#also this was supposed to be a jin set… worked out great i see

[robininthelabyrinth]

If you’re still doing headcanon prompts:

Jiang Yanli is committed to marrying into the Jin! …for the money 🥰

“I thought the Jiang clan valued freedom,” Jiang Yanli grumbled, sulking in a way that she’d never allow herself to do in front of her younger brothers, who needed a reliable big sis. “Choosing your own path…”

“Is this about your engagement again?” her mother said.

“Maybe.”

“A-Li…”

“At least tell me why it matters so much to you! I know Madame Jin used to be your friend, but you haven’t actually been friends in ages!”

Her mother sighed, then turned and looked at her thoughtfully. “I suppose you’re old enough now to understand,” she said. “Jinzhu, Yinzhu, go close the windows.”

Jiang Yanli waited until they’d done so. “So? What’s the reason you care so much about me being engaged with Jin Zixuan?”

“We’re broke.”

Jiang Yanli blinked. “What?”

“We’re broke,” her mother repeated. “The Jiang sect’s liabilities massively outweigh its assets, and the only reason no one has figured it out is because we’re a Great Sect with an immense amount of honor, so no one is willing to call us out on it when we delay or even default on our payments.”

Jiang Yanli stared.

“Your father won’t admit it, of course. That’s why he was willing to break the engagement – but I do care, which is why I care so much about setting it back up.”

“Oh,” Jiang Yanli said. “But…if that’s the case, what is the Jin sect getting out of this marriage?”

“Respectability,” her mother explained. “Jin Guangshan is an odious toad, and also very likely not the father of most of his ‘bastards’, no matter what he might think – the Jin sect’s bloodline treasures work on anyone in the bloodline, after all, not just the main line.”

Jiang Yanli read between the lines what was being implied about Jin Zixuan. “Oh!”

Actually, that made the prospect of marrying him seem distinctly less dire.

“That’s a secret,” her mother reminded her. “Anyway, that’s why you need to marry him anyway.”

“I see your point. But surely it’ll be just as embarrassing when the Jin sect figures out that they have to pay all our liabilities…?”

“I have a plan for that,” her mother said. “Admittedly, it involves a massive tax dodge and most of us pretending to be dead after a ‘massacre’ at the Lotus Pier –”

“Wait, is this why you still write to Uncle Zhuliu?”

“Don’t call your elders by their first names, it’s rude, and also don’t call him ‘uncle’, he doesn’t deserve it. But yes, he’s helping set it all up; it’s the least he can do, given what he owes me. We’re going to fake our own deaths – it’ll be very tragic – and your brother is going to inherit everything, then ‘rebuild’ the sect from scratch using an awful lot of rogue cultivators that he’s going to find hanging around aimlessly.”

“Uh-huh. Rogue cultivators that just happen to know the basics of Jiang sect training?”

“You’re getting it now,” Jiang Yanli’s mother agreed. “That’ll cover up the debt and the past, but that doesn’t solve everything; we’re still going to need a solid financial basis going forward. And that’s where you come in. You, and Jin Zixuan.”

“I understand now,” Jiang Yanli said. “Don’t worry, mother – you can count on me!”

#mdzs #jiang yanli #yu ziyuan #my fic #my fics #alt headcanons #this prompt made me cackle

[hopeymchope]

Having finally finished reading the DR Kirigiri light novels, here are my closing thoughts and questions.

(For background, I read these translations. Which - as I previously discussed in the first bullet of this post here - may have some small issues throughout.)

I've previously given y'all my report on how I felt / what I was thinking about this series just after passing the halfway point of the light novels, so now it's time for me to bring this whole thing home and offer some closing thoughts.

My first, dominating thought is that this would be so good to see adapted as an anime. I can easily imagine how many episodes it'd take to do each light novel and where you'd logically cut off the story... even more easy, though, would be a manga. It's definitely crying out for that kind of treatment.

Regardless of the (relatively minor) gripes I raise below? This is definitely a great series to read. You get a number of twisty, gripping mysteries, an easy-to-like lead duo, an imposingly powerful enemy force, new background on our favorite lavender-hued detective, and you even get some great new characters added to the mythos — what more do you want?

Okay, but now I'll get into the griping stuff :P For starters: Isn't it... kind of LAME to have Kirigiri repeatedly experience something so similar to the basic setup of DR1 (or any mainline Danganronpa game, really) on MULTIPLE OCCASIONS prior to DR1 ever happening??? But then she just never remotely reference any fo that experience? And YESs, of course I realize she never even obliquely references these events because these prequels weren't actually written by the time of DR1, nor even completed by DR3. But that's the kind of thing you typically want to avoid with prequels, right? ...... Even so, I guess this does take us farther into these stories deserving to be called "Danganronpa" than any other spinoff. And it's not hard to come up with excuses for why she never remotely hinted at these things; she's intentionally acting withdrawn and keeping info to herself throughout DR1 and DR3, after all. So it's not the WORST crime. It's just, like I said: kind of lame.

MORE SPECIFICALLY, let me clarify: Although the cases in DRK don't include a "mutual killing" element, you still get at least three cases where she's [1] trapped in a specific building alongside a group of people who include a killer/"mastermind," the cast subsequently being picked off one by one, and [2] said experiences are also broadcast to a viewing audience. In fact, you even get two cases where [3] the trapped participants are expected to take specific bedrooms to lock themselves in during the nighttime! And even [4] one case where there's a weird, automated "host character" overseeing the whole thing, which is being operated around a specific set of rules. That's a helluva thing, isn't it?

I've previously expressed GREAT TREPIDATION about one specific element of this series: I was told that supposedly, these light novels included evidence that Fuhito was manipulating Kyoko into hating her father, her dad was always a victim, and Kyoko never realized that she was basically molded from birth by someone who was manipulating her feelings and actions. It all made Kyoko considering Fuhito her "most imporant person" (per DR1 and UDG's captives) come off as this tragic tale where our supposed "master detective" never realized she's been a victim of gaslighting and manipulation for many years, which would change SO MUCH CONTEXT behind her life's work and her relationships with both Jin and Fuhito. HOWEVER, GUESS WHAT? None of that shit was even true! HUZZAH!!!! NOTHING in these light novels goes against what we already knew about Kyoko, Jin, Fuhito, or their relationship(s) with one another... though there is some minor new insight provided into a couple of details. We get a new look at how Jin actually cared about Kyoko from afar (via the "Jin Ex Machina" business I mentioned in the previous post), which is in line with the hints of his lingering love for her we tasted in both DR1 and DR3 without either exonerating him for his choices OR making him 100% correct. We repeatedly watch Kyoko questioning/doubting her grandfather's/family's longstanding "detective work must come above and before personal concerns" rules. And we also get a taste of Fuhito being protective of Kyoko when he learns of the kind of danger she's in — yet simultaneously having complete trust in her talent and ability to overcome said danger. Fuhito seems to even gently help Kyoko understand Samidare's actions near of the end of the final volume... although we only get a taste of his help via Kyoko's internal thoughts, so we don't know exactly what he said to her. TL/DR? My point is simply this: The DRK light novels keep the overall morality / goodness of Kyoko's family dynamics in the same place we already understood them from the games: Kyoko and Fuhito are very close and care about each other without being overtly emotional about it, there is a rift between Jin and the rest of his family over Fuhito priortizing case work above visiting his dying daughter on her deathbed, Jin clearly still concerns/cares that linger for his daughter, etc.

What's with so many scenes of "Black Challenges" or "Duel Noirs" having signs defaced to include the word "DESPAIR"? Is that just some extra branding for the main franchise's themes? Feels out of place.

I feel bad for all those orphans who adored this dude.

General thoughts on numerous new-to-DR characters: As I said in my last post about this series, Samidare is likeable but spends most of the series very thinly defined — plus she's pretty slow on the uptake. Thankfully, by Volume 4 she starts finally pulling her weight, and she gets some much-needed expansion of her background in Volume 7 (just in time for her to make some dumb decisions). Licorne is probably the second-most important new character, and he's an asshole. An interesting one, though! And he does some heroic things! .... even if he isn't really all that morally invested in helping people. He's a self-centered asshole for most of the series, frankly, and I don't care much whether he's around or not. Salvadore Yadorigi Fukuro is awesome; a straight-up superb character with a very "DR" kind of skill/talent. Yaki Hajiki is a character who's also hard to dislike, and I wish he got more "screen time," because he's very intriguing. Johnny Arp is a fascinating one, though he definitely shares some dickish behavior with Lico. Still, I'm always engaged when he's on the page. And... look, I'm fond of Meruko "Pumpkinhead" Mifune. She's fun, sure, but I also see real potential for depth that isn't explored herin.

My remaining observations/thoughts contain some spoilers for the Danganronpa Kirigiri series, so I'm putting the rest UNDER THE BELOW CUT... although I still avoid mentioning the identities of any culprits or masterminds so as to keep the primary case mysteries intact.

Yadorigi = Intelligent, quiet dude in sunglasses who looks like the answer to "What if Munakata found his chill?"

What, exactly, is the state of Yadorigi's eyesight by the end of the series? Initially, we learn that his unique eyesight is very important to his work in uncovering fraud. Later, after a blow to the head, we're told that his eyesight will never be the same as it previously was. In the final volume, he visits Kyoko while wielding a white cane. So uh... does that cane imply that SYF is now blind or very close to it? Or am I reading too much into a walking stick here?

Nothing infuriates me quite as much as when major problems in a story could be easily resolved via basic fucking communication, and a failure to communicate on a base level is absolutely CORE to why things go south in the seventh and final volume. By the time Kyoko and Yui are heading out to the case, the situation is this: Without Kyoko's knowledge, our redacted overarching mastermind (henceforth referred to as "ROM") tried to get Samidare to agree to be the culprit in this final Black Challenge. She refused. ROM then said their organization (the Crime Victim's Relief Committee) will eliminate Kyoko if Samidare doesn't play along. And then, right after saying this? ROM pretty clearly DIED right in front of Samidare, before she can ever express any intention of changing her mind or not. She is then confronted by the enigmatic Tokichiro Endo, who is basically the go-between for culprits and the organization, who demands her final answer. Based on what happens in the case immediately after this, it appears that this conversation somehow ended with Samidare refusing to be the true culprit in this case but ALSO accepting that she would be framed for the murders and take the fall. So now Samidare has a choice to make: Does she (A) trust the Crime Victims' Relief Committee to keep their promise and leave Kyoko alone so long as she keeps her mouth shut...... even though Samidare refused to meet their demands and become the case's culprit? OOOORRR does Yui (B) realize that the Committee has already broken their supposed "rules" by forcibly coercing her into being the culpri — not to mention the fact that they're routinely aiding and abetting murders — which adds up to mean that she can't trust their word and must warn Kyoko of the danger she's in now that the committee has threatened her life directly? Any thinking person should choose (B), but Samidare of course chooses (A) so the plot will happen. *FACEPALM*

The worst part of this is that EVEN when our two heroines have just barely escaped from a burning building and fled out into freezing conditions, leaving them on the razor's edge between two possible methods of death with everyone else from the case seemingly already being dead? Samidare STILL won't outright deny being the case's culprit when accused. With literally NO REASON LEFT not to come clean, she never says jack shit. And then she dies!

During the denouement, the conclusion Kyoko reaches after leaving the hospital and revisiting the scene is... murky, and I think this might be something caused by the translation methods used. It currently reads as though Kyoko reaches the correct conclusion about the case, accurately determining Samidare's innocent AND identifying the true culprit(s). However... she doesn't seem to be 100% confident in her decision? It sounds like Kiri still harbors some lingering doubts about Samidare possibly being guilty?..... Even though she sounds really confident in her (correct) conclusions immediately before that. So it's left ambiguous. Which, I suppose, is one way to maintain Kiri being the Best Detective while simultaneously leaving room for her line in DR1 about how her burns happened because she "trusted the wrong person." She almost entirely knows that she didn't actually trust the wrong person, but they have to leave some doubt so that line can exist? ...... IF this translation is even accurate on this part.

Say... why did Samidare believe she'd die on this mission? It wasn't actually any more inherently dangerous than any other mission her and Kyoko had gone on... LESS dangerous than some, I'd argue! But she prepares this whole letter for her eventual death, so she clearly thought it was a strong possibility. My only guess is that she believed Kyoko was going to be targeted for death, and she planned to fulfill her oft-promised role as Kyoko's human shield. But if that was REALLY something Samidare thought was going to happen, then she had NO REASON to not tell Kyoko the truth about everything. If they're already out to kill Kiri, then OF COURSE it's smartest to warn her about it! So: Why the "last letter"? What made you think you were fucked, Yui?

In the end, ROM's overarching mission is both a success and a failure. Do they take away Kyoko's main emotional attachment, making her withdraw even further into pure logic so she'll avoid getting hurt? Yes. Do they make her deny the value of such attachments in the first place, resulting in her staying isolated forever after? No. She 95% knows she's right about Samidare's innocence in spite of ROM's attempts to frame her; it's just the pain of the loss that makes Kyoko withdraw, not some grander conclusion about distrusting everyone. In fact? I'd argue that Kyoko's speech in DR1's Chapter 4 about accounting for emotions is a strong rebuke of ROM's entire view of the world.

....by the way, does ROM have their own copy of Junko's talent??! It sure seems like they're another "Ultimate Analyst," essentially; able to see patterns of behavior so clearly that they can essentially predict most future events.

#drk #danganronpa kirigiri #danganronpa kirigiri spoilers #drk spoilers #Salvador Yadorigi Fukurō #Kyoko Kirigiri #Yui Samidare #danganronpa light novels

[eijakushingomel]

Pt.2 The Ember Knight Story Idea

(Pacifist AU)

I sometimes asked myself how would Najin treat his teammates, especially from Woodion, if they were in this Pacisfist timeline.

Maybe he's still the same grumpy guy whenever Nags wasn't with him. He gave the cold shoulders to the apprentices, but a bit of acceptance towards his Woodion fellas? I mean, they sure did a great job bullying his brother and him before the fire massacre, but they tried to atone for it. I'd say he would still be mean towards them, but nicer when it compared to his action towards the other apprentices that not from Woodion.

But he holds hatred towards Luce, I supposed. That guy was the only one who still disturbs Nagyunn and taunts him whenever he got the chance. Since the town holds a better relationship with the twins and ultimately made Luzian and Tyr friends with the twins (to Nagyunn, at least), Luce's relationship with Luzian and Tyr was barely hold by thread. They were talking to him simply because they required teamwork, that's all.

•

When facing a test against Rosewood Fox, as they didn't have Nagyunn in this, which also mean Fadiyan won't interfere, they beat her by physical strength game. It took them a while, and honestly, I can't see how they would beat her, but they must have some game plan to at least sweep her feet down.

•

Ludika was not satisfied with this and decided to test the 'chicks' in her own term. The gang chased after her, not before Najin and Lauzun saying goodbye to Nagyunn and left.

They reached the shambles village, and they met the lady from the Knight Headquarters pretending to be an injured gal. They fought against the said 'bandit' and nearly lost against him when he made the offer to work for him. Nobody says yes, though. Ludika came out and bated the apprentices while at the same time complimenting them. They fully got her permission to be knight's apprentices.

•

The Woodion apprentices met the rest of the Second Special Class.

"Najin Van Woodion!" A mint haired young lady appeared right in front of him. Najin barely spared her a glance before turned away. "Aww, don't be like that! Don't you remember me, Marsha?"

Najin still ignored her. To him, she was just a nobody.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that. You forgot about me? Then do you forgot about this too?" Shadow casted over the top half of her face as her grin widened "How we promised one another that once we become knights, I would have your baby. And we'd raise them to be the strongest knight to ever live?"

Silence.

Scratch that. To him, she was a complete maniac.

Lauzun stepped forward first and with the most emotionless face he had ever made "Jin-ah. I'm telling Gyunn-ah."

"You won't—," he snapped his head back at Marsha, brows furrowed together "I never promise you that!"

She smiled back "So you do remember me!"

Tyr barely holds back a choke. Luce was laughing his butt off and Luzian was cringing "Dude."

•

The trial sets in motion, where the apprentices fought one another. Najin got Yulnia and beat her in less than five minutes. So, the next day, he, along with the rest of the winners fought against Pitch Black Hen.

He was the only one who was nearly able to land a hit on Black Hen.

•

I ran out of idea. But Luce and Lyamin were exposed to working with the Masked Group after most of the magicians were killed, and Qilin gathered back the class to figure out who the spy was.

After that, I ran out of ideas. Except for the apprentices' interaction with one another for fun.

••

After Najin beats Yulnia without breaking a sweat.

Wadrin shivered in cold fear. "Dang. Najin is really terrifying, huh?" he looked at the Woodion apprentices."How can you be with a guy like him?"

Tyr and Luce – reminiscing what a crybaby Najin used to be "..."

Lauzun beamed. "He's actually very nice!"

Luzian shrugged. "Eh. His brother made it bearable."

••

Myusa watched how Najin bravely charged forward while in battle against Waron without hesitation. "How can someone be so brave when fighting against a beast like Black Hen?"

Wild Dog whistled "Najin is certainly something."

Lauzun and Tyr – who knew enough how Najin was bullet sweating underneath that facade "..."

••

During the sparring session, Darang was pushed back when holding off Najin's hits. Qilin, the ever observer, analysed his attacks.

'He acts quick and bold. Rarely show any hint of fear or any emotion. Except for his lack of experience, does he have any weakness at all?' the green haired knight glanced at his Woodion peers, who each hold respective looks.'He acts cold too. But so far, they're (minus Luce) the only ones he seems to be close with. Do they know anything about his weakness?'

Lauzun – 'Jin-ah looks tired...'

Tyr – 'How can he be so different when we were younger...'

Luzian – 'I saw him crying once when he was trying to make a flower crown for Nagyunn. That was a week before we left.'

••

Luzian : Out of all the knights, Najin resembles Lady Fox the most.

Ludika : ...?

Toorisun : Because he's scary when he's mad?

That, and because he was a crybaby.

#the ember knight #najin #lauzun #luzian #tyr #nagyunn #qilin #fidorance #myusa #wadrin #marsha #darang #ludika #tek!pacifistau

[theweasleytwinsownmyjuicyass]

Kalon | Pt. 3

Beauty that is more than skin-deep.

Jimin x staff!reader

Summary : you have been working at hybe for/with BTS for a few years and have become great friends with them. Suddenly Jimin starts acting different with you and you can‘t help but get upset because you secretly have a crush on him:(

Genre/Tropes : angst, jealousy, friends to lovers (more like idiots to lovers tho), painful blindness of the two…

Word count : ~1.7K

A/N : Hii! Hope you enjoy the third part<3

Series masterlist<3

<

Preparing for a comeback was never an easy task. New choreographies to master, stage planning, outfit preparations, media coverage and much more. You had just gotten a raise to the third manager in command which meant that most of your work was to do with the boys, checking choreographies for corrections to match the stage, making sure outfits for each song were impeccable but also comfortable for the boys.

Today the team focused on the new choreos. It has been almost a full month since they started the choreo-focus.

You had spent 9 pause-less hours in the practice room with the boys and a few instructors. For now, tucked away at a far corner in the studio, there was nothing for you to see and comment on, so you had your computer with you, completing documents that were sent to you by the superiors.

Once in a while, after finishing sentences you’d lift your head to observe the boys and their state. Just as you looked up, instructors gave them a little break, seeing as they could barely breathe. You quickly jumped out of your seat on the ground and gathered 7 bottles from a nearby table to pass around.

Approaching the 7 sweaty bodies that laid on the ground a compassionate smile covered your features.

“Okay now everyone sit up and have some water” you called out passing each of them a bottle “and I repeat sit up… I don’t need anyone chocking on water… again…Jin I’m talking to you, you big baby” you shot daggers at your best friend catching his laying form about to pour water into his mouth.

One last bottle is left in your hand as you ascend to Jimin.

He’s been silent lately and no one knew why.

Even Taehyung and Jungkook asked you if you might have a clue what was wrong with their hyung, but you as well as them held no knowledge over the fact.

He was sitting up straight, legs crossed, head narrowed down. “Have some water Jiminie” you put the water in front of him, but he didn’t move a muscle. “Yah Jimin! Drink up while you still can, this is gonna be our last break for a while” Hobi scolded the younger boy.

“I’m not thirsty” he answered in an uninterested tone.

You were about to dispute with him, but an alarm going off took everyone’s attention.

“Time to get back to work” Namjoon signed and handed you his bottle with a quick nod to say ‘thanks’. You return his smile with one of your own before collecting the other bottles out of their way and stacking them next to the wall.

When the music starts again you scan over the seven boys, your eyes unintentionally lingering on one particular boy standing in the front of the set-up.

Oh how much you wished you could enter his head and see what was it that weighed him down, you wished you could solve all his problems only to see his smile beaming at you once again… you hadn’t realized how much his smiles, the ones that left you red as a beet, affected the quality of your daily life, until you lost the privilege of getting multiple through the day…

> 

The clock strikes 9 PM when your older colleagues bid you farewell and leave the almost dark building. You stay behind wanting to finish up a few documents so you’d have all of tomorrow to focus on concert outfits. For you fittings were the hardest part. Stylists would put together wonderful outfits, but without one thought of how anyone is supposed to move around, let alone perform in them. That job was left to you as well as a few older staff members with more experience.

“UGH!” you let out a loud sign resting your head at the wall behind you, closing your eyes to settle the stinging sensation in them from not blinking, “finally, time to go home” you close the laptop securing it in your backpack and locking up the room.

You turn to leave but a light at the end of the hall catches your curiosity. You walk towards the light peeking inside the room.

“Jimin?” you whisper to yourself. The boy was in a dark grey top that you soon realized was actually a light grey top completely drenched in his sweat.

His pale skin shone off the mirror capturing your gaze as it slipped to his face. Wet hair stuck to the pale skin, lips a mix of grey and red, where he must have bit it out of frustration, eye circles prominent even from afar.

