at each other for a minute, then burst into laughter.

“Alright, I can see you getting baked, but weightlifting? As if, man.” Jeongin shakes his head and bends back down to finish tying his laces. “Librarians aren’t supposed to be buff and shit, that’s not how that works at all.”

A sarcastic huff escapes Changbin’s lips. He drops to the floor, grabbing Jeongin’s hands and looking up to the younger man, his face getting dangerously close, close enough to almost brush their lips together. They stare at each other for a moment, the air stilling around them, before the older man moves to touch their cheeks together, lips against Jeongin’s ear. “You also said librarians aren’t supposed to be hot, but I proved you wrong with that, too.” Changbin lets go of Jeongin’s hands, moving them to dance his fingertips against the top of the neon man’s thighs. “Let me see how many times I can prove you wrong tonight.”

Jeongin lets out a shaky gasp, pressing his cheek up against the older man’s, moving in close as if he was about to kiss him, but Changbin pulls away too quickly, winking at him before he moves down to help tie his laces. “God,” the younger man sighs, throwing his head back and subtly rolling his hips in his chair to readjust, “you’re a tease, man. That’s not fair.”

“Life’s not fair sometimes. Gotta have the dark to appreciate the light.” Changbin smirks to himself as he finishes knotting the laces in his hands. He makes his way to his feet, awkwardly stumbling a bit before he reaches his hands down in front of Jeongin. “Shall we?”

Jeongin takes one of Changbin’s hands and helps himself upright. “Awfully confident for someone who can’t skate.” He smiles, then gently tugs the older man towards the open air of the entrance of the rink.

Changbin sucks air in through his teeth as he starts to move, flailing his free hand a bit as he awkwardly shuffles his feet to help him move with a bit more purpose. They step on to the glossy hardwood floor, and Jeongin spins around, skating backwards as he pulls Changbin along. He reaches out for the older man’s other hand, which Changbin carefully reaches down and grabs. They interlace their fingers together, staring longingly at each other.

“I trusted you with the acid,” Jeongin says at a volume just loud enough to carry over the song roaring through the speakers, “now trust me with the skating, yeah?”

Changbin nods, his face slightly wrinkled up in nervousness. He bites his lip, starting to get the hang of the way they slid around the floor, only having some issues with the rounded corners. People were flying past them, but it didn’t matter. The only thing Changbin wanted to focus on was Jeongin.

“You’re getting it,” the younger man smiled, standing totally upright and pulling the older man closer to him, maybe just a few centimetres away from each other. They smile softly at one another, slowing down a bit as Changbin started to get lost in the way the brilliant lighting warmed against Jeongin’s face, highlighting his high cheekbones and his soft lips.

There was nothing more that Changbin wanted than to kiss those lips.

As he was leaning in, Jeongin let go of his hands. “You teased me earlier,” he scoffed, “now you’ve gotta earn that kiss.” He looks over his shoulder, then turns back and smiles. “You’ve gotta make one full loop around: from the entrance and back. Then you’ll have earned that kiss from me.”

Changbin opens his mouth to protest, flailing around a bit, and Jeongin winks and practically flies away on his skates. He grits his teeth and huffs. “I’m gonna show you, goddammit.” The black-haired man frowns in determination, getting bolder with each stride he takes. Jeongin loops around again when he’s about halfway through, sticking his tongue out and blowing him a kiss as he spins around and jumps up into the air, landing perfectly back onto his feet. The younger man is off in a flash again, a trail of pink following him as he rolls away.

Oh. Changbin shakes his head as he comes around a corner. The acid had started to kick in and things got a little brighter, colours blurring together in the distance, lazily trailing around in a stutter as he moved around. He stared at the entrance of the rink, maybe fifty metres away, smiling to himself as he got closer and closer. At about twenty metres, Jeongin flew past him and veered off towards the wall, waiting with a smile.

As he approached Jeongin, Changbin intentionally didn’t slow down as much as he should have. He slowed a bit, and the younger man winced a bit and recoiled, preparing for a rough impact. However, the crash never came. Changbin pressed his hands into Jeongin’s chest as he got close, gently colliding against him, both of them landing against the wall.

They didn’t say anything. Changbin snaked a hand to Jeongin’s hip, and another up under his jaw, pulling it up into his. Their lips danced up against each others’, and there’s an electrical feeling that runs through Changbin’s veins, a spark between them. Their noses brush, nuzzling into the other as their lips open.

Jeongin tastes like lemon-lime soda and vodka, his tongue feeling almost like it was still covered in carbon dioxide as it rolled around Changbin’s. The older man digs his thumb into the younger man’s hip, causing a muffled squeak to roll up into his throat. An explosion of yellows and greens cloud Changbin’s vision as sounds start to translate into colours and haptic sensations.

It almost feels like they’re meant to be. Jeongin is the treble to Changbin’s bass. The light to his darkness. He is the neon glow stick to his dark, unlit candle. It may have been the drugs and the alcohol heightening everything, but from the way their humour complemented each other, to their oddities being so different yet similar, to the way that how sweet Jeongin’s kiss was against Changbin’s sour lips, everything was perfect.

“You’re perfect,” Changbin breathes into Jeongin’s mouth. “I don’t know why,” he pulls the younger man’s bottom lip gently between his teeth as he pulls away, staring up into half-open eyes, “but I just feel it.” The synth music beating along in the background practically pushes them closer, inviting them to stay wrapped up into one another.

Jeongin pushes back up against Changbin’s lips for a quick, hasty kiss that feels like electric pink and sparkling green. “It’s the drugs, but I’ll take the compliment.”

“I’m serious,” Changbin smiles at the sweetness of Jeongin’s lips against his again. “Like, your cheekbones. They’re so prominent, sharp, perfect. Your whole face just radiates brilliance. It’s like all of the colours dance off of your face and wrap it in this warm energy that demands attention.”

“Your lips are perfect,” Jeongin retorts with a laugh. “The way that your face wrinkles up when you smile. I wanna take that in, make you laugh for hours just to watch you scrunch your face together. Listen to the way your laugh staccatos discordantly against the music playing in the background.”

A warmth spreads in Changbin’s stomach, deep purples and pinks blending around the edges of his vision. It was time. He decides to finally bite the bullet, swallowing hard as he tries to keep his volume low enough for only Jeongin to hear him, “I wanna hear you say it again.”

There’s a short pause as Jeongin stills. “What’re you talking about?”

Changbin pushes Jeongin into the wall, rubbing his waist against the younger man’s. “Last night,” he trails his lips up Jeongin’s cheek, all the way up to his ear, “you told me you wanted me. Needed me.”

There’s a burst of orange as Jeongin laughs. “That’s right, isn’t it? Whatcha gonna do if I tell you that again, now that I have you here in my hands?” His hands quickly slap up against Changbin’s ass, grabbing it tightly. “We’re still in public, baby.”

A strangled moan accidentally comes from Changbin, feeling every nerve in his spine erupt in baby blues and jarring yellows at the younger man’s touch. “I don't care where we are. I’m gonna give you what you want,” he whispers, nibbling on the earlobe in front of him. “I’m going to steal you away, pull you away into the washroom, and I’m gonna fuck you up against the tiling or the wallpaper or whatever dingy shit they’ve got in there.”

It was like nobody was around, not that anyone was paying attention, anyways. The two of them ground up against each other, practically fucking as everyone went along with their lives around them. They were far from the only ones becoming so acquainted on the hardwood floor, but it didn’t matter. As far as Changbin was concerned, they were the only two people in the room, in the entire building, in the entire world.

“It’s tiling,” Jeongin whispers and bites Changbin’s ear, causing a neon rainbow, rippling in time to the music around them, to cloud his vision. “I let you take control over the phone last night, so I’m gonna do the fucking tonight. Come on.”

Changbin doesn’t have the wherewithal to protest as he’s dragged away by Jeongin, pulling them off towards the flickering, nauseatingly yellow-tinted halogen that illuminated the washroom door. Somehow, they had gotten lucky and nobody was in the entire washroom. They roll into the large stall towards the back. Jeongin locks the door behind them and pushes Changbin against the back wall, crashing their lips together.