‘Is he insane?!’ you thought to yourself becoming aware of all the signs that pointed to a conclusion that he was once again overworking himself.

“Jimin!” you shout over the music coming into the room to give him a piece of your mind. Worry now completely radiating off of you as you stood closer to him, the details even more pronounced to your vision now.

He doesn’t seem to mind your voice as he pays you no attention, eyes still locked on his fluid form in the mirror.

“JIMIN!” you try again, straining your voice. Now your worry becomes irritation as he voluntarily ignores you once again.

You walk over to the stereo and pause the music, and look up at him. He’s storming over to you, his face stone cold which makes you want to curl into yourself but this isn’t your first rodeo with one of the boys overworking themselves, so you know that it’s not always a pretty view.

“What the hell are you doing?” his sharp voice cuts you. He was so close to you making you nervous for all the reasons that did not matter right now. You recover fast enough from your daze.

“Probably saving your life considering the way you look… Have you seen yourself in the mirror recently?” you try to lighten the mood, but you come to regret it soon enough.

“Have you?” Jimins eyes scan you up and down and you can physically feel yourself become smaller in his scrutinizing gaze. The lighthearted smile that just adorned your face now gone completely without a trace, your eyes big, insecurities hogging your clear mind into the darkness again. You wrap your arms around your torso as you become painfully aware of the way you look. Your frumpy giant form next to Jimin’s angled toned body seems comical making you feel like a total joke.

You lower your gaze not wanting him to see your eyes that were beginning to moisten and Jimin’s gaze immediately softens seeing your reaction.

Jimin was beating himself up inside. Seeing your face fall, your warmth retreating from him he immediately knew of the monumental mistake that he had just made. He knew that what he said was entirely wrong and not even true in the slightest. He was just so hurt the day he became aware of the feelings that you shared with his hyung and decided that instead of being sad about it he’ll be mad at the whole wide world.

That was in no way a better decision, but for a while being mad at the two of you helped him more than crying into his pillow out of frustration every other day and waking up with a headache.

However the hurricane of emotions that he felt seeing you so close to him messed up his brain. It was just the effect you had on his poor heart that still yearned after you.

With you so close he only wanted to bring you into his embrace like he used to and squeeze you tightly till you couldn’t stop laughing. Yet he knew that these dreams of his were in ruins as you belonged to another and he couldn’t let himself act out his feelings so instead he masked it with hatred and fury.

“Just… don’t hurt yourself…” you clamer out, eyes never again meeting his as you retreat out of the room.

Jimin lifts his hand to stop you, his whole body burning with embarrassment that he said that to you that he made you feel sad, but you don’t notice him.

Jimin is left alone in the room, his hand still up, reaching for you who is no longer present. He stays frozen in that position overthinking everything that just happened, beating himself up for being such an idiot.

“No wonder she likes Seokjin, not me… there’s nothing to like about me.” he glances at his slouched void form in the mirror, before resuming the music, determined to dance until he can no longer lift his feet as punishment…

The moment you step out of the room your tears cascade down your warm cheeks and a shaky cry escapes your lips. You cover your face your palms crying into them with pain seeping through you.

You had always had insecurities about the way you looked, but being with BTS had helped so much, considering that the boys were all about self-love and never said anything hurtful your way.

Jimin’s comment released the dark monster inside your head.

You did look ridiculous, how could you even let yourself think that he could possibly ever like you back, when you looked like ‘this’. You should apologize to him for having to be so close to someone so ugly…

But if Jimin thought you were disgusting the rest of the boys definitely did too… maybe they just haven’t blurted something out in your earshot.

You took your hand away from your face deciding that you’d better leave before you can run into Jimin again. Just then you notice your reflection in the mirror. It’s a confirmation of all the thoughts you had before. The girl standing in front of you had a red wet face, budging stomach in pants with a cropped sweater that made her look like a shapeless whale. Jimin’s voice echoed in your head again.

‘Have you?’

You snapped your eyes away and hurried out of the building, leaving droplets of fresh tears all the way home.

>

#bts #bts x reader #bts fic #bts angst #bts f2l #bts jimin #jimin angst #jimin fanfic #jimin x reader #park jimin #bts hurt/comfort #bts fanfic #bts imagines

[saintone]

@everyonesfavoritebastard left this quesiton on my latest post and i decided to answer them instead of studying!

We could say sqq goes from hero to villan bc its something very common in fiction, that the villan is a failed hero. I think this hapoenes to og-lbh too.

BUT sqq wasnt a villan, he WAS MADE the villan by others.

Everyone saw him as one. Like he was given that lable. But i dont think he was a villan, per se. He wasn't evil, he didnt do evil. He tortured Binghe as a child, that's true, but outside his wicked obsession with hurting Binghe bc of his trauma, he wasnt going out and doing evil. He was actually pretty good, taking in consideration that he still was a cultivator who helped others, that in any situation in the novel where he had to choose wether to save someone or let them die, he choose the first option, even at his sake (In contrast, at the end og-lbh was truly evil, and didnt care about anyone if he didnt get something in exchange. Women were prices, people were subjects. He was god).

Outside of having a sharp tongue, Sqq didnt hurt others (except binghe, oc). Like, he could have been much more worse. We are talking about a smart, cunning, maybe not the strongest, but he still was strong- with a SHITTON of trauma on his back. Shen Jiu could have been a real menance, and that's something i would like to see bc i think that if he set his mind to it he would have been unstoppable.

Like someone with Sqq's background could have been crazy. A compleate psycopath. Even with his mental problems, he had some real solid mental streght bc WOW. Everything he went through? Sometimes fans talk about what sqq could have been if he grew above his trauma. He was GREAT. His trauma didnt break him. He was standing, he was kinda good, kind, he was still alive.

He could perfectly have cursed the world like binghe did and use his powers to destroy it.

But he didnt.

First if all I dont think he cared enough. Like at the end he barely cared about his martial brothers and what they thought of him. And that's bc, and we always forget, that at that point of the story Sqq was heavily depressed. He suffered from insomnia, from trauma, his insecurities, his fears.

The man didnt even care when he was taken by lbh.

About sqh decision of making him the villan, we kinda know he didnt want to. We dont know the og story, but sqh said shen yuan and bingmei's relationship was "closest to what he had pictured at the beginning". So no, Sqh didnt want to make sqq a bad guy. He was supposed to have a relatevely good relationship with binghe, or maybe at least a good ending, or a better story.

The problem is at some point, sgh stops making the decisions about the story. It slips through his control. Sqq becoming the villan is like him being misunderstood: maybe, his martial brothers are nothing more than a reflection of the fans, who despice sqq without trying to understand him (and sy is our examplary fan).

The other day I saw a video that called shen jiu "the villan of a wrongly told story". And thats it. Thats the key of understanding SVSSS to me. The story had to be told THREE TIMES bc it kept failing (sqh's original story, PIDW and SWSSS). Inside SVSSS, there are three stories intervined. But the only one we dont know about is the first one: we only have some snippets.

And reflecting abput the way our enonomic system shapes the way we tell stories or force creative works to adapt to the rules of capilasim is also a greaat thing to analize.

Even better than that, how authors lose control of their stories.

At that, MXTX probably wont agree with my theories. She has said that Sqq deserved what happened to him and that he wont reincarnate. So sj is dead, dead dead, gone. In my very personal opinion, bc Shen jiu is a not a villanous villan, in MDZS she made Jin GuangYao undoubtely evil (like yeah, he was mistreated, but THATS an evil character who doesnt care about others! Thats selfishness! Sqq doesnt have a drop of selfishness in his characterization). To make sure her villan wasnt idealized this time.

The thing with SVSSS is: the story went wrong. The characters went wrong. Something happened. It was not supposed to go like that, but it did. Sqh didnt wanted it, but it happened.

Wtf is the system? Good quesiton. I have no idea. Is it fate? No, bc fate according to the creator was something else, a different ending for the story.

I think, the system its the narrative. The plot. Something there to keep the story going. Some people have theoriziced that it was evil, and that kinda could make sense, and then we would have a true villan in the story.

Though Im not sure we have arguments solid enough for that one.

Maybe the OCC warnings, and now im just guessing, could be bc the og MC was Shen Jiu, so the system wanted a protagonist the most alike to sqq.

I also have this personal theory, that the reason everyone accepts Sy so easily is bc they already wanted to get along with Sqq. Like the guy was pretty asome. And undoubtely attractive. This sounds basic, but it is centifically proven that we like drawn to good looking people. Cang Qiong peak lord had truly no reason to reject Sqq from tje begining. The werent that bad either. Its just the mistook him, and then they hated him, bc instead of the person THEY wanted him to be, the person THEY wanted to get along with, Sqq didnt give shit about them. Pero lords were bitter tm.

So maybe the system wanted to prove that his sqq could fit. That sqq didnt need to CHANGE to be accepted.

But i also think this is too daydreamy thou.

If the system is the plot, assuring the story continues how it should, but with a protagonist that hopefully wont fail this time, there are also some things that it has to make sure are fulfilled. Missions, arcs, and the correct flow of the characters. Nobody likes it when a story makes a 360° with no reason.

So yeah. Idk if i answered anything hahaha. At this point im just wordvomitting my SVSSS theorys bc I think its a great work.

Also i should be studying.

#scumbag system #svsss novel #scumbag self saving system #shen jiu #luo binghe #yue qingyuan #shen qingqiu #bingjiu #liu qingge #shen yuan

[wtpb-rcp]

What headcanons do you have for the HUMAN side cast of RCP, their family trees, and more?

@canyonkingdom you might appreciate this post...or not. Idk.

(This is a hyperfixation moment fr fr)

I've hyperfixated too much on Mr. Wheeler's own family tree while building the WTPB AU (ALL the way before it was called WTPB...and at its first roots of shame) and so here's my family tree+info+spoilers for my AU? (and is that some certain people commenting?! Helly, I told you to shut the wall off! /j)

(The thing is, this devolved into some expanded lore shit. Forgive me for the wall of formatted words and colors.)

Unknown great grandfather marries unknown great grandmother, thus Rick Wheeler is born. He grew up with the smell of wheels and people and vehicles alike buying from him. He got no bigotry for some reason since his parents have to keep up a good facade (they're the bigots) and they're always busy, although he got his dad's negative traits.

Later on, he married a woman named Reese Cougart, and both have an only child named Gerald Wheeler. And since Gerald grew up in the late 70's and then towards the 80's...yeah take a guess.

After Reese died in '80 and The Incident of '84 happened, Gerald mysteriously broke contact and connections with one of his last friend from their highschool friend group (that he also helped with, as a programmer, making the set of code and blueprints that is now called "The Robocar Code"), Steve Harrison. Rick was never told by his own son why he did so, and when he did found out at '93, he got mad and also broke contact with his son (not that he doesn't deserve it, anyways...he got what was coming after him, and even if I pity his falling out, he still went on as if it never happened, never affected...never the one at fault of his emotional failure)

Rick also moved to Broomstown (it's spelled that way 'round here), out of pure spite and pettiness (it runs in the family. The girls don't get it, though), and there he stayed until now. Broomstown is also Steve's hometown, and Rick's father used to live there as well.

Meanwhile, Steve somehow found Gerald's contact and encouraged him to go into his place. There, he met Steve's sister, Marcy, and both took about two years before they married, due to fixing interpersonal issues. (Dude, where's the reason why they hooked up? No idea.) That doesn't mean Gerald changed his other ways.

One day, somewhen in 2001, Gerald was rushing his now wife into the hospital due to her about to give birth to who we now (vaguely in canon) knew as Betty. However, due to his frantic driving skills and arguing with his vehicle the wrong way, they got into an accident. Fortunately, someone saw them and called for help at the hospital, which happened to be right near the accident spot...and where Amber worked in (oh my, we're really connected). Upon seeing Amber's presence, Gerald was, well, shocked, and the cries of Betty are drowned by him shouting at his ex-friend Steve due to him giving away the blueprints and script to make a Robocar, and Rick somehow indirectly heard of this so that night was intense hell.

Fast forward one year later, Gerald and his family moved into Japan due to his job application being accepted. It was hard to adapt at first, but it went smoothly after. Here, Betty was supposed to be not taught about her grandfather, just her mom's parents, but she still did knew of Rick Wheeler. So by childlike pleas, Gerald gave in and lets her send letters to Rick since he is still not used to the trending phones (I'm happy Mr. Wheeler isn't so cranky for his granddaughter!). At the same time of this moment, Steve and his wife, Casey, divorced on good terms and for the sake of good, due to Casey discovering Steve's closetness and Steve having responsibilities and pressure about what happened in the past. Casey still kept the Harrison surname, though, so Jin grew up to become a Harrison, contacting her biological dad through messages and birthday gifts.

A highschooler keeping in touch even after a tragic event. A kid keeping in touch, oblivious of what transpired in the past, to say.

Jin and her mom moved into Broomstown on September 17, 2004, and Rick is willing to nag his pal, Ollie Buster (aka Mr. Builder), to help the two girls settle in this town.

And then, many years passed...after Jin dropped out of college...after the Rescue team of Broomstown are formed...after that incident...

"Jin, I have some shocking news."

"Huh? What is it, Mr. Wheeler?"

"You know my son, right?"

"Oh, Gerald? Last time I've heard of him, my bio dad is trying to mess with his date, who happened to be bio dad's sister. R-a late relative... told me about it when I was ten. I was still impressed that even if he wanted to break contact with my bio dad, Mr. Gerald still ends up being connected to him."

"Well, the thing is...he has a newborn son!"

"That's great, I guess."

"And he's...gonna move into this town because his wife insists so and he quit his job because he lost the drive to continue it."