The weird mixture of normal lighting with blacklight paints a strange picture against the back of Changbin’s eyelids. Each grazing of Jeongin’s teeth on his lips causes purple lines to streak down a backdrop of orange and crimson.

Warm. Jeongin was warm. Everything about him radiated warm colours and energy, even if his hair was the opposite of that.

Jeongin trails his lips down Changbin’s neck, and he grazes his teeth against the soft skin. “Wait,” the older man quietly protests, “don’t do anything that’ll leave a mark there.”

“Why not?” Jeongin looks up to the older man and smirks. “Afraid your coworkers and students are gonna find out you’re actually a bit of a freak who wants to get fucked in public?”

“Actually,” Changbin huffs, “kinda, yeah. Anything below the neck is fair game, though.

“I respect that.” Jeongin huffs, tugging the loose neckline of Changbin’s shirt down, exposing his collarbone. “Oh,” he pauses, cocking his head to the side. “781?”

Changbin hums, flushing in slight embarrassment, as he feels Jeongin’s eyes on his tattoo. “Dewey Decimal Classification. Music theory call number. That’s why there’s a treble clef next to it.”

“God, you’re such a fucking nerd. That’s hot as hell.” The younger man groans, then starts desperately sucking and biting up against the sensitive flesh.

Changbin doesn’t try to hide a needy whine at the sensation of Jeongin’s teeth against his skin. His hips roll up subconsciously, craving for some sort of stimulation against his growing erection. “Jeongin,” he whimpers, “I don’t wanna wait anymore.”

The younger man relinquishes the skin from his teeth. “Funny,” he says, standing up and looking down at the older man, pressing their hips together. “Neither do I.”

They wantonly kiss each other as they fumble with their pants. Jeongin tosses his beret to the floor, pulling out a condom and a small, travel-sized bottle of lube out from his back pocket. “As much as I love kissing those lips of yours and looking at your face,” he pulls away, quickly pressing a kiss to Changbin’s forehead, “this is gonna be a lot easier if you turn around.”

A nervous laugh bubbles up from Changbin as he somehow manages to roll around, pressing his hands up against the clammy tiling. He bends over slightly, pressing his hips against Jeongin’s crotch, eliciting a small groan from the younger man. Within a moment, thumbs are haphazardly tugging his waistband down, exposing his skin to the warm, open air.

“Your ass is really nice,” Jeongin takes in a quick breath and ghosts his fingers over the smooth skin.

“You say that now,” Changbin whispers as streams of green drift up from the corners of his vision, “but wait until you’re actually inside me.”

A desperate huff comes from Jeongin. “Fuck,” he groans, squeezing some lube on to his fingers and bringing his hand up to the older man’s perineum, dragging them up slowly to rub against his entrance. “I’ve been thinking about this nonstop since you told me you’d fuck me against your stupid work desk.” He coaxes a finger inside, and Changbin whines, rubbing his cheek against the dingy washroom tile. “I was ready to come right then and there. I didn’t know you’d be that much of a freak when Seungmin told me you were a librarian.”

Jeongin’s finger curls around a bit as he explores around, causing Changbin to let out soft little pants as his skin stretched against the finger. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he manages to grumble in between pants, “or how freaky I am. Maybe one day I’ll show you my collection of glass sex toys I keep hidden under my bed.”

Another finger slips in, and another moan loudly comes from the panting librarian. “Keep it down. Don’t wanna get kicked out with a hard-on, do you?” Changbin weakly nods, his eyes rolling back as he bites his lips and moves against Jeongin’s fingers. The younger man continues to stretch the sensitive skin as he gently rolls both of his fingers around, occasionally separating them in a scissoring-like motion.

Changbin bites back a loud, throaty moan, bringing his hand up to his mouth so he can bite on his knuckle. Colours rippled around in discordant patterns, roughly clashing up against each other, sparks of white popping up at random. “Jeongin,” he whines out, voice slightly muffled.

The younger man shudders at the sound of his name being uttered, and he slips his ring finger inside. As soon as the finger is completely inside of Changbin, the older man throws his head back and slips a bit on his skates. Jeongin grabs his hip tightly with his free hand. “Don’t worry, baby,” he whispers, in a soft, loving voice, “I’m not gonna let you fall. I’ll keep you safe right here, so let yourself go.”