"Oh my..."

~~~

"Oh no."

"Huh?"

"I'm just gonna pluck that little blackthorn..."

#robocar poli #robocarpoliau #headcanon #WTPB-info

[bangtansmauyeondan]

PROMISE (KSJ)

Pairing: Seokjin × Fem Reader

Genre: established relationship au, angst, fluff

Rating: 18+, M

Warnings: swearing, smut, jealousy, insecurity, feeling of neglect, alcohol consumption

WC: 4.5K

Summary: When you and Seokjin no longer dream of the same dream, and no longer look at the world the same way, you start recalling the promise you made to each other three years ago in front of the altar. Is it a promise that holds true for eternity, or is it a promise that’s meant to be broken?

Taglist: @moonleeai @seokjins-luigi @iwishselena

PERMANENT TAGLIST: @astronaut-jin-moon @persphonesorchid @thatbangtanjagiya @taestefully-in-luv @btsstan12 @bts-reveries @blog-name-idk @madbutgloriouspond @pamzn @wrmnssoul @ygbubs @halesandy @jayhope88 @bnagtanx1306 @pinkseokchim

When I’m with you, there is no one else.

I get heaven to myself.

When I’m with you, there is no one else.

I feel this way I’ve never felt.

— The Astronaut, Jin

•••

Seokjin kicked off his shoes on the vestibule, grunting in annoyance when one of them flipped over, hitting one of his heels in the process. It was a long, taxing day at work and an equally long, chilly drive home, and there’s nothing he wanted more than to just crawl into bed and sleep until spring. From where he stood, he could make out the soft glow of the fireplace in the living room and the hurricane candles on the bottom of the stairs. As he pushed the french door open, the smell of sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon wafted through the air, immediately providing comfort and warmth. He released a breath that he didn’t realize he'd been holding.

“Babe?” He called out, but he’s met with silence. “Yn? Baby, I’m home!” He called out two more times, but was still met with silence. He checked his phone from his backpocket to see if there’s any message or call from you that he missed, but there wasn’t. It’s not until he waddled further into the house that he saw the little note you stuck on the fridge: “Ran to the neighbors’ real quick. Hyo-rin wanted candied nuts. Saved some for you too. <3”

Hyo-rin is your neighbor’s three-year-old daughter who loves following you around and takes interest in everything you do. She sits outside with you when you tend to your flower bed, she rides her bike beside you when you go for a walk, and she sometimes unabashedly asks you for random things– last week, she asked for chocolate cupcakes, and this time, she asked for candied nuts. Her parents don’t mind– Hyo-rin is their youngest child and are grateful that she likes socializing with the neighbors that much. They also offer to puppysit for you when you need to run some errands and couldn’t take Kkuma, your little red sable fox-face pomeranian, along. Seokjin loves kids, too, but there’s something about your fondness with Hyo-rin that feels like a giant fist constantly jabbing on his chest, and he hates himself for it. He sometimes wonders if that’s supposed to be how one feels when they’re in a childless marriage for years, too. Setting the thought aside, he wandered through the kitchen and found a glass bowl filled with a selection of nuts– pecans, walnuts, and almonds, coated in glossy spiced sugar. He doesn’t like snacks that much, but he couldn’t resist popping a piece of pecan in his mouth. He hummed in satisfaction as the saccharine taste danced on his tongue. These will be great with wine and cheese, he thought. He leaned onto the counter and dialed your number.

“Hi, love,” you picked up on the second ring.

“Hey, I’m home…” Seokjin stated. “Did you take Kkuma with you?”

“I did, yeah… We’re coming home in a bit,” There was a hint of a smile in your voice. “Hyo-rin’s mom was kind enough to buy some toys for Kkuma, and she’s just getting them from their room.”

“Hmm, okay… I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he sighed. “Hurry up though, I’m so tired, I just want to lie down.” He whined.

~

Your breath hitched at the sight of your husband leaning onto the counter— hair a bit disheveled, exposing a bit of his forehead, the top two buttons of his dress shirt undone, and the sleeves rolled up to his elbow, exposing his veiny arms. Even in his exhausted state, you can’t deny that you hit the jackpot at the handsome husband lottery.

“Hey there, handsome…” Your eyes met and he gave you that eye-wrinkling smile that never fails to make you weak in the knees, before encasing your waist and pulling you close. His mouth captured yours in a tender kiss as you wrapped your arms around his neck. Almost immediately, you felt him relax in your arms. He gave your lips a few more pecks before moving to your jaw, nuzzling the back of your ear, and snaking his hands underneath your shirt at the same time. The warm contact of his palms against your skin made you sigh in delight, “Mmm… I thought you were tired.” You closed your eyes and tilted your head as your husband’s kisses trailed down the side of your neck.

“I am, but you smell so good, babe…” he murmured against your skin. He was just about to kiss you on your lips again when an abrupt yelp coming from the direction of the floor caught his attention, followed by excited paws pitty-patting on his legs. You both broke away from each other, earning a giggle from you and a whine from Seokjin. “Yaahh, Kkuma…” he exclaimed, but crouched down and picked up your puppy anyway. “Way to ruin the mood, boy…” he cooed nuzzling on the little pooch’s neck.

You took that as your cue to go around the kitchen island and retrieved a can of cold beer for Seokjin. “Mama called earlier…” you started telling him about your mother-in-law. “She’s reminding us of the Fall Festival next week.”

“That’s next week?” He put Kkuma down and slumped down on one of the bar stools.

“Yeah, we promised we’re staying for the weekend, remember?” You popped the can open, handing it over to him.

Seokjin toyed with the rim of the beer can in deep thought, “When did we say that?”

“Oh my god, Jin? Seriously?” You rolled your eyes while moving around effortlessly in the kitchen retrieving things you’ll be needing to prepare for dinner. “Your mother was literally sitting on that chair last week when she mentioned that the halloween attraction park is opening again this year, you know, since they shut down two years ago.”

“… like Tulleys?” he quirked his eyebrow, recalling the family attraction farm you used to go to in the United Kingdom when you started traveling as a couple.

“Yes, babe. Like Tulleys, minus all the scary, halloween-y stuff. This one’s more on just the pumpkin patch and good food stuff.”

“Oh, for kids then…” he said dryly.

“No,” you sighed. “For grown-ups too. But hey, your brother said they’re staying over too,” you giggled excitedly at the thought of seeing Seokjin’s nephew again. “Which means, we can take Junho to the farm!”

“I doubt Seokmin is coming. His wife is always too busy with her clients,” he smirked.

“Huh…” You popped a cherry tomato in your mouth before leaning onto the counter seductively in front of your husband. “Wanna know the reason why your mother called earlier?” You asked in a low voice.

Seokjin almost choked on his beer, “Why do you have to talk about my mother in that manner? Yah!” His ears turned bright red before he fell into a fit of giggles. “Babe, what the fuck?”

“Sorry!” You couldn’t help but laugh along too. You composed yourself again before continuing, “I just wanted to prove you wrong, you know!” You went back to the other side of the kitchen and continued assembling your dinner, “Mama called earlier to tell us that Seokmin, Ana, and Junho flew in this morning.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah… she’s asking us if we can drive down sooner. Seems like she’s already too excited to wait for the weekend.”

“It’s only Wednesday though,” Seokjin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“I know, that’s why I said I’ll check in with you first,” you said softly. “I know you’ve been busy lately.”

A few months ago, Seokjin has assumed the directorship role at the real estate company he’s working at, and has spent most of his time either stuck in meetings with developers and engineers or reviewing and signing contract after contract. Even at home, when he’s supposed to be resting and spending quality time with you, he finds himself reaching for his laptop or his iPad whenever he thinks something needs to be done. You on the other hand, have been doing well with freelance work, curating pieces for galleries that would require your expertise and keen eye for the arts. That’s how you tread the water on your relationship and keep your heads above the surface— you can ground him whenever his world spins a little bit too fast.

•••

You arrived at your in-laws’ house Saturday morning and to say that the countryside looks gorgeous enveloped in the colors of autumn is an understatement. The moment you stepped out of the car, Junho, Seokjin’s four-year-old nephew ran out to greet you, brown, orange and red leaves crunching underneath his little boots.

“Uncle Jin!!!” He ran straight into your husband’s waiting arms squealing as he picked him up and flung him over his shoulder. Seokjin ran around the driveway with his nephew over his shoulder screaming along with the little boy gleefully.

“Yn…” Your mother-in-law greeted you with a fond smile before pulling you in for a hug. “How are you, sweetheart? Are you guys tired from the drive? Are you hungry?”

“No, Mama,” you linked your arm with hers as you walked back to the house. “We enjoyed the drive, the scenery took our breaths away.” You glanced back at Seokjin and Junho still playing outside. “Though your son is really craving haemul kalguksu. He wouldn’t stop talking about it on the way here.”

“Ugh,” she rolled her eyes. “Did he talk to Seokmin? That boy is asking for the same thing!”

As if on cue, Seokjin’s older brother opened the front door for you. “Yah… I was wondering where my son has run off to,” he smiled.

“Aish… let them be,” your mother-in-law smacked the back of his head. “He hasn’t seen his uncle in a while…” She pushed past the door, with you still in her arms. “Come on, Seokmin. Shuck the clams and mussels, and I’m gonna get started on your kalguksu.”

~

The digital clock on the bedside table reads 02:30 AM and Seokjin still couldn’t will himself to sleep. You’ve been asleep for a while now, your back turned to him, cuddling another pillow. He’s still fuming over what transpired during dinner with his parents, his brother, and his brother’s family. You were doting on his nephew when his sister-in-law started throwing a barrage of questions your way. ‘Yn, are you pregnant? No? Oh. I thought you looked quite a bit… heavy.’ Ana was relentless with her snide remarks. ‘When are you planning to have a baby?’ ‘You can’t keep hogging my son whenever you have baby fever.’ ‘Okay, be honest— which one has infertility issues? Better get yourselves checked!’ ‘I can’t believe three years of barren marriage.’ Seokmin, extremely embarrassed by his wife’s behavior, scolded her, which led to Ana storming off, and their parents cutting the dinner short. You spent the evening helping your mother-in-law clearing up, and preparing the front porch for all the pumpkin decorations you’re picking up at the farm the next day, assuring Seokjin that Ana’s words did not affect you and that he should also just let it slide. He knew better though. He knew that the reason why you slept with your back turned to him, it’s because you didn’t want him to see you cry.

The following morning, your mother-in-law has informed you over breakfast that Seokmin and his family has already left to catch an earlier flight back to Jeju-do. Apparently, Ana was so embarrassed with what happened that she didn’t have the guts to face you, but that shouldn’t dampen the mood and change your plans for the day— which you happily agreed. Your agenda for the day is to go to a pumpkin patch and grab everything you could get your hands on to decorate with. Your excitement is through the roof because you’re not just going to an ordinary pumpkin patch, you’re talking about 90 acres of farmland all prepped up with dozens of pumpkin varieties, just for this festive season.

“Seokjin, how many pumpkins do you think you can load up in your trunk? Your Dad and I are bringing the truck.”

“I thought we were riding with you in the truck?”

“Babe, Mama’s asking—“

“I’m asking because you have to bring enough back home to the city to decorate with!” Your mother-in-law shrieked.

“Meh…” he shrugged. “Can probably fit half a dozen in the trunk.”

“What are you gonna do with just half a dozen? Pumpkin pie?” your father-in-law teased.

“We can fill the backseat, Papa, it’s fine.” You waved your hand dismissively.

“What? No. The backseat is real leather,” Seokjin argued.

The chair screeched as your father-in-law stood up and rounded the table, patting Seokjin on the shoulders, “Son… happy wife, happy life.” He chuckled before fishing the car keys from the decorative bowl on the counter. “Let’s go, everyone.”

•••

The farm was buzzing with people. At the entrance, you were given a large wheelbarrow and a pruner, and then off you went to explore the patch to pick your own pumpkins. There were live roaming characters dressed as enchantress and fairies, playing with the kids around, and in the distance, you could hear the live band coming from the streetfood tent. Seokjin promised his Dad that you’re all going to try the pumpkin draft beer after pumpkin-picking.

“How much are these pumpkins? This one’s heavy!” Seokjin struggled to load the biggest one you’ve picked up so far on the wheelbarrow. “Are they gonna weigh these things?”

“They have size rings that will determine the price later on.” Just when you crouched down to nip another silly-looking gourd from the ground, you heard two small voices arguing from behind you.

“Mina, let me do it!”

“No, let me! Let me!”

“I’m older than you!”

“But I’m stronger!”

Seokjin watched you approach the two little girls arguing over who’s gonna pick the pumpkin with their bare hands, and he felt that pang in his chest again. The same one he feels whenever he sees you play with the neighbor’s kids, play with his nephew, and sometimes even when you’re just playing with Kkuma. You love kids, and you have that certain nurturing air in you that makes him one hundred percent believe that you’re gonna be a great mother one day. Before you got married, you have talked about having kids in the near future, and since you’re the eldest child amongst 6 siblings, you’ve always been vocal to him about having a big family too. Seokjin, being the youngest child, is used to being spoiled rotten, but things took a turn when he met you. He had to man up– especially when he met your five brothers, who albeit all younger than you, could easily take him down if he made one mistake. He had to prove to them that he could take care of you and give you everything your heart desires.

His train of thoughts was interrupted when he saw a man approach you– most likely the children’s father. He thought nothing of it until he saw the glint of recognition in the man’s eyes, his boxy grin was a dead giveaway too. The next thing he knew, you’re waving him over to where you were standing before making the introductions.

“This is my husband, Seokjin…” you beamed, linking your arm around his.

“Hey man…” Seokjin extended his hand.

“Taehyung. Nice to meet you,” he took his extended hand in firm grip. “Wow, I can’t believe out of all the galleries and exhibits we could’ve run into each other, we find ourselves at a pumpkin patch.” Taehyung regarded you after letting go of Seokjin’s hand.

Taehyung. Galleries. Exhibits. Something finally clicked in Seokjin’s mind. This is Kim Taehyung, the artist. Kim Taehyung, your ex boyfriend.

“I know!” You exclaimed. “You have beautiful kids, Tae.” You smiled fondly at the girls who were busy choosing which pumpkin to pick next.

“Thank you! Ah, they’re quite a handful, but it’s been great.” He chuckled. “How about you, guys? Did you come with your kids?”

“Oh no, we’re here with our parents.” You looked around, “They’re around here somewhere.”

“Oh nice, nice…” Taehyung nodded. “Are you still curating? Or…?”

“Yeah, I am! I mostly work freelance now though, but it’s been good. I get a lot of consultations from clients.”

“That’s cool!” One of Taehyung’s daughters waved him over to look at the pumpkin they had chosen. “Well, I guess that’s my cue to get going. I’ll see you around? Maybe we can work together pretty soon!”

“Sure, Tae!”

“Hey, nice to meet you again, man.” Taehyung raised a salute to Seokjin before walking away.

~~

Seokjin had just finished loading up your car with the last pumpkin when you stepped out of the house with your mother-in-law, bearing a basketful of side dishes and fresh herbs harvested from her garden. You figured you would leave early in the afternoon so you can make it back home just in time before sunset.

Seokjin kissed his mother goodbye, promising he would call her as soon as you made it home.

It was a smooth drive, with little to no traffic along the way. The moment you hit the highway, you rummaged through your purse and pulled out a small bag of sour gummy worms that you’ve been saving for the drive. Seokjin was unusually quiet, a tell that he’s exhausted. The only sound in the car is the soft hum of the radio tuned into a random station. You retrieved a piece of the sweet treat and offered it to your husband by attempting to feed it to him yourself. “Open, please. Ahhh,” you opened your mouth wide, willing him to copy you. Seokjin shook his head and avoided the candy. “You don’t want one? But these are your favorite,” you pouted.

“Not hungry,” he answered dryly.

“This isn’t supposed to be a meal, silly!” You giggled, popping the candy into your mouth instead. “I had fun today,” you smiled. “I’m tired though, let’s not unload the pumpkins tonight. Let’s deal with them tomorrow.”

Seokjin nodded.

“Yoongi texted me earlier, asking if he could keep Kkuma for the weekend. Apparently Jimin and Jungkook hogged him all day and he didn’t get some quality time with his quote-unquote nephew.” You laughed thinking about how indifferent your younger brother is, but goes so soft for anything with fur and paws.

Seokjin just nodded again, uninterested.

“We’re lucky Joon and Hobi are both out of town, otherwise, they might ask to keep Kkuma for an entire week.”

“Yn, can you just…” he started, irritated. “Will you please keep quiet for a minute, I’m trying to concentrate on the road here.”

“Oh. Okay, sorry,” you bit your bottom lip and sank down on your seat. You heaved a deep sigh before looking out the window, staying quiet during the entire drive.

•••

“Are you working? I thought you’re tired?”

You looked up from your iPad when you heard your husband’s voice. His side of the bed dipped as he sat down, dressed in boxer shorts and plain white shirt; hair still damp from the shower.

“I’m just checking a few things and trying to work on my calendar next week,” you replied. Seokjin scoffed and it made your eyebrows raise; what has gotten into him?

“So you can fit Kim Taehyung into your schedule?” He asked bitterly.

“What?” Did you hear that right? You placed your iPad down on the night stand and sat up straight in bed, waiting for Seokjin to turn around.

“He’s your ex, right? The artist, Kim Taehyung? He wants you to work with him, right?” Seokjin’s voice trembled. “Go ahead, make time for him. You can—“

“Seokjin, why are you bringing this up?” You’re beginning to get irritated. “Why are we having this conversation? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

Silence.

“Is that the reason why you were all snappy at me in the car? Because of a happily-married man with two daughters, that I happened to bump into earlier today?”

Seokjin hung his head low, both hands gripping the side of the mattress, back still turned on you.

“What has gotten into you?” You rolled your eyes. “Gosh, you’re not usually—“ Your words were cut off when you heard your husband sniff. “Jin?” You crawled across the bed to his side, your irritation suddenly replaced by concern. “Babe…” You hugged him from the back and rested your chin on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” You planted a kiss on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

The look on Seokjin’s face when he finally turned to look at you made your heart clench. His nose and cheeks were flushed, and his eyes pooled with unshed tears. “I’m sorry, Yn…”

“What? Why?” You reached out and wiped the fresh tear that streamed down his face with your thumb.

“I’m sorry that until now, we don’t have the family you’ve always dreamed of,” Seokjin sighed. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you a child. Maybe if you ended up with Taehyung, those kids could have been yours.”

“Jin, I—“ you wanted to say something but Seokjin is speaking a thousand words per minute at this point, trying to lay everything out on the table.

“I know you’ve always wanted kids. You want a big family, and I’m sorry I don’t know what’s wrong with me, babe. I want to have kids with you, but it’s just so frustrating.” Seokjin’s tears fell freely on his face and he was quick to wipe them away. “You know how much it crushed me as I watched you sit there at the dining table last night, listening to every word that came out of Ana’s mouth? Because it’s true— we have a barren marriage, and I feel like it’s all my fault.”

“Hey, hey, hey… Sshh…” You kneeled on the bed and moved directly next to him to get a better angle. “It’s okay, babe. There’s nothing wrong with you,” you soothed him. “We both know that. We’ve been to the doctors, we’re both healthy. It’s just not the time yet, okay?” You cradled Seokjin’s face gently between your palms. “Look at me, Jin.” He looked at you as if you hold the whole universe in your hands. You’ve never seen your husband break down like this before except three years ago, as he watched you walk down the aisle. But this one’s different— this one is full of pain and regrets, and you don’t like it one bit. “I love you, okay? Who cares if we can’t have kids? Maybe—“

“But I promised you everything in the world…”

“You have already given me so much, Seokjin…”

“Is it enough, though?” He asked softly, eyes pleading.

You don’t know what triggered his insecurities like this. You know your husband well— he’s confident, intelligent, and secured. He’s selfless, considerate, and always puts you first. His busy schedule and workaholic nature has never been an issue in your marriage as you balance each other perfectly well. During the first year of your marriage, you have already been trying for a baby. One year became two years, but still no luck. None of you had any infertility issues, but the stress due to your careers made it impossible for both of you to fall into the correct rhythm. You looked back on the past seven years you have been together as a couple, and although there were a few bumps and pebbles along the way, you’ve always managed to overcome them. Looking at Seokjin in his most vulnerable state yet made your stomach flip and your heart ache. You knew deep in your heart that it’s enough— he’s more than enough, and you could not ask for a better life partner than him.

“It is, Jin…” You reached out and crossed the space between you, capturing his mouth with yours in a lingering kiss. “You are enough. You are more than enough for me,” you whispered against his lips. You moved to straddle him on the bed, and just like clockwork, he encased you in his embrace and pulled you closer up against him. Once you’re settled on his lap, you deepened the kiss while running your fingers through his hair. Seokjin moaned against your lips, hands coming up underneath your tanktop.

“Let me see you…” he murmured against your jaw.

“Undress me,” you replied while craning your neck, giving him more access, as he nipped and sucked purple bruises on your skin.

Seokjin didn’t need to be told twice, he yanked your tanktop up and over your head, making your breasts bounce in the process. “Oh fuck,” he tossed the material aside before leaning down to capture one of your mounds in his mouth, kneading the other one with his palm.

You moaned at the sensation his ministrations were giving you and you started grinding on his lap, gradually feeling him getting hard against your core. You could already feel your wetness pooling between your legs at the friction between your bodies, and with the pair of lacy material you have on, there’s no doubt you’re staining your husband’s boxer shorts already. Seokjin’s hands roamed around your body, and with one swift motion, you already found yourself lying on your back underneath your husband whose already making his way down your body, trailing his tongue from your sternum, to your belly button, to the part where you needed him the most.

You couldn’t remember most of what happened throughout the night. All you could remember was how Seokjin reminded you over and over again how much he loves you, and vice versa. You fell asleep within each other’s embrace that night, not caring if both of you were sweaty and out of breath. All that mattered to you was that you’re with each other.

~~

You woke up the next morning, smiling to yourself despite the soreness between your legs. Seokjin is no longer next to you, and you figured he’s already left for work, considering it’s already almost nine o’clock. You were just about to get out of bed when the door flew open, revealing your husband in nothing but his pajama bottoms. Your jaw almost dropped to the floor with how gorgeous he is, broad shoulders and all.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he leaned down and kissed you firmly on the lips. “I made breakfast.” He smiled proudly.

“What are you still doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” Despite the context of your question, you couldn’t help but reach out and lovingly play with your husband’s slightly wavy hair. He’s been growing his hair lately and you’re loving it on him already.

“Nope!” He said, putting emphasis on the ‘p’ with a pop. “I’m taking a break for a while. I’ve already notified the office this morning while you were still dreaming.”

“That’s great, babe!”

“I know…” Seokjin kissed you again. “Why don’t we…” another kiss, “continue…” another kiss, “what we started last night?”

“Mmm… I’d love that…” you replied, rubbing your nose against his. “But I’m hungry…”

Seokjin burst out laughing at your brutal honesty— the obnoxious windshield wiper-sounding laugh you love so much. “Okay, come on. Breakfast is ready…” With one swift motion, he’s already wrapping your naked body up in a blanket and carrying you over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” You squealed.

“No!” Seokjin laughed as he adjusted your body on his shoulder, before making his way out of the room and down the stairs. “Better save your energy, my love. I have the entire month off, and we will be making babies everyday, I promise.”

•••

Time Skip: Fall 2023

#bangtansmauyeondan #promise jin #jin x reader #jin angst #bts jin ff #bts imagines #jin smut #jin fluff

[chouxtranslations]

Shizun 18 - More side gigs

Jin Yunu’s living expenses were paid for by Long Jingtian. 

Since the customer is the golden goose, he had to put up with it no matter how dumb it sounded. 