Changbin’s hand leaves his mouth and slams up against the wall, curling his fingernails into the grout between the tiles. He closes his eyes tightly and loses himself in the sensation of being filled by three fingers, slowly working his way up to being prepared for whatever Jeongin’s dick was going to feel like inside of him. What he wasn’t prepared for, however, was when Jeongin’s middle finger curled up against his prostate and he arched his back in surprise.

“Jeongin,” he panted, rubbing his cheekbone into the tile, “fuck, there, right there.”

“Don’t worry,” the younger man reassures him, “all in due time. Trust me, a bassist knows what he’s doing when it comes to his fingers.”

“That’s,” Changbin pants again, “a terrible fucking pun.”

Jeongin rubs all three of his fingers in a circle, causing the older man to writhe under him. “Yeah, yeah,” he coos, “you don’t seem to actually be complaining, though.”

“I’m only gonna complain if you don’t shut up and fuck me here soon,” Changbin whines through gritted teeth. “I don’t wanna come unless it’s from your dick, alright?”

“Fine,” Jeongin grins, removing his fingers slowly, making sure to drag them down the walls of the sensitive skin around them. He pulls them out one by one, causing Changbin to twitch under him. Once his hand is free, he wrangles his cock from his pants, then rips the condom from the foil packet, sliding it onto him. He pulls the bottle of lube from his pocket, squirting a bit more onto his hand, stroking it on his cock. “You ready for me?”

“Yes,” Changbin turns his head, staring down Jeongin with half-lidded eyes. “I need you, Jeongin, please.”

The younger man smiles, then lines himself up against the elder’s entrance. “Whatever you want, babe.” Jeongin slides in, and the composure held in his face falters, lips parting and eyes rolling back a bit. His slick hand grabs Changbin’s other hip, digging his pinky and thumb tightly into his skin as he slowly makes his way completely inside. “Yeah, you were right. Your ass is much nicer now that I’m inside of you.”

“I know, I know. Jeongin, please, shut up and fuck me,” Changbin whines, rapidly panting as he’s filled. “I just wanna feel you fuck me senseless.”

“Needy,” Jeongin hisses through his teeth as he pulls back, then slams back into Changbin, the sound of skin against skin echoing throughout the tiling and linoleum, overtaking the muffled sounds of the electronica from the other room.

Everything felt and looked so much more vibrant thanks to the acid. Every thrust was another colour splattered up recklessly in Changbin’s vision. Sparks of light went flying every time Jeongin hit his prostate. Sex usually felt wonderful to Changbin; he wasn’t sure if it was because of the drugs specifically, or if it was Jeongin, or if it was both, but he was sure of one thing: this was an out-of-body experience. His mind was floating up in the sky, up along the stars, as if he was the main character in some bad science fiction space film.

“Jeongin,” he panted, continuing to cry out the younger man’s name like a mantra.

The blue-haired man panted heavily, taking the hand previously inside Changbin and wrapping it around his cock, stroking it in time with his thrusts. “You feel so good, baby, I’m gonna make a mess out of you.”

The colours in Changbin’s vision slowly started to turn white, ribbons of pink and blue in the shades of Jeongin wrapping around the edges of his sight. “Shit,” a throaty moan escaped his throat, “I’m gonna come, Jeongin, don’t fucking stop. Fuck, please don’t stop. Don’t stop. Ah, god, fuck, I—“

His back arched, fingernails dragging down the walls as Changbin tried, and failed, to keep himself from shouting Jeongin’s name at a loud volume. The younger man pumped him one last time, and cum splattered up against the wall, dripping down onto the floor, as the older man collapsed into the tiling.

“Fuck, that’s so good, you’re so good, Changbin,” he pulled back and then slammed into the older man one more time, curling into his back a bit, stabilizing his stance by gripping Changbin’s hip. He spilled his cum into the condom, and the two of them stood there and panted for what seemed like forever.

After several minutes, Jeongin pulled out, shakily standing back upright. “What the fuck was that, dude?” He laughed, and Changbin managed to stumble himself back up to a vertical position.

The older man rapidly blinked as he came back down from space, and he let out a long sigh. “Amazing, that's what that was,” he pulled his pants up from off of the floor, haphazardly fastening the button of his jeans together just enough. Changbin awkwardly rolls a bit, then pulls Jeongin into him by the neck, the two of them exchanging a warm, soft kiss with each other.

They kiss for only a moment or so. “We should probably clean up a little bit and then get out of here.” Jeongin chuckles once. “You kind of made a mess and I’m sure we probably scared off some people.

“You’re the reason I made that mess,” Changbin quips. “Besides, we’re not the only ones that have fucked in here tonight, I bet. We won’t be the last, either.”

After a bit of awkwardly shuffling around in skates, some commentary about never fucking in roller skates again, and a bit of cleanup, they emerge from the stall. Jeongin rolls over to the sink to wash his hands, smiling at Changbin through the mirror. “I think I’m gonna like you,” he says, and the older man makes eye contact with him through the mirror, then rolls up next to him.

“Yeah?” He presses a kiss up to the younger man’s cheek and adjusts the beret on his head. “You say that now, but wait until I go on a rant about the Library of Congress’ organizational system versus the Dewey Decimal Classification, or about how dumb university students can be.”

Jeongin turns his head and gently kisses Changbin’s lips as water drips down from his hands. “It’ll be cute, I bet. You had me hooked at listening to records and smoking weed while laying on the floor, but nerdy ranting? Icing on the cake, man.”

Changbin scoffs and grabs a couple of towels from the dispenser behind the younger man. “Stop dripping all that water over my skates, dude. Maybe you should come home with me and we can find out just how fun that all actually turns out to be.”

“I think that’s—“ Jeongin starts to speak, taking the towels from Changbin, until they’re distracted by the loud squeaking of the washroom door. They both turn to look at the noise, and Changbin’s not really sure if he’s imagining what he’s seeing due to drugs.

“Changbin?” The voice of the intruder sounds as shocked as Changbin feels.

“Chan?” Jeongin squints as his face as he looks at the man that walks in.

The three of them awkwardly stare at each other, and Changbin frowns. “You know him?” He asks Jeongin, who stares back at him with wide eyes.

Jeongin shrugs his shoulders. “It was, like, a year or so ago, but yeah. You slept with him, too?”

#roller rinks and raspberry berets #sks smut #skz fics #seo changbin x yang jeongin #yang jeongin x seo changbin #jeongbin #changbin x jeongin #jeongin x changbin #wherevermyway

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25536 · 3 years

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H-1 Bulan, dan gelisah as hell. Pergantian usia nyatanya selalu jadi masalah besar buat gue. Rasa kalau gue belum cukup baik untuk bisa memenuhi ekspektasi diri sendiri dan orang lain. Juga ketakutan dan penyesalan kalau satu tahun lagi berjalan dengan sia-sia. 25, seperempat abad. Untuk sebagian orang ini angka 'udah', sebagian lagi 'baru'. Gue pribadi ngerasa 25 is not a finish line, but 30 is. Di usia 25 gue ngerasa masih punya stock 5 tahun lagi untuk figuring things out, untuk gagal, untuk nyoba banyak hal. Tho, I'll set my finish line on 28. On that time I wish I'm growing to be this woman who is compassionate and running her own business and be such a healer for others. I don't mind cleaning up people mess.

Memasuki usia 25, terasa betul pemikiran gue jauh lebih matang. Gue ngerasa lebih bisa menghargai apa-apa yang udah gue lakuin dan putting value in it. Juga nrimo kondisi-kondisi di luar kendali gue. Lebih banyak mikir dan diskui ke diri sendiri. Ngga lagi semata-mata ngelakuin sesuatu for the sake of being busy. But also embracing every flaws and winning and learning in it.

Haaaah, gue beneran ngehela napas panjang dan lebar banget sambil ngetik. Beberapa kesadaran yang alam bawah sadar gue, akhirnya sadari, lol, dan ya udah coba diubah pelan-pelan.

"Life doesn't give us a purpose. We give life purpose." - Barry, 'Blackest Night' Volume 1. (Given by Struan for me). (Struaan, it takes me 2 years to really sink it in!!!!)