Lu Yunzhen was full of professionalism. He first sent an emoji of a polite smile, then strung together a polite refusal. “Thank you, young master Long, for your thoughts. But server exorcisms… don’t have much to do with computers. Do you need reliable programmers?” Before he had the chance to hit send, Long Jingtian sent his next message. “They wanted to provide 200 thousand of incense money… could Master help? 

Lu Yunzhen looked at the number. His brain went empty for three whole seconds. He immediately deleted his draft and replied firmly, “Yes!” 

Fixing servers, exorcising servers, it’s all about the same! Aren’t programmers there to serve the great and almighty Master server?! He can do that! 

Long Jingtian replied happily, “I’ll go set things up.” 

Lu Yunzheng only came to his senses after quite some time. He felt like his face was hurting… It was only this morning that he had announced that he wasn’t going to make money from exorcisms, and yet one landed on his doorstep by the afternoon… 

200 thousand… 

It was enough for years of meat for everyone. 

So what if he loses his face! He’s going to go and immediately renew the business ventures of Wujian peak. Main enterprise: code monkey. Side gig: exorcist. He’s going to march forward on both feet and create a wonderful future! 

Lu Yunzhen excitedly told Mo Changkong of his plans, but then started to feel like he was blinded by money and felt ashamed at his hypocrisy. He muttered, “so there’s actually a lot of evil spirits… I won’t say that kind of thing anymore. We might end up seeing them often… Exorcisms do count as hard work I suppose…” 

Mo Changkong couldn’t help but to smile at his Shizun’s embarrassment. 

“Don’t make fun of me.” Lu Yunzhen thought he was laughing at him losing face as a programmer. He stammered with flushed ears, “I just wanted to get some more money for food for everyone…” 

“En. Shizun is making money for food for us. It’s not embarrassing.” Mo Changkong knew that Shizun had a thin face and immediately retracted his smile. He went on comfortingly, “Exorcisms are hard work. Don’t mind these small matters, after all you’re not a greedy person.” 

Shizun had also spent a long time furiously gathering spirit stones to exchange for various spiritual tools for cultivation. Jinnian had no talent and needed various expensive medicines to wash his veins and marrows. A Sui’s disability also required various treasures to treat. 

All of the spirit stones on the peak were spent on them. 

Shizun always wore old clothes and lived his life simply. He didn’t ask for much and didn’t mind food, only indulging in wine occasionally… 

He didn’t understand when he was little and stuck to Shizun every day, saying nonsense like “Wujian peak is so poor, just wait til I grow up. I’ll take care of Shizun and make lots of big gold chains for you.” 

Shizun had happily replied, “Good.” 

And then, he had made good on his promise, using illusionary fire and black gold to weld chains that he had locked on Shizun’s body. 

He’s not going to mention how he also “took care” of Shizun while making him cry… 

Mo Changkong tried hard to throw his evil memories out of his mind and not think of it again. 

In the age of the gods the realms were separated by ying and yang. People focused on procreation and looked down on men who loved other men. He had wanted to go against fate and do the wrong things even with the world condemning him. Now he has accepted his fate. 

Lu Yunzhen saw that Mo Changkong had bowed his head despondently and asked confused, “what happened?” 

“It’s nothing.” Mo Changkong lifted his head and replied with a smile. “I’m happy that Shizun has gotten a good job and we’re going to make some money for food.” 

“Ok. If we get paid we can split it.” Lu Yunzhen cheered up immediately. “Then we can buy 5 kilos of lamb, braised, stewed, grilled… I feel like you would like to eat that?” 

Mo Changkong replied quietly. “Yes, it’s my favourite.” 

Shizun forgot all the bad things he’s done. 

Everything that he loved had been remembered. 

…

Wujian peak is a proper sect, they had to be professional even if they’re dealing with servers. After all, they have to keep the golden goose happy, give the sect a name for itself, and maybe even get some networking in for future jobs. 

Mo Changkong said that the peak’s typical MO is to drag the evil spirit out and kill it, there was no ritual involved. 

Lu Yunzhen thought about it and decided that that was just too laid back. 

In exorcisms, on the one side are the taoists with their robes, putting up incense, taking out swords, throwing up talismans everywhere, dancing up a storm, then grabbing the spirit and giving it a lecture; on the other side it’s the two of them, wearing t shirts and runners, holding nothing, grabbing onto the spirit and beating it up…

Which side seems to be worth 200 thousand? 

Lu Yunzhen decided to brush up last minute and went on the internet to search up various rituals. Whether it be shamans or fengshui, he jotted down everything that seemed useful. He also downloaded fantasy movies to watch how the various masters acted, hoping to learn from it. 

Haiping university has a fine arts department. 

He knew an upperclassman who graduated from the department and is now working as a prop maker. He went straight to his door to borrow two peach wood swords from when he made a horror movie, along with talismans, spiritual flags, and such. He also asked a nice designer for a Tang dynasty outfit to style simply and add to the gravitas. 

Just in case, he also wore a buttonup below the robes. If the server didn’t have a supernatural issue then he would just take off the costume, be a programmer again, and use his professional knowledge to fix the server. 

Mo Changkong couldn’t find any fitting clothes. But his aura was so overwhelming that it was enough to gloss things over. 

The two packed up and waited for Long Jingtian to pick them up at an intersection. 

Long Jingtian pulled up in a land rover. His face bruises have gone down but still looked black and blue. As he saw Lu Yunzhen his eyes shone and he immediately started praising, “Master Lu is even more handsome now.” 

Lu Yunzhen nodded reservedly. 

Long Jingtian opened the car door for the two like a henchman and drove while explaining the situation. “Do you know the game ‘Hero’? It’s by Panda Tech and the beta is pretty popular. One of their devs died before the game came on the market and strange things kept happening. The server would die and restart randomly. There would be firewall issues and they almost got a virus, things like that.” 

Lu Yunzhen remembered that Mo Changkong had the game. He grabbed the phone and took a look. The game was operating normally, it’s just that there was a lot of male players looking for Jin Yunu. Who knows how many prey that shameless demon had on his hooks. 

He deleted the dms without reading. 

After a short time the servers died again and the forums were filled with rage. 

Lu Yunzhen confirmed, “Things look pretty bad.” 

Long Jingtian took a glance in the rearview mirror and said cheerfully, “That phone looks like the one I gave to Yunu. Master, you have to punish that shameless thief, make him repent with hard labor!” 

“Don’t worry, he’s living in a box in the yard, it’s not that great.” Lu Yunzhen nodded and comforted him. “This morning Changkong got him working before the sun came out, he had to switch skins several times and it was difficult.” 

Long Jingtian was satisfied and kept on chatting about Panda Tech. He had the tendency of veering off topic and took forever to explain the situation. 

The golden goose this time is the daughter of the CEO, who also happened to be in the class next door to him in middle school. She was named He and was a typical rich beauty. This time she’s the director in charge of the game and the future successor to the company. 

This particular beauty has some weird habits… she truly believed in taoism and burned incense at the temple every year. She wouldn’t even look at adopting a dog without looking up its horoscope. 

That’s why, when no one else could figure out the problem with the servers, she ignored all the jeering and insisted on hiring a Xuanxue master to perform an exorcism. 

Long Jingtian’s name isn’t that reliable in those circles. 

The Long family was rather embarrassed by the whole demon incident and didn’t spread it around. Even though Long Jingtian had insisted on the greatness of Master Lu, the ceo didn’t put much faith in his recommendation and had spent a high price to invite Master Wuming from Yanlai temple to also perform the exorcism. 

“I said that Master Lu had summoned an underworld official with copy paper, and she said I was blowing hot air!” Long Jingtian said angrily, “Master Lu, you have to knock her down a peg, and let this senseless woman see your power!” 

Lu Yunzhen replied seriously, “When it comes to Xuanxue matters, everyone has their own specialities, we do not seek to one up one another.” 

He’s just a makeshift master after all, he only knows how to get rid of ghosts, not how to perform rituals. How about he just stay humble and paddle along with Master Wuming?!

Long Jintian complimented him, “Master lu is so full of integrity.” 

“You priase me too much.” Lu Yunzhen had no idea how he came to such an odd conclusion and felt embarrassed at all the praise. But if he had to put up a front he had to do it all the way. 

The car got to the parking lot of Panda Tech. 

The receptionist brought the three of them to a conference room on the 8th floor. Master Wuming and his disciple had already arrived and are shocked at Lu Yunzhen’s age. “Daoyou, which sect are you from? This humble monk has never met you before?” 

Lu Yunzhen bowed, “I am the head of Wujian Peak.” 

Master Wuming was a kindly looking monk around 60 years old. He thought about the name for a while and quietly asked his disciple. “What’s Wujian peak? I think I’ve heard of it before? It kind of rings a bell…” 

The disciple was a young Shami of 16 or 17. He shook his head and looked at Lu Yunzhen in curiosity. 

Lu Yunzhen didn’t admit that Wujian peak is in Haiping City, Changming district, Plum street and Date alley… He kept silent with a smile on his face. 

Wuming looked at Mo Changkong who stood behind him, felt a faint sense of pressure, put his hands together, muttered a prayer, and did not ask any further questions. 

The atmosphere in the room was just too heavy. 

Long Jingtian couldn’t huddle that kind of atmosphere and decided to make some jokes. 

Just as Lu Yunzhen was about to crack up, the female director of Hero stepped in with a black pantsuit, high heels, and a disapproving stride. 

She had very clear features with smart makeup and gold rimmed glasses. Exuding girlboxx energy, she immediately handed out her business cards and introduced herself. “I’m He Mengmeng, the director of the game.” 

When she got to passing her card to Lu Yunzhen, she froze. 

When Lu Yunzhen saw her, he also froze. 

“He Xuejie/Lu Xuedi, it’s you?” 

The two of them spoke at the same time and fell into silence. 

He Mengmeng is an upperclassman from Haiping university. Despite the fact that she was two years older and studying economics, they had met and even had a bit of a connection. 

That connection being, the post on the school forum about the hot man with a hard life was posted by her!

#shizun #feng yu nie

[adabisworld]

Chapter-2

Stars to my moon

Genre: Soulmate Au! Idol Au! Angst;fluff;drama;romance, poly Au!

Pairing: ot7×f!OC

Summary: He took big strides, halting right in front of me as he bends to my eye level, causing me lean back a little. I could feel his breath fanning my face, looking into his eyes, I could see a storm of anger into them.

"We have been nothing but considerate of you and your feelings, while all you've given in return is rejection and cold shoulder since day one." He grits out.

when Selene's 22nd birthday doesn't go as she expected, her world turns upside down, making her resent her soulmates. Will she ever come to accept them in her life or will she continue to run away holding onto her past love?

word count: 5k(approx)

   Chapter-2

Jin has tried everything in his power to search for her soulmate. When they reached the dorm from the airport that night, the maknaes had already spread the news to the other members, who then asked him the same questions the maknaes did in the car. He looks at his soul mark, remembering the excitement of his members. He knew they were happy for him but it wasn't just happiness in their eyes but also hope. Hope that they too can meet their soulmate and that it wasn't impossible to do so in their world.

They only just set foot in the dorm when the members bombarded Jin with questions about his soulmate, letting him know the maknaes didn't hold back from sharing the information with the other members.

"Yah!" he raises his voice, making the members go quiet.

"One by one, I'll answer all your questions one by one! Namjoon-ah, you go first." he says as they all settle on the couch in the living room, leaving their luggage at the entrance; that could be handled afterward.

The latter opens his mouth "Do you know who it is, Hyung?" 

Jin knew his first question will be; " It must be the girl I bumped into since it's clear the mark appeared at the airport." He says.

"How can you be sure, Hyung? There were so many people at the airport. It could be any one of them." The question comes from Suga, leave it to this guy to always ask the most rational questions.

"Because when I touched her forehead, this weird zap of electricity passed through us and I know she felt it too. Also, I didn't come in contact with any other person besides us, our team, and her. So she has to be the one to give me this." He explains while looking fondly at his mark and making the younger nod in response.

"How are we going to find her then? Do you know her name? how she looks?" Hoseok questions.

"I didn't have the time to ask her name but I do know that she cursed in Spanish, maybe its her first language so she might be a Spaniard or Mexican.

And from appearance, she had beautiful amber almond-shaped eyes and brunette hair. Her complexion was wheatish. And oh! She had a mole a little beneath her left eye. That's all I know." Jin answerd lost in his own world just thinking about his soulmate. 

"We should tell the company, they'll be able to find her before us." 

As per Taehyung's advice, Jin told their CEO, Bang Si Hyuk, the very next day over dinner.

 "So, how did your shoot go? And performance? Anything interesting happened?" the question was asked casually by his Hyung but one that had his heart racing, he was nervous about telling him the news; he didn't know how he'll react, as their boss or their older brother. He was hoping for it to be the latter.

"The shoots went great, the music video for Black Swan came out a masterpiece really. Everyone worked so hard. And the performance was good too; we enjoyed it, hopefully, we'll perform our own song at the Grammys soon." He replies. "Our schedule is packed for later this month with the release of the album. We all are a little nervous but we hope our fans will love this album as much as the other ones."

"We'll have a celebratory dinner soon, for the success of the album, I suppose." Band Pd Nim says knowing well their Army will never let them down.

"Hmm. Also, yes something interesting did happen but not in the states rather when we landed. I got my soul mark" he says showing him his ring finger, making the older freeze for a second before he opened his mouth with a big grin "Congratulations! Jin. Why didn't you lead with that? That's great news. You should've brought them along, I would love to meet them."

His reply led Jin to release a breath of relief. "That's the problem, I had an encounter with her briefly at the airport but I didn't know she was it at the time. I found out later, So I need your help to find her. She's a tourist, as far as I know. We don't know for how long she'll be here."

" Don't worry, we'll find her. I'll spread the news in the circle," his hyung reassures. 

The company started the search for the girl the best they could with the provided information; Jin was also doing his part, trying to find her on social media.

There wasn't much he could do, being a celebrity.

With each passing day, Jin started to become more and more gloomy. The members tried to keep his spirits up, they even had an argument with the searching team for showing such incompetency. His mood was making his members worry for him, sure not having found their soulmate even after so many years bothered the other members deeply but they knew even though Jin didn't show it, he was the most affected by this fact, and now when he knew he did have one, fate was playing games with him. All they wanted was for him to be happy.

Unfortunately, Luck wasn't on his side; a week passed but the company couldn't find any trace of the girl in the capital but considering the size and population of Seoul, there was still hope. At least that was what Jin was being told. 

 ---------------------------------------------------

Jin was sitting on the couch in the living room with Jungkook. They were trying to find his soulmate on social media; the maknae came up with the idea a few days ago. The latter showed him his skills and knowledge of the online world; when they heard Namjoon.

"Hyung!" he comes in wheezing, bending down with both his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

Seeing his state, Jin gets up to get him a glass of water. Being the eldest, he has always tried his best to take care of the members, always taking care of their needs.

"Thank you, Hyung." Namjoon says, taking the glass from his hands and drinking its contents.

"Now, care to explain why you're in such a hurry?" Jin asks, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"Hyung, can you please describe your soulmate to me again?" he requests.

Jin nods, pulling back the memory he has been visiting often in the past week. He tries to describe her as close to reality as he could; mentioning her mole beneath the left eye, her amber eyes, brunette hair that he is sure goes just far enough to settle at the middle of her back, and all the other little details he didn't have time to process at that time.

His words make Namjoon's eyes wide "It was her!" he whispers to himself though the older could already hear, considering their proximity.

"Who, Namjoon-ah?" he asks just to make sure what he heard was right.

"Her Jinnie-Hyung! Your soulmate!" he exclaims. His words make Jin's heart beat a little faster, hope; that's what he's feeling right now.

"Where? How? when?" He blurts out his question, all ready to bolt out the door to find his soulmate.

"I was at Han river, that's where I met her! I don't know if she's still there, but we should go check." Jin nods and moves to grab the car keys, but Jungkook beats him to it, announcing he's driving.

"I drive better than you, Hyung!"

On the drive, Namjoon is again bombarded with questions by Jin about his soulmate.

"How do you know it was her?" "Did you talk to her?" "Did you ask her name?"

"Hyung! Calm down! she had the same features as you told, not to forget the mole beneath her left eye."

"And her name is Selene."

"Selene." Jin tries her name on his tongue. Such a lovely name.

"Do you know anything else?" he asks again, before the former could say anything in return.

"We're here!" The maknae informs them.

All of them get out of the car.

They search for her from one corner of the bridge to another; in the cold wind, they didn't even remember to bring their coats. But that doesn't matter, for them, the most important thing right now was to find Jin's soulmate.

"Where did you last see her, Namjoonie Hyung!"

"There," the older replies, pointing to the bench near where he left her.

"We should also look at the park." "Good idea, Jungkookie. You go there with Hyung; I'll keep on looking here."

As Namjoon is left alone, he ponders if he should tell his Hyung everything he learned about her. Most importantly, should he tell him she doesn't want a soulmate? That she hates the idea of having a soulmate right now? Shouldn't he give him some kind of warning regarding her past? But he, himself, told her that there's no harm in spilling her heart's content to a stranger, and she trusted him. How can he break her trust? And why does he care about her;some stranger he met an hour ago?

It would be wrong to cheat her. What if she doesn't trust anyone else with her secrets again if he breaks it now?

But can he lie to his Hyung? He brushed the subject off when he asked before; What will he say if he asks again? If he does lie and later Jin gets to know about him being aware of her past, will he forgive him? Better yet, will he be able to forgive himself?

His heart grows heavy, having to choose between doing the right thing and having his Hyung's back. How can he solve his heart's dilemma?

No, he shakes his head. Jin is a charming man; he'll be able to make his place inside her heart. Even if it'll take time, he has absolute confidence in his Hyung. She thinks right now that she won't be able to love someone again, especially, her soulmate but they're meant to be; they are each other's halves; eventually, Jin will grow on her.

After looking for a while, the members meet up again feeling dejected.

To Jin, it felt like having something you desire so close and not being able to reach it. And close she was, why couldn't the universe just give him a break; let him have one thing without struggle? Maybe he wasn't its favorite; after so many years of misery, it showed him a glimmer of hope, only for his sky to fill back up with dark clouds. He sighs, having no idea how much longer he can play this game with the universe.

On their way back home, Namjoon tells them that they should talk with Bang PD Nim tomorrow. The new information might help to find her a little quickly.

As everyone moves to go back to their rooms, Jin feels a hand on his shoulder;

"Don't worry Hyung, even if we couldn't find her today, we did come a step closer after knowing her name. You'll meet her soon enough." Jungkook consoles, making him smile sadly at him as he nods his head in return and disappears into his room.

Namjoon is lying in his bed looking up at the ceiling, lost in thought; trying to justify why he risked his safety today when he saw her crying. What was it about her that pulled him towards her, wanting nothing more than to wipe those tears away? Was it because she's Jin Hyung's soulmate? but he didn't know about that fact before, so why was he acting that way? How could he be attracted to his Hyung's soulmate?

---------------------------------------------------

Selen's pov-

On my first day in Busan; I went to the Haeundae beach for a relaxing day. But it turned out not to be the best decision. Seeing all these couples, it just broke my heart further, to not have Eric by my side anymore. He had the ability to make everything better for me.

 I stayed at the beach soaking up the sun, trying to ignore all the couples, for 3 long hours before deciding to have had enough of it.

I packed my stuff up and throw over a dress over my red strip bikini, ready to get out of this personal hell.

I wander around the streets of Busan for an hour before I see an Art museum. I've always loved art; even though I have no idea or experience in anything related to it, I mean sure I tried but it turned out to be a disaster, I decided just then to spare the universe of my doings. I still love the art of making something come alive with your imagination and the brush of your hands. 

I walk around the museum; looking at the paintings, trying to decipher the meaning behind each one. That's my favorite part about it, guessing what message was the artist trying to convey with their art. 

My day ends up in a pretty restaurant. I try their Kimbap with Jajangmyeon noodles for the first time after coming to the country. And to say it was delicious would be an understatement, makes me think about why did I wait so long to eat these dishes. For most of my first week here, I was eating the dishes I knew of and tried before like ramen and rice and all. 

The next day, I go to see the infamous Oryukdo Skywalk and boy did it take my breath away. The view was so serene I would set my camp up here if I could. I mean, I knew Korea was beautiful but I didn't know it was this breathtaking. My only regret would be not sharing this experience with Eric. If only we had come here before everything went downhill. Thinking about him my hands automatically go to feel the necklace on my neck; it has become a habit of mine now. Every time I think about him, my hands hold the necklace as if to assure me of his presence.

I spend my whole day at the Skywalk; enjoying the scenery and serenity of the place. I have seen people here giving me side eyes mostly because I am a foreigner but I know it's also because of my skin. Being kind and respectful, Korea still had its dark side which was the beauty standards they have set for women here. I don't get affected by it anymore; I was a south Asian adopted by a lonely widow Spaniard woman, I have experienced these side-eyes all my life. I'm not brown but my skin color is still a little dull though that wasn't the main reason I was bullied in high school but rather for being of a different race and having a different ethnicity.

Except for my genes, I have gotten nothing from my birth country. Even my name was chosen by my mom, she changed whatever name I had before, the reason being that it was my new start and why would I want to keep something of my birth parents when they didn't even want to keep me and fair enough.

My little picnic is interrupted by the sound of rumbling coming from my stomach, reminding me I have yet to eat something since breakfast. I sigh, getting up from my place and brushing my jeans off any dirt. I make my way trying to find a good restaurant nearby on my phone. 

After getting my fill, I call a cab to go back to my Hotel. 

On my third day in Busan, I got a little cultural and visited the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. Upon arrival, I was greeted by 12 zodiac stone figures.

I love visiting temples, and this one, in particular, is beautiful, nestled on a mountain. The weather was exceptionally good too, which added to the charm of the Temple. Climbing the steps didn’t feel tiring and I was pumped up to find out what made this temple such a hit with locals and tourists. The place is beautiful, overlooking the ocean. I stayed till 4 in the evening to explore the place, making a wish at their lucky pond, basking in the calm of the place, before moving on to the next stop for the day.

By the time I reach the Bupyeong kkangtong Night market, the sun started to set. I pay the driver and look at the hundreds of options for me to feast on. The food choices range from caramelized fruits to many kinds of skewers, pancakes & special delicacies that are specialties of Busan. I heard it was the perfect place to experience Busan's food culture, and I can see why so. The place was amazing; the street was covered to protect the stalls sizzling with deliciousness. 

I try many things; Fish, silkworm, and a couple of fusion dishes with some dessert. The food was delightful.

As I was going to get a drink I felt my phone buzz, seeing the caller ID, my lips curl upwards, I had yet to talk to my mother after coming to Busan so I was glad to see her call. 

"Hi, Mama. How are you?" I answer the call with questions spurting out of my mouth.

"I'm good, Mi Hija. You tell me how are you?" She questions back.

"I'm great, Mama. Trying to explore the culture. I'm at the Night Market right now, It's known for its street food and Mama, is it delicious. I wish you could taste it as well."  I say, not watching where I was going I bump into a man.

"Sorry!" I say, briefly looking back at the masked man before moving forward.

"Maybe next time. Did you get something for me yet?"  She asks me making me roll my eyes still smiling.

"Yes, Mama. Did you think I'll forget? Have some faith in your daughter Mama." I reply 

"Of course not, Mi Hija. I was just curious. What did you buy?" obviously not saying the truth. I let it go.

"Nah-uh, I'm not telling," I say, calling over for the taxi.

"Actually, Mama I wanted to speak to you about something." 

"Yes, Mi Hija." 

"I was looking for a university to enroll for my Masters. Would Seoul be a bad idea for it?"

"No, my baby. If you want to do your study in Seoul, you should." She reassures me, following up with, "You liked Seoul that much huh?"

"It's a really nice place, it gives me calm." She hums in response. 

"Well, we'll see to the formalities. Choose a university and look for a place then." "And Mi Hija, You'll be alright,"  she says before cutting the call. 

Her words make my hand reach for my locket once again. But all I felt was my skin. I looked down at my chest but it wasn't there. I move around my seat searching for it, but it wasn't there either. My heart started pounding rapidly, as tears filled my eyes. All I could think was I couldn't lose it, that was the last thing Eric gave me. The necklace was the last link between him and I, something i wasn't ready to let go of yet.

---------------------------------------------------

I went back to the market, frantically searching for the piece on the trail I took. I looked everywhere, but it was nowhere. Did someone found it? Did they throw it away? How am I going to find them? I tried asking the stall managers if they found it or saw someone take it. But it wasn't getting me anywhere. All they did is shook their heads; no one saw anything.

I searched for my precious gift for 2 hours; it was getting late. The rush on the street was disappearing. The night was getting quieter as I sat there crying on the side of the footpath. Why does the universe like to play games with me so much? Now it took the last memory of Eric from me. Why could it not just give me a fucking break? I was so fucking sick and tired of its bullshit.

A hand came on my shoulder; I looked up to see an aged man, around his sixties he must be, by the looks of the wrinkles on his face.

"Trouble, child?" He asks me with a soft smile.

I shake my head, sniffling. I use my jumper's sleeves to make sweater paws to wipe my nose.

"I lost my locket. Have you seen it anywhere?" I ask him, taking out my phone, and showing him a close-up picture of me so the necklace would be visible.

"No. I'm sorry, child. It must mean so much to you to be fussing over it this much." He says. I nod in reply.

"It's okay; I'm sure you'll find it. Come back in the morning to look for it in the daylight. It's too late for you to sit here all alone like this."

"But what if it's not gone yet and someone takes it by then?"

"Someone might have already taken it. You can't put yourself in danger over what-ifs child. Go home."

I nod, getting up and bowing down to say thank you to him before making my way to flag down a taxi.

My only hope now is to come back early in the morning to search for it. I am not ready to lose it.

-------------

Jimin and Jungkook came back to visit their families during the break. The others, too, went back to their home cities hoping to spend some quality time with their own families before they start the promotions of the album.

Both the members agreed to meet for drinks and their tradition to see who can eat more street food. Which was nothing more than justifying the amount of food they were going to devour. If they present it as a bet, the people won't judge. Or that's what their logic says.

The fellows skipped on the street, teasing each other. Happy with being surrounded by so much food. They knew they were going to have to work harder in the gym. To balance their bodies after consuming all of this fat here, but right now, they couldn't care less. It was all worth it in their eyes.

"Jungkook-ah, can you eat seven packets of ramen in one sitting by yourself?" Jimin asks, making him raise his eyebrow.

"Yah! Jiminshi. Wanna make a bet?"

Jimin backs down immediately, "No, No. Pfttt. You could fit a truck in there if you tried."

Everyone knew to avoid Jungkook's competitive side. If he gets competitive, he'll only be satisfied after destroying you.

They both laughed at Jimin's comment, not seeing where they were going. Jimin bumps into someone sending a wave of static energy in his hand. He turns around to see if they're okay, but the girl didn't stop. Shouting an apology, she went along her way.

Jimin shrugged, ready to move forward when he sees something shiny on the ground. He bends down to pick up the object.

"Do you think it belongs to her?" He asks Jungkook, showing him the shiny piece of jewelry.

Instead of replying, Jungkook grabs his hand, taking him out of the street and towards their car.

Just as the doors to their car close, he asks, "When did you get it? It wasn't there before, right?"

Jimin has no idea what Jungkook is asking about, "What are talking about?" his eyebrows furrowed.

"The mark, Jiminie-hyung!"

Jimin freezes as he looks down at his hand, and sure enough, there it sat in all its glory, a shining star on his ring finger.

Silence fills the car as neither of them utters a word. Jimin is processing the news, lost in his thoughts, while Jungkook gives him time to do so.

After a few minutes, as the former comes to terms with the fact that he had met his soulmate just now, his mind starts running at full speed. Who could it be? How is he going to find them? Busan is a big city; he can't just go around knocking at every door asking to touch people.

As he starts to get frantic, he feels a hand on his own. He looks up at the youngest member. Even without words, the younger has made Jimin's heart calm down a little.

Jimin closes his eyes as he sighs. A breath of relief escapes his lips. Even if it's just been three years for him, seeing his older members, he didn't have much hope, which changed when Jin got his mark. What a coincidence, they both get their marks just a week apart.

His eyes open as he remembers the locket he is still holding. Could it be the girl that he just bumped in? I mean, sure, their hands did brush for a second. It's clear that the mark wasn't there before, so it must have been at the market only. And he didn't come in contact with anyone else before that.

His thoughts are interrupted by the voice coming from beside him, "Hyung? Does your mark look like Jin Hyung's to you?" he frowns, looking back at his mark. Now that he sees it, it does resemble their Hyung nim's a little.

"Should we ask him to send a picture?" he suggests. Jungkook takes his phone out to do so right away.

They text Jin, wanting to see if their suspicion was correct. They wait for a few minutes before Jin's reply comes.

Both the members stare at the picture and Jimin's mark, trying to see even a hint of difference but failed. The realization of both; Jin and Jimin being soulmates of the same girl sets down heavily in their hearts. What game was fate playing?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annyeonghaseyo, Babies.

Here's a treat for you. A longer chapter. This is the longest I've written yet. Thank you all for your support. 

Also, Buckle up. The rides gonna get crazier.

Borahae!

#bts #bts fic #BTS Drama #bts angst #BTS jimin #BTS jin #bts army #bts romance #btsrm #bts jhope #bts jungkook #bts suga #bts fluff #bts taehyung #kim taehyung #jeon jeongkook #jimin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #bts ot7 #original character #bts jimin #bts jin #bts namjoon #bts v #bts fanfic #btswritersclub #btswritingcafe

[bisexualhobi]

I wanna start by saying how much I love your blog, it’s like the gossip column of the daily paper. Hot!

But anyways, who do you has the best/ most genuine bond within BTS? Personally, I think it is UNQUESTIONABLY jinkook. They just seem to vibe with each other really well and have a very easygoing dynamic that works for the both of them. I got into BTS in 2014 and over the years it has been SO fascinating to see the group dynamics change and just generally sour as time goes on. That being said I rank jin and jungkook so high because they haven’t really changed, jin is still very much jk’s safe space and I don’t think jin is really super comfortable with any member who isn’t jk.

I would love to hear what you think because I truly believe they are the two members who hobi also has the most easygoing dynamic with. I don’t think there’s anything complicated there, just chill vibes all around.

hey thanks i'm glad you like the gossip column <3

and well tbh i agree w you and to that i would add vhope. jinkook and vhope have the deepest friendships in the group imo - another case could be made for namjoon and yoongi but tbh i'm on the fence about them.

i've always said jinkook truly have a great bond and if jin was part of the maknae line it would be the biggest bts ship without a doubt lmao but anyway yeah they seem to be great friends and i think jk doesn't take that for granted. in comparison his dynamics w jimin and taehyung although more in the spotlight come across as high school clique - they're together bc it's what they're used to and it's like when popular kids orbit towards each other, bc it's what's "supposed" to happen and they party and have fun and flaunt it on social media etc. but at the end of the day in five or ten years when jk needs advice he's gonna call jin. not jimin or tae

as for vhope i still can't figure it out bc i'm still unable to figure tae out - i can read hoseok and jimin and rm and jungkook perfectly and i can somewhat figure yoongi and jin out - but with tae i constantly change my mind bc i can't really understand what makes him tick. taking a creative license i would say tae loves people who are "real" to him and that set themselves apart from all the fake and phony ppl in their industry (though he still gets an ego boost from said ppl and doesn't shy away from them) and hoseok is someone who's always been real and that he deems trustworthy - someone who has always been kind to him. he really seems to treasure loyalty and his "not like other girls" syndrome leads him to seek out relationships that blur out the rest of the world. it's like taehyung sees himself as the lead in an indie movie and hoseok is his manic pixie dream girl

#asks #was this close to saying taehyung sees himself as tom and hoseok as summer but let's not go there

[gie-gie-gie-gie]

little women, ep. 1

When I first watched the trailer for Little Women, I was intrigued by the premise of struggling sisters navigating the mystery around a huge amount of money, and how it changes the lives of these three “little women” in the midst of big people with power, connections, and wealth. It’s not entirely a new concept, but I am such a sucker for kdrama sister portrayals that this was a no-brainer addition to my to watch list.

Sure, one can first get caught with matching the characters and scenarios with the Louisa May Alcott source material (who’s the Jo? the Amy? the Meg? the Laurie? etc.), but by the second half of the first episode, you get the sense of considering the story on its own.

And it’s good. It’s so good! I don’t expect myself to be able to sustain an entire series review, but I’d like to be able to take notes along the way. It feels like it’s going to be a great watch ahead, and I just want to make something out of my excitement. That said, be warned that the series in itself has a lot of violence, which might come up in these recaps, hence the tw tag.

We begin with our three sisters: the Meg, the Jo, and the Amy. Poor Beth, no counterpart in here. Or maybe there’s more we don’t know, because mysterious baby picture, anyone?

Among everyone, it’s Kim Go-eun that I was really looking forward to the most. I have never watched her past dramas, but I’ve been itching to see any of her work, and I felt that this role might just be too good to pass. I love the seeming naïveté of her Meg, whose Cinderella fantasies of getting married and being whisked away from poverty translates fittingly into our series’ Oh In-joo, dowdy green vest and tacky tulle skirt included. At home with her sisters, though, she can be straightforward and determined behind the smiley and meek behavior she shows outside.

When she cried upon seeing the contents of the duffel bag her friend, Jin Hwa-young (played by Choo Ja-hyun), left her, I felt as if we were witnessing only the initial unraveling of her character.

Nam Ji-hyun as Oh In-kyung is also riveting. This is my third Nam Ji-hyun drama and the other two had her as the childhood-friend-and-fated-endgame of a wealthy amnesiac. Here In-kyung is barefaced, buttoned up, but not quite sober. She’s an investigative reporter with a deep empathy for people, and a righteous understanding of the pitfalls of wealth.

I loved her scene with Great Aunt Oh. They’re just having breakfast and talking, but the way this was set up made me wonder if we’re supposed to look at how In-kyung was influenced by her aunt despite not having had the warmest upbringing.

Great Aunt also meddles in her love life, and we see the Laurie for this series, too. It’s Kang Hoon as Ha Jong-ho. When they met each other under aunt’s ruse of bringing a mistakenly delivered package, we understand that there’s history between them. In-kyung is at the tail of a highly tense investigation, and we can wonder how this might affect their relationship as the series moves forward.

I don’t have much to say about Park Ji-hu’s Oh In-hye just yet, except that I can certainly understand her wanting to make her own money after seeing her sisters toil to provide for their family. She’s ambitious and gritty and I cannot help but wonder where the story will take her character, especially with her association with who seems to be Park Jae-sang’s wife and daughter.

Wi Ha-joon is another actor I was excited to see in this series. I thought his character in Romance is a Bonus Book was compelling enough. His role as Cho Do-il is obviously different so I also cannot wait to find out more about him.

It seems orchids is a recurring motif in this show. From trying to google ‘princess of thieves orchid’, I saw some twitter threads on the repeating symbolism of this flower on the show. Since I’m behind watching, I didn’t read too far and suspended spoilers. Anyway… too many orchids. From the orchids in the office in the 14th floor to…

the blue orchid tattoo…

the wallpaper in Hwa-young’s apartment (excellent mirror-threshold blocking, by the way)…

a blue orchid beside her fishtank…

and a blue orchid brooch on the suit of Park Jae-sang (played by Um Ki-joon). Yikes… Personally, I think orchids are also an appropriate motif in a tight environment of power and wealth. Orchids are expensive and requires a lot of precise care.

I cannot wait for the sisters to tie up the associations together. The context surrounding Hwa-young’s death becomes even more sinister in light of In-kyung’s investigation on the four money-related suicides from the Bobae Savings Bank Case.

Finally, what will In-joo do with the money that landed on her via yoga locker? Director Shin Hyeon-Min is after the slush fund, and it seems In-joo is in it now, too. Not to mention, she signed an account opening form for Hwa-young, so it seems like the money in the bag is not all there is to it.

#little women #spoilers #recaps #tw #kim go eun #nam ji hyun #wi ha joon #park ji hoo #kang hoon

[hyunsung]

random ‘best of me’ performance gifs [6/?] (cr. c_a_leaf)

#bts #jungkook #btsedit #btsgif #dailybangtan #dailybts #jungkookedit #trackofthesoul #maknaelinegifs #userkelli #jminparks #mine.gif #jk.gif #bts.gif #*bestofme #these arent very /great/ #me & this ts file friends to lovers to enemies… #but 👊🏼😔 best of me #will simply never gif best of me yoongi its too personal #also this was supposed to be a jin set… worked out great i see

[sukirichi]

pink hearts

You only ever wanted a job as a babysitter to make ends meet – falling in love was out of the equation – but with the magic presented right in front of you, you weren’t going to push it away.

PAIRINGS. itadori jin x reader

WC. 10.7k+

NOTES. this fic is purely self indulgent, not requested, i wrote this for me so reader is mostly...well, me. okay listen I KNOW toji is the choice dilf but PLEASE daddy jin has my heart and i’m so soft for him like you guys don’t understand. this is my comfort fic now and jin’s made his way on my comfort character list, give this amazing man a chance, he’s amazing and so kind eeeee my heart is going to burst i love him so much lol + oh this is unedited as usual

masterlist !

The pink-haired man sat across from you, setting down the tray of two coffee mugs on the coffee table before you. He was of regular build, mostly on the lanky side, and his kind eyes peered behind glasses as he smiled at you. “So you’re the babysitter Mr. Gojo recommended?”

You stared at him. Shamelessly. 

Suddenly, your initial plan of impressing your employer by wearing a tight pencil skirt and an old white blouse after the assumption that they would be prissy and had way too much money on their hands felt useless. 

This guy wore a cream sweatshirt and black slacks, clearly happy and comfortable in his own home.

Upon being the subject of your stare, he only smiled awkwardly, clasping his hands in front of himself as he cleared his throat to let you speak.

“Oh!” you suddenly sat up straight, “Yes, yes I am. I’m sorry for staring. I just think you’d be this...young.” And modest.

“I understand. You’re in university, correct?” you nodded, leaning back in his seat, hand scratching the back of his head. His cheeks tinged a slight pink. “And you’re a close friend of Satoru’s, well...It’s not that I don’t trust his judgment or anything, but it’s my first time being a parent – and I’m a single dad, at that – so I hope you don’t mind that I’d like to see how you get along with my son first before I hire you.”

“Oh yeah, no, that’s perfectly fine!”

Satisfied with your answer, Mr. Itadori stood up with a bow, silently gesturing you to follow him down his hall. “Is there anything you’re uncomfortable with, or anything you don’t know much about? Changing diapers, giving the teething products, anything?”

“I’m the eldest in the family, four more hellish sun drops following afterwards. I think I’m good.”

He nodded at your answer, a small smile on his face. “That’s good to know. My last babysitter was the same age as you, but he didn’t know much about handling babies. I mean, neither do I, but a man’s got to learn, you know?” he laughed at himself, unaware that with each passing second, pink heart eyes gazed up at him admirably.

When you both reached a door that was left slighty open, Mr. Itadori lit up, bending down in front of a crib where his baby laid, small hands clutching at his feet. “Yuuji, baby, Daddy’s here. Are you ready to meet your babysitter?”

Your jaw dropped when he finally picked his baby up, the little boy clad in a tiger onesie and sucking on a toy. “Oh my gosh, you’re so adorable, come here!” you were more than glad when his dad laughed and gently passed the baby to you, who only gurgled in laughter when you cooed at him. “Oh, I want to spoil you and give you kisses, how are you this cute?” Well, it made sense he was cute, since his dad was as well. Yuuji made grabby hands at you, to which you happily obliged, leaning down so his tiny fingers could pinck your cheeks.

Unable to help it, you rubbed your cheeks on his touch, making the little boy clap his feet together, eyes bright with all the happiness and innocence in this world. You honestly wanted to cry right then and there.

“Your hands are soooo tiny, my goodness, I love you already! It’s so nice to meet you, Yuuji, you’re such an angel!”

“You like kids, huh?”

“Well, not so much with kids because toddlers have too much energy, but babies,��� you gasped once you heard Mr. Itadori’s muffled laughter, greeted by the sight of him hiding his mouth behind his palm. Instantly, you smiled at him nervously, clutching the baby closer to yourself because he was so darn cute.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry if I’m being weird right now, I can’t help it! Your son is so precious!”

“Thank you. He’s the greatest blessing of my life too,” he beamed, turning to his baby with that soft look in his eyes that parents wore so well. “Well, it seems Yuuji really likes you. He’s friendly to everyone but...I’m surprised he’s warmed up to you this fast,” Mr. Itadori bent over to poke his cheek, the baby’s tiny hand wrapping around his dad’s finger. “Yuuji~ don’t forget I’m still your dad, okay? She’s the babysitter – she’s not your mom so don’t be too clingy, alright?”

You stiffened at his words, your eyes flickering back and forth between the baby and him. They had the same eye and hair colour, along with that aura of kindness surrounding them...it was hard to imagine what the mother would be like. Was she as bright and adorable too?

If yes, then this was an entire family of pink hearted strawberries!

“If...if it’s not too much to ask, may I ask where his mom is?”

Much to your surprise, his eyes grew forlorn, though the smile remained on his face. “His mom...is in a much happier place now,” was all he said – and it was enough – that you couldn’t dare ask more.

Mr. Itadori walked out of Yuuji’s room and into the kitchen afterwards, eyes squinting over the neat handwriting on a sticky note on his refrigerator. “Okay, so, I don’t know if Satoru’s told you, but I’m an engineer. I usually just work from home, especially now that I’ve got a baby, but there are still days where I have to go the office for presentations and meetings. I can’t guarantee that the babysitting schedule will be permanent – is it alright if I call you whenever?”

“Yeah, yeah, I mean, other than university, I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”

“That’s good to hear! But wouldn’t this job get in the way of your studies?”

You shook your head, subconsciously pressing closer to the baby instead because he was just so warm and wouldn’t stop tugging at your collar. A part of you was also eager to get this job not only for the baby, but Mr. Itadori intrigued you as well. You knew it was wrong but you had to be honest with yourself, hiding this truth for him instead through a shaky smile.

“No, definitely not! I can just take my studies here – if you won’t mind, of course – and I promise I won’t litter or make a mess or anything. During babysitting hours, Yuuji will be more of a priority than my homework, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Mr. Itadori hummed to himself, rubbing at his chin. “If that’s the case, then I suppose you’re free to use the study at the end of the hall. There’s a baby camera there that lets you see Yuuji in every room, but if he’s asleep, feel free to use it.”

“Oh wow,” you blinked back in surprise, gently rocking a gurgling Yuuji back and forth. “You didn’t have to do that so uhm, thank you, really, I promise I’ll take care of your son very well!”

“I can see why Satoru recommended you now,” he shook his head with a smile, moving over to the litter of dinosaur stickers onto another list. “Here is a list of the things Yuuji likes and doesn’t like. He’s mostly active in the afternoons when I’ll most likely get called for work, and he’s a mess by then. He really likes playing and cuddles, and he’ll also demand to be carried most of the time otherwise he’ll cry,” he paused as his eyes slid over to you, lips pursed in thought. “I know you’ll do great but...don’t spoil my son too much, okay? I just don’t want him to uh...think that you’re his parent or something. Yuuji gets easily attached like that. If he calls you ‘mama’...please tell me about it, okay?”

“Yes, of course. I know my place, don’t worry.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” he raised in hands in surrender as he saw your eyes widen with fear. “Being a single parent is just hard, you know? I can’t help but always feel that maybe I won’t be enough for him, and as much as I can, I’d like to let my son he can rely on me at all times.”

“I think you’re a very great father,” you admitted rather shyly, “Your son is really lucky to have you as his parent. I can tell he’s going to be such a sweetheart.”

“Thank you. That means a lot to me,” he placed a hand over his heart, then pulled out a business card from the back of his pocket. “Now, here’s my number and my work schedules. You don’t have to drop by during weekends since I’m always here, but I might need you every Wednesdays to Fridays. Can I have your class schedule as well? That way I know when’s the right time to text you if I need something,” Reaching into your bag that had a copy of your schedule, you handed it to him, the strawberry-haired man’s lips growing into a smile as he read over the content. “Well, what do you know? You study engineering too? Computer engineering?”

You winced, memories you’d rather not think of again resurfacing. “Please don’t call me a nerd. I’ve heard that enough already.”

“What’s wrong about being a nerd? I’ve always been a nerd too and I think I’m fine,” you swapped numbers after that, not even giving you enough time to recover from his comment. Not that being a nerd was a huge deal, but people always said it weirdly that you dreaded hat word. Hearing it from him though...it felt like a compliment. “Guess that settles it then. I’ll see you soon?”

Heart elated and spirits soaring into the sky that you actually got the job and the employer was a kind man, you nodded with a bright smile on your face. “Yeah, I’ll come by next week! Thank you so much for trusting me!”

“No, thank you for your service,” he responded back shyly, waving to you as you walked out the door. Not a few moments later, Mr. Itadori ran after you, his cheeks flushed pink from the shrot run. “Wait! Can I have my son back?”

Looking down at the baby in your arms who was too busy sucking on his thumb, your cheeks heated, extending your arms as gentle as you could while Mr. Itadori got his son back. He only laughed at your state, waving it off with a shake of his head. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! It just feels so natural to hold him!”

“You’ll be a good mother someday,” he commented almost absentmindedly. Meanwhile, you couldn’t stop bowing and apologizing with each step backwards, too distracted to notice that your heels dug into a small crack. You yelped as you felt the floor slip beneath you, Mr. Itadori’s instincts kicking in when he easily grabbed your wrist to pull you towards him, your foreheads almost knocking one another’s. “Whoa – watch your step. You could’ve fallen seriously there.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Itadori! I’ll try to be more graceful next time,” you bowed repeatedly, still so ashamed as you tugged your skirt down. “Why the hell did I wear heels anyway? It’s not like this is a law firm.”

“Please,” he smiled at you – and you swore in that moment that things were just going to be different – eyes closed and his whole face lit with light heartedness. “Call me Jin,” taking his son’s hands up, he waved the little arm as you walked out the door, still in a light trance of disbelief. “Say bye-bye, Yuuji!”