Daripada memori baik, gue seringkali melekatkan memori pada kenangan-kenangan buruk, menyabotase diri sendiri bahwa dari setiap kegagalan berati gue ngga cukup layak buat apa pun. Dan iya, jaraaang sekali gue mau revisit pengalam buruk. But that quotes given by Struan, di momen gue ngerasa buruk banget, di momen gue ngerasa gagal segagal-gagalnya, justru masuk dan make sense sekarang.

That brings me realization, kalau selama ini gue idup bukan di driver seat. Nyalahin keadaan dan seringnya nyokap. Gue ngerasa apa yang dia lakuin adalah salah. Daan sekarang, di tengah pandemi yang mau berakhir, nyokap yang mau nikah, pulang dan wfh di rumah selama hampir dua bulan, gue paham banget bahwa apa-apa yang dilakuin nyokap adalah hal terbaik yang bisa doi lakukan, kalau cinta dan syangnya doi luaaaaaaaas, dari dulu sampai kapan pun.

Gue sadar sedang di posisi sering nyakitin dan nyalahin nyokap sekarang-sekarang, ngelempar kritik yang pasti buat sakit hati. Bahkan seringkali gue merasa buruk dan salah setelahnya, apalagi kalau doi nyampaiin langsung. But, thats OK. Sekarang gue lagi ngerasa di tahap lagi belajar boundaries sama nyokap, mana yang sekiranya OK buat dilakuin dan mana yang engga. Ke doi dan urusan domestic umumnya. Toleransi atau pembiaran yang nyokap sekarang lakuin, buat apa-apa yang gue lakuin di kosan, buat gue belajar lagi tentang diri sendiri, tanggung jawab dan being in driver seat.

Selama ini, gue ngerasa idup semata-mata buat memenuhi ekspektasi nyokap, code of conduct kehidupan gue ya ada di nyokap. Gue ga pernah benar-benar bisa mutusin apa yang gue lakukan sendiri. Dan pembiaran ini, jujur buat gue bingung. Karena seringnya gue ngga tahu apa yang harus dilakuin, tapi tiba-tiba doi di ujung ngomel. LoL. But then, ini justru baik, karena buat gue mikir lagi, evaluasi, mana yang sebenarnya baik mana yang engga, dan kenapa akhirnya doi ga suka. Bukan yang setiap detik dikasi tahu apa yang harus gue lakuin. Pembiaran dan keputusan kecil macam cuci piring, baju kotor, nyapu dlsb dan segala macamnya, somehow ngebuat gue merasa dipercaya (?) kalau gue juga bisa ngelakuin hal itu. Agak bingung jugak sih sebenarnya dipercaya apa doi sudah give up, tapi yuk mari kita ambil dipercaya aja lah ya, biar positif. Hehehe

(bentar ini gue lagi resisting keinginan buat beberes kamar, kosan lagi kucel banget dan belum disapu, dan besok pagi kl doi datang dan belum disapu pasti ngomel, but yeah, mari kita selesaikan ini dulu.)

Sekarang gue jadi bisa lihat konsekuensi jangka panjang, ngerti apa yang gue lakuin, bukan sekadar karena disuruh atau penggugur kewajiban, but mostly because I need to. So, yeah I do the things dat I think I need to be done. Belum sebanyak nyokap sih, tapi yaah seenggaknya belajar. Kalau doi ngomel, ya udah aja, toh ga pernah dimaksudin buat ngga ngikutin maunya doi, belum sadar dan merasa butuh aja. Ngga papa, pelan-pelan sayaaang.

Realisasi bahwa gue masih belajar dan telat dan its okay, agaknya juga didukung sama teman-teman gue yang banyak membuka chapter babak baru hidupnya dan memutuskan buat nikah di umur 25 ini. Kalau gaji, kerjaan, fisikal apperance, or some other competencies thingy gue seringnya nyalahin diri sendiri kenapa gue ngga mencoba lebih berusaha lebih, but, nikah ngga bisa begitu hoy! Ngga mungkin kan, tetiba gue ngajakin orang nikah gitu aja? LoL

Di tahun ini jujur pengalaman cinta-cintaan gue streeeetch so effin much, dari awal tahun sampai akhir tahun. Dan meskipun banyak galaunya, I do really see progress in this aspect, and well, I think I'm satisfied with what I did. The GGWP feelin, just as Eki said. Doing something, fighting till the end, and doesn't care much about the results, that's awesome. I never really fight for something that I want, and indeed it feels so good, and hell, I know I can apply that in every aspect of my lyfe!!!!