Even as you made it back to your bus stop, you still couldn’t get your mind off of the strawberry-haired father and son duo. Their home was just so...bright, you immediately felt safe and comfortable.

As your heart fluttered at the memory of Jin smiling at you, you placed a palm over your heart, willing it to calm down. That couldn’t be good, right?

“Earth to Y/N!”

You snapped back to life when your friend slapped you on the arm, smiling at her when she only huffed at your dazed out self again. It wasn’t irregular for you to space out like this, and you were more than thankful she was always there to bring you back to reality before you accidentally crossed a street when the lights were green or something.

“Sorry, what?”

“Do you know how many times we had to drag you away because you keep running into poles?” she rolled her eyes, “Sheesh, how would you survive without us? What are you spacing out for anyway?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just thinking about work and all.”

“Speaking of that, how’d the interview go? Was your employer as strict and condescending as the Zenins? The hell happened to those bastards anyway?” “I bet their child is going to grow up sexist or something.”

At the mention of Jin and his baby, your whole self lit up. “My employer is better this time around. He’s only a few years older than us; like five or seven, I think? He’s really nice too and dude, his baby is so. Freaking. Adorable,” you gushed, mimicking the gesture of rocking a baby around with your arms, eyes filled with heart-shaped characters. “Like a freaking strawberry in my arms! He’s so sweet too!”

“You and your attachment to babies,” she scrunched her nose in disgust – always having had an aversion to anyone younger than her. “I’ll never get it.”

“Babies are the best!”

“Yeah, until they drool and throw up on you,” as if the image procured in her mind, your friend shuddered, rubbing her hands up and down her arm to relieve her goosebumps. “I never want to be a mom.”

“You’ll change your mind once you fall in love with someone who’s amazing enough to make you want to have a family on your own.”

“You talk about that as if you’ve met that someone already!”

“Maybe I have,” you giggled stupidly to yourself. Of course you weren’t thinking about Jin – you just knew deep in your heart you always wanted your own family. Growing up from a large family and getting separated from them, it was uncomfortable to not be surrounded by crying and squealing, which was always accompanied with laughter and kisses at the end of the day. Now who wouldn’t want that? You waved your hand to your friend, trying to hide the apparent gushing behind your voice. “I’m just kidding. I just really love babies.”

“Whatever,” she closed the topic, and you didn’t protest, knowing full well your friend cringed at the mention of babies or children. “So are you coming to our study group tonight?”

“Can’t. Got work,” you shrugged, a light skip in your steps as you both walked to the campus. Thankfully, she mistook your enthusiasm with the excitement of getting to hang out with babies again, which was true, but something about meeting Jin again and possibly getting to know more about the sweet father was a huge cherry on top – one your friend didn’t have to know about.

“Shame. I heard that hot guy from Biology was coming too.”

“Fushiguro Toji? Wasn’t he scouted for the military?”

“Honestly, I’m more surprised he’s not a gangster,” she snorted, “But whatever. Text me when you get home safely, okay? If you don’t text within—”

“Yeah, I know, I know. Text you when I get on the bus stop, text you when I arrive at work, when I leave and when I’ve gotten home otherwise you’re calling the cops to report me missing or abused,” you stood up straight for a mock salute, brows furrowed in faux seriousness. “I know, ma’am. That’s drilled in my head already.”

“I’m serious. The world is a dangerous place!”

“Yes, I’ll text you!”

Wednesdays couldn’t come sooner. But when it did, you were far too excited. You’d never tell anyone you took the extra time to fix your hair and spritz on just a tinge of perfume, not wanting to overwhelm the baby.

You shot up from your seat right after class ended, hair flying in the wind as you bolted to the bus stop. Wiping away the sweat on your forehead and fixing your clothes with a pat of your hand, you took a deep breath, chanting inner mantras that today would be a good at work. You’d be contributing to society by caring for a child that would soon be the light of the future, and you were more than honoured. Clearing your throat, you pressed on the bell, humming to yourself as you heard the light patters of footsteps inside.

“Hey, you’re here!” Jin smiled at you, one you reciprocated wholeheartedly, and he opened the door wider while you took off your shoes.

He was still dressed in his sweatpants and a white shirt, looking utterly domestic and different from your previous employers that would glare at you if you touched their kid without sanitizing your hand twice first. Jin was like a breath of fresh air to you – one you breathed in with glee while you followed him inside.

His house was kept neat and clean, surprising you even more at just how immaculate to detail he could be despite his busy schedule. Was it because he was an adult or a parent now that people his age were just more organized and put together?

Whatever it was, you trailed around Jin like a puppy, eager to learn from his ways.

“I told myself I’d only ask you to come around if I’m away for work but I’m working on a huge project and my client is very demanding. He’s asking me to pass it this week already and he just sent me his plans last night.”

“It’s okay...Jin,” you stuttered over calling him by his first name like that, “You can focus on your work. I’ll take care of everything else.”

“Thank you! Yuuji’s in his room, by the way. He’s just had dinner so he’s still energetic – you can pull up the cartoons and lounge in the living room. He’ll be fine,” he opened his mouth to say something else when his gaze darted to your book bag, eyes widening. “Oh wait, you brought your schoolwork—”

“I’m good! I’ve already finished them during my spare time! I promise you really don’t have anything to worry about!”

“Oh, that’s cool, I guess,” he calmed down at your words, scratching the back of his ear before gesturing to his door. “Well, I’ll be in my room if you need me. I get really occupied and focused though, so just open the door if I don’t open it right away.”

“Noted,” You wasted no time in picking up Yuuji from his crib afterwards. It seemed the little man didn’t quite like being imprisoned like that because he was babbling nonsensically, fists banging on the edges.

Upon seeing you enter his room, Yuuji’s babbles got louder, small chubby arms reaching out to your extended ones. His pacifier fell inside his crib as he pouted at you, and how could you resist? Soon, you were happily nestled onto the couch on the living room, his favourite cartoons playing on the background.

His head swayed side to side as the songs came along, while you watched him with tiny giggles. You wondered if maybe your first day at work would be eventless like this.

You really thought you’d run back and forth doing errands and changing diapers, but that was your old babysitting experience – things were obviously different with Jin and his son.

Yuuji was quiet, but Jin was right, he was clingy. Not an hour later into the show, he crawled to your sides and settled into your lap, tiny hands grabbing at your shirt. He sighed as his cheeks rested on your chest, though his eyes still glossed over the cartoon. You felt like your heart would burst at his affection, and you patted his back gently to lull him to sleep.

Eventually, Yuuji fell asleep. You hadn’t even noticed it was dark out already, the cartoons only playing through loop.

You scooped up Yuuji closer to your arms before shutting the TV off, making sure to be as quiet as you could be while you placed him back on his crib. Smiling at the angel, you patted his hair before leaving the room, knocking on Jin’s door at the end of the hallway instead.

When he didn’t respond after four knocks, you thought he’d fallen asleep until you remembered his note.

Shakily, you twisted the knob open, a small smile on your face when you saw him furiously sketching something on his paper. An empty cup of coffee laid beside his table, eraser shavings everywhere. His room smelled like soft laundry detergent with the faint aroma of white caramel coffee – smooth and sweet like him – and it felt almost wrong to be in such a space that was clearly so intimate of him.

Not wanting to disturb too much, you cleared you peered from behind the door sheepishly. “...Jin? Oh. Hello.”

“Hey,” he blinked at you then rubbed his eyes, staring at you for a solid minute before his mouth formed into an ‘o’ shape. “Is everything okay? Yuuji didn’t destroy something, did he?”

“No, he’s fast asleep. I just came here to say I’ll be going home now. It’s past midnight already.”

“It’s that late?” Jin glanced at his wristwatch and adjusted his glasses, fingers swiping up to retrieve his keys as he wore his coat. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you stay this late, and you have school tomorrow too,” he groaned tiredly, though the apologetic smile on his face easily concealed his exhaustion. “I’m really sorry I lost track of time. Come, I’ll drive you home, it’s not safe this dark out.”

“But Jin,” you froze in his hallway, “What about Yuuji?”

“Do you live far from here?”

“No, the dorms are like five minutes away,” Jin pondered about this information, possibly hesitating that maybe it wasn’t his best to leave his son alone. You appreciated the thought, you really did, but you were worried for Yuuji too so you smiled at him, nodding to assure that he didn’t have to. “Jin, it’s okay, I can just take the bus. I’ve been doing that for a long time now and I’m really okay.”

Jin clutched at his keys, the frown on his face evident. “At least let me walk you to the bus stop? So I know you’re safe?”

“Yeah, that’s fine, I guess.”

“Let me just get extra covers for Yuuji. It might be cold tonight,” You waited until he came out with Yuuji warmly bundled up in his arms. The two of you walked side by side, baby Yuuji fast asleep in his arms with his head covered in a small cap. You blushed at the thought that maybe people would think you looked like a family, but before these foolish imaginations could consume you, Jin beat you to it. “I haven’t thanked you properly for today, by the way. Let me make it up to you sometime – you look really tired.”

You flushed deep at his words, shaking your hands in front of you. “Oh no, it’s fine, really! I’m just doing my job.”

“Yes, but caring for someone else’s child – whether you’re paid or not – is still a very selfless act and I can’t thank you enough for it.”

You looked away from how warm his smile was despite the biting chill of the night, turning away to bury your chin in your neck instead. “You really don’t have to do anything. I’m just happy to help.”

“If you insist then,” Jin waved at you as much as he could without waking his son up as you hopped onto the bus, with you watching from the inside. “Get home safely! Text me when you’re home!”

“I will,” you mouthed through the window.

Jin and Yuuji disappeared from your sight after that. All the way back home, the warmth and butterflies swarming your stomach wouldn’t disappear. Even as you flopped on your bed, you still kept tossing and turning, the bright light of your screen glaring at you to just send the darned text already.

Hey...or maybe hello? He’s older though... How do older people even text each other? He wasn’t that much older, but still...it kind of felt inappropriate to address him too casually.

Deciding to just screw it, you pressed backspace and settled for the most boring text, hitting send and flattening on the bed with a groan. Who knew texting someone could be that mind-boggling? Sweat beaded at your forehead as you stared at the plain I’m home, sleep about to take over when your phone buzzed afterwards.

I’m glad to know you’re safe. Sleep well, Y/N.

Looking over at your slumbering roommate, you grabbed a pillow to bite it and muffle your screams, legs flailing beneath you as you read his text over and over again. It wasn’t even that special, but Jin had wished you well – the hardworking and sweet Jin – sending your heart into overdrive.

Your roommate didn’t stir one bit even as you giggled to yourself, punching the bed while you replayed the image of his smile, the feeling of how warm he was walking close to you like that and the sound of his soothing voice that just messed with you on the insides.

God, you had it bad – and yet, why did it feel so good?

Babysitting had never been more fun. Even though the task was no longer new for you, you looked forward to working every single day. Your friends noticed your change in moods, but just downed it to the fact you were generally a cheerful person anyway and didn’t bother asking why, which you were thankful for because it wasn’t easy to admit it out loud you liked Itadori Jin, of all people.

Now that you looked back onto it, he wasn’t that special.

He was definitely the type of guy you easily overlooked in a train, but he would also be the type of guy who wouldn’t hesitate to give up his seat for someone else. It wasn’t like he was utterly interesting too since like you, his life was a bland routine of taking care of babies, working, holing up in his room to create something, drinking coffee as sweet and light as possible, then calling it a day and sleeping with a huge smile on their face, just thankful for another day.

Yes, he was simple. Yes, he might even be boring, but gosh, you had never liked someone so much.

You summed it down to him being kind and loving. Yes, that was all it was. While your friends flocked over to mysterious, dark guys like Fushiguro Toji and his friends, gossiping non-stop on how he supposedly had a hotter younger relative but were a lot shittier than he was, you were different. You were simple.

You liked soft, quiet guys who enjoyed the soft pit-patters of rain, the types of people who spent too much time in the library travelling across galaxies in their seat, and overall, you liked peaceful souls.

Jin was everything you ever admired – stable, simple, kind, affectionate. It was clear from how he was never shy to shower his baby with kisses and feed him with airplane spoons, using a small voice to baby talk his son. Every time you came around, you immediately felt welcomed into their happy home despite the lack of a maternal figure, and you found yourself wanting to be there a lot more often than you should.

It seemed that the heaven heard your prayers when your phone rang. Instinct kicked in, and you grabbed at your blaring phone, eyes wide when you read the contact name.

“Hello? Jin, what’s wrong?” Yuuji was crying in the background, accompanied with his father’s constant shushing and worried cooing.

“H-hi, I’m really sorry to bother you, I know it’s late, it’s just Yuuji won’t stop crying and my neighbours are mad at me because I can’t get him to calm down,” as if on cue, Yuuji only wailed louder. You could hear Jin’s desperate pleas for him to quiet down a little, with you dashing out of your bed and slinging your arms inside your coat. “Could you please come over? I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m on my way,” was all you said before hanging up. Minutes later, you’d entered their apartment thanks to the spare key Jin gave you, heart breaking as Yuuji’s wailings only got louder.

Jin’s shoulders visibly relaxed when you scooped his son into your arms, rocking back and forth as you pressed a palm flat on his forehead. He didn’t seem to be feverish or even warmer than usual, but he was definitely irritated, pushing away at your hands that laid on him.

“Yuuji, baby! What’s wrong, sweetheart? Something hurt anywhere?” you turned to Jin, “Is his diaper full?”

“I just checked, he didn’t poop,” Jin nibbled at his thumbnails, a quirk you didn’t expect he’d have with his seemingly put-together composed self. His son’s crying must’ve really bothered him because Jin wouldn’t stop pacing back and forth, Yuuji’s newly cleaned pacifier clenched between his fingers. “I gave him the teething rings too but he just dumped them to the side.”

Nodding, you tried poking at Yuuji’s stomach. The baby belly that should’ve been squishy was firm against your finger, the imaginary light bulb in your head going off.

“His stomach is a little tight. I think he’s got gas,” you informed Jin with a relieved smile, glad that it wasn’t as serious as you thought it would be. “We need to make him burp,” Patting at Yuuji’s back while Jin gently massaged Yuuji’s belly, prompting the boy to wail louder with his tiny arms banging both your chest, a big burp was finally released.

“Oh my gosh, he’s still crying.”

“It’s okay, Jin, he’ll be fine,” you reassured, smiling wide at baby Yuuji even though he couldn’t focus on you. “That’s right, sweetheart, you’re doing great. Just burp a little more and it won’t hurt so bad. It’s just gas, sweetie, you’re alright. I’ve got you.”

“B-but the neighbours...”

“Don’t mind them,” You didn’t mean for your words to come out harsh, but who could blame you? Yuuji was clearly in distress; the last thing you cared about was pleasing others. “They can plug in earbuds for all I care. Yuuji needs help,” at your words, Jin swallowed, resuming his ministrations of encouraging his son to burp.

Yuuji stilled for a moment before he resumed his crying. This time around, Jin was a lot calmer and focused as his hands rubbed at his son’s stomach. The burps came constant afterwards until Yuuji had enough, turning away from his father and burying his head on your chest. Small hiccups followed, but he’d calmed down, eyes shut tight from the previous discomfort.

“Are you feeling better now, baby? Tummy ache is gone?”

“He’s...not crying anymore...” Jin murmured in disbelief, his hands hovering above Yuuji’s belly.

“He’s still really red, though,” you frowned, hands brushing his bangs away from his forehead. It didn’t take long before Yuuji settled in, thumbs sucked into his mouth. Little whimpers could still be heard from the little guy, though nothing serious happened. You and Jin both sighed in relief. “I think he’s tired from crying. I’m going to go rock him for a bit,” Eyes flitting over to Jin’s face rigged with dark circles, you mustered a chuckle. “How about you, are you okay? You look half-dead,” you joked.

“He was in the crib next to me when he just started wailing out of nowhere,” Jin plopped down onto the sofa, his sweatshirt crinkled and sweatpants loose and comfortable as ever. “I was so scared that maybe something else was wrong.”

“Parenting is both a blessing and a hardship, huh?” you chided in, “Don’t worry. I still think you’re doing an amazing job at being a dad.”

“You’re quite amazing too. You’re a natural at this.”

You shrugged, unable to look Jin in the eye as you continued gently swaying side to side while Yuuji slept in your arms. “My parents were rarely around. They were too busy working to provide for all of us so I acted as the parental figure instead.”

“Your parents are really lucky to have you as a child – reliable and strong.”

“All I ever wanted was to make them proud,” you told him, looking far from the distance as you reminisced your old memories with your family. It felt so far away already – they felt far away – though you knew the love you had for one another still remained. “And I live a good life knowing they passed with no worries. My siblings are doing great, too, though we’ve all parted ways now. Some of them got adopted by our relatives and I’m...I’m here I guess.”

“I’m extremely sorry for your loss,” Jin’s voice was quiet, and when you looked back at him, you saw him smiling into his hands before turning to you, wearing that damned smile that always had your heart doing backflips. “You’re a really strong person, you know?”

Your cheeks flushed at his words. “Thank you. I think it’s all thanks to my parents,” you murmured; that slight pang of pain remained even after their death, though it wasn’t as awful as it used to be. The sting felt a lot calmer now, almost as if time slowly healed your heart back together. “After they passed from the car crash, I just knew I had to be strong for all of us. The pain and the hardship were worth the effort, though. All of us are happy and settled now.”

“That’s the one thing I’m most afraid of,” he confessed, frowning at the peaceful baby in your arms. “That I’ll have to leave my child before he’s ready to face the world by himself. I’m not...I could never be prepared for that.”

“As long as he knows you love him and you always will, I think Yuuji will always find his way in life,” Jin’s eyes widened, something unreadable glimmering behind those pretty eyes that had you feeling too many things all at once. Embarrassment and sudden shyness creeped all the way up to your spine along with exhaustion, and you gestured for him to move aside, heaving as you sat down next to him. “I’m really sleepy.”

“Please, let me hold – oh. He likes you more, I guess.”

You chuckled at his dejected face, the childish pout the exact replication of Yuuji’s. Yuuji refused to be held by his dad, burrowing himself into your warmth instead. “I’ve got a charm when it comes to children.”

“That you do,” he agreed absentmindedly.

Before any of you could realize what was going on, you’d fallen asleep on the couch. Yuuji was still safely nestled between your arms, while Jin’s head was tucked in your shoulder, soft breaths leaving those equally soft lips.

Oddly enough, when you woke up and noticed your current position, none of you found it weird. Jin only laughed at the way drool dried up at the end of your lips, to which you silently scolded him for as to not rouse Yuuji from his sleep. He didn’t move away from his position, eyes flicking over from yours to his son bundled up warmly, a smile tugging up at the ends of his lips.

“Uh... that was a long night.”

“Long night, indeed,” Jin nodded before standing up to stretch, exposing a sliver of smooth skin that made heat rush up to your face. You immediately looked away, heart pounding in your chest as Jin began to rummage through his kitchen. “It’s a Saturday so if you’re free...do you want to stay over for breakfast?”

Something about that night kicked off the start of your...budding friendship with Jin. Yes, that’s exactly what it was, just friendship.

You knew there was no way he could ever see you the way you looked at him; not that you minded. Being in their presence and having Yuuji around was already a blessing itself, the days progressively getting better the more you worked for him.

It had become a routine that Jin would come home, exhaustion lining his eyes before he caught sight of you standing in the living room, reading books out loud while you carried a babbling Yuuji. You would laugh because it felt like Yuuji was trying to have conversation with you, to which you responded with reading terms even you had difficulty pronouncing. He’d only nod and keep saying nonsense, grubby hands reaching for the book you held.

He was so precious that you leaned down to kiss the top of his head every now and then, giggles pouring out from the tiny baby strawberry.

Jin took off his shoes, the happiness bursting through his chest unexplainable upon seeing that his son was happy and safe. Loosening the tie with one hand, he extended his arms wide open, running into your direction. “I’m home!”

“Yuuji, Daddy’s here!”

“How’s my sweet little boy doing?” The smile on Jin’s face was phenomenal and even dramatic as his son finally reached out to him, the babbles only getting louder as his dad peppered his cheeks with kisses. Yuuji still wanted to stay in your arms though, and Jin sighed when his son’s hands went back to grabbing at your book, though the chuckles he let out told you he wasn’t really dismayed about it. “Thank you for looking out for him again. Isn’t your arm tired from carrying him and studying like that?”

“No, I’m good. I’ve got really strong muscles,” you flexed your bicep, “Plus, it’s so comforting to carry an angel like Yuuji around. I feel like I’m going to pass my exams with ease!”

Not a moment later, you dropped your arm and turned away to hide your frown, brows pinched together. Jin, being the ever observant person he was, placed a comforting hand on your shoulder, his voice gentle and warm as he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Well,” you began, “I couldn’t understand something and I’ve been going at it for days. Nothing makes sense to me,” with the effort of only one free hand, you flipped to the middle of the book. A headache began to form the moment you read the chapter title, making you cringe while Jin leaned closer for a better look at its contents. “Look at this chapter here. It’s so confusing!”

“Oh, I know this!” he pushed his glasses back up to his nose, grinning as he pulled out a chair before gesturing you to do so. “Okay, so this means...” 

Not even in your craziest dreams had you imagined you’d be sitting at Jin’s table like this, your legs touching from the lack of space as he rambled on excitedly about the lesson.

He would have animated gestures to explain the dynamics of this and that, both you and Yuuji staring at him in awe as he broke the chapter down into easier parts. It was still difficult to understand since your attention was mostly on the way his eyes brightened the more he talked about his passion for the subject, not to mention that Yuuji was also grabbing at both your faces.

It made you both laugh, the two of you simultaneously bending down to kiss either sides of his cheeks until Yuuji was squished between the both of you.

You laughed with Jin the moment you made awkward eye contact through the kiss, chests bursting with laughter before he proceeded back to the lesson. With each passing second, you were beginning to fall for him a lot more and on a deeper level – so much so that you told yourself you should be scared. Instead, your heart felt at home, calm and peaceful, almost as if it knew you were safe and welcomed.

This sudden revelation had you looking at him in an entirely different light. Jin looked...the same, but somehow warmer? Like he was bathed in a soft glow, the edges pink like his hair, and your hair melted at each and every word that poured from his lips.

When you excused yourself to go to the restroom, you were greeted by the sight of a nearly passed out Jin on the couch, baby Yuuji asleep on his arms.

Jin must be really tired from work. He hadn’t even changed out of clothes. It was getting late too – you needed to come back home soon.

“Jin. Jin, wake up.”

“Huh?” his eyes snapped open, arms instinctively tightening around Yuuji’s before he relaxed, smiling stupidly as he leaned back on his seat. “Oh, it’s you. Hi.”

“Hi,” you echoed, nails digging into your palm to resist the urge to wrap him in a hug; he looked like he needed it. Hands held out in front of you, you took Yuuji from him, slightly nudging his knee with yours. “I’ll take Yuuji to bed. You should go freshen up,” Jin groaned in agreement as he ran his hands through his hair, muttering something about being a parent meant not getting to sleep well. You chuckled at his statement, already moving to get the cups out from the pantry. “Do you want me to make you a cup of tea?”

“Yeah, that’ll be great, thank you.”

Jin disappeared into his room while you tucked Yuuji into bed, the both of you meeting later in the kitchen. He still looked terribly tired, though his smile was lively as ever when he joined you at the table. “Long day again?”

“It’s always a long day,” he confessed through a sip, “But all my worries wash away when I get to see how happy and healthy my son is. I’d work day and night just to provide a good life for him.”

“Don’t forget to spend time with him too, okay? Using the present to ensure your son’s future in exchange of not watching them grow up isn’t worth it,” you reminded him, slightly referring to how much you regretted not getting to be with your parents much until you completely lost the opportunity to do so again. Jin easily read your eyes, fingers grazing the edges of his cup as you continued, “He’s growing day by day. Promise me you’ll always be there for him, okay?”

“I promise,” though whispered, you heard it loud and clear, and you knew without a doubt he’d keep to his words.

After Jin washed his cup, you gathered your things and allowed him to walk you all the way to his apartment’s entrance, waving softly at you. “Get home safely, Y/N. Text me when you’re home.”

It was the perfect routine: go to school, go to work, fall in love with Jin and his son a lot more than you should be, and go home with his kind smile as the last thing you saw.

Each night before sleep completely overtook you, your phone would vibrate, the name of the man who had completely smitten your heart appearing and washing away all the previous tiredness you both accumulated through the day.

Good night, Jin. Rest well.

You too.

It was a routine you’d never get tired of.

“Jin? Yuuji?” you gasped as Yuuji greeted you with bubbling laughter, his small arms slapping your cheeks while his dad giggled behind him. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Happy Birthday!” Jin greeted and finally showed his face after hiding from Yuuji’s buttocks. Your heart absolutely soared at the sight of the father and son duo wearing matching pink clothes, both of their bright smiles only adding to the warmth of the special day. No, actually, it became special because of them – the two people you adored most in this world. “Satoru texted me it was your birthday and it’s my day off too so I thought I’d drop by!”

Before you could respond, Jin huddled Yuuji closer to him, blinking at the audience you both managed to gather.  “I forgot you lived at a dorm, though...is it normal that people are looking us?”

“No, it’s not. They probably think I’m a young mom or something,” you flushed beet red at his words, silently glaring at the nosy onlookers whispering behind their backs. It wasn’t that you were ashamed people could assume that about you, it was just ironic since you actually wanted that to be real but it was embarrassing because you knew Jin wouldn’t see you that way. “Can you give me a few minutes to get ready? We should go somewhere else.”

“Okay, we’ll wait for you downstairs.”

You’ve never moved so fast in your life. Brushing your teeth, showering, and getting dressed in your best clothing were all achieved in the span of ten minutes. You felt proud of yourself as you hopped the stairs two steps down at a time, hair flying from behind you. It was clear you were too excited, but could anyone blame you? You never cared about your birthday, but Jin and Yuuji were here! Of course this was going to be a special day.

You froze at the end of the stairs, the drumming of your heart too wild to tame. Jin was blowing kisses into Yuuji’s belly, the baby’s gleeful laughter painting the walls.

He must’ve felt your stare burning holes at the back of his head because Jin turned your way, Yuuji pressed into his chest as he walked towards you. You were once again blown away by his sweet scent, a mix of gentle laundry detergent and something was just so Jin.

“Hey there,” he smiled, knocking the wind out of your lungs with just two words. “I didn’t have anything cool planned for today since I wasn’t prepared but I know this nice restaurant you might really like. It’s going to be my treat!”

“Oh thanks, but my friends already fed me enough with pizza and cake. Is it okay if we just take a walk around somewhere?”

“Yeah, of course!” Grabbing his arm to pull him away from prying eyes, you walked out of the campus, extending your arms to celebrate your freedom once the warm sunshine kissed at your skin, the cool wind soothing you afterwards. Jin laughed at your carefree expression, watching as you twirled and danced a little at the peace provided to you by the park. “Happy Birthday again! So how’s it feel like being a year older?”

“I feel like nothing’s changed, but at the same time nothing is the same too,” you told him through a laugh, “Does that make sense?”

“Totally. When I first got Yuuji, I didn’t think anything changed too, but now I can’t imagine a life without this little guy.”

Your adrenaline rush had worn down.

Walking side by side with Jin, arms brushing from the lack of proximity even though the area was practically empty, it dawned on you that Jin had lived an entire life before you, and you couldn’t stop yourself from asking: “Do you...do you still think about her sometimes? His mom?”

Jin was silent for a moment. The sudden stretch of nothingness had anxiety crawling at you hard enough you were about to apologize for asking such a sensitive question, but Jin only smiled at you, although his smile was...sad, regretful, even.

“His mom and I didn’t work out,” he began. “I always knew she had some family issues when we began dating in college, but I didn’t think too much of it. Back then, all I knew was that I loved her and wanted to spend my life with her, so we eloped. Her parents didn’t like it, of course, and they demanded we brought her back,”

“She was pregnant at that time so I refused to let her see her family again knowing how toxic they were to her. But they insisted, and...and she wasn’t the same after that. She just started looking at me differently and hating the growing child inside of her,” Jin kissed the top of Yuuji’s head as he spoke, almost as if silently reminding his son he was loved no matter what.

“When Yuuji was born, she couldn’t even look at him; said she refused to be a mother and to cut ties with me. So we divorced and...well, I don’t know, to be honest. Last time I heard, she’d already remarried in such a short time – to a man her family approved of this time around.”

“Do you still love her?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted with a chuckle, eyebrows furrowed while Yuuji clutched at the collar of his turtleneck sweater, his doe eyes staring right up at you. “Do we ever really stop loving someone?”

Your heart fell at his words. So maybe he still did love her. You always knew you might never get a chance – but surely wishing for it wasn’t such a crime. “Does that mean you won’t fall in love with anyone else anymore?”

“Who would like a nerdy single dad like me?” Jin threw his head back in laughter, the disbelief apparent in his voice. It shocked you that he thought of himself this way, because in your eyes, he was perfect. “Plus, I’m too busy to date. Other than you, I don’t really hang out with women all that much, and you’ve seen in my worst state – like that one time I nearly went to work wearing the wrong tie or with my glasses skewed. I don’t think I’m the type people would want to date.”

“Well, who knows?”

“Yeah, who knows?” he mimicked your shrug, still painfully oblivious that you wore your heart on your sleeve.

Once the sun had completely shied away from the clouds and the heat grew too much for Yuuji, you both resorted to going back to his apartment. Yuuji was happily playing on the ground as he smashed his toys together, while you and Jin wore matching aprons (you didn’t ask why he had two) as you mixed the batter and he preheated the oven.

“I’m still sorry I couldn’t get to buy you a cake, by the way. But we have all the ingredients here and a homemade cake is always amazing!” Instead of smiling at his words, Jin was met with your glossy eyes, lips trembling. You’d completely stopped mixing the batter, no longer in control of yourself as you watched him happily skip back and forth to the ingredients.

Jin rushed to your side in a flash, hands hovering before you. He couldn’t really touch you since he had flour all over his skin, a smidge of it right under his worried gaze. “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing. It’s just...I’ve never really experienced this before. Having someone invite me to their home and bake me a cake for my birthday,” you looked down on the ground, feeling the emotional dam inside you starting to crack. “When I was young, I never even cared about my birthday because I was too busy tending after my siblings. After that, I forgot all about it and I was only surprised when my friends brought me gifts today,” You knew you were rambling, and you waved your hands in front of yourself, forcing yourself to smile. “I’m sorry – I’m being dramatic, aren’t I?”

“Hey, no, you’re not,” Suddenly, Jin pulled you into a hug, your body fitting perfectly in his arms. “I want you to know you’re family to us now. You’re always welcome here with me and Yuuji. We’ll take care of each other like family. We’ll bake you all the cakes you want from now on.”

The rest of his words were drowned out by the thumping of your chest.

You couldn’t hear him, couldn’t even properly see him – in that moment, all you could do was feel. You felt his warm breath ghosting over the column of your neck, his calloused hands patting gently at your back, the heat of his body seeping into yours that pulling away seemed to be such a daunting task. He felt like home, smelled like all the sweetness you lacked in your life, and you just knew you had to tell him.

“Jin. There’s something I have to tell you.”

“Yes?”

“I,” your breath shuddered, hands coming up to clutch at the material of his shirt. “I’m in love with you.”

Just like that, the string broke.

Jin pulled away from you faster than you could comprehend. When you opened your eyes, he was already at an arm’s length away from you, nothing but the sounds of your heart shattering into pieces muddling with his words.

His back dipped into a low bow. “I am extremely sorry; I cannot accept your feelings. It’s not that you’re not loveable; it’s just...you’re my son’s babysitter and I believe this is really inappropriate. Yuuji is vulnerable still and the last thing I want to do is date when I should be focusing on his life instead. I’m really sorry, Y/N. I don’t see nor do I feel that way for you.”

Hurt. Broken. Humiliated. Ashamed. Torn.

A plethora of feelings crashed over you all at once until breathing became such a hard thing to do, his words replaying like a broken record in your head.

He didn’t love you.

He didn’t feel the same way.

And it made sense – because why would he? “Yeah, oh my gosh!” you exclaimed while waving your hands frantically in front of your face, your unexpected enthusiasm causing Jin to peer up at you curiously under his lashes. “I mean, of course, I knew that already, duh. I’m not stupid, but like, yeah I’m really sorry, I’m probably making you so uncomfortable right now. I’m really, really sorry.”

“You’re not, I assure you,” he smiled gently again, but this time around, you weren’t soothed. It felt totally humiliating. Your toes curled inside your socks as your forced smile froze on your face in hopes of not making this any weirder than it already was, and you only chuckled as Jin cleared his throat. “I hope we can still be friends after this and that we can keep our professional relationship,” you nodded eagerly, a little too eagerly, and Jin awkwardly gestured to the pans. “So...a cake is waiting to be baked.”

“Yeah, let’s get to baking!”

If Jin noticed that you were a lot more enthusiastic than you were this morning, he didn’t comment about it. He hummed under his breath in agreement, the both of you working synchronously.

You’ve been in his house long enough that you knew where all the pans and ingredients were, silently handing things over one another through a forced polite conversation of how the other’s day went. A pat on your back was well deserved from how you managed to keep up with his questions, your broken heart perfectly concealed under forced smiles and dry chuckles.

In reality, you couldn’t focus.

On the inside, you were shattered. Why did you have to fall for him out of all people? There could’ve been so many others – like Fushiguro Toji from Biology, Gojo Satoru the playboy, Suguru Geto the heir of his large corporation – but it had to be Itadori Jin.

He was so close and yet out of reach, seemingly so unattainable that your lips had dried from how often you licked at them in an attempt to keep the tears in.

You knew you ruined everything. Soon, you’d have to say goodbye to baby Yuuji, no longer able to kiss him on top of his head and see him smile the moment you walked through the door, his dad equally alight upon seeing you got Yuuji a stuffed toy as a gift.

You were stupid for thinking you could even be part of this family. They were happy and fine enough – what role did you have here?

Compared to an actual working adult who’d already experienced many things in life like Jin, you were just a flimsy, lovesick little girl who was only learning how to love. And with loving, came the guaranteed promise of heartbreak.

You just never expected it would be this way.

As Jin turned his back to you to place the batter inside the oven, your hands shook, desperately wiping the sweat of your palms on your jeans. “Excuse me for a minute,” you dashed to the bathroom, locking yourself and finally allowing the broken gasps to leave your lips.

Your back was laid flat on the wall, your shirt tucked in your mouth as you slapped your thigh, the tears streaming endlessly down your cheeks.

You didn’t want to leave him. You wanted to stay longer, wanted to be able to see his face every waking morning and to make him tea while he made breakfast. You wanted to watch Yuuji grow up and hold hands with Jin, to tell him you would love him if he allowed you. But he didn’t – and it hurt so much that your eyes grew red from the incessant crying.

It was better to just leave than to be kicked out. You couldn’t stay here any longer.

So you wiped your tears away, dunking water to your face before you rushed out the room, bag slung across your shoulder. Yuuji stopped playing as he watched you wear your shoes in frantic movements, your heart bursting through with pain.

You didn’t dare look Jin in the eye.

“Hey, Jin, I’m so sorry – my friends called. They’re inviting me out for drinks tonight and I can’t say no.”

“But...the cake.”

“Yeah, you can eat it yourself, I’m really sorry to bother but uhm, anyways, BYE!” Left confused, Jin stared at the door slammed shut hard enough that Yuuji fell to the floor in surprise, small whines leaving his lips.

Jin couldn’t tell whether his son cried because you’d left them, or he was simply afraid of the sound. Whatever it was, the sinking feeling in his stomach was much too clear.

The next few days were hell. Your friends noticed the sudden drop in your mood, the loss of appetite, and the fact that you were clearly sleep-deprived.

How could you get sleep when your phone wallpaper was Yuuji kissing your cheeks, his dad laughing in the background? How could you sleep when your textbook still lay on your desk, a painful reminder of that time Jin had tutored you? How could you sleep when Wednesdays and Fridays had returned to its normal mundane self with nothing left to look forward to?

You couldn’t tell your friends about it either. All they knew was that you hadn’t been going to work because you came up with a flu, when in reality you’d been buried under your sheets, desperately ignoring the loud silence of your phone.

No texts. No calls. No how are you’s or how are you doing?

Not that you expected him to care since you did step out of line; you’d been completely unprofessional and Jin might not recommend you to future works anymore, though that was the least of your worries.

You just wanted to forget everything. His smile, his laughter, his kindness, the sound of his voice and how he always smelled like sweet vanilla.

Crying yourself to sleep and wishing each day would come to an end faster was absolutely exhausting. The lack of sunlight caused you to be groggy and gray – if you kept up at this state, you’d completely wither like a dried sunflower. You didn’t want to go out but your mini fridge was empty, stomach loudly grumbling for food.

You sighed as you closed the door, unkempt hair up in a bun and body adorned with an oversized shirt and the sweatpants you’ve refused to wash for two days now.

You were a mess – both on the inside and the outside – and your eyes lacked their usual warmth. Your movements mimicked that of a robot as you straggled to the nearest convenience store, about to enter when you heard someone cry out.

“Mama!”

Hands frozen on the door, your eyes widened before your head craned to the sound of rushed footsteps. In front of you was a panting Jin, a wailing baby Yuuji in his arms who only cried louder once he set his eyes on you. Jin gasped for air, and you both moved in sync, with you reaching out for baby Yuuji and him handing his child over to you.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry! Yuuji’s first word was Mama and I didn’t know what he meant but then he started crying and clutching the strawberry toy you got him and I’m so sorry, he just won’t stop crying. He kept looking for you.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize!” you replied back, adding a bounce to your step to cradle Yuuji who’d buried his damp face onto your neck, crying mama over and over again.

Memories of meeting Jin for the first time and his reminder that he didn’t want Yuuji calling you that nearly made you kneel down in apology, but you opted for a slight bow, your hot tears trailing down your face because you missed him, but it was all messed up and seeing him once more only dug a deeper crater in your heart.

Before you completely left each other’s lives, you at least wanted to apologize.

“I realized my mistake and made it so weird for the both of us. Plus, Yuuji didn’t say Dada and I think that’s my fault. I swear I wasn’t trying to replace his mom or anything, I just—”

“I love you too,” he cut you off, and your eyes snapped from the ground back to his flustered face.

“What?”

“I’m sorry for lying that I don’t feel the same way,” he confessed, scratching the back of his neck while his ears flushed a deep red. “The truth is, my father always told me that Yuuji’s mom wasn’t a good person and I should stay away from her, but I never listened. A-and I always talked to him about Yuuji’s new babysitter and how kind you were and how I think I’m falling for you. He said I should man up and tell you but I was just afraid to love again since I’ve fallen before and I don’t want to be hurt again,” Jin bowed to you in a perfect angle, his son now at peace in your arms. “I’m sorry.”

“Jin,” you breathed out, the tears prickling at the back of your eyes. You couldn’t believe this was happening – you wanted to embrace him, to kiss him, hold him, but you’d been so engrossed in your own heartbreak you never even thought about Jin’s fears. “I’d never hurt you or Yuuji.”

“I know, and I’m sorry for hurting you like that,” he straightened up, feeling you stiffen under him when his arms wrapped around you. He felt so warm, and you felt so at place that your tears damped his sweatshirt, Jin’s hands gently caressing your waist. “Is it okay if we come back home?”

You cried louder than you ever did your whole life, though this time it was mixed with laughter. Jin laughed with you as you encircled your free arm around his neck to pull him closer, your lips eager as you littered kisses over his neck.

“Yes, of course,” you giggled, “You don’t even have to ask.”

You only ever wanted a job as a babysitter to make ends meet – falling in love was out of the equation – but with the magic presented right in front of you, you weren’t going to push it away, and neither did Jin. This time, you embraced each other wholeheartedly, pink hearts floating in the air while the strawberry-haired baby giggled in your presence, delighted that now his family was whole.

#itadori jin x reader #itadori jin #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen x reader #itadori yuuji x reader #itadori yuuji #jujutsu kaisen fluff #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen romance #jjk #jjk itadori jin #jjk imagines #jjk fluff #jjk romance #uh idk how else to tag this but anyways have some jin content #JIN SIMPS UNITE #HE'S THE BEST DAD FUFU

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt day hurray! What does BaXia think of ChenQing? They would have crossed paths in the war, right? What do all the other weapons and instruments think of WWX apparently setting aside SuiBian for ChenQing? Can THEY tell he's got no golden core?

ao3

You seem kind of evil, Baxia remarked when she first met the flute.

Yeah? The flute responded without first bothering to extend her perceptive aura out to see who was talking to her, sounding like a little punk, arrogant and bold. Well, you seem kind of – oh fuck oh fuck you’re terrifying!

This was true. Baxia was terrifying.

Please don’t destroy me! My master needs me!

Baxia said nothing, enjoying how the flute squirmed, and nudged her own master pointedly.

Do not destroy the flute, her master responded with a sigh. He knew Baxia well. Her master is on our side.

Truly, war made for strange bedfellows. Baxia mourned the loss of the easy, straightforward night-hunt.

She nudged her master again.

Yes, fine, you can chase.

Her master - loving, wonderful, understanding master that he was - very casually walked across the room, unhooked her from his back, and put her down next to where the flute was hanging off her master's belt.

Chase, Baxia said happily, the aura of her power already spreading beyond the confines of her blade. Chase, chase, chase –

Someone help meeeeeee!

-

You’re kind of a dick, Chenqing said, having finally realized that Baxia had no intention of destroying her incipient spiritual soul. Anyone ever tell you that?

Yes.

…really? Who dared?

My master.

Your master is badass. Chenqing contemplated for a moment. So is mine, he's very brave, even suicidally brave, but not – you know – that much.

Baxia considered this, and accepted it. Her master was indeed a superior sort of human.

Why do you smell of death? she asked, mildly curious.

My master uses me to direct resentful energy, so I’m affected by its aura. You?

I bathe in it.

…you're so badass.

Yes. Baxia was.

You’re not bad, she told Chenqing, which almost predictably got a little huffy.

I raise armies of the dead! I am terrifying! They call me the phantom flute! I am more than 'not bad', okay?!

Baxia ignored Chenqing's nonsense. It would not take long for her to realize that being called ‘not bad’ by Baxia was a very high compliment, as such things went.

-

Are there any swords that aren’t afraid of you? Chenqing asked. She was very chatty. Or sabers. Or musical instruments…

Which musical instruments have you met?

Uh, mostly Wangji? Wangji’s cool.

Baxia occasionally wished for eyes so that she could roll them. Her human got a great deal of relief out of doing that, according to him. Wangji has a temperament of ice, yes.

No, I mean, that’s not what I meant, I – wait. Are you making a joke right now?

Baxia said nothing.

You have a sense of humor?!

Baxia said nothing.

This is ridiculous. It’s like meeting a hurricane with sharp teeth and finding out it also likes to sing bawdy brothel songs.

You’re kind of stupid, Baxia observed.

Well, yeah. I mean. Have you met my master?

Baxia had.

He’s only scary by accident, Chenqing said ruthlessly, which was only to be expected – no one dunked on a human like their spiritual weapon. Inside, he’s a big soft squishy meatball.

My master cries when he has feelings.

My master too! Humans, am I right?

Baxia supposed Chenqing was, in fact, right.

Perhaps she could stay.

-

It’s not that I don’t appreciate everything Wei Wuxian is doing for us, Baxia's master remarked to her one day. But didn’t he have a sword at one point? The one with the ridiculous name – Suibian.

At the next meeting, Baxia asked.

Suibian? Yeah, master doesn’t use him anymore, Chenqing said. It's a bit sad, actually. He can’t access the spiritual energy in the blade anymore.

Baxia didn’t like the sound of that. How come?

Master doesn’t have a golden core, Chenqing said. I think he used to, but he doesn’t anymore.

Seems careless.

Hey, I’m pretty sure it’s not his fault! Anyway, it’s a whole big secret. Why do you ask?

My master wanted to know.

Hah, Chenqing said. Nice of you to ask on his behalf, since you can’t tell him what the result of your question was.

Baxia said nothing.

You – can’t. Right? Masters can’t hear what swords say.

I, Baxia said, am not a sword.

…oh shit. Shit, no, you can’t –!

-

“We need to talk,” Baxia’s master said to Chenqing’s. “In private.”

You’re a rotten tattletale, Chenqing said.

Why do you care? He won’t know it was you that squealed.

Yeah, well, I know that I did it!

It’s for the best. My master will be nice about it, and your master will feel better for it. Baxia considered. There may be tears.

There were many tears.

Master really does seem like he feels better, Chenqing observed. I wouldn’t have called that.

Told you so.

-

So, Chenqing said. This hunt is probably the last time we’ll be able to hang out.

Probably, Baxia agreed.

I was hoping to ask for some advice.

Bichen is amendable to your flirting, and Wangji follows where she leads, so you have a shot.

I – what? That wasn’t what I was going to ask.

Baxia waited.

…wait, are you serious? Will that work? I could do that –

-

The flute’s an idiot, Baxia told her master. But maybe she and that master of hers can help you here.

It would be inappropriate for me to ask, her master said, rubbing his eyes. The Jiang sect kicked him out, remember? It would be stepping on their face to approach him despite that.

Okay, Baxia said. So step.

Baxia…

You share a secret with him, at his request, she pointed out. He owes you for keeping it secret for him. At minimum, even if he can’t help you right now, he can help protect your brother when you’re gone.

Her master was silent. That was his weak spot, and had always been.

No one would be able to know, he finally said. And Meng Yao comes every week.

Is our home so small that we can’t hide someone from Meng Yao’s sight? Baxia said scathingly. Since when is he the master here, not you?

I just meant that he’s a sneak that’d sell me out to his father given half a chance, her master sighed. All right, I’ll see if there’s anything that can be done. Wei Wuxian is a musical cultivator, and a genius; maybe he can tell me why Clarity doesn’t seem to be having the impact we hoped it would.

Sure, Baxia said. Whatever. I don't really care. Just get help.

-

Well, that worked, Baxia said to Chenqing. Sort of.

How are you this badass? You just -! Singlehandedly -! I can’t – how?!

Calm down, Baxia advised. What are you, human?

How dare you.

You’re the one acting like you need air to speak.

…so I’m looking forward to seeing the Lotus Pier again now that we're not banished any more, Chenqing said, pointedly changing the subject because she was wrong and she knew it. Thanks for that.