And thru those, and beberapa tamparan dari kawan-kawan tersayang, I know that I'm able to loove that much, to see and spot things that most eyes can't see, and connect on such a deeper level. That somehow, I feel like a sea.

"One must be a sea, to receive a polluted stream without becoming impure - Friedrich Nietzche"

I never doubt my ability to love someone unconditionally once I fall. I put aside my brain and truly listen to my heart upon whats she wants to. But why no one can receive this enormous love. Because I'm an ocean and what you need is a river? Honey, I'm the end of a river, freshwater, rain, lake, that's me. I can be anything you need me to be.

But yeah, this gives me a whole lot of insecurities about my physical presence. I never really like this shell. I don't know how to love it properly. I have never been told that it's okay and I'm enough. There's always a what-if and how about, and it is so fucking tiresome.

And when everything is progressing, when I starting to accept myself, I don't want this physical thing to be a burden to my progress. Is it about the size, the colour, the shape or what?

There's a lot of people out there having this kind of size, having this kind of color, having this kind of shape, and I see no flaws. And I see that they are rocking it. And me too willing to try. To embrace and flaunt every curve, every flaw, everything that I have right now.

So, I'm about to have this photo session to know me better, to accept me the way I am, to love and live fiercely. At first, I was about to request the photographer to make sure that I look fine in most of the pics, looking for validation from it. But sure, it's unfair. And it would crush me hard if my eggspectation ain't met.

So I think, I will judge it finely, if I don't like most of the result I'll change, and I know I'm capable of. Just as I did at the very beginning of 2021. But if I'm okay with it I'll flaunt myself, I'll rock it hard, romanticizing it, and taking care of it much harder.

Vulnerabilities may have been so embedded in me that I've become unaware of it, but I know there's a part of me that is bold and talented, and able to live spontaneously and create my own reality. I'm charismatic and independent. I trust the free-spirited creative part of me. I can confidently manifest my dream. I'm saving me. - The pattern

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miki-agrawal · 3 years

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Are we really in for a summer of love? A post-vaccine dating investigation.

Dating podcasters, condom companies, bartenders, and college students weigh in on the horny months to come.

Originally Posted On vox.com By Lauren Vespoli On may 3, 2021

How much kissing will happen this summer? Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty Images

This story is part of a group of stories called

“I’m excited to go a bit buck wild and feel so much safer,” says Elena, a recently vaccinated college student. “Just go on a lot of dates, make out with some guys, nothing serious.”

The 20-year-old Salt Lake City resident, who asked that her last name be withheld to protect her privacy, is ready to make up for lost time in her romantic life. She did some app dating during the pandemic, but Covid-19 was a constant presence, with several of her dates later telling her they’d been exposed (though she never caught the coronavirus). During quarantine, Elena spent time rehashing missed chances in her love life. “I was just thinking, ‘When I’m out of this, I’m going to make the most of every opportunity,’” she says.

In Manhattan, Marc Hernandez, a bartender at the cocktail bar Ampersand, says that even at 50 percent capacity, the scene — “which has always been one for first dates” — is already feeling like its pre-Covid days. “That gets me thinking that the summer is going to be a little wild,” he says.

“WHEN I’M OUT OF THIS, I’M GOING TO MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY”

“Shot girl summer.” “Vaxxed and waxed.” The “whoring 20s.” As the US becomes increasingly inoculated and the weather continues to warm, the number of Americans who are ready to date is on the rise: A Morning Consult survey for the week ending April 25 found that 53 percent of adults feel “comfortable” dating right now, up 9 percent from the last week in March (although women still feel less comfortable than men). Everyone from Andrew Yang to the bidet company Tushy — which is maintaining a herd-immunity countdown clock at CanIEatAssYet.com — are building anticipation for a hedonistic release of pent-up sexual energy.