Thanks for figuring out that the evil meat was poisoning my master.

That’s. uh. Sure a way to call someone.

Why not? He’s evil, and he’s made of flesh, and he’s going to be nothing but meat as soon as I have an opportunity.

I thought your master was thinking of some sort of confinement…?

He certainly has thoughts, Baxia allowed, purposefully broadcasting.

I have very strong thoughts, her master replied pointedly. Do not kill him on your own – I’ll only get the blame for that.

Oh no, Baxia told him insincerely. How terrible for you.

Baxia. Please.

Fine. What about Jin Guangshan?

…what about him?

Me and the flute are going to take care of him.

We are? Wait, are you talking to your master right now? Oh that’s so cool. Tell him to tell my master that I said hi.

Baxia would tell her master no such thing.

That’s probably not the right way to do that, her master said, but in that wavering tone of voice that suggested he was open to being convinced. Though it would be easier to sell Meng Yao as being only collateral damage in the scheme if Jin Guangshan took the lion’s share of the blame, which would only happen if he wasn’t around…that doesn’t seem right, though.

Sure it is, Baxia said soothingly. He’s the one who wanted to play with resentful energy, right? All we want to do is play with him back. Who can say no to that? He’s practically volunteered!

-

“Okay, I have a weird question,” Chenqing’s master said to Baxia’s. “Please don’t judge me. But…did we happen to work together to drive Jin Guangshan into a resentful energy backlash?”

“We did not,” Baxia’s master said.

“Okay. Right. Got it. Sorry, stupid question.”

“Our spiritual weapons did.”

“…what?”

“If you’re wondering why your Chenqing shows signs of use in the manner that would be associated with Jin Guangshan’s untimely demise, it’s because the resentful energy you’re using has been sufficient to allow it to cultivate in the direction of a guai,” Baxia’s master explained. “It has a will of its own now, just as Baxia does. You will need to account for that when you master it in the future.”

“Wait. Are you saying that my flute has, what, a personality? Can think and talk and do things on its own?”

“Yes.”

“That’s…that’s so cool. Can you tell Baxia to tell Chenqing I said ‘hi’?”

Why are they like this, Baxia’s master asked Baxia.

I don’t know, you’re the human expert, she replied, ignoring the way that Chenqing was happily chirping answers to her human’s questions even though he couldn’t hear her. Why are you all like this?

I don’t know, he said. I really don’t know.

-

It’s nice to meet you, Suibian said, sounding appropriately respectful. I appreciate your master finding a way for my master to continue to wield me.

It’s through resentful energy, Chenqing said gleefully. Lots and lots of it, refining the sword like a saber – my poor master’s going to have to stay up late and learn so many techniques, his hair’s all going to fall out.

Yes, Baxia said. I can see the resentful energy. There’s a lot of it.

Lots and lots, Suibian said proudly. I drew in everything I could.

Without sorting out the evil?

…isn’t it all evil?

Mm, not really, Baxia said, and began to extend out her aura.

Uh, Suibian said. What’s going on.

I told you to be more patient! You shouldn’t have taken the evil parts, Chengqing said. It makes you a little bit evil, too, and that makes you Baxia’s prey.

…prey?

Chase, Baxia said. Chase, chase, chase –

Help! Help – somebody help!

I would, Chenqing giggled. But master doesn’t speak flute. Sorry!

#mdzs #baxia #chenqing #suibian #nie mingjue #wei wuxian #my fic #my fics #kind of evil

[silv3rswirls]

Another member confesses to their s/o

Anon asks: Can I request a bts reaction where you're dating them, but another member drunkenly tells you they have a crush on you

Note: I changed things up a little, as not all the members are drunk in their parts, hopefully, you don’t mind!

Warnings: Drinking, slight angst

♡Seokjin♡

You celebrated Bangtan’s recent success with their new album with the rest of the group at their dorm. It was small, nothing too wild but some of the members had been drinking; Jungkook being one of them. You had been hanging out with him and Jin for the majority of the party, but at some point, Jungkook had disappeared and Jin excused himself to the restroom just now, so you found yourself standing alone as you waited.

The other members weren’t around. Yoongi and Jimin had turned in for the night and Taehyung wasn’t in sight. You could hear Namjoon and Hoseok talking in the kitchen, but other than that you were sitting alone on your phone. You had been happy to look up and see Jungkook making his way back to where you were sitting on the sofa. You smiled as he plopped down beside you, ready to ask him where he had gone, but you were stunned to silence when he took hold of your shoulders and kissed you. You could taste the alcohol on his lips as his hand moved to hold the side of your face. It was clear the youngest wasn’t in his right state of mind, so you calmly tried to push him away. You’d talk to him about it in the morning when he was sober, but at the moment he didn’t seem to want to let go. His grip on you grew just a bit too tight for you to wiggle from.

Luckily Jin returned just in time. “Jungkook?” He asked, shock clear in his tone as he rushed up to you. “What’s wrong with you!” He shouted, shoving his bandmate back and taking your hand. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s fine Jin, he’s drunk. We can talk about it tomorrow.”

“No, I like you” Jungkook pressed, his voice a tad slurred. “I really like you Y/n, I have since the day I met you.”

Jin’s face had turned red in anger and part embarrassment to have his member and friend confessing so blatantly to his girlfriend. He had been the one to introduce you to Jungkook after you began dating. Had Jungkook held his feelings for you for that long? Jin was ready to start yelling again, but Namjoon had stepped in to take Jungkook away.

♡Yoongi♡

Yoongi had always known Jimin had a small crush on you. It was obvious, to him at least. He chose not to say anything though, believing Jimin's little puppy crush would fade with some time, and up until this moment, Yoongi thought it had.

Yoongi had been looking for you in the new hybe building, it was your first time visiting his new studio in the building so it was only natural you got turned around like so many others when they first moved in. Yoongi left to find you, knowing exactly where you were with your puzzled description. He rounded the corner to find you waiting, Jimin standing in front of you blocking Yoongi’s view. Something about Jimin's hushed voice made Yoongi a bit nervous and as he walked up to the two of you he felt his stomach drop.

“I’ve known for a long time that I like you...I just need to get these feelings off my chest or I’ll-” “You think this is funny Jimin?” Yoongi asked, having calmly placed a hand on the younger’s shoulder and pulled him away. “You think it’s right to confess to my girlfriend?”

Jimin merely watched you and Yoongi with wide eyes. “I just-”

Yoongi shook his head, he had never wanted to have to confront him on this. He had hoped Jimin would drift away from you, especially when you were always at Yoongi’s side; affectionate and loving. For now, Yoongi sent Jimin away. To his dismay and anger, he would have to talk to him about this later.

♡Hoseok♡

You had been sitting with Yoongi in his studio when it happened. Your’s and Hoseok’s third anniversary was coming and you had wanted to do something extra special and meaningful. So, you turned to Yoongi for help writing and composing a song for him. You had thought it a cute idea, personal and special and Yoongi had been happy to help you. But now, the song was done and ready to be given to Hoseok that weekend. After all your hard work you and Yoongi had decided to celebrate a little, just with a few drinks. Yoongi wasn’t drunk, maybe a little buzzed but you were still sober as the two of you sat and talked away the evening.

“I should get going, it’s getting late.” You smiled and began to collect your things, while Yoongi watched you. “Thanks again for helping, I know it’ll mean a lot to-”

“Don’t” Yoongi spoke up, sitting up and moving closer to you.

“Don’t what?” Your brow furrowed in confusion, even more so when you felt Yoongi’s hand rest on your thigh.

“I’ve known you for a long time before you and Hoseok even got together.” He began, voice a little heavy from the drinks. “I’ve always liked you” he murmured, eyes half-lidded as he moved in closer for a kiss. Immediately you stopped him, pressed a hand to his chest, and stood up.

“Yoongi...no Hoseok’s your friend, you can’t- I need to go.” You had swallowed the lump in your throat and finished grabbing your things, hurrying to get home.

You told Hoseok right away, feeling it wrong not to. He had gotten angry, especially knowing that Yoongi had done this after helping you with your anniversary gift to him. He stewed in his silent frustration all night, confronting Yoongi the next day.

“I trust you with her, how could you try something?” He asks, not ready for any of Yoongi’s excuses or apologies.

♡Namjoon♡

You had come down with a cold and Namjoon was too busy to stay and look after you, so he asked Jin to check up on you now and again until he got back. Jin was happy to, acting as an attentive and caring friend for both of you. He makes you soup and keeps track of when you were supposed to take your medicine. Fetched water and extra blankets when you needed them, he even stuck around to talk and watch a movie when you lamented your sadness over Namjoon not being able to be with you.

Something about it had tugged Jin’s heartstrings in a different way. Jin had always liked you, thought you were cute and sweet, but obviously never allowed himself to cross any lines. You were Namjoon’s, not his.

But right now Namjoon wasn’t here and Jin struggled to think straight.

“Hey” Jin smiled, voice soft as he brushed your hair away to feel your hot forehead. “Still running a fever.” He frowned. You only hummed weakly, arms wrapped around a pillow as you tried to ignore the headache and hate feeling.

“I wish Namjoon was here” you pouted, Jin was great and ever so attentive, but nothing beat the presence of your boyfriend.

“He should be,” Jin muttered if you were his partner he wouldn’t think twice about staying home when you were in such a state. He got you a cool washcloth, returning to find you asleep, the covers kicked away as you restlessly slept. Jin could help the fond smile on his face as he tucked you back in. Before leaving, he pressed a kiss to your forehead, the reality that he had really done that didn’t set in until he turned to find Namjoon in the doorway, a stuffed bear and your favorite takeout in hand.

Namjoon’s lips pressed to a line as he tried to contain his outrage. “We’ll talk about this later.” He states, voice icy and he ushers Jin away and takes his place at your beside. Jin can only hang his head in shame as he leaves.

♡Jimin♡

When Jimin found Taehyung and you locked in a kiss, his temper had gotten the best of him. He shouted and yelled at Taehyung, who had quietly admitted to being the reason behind the kiss. You had no part of it, Taehyung had just acted on his impulses. “I just couldn’t help it, I really like-”

“What do you think you’re doing with my partner Taehyung? They’re with me. You’re supposed to be my friend, how can you just kiss them?” Jimin’s seething, one of his closest friends had just made a move on his partner. “I don’t want to hear it!” He snaps when Taehyung tries to reason with him, “Get out of here!”

Jimin’s angry at him for a long time. One of his best friends had betrayed his trust and confessed to you, how could he not be angry? He avoids Taehyung as much as he can, not speaking with him for the time being. Taehyung is earnest in his apology to you and to Jimin but accepts that Jimin needs his time.

There’s a deep rift between the two of them.

♡Taehyung♡

It broke your heart when Hoseok casually let it slip that he had been harboring feelings for you. You stood mouth agape and unsure of what to say, especially when Taehyung was just in the other room. “Hobi...I appreciate it, but I’m with Taehyung.” You wore a deep frown, while Hoseok was still trying to recover from letting his secret slip.

“No, I need to be the one apologizing...I don’t know what came over me. I’ve just felt so strongly for you-”

“You heard her. She’s with me, she doesn’t want you.” Taehyung was frowning deeply, eyes hard as he glared at Hoseok. You could see the anger from Taehyung clear as day, but it was also easy to spot the hurt behind his eyes.

“Taehyung-”

“Leave us alone!” He snaps, turning to you instead. You both let Hoseok go, everyone clearly needing time to think about what had just happened.

“Tae,” you murmured, “he didn’t mean it.” “He did.” Taehyung argued, “I know he did, it’s so easy to tell he’s in love with you.” You stay quiet, but spend the evening comforting your hurt boyfriend.

♡Jungkook♡

It was late and things were getting a bit too wild. Everyone was having fun, drinking, and talking the night away. Jungkook had been occupied with Jimin and Taehyung, while you and Namjoon had hit it off for the night. You were both drunk, giggling and talking your time away. At some point, Namjoon’s hand had found yours and the drunken flirting began. You had giggled and gone back and forth with the leader of Bagntan, too far gone to really think clearly.

Unfortunately, Jungkook had been looking for you when he heard Namjoon tell you how beautiful you were and how much he had always liked you. As if Jungkook didn’t exist, it didn't even cross his mind as Namjoon leaned in to leave a quick kiss on your lips. You had hesitated even in your drunk state, but as quickly as the kiss happened you both forgot about it, going back to playful banter and laughs.

Jungkook didn’t say anything to Namjoon until that morning when the leader came to him to confess and apologize for doing it. He accepted it and when you did the same he accepted yours as well. However; he couldn’t quite get how comfortable and well the two of you had meshed that night. He’s scared to admit it to even himself, but he’s worried that Namjoon might’ve stolen your heart that night.

#bts reactions #bts imagines #bts x reader #bts scenarios #bts fanfic #kim seokjin #bts jin #min yoongi #bts suga #jung hoseok #jhope #bts jhope #kim namjoon #bts rm #park jimin #bts jimin #jimin #kim taehyung #bts v #jeon jungkook #bts jungkook #jungkook

[shining-magically]

so I’ve wondered this since the trailer came out years and years ago and Chloe defended the movie - was the red shoes teaser written by the same team that made the movie? were they forced to market it like that, was that based on an earlier draft, etc?? not sure if you know but you seem like the leading expert!

Sorry, this is gonna be an absolute novel because you know I’m an animation fan and the history and production of Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs is SO interesting and insane. Like, Tangled levels of insane. Thanks for calling me an expert, no one else was gonna do it so I just kind of took up the helm lol.

Here’s the low-down... The timeline of the movie’s production is an absolute mess and kind of an extremely wild ride. It was in production for ten years, went through a lot of different crew members, and went through at least two other major versions of the story before landing on the final version.

Since there’s not a ton of info on the movie’s production, a lot of this is pieced together from different interviews and context clues, and also a lot of what I’ve read and what I am quoting has been translated from Korean, sometimes pretty roughly. But yeah.

Here’s the story of why the Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs teasers and poster were so, so bad and fatshame-y and the actual movie was so, so good and body-positive. (With pictures and production artwork!)

(This is a beast of a post so I’m putting it under a cut.)

All right, so. After its conception originally as a short story by the South Korean studio Locus Creative in 2009-2010-ish, Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs was being worked on and was set to come out in Summer 2017, as evidenced by this poster at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, featuring a different logo and very different character designs for most of the dwarfs.

In early-mid 2016, the first teaser (in which we see Snow White undress and then two dwarfs recoil in horror at her fatness when she takes her magic shoes off) was released, after the film had kind of been slowly chugging along for 6 or so years. (I am having such trouble pinpointing when the second teaser was released (in which one of the dwarfs basically attacks Snow while she is sleeping to steal her shoes), but I believe it was around the same time.) The teasers didn’t get that much traction because this was a small film from a small indie studio in South Korea.

None of the final actors had been cast yet. At this point in the production, the story was different, one of the many versions that the movie went through. As in the final movie, the dwarfs were actually cursed knights/princes and Snow White switched back and forth between two body types due to her magic shoes, but in this version, the dwarfs needed to steal the shoes from her in order to break their curse (rather than needing “a kiss from the most beautiful woman in the world” like in the final movie).

The weird thing is, I believe they had JUST changed the movie’s story when the teaser came out. I’m almost positive it was released more as a proof of concept than as an actual trailer for the movie. They had just recently combined two separate characters (seen above), a typical pretty, skinny princess character (Snow White) and a cute chubby girl character (’Bonnie’), into one single character that switches back and forth between the two appearances when she wears the magic shoes (also they had just dropped literally half of the movie taking place in the real world, with a magic mirror portal, it was a whole thing). 

They didn’t have the details of this aspect of the new story hammered out yet, and the first pass at presenting Snow’s magically changing body type, was, yeah, not good and super offensive. This was a really inexperienced indie studio making their first film on a low budget, so even the animation and voice acting wasn’t great. I think they just wanted to get SOMETHING out there because it had been 6 years and they wanted to have something to show for it.

But here’s the thing. Despite how the teasers make it seem, this was always supposed to be a movie about body positivity, letting go of appearance-based prejudices, and loving yourself and others for who you are and for who they are, which we see in the final film.

I like to think of our film as a kindhearted one. Our intentions are nice.

- Director Sung-ho Hong

It’s important to keep in mind that this movie was made in South Korea by a 99% Korean crew, and, as I understand it anyway, in Korean culture, ‘fatshaming’ is not really a thing that is seen as overtly offensive. Also, children’s media there seems to have more adult things in it than in the US, which probably accounts for the more risque parts of the teasers. That said, I really believe that at this point in the timeline, the movie was on-track to be bad (or at least not very good) when it was released, and it would have ended up bad IF a few key players hadn’t signed on (which I’ll get to in a moment).

Interestingly, the movie’s producer, Sujin Hwang, said in a 2017 interview:

“[Both teasers] were solely produced to induce curiosity. They’re completely irrelevant to the actual story.”

- Producer Sujin Hwang

I think what she was trying to convey was that neither one is a scene in the actual movie, because while the teasers didn’t reflect the revamped story as it existed in summer 2017 (the time of the interview), they DID reflect the earlier version of the story where the dwarfs wanted her shoes, which is what the story was at the time they were made.

Now that we’re in post-teaser 2016, HERE’S where things start to turn around. After the teasers were released, my guy Disney veteran and native Korean Jin Kim joined the project. He and Red Shoes director Sung-ho Hong had been buddies for about eight years and Sung-ho had been trying to get Jin to come to Seoul and work with him at Locus for a long time, and he finally succeeded.

Jin and his twenty years of Disney experience as an animator and senior designer on films like Tangled, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Moana, had a HUGE HUGE HUGE influence on the movie. He redesigned almost all the characters, oversaw all the visual development from the moment he signed on, and heavily (HEAVILY) supervised the animation, literally going frame-by-frame through preliminary animations and drawing over them, teaching the inexperienced animators at Locus everything he knew. (Literally almost everyone except him either only had TV experience or had no professional experience because they just gotten out of school.)

From an outsider’s perspective, it really seems as though Jin joining the project (and his gargantuan effort) made the quality SKYROCKET. Not just in character design and animation, but also in things like effects animation, story, etc. After he joined, Locus really started pushing HARD to make a good, high-quality movie, and his influence and experience from being a prominent figure at Disney was absolutely key. The studio also began to really study Disney films and other well-made animated films from other studios to really try and pinpoint what the DNA of a good animated movie really is.

I don’t have any solid evidence, but I’m pretty sure that Tony Bancroft (an animator and the co-director of Mulan) then joined the project because he’s good friends with Jin Kim. He is only credited as the voice director (the movie was recorded in English and the characters were animated to the English dialogue), but I am SURE that he probably also had a pretty big influence on the movie, because like... How could he not? I really really think there was more to his role than his title would have you believe, even though there’s almost no info out there about it.

So now the movie goes through a gigantic metamorphosis. Character designs, visual development, and animation quality are all rapidly improving, the story is tightening, and the themes of the movie (which, again, were always the same and intended to be positive) are being presented in a more sincere way. The movie is becoming the sweet, self-love-encouraging and body-positive movie that was eventually released.

I’m putting a gif from the credits of the final movie here. As we move into 2017, when the giant eruption of backlash occurred, please keep in mind that the story was finalized at this point and that THIS was the movie people were so mad about:

Chloe Grace Moretz accepted the role of Snow White immediately after she read the script and she recorded her lines (I think) in early-ish 2017. Her co-star Sam Claflin also immediately accepted the role of the romantic interest, Merlin, after reading the script and recorded his lines in (I believe) July 2017.

In the summer of 2017, the story and script were more or less the same as in the final movie. Promotional images from that time show that most of dwarfs had been completely redesigned by this point and didn’t have their teaser designs anymore.

They also released a few screenshots that look exactly like the final film. The movie was advertised as coming out in ‘2018′ at this point. Here’s a promo image from 2017 that is MUCH more tactfully worded than the infamous Cannes poster:

So now we’re in summer 2017. The Cannes Film Festival. The movie’s script and story have been basically nailed down, animation is underway, and the Korean film company Finecut is beginning to market and sell the movie to worldwide audiences. They are planning on showing some footage to potential buyers at the festival, and they make a poster to advertise the film there.

Unfortunately, it’s THIS POSTER:

Now here’s where there are some unknowns. By this point, the movie is basically in its final form, which is an adorable, body-positive story about loving people for who they are, loving yourself for who YOU are, and that provides commentary on society’s standards of beauty and how they affect how people are treated/viewed. So why this poster??? All I can really tell is that someone (I think Finecut) really, REALLY messed up and either horribly mistranslated the tagline, or didn’t do enough research to know that this kind of thing is REALLY NOT OKAY in western culture.

The above picture is shared and the internet backlash begins, fueled by tweets from prominent body-positivity activists like Tess Holliday. Even Chloe Grace Moretz speaks out against it, because she of all people KNOWS that that’s not what the movie is about. The internet then finds the old teasers from before the movie was revamped and it makes things worse. Producer Sujin Hwang profusely apologizes and says that that is NOT the message of the movie. Locus pulls the advertising campaign, and takes down the two old teasers.

“Our film, a family comedy, carries a message designed to challenge social prejudices related to standards of physical beauty in society by emphasizing the importance of inner beauty.”

- Producer Sujin Hwang

Voice director Tony Bancroft also tried to explain the situation:

“The truth is the film has a body-positive message as its core theme–it’s the opposite of what reports are saying. The problem is one poorly translated movie poster that has been taken dramatically out of context.” 

- Voice Director Tony Bancroft

And then... There was nothing for a while. The movie didn’t come out in 2018 and was delayed. From what I can tell, I DON’T believe this delay was related to the Cannes backlash. I think it was mostly due to Locus’s limited budget and resources, because as we know, animation is difficult, time-consuming, expensive, and easy to do badly but hard to do well. Also, probably with Jin Kim and Tony Bancroft’s influence, they REALLY wanted to make sure to do a good job with the animation because they now had a great story and they really wanted the movie to be a quality, worldwide hit that would kind of put South Korean feature animation on the map. Just take a look at how nice the final animation was:

The movie was released in South Korea on July 25th, 2019. Unfortunately, the damage was done in the English-speaking markets and it was not released to an English-speaking audience until June 22, 2020, when it was released digitally in the UK. At the time of this post, there is no set US release date, but the distribution rights were recently bought by Lionsgate and the MPAA gave the film an official PG rating.

So who’s to blame? There’s no good answer. You could blame Locus for making those old teasers. You could blame Finecut for the competely tonedeaf Cannes poster. You could even blame cancel culture for raging against the movie based on one poster and two old teaser trailers without researching what the movie was actually about.

All I know is, it’s a damn shame.

#mooncactus #red shoes and the seven dwarfs #red shoes and the 7 dwarfs #animation #animation production #animation history #red shoes movie #redshoes #jin kim #tony bancroft